The KC Showcase: Run With It, "How To Start a Fire," ep

(Image courtesy of bands website)

Run with it are an alternative rock band from right here in Kansas City that I actually discovered after scanning a random Snapchat code they left on the side of a light pole and after a couple of months of seeing constant updates about this upcoming release and the amount of hype that this record was generating for them I decided to actually finally give them a listen because this release actually debuted on iTunes top alternative albums chart at number 66 and got these guy's a record deal which is pretty cool so here's my thoughts on what could possibly be Kansas City's Imagine Dragons.

Actually if I were to give these guy's some credit it'd be that they managed to make a product that has some really good production with each song sounding quite full and at times kind of didn't feel like an independent act with tracks like, “I Need a Light,” feeling like it could be sent to the radio there's a level of quality control that's very admirable and worth giving these guy's credit for, but it's oddly the high level of quality control that's honestly my biggest issue with this EP it's an incredibly safe sounding effort that produces songs that kind of make me feel like they need to be played on the kind of radio station for Midwestern soccer mom's who wore out their Matchbox Twenty CD's and that earlier comparison to Imagine Dragons is a bit more than a comparison because when I was initially trying to outline a review of this piece pretty much every song on here was noted as reminding me of Imagine Dragons to some capacity.

That's not really the worst thing in the world considering that their stylistic similarities to more mainstream modern alternative rock acts gives them an appeal that can reach a bigger audience than some of the other bands I've covered in this showcase segment and some of the tracks on here like, “Don't Waste My Time,” are still some solid tracks in their own right and the track, “One More Fight,” has a pretty bad ass guitar solo to close it out along with this bands vocalist Miguel Carballo actually has a very robust voice that showcases a good amount of inflection and really seems to properly give these songs a kind of faith inspired feel that I'm sure a good amount of people will really grab on to the only issue is I'm not one of those people.

This band is solid as hell but they're also probably the safest most well organized thing I've covered in a very long time and the week plus it's taken me to properly frame that thought just leaves me with a record that I can only really say that if you like Imagine Dragons, X-Ambassadors, or Matchbox Twenty you'll probably dig this band but if you're looking for something unique from this city I'd say look elsewhere for something a little less formulaic.

Here's a link to the bands website for anyone interested in purchasing this ep:

http://www.runwithitband.com/

3/5

Best: Don't Waste My Time and the outro guitar solo on One More Fight

Worst:Time

The KC Showcase: The Greeting Committee, "Meeting People is Easy"

(Image Courtesy of band's Facebook Page)

After 2 years of toiling and relentless touring Kansas City Breakthrough act The Greeting Committee are back with their newest 6 song collection in the form of Meeting People Is Easy a matured more focused set of killer tracks that really showcase a collective of individuals who are really doing their best to live up to the hype built around It's not all that bad and it's monstrous radio single, “Hands Down,” which I'd honestly hate to say as good as that song is I'm pretty sure if the jaded expressions on their faces when I saw them play it live on black Friday are any indication even they're sick of hearing that song over and over again, and in all honesty you kind of get the feeling of that tiredness of such a breakthrough single in this collection of songs because the only thing that could possibly come close to being yet another, “Hands Down,” didn't even make the record.

Instead what we have is a collection of tunes starting out with a very cool little instrumental piece that kind of is a very piano lead piece that's a little bit of a whirlwind of unusual voice samples, and a small orchestra tuned piano along with a host of what I'd almost assume are wind chimes or something I can't quite put my finger on but this feels like they really wanted to make a bad ass instrumental track like a lot of bands they listened to growing up and it does a good job of framing this work as an already more focused and well put together piece of work and that's before it even hits it's first real song.

After that interesting little introduction we're then greeted by the exceptional, “Naive,” which uses it's first 30 seconds to kind of have this almost 90's indie rock intro before then blasting into that signature dream pop guitar line that this band has really made a thing of and vocalist Addie Sartino busting in with a new found level of confidence and fullness that show's a huge improvement to the muted and lower end production that It's Not all that Bad had and you end up with a track that has a booming chorus and frenetic energy that's for lack of a better term REALLY FUCKING AWESOME and Brandon Yangmi really pulling a spectacular guitar performance. Overall this song is actually the fullest blend of every body really stepping up and showcasing that these kids are really trying to be something.

