Ambient Aftermath

No Doubt Disappoints with Push and Shove

There is no doubt in my mind that Push and Shove is the most disappointing album to date. The hype surrounding one of the best bands from the 90’s coming back from the depths and releasing a new album crashed and burned.

Where is the jam-rock vibe? Where are the lyrics that influenced a generation? There is no ska element evident anywhere on the album and the pulse that No Doubt originally generated is flat.

Unfortunately the band picked up where they left off. I swear in between tracks you can hear the faint echoes of “Hey Baby” off their Rock Steady album in 2001. Push and Shove features a few melodies that mirror things early Lady Gaga would spit out along with over-synthed guitar riffs and a few other non-recognizable instruments slapped on as well.

As a whole, the album seems thrown together. It sounds like the new Ke$ha we weren’t waiting for. The lyrics have nothing to offer, and the overall disappointment that one of the bands that flowed right along with Dispatch and Dave Matthews Band is now going to be seen as a possible opening act for One Direction, or maybe even have a spot on Nickelodeon with Big Time Rush. For some reason, I hope for yet another album. Maybe this is just a re-introduction to No Doubt, and as more albums come out they will reverse evolve back into the group that sang of the hidden feelings underneath it all. 

Check out “Settle Down,” the new single off of Push and Shove

Review will also be seen in the next edition of WSBU’s The Buzzworthy.

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I forgot to post here, so this is a little late, but my radio show Music My Friends Don’t Like, is from 7-9 p.m. on tuesdays. 

Tune in here!

Fresh new single “Impressions” by Unabridged

Introducing Unabridged, a music trio from Bristol, Rhode Island. The new unplugged acoustic group has a very familiar sound to them. They feature a very relaxed and mellow sound, but twist it up with vocalist, Grace Ahl. Her voice has very deep and warm style. In “Impressions” she has an almost southern rock flair to her high notes with a jazzy undertone blowing a breath of fresh air into a genre that seems to put out a lot of the same these days. 

The single is very impressive for a debut. If anything, I would say they could amp up the lyrics. Music today is getting more symbolic and artful, and while “Impressions” puts out an intriguing story of a relationship, it still has a little room to move around. Brian Prindle and Cooper Foster put out a praiseworthy dual-guitar performance. The balance is great and absolutely pulls the group forward amongst the seemingly endless stream of dull acoustic artists.

The New England trio plays around the Massachusetts and Rhode Island area. Check out “Impressions” below and like their Facebook page.

Stay tuned for more reviews to come! Ambient Aftermath is back! And remember to check out the WSBU FM music blog at www.wsbufm.net and follow Ambient Aftermath on twitter!  

To all that still follow,

Dont lose faith! Ambient Aftermath will return soon with more reviews coming weekly! 

School is starting up again soon which means the music department at WSBU FM will be stock full of brand new albums from all genres. 

In the meantime here’s a new video from Matty Sheehan of Massachusetts.

“Dont Post Your Problems Online”

You gotta listen to Gemma Ray

Right off the bat Gemma Ray’s fourth full-lengnth studio album Island Fire grabs listeners by their ears and lightly throws them into cascading musical waterfall full of dream-like harmonies from another time period united with a wonderful and timely indie sound, landing into a pool of melody that holds the listener and carries them downstream on a journey not many artists will take their fans.

The album twists and turns on you, but never shakes you off or rubs you the wrong way. All the tracks are upbeat and combine a symphonic jazz sound with a surfer rock-esque undertone. There are layers of sound that are evident but also mysterious. In many tracks there are too many instruments to consciously keep track of, but they are never distracting, nor do they draw away from the overall effect the songs give. The vocals are simply superb. Easy to listen to, but not easily forgotten. Gemma Ray’s lyrics and melodies combined with her initial sound thrusts her forward among the rest.

“Runaway” by Gemma Ray -A DJ JMULL FAVORITE 

Check this guy out: John K. Samson

John K. Samson is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is currently the front man for the folk-punk band “The Weakerthans.”

