Recently, I haven’t been listening to as much music as people know me for. Instead of leaving on a different album here or there, I’d have my TV on and be watching MSNBC out of the corner of my eye whenever I was at my computer.

But, as I’ve been finding a few new albums, I’ve been taking the time to stop and listen to them and try to absorb them, as well as moving through a few older albums…

So, I ask of you friends:

What bands/albums that have been keeping your days and lives running?

I’ll come back with some of my answers later in the week…

I found a guitarist the other day that really caught my ear and eye. The guy’s name is Newton Faulker. Your best bet is searching for him on YouTube.

Which the only reason I suggest that is because he’s a red haired, dredlocked musician who has phenomenal guitar skills… But when I listen to his album, Hand Built By Robots, I wouldn’t know half of the stuff he was doing if I hadn’t of watched him do a video or two.

And that’s the interesting thing as a whole which is sad. I’ve run across guitarists like him who have amazing technique, but if you didn’t watch them play? You wouldn’t know it.

I really don’t have much today… Still brain-fried with a ton of stuff, but I promise I’ll have some good stuff soon… I hope.

Its funny, I find myself not playing that much guitar anymore, and folks still know me for it. And I’ve talked about recording one album or another, and well, I just haven’t yet.

Why? Well, its due to a few things.

Whenever I record, I want to take more time to ensure a higher quality. I just haven’t because it involves setting things up, kicking the cats out of the area that my computer is in, and just having the time.

Time is a big thing too. Between classes and the on-going job hunt, well, it wouldn’t be right for me to take an 8 hour day to record 3-4 songs and get them right.

Next up, I just don’t have the drive to do it. I enjoy playing and I do play maybe an hour or two a week, but just not all that much because of homework and trying to keep up with the news and stuff around me.

As a whole, I remember growing up and spending 2-4 hours a day playing guitar, playing sets, practicing techniques, and now? I’ll maybe pick it up for 10 minutes a day for two to three days a week. Not much at all.

The fact of the matter is? Life happens… And soon, I hope to talk more about how I record and what I’ll be doing on a new album that I’m slowly finishing writing and working on…

And folks who know me know that I’m usually on top of things musically. And here’s why. Yup, every week, I check that site, just to see what new albums might be coming out and I’ll google artists and see what’s what with them. Sarah came to my computer the other day and actually asked me “What the hell is Hercules and Love Affair and why were you searching for it?” I had to explain to her that it was a band name I saw and that because it was dance music, I wasn’t interested. That made for an interesting conversation.

So, I have a sad confession to make. I also find new music from The Hills. Shoot me now. Seriously. Sarah likes to watch it, and because of that, I’ll usually watch with her. I mean, heck, she watches Countdown with Keith Olbermann with me, so I can at least return the favor for half the amount of time. But what I do like that MTV has been doing on that show and other shows is that they (1) pop up the artist name/song name during the episode while it plays and (2) post all of the artists and songs names on their website after/during the show.

Oh, and even though I don’t like the show? Spencer sucks. Well, they all suck, but especially Spencer…

About a few months back, you might recall me excessively promoting Seven Mary Three’s new album, dayandnightdriving… I might have also mentioned that I saw them live the CD release weekend for two shows back-to-back… Well, since then? They’ve released the music video for their first single as an acoustic live version from the show:

Music Video: LAST KISS -Seven Mary Three

The video is beautiful, and I can tell you that the moment that the song started, there wasn’t a quiet person in the place. If you listen carefully? You might even hear my voice in the audience. Probably not, but still. This is a band that gives it their all and loves their fans as much as their fans love them…

Dear Mr. Young,

I have to admit that I’ve never really thought much of you and have never really been a fan. Yet, recently, I was a bit disturbed to read an article on MSNBC.com. In it, you claimed that music has long since lost its power to change the world. Upon reading this, any chance of me ever being a fan were washed away. Sir, I wonder what world you’re living in if that’s truely the case and why you are still making music.

I recognize that you have written some phenomenal music and have had some amazing concepts. Most recently, your album Living With War drew a lot of acclaim for its raw unabashed nature. Your classic songs like “Rockin’ In The Free World” and “Heart of Gold” are covered and acknowledged by musicians everywhere. And your nature as an outspoken individual of opinion and integrity has been upheld by all. But again, why does music no longer change the world?

