Best Of 2011

I know, its lame. Haven’t posted in awhile and now I'm posting my “best of”. I don’t want it to be like this from now on. A real post a year. But it is a new year, and hopefully a new era. As always, if you enjoy any these albums, PLEASE seek them out for purchase and enjoy further. Also, posts are not listed in any order of importance or greatness.

FULL LENGTHS

Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

Download The Album Here

Ampere – Like Shadows

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Radiohead – King Of Limbs

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Zombi – Escape Velocity

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Algernon Cadwallader – Parrot Flies

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Sigur Rós – Inni

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Rival Schools – Pedals

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Foo Fighters – Wasting Light

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Kite Party – Baseball Season

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Primus – Green Naugahyde

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Obits – Moody, Standard and Poor

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Beirut – The Rip Tide

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Explosions In The Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

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Touché Amoré – Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me

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Battles – Gloss Drop

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Snowing – I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted

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Bridge And Tunnel – Rebuilding Year

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Young Widows – In And Out Of Youth And Lightness

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EP’s
Braid – Closer To Closed

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Mouse On The Keys – Live Session 2011/3/28

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LOCAL/FRIEND’S BANDS
Oak & Bone – Self Titled

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Night Owls – Rapture

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Hidden Hospitals – EP 001

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Ed Gein – Bad Luck

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Zona Mexicana – Self Titled

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Like Wolves – Self Titled

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Reissues
Nirvana – Nevermind

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Rush – Moving Pictures

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it has been MONTHS

so I'm a huge dick and seriously haven't posted on here since april? huh? and i feel like before that it was awhile as well. idk what my issue is. a few posts i started, but didn't finish. and then the real bad news. last month my external hard drive with ALL of my music crashed. so albums/bands I wanted to write about, well, i don't have them anymore. this blows. and while i cant write and suggest things, the biggest loss to me personally was of all of my past bands. Which in a lot of cases, i was the only member who had the recordings. so im hurting. i dont have the funds presently to try recovering my hard drive, and i also dont have the money to buy a external to transfer whatever they could salvage. if anything. so what does this mean? idk. i still plan on getting on top of this again. its just when i have what i want to write about. and presently, i dont have that. I will keep you all posted on progress, etc. i apologize to anyone who actually checked this.

Best of 2010

So to be completely honest, I feel like kind of a loser with this years “Best Of” list. Last year it seemed like I covered so much! Not only that, but I had a whole separate post of albums I forgot on my first list. I guess the whole idea was kind of epic. At least for me. haha. Either I wasn’t as into music this past year, or I just wasn’t that into a lot of what came out. So here are my faves for the year 2010. It probably is feasible that I will remember stuff that I dug after I post this. That seems to be my way. But enjoy this for now. And as always, if you enjoy the music you hear, please seek it out and purchase it!



Full Lengths
Deftones – Diamond Eyes

Download The Album Here

Torche – Songs For Singles

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Mogwai – Special Moves

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Maserati – Pyramid Of The Sun

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Sun Kil Moon – Admiral Fell Promises

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A Silver Mt. Zion - Kollaps Tradixionales

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Envy – Recitation

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The Walkmen – Lisbon

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Jonsi – Go

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EP’s
Suis La Lune – US Tour 7inch

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This Will Destroy You – Moving On The Edges Of Things

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Frodus – Soundlab 1

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Maserati – Pyramid Of The Moon

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Reissues
Refused – The Shape Of Punk To Come

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Weezer – Pinkerton (Deluxe Edition)

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Converge – Jane Doe

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The Cure – Disintegration

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Compilations
Daïtro – Collected

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Pavement – Quarantine The Past

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Connections, Part II Split (featuring Suis La Lune, Kias Fansuri, The Saddest Landscape, Adorno, Isaiah, Captain, Your Ship Is Sinking)

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Sonic Youth – Hits Are For Squares

Download The Album Here

Wow, 2011

so its a new year. i havent posted on here in a crazy long time. september apparently. i know alot of people make new years resolutions. mine this year was to get back into writing on here. no clue why i disappeared. have a few posts i just never posted. look forward to posts and I'm going to try to do a best of 2010 posts. i promise to return to the scene for the few of you who care. <3

