Album Review:: Watching the Sky | Sheppard

So, full disclosure: I didn’t even know this album was coming. And that was such a treat, because I’ve been wanting more from this band for a while. I was a big fan of 2015’s Bombs Away, and their set in Albany when they rolled through town a year or two ago was a blast. So, when I heard Sheppard were finally back for their follow-up, I was eager to see where these last three years have brought them.

The angelic, calm introduction “Watching the Sky” begins the album on a build, dropping directly into “Coming Home” after a brief minute-long instrumental. Early on, it seems like during this gap between albums, the six-piece perfected their layered, swirling-vocals brand of pop, and Exhibit A shows its face immediately. Following right on its heels is “Keep Me Crazy,” another top pick, with George Sheppard carrying the weight. Sister/co-vocalist Amy takes the reins on “Love Me Now,” a swaying, swooning example of the success that Sheppard’s multi-vocalist formula can create.

Watching the Sky has its patches of clouds. There are things that I’m probably just nitpicking (and I’ll admit I am), that aren’t quite negatives, but could be better. “We Belong” is good, and it only reaches “good.” The pre-chorus of “now that we’ve lit this fire / we’ve got to fan the flame” has the potential for a huge note, but instead gets held in-check. Like I said, still good, it just could have hit a peak. Amy’s strong vocals on “Live For You”  reinforce this notion, proving she can deliver. Here, however, a powerful vocal performance can’t fully recover from the cringeworthy lyrics  – “Are we really breaking up / Wasn’t I enough for you / I gave my very best / But I failed every test you put me through.” It salvages itself, for the most part, but the first impression is a wince.

“Choke” is catchy and “It’s been a little while since you even said a word / if you never get to first then you’ll never get to third” is a great line but the track feels like Macarena 2.0 and I can’t shake that comparison. Sorry. And I swear, I’ll get back to more positives very soon, but I there’s one more moment I need to mention and if you’ve heard the album you know exactly what it is. “Edge Of the Night” is an upbeat, funky dancealong. And then out of nowhere, it drops into an almost comically deep-voiced chorus that is too sexy for itself. And yet, here I am again, convincing myself that it doesn’t not work? It’s wild and unexpected and confusing and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t at least fun. Plus, if you imagine Amy Sheppard as the one bellowing along, it makes it much better.

As promised, there’s more here to be appreciated. After the lukewarm “Live For You,” “Sorry” is the perfect reset; a wall-shaking power ballad with some of George’s best contribution on the record. Saving the best for [near] last, “Castaways” makes a late appearance and a lasting impact; a track so perfect for summer you’ll wish it were longer than just three months. Last, “I Was Lost” is a culmination of everything Sheppard can do well and know they do well. Starting gentle, it builds and adds elements throughout, with both Sheppards’ voices bouncing off one another as it gains momentum before a soaring conclusion.

After a week of play-throughs, I was torn. Still kind of am, if we’re being honest. On one hand, I told myself Watching the Sky doesn’t really do a whole lot of anything drastically new, so I should be bummed, right? But on the other, that’s not to say it’s all just more of the same here. Where they have found their best success – bold, bright, infectious pop music, these aspects are more refined and expanded on than ever. So where it might seem similar to things you’ve heard, it’s a better version of that. Like I said, I’m torn. So I’ll say this: some moments fizzle and some lyrics fall flat here and there, but all in all, Watching the Sky is a fun, energetic celebration that has the band showcasing great improvements and big steps forward.

Release Date: June 8th, 2018
Rating: 3.33/5
Run Time:

Check Out: “Castaways,” “Keep Me Crazy,” “Sorry”
For Fans Of: Bleachers, MisterWives, Gin Wigmore

Track Listing:
1. Watching the Sky
2. Coming Home
3. Keep Me Crazy
4. Love Me Now
5. We Belong
6. Edge of the Night
7. Live for You
8. Sorry
9. Choke
10. Call Me Up
11. Hometown
12. Castaways
13. Ride the Wave
14. I Was Lost

Rooney announces A Cosmic Interlude Tour

Rooney fans have been patiently waiting for some new tunes since the release of the band’s 2017 EP, El Cortez. Breaking the standard label based album cycle model, frontman Robert Schwartzman announced Rooney will be releasing new songs and touring more regularly in order to focus on embracing his pursuits in music and film.

