Whether we like it or not, the year is coming to a close. And now, it is time to reflect on what came out in music. Below, the writers for HST have come up with their favorite albums and songs of the year. We hope that you enjoy our selections, and comment on what songs or albums made your 2011 memorable. Enjoy!!! [Read more...]
HST Mixtape: Playlist for 2011
12/01/2011 by 1 Comment
Every year, I usually post my favorite songs of 2011 playlist to my Facebook page. Now that I am a writer for HST, I decided to make it a bit more public. [Read more...]
Review of Sister City’s “Carbon Footprint”
07/24/2011 by Leave a Comment
About a year ago, I picked up an album that would later become one of my favorites of all time; Brand New’s 2001 release Your Favorite Weapon. The album was a breath of fresh air in a time where NSYNC was popular and Shaggy was a thing. Songs like “Jude Law and a Semester Abroad,” “Sudden Death in Carolina,” and “Mixtape” are just a couple of songs that I play on loop from that album. To this day, I will still listen to the album in its entirety, and then have to listen to the rest of their library.
But sometimes you have to put and album down and move on. However, after listening to Sister City’s Carbon Footprint, it gave me the same feeling. If someone handed me this album, and never told me who or what it was, my first guess is that this is the Lost Tapes of Brand New’s Weapon. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing at all. In fact, that is one of the highest compliments I can give to a rock band. [Read more...]
Review of The Dear Hunter’s “The Color Spectrum”
06/18/2011 by Leave a Comment
Why are concept albums hard to sell? Is it because the stories that the artists/bands try to portray through their music either gets lost in the delivery? Is it because most of the concept albums are made by bands with either little to no audience, or that the audiences just don’t want to invest the time into digging into the lyrics and finding a deeper story behind each song. Regardless, concept albums are hard sells; however, critics (such as myself) usually have a soft spot for the creative power that goes into the musical juggernauts that they end up being.
This leads me to the new release from The Dear Hunter. Casey Cescenzo’s original side project from his first band The Receiving End of Sirens became his full time job, combining soulful voices with incredible riffs that would make any contemporary metal band envious. His first three albums was an entire story, each Act combining into one incredible story about “The Boy,” and how he grows up. Now that all three of the acts are finished (the last one released in 2009), Cescenzo had to move on to a different project.
So why not the rainbow? [Read more...]
Review of Manchester Orchestra’s “Simple Math”
06/03/2011 by Leave a Comment
Alternative music has never stopped evolving. From the punk of the 80′s, to today’s emo-screamo-killthemall type of headbanging clutter, the alternative scene always tries to move forward, although it does take some misteps (do not listen to Brokencyde aka the worst excuse of music I have ever heard). This past winter, one of the most celebrated alternative folk band, Arcade Fire, won Best Album, and rightfully so. There music gives the genre brand new light, with a folk sound that is only complimented by how musically sound everyone in the band is. [Read more...]