Rush – Moving Pictures

(note: I wrote this PRE seeing Rush Thursday.)
Here is the deal. I am going to see Rush this upcoming Thursday. I'm freaking out. I haven't seen them since 2004. They were awesome then. But they were on tour for the “Vapor Trails” album. Which doesn't suck. But yo, this is fucking “Moving Pictures.” And idk if its true or not, but i heard that they are playing this album IN ITS ENTIRETY on their present tour. That along with a lot of their hits from over the years. So yes, safe to say, I'm very excited. This album is a hit machine pretty much. The first 4 songs are fucking CLASSIC. “Tom Sawyer” is one of the quintessential Rush songs. I think most people would agree to that. And its what starts off this album. I don't honestly know if this is the best Rush album. It was the third in a string of awesome records. The other two being “Hemispheres” and “Permanent Waves.” Between those 3 albums are a shit ton of amazing material. So i usually sort of hold them as my trinity of great Rush albums. haha. I try not to pick. Yes I know. You are thinking,”What about 2112?” Yes, that album is great. Its just, well, that's a different Rush. haha. I know that sounds weird, but the 3 albums I mentioned are just a different Rush. Different from 2112 era. Like i said, its hard. I love all the shit they have done since Peart started playing drums for them. So yeah, that's a few records before they got to this point on a musical level. I love the band. I'm stoked. And this album and its songs rock. The end. Go listen to Rush, k?
Download The Album Here
Buy It If You Like It

Codeine – The White Birch

When i was younger. I heard about slowcore and sadcore. Two genres of music that seemed fairly interchangeable. The music is exactly the same but the differentiation comes from the lyrics and what they are about. Either emotional and “sad” or more open ended. So really, interpretation of a band’s music plays alot into what you would consider them. Any how, the first band I started listening to that had been described as either of these genres was Red House Painters. I liked them so much that I looked into more bands. I got into Low and Idaho. And i think that was the end of my searching out slowcore/sadcore bands. So flash forward to years later. I start listening to Rodan and every band that is associated with them. Through my interest in Rodan, and later June of 44, i came upon Codeine. A slowcore/sadcore band i had heard of, but never heard. This is my shit. I mean, completely different from Red House Painters. More along the lines of Low. Like a Chicago style slowcore band, but from New York. The songs are slow. and they do tend to have a sad feel both musically and lyrically. But this band is really heavy at times. Leading the way with huge sounding distorted basslines. I mean, even beautiful with how it adds a ethereal quality. How i missed out on this album for so long is really beyond me. It sounds like something I would like. I think most people that listen to it could tell you that. “The White Birch” is actually revered as one of the defining albums in Slowcore and Sadcore. So definitely give it a listen. A good album to know.
Download The Album Here
Buy it if you like it!

NEW SISTER BLOG!

http://cantdrawtosave.tumblr.com/

because i suck at html and have no clue how to do it on here. (if anyone knows please let me know)

just songs that i love and am really into at the moment.

theres a very real chance it will be updated more than this blog because its WAY easier. haha.

Tenebre – Self Titled EP

I realize I haven't written anything for this blog in a while. In a minute as the youths say. I'm sorry. Shit still sucks in my life. And sadly, I'm still listening to ALOT of the same stuff I've already written about. But listen I LOVE Tenebre. I wrote about their full length a long time ago. The band just does it for me. This is their latest release. Its great. You can listen to it here FOR FREE! You can also buy the album from that site in record and digital form. DO IT!

