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Music Review: Saves The Day

Published by Adam on September 26, 2013

The new album by Saves The Day might be the most fun record I’ve heard all year.

Saves The Day

On their new self-titled album, the New Jersey band brings wave after wave of infectious pop punk. On first play it’s all sunny and sweet, but repeated listens reveal honest lyrics about lost-and-found love and run-ins with racist drunks (see: “Xenophobic Blind Left Hook”).

It’s all over in just over 30 minutes, but Saves The Day pack a lot into these 11 tracks. It’s not easy to write a three-minute song that actually feels complete–with a few verses, chorus and bridge–but these boys seem to pull it off effortlessly. There’s not a dud on the record and when it’s over you want to play it again.

I hadn’t seen it before, but singer/songwriter Chris Conley reminds me a lot of John K. Samson from Canadian indie darling, The Weakerthans.  Both Conley and Samson come from a punk background, and yet both stand apart from others in the genre with clever, observational lyrics that fit big literary words around instantly catchy hooks.

As someone who first heard this band in high school (back in the early 2000s), it’s very cool to see Conley has matured so much as a songwriter. Saves The Day isn’t writing exactly the same kind of songs they used to, but they have harvested the best elements.

Some other reviewers on the Web say that Saves The Day have overdone the cheerfulness on this one, but to them I say, “Lighten up!”

It’s refreshing to hear music with such positive energy. It’s not a concept album. There’s no political agenda or “screw you” to the mainstream. It’s just a bunch of guys having fun and hoping their fans will come along for the ride.

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Space Rock, Grounded

Published by Adam on October 15, 2011

You might expect some serious space rock from a band called The Asteroid Shop. Song titles like “Planetary” seem to confirm the suspicion that you’re in for the kind of shoe-gazing guitar rock that might soundtrack a zero-gravity flight into the great unknown.

But band leader Eric Brendo (interviewed on this blog here) brings an earthy road-weariness to his baritone vocals and guitar work on this Austin, Texas band’s self-titled debut. While the album opens in space with the thundering “Destroyer,” by the second half The Asteroid Shop has landed in the dusty desert of the American West.  A lot of bands pick one sound and stick with it, so it’s refreshing to hear this band unplug the guitars and bring in instrumentation more common to the folk and country genres. The result is some real winners like the folksy “Ashes” and lovelorn “Silver Lane.”

The Asteroid Shop
Under the stars...

Not every song works and the album drags somewhat in the middle. The lyrics are unlikely to stick in one’s head and Brendo’s vocals are a little rough around the edges. The instrumentals are what’s compelling here. Atmosphere may be one the album’s greatest strengths, whether in the thundering bass of opener “Destroyer” or the shimmering guitar and synths of “Dandelion.”  They’re also not afraid to surprise with a quick tempo change, as they do to great effect with the groovy ’60s organ jam in the otherwise sleepy “Planetary.”  While not all the songs engage the listener, this is a promising album by a band that knows how to set a mood.

Download “Dandelion” for free right here.

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Downtown Guitarist Seeks Own Path

Published by Adam on October 12, 2010

Six years ago, I wrote a glowing review in The Eagle of a band called Downtown. Backed by all-star rock producers Flood, Alan Moulder and Toni Halladay, and featuring a melancholy sound that recalled some of the best alternative rock from the late 20th century, Downtown seemed destined for success.

But we didn’t hear much about them after that.

Now Eric Brendo, the band’s guitarist and co-songwriter, is striking out on his own. A debut EP, Over the Dunes and Into the Cave, was released this summer, and Brendo tells me a long-player is due next year. He is in the midst of an October tour and plans to tour again once the LP is released.

This month’s run of shows “has been great,”  and “creatively is stronger than the last tour,” says Brendo. “I’ve met some incredibly talented musicians and filmakers along the way and [am] staying really busy.”

The chances of another Downtown collaboration are “pretty slim,” says Brendo. “We toured for a bit after the Downtown release and I was doing some solo shows on the side and trying to expand as a songwriter.” Initial Brendo gigs took place mainly in New York City, but “then the touring addiction kept haunting me,” he says.  So Brendo, originally from Detroit, hit the road.  He spent “a year or two in L.A. and wound up living in Austin somehow, which has been beneficial in many ways so far.”

On Over the Dunes, Brendo continues to show a knack for the kind of moody, bass-laden grooves that were so core to Downtown’s 2004 debut. He wrote the songs and plays most of the instruments, though co-producer Howard Wulkan played as well. Catchy opener “Hazy Love” could have been a Downtown song, while closer “Ashes” surprises with a rootsy, acoustic twist.

If there’s one thing that’s missing from the EP, it’s a clear single — that one sparkling number guaranteed to bring down the house. On his upcoming full length, fans “can expect a little more [beats per minute] on the tracks and I’ll just be sorting out whether to fit in some of the stripped down open-feel stuff and go for what serves the album,” says Brendo. He plans to issue “a wide variety of albums over the next 5 years” and also hopes to contribute work to films.

For more info on Eric Brendo’s record and tour, click here.

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Crocodiles Sharp on ‘Sleep Forever’

Published by Adam on October 3, 2010
Crocodiles - Sleep Forever

If you were to combine the dark, twisted fuzz of The Raveonettes with the “We know we’re good”  bombast of Oasis, you’d probably end up with something a bit like Crocodiles.

But forget the comparisons (another popular one on the ‘net is The Jesus and Mary Chain). On their new LP, Sleep Forever, this San Diego band provides 35 minutes of fresh and filler-free rock ‘n roll. The choruses are big, especially on the title track, with lyrics that are simultaneously bleak and psychadelic. “When you die you don’t really die/You just paint yourself across the sky,” singer Brandon Welchaz roars over Charles Rowell’s static/melodic guitar on “Billy Speed.”

Some have bemoaned the slower tracks — the pace drops to a heartbeat on track four, “Girl in Black,” before coming back to life on a track that — ironically enough — is called “Sleep Forever.” But if you switch off your iPod’s shuffle and swallow the album the old-fashioned way (in one dose), it all comes together.

Check out the video to the rockin’ title track below:

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Adam Bender | adambenderwrites.com | watchadam.blog