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Plastiq Passion Achieves Mediocrity

August 31, 2010 By 1 Comment

Plastiq Passion is respectable. The four ladies comprising are all quite talented and exude a clear ‘passion’ for their craft. But the actual music? Discernible it is not. I’m sorry to say, but there are too many talented artists out there, that, yes, it has become a crowded field of genre do-the-sames who make music that they like to listen to, but sadly offer nothing innovative, nothing worthy of our precious time.

I love when people do what they love, follow their dreams and pursue their passions. Where that deep emotional bridge is often felt the most is in the live shows, where fiery bands can bring a house down without being groundbreaking or original. But in an age where music travels as fast as the your internet connect, it is all important to offer more on a recording, something that will make listeners wait on their toes for the next output.

Now, Plastiq Passion does a nice job with their take on post-punk-pop, holding tight grooves together with driving beats, spatial, shimmering guitars and vocal melodies galore. But honestly, when listening to them I can’t help but think, “this sound a lot like Tokyo Police Club… just not as good.” So why, then, would I not just quickly change my iPod over to A Lesson In Crime, and get it where its good? I see no good reason. But, maybe you will.

If you’re a pop-punk enthusiast, there’s definitely a good chance you’ll be into Plastiq Passion. If you just can’t get enough, give em a shot and they just may be your next go-to. But if you’re a genre skimmer, searching for the top of the crop in all that today’s music has to offer, you should probably pass.

For more information on Plastiq Passion check out MySpace and get their music now on iTunes.

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Easy Listening With Johnny Action Figure

July 30, 2010 By 1 Comment

The names that bands are coming up with are getting weirder, wackier and further off the wall, trying to stand out from the overcrowded crowd where the cream unfortunately doesn’t always rise to the top. Johnny Action Figure finally breaks away from that mold.  Just kidding.  But they do break away from the mold somewhat, making heavy-hitting pop songs that have a very unique flavor that blends some jazz, a little surfer rock and yes, even a hint of barbershop Beach Boysian flavor.

Quite honestly, I don’t usually love most pop rock (especially uppity stuff like this), but their new album, Good Eye, really is different.  From the very first moments of opening track “Phantom Blues,” Johnny exudes fun, in a most smile-inducing way.  Pay no mind that it’s head bobbing, teeny-bopper, high school dance music (not all the way through, but you’ll see what I mean) because these guys aren’t just churning out static pop songs for nothing more than fame, glory and paper; they really can play their instruments (although I’m sure the fame, glory and paper would be nice too).

When it comes down to it, Good Eye is just an enjoyable listen all the way through.  It’s not dark, depressing, pretentious or over-the-top ridiculous.  The mix is subtle and mellow, despite the upbeat nature of the music. Yeah, maybe it’s very safe music, but maybe that’s what we all need once in a while. Otherwise listening to music can become a task, losing some of the emotional bridge, which is in my mind, the most important (and therapeutic) element of listening to music.

For more information on Johnny Action Figure check out MySpace and get their album Good Eye on iTunes.

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Artist of the Month: The Expendables

July 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment


Santa Cruz-based rockers, The Expendables, mix elements of reggae, punk rock and ska into their carefree music representative of the chill, California vibe. Growing up surfing, skating, partying and playing music, the Expendables got into music for the good times and the rocker lifestyle. Now, after the release of their fifth full-lenghter, Prove It, they have cemented themselves as a genuine musical force capable of putting out honest albums that stay true to their rebellious lifestyles.

The album, which was produced by Butthole Surfer guitarist Paul Leary and EL Hefe of NOFX, is their second record to come off Stoopid Records, and even features a few appearances by some Slightly Stoopid mates through the album. Another Cali favorite, G. Love makes a guest spot, so it’s nice to know these guys are sticking together, helping each other out.

Prove It is wholly comprised of scratchy guitar licks and a funky drum and bass core that provides a solid platform for their kitschy lyrics about getting high and rocking out. “Come get high with me. There’s no wrong or right we just need to take flight. Come get high with me” they sing on the appropriately titled “Come Get High.”

Or, just listen to the album’s opener, “How Many Times,” another ode-to-the-good-time. “How many times must I awake to a mistake that I’ve made before/Now I’m wondering what happened and why I’m on the floor/It must have been a good night, I must have had a good time.” They’re not brilliant lyricists by any stretch of the imagination, but at least their not too hung over to try.

