Freelance Whales - Diluvia Review

This five piece indie band from Queens, NY is something you normally don't hear from bands. By incorporating different instruments that aren't typically used by alternative bands. Those instruments being a banjo, a harmonium which is comparable to an organ. The sound is blown through sets of free reeds and makes a sound like an accordion.  Lastly, use the most interesting out of the three which is the water phone, they use a stainless steel pan with bronze rods circling the pan in different diameters and circumferences that exhibit different sounds. The pan may also contain water to also release different noises. With such an interesting instrument line up and very talented musicians playing them and multiple other instruments, Freelance Whale's sophomore release "Diluvia" is a very interesting and much more mature follow up to their first album "Weathervanes" While incorporating all these different instruments along with the norm of guitar's, bass and drums, Freelances puts a new spin onto music and makes it interesting for all the listeners. 

My rating: 5/5.

Basement - Colourmeinkindess Review

When Basement released their first full length "I Wish I Could Stay Here" they blew up over the internet. It was the perfect mix of punk and emo. Coming from the UK, Basement has a strong background of the mix of melodic hardcore, punk and emo. They announced their break up over the summer of 2012, but announced they would release one more album before they call it quits. I was lucky enough to catch them in their last United States show ever. They seemed very bittersweet about what was going on, but they were possibly the band I have ever seen. Now October 23rd, 2012 is the official release of Colourmeinkindness. Right from the first track, you can tell the maturity of the band has gone up tons. They are more mature and more depressed as ever. This album pumps out all the emotions out on the last album they made. One of the lyrics that stands out to me were: "Love me, I want you to love me. I hate myself and that's okay." Some of the influences on this album could be from the 90's with how they deliver their vocals and the guitar style they play. A lot of people have critiqued the album and have said that the album is very relatable to the 90's alternative band Incubus. This album is perfect, straight through. This is my favorite album to be released in 2012 by far.

My rating: 5/5.

The American Scene - Safe For Now Review

This new album by The American Scene has grown to be one of my favorites of 2012 so far. I was not a fan of the past material that they had released, but I could tell that something changed on this album. The maturity went up on this album compared to the last, I could tell right from the first track that thing wasn't the same music they put out in the past. The American Scene is a hard band to classify into one genre, I can narrow it down to a couple such as, indie, punk, alternative and rock. The lead singer for TAS has such a great range for his vocals, he can go from low to high and everywhere in between. His voice could be compared to the lead singer of another indie/punk band Seahaven. My favorite song on this album was the acoustic song called "Untitled" just because of the raw emotion that they put into it. The way he sings it is just perfect, while that is my favorite song off the album, every other song on it stacks up that one just as well.

My rating: 4/5.

Harness - Victim of Suffering Review

Hailing from Santa Barbra California, this five piece hardcore band is probably one of the most pissed off bands you'll listen to this year. This heavy hardcore band influences are Integrity, Crowbar and Buried Alive. That will hype it enough that this short four song EP will make you want to destroy everything near you. The first song "Decline" clicks you in by the drummer on the hi-hat, preparing you for what you're about to listen to. With a persistent drumbeat, feedback and heavy guitar riff underneath you realize this EP is going to be one of the heaviest things released in a while. The vocalist starts off yelling "Just as blades pierce skin, your resentment sets in." The vocalist is pissed off and this persists throughout the whole 4 songs. If you are ever in an angry mood, this is a great way to get the weight of your shoulders. I'm excited to see what the next EP or full length will be like.

My rating: 4/5.