Review: Brick+Mortar - 7 Years in the Mystic Room

Let me just start off by saying this is one of the best albums I've heard all year. That's a pretty bold statement, but in this case it's undeniably true.

Brandon Asraf (Vocals/Bass/Samples) and John Tacon (Drums/Drums/Samples) combine to make music that has a little something for everyone. From insane beats to haunting vocals to introspective lyrics this debut has broad appeal. There's just no way that these guys aren't going to get huge in the next year or so.

The EP starts off with '20LB' and never lets up all the way to closer '185 Drop'. '20LB' has some amazing lyrics and bass playing mixed with some complex drumming that all adds up to a great song. If you haven't seen the music video yet, directed by Dan Feeny, see my previous post...it'll blow your mind.

Second track 'Told You' is an autobiographical tale of Asraf's life. These are some of the best lyrics on the album, recalling an upbeat Dylan at times. I love a good "story song" so this is a definite highlight for me.


Next is the medley of 'Backwards Clock/New Possibles', it starts off in a truly somber mood and evolves into a total rocker by the end. A story of addiction, regrets and eventual realization, these are the two best tracks on the album without a doubt. Backing vocals by both John and Samantha Tacon (River City Extension) really add to this shocking medley. Plus...as a friend of mine once said, "Clapping makes every song awesome."

The album comes to a close with '185 Drop', another song that proves what a great band this is. It seems like they've decided to end the album with a song that shows what each member can do when they're at the top of their game. Everything about this song; lyrics, basslines, drumbeats and samples is right on target. "Learn to let go so your heart don't gotta," has to be one of the best lines I've heard in quite some time.

Admittedly I was a huge fan of these guys before the album came out, having personally known them for years. Don't take this as a biased review however...I'm pretty picky when it comes to music. I haven't met one person who's heard these guys not become a fan. All in all, this EP will be a highlight of 2010 for anyone who hears it.

The EP is available in both physical and digital format. Download your copy here.

10/10
Best Tracks:
The Entire 5 Song EP

New Brick + Mortar Video

brick+mortar-20lb from dan feeny on Vimeo.

This is the new music video from local badasses Brick + Mortar. I have two words for you right now...Holy and Shit. Put them together and you have my reaction to this song/video.

Their new EP entitled '7 Years in the Mystic Room' is available now. Listen to it ASAP.

A full review will be posted in the coming days.

From the Vault...David Bowie - Heathen

From the Vault is a new feature where I review an older album that I'm really enjoying at the moment.
Released in 2002 and Bowie's umpteenth comeback, this amazing album was advertised as "Classic David Bowie Circa 2002." And the hype couldn't have been more on the money.

Heathen reunited Bowie with Tony Visconti, the producer of Bowie's Perfect Berlin Trilogy as well as his Scary Monsters album. This is certainly one of the creepier albums in Bowie's long career with topics like desolation, yearning and the apocalypse running throughout.


The opening track 'Sunday' starts the album off on a somber mood, with visions of a decimated world with him pondering his future. The line "Nothing has changed, everything has changed" has haunted me for years and remains one of my favorite lyrics.

Interestingly enough, Heathen was my first real introduction to this man's work as a whole. I couldn't have asked for a better gateway into his genius. His ear for sounds both appealing and jarring at the same time has always fascinated me.

The album also includes an incredible cover in the form of the Pixies' 'Cactus'. It will change the way you hear the original and to be honest I prefer Bowie's version.

Another highlight is 'Slip Away,' a tribute to television personality Uncle Floyd, where Bowie shows that he might have finally become the American he was once so afraid of.



All in all this is an amazing album of "Classic" sounding David Bowie that I can't recommend enough to anyone who's a fan, or just hearing him for the first time.

10/10
Best Tracks:
Sunday
Cactus
Slip Away
Slow Burn
5.15 The Angels Have Gone
A Better Future
Heathen (the Rays)

Review: Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back

So Peter Gabriel is back after an 8 year absence of new material...and still doesn't have new material. Oh, and that's not a bad thing in this case, at all. He doesn't even have a band this time around, just piano and orchestra to reinterpret some pretty great songs.

Those hoping for Gabriel to run the indie gamut and cover some of the newest artists today will be disappointed, but he did choose some pretty stately songs on this, his first album since 2002's Up. Earlier last year he released a cover of Vampire Weekend's Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa and even though that song is not included on the album, it's still a top-notch effort on his part.

