Album Review: Gorillaz - The Fall (2011)

 

Yup.  I'm pretty sure a lot of people just realized that last year, the Gorillaz came out with their 3rd album Plastic Beach and you must be surprised that there is NEW MUSIC still coming out from the band that's been touring since Plastic Beach came out.  Well, guess what?  There is.  Although technically this album came out on Christmas 2010, it wasn't available as a physical copy or released to the general public until April.  So what should you expect?

Radio Show Playlsit for 7/16/11

Hour 1
"Metalingus" - Alter Bridge - One Day Remains
"Development" - Nonpoint - Development
"Just Because" - Jane's Addiction - Strays
"Before I Forget" - Slipknot - Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verse)
"Almost There" - Trust Company - Dreaming in Black and White
"Got Jealous" - Hurt - Goodbye to the Machine
"Remedy" - Seether - Karma and Effect
"A Portrait of the Artist" - Aiden - Disguises
"Just Got Wicked" - Cold - 13 Ways to Bleed on Stage
"Austere" - The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
"Heaven's a Lie" - Lacuna Coil - Comalies
"Another Way to Die" - Disturbed - Asylum

Radio Show Playlist for 7/9/11

Hour 1
"Uprising" - Muse - The Resistance
"Misery" - Good Charlotte - Good Morning Revival
"Success" - Interpol - Interpol
"You Don't Understand Me" - The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
"Oh My Heart" - R.E.M. - Collapse into Now
"One Step at a Time" - Four Year Strong - Enemy of the World
"Shiver" - Coldplay - Parachutes
"After Hours" - We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery
"Unconditional" - The Bravery - The Bravery
"Where Were You" - Every Avenue - Shhh, Just Go With It
"Given the Chance" - The Starting Line - Say It Like You Mean It
"Thank You" - Drive-By - A Delicate Situation

Radio Show Playlist for 7/2/11

Hour 1
"Bounce" - The Cab - Whisper War
"Rock My Body" - The Higher - On Fire
"Rainy Monday" - Shiny Toy Guns - We Are Pilots
"Give Up the Ghost" - Radiohead - The King of Limbs
"Rock Rebellion" - Bang Camaro - Bang Camaro
"White Sky" - Vampire Weekend - Contra
"Sam's Town" - The Killers - Sam's Town
"Shake Me Down" - Cage the Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday
"Everlasting Light" - The Black Keys - Brothers
"Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" - Editors - An End Has a Start
"Ode to Solitude" - HIM - Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice
"No World for Tomorrow" - Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow

Radio Show Playlist for 6/25/11

Hour 1
"Joker and the Thief" - Wolfmother - Wolfmother
"The Fixer" - Pearl Jam - Backspacer
"Shackler's Revenge" - Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy
"Wasteland" - Trapt - Only Through the Pain
"Our Perfect Disease" - The Wombats - This Modern Glitch
"Blue Monday" - Orgy - Candyass
"Sick of You" - Cake - Showroom of Compassion
"The '59 Sound" - The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
"Ball and Chain" - Social Distortion - Social Distortion
"You" - TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
"Ava Adore" - Smashing Pumpkins - Adore
"Only Happy When It Rains" - Garbage - Garbage

Radio Show Playlist for 6/18/11

Hour 1
"The Sharpest Lives" - My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
"Again" - Flyleaf - Memento Mori
"Lie to Me (Denial)" - Red - Until We Have Faces
"Your Surrender" - Neon Trees - Habits
"But It's Better If You Do" - Panic! at the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out
"Nevermind" - Unwritten Law - Swan
"Deadbolt" - Thrice - The Illusion of Safety
"Four" - Lit - A Place in the Sun
"The Red" - Chevelle - Wonder What's Next
"If You Wanna" - The Vaccines - What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?
"Spanish Moss" - Against Me - White Crosses
"Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" - Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R

Album Review: Sparks the Rescue- Worst Thing I've Been Cursed With (2011)

