Soundbites

The Sleeping
Questions and Answers

The Sleeping’s sophomore album, Questions and Answers, is a step in the right direction for the band to distinguish themselves from an over-saturated emo-screamo genre. Not to say that Questions and Answers strays too far from its roots, but the album adds just enough variety to keep things interesting through 12 tracks. The simple lyrics link the songs back with their pop-emo lineage, dealing mostly with stories of dysfunctional relationships, lost loves and even one instance of the premature death of a friend.
The varied influences of the four Long Island band members, however, allow them to interlace gruff vocals, crashing drums and technical guitar playing with bluesy, sometimes funky riffs, experimental sound sampling, melodic keyboards and even the occasional acoustic hiatus.
The end result is that The Sleeping, although by no means making a revolutionary new sound, has at least been able to join several contemporary textures and traditional sounds into innovative and catchy combinations. The group’s no fear approach to mixing and matching its influences with its emo-screamo heritage seems to forecast that listeners will not be sleeping through this album.

—Chris Lowe

Journey
Live In Houston 1981

Journey is back ... on the shelves, at least. Their name is the same, and so is their sound. The only thing that’s changed is the genre they are classified under: Classic Rock. Lead vocalist Steve Perry maintains his smooth, husky voice despite the fact that it has not been altered by synthesizers and music machines. Lead guitarist Neal Schon and drummer Steve Smith can also be heard in the background, louder than ever. Their 2006 Live In Houston 1981 release includes the songs that they’re best known for, including “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Open Arms,” among many others.
—Sophia Castrillo

Classic Crime
Albatross

Tooth and Nail Records — catering mostly to the Christian crowd — is ironically also the name of a 1984 release by hell raisers Dokken. Unlike Dokken, however, this label has neither artists with voluminous hair nor any kitsch value.
The label’s new release from Classic Crime is nothing to fluff your hair over. Albatross could be the next pop-punk album playing in Hot Topic stores across the country, suggesting an appeal to high-school-aged fans with matted black hair and lip rings.
Tracks such as “I Know the Feeling” and “The Fight” are wholly representative of the album’s angsty motif and suggest the band’s inability to find new configurations on their instruments’ equalizers. Think Sum 41.The 45 minutes it takes to listen to Albatross could be better spent pondering how Dokken is still releasing material.

—Eric Schaefer

Geoff Reacher
Avec Reacher C’est Plus Sur

Folk-hop? What do you get when you crossbreed southern folk with hip-hop and electronica? The answer is Geoff Reacher. His Orange Twin Records release, Avec Reacher C’est Plus Sur, is truly an exercise in creativity, bringing folk music to the 21st century. It’s peculiar combination of finger picked acoustic guitars, heavily phased keyboards, electronic drumbeats and even occasional horn lines makes for a unique yet enjoyable experience that just might have you tapping your foot and singing along in no time.

—Stephen Keller

The Never
Antarctica

When an album comes with a 50-page, illustrated book, you expect ambition.
North Carolina art rockers The Never serve up a dense and eccentric treat as they musically track the journey of a country boy returning a nuclear bomb to the city. The specific time span of summer to winter keeps the songs evolving and assures a refreshing incongruence between the beginning and end of the album.
Multi-instrumentation and hushed harmonic vocals reveal influences from Sufjan Stevens and Ben Kweller, but The Never stay true to their own form.

—ES

Charalambides
A Vintage Burden

Tom and Christina Carter have been releasing music under the Charalambides name since 1992. Their third proper album for Kranky, A Vintage Burden is a reaffirmation of their signature sound: folk-infused, psychedelic guitars woven with Christina Carter’s striking vocals. The guitar sound is reminiscent of John Fahey’s avant-folk music while the vocals are definitely unique. The first three tracks recite classic Charalambides sound but don’t offer anything too fresh. The true display of musical capability begins with the epic, 17-minute instrumental “Black Bed Blues.” Beginning with a folky guitar duo and ending with pure droning psychedelic bliss, this is undoubtedly the album’s standout track. The album maintains unadulterated Charalambides brilliance until close – one of their strongest efforts to date.

—Paul Langdale

Paul Oakenfold
A Lively Mind

Legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold steps away back from re-mixing and up to songwriting with 12 new cuts featuring Brittany Murphy, Pharell Williams and Grandmaster Flash, among others. His second artist album is three years in the making and is worth the wait. All 12 cuts are club-worthy, but don’t lose their flavor at all if you just lounge and give it a spin. The album is very aggressive and guitar-heavy with big electronic bass lines and never lapses into the repetitive boredom of a lot of electronica. Opening track “Faster Kill Pussycat” has the makings of an instant classic.

—Justin Patch

The Junior Varsity
The Great Compromise

Upon first listen, The Junior Varsity’s latest project, The Great Compromise, sounds strikingly similar to the music presented by other pop-punk bands on Top 40 radio stations. They differ slightly from other young rockers in that they try to play up their sound with a synthesizer. Still, this is a cookie-cutter group of teeny-bopping, aspiring punk rockers who play drums and guitars while singing their hearts out with angst-ridden voices. Despite their lack of originality, their lyrics are noteworthy and emo in sentiment. Fans of the genre will likely look past the flaws and take The Varsity under their wing.

—SC

Psapp
The Only Thing I Ever Wanted

London’s indie-pop duo Psapp presents playfully unrestricted sounds that liven up lead singer Galia Durant’s softer voice in their most recent release, The Only Thing I Ever Wanted.
The group is quick to admit that they “enjoy making songs with little noises poking out.” An unparalleled ability to present smooth, jazzy voices against quirky and jagged “little noises” (produced by an array of instruments from synthesizers to French horns) makes Psapp’s music as unconventional as their name.
Sometimes sounding like a box of dancing wind-up toys brought to life, Psapp’s songs provide a psychedelic, but drug-free, trip for the ears of the musically open-minded. Their music serves as an example of how to avoid boring monotony without going overboard.

—SC

Catch Twenty Two
Permanent Revolution

The ice pick that killed Leon Trotsky was found almost exactly one year ago in Mexico.
Ska-punk veterans Catch Twenty Two have revived a clamor about the exiled Marxist with this adoring album. Permanent Revolution chronicles Trotsky’s life with a decidedly political hue, but sounds like run-of-the-mill ska. This is the irony that befalls most ska/punk rock these days.
If you want to hear a more genuine voice about revolution, listen to the Dead Kennedys instead.

—ES

Various Artists
Let’s Step Outside: Great Country Songs About The Great Outdoors

Sometimes, decent compilations are put together for ridiculous reasons and Let’s Step Outside is one of those. Despite the almost repulsively cheesy cover art and concept, the music inside is solid Texas country performed by some of Texas’ favorite heroes (women are left off of this compilation).
Every track has its merits, but standouts are Pat Green’s “West Texas Holiday,” Guy Clark’s “South Coast of Texas” and James McMurtry’s “Slew Foot” featuring Joe Ely.

—JP