This Will Destroy You

This Will Destroy You is a four piece post-rock band based out of San Marcos, Texas. Their sound can be compared to Godspeed You Black Emperor or Mogwai in that their music is a heavily distorted, dark, almost post-apocalyptic. Their music is all instrumental thus far and can be heard in the film The Taking of Pelham 123. They have released two studio albums along with two EPs.

I have always been a fan of the post-rock genre. After seeing the film 28 Days Later I began looking for bands similar to the one's that made the soundtrack to this movie so haunting and emotional. Their music is not particularly heavy but it hits home where it needs to. Soft intros that lead into hard rocking breakdowns stir emotions that are not easily duplicated by other artists. They have the ability to keep their sound fresh from track to track despite the fact that they don't rely on vocals to tell their stories. This Will Destroy You is a band that you should look into if you like dark instrumental post-rock.

Musical Therapy

For my long research paper I had chosen to research music therapy and that general field of psychology. As i did this i began to think about the kind of music I tend to use in a therapeutic sense. Among such were Sigur Ros, OTT, Tiesto, some James Blunt (live only), A little light classical, Third Eye Blind, a few Enter Shikari songs off their first album, a little Gnarls Barkley, a whole lot of Roger Waters era Pink Floyd, Tool, A perfect Circle. Isn't crazy how many different types of music can be therapeutic as defined by the listeners' preference? Crazy stuff.

I See Stars

I See Stars is a relatively young band based out of Warren, Michigan. They play post-hardcore music that features some impressive mixtures of screaming vocals and Pop laced electronic breakdowns that give their sound a pretty unique vibe. They sound as young as they look as no particular band member was above the age of 21 when they released their EP. They have released one full length album and one official EP as well as several demos since 2006.

Devin Oliver, clean vocals of the group, has a powerful voice considering how young he is and when he's not synthesizing his voice you can tell that in the years to come he'll have nowhere to go but up. The group dynamics work, One clean vocals, the other, Chris Moore, doing the screaming and synthesizer/keys.Tracks are often divided between the vocals of Oliver and Moore almost down the middle. In the track 'Save the Cheerleader, Save the World' for instance Moore begins with a brutal barrage of screaming with a steady but strong tempo. After the tempo slows a strong beat from drummer Andrew Oliver comes in and signals a transition into Moore taking over the keys and Devin Oliver wailing out a very clean vocal arrangement. Much faster pace. The sound at this point is very full and all the bandmates are jamming to the hardcore/electronica sound. After this yet another transition takes place and Moore goes back to using his powerful voice to scream the lyrics over a steady guitar melody that again is more hardcore alone with little electronic influence. The ending to the song involves clean vocals taking over with a very huge and emotionally involving breakdown. Now all songs by I See Stars are not like this a good deal are as this chemistry seems to work quite well with them. The combination of Oliver and Moore's different yet complimenting vocals give this band a unique sound that for their age is nothing short of promising.

Green Light Go! (their EP) is imho far more impressive than their studio album, 3D, but don't let that keep you from checking it out as all their music can be accesible if you are in the right frame of mind. Key tracks include: 'Save the Cheerleader, Save the World' 'What This Means to Me' 'Comfortably Confused' and 'Where the Sidewalk Ends'

Jeremy Enigk

Jeremy Enigk is a Singer-Songwriter out of Seattle, Washington that has now released 4 solo studio albums. He has also more notably done work with bands Sunny Day Real Estate and The Fire Theft. Today I will be focusing on his second studio outing, World Waits. 

It's hard to put a genre title to Jeremy Enigk's work,  he can be called emo (not in the cut yourself, punk ass teenager, woe-is-me-my-girlfriend-just-dumped-me way) he has some heavy christian undertones, a unique, powerful voice, and a nearly symphonic sound. When all these factors are coupled together you have Mr. Jeremy Enigk and more importantly; World Waits. I haven't been a huge fan of alot of his other work, but this album is something special. Accompanied by over 25 personnel playing everything from viola to accordian and adding alot of volume and mass to his sound on the 10 tracks included. Starting off strong with "A New Beginning" and ending with "Burn" Enigk fills the inbetween space with haunting, emotional vocals and beutiful piano and guitar work. Lyrics about forgiveness, love lost and found (and lost again), and the nature of a "God." My favorite tracks "River to Sea" and "Damien Dreams" while completely different give me a raised, everything will be OK, temperament. You won't find that all over the album however, title track "World Waits" as beautiful as it is, will make one go into a form of lovesick depression, but that's the thing: Music is supposed to reflect life, you can't listen to music that only makes you feel one particular way, that's boring as hell, you have to take everything in and deal with emotions and life as it comes.

