No Use For A Name has a special place in my heart. They, along with Blink 182 are what got me really into rock music. Some of their songs, I considered my “favorite” at one point in my life. One of them is “Friends Of The Enemy” from the album Hard Rock Bottom. I highly suggest you try some of their “old” stuff. It’s strong and will leave a lasting impression on you. All of their material up until that album was a gradual growth and perhaps, maturity of the band. But with Keep Them Confused in 2005, I can say I was heartbreakingly disappointed. I didn’t like the album at all. I thought they were aged past their prime. I thought that the politics and other social B.S. had gotten the better of their band.

But OH!, how wrong I was. Maybe they took a hint and went back to their old roots? This new album, The Feel Good Record Of The Year is as melodic as melodic punk rock gets. Yes, I did just sort of coin that genre, but as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, melodies and vocals far outweigh the instrumentals for me. If you are like me, then what are you waiting for? Put your name down for a copy! Tony Sly does an amazing job of singing, and not yelling or screaming as many punk rocks have turned to. I URGE you to just play that first song. One chance, and you will be hooked. You can listen to this album on a lonely winter night as well as a summer cruise with the convertible top down (or windows).

For those who have never heard Nufan’s stuff, or even heard of the band, start here and dig through YouTube videos of their older songs. I’m one very music connoisseur today.

Within the depths of Davy Jones’ locker lie treasures so vast that they’d send the most humble and selfless of men scouring to their banks. Luckily, a gem like Little Death has surfaced from the bottom of the sea for all of us to scour over and remind us how great an album can sound.

Just about every CD has that one song that you wait in anticipation for. As the tracks slowly cycle through, you’re constantly skipping parts of songs just to get to the one you’ve been waiting for. Finally, you reach your nirvana and the climatic conclusion of the song gives you chills. You have your fix and you’re finally at ease with the world. Well, the difference between all that and Little Death is that they don’t have a single song like that. Their entire album is composed of bone-chillingness! I haven’t found a single track from this CD that I haven’t over-enjoyed. Pete & the Pirates are another indie-rock band except with some small hints of pop to make it nice and sweet. The group hails from Reading, England and bring a fresh breeze of music along with them.

Writer’s Block is Swedish, indie-rock group, Peter Bjorn and John’s (PB and J *wink*), latest album that hit the charts hard with songs catchy enough to reel you in a massive catfish. And that’s exactly what the trio is, a big fish in a small pond. Starting off with very little resources, the gang worked hard with that they had: small labels and an even smaller following for their breed of sound. Despite these handicaps, Peter Bjorn and John continued to create music. But it wasn’t just music, or at least it wasn’t until Writer’s Block.

Their first single “Young Folks” swept America by storm. Ranking within the top five tracks of 2007 of many distinguished music lists, including #1 for Apple’s most downloaded on iTunes, this is one song that couldn’t be stopped. “Young Folks” had been placed in more advertisements, T.V. shows, and remixes (including one done by Kanye West) than you can wave a stick at. It was definitely Peter Bjorn and John’s ticket to stardom. While the rest of the album may be hiding in the shadow of this superstar track, there are still a few other songs that keep this CD from becoming another one-hit-wonder. “Up Against the Wall” , “Paris 2004″, and “Amsterdam” are just a few that support Writer’s Block’s backbone into standing up straight.

But like everything in the world, there are two sides to the spectrum. A few times I’d find myself skipping through the album because of certain songs becoming too boring or just horribly dragged out. To put it bluntly, “Roll the Credits” and “Poor Cow” are an endless eleven-minutes of guitar strumming and irritating vocals that can make a deaf man cringe.

This is it. Panic’s new album…and I’m not going to beat around the bush…it’s dismal and disappointing. And…I wasn’t expecting very much at all. I had heard that they were changing directions with their music, which would be a good thing, considering their first album was basically a copy of Fall Out Boy, but with even stupider lyrics and even worse vocals.

You see, on the face of it, Pretty. Odd. is an exciting new album for them to really show what type of band they are and the direction they are going in. In fact, I have no doubt that some people will like it. There are girls out there that will draw immense pleasure from this. But if you actually listen to it, you don’t hear originality at all. What you hear, is just stolen melodies from old films and stage plays. I just learned today from Wikipedia that the band began by covering Blink-182 songs. This was no surprise, since they are still copying others. You might argue that it’s just “influence” but one go-through of this album and you’d be convinced. Actually, to be honest, they haven’t changed AT ALL. They have the same style, same tempo, and same tacky song titles. Perhaps they say it best themselves in “We’re So Starving”. “You don’t have to worry ’cause we’re the same band.”

“Nine In The Afternoon” was their single released months ago to build hype for this album. Obviously they consider this their best song, and do you know what? Radio stations haven’t been playing it. Rightly so.

“She Has The World” and “Do You Know What I’m Seeing” both begin with extremely familiar melodies.

Nothing about this album is exciting. Their lyrics feel disgustingly elementary. How can they be a dance/pop band and have 10 seconds of silence in the beginning of every song and have so many boring filler songs? I hate to say this, but you really need to listen to this album to know what I’m on about…You are left with an empty, “what did I just listen to?” feeling.

MySpace is one of those things that people just LOVE to hate on, yet you know that once they are done bashing it, they are going to go home, log onto their account, check for friend requests, new comments, messages, and possibly change their profile song. It is just another one of those “trends” that will enjoy its fair share of attention, and then die down as it is deemed uncool. Many people have moved onto Facebook. Like MySpace, many modern bands are just a trend. They’ll have a hit song or even a hit album, but disappear in a few weeks, and only surface a few years later with a lackluster album which will be the signal of their demise. I can list bands aplenty that fit this description. Some young bands like Panic! At the Disco had potential. They released the right type of music at the right time. We readily accepted them as they appeared between Fall Out Boy albums. Girls got wet listening to their singles. I loved their dance beats, but hated their digitalized, prepubescent voices.

I also didn’t like the fact that homeless people who camp out by taco trucks, strumming their guitars, with a hat full of coins in front of them, can play better music than Panic! At The Disco can at a live performance. Their shows were weak, their music even weaker. And their momentum died down as emo, another “trend” began to fade away.

Which leads me onto today’s review. The Hush Sound’s Goodbye Blues, is set to be released on March 18, 2008. This album really combines the unlikely combo of soft piano/vocals that are Ben Folds-esque with the dance beats of Panic! At The Disco. If you only pick one totally random song to listen to off the album, you will NOT know their music. If you switch around through the album, you might not get a single soft song, and just think they are a copy of Panic!. But in reality, it is a great lineup of songs. The ordering is perfect. This album is perfect if you are not in any certain mood. If you just want some, any, music on, then you will cherish this.

Goodbye Blues jukes you around like a star quarterback on steroids. Some songs, like “As You Cry” and “That’s Okay,” really display solid/polished vocals. We’ve got a winner here. I promise you that their songs will be used in some upcoming movies.