Tagged: 2flames

Bell X1 Bloodless Coup Yep Roc Records [2011] Fire Note Says: Bell X1 experiment a bit more with electronica for mixed results. Album Review: Next to U2, Bell X1 are the biggest band in Ireland and after some moderate States success in 2008 the band continues to try and break the US listening market. Unfortunately, Bloodless Coup is not the record to accomplish the task. [...]

Cold War Kids Mine Is Yours Interscope Records [2011] Fire Note Says: Cold War Kids attempt to go big but hit some hurdles. Album Review: I must admit that I always am pulling for the Cold War Kids to release that stellar indie rock record that I believe is in them but with every new release, I feel they keep moving further away from this feat. [...]

Rooney Eureka California Dreaming Records [2010] Fire Drill Review: I was really pulling for Rooney to make a solid return to their catchy sunny pop rock that made their debut so catchy here on album number three Eureka . The truth is that Rooney simply fail to take their tracks to that level and the album suffers from just plain mediocratiy. The worst part is that Rooney has plenty of talent [...]

Mates Of State Crushes (The Covers Mixtape) Self-Released [2010] Fire Drill Review: Well - one way to release a covers record and stay out of trouble (almost) is to select a handful of tracks that probably only a small amount of people actually know what all the originals sound like. With tracks from Girls, Vashti Bunyan, Son Volta and Dear Nora, I am almost positive it will leave much of their fan [...]

Rogue Wave Permalight Brushfire Records [2010] Fire Note Says: :( Album Review: Do you know what made Rogue Wave's debut Out Of The Shadow [2004] so endearing? It was its brooding sincerity. Ever since, Rogue Wave has been on a journey to find something else. I will be the first one not to knock them for making the same album [...]

Josh Rouse El Turista Yep Roc Records [2010] Fire Note Says: Please come home! Album Review: I wish I could embrace the new Josh Rouse tag of "Midwestern guy doing Brazilian songs in Spanish", but after being entranced right from his first record Dressed Up Like Nebraska [1998], his expanding musical flavors are a harder sell for me. It is not that El Turista [...]

The HotRats Turn Ons Fat Possum Records [2010] Fire Note Says: No real surprises! Album Review: The HotRats are founding Supergrass members Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey and Turn Ons is a cover record where they tackle everything from Floyd to the Kinks, to Bowie, Costello and even the Beastie Boys. It is not that their takes are all that bad but the truth is [...]

Never Shout Never What Is Love? Loveway/Warner Bros. Records [2010] Fire Drill Review: Well it has been two years since we talked about Christofer Drew and his creation Never Shout Never. What Is Love? is his anticipated debut record that we were looking for in 09' but just released this past week. The record is an example of what can happen between posting your basement songs online and actually getting [...]

Big Star #1 Record/Radio City [Remaster] Stax/Ardent Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: So if you are going to take the energy to remaster and reissue a record why would you put it in the same package. Big Star is a band that so many indie enthusiasts have heard about but probably don't know enough about. These two albums should always be included in any musical history lesson - their substance is definitely not being attacked because [...]

Orange Phoenix Hellcat Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: I typically take notice when a record comes from Tim Armstrong's Hellcat label, so I had some excitement for Orange's third record Phoenix and though it would definitely be worth a spin. The disappointing piece of this pop-punk record is that it falls down in too many places and never really brings an "it" factor. There are certain elements you always look for in [...]

Jet Shaka Rock Five Seven Music [2009] Fire Drill Review: I am not sure what happened to Jet after their rockin' debut Get On [2003] but it has been a downward spiral ever since and they just keep dropping. Shaka Rock is the Australian groups third record and it will be hard pressed to gain back their 03' popularity. The songs rely on a rock formula that feels stale in [...]

Owl City Ocean Eyes Universal Music Group [2009] Fire Drill Review: Adam Young is the guy behind Owl City who was noticed after posting music on his MySpace page. Good for him but not necessarily good for us. This record is glossed up and simple with very little depth. Sure, several songs are somewhat catchy, but overall they still leave you comparing Owl City to another group that is better. I do believe that [...]

311 Uplifter Volcano Records [2009] Fire Drill Review: Oh 311, why did you go out and get Bob Rock to produce your ninth record Uplifter ? For a band that has been gone for four years and has always had an unique reggae fueled alternative rock sound, 311 come off rather routine on just about every track filling Uplifter . It is not that every track is awful but at 14 tracks [...]