Driven Far Off

The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.

June – Make It Blur

By Leave a Comment

Make It Blur

Artist: June
Album: Make It Blur
Label: Victory Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: August 7th, 2007

Overall: 7.5
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 6.5
Production: 8.5

On this their sophomore effort for Victory Records, June has broken new ground and redefined their sound. From the opening powerful pop-rocker “No Time for Sense” to the piano tinged single “I’d Lose Myself” it’s evident that this is a band coming into their own. Each song truly has it’s own unique identity, and the record as a whole merely doesn’t just bleed together and become forgettable. If their last record, If You Speak Any Faster was the foundation for their sound then Make It Blur makes for the sleek and sturdy walls. I can’t wait to hear how they build upon this.

Recommended if you like: mainstream alternative radio-rock without the stigma attached.

Track Listing
1. No Time for Sense
2. Finally
3. Tempter
4. Closer
5. Your Shadow
6. I’d Lose Myself
7. Just Don’t Let Go
8. Machine and the Line
9. Swallowed
10. A Taste
11. Sight for Sore Eyes
12. Southpoint

Motion City Soundtrack – Even If It Kills Me

By 2 Comments

Motion City Soundtrack

Artist: Motion City Soundtrack
Album: Even If It Kills Me
Label: Epitaph
Purchase: Interpunk
Release Date: September 18, 2007

Overall: 9.0
Music: 9.5
Lyrics: 9.0
Production: 9.0

The Minneapolis based quintet, known as Motion City Soundtrack (or MCS for short), have unleashed their new album, Even If It Kills Me and its filled with witty lyrics, bouncing bass, and of course all the moog sounds your brain desires. The band headed to New York City in the early part of this year to write and record their third studio album for Epitaph Records.

Opening the album is the fast paced “Fell In Love Without You” and it certainly feels like your listening to a Motion City Soundtrack song with the fast guitars and moog hitting your ears almost instantly. Justin’s voice feels clean and focused while the drums beat fast and the nerd rock guitars belt out a crazy belch of goodness. “This Is For Real” continues things with a bouncing bass and drum intro followed by something I would only expect to hear out of Justin’s mouth “I’ve got emotion drippin out my pores”. “This Is For Real” carries that classic MCS sound with lyrics you’ll be singing along to in no time. “It Had To Be You” brings in a bit of a new sound with a mixture of piano and some wonderful “Woo Ooo’s” which fit right into this songs great melody. A slower intro on “Last Night” is calming and also includes some more piano bits. I feel like this song is a story and Justin is sitting next to me reading it, is that crazy or wicked cool that it could make me feel this way?

Upon first hearing “Calling All Cops” I didn’t know what to think of the song. Justin’s voice seems to stay in one key throughout the entire song and its a bit slower then the average MCS tune. Listening to this song more is the cure to not liking it at first, the moog parts are catchy, the bass is bouncing and the melody is soothing yet uplifting. This song even includes strings at certain parts, and I have to say it sounds amazing. On “The Conversation” Justin dives into his heart and pulls out a soft sad story wrapped in emotion. This slow song is a first for MCS, no guitars, bass, drums, or moog, just Justin and a piano.

“Broken Heart” brings things back up to speed with the line “I’ll start this broken heart, I’ll fix it up so it will work again, better then before” followed by a catchy drum line and raging guitars and bass. “Hello Helicopter” is another slower song incorporating a mix of acoustic guitar and strings wrapped in a soft yet upbeat package. You’ll find yourself singing along to this song no time, I just have to wonder how it would go down in a live show.

“Point Of Extinction” is a song I expect to see Justin doing his jittery robot moves too. Its quirky guitar parts and body moving abilities make this song feel like a classic upbeat MCS tune. “Antonia” is filled with more lyrics about a girl then one might desire to hear in a three minuet span. However the way they are put together is rather unique and pleasant, you feel like you know this girl by time the song is done. Wrapping up the album is the title track “Even If It Kills Me.” Its soft guitar intro is complimented by a beat box effect before the rest of the band chimes in. You can feel a difference in Justin’s voice on this song, its clean, confident and better then I think I’ve ever heard it. The moog, bouncy bass, beat box, soft guitar and everything else in this song play so well with Justin’s voice this song became my favorite on the album. There is no way you can listen to this track and not belt out the lyrics, tap your foot, and possibly just get up and play some air guitar all at the same time.

If you listen to this album once through and feel like MCS has changed, well then you are right. The guys are fine tuning their sound, style, lyrics, and even their voices for this release. I found myself falling in love with it a bit more every time I listened.

