Album Reviews :: Best Practices, Save Ends, Creative Adult and State Lines
Written by: Andrea Janov, CC2K Music Editor
Best Practices :: The EP LP out now on Tiny Engines.
Best Practices, The EP LP will accost you. 9 songs clocking in in just over 12 minutes (12:08 to be exact) will grab hold of you and thrash you around then drop you to the floor. The record is a high energy thrash/garage rock hybrid that is super exciting. The EP LP embodies everything that punk sis based on – loud, raw, exciting, uncategorizeable fury and energy channeled through some instruments and a microphone. I can’t help thinking that Iggy would really dig these guys.
Save Ends :: Strength Vs. Will is self-released and available through their bandcamp page.
Save Ends’ Strength Vs. Will is a super catchy emo/indie/pop mixture that will make you bounce to the beat unconsciously.
Though not my typical style, I was surprised how quickly I got sucked into this album and ended up enjoying it way more than I assumed I would. It is music that puts you in a good mood, no matter what. It is the musical equivalent of the warm feeling of tea and an oversized sweater.
The strength of this album lies in the duel male and female vocals that are feature in almost every track. While Settling Here has a great build up to the best back and forth male and female vocals present on the album, Dead and Gone has to be my favorite track. It has moments of harmony that cannot be rivaled, each vocalist lets go just a bit in their individual sections, and the music is allowed to take center stage. In this track all the elements home together in a perfect balance.
Strength Vs. Will is available on hand numbered limited edition vinyl.
Creative Adult :: Dead Air out now on Broke Hater.
Creative Adult’s Dead Air is their debut EP and man do they make an impression. With gruff vocals and aggressive music they are full of raw fury that blends Bleach era Nirvana with the early hardcore greats (TSOL, Minor Threat, Suicidal Tendencies) to create their own voice.
Dead Air, Tabloid, and Forbidden Fruit embody the early hardcore sound while You has an industrial/new wave dark and brooding quality to it before the hardcore sound comes in.
Dead Air sounds like a raw DIY demo, pure playing music, I imagine that this is exactly how these guys sound live. I love it.
It is available through Broke Hater on vinyl with hand numbered screen printed cover.
State Lines :: State Lines out now on Tiny Engines
This self-titled EP is the latest from State Lines and man, do they keep getting better with every release.
I had gotten this EP via email about two weeks before I got the album in my hands. I loved it when I was listened to it the first time, but it really gets better on vinyl.
With gritty vocals and music that can crawl deep inside you, this is an album you will play on repeat. Track one, 5’s on the Elephant is a post punk gem with gnarly guitars and hoarse vocals. Track two, Plenty of Time is my vote for best track on the EP. It has the same great vocals and music, just with a slower cadence that is almost hypnotizing. The lyrics at the end of the track “I’m in your town with my windows doe and what they say is true, it’s just street lights and stop signs without you” are so simple yet so identifiable. Cave In has a minor Weezer cadence to it (you know, when Weezer was good, the blue album). The emphasis on the end of the lines carries the listener through the track. The last song on the record, Win Free has an indie feel to it, straight forward, fun, and slightly distorted. Love it all.
And what is the best thing about this EP? It is totally getting you psyched for For the Boats LP, due out early 2013.