With that i will conclude; Jeremy Enigk is a unique individual. his music is not to be overlooked. If you wanna switch it up one day and you are even a little down in the dumps, this could be for you. If, however, you want a spirit-raiser this could also be for you. Many different levels are explored here and there has to be at least one track that speaks to you. Enjoy!

The State vs. Radric Davis

Rap music is probably by far the hardest form of music to stay up to date on. Every single day without fail new mixtapes are released from all over the country from different artists. Every region of the US gives us a different bend to the genre and in that respect it is difficult to stay on top. Its been quite awhile since i purchased a rap CD. If I'm not mistaken it was Trap-a-Thon by Gucci Mane some 2 years ago. About a week ago I found myself in the same Best Buy searching through the racks of music trying to find something I could listen to and write about. Then I saw Gucci Mane's new studio album The State vs. Radric Davis. I picked it up instantly as I have always been a Gucci fan, (ever since I picked up some of his habits anyway) so i had to have it. So here it is, my review of The State. A couple weeks late I guess since most Gucci fans have probably been through this album a dozen times by now.


This album has 20 tracks featuring over 5 artists including Waka Flocka,Usher, OJ, and Wooh da Kid. Most of the tracks are bass heavy with emphasis on synthesizers as is pretty common with Gucci beats. Vocals he lays down have lyrical focus on all the things I like in a good rap song: Over the top drug dealing, binging on substancees, and spending wads and wads of money. Some of the songs are pretty unoriginal though, some of his hooks fall flat and a lot of his jokes misfire. The tracks that do stand out do their job though. Track 5 for instance, All About the Money, correctly balances the use of the synthesizer with the lyrical prowess of Gucci La Flare.

So if you like drug rap and you need something to cruise around with your friends blazing to, this may be for you. This album is pretty much recommended for stable Gucci fans though, some new listeners may not enjoy as much. Key tracks include: All About the Money, Lemonade, The Movie, Volume, and Gingerbread Man

TOOL

Where to begin with Tool? Tool has had a profound effect on me as a music fan since I was but a child. I vaguely remember being around the age of four wandering aimlessly around my grandmother's home looking for something to do when I heard the sound of the TV. At my age I wasn't accustomed to the sounds of progressive metal so I was instantly glued to the screen. What I saw was the music video for Tool's 'Sober.' One of their earlier music videos, 'Sober' featured clay stop-motion animation that, to my young eyes seemed welcoming and of the norm. If you have ever seen this video though you know that for a young child, Tool probably isn't recommended listening or a good visual stimulation. Too young to really register what lead singer Maynard James Keenan's biting vocals were about, I simply sat there taking everything in. After about a minute my grandmother walked in the room, saw the MTV logo in the corner and instantly began punishing me. Not til many years later did I stumble back on to Tool and their song 'Sober' but I was instantly hooked.

Tool is a progressive metal band formed in 1990. They have released four studio albums that have each garnered critical acclaim and established a fanbase unlike many you can find. although I have never been to one I also hear the live shows are something that have to be seen to be believed. To say that seeing Tool is a goal for me is a real understatement. Each bandmate has their own specific sound and technique that when combined with frontman Keenen's vocals creates something that sounds truly dark and rife with raw emotion. Maynard James Keenen's ability to convey emotions of lust, hatrid, and contempt all while belting it out in a style that still holds it's heart is astounding. They never spend less then 3 years on an album and it shows; nearly every song off every album is good enough to listen to til you're burnt out on it, a sensation that with Tool doesn't last long. Some key tracks include.... Honestly if i tried to give you key tracks i'd have too long of a list to really get you started with this band. Instead start with the album AEnima, it's my favorite for multiple reasons. The last track 'Third Eye' is mashed with activist/comedian Bill Hicks and it's really something I cannot describe, you have to listen to it to grasp it. It's a personal favorite.

So if you need something dark but you don't want to listen to pounding, repetitive bass lines and guitar work you can find with most ugly metal bands, go for Tool. To say they are some of the best is yet another understatement.

Takk...

