EA: Fall Apart

"I want you to fall apart, like I did. You to hurt for all of this. All the pain you put me through. I wanna hear you say I don't deserve you." 

Every Avenue's new song "Fall Apart", from their new album 'Bad Habits', hits home. It's that song that you sing when you're having a fight with that person you love and don't feel appreciated, or even after you break up. The lyrics are telling that person the you want to be treated right because you know you're worth it, and you want them to see in you what you see in yourself. I like when artists have songs this intimate because it shows you that even though they're famous and have a different lifestyle they still go through the same troubles as regular teenagers; they still love, and they still get their hearts broken.

I love the lead singer Dave's voice, and I always have, ever since 'Think of You Later' from "SHH, Just Go With It'. Every Avenue is a more than great band, with lyrics that make you think and sometimes go a little crazy. We'll done boys.

Some other wicked songs by them are: Think of You Later(Empty Room), No One But You, Tell Me I'm A Wreck, Days of the Old, and Miserably Loving You.

Every Avenue gets 4.3 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

CHECK THEM OUT:

http://www.purevolume.com/everyavenue/albums/SHH.+Just+Go+With+It

http://twitter.com/#!/EveryAvenue

http://www.youtube.com/user/EveryAvenue

Boyce Avenue

Boyce Avenue; it's quite possible that they are the greatest cover artists out there right now. The first cover that caught my attention was Grenade, originally by Bruno Mars. I like the original, don't get me wrong, but the way Boyce Avenue sings it is so raw. Boyce Avenue slowed down the song and even though he didn't write the lyrics it seems like each word is killing him; it's so much passion, it's intoxicating. In this cover, the violins are very prominent and I love the sound of strings. The first time I heard this cover his voice actually left me speechless, it was so amazing.

Some other amazing covers by Boyce Avenue are: I'll Be -Edward McCain, Perfect - Pink, Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol, Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon and the list goes on.

Boyce Avenue you get 4.8 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

Listening to Boyce Avenue will be the best decision you've made all day!

CHECK IT OUT:

http://www.purevolume.com/BoyceAvenue

http://www.myspace.com/boyceavenue

http://twitter.com/#!/boyceavenue

I Know It's Not Christmas

I know it's not Christmas but I just came across the cutest Christmas song. One of my favourite bands, Artist Vs. Poet, wrote a song called Christmas With You. Artist Vs. Poet has a knack for making your heartache with how adorable or intense their songs are. This song is a slow, melodic love song; it's one of those songs where you just can't help smiling when your listening to it and thinking of that person that always pops into your head when you hear the word 'love'. If you serenaded a girl with this song you would have her in the palm of your hand without a doubt. The lead vocalist Tarcy Thomason's voice is magnificent.
Some other songs you should check out are : Assurance, Closure, Damn Rough Night, Alive, All In, Miserably Loving You, and Lisa Marie.

I can honestly say these boys make my life with their music <3.

Artist Vs. Poet gets 4.6 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

CHECK THEM OUT:

http://www.purevolume.com/new/artistvspoet

http://www.myspace.com/artistvspoet

http://twitter.com/#!/ArtistVsPoet

Taking Back Sunday

Two words: GREAT BAND. Taking Back Sunday has been playing since 1999 and I love them. They seem to always know how to please. Their new song Faith (When I Let You Down), which is featured in the Transformers 3 soundtrack is simple but satisfying, in the sense that it has the generic breakdown between verses and chorus but it's still an awesome song. Even though I'm more partial to their older music from the albums 'Tell All Your Friends' and 'Where You Want To Be', this song is still an enjoyable listen. The first time I heard the song Faith (When I Let You Down) these lyrics stuck with me: "You could lose your faith in music, or lose faith in your friends. You could lose your faith in breathing, feel trapped in your own skin. Oh, but I'll be right there beside you when the walls are caving in."

Some other songs you should check out by Taking Back Sunday are: El Paso, Make Damn Sure, CUTE Without The E, You're So Last Summer, and Summer Man. This is a band you don't want to let pass you by.

Taking Back Sunday gets 4.3 Sexploding Ears out of 5.


