For this week’s edition of “Something For The Weekend,” our guest writer is James Lloyd from alternative, rock and pop-punk PR company Carry The 4.
Since forming in late 2011, Carry The 4 and Lloyd has worked with a number of up and coming bands such as Birmingham pop-rockers Taking Hayley, pop-punk bands Angry Bears and Life On The Sideline, as well as New York’s Take One Car and more.
For his spot as guest writer, James picked four “under the radar” bands that haven’t had the attention they deserve.
If your label, band or company would like to become a guest writer for Something For The Weekend – contact Sean Reid to find out more information.
My choices for this edition of Something For The Weekend are predominately bands that I would consider “under the radar,” bands that don’t have the buzz surrounding them that they perhaps should, some of whom we’ve been introduced to at Carry The 4 by management, bands, or labels and others who I’ve been fortunate enough to stumble across through Facebook or Twitter.
Barely Blind
For Fans Of: The Composure, The Dangerous Summer, and Motion City Soundtrack. When I came across Barely Blind around 18 months ago, they had just released their third full length, ‘Wilder Child Of A Thousand Suns,’ which remains one of my stand out albums of 2011. The back catalogue should certainly not be overlooked, but for me ‘Wilder Child…’was the first time Barely Blind reached the full force of their potential.
An intriguing blend of indie and pop-punk, Barely Blindis self proclaimed as “a sonic meld of fuzzy rock’n’roll” – a description as delightfully dulcet as the music that it speaks of, pop-punk for the conscientious listener. Whilst by no means hook after hook, there’s melody aplenty to be enjoyed, but there’s much more to be taken from Barely Blind than that. Lyrically smart, the musicianship and instrumentation, individually, are rarely standout. But then Barely Blind are much more than just the sum of their parts. What instead shines through is the composition and the perfect compliment of guitar tone with Brad Cuccio’s vocal, creating an honest narrative, which, instead of being repetitively pounded into the ground is honed into a laid back indie vibe, with some verses not sounding out of place on a Best Coast album.
As I write this, the band are celebrating their 10 year anniversary, and at a time when the phrase “…they should be bigger” is thrown around about every musician and their dog, I cannot think of a more apt recipient of that tag than Barely Blind.
<a href=“http://barelyblind.bandcamp.com/album/wilder-child-of-a-thousand-suns” data-mce-href=“http://barelyblind.bandcamp.com/album/wilder-child-of-a-thousand-suns”>Wilder Child of a Thousand Suns by Barely Blind</a>
Barely Blind on Facebook, Twitter, and Bandcamp.
These Days
For Fans Of: Futures, Bright & Early, Deaf Havana I originally came across These Daysafter the release of their single release of ‘Brightest Eyes’ at the end of 2011 prior to signing with the excellent Engineer Records last summer.
My first impression was an alt/pop-rock sound moulded by two of the buzz bands at that time, Canterbury and Futures. Then you dig a little deeper and there are some intricacies with this band that, in my opinion, separate them from the aforementioned. Much of their song construction from the few pre-‘Souls’ tracks that I’ve heard, as well as the early part of the album itself showcases a stop start, vocally weighted verse, culminating in a huge, soaring melodic chorus. I’ve never seen them live, but I imagine the singalong to ‘Glory’is a pretty momentous occasion.
Then you have the more intense side of These Days. The haunting single guitar behind the verse of ‘Brightest Eyes’ sounds like it’s taken straight from Brand New’s ‘…Tommy Gun…’, and there are plenty more moments that follow, (chronologically in fact) towards the end of Souls that pulls your perception from stonewall pop-rock to a more hardcore influenced, instrumental led alternative sound.
These Days on Facebook and Twitter.
The Tired And True
For Fans Of: Challenges, The Movielife, Title Fight, and We Still Dream. We’re fortunate enough to have a fairly large hub of friends in the richly talented Connecticut music scene, and a name that is currently on everyone’s lips is The Tired And True, and their brand of no-nonsense, give-it-to-me-now pop-punk.
I always develop a particular affinity for bands who wear their hearts so firmly on their sleeve that it comes across in every line of every song. The Tired And Truedeliver weighty, energetic pop-punk delivered with genuine heart and emotion. Sounding like the indignant love child of Saves The Day and The Story So Far, sophomore offering Haunts is an EP that seems to be over before it’s started, a short but unwaveringly sweet rendition of accomplished hardcore & pop-punk sounds, transitioning seamlessly between gritty and anthemic. At times, the vocal tendencies are almost Matt Pryor-esque, and you can hear The Get Up Kids influence in the title track.
A couple of our roster are playing shows with The Tired And True in the next few weeks, and from their fast rising reputation as a quality and hard working live band, I have no doubt that they’ll be pretty special gigs. New music is also on the horizon – a 7” Split with The American Verse is to be released in early March.
<a href=“http://thetiredandtrue.bandcamp.com/album/haunts” data-mce-href=“http://thetiredandtrue.bandcamp.com/album/haunts”>Haunts by The Tired And True</a>
The Tired and True on Facebook, Twitter and Bandcamp.
Matrimony
For Fans Of: Alisson Krauss, The Gaslight Anthem, and The Lumineers. I came across Matrimonyfor the first time just a few short weeks ago. They’re opening up a show for The Gaslight Anthem in March and their debut LP is to be released on Columbia Records later this year, so I’m not going to claim I’ve made some diamond in the rough type discovery here. With that said, there’s very little by way of sustained buzz surrounding them, and I certainly wasn’t expecting to be blown away to quite the extent I was.
The first thing you need to know about Matrimony, is that they are well and truly a family affair. A family unit that came together from either side of the Atlantic, when step brother Jimmy hopped from Ireland to Charlotte, NC to join the rest of the Hardee clan. They couldn’t have picked a more fitting name for the band – much like the newly united siblings’ seamless transition into a coherent quartet, their sincere and enchanting sound beautifully marries elements of a very Irish sounding folk influence with an authentic indie driven slice of Americana.
Ashlee’s vocal range is utterly divine, effortlessly moving between a haunting and wistful Lana Del Ray-esque tone to uplifting euphoric harmonies. Not only does the variation in her personal range offer a huge contribution to the end product, but the contrast with brother Jimmy’s raw and rusky chorus is an unexpected triumph. Songwriting and execution to the highest degree, the new record could very easily propel them onto the world stage.
<a href=“http://matrimonyband.bandcamp.com/track/obey-your-guns” data-mce-href=“http://matrimonyband.bandcamp.com/track/obey-your-guns”>Obey Your Guns by Matrimony</a>
Matrimony on Facebook, Twitter and Bandcamp.
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