With that, the band has announced A Cosmic Interlude Tour which will kick off on August 18th in San Diego and wrap on September 22nd in Washington, DC. With special guest Mating Ritual, the tour will feature music from nearly two decades of being a band in conjunction with new tunes and songs featured on the soundtrack of The Unicorn, an upcoming movie directed by Schwartzman.

Check out the full list of tour dates below and pick up tickets for a show near you here!

08.18 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah

08.19 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall

08.21 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile

08.22 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge

08.24 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge

08.25 – Denver, CO – Levitt Pavilion

08.26 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf

08.28 – Phoenix, AZ – Rebel Lounge

08.29 – Las Vegas, NV – The Bunkhouse

08.30 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent

09.13 – Kansas City, MO @ Recordbar

09.14 – St. Paul, MN @Turf Club

09.15 – Davenport, IA @ Daytrottter

09.16 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall

09.18 – Toronto, ON @Lee’s Palace

09.19 – Albany, NY @ The Hollow

09.20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl

09.21 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall

09.22 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel

 
For more on Rooney: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Stream the eighth annual Governor’s Ball Live

The eighth annual Governor’s Ball Music Festival, a three-day celebration of music, art, food, and entertainment, has announced a live stream available to watch on DIRECTV NOW and a television broadcast presented by AT&T.

Fans will have a chance to watch LIVE performances from Jack White, Post Malone, The Gaslight Anthem, CHVRCHES, Sylvan Esso, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more! (We can’t really stream you the food, sorry.)

Starting today, you can tune in all weekend from 4:45 – 11:00 p.m ET live on Twitter and at ATT.com/GoVBallNYC. DIRECTV/DIRECTV NOW subscribers can also watch special, exclusive performances of headlining acts, behind-the-scene footage, and other bonuses, courtesy of AT&T’s AUDIENCE Network nightly from 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET.

Here’s a quick rundown of where you can check out the show each day:

• On Twitter from 4:45 p.m.-11:00 p.m. ET via live.twitter.com/GovBallNYC
  
• On the web from 4:45 p.m.-11:00 p.m. ET via ATT.com/GovBallNYC
• On TV each night from 8:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. ET via the AT&T AUDIENCE Network (DIRECTV Ch 239, AT&T U-verse Ch 1114, as well as streaming on DIRECTV NOW)

This summer marks the eighth annual edition of New York City’s Governors Ball Music Festival. Featuring performances from Eminem, Jack White, Travis Scott, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Governors Ball 2018 also boasts a lineup of 65+ artists including Halsey, N.E.R.D., Khalid, Chvrches, The Gaslight Anthem (Performing The ‘59 Sound), Post Malone, Silk City (Diplo + Mark Ronson), and many more!

Review :: Senses Fail – If There Is Light, It Will Find You

Having passed the midway point of their second decade, it sounds foolish to say Senses Fail may have found out who they want to be, or better yet, who they are.

Going from being pioneers* of the screamo scene during the mid and late-2000’s, then shifting to more of a hardcore act for 2013 and 2015’s Renancer and Pull the Thorns From Your Heart, they’ve never been an act afraid of approaching new territories. With that, a decent chunk, if not most or all, of the credit goes to Buddy Nielsen, the only remaining member from the initial lineup.

To fully appreciate the glow of If There is Light…, I had to revisit the grit of Pull the Thorns From Your Heart. Where the intensity of “The Three Marks of Existence”  from Pull the Thorns… punches your skull in, the opener here, “Double Cross,” grabs you by the collar and pulls you in close; less of a circle pit, more of a crowd surf. It makes good use of one of the handful of instances of screamed vocals on the album, showcasing the album’s range early on – hooks, heaviness, and plenty of heart.

Review:: Underworld | Tonight Alive

“I have to walk the path in front of me because I’m not one for following.”

Though it isn’t a lead single, or even the first great track on Underworld, Tonight Alive’s upcoming fourth studio album, “The Other” encapsulates everything the Australian [now-] four-piece attempts and achieves with their latest endeavor – confidence in times of doubt, light through the dark, a personality standing out from the crowd and finding strength when you’re feeling stranded.

“Book of Love” kicks things off, and it sure does kick. Where most would choose to focus on Jenna MacDougall’s powerhouse vocals (and don’t worry, we have plenty of time for that), the instrumentation on the opener is a highlight – Hardy’s guitar work is quick and staggered, while Matt Best’s pulsing drumming builds and builds in the background before crashing into the forefront for the first chorus.

