Music Related News

       The blog has been a little haphazardly taken care of lately and that's my bad (obviously). I could give you all the reasons (my friend's passing, college, work, friends, a really nice guy, et cetera) but all you really need to know is that I'm going to be back to working on the site and getting music to you as much as I was doing before the new year began (really, we should all just pretend that the new year starts now). 

• Flora Cash released the first single from their upcoming album, Assemble the Journey, and it's gorgeous and all kinds of perfect. I did not have the time I wanted to devote to writing about this track today, so there will be more information on it tomorrow, but listen to "Old School Japan" now because this new sound is amazing. 
• Hunter Hayes released "Invisible" and it's cute.. his demographic will probably love it. 
• Periphery came out with Clear and I actually really like it; check out "The Parade of Ashes" for good rock. 
• The petition to have Justin Bieber removed from the US has garnered double the signatures needed to be reviewed by White House staff; this would be awesome, except that Bieber is rich so it won't make a difference. To me, he is usually irrelevant and does not bother me, but his his total disregard for the safety of others is despicable and he does not seem to understand why driving while you're drunk or under the influence of any drugs is wrong, and that's infuriating. Toronto mayor, Rob Ford, even spoke in support of Bieber saying "he's 19 years old, guys. Think back to when you were 19"; when I was 19, I wasn't drunk, using prescription drugs, and behind the wheel of a ridiculous car (is his penis really that small). You can read more about the petition here.
• The Lawrence Arms' Metropole is perfection. It's drums and guitars with solid sing worthy hooks and the tracks beg to be turned up and danced around to.
• I am still listening to "Planets" on repeat because it is still perfect. Little Earthquake created an amazing song that you need to listen to and love completely. 
• Bono spoke about U2's upcoming album and, while it has no title yet and is still being finished (the only working title thus far has been Insecurity and Bono has stated that will definitely not be the name), the band did release their first single "Invisible", available for free download for 24 hours. Bank of America donates $1 to (RED) for every song downloaded so, if you haven't downloaded it yet, you can head to U2's site and do it (if you're not a fan of the band, just do it for the charity).
• Saintseneca released their video for "Happy Alone" and you should check it out (follow the link, otherwise you won't find it). The song talks about finding joy in despair, and vice versa, and the faceless (emotionless) faces that carry through their everyday lives capture the song with such fantastic simplicity and underlying meaning that it could only come from Saintseneca. 
• The Pack A.D.'s Do Not Engage is filled with fantastic tracks and if "Big Shot" is not running through your head on repeat when you're sitting in class, you've never heard it (or you're interested in what you're learning, which is super awesome).
• The Districts came out with something gorgeous that you need in your music library. Check out "Rocking Chair", "Lyla", and "Long Distance" from the band's The Districts EP and fall in love with all of it, because it's all fantastic. 
• Sleepy Sun's Maui Tears might be worth the listen; you can check out "Galaxy Punk" and decide for yourself.
• Trigger Happy's "Heartache on the Line" from their self titled EP is cute and sweet and kind of perfect. It's not cute in a 'Hunter Hayes needs to get back on the scene' way, it's cute in a 'this is legitimately adorable and I need to be singing along' way.
• Yelawolf released "Box Chevy V" and I got oddly excited for more music from him; I really think it's his rhythm that always gets me. 
• The Revivalists are re-releasing City of Sound and it will be available March 4. You want to get it because their sound is amazing; listen to "Criminal" and "Navigate Below".
• The Gaslight Anthem came out with The B Sides and, if they weren't the perfect band before, they are now. They're modern rock with a heavy classic rock influence and gorgeous grit that hangs off each riff; truly fantastic. The best track from the album, in my opinion, is the acoustic recording of "The '59 Sound"; for one thing, it's one of the best songs of all time and, for another, when he sings that urgently repetitive "and I know 'cause we were kids and we used to hang" with only a guitar to help him get through it, it's heartbreaking; and hearing "well you ain't supposed to die on a Saturday night, you ain't supposed to leave my life" and the perfect "did you hear your favorite song one last time" in an acoustic format is somehow even more devastating than the original. This band never fails to be amazing, but this album, with its various acoustic tracks, is gorgeous and I love it entirely.
• Strange Talk released "Young Hearts" which will be featured on their album Cast Away, available April 29. Readers know that I'm a fan of the band but, even were I not, this would still be completely fucking fantastic. It's so far past perfect that I'll be writing about it in greater depth tomorrow but, for now, just listen to it on repeat and start falling for the track. 

- E