Aloha – Sugar

This album takes me back to a time when I was first sort of thrust into all the indie underground stuff. Granted, in middle school i got into the hardcore that was going on in Syracuse and through that found about about other hardcore bands. High school brought more post hardcore DC type stuff into what i was listening to. I also got more into 90’s alternative rock stuff. But after high school was when I started to really get into indie rock and what had been and was going on to my oblivious mind. Aloha was one of the many bands I found in that time that opened me up to different ideas musically. Aloha set the standard for the sort of jazz/post rock influenced indie rock band. They weren't Tortoise. There is enough of a pop sensibility to their songs that there is the chance for a crossover to someone that is not hip to post rock or anything like that. The vocals play just as important of a role as the vibraphone does. Which is often not the case with post rock bands. Considering a large portion of them are instrumental. This record start to finish is set up to sort of just move all together. Seamless transitions between songs make it seem like it is one long song.  And to view it like that, would be a bit much. I mean, there is ALOT going on with this record. There are all sorts of ideas. Whether they be lyrical, musical or whatever else. Sometimes, I have to admit, that it can become a bit much if you don't know what you are getting into. Thick layers of all sorts of sounds. Keyboards, Percussion, Sounds, Vibraphone, Guitar, Bass, Drums, Etc. Sometimes it seems like the songs come to the brink of falling apart into some sort of noisy collapse. But they find their way back every time. I’m not trying to scare anyone away. This record is fucking great. It has some amazing moments. Some beautiful musical movements. Some outrageous drumming. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, a drummer really makes a band in a lot of ways.  At least for certain kinds of music. The album is always interesting. Mathy. Ambient. Technical. Music at its best in a lot of ways. I don't know if this is really Aloha’s best album. I just know its the one I’ve listened to the most over time and have grown most attached to. Songs like “They See Rocks”, “Let Your Head Hang Low”, “Balling Phase”, “Protest Song” and “We Get Down” seal it for me. Okay, I just named like, half the album. haha. I don't care. That just shows how awesome this record is. If you are into post rock influenced indie rock, or indie rock influenced post rock, listen. Experimental music? listen. I think even my hippie coworker could dig this record. haha.
Download The Album Here
Buy It If You Like It

Cap’n Jazz – Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped on and Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over

The term emo has been thrown around so much. And it means different things to everyone. If I mention emo to my mallcore coworkers at P&C, I’m sure they would think of some MTV2 band i could give two fucks about. Its very sad. Me? Well, I’m informed. At least to the level that I know it can mean a bunch of different things. haha. Cap’n Jazz was the frontrunner in the Chicago emo (and later indie) sound. Musically taking cues from a lot of the emocore acts from DC like Embrace (maybe more so Fugazi. though I consider them post hardcore, not emo) and Rites of spring while adding their own ideas to make the music they put out completely original. Cap’n Jazz were all a bunch of young turks when they started the band. Barely teenagers. And while a lot of the present day emo is young whiney bands, they NEVER came off that way. Even with singer Tim Kinsella’s voice cracking as he sung and screamed, their lyrics were never typical of where the genre has gone. The band is really more likable to post hardcore, but that is what emo was originally. At this facet of it anyway. haha. Weird how something can change so much. This is the only full length Cap’ Jazz ever put out. They were on some different comps, 7’s and splits. But truly, these are the best songs they have. And they broke up pretty much right after this came out. All their songs, except for the song “Naive”, were later rereleased on the compilation CD “Analphabetapolothology.” That is where me and pretty everyone else that wasn't back around going to shows in 93-94 first heard the band. And these 12 songs were featured on the first CD. This album is otherwise known as “Schmap'n Schmazz.” Which realistically is a easier album title, but personally not as fun. haha. This recommendation comes sort of as a precursor to their show I’m going to see next month. Reuniting after like 15 years. Besides being there own beast of a band, the list of bands that the members of this band started afterword is unbelievable. Check the tag on this post to see all the bands that were formed by the ex members. All gold in my opinion. Just like this album. Seriously, start to finish. Great, youthful, passionate, energetic post hardcore. I cant imagine you haven't heard them. Or at least heard of them.
Download The Album Here
If you like it, buy “Analphabetapolothology” on CD or soon on Double LP.