Track Listing
1. Fell In Love Without You
2. This Is For Real
3. It Had To Be You
4. Last Night
5. Calling All Cops
6. Can’t Finish What You Started
7. The Conversation
8. Broken Heart
9. Hello Helicopter
10. Where I Belong
11. Point Of Extinction
12. Antonia
13. Even If It Kills Me

Four Year Strong – Rise Or Die Trying

By 2 Comments

Four Year Strong

Artist: Four Year Strong
Album: Rise or Die Trying
Label: I Surrender Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: Sept. 18th, 2007

Overall: 8.5
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 9

You are driving down the highway with the windows down. The warm, polluted air is rushing against your face. You stick your left hand out the window and you feel the various bugs smacking against your palm. The radio is filled with male enhancement commercials, lousy news-reporting, and mainstream music that will make you let go of the steering wheel and take a step closer towards your death. The sound of passing cars and impatient honking is growing tiresome. You want something to pop into the CD player that is going to take you away from this dreadful highway filled with too many potholes. You want something that will take you away from the hopelessness you felt this morning when you put that bland t-shirt over your head. You want something catchy enough to make you sing-along as loud as your post-puberty voice can go. Something that will uplift and strip away the hopelessness and replace it with humble fun. Are you ready to rise up and find the band that you so desperately need to discover or will you die trying and listen to whatever filth is on the radio for the rest of your life?

Four Year Strong released their debut full-length on September 18th entitled “Rise or Die Trying”, which is not to be mistaken for 50 Cent’s “Get Rich or Die Tryin”. Surely there must be something worth dying for besides getting rich. Four Year Strong hails from Massachusetts and they packed their debut with eleven songs filled with catchy choruses, relative and hopeful lyrics, upbeat song structures, and out-of-nowhere breakdowns.

You just found out your favorite dog has been recruited into dog fighting by Michael Vick’s colleagues. Listen to “Catastrophe” and you’ll find yourself pumped up when you are calling the police, but only to be put on hold for twenty minutes. Your girlfriend of a year has dumped you via text message. Listen to “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hell” and you’ll find yourself searching Facebook for a new lady to charm with your good looks and arsenal of magic tricks. Each song on “Rise or Die Trying” is filled with simple, yet relatable lyrics that will rain down nostalgia.

It’s impossible to listen to this record without walking away with a surge of energy and a smile across your pampered face. The songs have been packed with kicks, punches, and taser guns (incase you speak up against John Kerry). The breakdowns come out of no where and will serve as sober man’s cocaine (rehab is too expensive to waste away but he needs an energy boost). The choruses are as catchy as when “mmmBop” was blasting from thousands of minivans across America in 1996.

Four Year Strong has released a solid debut that will leave an impression on listeners and critics around the world. “Rise or Die Trying” is a fun record that will leave you in a wonderful mood, even if your boyfriend broke up with you and you have a school paper due tomorrow on something you’ve never heard of.

Track Listing:
1. The Takeover
2. Prepare To Be Digitally Manipulated
3. Abandon Ship Or Abandon All Hope
4. Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
5. Wrecked ‘Em? Damn Near Killed ‘Em
6. Catastrophe
7. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Hell
8. Bada Bing! Wit’ A Pipe!
9. Beatdown in the Key of Happy
10. If He’s Here, Who’s Runnin’ Hell?
11. Maniac (R.O.D.)

The Dangerous Summer – If You Could Only Keep Me Alive

By 2 Comments

The Dangerous Summer

Artist: The Dangerous Summer
Album: If You Could Only Keep Me Alive
Label: Hopeless
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: August 21st, 2007

Overall: 7.5
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 7.5
Production: 7.0

The Dangerous Summer’s debut EP is a mix of catchy rock and powerful vocals. From the first song, “I Would Stay” you can hear a difference in this band compared to others. The vocals ring out and the power and emotions come with them, filling your ears with a never ending delight. This EP caters to those looking for an upbeat tune (“The Permanent Rain”, “Here We Are After Dark”) and those looking for a song to sing along to (“Home”).

Recommended if you like: A new band to sing along to, catchy rock, Amber Pacific, All Time Low.

