Thurdeen

For as long as he can remember, Thurdeen’s life has been filled with music. His earliest memories were trips in the car while AM radio played. A few years later he began waking up early on Sunday mornings to fill out the music club insert in the paper, praying his parents would let him join. “Twelve albums for a penny! That’s a good deal!” Never happened. His neighborhood friends and he would have rock quizzes – first one to ten was the winner. Sample question: Name seven songs from The Rolling Stones “Tattoo You.” Any money he had was spent on music and he spent hours dubbing tapes from friends. Aside from the dubbing tapes part, not much has changed. Having progressed from 8 Tracks to vinyl to tapes to cds to downloads, music remains Thurdeen’s passion and he’s thrilled to be part of Froglix.

Marcus Lives, and So Does GoldRat

England, featured artists, GoldRat, London, punk, reviews, rock, United Kingdom, unsigned 5 Responses »

Jun 092011

artist: Gold Rat | genre: punk, rock | label: unsigned

listen now: Marcus Lives

Our friends at GoldRat have sent us a new song, just in time for summer. “Marcus Lives” effortlessly flips the switch from angular guitar rock to straight ahead pounder. I dug GoldRat the first time around, but in the short time that’s passed, I’m impressed with the strides they’ve made. Their sound is tighter and more confident and I love their ability to go to the edge of completely losing their minds, but remain just short of bedlam. The relaxed vibe I dug remains, there’s a smooth chorus, the guitar parts in the bridge are excellent, and it seems like “Marcus Lives” finds another gear around the 1:45 mark. All of it keeps me excited about GoldRat and lands them on my summer Ipod mix. Well done, guys.

- Thurdeen

Breaking Free

alternative, Colorado, Denver, electronica, featured artists, Modern Art Records, rock, synth pop, The Chain Gang of 1974, videos 2 Responses »

Mar 142011

artist: The Chain Gang of 1974 | genre: alternative, synth, pop
label: Modern Art Records

The Chain Gang of 1974 is Kamtin Mohager. His blog (http://thechaingangof1974.tumblr.com/) is filled with some of his favorite songs from artists like Sneaker Pimps, Talk Talk, Oasis and Smashing Pumpkins. Viewing it was revisiting music over the last 25 years and I clicked page after page to see what else I’d find.

Beyond his varied taste, Kamtin creates his own music and that is where additional fun can be found. Heavily influenced by 80s synth pop and named by Spin as one of the 35 artists to watch for at SXSW this year, The Chain Gang Of 1974 will release his debut album in June. Watch the official videos for “We At The Disco” (echoes of Nitzer Ebb and Nine Inch Nails) and “Hold On,” with a tweaked-out borrowing of a line from Fleetwood Mac’s “Never Going Back Again.” Should be interesting to see what the debut sounds like. Stay tuned.

- Thurdeen

Taking Me To School

Byzanite, chiptune, electronica, featured artists, hardcore, reviews, trance, United Kingdom, unsigned, Wales 2 Responses »

Mar 112011

artist: Byzanite
genre: electronica, chiptune, trance
label: unsigned

Oh music, I am your eager pupil and you rarely disappoint me. Today I learned about a genre I’d never heard of. It’s called chiptune and one of its practitioners is Ben Paulsen, from Wales, who goes by the musical name Byzanite! On his MySpace page (www.myspace.com/byzanite), Ben says chiptune is also referred to as 8-bit/80′s game music and is “music that is made on a step-sequencer running on a games console, preferably a console from the 80′s. In the most common case, it’s a GameBoy.” Okay, let me get this straight, he’s making music on a Nintendo Game Boy? I couldn’t even get past level 4 on Mario Brothers and he’s turning out tunes with his? I’m intrigued, but what’s it sound like?

You won’t find much in the way of vocals, but Byzanite creates dance-ready anthems like “Enigma,” with its relentless pulse, chiming electronics and ray-gun sounding effects. “Panic Attack!” struck me as what a thunderstorm in hell would sound like. “Homebase” features pauses and starts, yet never stops coming. The thing I took away from Byzanite’s music was how cool it sounded when played loudly and how impressive the movements and sequences were. The songs may not hit you immediately, but additional listenings bring the rewards. Byzanite’s music is layered, a bit hypnotic and definitely exciting. Plus, he seems like a good guy, as he writes on his myspace page: “if you wanna know how i make my music, or you just want some help in making your own music, don’t be afraid to message or comment me…i will get back to you as fast as i can: YOU WILL NOT BE IGNORED!” Honestly, it’s hard to ignore music as creative as this. If you like electronica, seek out Byzanite.

