versus the beast

so it's 2012 now. fingers crossed no one i'm close to dies this year and that the mayans weren't correct and the world collapses on December 21st. other than those two things, it's just a different number at the end of the date. let's roll with the tunes.

so my pals in house of fools finally released their new album (after years of record label turmoil) and it's everything i expected and more.  i couldn't make the release show on the 30th since i had some band stuff to do down here in chucktown but i've heard nothing but good things about the show. plus HoF has always been a band that you have to see live, no matter how good their albums are.

anyway, back to the album. it's full of great music, great songwriting and great harmonies. it's equal parts classic rock (tom petty, pink floyd), americana (wilco, ryan adams) and pop (the format, steel train). since i haven't owned it for even 24 hours yet, i'm reluctant to pick a favorite song but it's safe to say Time will remain as one of my favorites.  so watch the video below and then go pick it up over at cdbaby.

House Of Fools - Time from Patrick Caudle on Vimeo.

also, yes i'm a bit biased since i've known these dudes for a while and they're one of the reasons i wished i still lived in the g'boro area so i could see them live more often but even listening to it objectively, i still think it's an amazing record. 

now, there are two releases in 2012 i couldn't be more excited about, and completely different type of music than HoF, Every Time I Die's Ex Lives and Lamb of God's Resolution.  

if you've known me longer than a week you'll know how Every Time I Die is one of my favorite bands so even without hearing anything off the new album (drops March 6), I planned on pre-ordering it.  luckily, they released a song yesterday and it's every thing I would expect from them(and yes, I completed my pre-order package within about 20 minutes of posting). 

also, lamb of god has a new album coming out January 24th.  they're in the same grouping as etid in the fact that they never disappoint.  their single, ghost walking, speaks for itself.  two things to add to that though, (1) how amazing that lyric video is, and (2) how someone can play that riff on an acoustic is beyond me...then again, i'm a shitty guitarist. 

the best thing about both of those singles is that they sound like the band they represent while still evolving their sound.  it's not an easy thing to do. 

in other news, the merchants set is coming along nicely and hopefully we'll have our first show in the next month (shooting for a february 10th show currently). we'll begin recording soon too so that should be frustratingly fun (stupid click tracks).  and i actually posted a new by sea / by land demo the other day up on soundcloud. it's nothing fancy, pretty simple to be honest, but i like it. 

hope everyone is doing well, much love.

X

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[UPDATED]too much good music

In the past two weeks, a ton of really good music (and one rather disappointing album) have been released.  It's been one of those weeks were I have no idea what to listen to because it's all good.

Thrice ~ Major/Minor
For Fans of: Thrice....they've released 8 albums, you should know what they sound like by now
Listen to: Promises, Anthology

If I did some sort of rating thing, I'd give this 100 stars out of 10, it's that good.  I absolutely love this album and this band.  They're one of the few bands that can consistently merge multiple styles in one album and nothing seems out of place, which is a lot harder feat than most people may think. Now, if you didn't care for their last release, Beggars, then this may not be the album for you but Beggars is one of my favorite albums of all time. Dustin's lyrics always find a way to become personal for me and their musicianship on this album shows that they haven't become complacent with their standing as one of the most solid bands around. Granted, this band could collectively fart in a jar, put it on iTunes, and I'd probably buy it...i believe they call this being a "fanboy", a title I'm more than okay with.

Our word is so faint and feeble, broken by the slightest breeze or breath. Our hearts are, they're so deceitful, sick and filled with lies that lead to death. 

La Dispute ~ Wildlife
For Fans of: mewithoutyou; listener
Listen to: Harder Harmonies

Their new album is streaming on their site, www.ladispute.com, and i've found myself going back to it daily. This is very much the spoken word/music mash-up that I only thought that mewithoutyou would ever be able to pull off but la dispute do it with an aggression/passion that I haven't heard in a long time.  Go give it a few spins, you won't be disappointed. Below is a lyric video of their single, Harder Harmonies...I love everything about his writing.

"

And all the ones who seem to fit the best into the chorus, never notice there's a song. And the ones who seem to hear it end up tortured by the chords when they fail to find a way to sing along."

Ok, those are the only two in-depth reviews I have time for this go around but here are a few more releases that are of note. I will also note that No Sleep Records is becoming one of my favorite labels, just consistent great band after great band.  Balance and Composure, The Wonder Years, Into It. Over It, La Dispute, Former Thieves, etc...go to their site and pick up one of their free samplers, more than worth the few minutes that'll take.

Also, the Of Monsters and Men album that I mentioned last week and that was released last week, only dropped in their native Iceland (seems that way anyway) so I'm still waiting on a US release date to hear everything and throw it up here but I have a feeling I'm going to like it a lot.  And Jamie N Commons put two new songs on his soundcloud so go check those out. 

************UPDATED**************
This is why I shouldn't rush these blog posts, forgot albums I had every intention of mentioning.  Also, after giving the new Maylene album a few spins, I've changed my mind a little so I've re-written my statement.

Into It. Over It ~ Proper

Maylene & The Sons of Disaster ~ IV (this was originally my disappointing album, but no longer. After making myself listen to it a few times, I get it now.  No, it's not my favorite album but it's really a natural progression for Maylene.  A couple of songs miss for me but overall, not as bad an album I thought on the first spin.  It's southern rock, not southern metal like their old stuff...guess that's what threw me off.)

Mastodon ~ The Hunter
Blink-182 ~ Neighborhoods
Wilco ~ The Whole Love
*************************************

In over news, the acoustic album is close to being done, for real.  It's been a busy couple of weeks so Kyle and I haven't had a chance to wrap it up but I need to redo vocals on one track (because i sometimes do this weird wavy thing with my voice without realizing) and then it'll be final mixing and mastering and then I'll release it to the internet and see what happens. 

Hope everyone is doing well, much love. 

X

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