Hinder - Welcome To The Freakshow

The band have continually improved from their beginnings to their current release. This album seems at first to be a more focused stomp infused hard rock record and after your through the album that is almost what you get. A solid set of songs that range from uptempo to mid-paced grinders and lots of power ballads filling out what is another decent album from Hinder.

The band borrows from the greats like Motley Crue, Nickelback and Def Leppard to round out their polished hard rock sound. The excellent and supreme standout track "Talk To Me" is everything a power ballad should be. The big chorus with great vocals and the excellent verses that do not ever overreach into gooey torch song ridiculousness and the band do a great job leaving anything remotely alt. metal or emo nowhere to be found. This is a true to the name power ballad and I really like this track. Then Hinder does something great and that's ape the Beatles for inspiration on "Get Me Away From You" ala Aerosmith. Another decent power ballad that could be a hit for them. Nice melody and the verses are excellent but the chorus doesn't quite match-up to that quality.

A little departure from their template is "Is It Just Me" which works really well as the band plow a little different path. I have to admit that after all these slower tunes I'm getting a little weighed down at this point and my interest is starting to fade. Thank goodness that they pick it up with a sleazy groove called "See You In Hell" that is somewhat faceless and pedestrian in all manner of song writing. The pace change was nice, though the song isn't up to snuff. A sharp turn back into ballad territory but once again this one is at least interesting and doesn't make me want to take a four minute nap. The song has a good melody with nice acoustic guitar playing and good chorus that is easy to sing-a-long to.

The stomping rhythm of "Wanna Be Rich" is made for a big dance club sound system and would also sound killer in a stadium environment live. The album has now concluded with a few too man ballads and slower material but there is quality songs splashed throughout Freakshow that allow me to recommend it to any rock fans and modern rock fans. The band don't embarrass themselves and at a few strong songs for their live sets to tour behind over 2013.

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Retro Rewind Track: Kate Miller-Heidke - Words

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Check Out: Lena - Stardust

Lena who is easily one of my favorite singer-songwriter females around right now. I fell in love with her last album and here is the first single and title track from her excellent new album. 

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Check Out: Owl City - When Can I See You Again

Another great sunshine pop tune from the great Owl City

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Ke$ha - Warrior

Well album number two has arrived and I'm kinda excited to hear what she's going to deliver. The first single "Die Young" leaves me a little cold to be honest but it's still a decent pop ditty just not as good as I expect for a Ke$ha single. The album does work up a little dance-floor sweat with the opening track and title track "Warrior" that has a smoking synth bass rhythm that propels the track to near epic status. Ke$ha drops "C'mon" which is that unadulterated dance party fun that makes me adore her sleazy genius. The song has a great groove and a memorable chorus which will make this song a surefire hit song at pop radio.

The sophomore slump for Ke$ha doesn't look like it will take place as it does for so many artist that have massive breakout debut albums. She is average good at times on the album but she trumps most of her competition because average Ke$ha is pretty damn good. "Thinking Of You", "Crazy Kids", "Wherever You Are" are all those average type of songs for her. I'm not overly crazy about any of them but they could bring her success again at pop radio with little effort. When she duets with the ancient punk icon Iggy Pop on "Dirty Love" and she blazes the vocals with a little dirty grit you know Ke$ha means it when she sings 'I want your dirty love'.

The softer side of the pop songstress is a nice change up on the song "Wonderland" that I really like a lot and Ke$ha writes a good ballad that has a hook and isn't just silly goo. These songs are plenty in the pop world but good ones are very few. This is one of those rare gems that doesn't make me want to drink cyanide because it's so bland and boring. The long leaked "Only Want To Dance With You" makes the album which is a good thing because the song is immediately memorable and fun. She adds another sing-a-long number to her repertoire.

With another dance-floor smasher and a Euro club track along with a pseudo ballad ala R&B slow jam she concludes a solid second album that doesn't set the world on fire but it has enough going for it that I will enjoy listening to it. There are some songs that will take up space on my I-Pod for sure and will get plenty of spins. There is a bonus track version of the album via I-tunes and the extra content comes in the form of four extra tracks. This is usually a bad thing for most releases but not here. "Last Goodbye" is nothing special but "Gold Trans Am" is a great cheerleader stomp song that blends into a near perfect chorus. The louder this song is the better it gets and the more I play it the more I like it. "Out Alive" is pretty much "Die Young" but then the sweeping electronic sounds of "Past Lives" is another nice change up for Ke$ha and as far as bonus tracks go we get two good ones one that's OK and one unnecessary song. But still better than a lot of the bonus material we seem to get all the time now.

