What do you get when you mix Euro-electro pop, punk, and the inevitable angst and energy of two teenagers? You get Carbon Airways.
I first heard Carbon Airways when I got an email from their label, Bad Life, about the release of their Razor Edge EP. I was completely enthralled by the French teenage brother and sister combo of Enguérand and Éléonore Fernese. The frenetic energy bleeds through your speakers and permeates your mind. I can imagine that seeing this act live would be a psyche altering event.
This “preview” video below of “Atomic Is In My Mind” showcases exactly what I’m talking about.
Projects akin to Sounds Like Brisbane provide an invaluable service to the indie music lover. It gives an opportunity to check out a bunch of pre-vetted bands quickly and at no risk. Who wants to lay down hard cash on some obscure band you’ve never heard before? For me, a similar project in 2005 called the Labrador Summer Sampler from Labrador Records totally opened my ears to a whole new world of music. I found bands I still follow today. SLB has done the same thing.
So, what exactly does Brisbane sound like? If you judge by the electic mix of artists on the Sounds Like Brisbane sampler…well, Brisbane sounds like anything the hell you want it to. Punk, folk, pop, rock, rap, whatever. From SLB Froglix has made mention, reviewed or played DZ Deathrays, I Heart Hiroshima, The Medics, Carry Nation, Texas Tea, Undead Apes, and more.
Today I introduce Regurgitator. This is not my usual cup of tea; but, their difference to what we’ve covered on here before is precisely what showcases the musical diversity of this city. And besides, I find the video for “All Fake Everything” incredibly amusing.
artist:Out Like Pluto | album:Take Cover | genre:pop-punk, alt-rock | label: The James Polk Shuffle Music
The very first line from the bio on their own web sites goes, “Out Like Pluto is not here to revolutionize music, but they do want to make you dance.” And to that I say, “Thank you!” We all know fun music when we hear it. We want to sing along to our music. We want to tap our feet. We DO NOT want to have to think about it to appreciate it. With a couple years of writing music reviews under my belt, I’ve decided that whenever somebody describes their music as “experimental” what they mean to say is, “Here is some crap for you to waste five minutes of your life listening to.” No thank you! Out Like Pluto is NOT experimental. As they self-describe themselves, they deliver on the tried-and-true. It’s foot-tapping, catchy, but super strong alt-rock. From watching some clips on YouTube of them performing live, you can tell they are just having fun, and it’s contagious. And there is nothing wrong with music just being fun. In fact, it’s what makes me like these guys so much.
The latest album Take Cover came out last January from this Seattle five-piece. First formed by Andy (drums) and Kari (vox), the Out Like Pluto lineup is flushed out with Mike and Ben (guitar) and Jeremy (bass). The first single off the album, “Bridge”, is featured in the video above. My other favorites include “Placebo (Turn Me On)” and “Starring John Stamos”. “Papercut” also stands out as it showcases a softer side of Kari’s voice accompanied by strings, and in the process shows just how strong her singing really is. Every track on the album will make you feel good though. So, yeah, it’s nothing earth-shattering, and it’s very nostalgic of alt-rock from the 90’s…. but we all love the alt-rock from the 90’s, and besides, feeling good is exactly what I want in 2012.
Labour Day is fast approaching likewise, coincidentally, the end of Summer 2012. If they haven’t already done so, young chitlins, angst ridden teens and future college drop outs all around the world will soon be starting their Fall classes and, thus, ending life as they know it. Fortunately for these wayward yutes there is a new album dropping from Oregon’s Attack Ships on Fire that should help in tiding them over until…well…with their limited attention spans Thanksgiving might be a stretch but I think Halloween is in the bag for sure. The (12) tracks that encompass the Pride of Portland’s third album entitled Vegas Soul were actually inspired by a new book from author P Moss called VegasKnockout that is due to drop on Sept. 6th as is album #3 from the aforementioned ASoF.
