The Future Now - Hazy Orange Sunday

Hazy Orange Sunday is the debut LP from the Gainesville, FL trio The Future Now. Simple, understated, fun homegrown rock and roll music. The term homegrown is brutally apt, as the album was recorded in the comforts of a Gainesville living room. I have to say outright that for a living room debut record this is fantastic.

The Future Now produces a sound seeking to hearken back to a simpler era of rock, devoid of the overly technical riffs and blistering screams that come a dime a dozen today. Paradoxically, the throwback sound is actually like carving a new path in contemporary music. The sonic simplicity is a breath of fresh air, which should prove open to a wide variety of listeners. While not tremendously impressive in terms of instrumentation, Hazy Orange Sunday is full of entertaining, well written songs with pacing that makes the album spin freely over and over.

The album doesn't sound retro in the popular classic-rock revival way, The Future Now instead veers toward the more recent alternative music wave, drawing heavy comparisons to the surge of 1990s grunge bands. Don't let that invoke a Seattle plaid-laden image though, in between the lines these guys have as much Danzig or James Iha as Mark Arm. Suprisingly or not, little to no Peter Hammill influence can be found.

What doesn't work well for The Future Now is unimpressive production quality. Yes, it's great for a small band's album recorded at home, but it's not as deep or sonically impressive as it could be. As well, there is a simplicity to the instrumentation of the guitars that will be easily passed off by many as a lack of talent. While it doesn't hurt the music, it forces the band to rely on strong song writing and presence to captivate audiences. While the album is entertaining, bands like The Future Now usually rely heavily on live shows to bring their music to life for fans. Unfortunately, they seem to have day jobs, so they can't constantly tour. Though, it looks like they are playing shows throughout the Southeast US right now, with a schedule up on their Myspace page.

The best moments of the record emerge when the band gets heavier and more aggressive, as in the songs Ghost Cousins and Terrorarium. Working well also is the slower, more heartfelt sound of the floor tom driven A Necessary Fiction. The entire album passes the mark, with no instant-skip songs. More than listenable, the album is fun and easy to get into.
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The skinny:

• Pros: simple, fun, fuzzy rock and roll, easily accessible
• Cons: still green, no constant touring schedule

Make an Assessment:

• I like it. Check out the Myspace, go see them live, have a brew and chat them up (really nice guys). Pick up the LP at the SoundStudy Recordings shop.

Overall Review Score:

• Grade: B
• Score: 84%
• If it were a movie: ★★★★
• My Feelings: "What a sight to see, what a sound to hear!"

Minus the Bear - Omni

I've been dreading writing up a review of the new Minus the Bear album, Omni. I'll explain.

I've given the album a lot of spins since it leaked a few months ago, and when it officially hit shelves I proudly shelled out some hard earned salad so the band that I've grown to love can live another day. I make the point that I bought it as a huge Minus the Bear fan because had I not been familiar with them there is little chance I would have bought it at all. I gave Minus the Bear my money because I want them to go back into the studio and come out with a better album next time. I've been dreading reviewing Omni because I'm torn between praising them for another good hour of listening pleasure or panning them as a band I feel should have made a better record.

The entirety of Omni takes a step backwards stylistically. There is a resemblance to their 2005 LP, Menos el Oso, but almost no hint of what was presented via the follow up in 2007, Planet of Ice. The progression to a grittier, more progressive rock sound on PoI has been completely polished off by their move to Dangerbird Records, and Omni producer Joe Chiccarelli. There is a distinct return to pop-laden tunes. At times here synths flow ethereally across Jake Snyder's overt sexual couplets, contrasting with moments of pop-funk grooves and electronic drums boom-chick boom-chicking their way through. The overall sound coming out of the speakers is distinctly Minus the Bear, but it seems to be wrapped up in a more widely accessible (read: mainstream) package. One can speculate endlessly about whether the shift is intentional for the sake of radio spins and album sales, or if they might have felt a backlash from fans about the departure PoI took into more serious and dark themes. Whatever the reasoning, Omni is certainly lighter, sexier, and more widely listener friendly than it's predecessor.

