SOUND BITES

A lot has happened for Dan Auerbach since the release of his last solo record in 2009; his main gig, The Black Keys, went from scrappy underground garage rockers to world-dominating force of nature, he got into a bit of a nasty beef with Jack White, and he dabbled in a number of side projects (most notably the hip hop project Blakroc and a psych/R&B flavored record with The Arcs, which originated as an Auerbach solo record). So, in a sense, it doesn't feel like it's been over eight years since Keep It Hid , and yet here we are. What makes Waiting On a Song such a notable addition to Auerbach's resumé is its consistency; while much of his recent discography comes off somewhat scattershot in its approach, Waiting On a Song is firmly footed in '70s AM radio nostalgia. Sure, Auerbach has basically built a career on retro, but this record seems focused on a particular feeling. It's a sunny, soulful record full of catchy tunes, a top-down summer day driving soun...

Any criticism, be it constructive or harsh, that Linkin Park receives thanks to their seventh album surely can't be something they couldn't see coming. Flirting with softer, poppier sounds on previous records garnered them all kinds of backlash, and not all of it was fairly deserved. A certain subset of Linkin Park "fans" have vehemently opposed anything from the band that strays too far from the chest-beating nu-metal roots they've been doing their best to shed over the past fifteen years or so. The difference this time out is that, rather than throw on a few harder edged songs to ease the transition, One More Light has no buffer; this is a pop album through and through, with nary a distorted guitar or patented Chester Bennington shriek to be heard. Early returns from the fan base for this new material has been, shall we say, less than encouraging. Lead single Heavy was hit with so much hate from some longtime followers of the group that Bennington in a rece...

I was 14 when I first heard Chris Cornell sing. As an avid consumer of MuchMusic during my teenage years (and they as an avid provider of actual musical content), I discovered countless bands and artists during the many, many hours I spent in front of the living room TV. During a nondescript day circa 1990 or so, there was a segment wherein an up-and-coming band named Soundgarden was having a discussion with one of the VJs regarding the controversy that surrounded their current single Hands All Over . Certain outlets were hesitant to spin the track due to the recurring refrain of "kill your mother". Cornell defended the lyrics, citing the song to be about our strained relationship with the earth and reasoning that it was about the environment and not matricide. Of course, the video was played, along with a disclaimer of some sort that basically implored the listener to not take it so literally. Obviously, I'd never heard a voice like that before. So commanding, cro...

For most bands whose heyday happened in the flannel n' angst '90s, time hasn't exactly done their sound any favours; while a precious few have endured and evolved, the majority are now regarded as relics of a bygone time, with records that were well received when they were fresh but haven't aged particularly well. So, it's a true testament to a '90s band's foresight when their records actually sound better now than they did back then. You can make a solid argument that The Afghan Whigs fall firmly in the latter camp, with a handful of records during their initial run that were paid very little attention compared to their contemporaries of the time but have since been lauded as some of the decade's best work (or, at the very least, most underrated). Between 1992 and 1998, before their original disbandment, they put out a string of four records that have held up remarkably well. So, when they returned from a decade-and-a-half hiatus in 2014, they did s...

Now fifteen years removed from their major label debut and rock chart domination, having survived diminishing returns and label-suggested forays into more accessible territory, Seether has positioned their seventh album as somewhat of a line in the sand. No more compromise, as heavy as they want to be. They even have a new logo, so you know they're serious. It's an intriguing invitation, and there's certainly more fire in the band's collective belly this time out, although it's wise not to go in expecting them to blow the doors off the place; "as heavy as they want to be", turns out, is "kind of heavy occasionally". Some of the record's most guttural work is front-loaded, and the opening one-two punch of Stoke the Fire and Betray and Degrade does the job alright. Elsewhere, the band can't help but fall back on their mid-tempo bread and butter and, though nothing here is making me recoil in disgust, a good chunk of the record lives i...

In recent years, UK hit makers Kasabian have been less concerned about the grandness of their artistic statements and more about, well, making hits; while they do have at least a couple of very good records in their discography (their 2004 debut and 2011's Velociraptor! , for my money), this is increasingly a band building a reputation as a singles act. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, and if the resulting legacy of their career boils down to a greatest hits playlist, you can be sure it'll be a formidable batch of tunes. For Crying Out Loud does them no favours from the aesthetic standpoint, with that album cover that looks like it was created in a fevered five minute MS Paint session, so if their sixth record is to be a success it will be on the strength of the songs by necessity. In that respect, For Crying Out Loud may be the most energetic album they've hobbled together since their debut. It's a bright, fun record, filled to the brim with shiny h...

In many ways, At the Drive In's fourth record seemed doomed to failure before a note was recorded; chief among them being time, change and legacy. This album arrives 17 years after previous effort Relationship of Command , a very long absence for ardent fans of the group. There's also the absence of not just original guitarist Jim Ward, but also of producer Ross Robinson, whose work on Relationship of Command helped capture the band's aesthetic like no other (I'm of the firm belief that it stands as Robinson's best work). Then, there's the long shadow Relationship of Command has cast over a generation of emo, screamo and post-hardcore that followed it; it's not simply one of the most influential albums of this century, it's one of this century's best full stop. So, with nearly two decades separation from the impossibly high bar they set, down what many consider a key member, and working with a new producer (Rich Costey is certainly no slouch tho...

It's hard work flying under the radar; for over a decade, He Is Legend have carved themselves a consistently interesting musical path, garnering accolades from the heavy music community while releasing adventurous, thrilling albums. Their previous, 2014's Heavy Fruit , felt like a culmination of all their desires and resulted in a high water mark for the band that would prove to be a tough act to follow. Still, with little promotional consideration thanks to their deal with tiny imprint Tragic Hero, they failed to see the proportionate financial return on their artistic investments. So, in the wake of the conclusion of their record deal, He Is Legend decided to go to the source, launching a successful crowdfunding campaign for few ; not only was it heartening to feel direct support from the fan level, He Is Legend also found themselves a distribution offer from Spinefarm (parent label Universal), so it certainly seems as though they're better equipped for a breakthrough...