Author: bella.king

The Mowgli’s Live at Club Congress 10/6/14

Joy and love are the messages that the Mowgli’s want to spread to the world, and on their final tour stop in Tucson, they seem to have done just that. Four bands performed at Club Congress, each with their own unique twist.

The night opened with Deceptively Innocent, a Tucson-based band, performing original and new songs such as Future Karma, which is the title track of their upcoming EP. As a young band, Deceptively Innocent has had their fair share of attention from performing every Second Saturday, a Tucson tradition on the second Saturday of every month in the downtown area, appearing on local talk shows, and opening for bands such as the Misfits. The three-piece band, consisting of Brent Burdett, Toby Chivers, and Daniel Blanchard, brings variety their performances by taking turns playing guitar, bass, and drums on different songs.

The second band to perform was The Rocketboys, an Austin Texas based indie band that seems to blend energetic and soaring vocals with melodic guitar riffs in a way that they have a sort of bittersweet sound to them that is hard to find anywhere else. Their powerful stage presence at Club Congress shows that they are no strangers at performing. Singer, Brandon Kinder, during one point in the show, jumped into the crowd and danced with the audience while continuing to perform. The band consists of Justin Wiseman on the keyboards, Brandon Kinder on vocals, Josh Rodgers on drums, Josh Campbell on bass. Lang Freeman joined them for the show on guitar. The stand out song of their performance was Walk Away as you could tell how much of themselves they put into their music in this song.

Finish Ticket was the third band and the one before the Mowgli’s. This energetic indie rock band has a unique sound to them, with a strong vocalist and guitar driven melodies. Finish Ticket started in 2008 when they were in high school, however, when they reached college, only three of the original members stayed in the band while the other pursued their education. Members include Brendan Hoye on vocals and keys, Alex DiDonato on guitar and vocals, Michael Hoye on bass, Gabe Stein on drums, and Nick Stein on the keyboard. Performing original songs, as well as a cover of the Killers, Finish Ticket’s energetic performance and interactiveness with the crowd made their first time in Arizona a memorable experience.

Once the Mowgli’s came on stage, the energy in the room immediately lifted as the band began to play. This was their second time performing in Tucson, once before with Walk the Moon. The band interacted with the crowd throughout their set, whether it was commenting on a girl’s shirt or exchanging “I love you” with various members of the audience. The current members of the band are Dave Appelbaum on keyboards and vocals, Colin Dieden on vocals, guitar and percussion, Katie Earl on vocals and percussion, Josh Hogan on guitar and vocals, Matthew Di Panni on bass guitar and vocals, Spencer Trent  on percussion, guitar, melodica, and vocals, and Andy Warren on drums, percussion, and vocals. The band’s belief is that in order to have their “true voice” as a band, they need to have everyone, including the audience, to sing with them. Near the end of their set, the band asked the audience for any requests and performed  When they reached their final song, their hit, San Francisco, the Rocketboys and Finish Ticket joined the Mowgli’s on the stage and performed with them.

As their Club Congress show was their final one on their tour, the Mowgli’s return to California to begin recording their new album.

 

 

Have a Great Summer! EP – Smallpools

Smallpools have made a name for themselves across America with their catchy lyrics and strong melodies. Having toured the United States, opening for bands such as Vampire Weekend and Walk the Moon, they have been able to promote their most recent EP, Have a Great Summer!. Members, Sean Scanlon on vocals and keyboards, Mike Kamerman on guitar, Joseph Intile on bass, and Beau Kuther on drums, all met after moving to Los Angeles to further their music careers. There, they worked with producer trio Captain Cuts and released their first single, “Dreaming” for the EP.

As the second song written by the band, Smallpools never anticipated Dreaming to become as big of a song as it did. Originally a verse that was supposed to be meshed with their second single, Over and Over, the band felt as though it should be its own song. The melody on this track is bright and the guitar riffs will stay on your mind for days. Dreaming has elements of showing the band’s talents of mixing vibrant synth-heavy elements and catchy instrumentals. Overall, this song is nothing short of the essential pop song on any playlist.

The songs Over and Over and Mason Jar are among the best examples of strong vocals and drumming that seems to carry the song as well as the synthesizer does on the EP. The guitar track in No Story Time stood out the most as throughout the song, it remained breezy and subtle.

Overall, the vocals remain memorable and the melodies, although somewhat repetitive at times, are catchy. Smallpools remain reminiscent of other snythpop bands such as Phoenix and Passion Pit  but it can be easy for such an up and coming band to get lost in such a large genre. It seems as though they have been able to distinguish themselves in the music scene as they tour America.. Just like last summer, Smallpools will become a hit with people looking for in-the-moment pop music and will draw larger audiences as they continue touring with Neon Trees and perform at Lollapalooza.

