Watch: Alasdair Bouch – “Bed Of Happiness”

Alasdair Bouch

Folk blues artist Alasdair Bouch has released a music video for Bed Of Happiness a track off of his debut album titled First Person Singular. Bouch’s work is a combination of urban folk and blue-eyed soul which in turn produces melodic hook-filled tracks. With twenty years experience, his trademark confessional autobiographical tone is very much so present in his slower track, Bed Of Happiness. Watch the video below!

Alasdair Bouch has three albums in his discography so far which you can stream selected tracks of here and purchase on iTunes. Currently living in the Czech Republic, Bouch has played more than four hundred shows across Europe and has just released Third Time Lucky, which sees him take a more rhythm-‘n’-blues-infused rock style approach to his songwriting.

“Fans who came regularly to shows would pester me doggedly about particular songs by name, asking me when I would commit them to disc,“ says Alasdair.  “I’d been sitting on a lot of songs, waiting for the album with the right vibe, but the audience definitely helped out with the tracklist!  Then once I got the band in the rehearsal room, it quickly took shape.  Our new drummer Míra is a powerhouse – it clearly wasn’t going to be a quiet album!” Pick up a limited edition hand-numbered CD in record stores worldwide or get the digital version here. For more information follow him on Facebook and check out his Twitter and be sure to catch him on his European Summer Tour!

 

Watch: What Model Citizens – “Coming For Me”

What Model Citizens
Electroclash outfit, What Model Citizens have released a new video for their latest single, Coming For Me. The project consists of songwriter Alex Musto, and was created towards the end of 2009 as a means of exploring noise and feedback-heavy music grounded by a foundation in synth-rock. The video itself is quite odd and induces a sense of paranoia, but it’s definitely worth a watch and was shot at Bizarre Bar, Silent Barn, and various neighbourhoods around Brooklyn, NY. Coming For Me is the latest single in advance of a full-length album coming out later this fall. You can pick up his latest track along with the rest of his discography on What Model Citizens‘ Bandcamp page.

Review: Nations Afire – “The Ghosts We Will Become”

Nations Afire – “The Ghosts We Will Become”

 

Nations Afire

Released: July 2, 2013
Label: Hardline Entertainment
Purchase: Digital | CD

Nations Afire, an ensemble composed of music veterans from the groups Rise Against, Death Stereo, and Ignite, have recently released their debut album, The Ghosts We Will Become. No stranger to their music scene in California, the rock band seeks to spread their sound to a national–and global–level.

And perhaps that goal isn’t without reason either; with strong riffs and vocalist Nik Hill’s powerful, rough vocals (somewhat reminiscent of less nasal-y version of Alter Bridge‘s Myles Kennedy’s singing voice) that blend together well, nearly every song in the album possesses the headbanging energy people want. The songs without the hard rock gusto are no slouch either, instead choosing a more emotional approach, from comparatively heavy Nine Lives to entirely acoustic Even The Blackest Heart Still Beats.

Certain parts of the album, however, are weak. “I am an army coming through/I am a zombie over you/I can’t believe it, I want it so bad” in I Am an Army feels almost half-assed, and the opening line “And the wolves cry out again” in Wolves’ chorus seems to always drop the energy of an otherwise consistent song. Another issue with The Ghosts We Will Become is that it sounds too similar to the punk rock and hard rock scene. The beginnings of I Am an Army and One Perfect Day, for example, sound just like an intro from a song by Rise Against. The lyrics also read similar to Rise Against or Anti-Flag. Although the sound itself is more than satisfying, there aren’t any curve balls or segments that stand out as unique, which makes the album sit in the shadow of already established bands of the same genre.

Nevertheless, as a band’s debut album, The Ghosts We Will Become is a very strong start, and it is a positive indicator of Nations Afire’s talent and where it can go from here. As long as the band continues to develop their own sound and find its niche in the wildly popular rock genre which they jump into, it will no doubt end up in the spotlights.

7.5

Standout Tracks: “Occams Razor,” “Even The Blackest Heart Still Beats,” “Pick Up The Pieces”

Track listing:
01. I Am an Army
02. The Ghosts We Will Become
03. Nine Lives
04. One Perfect Day
05. In Absentia
06. Occams Razor
07. Even the Blackest Heart Still Beats
08. Pick Up the Pieces
09. Break Your Fall
10. The Legacy We Leave
11. The Concussionist
12. Wolves

Listen: Kodacrome – “Strike The Gold”

Kodacrome

Kodacrome is an electronic duo comprised of Elissa (vocals/synth) and Ryan (synth/electronics). The pair crafts fragmented pop with a warm electronic pulse, that features swells and lead lines which ring from synths and throats, alike. They harbor deep love for melodic composition, as well as the gorgeous dynamics of analog electronics. Kodacrome self released their debut EP Perla, in March 2012, which is available to stream below. The duo have now released the first single off of their upcoming album. You can download their new track titled Strike The Gold here. For more information check out their Facebook page and website.