Children Collide - Theory Of Everything

 I had established quite high expectations for Children Collides sophomore effort due to their intense live show and amazing first album, The Long Now. The band definitely still has the ability of writing great songs but I can't help but feel the album isn't a progression for the band. There is nothing particularly bad about this new release but it seems like the band hasn't attempted to step forward in any way and its almost as if they just pumped out a bunch of songs in a short period. Despite this, the band has managed to create an album that is still consistently enjoyable with a cool charm.

Highlights include "My Eagle" which is a groovy pop-rock anthem with catchy lyrics and despite its simplicity, manages to keep an exciting vibe. I can already picture the massive live sing alongs. Tracks like "Jellylegs" show they can still write catchy guitar parts and songs like "Seven Forks" show the band exploring different elements of composition and melody. "Loveless" is a nice contrast to the more upbeat tracks, being a mellower soulful song without coming across as lame or forced. "Complacency No Vacancy" shows some catchy Nirvana-esque style rock which also contains groovy guitar licks allowing it to be instantly likeable. Although, some songs such as "Fashion Fits" and "Future Monks" misses the mark, providing little to entice listeners.

As usual the bass and drums work together excellently to provide a solid rhythm throughout the album and the simple lyrics create an innocent vibe that is easier to relate to and consume. Overall the band has created an adequate follow up that contains great songs for the most part. 8/10

Favourite Songs: Complacency No Vacancy, Loveless, Jellylegs, My Eagle.

Bring Me The Horizon - There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let’s Keep It a Secret

 Bring Me The Horizon is a band that is often debated about, being both widely adored and equally criticised and hated. In their third full length album, BMTH attempt to create a balance between the monotonous chugging found on previous releases and exploration into new sounds. To their credit, it is great to see them attempting to step beyond the realms of generic metalcore that is so often found in recent times but it seems they still lack the ability to write decent songs that are widely appealing. I found myself pleasantly surprised with the opening track 'Crucify Me', kicking off with a more melodic structure with additions of keyboards, choirs and strings which make for a more epic and interesting feel, allowing the more generic guitar and drum parts to be tolerable. It seems like a great start to the album despite the tedious length of the track. Suddenly, the next track 'Anthem' kicks in with a wall of bland noise, predictable structure and uninspired lyrics, creating a bad feeling about where the rest of the album will go.

The next track is the slightly more interesting 'It Never Ends' which follows a more interesting direction and contains decent hooks which is then followed by the near unbearable 'Fuck', which for the most part carries a tiresome structure with some of the worst excuses of lyrics I've ever been subjected to, (Let's fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! 
Let's fuck till our lungs give up) :/ The next few songs continue with the monotonous, stale, signature sound of BMTH with some attempts of incorporating cock-rock guitar solos, 'Don't Go' being an exception with further experimentation of ambient music. Just when all hope for the album has been diminished, 'Blessed By A Curse" kicks in with a refreshing progression and more coherent guitar playing. The album ends with yet another boring and generic track that seems unnecessary altogether, leaving a disappointing feeling with the album overall.

I can't help but feel Oli Syke's vocals brings the whole band down even further. His incoherent yelling seems to detract from the more enjoyable tracks and just add to the noise anywhere else. Once again, the band has relied on guest vocalists in order to save some of the tracks, with guest vocals from Lights being one of the highlights of the whole album and the addition of Josh (You Me At Six) being the only highlight of "Fuck". The whole album seems as if they wanted to try be inventive and for some part succeeded in creating something more refreshing but for some reason, they decided to essentially ruin the album by adding a bunch of bland and lifeless metalcore songs. Maybe they just got self-conscious and didn't want to risk disappointing the legions of scene kids that praise their usual sound. It's sad that the band could've broken the mould and created something wonderful only to bring it down in various other aspects. I guess its subjective in the end, but for me its just another painful album by one of the most overrated bands in the metal/hardcore scene. 4/10

Favourite songs: Crucify Me, Blessed By A Curse

The Houses EP

 The Houses built themselves up from a local band in Geelong to winning the Victorian wide Push Start Freeza Battle of the Bands. With such a title under their belts, it was safe to say certain expectations were established for their debut EP. The House's EP is a 5 track mash of psychedelic, bluesy rock songs fueled with Jack White inspired guitar licks and vocal melodies reminiscent of Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeah's). That being said, there is a noticeable degree of other varied influences and a level of quirkiness, giving the songs a fresh feel, as well as showcasing an experimental approach to song structuring and guitar playing.

