thePULSEAri Hest’s Sunset Over Hope Street
By Tine Roycroft
An open letter to musician/songwriter/ Ari Hest, regarding his latest CD, Sunset Over Hope Street:
Dear Mr. Hest; I am a 31 year-old woman who has been fortunate enough to review a number of CDs in her short life. I’ve covered everything from death metal to dance music with journalistic integrity and objectivity.
So why, after listening to just a few bars of your song “If I Knew You’d Say Yes,” do I turn into a puddle of goo that contains the tumultuous emotions (good and gross!) of a junior high school girl? How is it that the strong veneer of professionalism is just cracked and its pieces thrown into the wind at the sound of your velvety, all-encompassing voice and gorgeous guitar/piano/percussion work. Why do your lyrics make me want to daydream about love and taking chances and forgiving others for seeking their own happiness elsewhere. I’m trying to hold down a full time job, Mr. Hest, and your music makes my mind and heart wander. For once, it’s not the ADHD.
I realize that this is your first full-length album in four years and that it was produced out of an incredible project you launched in 2008 when you were writing, recording, and releasing a new song each week for 52 weeks. I know that you tour like a madman, bringing your gentle voice and melodic rock across the globe and that your songs have been featured on popular television including “One Tree Hill” and “Private Practice.” But does this give you the right to wield the power to strip back the shared bravado of your listeners (who have all basically become accustomed to numbly jamming out to highly-sexed songs from any number of genres) and making us feel…emotionally present and, dare I say, emotionally vulnerable?
I was not ready for you or your music, Mr. Ari Hest. But, according to my therapist, I was bound to run into my psyche again at some point. And your tunes were a surprisingly good catalyst for the event horizon.
Just don’t let my teacher or the other kids in class know that I’m crying in the girls’ locker room.
Thank you, Tine Roycroft
For more for info on Ari Hest, go to AriHest.com
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Lionheart’s Built on Struggle
By Jennifer Russo
I scream, you scream, we all scream for…hardcore! Summer is FINALLY upon us. Time to look for some new music to blast in your car as you head off to Hampton Beach to get your tan on with a few friends. Well, let me save you some searching. Reminiscent of old-school Pantera, who is a strong influence on the band ~ as are Blood for Blood and even Bruce Springsteen ~ the mosh-worthy speed and passionate lyrics about the common man’s struggle make Lionheart the perfect answer to that sweet craving for pure and unrelenting metal.
When I first came across the band’s music, I thought to myself, “Holy sh*it,” these guys have a serious bone to pick!” The sound is intense and explosive, angry and unforgiving. Vocalist Rob Watson, who moved to California from Pennsylvania on a whim to start a new life for himself, started a local band two weeks after he arrived and it morphed into what is now Lionheart. According to Rob, the music “…is sometimes pissed off, and it’s ALWAYS personal. The reason I got into this music is because it was real and straightforward. Every song is a piece of my life story.”
Lionheart recently kicked off a Canadian tour promoting their recently released album Built on Struggle. “It’s our first album in a few years and the songwriting has really matured. Anyone can write a cool riff…it’s not rocket science, but over the years we’ve focused on writing great songs, not just good song parts. It’s a lot heavier than the first CD and the reaction has been awesome.” With the excellent audience response at the New England Hardcore & Metal Fest at The Palladium, I should say so!
Rob tells me that someone once told him that “…no matter what, there are people who will find a reason to say something about you or not like you, but it’s up to you whether you let it bring you down or let it motivate you instead.” Obviously, he has chosen the motivation route, as Lionheart roars their way into metal stardom.
Find out more about Lionheart, their latest album release, and summer tour dates here:
www.myspace.com/lionheart, www.facebook.com/lionheartca
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The Tony Castles’ No Service
By Tine Roycroft
It’s time to find your summer anthem, boys and girls. You don’t need to blast said song out the window of your Yaris each time you drive to the supermarket, but the fact is, you need some strong staples for your summer parties. You’re looking for jams that can keep a party going but won’t hog the spotlight and take attention away from the general ambiance of a hot night or the amazing new outfit you bought.
The Tony Castles ~ who call themselves a “freak funk trio” ~ is what you need for such occasions ~ they have the perfect songs to help fill all of your jamming/party/driving needs. They’re energetic, poppy, electronic, and experimental, and they’ve just released a fun new EP, No Service, via Famous Class Records.
The band was formed in August 2008 in Brooklyn, New York. Paul Sicilian and Gabriel Wurzel first crossed paths as freshmen in high school and the two soon began playing together in bands. They attended college together and continued to write music; it was during this time that they were introduced to fellow student and musician Willie Miesmer. Within a year after graduation, all three moved to Brooklyn, where they reconnected. That’s when the dreamy pop music began to emerge from the loose, free-form sessions the boys played together, often swapping instruments and experimenting with loop pedals and samplers. They say the chemistry was instant and they continue inventing, deconstructing and reinventing their sound ~ as listeners will hear in their songs “Adequate Sheen” and “Dream Job.”
Need a quick track suggestion? Listen to “Pirates” when you are in the mood to let all of reality go. The ethereal crooning and gentle guitar strumming with distant rhythm will bring you somewhere else. And if you happen to have your Ipod set to repeat, you might never come back from the shimmering pop odyssey.
For more info on (The) Tony Castles, go to www.myspace.com/thetonycastles.
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Prosevere’s Burn The City
By Alex Kantarelis
Metallic rock band Prosevere is out with a new 5 song EP of quality hard rock that stands far apart from anything else that has come out this year in the rock world. The new tracks on the Burn The City CD were produced by J Hall, who previously worked with Saving Abel and Taddy Porter.
The album kicks off with a slow paced, heavy drum and harmonizing guitar that explode into a cross between metal and melody with vocalist Gary Segars singing smoothly and hitting all the right notes in the chorus, “You’ve proved that you’re not worth saving,” and finally bringing on a crowd-pumping breakdown-into-solo-into-sing-along ~ a great structure to an opening song.
At times, Prosevere sound like a mix of Coheed and Cambria, 3 Doors Down, Dream Theater, and A Perfect Circle, but with super heavy guitars and drums. This is what Incubus should sound like. The vocals are always right on point, while the guitar and bass play in perfect harmony, keeping things on the distorted and heavy side. They totally avoid the way overdone “bad band” trick of flooding the songs with effects to hide an overall lack of talent. Instead, guitarist Eric Ashe keeps things perfectly distorted and intense the entire time, always sneaking in some quality riffage, but never overdoing it. The occasional use of effects are done tastefully; that’s the sign of a good guitarist.
Things take a melodic spin on track 3, with Segars adding acoustic guitar on top of Ashe’s heavy distorted sound and belting vocals on “I Can’t Let Go,” a song destined to be a radio hit.
The band is no a stranger to the road, either. They spent the last few years touring with supersize bands like Every Time I Die and Egypt Central, and they enjoyed a summer support slot with Nonpoint in 2010. Look for Burn The City on iTunes.
Prosevere.com
Facebook.com/prosevere
Myspace.com/prosevere
Twitter.com/prosevere