To jump back to the aforementioned first great track, “Temple” is Underworld’s second track, and Tonight Alive’s first real statement song on the album. The track carries a holier-and-heavier-than-thou attitude, with McDougall’s final pleading of the chorus “If my body is a temple, tell me why it hurts like hell?” hitting the hardest.

The heavier sound on Underworld doesn’t mean there is less heart or that there isn’t a softer side to the album; “For You” plays like a callback to Yellowcard’s “Only One,” while “Looking for Heaven” is a gorgeous piano ballad that lets McDougall fly.

With all that being said, Tonight Alive still manage to flex their purely pop muscles quite nicely here. “Last Light” is soft, soaring ‘90s powerpop. “Just For You” features what could be my favorite moment on the album – a simple “la, la, la-la-la” bridge that is perfectly tongue-in-cheek, and it has extra room to be as such because it’s so playfully bubblegum that it could rot your teeth.

Of the two features on the album, which both jump out on paper for different reasons – “a duet with Lynn Gunn? Oh, word!” “A duet with Corey Taylor? Oh, word?” – neither quite lives up to the expectations headed in. “Disappear,” which pairs two of the most prominent, powerful female vocalists in the scene, had the potential to blow the casing off of your speakers. While it’s still a good track, it doesn’t quite reach up to great.

On the other hand, the latter, finale “My Underworld,” gives each performer an equal chance to shine, coupling McDougall’s grace with Taylor’s grit. A surprise, certainly, but a pleasant one to bring the album to its close.

When asked about the record, McDougall considered Underworld a “reflection of the ugly parts of her,” the pieces she said she “wasn’t ready to see until now.” We all have our demons and our faults and our doubts, and if it takes these “ugly” pieces to build something beautiful, then taking a look is worth it.

Release Date: January 12, 2018
Rating: 4/5
Run Time: ~48 minutes
Check Out: “Just For Now,” “The Other,” “”Waiting for the End”

 

Track Listing:
1. Book Of Love
2. Temple
3. Disappear (Feat. Lynn Gunn)
4. The Other
5. In My Dreams
6. For You
7. Crack My Heart
8. Just For Now
9. Burning On
10. Waiting For The End
11. Last Light
12. Looking For Heaven
13. My Underworld  (Feat. Corey Taylor)

Review:: Somewhere In Between | Vérité

Poking around online while in the process of getting started here, I wanted to see what some other people were saying and if it matched how I feel. While the results were a bit sparse, the briefest review I found was also the most helpful; five short words, encapsulating not only the buzz surrounding Vérité but also a perfect summary of what Somewhere in Between offers.

“I can die happy now.”

With the exception of blockbuster movies and the Stanley Cup Finals, summer is the worst of the four seasons – it’s a thousand degrees, football is still months away, there are bugs everywhere – it’s awful. But, along with the exceptions above, there is one more key redeeming factor that comes to mind – pop music always hits a peak midyear.

Now with a trio of EPs on her resumé and a successful cover going viral, Vérité (born Kelsey Byrne) is here to not only show what she has to offer with her debut full-length, but prove that she can keep pace with the summer’s brightest starlets.

LOL Gallery: Touché Amoré, Thursday

 

When: April 28th, 2017
Where: Upstate Concert Hall; Clifton Park, NY
By: Eric Riley

Review:: Listen To The River | The Collection

Whatever the craft, whether you are a musician, a writer, an artist, actor, athlete, anything whatsoever (artistic or not, really), making a strong impact is something to be desired. And while impact is one thing, legacy and lasting value are what separate the sudden fads from the reveled and remembered.

Now in the process of building on the foundation that was their debut, 2014’s stellar Ars Moriendi, North Carolinian mini-community The Collection have returned with Listen to the River, a second exploration into the struggles and stumbles that lead us to where we’re heading.

Vocalist/lyricist David Wimbish describes the album as a way of “reexamining and reorienting” a sunken sense of faith, courage, and spirituality while, alongside ex-wife and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Mira, “processing the divorce and recontextualizing the relationship.” With the collision of these two struggles, River’s songs were a way to approach both simultaneously. Within the first moment of the album, Wimbish croons “Oh, there was sorrow in every word / Oh, how it longed to be heard. / But for the first time, I am not speaking / I am just listening until I can hear you / On my own.”

Where the first single “You Taste Like Wine” keeps things joyous and bright with horns and keys dancing, followed by the snap-along “Mama,” we hear the first and few instances of upbeat tempos. Each track is worthy of praise (and I’ll try to remember to circle back to them) but what follows is the first true standout Listen to the River offers us.

