artist: Damn Vandals | genre: alt-rock | label: unsigned

New music is already on the way in 2012 from our favourite/rehabilitated juvenile delinquents from Great Britain.  We are pleased as punch that Damn Vandals have a new EP that is expected to drop at the end of February.  We can’t wait to hear it.

Previous Posts featuring Damn Vandals: Crodile Rocks, OuterSound and Vandalism at it’s Finest.

- Drago

Is it the Christmas season already?? I know the holiday decorations now go up the day after Halloween; but, I personally refuse to acknowledge them until after the fourth Thursday of November. Well now that date has passed and Christmas actually is just a month away, so even though I’m a bit of a Grinch, let us all enjoy a bit of Christmas tunage together.

Summer Fiction delivers their gift to the season in their usual wrappings of baroque pop with “Christmas Eve For Two”. This has all the hallmarks of a classic Christmas pop song…subtle sleigh bells in the chorus, mentions of snowflakes, Santa, mistletoe and “kissin’ by the glow of Christmas lights”. What else could you want?

- DMitch

artist: Eureka Stockade | genre: alt-rock, alt-country | label: Cracking Tunes

This just in… Eureka Stockade, my favorite alt-country band from the other side of the pond have just released their latest single “All Alone”. As with their previous tracks we’ve shared here, the sound feels much more like Georgia or Tennessee rather than England’s Cambridge. But between the steel guitar (which I’m always a sucker for), the ambiance set by the cello, the joyous drumming, and the earnestness felt in the Michael Stipe-like vocals…I don’t really care where they are from.

Once again, Eureka Stockade deliver well crafted musicianship, meaningful lyrics, and a soulful delivery. Talent, genuineness, uniqueness. Across all genres, those are the qualities we applaud here at Froglix.

- DMitch

“It’s Americana-ish!” is how Andy Hawk describes his latest studio effort with the Train Wreck Endings and if you’ve heard any of their previous work you’d find it hard to put them into one specific category or genre too.  This, my friends, is a talented group of musicians that effortlessly blends folk, blues and rock into their own special brand of truly American music.

artist: Grimus | album: Egretta: As If It's Real | genre: alternative | label: SpaceRay Music

I had been anxiously awaiting the new full-fledged album from the Romanian alternative rock outfit Grimus, and so I was very excited when I was sent a preview of it a few weeks ago. Egretta: As If It's Real turns out to be a complete body of work showcasing the full range of talent from this Transylvanian six-piece. It’s worldwide release is still a few more weeks away so I’ll be sure to remind you when you can get it for yourself. You can also check out three (3) tracks off the album (“Started” review, “Face The Light” review, “Vanity” post) we have already featured on Froglix Radio. But I want to focus now on the stand-out tracks we hadn’t heard yet.

From the very first track, “Cave” delivers everything I’ve come to expect from Grimus. Pulsing guitar, driving drum beats, simple but solid melodies with perfectly subtle harmonies. It’s a perfect introduction to what this band is all about. And I was so pleased that the first track was just as solid as all their previously released singles. It’s not an album of their hits mixed with fodder. This was a sign to me that the whole album would be worth listening to. And I wasn’t disapponted.
Grimus – Cave (clip)

Grimus continues to impress me with tracks like “Nature Falls”. A poetic bent on lyrics are all too often missing from popular music and is always greatly appreciated by yours truly. The start of this song paints such a vivid picture of our universal desire to be free; and I can’t do it justice by recounting it here so you’ll have to take a listen for yourself. Then after the scene is set, the harmonies drive it in, internalizing that yearning personally for me. This is easily one of my favorite tracks on the album.
Grimus – Nature Falls (clip)

The track “Egretta” takes on a bit of a different mood from Grimus’ other singles. One thing I love about Grimus is the feeling of angst they can deliver without falling into the typical “emo” clichés. The title track brings a calmer angst making it feel all the more heartfelt. The lyrics “…all I was trying to say to you…” feel sincere. Indeed, all Grimus is trying to say to us in this album feels sincere. For me, this is one of the must-have albums of the year.
Grimus – Egretta (clip)

- DMitch

artist: Grimus | genre: alternative, indie-rock | label: SpaceRay Music | iTunes:

We are pleased to add to rotation the latest single, “Vanity” from Grimus. The single is part of the Romanian purveyors of rock upcoming album Egretta, set to be released mid-October, so look for a full review then. We can’t wait to hear more!

- DMitch

Froglix has recently received word that the Treading Lemmings, fresh off their righteous gig at Philadelphia's Hard Rock Cafe (photo above), are putting the finishing touches on some new material.  Front man Christopher Quinn tells us that they are on track to have at least (4) new songs completed by summer's end and we, of course, are rather looking forward to taking a listen.  No doubt they'll be solid as we've come to expect nothing less from them.  (No pressure gentlemen).

-Drago

Twangy/alt-country type guitars set against a swing/shuffle riddims equals Hand Painted Swinger’s new single, “Medicine Cabinet.” It’s cow-punk gone wild!

Click the play button below to check it out here, catch it as part of the global broadcast or, better yet, pick it up on iTunes!

listen now: Medicine Cabinet

get it now on:

- Drago

artist: Eureka Stockade | genre: alt-rock | label: Cracking Tunes

Check ‘em out on

listen now:
Without You    Violence

I had to do some double checking of things with Eureka Stockade. For example, are they really from Cambridge? The one in England?? I have to say, the sound is quite American to me. The pedal steel guitar playing a prominent role in “Without You” does make me think Nashville. And other tracks like “Violence” and “All Alone” made me seriously wonder if they could be from Athens, Georgia. I actually did double check….it’s still Cambridge, England.

And with tracks titled “All Alone”, “Without You”, and “Through Every Darkness”, one might be afraid these could be country-western songs where you lost your job, your wife, and worst of all your dog. Don’t worry; they aren’t. Eureka Stockade is a solid four piece, delivering vocally driven, well-crafted, alt-rock tunes with a decent range of different sounds. “Without You”, with that pedal steel guitar is a masterful acoustic ballad and really is a bit country. “Violence” is on the other end of their spectrum, being more Athens-inspired rock. If you like both of these tracks, then you should be happy with everything in between.

- DMitch

artist: Grimus | genre: alternative, indie-rock | label: SpaceRay Music

listen now: Face The Light

iTunes:

My favorite band from Romania (ok…the only band I know from there) have a new single out, and once again Grimus delivers in spades. “Face The Light” draws you in from the beginning with its steady drum intro and progressive chord changes and then builds into their signature angst driven melodies. Again, a comparison to The Killers is fair, but as I stated in my first review of Grimus, the sound is their own refined mix of rock and mood.

As I also mentioned in my first review, I have yet to hear a track from them that I don’t like. You really need to check out Grimus on iTunes and support the best alternative rock band from Romania.

- DMitch