Diminishing Returns
Rotary Club

Diminishing Returns - Rotary Club

Though they’ve been in existence since the mid-2000s, Rotary Club is an NYC based indie rock band that possess a ragged sound that makes you feel as if you’ve known them your whole life. They recently released their second LP entitled Second Year In Swine, and I can assure you, it did not disappoint.

Rotary Club has done a fantastic job of establishing their own personal musical style. This is particularly embodied in “Diminishing Returns” and the title track “Second Year In Swine.” The mandolins wonderfully blend with the six-stringed electric guitars and finger-plucking. There is a fair share of instrumental tracks, which is always appreciated to be able to hear their skills.

You can listen to the entire album on Bandcamp and either buy it there or on iTunes!

-Bianca Shamim

Why Am I The One
Fun.

Why Am I The One - Fun.

From having their hit single “We Are Young” covered on Glee to being featured on a super bowl commercial, Fun. has had a very exciting past few months. The release of their sophomore album, “Some Nights” is set for February 21st and it seems to have all the elements of a chart-topping pop album.
Unlike the classic sound of “Aim and Ignite”, this album has songs like “It Gets Better” that uses pop-rock drum beats, which in my opinion don’t really suit the sound of this band. It’s a weird feeling to hear clap-tracks and autotune surrounding the sound of frontman, Nate Ruess’ amazing voice in the song “Stars”. But, at the same time they still have heartfelt theatrical-sounding songs like “Why Am I The One” and “All Alone”.
I appreciate how this album is able to reach a common ground between the original sounds of the band while approaching a widely accepted sound fit for the radio. As a fan of the format and fun., I hope they achieve the success that they deserve from this album.

-Hana Selly

The Gove Curve

Rumour Cubes is a six piece instrumental band based out of London, England. They fuse beautiful melodies from violins, violas, guitars and electronics with spoken word. The track featured above is titled The Gove Curve and will be featured on their album The Narrow State. It has a very melodious buildup of instruments that is climactic and raw. Although this album is yet to be released (it comes out early next year on February 27th), you can download their EP, We Have Sound Houses Also for free from their website. 

Gold On The Ceiling
The Black Keys

Gold on the Ceiling - the Black Keys

Though they’ve been popping up here and there to perform at festivals, rock/blues band The Black Keys have reemerged from obscurity with a new single in one hand and their subsequent seventh album in the other. From the sounds of the single alone, it seems like it’s their best one yet. 

Drummer Patrick Carney has described the album as “a Wheat Thin, a Triscuit, and a tiny bit of a saltine,” rather than compare it to other artists. The Black Keys still retain their unrivaled blues rock sound. After listening to it this past week, I can definitely taste the saltine aspect of it. It’s more of a retro feel to it in comparison to their other albums. Adding the saltine was the perfect touch. From what I’ve gathered, the album is essentially about time wasted on a lover. Maybe it’s juvenile, but hear me out - it’s tastefully done.

The first single off of El Camino, “Lonely Boy,” was released on October 26, 2011. The way I imagine it, I see it being used in an intense beach volleyball scene in a movie. This is one of the better ex-girlfriend bad-mouthing songs I’ve heard (cough “Much Better” by the Jonas Brothers). It echoes the sounds of The Clash. The drumming is reminiscent of The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There.” It’s easily the best song to dance to on the album - I think we all know this from the YouTube ads for the album.

“Mind Eraser” sound a bit like something that you’d find on a Foreigner album. The Black Keys definitely have the upper hand when it comes to music that appeals to any age group though. My favorite on the album is definitely “Gold On The Ceiling,” which they performed on SNL. The main riff is ridiculous - simple but hauntingly memorable.

I must admit that at times, it sounds like they’re trying a little too hard to be retro. When I first began listening to it, a number of songs sounded like each other, which is never a good thing. But this wasn’t an issue anymore after I listened to it a bit more.

I had the privilege of seeing them co-headline at Atlanta’s resurrected music festival Music Midtown back in September, and all I can do is commend them. The duo stole the show with the combination of their great energy with their infectious tunes; it made for an amazing set. I’m eagerly awaiting for them to tour with this album.

-Bianca Shamim

Why Dont You Love Me
Hot Chelle Rae

Why Don’t You Love Me - Hot Chelle Rae featuring Demi Lovato

Hot Chelle Rae released their sophomore album, “Whatever” this past Tuesday. It’s an overall upbeat record that includes their hit song “Tonight Tonight”, as well as their second single “I Like it Like That”.

Hot Chelle Rae steps out of their comfort zone by collaborating with well-known hip-hop artists like New Boyz and Bei Maejor. This may either be a hit or miss for Hot Chelle Rae, as boys that play pop rock and wear skinny jeans are not the image that comes to mind when thinking about rap music. I do however enjoy their song, “Why Don’t You Love Me” featuring Demi Lovato. Unlike their songs featuring rappers, this song clearly shows collaboration between Ryan Follese’s voice and Demi Lovato’s voice. There are overlapping parts and they seem as if they are singing directly towards each other instead of just inserting a rap segment in the middle of a song.

