Heroes - Hello > Hello

Heroes - Hello > Hello
2010, Vagary Music

Heroes singer/songwriter Jeff Hemmelgarn decided that he only wanted to record songs that felt important to him. Taking that philosophy into the studio with producer Joe McGrath (Green Day, Blink 182, Morrissey), Heroes used no vocal effects or manipulation in the recording of their debut EP, Hello > Hello. The result is a sparkling EP of four songs with the weight of honesty and a melodic sensibility drawn from the great bands of the British Invasion.

Hello > Hello opens with "Come Undone", a soaring anthem about a loved one whose mind is slowly slipping away and the process of dealing with that slow, insipid loss. Hemmelgarn's vocal is impassioned but under control; a powerful yet measured performance that stands out in the middle ground between pop histrionics and shoe gaze minimalism. "Boy Wonder" explores the effects of a family falling apart and the effects it can have on the children involved. "Boy Wonder" seeks the hope of tomorrow by reminding that the joys of yesterday are not all gone. Hemmelgarn shows impressive range in reaching for the heights in a powerfully emotive chorus. "Go Back The Way You Came" is a song of goodbye to a loved one; a reckoning on the doorstep of death that will carry a lot of emotional weight for those who have lost someone dear. Hello > Hello closes with "You Run Me Over", a song admonishing a young woman in an abusive relationship to choose another path. There's a passive urgency here that's compelling, perhaps based in the idea that to push too hard will push her further into the trouble she's in.

Heroes are on to something here. Hello > Hello perhaps implies simple greeting, but the theme of the EP is hope for a better tomorrow. Jeff Hemmelgarn has voice you could listen to all day long, and the rest of Heroes build a solid web of music around him on each of the four songs presented on Hello > Hello. This is mature pop music for listeners who love great melody and lyrics that tell a story while they touch your heart.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Heroes at http://www.heroesoffical.com/ or www.myspace.com/heroesofficial. Hello > Hello is available from Amazon.com as either a CD or Download.

GroundScore - Healthy Children

GroundScore - Healthy Children
2009, SMB Records

Washington, DC-based reggae rockers GroundScore formed in 2008 and have been making waves locally ever since. With a sound that runs the gamut from Sublime and Sugar Ray to Black Flag and The Dead Kennedys, GroundScore has the potential to cut a large demographic swath with their music. This mix of sounds is on full display on GroundScore’s debut album, Healthy Children.

"Ball Sweat & Tears" stirs memories of bands such as Black Flag and The Dead Kennedys in a fifty-two second headlong rush of sound. "Later On" is catchy and features some ethereal guitar work that dances over the driving bass rhythm of the song. "You'll Always Be A Loser" starts out in a melodic hardcore binge that resolves into a pop/reggae vibe that turns deafeningly repetitive in the chorus. "Hey Kidz/Real Love" starts out like a Green Day punk/rock anthem and devolves into a bland pop/rocker with a vague reggae beat. "See You All Tomorrow" keeps with the reggae rock feel on the verse but soars into a driven rocker on the chorus. It's one of the better all-around compositions on the album. GroundScore zooms away at top speed, saying goodbye with "You Don't Know Me Anything", slowing done for the verses to reminisce on time past, opportunities lost and simple pleasures. The song starts promisingly but loses focus in the verse.

GroundScore seems to be a band that thinks (musically) best at high speed. When thrashing their way through a chorus or occasionally an entire song the band is tight as can be and on the ball. It's the slower, reggae-based rock songs where they seem to run out of focus and fail to find focus or fall prey to repetition. There's obviously a contingent of the band in love with the Reggae-rock styles of bands like Sublime and Sugar Ray, but there's also a hard-core interest here. Both styles exist on Healthy Children, but they're not integrated. GroundScore tries to make both a part of the picture by crafting songs with reggae-rock verses and hardcore choruses, but this often ends up sounding contrived. If GroundScore can ever marry the two styles successfully they'll be considered visionaries. For the time being they are a band with two distinct minds; a house divided.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about GroundScore at www.myspace.com/dcgroundscore.  Healthy Children is available from Amazon.com as both a CD and Download.  Digital versions are also availbale from iTunes.

