General Update

Since last posting, I reviewed the awesome new The Snake The Cross The Crown full-length. The sad thing here is I don't really think they are a band anymore. The bio on Equal Vision's website is a bit cryptic, and the promotional part of the label has been pretty weak. Oh well. Also, I managed to write something on the new Sherwood disc, A Different Light. Looking back on the review, I may have been too easy on the record because I'm starting to doubt I'll ever listen to it again.

The next week I pumped out a review of Emmure's terribly contrived full-length Goodbye To The Gallows. Followed that up with one about Inspector Owl's Life Finds A Way. They are a cool band on one of my good friend's label so I am hoping they do well both in sales and on tour. My final review before taking a break to prepare for a giant Political Science test I had was of Gavin Castleton's Hospital Hymns. What a weird but enjoyable album. Once again, this was put out on a friend's label so there was more incentive for me to cover it, but I stand by what I wrote about it.

Once again, I took a break from the site for a few days so I could focus on school. However, I did manage to post a pretty cool "Checking In With" with Victory band The Junior Varsity. Those guys are really great, and I have no problem supporting them or their music. If things work out, the next few Checking In With features are going to be with absolutely amazing bands. But this all depends on how cooperative they are...

After the test, I had the "reviewer" itch again. Wrote reviews on Annuals, The Tossers, and The Chinese Stars. I also did a mini-reviews post that included three toss-away bands (Lesbians On Ecstacy, Sparks The Rescue, and Until June) and two "okay" bands (See You Next Tuesday, Die! Die! Die!). Speaking of one of those bands, Until June is the worst crap I have heard all yet. I can not tell you how strongly I feel about this.

Finally, I saw Moneen!

The Week In Reviews

- I started early on Sunday morning with a review of Set Sail The Prairie by Kaddisfly. This was a hard one to write considering my conflicting feelings as a reviewer and as a devoted fan. The final product was a bit long, but I think it read rather well. I'll surely be listening to this album all year.

- A review of Lovedrug's new album, Everything Starts Where It Ends, was posted the following day. I had expected to really enjoy the disc but found out it wasn't all that good. Other reviews of the record back-up my opinion. I doubt I'll be listening to this very much.

- Big Business' Here Come The Water Works is fantastic. While I'm not the best at writing about the type of music they play, I think I did the disc justice in the review. Eventually the band will be a part of a future "Band Profile" feature.

- I noted in my review of The Higher's On Fire that the record was incredibly cheesy, and I stand by that fact. The allure of their songs has already washed over me.

- The split album from Championship and Her Breath On Glass isn't a bad disc, but it certainly isn't great. I said in the review that both bands were heading in a quality direction but are very much still in their developing stages. Also of note, the guy who plays drums for both bands and runs the label that released it (Reap What You Sew) is a very cool dude.

- Finally, a review of the new Daphne Loves Derby disc, Good Night, Witness Light was incredibly easy to type up. That band writes some catchy tunes in the vein of MAE and COPELAND, but I don't see them reaching the level of those bands anytime soon. However, I may pull out a song or two from them in the future.

- Also of note, I did a mini-reviews feature this week. These are usually dedicated to albums that are slightly out of the website's (or my personal) taste or don't require/deserve loads of text to get the basic point across. Moreover, there was a brief posting about Signal To Noise's upcoming release, Kodiak. It's a pretty cool album, and the band will be alongside Big Business in the abovementioned profiles.

Collector's Showcase Post

I had originally planned on grouping together the upcoming re-releases from The Bled, Paulson, and Trophy Scars with the new remix album from Minus The Bear in a sort of mini-reviews news post, but when I began writing I ended up with a lot more text than anticipated. So...I posted a review of each album as a small feature called "Collector's Showcase," for lack of a better name. It's an obvious rip-off of Alternative Press' "Collector's Corner" in the sense that it's an easy way to cover albums that'd be hard to push for anyone other than dedicated fans of the band. I don't see this becoming any kind of regular feature, but when it's convenient and worth the time to do it, I suppose it could reappear in the future.

Winter Break Means Tons Of Content

Since I've been on break all week and have no where to go, I've been devoting a lot of time to coming up with new content. So far I've reviewed the following:

- Anberlin's Cities based off of a download from my college music program, Ruckus. EMI/Tooth And Nail no longer sends out promo copies, but I felt I had enough to say about this release to warrant a quick review. Chances I'll listen to it again: Never.

- Bloc Party's A Weekend In The City. I picked this up the week prior to reviewing it, and I can say with much honesty that it is my favorite record of the year thus far. I'm hoping to see them on my birthday later in the month. Chances I'll listen to it again: Concrete.

- Mean's Sending You Strength. This one can't be summed up in any greater detail that what I already gave it. Cool artwork, though. Chances I'll listen to it again: Well, I did rip it into iTunes, so chances are fair.

- Classic Case's Losing At Life is an all-around solid record. It took me a few listens to warm up to it, but I eventually gave it a rewarding review. Chances I'll listen to it again: Fair.

- The Showdown's Temptation Come My Way. I can't stand to listen to this record. It's most definitely not my thing, but I tried to be fair in my review of it. If I ever listen to this again it'll be when someone forces it on my ears.

Starting Over

I'm starting over with this blog. My eventual goal, perhaps this summer, is to start a blog that discusses things going on in my community. I've really wanted to have a credible, well-visited blog for quite some time, and I know a personal one isn't the way for me to go as I'm not entirely interesting. I've been thinking of a route to go when I decided the other day it might be fun to start one about the community - discussing general news, incoming businesses, and especially local politics. By incorporating the latter I think I would strive to have a better understanding of policy-making at the local level.

For now, however, (with this particular account) I am going to recount things I post at Pastepunk.com throughout the week, thoughts on postings, and/or any other music/entertainment related things. Hopefully this will make it easier for me to gather links and such in the future.