Eleventh He Reaches London - Hollow Be My Name

2009 | POST ROCK | POST HARDCORE | ALTERNATIVE

Track Listing

 

1. Hollow Be My Name ✔

2. Britain And Structure 

3. I Am The Bearer, I Stand In Need

4. Son, You're Almost An Orphan

5. Oh, Brother ✔

6. Gaze To The North 

7. Toorali ✔

8. Hill Of Grace

9. Girt By Piss

10. Death Is My Holiday
11. For The Commonwealth And The Queen

✔ indicates track pick

Rating

 

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Review 

Eleventh He Reaches London's sophomore record 'Hollow Be My Name' is certainly a tough sell. Half the prospective audience will notice the 'post-hardcore' label and instantly click away to something less repetitive and miserable. And it's most likely the other half will see the 'post-rock' label, and recoil at the prospect of no easily identifiable chorus and verse structures. It's also most likely that the few remaining will take one look at the album cover's rather dull depiction of colonial conquest and click away to something brightly colored and shiny. Now I'm not suggesting here that the reason this will never hit the mainstream is that most judge an album by it's label and cover. However if you do pass up listening to the music as a result of one of these reasons, you're truly missing something special; It's brooding, it's dramatic and it's brilliant. Although their last album was an engaging listen, the problem was it didn't sound like it was finished, and everything hadn't quite fallen into place yet. However this five piece from Perth, Australia have managed to pull all the elements together for 'Hollow Be My Name' perfectly.

It's a diverse mix of songs that comprise this album and I can suggest no better place to start than with 'Oh Brother'; essentially a campfire jam, which needs to be watched with it's accompanying video to get a real feel for the music. Taking you on a journey back through time, it builds up slowly with a mellow muted guitar riff setting the rhythm, giving plenty of space for the subtle guitar melodies to work their magic. The three guitars utilize a wide range of sounds here, providing a thick texture and there's even a banjo thrown in to spice things up! Lead singer Lenton's voice has certainly improved since the last release, delivering the bleak lyrics with raw emotion, while never detracting from the music; the vocals are always kept quite low in the mix. Then after an ambling guitar solo, the big finale comes in the form of a whole band singalong, interweaving guitars and frantic, crashing and clashing drums. The title track 'Hollow Be My Name' is also an obvious standout, with a basic rock beat and simple chord structures. It's based around  one simple progression however it's stretched out to almost six minutes. This is one thing the band does well, and it's the reason for a comparison to post rock; it's not about the instant gratification of a chorus such as with modern pop. It's more about the journey and the way the tension builds until the climax is reached, where the listener is bombarded with a wall of theatrical noise, taking their breath away, before gently easing off the throttle and fading away. 

The influence of traditional folk ballads in Eleventh He Reaches London's music remains present throughout the album; two prime examples being 'Son, You're Almost An Orphan' and 'Death Is My Holiday'. With the the latter you can almost picture a group of raggedy bushmen huddling round a campfire and signing in an off key unison. However the band's best showcase of traditional Australian tunes is shown in their take on the ancient ballad 'Botany Bay', where they breathe some much needed life into the classic. And if the convicts destined for Australia all those years ago had guitars and drums available, then they would certainly have sung and played this from dawn to dusk to provide comfort on their long and terrifying voyage. Overall it's a wonderfully written album, and indeed one of the best to come out Australia in recent years. It's driven by passionate songwriting, a thoughtful approach to instrumentation and a level of care taken in writing and recording the music that's rarely seen in modern music today. I think there's certainly a few bands that could take a lesson from Eleventh He Reaches London.

The Musicians Are...

Ian Lenton - Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Percussion 
Jayden Worts - Guitar, Backing Vocals, Synthesizer, Percussion
Jeremy Martin - Guitar, Backing Vocals, Keys
Craig McElhinney - Bass Guitar 
Mark Donaldson - Drums

  

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Track 5. Oh, Brother

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The New Morty Show - Mortyfied

1998 | ALTERNATIVE ROCK | SWING | JAZZ

Track Listing

 

1. Baby What's Up ✔

2. White Wedding / Rebel Yell Melody

3. Out Of Control

4. 15 Months In Jail

5. Buddha's Bounce

6. Blue Martini ✔

7. In The Groove ✔

8. Shoppin' Mall Mama

9. Knockin' At Your Door

10. Enter Sandman
11. Caledonia

✔ indicates track pick

Rating

 

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Review 

I've never really listened to much swing before. It was listening to metal that ironically got me onto this band. Some time ago I discovered and fell in love with The Diablo Swing Orchestra; and their deliciously avant-garde combination of metal and swing. So out of curiosity I searched for 'swing metal' and one of the results that surfaced was a catchy little swing cover of 'Enter Sandman', or in the words of the band; 'The New Morty Show swings Metallica baby!" I quite enjoyed their straight swing cover of the Metallica classic, so went out and got hold of their debut effort 'Mortyfied' (yes, with that spelling). For a person who's only real taste of jazz up until then had been through 'The Blues Brothers' and an occasional episode from 'The Simpsons' which featured 'Bleeding Gums Murphy', 'Mortyfied' worked its way into my head and led me to impression that everything sounds good when swung. See the problem with swing is that it's a genre that's never really been embraced by the mainstream, however 'The New Morty Show' bridge that gap as their repertoire features that old style swinging big band numbers infused with a modern sound and just a hint of rock in the mix.