Track Listing
1. I Would Stay
2. The Permanent Rain
3. Here We Are After Dark
4. Wake Up
5. Home
6. Disconnect
7. Of Confidence

Dropout Year – Best Friends For Never

By 2 Comments

Dropout Year

Artist: Dropout Year
Album: Best Friends for Never
Label: None
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: June 12th, 2007

Overall: 9.0
Music: 9.5
Lyrics: 8.5
Production: 9.0

Dropout Year, obscure though this Maryland-based band may be, is certainly comparable to or perhaps more appealing in sound than a great deal of mainstream bands of the rock genre. It would seem that being unsigned would in different aspects hinder a band in producing music. However, within their EP “Seven Unreturned Phone Calls” and even more so in their new EP “Best Friends for Never”, Dropout Year fails to hold anything back. Every track off of this new EP is singularly unique, each with a very defining sound, none sounding like the next. Since “Seven Unreturned Phone Calls”, lead vocalist Adam Henderson’s voice’s range, ability, and sound overall has matured and improved. The backup vocals along with Henderson’s create a unique harmony, especially apparent in the choruses of most of the tracks. Quality of the instrumentals is also very high, and also truly defines Dropout Year’s sound. The bass of this band meshes very well with the drums, and the guitar really branches out. It would be unfair to select only a couple of the eight tracks as notable, since each seemed to me to be really enjoyable and distinctive. This band seems to understand the concept that putting out a few exceptional tracks trumps producing several mediocre songs, as not one of the eight songs off of “Best Friends for Never” can be branded “mediocre”. The only typical aspect of Dropout Year’s music is their lyrical focus on mostly love, angst, and heartbreak, and even in this they have found a new way to express old feelings, with their both clever and poetic words. Overall production of this album is obviously great. To fans of Amber Pacific, bands similar, or of rock music in general, be sure to listen to Dropout Year’s new EP “Best Friends for Never”!

Track Listing
1. From Across The Room
2. As You Wish
3. It Wasn’t Over, It Still Isn’t Over
4. A Coming Of Age Story
5. Confetti
6. Biggest Fan
7. Hold On Tight
8. Best Friends For Never

Every Avenue – Ah!

By 1 Comment

Ah!

Artist: Every Avenue
Album: Ah!
Label: Fearless Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: August 14th, 2007

Overall: 8.5
Music: 9.0
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 7.0

Earlier this summer following a string of shows my friends’ band emerged from The Wolverine State exclaiming about a group known as Every Avenue. Coincidently it was only weeks later that the news broke of the their signing to Fearless Records. Since the groups inception in ’03 Every Avenue has worked persistently to make the music they love and standout in the fledgling Midwest pop-punk scene. As it’s vividly shown on the band’s latest EP entitled Ah!they are the real deal.

Each second of the opener “One More Song” encompasses everything that a listener could ever want in a three minute pop-rock gem. From the driving anthem-like chorus to the succinctly timed handclaps, proving that there is more than one song that can be sung along to on this debut (it’s actually six). The single “Where Were You” is the standout track, and for good reason as the melodically gripping sound completely takes you over. The synth-fused track “Nothing” is all hooks and no nonsense, showing signs of influences from their pop-punk predecessors such as Fall Out Boy. “Picking Up the Pieces” showcases Every Avenue’s more gradual side, as the song keeps a bouncy yet mid-tempo beat.

The band’s sense of style and diversity in sound only continues, as they continue to impress more on “Think of You Later (Empty Room).” With its soaring choruses, mixture of relentless electric guitars and haunting acoustic; big natural drums and intangible digital beats. “Getting Out” bring Ah! to a dynamic close, as this EP serves just to give a taste of what Every Avenue is capable of. Building momentum and excitement for the band and their many heartfelt true-to-life song that can almost be heard on the horizon. With their debut full length likely to drop next year, we can expect not only a growth musically but in the number of people listening to that music.

Track List
1. One More Song
2. Where Were You
3. Nothing
4. Picking Up the Pieces
5. Think of You Later (Empty Room)
6. Getting Out

City Sleeps – Not An Angle

By 4 Comments

City Sleeps

Artist: City Sleeps
Album: Not An Angle
Label: Trustkill
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: October 9, 2007

Overall: 9.0
Music: 9.0
Lyrics: 8.5
Production: 9.5

Note: This album was originally set for release in 2006. The original post date for this review was July 25, 2006.

I was a little put off when I first popped this CD in to play. However, I didn’t know what to expect from City Sleeps because I had never heard them before. “Hotel” is the bands first studio album which was originally set to be released on April 4th, 2006 on Maverick/Warner Records. “Check In” threw me off a bit but when twisted into “Prototype” I was pleasantly pleased. One thing I enjoyed most about the CD was the fact that all the songs flowed very well from one another. That got me thinking about how well a slower song would transform but they had no problem with doing that from “Walkers Ridge” to “Ordinary High” as well as from “I Can’t Make You Love Me” to “Andrea.” Somewhat pop with dashes of rock thrown in and a few screams here and there but nothing to be discouraged about. After listening over a few times it’s become a favorite of mine. Once you listen, you won’t be able to stop until it’s through. And, even then you’ll be lucky if you don’t start all over again.