If there were a Mount Rushmore of the men and women who have been most influential or successful in American film, Clint Eastwood would undoubtably have his mug etched in the stone. From signature lines in his cowboy movies to branching out on roles he made into his own, to becoming a wonderful producer, director, and writer, Eastwood has been around longer than most of our parents have been alive. Sadly, however, this review for Sparks the Rescue's second full-length album Worst Thing I've Been Cursed With, won't compare the band's versatility and inventiveness to Eastwood's sterling film reprtoire. Instead, Worst Thing can be closely examined using Eastwood's (possibly) defining film, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Album Review: Balance and Composure- Separation (2011)

Before I get into the specific, intricate ways in which Separation, the debut full-length album from Doylestown, PA's Balance and Composure is a soaring, magnificent modern-rock melting pot of sound, there may be an easier way for me to do it: go to the bottom of this review, and look at the "Recommended if you rock" section. The reason I had you do this is twofold: one, to draw your attention to the section itself, which will hopefully make you go buy the album, like, right now (don't worry, this review will be here later), and two, because I know what I'm doing. You may think I sound crazy, comparing it to two of the most-respected indie-rock acts today and one of the titans of the game for the last decade, but that is simply the lasting effect Balance and Composure are poised to have. The band's debut (and I can't stress that enough, this is their debut full-length album) shows that this is by far one of the most promising acts in however-you-label-it rock.

Radio Show Playlist for 6/11/11

Hour 1
"Shine" - Aiden - Disguises
"War" - Poets of the Fall - Twilight Theater
"Sex on Fire" - Kings of Leon - Only by the Night
"Crack the Shutters" - Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns
"Take Me Over" - Cut Copy - Zonoscope
"Intervention" - Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
"Don't Tread on Me" - 311 - Don't Tread on Me
"Mountain Song" - Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
"Pararelevant" - The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules
"I Don't Want to See You Like This" - The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar
"The Trouble with Angels" - Filter - The Trouble with Angels
"Tick Tick Boom" - The Hives - The Black and White Album

Radio Show Playlist for 6/4/11

Hour 1
"Forced to Love" - Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
"Tonight, Tonight" - Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
"Four Letter Word" - Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding
"Personal Jesus" - Depeche Mode - Violator
"Discoverer" - R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
"Thrash Unreal" - Against Me! - New Wave
"Hide" - Yellowcard - When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes
"Grey Street" - Dave Matthews Band - Busted Stuff
"Candlelight" - Relient K - Forget and Not Slow Down
"Made for You" - OneRepublic - Waking Up
"Rox in the Box" - The Decemberists - The King is Dead
"Miserable" - Lit - A Place in the Sun

Album Review: Fireworks- Gospel (2011)

Developing and maturing as a band can be really, really tricky: on the one hand, you have bands like A Day to Remember, who seem to be on the cusp of abandoning their genericore breakdowns and accepting their destiny as the next great radio-rock band, but on the other, you have bands like Green Day and Against Me! who lose their creative flame and create albums that their fans can't even recognize as the same band they fell in love with many moons ago. Meanwhile, in the sweaty church basements and legion halls of America, Fireworks have been building their reputations as the next great five-piece pop-punk band, leading the charge for their pals (The Wonder Years and Man Overboard, to name just two) into a new pop-punk revolution. With the new, almost indie-leaning Gospel, their second full-length album, the band seem to be maturing immensely, but is it for the better?

Album Review: Manchester Orchestra- Simple Math (2011)

We know, we know: you're the biggest Manchester Orchestra fan around. You knew about them before Brand New scooped them up to open for them for just about every tour since The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me came out. You know all about Andy Hull's back story, and how emotionally connected he feels to his songs, and how he's the most under-appreciated man in indie rock right now. We get it, you've been there with the band since I'm like a Virgin Losing a Child. That's great. Now, let the rest of us catch up. For those of you whose listening to Manchester Orchestra has been passed over, compromised, or completely forgotten about, the time is now to get into one today's fastest-rising, most forward-thinking rock acts in the game right now. Make no mistake: Andy Hull Will not be ignored any longer.