Led by trumpet player Morty Okin and with brilliant duo vocal performances from Connie Champagne and Vise Grip this is a excellent first record, filled with with infectious tunes that will have you bopping the head and tapping the feet all night long. It's a full sound achieved as well, and with a rich horn section, guitar, bass, drums and piano they've got it all. Opener 'Baby What's Up?' shows what this group is all about; giving each other a moment in the spotlight. A bold trumpet riff begins the song, taking turns with a playful little piano melody. We get some nice harmonies from the singers in the chorus, while the verses give each individual vocalist some room to play. It's the solos that make this song brilliant though; first we're presented with a dirty little sax solo, and the tones on the instrument are astoundingly good. And if that wasn't enough, we get a rocking little acoustic solo before it descends back into the chorus. It's because of this perhaps that this band is often tagged as 'neo-swing' because it follows a more standard verse chorus formula that's so common in music today, but this works to their advantage and makes it more easy to listen to. 

Much of the rest of the album follows the same path as the opener; a tight horn section, a quick pace and solos a plenty. 'Blue Martini' stands out from the rest; it's the laid back piece that sounds like it's been directly pulled out of a romance movie's obligatory 'restaurant date scene', although the lyrics speak of sitting alone at a bar drinking expensive drinks late into the night.  This is where the piano gets to shine; with slow meandering jazz chords and fills. The female vocals take lead here, and Champagne certainly has great range hitting the essential lows and highs. Although she covers a wide dynamic range, her voice never becomes harsh. The highlight of the song however is the two minute long brilliant improvised solo from pianist John Quam, which begins slow but quickly gains momentum, playing off the drums and building up to a fast paced climax with horns thrown in, after which it brings you back to slow and mournful tune of the start. And all in the space of six and a half minutes. At the start of the review I mentioned the band's take on Metallica, but they also cover Billy Idol in the form of 'White Wedding'. The 'Enter Sandman' cover is an innovative and creative take on the original, with some brilliant piano work and a funky wandering bass line. It sounds like it was meant to be swung, and although more could have been done with it, it simply worked. However the Billy Idol cover falls a bit flat; the music doesn't seem to match up to vocals. It resembles what can only be described as 'musical photoshop', in which they take a generic swing song and chuck the vocals over the top. 

It's still music that's never going to find a mainstream audience which is shame, but The New Morty Show gives a good window into the past, while looking ahead to the future. And one can only imagine that when these jazz cats hit the stage, everybody on the floor will be dancing all through the night and day.

The Musicians Are...
 

Morty Orkin - Band Leader / Trumpet
Connie Champage - Vocals
Vise Grip- Vocal
Van Hughes - Trombone
Joe Escobar - Trombone
David Murotake - Saxophone
Tom Griesser - Baritone Sax
John Quam - Piano
Trevor Kinsel - Bass
David Rubin - Drums
Robert Castillo - Guitar

  

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Track 1. Baby What's Up?

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The White Room - White Room Music

2007 | ALTERNATIVE ROCK | ACOUSTIC

Track Listing

1. Enemies Closer
2. Vicious Girl ✔
3. Unbreakable
4. I Am No One ✔
5. Nerve
6. Lover Number One
7. First Page
8. Figure 8
9. All There Is
10. Out Of My League
11. Halo
12. The Way That I Am ✔

✔ indicates track pick
  

Rating

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review
 
I came across a two track sampler from this album purely by chance, in a small opportunity shop just off the side of a busy highway. It was tucked on a shelf in the back corner of the shop, between all the albums and singles that nobody wanted anymore. A few things made me buy it;  the cover was engaging, it was less than a million years old, but most importantly it was put out by Roadrunner Records. Now for those who don't know, Roadrunner is a label that primarily focuses on heavy metal bands, and with the exception of Nickelback they're home to many talented rockers such as Killswitch Engage, Trivium and Megadeath to name a few. So naturally I was expecting something of the same mold from 'The White Room', however I have never been so delighted to be wrong. In fact I enjoyed the two songs on the sampler, 'Vicious Girl' and 'Enemies Closer' so much that it prompted me into a long and hard search on the net to find the rest of the album. I ended up to my dismay having to use iTunes, as it was a hard album to track down, but it was money well  spent, as I enjoyed the whole album just as much as the sampler.

