NYS Music 20​16

Tag: Album Review

  • Hearing Aide: Wray ‘Hypatia’

    Wray Hypathia AlbumUpon first listen, it would be easy to mistake Birmingham, Alabama’s Wray for a band from Birmingham, England. The initial chords of Wray‘s sophomore release, Hypatia start the listener on a shoegazing journey back to the London scene of the early 1990s.

    Bands such as Lush, Ride, My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary Chain were the prominent purveyors of the scene then and are obvious influences for Wray today. But while many of those earlier bands dealt in the drone of dark introspection, one can easily see the members of Wray (lead singer/bass player David Brown, guitarist David Swatzell, and drummer Blake Wimberly) pogoing along with the audience, especially during songs like “Regular.”

    Reverb-drenched guitars are at the forefront here, recalling Link Wray’s surf style guitar in several spots throughout the album.

    The title song is a song where one could imagine the audience singing along with Brown. The song opens with a heavy steady drum beat that is maintained throughout with a chord structure reminiscent of The Cure‘s “Just Like Heaven” with a slight Feelies sway.wray

    All earlier references aside, Wray is surely a band that will resonate with fans of The National, My Morning Jacket and Silversun Pickups. While deeply rooted in the sounds of 90s London, Wray distinguishes itself with an American take on the shoegazer sound by mixing in a bit of southern jangle pop, establishing a unique sound in today’s indie rock scene. Wray is currently touring in support of Hypatia.

    Key Tracks: Hypatia, May 23rd, Regular

    https://vimeo.com/144731589

  • Hearing Aide: Hands Like Houses “Dissonants”

    dissonantsAustralian rock band, Hands Like Houses, will be releasing their third studio album Feb. 26. Trenton Woodlley, Matt Cooper, Alex Pearson, Joel Tyrrell and Matt Parkitny entered the studio in March for the first time since the release of Reimagine in 2014. Dissonants will be released on Rise Records.

    Frontman Trenton Woodlley addressed the band’s relief and excitement to end their fans wait:

    We’re feeling a powerful mix of relief and excitement in finally releasing Dissonants. We knew from pretty early on that this album would make us or it would break us — and it nearly did. But we were honest with ourselves, each other and most importantly, the music, adopting the mantra, ‘It’s better to get this right, than to just get it done.’ And we’re proud to finally say that we’ve done both.”

    The band released a teaser from the album in March 2015. “I Am” is the first single from Dissonants and also the first track on the record. The entry into this song reminds me of the opening credits of a romantic comedy from the ’90s; it seems light and fun. The feeling lasts for about 10 seconds and then we realize, these guys are for real. The deeper I fell into this track, I realized their are many levels to this song, and so many different elements to love. The slow build up in instrumentals to the chorus grabs the listener’s attention as if to say, “you better be ready for what happens next.” In the bridge, Trenton sings, “I will melt into a choir of angels,” and for a brief moment we hear a choir singing with him. It is the smallest detail but was perfect and chilling. I found myself wondering what was going to happen next and loving every minute of it. This is the song that introduced me to Hands like Houses, and the song that made me a fan.

    “Colourblind” is the most recently released single from the album. The beat of this track may seem more upbeat than the previous songs on the album. However, the song holds a very deep meaning. It is a song that separates these rock musicians from the pretty pop princesses of this generation. It is a song with soul. The band described “Colourblind” on their Facebook page:

    (The song is) about our cultural obsession with binary ideas — we are black or white, right or wrong. We’re so caught up, we forget that we live in a world of color.”

    Hands Like Houses took a different approach with “Momentary” and “Division Symbols,” allowing the tracks to stand out. I fell in love with the way “Division Symbols” enters with a piano and continues the riff throughout the song. The tenderness of the piano allowed me to feel an emotional pull towards the song before even hearing the lyrics. Using a similar soft approach, the beginning verse of “Momentary” is quiet and gentle. And then suddenly the song bursts into the chorus.

    Dissonants is an excellent display of the passion that separates the good artists from the great ones. Each track contrasts well with the previous one to make listening to this album a rush of emotional highs and lows. The lyrics blend with the instrumentals perfectly to prove every moment was choreographed and not just thrown together. I believe fans of Hands Like Houses will find this album worth the wait.

    The album is available to pre-order on iTunes.

    Key Tracks: “I Am,” “Colourblind,” “Division Symbols,” “Degrees of Separation”

  • Hearing Aide: Gone Gone Beyond

    Gone Gone BeyondPicture a small, dimly lit venue with a dusty stage in the back. The ambiance is quite relaxed; the space is occupied, but not packed. There is minimal chatter between young music-lovers who appreciate innovative music and ideas. The crowd vibes in time to a conglomeration of folk, indie, and electronic sounds. This is the mental imagery that could conceivably accompany Gone Gone Beyond’s self-titled debut album.