So with your head a banging they follow that track up with their signature closer in the form of, “She's A Gun,” which in all honesty it's about god damn time they recorded this because they've been refining and performing this song since I saw them at the Homegrown showcase back in 2015 and this recording is really showing that because it just oozes this feeling of being refined and perfected and of course Sartino's delivery of the line, “My Baby's Got a Gun,” is just so god damn infectiously catchy that you'll be singing it out of context all the time I swear this song feels like a mission statement of sorts to show everybody that these kids are more than cheesy teen romance tunes and that they are worth taking seriously as a real band.

The next two tracks, “Someone Else,” and, “Dancing to Nothing at All,” are what I'd say are the experimental cuts that look to practice a more slower paced and in the case of, “Dancing,” an almost jazzy like experiment of using things like Saxophone to really expand this band's sound to something more than a bunch of early 2000s inspired modern indie rock and then it all wraps up very nicely with, “BBC,” which isn't the most stand out cut you'll ever hear but it's a nice down paced rocker of a track that serves as a great closer by being kind of to the point and just kind of ending at a pretty good but abrupt point to help cap off  an EP that's done everything and anything it can to distance these guy's from the label of those kids that did that cute teenybopper tune about being young and in love by not including a single ballad on here which I'm all for because while I'll give, “Elise,” the credit of being a very personal song that really does give off some really special vibes it's also for me at least plagued with the vibe that I'm about to have this song pounded into my fucking head.

Yeah I'll say it these guy's have really proven to me personally with this EP that they're worth all the success they've accomplished in such a short time and I whole heatedly feel that they've put out a collection of songs that are 100% good if not excellent and for only being 3 months in to 2017 it almost feels like nothing can really top it so yeah go out and buy a copy if you can because these guy's really have proved themselves here and for the first time I kind of feel this album is really worth starting an actual scoring system for so as the first official EP/Album review of 2017 things are off to a pretty high start.

5/5

Best: Naive and She's A Gun

Worst: I'd be hard pressed to say anything is of any low quality but if I had to....BBC

KC Showcase: The UK's

The UK's-Bad Seed

In my string of shows that's populated my month I went to another album release show and it was for a band called The UK's and god damn if you want one awesomely high energy show by a group of some hungry young rockers then this band would be right up your alley.

These guy's have a sound that's kind of a combination of the Black Key's, Cage the Elephant, and The Arctic Monkey's and their debut album Bad Seed a conceptual album about a drug dealer who falls in love, get's his heart broken, and eventually goes on a killing spree that leads you through a series of solidly great rockers that range from the awesomely catchy opener Bad Seed which is a definite highlight in my opinion with it's who-oh's and solidly steady guitar work, the emotionally heartbreaking Delia and how she's gone away, and ending with the straight up rocker Trigger Man and all it's abrasive musical nature all end up forming a very nice collection of 10 songs to establish a newly branded rock group looking to make it big.

While the album is very solid I will say that these track are especially meant to shine when played in a live environment because this band really does put on quite an energetic show that brings a certain level of chaos to plenty of this albums strongest songs.

Also even with this album recorded they managed to debut a couple of newer tracks that in their early stages and are quite bad ass and showcase really well that this band is just getting started and the creative process isn't going to be stopping any day soon.

This is some good stuff and I highly advise going on Spotify and giving it a listen because Bad Seed is quite a damn great song that can hopefully get some traction on radio here soonish and of course if you want to see if the hype is real you can see these guy's playing shows all around the Kansas City area either May 7th at the Dubliner in KC live, June 4th or July 22nd at the All Star Rock Bar ,or June 18th at Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club which if you can I'd very much say you set your calender and give their show a visit and maybe pick up a CD you won't be dissapointed.

Facebook

Twitter

KC Showcase: Kangaroo Knife Fight

Kangaroo Knife Fight

Aside from having a bad ass name this band is one bad ass collective of musicians that make the tightest and most focused rock and roll I've heard in quite some time and I recently got to see them again for their album release party for their new EP The Dark which of course can be bought on iTunes and Google Play and pretty soon after you done reading this little piece I'd very much advise picking up a copy because it's a great collection of live ready tracks that will get your blood pumping and leave you singing along well after it's over.

Every song works really well in a live environment and seeing them bust out Mr. Lovedrunk and Skyfalls with such energy and precision that really can only come from a collective of musicians that very much know what the fuck their doing and have been doing it for quite some time is something of a treat especially when you realize just how good a vocalist Anthony Avis is just throwing himself into each and every song while stomping around and just putting his all out there to give you something to remember and tracks like Mr. Lovedrunk, Hold On, and It's You will surely become solidly great sing along tracks the day the rest of the world get's realizing just how good a live act this band is.

