Track Review: "Reprieve"

Artist: Jules Vincent

Release Date: January 25, 2013

Label: Independent

Note: This review is part of a series of single reviews by Ryan coming out this week leading up to a show on Friday June 21 at the Lilypad in Cambridge, MA, which will feature performances by all the bands reviewed.

Jules Vincent is a young band from Beverly, MA consisting of - full disclosure - good friends of mine and fellow staff writers of Found Sound. That being said, “Reprieve” is an ambitious cut. The live version clocks in at 9 minutes and includes several distinct sections. Realistically, it could be three different songs. The band keeps the track from growing stale by introducing new musical themes throughout, as well as exploring an enormous emotive range, full of peaks and valleys.

Though the instrumentation may be the most palpable element of the song, the lyrics also deserve some attention; it’s as if the band wrote the whole work around the poetry. Mortality seems to be the preoccupation here, with the song exuding fearful sentiments of dying alone. This would be hard to gather, however, without actually studying the words. On a side note, the studio version includes samples of chirping birds that build over the song and peak as they match up with appropriately ornithological metaphors in the lyrics. This isn’t present in the live version, which is a shame. The pastoral effects adds a certain aesthetic to the piece that give the music a more profound impact.

The biggest pitfall with this song is a level of sloppiness commensurate for a band this young tackling such a complex idea. There are a few rough transitions, along with mismatched rhythms and isolated tuning issues, but most of these are lost in the length. Ultimately, the track is interesting, diverse, and demonstrates an incredible level of musicianship, particularly for a group with such burgeoning talent.

- Ryan Noss

Track Review: "Lifesaver"

Artist: Burglary Years
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Label: Independent

Note: This review is part of a series of single reviews by Ryan coming out this week leading up to a show on Friday June 21 at the Lilypad in Cambridge, MA, which will feature performances by all the bands reviewed.

Burglary Years is a dream pop/shoegaze band from Boston. Their song “Lifesaver” is among their higher energy tracks, employing an infectious sound. The song is repetitive, which is characteristic of the genre, but uses subtle changes to keep it captivating. The lyrics deal with a breakup, or a similar situation, but the writer approaches it from a thoughtful, mature perspective. While not whiny, it is somewhat depressing. The sound itself is that of big guitar and consistent drumming, maintaining a high energy wall of sound throughout the piece. It doesn’t really go anywhere until the outro, which is beautifully done by a single guitarist using a multitude of effects. On their “about” page on Facebook they list several bands as influences, including My Bloody Valentine and The Smiths. This influence is wonderfully apparent and the band succeeds in combining different styles to create dynamic music in a genre that is often criticized for being stale. If anything, I’d like the singer to bring out a more tortured tone; he sings in a sad style but I feel like he could do more with it. The bassist could have more input as well, but it is normal for the low end to get buried under guitar in this style of music. Burglary Years undoubtedly succeeds in producing dynamic, interesting music.

- Ryan Noss

Track Review: "Mallwalker"

Artist: Saintseneca

Release Date: December 21, 2012

Label: Mama Bird Recording Co.

Note: This review is part of a series of single reviews by Ryan coming out this week leading up to a show on Friday June 21 at the Lilypad in Cambridge, MA, which will feature performances by all the bands reviewed.

Saintseneca are a fairly established Columbus, Ohio based band who are playing in Boston as part of an East Coast tour. “Mallwalker” was released last December as a Christmas song, but it wouldn’t be identifiable as such if it wasn’t explicitly said on their bandcamp. The lyrics are interesting and thought-provoking, but seem more like fragmented thoughts than coherent ideas. Their sound is that of rich contemporary folk lacking, thankfully, in the pop sound that has come to dominate the genre in recent years (Mumford, The Lumineers, etc.). Instead, they employ diverse ideas into their music creating a unique, captivating sound. The closest comparison that could be made would be if Animal Collective made an album that you could put on during family dinner. But this is reliant on the sound of the guitars, the drummers use of rims, and the singer’s style more than anything else. Thick harmonies are used in the chorus, giving the music a large, communal feel that is always a great feature of folk music. This is juxtaposed masterfully with a barren interlude about two thirds of the way through the song. Aside from the disjointed lyrics mentioned before, the only criticism I could give of this song is a desire for more percussion, which takes the form of simple rim clicking during the climaxes. A more intricate  style of drumming could bring the energy of this song to a different level, and would allow the low points to be exaggerated as well. The sound of Saintseneca is one of contemporary folk music, and is a wonderful balance of thoughtful and fun.

