The Daily Music Fix

ThouShaltNot: When Everyone Forgets

2011-06-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

This classic ThouShaltNot Song features a melancholic acoustic complemented by cleverly placed electric rifts. I like the way the focus is on the lyrics ("With new language you lead me into this continental rift"/"a truth that lives in lies, an echo of the way you knew me under foreign skies") and on the vocalist, rather than on the chorus. This song appears on their album Neil Gaiman - Where's Neil When You Need Him?. The album is a tribute to Neil Gaiman, the modern fantasy novelist (I recommend American Gods).

Verdict: Thumbs Up
Other good songs: Raven Star, Come Sweet Death, The Cold Black Key

For more information on ThouShaltNot, check out their page: myspace.com/thoushaltnotmusic

The Danse Society: Seduction (The Society Collection)

2011-06-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

The 80s post punk band Danse Society combined rhythm, electronics and guitars to create their unique sound. Inactive since the late 80s, the band has recently united to release their new project this month. Their album "Seduction", released in 1982, is by far my favorite.

Verdict: Thumbs up
Best Songs: Belief, Ambition and Godsend

For more information on Danse Society and to download their songs, check out their page: www.myspace.com/dansesociety

Sopor Aeternus : Darkwave Masterpiece

2011-06-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

Sopor Aeternus and The Ensemble of Shadows has a truly unique concept, sound and enactment. A solo project by Anna-Varney Cantodea of Germany, her music captures melancholy pessimism at its existential pinnacle. The band also is unique in that Cantodea does not perform in front of audiences, preferring to work in solitude. With influences as varied as Edgar Allen Poe to Victorian gothic horror to immortal deities, Sopor Aeternus is worth a listen.

Best Songs: The Hourglass, The House is Empty Now, No One is There

Check them out on their webpage:
http://www.soporaeternus.de/

Antimatter: Deliciously Dark

2011-06-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

Antimatter is among the best underrated bands in their genre. Based in England, the dark gothic acoustic band delivers an amazing album called Savior. One of their first albums has a Portishead-esque sound but with an acoustic twist all their own. As a whole, their lyrics are deliciously dark, like in their song "Psalm" (my personal favorite): "He can't hack it when his mind paints a picture from an evil eye/"You can't wash the canvas now cause it's full of dye." The album is neo-nihilistic, exploring our empty loveless existence, with death as its disappointing conclusion. A sombre band, but its touching.

Best songs on "Savior": Psalm, Flowers, Over Your Shoulder, Going Nowhere

Listen to their songs on lastfm: http://www.last.fm/music/Antimatter and if you please, check them out on their website: antimatter.free.fr/uk/Pages/souls.htm

Covenant: Beyond Rudimentary Electronics

2011-06-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

Delivering their electropop music as an art form, the Swedish band Covenant is on the rise. Their newest album, Modern Ruin, explores the dichotomy between deep emotions and disconnected reality. Beautiful, dark, piercing, the album is their latest masterpiece.

The verdict: thumbs up.
Best songs: The Beauty and the Grace, Words Collide, The Night

Preview the songs here: http://aphoticaudio.com/store/?show_product=MET699

For more information on Covenant, check out their website: http://www.covenant.se/

Bright Eyes: The First Day of My Life

2009-11-03T14:33:00.000-08:00

Everyones got a corny love song in their music collection. You know what I mean. That hidden folder with your secret stash of Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers. Well...maybe not everyone. But Bright Eyes, the Omaha based indie band, rendition of "The First Day of My Life" is legit.
With simple lyrics like "But I’d rather be working for a paycheck, Than waiting to win the lottery" and "Yours is the first face that I saw/I think I was blind before I met you" coupled with a catchy melody, the song hits the spot.
I think I'm going to cry over "In Her Shoes" and eat a gallon of rocky road ice cream now, don't judge.

Three Days Grace Has a Happy Pill

2009-10-29T18:46:00.001-07:00

Three Days Grace's new album, "Life Starts Now" marks the beginning in the band's departure from their soulful anger to a pop-rock, artificially optimistic direction.

Their debut at number 3 on Billboard's 200 solidifies TDG as a unoriginal mix between Linkin Park and Daughtry.

The old days of "I Hate Everything About You" will be missed.

Verdict: ehh...unimpressive. Thumbs down.

Reccomendations: "Bitter Taste" and "World So Cold" are the best of the worst.

