It has been a long time ! A nerve-wracking college schedule is to be blamed. A consistent 12 hours+ day is bound to get to you, and prevent you from doing the things you love.
My message to all those who are facing similar hardships- Look after yourself. Never, ever compromise on yourself, and always do what YOU want. Life is anyway too short to be pleasing others.
Today's post somehow seems appropriate to the occasion.We are looking at the debut from the Pop/Punk band Hey Monday.Why the name? They say that people get upset at the thought of 'Monday', when they are expected to get back into their routine, and look forward to 5 or 6 days of hard work. Well, they want to change that with people thinking 'Hey Monday!' and not 'Oh! Monday', if you get my drift.
And their music reflects the same.Cheerful, upbeat and fresh, it promises to light up anyone's Monday, from an over-burdened office-goer to the CEO of a billion-dollar enterprise.
Hey Monday is:
Cassadee Pope(vocals)
Mike Gentile(lead Guitar)
Alex Lipshaw(rhythm Guitar)
Elliot James(Drums)
Michael "Jersey" Moriarty(Bass)
At the risk of repeating myself, this album has all it takes to make you smile.Smooth tracks, that just begin and end, leading to another beginning is what defines "Hold On Tight", and before you know it, you've listened to all tracks without complaining even once!
Being a female-fronted band, the guitarists do a great job supporting Pope's vocals.Of course, the tracks have been processed a lot on the computers, the layering is quite obvious. But the end result is quite good and they get points for that.
Getting into the nitty-gritties of it-
HOLD ON TIGHT ----- ********oo [8/10]
It begins with Set Off. The punk-inspired guitar-riff in the beginning is very good.Promises a lot, and Cassadee doesn't let down.Clean vocals with an amazing range, this sweet-voiced beauty has all the things going for her.This song is all about going against the odds, and doing what you like, no matter what obstacles lay in your path.
The intro to How You Love Me Now lifts your spirits.This is one of my favourites on the album.The 'Woh-oh!', though cliched sounds great! The drums on this one are noteworthy. Pope's singing in the chorus yet again proves her worth in the band.This light-hearted track talks about a relationship where a guy flirts with another girl, and hopes that each time his partner will forgive him.
Their first single, Homecoming, is next.The chorus is eerily familiar, sounds much like the one in Dreaming Wide Awake by Poets of the Fall.Another track with heavy guitars, drums yet so simple and innocent that it blows your mind away.The punk element is very much audible.You just want to call it Pop, but you can't, and that's why I love this track.
The lyrics and singing style of Obvious is obviously Pop-inspired.There's a hint of punk in the guitars, which are largely muted throughout the verse.I just think it's got one loop to many, as the last chorus gets a bit repetitive.
Candles is my favourite song on the album.Pope's vocal skills really blossom here.And she backs it up by playing the acoustic guitar. The chorus is the high point of this song, with the processing elements [Delay,Reverb,Synth Coat & Layering] really making it an experience. Since the lyrical content seems to be similar in all the songs, with just slight variations, I won't go much into that. But whatever you're listening to, the important thing is, you won't complain.
Run, Don't Walk is next.The biggest reason for continuity throughout the album is the similar guitar parts.All in Major scales, uplifting and happy.So, this is just another song that continues the theme.
Josey is a very good track.Talks about a messed up & confused girl, trying to find her way in life.The part I like the most is when Pope says that this is just a phase and that Josey will definitely find her way someday.Lends hope.Nice.
Hurricane Streets- another stock track.Enjoy it while it lasts.
Arizona strikes as a bit different.I think it's the tempo.It goes through highs and lows and the roller-coaster ride is worth it.They are really taking the Punk tag seriously!
The album shows characteristic behaviour.By loading their top songs upfront, the other tracks fail to raise the bar further, and a certain stagnancy can be experienced at this stage.Should've Tried Harder is just one of those tracks.
Ok, now they didn't miss a trick by putting another cracker of a song at the very end, to wrap up their debut. 6 Months is a wonderful, soulful song, with lyrics that touch your heart.To some, this song can actually teach you how it feels to love someone.Top-notch work.
The strong beginning, strong ending and the content of this album gets an 8/10 from me.I recommend it to anyone looking for new artists to start listening to.This is like the Mediterranean diet, nothing too heavy to digest, yet wholesome and interesting, and something you can go on eating without getting bored.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEWS:
1.KoRn's new album The Path Of Totality will be out in Dec 2011,according to the band.It'll be a Dubstep album in collaboration with underground mixing artists.Two singles have been released- Get Up and Narcissistic Cannibal, both featuring Skrillex. Now while Get Up is a winner, the latter doesn't find much approval with me.
I hope this album has other great tracks, else it'll just be a disappointment in KoRn as a band and a creeping doubt on their abilities without Head(ex-guitarist) and Silveria(ex-drummer).
2.The release date for Julien-K's Were Here With You nears as January is just around the corner.Since almost all tracks have been showcased at concerts, it just remains to see how well they are recorded with samples in the studio version.I'm a bit iffy about WHWY, but I hope I'm proved wrong.
Next week: The blockbuster debut from Poets of the Fall - Signs Of Life.
