Home Music Music Monday 30/06/2014
Music Monday 30/06/2014

Music Monday 30/06/2014

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So the Summer gaming drought is here and that means that unless you’re a retro fiend, there’s not a whole not new to tickle your gaming taste-buds. The Summer blockbusters are in full effect in the box office, so unless you really enjoy huge budgets and huge special effects, there’s not a whole lot in theaters either. This is where music comes in. All year ’round great bands are releasing great records that sound good no matter the occasion. Whether you’re heading abroad for a holiday, or keeping yourself locked inside to avoid human contact, there’s always a band you haven’t heard making some noise that just might be your new favorite song. Here’s a few of my favorites from this year (so far!).

Intervals – Automaton

I honestly wasn’t a huge of Intervals before their début record A Voice Within. They were a completely instrumental band and it all felt a touch repetitive and a touch sterile to my ears when I sat down to listen to a selection of their songs. That said, with vocalist Mike Semesky, Aaron Marshall and co. really came into their own as a great progressive metal band. His melodic hooks really turn catchy riffs into huge grooves and provides the perfect cherry to take the band to the next level. Automaton is easily my favorite on the album, that pre-chorus just makes me stand to attention everytime I hear it, and you will to.

J Mascis – Every Morning

Here’s something that’s absolutely perfect this ’bout of sunny weather we’re having. I was a HUGE fan of J Mascis‘ first solo lp Several Shades of Why and a new album in the same vain has me several shades of giddy. Those who’re devout grunge fans will know J’s voice from Dinosaur Jr., one of the reliable stalwarts of the grunge scene who never quite made it to the stadium stardom of some of their brethren. Just listen to that voice man, tell me it’s not endearing and this song doesn’t make you want to dance!

St. Vincent – Prince Johnny

This was a leftfield release for me, I was completely unaware of it until recently. St. Vincent, or Annie Clark as she’s also known, is a multi-instrumentalist and general music oddity. Her solo output, outside of touring bands and ensembles, has been that right mix between bizarre but still altogether familiar with lots of hooks and boogie-bility. Her fourth, St. Vincent, is just a delightful mix of art rock/avant garde pop that is beginning to end oozing with character. Prince Johnny feels like it wants to break out into a heavy groove, but stays where it’s at and just moves along and keeps you boobin’ your head along with it. The beat is straight and lets her do her thing vocally that’s memorable until the last.

Mastodon – Chimes of Midnight

Something nice and poppy to something completely heavy now with the mighty Mastodon‘s Chimes at Midnight, off their new opus Once More ‘Round The Sun. They are simply one of the best bands releasing music right now. Their output is always interesting, always pushing themselves to new sounds every record, and it’s always a treat listening to a new long-play. Once More ‘Round The Sun is very much a melding of the straight song-writing that went on with The Hunter, and the very progressive sensibilities of their previous records. While some of the songs are taking a while to fully swallow for me, this is one that any fan of Mastodon can get behind. From the mind-bending verse riff to the sheer mountain that is the vocal hook for the pre-chorus and chorus. Top class.

Alcest – Opale

Never heard of shoegaze? Well, now you have, and yes it’s a silly term for a sometimes very cool style of music. Alcest recently switched from being a shoegaze/post-rock/metal band to a straight shoegaze/post-rock act with their newest release Shelter. It’s a longer listen that their previous records to get to grips with, but once you get used to the sounds, it’s easy to see the beauty here, and there’s a lot of it. Neige continues his comforting, melodic nature with increasingly beautiful soundscapes of trebley guitar lines and lots of reverb and effects to make the sound just as big and tearjerking as before. Opale is the first proper track on the lp and it may just be the best first track on an album I’ve heard this year.

Moonlit Sailor – Skydiver

Post-rock at it’s Swedish finest now with a cut from Moonlit Sailor‘s We Come From Exploding Stars; Skydiver. The whole album is really a powerhouse of emotion and gorgeous layers of clever instrumentation, but Skydiver is a definite highlight amongst the beauty. There’s very little I can say about this that won’t ruin the listen a little bit, so please, sit back, put it on loud, and relax.

Periphery – Pale Aura

What do you get when you put one of the best, most progressive metal bands making the rounds today and get them to make an EP? You get an incredibly distinctive set of songs is what you get. The ‘concept’ is simple; there’s a melodic theme at the start of the EP, and each band member wrote a full song that contains part of that theme in it somewhere. It’s a powerhouse, and wholly demonstrates a band who are totally at ease with each other and whose chemistry really takes their song-writing to the next level. Pale Aura is Mark Holcomb’s track, and the melodic value is undeniable. Not to mention it’s heavy as all hell. Listen to it and groove my friends, groove HARD.

What are your favorite tracks/records of the year so far? Let us know!

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