Emo...All Grown Up

2009-07-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

In Taking Back Sunday's new song Everything Must Go, bittersweet lyrics and catchy synths are legit. With lyrics like "You quote the good book when its' convenient but you don't have the sense"/"Instead you're slashing through the mud" they hit the spot. In comparison to the teen anthems in their previous work, TBS has a newly serious approach in their latest album, New Again.

Verdict: Two thumbs up
Other Tracks from "New Again" to check out: Carpathia, Catholic Knees, Where My Mouth Is

For more information on Taking Back Sunday, log onto their website: takingbacksunday.com

Marilyn Manson: Freak With Style

2009-07-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

Song of the Day: "Devour"

With outrageous statements, make-up, and behavior, Marilyn Manson is an emblem of controversy. But give the freak a chance.

In "Devour", from The High End of Low, he moans "I used to hold your heart to neck"/"You're a flower thats withering"/"My pain's not ashamed to repeat itself".

Brilliant lyrics plus the folk music background, piercing bass and dramatic keyboards? Pure genius.

Verdict: Download it

Other songs to listen to: "I Have to Look Up to See Hell", "The Dope Show", "The Beautiful People", "Are You The Rabbit?"

Neon Blonde: A Good Kind of Weird

2009-06-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Neon Blonde, the melodic cacaphony from Kirkland, Washington, hits the spot. A little dance-y with Johnny Whitney's catchy vocals, don't be fooled by the happy sounds. With lyrics like "you fall in love with her misery, she's like a tan version of you with plastic surgery" their songs talk of social and personal ironies.

Verdict: Buy it
Best Songs: Chandeliers Vines, Crystal Beaches Never Turned Me On, Wings Made Out of Noise
Songs to skip: New Detroit

For more information on Neon Blonde, check out their myspace page: myspace.com/neonblondebats.

Violent Kin Proves that Electro-pop is Legit

2009-06-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Scott Bell

So what exactly is electropop? Maygen Kardash, singer of Violent Kin, breaks it down for me.

"There are elements of many styles in our music" Kardash said. "We have requests from rap fans who hear hip hop in our tunes to Miley Cyrus fans who like the upbeat."

Okay, so electro-pop for Violent Kin means Lady Gaga-esque synths with happy pop lyrics? Not exactly.

"We're into trying everything now" said Kardash. "Our songs are personal and creative...we feel comfortable to try out harmonies."

They aren't kidding. In their song "Blue Eyes" Maygens sweet vocals contrast with S.J.'s harsher tone. And the soothing synthesizers contrast with the poetic lyrics.

Made up by sibling geniuses S.J. and Maygen Kardash, Violent Kin shows that the genre limbo works wonders.

Verdict: Thumbs Up
Best songs: Feverish Cold, Electrons and Blue Eyes
Songs to skip: Call you out ****

For more information on Violent Kin and to see their tour dates, check out their page on myspace.com/violentkin and (legally please) download their music on Itunes and Maplemusic.

Thumbs Up for Placebo's "Battle for the Sun"

2009-06-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

The androgynous lyrical geniuses of Placebo have done it again. Their new album "Battle for the Sun" focuses on the many shades of love.

Contrast is a trend throughout the album. The new record begins with “For What It’s Worth” with high pitched bass tones and a catchy, though repetitive chorus. But it also has “The Movie on Your Eyelids”, a lyrical masterpiece.

The verdict: Thumbs up. Buy it now.
Best songs: “The Movie on Your Eyelids”, “Julien”, “The Never-ending Why”
Songs to skip: “For What It’s Worth” and “Kitty Litter”

For more information on Placebo, check out their page: myspace.com/placebo

Astari Nite: The Catapulting Sore Thumb

2009-06-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

Fresh from North Florida, Astari Nite stands on its own. Though described as a mix of The Cure and Placebo, the cerebral lyrics and crafted synths have a unique edge.

“We don’t fit in our local music scene” Mychael Ghost, lead vocalist and founder of the band, said. “The scene in Miami is so diverse and has mostly so called…punk so we’re basically the only ones in our genre.”

Their knack for making sentimental lyrics fresh and their aura smooth have made them the sore thumb, but to their benfit.

“Since we’ve first started playing, we’ve become more dynamic” Ghost said. “Our earliest song, “Beware of the Angels” is considered dark poppy punk…our later songs have become more complex.”

Ghost’s countertenor-esque intoning “Love’s a nightmare/Do you know how love can leave you?/I’m lonely and I wonder why” along with their melodic guitars is a mood zapper. And it’s just the beginning of Astari Nite's musical catapult. ∆

For more information on Astari Nite and their music, visit their Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/astarinitemia