The pre-release single My Time has turned heads with it's catchy sing-along chorus. Secret Country is a standout effort, heavier and more befitting to the Minus the Bear catalog. Excuses provides a nice Act II/III mellow jam to pace the album. The final track, Fooled by the Night, provides a meditative drone for a smooth finish.

The problem is that Minus the Bear have failed to raise the bar. The entire album, barring a few passages, feels watered down. Like a Cliffs Notes' Minus the Bear, the premise is present, but the colorful originality has been abridged. There is a lack of the lyrical wit and intrigue of Highly Refined Pirates, the raw intensity of Planet of Ice, and the subtle sophistication of the Acoustics EP.

I find it necessary now to point out that despite my beef with this album, it's good. It's certainly worth listening to, and if funky indie synth pop rock is your preferred genre you'll definitely love it. This album has tremendous potential to inspire dancing, singing, smiling, and especially love making. I will continue to spin it regularly, although probably less than Minus the Bear's previous albums. In a vast sea of crap contemporary music, even a mediocre effort from Minus the Bear is far above average.
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The skinny:

• Pros: catchy, hooky, poppy, sexy, jammy, punani
• Cons: meh

Make an Assessment:

• The best recommendation I can make is to say download it, listen to it, and judge for yourself on this one. My opinion of Minus the Bear is too biased to bring an objective view. I like this album, even though I find it somewhat disappointing.

Overall Review Score:

• Grade: In general: B, as a MtB album: D
• Score: 82%
• If it were a movie: ★★★½
• My Feelings: "Falling down and splashing up, I'm clapping for a second cut."

Umoja Orchestra at Common Grounds 4/24

Umoja Orchestra blew the roof off of Common Grounds this past Saturday night. The roughly 15 piece Gainesville-native latin/afro-cuban ensemble mingled some afro-cuban, dub, and traditional straight latin together with a youthful energy and pleasingly clean-cut hipster aesthetic to create a musical environment rife with positivity.

This group quickly becoming, if not already, a local favorite gathered a diverse audience. Teens, twenty-somethings, thirty-somethings, seniors, white, black, hispanic, and every other music appreciating demographic seemed to come out in droves to watch Umoja Orchestra go wild. Warming up slowly throughout, talented, pleasing music and a well-paced setlist had the crowd hot like wildfire by night's end, with a majority of the stereotypical head-bobbing crowd shaking their hips and moving their feet for the last few numbers.

Their sound can be raucous and blasty. Traditional old-fogey music elitists may be offended by a noisy presentation at times. However, the sound songwriting and instrumental abilities of the group drastically outweigh their noisy tangents. The sound tech in the booth may also have played a big role in balance issues and technical fault. My personal favorite thing about the Umoja Orchestra is their powerful aura of positivity, good energy, and fun. The band obviously enjoying themselves on stage really helped fuel the audience.

Umoja is embarking on an east-coast tour, up to Brooklyn and back down the coast. Dates can be found on their Myspace page as well as an audio taste of their music. Note, though, that this is the type of band best seen live, their recordings don't do their live performance proper justice.
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The skinny:
Pros: good energy, talented instrumentalists, fun
Cons: balance issues, improper sound-boothing, technical problems

Make an Assessment:
Go see the Umoja Orchestra if you can. They're a relatively low-profile, independent band, but their live show is fun and entertaining. They bring a taste of world-beat music not highly visible in our current mainstream youth culture that acts like a breath of fresh air for jaded ears.

Overall Review Score:
Grade: A
Score: 97%
If it were a movie: ★★★★★
My Feelings: "I think I just baile'd with a seventy year-old man."

Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow

A new Coheed and Cambria album came out earlier this week. Year of the Black Rainbow is the band's fifth studio effort as part of their sci-fi cycle, The Armory Wars, an entire concept discography (giant leaps beyond a mere concept album). The band brings an intriguing and entertaining record this time.
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**The next paragraph is for Coheed fans, or people interested in a small band history lesson. Skip to the next paragraph for more review of the album.**
The album serves as a story prequel to their other albums, and as such sparked my curiosity about what direction their sound has taken. The style of music, production, feeling, and attitude of their music has evolved significantly from their debut (Second Stage Turbine Blade, the second chapter in the series) to their second most recent release (No World For Tomorrow, the final chapter). I expected their sound to be much more reminiscent of SSTB because of the story proximity. I have long suspected that the end product of The Armory Wars would be an epic, sprawling box set to be listened to start to finish. If this were the band's intent you would expect the music to make a sensible arc. Black Rainbow throws that idea right out the window. The sound of the album is a logical (and predictable) progression of their sound, expanding upon sonic and stylistic themes they've built over the previous four albums. It in no particular way resembles any precursor to SSTB. I would say that it actually least resembles SSTB of all of their albums.
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Black Rainbow is a deeply layered and sonically vast album. The sound sprawls underneath heavy guitar riffs and Claudio Sanchez's characteristic high, pleasingly harmonic vocals. Coheed and Cambria return to their idiosyncratic musical style, but with twists and turns slightly different from previous albums. There is a more apparent blend of hard and soft, metal and pop through this album. To be more exact, there is a seemingly deliberate ebb and flow throughout. It took me a number of listens to pinpoint, but the balance adds a lot to this record.

Upon first listening to Black Rainbow I found myself tremendously unimpressed. Initially it sounds like the previous couple albums cut and pasted into a new environment. There aren't any stand out gems that had me headbanging in my car. There were passages through the middle and end of the album that even made me want to skip back and listen to the extremely catchy second act again (including "Guns of Summer" and the lead single "Here We Are Juggernaut").

However, I've had the album spinning non-stop at home, in the car, and on my mp3 player since Tuesday and it's growing on me with every go around. After the second listen I began humming along with some standout phrases. Immediately I identified "Guns of Summer" and "World of Lines" as great tracks. The former bringing a more progressive metal sound, the latter a more straight-forward pop influenced hard rock song complete with a sing-along chorus.

As I kept listening I realized that there are a handful of sing-along choruses here. There's enough power and energy to give rise to anthemic moments which are more catchy every time I hear them. The fun and poppy "When Skeleton's Live" and the heavier single "Here We Are Juggernaut" are the notable choruses. Coheed also returns to their unconventional take on ballads with "Pearl of the Stars" which is a listenable song, but aside from a great melodic-bluesy solo, not particularly impressive.

The most impressive feature of the album for me is Chris Pennie's drumming. I love the range of sound and tight, technical grooves that he put down here, his debut record with Coheed. The overall instrumentation of the album is impressive, and the production is great. My biggest beef with the overall sound is that it is somewhat inaccessible. I had to listen through the album before the music started to unfold for me. I appreciate the album now that I've gotten into it, but a lot of listeners will never give this album the time it needs to develop.

Another problem that I have with the album is that while it is a good album, and possibly the first Coheed album that doesn't have a lackluster track that I regularly skip through, it doesn't have any mindblowing songs. No individual track can hold a candle to tracks from their previous efforts. There's an abscence of an accessible radio/MTV-friendly hit, i.e. "A Favor House Atlantic". There's no epic on the level of "In Keeping Secrets of  Silent Earth:3" or "Welcome Home". Only time and a dozen more listens will tell if it can stand up as an entire album despite missing a standout single.
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The skinny:
* Pros: Technically impressive, excellent balance, well produced, growing on me slowly
* Cons: No amazing individual moments, moving farther from Second Stage Turbine Blade

Make an Assessment:
For me, being a Coheed fan, this is a great album with some flaws. I don't know how long this album took to write, but I wish they would have put more time into this record overall. Knowing how talented this band is, and listening to their sound mature for the past four albums, I expected to be more impressed. If you don't like previous Coheed albums this one won't change your mind. However, if you are a fan this is definitely worth buying. At the rate that I'm catching on to it in six months it might even be my favorite Coheed album.

