Callin’ for more single reviews? Here ya are.

By Ryan G

Scandroid – “Empty Streets”: Dark industrial new wave. That’s the moniker I give this sound. I know little of this artist, but it gives hope to a style of music that unfortunately has Blood On the Dance Floor as its main representative to the world at the moment. The song is club ready and arena ready at once, and robotic vocals back a synth hook that sounds absolutely huge. This melody, at the very least, is a home run for Scandroid.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9sfGsYd_8g[/youtube]

Tennis – “I’m Callin”: This laid back pop tune stands out in a sea of dreamy competitors. To name all of the notable counterparts would take days, but lets focus on the track. The track has an assertive tempo and the vocals are breathy yet confident. The “hey hey hey” acrobatics might be a bit irritating to some, but the soft guitar tones will soothe this, if you even experience it in the first place. The band is on tour with Pure Bathing Culture in the fall.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/163006631″/]

Coliseum – “Detached”: This is the way hardcore was meant to sound. Raw, unpolished and vigorous. Coliseum cuts no corners in “Detached” – just shows off the hardcore mindset with confidence. Not exactly poise (because, well, then it wouldn’t be hardcore anymore!). The guitar work is deliberate and fun to listen to – no “chug chug chug” cliche here (worth saying even though thats more of a metalcore drawback at times). The slow, noisy buildup is nice too.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1YdxlP2ULk[/youtube]

Mystery Twins – “Ghost”: To call a song with this title “haunting” almost feels too predictable. It is true though – albeit in more a of a whimsical way than a poignant one. Unintentional, maybe – but the vocal style before the drums kick in (no pun intended) might strike some as a bit odd. The singing isn’t weird, it is more the result of the voices of singer/guitarist Doug Lehmann and drummer/vocalist Stephanie Brunn mixing together. They are not perfectly complimentary – which is a good thing. It helps lend the song an eerie feeling that overrides the instruments’ oscillation between warm tones and brazen crunching.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtUT3bOxKUc[/youtube]

Polyphia – “87”: It took me some self control to refrain from using the word “shredtastic” to describe this song… oops. Guess I did. Hmm. The truth of the matter is the description sounds cheesy but it aptly describes. I want to dislike this because of the progressive metal cliches that stand out…but I can’t. Its just good. I can’t headbang like crazy. I can’t open up a pit and two-step. I just have to get lost in the music and be compelled by the melodies that come some the seemingly never-ending guitar work.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HK4uVGnlO8[/youtube]

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