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Example - The Evolution Of Man

Look Example has released what he calls his "rock" album but in the end it's the same stuff he's been doing all along. Sometimes it's pretty good other times its not but overall there is nothing truly different from all his stuff. The inclusion of Blur's Graham Coxon is somewhat disappointing but then again not kinda like that morning shower that you can't quite get warm enough but it does the job.

If you really like The Muse and Linkin Park then this is pretty much copy cat territory in style but lacking the passion and intrinsic melding of hard rock and hip-hop and definitely missing the progressive dynamics and fireworks that both those bands effortlessly fuse into their individual sounds. I can't say I hate this album but will I be pulling it out to play often the answer is an absolute no! The album's most notable track if there really is such a thing is "Are You Sitting Comfortably" which seems to have been dug out of Fred Durst's back pocket.

All to often as pop, rap and dance continue to gleefully trumpet their global commercial prowess over poor old rock’n’roll, there’s been no bloody end of hip-hoppers, poppers and brosteppers lining up to proclaim “Ooh baby, I’m a rock star” and plant their flags into a fat pile of riffs. But from Rihanna to Lil Wayne to Tinie Tempah, the mainstream’s idea of what a rock star looks and sounds like always seems to come either from an ’80s chewing gum advert or from the bottom of Fred Durst’s baggy jeans pocket.

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Imperial Teen - Feel The Sound

San Francisco based indie rock group Imperial Teen have released their fifth album which is a buyout flavorful collection of power pop ditties that bounce and dance through your head for hours after you listen to them. Feel The Sound is slick but not stunted when it comes to production which allows the music to ebb and flow naturally. That's what this style of music needs to do in order to make an impact because of its subtle structure. 

The album's lead single and lead-off track, "Runaway", is perfectly in line with the kind of neo-bubblegum that we've come to expect thanks to classic records like 2007's The Hair the TV the Baby & the Band."Runaway" is a strong starter for this top flight record and while this isn't a masterpiece it has many songs that are just too good to ignore.  There won't be anything here that surprises Imperial Teen fans, but everything here should make them happy. Every hook is tight and every lyric expertly delivered.


As the album plays through you get to hear some extremely good power pop like "Hanging About" and "Last To Know" which are of the highest sugar content one can fit into bubblegum power pop like this. Overall you get exactly what you paid for with this band and for those who aren't fans already this could be the beginning of a nice journey into the world of Imperial Teen.

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Olly Murs - Right Place Right Time

Well North America is finally going to get a taste of the UK star Olly Murs with a new album that combines some new material from this release and his previous album. The American release will feature the awesome and should be a massive hit "Dance With Me Tonight" but right now lets concentrate on the new album in its original form from the mighty UK.

The opening cut is "Army Of Two" and its almost his best song with the Beatles influence all over it and the catchy chorus with the marching drum beats this song is a classy opening to his new album. The current single "Troublemaker" which features Flo Rida one of those guys I'm getting pretty sick of at this point. The song is good though and even with Flo Rida on it he doesn't take away from Olly's slick production and delivery of the funky little number that is a great dance song that would have sounded wonderful back in the disco era as well.

Olly is a singles artist and that's where he will continue to be even with this album. The overall listening experience is flawed because the album contains a good amount of filler. Like "Loud & Clear", "Dear Darling", "Right Place Right Time" and "Personal" all songs that aren't very strong with "Personal" a little to close to that waste of listening time Usher in sound. I do find you get Olly doing Cold Play, OneRepublic, The Script all to often and getting lost in their sounds where I don't particularly enjoy him. Then you get an R&B funk song like "Hey You Beautiful" that lacks what Bruno Mars brings to this style. Another style that Olly seems to copy and I'm again not big on his take.

When he records a song that is more his personality like "What A Buzz" he sounds like Olly Murs and not Olly Murs doing someone else. Sure sometimes its a little difficult to really take artist chameleons like this serious but when they croon songs as good as "Cry Your Heart Out" you can't deny how good they are and Olly can be off the hook good at times like the opening cut. The very British sounding ballad "One Of These Days" is a well written pop song that Olly does a fine job emoting the lyrics in a commanding way that draws you and makes you feel part of the song scape.

