Clocking in at just under 2 hours we have the third episode of The Easy Mode Podcast with the whole crew present: Giang, Steve, Mark, Russ and moi. So sit back, dim the lights and make sure to swirl your brandy as you listen to our latest.
This week is all about BioShock 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, A Boy And His Blob, Mass Effect 2, P.B. Winterbottom, Darwinia, Aliens Vs. Predator, Plants Vs. Zombies, Heroes of Might and Magic and Assassin's Creed: Lineage.
FACT ONE: I'm a geographically-minded man. Where a band comes from is very important to me.
FACT TWO: I tend to not like bands from Florida. Don't know why, but it does have something to do with the fact that some bands I really hate are from there. Two words sum this up nicely: Limp Bizkit.
Aside from some random hardcore albums from ten years ago, Surfer Blood's Astro Coast may be my favorite Florida-based album. It's a genuine mix of great bands and styles; I can hear a reverb-drenched version of Weezer's blue album occasionally, a bit of Built to Spill (minus the insane guitar skills), and even a touch of Pavement from time to time. Altogether, we're looking at an A-list of comparables that doesn't usually happen with a debut album. Along those same lines, there's a youthful vigor to this album as well; the easiest example is track four, "Harmonix", whose main guitar riff is based on, you guessed it, guitar harmonics. This naivete actually makes the album more interesting and fun.
This is a record that I'll be processing all year long. It's full of sing-a-longs and intricate layering, and picking each section apart is going to be a lot of fun. Definitely look this album up.
The Soft Pack is a new indie band from San Diego. They've only been around for a year or two, and they used to be called The Muslims but people got pissed. Their music is run-of-the-mill pop rock with some definite indie stylings. In fact, many of their songs run the gamut of most guitar-based rock music from the past twenty years; opener "C'mon" sounds like it fits with the vintage 60s garage rock revivalists of the early 2000s, while track six "More or Less" sounds like early R.E.M., but maybe a little poppier. Either way, there's a whole lot of swagger to be found in these tight 30 minutes, and it's an album best suited for summer days.
There's nothing life-changing about this band, but there's still something here that keeps these guys from drowning in obscurity - each song is well-crafted and still sounds fresh despite its tried and true foundation. Being that it's damn cold outside all the time, I've had a hard time swallowing their summer-fun jangle lately. As it stands, I plan on pulling this CD out in a few months when things start warming up outside, and I'm sure I'll have warmed up to these guys even more by then.
Romance is Boring, the third album from Welsh-but-not-Welsh (the band members are all from Wales, but none are Welsh - these things are very important to me) band Los Campesinos! is the first album of theirs that I've actually given a fighting chance. I've had a hard time getting into their first two albums; the abrasiveness of their synth-heavy pop punk sound was a little too irritating for me on initial listen. And honestly, if it wasn't for the sheer awesomeness of this album's first track, "In Media Res", I may have skipped this one too. In the end, I'm glad I didn't because this is a fun and rewarding album full of peaks and valleys that eventually even out to one solid listen.
This band has a few predictable elements - all the last names of their band members is "Campesinos!", and that damned exclamation point - but their music is anything but predictable. It can run from a quiet buildup as seen in the opening track, to some really big moments (thank the fact that they have seven people in this band). The album sports a lot of girl/guy vocals, and a remarkable number of shouts, while still keeping this album much more palatable than one would expect. In short, if you're looking for something that's challenging and aggressive, while still deep enough to warrant multiple listens, and you don't mind that they used a foreign word for their band despite the fact that none of them can probably speak Spanish, and you're okay with being a little overloaded with an occasionally abrasive synth, this album's for you.
Lovehandles is the project name of multi-talented musician and good friend of mine Tommy Yasuhara. Introduced me to my wife. Well, his wife did. Anyway, long story. Seafoam on Speakerphone is the latest in a series of songs recorded by Lovehandles, but amidst a butt-ton of singles released on MySpace over the years (my iTunes library is sporting nearly 100 songs from these sessions), this is actually his first proper public release.