It’s kind of a bummer when bands over-push agendas onto their fans at live shows. A few people are always into it, but you mostly hear people groaning and moaning, waiting for the next song. So it’s nice to know the only agenda these guys will be pushing is a good time. Because I’m always down for that.

Later this year The Expendables plan to tour nationally and internationally to support the release. Hopefully they aren’t too faded to take the road, but their recent track record suggests they’ll make it out of the house. The sky is clearly the limit for these chillers. Get Prove It now on iTunes and for more information on the band check out their official website.

Eat Sleep Breathe Music contributor, Suzanne had the opportunity to sit down with The Expendables drummer/vocalist, Adam Patterson to find out about the new album, his thoughts on being on a reality show, how even drummers have trouble playing Guitar Hero, and what it was like growing up in Santa Cruz.

ESBM: Prove It is your 5th studio release, how have you grown as a band since 2001 and No Time To Worry?

AP: We have grown as musicians, we have played for over ten years together. Also, our song writing has grown up a little too. We were 18 when we did our fist album and we have had a lot more life experiences since then that has helped influence our songs.

ESBM: My favorite track is “Dance Girl Dance”, what is one of your favorites?

AP: I personally like all the songs on the album. We spent a lot of time on each song so its hard to say that I like one song more than the other. There are songs on this album that are three years old.

ESBM: Your song “Sacrifice” from Gettin’ Filthy is on the Guitar Hero World Tour game. Do you feel that this opens up your music to a completely different fan base?

AP: I didn’t think it would, but I have had people come up to me and tell me that they had never heard of our band before they played us on Guitar Hero. That’s kinda cool. That game has changed the relationship of music and gaming forever. Side note – I can’t get past medium on the drums on our own song….I suck!

ESBM: The film XXX Rated: A Year in the Life of a Santa Cruz Phenomenon follows the band during some of your tour. What was that experience like? Would you ever do a reality TV show?

AP: I’d rather not do a reality show, but we would be stupid to pass an opportunity like that up. We basically just filmed a bunch of shows and parties for a year or so, it was a cool time in our lives. We were 22, 23 still playing back yard parties and being young stupid kids. It wouldn’t be as cool now. we’re pushing 30 and we don’t shoot each other with pellet guns anymore.

ESBM: What was one of your most memorable performance experience?

AP: I’d say when we played with Pepper and Fishbone on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The crowd was nuts and it was just a great show. There have been so many fun shows that it’s hard to pick one. We just played in New York City on our CD release show on a boat. Halfway through our set I looked over and we were next to the Statue of Liberty. It was kinda a cool moment for me. Strange that my coolest moments were all on a boat.

ESBM:You have played a lot all over the country, where is the best audience NY or Cali?

AP: It’s hard to say. Our fans are ridiculously cool and we have good audiences all over the country. I’d have to say California just because we are from there, but NY brings it pretty hard too.

ESBM: What are you plans for the rest of the summer and when are you coming back to the east coast?

AP: We are going to play a couple shows here and there this summer but we are mostly gonna take a few months off and then hit the road this fall. So we’ll be hitting up the East Side this fall.

ESBM: The Vampire craze is taking over with popular TV shows and movies like Twilight. Being from Santa Cruz, Ca are you fans of the movie The Lost Boys which was filmed there?

AP: When I was a kid that movie scared the shit out of me because all the scenes were places i’ve been to. I love that movie. I still watch it every Halloween when i carve my pumpkins.

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The White White Lights: So Nice They Named It Twice

June 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment


The first moments of The White White Lights’ debut EP, Medium Head Boy, sound like a crunchier version of something French pop-rockers, Air, would put out. The opening synth sequence of “Space Invaders” sounds like it came straight off the intergalactic duo’s latest album, Love 2. But then something happens.

Jenny Gacy’s bit-crushed post-punk vocals come in, and the music is totally transformed. Her intensity and emotion brings the album closer to something emo than spacey-electro pop, for better or worse. The funny thing is, she’s singing about space invaders. Gacy’s lyrics about organ-donating body snatchers, coupled with a driving drum and bass core and layers of scratchy guitars actually makes for a fun track of post-punk emotion.

Throughout the album The White White Lights build a unique sound, but keep you interested by taking it in different directions. “It’s Cold Here In Japan” takes a deep breath and relaxes, allowing the band to display their excellent musicianship through experimentation on multiple instruments, culminating in really chill track with a Far East vibe.