    Danny Musengo’s raw, captivating vocals are quite prominent throughout the album. The raspy timbre of his voice coupled with the soul behind each note keeps the audience holding onto each syllable.

    “Back Swing’s” electric guitar sounds haunting with the echo distortion and open melodic intervals. More unique instrumentation includes a growly trumpet harmony and violin. “Carnival” nicely juxtaposes what sounds like acoustic piano with electronic percussion. It’s got a flair of EDM with a dance groove towards the end that gives the a song cool ‘B’ section. “Under Seige” implements the innocent female vocals of Colibri which gives the track a refreshing quality.

    Gone Gone Beyond says that the subject matter of their lyrics stems from life, nature, and love- The Human Experience. “Here for A Moment” highlights that love and life are both fleeting, and Musengo sings that he’s “here for a moment, then floating away.” The repetition of the line allows for the layers to build and solidify the concept. In “Ain’t Givin’ Up On Love,” it’s obvious the quest for love is ongoing and shouldn’t be missed out on. The longest and final track called “Long Day” is the longest track in the collection. This song seems to represent life as a whole as life can be thought of as one lengthy day. While lyrics touch on children growing older and seemingly unrequited love, the instrumentals say it all. The soft lull and highs and lows paint an aural picture of the ups and downs of life.

    It is evident that David Block (producer) put a great deal of time and energy into writing and blending each of the compositional elements. The majority of tracks are just over five minutes long, which deviates from the standard four minute norm. There is more consideration for development of phrases and transitions between different ideas, which ultimately takes more time than a regular indie or folk song. Each song begins with a very sparse texture and builds throughout incorporating more and more instruments. The choice of instrumentation and musicianship of the players are what make this album enticing to listen to. Traditional band instruments like guitar and piano are combined with flute, violin, trumpet, double bass, synthesized sounds, and steel pan. Each instrument has a specific purpose and isn’t incorporated for the novelty of doing so.

    This album is quite artistic in creation and the hard work of perfecting each of the elements is very apparent. Check the album out on SoundCloud and Bandcamp!

    Key Tracks: Back Swing, Long Day, Ain’t Givin Up On Love

  • Hearing Aide: Mayve ‘Animals’ EP

    MayveFresh off of Long Island came some hot bagels and Mayve’s new EP entitled Animals. Mayve, pronounced like the Irish first name “Maeve” and not to rhyme with “maybe,” got the inspiration for their name from lead singer Nick Micheline; he liked his little cousin Mayve’s first name. The band is comprised of five guys and they’ve been playing together for a few years. Back in 2012, they were featured on “Rick’s Rising Stars.” On the show, Rick Eberle talks about the best upcoming artists in the local scene. This indie pop band fits the standard rock band archetype instrumentation-wise with some synthesizer ornamenting the band’s recordings.

    They’re currently unsigned to a record label, but the EP was recorded with the help of Rocky Gallo, who has engineered a number of records with many artists like John Legend, Andrew Bird, Jim Wolf, and more.

    Songs like “Hearts on Fire” and “Talking to Myself” aren’t new to their repertoire and have been performed since 2014. But it seems like they’ve compiled five of their more recent original recordings as a marketing tactic to get their songs out there as a unit.

    Overall, the lead singer sounds a bit like Andrew McMahon from Jack’s Mannequin and has a little flair of pop punk with his pronunciation of some lyrics. Almost all of the songs have melismatic repetitive phrases which make them easy for listeners to learn and sing along to. No one in the band primarily specializes on synthesizer, (based on the band’s social media and music videos) but the synth definitely helps augment the sound and give it that edgy pop sound.

    “Hearts on Fire” is all about love, which is the predominant subject matter in each of their tracks. The band sounds much like The 1975, especially with the bright guitar timbre on this track. The lead singer talks about young love and how no one can take that love away. In “Higher,” the idea of animalistic desires as per the EP title is evident in the lyrics with lines like “My body’s taking over; your body’s taking me higher and higher.” The tune has background group vocals singing “higher and higher” throughout which aurally reinforces the lyrics. “Magic” is the only slower song in the lineup, and uses an acoustic guitar to highlight the emotion behind the words. This song also has backing harmonies, which adds some nice texture to the tune.

    The band’s sound is not terribly unique; they sound like a generic indie/pop band. This is just the beginning of their time in the music business with the release of the EP and they have a lot of room to grow. They need to expand beyond what they’re doing both stylistically and instrumentally. They all sound like they are very proficient players, and the production quality is quite high, but they need something to make themselves stand out in a sea of many similar-sounding bands. It will be interesting to see what creative direction they take moving forward.

    This EP is available for free listening on SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and Spotify, and for purchase on iTunes.

    Key Tracks: Talking to Myself, Hearts on Fire, West Coast

    [embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDrjLlw-d2U[/embedyt]