SOUND BITES

  Over the years, my relationship with mainstream rock has had its share of ups and downs; I’ll never claim to be such a hipster as to recoil in disgust from anything that touches the modern rock radio charts, but I have admittedly grown tired of the chest-pounding, dumbed down "butt rock" that’s been the calling card of mainstream hard rock for the better part of Nickelback’s existence. That said, a cursory glance at some of the more mainstream-leaning bands I’ve covered here in the past will give you an idea of how selective I can be when it comes to this genre. So, while reviewing Halestorm’s fifth album seems like the kind of thing that would lose me cred, I’d argue that a) I never really had that to begin with, and b) this blog has never been about earning cred, it’s about talking about music that interests me; Halestorm may not be a group of visionaries displaying peak artistic integrity, but they write heavy, melodic tunes that hit a guttural sweet spot without resorti...

After trying their hands at pop/country crossover stardom on their third album Into the Wild Life and disappointing a good number of fans in the process, it's not all that shocking to hear Halestorm return to their hard rocking roots on Vicious. What may be somewhat shocking is just how hard they go from the outset; explosive opener Black Vultures , hook-heavy Skulls and breakneck-paced lead single Uncomfortable lay down the gauntlet on anyone who would doubt their ability as a band to bring the thunder. There are also a handful of potential hits on display; the down and dirty Buzz , the sultry and swaggering Conflicted and the arena-ready anthem Killing Ourselves to Live all bear the hallmarks of radio domination. Past the approximate halfway point, Vicious gets a little uneven, although the pair of ballads that are sprinkled in will hit the spot if you crave a breather in between all the rockers. Overall, Vicious makes for a pretty convincing return to form; those for wh...

As per tradition, Halestorm has released an EP of covers to satiate fans waiting for them to get a new album recorded and on the shelves. This third collection of covers more or less follows the same pattern as the two that came before; one glam metal track, one female pop artist from the late '80s/early '90s, one classic rock fist pumper, one modern pop hit, one grunge hit and one metal standard. With little deviation from the original source material (aside from Sophie B. Hawkins' Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover and Twenty One Pilots' Heathens , which turn out more muscular by default), Halestorm's covers EPs can only be truly judged on the song selection and execution. Most of the tracks are serviceable, although a couple are so close to the original that their usefulness is tempered ( Fell On Black Days , for example, is performed well, but shouldn't replace the Soundgarden version as anyone's go-to). Still of the Night would have been more satisfying...

With their second record The Strange Case of... in 2012, Halestorm was finally rewarded for years of hard work; the massive hooks and hard rocking thump of singles like Love Bites (So Do I) and I Miss the Misery got them tons of rock radio airplay, while the profane and wildly fun ballad Here's to Us even got the Glee treatment (albeit in cuss-free fashion). The attention that Lzzy Hale commanded with her mix of raw talent and sexual energy eventually found her performing as a guest with country star Eric Church at last year's Country Music Awards. That experience looms large over third album Into the Wild Life . They recorded it in Nashville with Church's producer, and the results unsurprisingly sound like a direct result of the country connection. A handful of them (especially Amen , New Modern Love, What Sober Couldn't Say or I Like It Heavy ) are fine, well written songs that come across like templates for eventual country crossover remixes. That's only a...

As much fun as it is watching a band grow and evolve over the years and through their assorted projects, sometimes it's nice to see them take a step back, shrug their shoulders and try walking in someone else's shoes for four minutes. Whether it's a faithful reconstruction or a sonically shapeshifted alternate vision, it's always fun to hear what an artist can do with a song that's not theirs. Here are ten artists whose interpretations of familiar songs got the biggest smiles from me in 2013:

Having already posted 50 songs that turned my crank in 2011, I realized just before writing this post that I need help.  My intention was to give honourable mention to five additional artists that, for various reasons, were omitted from the main list.  So, naturally, here are ten more.  I think this is the sign I'm a music addict.  If you ever see a guy walk into a hotel room on A&E's Intervention to find his family gathered to show concern over his growing music collection, that'll probably be me giving them the stink eye as I back into the corridor.