Does David Lynch Make Underoath's Studio Updates?

Underoath just posted their fourth studio update...and have yet again wasted my time. Every one of their studio updates (excluding the third one, which was almost informative) has featured images of the band talking/playing with ambient music and sounds played over it, and it reminds me of the first few minutes of Eraserhead. While the videos are kind of cool, they don't say anything about the band or their new album. I would actually like to see their new drummer playing and hear some new song clips, but I guess Underoath being deep and artsy is more important. Here is the video:


Underoath 2010 Studio Update _ 4

Underoath | MySpace Music Videos

Can A Remix Best An Original?

I would hope by now that at least most of you have listened to Passion Pit, because their new album Manners is fantastic. It's definitely my favorite new dance pop/indie pop/electronic album out right now, dominating my mixtapes for friends. Most of you have probably heard Passion Pit from commercials, unfortunately. Sleepyhead and Little Secrets are the two for now that I've heard in at least 5 commercials for electronics, video games, etc. While this hurts the hipster part of my heart, it's undeniable that these guys make awesome music.

Now what this article is really about is my amazement that I enjoy the remix at the bottom of the page compared to the original. Trust me, this isn't my first venture into remixes, I have quite a few albums dedicated to remixes of my favorite songs by Daft Punk, Justice, Ratatat, Major Lazer, you name it, and in every case, I love the remixes, but they are never better than the original song. I've come to terms with the fact that most remixes are songs taken and edited so they work better in a club for a bunch of retards to hump each other to. Even if the remix of a song doesn't come out like that, even if it's a remix by the lovely Four Tet or Soulwax, I still can't help but wanna hear the original.

That's why this Borgore remix of Passion Pit's Sleepyhead is so different for me, I actually prefer it to the original version. I've been probably jamming this one on my iPod on a daily basis, a few times a day, really, I enjoy it that much. Before you jump to the conclusion that I like dubstep too much and I'm biased, don't. I have one or two dubstep albums, and I find most of the material too derivative and more of a gimmick than an actual sustainable sound. This remix has dubstep elements, but what I really like is the change in beat for an almost hip-hop flow and the slight changes to the synth to work with the dubstep tone. Check it out if you haven't heard it already, and if you haven't heard the original song, well then seriously get the fuck off this blog and download (or buy, haha) Manners, you won't be sorry. -Matt Galey

Oh and a special thanks to Cashel Russell for originally showing me this remix in the first place!

Crazy Teenage Shredders

Last year I happened upon a band named Chon from California. They blew me away with their insane shredding and surprisingly well-written, original songs. And what's even more amazing are the ages of the members. At the time of their demo release last year both of the guitar players were 16, their bassist was 14, and their drummer....only 12. Here is a video of them shredding live (they don't really start til about a minute in):



Watch out for these kids in the coming years. They are only going to get more talented and I could definitely see them getting big. Also check out their Myspace and Purevolume to listen to and download their songs.

...Another New Tera Melos Song!!!

So Tera Melos has revealed the second song off of their new album Patagonian Rats, Another Surf, and it sure is a lot different than Frozen Zoo. Judging by these two songs it seems like this album is going to be all over the place. Here is the song set to clips of the Simpsons.

New Tera Melos Song

Tera Melos is back with a new song and will be releasing their new album Patagonian Rats on September 7. It seems that, just like fellow math rock bands Maps and Atlases and Foals, Tera Melos has gone for a much poppier and simple sound. They may surprise us by throwing some mathy stuff on the album, but from hearing this song I'm confident that Tera Melos can make a great album without insane drumming and tapping. Enjoy!

Jon Karel Cheers Me Up

When The Number Twelve Looks Like You broke up early this year I nearly cried. They have been one of my favorite bands for a few years and released a new album last year that was insanely good. Luckily drummer Jon Karel, probably my favorite drummer of all time, has been helping me cope with the breakup by posting amazing Youtube videos. Here is one of him drumming over a Philip Glass tune:




Jon Karel's Youtube channel isn't the only place you will be able to hear his drumming in the future. The recently reformed grind band The Sawtooth Grin has added Jon Karel to their lineup and will hopefully have new music out by the end of the year.

Album Review: Tokyo Police Club - Champ (2010)

When I sit down and think about it, Tokyo Police Club really changed how I thought about music, along with all my other favorites that brought me out of my classic-psychedelic-rock phase that had dominated my early teen years. A Lesson In Crime EP was AMAZING, not only for a young boy obsessed with Pink Floyd, but anyone who likes music. Highly praised by the "indie rock" community, A Lesson In Crime featured quick songs with catchy beats, a strangely depressed tone, and smart, slightly story driven lyrics. Back then lead vocalist and bassist Dave Monks had a strained, yelp driven, angst ridden voice perfect for the subject matter. With that said, A Lesson In Crime EP is still one of my most listened to pieces of music on my iPod, finding it's way into my heart on a constant basis.

Jump four years, one EP, and one LP later, and Tokyo Police Club have just released their new effort, Champ. Now, without going into history too much, it's safe to say that their first full length Elephant Shell disappointed critics, fans, and even me with it's more simplistic "indie rock" flavor, but at the same time, I listen to it almost as much as A Lesson in Crime, so my disappointment was minor and temporary. Champ might be in the same flavor as Elephant Shell, but it does its job much better. The album has a typical feel, shedding it's roots of hand-claps and chants from A Lesson in Crime, but it manages to add on new electronic elements and a different vocal style from Dave Monks that adds to where Elephant Shell faltered.

