EP Roundup: Hooray for opening acts!

Another Day Late, News Said It’s Raining In New York

• Artist website: www.anotherdaylate.com
• Listen at: www.myspace.com/anotherdaylate
• Available on: Get it from them at a show, or wait for the release in March.

From the Envy On The Coast show 1/26 at Chain Reaction. Another Day Late is a band out of Orange County that plays slightly geeky, introspective rock. Their sound is solid melodic pop-punk, but the lyrics have an immediate, almost conversational tone to them. News Said It’s Raining In New York focuses on faster paced songs, but the vocals have a soaring, dreamy quality to them that balances the aggressiveness of the music. Standout track is “Fear Is A Man.” [Ed - This is now available at Amazon MP3]

Danger Radio, Punch Your Lights Out

• Artist website: www.dangerradio.net
• Listen at: www.myspace.com/dangerradio
• Available on: Amazon MP3

From the Envy On The Coast show, 1/26 at Chain Reaction. Danger Radio plays dance-rock, with a serious emphasis on dance. The sound is a little synth-pop with punchy lyrics and raucous choruses. Punch Your Lights Out has the feel of a perfect driving album. Standout track is “Sparkle Baby Shine.”

We Shot The Moon, The Polar Bear & Cougar

• Listen at: www.myspace.com/weshotthemoon
• Available on: iTunes

From the Sherwood show, 2/2 at The Knitting Factory. We Shot The Moon is a piano-based rock band out of San Diego that plays dreamy, introspective power-pop. The songs are optimistic and soaring performed in an accessible style. Standout song is “Welcome Home.”

Art Of Chaos, Crimson and Catharsis

• Listen at: www.myspace.com/ArtofChaos
• Available on: CD Baby

Ok, so these guys didn’t actually open a show, but they did blitz the scene this weekend. The band was at all three shows I attended handing out copies of their excellent EP, Crimson and Catharsis. Art of Chaos is a Los Angeles band that plays aggressive, melodic rock that is just this side of screamy. The lead singer has a voice that is eerily androgynous at times, reminiscent of Anthony Green of Circa Survive, but the band’s sound isn’t nearly as stylized. Standout track is “Coward.”

Flight To Athena, Flight To Athena

• Artist website: www.flighttoathena.com
• Listen at: www.myspace.com/flighttoathena
• Available on: CD Baby

Flight To Athena is a San Diego band who also did not open a show, but gets serious points for marketing. A band member (no idea which one, he didn’t look anything like any of the guys in the picture) walked the line at the Emery show on Sunday offering to let people listen to samples of the album on headphones, and then asking them to sign up for the email list or buy the EP for $2.00. It was a low-key, effective, and entertaining approach that every new band out there needs to steal.

Flight To Athena plays high-energy melodic pop-punk with soaring, sing-along choruses. The sound is aggressive, guitar-based rock that, if not terribly new, is wonderfully executed. Lyrically, the album is emotional and introspective, but the aggressiveness of the sound keeps it from descending into sappy cliche territory. Standout track is “Blameless Vestal.”

Feb. 15, 2008 - Lorene Drive @ Chain Reaction, Anaheim

I got to Chain Reaction a bit early for this show, so I had a chance to wander around and eavesdrop on other people’s conversations. The buzz was all about the first act, Farewell, who I hadn’t gotten around to checking out before the show. They kicked off the show with the “Start It Up,” the opening track off their album, but the number felt a little dull. I was all set to be disappointed and swear never to believe in the wisdom of the crowds, but as it turns out, they just needed a bit of a warm-up because the rest of the set was rocking. Farewell plays off the dynamic between the lead singer and the keyboardist, who share vocal duties and manage to generate a ton of energy between them. It’s tempting to watch lead singer Marshall Davis, who was wearing a hat that made him look like a slightly bug-eyed Holden Caulfield, but Farewell’s real showman on stage is keyboardist Chris Lee. It’s hard to look cool playing the keyboards, but this guy pulls it off. Their sound is solid pop-punk decorated with slightly geeky keyboards. The best number of the set was “War,” a slower song that was a bit of a risk but showed off the band’s musicianship.

Farewell was followed by National Product, a local band who I would like to thank for playing Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity almost in its entirety while they set up and reminding me what an awesome album that is. Seriously guys, thanks, I’d forgotten. National Product is a six piece outfit that has a ton of energy, and they were bouncing off each other on Chain Reaction’s itty-bitty stage despite having slightly choreographed the set. The lead, Danny Casler, was probably the lead who was the most comfortable interacting with the audience of the entire night (although, the guy was on home turf, so that may have helped). About halfway through the set he jumped down into the audience and sang a chorus from the floor to keep the energy up.

