Ambient Aftermath

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”

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! 

Caveman with “CoCo Beware”

From New York, Caveman is an indie band who have a Decemberists-esque style with a Youth Lagoon resonance.  

Their debut album, CoCo Beware, dropped in late 2011 and there are many strong and genuinely good tracks. They incorporate a lot of four-part harmonies on top of their guitar, drum kit and synth setup, all recorded in a spacey, distant and hollow-sounding manner.

Caveman create a real mysterious vibe throughout the album. The synth is used as a dissonant and eerie effect to fill the space surrounding the guitars and drums, almost like an overtone at times. It’s really engaging sound, but at times it may seem over done or out of place on some tracks. The vocals can sound washed out at times, making it hard for the listener to understand the lyrics, but as for vocal talent, the harmonies are on point and concise. They do a really clean job vocally and that deserves respect. 

According to a review in the NY Press, they write their music to what they would want to listen to. The group has been somewhat together for a few years under various other band names and are finally making serious strides to further their musical career. They have played in many venues in NYC including a few in the Lower East Side and have opened up for a multitude of artists ranging from Here We Go Magic to Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes.

CoCo Beware is available off iTunes for $8.99 and you can download the track “Thankful” off of their website for free.

Check out their Myspace Page too!

Tracks to Check Out:

“December 28th” (Favorite off the album)

December 28th by AmbientAftermath

“Great Life”

Great Life by AmbientAftermath

“My Time”

My Time by AmbientAftermath

Check this group out: Makeshift

I’m proud to present, Makeshift. A jam band hailing from Chicago. They have an impressively familiar sound thats like listening to O.A.R.’s the Wanderer.

Their first EP, These Days, gives a really strong island vibe. Makeshift features a two guitar, bass and drum kit setup with a keyboard and saxophone on top, giving them a lot to work with in terms of style. They have a really cool reggae side to them that they play with and blend in rock elements. They do this very well and a lot of the elements they introduce to each track have a really cool way of presenting the mood of the song and truly making the group stand out. The lyrics are very impressive on this EP. They are clear and they have a nice flow to each line, immediately noticeable in “One Day”

These Days was a really strong EP and after one full listen it is truly worth a second and third.

Their second EP is called On the Horizon and was just released on the 15th and with it they brought back the same sound and talent as they did on These Days only every track is fresh, new and well mixed. The quality of recording increased dramatically between the two EP’s and it only makes you like the band more. 

In On the Horizon their style changes just slightly to include a Slightly Stoopid kind of guitar melody. It’s fantastic. They have elements from a lot of the greatest jam bands out there like Dispatch, O.A.R., Sublime and SOJA. In their track “Pure Imagination” they even feature a vocal style that sounds like a Mighty Mighty Bosstones tune. And then out of nowhere in On the Horizon, “Out of Control” sounds like early an early Dave Matthews Band. Bassist Joe Messersmith gives a real display of talent on this EP.

After just one track, you will want to listen to another, and then from there you gotta at least listen to a whole EP. They have a solid sound and a really chill quality to them. They are fresh and new and they are good. Tt will be really great to hear more from the up and coming band. Check them out on their Facebook fan page. They could be big.

Follow them on twitter: @makshift_IL

Seriously, hit these tracks up:

One Day- off of These Days

One Day by AmbientAftermath

Island Song- off of These Days

Island Song by AmbientAftermath

Pure Imagination- off of On the Horizon

Pure Imagination by AmbientAftermath

What We’ve Done- off of On The Horizon

What We’ve Done by AmbientAftermath