“Evangeline” displays the quartets precision and skill with a transfixing stop and go rhythm that puts you in a daze with lush sound effects mixed to the back all throughout. This track really shows their craftiness in song structure and arrangement, a skill set that separates them from a crowd that is too often clogged with ready-made tracks for a finite audience.

Overall, the album is a driving post-punk party, which if you like the type of music you will definitely really like. What’s really intriguing is that despite the raw emotion and intensity that comes through in the music, their craft is never lost and you can tell their head is in the game. Cheers.

For more information on the band check out myspace.com/thewhitewhitelights and get their album now on
The!

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The Like: Music as Boring As The Name

June 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I don’t want to hear about other people’s problems. Especially when I’m sitting back, relaxing with a beer, a book and my iPod. After about three songs on The Like’s new album, Release Me, lead singer Elizabeth Berg’s incessant lamenting over her past relationship blunders becomes over dramatic, annoying, and even laughable.

Throughout the album Berg portrays a multitude of emotions veiled in a nonchalant guise of passivity and candor that at first seems cute, even charming. Her warm, inviting voice almost makes you forget about the nonsense she’s blabbering about. But eventually, the thirteen cookie-cutter pop tracks become indiscernible, one blending right into the other, and Berg’s relentlessness catches up. By that point her candor seems more and more like schoolgirl complaints about boy problems and your iPod has switched to another artist. Who hurt you, Liz?

Anyway, maybe this just isn’t my taste in music, but maybe listening to this album is like listening to a collection of tracks I’ve already heard in a dozen places, just worse. Most of the time the album sounds like Metric, and at others Belle and Sebastian, sans the intricate musical intrigue. It’s not that it’s terribly offensive music; it just doesn’t have much to offer.

Listen to Release Me with fresh ears and really low expectations, and you may gain something from it. If you’re having guy problems, the can album will help. But probably not. Otherwise go listen to some Radiohead.

For more information on The Like check out their official website and get their album on The Like.

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Nicholas Kopernicus Packs Heat

May 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Nicholas Copernicus was a Renaissance Astronomer. Nicholas Kopernicus, though, is no heir apparent, nor is it even one man. Kopernicus is a Digital Age instrumental duo, consisting of pianist and producer Jason “Classicbeatz” Minnis and guitarist Seon Gomez. Just like Copernicus did it all back in his day, Kopernicus blends a number of styles and sounds that sum up to their own take on Rhythm and Blues.

Their debut album, Audiocentric, consists of Gomez’s soulful guitar over Minnis’ digitized DnB and melodic keys. Each track features a different style as the group looks to take the listener on “a modern journey through music of the African Diaspora.” “Natural High” is obviously their reggae track, and “Spittin’ Blues” begins as straight blues but evolves into a hip-hop track when the beat comes in and Ash Holmes starts spitting. “Legacy” is pure funk and “The Southside” is a jazz/funk hybrid reminiscent of Lettuce and Galactic.

The group’s indicative sound, however, comes at the start of the album with “Candle Dreams” and opener “Commentariolus.” Both tracks blend rhythm and blues with their own unique style and musicianship. The latter hovers just over the two-minute mark, but features Claptonesque guitar intriguing the listener from the start. The prior is a four-minute jam featuring Brandy Means on the flute and Manuel Lopez on the bongos.

Flute and bongos along with saxophone and harmonica are found throughout, adding to the different styles and keeping the album fresh and unique. Although these guys don’t yet have the exposure, they are coming out with some great music that definitely deserves a listen. The album is original and the musicians on it all know how to play their instruments, and play them well. Check it out if you get a beat.

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Dirty Heads Find The Vibe

April 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Dirty Heads. Two parts Sublime, one part 311 and a hint of Jack Johnson. Although their sound is caught somewhere between reggae, rock and hip-hop they definitely aren’t at all stuck. Their fun, carefree vibe comes through in their music, which flows with ease and soothes the mind, yet still rocks out.

Their debut album, Any Port In A Storm, is the perfect beach party soundtrack, clearly an artistic style acquired in their hometown of Orange County, CA. It took a mere twelve years since the bands formation to release their debut, but it was well worth the wait. The Heads’ perseverance and hard work has clearly paid off, recently being named one of the “Best New Bands of 2010” by Rolling Stone, and being featured in numerous movie, television and video game soundtracks.
The twenty-two-song extended album boasts a collaboration with Rome of Sublime feat. Rome and even has an acoustic Coldplay cover. The twenty other sun-surf-and-skate-inspired songs show signs that the Heads can maybe, just maybe, fill a void left by Sublime’s tragic end. I know it might sound like heresy, but check out the track “Neighborhood” and you might just get the chills. It’s a real hot track.