If these guy's come around close to you I'd very much advise going to see them and also getting a copy of both available EP's because Mr. Lovedrunk especially is a track that'll invade your conscious and just never let go.

This band are some of the nicest people who just really make some bad ass well performed and written rock and roll and if you'd like to see them play they'll be playing as a part of the Middle of the map festival Friday May 6^th.

Facebook

Twitter

Song of the Day 9/4/15

Training Wheels-Melanie Martinez

So I gave this album a review and it was a very poorly worded expressing of saying that this album has some damn great songs but it’s subject matter get’s too much in the way of the songs and kind of weighs things down to a point of sounding downright overly repetitive but even if I do have that complaint there’s certain instances where re-listening to the album as a whole and taking time to really digest things kind of leads you to an interesting point where you find odd charms in tunes and that’s really prevalent in this overly romantic tinged but predictably obscenely worded tune that has this delightfully romantic delivery of, “I love everything you do, when you call me fucking dumb for the stupid shit I do,” which just may be the best chorus I’ve heard all year if not at the very least the most amusing, but all that aside it’s an oddly charming tune that almost changes my opinions on the album as it grows on me….

Song of the Day 9/1/15

So I was going through my local radio stations back catalogue of songs played trying to find a pretty awesome song and I’m reminded of the excess of newer music that’s come out that’s been pretty good and I figure I may as well tell you guy’s about a few of these cuts since I don’t often post much these days and they seem pretty worthwhile.

Ghost-Halsey

So I was reading a Buzzfeed article a while back that was saying things that teens think are cool these days and amongst the many disappointments of chokers and high wasted shorts one of the things mentioned was this electro-pop artist Halsey who in all honesty upon giving a few of her tunes a listen is kind of what would happen if Ellie Gouldine and Lorde did the fusion dance and that is hella showcased in this very catchy but kind of, “Tennis Court,” sounding number from her newest album.

This song is really solid and I do actually have some enjoyment listening to it but I’m pretty sure that has to do with it’s fairly rapid fire pace and short run time which doesn’t stretch on more the it needs to also I noticed that it along with a few other songs that I’ve given a listen seem to have some fairly lush and well mixed production that gives the songs a very quality sound even if I’m kind of not to honestly impressed by her as a whole but hey she’s the next big thing apparently and I can see her having a good few years ahead of her.

Sam Reiews an album: Cry Baby-Melanie Martinez

You know going on a hiatus is a terrible idea and I'd highly advise never doing it because even though I've been to a shit load of shows over the past 2 months I've been very much dead in terms of actual creative writing and it's been extra difficult to REALLY be motivated to tell you guy's just how awesome it is to see so many different bands and what not but today seems kind of interesting because not only is Straight Out of Compton out but one Melanie Martinez has released her full length studio debut album Cry Baby and to my excitement I've been giving it a proper listen and well i have a few things to say in a fairly compact matter so let's quit fucking around and do yet another Sam Reviews an album....

So Cry Baby it's a 13 song story of a little girl who's parents are alcoholics who cheat on each other and fuck up her life by distorting her moral compass and making her proceed to both murder and act in a mischievous manor and beyond that story there's not much else in this album besides a shit load of clever word play and some interestingly twisted things over what's very childish instrumentals that add to Martinez's twisted nature and give the album a kind of disturbingly wholesome feel.

In all honesty this album has about 6 killer tracks and the rest just kind of feel more in place to sound catchy and carry along a certain feel to it's aesthetic and story which isn't bad at all especially when some of them are performed live and kind of take a life of their own like the opening track Cry Baby which on here is a kind of tame number with one of the best uses of the word fuck in the whole album which completely changes around and becomes a viciously awesome number in a live environment which was my biggest disappointment when it came to this album but that disappointment is quickly set aside when you reach tracks like Dollhouse and Pity Party which just kind of have a really manic vibe that leads you to just kind of want to freak out along with her and really help hype the story being told.

There's also instances of slower songs really working like Soap which is a kind of dreamy number that musically does a good job of being kind of calming but with a really moveable beat and a chorus that kind of sticks along even if the rest of it is fairly typical stuff, and beyond that the rest of the album tracks don't have any super stand out tracks that are that good or bad for that matter so what I'm stuck with is more a solidly good album that leaves me wanting to listen to it more and seeing just how it develops over time.