- Ryan Noss

Feather Weight Soul Tape

Artist: Robin Mitchell
Release Date: April 28, 2013
Label: Independent


Summer time is near and feel-good music is beginning to fill the air. You may want to lean towards the upcoming, feel-good release if you find yourself pleased with innovative genre blending. Feather Weight Soul Tape takes aspects of indie music and branches from that to dream-pop and moderately psychedelic territory. Over all of this though, the album is coated with acoustic guitar, electronic sounds similar to that of , and very on point vocals. The album sticks to a airy pop influenced style yet throws in some spice here and there, keeping it fresh and funky.

Consisting of 6 tracks, Feather Weight Soul Tape is a rather quick listen, clocking in at 19 minutes, 16 seconds. Mitchell, who recorded all the songs on this album in his basement, kicks off the album with an extremely catchy instrumental called "Purple Tide (intro)." Although under two minutes long, this opening track displays some of the most creativity on the album. From the extra-terrestrial sounding synths to the foundation that is the tight knit bass line, "Purple Tide" plays not only as an excellent starting point, but and excellent lead into the second track "Wide of the Mark." This track sees the albums first exposure of words, and they are pretty powerful ones at that (see: "and I wonder, do my good parts outweigh my faults?"). Electric guitar too can be heard for the first time on the album, complementing the main melody. If you're looking for some grooving time, this has the most to give off the entire genre-hopping album.

"Summertime," the third track on the album shows a fun side of beach pop. This track sounds a lot like something that would come out of a combination of Dion and the Belmonts and "Twistin' by the Pool" era Dire Straits. "Summertime" displays arguably the most indie sounds off the entire work, which would work a whole lot better if the lyrics didn't seem to be a jumbled up narrative with excellent harmonization. A recurring theme for this album the third track displays is the rip-chord endings when the songs just seems to fall off to an abrupt finish.

Return of the extra-terrestrial synths in the beautiful duet "Nothing Personal," the fourth track on the album in which Mitchell brings in Chloe Newnham. The wobbly lick that is used as the songs staple almost seems to have been torn from the Nintendo game Animal Crossing, it has a deliciously unique sound that you hardly ever hear. One of the strongest parts of Feather Weight Soul Tape is the recurrence of certain sounds placed in different environments. Sounds that Mitchell used as a hook in "Nothing Personal" are seen frequently on the album and strongly in the album opening track.

Following suit of the second song on the album, "Trapped in its Teeth" is a moderately upbeat ballad with heartfelt lyrics and a twangy guitar rhythm that would sit well on a Ukulele. The song tells a story of a man who is feelings stuck within where he currently is and is not satisfied with the lack of seclusion. Along with this is him trying to show his love-interest he "exists."

Continuing this tale is the album closing track "Homecoming." This song is written almost like three separate letters. Starting with Mitchell seemingly returning to his hometown after a long absence. Followed by him telling the city he loves it wasn't replaced by another, and he still loves it intently. Feather Weight Soul Tape's final track concludes with a letter of his leaving even though he still feels for the location, and he says he will return. It's a power ballad with the same looping organ pattern over again that drags on and on. For the impact that the lyrics put off, the instrumentation on the track is rather lackluster, and leads to a disappointing dead stop to the album.