Upbeat drumming, soothing rhythms, driving bass lines and catchy vocal lines are evident, with various mood changes as the album progresses. The variation in the songs gives the band the opportunity to appeal to a variety of tastes, the combination of traditional and contemporary styles on the EP keep it interesting and exciting. Although its unfair to say it is the most innovative sound in recent times, the passion, musicianship and ability to write excellent songs are still displayed. This band has a fantastically energetic live show (As seen at Push Over 2010) and with the collection of songs put on offer here, there is nothing stopping the band from getting bigger and better if they continue refining the sound they have. 6/10

Favourite Songs: Help Or Hinder, She's Cactus

The Dead Weather - Sea Of Cowards

The bands first album Horehound gained a positive response and earned the band a lot of fans that liked the band for reasons other than the fact Jack White was in it. It was interesting to listen to the collaboration of the musicians on the first album, with White grooving the beats on the drums and providing back up vocals, letting the wonderful and sexy Alison Mosshart take the lead for the most part.

The first thing you will notice about the bands sophomere effort is the change in vocal presence. White sings almost as much as Mosshart which contrasts well with her vocals. A wider range of vocal styles are used creating an interesting sound that is different from the first album but also runs the risk of making the band seem like just another Jack White side project (which would probably be the likely response if this were the first release by the band).

Nevertheless, the two main artists focus on a different aspect of rock music, shying away from the catchy choruses and melodic licks similar to The Kills and The White Stripes, relying more on vicious guitar leads and the ferocity of the band as a whole for the hooks. It definitely has its stranger moments and seems to have more focus than the first album. It comes down to preference in the end, but fans of their previous work will love this, as will all the Jack White sweaters. 8/10

Best Songs:  Die By The Drop, The Difference Between Us, Blue Blood Blues

Grenadiers - Songs The Devil Taught Us

 

After hearing a song by this small time rock band from Adelaide on a compilation album, I decided to check this band out. I'm usually impatient with new rock bands but this band caught my attention. It might not be the most innovative album, drawing influences from bands like The Bronx (the lighter material anyways), but the guys definitely know how to write brilliant rock riffs and catchy songs. And they have beards as epic as Four Year Strong.

They use everything from melodic breaks, massive choruses and interchanging aggressive and melodic vocals which makes them stand out. Driving drums and well executed riffs shows the bands excellent musicianship, tracks like "Old Uncle Scratch" and "No One Listens" being good examples of this. Grenadiers are as good as any of Australia's bigger rock acts and are definitely an act to keep an eye on. 7.5/10

Best Songs: Old Uncle Scratch, Abandon Ship, No One Listens, Bad Hand.

Attack Attack! - Self Titled

After looking over their previous work which always had a mixed reception, Attack Attack! decided to try "step it up to new grounds" with a sophomore album. I could never take this band seriously but I found that "Someday Came Suddenly" could be fun to listen to. Now with an attempt at a "tougher sound", all you can do is laugh. The album is made up of a bunch of electro-pop sounding songs, a bunch of metalcore songs and a few combo songs. The metalcore songs sound like poorly done For The Fallen Dreams rip offs and the electro-pop songs sound like 3OH3! rip offs. I guess that was their attempt at expanding their fan base. The rest of the songs consist of cheesey keyboard sections, autotuned clean vocals and screams that sound like they've been digitally lowered.

A lot of the songs open with repetitive breakdowns, giving it a very tedious feel. There are some potentially alright songs like "Sexual Man Chocolate", one of the few occasions where the synth parts aren't over done. The highlight of the album for me was "Shut Your Mouth", one of the dance tracks. The sound was nothing new but at least it could be a little catchy. "AC-130" has potential but seems too full of attempts at incredibly heavy breakdowns. By the end of the album I just wanted it to end finding myself asking "Why the hell am I listening to this again?" every minute or two. The band has tried way too hard to impress everyone instead of trying to find a sound that works for them, which loses them any respect they had in the first place. Hopefully one day they can develop their sound and create something worth listening to but this album is just a confused mix of genres and poor musicianship. 2/10

Best Songs: N/A (That's up to you to decide, I can't enjoy any of these songs.)

Jack Johnson - To The Sea

 Not too much to say about his latest effort. It got the same sweet melodies and catchy lyrics accompanied by his soothing mellow voice. You can't really say he's gone on to try anything new with this album, not that he needs to in order to keep his fans loyal.

Some could argue it is disappointing that after such a long time his sound hasn't evolved, but I don't think too many people will argue. Sure this album is nothing too groundbreaking and life changing like some of his previous albums, but it is more Jack Johnson and the more, the merrier and I'm sure many, many people with agree. 7/10

Best Songs:  The Upsetter, To The Sea, Only The Ocean