Not that I'm a kid (even though I oftentimes act like one) but my favorite new kids music band is Recess Monkey (get it?) from Seattle, Washington. Their latest album The Final Funktier is super fun for kids (and grown ups) of all ages. From my perspective they sound like some awesome amalgam of Ben Folds, Imagination Movers, Fountains Of Wayne, and Ultimate Fakebook. They also kinda sound like the band Dada (a highly underrated alt-rock band from the early 90's). It means that I might actually listen to this even though [...]
If there is one thing you do today, you need to head over to Rocket Fuel and Monumental Tracks and download both of the latest podcast episodes from those guys. Jeff (RF) and Owen (MT) are awesome guys with awesome podcasts. This episode of the Rocket Fuel podcast features a great interview with Ryan from Off With Their Heads as well as a contest to win a crap-load of vinyl from Evil Weevil Records , not to mention a whole bunch of great songs. The Monumental Tracks podcast (coincidentally [...]
So I'm writing this four months to the day the day since the last one of these Pop Punk Junk entries was posted. Yes, all the links to the previous 13 are still live and they all still fucking rule. Check 'em out. As for this one, It's got bands I'm sure you know and love and others from bands like Division that don't exist anymore but that you oughta know. Then there's Weston... one of my all time faves. Hell yeah... MP3 Mr. T Experience - My Stupid Life [...]
So I'm writing this four months to the day the day since the last one of these Pop Punk Junk entries was posted. Yes, all the links to the previous 13 are still live and they all still fucking rule. Check 'em out. As for this one, It's got bands I'm sure you know and love and others from bands like Division that don't exist anymore but that you oughta know. Then there's Weston... one of my all time faves. Hell yeah... MP3 Mr. T Experience - My Stupid Life [...]
Who: American War Sounds: Rhetoric Where: Kent, Ohio How: Self-Released What: Amazing Ohio folk-punk from Matt who also plays in The Sidekicks who are fucking amazing too. Download the entire Rhetoric album for free here . RIYL: Defiance,Ohio, The Sidekicks, etc... MP3: American War - Rhetoric
Another album that has sorta turned into the summer (slow) jam of the year is Minus The Bear's latest, OMNI . This band never ceases to amaze me with the way they weave whatever it is they do. Some history should include that my wife and I both love the band's 2005 album Menos el Oso , and I love their 2007 album Planet Of Ice more than she does, mainly because she's not quite as fond of the near-metal guitar histrionics found on that album. Anyhow, back to OMNI … it's, [...]
Okay. I love love love the new album, Chamberlain Waits , from Scranton, Pennsylvania's The Menzingers . After spending the last few months with this album, I can tell you that, initially, I liked their EP from 2009, Hold On Dodge , better. But these songs just wouldn't let go. Catchy melodies abound, but (this time around) it's all a bit more obscured and a little further off the heavily beaten path. There's something a little different going on with Chamberlain Waits . The band, formed about 5 years ago, [...]
As you've probably noticed, there has been a relative lack of posting here on Can You See the Sunset as of late, and (in general) a lack of posting since my second daughter was born a little over a year ago. Between the 4 year old kid #1 and the (now) 1 year old kid #2, a full-time job that keeps me out of the house and away from the blog from sun up until 6PM, and everything else that needs to be done, I'm generally exhausted. I'm not sure how the "big boys" of the music blogosphere (like [...]
It would be stupid to review this album by comparing it to earlier releases by Against Me!, but it would also be stupid to pretend they didn't happen. Look at this way, Against Me first released the Crime As Forgiven By EP in 2001 and when they released their full-length debut Reinventing Axl Rose , some fans thought the band changed their sound and didn't like it. When the band signed to Fat Wreck Chords and released As The Eternal Cowboy in 2003, many fans were, again, unhappy with it. Ditto for [...]