The Everyday Motive - Seven Song EP

The Everyday Motive - Seven Song EP
2010, The Everyday Motive

Milwaukee quartet The Everyday Motive spent a whole lot of time listening to alternative music during the 1990’s, a fact that is apparent when listening to their Seven Song EP. Influenced by bands such as the Foo Fighters, Weezer, Nirvana, Green Day and Stone Temple Pilots, the band also features high pop aesthetics woven into each song.

Everyday Motive’s Seven Song EP opens with "Anything Done Differently", an appealing modern rock tune with stripped-down sound. Solid vocals and a big pop hook help to create a high-energy, danceable rock tune. The song explores each of our own worst enemies while staying positive. "Lock It Up" is highly melodic and catchy; a bit of the low-key side for commercial radio but which might just turn into a hit single anyway. "From What I Can Remember" is pure pop/rock gold with a chorus that is likely to take over your skull and set up checkpoints. The angular style of the song mixed with The Everyday Motive's sense of dynamics and harmony vocals make this a potential breakout hit. "You're No Good" finds The Everyday Motive sounding more than a bit like Cowboy Mouth with a slightly heavier rock sound. It's a strong tune that's perfect for modern rock formats. The Everyday Motive closes with "Waste Away", a somewhat cookie-cutter tune that retains optimum sound.

The Everyday Motive has the potential to be huge. Breaks aside, The Everyday Motive appear to be in a good position to maintain and sustain a career of making music. Their Seven Song EP is an apt introduction, certain to inspire people to want to learn more about the band. Make sure you check out The Everyday Motive. You won't be sorry you did.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The Everyday Motive at www.myspace.com/everydaymotive. Seven Song EP is available as either a CD or Download from CDBaby.com.

Review: Buckfast Superbee - Turn Of The Radio Age

Buckfast Superbee - Turn Of The Radio Age
2008, Walking Records

San Diego favorites Buckfast Superbee are coming for your hearts and minds on their sophomore CD, Turn Of The Radio Age. Their 2006 self-titled debut made a name for Buckfast Superbee, with song placements in Midway's MLB Slugfest (XBox & Playstation) as well as in the movie Heroes For A Day. Their debut rose to #2 on college radio charts, keeping pace with releases from the likes of Green Day and Modest Mouse. On Turn Of The Radio Age, Buckfast Superbee maintains the hard edge rock feel and delicious hooks that have made them the darlings of the aggregate SoCal Rock N Roll scene.

Turn Of The Radio Age opens with the title track, a brief prologue that mixes bleakness with beauty before crashing through into The Heavy Persuader, a driving modern rock anthem built on great hooks and a highly infectious melody. Denigration As An Art takes the three minute Pop/Punk song and raises it to the same lofty heights. Vocalist Timothy Joseph leaves it all on the CD in a song that soars and careens right into its closing notes. Buckfast Superbee takes on an almost 1980's aesthetic in Proficiency Breeds Modernization. The melody and arrangement ring true in a song about the downside (or downsize) of progress.

Gibralter examines the art of selling out, where an artists music becomes more about the meal ticket than the muse. Tilt-O-Whirl is a tremendous, high energy rocker consumed with the dichotomy of being a working/traveling musician and having a personal life. Buckfast Superbee is super tight here as always, and the song takes on a life of its own. Buckfast Superbee goes into something of a slumber in the middle of Turn Of The Radio Age before turning the lights on again with Spirit Of The Underachiever, a virulently melodic Punk rocker that will rattle around inside your brain for days. The album closes out with Pitch Vs. Rotation, starting out as a high repressed arrangement before blooming into big minor triad harmonies built over a plodding melody line. Pitch Vs. Rotation contrasts well as a slower song compared to tunes such as Automatic, By The Way Of The Valley and SPF 638.

