The All American Rejects - The All American Rejects (Mp3 Download)

Review by Tom Semioli @ allmusic.com
Big hooks abound on this forceful debut by power pop whiz kids Nick Wheeler and Tyson Ritter. Though not yet old enough to legally buy an alcoholic drink in the year 2002, All American Rejects are capable songwriters, accomplished vocalists, and skilled instrumentalists. Guitar-driven and underpinned with a humane-sounding drum machine cranking out frenetic backbeats, each cut on this self-titled debut brims with harmonies that recall the early Who and classic Beach Boys. Bolstered by the brash bar band bravado akin to the Replacements, the Goo Goo Dolls, and Fastball in all their ragged glory, All American Rejects passionately render songs about girls, love, self-doubt, and youthful abandon. Cuts such as "Too Far Gone" employ a sympathetic orchestral backdrop, while tracks including "Drive Away," "My Paper Heart," and "One More Sad Song" prove that loud guitars and a broken heart make great rock & roll. A talented band destined for great things, All American Rejects are primed to be embraced by the masses.


Track Lists
01. My Paper Heart
02. Your Star
03. Swing, Swing
04. Time Stands Still
05. One More Sad Song
06. Why Worry
07. Don't Leave Me
08. Too Far Gone
09. Drive Away
10. Happy Endings
11. The Last Songs

Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine (Mp3 Download)

Review by Johnny Loftus @ allmusic.com

Death From Above 1979 makes its considerable racket with only bass, drums, and the occasional Moog squelch assist. This isn't a gimmick - between Sebastien Grainger's frantic wail and the overdriven bass riffs of Jesse F. Keeler, the duo's You're a Woman, I'm a Machine pulses with a steady, sweaty energy that's punctuated with arena-sized hooks. "Blood on Our Hands" boils dance-punk nearly all the way down, leaving only a relentless hi-hat cymbal, while "Turn It Out" and "Cold War" churn on double-time rhythms and rudimentary, yet completely effective bass runs. The duo's setup certainly limits their range, which means the album can occasionally resemble one long song. But at just over a half-hour, it's over before any questions about the lack of guitars can even start to form. There are hyper indie rock flare-ups, like in the Hot Snakes/Rocket From the Crypt yelp of "Going Steady." And "Sexy Results" is a flirtatious and amplified cross of new wave and Rapture-style strut that comes complete with a cowbell upbeat. Preoccupation with the opposite sex provides some of You're a Woman, I'm a Machine's strongest moments, from Grainger's "I don't need you/I want you" clarification on "Romantic Rights" to the frenetic late-album standout "Pull Out." Other highlights include the title track's layered vocals and wiry punk revivalism, and the subtler "Black History Month," which is a nice break from the record's consistently jerking pace. In the 2000s, dance-oriented energy keeps creeping regularly into rock & roll. On You're a Woman, I'm a Machine, Death From Above 1979 makes people move by exposing the live-wire tension rock music had all along.

Track Lists
01. Turn It Out
02. Romantic Rights
03. Going Steady
04. Go Home, Go Down
05. Blood On Our Hands
06. Black History Month
07. Little Girl
08. Cold War
09. You're Woman, I'm A Machine
10. Pull Out
11. Sexy Results

Panic! at The Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (Mp3 Download)

