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gibb's picks


SAVES THE DAY / sound the alarm
SPARTA / trees
SENSES FAIL / still searching
COBRA STARSHIP / while the city sleeps, we rule the streets


TAKING BACK SUNDAY / louder now

Taking Back Sunday is back with a vengeance with their latest effort "Louder Now" a title that could not be any more suitable for this album. With a finally solidified line up TBS has taken a major leap forward from "Where you want to be" an album that I admit that I enjoyed but lacked the passion and wear your heart on your sleeve attitude that made "Tell all your friends" so special. The album kicks off with the best possible opener that they had "What it feels like to be a ghost" which grabs your attention with shredding instrumentals and the louder more confident voice of Adam Lazzara. From there Louder Now tells tales of love, heart break , passion, self discovery and over coming personal demons. "Makedamnsure" is the albums first single is the best single the band has released since "Cute without the e" and perfectly captures the emotion, honesty and desperation of the entire album. "My Blue Heaven" is a song that has been described by the band as the closest they have come to making an epic song and they make a good point. The addition of violin and cello compliment the guitar work quite well. The song has a strong "coming to terms" feel and is one of the more brutally honest tracks on the album. "Divine Intervention" is the sole acoustic track on the album and is everything that "new american classic" wanted to be; emotional, heartfelt, honest and powerful. It is a tale about self realization and Lazzara accepting responsible for his previous detrimental behavior and acknowledging those who helped him grow up. Overall this is a giant leap forward from "where you want to be" the production is solid and not overdone, the album has great flow and more passion. It is still nowhere near Tell all your friends but it is unfair to ask it to because that is one of my favourite albums ever and without John Nolan they will in my opinion never reach that level again but when they are making it as big as they now are i don't think that bothers the band one bit.

Favourite Track: Makedamnsure


MY CHECMICAL ROMANCE / the black parade

The boys in My Chemical Romance must really like 70's and 80's rock because their latest release "Welcome to the Black Parade" sounds like it is straight out of those decades. Sure the album still has some of the dark emo flare of their previous albums but this time around MCR took a gamble and went big with a concept album. The gamble paid off and the project became one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year and has set the band on the path to arena rock superstardom. This is an album about death and how death comes for us how we want it. The albums opener entitled "the end" sets the stage for the epic journey ahead with the sound of a heart monitor followed by singer Gerard Way invites the listener to "come on come all to this tragic affair" which perfectly sets the tone for what you are about to hear. Despite the common theme throughout the album the songs are all unique with their sound. From the albums first single the epic Queen esque "Welcome to the Black Parade" to the Italian folk sounding "Mama" which features Liza Minneli, yes that's right Liza Minneli but don't be too frightened by that cause Liza rips and adds a great new dimension to the song. "Teenagers" is my favourite and probably the catchiest song on the album. It is a song that is destined to be a single and explores the dark side of teenage life with its chorus "teenagers scare the living shit out of me". Say what you will about MCR, their meteoric rise to fame and their rabid teenage fan base, this is a band that does not dumb their music to appeal to the masses. This album is a monumental musical achievement and will interesting to see if the band can top this.

Favourite Track: teenagers


GATSBY'S AMERICAN DREAM / self-titled

Many bands may have released loud and aggressive albums this year but few of them are as flat out pissed off as the latest effort by Gatsby's American Dream. The album is a straight forward fuck you to the music industry. The album preaches about the sanctity and integrity of music. The band is clearly sick and tired of music execs giving them shit and show that by taking blatant shots and these same execs and booking agents with songs like "Badd Beat" and "Shadow of the Colossus". The album is stripped right down and has a very raw sound, the band did not want to add extra shit that can not be pulled off in live performances. The addition of a keyboard helps to bring a new dimension to the band. Gang chants and bouncing bass lines also help to bring an element of danceability to the album. The album is very strong lyrically it is straight to the point and does not beat around the bush by adding a lot of complex imagery to the lyrics. The album tells you how the band is feeling and pulls no punches in doing so. This is an album from a band that is going to make the music that they want and will not be afraid to take shots any unlucky mother fuckers that come between them and that goal. Gatsby's American dream is a band that truly believes in music as an art form and have every intention of keeping it pure. The only issue I have is that they might take things to far and commit career suicide by taking shots at the wrong people. Let's hope that does not happen so G.A.D can continue to make pure passionate rock music for years to come.