Thanks or Takk... in the band Sigur Ros' native Icelandic tongue is the title of their fourth full length album. If you're not familiar with Sigur Ros then the best genre description I can give them is Icelandic ambient post-rock. Their songs are rarely under six minutes in length and most of their sound is heavily instrumental with lead singer Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson's falsetto voice belting out his foreign lyrics in a haunting tone. Sometimes assisted by full orchestras and with Jónsi's signature use of a cello bow on his Les Paul Sigur Ros' music has an enormous quality to it that raises the stakes in most categories.

But on to the album...

Takk... as i stated before is Sigur Ros' fourth studio album released in 2005. It's really quite beautiful. Their sound is earth shattering and the ability that they show off is incredible. My first experience with this band was with Takk... and ever since then I have been hooked. This album helped change who I am as a music fan in that it broke down my barriers for what I thought good music could be. The first track I ever heard is entitled "Glósóli." It starts off slow with a nice bass line, shortly after the rest of the band joins in and you know you're in for something else. Over the course of eight plus minutes the tempo and volume increase and increase till the climax where they let loose and begin bashing away at their instruments in ways that, like I said, warped my perspective. All the other tracks are jewels, not a bad one in the lot. Some key tracks to check out though would be "Hoppípolla" "Sæglópur" "Mílanó" "Gong" and "Heysátan." If you want something new in a band and you just wanna chill out this is the band for you, and this album is most definitely one of their best.

Enter Shikari

Trancecore- you probably haven't heard of it; if you have then there are probably only a few bands that come to mind. For starters I'll explain this term. trance core, or trance hardcore is the combination of two musical genres. Trance and hardcore. Trance is a type of electronic music characterized by it's 130 to 155 beats per minute tempo. Trance is more melodic than house, electronica, industrial and most other forms of dance music and can be distinguished by it's epic scale and psychadelic qualities. Hardcore on the other hand is a bit different. Hardcore music evolved from early american punk and is generally faster and heavier with vocals that are more in tune with the beat than it's predecessor. A vocal technique referred to as the vox scream is also used that adds a different vibe to the melody and instrument arrangements.

Enter Shikari is one of the few that has successfully combined the two.

Enter Shikari is a band based out of St. Albans, Hertfordshire that features four members: Leslie 'Rou' Reynolds, Liam Clewlow, Chris Batten, and Rob Rolfe. beginning in 2003 they began releasing EPs online and at their shows. Their debut album Take to the Skies was released in 2007 and reached a peak of #4 on the UK music charts. This album, one of my all-time personal favorites, established the band in the British punk scene and put some rarely heard music into the mainstream. Take to the Skies discussed a variety of topics including aliens, love, and general disdain for the disrespectful.

After releasing the album, Enter Shikari took time to tour, release a few singles and work on their sophomore effort. This came in 2009 in the form of Common Dreads. This album was a step away from trancecore and a step towards post-hardcore. While they still featured some of the techniques that distinguished them on Take to the Skies lead singer Rou Reynolds no longer used the vox scream on most tracks. Their lyrical focus also shifted from the topics above to those of rebellion, new social order, and our need to actually start giving a shit about other people. Generally anti-government this album is full of raw emotion and feelings of being fed up with the way things are. Enter Shikari is not happy with the way things are being run, and not just in the UK. Political ideals aside though...

Enter Shikari is a unique band that you don't get to hear everyday. If you feel like switching it up one day and you want something to headbang or dance to, These guys are for you. Tracks to listen to - Mothership, Step Up, Sorry You're Not a Winner, and Adieu.

The Arcade Fire

Hello,

My name is Zack and this is my first ever blog post.. While I have stumbled upon many blog posts while using the internet I've never thought to take the time to write one myself. After much deliberation I decided to make my blog about one of my favorite arts: Music. So without further ado here is a review of the band The Arcade Fire.

The Arcade Fire is a band that emerged from Quebec, Canada in the year 2003. They have seven members total not including the extra two that play with them at live shows. They're music is often driven by instruments such as the accordion, hurdy gurdy, pipe organ, and violin giving their sound a distinct quality you can't find anywhere very easily these days. Great string and horn accompaniments give their tracks a grandiosity that can't help but move you, and their lyrics, most often written by the front man Win Butler and his wife Régine Chassagne, are filled with emotion and dexterity that far outshines most things on the radio today. Their music is beautiful and raw with the feelings these people have for the music they make. If you're a fan of larger than life rock music you owe it to yourself to listen to either Funerals or Neon Bible , The Arcade Fire's two critically acclaimed albums.