Interviews with the Noob

Interview with Overspill Poets up now! Check out the Interview link!

RadioPlayRadio!: Corner Office Bedroom.

By Captain Pownzor
Staff Blogger

Here is a band that you may not have heard of from a few years ago, PlayRadioPlay! They are currently working on some restructuring for a new name and such, I shall be keeping a look out.
Anyway I took a look at the track Corner Office Bedroom from the album Texas.
The song seems to examine the perils of a metropolitan workaholic, trapped in a city office lifestyle and driven into a lonely and depressing lifestyle.
It's got this great pop electo feel and The lead singer sounds very much like Jonah Matranga of Far in places. The verses click and clank with a drum loop, leading to a sky high chorus with echoing guitars and booming synth.
There is great potential for this song. Although there isn’t much to the lyrics, the production quality and caliber of the musicianship make it well worth listening to and difficult to shrug off as average. Its ipod ready for the electronic-pop-emo junky in all of us.

You can check out PlayRadioPlay! on myspace and follow the band's new project known only as Analog Rebellion.

If you want to listen to the song you can find it on grooveshark

Jack Cheshire: Paper House

By Captain Pownzor
Staff Blogger

When I started this track I really didn’t know what to think, I couldn’t quite put my finger on what psychedelic folk would be, but I have to say this is the definition. Paperhouse, is haunting, slow and revealing. A tension laced melody from the double bass dancing around a Cheshire’s calm and soothing voice. The song sets a dark and hopeless mood.
This song is just plain and simple with a straight low-fi presentation. Something very different and new that I cant quite put my finger on. It is such a raw and minimalist style of music, with just enough of a structure and tune to keep the listener tapping a foot.
I recommend you give this a look see, but I would also say this is not for everyone. If you like folk you may be a fan, but the stripped down sound might not be your cup of tea.

You can listen to Jack Cheshire's: Paper House: here

Robert Desmond Band: Fallen Hope

By Captain Pownzor
Staff Blogger

The Robert Desmond Band is based out of Toronto Ontario, and when I threw on their track Fallen Hope my eardrums and speakers both nearly exploded through the heavy bass line. The song reminds me a lot of three days grace, with similar distorted guitars and vocal styling’s.
I would have to say that Robert Desmond band is certainly doing vocals right here too. You have a nice loud punchy alt rock song with someone that doesn’t sound like they smoked every cigar in Cuba.
The main riff is just far too catchy in this to ignore and the variety of effects, breakdowns and solos show that the whole band is very talented.
Having said all this, the unfortunate part is, what we’ve got here is not something terribly new, but it fits seamlessly into a music library with three days grace, Hoobastank and Trapt. With a song like this the band could have exploded if it had come out round 2002. Hearing it in 2009 is like a rewind, but honestly I’d rather just pop in Big Shiny Tunes 8 and listen to this when people still thought that these bands were still good. I haven’t heard SHIT on Trapt, Hoobastank Or TDG for quite some time, they have all but disappeared .
With that said I commend the band for capturing a sound that I thought was fully dead and restricted to some bands who are in the process of becoming washed up. As for any staying power or the chances for The Robert Desmond Band to blow up, I wish them all the best, but I feel that they may have just missed their chance to get big off of a sound like this.

You can hear Robert Desmond Band on their myspace

ohbijou: Black Ice

By: Captain Pownzor
Staff Blogger


So as I start listening to the song "Black Ice" off of the album Beacons by ohbijou, I’ve got this instant rapport with the song. I think this comes because not only does it sound great, but it sounds really similar to some artists that I listen to quite regularly.

Let me set the sound of this song for you. Lets picture the resounding strings of a matt pond PA song, then lets take the type of boyish and charming lyrical style Ben Gibbard uses in Death Cab for Cutie, only Ben Gibbard has been replaced by a woman who sounds almost like a cutesier more easygoing Bjork.

Pretty crazy stuff isn’t it?

This song is by no means a fantastic genre bursting effort, but with so many elements nicked from others in the same genre it certainly cant go wrong. There is a lot of talent here and it deserves a great amount of recognition.

I would recommend this band to any Death cab, Matt pond PA, Bjork fans.It just makes sense for you to listen to this.

The Toronto based Indie band has in fact, produced 3 albums, to date and they are just finishing off their Canadian tour. Black ice shall be added to my play list on heavy rotation for the time being. It should certainly last much longer on my play list than “Black Ice” by ACDC did…*shudder*.

Myspace it up to check out ohbijou

Their website is also nifty..

and as a special treat..if you like the song Black Ice by obijou or want to check it out here's a free download.

Album Review: Blakroc

By JOE NOOB
Staff Blogger

They say it themselves on the track Dollaz & Sense, “if it doesn’t make dollars, then it doesn’t make sense.”

To some, the idea of taking the Ohio based bluesy rockers, The Black Keys, and pairing them with 11 different artists known for rap may not make sense, but just listen, and you'll see this album should make money.