Favourite Track: Badd Beat


GYM CLASS HEROES / as cruel as school children

Before I get started with this one i just want to go on record to say I am not a rap/hip-hop fan I don't really understand the appeal of a genre that now spends most of its time talking about "bling", "rims", "bitches and hoes" just doesn't click with me. With that said the Gym Class Heroes are responsible for the most fun album that I have had listening to an album this year. With "As Cruel as School" children the Gym Class heroes have created an album that is not overloaded with modern hip hop clichés that I mentioned earlier on. The album deals with a variety of subjects some serious (alcoholism, persevering as a band despite naysayer's) and some not so serious ( nailing your high school math teacher, myspace love affairs). No matter what the content the band finds a way to showcase it in an upbeat way. Right from the opener "The Queen and I" you get the feeling that you will be singing and dancing along. Being a Decaydence band you get the feeling that there will be some cameos from label favourites and there are on my two favourite tracks on the album "Clothes Off" features Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy performing the songs chorus and "7 weeks" which features William Beckett of The Academy is... The album also features some interesting interludes know as the 3 part "Sloppy Love Jingle" which features front man Travis Mccoy rhyming his way through a story of an encounter with a young lady at a bar and the events that follow. As I have stated many times this album is a blast to listen to. It is the perfect album for people like myself who are not into the whole hip-hop scene but may want a segway into the genre.

Favourite Track: 7 weeks


SAOSIN / self-titled

It's been an interesting last few years for the boys in Saosin. After the release of a very well received ep the band has struggled with in fighting and a variety of line up changes including the departure of singer and fan favourite Anthony Green now of Circa Survive. Now with a finally solidified line up Saosin has finally released their long awaited major label debut. There were a lot of questions surrounding the release of this album first and foremost how will Cover stand up as a singer compared to Green, well let me tell you he stands up fan-fucking-tastically. Im not a big fan of Anthony Green I do not feel that he is that great of a singer i believe Jason Tate said it best when he said sounding like you are singing from your nose doesn't make you a great singer. Cove has amazing vocal range on this album, he is melodic at the slow parts and has the ability to let loose and just fucking wail at the heavier parts. One aspect that I feel greatly benefited this album was the lack of screaming. Some fans may not agree with me but this album has great emotion put into it vocally there is no need for phoned in screaming to try to make it sound more passionate. Musically this is a captivating record. The album offers a lot of technical, crunchy guitar work mixed with powerful, thunderous percussion mixed with some catchy hooks that are sure to please purists and casual fans alike. This "new" version of Saosin has shown a lot of progression in their song writing and great improvement musically. The drum work is what really seems to stand out on a lot of tracks it just seems to resonate through your eardrums while saying "you fucking remember me forever" and believe me you will. In spite of what some Saosin purists may think about Anthony Green's absence this is a great breakthrough album for the band. They have cast off the shadows of there former self and are moving forward with an album with stunning vocal work thunderous powerful instrumentals and even the occasional catchy hook that will have you singing and moshing along.

Favourite Track: you're not alone, voices


THE EARLY NOVEMBER / the mother, the mechanic, the path

When a band sets out to make a concept album they know that they are taking a huge risk if the story line doesn't register with the listener there is no escape. This was a risk that. fortunately for The Early November hit the mark with "The Mother, The Mechanic, The Path an album that is not only adventurous lyrically but musically as well. The album tells a heartbreaking tale of a man and his overbearing father. This man is driven to leave home at the age of 18 to escape his father and be with the live of his life only when he seems to be getting his life back on track an unexpected pregnancy threatens to spoil the party. The child is sent to live with his wife's parents and grows up thinking his grandparents are his parents and his his parents are his aunt and uncle. The child grows up an outcast in school and eventually learns the truth about his parents when his grandmother gets sick and he moves in with his real parents. The boy spends the next few years hating his father and counting the days until he can finally leave home. The boy inevitably ends up leaving home, getting married and becoming exactly like the father he hates. The subject matter of the album is both compelling and heart breaking, there is no happy ending to this tale. What the album teaches though is you cannot spend your life blaming others for your problems only when you accept responsibility for your actions will things change.

Musically the album is very diverse. The first disc is a straight forward rock album and is musically like an evolution of the bands previous efforts. The second disc is is a stripped down bare bones effort with minimal production with a mix of acoustics and electric and even some horns thrown in to mix it up. Lyrically this is one of the bands best efforts and and I loved the fact the kept this disc very raw and pure. The third disc is by far the most unique of the three. This disc tells the story mentioned above from the perspective of the child now grown up talking to a therapist. It is a compelling disc with spoken dialogue mixed with musical interludes in between the tracks called "sessions". This is the overall "story" disc with the other two serving as the soundtrack for this disc. The album also ends with a minor twist although if you are listening carefully to the third disc it is not all that shocking. Overall this is one of the most unique and entertaining albums. It is an album that has the ability to make you both laugh, cry, clap your hands and sing along over the span of the three albums. It is not the most feel good album of the year but it is an album with a great message and one that will really make you think.