Buckfast Superbee shines on the harder-edge; Punker tunes on Turn Of The Radio Age, and falters a bit on the slow material (with the exception of Pitch Vs. Rotation). Buckfast Superbee is ready for prime time as a Rock band, but it would be nice to hear them bring the energy that drives them through the faster and harder material into the down-tempo material. Buckfast Superbee will succeed as they are, but if they can make that transition no one will stop them.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Buckfast Superbee at http://www.buckfastsuperbee.com/ or www.myspace.com/buckfastsuperbee. You can purchase Turn Of The Radio Age as either a CD or download at www.cdbaby.com/cd/buckfastsuperbee2.

Review: EB11 - One Decision

EB11 – One Decision
2006, EB11

Tenerife, Spain’s EB11 has a second home based in Miami, Florida. This two-hemisphere quartet lists references including Three Days Grace, Metallica, Dream Theater, Green Day, Nirvana, Three Doors Down and Pink Floyd. Their sound is straight up modern rock. Their 2006 EP, One Decision fits right into the Modern Rock mold.

One Decision opens with Myself Again, an energetic rocker about running away from change. She is a radio-ready wall-of-sound rocker with real commercial potential. The best track on One Decision is Be The One. EB11 comes off sounding a lot like Better Than Ezra in a catchy song full of great hooks and transitions. One Decision closes out with the martial rhythms of Going On. This one is a little more typical of the Modern Rock genre but still quite catchy.

EB11 gets better as One Decision progresses, and the EP is definitely worth checking out.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about EB11 at www.myspace.com/eb11music or http://www.eb11music.com/. You can download One Decision from iTunes, Napster or Rhapsody.

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.

Review: St. Dominic's Trio - Switch

St. Dominic's Trio - Switch
2009, Frozen Rope Records

Minnesota rockers St. Dominic's Trio offer up a mix of original songs heavily influenced by a classic rock sound with the occasional to modern mores. The Minnesota based band (which is not, in fact, a trio) has been a local club favorite for some time but has started to branch out in the last two years. Switch is their debut album, and provides a picture of a band with a distinct musical taste and a chameleon-like nature.

Switch opens with Free And Alive, punctuated by 1970's Chicago (the band) style horns. Free And Alive is a happy romp with a driving rhythm and lots of peripheral instrumental action. 4th Day Of May is a straight forward classic rocker that draws from early R&B sounds. I Thought We Were Friends is in a similar vein with the addition of that delicious horn section. There's an Elvis Costello vibe here that is somewhat muted but unmistakable. She Loves You Anyway is a tasty bit of Americana that is a perfect vessel for vocalist Terry Walsh. Bike Ride of 35W has a southern/swamp rock feel to it. The song is quite catchy and certain to have you up and dancing.

Outta Bullets reflects a little more attitude and oomph from St. Dominic's Trio, dealing in a blend of Blues and Rock N Roll that is sure to please. This is what AC/DC might have sounded like if they originated in the early 1960's. Be sure also to check out Cold Dice and the effecting One Day. One Day is perhaps the finest composition on the album -- every listener will recognize this aural photograph in someone they know.

St. Dominic's Trio have made the jump from classic rock bar band to creative force. Switch is a capable album with a number of decent songs and one or two real standouts. In the current market this is not a highly commercial release, but is very listenable and should find a solid fan base for St. Dominic's Trio. One Day is a special song that could carry St. Dominic's Trio a long way (similar to how The Time Of Your Life established Green Day as a serious artistic band as opposed to a reckless punk outfit). Switch is definitely worth checking out.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about St. Dominic’s Trio at http://www.belfastcowboys.com/. You can purchase a copy of Switch at www.cdbaby.com/cd/stdominicstrio.