Track Listing
1. Hotel
2. Prototype
3. Just Another Day
4. Not An Angel
5. Walker’s Ridge
6. Ordinary High
7. I Can’t Make You Love Me
8. Andrea
9. Bones
10. Be A Man
11. Sleep With Me
12. Check Out

Mustard Plug – In Black and White

By Leave a Comment

Mustard Plug

Artist: Mustard Plug
Album: In Black and White
Label: Hopeless Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: September 11, 2007

Overall: 9.0
Music: 9.0
Lyrics: 9.0
Production: 9.0

They’re one of ska favorites and with 14 years under their belt you can’t doubt them now. After releasing their greatest hit cd in 2005 Mustard Plug picks up where they left off from Yellow #5, and continues to push the boundaries for punk-ska music. Favorite among ska listeners, Mustard Plug have been creating a buzz with this album since they announced they were in the recording studio and “Hit Me! Hit Me!” and “Over the Edge” got out. If you never heard of Mustard Plug, you should get acquainted. Their new album In Black and White highlights years of playing and hard work making it an album that pulls all of their influences and inspirations and displaying their signature punk-ska sound. Hooray for third wave ska.

Track Listing
1. Who Benefits?
2. Over the Edge
3. Hit Me! Hit Me!
4. Time To Wake Up
5. Something New
6. You Can’t Go Back
7. Life is Too Short
8. Copasetic
9. On and On
10. Tell Me
11. Puddle of Blood
12. Real Rat Bastard
13. What You Say

The Narrator-All That to the Wall

By Leave a Comment

The Narrator

Artist: The Narrator
Album: All That to the Wall
Label: Flameshovel
Purchase: Insound
Release Date: May 15, 2007

Overall: 9.0
Music: 9.0
Lyrics: 9.0
Production: 9.0

I like The Narrator. I like their sound. If you have never heard of them before this review I suggest you go out get the record and then finish reading this review. This three-piece band hails from all parts of the U.S but call Chicago their home. From the start of the record with “Son of the Son of the Kiss of Death,” “SurfJew,” to the ending with “Chocolate Windchimes” All That to the Wall is filled with lyrics that will make you miss the past but keep you guessing about your future, as you grow older. They also have a Bob Dylan cover of “All the Tired Horses” which is the only real flaw on the record, but everything else is great. I’ll keep this review short and simple before I keep rambling on and make up some weird shit, but until you listen to the record, you will understand why. .

Track Listing:
1. Son of the Son of the Kiss
2. August 32nd
3. Speeding Up the Gang
4.SurfJew
5.Panic at Puppy Beach
6. All the Tired Horses
7. Start Parking
8. Papal Airways
9. Breaking the Turtle
10. A Decade in Kentucky
11. Chocolate Windchimes

Powerspace – The Kicks of Passion

By 5 Comments

Powerspace

Artist: Powerspace
Album: The Kicks of Passion
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: July 31, 2007

Overall: 9.0
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 8.5
Production: 9.5

Powerspace’s recently released album, The Kicks of Passion, is, for lack of a better word to describe a mostly indescribable band, phenomenal, especially considering this is the power pop band’s first full-length album. The album combines the upbeat, melodic qualities of pop and the modern-sounding quality of techno to create a refreshing, unique sound. Frontman Alec’s voice is wide-ranged as far as pitch, clear, and overall appealing. The instrumental music, guitar in particular, is very well written and meshes very well with the vocals and lyrics to create a very distinguishing sound. The optimistic sound that all of their songs, even those set out to express negative feelings, seem to carry, sets Powerspace apart from a lot of bands currently popular in the rock industry that seem to come off as more angst-filled. The lyrics on this album are clever and thoughtful, and thoroughly relatable and enjoyable. Some especially notable songs off of this album are “Amplifire”, “Prologue: Adam Beckett”, “Dancing in the Future”, and “Right On, Right Now.” I heavily recommend this album to anyone interested in a very unique and equally likeable sound!

Track Listing
1. Prologue: Adam Beckett
2. Quarantine My Heart (Baby)
3. Powerspace Snap Bracelet
4. Right On, Right Now
5. Amplifire
6. Be Aggressive
7. This Is Not What You Had Planned
8. Dancing In The Future
9. Choose Your Own Adventure
10. It Smells Like Electricity In Here
11. I Met My Best Friend In Prague
12. Sleep, Everyone…