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

Thinking ‘Bout You, Thinking ‘Bout Me

This is what you get when two YouTube singers collide; a cover of “Just a Dream” by Nelly. It was produced by Kurt Hugo Schneider, and performed by Christina Grimmie and Sam Tsui who made this song into a duet. I think this gave the song more depth seeing as how it is now being delivered from both the girl’s and boy’s perspective. I liked that in the cover the beginning introduction was done with merely the notes on the piano better than the original sound. The cover sounded more raw and intense. Although, at some points in the cover the vocals aren’t exactly perfect; sometimes the pitch has an awkward vibe when you’re listening. Nonetheless, I enjoyed listening to this rendition of Just a Dream.

This cover gets 2.9 Sexploding Ears out of 5.

CHECK IT OUT:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT8gcZh_42w