Review: Hot Water Music - Caution

artist: hot water music album: caution label: epitaph records released: 10/8/02 by: rob tatum Alright, it’s no secret to those of you who know me. Hot Water Music is my favorite band (the whole logo tattooed on my arm might be a clue). Regardless, their last album, A Flight and a Crash, disappointed me for the most part. It didn’t have the same driving, emotional thunder that a typical HWM album carries. I didn’t hate it, but it had me a little apprehensive for their second album on Epitaph, Caution. I went and picked this up the day it came out. It starts with the song “Remedy” which has the same feel as A Flight and a Crash. I thought maybe my love affair with the band was about to die. Then the second track “Trusty Chords” started… and that warm feeling, that has been so much to me in the last five years, hit home. The rest of this album marks maturity and progression for HWM. I don’t know if I could say that they found their strengths in this record, because they never really lost them, but this album can grab a listener and pull them in. Lyrically, the album is nothing compared to Forever and Counting or Fuel for the Hate Game, but this album is still miles ahead of any band on Epitaph and most bands out there today. From the fifth track, “It’s all related”: “When you come, crumbling, you will grow back again. Don’t hold your breath, don’t lie awake, don’t hesitate, be ready to see.” HWM has an amazing ability to write words that motivate one to keep their head up, no matter what the problem is. This is the best example on this album. Musically, this album is more diverse than any previous album. Each song is a little change of pace from the previous. It actually creates a nice flow. There is a bigger emphasis on melody on this album and it adds to the experience. My favorite example of this is in “I’m alright for now.” It begins really mellow with little guitar and builds into a melodic, emotional ballad with much smoother vocals than the previous albums. You’d think that it would be easy for me to review my favorite band, but it’s really difficult for me to put everything into words. In as few words as possible, my advice is that for anyone who has never heard HWM, or have been deterred because of the vocals, this album is worth your listen. I assure you that you won’t be disappointed. favorite song: "i'm alright for now" rating: 90%/100% listen to the hot water music

Review: Hopesfall - The Satellite Years

artist: .hopesfall. album: the satellite years label: trustkill records released: 10/15/2002 by: eduardo moutinho Alright, I’ll be honest with you. If you don’t know me, then let me dispel a fact about myself that will affect this review. I am a big fan of hopesfall. You could say I’m an enormous fan of this band. I believe they’re the best melodic hardcore band out there. Their incorporation and manipulation of the “melodic breakdown” is quite simply stunning. I believe they’re one of the few “core” bands that play beautiful hardcore. What I mean is that I believe if you pull an average Joe/Jane off the street that has never listened to hardcore and expose them to hopesfall, there is a good chance that they’ll acknowledge this band’s musicality. Anyway, hopesfall’s highly anticipated second full-length album, and Trustkill debut, The Satellite Years, is out. Here’s my take on it. I received this album in the mail straight from Trustkill, since I was one of the people who pre-ordered it. My first impression was of disappointment with the limited edition package that I received. I won’t go into details, but if you want to know what I’m talking about, visit thecommunity. A nice little thread about this has been generated for your reading pleasure. Nevertheless, the artwork for the album is quite beautiful. The choice of colors is very nice, with blues and whites dominating the insert. The motif of the artwork is a surreal sci-fi one. Eventually, I stuck the CD into my computer, and I started to listen. Unfortunately, the CD is only ten songs in length. Two of these songs are moody, yet simplistic instrumental pieces (“Andromeda” and “Redshift”). So in essence, the album is only eight songs, which is a bit short. The good news is that these eight songs are quite strong, with some definitely leading the way. Fans of hopesfall are aware about this band’s ability to grow and mature, from their experiences of listening to the band’s first album, The Frailty of Words, and the band’s popular EP, No Wings to Speak Of. Between those two efforts, hopesfall really grew musically, by beginning to incorporate more singing and instrumental parts into their music. This maturation process is evident in The Satellite Years. There are more singing and melodic instrumental portions than ever. This may scare off some of the more straight-up hardcore fans, but in my opinion, this is definitely a good thing. After the aforementioned instrumental piece “Andromeda,” the CD begins with a barrage of great songs. The first five songs following the introduction are absolutely amazing. From “Waitress” to “Dana Walker,” each song is filled with differing tempos, complex interludes, and a mish-mash of singing and screaming. Every facet of the music is wonderful. The guitars are fantastic, the drumming is on time and aggressive, and the vocals help tie it all together. This band is incredibly talented. They have an ear for melody. Like I mentioned before, there is a lot of singing on this record. The vocals are well-orchestrated; on many occasions, they overlap, with screaming and singing going on at the same time. This is conducted with great proficiency. After the other instrumental track, “Redshift,” the album heads into the straightaway, approaching the finish line. This latter portion of the album contains a sandwich of two traditional hopesfall-sounding songs, “Only the Clouds” and “The Bending,” and another, less traditional track (“Escape Pod for Intangibles”). “Escape Pod for Intangibles” contains no screaming, and features Matt Talbot from Hum (who also produced this album) aiding in the vocals. This track goes nowhere, and it almost manages to put the listener in a trance. In fact, it is very Hum-like, which is what I believe hopesfall was aiming for. In my opinion, this is the only track on the album that I don’t care much for. It’s not bad by any means, it’s just boring. The album ends with its strongest song, “The Bending.” This song is pure hopesfall. It begins with a fast-paced and lively tempo and ends with a poignant instrumental breakdown. It’s incredibly well-executed. In simple terms, this song personifies the band. In conclusion, this album passes my test. I expected a wonderful effort, and that’s what I received. This record is not a complete masterpiece like No Wings to Speak Of. That was an EP though, and this is a full-length. It is a bit too short, but I can’t do anything about that. Hopefully, they’ll throw an EP together in a year, I don’t know. The song with Talbot and the instrumental pieces are forgettable, but the rest isn’t. The remaining songs are beautiful in their musicality, vocals, and structure. If you look at it realistically, seven great songs out of eight is a grand achievement; hopesfall has managed to show that they are serious musicians with an endless amount of talent. In addition, they have managed to improve upon their sound. The new vocalist, Jay Forrest, proved to be a worthy replacement as well. As a whole, this album is incredible. favorite song: “the bending” rating: 95%/100% listen to .hopesfall.

