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Go Radio will release their new album, Close The Distance, on September 18th via Fearless Records. The band is currently streaming a new song from the album titled “Collide” over on AltPress.
Check out the track listing and album art for Close The Distance below. [Read more…]
The Fearless Friends tour presented by FreeCreditScore.com is hitting the road this fall with Mayday Parade, Breathe Carolina, Every Avenue, Artist Vs Poet and Go Radio, plus Victorious Secrets on select dates. Check out the dates below and pick up tickets for the tour here.
10.13.10 – Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
10.14.10 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
10.15.10 – Sayreville, NY @ Starland Ballroom
10.16.10 – Farmingdale, NY @ Crazy Donkey
10.17.10 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
10.19.10 – Williamsville, NY @ Infinity
10.20.10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
10.21.10 – Towson, MD @ Recher Theatre
10.22.10 – Charlotte, NC @ Amos’ Southend
10.23.10 – Jacksonville Beach, FL @ Freebird Live
10.24.10 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
10.26.10 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts
10.27.10 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
10.28.10- Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
10.29.10 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
10.30.10 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
10.31.10 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cabooze
11.2.10 – Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court
11.3.10 – Sauget, IL @ Pop’s
11.4.10 – Kansas City, MO @ Beaumont Club
11.5.10 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
11.6.10 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
11.8.10 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
11.9.10 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
11.10.10 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
11.11.10 – Orangevale, CA @ Boardwalk
11.12.10 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
11.13.10 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
11.14.10 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
11.16.10 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
11.17.10 – Los Angeles, CA @ House of Blues
11.18.10 – Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theatre
11.19.10 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
11.20.10 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
11.21.10 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
11.23.10 – San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit
11.24.10 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
11.26.10 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
11.27.10 – Tampa, FL @ State Theatre
11.28.10 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
Artist: Alesana
Album: The Emptiness
Label: Fearless Records
Purchase: iTunes
Release Date: January 26th, 2010
Overall: 7.0
Music: 7.0
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 7.5
Alesana have been at it for a while, crafting albums more ambitious than the last. Their latest entitled The Emptiness is a full force dive into a world they’ve created all unto themselves. One again we find ourselves with a raucous guitar assault and bouncing vocal harmonies back and forth between wails and ferocious screams.
Throughout all their albums, Alesana have shown off that they have pretty good pop charms. A song like “Heavy Hangs The Albatross” shines in the beginning with a lush chilled voice before breaking into an assault of guitars and screams. The intensity of the screams, although necessary at time for the tones can be a bit hard on the ears. In comparison, the harmonizing may be more appreciated at times.
The Emptiness needs to be experienced as a whole, due to the fact that it is a pretty heavy concept. It is hard to pick out specific songs to listen to, because they are best enjoyed in the flow of the entire album. The ambient-to-intense jumps found in “Hymn For The Shameless”, the back and forth crowded screams of “The Thespian”, or the grand finale epic venture of “Annabel.”
Although it is better as a whole, songs like “To Be Scared By An Owl” and “The Artist” (keep an eye out for the particularly moving bridge) are well executed on their own and could be put on rotation separately from The Emptiness.
Alesana may not be a band for all different kinds of people, but those that can appreciate them will no doubt enjoy this album. If you enjoy bouncing harmonies versus hard-hitting screams then this is a band (and an album) that you can’t pass up on.
Artist: Every Avenue
Album: Picture Perfect
Label: Fearless Records
Purchase: iTunes
Release Date: November 3rd, 2009
Overall: 8.5
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.5
A little more than a year ago, Ever Avenue began turning heads with their debut album Shh…Just Go With It. Their standard pop-punk fare was super sweet and sugary with hooks, but couldn’t seem to hold fans over for very long leaving people craving more after a brief sugar high. Now they are back with their second album Picture Perfect, looking to shake things up and turn the volume up higher than ever.
It seems that with time Every Avenue have grown tired of the same old, same old pop punk format and are looking to switch it up this time around. Some songs still have the same charm as their debut (“Mindset”, “Saying Goodbye”), but for the most part they are making their own way in the scene and defining themselves as more than that. Songs like “Girl Like That” with it’s swirling piano, and the heavier influences of a song like the title track”Picture Perfect” give Every Avenue more character and a stronger presence with this album.
The tone of Picture Perfect is much different than their debut as well, where the latter had a more positive tone of better days and summertime, this album dances around the opposite. “Tell Me I’m A Wreck” and “Finish What You Started” both are a little somber with their lyrics, but deliver with catchy hooks and bursting choruses that are becoming the band’s trademark.
Overall it’s a great feeling to listen to a band that sounds as though they have found themselves, and that’s the case with Every Avenue. Picture Perfect is a great sophomore effort that isn’t just another pop punk release, even the cliche ballad “The Story Left Untold” doesn’t feel trite and over done like most others. This band has a winning release that will provide them with enough notoriety that picture perfect won’t be an ironic jab at their lives (given the cover), but rather reality for a band that deserves their time to shine.
Artist: Blessthefall
Album: Witness
Label: Fearless Records
Purchase: iTunes
Release Date: October 6th, 2009
Overall: 8.5
Music: 9
Lyrics: 7.5
Production: 8
A band losing a member can often spell disaster, or a new beginning. In the case of Blessthefall they lost their lead vocals in the form of Craig Mabbit (now of Escape The Fate), but rather then call it a day as a band they were able to replace him with Beau Bokan on their sophomore release Witness. And the final product is a band reinvigorated, with more energy then ever the ability to rock out has been amplified to a new degree.
The album begins with the anthemic introduction “2.0” which explodes with intense screaming and heart pumping drums that explode with fury once the gang vocals begin. The song leads into the second track “What’s Left Of Me”, that is equally explosive with strong screams and shows off Beau Bokan as a strong and talented power for Blessthefall.
