The Heroic Enthusiasts - Self Titled

Band / Artist: The Heroic Enthusiasts
Year: 2017
Genre: Synth Rock, New Wave, Alternative Rock

My Review:
Retro EIGHTIES SYNTHROCK. It is reallllllly good. If you like Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, or Echo and the Bunnymen, then this would be a good one to listen to. It has a little dreampop, and a lot of new wave. Here is a link to their website.

https://www.theheroicenthusiasts.com/


Another weird detail, their name may be inspired by the poetic book, The Heroic Enthusiasts, which I've linked here. Written by Giordano Bruno, he was artistically presenting the argument that not only was the earth not the center of the universe, but so too was the sun just another of untold numbers of stars, spinning across the cosmos.

Alright, I'm going to go make something to eat. Y'all have a good listen and enjoy.

The Heroic Enthusiasts - Self Titled

LLLAMAS - LLLAMAS EP

Band / Artist: LLLAMAS
Year: 2016
Genre: Krautrock, Garage Rock, Alternative Rock

My Review:

A fun little set of tracks from this band i just found out of Seattle. I like their sounds, and wouldn't mind if I end up hearing more of them in the future. Its a bit hard to pin down exactly, some kind of spacey rock sounds, good stuff.

LLLAMAS - LLLAMAS EP

Also from them is a single on their ghost of a bandcamp page.




LLLAMAS - My Head (Young)

Arcade Island - Spring EP

Band / Artist: Arcade Island
Year: 2012
Genre: Alternative Rock, Chillwave, Lo-fi, Alternative Pop

My Review:
So this one.. I bet i could have heard songs from this one on the radio about 5 years ago, over and over and over, and i would have hated it, because it would be burned into my head.

Its a one man band, which makes it more impressive, though I guess its less impressive now that the music can be made digitally... I mean, whatever, its good.

This is what he says about this album.

A blending of Electronica and Rock, the album is a collection of works from the past few months. Lots of ambient synths and guitars, big drums with rock bass lines, and with catchy vocals and accessible lyrics ranging from alien abduction to unrequited love. 

Arcade Island started in 2006 in Pennsylvania out of curiosity by Alex Bew, a 21-year-old self-proclaimed nerd with "too much time on his hands". "I don't like making music in just one genre, and I don't like people telling me what to do, so I'll make whatever kind of music I want. Not even Abraham Lincoln can stop me. Although he could probably do a good job of it with his vampire skills and all."

Their Facebook is here.

If you like some of that 2008-2011ish electronic 80's influcenced emo pop.. whatever the hell you'd call it. You should check this out, I dig this one, and some more I've found from him as well. It's well polished.

Arcade Island - Spring EP

I also want to share the bonus album, Youth in Decay. Its obvious that he's gonna evolve a lot. I like this one more.

Arcade Island - Youth In Decay

Cullah - Cullah The Wild

Band / Artist: Cullah
Year: 2015
Genre: Blues Rock, Psych-Rock, Jam, Alternative rock, Jazz Rock, Hip-Hop

My Review:
Dammmmn.. I dig the hell out of this. It rolls with a great punchy rhythm, and when he pushes his voice, I swear I can hear some early Chris Cornell. Its pretty badass.

So this guy is a sleeper hit. Great quality, and I have NO idea how he never got a following. Its just too good to not see a lot of wonder in how the hell you don't hear something like this on the radio.

SO his name is Ian McCullough, and he's an artist out of Wisconsin (honestly, this guy and cheese seem like what Wisconsin has going for it.)

His website is here.

He's a talented youngin', and I hope I hear more about the guy, because its worth the listen.

Cullah - Cullah The Wild

Youniverse - Dirty American

Band / Artist: Youniverse
Year: 2010
Genre: Indie Rock, Alt Rock

My Review:
I have held off on this album mostly due to forgetfulness, but this is actually the album that started me down the path of sharing free music I had been finding. They are great. In 2010, I was out at a bar in Memphis TN with my girlfriend of the time, and heard that a band was about to play, and that their guitarist was turning 18 that day. I figured, hell, why not?

They had a good sound, which the bar did not showcase well. They told me afterward that they were using bandcamp to share their first album. I had never heard of bandcamp before, so I checked it out, and since then, it has become a mainstay of the indie music world.