Who: Have Gun, Will Travel Sounds: Postcards From The Friendly City Where: Tampa, Florida How: Self-Released What: A combination of indie rock, folksy Americana, and bluegrass that just simply works. Heard about these guys last year from Nine Bullets . It was a great suggestion. RIYL: Good Old War, Avett Brothers, etc... MP3: Have Gun, Will Travel - Sons And Daughters Of The Gilded Age
Hey you! Yeah, you! I like twangy music so fuck off! Now that's out of the way, let's talk music. Mandolin player Adam Steffey's debut for Sugar Hill Records, One More For The Road , is quite a treat to listen to if you like bluegrass and that sort of thing. On the album Steffy is joined by former and current bandmates from Alison Krauss & Union Station, Mountain Heart, and the Dan Tyminski Band. Now I'm not an expert and really can't tell you anything about any of the bands that Steffey [...]
Who: The Pillowfights Sounds: Round 1 Where: San Jose, California How: Silver Sprocket Bicycle Club What: Round 1 is 10 songs of female-fronted pop-punk in just about 11 minutes. Super fun. Super catchy. Super melodic. Why can't there be more bands like this? RIYL: The Unlovables, Discount, etc… MP3: The Pillowfights - Buzz Buzz
I probably haven't mentioned it here, but we (that's me with the wife and both kids) flew down to sunny Orlando for some fun at the Magic Kingdom and the other Disney parks about a month ago. It was hot as hell and we missed Screeching Weasel due to some family issues, but we did make it out one night to downtown to meet Elliott and Bryne who graciously filled me and the Mrs. up with way too much whiskey and too many shots to count. I mention this because I can and [...]
When I first heard that MXPX frontman Mike Herrera was also fronting a band called Tumbledown , I was pretty excited. I mean, in theory, I should love this band... a lot. Their bio reads like my wet dream; "Aging punk rocker that I loved as a teenager discovers roots rock and makes his version of a country album." What's not to love? Sure, I love(d) MXPX and I love Drag The River, Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry, Chris Wollard, etc… (all guys from punk bands that now play a twangier brand of music) but something [...]
Who: Stegosaur Sounds: Adventure 73 Where: Texas How: Seafoam Recordings What: Just imagine a less tortured Tim Kasher playing songs from Black Sheep Boy and you'll get the picture. I really really dig this. The cover art on this record is also really great (if you needed one more reason to check this out). RIYL: Cursive, Look Mexico, Okkervil River, etc… MP3: [...]
Sleep Bellum Sonno is from Long Island and their sophomore album, Judge Us By How We Lived Our Lives, Not By How We Made Our Living , is a complex and ambitious collection of songs that is as well executed as it is carefully composed. As far as concept albums go, this one is a doozy. Judge Us… "tells the tale of twelve characters who all intertwine into one larger story of a husband/father leaving his wife and two sons behind," but I would never have realized that on my own. I'm more [...]
The 5 song Sinking EP from the Pennsylvania based Daylight is a must hear if you are a fan of melodic punk/post-hardcore. A lot like Nothington without the rootsy undertones, a little Like Polar Bear Club but less plodding, and sorta like Title Fight but more gruff and less poppy, this is highly recommended for fans of those groups and also for fans of Small Brown Bike and/or Hot Water Music. It's more interesting than standard-issue melodic punk but more straightforward than your typical post-hardcore without really venturing into terms that could ever be [...]
Well, I'm finally back from Florida and things have calmed down a little bit here at the CYSTSFTS homestead, so I'm finally getting around to sharing these pictures and videos of Milwaukee's mighty Juniper Tar from their performance at Schubas two weeks ago. The band was amazing and even better live than on their records (which is saying something) and just blew both me and the wife away. After seeing them I'm so excited for their new album (which should be recorded this [...]
What a gorgeous day here in Chicago; it's in the upper 80's with clear blue skies and a cool breeze blowing. Can't be it. Here are a few songs that totally fit the mood today. It's also a good excuse to listen to (and post about) some stuff that's been sitting in my folder of stuff to listen to for almost 2 years now. Slacker, I know... Never Shout Never is the alias used by Christofer Drew Ingle and on this song from The Summer EP he sounds like a [...]
I think I started my review of The Forecast's last album In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen in exactly the same way; Peoria is a blue-collar working-class town in central Illinois and where The Forecast calls home and the influence of their Midwestern roots is clearly evident in the music. Sometime between then and now The Forecast was dropped by Victory Records and signed on with Eyeball Records for this new self-titled album. There's no shortage of the energetic and catchy songs here but it all seems a little less dynamic and more slickly [...]
Can You See the Sunset
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
