The Royal Guard - Showdown

The Royal Guard - Showdown
2009, Todd Davidson/BMI

Fans of Fall Out Boy and 30 Seconds To Mars take heed; there's a new band on the block playing on the same playground. The Royal Guard (Todd Davidson - vocals/guitar; Andy Ascolese - guitar/vocals and Fred Scragg - drums) released their debut CD, Showdown, late in 2009, documenting the sound the band had developed over a couple of years of steady gigging. Blending pop, punk and rock, The Royal Guard creates in a consistently inconsistent realm where sonic trends break upon one another.

Showdown opens with "All Out War", a pop/punk anthem about a war over the minds and souls of the young. The song could have theological implications or may just be a post-modern song of self-actualization. "Happy" is a solid active-rock love song. Built on a strong hook in a radio-ready chorus, The Royal Guard keeps the alt-punk energy intact in a love song without getting gooey. "Yesterday" shows off The Royal Guard's retro proclivities, working in a harmonic guitar solo reminiscent of Brian May.

As if so much patent creativity could tire a band, The Royal Guard fall into a lull of formulaic pop/punk spiked with the occasional impressive guitar work. The tide turns with "Satellite", a dynamic pop/rock tune with a memorable chorus and a driving guitar riff. You could picture "Satellite" being the song that takes off for The Royal Guard. "Beginning Of The End" has the pop sensibility to be a mild radio presence, but seems more likely for the licensing realm.

Showdown is ultimately a 50/50 affair, with about half the album proving to have a creative spark worth catching onto, with the rest sounding a bit too much like too many other things already on the radio. The Royal Guard's debut is a solid commercial and musical effort, but listeners may sense greater potential in what might turn out to be a sleeping giant of a band. While Showdown is worth checking out, The Royal Guard may be a good band to follow longer term. Once they shake off their need to be commercial they might start creative some truly amazing music.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Royal Guard at http://www.theroyalguardband.com/ or www.myspace.com/theroyalguard.  Showdown is available from Amazon.com as either a CD or Download.  The album is also available via iTunes.

Review: Blake Lewis - Heartbreak On Vinyl

Blake Lewis - Heartbreak On Vinyl
2009, Tommy Boy Records

Blake Lewis got his big break on season six of American Idol, finishing as runner-up to winner Jordin Sparks. Fans of the show continue to argue whether it was talent or gimmicky that advanced Lewis that far; he appeared to be on his way to an earlier exit from the show until he surprised the audience with beat-box style performances. The novelty of this performance (and several to follow) carried Lewis into the final. His 2007 debut album, Audio Day Dream, has sold 350,000 copies to date, and Lewis has maintained a high profile since his days on Idol. On October 6, 2009, Lewis returns with Heartbreak On Vinyl, influenced by 1980's Electropop and Dance music and current trends in electronic music. Lewis had help from such folks as S*A*M & Sluggo (Fall Out Boy, Panic At The Disco); Dave Aude (Pussycat Dolls); Rodney Jerkins (Lady Gaga, Britney Spears) and Jean Baptiste (Will.I.Am, Black Eyed Peas).

Lewis opens with the title track, a song inspired by the closing of both his favorite record store in his home town and the closing of the Virgin Mega Store in Times Square in New York City. The song is a decent listen with a good dance beat. Lewis' voice is affable without bowling you over. Binary Love and Freak are pure Dance Pop tunes; not much on thought required as long as you keep moving. Voices and lyrics are essentially interchangeable in such songs as the rhythm is ultimately all that matters. Sad Song is the single from the album; full of electronic effects and even vocal effects; the song is perhaps the least impressive song on the disc both musically and vocally. Lewis returns to pure dance pop on the mediocre Afraid, but does a bit better with Left My Baby For You, crafting a melody and rhythm that suggests there's real pop musicality to be found if you dig for it.

SuperScratchaVocalisticTurnatableLicious is a minute of turntable tricks, sampling and looping of Lewis' beat-box style. This was entertaining to listen to, but would work better if he actually crafted a whole song from vocal sounds rather than just a brief sample. Lewis is at his best on The Point, which starts out as a quietly dramatic tune that builds in intensity and in sound, if slowly. Lewis' voice is decent and he builds the song well. The Remedy kicks back into Dance Pop mode and is probably the most successful overall track on the disc. Lewis says goodnight with Love Or Torture (Please Don't Stop), a catchy but mindless tune perfect for the clubs.

Blake Lewis continues down the path he began on American Idol, creating Pop, Electronic kid music that plays well to those who want little more out of music than a good beat. Heartbreak On Vinyl isn't a bad effort, containing several songs with real chart potential. I suspect Heartbreak On Vinyl will be a big success for Lewis.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Blake Lewis at http://www.blakelewisofficial.com/ or www.myspace.com/blakelewis. Heartbreak On Vinyl drops October 6, 2009. You can pre-order a copy from Amazon.com. Expect wide distribution in both real and virtual formats.