CHECK THEM OUT:

http://www.purevolume.com/new/takingbacksunday

http://twitter.com/#!/TBSOfficial

http://www.myspace.com/takingbacksunday

Horchata

This is where my taste in music ventures from what I usually write about. Vampire Weekend is an indie/punk band; everything about their music is glorious. It's upbeat, relaxing, and to sum it all up it's just fun! The song I chose this time is called "Horchata", off of their album "Contra". The lyrics are funny because for the most part they don't make sense, they're very sporadic; they mesh with my character and so I really enjoy listening to them. Vampire Weekend is a random band! Their sound is so original it's hard not to like it on some level. If your feeling daring, have a listen to some of my favourites off of "Contra": Diplomat's Son, I Think You're A Contra, Cousins, and Giving Up The Gun.

There's always that moment when you hear a new band or a new song and you wonder how you functioned before you heard them... this is one of those bands.

Vampire Weekend you get 4.3 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

CHECK THEM OUT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkUQ-OBazbc

http://www.purevolume.com/vampireweekend1

http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend

To Move On Is To Grow

We Came As Romans is a brilliant band; I saw them in concert when they opened for A Day To Remember last time they were in Toronto. I had heard them before that night but seeing a band live always changes my perception of them forever (in this case for the better). The song I keep playing in my head most recently is "To Move On Is To Grow". Staying true to their Hardcore/Screamo sound, this song combines harsh and clean vocals with a crisp tempo that keeps you entranced, which is what usually attracts me to a band. I like when a song gets your blood pumping, We Came As Romans always seems to create that rush for me. "When we wake up to the lives that we've created, we'll see we built nothing... but destroyed it." I love this line, it's kind of like a slap in the face... if you're unfortunate enough to relate to it.

We Came As Romans gets 4.2 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

Well done boys ;)

CHECK OUT THIS SONG:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OSSI5hgQVo

CHECK OUT THEIR OTHER SONGS:

http://www.purevolume.com/wecameasromans

http://www.myspace.com/WECAMEASROMANS

Woe Is Me

Woe Is Me is a band that actually got my head turning, and they captivated me. I love their style of music. Delinquents and Desolate are by far my favourite songs off of their newest album. When Desolate first starts the vocals transcend from low to a louder more vibrant sound. I like the different levels between the two vocalists. The lyrics that really grab my attention are: "Wouldn't you say that the world has spit on you enough. Unanswered prayers, sleeping under streetlights, and I don't understand the danger of talking them up every night. You salvage every skyline. Only enough so that you might have the chance to feel fine." Even though the melody seems slow and rhythmic you can still feel the underlying emotions through the vocals. 

Delinquents on the other hand, has a different feel. Delinquents starts out with a quick tempo right away and even though the lyrics are being scaremed it still feels composed in all its madness. I love the combination of the chorus; it is composed of clean vocals and they're calm, but the background tempo still stays the same. My favourite lyrics from Delinquents are"Your mind is like a candle stick, my ambitions are constantly burning out. Behind every mask, lies a man, who can't live in his own skin. He lives by the flask, he bathes in his past, and he dies by his own sins." If you like some of the bands I've posted before (mainly ADTR) then you will definitely like this amazing band, Woe Is Me.

I give Woe Is Me 4 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

CHECK THEM OUT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FfKX9WijtY

http://www.myspace.com/Woeisme

http://www.purevolume.com/WoeIs/photos/3222667

Have Faith in Me

A Day To Remember is my favourite band by far and I’m honoured that I have the ability to write about them. Even though it’s hard for me to pick one song that I love the most, I settled on “Have Faith In Me”; it’s one of my favourite tracks off of the Homesick album. Every A Day To Remember song gets your blood flowing and pumps you up, this song in particular has the ability to raise your spirits while also playing on your heart strings. When I’m listening to ‘Have Faith In Me’ I’m not singing along, I tend to be screaming, especially the lyrics “I said I’d never let you go and I never did. I said I’d never let you fall and I always meant it. If you didn’t have this chance then I never did. You’ll always find me right there again.” One reason why A Day To Remember is one of my favourite bands is because with each song they invoke passion and it claims all of your attention. Their music also has the ability to bring people together. At their concert on April 14^th last year the whole audience was screaming the lyrics in unison and at the end there was a sense of awe over the crowd; hundreds of people all came together to hear one band, it was amazing. If you’ve never heard of A Day To Remember, click the link below; you will not regret listening to this song.

