what is the sound of truth?
August 20, 2009 Leave a comment
I’m come a long way from dismissing Showbread as crazy and weird to loving their sound and Josh Dies’s songwriting and admiring their dedicated fans. After last year’s double-concept Anorexia / Nervosa, Showbread returns to a more traditional album with The Fear Of God.
December 23, 2010 Leave a comment
My Favorite EPs
I felt like I heard more EPs this year than in all my previous years combined, due to both the dwindling resources within the music industry and my continued personal trending toward less established musicians. But, seriously, man, everyone from hardcore The Devil Wears Prada to electronica Andy Hunter put out an EP this year. I also listened to a lot of music from the non-profit, ministry-minded Come&Live, whose artists come up with their own resources through fans. I will always prefer the length and completeness of the album format, and I hope it doesn’t go away, but frankly, four or five song recordings are way easier, quicker, and cheaper than full albums, and as long as record sales continue to plummet, I think the EP is here to stay.
Honorable Mentions: Bradley Hathaway – A Thousand Angry Panthers, Andy Hunter – Collide
5. Oh Brother – The Death of Day
Moving progressive post-rock or whatever
4. Josh Ehrmann – Stone’s Throw
Reflective indie songwriter
3. Enlou – Body of Water, Body of Friends
Indie rock or whatever
2. Lovelite – Nearness
Euro-synth-pop lounge worship
My full review for Nearness
EP OF THE YEAR
1. The Ember Days – Finger Painting
Fantastic worship disguised as a lush, ambient, soft pillow that is mostly instrumental. This EP would be top 10 if I mixed it in with the full albums. With a strong execution of Explosions-In-The-Sky-type guitars topped with strings and light vocals, every second of its thirty-one minutes is ripe for quiet worship, prayer, or simple rest and refreshment. And it’s free off ComeAndLive.com, although it’s totally worth a donation.
My full review for Finger Painting
December 14, 2010 2 Comments
2010 was an interesting year for music. I didn’t buy as many albums as last year’s 40-50, but I still found a lot of enjoyable stuff from a variety of styles. I joined the staff of IndieVisionMusic.com reviewing albums, and I get to have my top albums list posted on there sometime in the coming days. For now, though, here’s a little teaser with my 10 favorite songs of the year:
November 27, 2010 Leave a comment
Looking for something new? Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately…
Artist: Josh Ehrmann
Album: Stone’s Throw (November 20, 2010)
Style: Reflective indie-rock songwriter
This young musician sounds perfectly at home with his acoustic guitar in this small collection of simply crafted songs. Offering honest reflections on surrender, silence, and unity, Josh writes with a wisdom more in line with his influences than his peers, whether he’s singing softly or shouting passionately. His sound is most reminiscent of the softer side of As Cities Burn (whose Cody and Aaron helped produce the album, and they make a few musical appearances). Timbre’s harp and harmonies provide additional aural beauty. It’s a shame some of the songs are so short, and sometimes I wish he’d let the precious grooves linger, but the humble songwriter is fast growing in experience and confidence. This is his first official release, and I hope it’s not the last.
Standout Lyric: I see so many words on blank pages
I hear the most when no one speaks
And all the noise that I fill my days with
It’s getting old. I love the silence in between…
Oh, God, if I ever say too much, just cut me off
Standout Lyric II: Well I wasted all my energy just staring at a computer screen
And now I’d love to fall asleep in my bed so I can dream
of doing all the things I should have done while I was awake…
So would you take all of my apathy and turn it into unending passion
In Case It Interests You: Josh Ehrmann is known as a Christian.
STREAM SOME TRACKS: myspace.com/joshsounds
If You Only Have 3 Minutes: Check out “Twenty“
Artist: The Chariot
Album: Long Live (November 23, 2010)
Style: Experimental hardcore
Despite switching labels as the latest band to abandon their T&N roots, Long Live picks up right where Wars And Rumors Of Wars left off with The Chariot’s unique brand of controlled chaos. There’s no such thing as a verse or chorus here: guitars feedback in harmony or conspire with the pounding drums and crashing cymbals to weave in and out of Josh Scogin’s emotive vocal delivery of his lines of grace and revolution. The rushing rhythms abruptly break over each other like colossal waves, periodically pausing on the intervening outbreaks of a harp (yep, Timbre again), accordion, beat poetry, or a rousing choral expression. Some of the tracks are randomly named for devoted fans – just another example of The Chariot’s expectedly unexpected creativity and community spirit. If you can get past the abrasive edges, don’t neglect to dive into this inspirational intensity.
