Midday Committee – Girls In Open C


Today I’m writing about a record that impressed me because of a simple fact, that I will get into at the end of this review. Midday Committee‘s second EP Girls In Open C was released this Monday and is a nice little seven, including the intro, track venture into the pop punk genre.

The quartet from Portsmouth has a great feeling for writing catchy songs with easy-to-remember structures, while managing to avoid sounding generic, or too poppy rather. The melodic guitars coupled with the driving drum beats form a really enjoyable ensemble that just manages to convince.

The punk side of their genre doesn’t come too short either, even though you will be searching in vain for unclean vocals, breakdowns or anything of the sort. On the contrary, the twenty-five minutes don’t suffer from that in any way whatsoever and it would actually be quite unfitting if there were any of those elements in the mix.

The vocalist does a fabulous job and I haven’t noticed a single weak moment in his performance on the EP. Furthermore, there is a beautiful duet with Christina Rotondo of the band Searching Alaska in the last song, Just Me And You, that is definitely my highlight of the record. Lyrically, the EP is, as you might have guessed from its title, mostly about relationships…so nothing too surprising there, but at least it’s not super cheesy.

As a closing statement, I’m going to say that Midday Committee‘s selling point for me was that they managed to come up with what I had wanted from the last Fall Out Boy, who are obviously big inspirations to them, record. It might be slightly high praise but the blokes do deserve it, since they don’t lack talent! For more information, be sure to visit their Facebook and be sure to check out the entire EP below!

Jamie’s Elsewhere – Rebel Revive


Today I’m going to write about the third successful crowd-funded record that I’ve been a part of so far: Rebel Revive by Jamie’s Elsewhere! The follow-up to their 2010 effort, They Said A Storm Was Coming, was supposed to be released in July 2013, but it got delayed due to unforeseen production issues…and I couldn’t be happier, since the long wait has definitely paid off!

Back in 2009/2010 there was a rise of bands that played post-hardcore mixed with a pirate-inspired theme and the (now) quartet from California was one of them. Now, don’t be confused by the so-called “piratecore”: they don’t sing about rum and treasures, but they have this very particular epic song structure to them…it’s kind of hard to describe, but if you’ve listened to a few bands from the genre, you’ll understand.

But let’s return to the record at hand: Rebel Revive is jam-packed with everything the fans, myself included, have been longing for and then some. Amazing melodic guitar parts go hand in hand with breakdowns and tastily heavy riffs. The string fraction is backed up by pretty straight-forward drums with occasionally intricate foot patterns; nothing to write home about but they do what they should: keep the groove going! Also omnipresent during the thirty-seven minutes are not too obtrusive keyboard sounds and very seldom scratching.

The vocal front has seen the biggest change with the arrival of the new singer, Justin Kyle, who sounds similar to the previous vocalist but has a bit more of a soul flair to his clean vocals. His screams and growls are good, but one clearly notices that his strength lies in the clean department. However, I do prefer one vocalist who gives it his all, to two who do a half-assed job…so I’m all for it here.

The other remarkable thing is the amount of guest vocalists on these ten tracks: Garret Rapp of The Color Morale on the opener, Tyler Carter of Issues on track number three, the electropop singer DEV on In Depth Perception and last but not least Phil Druyer and Nick Sampson from I Am Abomination on Capital Vices. While guest vocalists are often a good way to give weak songs the needed edge, this is not the case here, because they compliment the various tracks perfectly.

To sum it up: the second record by Jamie’s Elsewhere does not re-invent the wheel in any way whatsoever…but it certainly adds some much needed oil to it, so to speak. If you are one of those people that have never really been able to let go from this sound, you will be in for a treat; and if you are completely new to it…don’t look any further, this is as good as it gets to start discovering the genre! Be sure to check out the band’s Facebook page and listen to the song below!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgLB3Jom8s]

La Dispute – Rooms Of The House


La Dispute are one of those bands that I enormously regret not listening to earlier in my life. It was only in mid-2013 that I was introduced to their 2008 debut album, Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair, by a close friend of mine and ever since I have been entranced by its almost hypnotic effect. Which is why I was quite excited when the band announced that they’d release their new record, Rooms Of The House, on March 18th.

In case you are not familiar with the quintet from Michigan, it’s probably easiest for me to say that they play post-hardcore, with an emphasis on the “post” part. While there are some screams and heavier parts, it’s generally-speaking a very absorbing experience, much like post-rock. As a matter of fact, their third full length is their least chaotic record…but, to me, that just increases the level of the entire eleven-song ride.