Show Review: Rise Against's Endgame Tour with Bad Religion and Four Year Strong at Terminal 5, NYC

Spring has finally sprung along the East Coast, where snow delayed the budding and blooming of the trees and flowers until after April Fools' Day. The bad weather broke, and it was just in time for the Mike and Tom Awesome show to trek up to New York City (you know, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of) to see Rise Against's spring 2011 tour, supporting the release of their wonderful new album Endgame. Always the type to put on a good show from start to finish, Rise Against hand-selected Bad Religion to be the direct support for the entire tour, a sort of "full-circle" move considering Rise Against opened for Bad Religion at Terminal 5 just a few short years ago. They also enlisted Four Year Strong to open up the show. Based on how the show went on Saturday night, it seems Rise Against haven't made a wrong decision yet in 2011.

The Obligatory 2011 Bamboozle Recap Post

The annual Bamboozle Festival has seen its lumps over the last few years, opting to appeal to the younger crowd with artists in the final stages of their fifteen minutes of fame rather than honoring the weathered titans of the scene. However, the 2011 edition of the festival proved to be the final stand for those bands who are still fighting for and writing music that's actually good (there were bad ones, too, but they were far outweighed by the good). Thankfully, all three of us at the Mike and Tom Awesome Show were able to snag tickets for Saturday's all-star, legendary line-up, and luckily for you, if you missed the festival (and really, there's no excuse for that), you can sit in on our look back through one of the best Bamboozles (that should be a word if it isn't) of all time:

Album Review: Panic! at the Disco!- Vices & Virtues (2011)

It's been three years since we last saw the dance-emo youngans of Panic! at the Disco, and that's probably a lot longer than the band probably wanted to wait to release their make-or-break third full-length album. However, the departure of key songwriter Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker left the band in a state of flux, as if the underwhelming and unexpected direction the band took on the Beatles-esque Pretty.Odd. divided the band's fanbase. Now, vocalist Brendan Urie and drummer Spencer Smith have found the stability the band needed, got a little older, and have a new album to boot. So does Vices & Virtues bring the band back to the days of the groundbreaking A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, or will they continue to toe the line between catchy and corny as Pretty.Odd.  so often crossed?

Critics be damned: this album is a return to form if there ever was one. 

In case you missed it: The Vinnie Caruana Interview!

Just another great show from us at the Awesome Show: for our Bamboozle special, I was able to sit down with Vinnie Caruana, lead singer of The Movielife and I am the Avalanche! Vinnie was able to stop by for a few minutes before he played an acoustic show at The College of New Jersey, and we were able to get him into the studio for a brief interview, where we talked about what his outlook on The Bamboozle Festival this weekend, where both of his bands will be playing (The Movielife on Saturday, I am the Avalanche on Sunday), and the possibility of new music for both bands! Check it out below:

Album Review: Silverstein - Rescue (2011)

The emo/screamo scene that once thrived in the mid-2000s is, for all intents and purposes, dead. Heroes like The Used and My Chemical Romance have strayed from the path, while screamo darlings like A Static Lullaby and From Autumn to Ashes have fallen by the wayside. Senses Fail is still trying to re-create their magic they found on Let it Enfold You, and Finch's Say Hello to Sunshine sent their career right back to obscurity after the undeniably great What it is to Burn shot them near the cusp of modern-rock success. And then there's the heartbreaking story of how Island Records completely mishandled Thursday. So, with all this negativity, one can easily draw the conclusion that the emo scene didn't produce a single band that was able to sustain a career without completely changing their genre/sound, falling off the map completely, or calling it quits? Fear not, for I give you Silverstein. After a lengthy deal with Victory Records (that they somehow actually fulfilled), the band have found a new home on Hopeless Records, and have released Rescue, their sixth (SIXTH!) studio full-length album. We all know its easy to stick to the same formula, but can Silverstein change up the pace a little bit and continue to be the sole keepers of the screamo faith?