Back in the late 1960s when your early career was starting I know a lot of forces were at work in the world between JFK’s assassination, Vietnam, and The Beatles, but to say that their music changed the world and what’s around now doesn’t is absurd. Back in those times, the music influenced many minds to live and create and act on what they heard. They were anthems for standing up and taking action. John Lennon’s “Imagine” was a call for peace, Hendrix’s version of “The Star Spangled Banner” cried out for freedom, and Stephen Stills–your own bandmate–called for awareness in Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.”

You’ve also got tons of other examples progressing from there. You have Dylan dancing with civil liberties in “Hurricane” and Nancy Sinatra calling for women’s “Boots Are Made For Walking.” The Bee Gees wanted people to just be “Stayin’ Alive” and KISS wanted to “Rock and Roll All Nite.” Lynyrd Skynyrd called for people to remember the south and “Sweet Home Alabama” and Stevie Ray Vaughan revived the “Texas Flood.”

Music, sir, has been what has flowed through so many veins. Sometimes, people had to write the songs because it wasn’t written and other times they found the solace in someone else’s words. And today, has that changed?

Not in the slightest.

If that was the case, why did you release your album Living With War? Oh that’s right, it wasn’t to make a statement, it was to make money.

And then, you have Will.I.Am’s “Yes We Can” song, which definitely has affected change. And that’s one of many examples. Each and every day, people wake up and pop on a song to start their day and to get their lives on the right foot. Because what they hear moves them.

Just like you’re moved to write music too, sir.

Music still is a force for change. And if you don’t believe that? Maybe you’re not writing a song that means anything to anyone other than yourself.

---

EDIT–23 April 2008, 9:47pm: Greetings to all whom might stumble upon this from ThrashersWheat.org. I appreciate the link-back. I know that this was something that actually appeared back in February, but I had written upon it back then and saved it as a draft until I could complete my thoughts. Even still, I feel like I haven’t completed my thoughts. But, I do appreciate you taking the time to read, and I openly welcome discussion if you’d like. And stick around if you see fit. The more the merrier, I say…

Yesterday, I picked up my guitar for the first time in a few weeks and played about half an hour. And it was interesting because as much as I used to love doing it, it was just work for me then. I didn’t derive anything from it. I was “going through the motions.” Playing guitar used to be such a release and something I enjoyed beyond everything, and to have it just feel so “blah”? What’s happening to me?

I think, quite honestly, its the stress. Its the atmosphere I was in.

I used it as a study break and I didn’t feel like it really. I had a small tickle for it, but not the urge to pick up that guitar and let it loose. And I’m hoping that when finals and this semester are all over, I’ll have a little less pressure when I’m on the job hunt that it can go back to being that relaxation. Heck, I’m even hoping that when I’ve got that job secured and I’m working after graduation that I can let it be that relaxation that it used to be.

Because, as I was telling a friend last night, there’s no greater release than playing. There’s a feeling that I cannot put into words at all about being on that stage or just being somewhere with a guitar in hands and knowing that what I’m doing isn’t just putting a smile on my face, but I’m impacting those around me. Even if its just barely hearing me through a wall or the next room over, or its someone blasting one of my songs as they’re away from home and hearing the words and feeling not so alone? There’s something to that that’s just plain amazing…

I’m debating heading to campus a little earlier than my class tonight and spending an hour or so at the fountain on campus, seeing I won’t have much longer to do that…

I’m fairly new to the world of podcasts and podcasting, so I’m much far behind on things. But at the same time, there’s one that I do listen to each and every episode more than others, and that’s this one right here…

Mike Garrigan’s Podcast

For those who haven’t heard his name from me before or heard me talk about Mike Garrigan, well, you haven’t known me very long. Needless to say, Mike is a guitarist/vocalist/singer-songwriter out of North Carolina. Formerly the lead voice of the band Collapsis and the backing guitarist/vocalist in the band Athenaeum, Mike’s a solid songwriter and has been moving to the world of music production and engineering. And at the start of the year, Mike just redid his website and decided to add in a podcast. In a fairly simple format each lasting about 20ish minutes long, Mike plays one studio cut from one of his albums, as well as one or two live outtakes or new studio recordings, and then uses the other time between the songs to talk about recent shows, recording updates, recording information, or just casual friendly things. A really nice guy whom I’ve had the chance to speak with on one occasion and e-mailed with occasionally, its a nice way to see inside the music business and with his blog on his site helps take some of the mysticism out of recording and reminds you that these musicians we listen to are real folks as well.

Last week, I finally picked up an album I had long ago meant to grab: Joe Hedge’s Curvature. The name might seem familiar to some of my friends, and that’s because he is. Joe is the vocalist/songwriter behind the band July for Kings. Breaking up after their Nostalgia EP in 2006 after a major label run with their debut album Swim, Joe decided to go solo. And with that, he released Curvature.

