Yellowcard - City of Devils

Different music does different things for me.  Metal is the elixir of life, rap is for the gritty times, pop gives you a pulse...and then there's Yellowcard.  Lights and Sounds is one of my albums.  It's music that never sounds bad, and is always there to inspire the best ideas.  Seriously, guys.  The band has unfortunately gone a little downhill in the last two albums, but Lights and Sounds is their best work ever.  I'll give props to Ocean Avenue and Paper Walls, but Lights and Sounds is something else, and eventually all of the songs there will be here.  So let's keep it going, shall we?

"City of Devils" isn't one of their high-energy pop-punk pieces, but a slow and lovely orchestral-powered storm of awesome.  Yes, you got that right.  It's in the vein of the good Goo Goo Dolls songs, but still that sunny Florida rock we loved from Yellowcard back then.  Ryan Key has great strength to his voice when he takes it easy, and when that's mixed with the band's lovely violin and soft arrangements of the other instruments, you have a masterpiece.  On the album, it's the perfect compliment to the grand and lush tracks.  Some songs are soft, but there's still a punch packed in real tight for when you need it.

Children of Bodom - Scream For Silence

There's just something wonderful about death metal, and there's something even more wonderful about Finland's Children of Bodom.  I've been slowly getting into this band over the last few years, and every time I find something new, I love it even more.  Today's "Scream For Silence" is from the band's 2013 release Halo of Blood, but don't let the implied gore scare you away.  I actually find that Children of Bodom is a very approachable metal band, though not for everyone at the same time.  "Scream For Silence" is still a lush version of melodic death metal with a guitar arrangement that I would break for and harsh vocals from lead Alexi Laiho that are definitely harsh, as it should be.  Death metal isn't something you half-ass, and Children of Bodom puts everything they have into their work, and it shows in "Scream For Silence."  Looks like I've found myself another obsession.

Lea Michele - Cannonball

I've been a Lea Michele fan ever since Glee started in 2009, and though I don't follow the show as religiously as I used to, I can't discount that she has a voice for the ages.  Some people are born to sing, and she's one of them.  Her debut album Louder came out in March, and I've been sampling some songs here and there, but the lead single, "Cannonball," is the one that really jumped out at me.  On Glee she has a habit of sounding very theatrical and over-the-top (which is a part of her character, mind you), but on "Cannonball," Lea Michele is a refined sensation.  This is the way the pop music should always be done, because there's no way to go wrong.  "Cannonball" is pure beauty, and let's hope this voice isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

††† (Crosses) - †elepa†hy + †his is a †rick

Okay, this post is going to involve a lot of copying and pasting on my part, but work with me here.  The main thing you need to know about ††† (Crosses) is that it's the electro-rock side project of Chino Moreno (from Deftones!) and the guitarist from Far and a guy without any previous band.  There we go.  It's good music, of course, and it almost sounds like a modern take on nineties rock music to me.  Their self-titled album came out this year, their first full-length studio album, mind you, and it's chock-full of catchy ambient bits and pieces.

"†elepa†hy" does sound a little bit like it could be found on a Deftones album, maybe with more electric guitar and less keyboard work, but it's still deep-rooted in electronic rock.  It's soft, but it's a mysterious little bugger that could definitely be in a movie, serving as a track to be played during a set-up-the-big-plan montage.  "†his is a †rick" is less Deftones influence and more indie-electro (no wonder these guys were a hit on Rcrd Lbl back in the day).  This track ups the mysteriousness factor, but also makes use of some more electric guitar and builds to something stronger.  So on one hand, you have something a little more classic and familiar if you're a Deftones fan, but you also have something different to work with too, for the adventurous souls.  As well, these are only two tracks from an album of fifteen, so who knows what you'll make of the rest of the album...?

Diabulus In Musica - Inner Force

Now for something in the same vein as Nightwish, and why not?  There is plenty of great symphonic metal out there that's worth taking a look at, and it's not all a carbon copy of one band.  Diabulus In Musica is a Spanish band, new territory for me, but if this is what they're doing in Spain, then sign me up for the next plane over there!  I find that their sound in "Inner Force" is a little Nightwish, a little Amaranthe, and a touch of Within Temptation, but they're still doing their own thing.  Zuberoa Aznarez has a very lovely operatic voice on the verses, but the chorus of "Inner Force" is toned down nicely, giving some more variation.  The instrumental work is classic symphonic with some more technical keyboard work, and that's what reminds me of Amaranthe in the end.  Comparisons aside, however, "Inner Force" is a great song from the genre, and gives me another band to obsess over.  Where can we go wrong?