The album kicks off in a strange way for sure, the first song, Favorite Food is a slow, almost acoustic piece, with starting off lyrics like; "With a heart attack on your plate/ you were looking back on your days..." you can't be totally sure that Champ will be what you wanted from Tokyo Police Club will deliver on their style of fast, fun, "indie rock" we love from them, but by the end of Favorite Food, and into Favorite Colour, you start to feel the upswing. After the build up, TPC throws on the best tracks of the album, Breakneck Speed and Wait Up (Boots of Danger), two back-to-back classic TPC songs in the vein of singles like Tessellate and Graves. Breakneck Speed was the first track I got to hear off Champ, and it's definitely my favorite, showing off perfect execution as far as mixing catchy bass, great lulls for upturns, and fantastic lyrics such as "Spell it out/ I always skip the words/ because all the pictures are so bright and loud" Here we get to see a new element in Dave Monks' slightly monotone voice, in some places where he should punctuate the music by raising his voice, he actually will lower it into a bass tone, which adds a dynamic to the music telling you that you aren't hearing the same, boring "indie rock".

If I think about Champ I definitely picture a roller coaster, with ups and downs, each song leads to another hill or climb to the next exciting song, and thats where the problem in Champ lies, while you are waiting for that next electrifying fix, you ignore the slow songs like Hands Reversed and may even miss the end song Frankenstein, all together. They are certainly not slow depressing songs possibly seen by The National or Antlers, but they definitely are a slowdown when compared to my favorite new Summer jam form the album, Gone.

The problem that Champ has is almost the same as the one in Elephant Shell, Tokyo Police Club is a band that kicks ass at EP's because they are full of track-after-track of fast paced excitement, but in LP's, there is a need for slower songs, and those songs take away from YOUR fun. It really isn't TPC's fault, it's the album system in a way, possibly if they regularly released EP's instead of full length albums, we'd get the amazing work we want without any fluff, but then we'd complain that they should put out an album already!

So, at it's basic core Champ is a great album if you're say, on a road trip to the beach, or having a party at your house, because it's as much of a Summer Jam as Summer Jams can be, and as long as you don't want TOO much, you will get your kicks out of Champ. It fits in with a tone sustained by a cool breeze, friends, laughter, and carelessness, as much as it pains me to say it. I really wanted a lot from Champ, a return to my early teenage love for the band would have been the easiest way to put it. But to say that Champ is a disappointment isn't easy, or really possible to say, because it isn't, it's just a different flavor debuted from our friends, Tokyo Police Club.

Album Rating: 8.5 / 10

- Matt Galey

The New Sick Animation Album Is Here!

Ever since 2007's The Ultimate Party Collection Vol. 1, I have been patiently waiting for the second Sick Animation album. Now it is finally here! Head over to Sickanimation.com to order Marc M.'s next masterpiece "Sex, Drugs, and Rock n' LOL" and to listen to some samples from the album.

Here is the artwork and tracklist:



1. Bloody Bodies
2. I Know A Girl Who...
3. Let's Hit The Beach
4. Mexico
5. Nickelodeon Slime - Skit
6. Put It On The Table
7. You A Dike Ho (now get the fuck off my porch)
8. Summer Rain
9. Crippled Horse Ch. 1 - Skit
10. I'm Thirsty Bitch (gimme a drink)
11. Crippled Horse Ch. 2 - Skit
12. Nasty MoFo With A Dream
13. Crippled Horse Ch. 3 - Skit
14. This Slut
15. Rookie Of The Year
16. Family Matters
17. I Want 2 Fall In Luv W/ A Beautiful Girl
18. I Wanna Put A Taco In Barack O's Cock Hole

God, Marc M.'s face is so beautiful. I would also expect a review of this in the near future from Matt or myself.

This Week In New Releases

This week we have some pretty anticipated releases from some established bands. Let's jump right into them!



First is Emarosa's self-titled, second LP. Their first album, Relativity, was plagued by boring and repetitive vocal lines and a lackluster rhythm section, which is a real shame considering how talented singer Jonny Craig really is (See Dance Gavin Dance's Downtown Battle Mountain). Hopefully this time around they can craft an album that shows off what Jonny Craig is capable of.





We also have the long awaited debut LP from one of my favorite bands, Maps and Atlases. They have abandoned their old spastic math rock style for poppier vocal lines and a much folkier style. The album has already received pretty positive reviews from Pitchfork and Sputnikmusic and will hopefully be liked by their old fans. The album is also streaming on their myspace page




3OH!3 is back with their follow up to 2008's "Want." I don't like this band, but the single "My First Kiss" even seemed low for their standards.







Metalcore act Parkway Drive's new album also comes out this week. I don't expect it to be anything more than a generic metalcore album, but maybe they will surprise me...

WELCOME!

Welcome to the "It's A Pizza Party" blog!

THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW:

-This blog will be focusing mostly around music and will include album reviews, music news, live show coverage, interviews and new band recommendations

-We will also be posting about non-music related things such as video games, movies, tv, pizza, comedy etc.

-Our music posts will not be limited to one genre. You can expect coverage of all different types of music including post-hardcore, metal, indie, pizza, folk, electronic, prog, hip-hop, etc.

-As of now there are 2 writers for this blog. Myself (mrstuprigge, A.K.A. Tynan) and Matt Galey.

Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy the blog!