Mutiny on the Bounty

This Luxembourg Quartet is quite the band. They're an extremely fun mixture of Math Rock. Quite reminiscent of The Fall of Troy and Blakfish. Their riffs are unpredictable and all over the place, but keep their catchiness, and the yells and vocals are something to sing and/or scream along to. Their time signatures are something I wouldn't recommend even trying to keep up with. I'd recommend this band to anyone who likes fun music with loads of talent involved.

Myspace

Last.fm

Danger Mouth

Ad Astra Per Aspera

72 Musicians is a documentary about twenty bands in the Kansas City indie scene. Yeah, I had no idea such a thing existed either. On the website for 72 Musicians, they have a free download album of twelve live songs by bands in the documentary (which is also something I highly recommend you download). The band that piqued my interest most was fronted by a guy in a lab coat screaming whilst accompanied by noisy guitar parts and synthesizers(!!). I immediately went and found their full length Catapult Calypso. A bizarre experience highly recommended for fans of The Blood Brothers, Foxy Shazam, Neon Blonde, etc.

72 Musicians Official

Ad Astra Per Aspera Myspace

Last.fm

Catapult Calypso

About bands that spam their free album on social networking sites

First up is the band Bark Bark Disco. They sent me a friend request on last.fm, and of course I accepted. I always listen to free tunes and accept friend requests. Their debut Your Mum Says Hello! is available for free download on their website. Despite their clearly derivative style and a "genre" they invented for themselves, it's simple and catchy lo-fi indie pop. They bare similarities to The Vaselines, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, The Moldy Peaches, Beat Happening, et cetera. It's not spectacular and it won't change your life, but if you dig the aforementioned bands and you dislike that three of them broke up and one of them released a crappy album last year, then this will hold you over until another silly lo-fi band comes along. Also, their first music video is amusing.

The second band that contacted me was The Urban Effect. They followed me on Twitter (You should do that too.) So I went to their twitter and found a link to their homepage, from which I could download their self-titled debut. Bark Bark Disco is mediocre; I can't deny that. At least they're a fun band, though, creating sing-along tunes about sex and love. Rather than being mediocre and fun, The Urban Effect is just plain mediocre. Their Myspace page lists their influence as "Pink Floyd, The Doors, Radiohead, Queen, Elliot Smith, Portishead." I don't think one could pick bands that are more popular than that. This results in an album full of vaguely progressive, melodramatic rock that just sounds like a weak version of dredg. (By the way, I tweeted this band back and told them that dredg is better.) One more humorously pretentious thing from their Myspace:

"4 Individuals 4 different backgrounds 1 Musical direction. Our passion for eclectic melodic songs have permeated in our rythms, harmonies and souls. Our first Album is a reflection on each of our unique perspectives on life, love, war and most importantly un-deterable melody. It's much more than just the release of our compiled material . It's us hitting the ground running, or falling out of a window."

Why is there some sort of taboo against criticizing obscure bands? I've gotten a little yelled at on last.fm for suggesting that lesser-known bands are weak sometimes. Every demo on Lyrics Will Not Reach the Audience gets a review of "They're pretty good. Check them out if you like (x band)," regardless of the band's actual quality. So this is a message to any musicians who read my blog: Send me your music. I won't bullshit you and tell you that it's good if it isn't.

Chotto Ghetto

I found these guys out while looking at QuoteUnquoteRecords.com, the Label that the dude from Bomb the Music Industry! owns. I expected these guys to be little cutesy ska-punk or folk punk, but I was extremely surprised when I downloaded 'Walk is Godlike' off of their website and found a Progressive Hardcore album that blew my mind, with talent and composition all over the map, I'd definitely suggest this to anyone.

QuoteUnquoteRecords Page - You can download it for free, here. Please do. It's a lot easier, faster, still free, and shows the artist that you care.

Chotto Ghetto Website

Myspace

Last.fm

Walk is Godlike - Here's the link to Pirate them on Mediafire, but you might as well download off of their page on QuoteUnquoteRecords. It's still free, it's faster, AND the band can see that you care and are interested in their work.

BATS

Alright, so this band is BATS, a Progressive Post-Hardcore band that sings about science and anti-theism. They have pretty cool releases, and in my opinion Red in Tooth & Claw is the album of 2009. They're awesome and one of my top Post-Hardcore bands.

Myspace
Buy It

Last.fm

Cruel Sea Scientist EP
Red in Tooth and Claw

SHADOW FUCKING from Digital Beast on Vimeo.