Overall Review Score:
* Grade: B
* Score: 83% (and rising)
* If it were a movie: ★★★★
* My Feelings: "The truth is relevant, but not for looooooooong."

Ernie Ball Slinky Guitar Strings

Ernie Ball strings are classic. These strings are the all-purpose answer to the eternal question: which guitar strings should I buy? For scarcely a tuppence any Joe can grab a good set of reliable strings that sound crisp. After a couple years of slacking off on guitar playing, and hussing around town with house strings from wherever I happened to be shopping, I just restrung two asian-made strat imposters and a 40 year old Yamaha acoustic all with different Slinkys, and each one sounds great.

I used a set of Regular Slinkys on one strat, and Super Slinkys on the other. Both sound good, but I think I'll opt for Hybrid Slinkys on my next string change because I like the thin tops (.009-.016) of the Super and the crunchier bottoms (.026-.046) of the Regular.  On the Yamaha I opted for the Acoustic Light version of the Slinky 80/20 (copper/zinc) which range .011-.052.

All three guitars sound tremendously better than they did with dead, gnarly, rusty strings, and all three control tuning and intonation much tighter than before. The biggest difference is on the acoustic. With ridiculously high action it is probably the most difficult guitar to fret notes on that I've ever played. The overall playability of the guitar has been improved TREMENDOUSLY. I don't all-caps often, so you know I mean business.

The only problem I've had with Ernie Ball strings is that they don't last forever. I've played strings with better tone that were more temperamental, and lasted for less than a week before losing their punch. I've also had strings that hold out for months on end without giving up, but sound like cadavers compared to Slinkys.
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The skinny:
* Pros: cheap, high-quality
* Cons: short-ish life

Make an Assessment:
Great for beginners or pros alike, these strings are affordable and always worth the $5 (or less). These strings have proven their value for a long time. No, they won't last forever, but instead of buying strings that will last three times as long for five times the $, just pick up numerous sets of Slinkys and change them at will. I will probably continue to play on these strings until I'm told otherwise by a real guitarist with another suggestion. If Slinkys are good enough for Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy then they're definitely good enough for me and anyone reading this review.

Overall Review Score (I haven't figured out how I want to do this yet):
* Grade: A
* Score: 92%
* If it were a movie: ★★★★½
* My Feelings: "Oh yeah, blistered fingers! I remember this feeling from when I actually played music."

Little Jake Mitchell and The Soul Searchers - Common Grounds 4/09

I just returned home from the Please Peace Me show at Common Grounds tonight, featuring live music, peace, love, and some student activist tabling. It was a good time all around, even despite the wallet drain of drinking beer at clubs.

The highlight of the evening was without a doubt Little Jake Mitchell and The Soul Searchers (Facebook, myspace). This R&B group brings the noise, and keeps it funky. I can't say that I've seen a solid Soul act in a long while, so I was happily surprised.

This Gainesville based 8-piece brought bluesy, funky, legit soul to Common Grounds, the likes of which I didn't know existed in our small town. They seemed like a fun-loving, high energy, motley bunch of guys brought together by the groove. I am really curious to see these guys perform again, as they may be my new favorite current Gainesville band.

You can check them out next weekend (Sunday, April 18th) at the 5th Ave. Arts Festival. The festival will be going Saturday and Sunday so come out and enjoy some real Gainesville culture, but be sure to catch Little Jake.

Before ending this brief review/plug I'll also give due recognition to Heavy Petty. I'm not a fan of cover bands in general, but every once in a while a group comes together right, and that's what Heavy Petty had going tonight. They definitely had fun, and the crowd was really digging them. I'll be busting out Damn the Torpedoes tomorrow along with my dusty soul/funk catalogue.
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The skinny:
* Pros: great music
* Cons: expensive drinks

 Make an Assessment:
*This review needs no assessment or scores, just go see Little Jake and the Soul Searchers and kick it with a tasty groove.