Favourite Track: Hair, The Runaway, 1000 times a day


.MONEEN. / the red tree

I truly believe that .Moneen. is Canada's most underrated and underappreciated bands. The are a band that writes intelligent and emotionally captivating rock music but they are constantly overshadowed by the likes of Alexisonfire, Billy Talent and the dreaded Hedley. The latest release "The Red Tree" is one of the most engaging and powerful albums of the year. This is as close to an epic album as the band has ever written. The album is one of the most powerful and emotional records of the year. .Moneen has shown with this album that they are not your typical "emo" band they have shown they can write heart on your sleeve songs without being overly depressing or taking advantage of typical "emo" clichés. The album kicks off with the fast paced "Don't ever tell Locke what he can't do" a song that preaches individuality and that you should never let people tell you that you cannot do something. The song shows great vocal range by front many Kenny Bridges as well as killer vocals in the breakdown by bassist Erik Hughes. My favourite track on the album is the "The day nobody needed to know". The vocal work on this track is truly breathtaking with vocals that range from deeply melodic to passionately aggressive. The ending of this song is where the true passion kicks in with lines like "sing for life/sing for choices/sing for everyone without voices/ sing for love/ sing for laughter/ sing for everyone here and after/" as well as "a hero will come in time/ a martyr will save our lives" it continues on with more lines like that. This is a song that sends chills down my spine with every listen. The album has great flow mixing faster paced aggressive tracks like "The Frightening Reality Of The Fact That We Will All Have To Grow Up And Settle Down Some Day" with more melodic ones like "There Are A Million Reasons For Why This May Not Work... And Just One Good One For Why It Will". The album closes with the chilling "The Song I Swore To Never Sing" a song that is very piano driven through a good portion of its duration. The vocals are captivating and haunting all at the same time from the opening right through to the last line "So kill yourself/surprise your friends./Raise a toast/to everything we once had.”, now how could you listen to a line like that without sending shivers down your spine. This is hands down one of the most engaging and powerfully emotional records of the year. The vocals are beautiful and powerful, the instrumentals are melodic and aggressive and the lyrics are totally engaging. Note to Canadian music media take notice fuck the nickelback's and Hedley's of this country .Moneen. is a band on a totally different level its time to give these boys the recognition they deserve.

Favourite Track: The day nobody needed to know


ANGELS & AIRWAVES / we don't need to whisper

When blink-182 split close to two years ago there was not much known about what the members were doing musically until the later part of 2005. All that was really known was that Tom and Mark had gone their separate ways and had begun working on new projects. Late in 2005 Tom Delonge started making mention of a new project that he believed was not only the best thing he has ever done but what he believed was the greatest musical achievement of the last 20 years. That project was his new endeavor Angels and Airwaves and the debut album "We don't need to whisper". Before I go any further I want to clear a few things up first this is not the best musical achievement of the past 20 years and it is not even the best work Tom has ever done but it is a fantastic album none the less. This is an album that has a kind of futuristic but very uplifting feel to it. It's a record about looking to the future and moving forward while leaving the past behind you. It is a very relevant album at this point of Tom's life where he is basically leaving the past 15 years of his life with blink behind and moving on to newer things. The album kicks of with "Valkyrie Missile" a song with an intro that sounds like it could fit perfectly into 2001 a space odyssey and finishes with a killer instrumental outro. The epic feel of the album continues into throughout the album especially in tracks like the albums first single "The Adventure" as well as some of my favourite tracks "The War" and "The Gift". The album also involves some religious aspects to it, Tom seems to have developed more of a spiritual side over the past few years. This is most evident on "A little's enough" a song about God coming to earth and fixing everything that is wrong with the world. As much as I adore this album there are some major issues that I have with it. The issues are with 2 tracks "It Hurts" and "Good Day". These are two tracks that I feel are weak lyrically especially the dreadful chorus of "It Hurts" which consists of the line "your best friend is not your girlfriend". Tom is one of my favourite singer songwriters of all time but these two songs just do not do it for me, I just feel that these two songs kill the momentum of the album although it is redeemed by the excellent closer "Start the Machine" a song about the end of blink. In spite of its noticeable flaws this is a great listen. It is a very U2 influenced album with a sound that is destined for big arena shows.