Standout Lyric: They can take away one man / And they can take away his mic
But they cannot take us all /
No, they can’t dig a hole the right size to fit all of our dreams /
…Oh we stand hand in hand we walk without fear /
This is a revolution!
In Case It Interests You: The members of The Chariot are known as Christians.
LISTEN TO MOST OF THE ALBUM: myspace.com/thechariot
If You Only Have 6 Minutes: Check out the “David De La Hoz” music video – shot in one take
July 19, 2010 Leave a comment
From October 2007 to July 2010, I contributed to the User Reviews on AbsolutePunk.net. Most of those reviews are listed here with links to copies on this site. Since October 2010, I have been contributing to IndieVisionMusic.com. Those reviews are listed here with links to the original reviews on IVM.
A Fine Frenzy – One Cell In The Sea
Andy Hunter – Collide (IVM)
As I Lay Dying – An Ocean Between Us
Brooke Fraser – Flags (IVM)
Children 18:3
Chidlren 18:3 – Rain’s A Comin’
David Crowder Band – Give Us Rest (IVM)
Deas Vail – White Lights
Destroy Nate Allen – Until My Ankle’s Better (IVM)
Dustin Kensrue – The Good Night Is Still Everywhere (IVM)
The Ember Days – Finger Painting EP (IVM)
The Ember Days – Emergency (IVM)
Falling Up – Captiva
Flatfoot 56 – Black Thorn
Hillsong United – Aftermath (IVM)
The Hollands – Ashes to Beauty (IVM)
I Anthem – Not Afraid, Not Alone (IVM)
Jars Of Clay – The Long Fall Back To Earth
Jars Of Clay – The Shelter (IVM)
Josh Garrels – Love & War & The Sea In Between (IVM)
Lakes – The Agreement (IVM)
Lecrae – Rehab (IVM)
Lovelite – Nearness (IVM)
Luke Parker – Home
Project 86 – Picket Fence Cartel
Relient K – Let It Snow Baby, Let It Reindeer
Showbread – The Fear Of God
Showbread – Who Can Know It? (IVM)
Smalltown Poets – Smalltown Poets Christmas (IVM)
Sufjan Stevens – The Age Of Adz (IVM)
Swell Season – Once
Swell Season – Strict Joy
Switchfoot – Vice Verses (IVM)
Timbre – Little Flowers
Timbre – Silent Night (IVM)
July 14, 2010 Leave a comment
Wednesday morning, Joye prepared some precious pancakes for us all. Emily and I walked up the hill to the Anchor tent to catch the end of their morning service, where pastor Joshua something said some cool things about church unity and about getting excited for other people when you see God working in their lives and changing them. We decided to come back on time the next day and bring our Bibles like good Christians.
July 8, 2010 Leave a comment
Tuesday, as usual, was our first full day at the festival (and even though the “official programming” still didn’t “start” until Wednesday, by this year it had leaked so much into Tuesday that we could look forward to an evening with Switchfoot, a.k.a. the guinea pig band for the new location of Main Stage to make sure all was swell before a dozen bands played on it the following day).
July 27, 2009 1 Comment
Way back in December 2006, I either did not consider myself of a fan of the following, or I did not know they existed:
- Deas Vail
- Children 18:3
- Thrice
- David Crowder Band
- MUTEMATH
- mewithoutYou
- Tyler Burkum
- House of Heroes
- Brave Saint Saturn
- Project 86
- A Fine Frenzy
- The Glorious Unseen
- Showbread
- Ian McIntosh
July 12, 2009 Leave a comment
Wednesday morning I had the bright idea to put in my contacts outside at the sinks where there were mirrors, even though I had successfully applied them without a mirror the previous day. The pleasant breeze, however, quickly chastised me for this idea, and I resigned to wearing my glasses the rest of the week. At least Emily claimed I looked good in them.