Review: Tub Ring - Fermi Paradox

artist: tub ring album: fermi paradox label: underground inc. released: by: drew walton The name of this band still gets me wondering what these guys were discussing the night it was born and makes me wish I was there. After listening to this particular album, it really makes me want to get into their heads and discover the true motives behind their music. Not to say that it is bad in the least. In fact, for those who know me, this is something I crave: a band that will produce oxymoron after oxymoron in their music. It gets me hooked simply for its originality. I mean, which of you guys have heard an album where song seven is classic hard rock, song eight is short, fast, “grindy,” electric dissonance, and song nine is a raga (type of Indian music)? No you heard me right, song nine consists of an honest to God, sitar-driven raga. Well I have heard an album like this, and it‘s called Fermi Paradox. The album as a whole is hard to put a finger on. It’s a hard rockin’, punk, acid jazz, electrically supplemented good time. No matter what the tempo, I guarantee it’s an album that deserves to be danced to, and one such as me can’t really help but start moving to the beat. As long as you fight the temptation to ask yourself “why the hell did they put that there,” or “why did they decide to be like this here,” you’ll find that after listening to this album, you had a fairly good time. My favorite song would have to be “Living with Rene’s Head.“ Like I said before, I like this band’s music simply because of all the 180s they do. It’s like riding a Ferris wheel compared to riding a roller coaster. The Ferris wheel is fun and has a great view, making it good for some situations, but for my money I like to go up, down, get tossed around, and not know what’s going to happen next. The song goes jazz, “grindy” dissonance, jazz, dissonance, disco, rock, electronica, rock and repeat. Ahh, the combinations are endless. Speaking from a point of musicianship these guys really know what’s up. They just choose to express themselves differently. The rhythm section produces a lot of “danceability” as well as frequent solid time changes. The vocals have an aspect that any good vocalist should push in their voice: character. Along with tone and harmony, this aspect should be stressed. That same character is also stressed in the instruments, all 12 of them, aside from the obvious five-piece that makes up the actual band there are also ten extra guest musicians playing things like violin, marimba, vibraphone, sax, flute, trumpet, sitar, extra percussion, and adding extra vocals to the music. This vast number of musicians gives the freedom to explore some real exciting stuff. So in conclusion, even though this band may not sound serious at first listen, I believe that they are very serious, and have a serious message in their music. I felt even stronger about this after reading some of the lyrics and seeing how much real depth they have. It’s interesting to see the medium in which they chose to express these words. Eh, do whatever’s clever and this is clever indeed. favorite song: “living with rene’s head“ rating: 89%/100% listen to tub ring

Review: In Pieces - Learning to Accept Silence

artist: in pieces album: learning to accept silence label: escape artist records released: 4/30/02 by: rob tatum This has to be the hardest band in the world to describe. They combine just about everything into one big ball and out comes one of the best records that I have heard. Yes, ever. There is a little of everything for anyone on this album. Emo, hardcore, punk, screams, singing. It’s all here on this album. And it’s not chaotic at all. It flows better than most of the other bands out there. Each song has such precise song writing that you barely notice what is really happening. You just hear kick ass music. The album opens with “The Anchor” and follows with “A Fitting Lie.” Both are emotional, and melodic pieces with excellent flow. “A Fitting Lie” (Ed’s mp3 of the week for 10/6-10/13) has some intricate string work and is a really nice work. Next up on the album are two songs that hit pretty hard in some parts. I really like “Like Angels on the Verge of Suicide.” The guitar work and drums on this song make this song what it is and the lyrics are really emotional. “I turn my head and shed a tear and for what seems like a thousand miles until I hit the cold cement floor beside your feet.” The next few songs are all good, but nothing stands out directly in the beauty until the eighth track, “Walking this fine line.” Both melodic and heavy at the beginning, this song transforms into a fast paced, sing along, and then proceeds into a breakdown before the halfway point of the song. I really like the diversity. The album ends with “Your Switch to the Sun.” This is one of the best songs on the album, but not the best, it was difficult to pick just one. It represents everything In Pieces can do. The end of this song is really moving with mellow guitar riffs and drum work that builds into a nice ending melody. I love this album. Bottom line. Diverse. Good lyrics. Everything you could ever want in a record musically. I foresee this album finding a nice little spot in my usual rotation. The only disappointing thing I found out is that the band has parted ways with their vocalist, Scott Gibson, since this recording. I hope that the new vocalist can fill the shoes of Scott. This is worth checking out to fans of everything as it combines everything into one of the best records I have purchased this year. rating: 93%/100% favorite song: “walking this fine line” listen to in pieces