Nightwish - Creek Mary's Blood

This blog can never have enough Nightwish, and that's the rule if there ever will be one.  We'll give Tarja some time to shine today though, by looking at Once, definitely my favourite album with her on vocal duties.  I've featured a couple of the songs from this album before, but today we'll get a little weird.  Really, that's not a word I would use to describe any incarnation of the band, but "Creek Mary's Blood" might be one of their strangest songs, but in the best way.  While it's still symphonic metal, the band makes use of a lot of Native American elements, including vocals and flute work from John Two-Hawks.  It's something that really stands out from a vast sea of generic symphonic music, and "Creek Mary's Blood" becomes something that is both epic, but also very mysterious and worldly.  It's strange, sure, because it's not something they did regularly back then, and even now, but these tracks are what give the band something special.  "Creek Mary's Blood" is definitely special.

Chevelle - One Ocean

Obviously I was going to buy Chevelle's new album, La Gárgola, when it came out last Tuesday.  That was a given.  I went to the mall, picked it up, took the bus back home, and began to process of a thorough listen...and I was surprised.  Was it a pleasant surprise?  Maybe not at first.  It was Chevelle, but I didn't know if it was the lush and organic-sounding Chevelle that I knew and loved.  This incarnation of the band's music is familiar, closer to their Wonder What's Next and This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) days, but there's something quite different about it at the same time.  It's...it's...mature.  Grown-up, even.  It has traces of Tool and some other progressive metal mixed in with their usual alternative rock, and though it took me a few days to really get into it, once I did...I was in for life.

"One Ocean" is probably the closest song to their old styles, which may be why it stood out to me early on, but you can hear the difference here too.  Now it's a little darker and mysterious, but in the chorus I can hear the way things used to be, though it's closer to the minimalist approach of Hats Off To The Bull instead of the lush power from Sci-Fi Crimes.  We still get lyrical power, flawless instruments and vocals from Mr. Loeffler that pull at my heartstrings anymore.  Everyone has to grow up one day, and Chevelle has become quite charming and mature this time around.  Hats off to them for changing things up, because every one of their albums brings something new to the table, and perhaps a complete listen-through of everything is in order now.

Brandy - What About Us

Along the lines of "Sick of Being Lonely," Brandy is another old-school hip-hop fave of mine from the early days of the 2000's.  When I wasn't watching her on Moesha, I was watching the "What About Us" video in the winter of early 2002, and the chorus has literally been stuck in my head since.  Yes, I'm telling the truth about that.  I'm not really familiar with a lot of her music anymore, but what I like now about "What About Us" is the techno-electro-hip-hop feel that it has to it.  It's something you can move your shoulders to, but there's just something futuristic about it to me.  Brandy's voice is just lovely too, and I think this will be another case of music that is permanently ingrained in my head.  Not that I mind one bit...

Abba - Mamma Mia

Something I like to say a lot is that you cannot listen to Abba and be unhappy.  No matter how stressful the day may be, Abba will make it better.  I swear.  So it's about time that I got my favourite Swedish pop band on the blog.  "Mamma Mia" is from the 1975 self-titled album, but you probably know that it's also the name of the musical that was based off of the Abba catalogue, and the movie.  Meryl Streep owned it during her rendition, but the original is still special to me.  "Mamma Mia" is definitely one of my favourites from the group.  It might be because it's terribly infectious (in the best possible way), but the uplifting lyrics, instrumentals and vocals that are neither over-the-top or blending into the background.  Abba did pop right in the 70's, I can tell you that.  And what you know?  I'm feeling happier already.

Turisas - For Your Own Good

Out of Finland, Turisas is a band you should be listening to if you like anything in the vein of folk metal.  They remind me of Ensiferum-meets-Nightwish (and maybe just a touch of Avenged Sevenfold), and it's a unique sound, but it also has that familiarity.  I wouldn't steer you wrong here.  And you can't say no to electric violin, and in today's case, jazzy piano.  Yes, it can be done.  "For Your Own Good" is the lead single from 2013's Turisas2013 album, and with good reason.  It may not be as folky as some of their earlier work that I'm more familiar with, and I can imagine some fans would be up in arms about it, but I like it.  It still has the metal you love, but it's just delivered in a different way.  This is why I want to compare them to Avenged Sevenfold, but Turisas is less horror rock and more power-folk-symphonic-all-the-good-stuff.  Though "For Your Own Good" can be different, different can also be good at the same time....or very very very good.

