Sunday, November 27, 2011

Song Of The Week: 11/27/11






Song: "A Man Alone"

Artist: Finch

Album: "Say Hello To Sunshine"

Year: 2005



"A Man Alone" appears to be a song about losing one's identity. The vocalist not only questions himself but also everyone and everything around him. At some point, the vocalist realizes that everything he put into his life, the blood, sweat and tears if you will, didn't quite turn out the way he expected. He woke up one day feeling as if maybe he sold himself out, maybe that the friends around him really aren't his friends. His very own identity has been compromised. Finch is a California band that started out back in 1999. After working together for about two years, Finch would release an EP entitled "Falling Into Place" in 2001. This EP was soon followed by their first full length studio album in 2002 called "What It Is To Burn". On the strength of the title track to that album plus the single "Letters To You", Finch began gaining a faithfull following of fans. When it came to creating their second full length album, 2005's "Say Hello To Sunshine", inner turmoil and conflicts started to rise within the band. Chinks began to show in the armor. Much of these conflicts were about what musical direction Finch would take. Some in the band wanted to continue with the more alternative rock style of "What It Is To Burn" while others in the band wanted Finch to become more of a post-hardcore band. "Say Hello To Sunshine" would have a more gritty feel to it, using much more screaming vocals than the previous album. Tensions within the band would lead to a small hiatus for Finch. This hiatus would only last a year however. The band announced some reunion shows for late 2007 and also would release an EP titled "Finch" in 2008. While working on a new album, the band abruptly decided to call it quits in 2010. The five members of the band just seemed to be pulling in different directions musically and decided to officially disband Finch. Most recently, despite the break-up, Finch has released a two track digital single called "Epilogue" as well as a new version of the "Finch" EP with three extra tracks on it. It's also not hard to find the demos the band was working on for their third album on the internet with a little searching. Other than that, Finch is basically a done deal. The book has officially closed.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Song Of The Week: 11/20/11






Song: "Surfacing"

Artist: Trust Company

Album: "True Parallels"

Year: 2005



"Surfacing" is a song that appears to be about having a change occur within you that is bringing out the worst in you. All of the bad qualities and impurities that the vocalist has buried inside him are beginning to creep to the surface and he is beginning to change into a more darker or broken version of himself. It seems as though he doesn't want this to happen, but he has no control of it. He's changing for the worse. Trust Company are from Alabama and they formed as a band back in 1997. After recording some demos and self releasing some music and touring, they caught the ear of the folks at Geffen Records where they were signed and released their debut album, 2002's "The Lonely Position Of Neutral". That album went on to sell over 500,000 copies giving the band some moderate success. The band was forced to drop out of the Ozzfest tour because of pressure from the label to release their follow up album. Despite delays with the album and little promotion, Trust Company's second album, 2005's "True Parallels" performed quite well. The band would part with Geffen Records, however, which would lead to a short hiatus for the band from 2005 to 2007. In those two years, the band members each focused on several side projects, most notably Amity Lane which featured Trust Company lead vocalist Kevin Palmer and original bassist Josh Moates. Amity Lane would release one album in 2006, "The Sound Of Regret". By 2007, the original line-up of Trust Company announced that they were reuniting. They spent the next few years working on demos and eventually got enough material together to begin the process of recording a new album. In March of 2011, the band released their third album, "Dreaming In Black And White". Currenty, Trust Company has been touring in support of their latest album, most recently opening up for Drowning Pool.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Song Of The Week: 11/13/11






Song: "Your Time Has Come"

Artist: Audioslave

Album: "Out Of Exile"

Year: 2005



"Your Time Has Come" is a song that appears to be about losing people you know way before their time. It definitely feels that vocalist, Chris Cornell, is talking about young people in this song who have passed away during his lifetime. He also references the Vietnam War Memorial and the more than 50,000 names of young people who had died and the impact of the fact that those families have to get through and move on from the same feelings of loss and mourning that he himself had to go through when he lost some friends in the past. As personal as and tragic as it is to lose someone who seems way too young to die, I believe by going to the Vietnam War Memorial shows that that feeling is extremely universal. Audioslave is a supergroup that formed back in 2001. Frontman, Zack de la Rocha, of Rage Against The Machine left that band in 2000 to focus on some solo material. The remaining members of Rage, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk would hook up with Soundgarden frontman, Chris Cornell thus meshing the two rock powerhouses. Their self-titled debut album in 2002 would be the band's most successful album to date, thanks in part to the hit singles "Cochise" and "Like A Stone". In 2005, when "Out Of Exile" was released it debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. "Your Time Has Come" was the second single released from that album. By the time Audioslave's third album was released, 2006's "Revelations", tensions and dissentions were rising in the band. Most of these disagreements were stemming from financial situations and just plain internal conflicts personally amongst the band members. In 2007, Chris Cornell officially departed Audioslave to focus on his solo career. The remaining three members wound up getting back with Zack de la Rocha to perform various concerts and festivals as the reunited Rage Against The Machine. Morello also focused a lot of his time on his own solo project, The Nightwatchman. Currently, Morello, Wilk and Commerford still perform as Rage Against The Machine from time to time, though the band has not been confirmed as working on any new material as of yet. Cornell, meanwhile, has been playing with the reunited Soundgarden who has been touring as well as working on a new album which should be released soon. Audioslave, for all intents and purposes, seems like a done deal. Due to the nature of the break-up and the fact that Cornell has not spoken to any of the other three members, I don't expect to hear from Audioslave anymore. I'd never close the book on it however. Cornell said the same thing about Soundgarden but they are now back together. Anything's possible!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Song Of The Week: 11/6/11






Song: "Checkmarks"

Artist: The Academy Is...

Album: "Almost Here"

Year: 2005



"Checkmarks" is a song that appears to be about a relationship in which the guy is just another number to the girl when it comes to sexual partners that she shares. In other words, he's just another "checkmark" on her bedpost. You get the sense that the guy wanted more out of their relationship but ultimately sees that she has done nothing but use him. In the end, you sense that his revenge is that now he is a famous singer in a band and she's just another face in the crowd. Perhaps she is kicking herself now for letting the boy who made it get away. The Academy Is... was an emo/pop punk band from Chicago that formed back in 2003. Their musical style is similar to that of bands such as The All-American Rejects or Fall Out Boy. They rely on pop melodies and emotional lyrics and vocals. "Checkmarks", off the band's debut album, 2005's "Almost Here", was not only the band's very first single, it proved to be one of their most successful singles which they released. Ultimately, The Academy Is... has released three full-length studio albums as well as four EP's. In early 2011, there was word from The Academy Is... camp that they were working on their fourth album though no official release date was announced yet. In a somewhat surprising move that no doubt shocked the band's fanbase, The Academy Is... announced in October of 2011 that they had decided to go their separate ways. Lead singer, William Beckett, has said that the album the band was at work on may see the light of day at some point but he's not sure when exactly. He also stated that the remaining band members will all be releasing music either solo or in other projects. Currently, after eight years of making music together, it appears it's time to close the book on The Academy Is... as a band.