The thing is, whenever there’s a side-project or something different from a band, you expect that when its the lead singer or someone signature to the band, that it’ll sound like what you expect the band to do. Examples? Rob Thomas solo still has that Matchbox 20 vibe, Joe Perry has that heavy balls-to-the-floor blues that he brings to Aerosmith, and when you pried Slash away from G’n'R, you got the same thing in Velvet Revolver riff-wise. Now granted, there are the exceptions to that rule like Sebastian Bach, Tom Morello, and Angels & Airwaves (which to be fair isn’t Blink at all, but still).

And Joe is definitely an exception to the rule. The best way to do this is for you to take a quick jaunt over and listen to JfK’s “Normal Life” and then when you’re done, the first single solo called “Mitral Valve Prolapse.”

You’re back? Good.

See, Joe’s solo album is more ambient and melodic. JfK was a lot more alt rock. That being said, the songwriting has the same level of intensity and it ties it together beautifully. If you’re a fan of JfK, as a lot of my friends became with my constant goading towards their music and me playing “Normal Life” at a good number of open mics, I’d recommend picking it up and being on the look out for the reunion album that JfK will hopefully be releasing by the end of the year…

As you read this, I’m probably immersed in school work and just took a second to hit “publish” from my cell phone. But believe me, when I come back tomorrow, I’ll give full updates on the move and soon you’ll get all of the rants from me about how subleasing can be a pain and the stupid things I encountered…

Before even starting the move, I made a list of DVDs and CDs that I’ve been selling online through LiveJournal on some communities that I’m on there. We’re talking a list of over 140 albums that I’ve all digitized and no longer need or care for the CDs. Nope, don’t need the liner notes, and why the heck do I need to keep Boyz II Men’s II sitting around?

And then I started to think about how we all do that nowadays. Really, why do we need to worry about buying all of these CDs? Think of all of the space that they take up. Heck, I have almost 100 albums on my 4 gig iPod nano alone (just about 90, if you’re really caring), and if I were to carry that many CDs with me daily, I’d throw my back out. Have you ever stacked up that many CDs? You’re talking about a five to six foot tall stack of CDs.

So what’s really going to happen? Are we ever going to get rid of CDs? Where the hell am I going with this post? Nowhere. I’m sad because I spent $9-13 per CD and I’m reselling them for about $4 each. Considering I’ve named about 140 albums there? That means I’ve lost between $5-9 per CD. Over $500 that I spent on music that while I enjoyed it, in the long term I’ve lost the money on it.

I guess now that I realize it, here’s where my point is: the record industry tells us that we’re to buy more music and support all of these artists. I’d love to do just that, honestly I would. But I don’t have $500 to just throw away like that, and I shouldn’t have even done that in the first place.

And they wonder why folks download…

Recently, I read an interesting article on MSNBC.com about Zooey Deschanel. It was mentioning her first album, She & Him - Volume One. Now, folks know that I’m very very picky when it comes to my music, but I figured that I’d give this one a shot. I remembered when she was in Elf and she sung in the movie. For me, it was… interesting. There was a bit of awkward beauty to what she did, and I think that’s the sole thing that really sits well with Deschanel. She has a bit of an awkward perfection to the roles that she sits in. Think her “I’m here, but in a different sort of place” a la Tin Man or what she does in any role that I’ve ever really seen her in. I don’t want to call her a “one note actress,” but she’s typecast for that role often as I’ve seen it.

In listening to the album, well, that doesn’t come across. There’s an interesting enthusiasm that throws back to a late 1960’s early 1970’s folk rock feel. Jangly with beautifully arranged pianos and guitars across the board, the 13 song set comes across beautifully. Its a nice little “background listening” album to just let sit on for a half hour and do whatever you have to do. After my first listen, I’m adding this one to my noteables list so far… Like all albums I listen to, I’ve got to let it sit a few spins to figure out how it really grows on me.

The art of listening to an album… That’s something that folks don’t really understand…

It seems that I’ve come across a lot more musicians who are putting up free music for download or for sliding scale… I mean, here, a simple little list of ones I’ve seen so far:
Aaron Lee Tasjan - His EP is available on his site for free download.
Steven Foxbury - 2 EPs and 1 LP worth of songs for free download.
Saul Williams - Another free download of a whole album.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers - Are offering their new album on a “sliding scale” that can be set to zero.
Nine Inch Nails - Sliding scale with free download option for a portion of it.
Todd Carey - Another sliding scale option.

