FTW Music

Top Albums of 2010

Seth — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 02:44:23 +0000

Well, 2010 has almost come to a close, and with the new year comes dumb lists like the one you’re about to read… So without further adieu, here is my top 50 albums of the year:

The Age of Adz by Sufjan Stevens
Mines by Menomena
The Cradle by Colour Revolt
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter
The Suburbs by Arcade Fire
Congratulations by MGMT
Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons
Teen Dream by Beach House
Contra by Vampire Weekend
My Forever by He Is We
Only Every Time by The Graduate
Varuna by The Republic of Wolves
American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem
The Monitor by Titus Andronicus
The Narrative by The Narrative
Gorilla Manor by Local Natives
Champ by Tokyo Police Club
High Violet by The National
Dreams of Water by Happy Body Slow Brain
Enemy of the World by Four Year Strong
Majesty Shredding by Superchunk
XX by The xx
Dark Is the Way, Light Is A Place by Anberlin
Odd Blood by Yeasayer
Invented by Jimmy Eat World
The Wild Hunt by The Tallest Man on Earth
Tourist History by Two Door Cinema Club
Blue Sky Noise by Circa Survive
Brothers by The Black Keys
The Ladder by Andrew Belle
Hurley by Weezer
Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by My Chemical Romance
Everything In Between by No Age
Treats by Sleigh Bells
How I Got Over by The Roots
My Dinosaur Life by Motion City Soundtrack
Stuck on Nothing by Free Energy
Devil’s Made A New Friend by Jarrod Gorbel
Would It Kill You? by Hellogoodbye
The Way I Fell In by The Morning Of
My Own Sinking Ship by Good Old War
All We Grow by S. Carey
The Upsides by The Wonder Years
Meet Your New Love by Atlantic/Pacific
Total Life Forever by Foals
Happiness Is a Violent War by Northern Colours
B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray by B.o.B
Marnie Stern by Marnie Stern
Bad Books by Bad Books

Honorable Mentions: New Hands by Eagle Scout, Acolyte by Delphic, Teenage Fantasy by Secret & Whisper, Young the Giant by Young the Giant, Yet by My Epic, Omni by Minus the Bear, Dancing With A Ghost by Valencia, The Five Ghosts by Stars, Real Talk by Man Overboard, More Songs by Grown Ups

FREE song from Icarus the Owl

Seth — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:29:09 +0000

Icarus the Owl is a hard band to label…at first it sounded like Protest the Hero, Envy on the Coast and Panic! At The Disco had a super baby. It’s an interesting song for sure, I just worry that its a little too generic to remember…

But nonetheless, its definitely worth the free download:

http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/apmedia/Icarus%20the%20Owl%20-%20Mythomaniac.mp3

(right click and save as)

Oh and their bassist has a killer beard…just saying…

FREE song download from Suckers

Seth — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:29:00 +0000

Suckers are an alternative band that sounds like they should belong in the 70′s or 80′s. I, for one do not tend to like older sounding bands, but these guys have a real likable vibe. The song will get your foot tapping in no time…

http://dailyrindblog.com/audio/suckers_blacksheep.mp3

(Right click link and save as)

Indie Friday: 3/26

Seth — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:12:34 +0000

Blood and Water

This band is an alternative punk/ska band. They have some fun upbeat songs…nothing revolutionary that’s going to change the face of music as we know, but they have some decent jams. They are also giving away their new album away for free:

Click Here to Download Blood and Water “Self Titled”
(Right Click “Save Target As”, Save to Computer)

Spirit Fangs

Spirit Fangs are another interesting band. They have a similar sound to the Pixies and the Brand New. There are some solid songs on this new self-titled EP:

http://spiritfangs.bandcamp.com/album/spirit-fangs

Awake! Awake!

This band is a new wave alternative band to bands such as the Juliana Theory and Acceptance. The songs show some real promise, and this band could be one to watch out for in the coming years!

Click Here to Download Awake! Awake! “IVM Exclusive Ep”
(Right Click “Save Target As”, Save to Computer)

FREE song from K Sera

Seth — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 06:31:36 +0000

K Sera is giving away one of their new songs, “Me Before Women and Children” for free! It’s off of the album Smile for the Inevitable.