Next up was Just Surrender. I have and adore their latest album, but there was a disconnect between what I thought I heard on We’re In Like Sin and the presentation on stage. The album plays as lightening-fast, clever pop-punk, but the band presents it as Linkin Park-lite by spending too much energy trying to channel an urban, hip-hop feel that they’d be better off without. On the songs with heavier hip-hop influences the show felt affected, but the set focused on their earlier work which relies more on melody and pop-punk construction. The set’s energy was good and the crowd was into it for the most part.

Just Surrender was followed by Lorene Drive, who seemed honestly ecstatic to be back on the road with new music. Their set balanced the new songs off Out Alive with more familiar numbers from Romantic Wealth, so the crowd was able to get into it and sing along. Lead singer Daniel Murillo seemed more comfortable on stage than the last time they played Chain Reaction. The band’s set was tighter than their last show and the interaction with the audience was better. At one point, Daniel opened a center aisle for the mosh pit that ran the entire length of the floor and the audience was more than happy to oblige. Lorene Drive closed with “A Song In The Key Of Sex” after letting the audience choose between that and “A Kiss Won’t Make This Better.”

A Static Lullaby closed the show. It’s been a long time since I failed to enjoy a headliner’s performance, even one by a band I didn’t know or wasn’t thrilled with, but I can’t say I really got into A Static Lullaby’s set. Some of the problem is taste - I’m just generally not that into music as screamy as A Static Lullaby’s, and some of it was technical - Chain Reaction is very bass heavy and the screaming tended to wash out the melody. Beyond the personal and technical, though, A Static Lullaby felt disjointed on stage. There was very little energy between the band members and very little interaction with the audience.

Upcoming Shows: It’s going to be one hell of a weekend.

In an effort to assemble my own DIY festival before the start of the official season, I will be attending three shows over the weekend. If you live in LAish, you need to see these bands live. If you don’t live in LAish, I will be posting reviews of each of these shows - probably sometime next week. It’ll be just like being there. Except quieter.

• February 15, 2008: Lorene Drive, A Static Lullaby, and Just Surrender at Chain Reaction.
• February 16, 2008: Aiden, Madina Lake, and My American Heart at The Glass House.
• February 17, 2008: Mayday Parade and Pierce The Veil at The Glass House.

What I’m Listening To: Just Surrender, We’re In Like Sin

• Listen at: www.myspace.com/justsurrenderrock
• Available on: Amazon MP3

I have a rule - after a band reaches a certain level of market penetration I no longer consider them for this blog. As much as I love Paramore and My Chemical Romance, they just don’t need the help. So I’m taking this opportunity to write about Just Surrender, since I think my window of opportunity is closing fast.

Just Surrender is a four (or maybe five - Wikipedia isn’t sure, and I can’t get to Myspace from work) piece group out of upstate New York that writes melodic pop-punk. Their sound alternates rapid-fire verses (think Panic at the Disco at their most tongue-twisting) with more melodic sing-along choruses. The writing is fun and fluffy, not terribly introspective or original, but also not annoyingly clichéd. We’re In Like Sin is a perfect driving album, as long as you can get away with 80 mph with the sunroof open. Standout tracks are “New Declaration,” “I Said It Before,” and “We’re In Like Sin.”

Just Surrender is on tour with Lorene Drive. They’re playing The Knitting Factory on Feb. 14 and Chain Reaction Feb. 15. That’s this week, kids. Get on it. [Show review.]

What I’m Listening To: Lorene Drive, Out Alive EP

• Listen at: www.myspace.com/lorenedrive
• Available on: Myspace via Snocap

If this had been released by any other band, I would have saved it for the next EP Roundup. But Lorene Drive is my favoritest local act and it’s been forever since we had new music from them. Out Alive is short, but far more mature than Romantic Wealth (which is itself quite awesome). The sound has stayed the same - Lorene Drive plays high-energy guitar rock with stellar, high-drama vocals delivered by Daniel Murillo. The themes on Out Alive have grown beyond what the band was writing on Romantic Wealth. The lyrics are more thoughtful, especially “Second Nature,” an honest-to-god social commentary piece that still rocks so hard you don’t realize how political it is the first time through. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good song about falling into (or out of) love, but it’s nice to see a band write about bigger themes.

Lorene Drive is playing The Knitting Factory Feb. 14 and Chain Reaction with A Static Lullaby Feb. 15. [Show review.]