But after only 11 days in the studio, The Black Keys transformed into Blakroc, with help from Mos Def, Nicole Wray, Billy Danze, Jim Jones, RZA, Raekwon, Q-Tip, NOE, Pharoahe Monch, Ol’Dirty Bastard and Ludacris.

The instrumentals are smooth and heavy. Dan and Patrick (TBK) lay down some of the sexiest beats I’ve heard on a rap album since, well, not since all that long ago, but Mos Def’s last album doesn’t count because everything he does is above the rim.

Speaking of Mos Def, if you are looking for just a taste of the album, not sure if you’re going to jump right into the bluesy rap, check out On The Vista.

I also recommend checking out their website.

Oh, did I mention they have a Blakroc Camaro? That’s WIN if I’ve ever seen it.

Album Review:Them Crooked Vultures

By Captain Pownzor
Staff Blogger

Well here we go; I sat down and just listened to probably the most anticipated album of the year.
Them Crooked Vultures come on so strong it feels like prom night, with in the first 5 songs, I’m ready to go alllllll the way. No One Loves You and neither do I has one of the coolest riffs I’ve heard in decades.
But upon cracking the 6th song of this long anticipated 13 track epic, I realize the fun machine eventually had to take a shit and die.
Much like that typical drunken prom night the band starts to slow down and each track further feels like it’s a little more Jamband quality.
There are really good elements to the songs toward the middle, Reptiles is cool as shit, but it just doesn’t seem to have the same level of WOW potential as the tracks did out of the gate.
Then we are presented with the song Interlude with Ludes. That literally is the song, in continuing again with my prom metaphor, that makes the perfect soundtrack to your heaving your pricey dinner out of every orifice in the bathroom. It’s just a blurry intermission.
Luckily then comes “Warsaw or the first breath you take after you give up”. This is the second wind folks; wipe that filth off your tuxedo and get back in there. Things heat up and the tracks get sexier (Warsaw), Experimental(Caligulove) and Darker (Gunman). The gents then finish up strong with “Spinning in Daffodils“, which ends up taking off into something so spectacular by the end your transported right back to after prom, in the back of your mothers station wagon where you made tender love to your high school sweetheart for what seemed like hours.
The album may not be fully what some would expect, some in fact may feel much like your high school sweetie that night, greatly disappointed. There was a lot of really high expectations for this album, which to be fair is completely justified. I will say there are tracks on this album that are some of the best songs I have heard in years.
Them Crooked Vultures have saved my play list for a bit. However, as a full album I know there are a lot of songs I am going to skip. There is stuff that sounds a ton like Queens, stuff that has a real classic rock and blues feel to it. There is a new entity here but I don’t know if its going to save music. It is certainly a turning point for the music industry, Perhaps it might cause a shift in focus back to a more primitive form of melding Classic and New rock and roll. I can only be thankful.
It is on the cusp of release and I cannot wait to hear more from Them Crooked Vultures.

You can stream the whole damn album before the Nov 17th Release on Them Crooked Vultures Youtube account playlist.

Chase The Sunset: Nights Like These

By Captain Pownzor
Staff Blogger

I have to say for hearing a lot of rock metal lately, especially in regards to some of the terrible shit on myspace, I am really impressed with Chase The Sunset, “The song nights like these” holds something really special. The opening riff seems to tickle the hair on the back of your neck until it starts to thrash in an all out melee. The production quality of this song alone is very good, I am really surprised this band still remains unsigned. Great soft/loud dynamic and some excellent playing overall. The song has a very rip shit up type attitude to it. And no I don’t mean in an Andrew WK way. The lyrics are fairly simple but also leave lots of room for interpretation.“The city wakes from a bed of nails, She sits and waits for me, The city waits for no longer, Lets start the fires” is the opening verse for some reference. This song is a veritable needle in a haystack of Rock metal Myspace cookie cutter filth. It’s not really revolutionary style or earth shattering, but something that Chase the Sunset is doing, is done far better than most.

You can hear Nights Like These On Chase the Sunset's Myspace

Album Review: Tegan And Sara: Sainthood

By Captain Pownzor
Staff Blogger

Tegan and Sara, sound similar but with a slight variance on their last effort The Con. Interesting use of some electronic sources add to the acoustic, relationship/angst music. It is an enjoyable listen overall, but the tracks run into one another at times. The track “Hell” starts off with a riff worthy of an old Doom 95 level. Its catchy and it’s what I would expect from Tegan and Sara. There is really nothing here that is making my eyebrow raise and my foot tap, certainly nothing new. They are sort of getting into a habitual format. Except for “Northshore” that is, this track sounds like they are trying to take a stab at punk. Its short, its ripping and it features their famous twin harmony over some loud, (for them) backing tracks. I would say upon listening to sainthood, that it is a transitional album, that is to say it’s a little tossed off feeling, these songs could have just been b sides reflecting a darker side of “The Con“. If you’re a big fan, give it a listen, if not I would wait for the next one. There were subtle hints of change on "Sainthood" it's time for them to nut up or shut up and give us something new.

You can hear some of Sainthood On the band's Myspace