A Thrilling Night with Faux Reality

It was another electric night in Old Town on Saturday night when Mead’s Corner hosted a handful of local performers to strut their stuff for the coffee shop community. It is no simple task performing for an apathetic group of hipsters with varying degrees of odd haircuts and thick rimmed glasses that would make Rivers Cuomo embarrassed to see. Perhaps that is a plausible excuse as to why each group, leading up to headliners Faux Reality, had a nervous twitch in their smile as they took the momentary attention of the room atop the brightly lit stage in the musty establishment. There was a rich scent of coffee and egotism as sound checks occurred and equipment was prepared for the night. As the crowd began to shuffle their Vans and Converse into the room and down into their respective seats, the first act took stage for what was inevitably going to be a memorable night, for good or for worse.

Review: I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business - Gold Rush

Ace Enders’ moniker for his solo work, I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody’s Business, has never been more appropriate than on his newest release, Gold Rush. The record follows the expected and perfected pattern that Enders is known to utilize, with soft acoustic strums and upbeat drumming to lay the ground for his smart and personal lyrics, but now his words take on a slightly more sour and self-conscious tone. It is clear from the first verse of opening track ‘Gold Rush’ that he has come across a new stage in his life. He croons with a misleading sweetness, “after the gold rush, didn’t think I’d be alone/so alone,” and in just a few words, he gives the listener the smallest taste of what’s to come, setting the tone for the remainder of the album. His love for that clashing contrast between light and dark is the key factor in what makes Gold Rush such an affecting and interesting album, making it a fantastic addition to his already immense collection of memorable records.

Review: Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room - Hurricane Season

For the majority of his magnificent and extensive career with Alkaline Trio, Dan Andriano has been providing soundtracks for the lonely and angst filled teens and adults alike across the world. As the bassist and secondary singer/writer of the group, he fueled the fire that Matt Skiba ignited, giving the group a backbone and a necessary variance in its style. While Skiba was a fan of a direct punch to the gut with his writing and musicianship, Andriano chose to be a more brooding and atmospheric performer. His songs were gloomy and honest, but not overwhelmingly so. Beneath the dreary aesthetic that he presented himself with, there was still a light of integrity that kept his writing from becoming monotonous and stereotypical. With this background, it should come with no surprise that when he eventually released his solo work nearly two years in the making, that it should not only match his previous work, but in some instances one-up it. With the fresh and appropriate moniker of Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room, he releases his emotionally demanding LP, Hurricane Season, which pulls no punches and conceals no secrets of what’s been running through Andriano’s ever intriguing mind. 

Song of the Day 53: Kid Cudi - Day n Nite

Hip-hop is kinda cool sometimes.

Song of the Day 52: Bowerbirds - House of Diamonds

It's that time of year when I retreat to my room for hours upon hours and rarely see sunlight. As horribly unhealthy as I've become, I'll always find solace in the fact that music never quite pulls the plug on me. Fairly often I find music that clings to me like ants to the soda I never cleaned from my hardwood floor. And more often than not, I find that music to be indie-folk. Indeed I've grown quite a love in my heart for the whimsical and care free music that blooms beneath the bridge of the mainstream. Bowerbirds' little unknown bit of joy, Upper Air, is precisely what I need these days, and 'House of Diamonds' starts it off humbly and effectively. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

Song of the Day 51: Tim Neuhaus - As Life Found You

Tim Neuhaus is one of those fantastic little gems that pops up when you aren't looking. The video for his song 'As Life Found You' is both clever and sincere, accentuating the tender nature of the music. It's simplistic, but evolves beyond its structural boundaries when paired with the brilliant composition of the tale in the video. This might be one of the few instances when a music video adds onto the enjoyment of a song for me, and I recommend everyone give it a view. Tim Neuhaus hasn't quite hit the crescendo of his career, but promises to be something worth looking for in the future.

Song of the Day 50: The Doors - The End

It's difficult to believe that music recorded forty-five years ago can still be full to the brim with life and relevance. 'The End', an apocalyptic fever dream of a song by the worshiped psychedelic-rock group The Doors has somehow kept its claws sharp and planted in the psyche of anybody that has heard its haunting rhythms. It crawls at a nightmarish pace, randomly breaking into spouts of explosive rage, then pacifying itself back down to a stalking creep. Every time I hear it, I'm taken to the opening of Apocalypse Now, where Michael Sheen is shouting belligerent and drunk in a bloody mess. He said that while filming that scene there wasn't any sort of script, but rather he was expelling his inner demons. I think Jim Morrison may have had a similar mindset when writing this song.