Favourite Track: Valkyrie Missile, The War


UNDEROATH / define the great line

It has been a year of ups and downs for Underoath. Things started off great with their latest album debuting at #2 on the charts and selling upwards of 100,000 copies in its first week and a headlining spot on the Warped Tour. Things changed in a major hurry when the band was forced to drop off the tour amidst rumors of drug use and rifts from within that all came to a head with a band only meeting on the tour bus. Fortunately time heals all and the band is back stronger than ever. Underoath's newest record "Define the Great Line" is nothing short of brilliant. It is an energetic and passionate new side of the band that shines through. Gone are most of the catchy screamo hooks and what we have now is a more focused and aggressive metal driven affair. This time around the band finally had a stable line up unlike on the last record where Spencer joined the band part way through the recording process. Spencer's influence on this record is much more profound and it really shows. Underoath is a band that is a band that is very outspoken about their christian beliefs and their music in the past has reflected that. This album however does not play out as a preachy album but more like a prayer. There is a running theme throughout the album of individuals who are troubled and are screaming out for help while rediscovering their faith in God. This is an album that really showcases the true passion and really has a lot to do with Spencer's troubled past and how he overcame his past demons. The album is brilliant lyrically and really allows you to feel the true pain of the individuals described and also allows you to grow with them as they search for meaning in their lives. The vocals in this record have improved drastically. Spencer has really developed a lot more range in this album with his piercing screams are mixed with chilling yells and howls. Drummer/Vocalist Aaron Gillespie also showcases great vocal range throughout the album although Spencer does seem to have taken over the majority of the vocal duties there is also a great mixture of gang vocals in a lot of songs which I am always a sucker for. Musically the album is a lot heavier with a lot more metal driven technical guitar work and the thunderous drumming of Gillespie who is quickly becoming one of the scenes best drummers in my opinion. In summation this is an album not for the faint of heart it deals with heart wrenching and very heavy subject matter and there is very little in the way of catchy hooks. This album is a giant leap forward in the evolution of Underoath it showcases a new more edgy sound and has made Underoath a force to be reckoned with.

Favourite Track: you're ever so inviting


BRAND NEW / the devil and god are raging inside of me

Here it is at long last the album that I have been anticipating for years and now the album that I have most dreaded writing a review for since the moment I first listened to it. Brand New is back with "The Devil and God Raging Inside Me" and album that could not be more aptly titled. Not only because of the subject matter but also because of the opinions is has created among its listeners. It is a very difficult album to review because as much as I absolutely love this album it is so all over the place that I don't know where to start. Well hear goes...

This album is no Deja Entendu there is very little in the way of catchy hooks and sing along melodies. What there is is a darker, edgier and more depressing side of Brand New. This is an album that has many underlying themes throughout none of which are uplifting. The album deals with death, depression,self doubt, losing faith and trying to really find ones place in the world. The album kicks off with "Sowing Season (Yeah)" which starts slow but builds to an intense change in pace. That is followed by the deeply personal "Milestone" a song of self doubt and struggling with personal issues. The next song is one of the most powerfully beautiful and incredible songs I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. The song is called "Jesus Christ". The song has a slow steady beat throughoutt and may be the best song that Brand New has ever written. The song is about feeling like God has forgotten about you and as a result losing faith in God. It also deals feeling like you are all alone in the world but at the same time trying to find a way to regain that faith. This is one of the most powerful and meaningful songs that has ever been written and is a song that has touched me in a way that few songs ever have and it features some of the finest vocal work that Jesse Lacey has ever done. I could do a full page on this song alone but I will leave it at that. The rest of the album is still very engaging songs like "Not the Sun" and "The Archers Bows have Broken" show that the band can still pick up the pace and write more singable songs. The albums closer "Handcuffs" is slightly resemblant of "Play Crack in The Sky" and sounds like it could easily be a used in the climactic or closing scene of an Oscar winning film.

There are some flaws with this album that I will totally admit first and foremost the track listing of the album. The order of the songs seems to hurt the flow of the album. The album seems to start too suddenly without any type of build up as well the instrumental tracks seem out of place for example "untitled" there is no need for this track unless it was to be used as the albums intro, that is the only way that song would fit into the album. The album also suffers from the limited use of the leaked demos that could have taken the place of some tracks and made it a much stronger album. Some of the album is a little difficult to relate to unlike with Deja which hurts it a bit. Had a little more time been taken putting this album together and less input from the label could have possibly made this one of the best and most epic albums of our generation.

Brand New has become sort of an enigma in modern music. Nobody really knows what goes on with this band because they seem to cut themselves off from the outside world and we hear very little from the band themselves. This album gives the impression that there is more going on than meets the eye with this band. Jesse Lacey is a brilliant singer songwriter but seems to have some serious demons that he is battling from within many of which that do surface on TDAGARIM but also perhaps more we will learn about in the future or perhaps not. The man seems to be living in his own little world but we can only hope that he finds whatever it is he is looking for and continues to churn out powerful heartfelt albums like this one. This is a fantastic album from a supremely talented band and although it tops my list without question I am still left with an incomplete feeling after listening to this album. Hopefully the band finds the freedom they seem to be sinking so they can fill this void they have left me with.

Is this album better than Deja Entendu? That is a question that I do not think that I can answer because each album is on a completely different lever with its sound and concepts so I cannot form an opinion on that.This album however is my favourite album of this year after close to 30 listens all the way through I have not tired of it and I do find something new that I absolutely love with each listen.If Brand New continues to write incredibly powerful songs that touch my heart like "Jesus Christ" then this band will continue to hold a special place in my heart as well as my Ipod.

Favourite Track: jesus christ