Fast Times at Barrington High, the newest CD by The Academy Is... is amazing. A shocking change, and a significant improvement, from Santi. The album will be released Tuesday, August 19, but was leaked earlier this week on MuchMusic, AlternativePress, and, of course, The Academy Is...'s myspace. Finally a leak that makes sense.
The sound is close enough to some of the old music that loyal fans will not be disappointed, but Fast Times also takes a turn for the mainstream, as the boys bring a more "Fueled By Ramen" feel to their music. The workers at FBR have been trying their hardest to recreate Fall Out Boy, and I think this CD gives them the best shot.
The songs are catchy, not too pop-inspired, but just enough that they are marketable to the classic "preppy" teenager, and the lyrics aren't completely worthless as so many are these days. For allegedly being gay, William Beckett certainly can write about boy-girl relationships. The songs aren't exactly original, they sound like everything we've heard before, but at the same time, they are different than anything we've ever heard before.
The Academy Is... always puts on a fantastic live show, and this music is more precise and well-done than past songs; I know the this fall, the We The Kings and TAI... tour will be nothing short of brilliant.
Four stars.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Panic at the Disco CD review
The differences between Panic! at the Disco’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out and Panic at the Disco’s Pretty. Odd. can teach us all one thing: punctuation is important.
At the start of 2008, Panic! at the Disco made a few announcements; in the following months, they would be releasing a new CD, headlining the always-popular Honda Civic Tour, and dropping the exclamation from their name. The deletion of this mark brought forth an entirely new band, devoid of the guyliner-emo-cheeky-sexual-circus motif for which the boys were formerly known.
Pretty. Odd. begins with a song which apologizes for the band’s hiatus and promises that they are still the same band they always were. Regardless of what the lyrics claim, they are clearly not the same band they once were.
This album is a drastic change from the band’s former style. It is, musically, a step up, but the band risks a drop in popularity; this move may have been too severe for a sophomore album. The bright side of things is that the band managed to marginally forgo the “sophomore slump.” There is nothing dull or repetitive about this CD.
Ryan Ross’s witty lyrics, omnipresent in A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, are scarce in Pretty. Odd. This is one change, however, that will only be problematic for teeny boppers looking for something cheeky to quote in their Instant Messenger profiles.
The most cohesive element between the two discs, Brendon Urie’s powerful and uniquely toned vocals, is now a more calm rock style, compared to the electronica dance style of former songs. New on this CD is the notable presence of vocals by songwriter and lead guitarist, Ryan Ross.
Pretty. Odd. is not the usual style, but it’s still amazing. There are few bands out there capable of conveying such unique and intriguing style.
At the start of 2008, Panic! at the Disco made a few announcements; in the following months, they would be releasing a new CD, headlining the always-popular Honda Civic Tour, and dropping the exclamation from their name. The deletion of this mark brought forth an entirely new band, devoid of the guyliner-emo-cheeky-sexual-circus motif for which the boys were formerly known.
Pretty. Odd. begins with a song which apologizes for the band’s hiatus and promises that they are still the same band they always were. Regardless of what the lyrics claim, they are clearly not the same band they once were.
This album is a drastic change from the band’s former style. It is, musically, a step up, but the band risks a drop in popularity; this move may have been too severe for a sophomore album. The bright side of things is that the band managed to marginally forgo the “sophomore slump.” There is nothing dull or repetitive about this CD.
Ryan Ross’s witty lyrics, omnipresent in A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, are scarce in Pretty. Odd. This is one change, however, that will only be problematic for teeny boppers looking for something cheeky to quote in their Instant Messenger profiles.
The most cohesive element between the two discs, Brendon Urie’s powerful and uniquely toned vocals, is now a more calm rock style, compared to the electronica dance style of former songs. New on this CD is the notable presence of vocals by songwriter and lead guitarist, Ryan Ross.
Pretty. Odd. is not the usual style, but it’s still amazing. There are few bands out there capable of conveying such unique and intriguing style.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Jonas Brothers CD review
The latest CD by the Jonas Brothers, A Little Bit Longer, is a perfect example of why bands should leak only their best songs—not the whole album.
A month before the August 12 release, the Jonas Brothers began releasing one song every week on iTunes. This, of course, allowed those songs to be illegally downloaded. I’ve listened to all four of the songs, Burnin’ Up, Pushin’ Me Away, Tonight, and, A Little Bit Longer. While I was skeptical about Tonight, I let it slide, because the other three were great, and I fully intended to buy the CD when it was released in stores.
Then, of course, MTV Leak interfered with my life again, just as it did with Fall Out Boy's Infinity On High. I listened to the entire CD and quickly realized that those songs I had so enjoyed were the only enjoyable songs on the album. And here I had so been looking forward to something different from Jonas Brothers.
It’s not different, it’s just more of the same and, in a way, that’s worse. It’s worse because one human being can only take so much teeny-bopper pop before it’s no longer fun, it’s just obnoxious. And one band can only write so much teeny-bopper pop before it becomes repetitive and awful.
Apparently Burnin’ Up and Pushin’ Me Away are to A Little Bit Longer as 7 Things is to Miley Cyrus’s Breakaway—the only songs that make the CD worth buying. Luckily for Miley, she kept the rest of her CD under lock-and-key until the release, and I shelled out the ten dollars to hear more. Unluckily for the Jonas Brothers, I’ve already downloaded those two songs, and I don’t plan on spending ten dollars to get the rest of the songs.
Learn to keep the curiosity alive, boys, it will serve you well. Luckily for Joseph, Nicholas and Kevin, my ten dollars really means nothing to them and, sucky or not, every teen girl on the planet will still be running to Target this Tuesday to get their hands on A Little Bit Longer.
Two and a half stars.
A month before the August 12 release, the Jonas Brothers began releasing one song every week on iTunes. This, of course, allowed those songs to be illegally downloaded. I’ve listened to all four of the songs, Burnin’ Up, Pushin’ Me Away, Tonight, and, A Little Bit Longer. While I was skeptical about Tonight, I let it slide, because the other three were great, and I fully intended to buy the CD when it was released in stores.
Then, of course, MTV Leak interfered with my life again, just as it did with Fall Out Boy's Infinity On High. I listened to the entire CD and quickly realized that those songs I had so enjoyed were the only enjoyable songs on the album. And here I had so been looking forward to something different from Jonas Brothers.
It’s not different, it’s just more of the same and, in a way, that’s worse. It’s worse because one human being can only take so much teeny-bopper pop before it’s no longer fun, it’s just obnoxious. And one band can only write so much teeny-bopper pop before it becomes repetitive and awful.
Apparently Burnin’ Up and Pushin’ Me Away are to A Little Bit Longer as 7 Things is to Miley Cyrus’s Breakaway—the only songs that make the CD worth buying. Luckily for Miley, she kept the rest of her CD under lock-and-key until the release, and I shelled out the ten dollars to hear more. Unluckily for the Jonas Brothers, I’ve already downloaded those two songs, and I don’t plan on spending ten dollars to get the rest of the songs.
Learn to keep the curiosity alive, boys, it will serve you well. Luckily for Joseph, Nicholas and Kevin, my ten dollars really means nothing to them and, sucky or not, every teen girl on the planet will still be running to Target this Tuesday to get their hands on A Little Bit Longer.
Two and a half stars.
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