We got a sneak peek…err listen…to the album’s title track and it’s delovely. Driven doesn’t even begin to describe it. This one, my friends, comes at you fast and furious with a musical double tap that is true pandalerium. I freaking love it…sounds a bit like Coheed and Cambria meets the Sex Pistols but that’s what I dig about it.
Many thanks to our friends at SquidHat Records for sharing the love. Peace…
[itunes link=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-descendants/id293375772?uo=4″ title=”Descendents on iTunes”]
Ever wonder where the emo-punk got it’s start? Contrary to what Billy Joe may think, it wasn’t Green Day. Sorry to disappoint but, while they were prolific early adopters of the genre, it was actually a band nearly (400) miles to the south in Hermosa Beach, CA that many point to as the true founders of melodic hardcore. Descendents got their start in 1978 but it wasn’t until a few years later that I discovered them on a fateful “unauthorized” Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. Certain details of the trip are still a bit fuzzy but what I do remember was my buddy Ted “Under the Table” Levendosky turning me on to Milo and the boys doing their rendition of “Wendy” by the Beach Boys. Epic. Some of my other personal favs from their 1986 release entitled Enjoy! are “Sour Grapes”, “80s Girl” and “Get the Time”.
Regrettably, there is hardly any decent live footage or video from the band’s earlier work but the vid above for “I’m the One” found on 1996’s Everything Sucks disc is very much representative of the simple punk genius that is Descendents. Dig it.
We’ve tallied all the Thumbs Up’s and Thumbs Down’s for the month of October and the Froglix listeners have proven to have quite the diversity of tastes. Forty-five (45) tracks from thirty-three (33) artists received votes, but alas, not everyone can be a winner. Represented in the Top Ten alone though are artists we have described before as rock, modern rock, alternative rock, Brit alt-rock, ambient, electro, electronica, indie pop, ska, power ska, reggae, punk, post-punk, singer/songwriter, and actually quite a bit more. So without further ado…take a listen to October’s favorites…
[itunes link=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/drunk-not-dead/id467901242?uo=4″ title=”Get it on iTunes…”]
It’s Halloween, my pretties, so it seems rather fitting that we pimp a little pychobilly fromThe Brains. The uncensored video for “Screaming” (above) is from their just released Drunk Not Dead album so if you digz it click the iTunes link above and get you some.
Stay safe this evening and if you hear something go bump in the night, fret not…it’s only Froglix and we don’t bite…much. Mmmwoo hah haha!
artist:SIMPL3JACK | genre:punk | label:Holy War Entertainment
Dig it…new vid from S3K! BTW…this is not a cover a Silver Chair’s “Tomorrow” so if that’s what you were exepecting we are more than happy to disappoint. These cats are not only onto something…they are on the rise fo sho.
This past week saw the return of record temps here in these the Eastern United States. Officially it’s still Spring but there is no doubt Lord Summer is here and, apparently, he’s pissed. It’s freaking hot out there my friends. To combat the unpleasantness of the weather this past week, your friends at Froglix offered up some cool jams.
New music from Race You There kicked things off this past week as Drago dropped the 411 on this the latest addition to the broadcast. Thurdeen followed shortly thereafter with the downlow on GoldRat’s newest single, “Marcus Lives” and we topped it all off with an epic featuring The Stone Roses.
Check back next week for some cool tuneage…
My morning drive today came courtesy of a “care” package that we recently received from our friends at Stomp Records. I had recently conversed with Stomp’s Mike Magee over email and mentioned that we really liked what they were doing and would love to hear from them. Bang! The package arrived yesterday and I could hardly wait to pop the disks in the CD player.
Started with the punk-polka (that’s right, I said polka) of The Dreadnoughts, next came the reggae/dub sounds of The Aggrolites, followed by Third-wave ska/punk of The Creepshow and The Resignators and washed it all down with the rockabilly/punk stylings of The Brains. My life will never be the same again.