Tommy has played in the bands Littlejeans, The Haunted Pines, Kitty Hawk, and Threads of Grass. We met in 2002 playing shows together, and I'd be lying if I didn't say his songwriting influenced my own music. Tommy's songwriting is both warmingly predictable and relentlessly diverse; so much so that it's sometimes hard to keep this guy in one musical project for long. He runs back and forth between styles and bands, moving on from great songs to write more great songs. The trick is to grab each song from him before he tires of it.
Tommy has a penchant for three things: diversity in songcraft, humorous storytelling, and natural accessibility; and you'll find all three in spades here in Seafoam. Each song is a catchy single that could get stuck in your head for days, and they are recorded lightly enough that anyone can enjoy them. Looking for a song about cocoa in wintertime? Check. Asian supermarkets? Check. There's such a wide array of instrumentation that it's hard to believe that all of it was recorded by one guy in his spare time. And finally, each song is a clever little story, with heartwarming turns of lyric and funny uses of phrase. His music evokes a dozen musicians: Jonathan Richman's fun, Bill Callahan's earnestness, and Panda Bear's unique use of the right sound at the right time.
Sure, I may be biased, but that doesn't mean this can't be a great album that everyone can enjoy. You can download this album for free here.
Hey hey, it's time for celebrations. Mark got married the other day, and he and Tyler are living it up in Las Vegas as I type this. I'm a little jealous, considering I got married there three years and two days ago. Either way, a podcast wouldn't be the same without them, so we'll be recording a much more potent podcast for you next week instead. In the meantime, you could always enter our contest and win some cool Left 4 Dead stuff...
In my travels, I occasionally stumble across some legitimately free music. As a result of this, I have decided to share this music; after all, one good turn deserves another. If I can find free music on a regular basis then this may well become a regular feature. In the meantime though, enjoy!.
Today's dose of free music comes from the sadly now-defunct UK post-hardcore band, The Tupolev Ghost. Available for download, is the bands self-titled debut mini-album, and consists of 6 tracks. If you're a fan of bands such as Million Dead, and At The Drive In, then you'd do well to check this band out. While the band initially seem a little rough around the edges, give them a chance and you'll be surprised by the quality of the songs on offer here. Oh, and just for reference, "Giant Haystacks" (track 4) was the name of a British wrestler in the 1980's. Nuff said.
If you're interested, you can download the album here.
Still on the fence? Then check out the song Diagrams below:
The Album Leaf is a mostly-instrumental band from San Diego, led by one guy, and this is their fifth album. To me, they fit in that long line of late 90's, early 00's West coast post-rock bands that play around with ambience and electronics. Okay, maybe there wasn't a lot of those bands, but The Album Leaf definitely fits into that category. Wife and I saw them (read: Jimmy LaValle) play in NYC about seven years ago, it was okay. Relaxing, mostly.
This album features a whole band setup, a first for Mr. LaValle. The songs don't seem to have too much more going on considering all the new players, although several of the songs feature vocals, which is weird for me. Most of the songs are full of brooding ambience, more fitting for a film soundtrack than a CD you'd actively listen to. Honestly, this sound just doesn't pull the same punches it did ten years ago - most of these songs sound so easy-going that they are downright boring. Track three, "The Is A Wind" is the only song that sounds completely new, and it's because it sounds like a different band thanks to its full-band sound and vocals.
Maybe I'm biased and trying to live in the past, but I just don't enjoy this album as much as his previous records. I'll probably keep it in my iTunes library, if only to listen to while reading or something to that effect.
I know I said that the episode last week was pretty good, but this week we blow you away with how incred... gotta go. Battlefield BC 2 demo is done downloading.
This week is all about gambling, Borderlands, CODMW2, Eufloria, Machinarium, Fable 2, Orphan and Mass Effect.
