Rock

Only Through the Pain

8/11/2008
in
Trapt
John Berkowitz

Trapt's third album, Only Through the Pain, captures the high energy rock feel throughout. It's heartfelt and diverse, warranting a reward to the listener. There's a bit of a hard rock feel and edge to the opening tracks, as Trapt hits the ground running with explosions. The middle evolves to a slower and ambient foreshadowing of hope that holds constant throughout, with the slight glitch of that earlier grit coming through.

Only Through the Pain as a whole proves that Trapt is coming into their own and promotes the potential of growth for which, I'm sure, Trapt strives.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

New Beginning

8/8/2008
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Sonya Kahn
Marie J. Pellegrino

Sonya Kahn's introduction into the international music scene comes with New Beginning. She is a classically trained musician with a penchant for writing unique songs. She might not have created the genre, but she does break a few of the rules. To classify what she does, the best I could do is "rock opera." She combines her classical training with modern rock to create something very grand, showy, and soundtrack?like. Her vocals are brilliant and powerful. The songs might not be considered great by everyone, but the songs are interesting, amazing, and some are kind of addicting.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.50Stars

Evil Urges

8/7/2008
in
My Morning Jacket
Ray Padgett

Year by year, album by album, My Morning Jacket have slowly been raising their profile as leaders of the so-called roots revival. Marathon shows across the country have solidified their reputation as one of the country's premier live acts, aided by a four hour midnight show at this year's Bonnaroo and a New Years Eve show at Madison Square Garden sure to be just as epic. Throughout their ten years, songwriter Jim James has led them from alt-country to electro-funk, and they indulge both directions on their fifth release, Evil Urges.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

If You Know What I Mean

8/4/2008
in
The Gallery
Marie J. Pellegrino

The Gallery is not much different from several other bands in the industry, but they might have the potential to be more, or at least it seems like that with the 10 track album, If You Know What I Mean. They fit into the category that many pop rock bands fit into these days. Some riffs are good and add a bit of a punch to these songs right away. There is some variation between the tracks that shows their potential to become better. There are not many slow tracks, but many tracks that are not necessarily the ones that cause fans to jump up and down.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

Weezer (Red Album)

7/28/2008
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Weezer
Ray Padgett

Reviews of Weezer's recent albums have been mixed at best. But by "recent albums," fans mean their last three . . . out of five total. Despite many hit singles since, many regard the band's first two albums, Weezer [the Blue Album] and Pinkerton, as the herald of '90s pre-emo and wonder with every subsequent release if the band will recapture the magic of their short-lived glory days.

Four albums on, they still haven't.

Reviewer Rating: 
1.50Stars

Pure Hearing

7/27/2008
in
Career Club
John Berkowitz

Career Club's Pure Hearing is upbeat, with its tracks sort of clamoring together to create a nice rhythmic sound. It's fast paced and rocks hard, as Career Club communicates a familiar sound similar to other bands alike out there and its predecessors. Not just in the instrumentals, but even in the vocals, certain notes achieved resemble that of some of the most popular bands in recent memory.

Reviewer Rating: 
3.50Stars

Cheat the Gallows

7/23/2008
in
Bigelf
Marie J. Pellegrino

Cheat the Gallows reminds me of old classic rock and roll that would be heard at an open?field concert. Bigelf creates songs that have a grandiose sound and would make a powerful impact on audiences when performed. Their songs also have this soundtrack and rock opera quality. However, as entertaining as a performance of these songs would be, I think there is not much difference in the melodies of each song. Sometimes it sounds like it is one long song; a little more variation would be nice.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars

Real Animal

7/16/2008
in
Alejandro Escovedo
Ray Padgett

Though not a household name, Texan singer Alejandro Escovedo has been cultivating an underground following for almost 30 years. He can claim Steve Earle and Bruce Springsteen as fans, and his newest disc draws connections to both.

From Springsteen there's the belief in the redemptive power of rock

Reviewer Rating: 
3.50Stars

The Bird and the Bee Sides

7/12/2008
in
Relient K
Ray Padgett

Having broken out of the Christian rock circuit several years ago, Relient K has been teetering on the brink of MTV acceptance ever since. As an under-hyped and underwhelming follow-up to 2007's Five Score and Seven Years Ago, new release The Bird and the Bee Sides won't push these pop-punkers any closer to that TRL carpet.

To be fair, this is not a new album in any official sense. Though it's plenty long ? 24 tracks ?

Reviewer Rating: 
2.00Stars

Independence Day

7/5/2008
in
Foster Child
Marie J. Pellegrino

Independence Day is a straight rock album and it's impossible to deny it; however, it does remind me of real late '80s to mid '90s rock that fans piled into stadiums, arenas, or outdoor festivals to enjoy. While there are a few hit-worthy tracks off of Foster Child's album, the full result is one slightly better than mediocrity. Many of the tracks are repetitive and a few sound very similar.

Reviewer Rating: 
4.00Stars
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