And the list goes on and on.

Ever since Radiohead hit it big when they released In Rainbows on the brilliant idea of having the fan pay what they felt was right. It’s not a new concept, seeing Jonah Matranga has been doing a sliding scale within a $4 range (plus/minus $2) on his merch for a while, and others have done similar. You’ve always been able to use sites like Last.FM for free downloads of sample tracks, as well as the iTunes picks of the week, and even musicians who have a few tracks on their site here or there for free download. Free is the way to get people to get their foot through the door. A recent MSNBC.com survey and reader response showed that if folks could get some music for free? They’d buy the album.

And that’s an interesting truth to the matter. I can’t count how many times I’ve grabbed free music in some legal or illegal form and if I really support the artist? I’ll buy a concert ticket, get a shirt, or buy the album. If I don’t like it? I’ll get rid of it after a while. We all do the same. When I was cleaning out our closet yesterday, I came across a ton of CDs that I’ve since digitized and never use. And I looked sickenly at all of the albums and realized how many hundreds of dollars I spent on music and how much of it I could have spent on other things.

But, what about the artist and all of the money? What about things like that? Everyone says the artist sees nothing from the CD sales, or from sites like iTunes and selling their music. Recently, I found out about a site called TheTrackShack.com from a website, BzzAgent.com where I’m a member of. Its a campaign that I’m involved in. With this campaign, I’m promoting how this is a new site for people to sell mp3s through. And its one that allows another percentage with money back to the artist. Add to that other plug-ins like SnoCap.com and plenty of other sites like ZooMoozik.com that give musicians the same capability. I’ve seen folks like Mike Garrigan and Steve Foxbury use both. They’re all options.

And then, there’s the sliding scale model, or something similar to what I’ve done with the way I’ve offered my downloads: Donations.

Whenever I’ve seen the sliding scale things, I have to admit that I’m usually broke and can’t afford them. And whenever I see the donation box like I have with mine, well, I think the same thing. I wish that I could chip someone something for their art, especially when its directly linked like that. It makes me feel like maybe I should do something to show just how much I appreciate what’s being done for me. You know, sort of like the whole “buy the shirt” or “buy the ticket” thing I mentioned earlier. And I thought that usually whenever someone does a free download, well, they don’t match things up when there’s a donation box. Heck, I know that I haven’t.

What’s interesting, though, is now on this side of things? I can tell you that everyone who’s talked about it is right: there is a 50/50 response to having something of that sort on your page. When you offer it up for free download, half of the people do donate just as a thanks and the other half just take it and leave. The truth of the matter is that I don’t care if people donate or not for my music. I’ve said plenty of times that I’m just happy that someone can enjoy it. But I do find it really interesting everytime someone does and it’s an amazing rush that someone cared that much to chip a few bucks my way.

The business model is interesting, that’s for sure. Definitely something new in the whole world of online downloads and music. Its a shot against the record machine, but no matter how many bands, musicians, artists, hack-hobbyists-like-me do it? These shots won’t bring down the label machine. But with time, the impact will be interesting to see…

I didn’t mean for this to be a guilt trip or an egotistical rant of “give me money, damnit,” which I feel it came off as. I just started thinking about this one after downloading the new Roger Clyne and the Peacemaker’s album on its own sliding scale and it made me think about how I run things around here.

And I wouldn’t change a thing… Except to add some more downloads, which I should do soon.

Yesterday was an exercise in cutting corners. Matter of fact, Saturday was too, just cleaned up better…

See, on the weekends, I don’t have much time to sit down and write, so I’m starting to “pre-draft” during the weekends with additional thoughts of mine and I’m just saving a few drafts so I can come in on the weekends and click and post.

In fitting with my Saturday morning theme, I’ll include this, which is a link to the 7M3 setlist from Saturday night. A bit more traditional, seeing it has “Cumbersome” and “Water’s Edge,” it’ll probably look a lot more comforting than the Friday night setlist. The difference? The Friday show was a “superfan appreciation show.” In other words: Folks who have heard “Cumbersome” and “Water’s Edge” so freaking many times that they’re sick and tired of hearing them and all of the “Cumber-fucks” in the audience who scream for just those two. Not that I don’t like them, but I’m glad to hear some of the cuts like “Flagship Eleanor,” “Home Stretch,” “Angry Blue,” and the infamous “? Song.”