All in all, Mitchell put out a pretty mellow album for us to begin to bring in summertime with. The album covers much ground in its just short of 20 minute run time without going too far astray for the message he is trying to convey. Vocalization on the album is beautiful and an extreme highlight of the piece all together. Don't go into this expecting the next big indie-pop sensation, but more so go into it for some easy listening, floaty feeling and dreamscape creating tunes.

- Woocci

Arbitrarij

Artist: Vsemogočni Mlin
Release Date: March 18, 2013
Label: ZARŠ


Exploring the realm of Fusion Jazz, the Slovenian group Vsemogočni Mlin combines elements of Jazz and Rock to create this exquisite debut album, Arbitrarij. Each genre is well blended featuring slightly distorted guitar and unison keyboard-guitar melodies with definite rock influences alongside jazzy chord progressions and solos. Even the percussion follows a nice combination of simpler rock beats and intricate jazz drumming that becomes increasingly complex as the album progresses.

"Goba", the opening song, has the feel of a jazz combo with a main melodic theme carried by both the piano and guitar, that morphs and grows into solos on both instruments. The piano and guitar interplay excellently providing both background and contributing their own soloistic ideas that are traded back and forth, eventually coming together and returning to the main melody to finish out the track. Almost every song on the album follows this same format, but keeps the listener on their toes as each song travels from beginning to end. Possibly the most entertaining part of this album, however, is the excellent bass lines and features. The intricacies can easily go unnoticed when not on display, but are showcased in both "Deževje" and "Silo" with the excellent use of harmonics that mingle with the guitar and a bass solo. This element definitely makes these two of the best tracks on the album.

The record provides some contrast in energy and style, but mostly passes between high energy rock-like tunes, and smoothed out relaxed tracks. The band creates a unique sound of excellent jazz with rock and roll overtones which comes together quite unlike any other group. Arbitrarij comes off as a very promising debut and a good listen for any type of jazz enthusiast.

All their music is downloadable on Bandcamp for name your price.

-Peter Fickenwirth

Through And Within

Artist: Jared Lees
Release Date: March 16, 2013
Label: Independent


Delivering some seriously raw emotion, Jared Lees Through And Within is a rather spiritual listen. Being the bassists first release, the 5 track album really displays his ability to let loose with what's being done. You can hear distinct influences drawn from the wizards that are Victor Wooten and Jaco Pastorius. On the album with Jared is Saxophonist - Justin Tibbs, who plays a drastic role in songs like “Wandering” that are nearly carried by the man. Aside from him, Jared Lees does all the Bass work on the album, drums, percussive work and guitar. With that being said, you have to respect the man regardless for displaying musical flexibility. Not a lot of people can put together the fundamental parts of an album alone.

Through And Within excretes a dose a melodic jazz fusion that pleases the ears. Majority of the songs are really clean, with the exception of the title track “Through And Within” that almost takes too simple an approach. Being the title track of the album you would expect it to deliver, as opposed to droning on repetitive rhythms. Technically speaking, “&” satisfies most possible musical needs when looking for something unique from this album. From the launch pad that is coated with elusive percussive runs, before quickly melting into a slapfest. Arguably the best Bass work on the album, and what I would put as the best soloing on the entire project as well from the Sax’s initial attack in the song. Justin Tibbs has a style that almost reflects on Howard Levy, which is spectacular.

A beautiful thing about this debut album is the lack of fear shown. It’s clear that Jared Lees is willing to push past blatant comfort zones, even though there is always room for improvement. On tracks like "Wrinkle In Time" (the albums opening song), a different style from the rest of the album is shown through unison harmonies that say more than any vocalization could have. This really sets you up for "The Journey" (the second track on the album). Flow on the album is undeniably tight, the track order wouldn't make sense any other way. Not to mention Through And Within also has some beautiful album art to put some icing on the cake. Don't hesitate to give this one a listen, you will not regret taking the spiritual journey that jazz and pop fans of the like can get down to.

-Woocci