“well, a few days ago, alex, justin, chris and I got back into the studio for our first group writing/jam session. We have all been writing things on our own, but it was cool to get into a room and play with loud ass amps all together again. I am very excited about this record, for a few different reasons.

1. I have been so busy producing and mixing bands lately, and I love it. Finally getting back in the swing of things, so it will be a miracle if I can rip myself away from other projects long enough to finish a saosin record.

2. We have no label, which means we can do whatever we want. We don’t have to worry about outputting garbage singles that none of us believe in, or selling records. its going to be nice.. just like the days of ttn.

3. NOT having a camera on me the whole time.

4. After 5 years with cove, we have decided to part ways. So it will be a new experience for us, not knowing what to expect in the vocal dept, who will replace him, or if we will even find a replacement this century.

thats all for now…”

So I am curious about which band break-ups still dissapoint you to this day. Doesn’t matter if it’s just “creative diffrences” like when Oasis broke up in 2009 or the death of key members of the band. Any chance for them to regroup and tour again (like Rage Against the Machine…and soon Oasis) or get new band members so they can continue to make music (like Sublime and Alice In Chains)? Who do you miss?

Video after the jump

This is thier most successful single “Chealsea Dagger”

Click here to view the embedded video.

I hope that this break up is only temporary…..I still haven’t seen them live

Click here to view the embedded video.

She is hard to nail down to a single genre since she mixes elements of soul, rock, funk, and pretty much anything else she thinks sounds good. While being a small woman, she has a huge voice and dance moves that can rival some of the best dancers around. Both of her videos have been treated as self-contained short films that could be expanded upon. This one focuses on a fictional asylum where music/dance are not allowed.

Enjoy

Click here to view the embedded video.

This device’s main selling point is that it will allow you to rip your vinyl records into digital mp3 format. While I think it’s great that Ion has created a very simple way to digitally archive your old records, the thing that attracted this turntable to me was the fact that it is…a turntable. For under $100 (you should be able to snag one for around $70 or even less if you look hard enough), I was able to buy a quality record player that easily hooked up to my computer sound system. Throw in the archiving ability and it’s a no-brainer.

As you may know, I’m in the process of recording my long-awaited album. I’m working with a few different amazing producers, but I am also producing most of this album myself. I had no idea how daunting this task would be until I set out to do it. There is no outline or blueprint. All parts of every song are being pulled from thin air. To me, however, that’s not the hard part. The hardest part in this process is knowing when to stop altering or adding to a track. Every time I think the track is finished, I hear one more thing that I think I could change or improve. This process has definitely turned me obsessive compulsive.

Even though this process seems never ending, it is well worth it. With any demo album I recorded before this, I didn’t have the knowledge or capability to produce my own music. I always wrote and performed the songs, but never had the final say in the sound of the mix. So in some sense, I was on someone else’s time and had to make big decisions about my sound in an instant (studio session time costs at least $50 per instant). This left me second-guessing some of those decisions with no control over changing them. My new ability to make the final decision on the sound is worth the work in itself. By the time you buy the album, you’ll be hearing exactly what I wanted each song to sound like.

This technically isn’t my first album, as I mentioned I’ve had a number of demos out, but this still feels like my debut. It’s the first I’ve ever recorded with a demand already generated by fans and industry alike. As I said in my last post, I’ve never felt a momentum in my music career as I do right now, and I feel it coming to a head with this album. The release is slated for late May or early June, though you’ll probably catch a couple singles on the radio before then. Be on the lookout and check my sites for updates!

www.youtube.com/mattbeilis
www.mattbeilis.com
www.twitter.com/mattbeilis
www.myspace.com/beilis

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is the video for “Doubtful Comforts” by Blue Roses. What makes this video special though is their attempt to make a 3D video using “Wiggle Stereoscopic” techniques. While it may not be true 3D, it is supposed to trick your mind into thinking that it is in 3D. Apparently the way it works is there are two cameras that film at slightly different angles, and the images jump between them. It usually works pretty well in still images, and there are moments of here that work really well but the effect isn’t as good as I hoped it would be.

Check out the video. Did it work for you? Would you want to see others try this……or should we just pass?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains

This record came out in 2009 and I was admittedly tardy on it, but better late than never right? The fact that Joseph D’Agostino and Matt Miller are from New Jersey (but now play out of Staten Island) is further proof that the Garden State breeds musicians. Maybe its the daily grind of trying to find the space to move between crowds of people and cars, or the emptiness of our wallets and bank accounts that inspires so many musicians from Jersey to wear their hearts on their sleeves. Whatever it is, Cymbals Eat Guitars have crafted a sound heavily reliant on dynamics, cryptic yet meaningful lyrics, and beautiful song structures that are pushed to the creative max. These guys are not to be missed.