Dissonance is, as on their previous endeavors, a very prevalent element in their sound and, combined with some of the almost hypnotic melodies, makes it a joy to dive into this musical journey. The drums follow partially very erratic patterns with lots of off-beat rhythms and intricate fills left and right which, you’ve guessed it, adds another layer of immersion. Furthermore, the production is clean but not over-polished, rendering it a pure auditory pleasure with its authentic quality during these forty-two minutes.

Over the few months that I’ve been listening to La Dispute, I’ve shown them to a number of people and the one thing that seems to make or break the band for most people are the vocals. Some complained that the singer sounds too whiny and off-key, others loved the raw emotion of his performance and had goosebumps from the first second. I, for one, am definitely part of the latter group and I couldn’t imagine any of their songs without him. On Rooms Of The House he still does his spoken word parts, his occasional screams but the singing is more frequent, which I welcome with open arms…or ears rather.

The main selling point for me, and for many others, on any given record by the band are hands down the lyrics though. Such is the case this time around as well, because the story centered around Hudsonville, MI is simply beautiful and if you actually listen to the music, instead of just hearing it, you will be treated to a story loaded with pretty much every emotion that we humans can feel.

To finish up here, I can only say that La Dispute is not a band for everyone…and I’m thankful for that because the world they create for people like me through their music is very special, and I hate sharing. All kidding aside, I strongly urge you to listen to this record if, and only if, you are able to feel music instead of just using it as a pastime. Find the band on Facebook and see what the video below does for you.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSjTpcSxgjQ]

Nerveguns – Nerveguns


To clear one thing up right away: punk is not dead! Not in the music scene, nor here on El Gore, because today I’m going to whet your appetite for Nerveguns‘ self-titled debut album.

The punk rock quartet hailing from Heinsberg, in Germany, is one of the many bands that do everything to keep the genre alive and I salute them for that. Punk is nowhere near as popular as it used to be but the mentality of friendship and good times is still prevalent in the scene. But enough gobbledygook, onto the record itself!

The ten songs are mostly of the traditional, fast-paced kind with simple but effective chords and basic drumming which focuses on supporting the stringed instruments instead of standing out too much; a concept that has worked in the past and still does in my opinion. A good punk record usually features at least one “ballad” and such is the case on here as well since there are actually two, one of which features a bit of keyboard.

So far so good, but what about the, arguably, carrying piece of a punk ensemble: the vocals? Well, they are not without their flaws but they come across as honest and raw, which is what music should be about in the first place!

To sum things up, I’d say that while Nerveguns won’t change your entire perception of the genre and of life, it’s a fun way to spend thirty minutes on a road trip or at home. So, whether you’re into the genre or not, give the song below a listen and visit the band’s Facebook page.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tws3TTlF0lU]

Natas Loves You – Skip Stones

Natas Loves You is a five-man band residing in Paris. Their musical origins go back to Luxembourg, where four of them met and started what would eventually become their most ambitious project. On the 10th of March, the “pop stellaire” collective released their third EP entitled Skip Stones, which marks an important milestone in their promising career.

The opening and title track leaves no question as to what Natas Loves You’s mission is: the quintet wants to make us dance, or at least encourage toe-wiggling in the reluctant dancers among us. The breezy tune sets the mood for the impending summer days and comes with a fun video clip that is reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited. I would loosely describe their sound as synth-heavy rock with a slight retro flair that they preserved from their early days and that comes out particularly clearly in the remaster of an older song called Scarlett Brown. Zeppelins is another song I remember vividly in its previous version and that I might enjoy even more now that it’s been reshaped into an ocean of groovy psychedelic delight.

Go Or Linger stands out in the small collection as a song with a decidedly pensive streak. It’s still dancehall-worthy, but in an apocalyptic-mood type of way: when played at the right part of the night, it would probably get you in that zone where you pretend to dance your soul out without any inhibitions one last time before the world ends. The highly singalong-friendly lyrics portray a sense of feeling lost that hits home with most millennials. I generally consider the songwriting to be one of the band’s strengths and commend their knack for simple, yet poignant compositions of words.

In conclusion, this release shows that the guys of Natas Loves You have polished their sound to a shiny finish and carved out their own niche along the way. The harmonies, jiggy rhythms and dreamy soundscapes make for good, organic pop music with a distinctive factor that sets the band apart from other indie pop/rock acts currently floating around the musicsphere.