Here is the facebook page they have going, but nobody has posted on it since 2012.

Hopefully they come back around one day.

Youniverse - Dirty American

Harvey Danger - Dead Sea Scrolls

Band / Artist: Harvey Danger
Year: 2009
Genre: Alternative Rock, Rock

My Review:
A collection of B-sides, rarities, and live recordings sold exclusively on the band's final tour dates.

Its a great album of tracks, and really shouldn't be missed out on. They actually keep the albums available from their website, or by torrent. You should consider throwing down a buck or two to cover the hosting costs by clicking here. I tossed down 5 bucks to them, because I loved them.

I just shared Harvey Danger a little bit ago, so i dont think we need much more description. just go enjoy it.

Harvey Danger -  Dead Sea Scrolls

TickTockMan - Faded Shapes

Band / Artist: TickTockMan
Year:2014
Genre: Future Punk, Alternative Rock, Prog Rock

My Review:
Like Mars Volta? You should take the chance to hear TickTockMan.

I'm not going to say that they are a direct copy. They aren't. They play a softer, more simple, less frantic version of the type of sound that you hear in a Mars Volta album. The singer also sings in a much more "plain" register, without hitting the very-high-pitch that the singer of Mars Volta does. Also, did you know that this subgenre of music is called "Future punk"? What the hell does that mean?

The band is out of Seattle, and has been around since 2009. Their name seems to directly reference a short story ("Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman") by a science fiction author Harlan Ellison. My favorite tracks on this album are probably "Pull & Fire" and "Cracked", while "Might Explode" is definitely another that really rings out for the album.




I've had music from TickTockMan for a while, catching an old EP from them that i was considering sharing, but didn't really have the time. I'm really enjoying this one. Not so much as a driving album for in the city, but maybe out on a longer highway drive. It works pretty well as music to work to.

TickTockMan - Faded Shapes

Harvey Danger - Little By Little

Band / Artist: Harvey Danger
Year: 2007
Genre: Alternative

My Review:
I listened the hell out of Harvey Danger when I was about 16 and onward. Where have all the merry makers gone was an amazing album, that was as moving and thought provoking as it was driven. I love the way that this band has played out their lyrics. I strongly encourage you to listen to them if you never have.

Anyway, Harvey Danger released 2 albums and played on a fair number of soundtracks before they reached this album. by the end of their time recording it, they agreed to try something different with their last fruit of their labor, and then broke up as a band. This was the message that they sent out from their website.

We are offering the entirety of our third album, Little by Little..., as a free download (if you're curious why we're doing this, you can read our reasons here).

We have included a mini-website that contains album artwork, liner notes, etc. along with the music. The entire thing is zipped up into a single file for easier downloading. After you get the file, just unzip the file and you should find everything you need.

If you like what you hear and you want to support us, consider making a small contribution.

Mostly, nobody knew about this album, so i stumbled across it by chance, and have been playing it here and there ever since. Its a very worthwhile album to give a try, and I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't at least enjoy it a little bit. Here's a sample song from it, and a personal favorite



Alright, happy downloading.

Harvey Danger - Little By Little (MP3)

Harvey Danger - Little By Little (OGG)

Quilty - Masonish

Band/Artist: Quilty
Year: 2012
Genre: Alternative, Alternative rock, Indie rock, Femme rock

My Review:
If you have an ear for Veruca Salt or the Plumtree album I shared, then you should enjoy this one. Quilty might be on hiatus, or just busy with other things. The band has a Tumblr page here http://quiltytherockband.tumblr.com/


The most of it is soft, with some playful circusy moments, and then brooding, tense parts that occassionally burst into a chorus filled with a stifled rage. I listened through this one and the other free EPs offered up for download, and I REALLY enjoy the first and third track on their EP, Strange Matter, which is also up for grabs.

Quilty – Masonish

Nac/Hut Report - Junkstarrr/Bright Future, 9th Overflowing​.​.​.​Milky Slaughterhouse​.​.​.​Dream Of Incubator

Band / Artist: Nac/Hut Report
Year: 2013
Genre:

My Review:
I have been woefully behind on loving music the last few weeks. Mostly because I got an awesome new job and I'm thrilled and insanely stressed all at once. Today was the first moment I started to feel a little bit like my squirrely self since probably last Sunday. So since I have a few minutes to get my music love on, I looked back through my emails.

