thePULSE9 Left Dead’s The Wrong Things
By Alex Kantarelis
Oklahoma hard rock/metal band 9 Left Dead bring us their new album, The Wrong Things. Things kicks off with their first single, “Put Your Guns Down,” which may sound familiar to a lot of hard rock fans since it’s been pumping across radio stations all over the country since September. From the opening riff, you’ll be banging your head. Vocalist Travis Jones belts out the chorus “…careful what you wish for, careful what you say,” which is about an incident he and bassist Jared Ellis experienced while working together as guards at an Oklahoma City prison. After an unruly inmate attacked Jones, and he of course handled the situation with ease, the lyrics popped into his head and the rest is history. Considering that most people write these kind of lyrics about their ex girlfriends, it’s nice to see that this guy isn’t sappy, he’s actually tough.
The band keeps things heavy and honest throughout the first quarter of the album, with lyrics like “I know I’m better when I’m sober,” as the hard hitting guitar and explosive drums continue to dominate their sound. As we get into things, they decide to show their softer side with a ballad…sort of. “Nothing Left to Lose,” kicks off acoustically with Jones showing he is not just a one-dimensional metal vocalist and can really sing. But metal fans will not be bored, as the heavy guitars kick back in for the chorus, making for a definite stand-out track.
Then, a total surprise, 9 brings us a cover of the Doors’ “People Are Strange,” which they deliver with confidence and a metal edge that works really well with this song. Jones hits all the right notes and it’s definitely worth the listen.
The band has all the elements that fans of Hinder, Nickelback, and Theory of a Deadman will love. Definitely check them out at www.9leftdead.com.
Young the Giant
By Jennifer Russo
Young the Giant’s self titled CD released back in January is the kind of album I would listen to if I were trying to relax, which seems almost out of place for a band signed by Roadrunner Records. The songs are unmistakably mellow in a very Coldplay or Five for Fighting sort of way and are reminiscent of the alternative rock from the late 90s and early 2000s. This being said though, I didn’t find the music at all unoriginal.
The overall feeling of the album is, well…happy. There is a lightheartedness that permeates through every song. No breakup ballad type tunes. No “woe is me” lyrics. It trickles upbeat and positive throughout all twelve tracks, which leads me to believe that this could be the perfect CD to listen to when you ARE feeling like crap. Seriously, Tony Robbins should just sell it along with his self-help books as a supplemental mood elevator ~ and I truly mean that as a compliment!
The sound has a Britpop feel to it and still has its own little flare that conjures up images of a backyard barbeque in the summer with people playing badminton and drinking light beer. It’s easy to listen to, uncomplicated music that is simultaneously sophisticated. The melodies possess a quality about them that draws you in subtly and the choruses remain stuck in your head for hours ~ if not days ~ after you hear them even for the first time. The music itself is not intense, but it isn’t meant to be. It sums up the easy-going, California based beach life attitude that clearly influenced Young the Giant’s writing.
Check out Young the Giant on their official web-page at www.youngthegiant.com and Like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/youngthegiant
Rival Sons’ Pressure and Time
By Jason Savio
News flash: rock and roll is not dead. Non-believers need look no further than Pressure and Time, the newest effort by California based Rival Sons. Mixing classic rock swagger with 21st century blues, Pressure and Time is a soulful, albeit raw and heavy, rock venture.
Rival Sons’ classic rock influence is unmistakable. From the opening guitar fuzz stomp of “All Over the Road” and its infectious chorus, it is clear that the band are well studied in the school of riff rock. The title track shows how a song based around one simple riff can end up paying dividends with a power punch reaching back from somewhere in 1973 for a knockout today. “Burning Down Los Angeles,” the curious punk-blues hybrid, is the Rival Sons at their most menacingly deviant and rebellious.
Don’t be fooled though. While some of Jay Buchanan‘s lyrics fall into the clichés one would expect to come with the territory, there is also a very dark and self-aware undercurrent of paranoia throughout Pressure And Time. In the hypnotic lullaby of “White Noise,” the album’s most triumphant moment, Buchanan sings, “There’s a message coming to me on my T.V. screen / Every time that I try to turn it on/ It tells me I’m inferior and incomplete/ I’m a fool being satisfied with what I’ve got,” proving that these guys aren’t just one-track minded rockers, but a conscious group that take the opportunity to say something and provoke questions. After all, isn’t that what rock and roll is about?
