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Up-and-coming bands reviewed, should you listen?
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Kevin Delury
Entertainment Beat |
 Howie
Day
Australia
Epic Records
From the outset of “Australia,” Howie
Day evokes images of a more fine-tuned Dashboard Confessional. The
album rests primarily on acoustic instrumentation and Day’s
haunting voice, sometimes so emotionally charged and seething it
could be mistaken for Radiohead’s Thom Yorke.
Whereas Day and Dashboard Confessional both specialize
in middle-of-the-road acoustic songs, Day has the edge on “Australia.”
It took Dashboard Confessional over three albums to scratch the
surface of mainstream music; Day’s first album picked him up
the “Best Debut Album” in the Boston Music Awards.
The biggest edge rests in utilizing the studio
production tools available to him, but at the same time allowing
the album to keep a certain unpolished feel that gives “Australia”
an overall realness that makes this album enjoyable from beginning
to end. |
 Common
Rider
This is Unity Music
Hopeless Records
Let the world rejoice, The Clash has gotten back
together, and they have convinced Bad Brains to reunite while they
were at it. No wait, it’s just Common Rider’s new album.
“This is Unity Music,” is about, put
plainly, unity. Old school punk a la The Clash, set with some strange
hybrid of ska, So Cal surfer rock, and, depending on the track,
a number of other styles ranging from prog rock to synthesizer breakdowns.
By the time listeners reach the second track
on the album, “Set the Method Down,” they’ll be longing
for the days of Sublime, but not for long. Sublime may have some
sense of legend surrounding their band courtesy of lead vocalist’s
Bradely Nowell’s untimely death, but fans of Sublime shouldn’t
shut out the idea that Common Rider might actually become their
new favorite band, if only they’d give it a chance. |
 Highway
9
What in Samhill?
Epic Records
Nobody can mess with The Boss, also known as Bruce
Springsteen. It goes without saying that Springsteen has the market
cornered on rock ‘n’ roll, and that he basically has a
place in the hearts of every resident of New Jersey.
Highway 9 must have missed that lesson in rock
‘n’ roll high school. On their album “What in Samhill?”
this New Jersey act takes a walk in Springsteen’s shoes, tries
on Tom Petty’s top hat, and tops it all off with a healthy
dose of the Goo Goo Dolls.
Sound like it could be just about anything else
on the radio these days? Given the chance, it very well could be.
Everything you need for a hit album is there, earnest vocals about
hard times and lost loves, rock music with the harmonies layered
on, topped off with organs, and of course what seems to be the standard
fare for a rock album these days, the string ballad.
Highway 9 is bar band music, and for that we
should be thankful. For now, we are spared the Eddie Vedder vocal
stylings, and the post-post-grunge rock that just doesn’t seem
to go anywhere. This act knows their roots, and they flaunt them
mercilessly. While it may not be breaking new boundaries, it’s
certainly worth the listen. Still, you can’t help thinking
this band would sound 10 times better if you heard it live with
a cold beer in your hand at New Jersey’s very own Stone Pony,
where Springsteen got his humble start. |
 None
But Burning
A Love like Boxing
Forsaken Records
In the North Carolina scene, metal has been done
in every manner possible. On the same token, so has emo and all
its different offshoots. So why doesn’t anybody combine the
styles together? That question is up for debate, but in the meantime,
None But Burning is here to provide some relief from cookie-cutter
bands.
Bearing strong resemblances to older Boy Sets
Fire, None But Burning is a relatively young band out of Birmingham,
Ala. On their first album “A Love like Boxing,” the group
goes off on a five-song trip through a spectrum of emotions, backed
by a powerhouse of post-hardcore music that grows dim only to be
replaced by breathtaking instrumentals and soul-bearing vocals.
At the beginning of their careers, this band
is poised to take off in the underground scene. Judging from “A
Love like Boxing” it should be quite interesting to see where
this band takes its sound in their next albums. |
 The
Juliana Theory
Love
Epic Records
Most indie bands would cringe in horror at the
idea of aspiring to Backstreet Boy-style stardom, but anyone who
has heard where The Juliana Theory has taken their direction in
their past three albums, or seen their over-the-top performances
knows that the brand of popularity the band is looking for rests
in the CD collections of giddy teenage girls.
On their first major label release titled “Love,”
it seems that the Juliana Theory is only a few short steps away
from achieving their goal. Still, the album is undeniably catchy,
as many reluctant music lovers will admit after intense interrogation.
One part indie rock and one part corporate pop,
this group has the music and image to carry them all the way to
the studios of Total Request Live, and the street credentials to
keep the at least semi-cool in the indie community.
While masterfully produced and musically innovative,
it becomes increasingly obvious the band will never work past the
hit album that gained them attention from both the underground and
mainstream communities, “Emotion is Dead.”
Older fans will be disappointed to hear them
drag their previously recorded track, “Into the Dark,”
onto the new album, giving it a totally uncalled for re-recording.
However, if listeners can work past the stigma the band has built
for itself, they’ll find some of the best songs of the fall. |
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