It's tough to attempt to describe this band. If The Goo Goo Dolls and AC/DC had a love child, I think it's safe to say that 'The White Room'  would be the result, although this band actually sounds nothing like either of them. It's an incredibly diverse album and sound, with a combination of acoustic pop ballads and hard rocking tracks. It's also very much a family band. Wheelchair bound Marc Collins fronts up the band on guitar, with sister Steph on drums and together they share the vocal duties. 'White Room Music' kicks off with two hard hitting numbers; the first being 'Enemies Closer', which starts with muted guitar and a pumping drum beat, before progressing into a rocking chorus. It's much the same with 'Vicious Girl', and the guitar riff that begins this song is guaranteed to have you banging your head, as it has such a nostalgic old style hard rock feel to it, that you just don't hear in music anymore. The chords themselves are kept simple, much like the formula so it doesn't take long for the listener to identify with the audible pleasure they're  experiencing. The drums are another high point of the album; they're kept simple, unlike some drummers who place fills everywhere. But they're still diverse, experimenting outside of the normal straight rock beat.

The album continues to delight as it progresses. Songs like 'Unbreakable' display a technique the band is fond of; acoustic chords and riffs to fill the verses and with distortion for the chorus, while 'I Am No One' almost takes the form of a rock ballad, with multiple harmonies in the chorus and a slower feel overall, with a guitar solo to cap it all off. 'Nerve' also deserves a mention. With a punk rock vibe, Steph gets to take lead vocals for the first time. Her voice is very much in the vein of Paramore and Flyleaf, and it was a wise choice to give her more of a forward role in this song, as her voice suits it perfectly. Then there's the other side of the band; the soft side. The best showcase of this is in the album's closer 'The Way I Am'. Normally I don't look too much into lyrics, but the wry reference to Marc's own situation is hard to miss; it's his message to the world that he accepts himself the way he is, and isn't about to let his disability become a hindrance to achieving his goals and dreams. Two beautiful picked acoustic riffs contrast each other through the introduction and into a positive sounding chourus. It's often said that the voices of siblings work well together, and it's certainly proven here, as Marc and Steph make this a beautiful duet, with gentle harmonies

It's a wonderful debut effort from some extremely talented songwriters. It's also easily marketable material and should have seen the band off to grander places. However most unfortunately 'The White Room' seems to have since dissolved and slipped into oblivion. The official website has closed down and physical copies of the album are now notoriously hard to track down. iTunes and Myspace remain as the only evidence that this band once existed. Hopefully they'll emerge again at some point in the future, as they showed great potential on this breathtaking debut album

The White Room Was...

Marc Collis - Guitars, Vocals
Steph Collis - Drums, Vocals
Ben Jarvis - Guitars
Barry Brauer - Bass

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Track 2. Vicious Girl 

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Emarosa - Emarosa

2009 | POST HARDCORE | SOUL | ALTERNATIVE

Track Listing

1.  A Toast To The Future Kids! ✔

2. Pretend. Relive. Regret ✔

3. Share The Sunshine Young Blood

4. Truth Hurts While Laying On Your Back

5. Live It. Love It. Lust It.

6. The Game Played Right

7. Broken Vs. The Way We Were Born ✔

8. I Still Feel Her Pt. IV

9. The Weight of Love Blinds Eyes

10. We Are Life

✔ indicates track pick

Rating 

★ ★ ★ ★

Review

I've been a fan of Emarosa for quite some time now. Originally playing a typical style of post hardcore, innovatively fused with keys and synths, this is a band that has come a long way since their early days. Ditching their vocalist and their heavier style for an alternative rock sound on their debut record was a bold move, but it seems to have paid off. This is their second album with new vocalist Jonny Craig, and it appears the band has finally settled into their groove. This self-titled release sees them continuing in a similar vein of their previous album, fusing their unique variety of post hardcore and alternative rock, married with Craig's magical R&B and soul vocal stylings.

If you've dabbled in the slightly more alternative and experimental side of post-hardcore you've probably heard or heard of Jonny Craig. Although he's been the source of more drama than a soap opera, and has the maturity levels of a spoilt six year old, he makes up for this in his singing, and his voice is at the forefront of this album for a very good reason. In a genre of music which is overpopulated with whiny high pitched frontmen, Craig is a welcome breath of fresh air, with his style of singing suiting the music surprisingly well. On top of his incredible vocal range, he has a talent for singing his lines with such emotion, a good example of which is in the song "Broken Vs. The Way We Were Born". The instrumentation in the track is certainly solid, but it's Craig's voice that makes this track stand out, and his ability to swiftly shift from a soft soulful croon to raw passionate cries. The self-centered lyrics are hardly noticeable, as you let the sound of his voice wash over you.