Slowly but surely the quartet is carving out their niche in the surfing/skating culture, and barring a tragic downfall, it’s a spot they’re sure to hold onto for quite some time. If they continue to build their sound with forward thinking production (think Honey Claws), Dirty Heads has got what it takes to be a mainstay on the scene.

Get Any Port In A Storm now on The Dirty Heads and for more information on the band go to their official website.

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Album Review: A Sample of Streetlab

April 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

A heady bass line holding a pocket. A floor thumping beat driving steady. A grounding melody keeping your body in tact, while ambient wavelengths send your mind adrift. That’s what good dance music is made of.

Since forming in 2001, Mark Lamorg and Ryan Leary, aka Streetlab, have been making danceable remixes of their favorite classic rock classics, tying together their vast musical influences into a genre-hopping sound. They’ve “worked with” the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, even Hall & Oats. Now they’re working on their own stuff.

Heady bass? Check. Heart-pumping beats? Spacey synth lines? Check, check. But I know what you’re thinking, how bout them vocals? Yeah, they bring that too. Each track features a different vocalist, but don’t think they’re the feature attraction of each song. The repetitious lyrics are used in synergy with the beat and flow to create a mesh of sound that brings the heat for any weekend rager.

The duo’s new material builds on the sound they formed through their remixes, while drawing influence from various other sources. “Twisted Up” is Crystal Castley and early single, “NYsound,” is pure LCD Soundsytem. The chillwave and synth-pop sounds fuse together with one common thread; the DnB thump. Now don’t get me wrong, this music won’t blow your mind, but it might bust your speakers. Although Streetlab isn’t yet coming out with groundbreaking music, it should still be played at max volume at your next banger.

And for all you techno-remix hounds out there, Streetlab’s are definitely worth a listen. Their remix of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” starts off a bit slow, but packs heat with a strong climax when Mick and his backing choir are finally introduced. “Sgt. Peppers” peak isn’t as beefy, but Streetlab’s techno re-imagination provides a unique interpretation on the Beatles’ classic.

For an overall grade I’d give these guys a B. For what they lack in innovation they surely make up with in punch, and a heavy one at that. Their full-length debut, AUTO SPKR, is due out this month, so keep an open eye. Their website is calling it “bombastic, immersive, and surpassing the parameters of BPM”—we shall see. But until then, you can get their the EP on Streetlab. For more tubthumping remixes and a few Streetlab originals check out MySpace.

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A Small Taste of The Vicious Guns

April 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Vicious Guns new self-titled EP is a succinct insight into the trio’s tight, melodic, synth-grooves that provide just enough to keep you satisfied, but begging for more. The four songs, running just under 15 minutes, showcase lead singer Jennie Vicious’ warm, inviting voice over glitchy dance beats, spacey synth lines, and scratchy guitar licks.

The EP draws influences from Crystal Castles, Broken Social Scene, and other post-punk rockers, but builds it’s own sound that doesn’t seem reused or recycled. The strongest track of the group is “Newchain,” which despite running just over 3 minutes, features a slow and steady build that begs you to crank up the volume. It also features, along with “Migraine,” some of Jennie’s most beautiful lyrical melodies of the EP. It’s her use of tone and dynamics that is the saving grace of the group, because her singing bridges a deep connection with the listener.

Although overly glitchy synth songs can get often annoying and obnoxious, opening track, “Friends Aren’t Friends,” is a fun, ode-to-the-80’s glitchfest that sounds like it belongs in a Euro fashion show. “Philadelphia” features another female vocalist, Erin Lang, whose light, airy vocals contrast nicely with the song’s synthesized male vocals (which it could have used more of) and fast jungle beats.

Overall, this EP definitely deserves a listen, especially if you love female vocals and strong synth lines. Hopefully the full-length album (set to release this summer)  fleshes out the raw ideas of the EP, while building their new-age electro sound without getting monotonous or boring. With their talent and creativity on full display, chances are they’ll pull through.

Get their self-titled EP now on The Vicious Guns and for more information on the band check out their MySpace page here!

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