Let’s Be Still – The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart, over the years, have made a name for themselves over the years in the folk-rock scene. On October 15 2013, they released their sophomore album, “Let’s Be Still.” As their first album produced as a full band, there are influences from across the band that makes the album what it is. There are instrumentals and vocals reminiscent to their predeceasing self-titled album.

The band consists of Josiah Johnson on vocals, guitar, and percussion, Jonathan Russell also on vocals, guitar, and percussion, Charity Rose Thielen on violin and vocals, Chris Zasche on bass, Kenny Hensley on piano, and Tyler Williams on the drums. The name, “the Head and the Heart” is described by Johnson as “your head is telling you to be stable and find a good job, you know in your heart that this is what you’re supposed to do even if it’s crazy.” In November 2010, the band signed to Sub Pop after a frenzy of managers and record labels wanting to work with them.

The song, “Another Story,” is the second song on the album written about the Newtown tragedy. The song was a way for Jonathan Russell to clear his head and show his emotions about what had happened. The lyrics are melancholy and deals with the fact that people live with the feelings of being depressed at different times and what could set off a person. The dark violin in this track adds to the melancholy vocals but backing drum and piano seems to give it an upbeat tempo that gives a certain contrast to the vocals and violin.

“Let’s Be Still” is a step towards further success and a new and broader audience. The Head and the Heart maintains their sincere vocals and meaningful instrumentals as they previously had shown in their self-titled debut.

The Head and the Heart are currently on tour supporting “Let’s Be Still,” performing at festivals such as Bonnaroo and have dates going through the fall.

Mind Over Matter – Young the Giant

There are few bands that can redefine their genre as well as Young the Giant. Rising to fame in 2011 after the release of their first debut self-titled album, they came back strong with the release of Mind Over Matter. There is no doubt that members, Sameer Gadhia on lead vocals, Eric Cannata on guitar, Payam Doostzadeh on bass, Jacob Tilley on guitar, and François Comtois on drums. The band has a certain chemistry that has allowed them to become as successful as they are.

Mind Over Matter has a much heavier feel to it than their debut album, Young the Giant. It shows that the band has put all of their effort towards making this album. Two songs in particular, Firelight and Camera, have a more somber feel to them but they display that the band can go from a full band rock sound to a minimalist and slower feel.

Anagram quickly follows the slow and melodic Slow Dive with its upbeat guitar riff and energetic lyrics, which sets the mood for the rest of the record.

Sameer Gadhia utilizes his wide vocal range greatly in the record and the lyrics have a poetic nature to them. His soaring vocals suit the new sound Young the Giant seem to be going for as he uses soothing falsettos as well as choruses that will make you want to listen to the album more than once, especially the title track, Mind Over Matter.

The guitars on the album are reminiscent to the band’s earlier work and both guitarists, Jacob Tilley and Eric Cannata have their own individual styles that make the album as unique as it is. The percussion and bass throughout the album show incredible technique throughout the album, especially in the song, Eros.

Overall, Young the Giant completely transform their sound in this new album and the members have superb performances in the record. Mind Over Matter has a vast difference in sound from Young the Giant but there is no argument that Young the Giant has matured in sound since their debut. As Young the Giant explores new sounds, they will no doubt push themselves into further musical depths.

Kodaline – In a Perfect World

With wistful lyrics and instrumentals, Kodaline has finally put a name for themselves in their debut album, In a Perfect World. Sounding heavily like Snow Patrol and Coldplay, the young band still has managed to create their own sound. Members of the quartet, Steve Garrigan on vocals, Mark Prendergast on lead guitar, Vinny May on percussion, and Jason Boland on bass guitar, brought their individual styles to the album which brought a unique sound.

Songs on In a Perfect World are deeply melodic and are able to have strong choruses that will bring listeners to a different world with the band. The song All I Want will strike a chord in anyone who has ever been heartbroken. With the powerful vocals and a strong guitar solo, there is no doubt that this song is one of the best on the album.

With a mixture of acoustic, rock, and folk, the album will leave you in a happy mood, however sad the lyrics tend to be. In a Perfect World is far from being the typical break-up album and Kodaline shows that in Love Like This. The track has an upbeat intro and maintains this kind of optimism throughout.

In a Perfect World is cinematic and proves that Kodaline has enough potential to launch their careers further into success.