I can’t remember the last time I was this excited for new music from one of my favorite bands! Only 10 days to go until their new album To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere is released via Vagrant Records/BMG, and only 1 month away Thrice plays the tri-state area!
Check out the music video for “Black Honey”and local dates below
6/16 New York NY @ PlayStation Theater
6/17 Philadelphia PA @ The Fillmore
6/18 Sayreville NJ @ Starland Ballroom
6/19 Boston MA @ House of Blues
Disturbed is touring in support of their massive #1 album Immortalized, which marked the end of the Grammy-nominated group’s 4-year hiatus and became their fifth consecutive album to debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, a rare feat achieve by only one other hard rock band in the history of the chart: Metallica. The album has already boasted two huge No. 1 Active Rock singles in “The Vengeful One” and “The Light,” and now the group’s haunting version of Simon & Garfunkel’s classic “The Sound of Silence” is poised to continue the dominance. The track is already climbing the charts and has now earned over 12 million YouTube views in just a couple of months.
Disturbed and Rob Zombie have announced a co-headline tour for May 2016. Ahead of that, Disturbed are gearing up to kick off their first tour following their 4-year hiatus, starting in the U.S. in Fargo, ND on February 10 and taking them on an almost entirely sold out run through North America to headlining slots at major festivals across the U.S., U.K., and Europe.
I can’t stand when you try to talk music to some people and after you name a few bands, they say something like “Oh, I don’t listen to new music.” That’s like saying you don’t enjoy breathing fresh air, or you’re perfectly happy watching reruns of Friends for the rest of your life. If you do only one new thing today, let it be discovering a new band. And if you trust TNT, let that band be Good Graeff.
I had the pleasure of seeing Good Graeff live at Bowery Ballroom open for Mates of State along with Hey Marseilles in July. Comprised of twin sisters Brook (guitar & lead vocals) and Brit (cello & backup vocals), Good Graeff is the perfect pair. They have such an upbeat, fun energy on stage, and so original. It sounds like every experience in their lives have influenced the music – from winning a battle of the bands together in high school together, to living apart for a few years (being a twin myself, I think this really helps twins learn who they are as individuals by ditching the ever-bounding secondary names “the twins,” “the girls,” or “you two.”) to reconnecting in Hanoi, Vietnam teaching English, hosting motorcycle tours in the countryside, and best of all, playing music together again.
Their music captured so many genres that it doesn’t feel right to pick just one. Folk, rock, indie, punk, pop, indie, southern rock – I heard a bit of everything throughout their set. Think of an upbeat Tegan and Sara without the synth blended with Kimya Dawson and Jenny Lewis, add a band, and it’s fun like the Spin Doctors or Veruca Salt. My favorite song on their EP Good Job Go is “I Want That” but unsuspected song “Topeka” that was played stole the show for me. Maybe because I was not expecting that sound or because it’s such a crowd pleaser that I ended up shouting “Topeka” where I thought it was needed. They kept the crowd engaged and laughing in-between songs. I loved that they added Spider Man to the guest list at the door because, hey, you never know, it’s New York and Peter Parker may be having a slow night. I predict a bright musical future for Good Graeff.
See them live when you get the chance, but in the mean time grab a copy of the Good Job Go EP. Check out their Bandcamp page here, their Facebook page here, their website here, and the only video could find featuring “Topeka” here.
You know that wonderful feeling you get when you discover a new song to obsess over and share with the world? Yeah you do. Well, the most recent one for me is Skipping Girl Vinegar’s latest song “Dance Again.” It’s a little early to tell, but this may just be my song of the summer. The video reminds me that I better get a move on skydiving lessons, this way I can jump solo and be awesome/dance again in my golden years. Skipping Girl Vinegar plays music that will simply make you smile, I guess one can file that under the genre of indie pop. Their music is for fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Of Monsters and Men, think Neon Trees meets American Authors and/or Walk the Moon. Take it or leave it, those are my thoughts.
I saw the video on EARMILK here last month and it’s been on every playlist I’ve created since. The band name is an ode to the oldest neon sign in Australia, in their hometown Melbourne. “Dance Again” is the lead single off their new album The Great Wave, which officially dropped on April 3rd and was produced by Brad Jones.
You may remember Skipping Girl Vinegar from CMJ 2012; the band took a hiatus afterwards. Reflecting on the events that led up to The Great Wave, singer/songwriter Mark Lang explains, “The last two years have seen us travel from the heights of radio and agents opening up for the band in the US, to the crashing heartbreak of my wife being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. We put the record and everything else on hold, went to ground and focused all our love and energy onto her, and thankfully – we are one of the fortunate ones. What I valued and prioritized previously had now shifted, affecting the very core of how I wanted to communicate through music”
I will say that The Herald Sun, ‘Album Of The Week’ said it perfectly: “‘Dance Again‘ is the sound of an ear-to-ear smile bursting out of your speakers.” Skipping Girl Vinegar plays music that will simply make you smile.
