Instores Now |
SOCRATIC
- JUST TURN [DRIVE-THRU]
If you were a Piebald fan, or dig Ted Leo
& The Pharmacists, then chances are you already dig Socratic.
Quirky, piano power-pop by nature, the band is soon to release a
second full length, but to tie everyone over, the band released
this EP. You can download it free, or pick up a physical copy, and
with them coming to visit on Soundwave this month, the price is
sure right! While these tracks don't have the instant appeal that
'Lunch For The Sky' did on my ears, they are definitely growers.
You'd expect it to be overly cheesy if you just go by the happy
music, but listen to the lyrics and there are some great lines on
offer. The vocals are a treat to listen to as always and the overall
product just oozes good vibes. Well worth grabbing, just so you
can bop along to the tunes when you watch them live.
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Instores Now
Touring March |
BEDOUIN
SOUNDCLASH - STREET GOSPELS [SIDEONEDUMMY]
It's hard to believe this Canadian three-piece
are still relatively unknown on our shores, given their music provides
the perfect soundtrack for a lazy summer afternoon. Smooth reggae
/ dub with rock / punk influence is what they serve up, and you'll
be hard pressed to find anyone serving it up better than this. Massive
back home in Canada, hopefully their popularity is boosted when
they tour here next month. If you can get your hands on this album,
you will want to go to a show. You can chill to it, you can sing
along with ease and it just oozes off a positive vibe, leaving you
happier having sat through it. From it's anthemic tracks like 'St.
Andrews' and 'Walls Fall Down' to the acapella track 'Hush' and
the sweet sounds of '12.59 Lullaby' and 'Trinco Dog' you'll be struggling
to find a dud track on this album, So much diversity while still
maintaining a common bond throughout the tracks, these guys have
created something special. This is the summer soundtrack to chilling
out, get onboard now, I'm sure you will not be disappointed.
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Instores Now |
THE
GETAWAY PLAN - OTHER VOICES, OTHER ROOMS [BOOMTOWN]
A debut album is always a big deal for a band,
so these Melbourne lads threw it all on the table and went to the
US to record this album. The result is a very schmick production,
worth every cent in that department. The thing I remember from previous
releases was the potential in the vocal department, something they've
obviously worked on as for the most part the vocals are again the
highlight of the release, aside from the atrocious screaming that
still makes momentary appearances at totally unnecessary moments.
Thankfully it is only minimal, but for songs like 'Sleep Spindles'
it ruins the whole song. 'Shadows' is the album's highlight, an
instantly memorable track. 'Entr'acte' is in an odd position at
track 9, I would've thought best place for an intermission to seperate
the apparent two parts of the album would've been after 'Shadows'
because it's from then on it seems to flatten out as the band tries
a few different sounds and styles. Good effort for a debut album,
very much helped along by a great production, however there is still
plenty of work to be done to find out just where they want to be
sound wise, some parts work really well, others don't. If they find
the right balance, then look out.
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ANGELAS
DISH - WAR ON TIME [BNM]
After a few EP's these Central Coast lads
can now add a full length album to the notches on their belt. Their
sound is a dynamic power-pop affair, putting them amongst a pretty
populated scene at the moment. They've obviously kept a close eye
on the styling's of bands like Kisschasy and Something With Numbers,
their influence comes through pretty clearly and you can tell those
are the footsteps these guys are aiming to follow. The production
is well suited to the style, very polished, but not over the top
and a pretty natural vibe is given off, which is always a good thing.
The lacking ingredient here though is the memorable hook, there
are plenty of catchy parts on offer, but very few that make you
stand up and take notice. With a style that has been and always
will be done by so many, you really need those big hooks to stand
out, which is why you see bands like Kisschasy doing just that.
These guys say they are in no rush, so if they keep on truckin'
they might just find that ingredient, for the moment though, they've
created an album that is consistent from start to finish, but without
those hooks it does tend to become very samey the further you progress.
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Instores Now |
VARIOUS
- MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE JUNO [RHINO]
Soundtracks are always touch and go affairs,
some become 'must haves' and bring songs back from the dead, and
others just.. well don't. Having not seen this film yet, I don't
have too much to go off, but a quick skimming of the track list
and it looks like an indie kid's wet dream. Names like Sonic Youth,
Belle & Sebastian, Cat Power etc. The theme that runs throughout
seems to be 'stripped back, and sing-along'. The majority of tracks
are not what i'd usually listen to, but the majority of them were
very listenable, a few covers appear as well, no slaughtering of
classics from the likes of Bowie. Kimya Dawson of The Moldy Peaches
get's a number of tracks, all pretty entertaining. Everything probably
makes a whole lot more sense once you add the imagery of the movie,
but as a counterpart, it makes for not a bad listen.
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Instores Feb
18 |
BOYS
LIKE GIRLS - BOYS LIKE GIRLS [COLUMBIA]
Their impending tour has meant the dust has
been brushed off this two year old release and it'll be released
locally next week. It's one of those albums that you really need
to listen to in very small doses, otherwise it becomes totally unbearable.