Listen
Buy

Laura Stevenson and the Cans – A Record

Laura Stevenson creates and plays music because she enjoys it. No, I haven’t asked or anything…I can just tell. Her songs are honest and anything but contrived – she’ll show you a folky whisper that can break into a mightily powerful melody at any given time. The accompaniment of violin, accordion, bass, trumpet, and other horns adds invaluable texture to her songs but also allows her to shine front and center with a heartfelt voice and Fender Telecaster (I’m a sucker for anyone that plays a Tele, let alone a beautiful girl with a heavenly voice). The songs are accessible yet incredibly original. I had the pleasure of seeing the five piece version of her group this past Saturday and had a blast. I don’t often make 75 mile drives each way to see anybody, but this trip was worth it.

Listen
Buy (Out April 13)

Freelance Whales – Weathervanes

The first time I heard this band, I was intrigued – a soft lead voice that reminded me of a mix of Death Cab and Pompeii is something with which I can always get down. The song ‘Starring’ is infectious as hell, as is the whole album really. But what really got me were a few youtube videos of the band playing live at the Bedford stop on the NYC L subway line. Here was a five-piece group having fun with accordions, xylophones, and intelligent vocal melodies right amongst the rest of us on a ::cough:: aesthetically pleasing subway platform. The fact that a subway would rumble by every now and then, causing the band’s sound to go slightly muffled, only added to the scene. Their album comes out April 13. You should definitely buy it.

And check out this video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Listen
Buy (Out April 13)

Ellie Goulding – Lights

Goulding – an amazingly talented singer/songwriter – has been popular in the UK for some time now, but gained some acclaim here in the States with her remix of Passion Pit’s ‘Sleepyhead’. Considering that Passion Pit put out one of my favorite records last year, her A+ performance of the song instantly won me over. Lights shows you what she can do, or more importantly what she is going to do for many years to come. She displays a soothingly majestic voice over fun yet intelligent rhythms and progressions. Simply put, she’s a blast to listen to.

Listen
Buy (UK release, no word on a US release yet)

Surfer Blood – Astro Coast

Surfer Blood dominated my iPod for a good 3 weeks. That may not sound like a lot of time, but with all the music I continuously encounter, 3 weeks means these guys made a serious impact on me. I always have a tough time describing a band to anybody, because I think everything sounds like everything, but if I had to pin some kind of tag on this band it would be ‘Melodic Garage Rock’. The vocals display an impressive range and the chord progressions aren’t isolating…they are inventive song in and song out. I have yet to see this band but I am going to change that very soon.

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Buy

Thanks for reading – I promise I’ll be back sooner next time. I’ll even call. (Special thanks to Mike Resnick for his constant barrage of text messages containing new things to listen to. I don’t get to everything right away but when I do, it’s always good)

Lyrics that are too saccharine for their own good are, by definition, pretty hokey. Play it correctly though, and they can leave one feeling unburdened and smiley. That being said, I found it hard to forgive this time around. The music is still catchy as hell, and by design, since the original idea for the band, as concocted by co-founder Jonathan Bree, was to rebel against the then-prevalent skinny jeans and loud guitar scene in NZ and produce a highly-refined, “pop as product” sound. The duo continues that trend here, featuring songs that seem to be written with a template or archetype in mind, and with an increased dose of synthesizers to boot. There’s another song that heavily features hair, (“It’s Only Natural”; they had one on their last album too), one about a missed connection in an espresso shop (“Connection”), a silly number about wanting to live in the 1920’s (“The Crime Machine”), and a “goodbye, and thanks for coming” song, a la Cheap Trick, in “Thank You”. Many of these songs get away with the clever lyrics game, and are immensely enjoyable plays on the couple dynamic, such as in “Red Rollerskates” where Bree pulls his girlfriend and band mate around with a rope because she has asthma, but those same witticisms can often act as an elephant in the room. The worst example of this is “If I”, a call-and-response where Bree starts out with a “What would you do if I suddenly died?” routine, followed by Heather Mansfield’s calling him “a sweet, romantic tool”. The word “tool” just hangs there, meant as a wry poke but lingering way too long, while the accompanying music is the most cloying of the bunch, with sticky strings and lullaby-like chimes.

On paper, there really shouldn’t be any problem here. The idea behind the band is the same: the layered synthesizers bubble and swoon, Bree’s baritone and Mansfield’s increasingly Chipmunk-like chirp still bat and paw at each other, and the cute lyrics aren’t new either. But the enhanced electronics lend a throwaway feeling in this instance, and the constant stream of couple-isms just left me with a toothache. For my pop dollar, this is unfortunately a poor effort, and I can’t help but wonder if the Brunettes couldn’t use some fresh inspiration in their lives. They do say it best, after all, in “Magic (No Bunny)”: “Could we have magic/If we didn’t have an end?”

Critic’s pick: “Thank You”