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once we were / preview — No Comments
5
Mar 09

artistpreview: Once We Were

Once We Were

Once We Were
Eric, Per, Ulf
post-rock, rock
A Tendervision Recording

Once We Were happens to be one of those few bands who takes the ‘rock’ half of ‘post-rock’ seriously, which is a welcome change from the norm. Hailing from Sweden, this band is probably not on any radar in the U.S. but they’re well worth a listen. Think of Explosions in the Sky’s talent of drawing you into a song subconsciously mixed with Appleseed Cast’s willingness to experiment and you’ve pretty much got Once We Were. Their first EP, Winter Kept Us Warm has a very relaxed, smoother sound than their most recent Contra, but both show a controlled maturity.

myspace, last.fm
Contra (2007), Winter Kept Us Warm EP (2006) – free downloads @ website

Once We Were sounds like a slow train ride through a blizzard.

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pretty in panic / preview — No Comments
29
Jan 09

ARTISTpreview: Pretty in Panic

Pretty in Panic

Pretty in Panic
Jenny Kellerman
folk, indie
(unsigned)
myspace

I stumbled across Pretty in Panic’s Myspace from a link on Tiger Lou’s page and found myself entranced. Based on what’s posted on her Myspace, I can’t say a lot for Jenny Kellerman’s voice, but her lyrics are factual in a Boris Smile fashion. But where Boris Smile is refreshingly witty in their simplicity, Pretty in Panic is unfortunately cheesy. She’s worth a listen, at least. And on the plus side, it seems that the entire Kellerman family (which includes Jenny and Tiger Lou’s Rasmus Kellerman) is filled with musicians so I have more bands to check out!

“Like It Just Happened” featuring Juni Jarvi
“Emergency Exit” featuring Rasmus Kellerman
“You-Turn” featuring Juni Jarvi
“Love to Run” featuring Firefox AK

Pretty in Panic sounds like being shut in a room with a five year old – cute at the beginning, annoying near the end.

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preview / war tapes — 1 Comment
14
Sep 08

artistpreview: War Tapes

War Tapes is:
Neil
Becca
William
Matt
 
Genre: indie, post-punk/new wave
Sounds Like: the child of The Bravery and Boy Kill Boy, with a female bassist/vocalist.
Label: Sarathan Records
 
myspace

Why Bother?
If you’ve heard The Bravery, you’ll recognize their obvious influences on the War Tapes, from lead singer Neil’s distinctive voice to the same musical influences. Of course, there’s the fact that they toured with The Bravery before to add to those similarities. So why bother listening to these guys? They’re not The Bravery, for starters. With the presence of a female vocalist and their sardonic lyrics, I can guarantee you’ll be interested in their Cure-like sound. Of course, as with most bands, time and money could help them improve their sound, but I don’t think you should ignore these guys as just another one of the multitude of post-punk bands out there. They need to release an album before I can officially judge them, but I have some hope for these guys.

Current Discography:
War Tapes [EP] (2008)
- download: Dreaming of You
- download: Always Falling

Upcoming Tour Dates:
Sep 21 2008 – The Fillmore w/ Tiger Army (San Francisco, California)
Sep 24 2008 – EP RELEASE PARTY @ Club Moscow (18+) (Hollywood)
Oct 15 2008 – Club A.D.D. @ Nicholby’s (Ventura, California)
Oct 23 2008 – Octoberflame 2008 @ The Grove with Tiger Army & Vnv Nation (Anaheim, California)

Disclosure: War Tapes were brought to my attention by two emails from Sarathan Records. Please see my review policy for more.

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