Frodus – And We Washed Our Weapons In The Sea

This album is in heavy rotation on my real world music listening device presently. I just love it. I love Frodus in general. The majority of their catalog is all over the place. I mean, this is the band that the genre “spazzcore” came to represent. Or more so, the band that pioneered the genre. So right, doesn't that sound like something i would gravitate towards? haha. You know me all too well reader who i don't even know. I can admit that the majority of Frodus’ catalog does not sound like this album. And that's okay. They were a typical good band that changed with each release. This album falls into the screamy post hardcore genre. At least for me. As it has become typical for me, i like this album for its moments of beauty and the gut busting rock. The first time I ever heard of Frodus was in the Lovitt Transmissions DVD. I bought it for Engine Down and Sleepytime Trio. But there are a whole lot of other great bands shown on the DVD. and Frodus is one of them. I don't exactly know how i figured out what song it was, but the first song the band is shown playing on that DVD is like, the heaviest fucking thing ever. And i will admit made me download everything they ever put out. haha. I listened to all of their albums and figured out that the part I was so blown away by was from a early version of the song “The Awesome Machine”, which is off this album. Being that hearing/seeing that was sort of the spark that got me into the band in the first place, I can say that i centered more on this album than other releases. (btw, here is the link to that part from the DVD. the first part that is played is the song I'm talking about. SO HEAVY) This album is beautiful. Its heavy. Intense. It has what i look for in music. Start to finish there is not a moment that is off. Atmosphere is such a critical part to its power. Sadly, I think this album’s biggest claim to fame is that Thrice covered the song “The Earth Isn't Humming” for their one album. I don't know the name of the album. I honestly don't care. No care about that band. And I’m sure there are Thrice fans that feel the same about Frodus. But yeah, fuck those people. haha. All that aside, that song is fucking awesome. Probably why I’m like, hey, don't cover that shit! haha. “6/99” is probably my favorite song off this album at the moment. Like most my recent posts, that has to do with the loss I have recently been dealt with my fiancé throwing me out of her and my future son’s life. Its been very hard. The closest I can put how i feel is when my best friends sister died. She was like my sister. And I still cry when I think of her loss. I heard that Shelby Cinca, singer and guitarist of Frodus, wrote this song after two close friends of his died. That's how i feel, and that's probably why i identify with this song so much. But I don't really want to make this entry about me. (Though I will say, all music is important based off of the listeners interpretation and experience through it.) This album is such a great release for the band. It really is a swan song. It really is their best album. I know fans of their early work will fight me. But its just overall a more accomplished release then their past works. Washington, DC post hardcore at its best!
Download The Album Here
Buy It If You Like it!

Sed Non Satiata – Self Titled LP

I randomly found this the other day. I had heard a tune from it a long while ago and knew that the band was coming out with it. But that was pretty much it. Hadn't heard anything about it. And idk, one night when I was really depressed, just randomly found it. And it was so awesome. Cause immediately, I went from being unbelievably sad and depressed to being crazy happy. Like, shouting. haha. Now, why is that? Well, I love Sed Non Satiata. Along with Daïtro, they are one of my favorite bands of the skramz/real screamo genre. They have this way of just being so heavy and and intense, and having musical movements that are just flat out beautiful. They and Daïtro are friends, have put out a split together, and i feel like drive one another to keep putting out awesome music. Last year, Daïtro came out with “Y.” And it is a absolutely awesome album. I have to admit that after it came out I did remember thinking to myself “Your move Sed Non Satiata.” hahaha. The last album they had released was their split with Daïtro. And their side of that record was really great. Their self titled record finds them expanding on their musical style. The LP’s opening song “Les Colonnes De Soie” is fucking amazing. And is probably one of the bands best. The album in general is really great. As has been my complaint with the band in the past, I just wish the album had more songs. But its hard with the French screamo. The stuff borders on post rock often. So long instrumental songs are often common place. This album’s 5 songs still equal the same amount of time you would expect from a band putting out a normal 11 song album. So yeah, I have to get over my bullshit and remember, quality NOT quantity. haha. The quality of this album is tops. And in a lot of ways, well worth the wait. Sed Non Satiata can write a fucking song! haha. I hope this isn't the last time we hear from Sed Non Satiata. Like I have said, they are one of my favorite bands. I can only hope that they and Daïtro tour the states together in support of their respective albums. That would be sweet! Please enjoy this record. Its quite good. :-D
Download The Album Here
Seek it out and buy it if you like it!