                Although there is no depth in their lyrics within this album, they keep the listener interested with exciting beats and an endless supply of shouting. I’d recommend this album to you if you enjoy listening to bands like The Summer Set or The Downtown Fiction. 

-Hana Selly

By Your Hand
Los Campesinos!

    If Los Campesinos fourth album, Hello Sadness, was a movie, it would be an indie production film that leaves you emotionally drained and feeling sexually deprived. Think Blue Valentine, but far more depressing and lacking the Ryan Gosling charm. The seven member band’s music always makes me nostalgic for high school, despite the fact that my high school experience was far less exciting and emotional.  However, the lead singers anguish and sexual frustration reminds me that of an awkward teenage boy.

    For those of you reading this review that are completely turned off by the description I have given it thus far, please hold your judgments.  While the album has the lyrics that will make you cringe in despair (We burnt all the skin from the palm of my hands, /With an old zippo lighter and deodorant cans,/I went to the palmist and asked her to read:/No heart line, no sun line, no life line, no need), you can’t deny the talent that lies beneath the sorrowful words. Not only are the words something of poetic depth and beauty, but the orchestral music matches the lyrics in a fun and ironic way.  It is certain that the band is back to please on this album in an endearing and fun way that I repeat, reminds you of the bitterness and awkwardness of high school. Still, the album has some depth that is above the juvenile themes of high school.  Although, there are some more juvenile songs (the song “songs about your girlfriend” boasts —“The songs I’ve written about your girlfriend/Are just songs in spite as she came to earnin”)

    “By Your Hand” is an upbeat single that will make you want to get up and dance.  Los Campesinos keeps up with their talking interludes in this song that makes me love them even more.  The album does have a softer side with the single, “Hate For The Island”, as the song starts and ends with silence. It leaves us with an eerie and complacent feeling. It’s a sincerity that Los Campesinos does very well with each song. Each song has something to offer and each lyric is a rhythmic and breathtaking masterpiece.

    Overall, the album is a great fourth album. It is full of hate, love, lust, and sexual obscurity. It is a sick twisted love drama and if you give it a chance, it will make you both nostalgically sad and somehow in a weird twisted way, happy.

“And life, life is a long time, too long to my mind, too long by far
Between my waterfalls and your landslides, there’s cartography in every scar
Life, life is a long time, too long to my mind, too long by far”

By: Sara Azoulay

How Low Can Gaga Go
Andrew Bagg aka DJ Cobra

DJ Cobra - How Low Can GaGa Go?

    Andrew Bagg, otherwise known as DJ Cobra, puts his own twist on  the songs you regularly hear on the radio making the sickest mash-ups you’ll ever hear. By doing this you let your body sway to the remixes and touches of DJ Cobra, but you’re also able to sing and dance to the same songs you know, and love. The way DJ Cobra puts all the songs together on his anticipated album illonaire that came out January 25th, his remixes draw you in, let your body move to the music without a care in the world.
            Even though the album contains 45 songs, they’re small snippets of songs that Cobra touches upon, sprinkling a little bit of his magic and giving them to the people who are willing to listen. Being one of the top DJ’s of the nightlife it’s needless to say that there’s potential in his music, the way the mash-ups go together, and how you can’t help but sing to the music and let go of whatever in order to be able to have a little fun in life.
            Whenever DJ Cobra is in a city near you, there will be no hesitation or contemplation if you should go or not. You’re bound to have a good time and know every song.

x Lisa Lok

Pretence
Black Jackets

Pretence - Black Jackets

With there heavy sounding beats, the guitar riffs, the soft vocals turning into screams,
Black Jackets from Ukraine, are definitely a rising band. Forming in the summer of 2010, and their release of ‘Trampolines’ is no wonder that you’ll soon be singing along and playing air guitar to their songs. Starting with All We Can, the instruments hit you instantly, wanting to get up and dance. Tying in the vocals with the heavy guitar and beating drums is truly brilliant. As the EP continues through out each song, there is never a wait for the rush of music to hit you; each song has their own style that compliments the whole EP and what Black Jackets are about. Clever lyrics, strong vocals with backups, and the drum beats that never want to make you stop moving is only a small fraction of what the band has to offer. A great rock tone that everyone can fall in love with, adding a powerful female vocalist and a band that plays harmonically together. Pretence is a must listen off of the EP, and if that doesn’t satisfy you, their cover of Black Eyed Pea’s: I Gotta Feeling will blow you away. Black Jackets have a lot to offer, and it is only the beginning for them. In the process of shooting their first music video, everything will fall into place for them soon enough. Stay tuned for what Black Jackets have up their sleeves.

— x Lisa Lok