If you enjoy the juicy four-track EP (which is available on iTunes for 2,99 €), you’ll be excited to hear that it’s a teaser for the first full-length Natas release due later this year: The 8th Continent is a concept album produced by Chris Zane, who’s worked with bands like Passion Pit, Holy Ghost!, Friendly Fires and many others. In the meantime, you can keep up with the boys on Facebook and watch the video for Skip Stones below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsQXnxzD0j8]

Sun Glitters – Scattered Into Light

Victor Ferreira alias Sun Glitters presented his fans with a new LP in November last year, and we finally got around to giving Scattered Into Light, which exceeds its predecessor Everything Could Be Fine in playtime by a little less than 20 minutes, a closer listen. This time around, the Luxembourg-based chillwave artist teamed up with Sara Cappai of Italian dream-pop outfit Diverting Duo, whose soft voice with the slight accent shining through at times really adds to the moony, faraway feel of the record.

As I just hinted at, Sun Glitters’ key vibe has remained the same: Eric wrote in early 2013 that his sound is “very melancholic and plunges the listener into a dreamy mood”, and I fully subscribe to this statement. It’s a solid chillwave album, suited as background music on slow days, but it strikes me as rather monotonous and repetitive without any particularly outstanding moments.

However, the acoustic version of Too Much To Lose — which is my favourite Sun Glitters track in its original form — is a nice surprise to conclude the album. It works very well stripped down and reveals a certain kind of charm that wasn’t as easy to detect with an array of computer-generated effects piled on top.

Out of the remaining songs, Only You and Feeling Young are my personal highlights in terms of atmosphere, but even those seem interchangeable and don’t move me enough to elicit an enthusiastic response. Then again, I’m not the world’s greatest aficionado of the genre, so don’t take my opinion as gospel and give the album a chance anyway. It might just tickle your particular fancy.

Ferreira is fairly active on social media, so you have plenty of opportunities to keep up with what he’s doing. I recommend following him on Facebook and Tumblr, and don’t hesitate to check out the video for Only You by Luxembourgish film collective This Is Radar that I linked below.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MLhthz4IJ8]

Retrace My Fragments – Ethereal Flux


Today I have the pleasure of writing about, without a doubt, one of the most complex albums that I’ve had to deal with it in recent years. This honor is bestowed upon Ethereal Flux by the Luxembourgish band Retrace My Fragments. Their first full length is so loaded with creativity and craziness, of the good kind, that I feel like the next few paragraphs won’t even scratch the surface…but I’ll give it a shot.

The quintet plays progressive death metal, and the guys take both words very seriously: on an instrumental level it’s literally impossible to count the amount of tempo changes, both brutal and melodic riffs and mind-blowing solos…and that’s just the string department. The drums are a never-ending barrage of double bass and blast beats, which are completely unexpectedly broken by groovy parts.

The whole production has a very clean and slightly artificial sound to it; to me that is part of the band’s plan though, since it gives the whole thirteen songs a very spacey-feeling which happens to be the theme of the album, but more about that later. It is also noteworthy that the songs all flow seamlessly into each other and create a complete immersion into the music. However, it also makes it harder to distinguish songs from one another but, again, I think that is part of the idea of making it one entire experience.

The vocals are just as multifaceted as the instrumental parts, with mostly really deep growls, interlaced with screams and occasional clean singing. The latter, I have to admit, could have been a bit more prevalent since I really enjoyed them. As mentioned earlier, the central theme of these sixty minutes is space, which is the setting for a very intricate story that I can only recommend giving a read in the booklet. It is, however, useful if you understand both English and French since the lyrics are in both languages.

One other noteworthy mention is the instrumental interlude Quiescence, which just blew me away…and I’m not even entirely sure why. Something about the melody and interplay of instruments just gives me the chills.

As a closing statement, I’m gonna say that Ethereal Flux is definitely not an album that you will be able to appreciate, or even comprehend, after just one listen-through. It’s so jam-packed with details of every kind that even after ten times, you will still discover new things…and that’s exactly what makes it so special. So, if you are willing to spend time with a record, I can guarantee that you will be rewarded. For more information, be sure to visit the band’s Facebook page and to get an impression of their style be sure to listen to the song below. Last but not least, the band is holding their release party on March 22nd at Rockhal in Esch-Belval, so be sure to move your bum there if you want to be progged.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUyOPgsRlow]