NYS Music 20​12

Category: Reviews

  • Thunder Body raises the bar with their new release “Wind Blows Harder”

    Thunder Body is holding nothing back folks! Their first full length album is not only good, it has become my album of the year. All of this transpired in the last month of the year! Like in most year end polls, this tends to happen. Never fails after you have already written your list.

    Wind Blows Harder was released on the band’s own Medicine Hi Fi label, and is one of the most ambitious sound scape oriented records that I heard in the last few years. The thing that makes it such an essential piece of music is the fact that it merges the live show experimentalism of the band with the highest capabilities possible within a studio. The effect is a successful attempt to inject the slow dubbed out and floating impact that the live show brings to the table. I am not sure if this was the plan. In either case, it is a picture perfect representation of what Thunder Body is right now! It is a portrait of a band that is at a creative level that most of their peers will find to be elite!

    The opening track of Wind Blows Harder, “Come What May,” is so catchy and bouncy that it truly makes me want to break dance. It is easily one of my favorite tracks on this record, and possibly of the year. Thunder Body gets locked into such transcendent grooves, that the only way for the music to go is out. It is a formula of intuitiveness that seems to be the signature purpose on this track and many other greats here. Another example of this exuberance is captured on a song like Buffalo, where the band gets tight, locked in, and drifting in each passing second. It is an expansion of a sound you may know, but it’s originality is undeniable. Sonically, it is calming and yet trippy at the same time.

    The album is also great from a lyrical standpoint. Some of these songs are fun, and some deliver a message that is spiritual in some way. Thunder Body is great in the examination of universal themes. On “Ancestors,” Matt O’Brien delivers the soulful homage to family lineage with the delivery of, “and we all want to be remembered some day.” Of course, it is about giving respect as he carries on with “ This one’s for ancestor’s spirits. We’re gonna build it up strong so they can hear it.” A lot of the record includes very intelligent observations on life and the human condition. The message is contagious, infectious, and inspirational in one positive swoop.

    Thunder Body has IT! They offer a glowing orb of joy for you, and yet, it is hard to fully explain how they get you to that place. I try my best to put it into words, but it is truly difficult to give it the total justice that it deserves. So I will leave it at this, Wind Blows Harder, is a pivotal moment of time within the Rochester music scene. It essentially sets the bar for how high a band should aim to make themselves the best that they can be. Thunder Body has released a classic, and it I feel it will be recognized as such.

    website: http://thunderbody.com
    facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thunderbody
    available on I-Tunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wind-blows-harder/id491596820 

  • METHOS “Revelation” is skull crushing, aggressive

    METHOS “Revelation” is skull crushing, aggressive

    With a bunch of the sludgy melodic metal bands that I am asked to review, a common theme is coming to the surface. It is one that some bands have full awareness of, while others do not. It is called the “Mastodon Effect.” I define the Mastodon Effect as the trickling down of Mastodon’s influence to bands that would be considered their national peers. In turn, bands on a regional level search out their favorite era of the band and find the joy and greatness that lies within. Then a local band will find that influence in a regional band they have appreciation of. Hence, the band has no idea how much they have been under that spell. In some cases, unknowingly, the comparisons are made…and the band says…what? I say this, it depends on the album you are listening to. Furthermore, they do not hear it within themselves. Obviously, this is the trend of all music, in all eras, at all times. However, we can not deny that this is happening now with the new crop of hungry bands that are on the rise. And to be honest, if that is who you are to be compared to, it is not a bad thing.

    There are many bands that meet this criteria that are downright awful. However, Buffalo based Methos, is not one of those bands. They sound like a lot of the bands they would list as influences. However, I picked out the passed down range referenced in my first paragraph. Their debut CD is highly original, and a sure fire ass kicker! The recently released, Revelation, is an all out attack on the senses. It is both creative in scope, and masterful beyond the band’s years. The message of gloom and doom is present and in your face, and the music’s progressive aggression pushes it along so well.

    It was easiest to pick out my favorite tracks on this album. I will start with “One Foot In The Grave,” which delivers skull crushing balance while announcing apocalyptic insight. I am one who truly understands a statement like, “We are the children ff the world. With One Foot In The Grave.” Of course, this statement is highly relevant today. Especially when compounded with a lyrical boast of, “Finding the brightest light, like moths to an open flame. Burn all the heretics, no one left here to blame.” It is a strong message on the highest of levels. Many of these tracks are cautionary and unapologetic in their prophetic nature. On the track “Empty Inside,” the talented band continues it’s a collective combo of aural assault and verbal discourse. Singer Shawn Beagle howls, “I see the scars on your face, its your affliction. w2And your fall from grace, its a benediction.” To this I say, fuck yes! You are right!

    Aside from the great music that makes up this disc, the cover art is something of extraordinary value in it self.  The “Revelation” artwork was designed by PoltArt Illustrations , whose work has been featured with bands such as Lamb of God, Born of Osiris, Veil of Maya, Nightshade, Twisted.

    The whole package is recommended. Pick it up or download it soon. Here’s to another great band on the rise in Upstate New York. Cheers!

    -Erik Jensen

  • Dopapod releases new album ‘Drawn Onward’

    Dopapod releases new album ‘Drawn Onward’

    Dopapod’s second album Drawn Onward was released on Christmas Day for free on their website as a present to their fans who wanted a little something funky while they opened up their presents. The album is a gift to the fans and represents a shift in their sound from electronic to slightly funkier sound with a strong dance groove carrying throughout the album. The quartet is touring the Northeast in February, then down to Florida and working their way up the coast before returning for more shows up north as well as the upcoming festival season.

    Produced by Eli Walker, Dave Brandwein (Galaxy Smith), and Dopapod and recorded at The Bunker Studio Brooklyn, NY, Drawn Onward retains the live Dopapod sound but presents a more danceable album than their last release I saw live Dopapod evil was I. Throughout the album you may find yourself grooving to the music, moving to the beat in your car or during your workout, all while absorbing a fluid collection of their latest road-tested recording.

    drawn onwardThe album starts off with Turnin Knobs, a dancey, 70s style funk number straight out of Boogie Nights followed by Black and White with its climactic keys and drums. Nuggy Jawson has a sense of Umphrey’s McGee and Billy Joel grandeur as the song builds into an early 80s prog rock crescendo. French Bowling is woven with an underlying classical composition, akin to a Beethoven theme throughout with a fierce bass line punctuating the track. Onionhead is a highlight, centering on house music in the vein of Bisco with strong keys, drums and bass accentuated by a ripping guitar leading the melody. Roid Rage bring a few horns into the mix, a welcome addition to the band’s sound and results in a very involving and layered number which requires a second listen to catch all that they put into this track. Bats in the Cave has a jazzy, 70s style funkability, providing a full album of dance tracks that will assuredly be played with great improvisation in the coming tour.

    You can download the album for free at dopapod.com and pick up a hard copy of the CD for $10.

    Catch them at Jillians in Albany on Thursday, February 16th.

    Key tracks: Turnin knobs, French Bowling, Onionhead

    Watch the video for French Bowling.
    [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/34205718 w=400&h=225]

    Dopapod – French Bowling from curtis peel. on Vimeo.