Sic Transit Gloria...

Justin Pierre’s (Motion City Soundtrack) side project, Farewell Continental, is pretty much a slower version of MCS. While the lyrics draw comparison because Pierre writes for both bands, Farewell Continental slows the tempo down a lot. The result of this is a more spacey synth instead of the hooky moog synthesizer, bass driven verses, and in songs like “Do You Wanna Tangle?” the feedback from the guitars paired with the slow drum beat match perfectly. Also being accompanied by a female voice usually makes for a more intimate sound. 

I have been listening to “Good News For People Who Love Bad News” by Modest Mouse a lot over this break. “Bury Me With It” is by far my favorite song off the record because it strays away from “Float On” which is what everyone thinks of when Modest Mouse comes to mind. “Bury Me With It” is much heavier and the band goes all out to show a darker side of Modest Mouse. The drumming is phenomenal and the snare drum sounds very cool on the track. This is a very underrated song.

So I am extremely excited for Taking Back Sunday’s new album because of the lineup consisting of the five original members that put out “Tell All Your Friends”, and when Adam posted a demo version of a new song entitled, “Best Places To Be A Mom”, I jumped all over it. 

Now, the first time I listened to it, my reaction was that it wasn’t nearly as good as anything on TAYF. But listening to it many more times and more closely, it has become one of my favorite Taking Back Sunday songs. I mean, what did we expect? The band to put out an exact replica of TAYF? That would be rather lame. “Best Places To Be A Mom” still has the TAYF feel, but it’s just a more grown up side to TBS. Think about it; It has been eight and a half years since TAYF.

Really listen to this song and your judgement may change after you’ve heard it twice or three times. I cannot get the line “Am I just like the rest of them? The sum of my father and all his sins?” out of my head.

arenownedlove:

It seems as though these guys have been under the radar for quite a while now. Would hate for people to forget about them, they’re just too talented. So here’s one of their best (in my opinion), Timberwolves at New Jersey by Taking Back Sunday (from their album, Tell All Your Friends), enjoy.

Definitely their best song and by far their best album. Can’t wait for their new record with the original members who put out “Tell All Your Friends”. 

This acoustic version of “When You’re Around” by Motion City Soundtrack was released about a year before it was released on the record “Commit This to Memory” with the full band playing it. This version is off of the Matchbox Romance/MCS split which also contains another hidden Motion City song, “Sunday Warning”. 

For months now I’ve had the single “Fake Empire” by The National in the back of my library and never got the chance to listen to it. Last week, my colleague Joe recommend the whole album, “Boxer”, and after I listened to it through, I needed more. The follow up to “Boxer”, “High Violet”, is everything I could ever want in a record. Thumping drums, slow, deep voices calmly singing beautiful lyrics, and string sections setting the mood. The National has become one of my favorite bands. Here is “Bloodbuzz Ohio” off of “High Violet”

“Girlfriend In a Coma” - The Smiths

So I love Brand New. And Brand New was influenced by The Smiths. So this means I love The Smiths. So should you.

“Don’t Be So Hard” - The Audition

Memories of freshman year in high school. Bands like The Audition have been the foundation of my music taste and seeing these guys open for Jack’s Mannequin was terrific.

“No Soul” is probably my favorite song off of IDOTG. The album grows on me more and more with every listen and Say Anything has climbed higher and higher on my favorites list. Max Bemis is a genius. Enough said.

A great way to end a spectacular weekend is to keep the good mood going. “Dog Problems” by The Format is the perfect record for this. Fronted by Nate Ruess (fun.), The Format steals your heart with their fantastic combinations of instruments including bells, electric drums, and moog synthesizers. Enjoy “She Doesn’t Get It”. 

In a recent interview, Andrew McMahon (Jack’s Mannequin, Something Corporate) said that the new Jack’s Mannequin album will sound like his debut record, “Everything In Transit”. In hopes that it will, I give you the opening track to “Everything In Transit”, “Holiday From Real”.

Our Life Story is a band I discovered on a seven hour bus ride from Boston back to Syracuse. I’m drawn to the New Found Glory like singing style, and also their ability to write fast paced pop-punk songs, but also the lovely, slower songs accompanied by acoustic guitar and piano, like “For Future Reference” off the EP “Shorelines”. “For Future Reference” includes snare rolls, drum fills, and slamming beats which is extremely hard for a slower, acoustic song, but Our life Story pulls it off very well.

I really got into Steel Train after I saw them at Bamboozle this spring. The spastic “Black Eye” is filled with screeching guitar and cheerful back-up vocals, whilst Jack Antonoff sings, “I said one day your gona die.” “Black Eye is definitely my favorite song off of “Trampoline” just because of how different it is from anything else I’ve ever heard. 

So I’m not super big on hardcore music, but I think Underoath is the exception. When I first got their new album, I was skeptical of how it would turn out due to the fact that there are no members from the original, starting band and there isn’t Aaron Gillespie (The Almost) behind the kits or singing back up. But the record really surprised me and turned out to be tremendous. “Driftwood” sounds more like a Postal Service song, which sums up how cool the album is.

Turn your speakers up all the way. “Bought a Bride”- Brand New