There are bonus tracks a-plenty on the I-tunes UK version with moderate success going to "Runaway" another very Bruno Mars sounding song that lacks Bruno's spirit and Olly doesn't sound very into either. The best of the bonus songs is easily "Just For Tonight" which should be on the main album and it would have been a great replacement for any of five or six duds. This song is a glorious anthemic love song that invited me to dance in my chair while I listened to the song and is for sure an add to my I-Pod. More songs like this would be a huge improvement to Olly's output and maybe he could become an album artists if there was more Olly and less producers and handlers influence.

In the end Olly Murs is going to find great success with a couple of the tracks on this album and he'll be in the studio recording a follow-up probably before this one even gets cold. That is unless "Dance With Me Tonight" explodes in North America and the song becomes the anthem of the 2012 which believe me it is more than good enough to be the song of the year and could be a bigger smash than the Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen's excellent "Call Me Maybe". Here's to hoping the American release is a better package and Olly becomes a huge success here.

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Retro Rewind Track: Warrior Soul - Love Destruction

A real kick ass tune from back in 1992 that is actually even more relevant lyrically today in 2012 than back in its original release year. The band was ten years ahead of their time. This is from their third album Salutations From the Ghetto Nation which makes much of the current sub-par stoner metal sound even lamer.

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Check Out: Nikki Williams - Kill, Fuck, Marry

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Kid Rock - Rebel Soul

After Kid Rock standing up in support of that Mormon douche bag I have to admit I have a hard time listening to this album without that idiot move interfering. Kid Rock's always been a little praise oriented with his music since he switched from rap-rock to blues and country styling. The album opens with the typical later day Kid Rock singing about drinking with a bluesy stones style with little change from his last album. Song is OK nothing to write home about at all. The more dirgy "Let's Ride" is next again not a great song but passable to those who still care for Kid Rock's schtick.

With so much of the same this album isn't catching fire at all but I found myself entertained by "Rebel Soul" which has more going for it than just the "if the south woulda won" propaganda. The song has a good melody and decent hook that is worth checking out. The praise song "God Save Rock N' Roll" is a good song too bad about the stupid name and the religious tones. I wish people would just give up on the entire promotion of superstitions and myth's. We are so far past that in 2012 but still the diehards fight for their right to be ignorant fools and I guess it will take a few more years until we are free from such ignorance. BTW Kid Rock god had nothing to do with it indie rock, drugs, Kurt Cobain (pains me to say it) and the Black Keys saved rock n' roll.

For pretty much a Bob Seger album this isn't awful and there is some decent material but I can't say it jumps out of my speakers and grabs me like some of the more modern and much cooler stuff that is permeating my listening time the last few years. When Rock really drops a load of stinky shit it is titled "The Mirror" which is just bloody awful and anyone who likes this song obviously has no taste in music and should stab themselves in the ear until they can no longer hear any sounds. The albums jumps right back into Bob Seger territory where Kid seems to rip off all his inspirations from these last few years.

The eleventh track "Cucci Galore" is an attempt to be all things hip-hop which sounds more forced than he ever did previously. The song is fucking terrible and should be on permanent skip if you buy into this stuff. Now after a couple of trashcan participants Kid Rock actually finds all the ingredients to make a decent song that I can actually enjoy "Redneck Paradise" I actually like much about the redneck life outside of their guns and god bullshit so I like this song but it isn't Kids second coming.

If you aren't bored with him and his sleaze, white trash redneck douche bagness then get the album. If you've progressed as a human being since he was actually relevant or at least popular then you might want to pass this one by.

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Check Out: Katy Tiz - Famous

Katy Tiz - Famous

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Aerosmith - Music From Another Dimension!

Here we go America's overrated Aerosmith are back again and the man with the worst guitar tone in rock n' roll along with longtime writing partner the duo of Tyler and Perry are attempting to be relevant in 2012 some eleven years since their last debacle of music know collectively as Just Push Play and wow what a stinker that album was but not unexpected for sure. This band hasn't truly released an album worth listening to since their second coming Permanent Vacation.

Sure Pump was ok but it didn't come close to PV and that's not hard to figure out after listening to both records. So now we get the perma-stoned American Idol judge "beautiful" the pissed of ex-drunk and the other guys who need to work and their new album. The opening song is "Luv XXX" which sounds like "Love In An Elevator" in an odd way and probably comes from that era's writing sessions so the entire throwback classic Aerosmith album they've been promising sounds like comeback era Aerosmith instead as far as track one is concerned. The song is passable and I didn't want to slit my wrists while it played.