It's very 'by the book' pop-punk for the acne generation. They don't
seem to offer anything that hasn't been done before, a million times,
but they do manage to save themselves due to the fact it's not as
painful as the likes of Good Charlotte / Simple Plan. When you pluck
out a track or two and just listen once, it's bearable, but the
token whiney vocal starts being about as fun as nails down a blackboard
after about 3-4 songs in a row.
|
|
| THE
BEER SCALE |
| |
Beer
is good, this though, was not. |
|
Like
a match with no head, didn't spark a flame. |
|
Not
bad, give it a go, might appeal to you. |
|
Solid
effort, worthy of a spot in your collection. |
|
The
beer can wait, go buy this now! |
| |
Don't
just take our word for it, our thoughts aren't the be all and end
all and are just that, our thoughts, go check out these new releases
for yourself and make up your own mind! |
| UPCOMING
RELEASES |
FEBRUARY
11 - City And Colour - Bring Me Your
Love
11 - Jim Ward - Quiet [Order]
11 - The Reason - Things Couldn't Be
Better
11 - The Getaway Plan - Other Voices,
Other Rooms
11 - Bullet For My Valentine - Scream,
Aim, Fire [Order]
11 - Cradle Of Filth - Harder, Darker,
Faster [Order]
11 - Plain White T's - Every Second Counts
(Tour Edition) [Order]
11 - Mae - Singularity [Order]
11- Various - Pee Approved #4 [Order]
11 - Various - Soundwave 2008 [Order]
11 - Lior - Corner Of An Endless Road
[Pre-Order]
16 - Down To Nothing - Unbreakable [Pre-Order]
18 - Time Again - Darker Days [Pre-Order]
18 - Boys Like Girls - S/T [Pre-Order]
18 - Scary Kids Scaring Kids - S/T [Pre-Order]
18 - Simple Plan - Simple Plan [Pre-Order]
18 - Isis - Not In The Rivers
18 - This Is Hell - Misfortunes [Pre-Order]
23 - The Starting Line - Direction
23 - Dirtbombs - We Have You Surrounded
[Pre-Order]
23 - Kottonmouth Kings - Greatest Highs
[Pre-Order]
23 - Various - The Alternative Album
Box Set
25 - Rocket From The Crypt - R.I.P [CD/DVD]
[Pre-Order]
25 - Receiving End Of Sirens - The Earth
Sings Mi Fa Mi
25 - The Dear Hunter - Act II: The Meaning
Of....
25 - Envy On The Coast - Lucy Gray
25 - My Disco - Paradise [Pre-Order]
MARCH
3 - Our Last Night - The Ghosts Among
Us
3 - Billy Bragg - Mr Love And Justice
3 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig,
Lazarus, Dig!!! [Pre-Order]
3 - Die! Die! Die! - Promises, Promises
8 - As Tall As Lions - As Tall As Lions
8 - Angela's Dish - War On Time [Pre-Order]
8 - In The Face Of War - We Make Our
Own Luck
10 - Gyroscope - Breed Obsession [CD/DVD]
10 - Moneen - DVD
10 - Presidents Of The USA - These Are
Good Times People
10 - Her Nightmare - Come Anarchy, Come
Ruin
10 - Less Than Jake - Losers, Kings..
[Re-Issue]
10 - Less Than Jake - Pezcore [Re-Issue]
10 - Less Than Jake - Goodbye Blue &
White [Re-Issue]
10 - Less Than Jake - Peoples History
Of [DVD Re-Issue]
10 - Jeff Buckley - Live From The Road
[CD/DVD] [Pre-Order]
10 - Mike Patton - A Perfect Place [CD/DVD]
15 - The Matches - A Band In Hope
17 - Spazzys - Title TBA
17 - DeVotchKa - A Mad & Faithful
Telling
22 - Millencolin - Machine 15
22 - Even - Even [Pre-Order]
29 - Pennywise - Title TBA
31 - Anti-Flag - The Bright Lights Of
America
APRIL
7 - Bad Religion - New Maps Of Hell [Deluxe
Edition]
21 - Story Of The Year - The Black Swan
Details are correct to the best of our knowledge
at time of publishing, some titles might hit shelves 2-3 days before
the published release date, if you have a date to submit or correct,
email us! |
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 |
REGULAR
JOHN - THE DEVIL'S MELODY
A two track single from these Sydney rock lads. Don't be discouraged
by the average quality of the artwork, if you like your rock, dirty
and sweaty without a sniff of textbook 'how to be on the radio'
generic influence, then these guys are for you. It's raw, it's rough,
it's rock... how it should be. Grab a beer, lean against the bar
and swig this down.
[MYSPACE]
[LABEL]
[BUY
ONLINE] |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
 |
LOUIS
XIV - SLICK DOGS AND PONIES
Garage rock from the US that probably should remain restricted to
the confines of the garage. My patience was tested and I struggled
to get through a full song. Nothing really stands out as a highlight,
the vocals are annoying before the third song even kicks in and
it just keeps going downhill from there.
[WEBSITE]
[LABEL]
[BUY
ONLINE] |
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