The state of pop-punk/emo in 2005: it's hip to be self-aware. "Dear studio audience," Panic! at the Disco vocalist Brendon Urie quavers in "Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage." "I've an announcement to make/It seems the artists these days are not who you think." He goes on to shout out, "Applause! applause!" His lyrics also say he's the narrator, but that's for debate. Because later on A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Urie's hooting about meeting the press and his band being a "wet dream for the webzines," so who's worrying about stardom now, the narrator or Panic! at the Disco? With Fever it's clear that the MySpace revolution has come full circle -- no longer just a convenient promotional tool, the site is now something to sing about. Writing music that webzines actually want to cover should be more important that assuming they will and then obsessing over it. But bands like Panic! at the Disco don't see that. On Fever they fill the gaps between their formulaic guitars and warbling urgency (interchangeable groups include the Academy Is... and Fall out Boy) with painstakingly layered vocals, trumpet, vocoder, and weird breakdowns of rickety piano or synths. This is a band in love with making a record -- making a statement -- but there's nothing unique inside, neither in their formula nor the vaunted and sticky production. Panic! at the Disco's name doesn't even ring true -- the guitars, keyboards, and bittersweet vocals of the Panic Division ring close enough to cause real identity problems.
Track Lists
01. Introduction
02. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Conference
03. London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines
04. Nails For Brakfast, Tacks For Snacks
05. Camisado
06. Time To Dance
07. Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
08. Intermission
09. But It's Better If You Do
10. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
11. I Constantly Thank God For Esteban
12. There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Havent
13. Build God, Then We'll Talk

Sigur Rós - Takk... (Mp3 Download)

A strange thing happens before the two-minute mark in "Saeglopur." All the twinkling and cooing erupts, at what might seem like eight minutes earlier than normal, into a cathartic blast of tautly constructed group noise -- or, as those who prefer songs and motion over moods and atmospheres might say, "The good part comes." "Saeglopur" is emblematic of Sigur Rós' fourth album, released nearly three years (!) after ( ). Nothing resembles a drone, and no part of it could be described as funereal. Even so, Takk... is still very much a Sigur Rós album, due in large part to the ever-present otherworldly vocals, but also because the only real changes are the activeness of some arrangements -- arrangements that deploy a familiar combination of bass, drums, piano, vocals, lots of strings, and some horns -- and some of the colors that are used. Despite opening with what sounds like a happy walk through a snow bank, the album is just as suited for a sunlit spring morning as ( ) was suited for a winter trudge across a foggy moor, so in that sense, it isn't a repeat and is more tactile than illusory, but it's not likely to win over anyone who suddenly felt an index finger push against the back of his throat while hearing "Svefn-G-Englar" for the first time. And it's not as if the band is suddenly writing three-minute pop songs, either. Half of the album's tracks are longer than six minutes, with extended cresting, sudden bursts of action, and a couple particularly fragile moments that seem to be on the brink of melting away. One thing to consider when wondering whether or not this band has changed in any way: they've gone from providing the background music to death announcements to "Sé Lest," a fluttering children's lullaby that is briefly crashed by an even more gleeful oom-pah-pah brass band.

Track Lists
01. Takk..
02. Glósóli
03. Hoppípolla
04. Meo Blódnasir
05. Sé Lest
06. Saeglopur
07. Milanó
08. Gong
09. Andvari
10. Svo Hljótt
11. Heysátan

Mae - The Everglow (Mp3 Download)

Review by John D. Luerssen @ allmusic.com

Mae's pensive, pretty sounding, piano-steered opener, "We're So Far Away," is sure to make swooning emo chicks and fans of Ben Folds get all tingly, but it's a misleading way to christen The Everglow. Still disciples of roaring, commercial-sounding modern rock with an ambiguous message -- from Jimmy Eat World to Relient K to Copeland -- will be relieved that Dave Elkins and Co. are quick to turn it up a notch and bring out the anthems as expected. From the airwave-ready "Someone Else's Arms" to the buoyant "Suspension" and on to the infectiously poppy "Breakdown," Mae is hard to dismiss and even harder to dislike. In fact, music of this ilk rarely sounds better or can be more effectively visualized. Come to think of it, "This Is the Countdown" just may be the most rollicking, immediate, lovelorn pop song in recent memory. Despite its unusual albeit palatable start, The Everglow is a shining moment in modern rock.

Track Lists
01. Prologue
02. We're So Far Away
03. Someone Else's Arms
04. Suspension
05. This Is The Countdown
06. Painless
07. The Ocean
08. Breakdown
09. Mistakes We Knew We're Making
10. Cover Me
11. The Everglow
12. Ready And Waiting To Fall
13. Anything
14. The Sun And The Moon
15. Epilogue