Majority Rule

Majority Rule is a all time favorite band of mine. It all started senior year of high school. They opened up one of the punk shows that happened at the Westcott Community Center every Friday Night. They actually opened for Syracuse locals Just Passed. And i had friends in that band. I remember watching Majority Rule with them, and thinking “why is this band OPENING this show?” only to have my friend from Just Passed lean over and say to his band mate “I cant believe this band is opening for us!” haha. I was hooked and from that point on, tried to see them every time they played town. They were one of the tightest live bands i had seen. And they were playing some of the heaviest, highest energy, screamy whatever music I had heard. To call Majority Rule hardcore is a disservice in my honest opinion. There are moments on their albums that are absolutely beautiful. There are moments that are unbelievably heavy. They have got everything. That is what the band was known for. Majority Rule’s sound can be traced back to the VA screamo sound. But they added variants to that sound like atmospherics, time changes and other musical ideas that made them completely unique. To this day, they are one of the LOUDEST bands I’ve ever seen. A three piece and yet they sounded as loud as a five piece metal band with full stacks. haha. No clue how they did it. Majority Rule was the band I heard that got me away from your typical hardcore bullshit. They got me to listen to different screamy types of music that, in my opinion, are even more passionate and intelligent then any of that straight, fast, typical bullshit. This recommendation is sort of all over the place. Its so hard to write about this band. They are just so musically important to me. I hope that when I have kids some day that this is what I grow up listening to around them. haha. Is that weird? haha. I really wish this band did not break up. I KNOW I am not alone in that dream. Their shows were some of the best times of my life. Its very rare that you have a band playing songs this heavy, without some dumbass starting a mosh pit. But it never happened. And I loved that. I loved people singing along. Clapping. It was right up there with Syracuse locals Bad Cops for best show atmosphere. Majority Rule and Nakatomi Plaza at the Westcott still ranks up there as one of the best shows I’ve ever been at. I’ve lost my point. Sorry, this is worship. I don't care. This band was amazing. They deserve every sort of accolade. Every talk up. They deserve it all. I really wish they had put out a full length. I really wish they put out a CD or album of old shit from splits and EP’s. But those will remain dreams. I’m so glad this band existed. A short story to end this blog. My birthday is coming up this month. Years ago, I had a birthday coming up and saw that Majority Rule was playing a show in I believe Rochester, NY the day before. I was going to treat myself and go. I ended up emailing them and telling them. And i told them my favorite song of theirs was “I Need No More” off of their 7 inch. And i asked if they could play it for me. Turned out, they were playing here in Syracuse on my birthday. I hadn't heard of the show for whatever reason. But Majority Rule agreed to play it! I couldn't believe it. Well the worst thing happened. My ride and everything got fucked up, and i didn't get to go. i was really depressed. And the worst for me personally was that they actually played the song and gave a birthday shout out to me. EXCELLENT! I've never got over missing that. But like, that just gives you a idea as to what great guys Majority Rule were on top of everything else. They would go out of their way for some random person they don't know, just because that person loves their band. I pray for a reunion every time i listen to them. One of the most important bands of my life. Which may be surprising to most people.
Self Titled 7 inch
Interviews With David Frost
Split with Pg. 99 (Just the Majrule portion. Sorry)
Emergency Numbers
there are other splits and things out there, but these are essential. I would also say try to find the song “Now Breathe.” That song fucking destroys.