And I found this.

I’m Jadwiga Tabaczynska of Double Hallucinative records. We’re a small, new-born, underground label from Poland. We would be glad if you could review our new release “Angel-like Contraction Reverse” Lp by the Italian-polish experimental duo Nac/Hut Report, or even just post on Jumbly Music the link for their Free-download Promotional Single “Junkstarrr/Bright Future”.

Its post industrial. The music has a really strange grindy sound, with soft vocals and guitar layered on top. I was imagining that it would be a much darker sound when I first looked at it, but it seems much more positive, like coming outside after a serious disaster, and feeling hope that you survived and can rebuild. (I don't know, its what came to mind.) Its short and sweet, with a bitter, abrasive side to it.

Nac/Hut Report - Junkstarrr/Bright Future


Also by them, I'm sharing this longer, older album, "9th Overflowing​.​.​.​Milky Slaughterhouse​.​.​.​Dream Of Incubator"

This one is a darker, more droning sound, which I liked less, but is more experimental and industrial in a lot of ways. Alright, well I hope everyone is doing great, I'll have some more stuff for you soon.

Nac/Hut Report - 9th Overflowing​.​.​.​Milky Slaughterhouse​.​.​.​Dream Of Incubator

Carthasy - Apertures & 0110/Mindcage

Band / Artist: Carthasy
Year: 2010, 2011
Genre: Post-Metal, Prog Metal, Prog Rock, Alternative Rock


My Review:
If you have an affinity for Porcupine Tree and Tool, then this is definitely a little gem for you. They have some high minded talk describing their songs on their website..

http://www.carthasy.com/#!bio

..but they would be better served with a simple review. They do a pretty great melodic prog metal. Its good, has great layouts of the tracks, and they use effects on guitar and vocals at just the right amount to make them all pay together. I'm looking forward to a full album from them, because if this is their debut, they are likely to grow in just the right way.

My only real qualm with the band is their logo, especially from the demo they did here

Carthasy - 0110/Mindcage

The idea behind the logo seemed really decent, but that font and they way it was integrated into that logo was just irking the hell out of me. I had a few minutes to spend, so I made this.

..and figured it's implement well like this..

but regardless, enjoy the album.

Carthasy - Apertures

50 Foot Wave - Superpack

Band / Artist: 50 Foot Wave
Year:2004, 2005, 2009, 2012
Genre: Alternative Rock, Punk

My Review:
They're Punk, they're Alt Rock, they're rough and tumble. With a female singer that defenitely rocks the mic, and a great backup behind her. They remind me of early smashing pumpkins, the nymphs, and a little bit of the casualties.

Apparently their name is a reference to both an illustration and the term for the 50-foot sound wave of the lowest F tone audible to the human ear. The singer is named Kristin Hersh, who played in Throwing Muses for 20+ years, along with the bassist, Bernard Georges. They picked up the drummer Rob Ahlers in 2003, and started working out a tour while making their first album.

By 2005, they released an LP, and kept on touring and releasing more. In 2009, they released all of their music for free, and THEY OPENLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO BURN COPIES. They want people all over the world to take copies of their music.

I've enjoyed one of their albums, Free Music!, since about 2007. Good music for the gym.


This band is giving away 6 albums. All in ONE download. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't an unbelievable number. They also have a section on Internet Archive dedicated to recordings of all of their live shows. Here's that link.

http://archive.org/details/50FootWave

So I hope you dig the music. Feel free to give a copy to friends.

50 Foot Wave - 50FootWave, Free Music!, Golden Ocean, Power + Light, With Love From The Men's Room, Singles, and Instrumentals.

(New Video) City Reign - Making Plans

I just got an email from the guys in City Reign, who shared their older album and single here. They just wanted to share their new music video for their song, "Making Plans". The song is here.

https://soundcloud.com/ask-me/city-reign-making-plans

And here is their facebook
https://www.facebook.com/cityreign



Hope to hear more of their stuff soon.

City Reign - Ahead Of Ideas

 

Band / Artist: City Reign
Year: 2012
Genre: Indie rock, Alternative rock, Post-punk

My Review:
This band from Manchester UK just emailed me. Their logo is perfect style for this blog, wouldn't you say? Anyhow, they released this new single in preparation for their new album (called "Another Step") being released.

