National Music Review by T-Bone: The Gaslight Anthem

Band: The Gaslight Anthem
Album: Amercian Slang
For Fans of: Bruce Springsteen, Social Distortion,, Lucero, The Clash,The Replacements

With American Slang The Gaslight Anthem show that their artistic growth did not end with The ’59 Sound. While that growth is not as tremendous as what they showed on their sophomore album, it is still there, this time mixed with a layer of confidence. Brian Fallons’ voice is not drenched in reverb and this enables him to try a couple of new styles, namely the Motown vibe he throws out in The Diamond Church Street Choir. You may also notice that his vocabulary has increased tremendously, there are still references to old lovers, Miles Davis and dead friends, but they are not the main themes of the album.

These New Jersey kids have managed to blend the E-Streets Shuffle", the “heart-on-your-sleeve” style of The Replacements and the swagger of blue collar punk bands such as Social Distortion and Dropkick Murphy’s to create an album that to me is nothing but working class poetry.

National Music Review by Jeremy Thomas: Drake

Artist: Drake
Album/Release: Thank Me Later/6-15-2010

It’s been a whirlwind year for the newest addition to Lil’ Wayne’s “Young Money” imprint, Drake. 2 Grammy nods for his 7 track EP “So FarGone”, and the release of his first full length album along with a tour through North America to support it. Most people were skeptical of this follow up to “So Far Gone”, especially when the first few tracks that leaked online weren’t exactly what people expected. Despite this, Drake dropped "Thank Me Later”, and don’t be surprised when this album hits #1.

The question is, is it really that good? Simply stated, yes. He is a solid MC, great lyricist, and an outstanding personality in general, but there is something to be said for the fact that he has changed up his style a bit since he started working closely with Weezy. Auto-tune signing for choruses, off-beatflow, and a signature “Young Money” sound is a bit different from what people remember from his old mixtapes “Heartbreak Drake” and a few others as well. This CD is definitely an evolution from those earlier works, which started with “So Far Gone”. However, this is not a bad thing. His voice and flow fits very well with the new music that he is putting out. Laid back, always sounds relaxed, never seems like he is out of his element. From up beat songs to slow jams, he always nails it. Not to mention, cameos from the likes of Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Young Jeezy, and of course Lil’ Wayne, this album definitely packs a ton ofstart power and talent into 14 tracks.

The highlights of this album are truly classics. “Show Me a Good Time” has a great beat, and really shows of Drake’s versatility as an artist. There’s not really a good way to describe this track other than it all fits. Everything flows together very well, nothing sounds out of place or over the top, as can be a problem when there this many instruments going on. The first single “Over”, is the complete opposite, but it still manages to work. The beat and vocals almost sound they belong on separate songs, but some how work together enough to make this track interesting.

That’s not say this record doesn’t have its missteps. “Fancy” is a song produced by Swizz Beats, featuring T.I., and just overall misses.The beat went for something a bit different for this record, and just ends up sounding annoying. T.I. doesn’t make the song any worse, but he definitely doesn’t help it out either. Also, “Find Your Love” is a Kanye produced track that could have been ripped straight out of “808’s and Heartbreaks”. If you really liked that album, you’ll really dig this song, but come on, really? Did anyone really like “808’s”? It suffers the same issues as “808’s”. Boring, doesn’t go anywhere as a song, and this isn’t what Drake is good at. He’s a rapper, not a singer, and it shows.

In general, there isn’t a better way to say that this album just works. He took what he was good at and evolved it into something that people can’t get enough of. Personally, it satisfies the 2 basic pieces of my musical taste: 1. Is it well played/performed? 2. Is it enjoyable to listen to? This record is full of songs people will be dancing to in clubs, and elitist jerks like me can over-analyze to find that even a rapper can be technically proficient. To me, that’s a great record.

Local Band Interview by Erilyn Daly: Sound of Sulfur

Band: Sound of Sulfur
Hometown: Southlake

No pillow talk this time, let’s just jump into the local band of the week. This week it’s a band called Sound of Sulfur, out of the entitled town of Southlake. What does sulfur sound like?? Why I reckon I don’t know; even thought I got an A in chemistry, it was never my strongest subject. However, the band name isn’t what sulfur sounds like, they explain it as “Music is something that brings us all together whether it be in pain, love, different cultures, enjoyment. Having a small percentage of sulfur in our bodies, I called it the Sound of Sulfur, joining sulfur and music together into one name. Why I picked sulfur was because it just had a catch to it and it was something different. As a result, Sound of Sulfur's songs encompass people, relationships, and/or society involving personal experiences and perceptions/hopes/goals of life. ”

So for all The Bled fans out there who recognized their groovy song, they weren’t copying them. Anyway, Sound of Sulfur has a very alternative vibe, not cutesy enough to be considered pop punk, in my humble opinion. They have been around for three and a half years and, like most rock groups, have gone through some lineup changes, including three guitarists over the years, but they are holding strong now at their four-piece rock-ensemble. They all met in high school and originally started out as friends before making tunes together.

These rocker gents re-released an EP this month that had been released in 2008,just in time for their mini-tour. They just got off the “Rock Yourself to Sleep Tour” which also featured There For Tomorrow, Sing It Loud, The Secret Handshake, and Every Avenue,some pretty big bands. This tour brought them to land previously untraveled by the band and introduced them to new venues, including one of their now favorites: Crocodile Rock in Pennsylvania. Although it does not appear their singer is comfortable making that statement, saying “Personally, I'm not the front man to judge a good show on the venue or stage because I always enjoy a stage where I'm the same level as the crowd, since I LOVE getting the crowd going, feeling/seeing their reaction and truly connecting with them. I love stages like Allentown, PA or The Door, Dallas, just because I can be with the crowd as opposed to an elevated stage. But so long as there is a show where I've truly connected and made the crowd go crazy with our music, then I'm happy.” It’s always nice to see humble musicians in today’s music scene.

Keep an eye on these guys, they wanna make it all the way to the top, and if they do, you can say you knew them way back when (maybe even because of yours truly.) Until next week, keep on keepin’ on, my fellow rockers.