Rush - A Passage to Bangkok

I like my new music, but more often than not I need some classics to get me through the day, and Rush is always the answer to life's problems.  I was first introduced to the band years ago, when my brother first began his obsession with classic rock and songs like "A Passage to Bangkok" were always on repeat at our house.  Some things stick if you listen to them enough, so here we are now.  I Love You Man also fueled this a little more too, just saying.  "A Passage to Bangkok" is a journey through the 70's, with drug-fueled night aplenty.  Geddy Lee's voice is also perfect...if I was alive in the 70's he would have been my Rody Walker or Ben Kowalewicz.  We also have awesome guitar and drum work thanks to Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, and together, it makes "A Passage to Bangkok" a trip.  No, not a drug trip, but actually a lovely adventure through rock.  Classics are songs that people keep coming back to decades later, and this, my friends, is a classic and a half.

Field Mob - Sick of Being Lonely

You can really only call a song a throwback if it mentions using a pager, and that's what's happening here with Field Mob's "Sick of Being Lonely."  I was in the fourth grade when I first heard "Sick of Being Lonely" while watching BET and staying at my Oma's house when I was too sick to go to school.  106 & Park was what I always looked forward to watching on cable when I was there, and I can really credit that to my love of rap music back then, and the love that has grown into what I have now.  Though my favourite rap is a little different than it used to be, finding "Sick of Being Lonely" again was like taking a step back in time.

When I was younger, I really enjoyed the hook sung by Ciara (apparently I never knew it was her before...), and the southern drawl of Field Mob (which I know is true because I was a huge Nelly fan back then too).  Now, that southern rap sound still gets me, and that hook is just as catchy.  Some things last twelve years into the future, what can I say?  "Sick of Being Lonely" is indicative early 2000's rap, but these days I'm one for the sputtering background beats, rough rap that still sounds slick, and lovely hooks.  Some things never change.

Violent Femmes - Good Feeling

My favourite Violent Femmes album has slowly but surely become their self-titled effort from 1983.  I don't know if it's just the overall lovely melancholy of the album and the always-infectious classics that are a part of it, but something about it had just reeled me in for more.  First "Please Do Not Go," and now "Good Feeling."  What's next?  Well, we'll have to see, but today, let's stay on track.  "Good Feeling" has that lovely-yet-desperate yearning to it, mixed with soft acoustic guitars and a little keyboard here and there.  It's a delicate little thing, but one that will warm up to you in no time at all.  Besides, Gordon Gano is just as awesome when he's soft and vulnerable as when he's quirky and exciting, like in "Blister In The Sun," for example.  This another one those less-is-more instances, though Violent Femmes are never doing too much.  More is less, for them, and "Good Feeling" is a classic that I won't be moving on from any time soon.

Lana Del Rey - Get Drunk

First off, I have to prepare everyone because I bought the new Chevelle album today...so expect lots of talk about that very soon.

Then we have today's song, another selection by the lovely Lana Del Rey, and it's most likely one that you've never heard.  She seems to have a lot of music out there that's never been officially released, but that's okay, because I've somehow seemed to have acquired most of it.  "Get Drunk" isn't from an album or collection of unreleased songs, per say, but kind of fits in with the acoustic May Jailer work that I've mentioned before.  It's not as Jewel as those songs, though, and has a little hint of her more recent style of music, even if she's only singing with an acoustic guitar.  Though she does well with opulence in music, her minimal stuff is just as great.  "Get Drunk" is lyrically strong and has quite the dark energy to it, with Lana nearly breathing how do you like me now? over and over.  Lana manages to be dreary but wonderful at the same time, and it's the inner complexities that make up "Get Drunk" that makes it a thing of beauty.  Minimal beauty, but beauty nonetheless.

Cigarettes and robitussen, will I ever get to heaven?

Billy Talent - Burn The Evidence

While we're on the topic of guilty pleasure music, then my biggest guilty pleasure in music is Billy Talent, especially their second album.  We've probably been down this road before, but I'll say it again.  Their alternative rock is always catchy and always wonderfully crafted, and Ben Kowalewicz's voice always speaks to me (I've probably mentioned this before too, but the band went to the same high school as my boyfriend, though at different times, of course).  So even if they're not the band you'll get street cred for liking, I'll still be enjoying the band.  Today's track, "Burn The Evidence," comes from that lovely second album, and it's kind of dark and creepy, but it has the same elements you expect from the ban (the chanting-like thing they do on the chorus...you either love it or hate it).  "Burn The Evidence" is the last track on Billy Talent II, and I always vouch for the final track being a little weird, and the band definitely did that.  It doesn't sound like their bread-and-butter songs do, and maybe that's why I like it so much.  I am one who enjoys the weirder things in life.

Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX - Fancy

Now and then I have music that falls into the guilty pleasure pile, and Iggy Azalea is in that pile.  Her poppy brand of hip-hop and rap is a breath of fresh air, and if she's collaborating with Charli XCX (that darling angel pop princess), then who am I to turn down something like "Fancy"?  The video is a good throwback to those days I'd watch Clueless when I got home from school, but the music is something else.  "Fancy" isn't as proper as the title may lead on.  Iggy has a great throaty voice that gives her rap a dirty (but good kind of dirty) quality.  Combined with some minimal-electro backing beats and Charli on the chorus and bridge, "Fancy" is nothing but a good time.  Though Charli may not be up to the vocal abilities she's at on her own, it works here, and there's nothing I can really complain about, other than the fact that I want to watch Clueless now...

Dice Raw - Never Be A Gangsta

I'm a Dice Raw fan, though I think that's a given here, so I was surprised to have missed out on Jimmy's Back until now.  It came out last August, and centered around themes of incarceration and jail time, it's good.  Real good.  The Greatest Rapper Never Vol. 1 was good too, don't get me wrong, but there's something different about this album.  It has a different charm to it, and has a bit more grit, while still retaining the minimal-no-theatrics feel that'll reel you in and keep you there.  Today it was either going to be "Run Away" or "Never Be A Gangsta," so I guess you'll be waiting to see what I have to say about "Run Away."

"Never Be A Gangsta" is deceivingly simple, but overwhelmingly wonderful.  The big percussion beats of the background, spoken word overlay about the prison system, and the chorus's hook of what's a boy to do if I'll never be a gangster are the perfect compliment to Dice's slick rhymes.  In the rap genre, there's definitely merit in keeping things simple and staying true to the music.  Dice Raw proves that you don't need to go over-the-top to achieve greatness.  "Never Be A Gangsta" is cool, catchy, and just has something special that keeps you coming back.

Caracol - Shiver

There seems to be a pattern in French artists who perform songs in English...it's good!  Like Cats In Trees, Caracol (a.k.a Quebec's Carole Facal) has it down pat with "Shiver," which was free on Itunes some time ago, and that I only fully began to appreciate when it came on during the shuffled library play (a pattern for myself to follow, it would seem).  "Shiver" is boho-indie-folk-pop, and though that may sound complicated, never fear!  It's got that 70's charm to it, with that tambourine and folky elements, but it's also modern enough to fit right in with the indie of 2014.  Carole Facal kind of channels Alanis Morissette in "Knees of My Bees" and a little bit of Stevie Nicks, if you must ask, but it's her sweet vocals and whenever she says shiver that sends, well, a shiver up my spine.  And after a long and busy week with nothing but rain and snow, that shiver is welcome.

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

Though "G.U.Y." seems to be the big thing right now, I'm still jamming to an older incarnation of Lady Gaga.  "Bad Romance" was the song that really got me into Mother Monster, and I'm still obsessed with it.  Even back then, she was artfully creating pop music.  "Bad Romance" definitely has a lot to it too, but she does it with such mastery and grace that everything works.  It's weird, definitely, and a dark kind of pop that can be hard to find these days.  Well, if you want weird, you'll have to watch the music video, but I remember watching it over and over again when I was a teenager, jaw dropped at every outfit she pulled out (that rocket bra at the end...where can I get one?) and getting ra ra ah ah ah roma romama gaga ooh la la stuck in my head for days at a time.  Though I listened to The Fame when it came out, the Lady Gaga I really fell for was in "Bad Romance," but at the heart of it, the romantic affair I have with this song is anything but bad.

Arch Enemy - War Eternal

Let's finish a week's worth of metal by talking about some big news in the metal world right now.  Alissa White-Gluz, former lead singer of The Agonist, has replaced Angela Gossow as lead singer of Arch Enemy.  Wait...what?  What!?  I only found this out a few days ago, and I'm still shocked.  Angela is remaining with the band as the business manager, but The Agonist has got themselves a new lead that I'll have to check out soon too.  I'll admit to being wary at the announcement, because this was going to turn into a death metal version of Tarja vs. Anette.  Alissa is good, but taking over Arch Enemy is quite the task.  Then "War Eternal" came out...and I was proven wrong.

"War Eternal" isn't the Arch Enemy I'm familiar with, but something a little more melodic, and more suited to Alissa.  Then again, it's only one song, so who knows what the new album is going to give us.  I like the fast-paced guitar work, personally, because it makes the whole thing catchy.  And if there's one thing I like in a melodic metal song, it's that it needs to be infectious.  At the helm, Alissa's growling is still wonderful, but now it's a little more refined, showing that our Canadian metal princess is all grown up and ready to take on the world.  I look forward to seeing how Arch Enemy shapes her, and how she shapes Arch Enemy.  "War Eternal" is proof that though some shoes may be intimidating to fill, there's nothing wrong with growing into them.