Witness is filled with powerful high points when the band can show off exactly what they do well, shredding guitars and powerful drums that shake your walls. Over top of this all are the Beau Bokan’s superb showing of vocals, whether it’s his ability to sing and hit just the right notes (“God Wears Gucci”), or growling along a super-charged guitar riff (“Hey Baby, Here’s That Song You Wanted”, a standout track), or screaming with all his might (“Last Ones Left”). The combination of instruments and vocals are at a higher level then ever before during this release.
The album is for the most part a very heavy affair. Sometimes there are slightly slow breakdowns, or the finals track “Stay Still” that retains a very slow tone but explodes around the chorus into the anthem it deserves to be. The album is fast, heavy, and intense in every sense of the word. Perhaps there is a lot of repetition of style on Witness but you can’t have to much of a good thing when it comes to music. Blessthefall are being put on the fast track of success with this latest album, discovering what there sound is will only make them the hard rock heroes they are deserving of being in the future.
Artist: Breathe Carolina
Album: Hello Fascination
Label: Fearless Records
Purchase: Amazon
Release Date: August 18th, 2009
Overall: 6
Music: 6
Lyrics: 5
Production: 7
The opening riffs off of Breathe Carolina’s sophomore album (debut for Fearless records) Hello Fascination mark a step in a different direction for the band. The implementation of real instruments in their music, moving away from the strict electronic beats of their debut It’s Classy Not Classic. Already there is a sense of hope for a band that has garnered nothing but hate from bloggers and critics around the internet, but it’s hard for a band to go from hated to loved in one day.
The opening track/lead single “Hello Fascination” has a fairly catchy chorus and strong melodies, but what really brings it down is the chunky screaming that doesn’t really fit, that’s where we find the tragic flaw on Hello Fascination. The singing is there for the most part, such as the ambient vocals on “I’m The Type Of Person To Take It Personal” or the pure gold found on the beginning of “I Have To Go Return Some Video Tapes”. Once again these two tracks are taken over by the chunky screaming that ultimately hurt and bring it down.
It’s not fair though to assume that Breathe Carolina aren’t trying to change some attitudes by their use of instruments in their music now, they are creating what one could debatably call a heavier sounding Cobra Starship. Songs like “Welcome To Savannah” and “The Dressing Room” are dance-oriented tracks that move along at a nice pace and contain catchy hooks with complimenting beats.
All in all there is a lot of progression to be done by Breathe Carolina before they can become scene-darlings. But there is potential throughout the album found in certain vocals and instrumentation (the acoustic ending of “Tripped And Fell In Portland” is wonderful). The possibilities are endless for this band at the pace they are moving creating music and hopefully they find their voice soon and the praise will follow.
Breathe Carolina have added a new song off their Fearless records debut Hello Fascination, entitled “Hello Fascination”. Click here to check it out and comment on your thoughts about it below.
Artist: A Skylit Drive
Album: Adelphia
Label: Fearless Records
Purchase: Official Online Store
Release Date: June 9th, 2009
Overall: 8.5
Music: 9.0
Lyrics: 7.0
Production: 8.0
Lately it is becoming more and more apparent that screamo is a dying genre. Bands are either abandoning it in favor more more harmonized vocals (ex. Alexisonfire) or are turning it into a mash of electronic blips and novelty lyrics (ex. Dot Dot Curve). Screamo is in a state where it needs saving, and their are few bands that can do it. A Skylit Drive’s sophomore release, Wires…and the Concept Of Breathing helped put them above the ranks of all other screamo contemporaries with their intricate melodies and intense singing/screaming trade-off. Now with their latest release (and their first with new label Fearless Records) Adelphia, they are setting themselves to become the band that helps put screamo back on the map and influence legions of bands to bring it back once more.
Adelphia begins with the ominous tones of “Prelude To A Dream”, that lead into a throttle-ing guitar riff and hard-hitting screams. This beginning track could have been very easily written off as just another band in the scene’s attempt at being edge-y, but the thing that sets A Skylit Drive apart is their fusion of screaming with vocally acrobatic melodies over top of constant riffs that are above of what most other bands are doing as far as intricacy and creativity are concerned. It’s a track that pushes the limits of adrenaline on one track and just how fast they can get the listener’s blood rushing in three and a half minutes.
While Adelphia doesn’t necessarily re-define the band and who they are in comparison to their previous effort Wires…And The Concept Of Breathing, it is another testament to their sound and helps fortify who they are as musicians before they are able to move on in order to discover the limits of their sound. It is an album that doesn’t re-invent the wheel that is their sound, but keeps it spinning faster then ever.
Some songs on Adelphia hit harder then ever (“Eva The Carrier”), while some change timing and pace so spontaneously it is hard to believe all the sounds can co-exist in one track (“The Boy Without A Demon”), and some even show off A Skylit Drive’s slower more ambient side (“Air The Enlightenment”).
It is obvious that more and more bands (as well as fans) are turning their backs on the genre of screamo, and worse bands are taking their place and turning what was a respected sound into a novelty. A Skylit Drive are pushing forward in keeping it alive and respected at once. They have proven with their tight musicianship, impressive vocal range and lyrics that are above average compared to other bands (the ones that make death threats and talk about dying non-stop). It is hard to say whether this album will put them on the map, but it will gain them entrance into many people’s ipods.
Breathe Carolina have released the track listing and artwork for the August 18th release of their Fearless records debut Hello Fascination. Click “read more” to see all the details.
Fearless Records has released a summer sampler which you can download on their MySpace page. The sampler includes unreleased songs from Breathe Carolina, The Word Alive, and Let’s Get It.
