March 15th, 2010

I’ll be up front about, and I think I can speak for hundreds of fans when I say that I really thought Sonny did a way better job than Matt ever will for From First to Last, but that’s not to say that their latest album, Throne To The Wolves, is bad, by any means. I just  get the sense that they’re trying to hard now.

FFTL started out rough and uncut with Dear Diary…, and then pretty much kept that notion going with Heroine. But then when Sonny left and Matt filled his spot, they seemed to transform in to a tidier band, with less screaming and less out-of-the-ordinary music, but instead played straight up alternative rock and roll. And now, after having plenty of time to think, with both acclaim and criticism, and a quick drummer change, they release this; a thumping, bumping collection of harsh libretto that intrigues me. It seems to me that they weren’t satisfied – or their fans weren’t — with the plain ‘ol music they produced with their self-titled release, so they decided to jack up their hard-core outfit. And I like it. It’s kind of typical, with scruffy screams for every second line of lyric, high-pitched whining, 30 second breakdowns, and bass-pedalling faster than one’s ear can handle, but that’s what continues the post-hardcore genre, and they fit the mold pretty damn good. Perhaps there’s something to be said about group chanting “Yah!”s and “OOh!”s? And, wait, what’s that? Did I just hear auto-tune? But, the question is, are they just changing for what their fans want, or are they still pumping out music they want to?

With all this to take in, it makes me start to wonder if they’re actually producing original music, or if they’re following the trend that every new 1 in 2 bands in the world is; trying to be too hardcore? In terms of comparison, Throne To The Wolves resembles Heroine the most to me, with the fairly equal combination of clean to harsh vocals and a lot of added electronic enhancers and fills, and for that I give them credit. That’s my kind of music. Truth be told, I kind of admire what Matt has brought to the band in the end.

As for a favourite song on the album, I don’t have one. All 11 tracks on the album pretty much give off the same, repetitive, monotonous feeling of making me want to mosh in my bedroom. Hell, there isn’t even a laid back, acoustic, soft track to sink in to; if anything, the electronic rhythms of “A Soft War” differentiate it from the rest of the album, but that’s just a carry-on, a filler. And that’s it.

I’m sure true From First to Last die-hards will love this new album, they’ll feed off it. You know, because IT IS FFTL. But there’s always haters; I don’t hate the album, but I’m not the biggest fan of it.

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Like sitting by the camp fire with a guitar, a drum, and anything else you can get your hands on, the calming harmony of opening track “Any Day Now” from Jon and Roy‘s third official album leaves you in awe-state and dying to hear what’s next.

Victoria locals John Middleton and Roy Vizer, and their band, are following up to their critically acclaimed second album, “Another Noon” (2008), with a 14 track gem, “Homes”, dropping this April 13th. The combination of melodic strokes and cheerful whistling all chiming to the tune of reggae chords, African drums, and wise lyrics puts a new meaning to this genre of folk music.

Recently coming off of having their single, “Another Noon”, featured on a commercial for Volkswagen, the group seems to be putting an even greater effort in to exploring their plethora of musical variations. Perhaps it’s the recent expansion of their band, with Dougal Maclean on Violin and friend Ryan Tonelli on bass, that has helped them with the continued success and achievements, playing some of Canada’s largest music festivals, and having their music featured in movies and TV shows. Perhaps it’s the quaint and cozy atmosphere of Vancouver Island, where they spent countless hours recording the new album, that has kept them so lively in their music.

My song of choice from Homes has got to be “Giddy Up“, which seems to highlight the entire album for me, as well, reminds me so much of their previous works.

Bottom line, this album is simply wonderful if you’re in to softer, more melodic folk music, and I can see it possibly being an album anyone would like, even if the folk genre isn’t their cup of tea. Jon and Roy also make for a good live performance, and you can catch them live if you’re in the Victoria area April 1st, as they’re playing their CD release party at the McPhereson playhouse.

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Check out Jon and Roy