Other than that, speaking of cleaning up, I’m going to be adding some WordPress plugins over the course of the next few days. I also really need to go back and start tagging my entries, seeing I haven’t since day one. When I have my new plug-ins installed on my site, well, I’ll give a heads up to them because a few of them will be functionally nice for some friends, I know. They’ll especially be that way for me.

I’d better get some food and off to homework before having my fun today…

Is that they come too few and far between.

Like usual, we do a big breakfast around here, but the problem is making sure that we have all of the fixings for it. Today? I’m like Old Mother Hubbard. Costco will be our “brunch”

Add to that the fact that my brain is set on “tired” from the fact that I rolled into bed close to 1am last night after seeing Seven Mary Three at the Backbooth. If anyone’s interested, I posted the setlist on their fan board for the night. As to tonight? Another late night with seeing them at the House of Blues.

Side note to seeing them is that I did see two very amazing opening acts. I’ve seen Steve Foxbury a long long time ago opening for 7M3 at the House of Blues, but now knowing who he was and his music, it was definitely nice to see a set of his that I knew. I recognized “Pink and Brown,” “Roses (Will Never Grow Here),” and “All in All,” and the other tracks that I didn’t recognize, well, it made me want to listen more to his music. But, I’ll have to juggle that with Aaron Lee Tasjan’s EP that I bought at the show. He really surprised me with his musicianship in his own songs and when he was backing 7M3. All around an awesome night.

And both of those artists have free music to download on their pages. So definitely, enjoy them in good health. Me? I need to wake up some more because I’ll be back rocking in another few hours…

For about the past month or so, I’ve been talking about the new Seven Mary Three album, day&nightdriving. I can’t count how many times I’ve posted that same exact link here, but if anyone wants to figure it out, maybe I’ll give you a cookie.

Needless to say, there are very few bands that I get all “fan-boy” over. If you know me well enough, you know that it comes down to just a handful, with them being the ones that I have posted on my links page, primarily. Seven Mary Three happens to be one of them. From the first time that I saw them in 2002–when I actually was able to get up on stage and sing with the band–I’ve been to a total of four of their shows, and this Friday and Saturday, I’ll be able to bring that total up to six. Always with a strong show and a back catalog of over 5 albums of material, they’re a forgotten rock gem.

Five albums? I should say six with this new one. The guys known solely for “Cumbersome” and “Water’s Edge” are once again striking at their mold with their new release, day&nightdriving. Twelve tracks long, the style of the album most mimics their sophomore album, Rock Crown with varying harder and softer songs and intricate arrangements of guitars and other instruments. My fan-boy nature aside, this album struck me at first listen. I really didn’t know what to think of it. I didn’t like the flow from song-to-song, and I had to play it again. And on the second listen, I started to get it. I really saw the sonic landscape and it made perfect sense. This album isn’t an album that you’ll put in for instant gratification, no not first listen at all, but this is an album that you’ll put on to let grow with you. This is what an album should be and could be if more bands focused on their arts–strong collections of songs that you don’t want to skip over when you come to them because they don’t make sense to listen to in any other order; strong collections of songs that tell stories.

Let’s take a look at the individual tracks that make up this story…

1 - Last Kiss: The lead off single from the album, “Last Kiss” strikes hard and strong. The acoustic guitars layer up slowly to the peak of the electric guitars and the band coming in on the second verse/chorus area. Short, sweet, and to the point, the song feels very poignant on love lost and left behind, and the hook line that comes up in the chorus is fast, ferocious, and delivered with such passion that it emotes fully and wholeheartedly the wavered sentiments of the verses.

2 - Laughing Out Loud: And here is where the first jolt hits the listener. A bit of a slower paced song from the first one, “Laughing Out Loud” has a swampy muddy feel to it, with a few bright guitars that chime through from time to time. The real treat in this song is that even though the first track sort of showed you a more elaborate songwriting style, the lyrics here are beautifully interwoven right up to the end hook of the chorus. Because of the ever mutating nature of the chorus here, its a familiar and warm welcome.

3 - Was A Ghost: If the jarring change in the first two tracks wasn’t enough, by the time you come up to the reverb laced distorted intro to “Was A Ghost,” you’ll be scratching your head. A fan favorite from the first “T-I-M-E” that it was played, the “R-U-S-T rust” line has become a call-and-answer part of live shows. The lyrics shine over simple guitar riffs, but that’s the key to Jason Ross and Thomas Juliano’s back and forth nature with the music: very simple guitar parts by Ross with intricately weaved melodies and riffs by Juliano. Look for this again on the whole album.