Provincial is Samson’s first solo album since 1993 and it features amazing acoustic noodling and story-like lyrics that are both sincere and unforgettable.

Each track on Provincial features Samson on vocals and guitar, bass and a drum kit. This classic sound doesn’t slip anywhere. All around, the music is robust and talentful. Each tracks completely varies, but never strays from the specific style that Samson portrays, even when he incorporates other styles such as the washed-out sounding guitars similar to the way the group Yuck records.

Samson does a great job of putting his emotion not only into the lyrics, but also into the music. The listener can feel everything he is putting out and it is never over-done or underwhelming. Provincial is a wonderful assortment of tracks that tell the story of a human experience, the thoughts, feelings and emotions that go through the average mind on a daily basis are wonderfully and tastefully presented on this solo album.

Recommended Tracks:

“Grace General” (A DJ JMULL FAVORITE)

Again, because of copyright, I’m going to have to just use a youtube video. Lo siento, compadres. 

Check out the new O.A.R. single!

Arguably the strongest single they have ever released. King dropped last august and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed with it.

Hey Y’all

Be sure to tune into my radio show on Thursday evenings from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

It features a lot of music that you see here on the blog as well as classics that will never get old! 

Every week DJ JMULL on WSBU FM, The NUMBER ONE college radio station in the country. Want me to play your stuff on my show? Shoot me an email and I’ll do my best of fit it in!

New UK Electronic/Dub-Step group “Nero”

Nero is a hot new Electronica group from England that brings a lot to the table. They present tracks that can be a dreamy mix of ambience and soft synth pads only to turn into this intense landscape of heavy electronic beats and hints of fantastic dub-step that will even have dub-step haters rocking their head to this thrilling one-of-a-kind album.

Say goodbye to Skrillex and pretend you never listened to Deadmaus. As Nero jams and beats its way into your ears, you will wish you never enjoyed other dub-step, because Nero raises the bar

Welcome Reality is non-stop intensity mixed with infectious vocal lines and ultimately fantastic, heavy bass and truly epic string synths tied together with face melting beat drops. They are like a heavier and darker Flux Pavillion blended with elements that mysteriously allude to the Tron: Legacy score by Daft Punk. The album can’t accurately be put to words. In a genre like dub/step where it is hard to present new beats and find new ways to capture a unique electronic sound, Nero is the answer to fans prayers. 

Recommended Tracks:

Unfortunately due to copyright claims, I could not upload the tracks to sound cloud, but here is a youtube video! Sorry I couldn’t give you a high-quality version.

Here’s “My Eyes” off of Welcome Reality

Bombay Bicycle Club

Featured in WSBU FM’s The Buzzworthy

Presenting their third studio album in three years, Bombay Bicycle Club’s A Different Kind of Fix shows just how talented the group is. Featuring an impressive lineup of melodious, foot-tapping tracks, the English band continues its upward climb to show the world they have the skills and temerity to be on top.

Made up of a familiar arrangement of two guitars by Jack Steadman and Jamie MacColl, a bass played by Ed Nash, and a drum kit through the talents of Suren De Saram, Bombay Bicycle Club’s musicians exhibit a beautiful array of musical integrity, melodic audacity and ambient blissfulness that is both wonderful and deep.

Their new 13-track album dropped last August and already it has made waves among the group’s fans and dramatically increased their following from their last album, Flaws from 2010.

A Different Kind of Fix is a superb concoction of ambient and spacious sounds with the sublime complement of guitars and a noticeably talented drum kit to tie it all together. The tracks are dream like. Each one sounds as if the instruments and melodies are floating around the listener, creating an atmospheric and one-of-a-kind musical experience.

The vocals blend into the sounds of the instruments and, while you can easily distinguish the lyrics from the music, generate this single being of sound that is as addicting as it is an all around pleasant and heavenly resonance. Lyrically and melodically, the album is great. The contingency of the two elements work with each other in a seamless scheme, and their dependency on each other gives A Different Kind of Fix an identity that can turn heads.