Musical Guests: Delta Spirit, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Elected, Talons and Surfer Blood.
Fuck it. I was about to write about how the past few Shearwater albums have been pretty good, but I can't do that to you. We here at theeasymode.com don't tell lies. No sir. Truth be told, I haven't liked the past three Shearwater albums, which basically means that I haven't been a huge fan of their output since 2002. In other words, I've been disappointed by these guys for the past eight years. Luckily, I really, really like their latest album, The Golden Archipelago, and I think you will, too.
Shearwater started as a side project of the vastly superior Okkervil River, and some time ago it became a full-fledged band. The sound changed from weak and weary alt-country to bombast, gutsy thematic alt-country-rock, and only every once in a while did it seem like they pulled it off. The Golden Archipelago, at least for me, seems like a final fulfillment of this transformation; the album is chock-full of soaring, sprawling songs that sound both smart and deep. I think that as a whole this album really comes together, although it's pretty hard to really pin down why. It's worth checking out.
Disagree with us? Got an idea? Want to put up your own post with full credit?
Click here to send it to us and we'll post it...as long as it doesn't suck.
About Bloguin
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics.
Advertisers
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
Bloggers Wanted
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!
FACT ONE: I'm a geographically-minded man. Where a band comes from is very important to me.
The Soft Pack is a new indie band from San Diego. They've only been around for a year or two, and they used to be called The Muslims but people got pissed. Their music is run-of-the-mill pop rock with some definite indie stylings. In fact, many of their songs run the gamut of most guitar-based rock music from the past twenty years; opener "C'mon" sounds like it fits with the vintage 60s garage rock revivalists of the early 2000s, while track six "More or Less" sounds like early R.E.M., but maybe a little poppier. Either way, there's a whole lot of swagger to be found in these tight 30 minutes, and it's an album best suited for summer days.
Romance is Boring, the third album from Welsh-but-not-Welsh (the band members are all from Wales, but none are Welsh - these things are very important to me) band Los Campesinos! is the first album of theirs that I've actually given a fighting chance. I've had a hard time getting into their first two albums; the abrasiveness of their synth-heavy pop punk sound was a little too irritating for me on initial listen. And honestly, if it wasn't for the sheer awesomeness of this album's first track, "In Media Res", I may have skipped this one too. In the end, I'm glad I didn't because this is a fun and rewarding album full of peaks and valleys that eventually even out to one solid listen.
Lovehandles is the project name of multi-talented musician and good friend of mine Tommy Yasuhara. Introduced me to my wife. Well, his wife did. Anyway, long story. Seafoam on Speakerphone is the latest in a series of songs recorded by Lovehandles, but amidst a butt-ton of singles released on MySpace over the years (my iTunes library is sporting nearly 100 songs from these sessions), this is actually his first proper public release.
In my travels, I occasionally stumble across some legitimately free music. As a result of this, I have decided to share this music; after all, one good turn deserves another. If I can find free music on a regular basis then this may well become a regular feature. In the meantime though, enjoy!.
The Album Leaf is a mostly-instrumental band from San Diego, led by one guy, and this is their fifth album. To me, they fit in that long line of late 90's, early 00's West coast post-rock bands that play around with ambience and electronics. Okay, maybe there wasn't a lot of those bands, but The Album Leaf definitely fits into that category. Wife and I saw them (read: Jimmy LaValle) play in NYC about seven years ago, it was okay. Relaxing, mostly.
Fuck it. I was about to write about how the past few Shearwater albums have been pretty good, but I can't do that to you. We here at theeasymode.com don't tell lies. No sir. Truth be told, I haven't liked the past three Shearwater albums, which basically means that I haven't been a huge fan of their output since 2002. In other words, I've been disappointed by these guys for the past eight years. Luckily, I really, really like their latest album, The Golden Archipelago, and I think you will, too.
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!