"Oh Yeah" is a much better song still nothing classic era sounding here still then we get "Beautiful" that is actually a pretty song again so far this album is better than Play by a large margin. But as soon as I heard track four start I was instantly ready to hit the skip button. "Crying", "Crazy", "Amazing", "What It Takes" and "Angel" is repeated once again this time titled "Tell Me" which is a little better than most of those throwaway chick ballads because of the production of Jack Douglas and the very Beatles-esq sheen all over the song. So I kinda enjoyed bits and pieces of the song. The sad part is that Perry still has such a shitty guitar sound and the solo could have just been a nice Telecaster and an old school Fender tube amp with no effects and it would have sounded amazing (
Rock N' A Hard Place era makes an appearance but is that a good thing? No it's not really but that is what I hear on "Out Go The Lights" a weak attempt to sound cool and funky but it comes off sounding like the theme song for Brotus Clay a WWE wrestler.  One of the leaked tracks or singles I can't remember now it's been around so long "Legendary Child" makes its appearance to no fan fare because the song was weak ass wanna be Aerosmith sounding Aerosmith in the first place. A very cartoonish version of themselves is what they sound like on the song.

One of those pathetic power ballads and then another but with Carrie Underwood that is fucking ridiculously bad to another to another with some really badly composed uptempo filler adding play time to the album but not value for the listener at all. A "Dream On" rip off ends another disappointing Aerosmith album from guys that are way past their prime and at this point are just ruining their credibility by forcing this non working partnership between the two main players. Really the rest of the band don't matter specifically Joey Kramer who is told how to play which parts by Tyler because Tyler was the drummer first before stepping up front. The other guys are sidemen that get to always participate. If you really want to listen to new Aerosmith then this is what you have to concede to liking and supporting and I'm sure there are many with no taste who will be happy to eat it up and be sheep. I refuse to accept drivel and forgettable material and lie to myself and others who might read my reviews. This album starts off nearly acceptable but quickly turns into sucky garbage and terrible uptempo numbers.

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The Trews - Thank You & I'm Sorry

The Trews E.P. comes as an apology for the total shite album that was released back 2008 titled No Time For Later. At least I'm taking the title that way myself because I couldn't believe they released that garbage as an album. I can admit that the band sound more focused on this seven song outting and I really like "Not Yours To Love" with it's honky tonk heroin swing made famous by the Rolling Stones.

This is more to level I expect from the bad after hearing their debut and the tad weaker sophomore releases. This E.P. is a stop gap until their next full length album but if they shit the bed again with that then the label should make them only release E.P.'s to get a better hold on their creative output.

The band ape the Beatles and Kinks with "Herm-Aphrodite (She Was A Guy)" which propels the song to higher level for using such great source material as inspiration. Even the silly titled "...And We Are The Trews" works for them but still the song that stands out from the pack is the opening cut "The Power Of Positive Drinking" which better be a hit because it would be a travesty if it wasn't. Canada's so called favorite band The Tragically Hip which I can't stand used to attempt to make great rock music but they always came up short with awful vocalist Gord Downey ruining every song. The Trews are similar sounding but Colin Macdonald can sing much better which elevates The Trews far above the overrated Tragically Hip even though I'm in the minority with this statement.

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Top 10 Worst Covers Part 1.

10. Behind Blue Eyes by Limp Bizkit
09. These Boots Are Made For Walkin' by Jessica Simpson
08. American Pie by Madonna
07. All By Myself by Celine Dion
06. I Love Rock 'N' Roll by Britney Spears
05. Stairway To Heaven by Dolly Parton
04. Sweet Child O' Mine by Sheryl Crow
03. Dirty Laundry by Lisa Marie Presley
02. Another Brick In The Wall by Korn
01. Bringing On The Heartbreak by Mariah Carey

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Toby Keith - Hope On The Rocks

The very busy Toby Keith drops yet another album of country influenced pop and rock. Not often is he pure country but he is more so than some of the others peddling their fake twangs from Cashville USA. On Hope On The Rock Keith as usual has hits and misses. This album is fairly consistent for a Keith album considering there have been many that just can't be listened to front to back.