Score: 6.5/10

Hits: Pity Party, Soap, Dollhouse

Misses: Cry Baby, Alphabet Boy

Song of the Day 5/26/15

So I am the worst blogger in the world because for lack of a better word I have absolutely no motivation what so ever to really come up with these this month because I've been focusing on a shit load of other things that have been taking form for me and to say that it's difficult for me to really REALLY write about music is a bit of an understatement but among anything that's been worth writing about I recently decided to do my wonderful girl friend something nice and I recently got her a copy of the new Twenty One Pilots album Blurryface and upon realizing that I had a free audio rip of the album because you know Amazon is a thing I've taken the time to give it  a listen and it's not a bad record per say but it's still not completely selling me on this band as something worth just completely investing myself into but admittedly there's quite a few solidly good poppy tracks that will get you moving like the opening track, "Heavydirtysoul," which is a very steadily paced kind of thumping dance track that has their patented rapped vocals intermixed with some kind of dub steppy sounding instruments and after that you're getting a fair amount of other electronic heavy tracks and a lot of reggae which is interesting but that's not really the focus here because there's kind of one super stand out track that's today's highlight.

Tear in my heart-Twenty One Pilots

So this song in all honesty is the most refreshing thing on that album because it's the most rock of any track I've heard on that album and it manages to really take that kind of we're two dopey looking white guy's that like to bash drums and scream out oddly rapped vocals over a earworm of a chorus that will kind of move things along in a very poppy way quite effectively and that's rather enjoyable for me because it helps make the line about filling potholes with more cement the most charming thing I've probably heard this year and of course its' kind of cute to put your head on someone's shoulder while you sing along with that.

I can't say too many things about this band in all honesty but their music is hella fun for the A.D.D. generation of instagram social media focused kids...

Meg I know you're not sorry

So I was on Facebook today and saw a post from Meg Myers official page where I finally got to see the cover and get the name of her upcoming full studio album Sorry which has me a good bit pumped to get to finally listen to a full studio release and to see if she decides to keep any songs from her two current EP's Daughter in the Choir and Make a Shadow but either way it should be awesome and I'll do my best to give it a full listen to upon release but until then I guess I can continue to just listen to Sorry as a single.

Also pardon my lack of post getting re-acquainted with this is kind of difficult....

Album of the Day?

So I've been trying to brainstorm a weeks worth of ideas but in all honesty I've kind of been pre-occupied with random chores and what not so I kind of only really been listening to a few of the same albums and songs repeatedly.

One more recent album I've decided to give a good listen is the recent Kendrick Lamar LP To Pimp a Butterfly which in all honesty might be the best god damn rap album I've heard maybe ever and the critical press seems to be having an utter field day with this album to the point where I'm seeing it have probably the highest scores of any album in quite some time and in all honesty it all seems very well deserved because this isn't a club banging collection of overly long jams that kind of drag on after listening to the album after a while but rather a very conscientious effort that really seems to have a lot to say and takes every opportunity to say it.

I'm pretty sure this may be considered a classic before we know it although I will say that this album kind of has a 90's throwback in a lot of it's instrumentals which is completely irrelevant but still give this album a fucking listen it's great....

Song of the day 3/3/15

So...uhm....MEG MYERS HAS RELEASED HER NEW SINGLE!!!!!!!!!!

It's a bitter tinged break up themed passive aggressive cut that's kind of more electronic then the previous material but still it's MEG FUCKING MYERS and since i just kind of heard it on Complex through a link on her facebook I'm a just leave the link down below so you guy's can give it a listen and maybe in time I'll get more into it but for now I'm still just getting a feel...

http://www.complex.com/music/2015/03/meg-myers-new-song-sorry-premiere

Sam Reviews an Album: "Our Own House," MisterWives

AH SHIT People MisterWives have a full length album out and I feel it to be my contractual obligation to give you guy’s a review so let’s quit bullshitting ya and get to telling you about this…

Some quick background for those who don’t know or haven’t read some of my concert reviews MisterWives are an alternative rock group from New York who have been spending the past year touring with various acts such as Bleachers, 21 Pilots, and American Authors and over the past year they’ve been gaining a lot of traction through their very jubilant and bright single Reflections which has gotten a hell of a lot of radio rotations here in the Kansas City area and even some national attention through some use in some random MTV show’s I don’t actually watch and with that about a year since forming and since the release of their first EP they’ve managed to release a studio album proper named after their first single from the album, “Our Own House,” which also serves as the first track of this album.

