All Things Bright & Beautiful- Love & Affection

This album came pretty much out of nowhere. Released last November on Northern Records with little ado. I finally heard about All Things Bright and Beautiful when looking at the bands on the schedule for this year's Cornerstone Festival. A couple mp3s on their webpage got me hooked and a few weeks later here I am reviewing the album. Continue

Driver Eight- Watermelon

This album is simply one of the very best modern rock albums available. Not perfect, but better than most other modern rock albums I've heard. Watermelon overflows with all sorts of great melodies and songs, and not a whole lot of lyrics. Most of the songs have about ten short lines of lyrics to them, most of which are not all that impressive. At the bottom of each page is a song explanation, and this can range from simply saying something like "A Driving Song" to "Sunbitten is a bird in Brazil. My sister went there for a long time. I missed her." Usually the song lyrics and the meaning have little to do with each other, but I guess that's alright.  Continue

Pedro The Lion- It's Hard To Find A Friend

There's something immediately arresting about David Bazan's vocals, though nothing particularly dramatic is going on. His words are almost always delivered in a slow, off-hand lope. Bazan sounds somewhat congested, as if he barely has the strength to form the words and tap out a somnolent rhythm with one drumstick. Nevertheless, the songs are striking, intimate and natural-sounding. It's as if Bazan -- who by himself more or less makes up Pedro the Lion -- is someone you've known forever, and he's quietly telling you stories.  Continue

Pax217- Check Your Pulse Ep

Well it has been 2 years since we heard from the boys of Pax217. Since their last effort they'rehave been a lot of changes, they officially replaced Skwid on drums with Joey Marchiano. Which really wasn't a drastic change since Joey was on most of the songs on Engage. Tito Duran percussionist and keyboardist left the band. The brother of Tito, Bobby Duran turntablist and emcee also has left the band. Continue

Starflyer 59- Silver

You wouldn't think this Riverside, CA trio could so easily overcome so many surface flaws. "Monterey" creeps into crappy Smashing Pumpkins debt; at least two cuts, including the opening "Blue Collar Love" (beware!) and "She Only Knows," flirt with metal even more than Swervedriver (though like that also great band, they're not metal); and as well, the band can slip into the bleak, dark, doom-and-gloom Goth sound as sure as if the Cure's Robert Smith produced.  Continue

Pony Express- Becoming What You Hate

You'd think that after working as a librarian for six years, I'd learn not to judge a book by its cover. Still, the most important lessons remain the most difficult to learn, which is why I approached Pony Express's Becoming What You Hate with a little trepidation. How could I know? The album art screams "Virgin Megastore cut-out bin circa 1993," and the one-page fact sheet that came with the album uses poor grammar! Doesn't that mean whatever's inside is, itself, discountable?  Continue

Fielding- S/T

The self-titled release of this relatively new band is a refreshing new addition to indie-rock. Fielding blends elements of americana and brit-pop to their distinctive, progressive sound. Eric B handles the vocals (and some guitars), and you might've known him from...ah...well...nevermind. And Beth B's contribution of keys and strings make this debut a beautifully emotional ride. This album is essentially passion charged indie-rock. Highly recommended, and a great newbie to the Militia roster. For fans of Pedro the Lion, Travis, Haven, Plankeye, Aaron Sprinkle, ect.  Continue

LN- Novel

Admittedly, I've done a pretty rotten job of keeping up with LN's music. Case in point: "Novel" came out last year and I'm just now getting around to it. Needless to say, there are many others who are far more knowledgeable than I when it comes to this band (if you have any doubt, just check out the VBM forum on the Vagrant Cafe). Having said that, it certainly feels like LN's Gary Murray has really pushed himself musically on "Novel", exploring a wider range of styles and sounds than he has on the few recordings I'm familiar with.  Continue

The Samples- No Room

No Room was the first album recorded by the Samples after signing with start-up label What Are Records? (W.A.R.?) and the follow-up to 1991's The Samples. The songs on this album continue to use the environment as a canvas for personal reflections. Sometimes it is poetic, as in "When It's Raining," which encourages personal growth ("Leave shelter when it's raining"), and "Stone Tears," which condemns repression ("No one feels the heat of the earth/Their ancient walls protect them now").  Continue

Aunt Bettys- S/T

The inception of Aunt Bettys was Michael Knotts attempt at crossing over into the mainstream market. Well, looking back years later, I guess it didn't quite pan out like he had hoped it would. After decades of pumping out album after album, Michael has quite a great catalog of good albums. In fact I've never stumbled across one that I didn't like, maybe that's due to the fact that he never seems to take any kind of risks when writing them. You would think that when you decide to start another band your style of music would change, this isn't the case with Michael Knott. He seems to have managed to record a lot of albums under different monikers, the sad thing is they all seem to sound so alike, I can hardly tell the difference between most of them. So you should know where I am going with this review.  Continue

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