Youth Group Casino Twilight Dogs Recording an album around the success of a cover of Rod Stewart's "Forever Young" sure has a way of affecting a band's sound. The Australians of Youth Group put out their second American album after a successful tour with Death Cab for Cutie and exposure to the masses on the popular television show, The OC. While there are moments of excitement on the release, the band's previous indie pop exuberance has mostly given way to well-crafted, soft emotionalism. Casino Twilight Dogs begins and ends with homages to the Beach Boys and hits a few varied notes in between. "Under the Underpass" draws on the band's Smiths influence and some talented production to simultaneously haunt and uplift. Violin and tender guitar make "Start Today Tomorrow" a memorable reflective piece. And "Catching & Killing" sees the band emulate Sloan admirably, serving as the album's sole venture into aggression. For its successes, the album does have its share of clunkers. "Daisychains" is a sprawling, overly sentimental track that sees lead singer Toby Martin at his worst, drawing on trite imagery and using such clich‚d phrases as "I never meant to cause you pain" and "now you're gone." And while it is decent, the Stewart cover mostly relies on the original song's hooks, just slowing things down a little. Despite some faults, Casino Twilight Dogs is a rather listenable effort, notable for a band making a marked departure from its previous work. - Rafael Garcia
Busdriver RoadKillOvercoat Aside from his resemblance to a gritty version of Carlton Banks, there is little evidence of any recognizable influence on Regan "Busdriver" Farquhar's musical repertoire. His newest release, RoadKillOvercoat, is no exception. Hailing from the underground hip-hop circles of L.A., Busdriver admits the difficulty in classifying his particular style of hip-hop. Described alternately as some combination of hip-hop, dance/electronic, ghettotech or indie-rock, his sound is most commonly characterized as "Other." Busdriver's style can be traced back to the open mic freestyle battles hosted by venues like L.A.'s famed Goodlife Caf‚, which he began frequenting at the age of 15. This raw, often convoluted free association-rhyming is the bread and butter of Busdriver's unique staccato style. Like any good underground album, RoadKillOvercoat's lyrics range from criticisms of the music industry to self-deprecating claims of inferiority, as well as the occasional political innuendo. While significantly more abrasive than his previous albums, it's still possible to appreciate its melodic undertones. In fact, Busdriver's rapping complements the heavy bass beats as often as it does the overall melody of the song. The tracks transition from the coked up, clubbanger sounds of "Kill Your Employer (Recreational Paranoia Is the Sport of Now)" to the neo-psychadelic "Sun Showers" with a fluidity reserved for bands akin to Mogwai. Despite the onslaught of synth heavy, abstract lyrics, Busdriver does well in including introspective, stimulating tracks such as "Mr. Mistake (Bested by the Whisper Chasm)."
- Mike Lin
A Day To Remember For Those Who Have Heart
The kiddies love them some angst. Dig deeper into any complex Zumiez-clad adolescent and you will likely find angst-ridden emo and/or screamo catching iPod Top 25 love. At least these genres address some harbored feelings within all of us. Though we don't necessarily still suffer from teenage angst, it is in some distant past relatable. Ocala, Florida quintet, A Day To Remember shares the screamo music aesthetic: Thrashing power chords, drum-machine simple percussion paired and underdeveloped male voice that makes up for a lack of singing chops by screaming. The band diverges from these genres, however, when one considers their lyrics. Vague and ambiguous, lead singer Jeremy McKinnon is concerned with wrongs done towards him, but the listener is not quite privy to what or who has wronged him. A lost love? A former employer? The answers to these questions are not important. With mindless sound titles like "Start the Shooting" and "The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle," this angst can best be described as self-imposed. Perhaps this feeling comes with living in a small rural town in the south. Regardless, it does not make the accompanying music more tolerable. The simplicity of the sound not only shows a lack of musicianship, but a general lack of rock credibility. Rather than tapping the sort of freewheeling straightforwardness that typified historic punk bands, this music's simplicity is based in an aim to please. Further, the album's packaging - the band wielding weapons fully clad in prep school gear - reveals its target audience. Leave this one to the kiddies, because it is best forgotten. - Leo C. Reilly