Radio Show Playlist for 4/23/11 (Bamboozle Preview Show)

Hour 1
"Feel Good Drag" - Anberlin - New Surrender
"Image of the Invisible" - Thrice - Vheissu
"What If" - Rx Bandits - Halfway Between Here and There
"The Silence" - Mayday Parade - Anywhere But Here
"Buried a Lie" - Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You
"Light Up Ahead" - Further Seems Forever - Hide Nothing
"Secret Valentine" - We the Kings - We the Kings
"Velvet" - Breathe Carolina - Hello Fascination
"Help Me" - Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony
"Theatre" - Gatsby's American Dream - Volcano
"Everything Went Numb" - Streetlight Manifesto - Everything Goes Numb
"Broken vs. the Way We Were Born" - Emarosa - Emarosa

Album Review: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light (2011)

After 4 years we finally have the new album from the Foo Fighters! Now for those of you who did not hear, the Foos ditched the fancy studios and computers for Dave Grohl's garage and analog tape. Once I heard about this, it honestly made me skeptical of the album. I had semi-low expectations, and I really didn't think it would be up to Foo Fighters' standards.

Was I ever wrong....

"Wasting Light" has a very raw rock feel to it. They went back to their roots of heavy guitars and loud drums. Their last 3 albums (Echoes, In Your Honor, One by One) seemed to rely a lot on Dave's vocals. However this album is different. It's a trip back to the self-titled album and Colour and the Shape. I'm not saying the last 3 were bad albums (I actually really liked them), but the Foos went back to what they are best at: guitar-driven rock. When you listen to the record, you get the feeling as if the Foos had a lot of fun making the record.

The album shoots out of the gate with the first song, "Bridge Burning". The drums and guitar in the intro are some of the heaviest I have ever heard from them. But the song gives the album a fantastic start and honestly, it is one of my favorites on the record.

Despite being a very guitar and drum heavy album, there are some songs where Dave's vocal and lyrical abilities shine. Songs like "Walk" (my favorite on the record) and "Dear Rosemary" prove that Dave Grohl is still one of the best vocalists in all of rock music.

To sum it all up, this is an album that will surely be on a lot of Top Album Lists at the end of the year. There aren't a lot of standout, sure-fire "singles" on the record. You won't find "Everlong" or "Best of You" or "My Hero" on this record. But I feel it is one of the most complete albums they have ever written.

PICK IT UP!!!

This is my first ever album review. I would love to hear your feedback, both praise and criticism. Leave your comments!!!

-Mike Leatherwood

Album Review: Dance Gavin Dance- Downtown Battle Mountain II

.

Member changes and comebacks are all the rage nowadays, but Dance Gavin Dance have run the gammut in that department for the better part of the last decade. With four full-lengths and an EP all released on Rise Records, the band hasn't seen the same lineup in any two of those releases, but that hasn't stopped them from making waves in the post-hardcore/experimental scene. While 2009's Happiness, which saw the band mature with the evolution of former frontman Kurt Travis, was what most would consider a breakout album, many DGD fans were still yearning for the band to return to the unmistakable and unique sound the band displayed on their debut full-length Downtown Battle Mountain. Only problem with that is that both vocalists who graced DBM (screamer Jon Mess and embattled singer Johnny Craig) weren't even in the band anymore. Not to fret, as the band announced in mid 2010 that they would be reuniting with Craig and Mess to record the highly-demanded Downtown Battle Mountain II. Two things were certain as the band went into recording for the album: one, that the pressure was on the band to deliver another scene classic, and two, there was really no way to predict what the album would sound like.