My message to all those who are facing similar hardships- Look after yourself. Never, ever compromise on yourself, and always do what YOU want. Life is anyway too short to be pleasing others.
Today's post somehow seems appropriate to the occasion.We are looking at the debut from the Pop/Punk band Hey Monday.Why the name? They say that people get upset at the thought of 'Monday', when they are expected to get back into their routine, and look forward to 5 or 6 days of hard work. Well, they want to change that with people thinking 'Hey Monday!' and not 'Oh! Monday', if you get my drift.
And their music reflects the same.Cheerful, upbeat and fresh, it promises to light up anyone's Monday, from an over-burdened office-goer to the CEO of a billion-dollar enterprise.
Hey Monday is:
Cassadee Pope(vocals)
Mike Gentile(lead Guitar)
Alex Lipshaw(rhythm Guitar)
Elliot James(Drums)
Michael "Jersey" Moriarty(Bass)
 |
| Album Art- Hold On Tight |
At the risk of repeating myself, this album has all it takes to make you smile.Smooth tracks, that just begin and end, leading to another beginning is what defines "Hold On Tight", and before you know it, you've listened to all tracks without complaining even once!
 |
| Cassadee Pope in action |
Being a female-fronted band, the guitarists do a great job supporting Pope's vocals.Of course, the tracks have been processed a lot on the computers, the layering is quite obvious. But the end result is quite good and they get points for that.
Getting into the nitty-gritties of it-
HOLD ON TIGHT ----- ********oo [8/10]
It begins with Set Off. The punk-inspired guitar-riff in the beginning is very good.Promises a lot, and Cassadee doesn't let down.Clean vocals with an amazing range, this sweet-voiced beauty has all the things going for her.This song is all about going against the odds, and doing what you like, no matter what obstacles lay in your path.
The intro to How You Love Me Now lifts your spirits.This is one of my favourites on the album.The 'Woh-oh!', though cliched sounds great! The drums on this one are noteworthy. Pope's singing in the chorus yet again proves her worth in the band.This light-hearted track talks about a relationship where a guy flirts with another girl, and hopes that each time his partner will forgive him.
Their first single, Homecoming, is next.The chorus is eerily familiar, sounds much like the one in Dreaming Wide Awake by Poets of the Fall.Another track with heavy guitars, drums yet so simple and innocent that it blows your mind away.The punk element is very much audible.You just want to call it Pop, but you can't, and that's why I love this track.
The lyrics and singing style of Obvious is obviously Pop-inspired.There's a hint of punk in the guitars, which are largely muted throughout the verse.I just think it's got one loop to many, as the last chorus gets a bit repetitive.
 |
| Pope with her guitar on Candles |
Candles is my favourite song on the album.Pope's vocal skills really blossom here.And she backs it up by playing the acoustic guitar. The chorus is the high point of this song, with the processing elements [Delay,Reverb,Synth Coat & Layering] really making it an experience. Since the lyrical content seems to be similar in all the songs, with just slight variations, I won't go much into that. But whatever you're listening to, the important thing is, you won't complain.
Run, Don't Walk is next.The biggest reason for continuity throughout the album is the similar guitar parts.All in Major scales, uplifting and happy.So, this is just another song that continues the theme.
Josey is a very good track.Talks about a messed up & confused girl, trying to find her way in life.The part I like the most is when Pope says that this is just a phase and that Josey will definitely find her way someday.Lends hope.Nice.
Hurricane Streets- another stock track.Enjoy it while it lasts.
Arizona strikes as a bit different.I think it's the tempo.It goes through highs and lows and the roller-coaster ride is worth it.They are really taking the Punk tag seriously!
The album shows characteristic behaviour.By loading their top songs upfront, the other tracks fail to raise the bar further, and a certain stagnancy can be experienced at this stage.Should've Tried Harder is just one of those tracks.
Ok, now they didn't miss a trick by putting another cracker of a song at the very end, to wrap up their debut. 6 Months is a wonderful, soulful song, with lyrics that touch your heart.To some, this song can actually teach you how it feels to love someone.Top-notch work.
 |
| Don't you wish a life devoid of any cares, that you actually get to stand and stare? Their music really brightens up your day. |
The strong beginning, strong ending and the content of this album gets an 8/10 from me.I recommend it to anyone looking for new artists to start listening to.This is like the Mediterranean diet, nothing too heavy to digest, yet wholesome and interesting, and something you can go on eating without getting bored.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEWS:
1.KoRn's new album The Path Of Totality will be out in Dec 2011,according to the band.It'll be a Dubstep album in collaboration with underground mixing artists.Two singles have been released- Get Up and Narcissistic Cannibal, both featuring Skrillex. Now while Get Up is a winner, the latter doesn't find much approval with me.
I hope this album has other great tracks, else it'll just be a disappointment in KoRn as a band and a creeping doubt on their abilities without Head(ex-guitarist) and Silveria(ex-drummer).
2.The release date for Julien-K's Were Here With You nears as January is just around the corner.Since almost all tracks have been showcased at concerts, it just remains to see how well they are recorded with samples in the studio version.I'm a bit iffy about WHWY, but I hope I'm proved wrong.
Next week: The blockbuster debut from Poets of the Fall - Signs Of Life.