4 - Dreaming Against Me: The album’s multi-faceted appearance is drawing close to a close by this point when the country-tinged “Dreaming Against Me.” The first few times I listened to it, the only thing I could think of that felt close to this stomp-happy song was Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Down on the Corner.” A happy sort of track with a very positive “Hey, everything’s gonna be alright” chorus that you’ll find yourself humming in your head away from the song, the lyrics really shine here as well.

5 - Hammer & a Stone: Speaking of lyrics and sides of the album, “Hammer & a Stone” is the perfect example of the softer acoustic nature of some of these songs. A long time solo track that’s been heard at acoustic shows, the longing nature of the track and the analogies and syllogisms with the imagery envelope the listener in the open road and a transition between the twilight and the dusk. The acoustic guitar blended with the piano and a touch of sustained guitar in the background all melds together perfectly.

6 - Break the Spell: Back to the swampy distorted nature of some of the songs, “Break the Spell” is an older track that fans have heard for many years coming. I personally have a live recording from 2003 with a different chorus, and the chorus has undergone a lot of rewriting, but the melody remains the same. And beyond all of that, I can tell you that I walk around singing this song myself because the hook line just gets stuck in your head. A perfect build-up and very simple melody that has beautiful overlaying of lead guitar, this song is what songwriting could and should be.

7 - You Think Too Much: I’ve used the word “swampy” to describe a lot of this album, and on “You Think Too Much,” it fits that bill, but in a similar vein of “Laughing Out Loud,” with a twist that sounds like it belonged on 7M3’s Economy of Sound album. Serving as a good lead-off to the proverbial side B of the album, this track doesn’t shine or sparkle but merely glows. Its a nice mid-tempo rocker that doesn’t stand out too much till you find yourself singing it later on, trying to remember why you didn’t notice it the first time through.

8 - Strangely at Home Here: First heard back in 2005 at their 10 year American Standard anniversary shows, “Strangely at Home Here” was immediately a fan favorite. A fun song that connects the listener and the music to a memory of a favorite bar or hang-out, the upbeat nature and acoustic laid back feel would make this one sparkle or shine as a later single from the album, or a beautiful B-side to any second single.

9 - She Wants Results: The familiarity of the songs might have sunk in to this point, but the sampled drums on “She Wants Results” will certainly wake you out of that rut. A quiet softer song that further makes you feel like you’re on the night side of things, the lyrics are softly woven around the format of the guitar and the blatant sample. As a whole, the track grows on the listener, and it just takes a while to sink in, but the pleading message of the chorus intertwines with things so desperately that you start to hear it differently very shortly.

10 - Upside Down: While “Dreaming Against Me” has a country-stomp feel, “Upside Down” has a bit more of an AM country feel. The longing in the chorus and the lines leading up to it are the perfect country two-step that most folks shy away from. But make no mistake, the thing that makes this un-country are Ross’s vocals. While still bordering the twang in a lot of places, the progression of the song forces onward from the basic driving nature and lets you feel more of a softer alt-country a là Train type of pain. To bypass this song would be a travesty. It feels slightly out of place, but makes more sense the more you listen to it.

11 - Dead Days in the Kitchen: Another softer acoustic piece that by this time you probably forgot were on this album, “Dead Days in the Kitchen” feels like it should be the absolute last track on the album. It has a complete resolution in its tone and voice, leading into the type of song that you’d imagine listening to on the end of a long night drive as you pulled into your driveway. Quiet and somber, that doesn’t mean this song still doesn’t have the flow. Very nicely done instrumentalization as a whole.

12 - Things I Stole: And if “Dead Days in the Kitchen” was the song that you’d listen to pulling into a driveway, “Things I Stole” is the track you’d sit in your garage and listen to before tip-toeing quietly into your house. With an impromptu feel of picking up some guitars, the country-ish nature of the song doesn’t belittle it in any manner. It feels like the perfect closer to the long journey just taken, even if its a step or two beyond what you expected.

As a whole, these tracks meld together in some sub-etheral way that as different as they are all individually apart, together they make sense. It is a true album in every sense and heart of the word, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who has a chance to pick it up as it releases today. Only $9.99 on iTunes, most stores have it for about the same price. Or if you’re in Orlando, you can pick it up at Park Ave CDs for about $12 and get a free ticket to see them at the Orlando House of Blues with opener Big 10-4 on February 23rd. It’s worth your money, trust me.

Besides, that’s the only way you’d get to hear them play new versions of “Cumbersome” and “Water’s Edge,” seeing they’re both not on this album.