I would recommend this song if you like bands such as Panic! At the Disco, etc.

Download: ‘Me, Before Women & Children’ (MP3)

(right click and save as)

FREE song from the Classic Crime

Seth — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 08:40:00 +0000

The Classic Crime are giving away a new song “Solar Powered Life” from their soon to be released album, Vagabonds. It is surprisingly catchy and along the same lines as most of CC’s stuff. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone…

Download: ‘Solar Powered Life’ (MP3)

(right click and save as)

FREE sampler from Sleeping At Last

Seth — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:50:53 +0000

Sleeping at Last is a mellow/acoustic/piano/melodic group from Wheaton Illinois. They also happen to be giving away a free 6 song sampler. All have to do is “trade some info”…which means giving them around 5 e-mail addresses. You can always make them up if you don’t want to spread the word, that always works out!

https://www.noisetrade.com/sleepingatlast#

Indie Friday

Seth — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:53:35 +0000

Indie Fridays are going to be a new series around here. Every Friday, I will give out a couple downloads of small bands that I am currently listening to. I am pretty excited about this, because this is why I started this site for, to expose smaller bands that are awesome. But, I am a little late today (as it is Saturday now), and I apologize for that. Just think of it as Indie Saturday…haha

Drawing Mountatins

This is a progressive rock band from Michigan. They have a unique sound to them and would probably be compared to bands such as Mars Volta or other prog/post rock artists.

They are also giving away their new album Ventures away for free: Drawing Mountains.zip

The Black Atlantic

I don’t even know how to categorize this band, but their sound is something I could definitely get used to. I read one review on their site that said their sound was “haunting”, which is probably the best way to describe it.

Revenge for Fallen Trees full-length download: http://download.themusebox.net/the_black_atlantic/

City Side Up

This is a pop-punk band from the New York area. While their sound isn’t quite as “different” as the previous two, they are a solid band, no doubt.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Album Review: New Hands by Eagle Scout

Seth — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:13:43 +0000

Eagle Scout…Eagle Scout…Eagle Scout…Who exactly is Eagle Scout? I had never heard of this band before writing the review. So, I came in with an open mind expecting just about anything. What I found in their new release New Hands, was an extremely well-crafted indie rock album. From the lyrics to the guitar licks to the bass groves; everything on this album seems very well done.

The album starts off with my personal favorite of the bunch, “At Arms Length”. I knew immediately that I was in over my head with this band once the chorus kicked in on this song. From the math rock influenced guitars to the lyrics and the sing-a-long at the end of the song (“We stand at arms length apart. How the hell did we get so far?”). This band seemed like a match made in heaven for me. “Death Rays” became a favorite of mine also, with its similar sound to the first song. Not every song sounds like that though, they slow it down and become more melodic as the album continues. But even the slow ones like “No Devil Lived on” and “Kites” feel like you’re rocking out.

Overall, New Hands is a hidden gem that will probably only be found by a few people. It doesn’t boast any radio-friendly songs, so it’s improbable that this band explodes on the scene, but it does have a bunch of solid songs that are just plain out fun to listen to. I’d recommend this album to anyone looking for some new music that also enjoys indie and math rock elements.

Rating: 4.5 stars

For People who like: The Republic of Wolves, Tubelord, mewithoutYou

At Arms Length
Currents
Death Rays
Spies Like Us
Kites
The Decay
I Am Your Ghost
Weaker Science
No Devil Lived On
Out Body Is Walls

FREE song from Above The Golden State

Seth — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:38:40 +0000

Above the Golden State is giving away their new song “I Am Loved” for free! All you have to do is tweet a message or something like that…When I downloaded it the other day, it was free and I didn’t have to do anything. But now they changed it up. Still, all you have to do is tweet a message or send your friends a message on facebook saying that “Above the golden state” is giving away a free song…

DL link: http://www.tweematic.com/atgs/

I don’t even have a twitter, so I don’t know how many people do…

…i’ll do better tomorrow…