Overall Review Scores:
see above assessment
* My Feelings: "If you feel good say 'yeah!'--'yeeeeaaaaahhhhh!'"

The Paul Sikivie Trio - Gainesville, FL 03/17/2010

Paul Sikivie is an amazing bass player. As the Gainesville Sun article (in the post link) explains, Sikivie has a great jazz education and a lot of experience under his belt for such a young musician. The Gainesville Friends of Jazz and The Thomas Center were recently lucky enough to host an evening with Sikivie and two other extremely talented young musicans, creatively dubbed "The Paul Sikivie Trio."

The New York City based Paul Sikivie Trio consists of Sikivie on bass, Aaron Diehl on piano, and Lawrence Leathers on drums. Individually these three are each very talented, but together they are a more than the sum of their parts. The combination is a handsome, young, energetic, and tight ensemble.

The setting for the show was very mellow. There was a small crowd nestled in the cozy atrium of The Thomas Center. It could easily have been billed as "An intimate evening with The Paul Sikivie Trio." I didn't make it to the show in time for any introduction, but as soon as I took my seat it was readily apparent that the talent of this group was much larger than the audience there to support them.

From the first note to the last, the most pronounced features of the music were a strong sense of whimsy and superlative individual talent from each member. The whimsical quality came out numerous times, bringing a humorous tone into the songs which pulled the audience closer to the music in a much more gratifying way than predictable passages based solely on technical skill.  The solos weren't a dizzying flurry of fingers and drumsticks, but ranged from simple to highly technical while providing a great depth of rhythm and melody. Dynamic swells and subtle shifts in style from phrase to phrase made literally every solo worth clapping for.

The group succeeded in making music that not only displayed their ability to play with a level of skill that is rare, but also in making truly entertaining music that engaged their audience. Going into the performance one fear of mine was that either the group would present an extremely avant-garde session, completely inaccessible to the small-town audience, or that they would play watered-down elevator jazz standards meant to entertain a group of totally naive listeners, like scientists playing nursery rhymes for a room full of orangutans.

I'm not a very experienced jazz listener, so I'll be the first to admit that I can't fully appreciate much of what happens in good jazz. I can say though, that what the trio actually presented was probably somewhere in-between high-brow, inaccessible jazz and the "Jazz for Dummies" version. There weren't any sounds that could be described as really experimental, but they steered well clear of the elevator genre as well. I would have enjoyed perhaps a little more experiment with grooves and playing around with meter, more of a freestyle jam at times. I would love to hear what would come out of a jam session with these three musicians deep, like Mariana Trench deep, into a groove. However, remaining fairly straight, and away from a total jam wasn't necessarily a mistake because the arrangements were clean and good, never completely expected, and always fun. There were good, tight passages with substantial groove a number of times. Sikivie brought together a lively mix of well written arrangements that flowed well. I would love to hear a collection of jazz standards arranged by Sikivie and performed by this group.
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The skinny:
* Pros: Great Jazz, Cheap, Right here in Gainesville
* Cons: You missed it

Make an Assessment:
I am still very impressed by this performance. I haven't seen any good jazz ensembles in a couple years and this was a fantastic surprise for the Gainesville jazz scene. Thank you to Gainesville Friends of Jazz for pulling this together.
As The Paul Sikivie Trio is based in New York, be sure to try and check out Paul Sikivie, Aaron Diehl, or Lawrence Leathers if you're in the city. You will not be disappointed by any of these three awesome young musicians.

Overall Review Score (I haven't figured out how I want to do this yet):
* Grade: A
* Score: 95%
* If it were a movie: ★★★★★
* My Feelings: "I wish I had practiced more when I still had musical potential. These guys are awesome. I want to start a jazz jam. Where'd I stash all my Mingus LPs?"