The album starts with a haunting rendition of David Bowie's 'Heroes' which has certainly changed the way I listen to the original classic. Gabriel goes on to cover Elbow's 'Mirrorball' which is pretty impressive when placed next to the original song. 'Mirrorball' flows nicely into a startling version of Bon Iver's 'Flume' which features some of PG's best vocals of his career.

A definite highlight of the album is his version of Talking Heads' 'Listening Wind' which although it doesn't improve on the fascinating original, it definitely adds a new layer to this tale of terrorism.

The album ends with an exceptional version of Radiohead's 'Street Spirit (Fade Out)' from The Bends. It's a bit of a downer to end the album on but for some reason it works.

This album certainly isn't for everybody...it might not even be for all of Peter Gabriel's fans, but it is a great album and a great example of what can happen when an artist challenges himself and takes his time making an album.

Now if he could only get around to recording I/O (his supposed album of new material)...

8/10

Best Tracks:
Listening Wind
Mirrorball
Flume
Heroes

I sincerely apologize for my lack of posts recently...I've been pretty busy/lazy lately. Don't worry though, the reviews shall soon be flowing in like the wine at a hipster party.

Review: Julian Casablancas at the Trocedero in Philly

What a way to start my concert experience for 2010. As readers will know, Phrazes For The Young was my top album from 2009. The songs are pretty stellar and in a live setting they just get better and better.

The opening band was Tanlines, a band I had never heard before, and they were actually quite good. They're a weird mix of electronic beats and guitar, although the guitar was barely audible for some reason. They have a new single that came Tuesday called "Real Life" which they performed and is pretty darn good.

The Trocedero is a small venue, one perfectly suited to the likes of Casablancas' brand of music, which can only be described as "Classical Rock." His backing band The Sick Six are simply top-flight musicians, and they would have to be in order to reproduce this music for an audience. Hearing the Bach-Esque guitar parts from 'Glass' in concert is a brain-melting experience.

Casablancas mixed in a cover with his originals in the form of 'Velvet Snow' by Kings of Leon off of their 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' album. It was a great performance of an already great song from one of my favorite albums.

He then debuted what may be a new Strokes song which sounds really good as well. I wasn't able to catch the name, but it was almost punk-like in it's speed but with a tunefulness not usually present in the genre. With news today that The Strokes are currently getting along great and recording their upcoming 4th album, this song should be able to fit right in.

He went on to play the original demo version of The Strokes' 'You Only Live Once' entitled 'I'll Try Anything Once' accompanied by only keyboard, and it was one the highlight of the evening for me personally. Casablancas simply has one of the best and most pure voices in rock music today, and this performance proved it.

He closed out the show with a soaring rendition of the amazingly titled '4 Chords of the Apocalypse' and I was effectively blown away. To be able to hear a live rendition of my favorite song from his album (and have it be the closer) was a fan's wish come true. He didn't perform an encore, but he didn't need to at all, he had done his job of putting on a fantastic show and the audience was incredibly pleased.


All in all, Julian Casablancas came across as a very humble and genuine person, the rare singer that isn't full of himself and is just an all around great guy. In the end, this was simply a kickass rock show at an awesome venue. If you ever have the chance to see this man live, do it. You won't regret it.

9/10

Review: Yeasayer - Odd Blood

(To Be Released 2/9/2010)

So here's my first album review...and it's an early one.

So I ended up getting this album on a whim, I'd only heard of them from various websites and maybe a friend or two. I have yet to hear their debut, "All Hour Cymbols," so I don't know how this stacks up to that.

Anyways, this is a top-notch album by a very interesting little band. Strange electronic beats mix with real instruments and sometimes haunting vocals, Yeasayer seem like the kind of band you'd hear at some hipster party in a New York City loft.

That last comment might make it sound like I didn't enjoy it, but I did, with the exceptions of the unnecessary first and final tracks, which have really obnoxious effects on the singer's voice.

The mixture of both music and and vocals on "Madder Red" is as close to perfect as a song is going to get. I've listened to this album at least 6 times now, and that's the track I keep coming back to..."Madder Red" has definite "mix" potential (for me at least).

'Odd Blood' sounds as though 3 guys from the future decided to come back in time and entertain themselves by making music from the 1980's. (If you can make sense of that statement, Yeasayer is for you...if not, there's other fish in the sea.)

As a fan of 80's keyboards and such I'll definitely keep coming back to this album in the future.

8/10

Best Tracks:
Madder Red
One
Ambling Alp
I Remember