Team Genius | Taking a Look at Pop Song

The term pop song is often associated with a style of music that is over played on the radio and has no real enduring substance. Then there is the flip side of the whole idea of a pop song, in that it’s popular, and popular for a reason. The reason behind why good pop songs are popular should have little to do with how much advertisement they receive and more to do with how well they capture and reflect the spirit of the age. That brings us to Team Genius. The band was formed in New York City some time in 2007 and they have a unique talent, they are: “really good at making big catchy pop songs.” The six members of the band have set out to release several EPs over the course of 2011 and 2012; the first of which is titled Pop Songs. This EP, which came out August 23^rd, consists of four tracks that put out a sort of playfulness and energy that would capture the hearts and minds anyone fortunate enough to hear them. At some points the band feels like a fusion of the Ramones and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, but when the keyboard takes center stage in tracks like Home you are reminded that Team Genius have their own identity. For a relatively new band, they certainly have found a groove when it comes to their sound; it’s fun, catchy and filled with great hooks. Essentially, what you would look for in any good pop music. And if this was Team Genius’s goal, mission accomplished.

You can check out Team Genius’s music at their band camp web page here. 

The Matrimonials | About Their Album New Jams to Slam In Your Jam Box

The four boys who make up The Matrimonials are set to release their new album New Jams to Slam In Your Jam Box. Before we get into anything about the band, let’s just study the title of the album for a moment.  At first glance one might think that the new album’s title is just terrible and poorly thought out. New Jams to Slam in Your Jam Box doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue.  But you would be forgetting one thing, in order to appreciate the music of The Matrimonials’ you need to put yourself in a playful mindset. Think back to when you were a teenaged dirt-bag and then read the title of the album again. Jam Box is obviously referring to something else, what else is referred to as a box and can be slammed?

After the immature part of you stops chuckling at the pussy joke in the album’s name and you start to listen to what this foursome from Baltimore have produced you just might be impressed.  Consisting of mostly rattle and hum punk rock tracks The Matrimonials have a familiar tone with rough lo-fi edges. This band isn’t about creating ornate introspective indie folk rock pieces that can comfortably be played in the background of your local Starbucks. No The Matrimonials sing songs like Ryhthym and Booze, a song that touts a bantering conversation with an abused liver and the person philosophy of many people, that life is better when you’re fat and full of booze.     

That is essentially what you get with The Matrimonials, a playful, energetic style of music with wonderfully juvenile undertone.  However, this album does lack some of the magic from the last one. There is no Taylor Swift type of song on New Jams to Slam In Your Jam Box, which is slightly disappointing. 

Now here is a video of the band having a sophisticated talk on politics. 

Stephan Drunk

The Matrimonials | Myspace Music Videos

Moonface | A Review of Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped

Spencer Krug is at it again with yet another band. For those of you who don’t know the name Krug he has been making the rounds in terms of indie music affiliations for a number of years.  The list of bands that he lends his distinctive vocals to are quite numerous.  Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes and Swan Lake are among his affiliations. He is one of the lead singers for indie band Wolf Parade. Moonface is his latest effort and surprisingly it’s not as trippy as you might think. You see generally speaking for the past couple of years Krug has had a penchant for producing music that has a very hypnotic psychedelic quality.  From the never ending anthems to surreal and imaginative lyrics up until now Krug has been keeping his music unreal (for lack of a better term).

 Now in Moonface’s new album we are hearing songs with a more down to earth quality, focusing less on descriptions of “dream catchers hanging from the mirror of a minivan parked along the water’s edge” and  more on how “Peter loves a girl”. Even though the lyrics are less trippy the extended anthems are still very much intact, there are more keyboard solos on this tiny album than most 80s albums. That shouldn’t deter anyone from picking up this album, there are a number of tracks on it that just have that sought after listenability to them. 

Band In Heaven | The Band’s Latest Tape Seven Minutes In Heaven

Among the many up and coming artists who find their outlet in an ambient style of music, Band In Heaven is one of the standouts. This band from West Palm Beach, Florida has been fine tuning their sound for a few years now. They have a way of eking out tracks a few at a time but as a result they have a relatively large if not spread out catalogue of music. Band in Heaven have an atmospheric sound populated with distortion and driven rhythms. The latest release in July of 2011 is a bit more polished in comparison to their previous demos. The two tracks, Sleazy Dreams and If You Only Knew have a strong tone and illustrate the band’s growing confidence and stylistic direction. You can get their music from the band’s bandcamp page here.