The Rentals – Return Of The Rentals

I met Matt Sharp years ago. He played a solo show in my town. And i was just so taken aback to meet him. Matt Sharp was the original bass player of Weezer. And though I have ZERO interest in that band now, their first two albums are unstoppable. I have always given a lot of that to Matt Sharp. Seeing as after his exit from the band they put out nothing that came close to those two albums. Those two albums were so important to me as a youth. And I think when i met him I freaked him about a bit. haha. Besides being one of the minds behind two of the most important albums of my youth, Matt Sharp started a side project while in Weezer that while always awesome, has become personally important to me in the last month. The Rentals existed for years in some form or another before the release of this, their first album. And when this album hit, i remember it’s single “Friends of P” being very popular on the MTV. The band had a NEW new wave sound going for themselves. Alternative wave? And where Matt had often taken a higher, falsetto singing style in Weezer, the higher registers are taken over by dual female vocals. The songs on this album are often times really heavy. Not just from a musical standpoint, but from a lyrical standpoint. I never really noticed it before recently. I’d listened to this album god knows how many times, always loved it. But now there is this whole new layer. A lot of the songs deal with lost love, the idea of not being happy, not finding what you are looking for in life. I mean, this shit hits home for me right now. haha. But i like that the band is musically upbeat to the point that for years, i didn't see the deeper, maybe sadder, side to a lot of the songs. How can you be depressed when there are moogs about? haha. My favorite song off this album has always been “My Summer Girl.” Recently, the song has taken a sad personal turn for me. But I’m just glad to hear such awesome songs about things that I am experiencing now. And they are written in a way, that makes me sad but makes me realize, you can take something life changing and make something really great out of it. Its going to take me awhile to be able to do that. But I have albums like this one help me through that time. And to also help me realize, LOTS of people have gone and are going through the same thing I am right now. Thank you Matt Sharp. I love you.
Download The Album Here
Buy It If You Like It!

Mock Orange – Nines & Sixes

Recently the love of my life broke up with me. It was sudden, unexpected and uncalled for. I’ve been having one of the hardest times in my life since. I’ve been looking for escape in any form that I can find it. And since I don't do drugs or drink, that pretty much equals: friends, music, and artistic expression. My friends are few and far between. Usually very busy with their own lives. For whatever reason, my own artistic expression is severely limited. The last time a girl I loved broke my heart, I wrote a whole album about it. Now, I cant even seem to finish a song. So that leaves me with the music I love. Some things I listen to, no matter how much I love them, aren’t able to cut through my state of depression. But I have found that there are two albums that have been able to put me in a good state of mind. Along with Suis La Lune’s EP “Heir”, “Nines & Sixes” by Mock Orange works. And it works quite well. This is a band that I sadly cant stand now. I think this album, and its follow up “The Record Play”, is the reason behind that. Mock Orange was such an amazing band. There is pretty much NO basis for direct comparison to ANY other bands that existed. In a lot of reviews they get compared to Sunny Day Real Estate. But I’m sorry I just don't hear it. I’ve read reviews that mention them like they were just another mid 90’s emo rip off band that didn't do anything new for the genre. THATS FUCKING BULLSHIT! Not a single review of this album, or its follow up, talk anything about the beauty or the technical proficiency Mock Orange used to exert. “Nines & Sixes” is the bands first full length album. And I know that for me and a lot of people, its a milestone. The band used to play a form of emo that, while influenced by bands like Sunny Day Real Estate, was completely original. The term math rock gets thrown around a lot. But i really feel like Mock Orange was sort of a godfather of where parts of that genre have gone. Off kilter time changes, weird time accents, absolutely awesome drum lines. And all the while having a great understanding that you can do all of that, and still write a catchy song. The thing that i think i am mostly drawn to about this record right now in my life, is the lyrics. I used to always listen to this album because of the awe inspiring song structures. But now, I’m finding songs that have meaning and say things that I feel. I like that. And i think that me finding it in something I already have a great connection to really makes me happy. I can listen to this album start to finish numerous times, and it never gets old for me. I’ve been listening to it a lot lately. Cause like I said, there are few things that make me happy in the world now. This album is one of them. I will cherish it forever. Even though I don't like the band anymore. haha. If you haven't listened to this album before, and like mid 90’s emo bands, do yourself a favor and check it out. Its energetic. Its different. Its important to me.

Download The Album Here

Buy it if you like it

Here's video of the boys playing "Window Shopping" off of Nines & Sixes live.