- Thurdeen

Getting Frenched Feels So Good

alt-rock, alternative, featured artists, France, Kesshin, Paris, punk, rock, unsigned 1 Response »

Mar 102011

artist: Kesshin | genre: alternative, punk, rock | label: unsigned

Kesshin are a three piece hailing from Paris who sing in English and whose music has been featured in the video game Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. They play fast, feature shouted vocals and thick, chunky guitars that remind me of early Green Day, Social Distortion and Bad Religion.

A new EP, For Too Long Now, is available and offers fantastic tracks like Young, Brilliant and Alone” (I didn’t realize my middle school days had inspired a song), which clearly invites the Green Day comparison, but the stomping rhythm and the way they stumble into the chorus makes it Kesshin’s own. I love the power of their songs. They are tight and sound terribly confident on Final Report, which was in my face immediately. I loved the way the song gets to a point where it’s just the singer and the bass, then the drums come roaring in again. The best thing about “A Thing Or Two” is when they double track the singer’s voice. It’s almost like they have to do that, since the band is playing such blistering stuff behind him. The rapid-fire attack of the guitars in “Killed In Action” make it their best song.

Kesshin are a bit of a mystery, however. Unsigned, they don’t have a dedicated site and I wasn’t able to find any upcoming tour dates. Too bad, as I’ll I bet they are sick live. The only place I could find their music was at their mypace page, www.myspace.com/kesshintheband, where you can hear the songs from Splinter Cell Chaos Theory and a bunch more. I need more information on Kesshin, because what I’ve heard is really, really good.

- Thurdeen

What’s In A Name?

featured artists, In Vogue Records, metal, Rhode Island, rock, Sleep City No Responses »

Mar 072011

artist: Sleep City | genre: post hardcore | label: InVogue Records

Rhode Island’s Sleep City have just signed to InVogue Records and their debut EP, Still Breathing, dropped on February 8. Through the course of seven songs, these boys swing a heavy hammer and aren’t afraid to unleash the mayhem.

A song like “The Road To Awe (Xibalba)” throws you around the room a few times before before gently setting you back down with a cool acoustic outro. “The Five And A Half Minute Hallway” arrives with booming drums and screaming lyrics before dissolving into guttural bellowing. It gallops along at a furious pace until the 1:55 mark, when things slow down, almost like they’re catching their breath, before a cool interlude with great drumming and an electronic beat, only to slip into total chaos again. It’s my favorite track and I love their ability to keep things together even when the music is at its most intense.

Sleep City got me fired up. Hearing them made me want to go out and try and run through a wall, or at least hit one really hard. I’m excited about them and can’t wait for a full-length. In the meantime, find a slew of upcoming tour dates at http://www.myspace.com/sleepcityrock/shows. Dig it.

- Thurdeen

Picture This

alternative, California, featured artists, new release, Picture Atlantic, reviews, rock, San Jose, unsigned, videos 1 Response »

Feb 252011

artist: Picture Atlantic | genre: alternative, rock | label: unsigned

I like what I hear from San Jose California’s Picture Atlantic. They’re an American band with a definite English influence, which perhaps played a role in Coldplay selecting them to open one of their San Jose shows. Or maybe Coldplay took a shine to singer Nikolaus Bartunek’s falsetto, which often sounds like Chris Martin’s.

Around since 2006, Picture Atlantic have released two albums and three EPs, with their most recent EP, When Everything Is Numbers, arriving in December of last year. The EP features the ridiculously-good opener, “Joust,” which flits and floats and immediately burrowed into my brain. Other stellar tracks featured on their myspace page (www.myspace.com/pictureatlantic) include the slow intensity of “Beehive,” the sadness and longing of “Air,” and “Wrapped Up,” and the punch of “Guerilla” (video above) and “Muses.” Picture Atlantic show strength in a variety of styles and the ability to deliver memorable songs. Can’t argue with that.

Check their website, www.pictureatlantic.com, for upcoming Cali shows and to listen to the latest EP. And if the day comes when they’re big-time, you can tell your friends, “oh yeah, man, Picture Atlantic, I go way back with those guys.” These guys are worth your time.

- Thurdeen

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