Album # 15 Until There's Nothing Left - Kill Hannah

Two Line review:

A very good emo/rock/pop album that was recommended to me by my friend as I dropped her off at school. I have had the album for quite some time, and after listening to it in it's entirety it's one I will definately listen to again.

Recommended downloads: "Lips Like Morphine," "Love You To Death," "Crazy Angel."

What I was doing while listening: Driving to and from work.

Missed Out Rating: 3 out of 5 Missed Outs.

Album # 9 Narrow Stairs - Death Cab For Cutie

Almost at album #10 for the year. For those that don't know Death Cab For Cutie, you're certainly missing out. A very melodic kind of rock that some may say borders on the whole emo movement. Singer Ben Gibbards lyrics are certainly emotional and always revealing but this band deserves much more than just the emo tag. This is the bands latest release and as with most of the music I listen to deals with good relationships and bad relationships. The album contains 11 songs and honestly I can't think of one that I did not enjoy. It opens up with a sleepy, dreamy track called "Bixby Canyon Bridge" which is so beautiful you'll have to wonder whether you're dreaming or not. The second song and one of my favorites makes the stalker in all of us seem like a pretty cool person, it's called "I Will Posses Your Heart." Though I'm certain anyone who has ever been stalked may not appreciate the song, the song is done in quite a tasteful manner. "Twin Size Bed," is a great break up song detailing the ex-girlfriends desire to own a twin size bed as opposed to a queen, since the queen made her feel too alone. Another one of my favorite songs is "Grapvine Fires" which tells the story of being on a romantic date with his girlfriend and her daughter all while watching from afar the fires that burnt much of Los Angeles a few years ago. For the melodic fans out there, the album is filled with some of the most beautiful guitars and pianos you'll ever hear. I would recommend you buy the entire album and if you like it, take the time to look through the rest of their catalogue of great music.

Recommended downloads: "I Will Posses Your Heart," "Twin Size Bed," "Talking Bird," "Grapvine Fires," "The Ice Is Getting Thinner."

What I was doing while listening: Driving to and from work. (once again in the cold Ca rain)





Missed Out Rating: 4 out of 5 Missed Outs

Album # 5 Heroine - From First To Last

So I've made it through my first 5 albums of 2009! I must say, this is quite a challenge, since I'm so used to always skipping around my 160GB iPod that I very rarely let an entire album play. One thing this little project is doing for me is allowing me to see what I might like to clean up off the iPod. For example, the 11 songs on this album from hardcore screamo/emo band From First To Last would probably be cut down to about 2 songs. I am a huge fan of their debut cd with vocalist Sonny Moore who has a pretty good set of lungs to scream all his teenage angst out with. Yet on this album I was only able to find about two songs that I may ever listen to again. The album starts off with a pretty good screaming screecher called "Mothersound." I hate to say it just heads south from there. Normally this is the kind of album I may give an unlistenable rating to, however since I enjoyed two songs out of the eleven, I'll give it a two missed outs. Don't worry, no need to go out and buy this album. Also Sonny Moore, which was about the only redeeming quality of this band is no longer in the band. Their latest release doesn't include him, but has a new lead singer. Though at some point this year I may listen to their debut album "Dear Diary My Teenage Angst Has A Bodycount," I'm pretty much done with these guys.


SIDE NOTE: I found this very interesting. I just read a review on Amazon about the album and to save you time here it is:

FROM AMAZON.COM: When I first heard From First To Last's sophomore album "Heroine", I can admit I was totally turned off. After one listen I shelved the cd away never to see the light of day again. Now this could be my own fault because in my mind I hyped the cd up way too much. I mean with Ross Robinson producing what was promised to be FFTL's "darkest and most impressive effort yet", I had to have high expectations. However if I would have reviewed this album the day I got it, I probably would have given it a 1 star horrid review, and thankfully from my experience I learned not to. Actually to my surprise "Heroine" really began to attach itself to me, and I can't explain why. While it has little in common with the previous screamo/posthardcore persona that the band used to maintain, the album is indeed a progressive stepping stone in the group's evolution. After giving it a second chance and that much needed time to work its ways on me, I actually discovered I liked the album quite a bit, if not just for its oddity. With all complaints and skepticism aside, "Heroine" is probably one of the strangest, yet addicting listens you're likely to have this year.

***With that said, maybe I should start listening to albums two or three times before I review them. Eh, maybe not, who cares! But you can buy it at Amazon.com below for .16 cents so give it a shot!

Recommended downloads: "Mothersound," "Waltz Moore."

What I was doing while listening to: Driving to and from work.

Missed Out Rating: 2 Missed Outs out of 5

Album # 2 Lies For The Liars - The Used

The Used are a band I have been listening to for about five years. They always have kept me entertained and have provided me with one of the best live shows I saw last year. "Lies For The Liars" is their latest release, it came out in 2007. I saw The Used last February at Kat Von D's MUSINK tattoo festival and was dissapointed that I wasn't familiar with a lot of their new tunes. Well, I guess I should have listened to this album in it's entirety back then. There are several memorable songs on the album that make you want to get up and jump around, while at the same time grabbing random things and throwing them against the wall. The Used in my opinion, would be best described as a hard rock band, but their certainly is lots of emo and pop thrown in and I'm not sure many can scream the way lead singer Bert screams. For me the most memorable and best songs on the album were "Pretty Handsome Awkward," The Bird And The Worm," "With Me Tonight," "Liar Liar(Burn In Hell)," and "Smother Me." So if you are so inclined to just try a few songs off iTunes, start with any one of those. Most songs on this album seem to deal with relationships going bad "Liar Liar(Burn In Hell), and being totally in love "Smother Me." Then songs like "The Bird And The Worm" will just kind of throw you for a loop.

Unfortunately there are about four forgettable songs and this leads me knock off about 1.5 missed outs on the rating, but overall it's still a very good album.

Recommended Downloads: "Pretty Handsome Awkward," "The Bird And The Worm," "With Me Tonight," "Liar,Liar(Burn In Hell)," "Smother Me."

What I was doing while listening: Driving to and from work.

Missed Out Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Missed Outs