I give A Day To Remember 5 Sexploding Explodings Ears out of 5.

Check It Out:

http://www.myspace.com/adaytoremember/music

One Last Time (Darlin’ II)

At different points in my life, I always find myself discovering that a song I’ve listened to a million times, now sounds completely different. It could be that I matured, it could be that I wasn’t always really listening intently, or maybe it could be because of an event that altered my perceptions of the song. I’ve listened to the song “One Last Time (Darlin’ II)” by the band Between The Trees so many times that every lyric and change in melody is imprinted into my brain. But today, as I listened, it wasn’t as I had always remembered; it now has a direct connotation to recent events that keep playing back in my head. “All that I know is you changed something in me, I envy the power you have”, this lyric is key for two reasons. Firstly, it plays in perfectly with the theme of change in music. Secondly, I appreciate it because I have been changed by someone, unintentionally, but they’re the reason why I hear this song differently than I used to. Between The Trees is an extremely talented band, and the music they create is overwhelming. The rise and fall of vocals and the harmonies are silencing; in the sense that it’s hard to find words to say to describe how glorious they are.

Between the Trees gets 4.5 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

Check It Out:

http://www.purevolume.com/betweenthetrees

Today Was A Fairytale

When I see “Today Was a Fairytale” I think of Taylor Swift’s upbeat country love song. That is defiantly not what I got when I saw Amyst’s cover of this song.  Taylor Swift and Amyst are what you call polar opposites. Yet, I like their version for the sheer fact that I like a screamo post hardcore sound and growling. I think it’s pretty awesome when a band does a cover of a song from a completely different genre then what they're used to. I like to hear the different variations of songs; Amyst definitely performed “Today was a Fairytale” differently, to say the least. In the introduction, the vocals are okay, and when it gets to the first set of growling you kind of get lost and forget what song it is, but once you pass that point you can feel the connection between this version and the original. The addition of the techno beats at about 2:30 minutes threw me off the first time I listened to it, but when I listened to it again you can see that the change blends and somewhat lightens up the intensity of the song; making it like the more composed original version. All in all, Amyst’s version of “Today Was a Fairytale” was intriguing.

Well done Amyst, you get 4 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

Check It Out:

http://www.purevolume.com/amyst

http://www.facebook.com/amystmusic

Oh My Arcadia!

If you’re looking for something mind blowing, listen up! I heard this band a while ago, and the more songs of theirs I listen to the more I love them; I don’t use ‘love’ lightly. My Arcadia is an amazing, spectacular, and outstanding band. “The Messenger” and “Lulea” are by far my favourite songs; the acoustic versions are beautiful too. In the acoustic versions, the female vocals are so crisp yet undefined, like nothing is being held back. In the original versions, the music is ruthless; you feel a passion arising inside of you as the tune melts into your ears, your mind, and your heart. Both “The Messenger” and “Lulea” leave you wanting more the moment the music stops.  

My Arcadia you get 4.7 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

Check it Out:

http://www.purevolume.com/new/myarcadia

^^Free Download of Lulea

Good Evening London

Number 4 on the list of the Top Unsigned Bands of 2010 is Madeira. They have an alternative rock sound with easily relatable lyrics. “I’ve been waiting so long for someone to sing a new song”, the vocals in Good Evening London do just that; they have an interesting resonance that I haven’t heard before. After the guitar solo, during the bridge there is a subtle echo in the background, it gave a different tone to the song and I thought it was pretty cool. Madeira you’ve earned and deserve your spot on the list of Top Unsigned Bands of 2010.

You get 4.5 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

Check It Out:

http://www.purevolume.com/new/madeiraband

^free download

La La Love in 2011

This is the first non-cover I decided to post; what better way to start of the New Year than with a powerpop acoustic melody by Taylor Thrash.  This is one of those songs that you sing to the person you love, or your biggest crush to make show them how much you like them.  The bubbly vocals and upbeat tempo easily put a smile on your face. I don’t have anything bad to say about this song. You made my day Taylor Thrash.

You get 4.5 Sexploding ears out of 5.

Check It Out:

http://www.purevolume.com/new/TaylorThrash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_z1sCqALKc

http://www.myspace.com/taylorthrash