Let the riffs assault your eardrums as the Bicycle Club tells you its story. Let the melodies take you up and beyond, but let the vocals be your mooring to the earth.  A Different Kind of Fine is truly a fantastic album that will cause you to forget where you are for a while as you let yourself get caught up in a modern polyphonic symphony. 

Recommended Track:

“Shuffle”

Starting to get backed up on school work

I have reviews ready to go, they just need lots of editing and I need to get files on sound cloud, but plenty more are coming soon. 

Stuff I don’t like

There are a lot of bands out there, millions. There are new CD’s from hopeful bands that pour into our radio station daily. Here and there I will group together the ones that shouldn’t have left the case.

Bands not to listen to:

“Rival Sons” with Pressure & Time

 Reasons- Too simple, really. They have a sound that has been replicated hundreds of times over. Nothing special happens in their album, nothing makes them stand out. My head didn’t bob to the rhythms they presented and nothing could truly get caught in my ear.They weren’t very original and the whole album just seemed, well, half assed. Couldn’t even think of enough for a full-length review.

“The Beautiful View” with Life is Beautiful

 Reasons- Sound like a cheap indie knock off of Kings of Leon with a lead singer that just doesn’t make the cut. His voice isn’t bad, but it is not the voice that should be the fulcrum of a band. Their guitars were pretty impressive. Hopefully the players will start a new project someday, but Life is Beautiful, should be forgotten.

But, my opinion isn’t by any means the word of the Lord, so please, research them further! 

Sonic Avenues with Television Youth

Sonic Avenues is a heavy-set, amped-up garage punk rock group hailing from our neighbor to the north.

Television Youth is the group’s second full length album and it features a classic punk rock sound, but also twists it in a way with chord progressions that can sound similar to an interestingly pleasing cross of Smash Mouth and MxPx.

Each track is short, sweet and to the point while also being upbeat and catchy. They have wonderful riffs and rhythms all complementing each other in a fast paced album that is over before you know it and will have you going back to the start for a second listen. Sonic Avenues is fresh, new and impressive.

The group truly has an ear for what good punk rock sounds like. I feel it has been awhile since a punk band has truly made waves in the music industry and the only one to truly make a name for themselves is Green Day, and even they have lost a lot of momentum even with the success of 21st Century Breakdown.

But Sonic Avenues is different, their choruses aren’t anthems or ballads, they don’t even sound whiny and their lyrics never sound ridiculous or out of place. Television Youth features just a straight and classic punk rock sound which makes them stand out in an industry that is currently dominated by several artists that all preach the same things.

The way I see it, they have intense drum fills and ever changing rhythms. Their vocals are solid, so, credit given where it’s due, Sonic Avenues nailed the punk rock sound and made it something worth listening to again.

You can check get their album and more on their website, here.

Tracks to check out:

Fadin’ Love

Always Looking For Something

Seriously, Hit this band up: SleepMakesWaves

A DJ JMULL FAVORITE

SleepMakesWaves raises the bar with their new EP. Their sound is one that is right up there with Explosions In The Sky, only at times they give a broad and tastefully intense side that never sounds out of place or overdone.

A lack of vocals give the group a chance to show the power a bass, guitar, and a drum kit (and a violin on track 5) can produce. They create a modern, amped-up rock symphony with elusive bass melodies, drum fills, guitar riffs and solos that echo the reverb of Jimi Hendrix.

SleepMakesWaves is a joy to listen to. They have all the right qualities for addicting and infectious melodies. They can be dark and heavy, they can be noisy, or they can be fun and   The chords they create over their inventive rhythms pulled together by a hint of ambient sound surrounding the creative layers of every track, you cant help but enjoy the wonderful music.

There are bands out there that try to get the style Explosions In The Sky create, but credit given where credit due, SleepMakesWaves is above the rest. They are on cloud nine, as this album is fantastic. It is a great blend of intense, chill and fun straight up rock. Hit this band up. Whether you listen online, or buy the EP, they are worth it.

Recommended Track:

“One Day You Will Teach Me Not To Let Go Of My Fears”

More reviews coming soon!

Just got a bunch of new CDs so I’ll keep you posted