| Driven Far Off

Saves The Day – Sound The Alarm

May 24, 2006 By Trevor Bivens Leave a Comment

Artist: Saves The Day
Album: Sound The Alarm
Label: Vagrant
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: April 11, 2006

Overall: 9.2
Music: 9.0
Lyrics: 9.4
Production: 9.3

After the horrible response from fans about 2003’s “In Reverie,” being labeless, and touring off of their old material, Saves the Day have returned with a more focused album on “Sound the Alarm.” Finding refuge in old friends Vagrant Records, the band that influenced so many of today’s artists have had to draw on influence from none other than themselves, returning to the frantic “emocore” that made them popular. They’ve also got a few new tricks up their sleeve this time around.

Most easily notable is Chris Conley’s voice which has been refined into an even bigger powerhouse than it once was. He takes the “heart on sleeve” approach and produces an entire wardrobe compromised of a heart on everything. The lyrics really stick out on the whole album. “Say You’ll Never Leave” is a prime example of the emotional gutwrenching feeling that is closer to the true definition of “emo music” than the crap kids call “emo” today.

There’s a little variety here such as the slow burner “Don’t Know Why.”

The bands that rip off “Saves the Day” should take note, because they just got outdone by the original product once again.

Tracklisting
1. Head For the Hills
2. The End
3. Shattered
4. Eulogy
5. Dying Day
6. 34
7. Say You’ll Never Leave
8. Diseased
9. Don’t Know Why
10. Sound the Alarm
11. Bones
12. Delusional
13. Hell Is Here

Forgive Durden – Wonderland

May 24, 2006 By Trevor Bivens Leave a Comment

Artist: Forgive Durden
Album: Wonderland
Label: Fueled By Ramen
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: May 9, 2006

Overall: 8.4
Music: 8.7
Lyrics: 8.2
Production: 8.5

Seattle’s Forgive Durden were one of two “mystery signings” by the ever growing Fueled By Ramen this past year. They are also one of the most unique bands on the label’s roster. “Wonderland” is a concept album touching on several different social issues that are problems in the world today. The result is an album that’s not your typical pop-punk that the label has been delivering as of late.

Mixing elements of pop and prog, the band’s songs are constructed more intricately than those of their labelmates, yet still retain their ability to hook you in. Songs like “Ear to Ear” and “Parable of the Sower” are perfect examples of this. Meanwhile a song like “Il Tango Della Signora Francesco Di Bartolommeo Di Zanobi Del Giocondo” shows how ambitious the band can be while sounding different from their contemporaries. Drawing influences from several different styles, Forgive Durden are an amaglam of flavor that should be able to please everyone from fans of Fall Out Boy to fans of Coheed and Cambria.

Tracklisting
1. Ants
2. Beware The Jubjub Bird And Shun The Frumious Bandersnatch
3. Ear To Ear
4. Parable Of The Sower
5. Il Tango Della Signora Francesco Di Bartolommeo Di Zanobi Del Giocondo
6. A Dead Person Breathed On Me!
7. The Great Affair Is To Move
8. Harry Frazee And No No Nanette
9. For A Dreamer, Night’s The Only Time Of Day
10. I’ve Got A Witch Mad At Me And You Might Get Into Trouble
11. Cue The Sun

Transition – Get There

May 24, 2006 By Trevor Bivens Leave a Comment

Artist: Transition
Album: Get There
Label: Floodgate Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: September 12, 2006

Overall: 7.4
Music: 7.5
Lyrics: 7.3
Production: 8.0

This band’s singer, Daniel Smyers, sound just like Scott Sellers of Rufio. For the first few seconds of listening to this band, I thought I was listening to Rufio. Take the metal influences away from Rufio and you have Transition.

“Excusable” is another anthem for working class teenagers with dreams of living a more exciting life. It’s pretty catchy, too. For some reason though, I just can’t get into the rest of this album.

Transition are good. They play perfect poppunk, but it just isn’t enough to catch my attention. We all know I’m a sucker for that sugar coated stuff, but this is like eating a hollow gobstopper. This music will fit in perfectly with this day and age’s current “Warped Tour Crowd.” It may even be nice to listen to on a warm summer day, but it lacks the punch that recent releases from Punchline and Hit the Lights delivered. It’s almost like there’s no feeling to it.

The production by Mike Herrera from MXPX is solid.

All in all, this isn’t a bad release, it’s just not as ear grabbing as it should be. It’ll be interesting to see where these guys go, though.