Review: These Green Eyes - Relapse To Recovery

These Green Eyes – Relapse To Recovery
2008, Blackledge Music

On March 24, 2009, These Green Eyes will release their latest album, Relapse To Recovery. With the first single, Paramedic already hitting the airwaves, These Green Eyes look to make a big splash in 2009. After touring the US the last few years with the likes of Gym Class Heroes, Less Than Jake, Fall Out Boy, New Found Glory and Hidden In Plain View, These Green Eyes have built a significant amount of buzz for the new album. Let’s check it out.

These Green Eyes bring a wonderful mix of melodicism and Modern Rock edge to the masses on Relapse To Recovery. The opening phrases of At The End recall the sound of Simon & Garfunkel before breaking into a melodic but driven rock tune. Big harmonies and the lyric vocals of Colin Cunningham make this a real gem. The song might actually be too good to be truly commercially viable. That’s a theme that runs throughout Relapse To Recovery: Rock songs with strong Pop aesthetics that might be too finely constructed for the current popular mores. Cunningham’s voice is too good, the harmonies are too spot-on and the band is too tight and too slickly produced to fit in with current trends.

Paramedic is a dynamic rocker that should be good Modern Rock radio fodder. The energy here is high and These Green Eyes appear to have the sort of charisma it takes to play big stadiums. Kick The Crutch is another opportunity for Cunningham to show off his amazing pipes in an exhortation of loved one to walk away. Drunk Driver is an energetic rocker with commercial mettle. There’s a bit of punk energy running through this alongside the pop sensibility that seems to pervade everything These Green Eyes touches. Blood Sweat And Beers is a welcome change of pace, stripping away the distortion and frenetic pace for a more lyric performance. Other highlights include Time Of Our Lives, Two Minute Warning and Sucker Punch.

Relapse To Recovery is a great Rock album. Don’t be surprised if These Green Eyes go global in 2009. The band is capable of crafting slick Modern Rock with a Pop feel that should be like candy to a marketplace that gorges on such things. But if the opening track, At The End is any indication, These Green Eyes are capable of even more. Perhaps it was a one time thing, but I don’t think so. There are indications throughout the album of a breadth and depth of creativity that goes beyond the capabilities of your typical charting band. These Green Eyes have a special vocalist in Colin Cunningham, and play together wonderfully well as a unit. The slick production values of producer Brian McTernan (Thrice, Circa Survive, Senses Fail) help to smooth out any wrinkles, but I strongly suspect that those wrinkles may be the best part of These Green Eyes. Enjoy the album, which is killer, and enjoy their probably rise. The more success These Green Eyes have now, the more they’ll be able to explore those wrinkles later on. If you’re a fan of great music then that’s what you want, because these guys are amazing.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about These Green Eyes at www.myspace.com/thesegreeneyes or http://www.blackledgemusic.com/. Relapse To Recovery hits shelves on March 24, 2009. You can pre-order your copy through Amazon.com.

Review: One Step Away - One Decision

One Step Away – One Decision
2008, One Step Away

Andover, Massachussets quartet One Step Away has taken the Boston music scene by storm, winning the Boston Music Festival’s Alternative Rock genre in 2008. Led by the lyric rock lead vocals of Adam Carrington, One Step Away blasts away with a heavy rock sound that borders on Prog and 80’s hair-metal sounds with big guitar solos, big choruses and an arena-ready sound. Their debut release, One Decision, debuted in December of 2008, just seventeen months after the bands inception.

One Step Away opens up with In This Moment, a wonderfully musical and melodic hard rocker that contrasts the melodic musical chaos of Terrence Healy’s guitar work and the lyric nature of Adam Carrington’s voice. This is an incredibly dynamic rock song that will grab you by the shirt and won’t let you go until its done. Over The Edge is a big, bruising guitar rocker that sounds like Metallica with Slash sitting in. Run Away is a driving rock song that’s perfectly positioned for Modern Rock and Hard Rock radio formats. It’s the most blandly commercial song on the EP but still a pleasant listen. The Space Within is amazing introspective and reserved in comparison to the first three tracks, and displays some of the range One Step Away possesses.

One Step Away is a rising dynamic force in Boston. It’s easy to see how they could be the next big thing from the Boston scene to rise to national prominence. Time and sales will tell, but One Step Away looks to have a very bright future. One Decision is a great intro.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about One Step Away at www.myspace.com/1stepawayband or http://www.onestepawayband.com/, where you can purchase a copy of One Decision.