theconley

This is a fantastic 8-bit rock album. It's been a while since I have heard any really good 8-bit music. This album incorporates some amazing 8-bit sounds wonderfully with acoustic rock, and fun, melodramatic game nerd lyrics.

Once again, the music is great. The vocals are not amazing, but at the same time, they don't leave too much to be desired. I felt like the tracks near the beginning were better than the tracks near the end. The album migrates towards more rock by the end of the album, but stays true to its nature.

The lyrics are really great if you are in the cyberpunk mood at the moment. A lot of the lyrics are very sad if you can see past the silly videogame references. Basically, if you aren't a fan of anything cyberpunk, you probably won't be able to take this seriously, but if you are, you will fall in love with this album. The lyrics were clean as well, apart from a little profanity on tracks 7 and 8.

On that note, the album cover is really great, although I would perfer it without the cartoon nudity. Another gripe I have is with the license. The license is far too restrictive. I would really appreciate being able to put some of these tracks in the background of a video. I don't understand why an artist wouldn't want the free publicity of derivative works.

My favorite track is the first one, “Sad Robot”. Give it a listen to hear a good summary of this album. If you like 8-bit rock, enjoy videogame music, or are a fan of cyberpunk, you will enjoy this album a lot.

This is the first non-demo/EP by No, Really (Hannah Clemens), the slightly electro folk singer/songwriter, to show up on Jamendo. A lot of the tracks you may have heard before, so if you have already checked out No, Really, don't expect too much new in the way of songs. However, the recording quality is amazingly crisp and the performance is very well executed. I originally listened to her demo and EP, thinking "I see potential, but she's not there yet." She's there now.

No, Really has introduced a great new sound into this full album. You will notice an electronically induced slightly distant resonating/echoing quality in her voice as well as a slower more deliberate pace in the music. Perhaps it is just me, but I think that a few more instruments appear in this work as well. There is a little bit of violin that really adds a fine polish to the album.

Check out the first track, "Molten" to get an idea of what you are going to get in this album. This was probably her best track before the new album, so you will be able to compare the sounds and see the huge improvement.

In summary, this will really impress the fans of No, Really's Demo and EP. The improvements made are fantastic, and the sound is acoustic beauty with a touch of haunt.

This is a light pop rock album that goes hand in hand with Josh Woodward's dark pop rock album, Dirty Wings.

This is another really amazing album, and if you liked Dirty Wings, you will probably not be disappointed by Not Quite Connected. Of course, the mood is very different, drawing from slower, lighter sounds. The instruments tend to by more accoustic than in the other album, and the amount of drums is almost inverted, relying more on melody than beat. Instrumentally, there is a lot more variety than in Dirty Wings, throwing in a lot more banjo, violin, harmonica, etc. Woodward's voice seems to adapt to any mood, and this album does not provide an exception.

Just as the lyrics were quite dark in Dirty Wings, the lyrics are typically very light in Not Quite Connected. Typically, the lyrics tend to represent a struggle between love and anger. In this album, the lyrics lean towards love as opposed to the anger in Dirty Wings. It seems that even the angry songs are filled with love in this album, whereas in the other, even the most loving songs seemed to be filled with some degree of anger.

Some of my favorite tracks include track 2, "Effortless", track 1, "Darien Gap", and track 11 "River Run Dry".

Overall, this is a really excellent production. Woodward's inherent talent is evident, as well as the effort put into the album. The cover art is excellent and the lyrics aren't cliche and mass produced. If you liked Dirty Wings, this album is the perfect complement. If you like this album and you haven't checked out Dirty Wings, that should be your next stop.

I would describe this album as French Accoustic Folk Rock. Despite the artist's attrocious taste in his myspace layout, this album is incredibly tasteful. Of course, I can only speak for the sounds, as I a cannot speak French.

This album has a lot of variety, switching between chill and rock, but keeping a very folk atmosphere. The instrumental music is excellent and the typically gentle use of vocals and environmental sound effects adds a lot of class to this album.

All of the tracks are pretty good, but for a quick listen, I suggest going for track 4, "Lor". It is a good summary of this album. The first two tracks and track 5, "La rupture", "Les heures", "Délirante planète", are also worth listening to if you are just browsing.

The next time you are having bittersweet memories of your childhood, this album would serve as a great soundtrack. No, this album probably has nothing to do with your childhood, but it's whistful melodies and sounds certainly give it a nice dream effect with a soft touch of ironic happiness.

There is something that should be noted about the album cover, and applied to visual design in general. While the eye is really cool, the font is not. Sure, the font may look cool, but anyone with even a little experience with desktop publishing can easily recognize it as the MS Papyrus font. Keep your eye out for it, and you will find it almost everywhere. Using standard fonts and clipart makes stuff look really amateur and unoriginal.

Despite that little rant, I suggest you give the album a listen. It is pretty darn good.

This is some really great Italian pop rock. For those who can’t speak Italian (myself included), I believe the album title can be translated as “FreeMusic FreeIdeas”.

All the tracks are very well composed, and the recording quality is very crisp. The lead singer has a strong voice and I enjoyed the electric guitar solos (which are not in short supply). All of the tracks are drenched with guitar, so instrumentally there is little variety, but Harem makes up for this with varying rhythms and beats.

I wish more of the tracks were faster and more upbeat, although I did really like how the last track, “Aria”, gave a nice smooth ending to the album. My favorite tracks were “Eva”, “1000 Watt” (these two were also the fastest tracks), and “Aria”. I think that further albums from Harem would benefit greatly if more of the tracks were upbeat. The band seems to have a real talent with upbeat music, so it is a shame that so little of it is.

It’s also worth noting that the album art is quite nice, and they also posted their lyrics on Jamendo. I really appreciate when an artist does that. Even if I can’t read Italian, I like to pretend that I can to impress my friends.