Bonus points also to Mr. Sikivie for acknowledging his mother during the performance. It takes character to stand in front of a room full of people, a grown man, and thank your parents before playing a song specifically for your mom. Speaking as a true Mama's boy, I know my mom would have been proud.

Sansa Fuze Silicone Skin, Belt Clip & Armband

I know this is going to be ridiculous for anybody who linked from my facebook or elsewhere, but my latest review can be seen here.

That's http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BZQ2CS if the link doesn't work. 
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The skinny:

* Pros: As expected, Grippy, Jazzy Color Options
* Cons: Flimsy Clip, Small-ish Armband


Make an Assessment:

Overall it is totally worth the $3 shipped. It's like a kind of shady $3 insurance policy for your Fuze. I'm happy with the purchase.


Overall Review Score (I haven't figured out how I want to do this yet):

* Grade: B
* Score: 85%
* If it were a movie: ★★★★
* My Feelings: ☺

Sansa Clip Mp3 Player

The SanDisk Sansa line of Mp3 players has served me well for approximately the last 60 days. I have a 4GB Sansa Fuze that I acquired on black friday and busted out around Christmas time, and I recently Woot!-ed a 2GB Sansa Clip.

I opted to get the Clip because it provides exactly what my new Fuze doesn't, ultra-portability. The Fuze has a nice display that can provide adequate picture, video, and snazzy interface viewing. However, there hasn't come a time yet that I've wanted to check out last night's episode of Project Runway on my hip when I'm cycling in traffic at 25 mph. For this reason I wanted to get a cheaper, less snazzy, lighter in all respects player to provide my exercise tunes/npr podcasts.

When Woot! had the 2GB Sansa Clip (refurb) for $18 shipped I had to pounce. I've used the Clip a handful of times and I'll say first and foremost that the design is almost perfect for exercising.

As the name indicates, there is a belt clip along the backside of the potato-chip sized player to facilitate grab-n-go situations. The belt clip is sturdy enough that I don't feel the need to get a $2 silicone skin from Amazon, but that option is available should the clip ever fail.

The sound quality is good. It's probably not top-of-the-line, but I'm impressed. Even with the included earbuds (which I hope aren't also refurb) the sound is sufficient for me.

I can't yet speak to the battery life, but I can say that I've only had to charge it once straight out of the bag and it's lasted at least 4 hours of listening so far with no excessive battery drain.

The interface consists of a single-color tiny led screen, four button wheel (not scrolling), home button, power/hold button, and volume control.  The display is ample, but not at all impressive. The volume control is easy enough to use while clipped on and running or cycling. My biggest complaint is that the wheel doesn't scroll, so navigating through a large list of songs means tirelessly clicking down a million times. Aside from that the menus are completely intuitive. This gets a parent-usable, maybe even grandparent-usable nod.

I'll note that in addition to Sansa claiming their players are Mac and Win compatible, both the Clip and the Fuze have been very friendly with Ubuntu (9.10 karmic koala) Linux as well. I haven't had any recognition or transfer issues with either player.
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The skinny:

• Pros: Ultra-portable, easy to use, inexpensive, good sound quality, Linux compatible
• Cons: No scroll wheel, could easily slip between couch cushions for eternity

Make an Assessment:

• Obviously this is a glowing review. If you're not the iPod Touch type you should swing with Sansa. Knowing the quality of this product I'd probably pay upwards of $25 to replace it, maybe even retail price for one not refurbished (and I'm a cheap bastard). I'm extremely pleased and will probably buy more form them in the future.

Overall Review Score (I haven't figured out how I want to do this yet):

• Grade: A
• Score: 97%
• If it were a movie: ★★★★★
• My Feelings: ☺

 
Listen to music as much as possible. Music makes life better. You can regularly find these on sale from various websites, or in Best Buy. Also Woot! has had a ton of Sansa players recently, keep eyes peeled.