The booming drums that lead into “Birds,” each beat louder and heavier than that which preceded it, build their way to something huge. The combination of the echoing percussion, ethereal backing instrumentals, and Wimbish’s tender-at-times vocals culminates in a chilling anthem of dealing with uncertainty. As it draws to a close, he bellows “They say ‘You ask too many questions / You start too many fires / You dream of resurrection / But you’re too scared to die.’ ” Initially perceived as a criticism, its effect changes when Wimbish no longer has to sing it alone, joined by the support of vocals behind him. By the time its last round is sung, this notion of disapproval and self-doubt transforms into one of potential and oneness and optimism.

A bit later, there’s a slight feeling of nostalgia for the group’s previous album. Ars Moriendi, featured a trio of songs titled “The Younger One,” “The Middle One,” and “The Doubtful One,” each One a four-to-five-minute storybook. Here, we are introduced to “The Older One,” who “finds light in the darkest of rooms, sun in the smallest of moons … taught movement can be safe.” Whether fictional character or autobiographical pseudonym, these moral dichotomies  presented by “The Older One” show the protagonist’s change, growth, and maturation.

Much like The Younger and Middle Ones, a drop around halfway through breaks the song in two. The gentle fall and rebuild throughout the final hundred seconds or so are both placed and performed perfectly – muffled vocals fading away, making room for a soft, haunting piano exitlude. The change in direction is sudden, though not unexpected from The Collection. Where the final minute is nothing more than simple pianowork, the conclusion feels like the tapes kept rolling because there was just a bit more story to be told.

Listen to the River comes to a close with “The Listener,” and it is a perfect example of what makes The Collection such a special group. The song itself is, bear with me, admittedly lackluster at times. But with that said, by taking full advantage of their size and range and the weapons at their disposal, they buff and shine a simple piece of sea glass into a souvenir.

As mentioned before, this album was written as a way of processing and dealing. And with that comes questions. If there are meanings to be searched for or answers hoping to be found, “No Maps of the Past” contains the questions – “where did all of our time go?” “How did I used to hold you before you knew that you needed it?” “If everything always feels new, then what if nothing is?” It may seem hyperbolic to say each word is as important as the next, but in this instance, the song as a whole is more powerful than it would be dissected into lines. Throughout, the song maintains a perfect balance of strength and delicacy, shelter and vulnerability, wretch and reconciliation. In the end, it presents what the group set out to achieve – the creation of something, hoping to honor the past while accepting the present.

So, to circle back to my initial point, what do we have here – just a strong first impact or a lasting value?
For The Collection, it isn’t a this-or-that; the answer is just yes.
Three summers ago, Ars Moriendi hit my life like a lightning bolt. It was an album that sang to me every word that I couldn’t myself conjure.
And now, once again able to find the bright and the beautiful within the dark and despaired, Listen to the River is a testament in learning you can hold onto the past without it holding you down, and that you must allow yourself to let things go where they go, let things happen as they happen, let the currents carry you where they will.

Release Date: March 24th, 2017
Rating: 4.75/5
Run Time: ~45 minutes
Check Out: “No Maps of the Past,” “Birds,” “Mama”

Track listing:
1. ”Threshing Floor”
2. “You Taste Like Wine”
3. “Mama”
4. “Birds”
5. “No Maps of the Past”
6. “Siddhartha (My Light Was a Ghost)”
7. “Sing of the Moon”
8. “So Many People”
9. “The Older One”
10. “The Alchemy of Awe”
11. “The Listener”

LOL Gallery: Rare Futures, The Skins, The Matches

The Matches

Rare Futures

Rare Futures

The Skins

The Skins

The Skins

The Matches

The Matches

The Matches

The Matches

What: The Matches Decomposer 10-Year Tour
When & Where: 6/18/16 Irving Plaza; New York, NY

For full gallery, click here!

LOL Gallery: Boston Calling Music Festival, Part 1

Christine and the Queens

HAIM

Sia

Janelle Monae

The Front Bottoms

Vince Staples

City and Colour

Lizzo

ODESZA

Disclosure

Who: Christine and the Queens, HAIM, Sia, Janelle Monae, The Front Bottoms, Vince Staples, City and Colour, Lizzo, ODESZA, Disclosure
When & Where: 5/27/16 – 5/29/16; Boston, MA

For full gallery, click here!