Here's their website.
http://cityreign.net/

I'm really enjoying their work. If you're a fan of Placebo, Interpol, Julian Plenti, or Editors, then you'll enjoy this. They have a clear sound, and the higher pitched voice in the songs reminds me of acoustic sets by placebo I used to have, but much more fleshed out. The orchestral finish for the song is great.

City Reign - Ahead Of Ideas

But thats not all folks. 

Since it's just a single, I snooped around their bandcamp page, and found a 5-track EP that would help sate your appetite.

City Reign - Daybreak EP

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

Band/Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Year: 2008
Genre: Industrial rock, Alternative rock, Electronica

My Review:
You might have heard of this band before just a little bit. This was farly and widely publicized, and probably shouldn't be something I go out of my way to post, but it was well worth a review and download. After being around for 20 years, and managing to be incredibly popular, Nine Inch nails released this album as a gift to the fans that had given so much money and love throughout all of those two decades.

This is one of those rare albums that is free, not a promo, and you would hear a song from it on the radio. There was a feel to this album that seems like since Trent Reznor had no monetary incentive behind it and the release, he took liberties and just explored it in whatever way he wanted to. Some big NIN fans were a little harsh on this, especially closer to the end, but I personally enjoy something that shows a growth and a personal touch, especially with what this album represented. It even comes with a collection of artworks, all minimal, ominous, and gritty, representing each track on the album.

The sound is similar in ways to with teeth, using some really strong, hard hitting rockstar sounds, and warping them with a mindblowing expanse of synth hookups, circuit bending mods, post processing edits, and god knows what else. There are a few tracks that harken to the rare "Still" EP that was released with the "And All That Could Have Been" tour video and album, as well as some tracks harkening to the "Ghosts" project released earlier the same year. It isn't the longest album, or maybe the best of their track history, but it really holds its own, especially with the slow down and fade out that it has, and how far it steps from (and around, and within) the rest of the NIN discography.

If you are a fan of Nine Inch Nails, enjoy the gift, and hopefully the band will come out of their retirement and make another album in the future.

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

The Revivalists - Live @ Tipitina's 7​-​30​-​10

Band/Artist: The Revivalists
Year: 2011
Genre: Jam, Alternative rock, Blues Rock, Jazz Rock

My Review:
I was supposed to see this band live on halloween last year, but they hadn't come on by the time I left. Not very surprising since New Orleans seems to have a second boost of energy around 2am.

Now normally I hate live albums, because they sound flat and you deal with that annoying cheering and the band trying to play off of the crowd, which can only rarely hold that energy when recorded and listened to on speakers or headphones. This one manages to pull off that feat pretty well but since thy play weekly at Tipitinas bar, I would guess that it just comes naturally to them, and the recording process had plenty of opportunities to be perfected.

As far as the music is concerned, The Revivalists are a funky New Orleans jazz/blues rock band, with elements of the brass band scene, and a modern rock band appeal. The vocalist has an interesting mealymouth sort of sound to his singing that sets him apart, and works really well with the rest of the players. They know how to make a melody, and on this album, make melodies they do indeed.

 The Revivalists - Live @ Tipitina's 7​-​30​-​10 

Psychic Teens – Halo

Band / Artist: Psychic Teens
Year: 2012
Genre: Industrial, Punk, Garage, Alternative Rock, Covers


My Review:
This is an album of Nine Inch Nails Covers. I was pretty surprised at how pleasing it was to listen to as a random garage-rock band cover album. This was a promo freebie to promote their own album, Teen.

Obviously the original Nine Inch Nails tracks are more awesome, but I was enjoying it. And any band that uses images from the Akira manga as their background for their name gets points in my book. If you like them and want to see more, go check out their blog here.
http://psychicteensnetwork.tumblr.com/

Psychic Teens – Halo

The LUVRS - Leave Me Alone

Band / Artist: The LUVRS
Year: 2012
Genre: Punk

My Review:

This is a metal-y southern punk band with a bit of a Texas or Alabama feel. They hail out of North Carolina. They have a blog here. http://theluvrs.blogspot.com/

This one might be a limited time promotional freebie, I'm not too sure. I was linked this by my friend Mac, and I’m sure he'd greatly appreciate a few downloads on account of his taste.


The LUVRS - Leave Me Alone