Of the previous EP of kind of bright but scattered poppy numbers almost all of them minus Twisted Tongue and Kings and Queens were included on this album and that kind of upsets me a tiny bit because Twisted Tongue was my favorite but that’s irrelevant because I figure Our Own House is a good replacement for that tune because it’s just as bright and poppy a number with a killer chorus in its own right and a complete lack of obscenities which probably helps them maintain this kind of radio friendly sound that is very apparent on this album which kind of screams a summer time album with its bright horn filled instrumentals and kind of clap along pace that many of the songs represent.

As I find myself giving this album a listen to review it I’m noticing a very heavy kind of Ska Influence in the tracks which is rather nice in most of these tracks but then you’ll eventually notice that a lot of these tracks also kind of sound the same because of that which isn’t really a terrible thing because the large amounts of bright kind of poppy chorus’ is this bands bread and butter and the fact that the majority of the tunes on it are those kind of songs gives this album a sound that kind of makes you want to go on a road trip or something with your windows down and this album blasting and not too much else.

Overall what I’m getting listening to this album is a pop group making a Ska record that will be on plenty of peoples list during those hot summer months whenever we’re all in need of real bangers and it really does make this collection of songs really solid at best it’s not the most amazing record of all time but it’s something that you can’t help but enjoy and have fun listening to because it’s a really good representation of their live show which is still bounds better than their studio outputs but even with that in mind as solidly good as this album is that means their live show is pretty freaking great.

7/10

Hits: Reflections, Our Own House, Hurricane, and Box around the Sun

Misses: Coffins, Queens

Song of the Day 2/20/15

You know the cool thing about show's is that they give an artist a platform to test new music before they decide to release it but the same problem is sometimes you're left waiting for a proper studio recording and kind of have to deal with poor audio quality and questionable camera recording quality just to hear that song again and not have it feel nearly as awesome as it was when you saw it live because the energy just isn't there, but that's minor really because this song's still interesting.

The song in question is called Cry Baby and it's going to be on Melanie Martinez's studio album and it's a very kind of circus sounding bit of swirling madness that is only made even better by her repeated use of the word FUCK while spewing some truly kind of twisted lyrics I really can't wait for the studio version of this song because from the sounds of it that should be a million times better then her fairly underwhelming EP.

Song of the Day 2-18-15

What Kind of Man-Florence+The Machine

Florence and the Machine are back people and while I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not admittedly that much a fan of them they’ve seemed to of done a good job kind of taking things back a step and really cranking the rock up with this new single, “What Kind of Man,” which starts out in a very moody kind of boring fashion before deciding to say fuck it and kicking everything into gear with some really bitching guitar work that hasn’t been to strongly represented with their most recent singles and soundtrack contributions as of late, and for the first time since I don’t know when I actually find myself actually interested to see if she continues to channel her inner Siouxsie Sioux….

Sam Reviews A Video: Being Beige-The Smashing Pumpkins

So around midnight or so The Smashing Pumpkins decided to release a new music video for their single "Being Beige," their first since Owata back in 2011 and that was less of an actual video and more of an odd short film involving professional wrestlers which was...unique..but I digress because now we're here at Being Beige and this video is also unique but less in a trying to make a movie but rather showcasing an interesting series of images kind of way.

In some way's the use of a person kind of flailing around on a moving image such as the moon that this video employees is kind of reminiscent of Disarm in a lot of way's with still shots of a very aged and tired looking Billy Corgan just kind of standing there singing this song spliced in between conceptualized imagery that goes from a naked woman on a moon, two naked twins holding each other, said naked twins being lit on fire over the sea on a rock, and some pretty cool shots of a bird all in black and white none-the-less you have a video that's all interesting shots with no real resolve which I personally don't really mind because it's not like he wasn't doing that stuff well over 20+ years ago and at this rate making an interesting little concept film keeps people talking about an already great single so i guess this video is just more interesting then anything.

Feel free to tell me below what you think....

Song of the Day 1-15-15

Our Own House-MisterWives

So one of the most amusingly quirky acts that I got to discover through opening for Bleachers and just having Reflections blow up on my local alternative station are getting ready to release a proper full length album and this seems to be the first selected cut to represent that project and upon giving this a listen I’m reminded that I actually got to see them perform this high octane kind of ska infused number live the last time they were in town.

Like I said this song’s very much a kind of horn heavy blast of energy that moves at a nice danceable pace with a slight kind of breakdown at the midpoint that only then goes into a kind of tapering series of really groovy instruments before very abruptly stopping. It’s a really solid tune that upon repeated listens should at the very least keep people interested in this group and maybe give them continued radio support especially in the KC area when it picks up and the crowds can get as into it as they do when they’re performing it.