Enjoy and share!
TNT
“All The Way” features the band being kidnapped and turned into a product of “the man.” Check it out above and keep an eye out for their self-titled debut album, recorded by Keith Armstrong (Rise Against, Bruce Springsteen).
By Angela Blasi
Airacuda is an NJ based alternative rock band tearing it up all over Massachusetts. Having met at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, the group formed in 2011 and released their first self-titled album produced and mixed by Dom Morley in December of 2012. It is available for purchase and streaming here: https://airacuda.bandcamp.com/album/airacuda.
Airacuda is composed of members Eddie Takumi Ruddick on bass, backing vocals, keyboards & violin, Matt Fernicola on guitar, Matt Menges doing vocals, rhythm guitar & keyboards, Roland Greco holding down the back line on drums and Phil Marphlak on guitar& bass.
A light and airy rhythm dignified by a simple melody with lots of momentum, it’s easy to listen to and even harder to turn off. Overall, the guitar work is fantastic; complex like the work of a seasoned musician but without being overly technical. The opening track is “Cannonball,” and being a fan of ska the introduction of the saxophone hooked me. It’s a clean sound and a great introduction into the rest of the album. Menges invites us to jump in all-together lyrically, and metaphorically speaking the track does just that as the listener delves seamlessly into the next track “Exit Left (Drive to You)”. There are harmonies on this track that are crisp and well placed to bolster the overall sound into a true listening experience. The third track “Can I Get By” swings right from the first moment you put it on and continues right through to the ending guitar riffs. Maybe I’m just a huge fan of the horns, but it adds a nice element that engages the ever-popular head bob in me, the listener. The music makes me want to move, so I imagine this song is a lot of fun to dance to at a live show. It almost has a Beatles-like quality, reminiscent of “With A Little Help From My Friends.” “Lies” feels distinctly more chaotic with more of an edgier rock vibe. A flurry of rhythmic chaos hits us in the opening few seconds only to lead into a steady beat with ominous energy behind it. The addition of a female vocalist on this number is a refreshing change of pace and compliments the tone while meshing voices to create a robust harmony for audible delights. The rest of the album is rounded out nicely by the sultry melody and saxophone on tracks like “Winter Blues” and “Nightlife.” Even when contemplating the mundane suburban existence in “Pulses” the music never fails to get the listener grooving with its uplifted tonality. The album ends with the relaxed sounds of “Summer Sun” and “Who Are You.”
Airacuda’s sound gels really nicely without being messy and overcomplicated. It has the steady roll that defines rock n’ roll while the music is rounded out with the bands own touch of alternative spice. I appreciate the level of musicianship coming together in this band because they do not need much adornment or technical help to create an engaging and enjoyable sound. It reminds me of something that may be categorized as easy listening, but with much more backbone and style. The players are solid and the lead vocal melodies are defined by colorful tones. I look forward to seeing the evolution of their sound and what direction the music takes.
Review by Angela Blasi
After eight years quietly producing other Australian acts and working behind the scenes in the music industry, Daniel Johns has finally reemerged with the beginnings of an upcoming solo album. With the acclaimed Silverchair on indefinite hiatus, Johns has collaborated with Joel Little and Eleven: A Music Company to create an EP sampling the highly anticipated full album release in March 2015. Not to be confused as a standalone single, “Aerial Love” serves as the appetizer of what promises to be a musical feast. Once compared to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Johns has hit our anticipating ears with a soulful and sultry piece of pop music. Described as ‘synthetic yet sensual’ in its press release, it’s definitely not what I was expecting from the rock star I have come to know and love. At first listen, a steady eighth note beat leads us right into the velvet of his voice proclaiming, “Oh I’m ready.” That steady one, two, three, four wraps itself up cozily into your pulse to keep your head bobbing the entire ride. The lyrics themselves were simpler and more straightforward than anything else I was used to from earlier work. Devoid of cryptic messages, “Aerial Love” is an honest, simple tune with repetitive stanzas and rhythms that don’t stagnate. It’s a bare-bones track with little instrumentation featuring vocal harmonies that make the song feel thick with charisma and romance. I’ve always appreciated Johns voice and his willingness to create outside of what he’s previously done and this is no exception. At face value, it’s a love song featuring dynamic use of falsetto, a steady beat and touches of pop synthetics to create the kind of song I’d turn the lights down and unwind to.
The music video seeks to capture the essence of the song using drone technology to tell the story of desert wandering lovers from a truly aerial perspective. Directed by Lorin Askill (Flume & Chet Faker, Phoenix, Sia’s Chandelier [editor]), the video replicates the song’s weightless, timeless, slyly carnal feel.