The title track opens the album and is barely passable but I didn't want to vomit so that's good. He picks it up with "The Size I Wear" about finding a hot chick he wants and does his best dancing to pick her up and his wing-man is jealous. Typical Toby Keith song that we have come to enjoy more often than not. Don't forget she's round where she's supposed to be round and that's all that matters.

The first single "I Like Girls That Drink Beer" is a country song that should have great success moving asses on the dancefloor. Catchy, good verses and well sung by deep voiced country star. The derivative junk like "Scat Cat", "Get Got" and the ugh! ballad of cheesy goo "Missed You Just Right" make me really hate modern country. All three songs are plain not even vanilla just plain old boring.

But with Keith he does that crap songs to fill up the record and repays us with songs like "Cold Beer Country" that is almost worth listening to that filler. "Haven't Had A Drink All Day" is another uptempo cooker that makes me like this guy enough to continue to pay attention. He does a great Glen Campbell sound on the decent "You Ain't Alone" but I never cared much for Glen Campbell so this song is a take it or leave it one.

There is a bunch of bonus material in way of remixes of "Red Solo Cup" and "Beers Ago" both completely unnecessary and two live renditions of past hits as well. "Whiskey Girl" and the excellent "Get Out Of My Car" shows the guy can do it live so I guess this is more of an advertisement to come see him live than anything else. Overall Hope On The Rocks is the same as the last few Toby Keith albums nothing better or worse than what we already have heard just more of the same.

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Miss Li - Tangerine Dream

Finally the new album has appeared! This is such a good thing because artists like the affecting Miss Li are no where near plenty enough for my liking. She's crazy cool with more charisma and talent than most of the artist currently on the pop charts combined. I say most because there is usually a few good artists selling pop records at any given time.

The album opens with the distinguished and all things Brit Pop "Teenager For Life" that introduces you to a whole new way of thinking when it comes to indie music. Her lyrical envelope is busting at the seams with whimsical cynicism of that guy who's middle aged and still pretending he's hip and young. She follows that up with a scathing paddling to the culture of the world while longing to get away from it all but somehow unable with "Plastic Faces"

One of the albums most catchy and memorable tunes is the magnificent "Golden Retriever" that immediately became a favorite of mine after my initial listen. The very Sam Cooke inspired "All Those Men" is another song that has everything slotted into their ideal places. She creates a perfect love song without any of the gooey bullshit that permeates much of the love songs that are forced upon our ears. As Linda gets personal with the marvelous gift titled "A Darker Side Of Me" she reminds me of days past artist at the top of their game like Dusty Springfield, Karen Carpenter, Joni Mitchell and even Jackie Ross or Barbra Mason. She attains those spirits in her creation but never steals their sound she is inspired by the ebb and flow of it and creates something all her own. Kinda like what Amy Winehouse and Duffy attempted to do.

The first single from the album is buried quite deep in the tracking order which is the effervescent jar of lightening she captured in the studio "My Heart Goes Boom" once again Miss Li writes the closet thing you can get to a perfect song. From the catchy and memorable chorus to the glorious production on the supreme instrumentation, this song is the type of composition that really gets into my soul.

The albums second to last song "Throw It In The Trash Can" has some great lines and one of my favorite verses on the album "We don’t need a preacher man, We will never be a part of your plan.
So take your list of demands and throw it in the trash can." and I couldn't have said it better myself, nice job Miss Linda Carlsson nice job!

So since I've completely raved about one of the most underrated and awesome artists of this current era of excellent music coming out of Europe this time Sweden to be exact it is time for you to do your part and buy this album. Creativity on this level should be rewarded and you don't get this sort of quality everyday so jump on the Miss Li train and make her the biggest star in the world instead of the no talent bunk that continues to be forced upon our youth.

Now to sing on my way out "I got a red little house with a yellow door, I got my television every time I’m getting bored, I got a Golden Retriever and a Labrador, And I don’t need you anymore." Man I love this song!

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10 Songs That Should Be On Your I-Pod

A batch of tunes that should add some dimension and dynamics to your I-Pod


10. Why Can't I Touch It by Buzzcocks
09. Easier Said Than Done by Essex
08. The Refreshments by Banditos
07. Dancing The Night Away by Motors
06. So You Ran by Orion The Hunter
05. The Salt In My Tears by Martin Briley
04. Hot Summer Nights by Walter Egan
03. You Don't Want Me Anymore by Steel Breeze
02. Mutual Surrender (What A Wonderful World) by Bourgeois Tagg
01. Crazy Talk by Chilliwack

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