Tag: Volumes

Music Wire #3

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We’re almost through the first quarter of 2017. An hourglass expires faster than it did just a few years ago. Age makes the past fleeting. Time moved slowly, but as life advances time does too.

Memorable music has already built a narrative to remember this year by. January brought Uniform’s blistering sophomore LP Wake in Fright. I was fortunate to seem them in February at The Hideout.

Oliver Houston and Code Orange also released great records as well. Japandroids may end up owning this year when it’s all over. They had steller sold out performance at The Music Box this past Saturday.

I happened to catch Craig Finn (The Hold Steady) and his new band The Uptown Controls open that show. Great song back stories with his songs. His new solo album We All Want the Same Things drops later this month.

Looking forward, Volumes seek to dominate this summer with Different Animals starting June 9th. Real Estate, Joey Bada$$, and others will also seek to dominate their respective scenes too.

Migos has already solidified a spot on many’s end of the year lists. There’s a long way until January so who knows what the rest of the year will bring.

 

On My Mind

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I’m biased for Volumes. There’s no reason to qualify anything because I follow this band without hesitation. August 18th, 2011, I saw them perform for the first time. As soon as the bouncing groove from “Intake” kicked in I was hooked.

They came along with djent when the genre was starting to solidify its legacy and changing music forever. They had two screaming frontmen who were like a rap duo. They played off each other and had different tenures in vocal tones.

At the time they had only had The Concept of Dreaming EP out but clearly their stage presence and song writing was advanced and unique enough to differentiate them from Meshuggah, Periphery, and etc.

I regarded Volumes immediately as a band to raise up for to festivals across the states and maybe internationally.

Fast forward six years, the band has released two full lengths and endured a major shake up. Myke Terry replaced Michael Barr and the band has shown significant changes stylistically.

“On Her Mind” moves the band from a rapper’s feel to literally featuring Pouya on verses. Usually these tactics within the scene come off gimmicky but with their well established grooves, particularly from the bass and drum beat, this combination works well.

Terry’s clean choruses continue to compliment the music, which was an element they permanently needed to establish a while ago. No Sleep started this process.

I don’t believe this will define Different Animals, dropping June 9th, but it’s a marker of where they’ve progressed.

Top 5 Singles of 2016

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In the past I’ve listed my favorite EP’s of the year. This time I honestly haven’t listened to enough music this year. Seems kind of odd for me but honestly it just hasn’t happened. Between working full time, having new life experiences, and just dealing with myself I haven’t absorbed as much music like I did in my adolescences. With this context I decided to put together a list of songs or singles that I really enjoyed but didn’t make my top ten albums. These songs were strong but didn’t carry the whole album. Some of them were just singles. Still these songs stood out so much I had to give them some love.

It’s known I’m not huge on EDM. Up until recently I was very antagonistic against the style. Once I started going out more, down in North Park, driving by myself and participating in drunken behavior I’ve really fallen into this music more and more. “Ablaze” by School of Seven Bells has been in rotation for months on my playlists. The guitar rhythm is a nice bridge more to help me cross over. There’s a steady energy here keeping me up beat and positive when I hear it. I especially like driving while playing this one. The rest of the album is solid but this one stands out from the others.

My affection for heavy music, metalcore and djent particularly, has fallen off a cliff for me. It hasn’t felt the same for a while. Maybe it’s age or the past year’s experiences but I haven’t immersed myself within the scene like I did in the past. Still, I have soft spot for it when I hear something that satisfies my taste in the sonic aesthetics. Erra pleasantly surprised me this year with “Irreversible” from their latest album. I haven’t heard breakdowns like that. Surely someone has done them before but it was a first for me. The crazy part about these breakdowns… No chugging. They grind on a harmonic note. It’s not brutal but it still gets the energy pulsing if it’s your flavor. Erra also repeat this section several times which always gratifies my sweet tooth.

Unfortunately now cancelled, HBO’s Vinyl brought a slew of original soundtracks into the show. “Kill the Lights” featuring Nile Rodgers stood above the rest. In the series it’s a single by the fictional group Indigo that raises up in underground clubs. It’s introduction on the show has one of it’s more memorable moments. The song originally written by Alex Newell and DJ Cassidy resonates the essence of the 70’s and disco. I’ve been Googling to find hidden discos in San Diego so I can live out my new fantasy of dancing in nostalgia. I don’t feel comfortable participating in today’s clubs or dry humping there but I could lose my shit at disco playing “Kill the Lights” and others like it. I’m not sure why this song gets me interested in going clubing but I’m glad it has.

For most of the year I thought Volume‘s single “Feels Good” would easily be my favorite single. It’s great at the gym, driving around, or anytime I need some jubilee. You can read my detailed and existential review here. Some tease though. The band has promised their new album early in 2017. They have held this bridge for their next album through their single. It’s done a solid job so far but fans are ready for what’s next. Looking back on this single, the level of production from guitarist Diego Farias rose to Grammy level proportions. Next year couldn’t sound better. One paper this track checks every box for me. However, it’s not at the top of my list.

The best single of the year came as a surprise but looking back on the year no other song could really hold the crown. “True Love Waits” by Radiohead was the white whale of unreleased studio tracks for over two decades. I wrote about this and their album A Moon Shaped Pool earlier this year. Turns out it’s one of the best songs of the year. I could go into the personal reasons but if you’ve read my introspective blogging I need not explain. The song certainly gets me emotionally charged but that’s why people like music. The truly superb music influences our feelings and thoughts. As sad as my perspective is about this track it makes me feel hopeful. Only great music can incept your mind like that. Without a doubt this is my top song or single of the year. I tend to lean towards music that capture the year for me.This song will always be a small time capsule of 2016. Hopefully someday I can look back remember where I was then but appreciate how far I’ve come now. Appreciate what I have in the future, wherever I am.

Having never written a list in this style before I hope anyone who reads it grasps its flow. I enjoyed tackling each track by track. I will have another list before the release of my annual top 10 albums of the year this month.