Tracklisting
1. Excusable
2. Down At the Harbor
3. The Issue
4. Winter
5. Air We Breathe
6. Count Me Out
7. A Letter From Dallas
8. Carolina
9. Give and Take
10. Get There
11. Tune In

Halifax – The Inevitability of a Strange World

May 24, 2006 By Trevor Bivens Leave a Comment

Artist: Halifax
Album: The Inevitability of a Strange World
Label: Drive-Thru Records
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: May 23, 2006

Overall: 8.6
Music: 9.5
Lyrics: 7.9
Production: 8.9

It’s been a long time coming, and when I say a long time coming, I mean basically a year. “The Inevitability of a Strange World” is Halifax’s debut LP for Drive Thru Records. This album is great. It’s not awesome, it’s not bad, but it’s great. It’ll make for good summer-driving music..or party music, depending on how you look at it. It’s no surprise the content of this album is more concentrated on being a big time rock band as the groups penchant for partying has been made public by several appearances on MTV’s “The Real World.”

The opening riff of “Nightmare” gets your head moving automatically and before vocalist Mike Hunau can even finish the second line of the song, he’s already shown us how powerful his voice can be. This is one of the strongest and catchiest tracks on the album.

The Motley Crue influenced “Our Revolution”(the song blatantly rips off the melody of “Kickstart My Heart” with the blessing of Nikki Sixx himself) presents us with a band that obviously wants to have more fun than bands that take themselves too seriously in this scene. The song was road tested for the past year along with “Nightmare” and contains what is probably one of the cheesiest “shout-a-long” parts on any band’s current touring circuit. Replacing the Crue’s “Whoah, yeah!” to “Hell yeah!”, you can just taste the cheese, but when you’re seeing this band live, you can’t help but shout along. To top things off, there’s an over the top guitar solo. Halifax are as close to hair metal as you can be while still retaining your fans. Honestly, I like hair metal. Maybe that’s why I love this song so much. It’s a feel good track that’s a lot of fun.

Keeping the pace of the album up is “Under Fire.” Interesting rhythm parts and a catchy chorus keep you jamming along for another three minutes.

“Anthem For Tonight”, “Hey Italy”, and “Snow In Hollywood” are more of the same driving rock that’s been playing for the past three tracks. The trio are all solid tracks, but aren’t as compelling as the previous.

“Such a Terrible Trend” will most likely end up on the next incarnation of “Power Ballads.” It’s not that bad of a song, it just brings the album’s fast and furious pace down a few notches.

Luckily, the opening “Ahs” of “Better Than Sex” make up for the slowed-down tempo of “Such a Terrible…” and the song fully kicks in, picking things back up. With Mike’s voice really shining throughout this song, the lyrics of the bridge stick out. “Still why do we breathe sex like lovers, but live like enemies?” The song even has a light breakdown that oddly enough fits in perfectly.

Unfortuately, we’re slowed down again by “Giant in the Ring” which is easily skippable.

What happened to the flow of this album? “Promise Me Tragedy,” “A Tint of Rain,” and “I Told You So” continue the pattern of fast, slow, fast. This band should just stick to writing pounding rock music instead of slow songs that will put you to sleep in thirty seconds.

“Murder I Wrote” closes the album mixing some of the best and worst elements of the band.

Musically, the band has expanded upon what made their EP “A Writer’s Reference” so wonderful. The guitar parts are metal tinged while still retaining their “punky” roots, and let’s not forget that solo in “Our Revolution.” The drumming is solid, and the bass helps keep the rhythm in check.

Lyrically, the band can improve. The “fun” tracks are great for what they are, but aside from “Better Than Sex” the “relationship” tracks need some work.

Dual production from Lou Giordano and Machine took a polished album and gave it a gritty live feel. The result was perfect for all of the faster songs. The band shines live and the “live sound” of the album is close to what you’ll hear when they take the stage.

The only thing strange about this world is that Drive-Thru’s release schedule is back on track. If they keep bringing us solid releases like this, they can easily reclaim their crown as favorite independent label of kids everywhere. As for Halifax, if the band keeps growing and gets the promotion they deserve, they will easily topple the crap passing for rock on the radio right now and will bring the fun back into a corporate market.

Tracklisting
1. Nightmare
2. Our Revolution
3. Under Fire
4. Anthem For Tonight
5. Hey Italy
6. Snow In Hollywood
7. Such a Terrible Trend
8. Better Than Sex
9. Giant In the Ring
10. Promise Me Tragedy
11. A Tint of Rain
12. I Told You So
13. Murder I Wrote

Angels & Airwaves – We Don’t Need To Whisper

May 23, 2006 By Bryce Jacobson Leave a Comment

Artist: Angels & Airwaves
Album: We Don’t Need To Whisper
Label: Maverick
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: May 23, 2006

Overall: 9.4
Music: 9.6
Lyrics: 8.9
Production: 9.5

When Blink 182 went on a hiatus it didn’t come as a shock to me, but it was still a surprise. The band had been on tour for months after taking well over a year to create their masterpiece self-titled album so it was time for a break. Weather Blink 182 get back together or not is another whole story in itself. The overall fact for Blink 182 going on a hiatus wasn’t to get away from the music but rather a break from their normal music and touring lives. It wasn’t until months later that we found out that Tom was working on a new project. Hyping up everything he was doing, Tom told us about his new project but left us hanging until months later to hear anything. I first heard a clip of their music on the movie trailer that showed up on the bands website. To say the least, I was mesmerized by the emotion and power that was in that short clip and instantly couldn’t wait to hear the rest of the album. Tom made up Angels & Airwaves with Box Car Racer member David Kennedy, Rocket From the Crypt & Offspring former member Atom Willard, and the Distillers former member Ryan Sinn.

Opening this album is a two and half minuet long passionate intro on the song “Valkyrie Missile.” You can instantly hear a lot of emotion with the guitars moving back and forth with a number of sound loops before the recognizable voice of Tom Delong comes in with the line “Everyone, everyone will listen, even if it hurts sometimes.” Is this line directly from all of the hype Tom was putting into the album or was it in the song way before these thoughts occurred to him? “Distraction” starts with a nice soft piano intro before we hear it build up with with a catchy guitar lick and then finally into a full blown line “I’ll be your distraction.” This is more of a laid back song with a pretty simple beat but it rings of Blink 182 style with more of a mature sound. “It Hurts” stars out with a very catchy guitar part and follows with a slower melody of moving guitars and a very catchy chorus. “Do It For Me Now” also starts out with a catchy guitar intro. This song uses a lot more guitar effects for more of an echoey sound. Tom’s voice and overall desire for music has matured and you can really tell he wanted to create something new with Angels & Airwaves. The songs are a step up from Blink 182 in terms of lyrics and more of a different approach when it comes to the music. The bands first single “The Adventure” sets in with another long intro before moving into a waterfall of guitars and a foot tapping drum part. This sing along song should catch a lot of listeners ears as it’s a bit different then the music that has recently been impacting radio. Tom wanted to go back to his influences for this release and you can hear them throughout all the songs in various ways. When I first heard “The War” I was instantly brought back to the harder songs that Blink 182 would trow into the mix now and then on their albums. I love the guitar work on this song, it’s got some power behind it yet a lot of melody at the same time. “A Little’s Enough” can be considered the slow song on the album but I happen to love the vocals, and especially the break down half way through the song. Tom has always been good at making a song interesting with little guitar parts here and there, nothing really technical but something always interesting. “The Gift” has an intro that could of come straight off a U2 album, but Tom said he was going to incorporate his influences into his music so what better way then a similar guitar lick. “Good Day” was the second song I heard from Angels & Airwaves. At first I wasn’t very pleased and thought that the whole album would be a bit to slow for my liking. “Good Day” mixes a lot of simple yet catchy guitar parts as well as the “da da da da” lyrics like we use to hear in Blink 182’s songs now and then. The song grew on me with a few listens but it’s not one that I will play over and over like some of the others. Wrapping up this 50 minute 10 song album is “Start The Machine” that starts with a music box like intro before adding a deep bass electronic beat. The song is pretty laid back until about half way where a cleaner sounding guitar part comes in and then wraps up with slowly eliminating the instruments back to just the music box.

Tom’s voice is back and for the most part I couldn’t be happier. The music is more mature, the songs in general have a lot of emotion and feeling behind them. I was hoping for a few harder tracks as well as a few tracks with a little more edge to them but overall I can’t complain. I don’t think it’s quite up to all the hype of changing music forever like Tom was suggesting but I could see where he was coming from. If you were a Blink 182 fan I’m sure you’ll find some love in this album, and if you didn’t like Blink 182 be sure to still give this album a try because it’s something new.

Track Listing
1. Valkyrie Missile
2. Distraction
3. It Hurts
4. Do It For Me Now
5. The Adventure
6. The War
7. A Little’s Enough
8. The Gift
9. Good Day
10. Start The Machine

Standout Tracks
“Valkyrie Missile”, “Do It For Me Now”, “The War”, “A Little’s Enough”

Sherwood – The Summer EP

May 17, 2006 By Bryce Jacobson Leave a Comment

Artist: Sherwood
Album: The Summer EP
Label: Maverick
Purchase: Flipside
Release Date: September 12, 2006

Overall: 8.9
Music: 9.0
Lyrics: 8.8
Production: 8.6

Sherwood have come quite a ways since their self released, self-tited EP which they put out in January of 2004. The guys came through on tour and I caught up with them in the summer of 04′ where they were eating peanut butter and crackers for supper and playing for crowds of 20-100 people night after night. I knew instantly that the guys were very hard working and deserved every little bit of exposure they could get. You can check out the interview I conducted with Dan from June 30th 2004 here. Since then Sherwood signed a one record deal with SideCho and Released Sing, But Keep Going about a year ago on May 31st 2005. The Summer EP is a continuation of Sherwood’s fun energetic music which is filled with catchy guitars, organ backgrounds, and sing along lyrics.

Starting out the EP is the catchiest song on the EP titled “The Only Song.” Back and forth guitar parts are filled in with an upbeat bass and drum part as well as being covered with that nice organ sound I’ve come to love from Sherwood. “This Airplane Is A Ribbon” starts out with Nate singing “This Airplane Is A Ribbon, with the bird at either end, and it’s feather light floating in the wind ” while we hear a light acoustic guitar part. I love when the song picks up with a nice drum and bass line, as well as the background vocals which add so much to the songs dynamics. “I’m Asking Her To Stay” reminds me of Sherwood’s early days when they sang about California, life, love, and girls. Wrapping up the EP is “The Simple Life” which is a slower acoustic song with great melody and lyrics.

Like I said before, Sherwood have come a long way in their time and things are only looking better from here. The bands sound has been perfected with their last few releases and I definitely love their sound. Pick up this EP while it’s still free. The band will have it on sale on their shows in the future and you can also pre-order it from Flipside Industires for a June 1st release.

Track Listing
1. The Only Song
2. Middle of the Night
3. The Airplane is a Ribbon
4. I’m Asking Her to Stay
5. Simple Life

Standout Tracks
The Whole EP

May 12, 2006 By Trevor Bivens Leave a Comment

Artist: Taking Back Sunday
Album: Louder Now
Label: Warner Bros.
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: April 25, 2006

Overall: 9.4
Music: 9.5
Lyrics: 9.3
Production: 9.0

They’ve got us right where they want us, and that’s hanging onto every word uttered from Adam Lazzara and Fred Mascherino’s lips. The new millenium brought with it, a new-wave of “punk” and “emo” groups, defying the odds and rising to mainstream success. Taking Back Sunday were one such band, with their debut LP “Tell All Your Friends” capturing the ears and hearts of people everywhere. As touring off the album progressed, and the band got more and more attention, lyricist/guitarist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper parted ways with the band, causing an uproar among fans. Finding the missing pieces of their lineup, Taking Back Sunday enlisted the services of Breaking Pangaea guitarist/vocalist Fred Mascherino and new bassist Matt Rubano. The result was 2004’s “Where You Want to Be”, which released to mixed opinions. The album did better than expected and Warner Brothers snatched TBS from Victory’s clutches(thank God), helping to propel them to even greater success. With the release of “Louder Now” the band are on the verge of being the next big thing all over again.

It’s been said that Adam Lazzara is a horrible singer. Yeah, well Bob Nanna wasn’t that hot either, but using his range(or lack thereof), he brought out emotion in the lyrics that helped make Braid one of the best “emo” bands of their time. The same can be said for Adam. He may not have the “American Idol” voice, but what he does works with this band and their lyrics. His vocal style on this album brings all the emotion of TAYF and mixes it with the style of WYWTB. Fred has proven himself yet again as a suitable replacement for John Nolan.

Take “Make Damn Sure” for instance. The dual vocals from Adam and Fred help make the song one of the strongest tracks on the album. You can feel them putting everything into this song.

Every track on here is worth listening to, even the re-worked version of “Error Operator.” To be honest, I like that song a lot.

Eric Valentine(Good Charlotte, Lostprophets) has done TBS justice, helping craft a blend of the previous two albums.

Taking Back Sunday has become a band fans of this genre should be proud to have fronting the scene and representing it in the mainstream.

Track Listing
1. What It Feels Like To Be A Ghost
2. Liar (It Takes One To Know One)
3. MakeDamnSure
4. Up Against (Blackout)
5. My Blue Heaven
6. Twenty-Twenty Surgery
7. Spin
8. Divine Intervention
9. Miami
10. Error Operator
11. I’ll Let You Live

http://www.drivenfaroff.com/2006/05/12/313/

Run Kid Run – This Is Who We Are

May 10, 2006 By Bryce Jacobson 1 Comment

Artist: Run Kid Run
Album: This Is Who We Are
Label: Tooth & Nail
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: May 16, 2006

Overall: 8.2
Music: 8.1
Lyrics: 8.5
Production: 8.6

Run Kid Run are one of Tooth & Nail’s newest bands, or are they? Previously known as Side Walk Slam, Run Kid Run is a re-branding effort by Tooth & Nail to gain some more fans. Previous fans will only notice a bit of a change in the bands sound from their previous albums like …And We Drive which they put out in 2003. A forth member on guitar allows the band to offer more of a precise sound with more second guitar parts and hooks. Also a major change in song lengths is also accomplished while moving up from a mir 2 minute average to well over a 3 minuet average per song. The album also has more of a polished sound and the songs come off being quite upbeat and poppy.

The bands first single “We’ve Only Just Begun” also opens the album with a catchy guitar rhythm. The vocals are clear and very catchy to sing along with. Songs like “Sing To Me” have a lot of good things behind them are catchy enough for even radio play. Finishing up this shot 10 song album is “I’ll Forever Sing” which is filled with a lot of good hooks great lyrics.

The band has matured from their previous albums that they put out under the name Side Walk Slam. They will also hopefully get the backing they deserve this time around. Old fans may be a little let down by their change of sound but the band still backs a good message and catchy music, it’s what they’re good at.

Track Listing
1. We’ve Only Just Begun
2. Move On
3. Wake Up, Get Up
4. Sing To Me
5. The Modern March
6. The Call Out
7. This Day Of Change
8. Outline of a Love
9. Miles and States
10. I’ll Forever Sing

Standout Tracks
“We’ve Only Just Begun”, “Move On”, “I’ll Forever Sing”

Hawk Nelson – Smile, It’s The End Of The World

May 6, 2006 By Bryce Jacobson Leave a Comment

Artist: Hawk Nelson
Album: Smile, Its The End Of The World
Label: Tooth & Nail
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: April 4, 2006

Overall: 7.6
Music: 7.6
Lyrics: 7.1
Production: 7.9

Hawk Nelson shouldn’t need an introduction at this point but if your unfamiliar with them they are a pop-punk band from Canada on Tooth & Nail Records. This is there second album on T&N and overall their sound has matured quite a bit on this album. Granted their style is still catchy pop-punk but lyrically the band has stepped it up a notch from their previous release Letters To The President.

Opening the album is “The One Thing I Have Left.” The song is filled with crunchy guitars and bright vocals. The improvement from their previous albums comes mostly in the guitar work. We hear some more licks and especially a more distorted sound that shows the band has been working long and hard on defining their sound. “Bring ‘Em Out” has got to be one of the most upbeat and catchy songs out there today. The band brings a good message throughout the album and most people probably wouldn’t even notice that they are a christian band just from their lyrics.

If your a previous fan of Hawk Nelson then this album should rock you even more. Their sound has improved and this is one of those perfect summer albums that can get you pumped up for almost anything.

Track Listing
1. The One Thing I Have Left
2. The Show
3. Bring ‘Em Out
4. Everything You Ever Wanted
5. Something On My Mind
6. Is Forever Enough
7. Zero
8. Nothing Left to Show
9. Head On Collision
10. Hello
11. It’s Over
12. Fourteen

Standout Tracks
“Bring ‘Em Out”, “Nothing Left To Show”, “Something On My Mind”

Blane – This Is My Town

May 6, 2006 By Bryce Jacobson Leave a Comment

Artist: Blane
Album: This Is My Town
Label: Less Avenged
Purchase: Smart Punk
Release Date: April 18, 2006

Overall: 7.3
Music: 7.3
Lyrics: 7.0
Production: 7.8

Being from Seattle usually means you have a lot to live up to when it comes to music. Blane are on their way up in the Seattle scene and from there hopefully all over the states. This Is My Town is a 6 song indie filled EP that will make you tap your feet and drive your vocal chords to sing along.

Starting the EP is “Twenty Years” an upbeat track where we get to hear the bands moving guitars and sing along lyrics. “Casper City” starts out a heavier drum and bass part and then filled in with lyrics like “It’s my town, No, you can’t have it, My town.” My favorite song on the EP is “Two Legs.” This song is a perfect blend of indie guitars and great lyrics.

This Is My Town is a great EP and it shows the band is well on their way to making some great music in the future. I don’t think the band’s lyric and vocals are pushed to hard on this EP which could have made it better. Overall a great indie EP that you should check out if you like bands like This Providence and Day At The Fair.

Track Listing
1. Twenty Years
2. Casper City
3. Wake Up
4. Two Legs
5. West
6. Hamartia

Standout Tracks
“Two Legs”, “Casper City”, “Wake Up”