 As far as the instrumentation goes, the rest of the band has also come a long way in the two years since their last release, 'Relativity'. The guitars are constantly exploring new themes and ideas, and the production is crisp and clean. However it's often hard to hear keys beneath everything else, and the bass is barely audible. Perhaps to target a more mainstream audience, Emarosa has ditched the experimental, wandering song structures found in their debut, and gone for a more typical verse chorus formula. It still works though; with "A Toast To The Future Kids", being a notable example of how a transition to a more refined song writing style has paid off. Beginning with a clean strummed introduction and soft vocals, it builds into a verse with scattering, funky drums and onto a powerful and rocking chorus. 

"Pretend. Relive. Regret" is another winner from the album. Playing out in a similar vein to "Broken Vs. The Way We Were Played", it features a catchy verse which seems to hint at the greater things to come, and greater things certainly do emerge. Emarosa has a knack for writing memorable hooks, and while their previous album featured various ideas scattered all over the place, most of the songs on this record come home strong with a killer chorus; the band at full intensity. My only criticism of the album is that there is only so much of it you can listen to at one time. It's one of those things that are better in small doses. The band made a wise decision in capping the album at ten songs, but even then it's not an album you'd put on and listen to from start to finish, as it starts to sound all the same. It has more of a place on random shuffle, where hearing a single song between other artists on your music player will blow you away.

It was a disappointment the lack of keys featured in this album. On the band's first EP, Jordan Stewart's keys were very much front and center, but since the change in sound they've provided more of a backing role, with organs and synths, rather than creating a melody of their own as they did in the debut EP. I was really hoping for a keyboard focused song in this album to let Jordan stretch his legs, but I guess I'm going to have to wait until next time. At the time of writing this review however, Jonny Craig has left the band, and is yet to be replaced. What this means for the future of the band is uncertain, but Emarosa has always been a band that adapts to change well, so I'm sure we'll hear from them very soon in the future and I look forward to discovering wherever their musical careers progress to next. 

Emarosa Is...

Jonny Craig - Vocals

Jonas Ladekjaer - Guitar / Backing Vocals

ER White - Guitar

Jordan Stewart - Keyboard

Lukas Koszewski - Drums

Will Sowers - Bass Guitar

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Track 7. Broken Vs. The Way We Were Born

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Lights Action - Welcome To The New Cold World

2009 | INDIE ROCK | ALTERNATIVE

Track Listing

 

1. Moscow

2. Battle Of Lovers ✔

3. Signals To Radar

4. Young Scarlett Young ✔

5. Travellin' Man

6. I Woke Up In A Civil War

7. Passions Of The Lonley

8. Until The Day I Die

9. Black Feathers ✔

10. The Bottom Of The Sea

✔ indicates track pick

Rating

 

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Review

Let me start by saying; while I have listened to many brilliant musicians that have emerged from the Indie scene throughout the years, such as Radiohead, there's been almost as many that have been a complete waste of my time. There's been so many pretentious and egotistical performers, who in trying to create something with meaning, something that differs from the repetition of mainstream, end up with a creation that is nowhere near as innovative as the artist would like to think it is. 

However on the other hand, you have performers like this. Think the soaring majestic stadium anthems of Coldplay, crossed with the softer, breathtaking moments in Death Cab For Cutie and you have 'Lights Action'. And this five piece band, hailing from London, have crafted something truly special on their debut release 'Welcome To The New Cold War'. 'Lights Action' was a good name choice, as it describes what the band attempts to create; sweeping cinematic passages, combined with catchy pop rock sensibilities. 

Opener 'Moscow' acts as a forerunner for what's to come, with theatrical organs and soaring vocals, but it's after this when the album really begins. With a strong rock beat and a catchy guitar melody 'Battle Of Lovers' is well placed at the start of the album. 'Young Scarlett Young' is another winner, with a soft piano intro building up to another epic sounding chorus, with a melodic violin accentuating that cinematic sound you can tell band was aiming for.

However the real treat is saved for the end of the album, where Lights Action displays their talent to seamlessly switch from pumping rock tunes to more laid back ballads. 'Until The Day I Die' really showcases singer Patrick Currier's vocal range, and while his voice isn't always perfect, it's mesmerizing to listen to and fits well with the music. Second to last track, 'Black Feathers' is probably one of the highlights of the album. Haunting strings build into a gentle guitar melody and soft vocals, which flow into an emotional chorus and towards a grand finale, with strings and harmonies and everything they've got thrown it. It's epic, it's catchy, it's beautiful What more could you want?

Lights Action Is...
 

Patrick Currier - Vocals
Karl Bareham - Guitar
Chris Moorhead - Guitar/Keys
Alex Leeder - Bass
Steven Durham - Drums

  

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Track 2. Battle Of Lovers

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