What’s In The Box? This week’s most played releases
on October 29th, 2011This week’s most played releases around the office include new albums from Melbourne’s Jonesez, Sydney’s Homeward Bound, Seattle’s Lizzie Huffman and the acoustic version of the latest Yellowcard album. See below for some info and opinion on each of the releases.
JONESEZ – Gruffalo [Independent] [Get It]
Second album from Jonesez, and first as a full band. The ‘Betty’s Soup’ debut was a cracker so it’d take something special to follow it up. This one is like busting open a time capsule from the days when weekend mornings were spent glued to Recovery checking out new bands. This sound was the flavour around the time and shows that there’s still a place for some glorious late 90′s indie rock with some bite. Big on guitars, big on the catchy vocal lines and loaded with memorable choruses. Like ‘Betty’s Soup’ the album did take a few listens before it really jumped out at me, and continues to grow a stack of listens later. The album has charm, not often found so much nowadays, kinda gives me the same kinda charm that say Jebediah’s ‘Slightly Oddway’ had back in ’99, and is worth focusing on the lyrics a few times to bring that element out. It’s upbeat, It’s fun, It’s infectious and will be copping plenty more spins around here. Thankfully for you it’s currently available on a ‘pay what you want’ deal digitally, and cheap on CD too. Dig into the pocket, whip out some change and it may well be the best few bucks you spend this week.
HIGHLIGHTS = ‘Coffee & Cream’, ‘Way Superior’, ‘Funemployment’.
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HOMEWARD BOUND – Chorus Of Castouts [Independent] [Get It]
Good to see the art of a full package hasn’t been lost on these Sydney guys. This their debut album, but you wouldn’t pick it, a nice well designed thick booklet greets you and matches the quality of the sounds on the shiny disc. Melodic hardcore hit it’s peak before the melodic part was replaced by screams and grumbles way too much, a handful have kept the flag flying, now these guys raise it a few notches. The album offers plenty of grunt, balanced out nicely with enough catchy hooks to pull you in right away. It’s a straight up affair, nothing unnecessary, a nice live vibe to the sound and an all round great listen. They’ve been busy in the leadup with shows, let’s hope they keep the momentum going because they tick all the right boxes with this album to show they have what it takes. Add it to your collection.
HIGHLIGHTS = ‘Something Unwholesome’, ‘All We Need’, ‘Control’.
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LIZZIE HUFFMAN – Pretty Old Soul [Suburban Home] [Get It]
A new EP from this Seattle girl who impressed on her ‘Brother Band’ EP. That EP comes as a bonus with these new tracks for those who may have missed it first time around. Six new tracks & six older ones make up the release. Lizzie’s sound is a mix of pop / folk / country and a hint of soul in her strong voice. As with all the good solo artists, her lyrics tell good stories and her voice is captivating. Having given the old EP a good workout some fresh material was needed and the quality of these new tracks is definitely on par with the older and hopefully attract the attention of some new fans. Won’t be up everyone’s alley, but well worth a listen if you don’t mind the style, appreciate a great voice, or are just looking for something easy to chill out to.
HIGHLIGHTS = ‘Makers Mark’, ‘Franklin Street’, ‘Damn Thing’.
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YELLOWCARD – When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes [Hopeless Records] [Get It]
Backing up the release of their album earlier this year, with an acoustic version of it, could go either way. Thankfully in this case, it’s a pretty good way. Good way to get a little extra out of it, and get folks to go back and give it a few spins they may not have done recently. The album is a very strong one lyrically, so when stripped back, a bit more of the focus goes back onto that, but will it lose that punch it had with everything plugged in? In a way it does, but the band manage to come up with some solid versions of the tracks on the bare minimum and without changing too much up. If you dug the album, then i daresay you’ll enjoy this version, it’s probably not something you’ll reach for as much as the album itself, but serves it’s purpose, expands the life cycle of the album, and keeps fans happy by giving them a little extra. Win win really. Wouldn’t work for many, but for Yellowcard this time, it does.
HIGHLIGHTS = ‘Hang You Up’, ‘Sing For Me’, ‘Be The Young’.
