The Vamps "Meet The Vamps" - ALBUM REVIEW

That record that makes you dance on the first tracks, makes you sleep instantly mid-way and wakes you up at the last moment.

These are my exact thoughts while listening to this record. 

Planet Earth just can't seem to enough love for these boy bands. The Vamps are a group of British young lads that all met each other on YouTube and signed a record deal to release this album, at least that's what I know. 

It's quite funny, since they sound like OneRepublic if Ryan Tedder haven't hit puberty yet. some of there songs sound like that band as well, but we'll get into those in a while. 

To be honest, it was the songs Last Night and Somebody To You that made interested into listening to this record. And to the band's credit, those are actually really good songs. these singles felt like it was the best out of all the other songs from other boy bands out there, they just obliterate the rest.  

Last Night, in my opinion, is the best song of the record, hands down. This was a song that makes me want to go out and hang out with my best buddies and have the best party in the world and simply just end the night with all of us hammered. 

Somebody To You is one of favorite out-door summer-love song of late and is one of the best recently. Espescially when they add Demi Lovato into the single mix, her powerful voice adds more magic to the song.

The experience I have listening to those two songs were simply amazing. It was fun and energetic. Sadly, most of the other songs in this record wasn't able to capture that.

Right after the first three tracts, the energy starts to die down and it kept going and going. You can't blame me if I want boy bands to be full energy with their songs, but that was not the case here. 

Listening to this album made my brain into a mash potato. Is like going to a party on a beach, dance and drink for a few minutes and just sit down and watch everything and everyone having fun from a far in your seat for the rest of the night. Unless you came there to wander, the overall experience wasn't worth it. 

With singles full of immense spirit, Meet The Vamps seems too melodramatic. But if this is the kind of sound The Vamps was after, then I guess they did a good job because to be honest this album didn't have any bad songs, just painfully slow songs and pacing. 

Track-by-track thoughts:

1. Wild Heart - If you push your imaginations a little further, this song sounds like Counting Stars
2. Last Night - Definitely my favorite from the record
3. Somebody To You (ft. Demi Lovato) - I like this version better
4. Can We Dance - Dance? No, i'll pass. 
5. Girls On TV - Creepy lyrics for a good summer-love beat
6. Risk It All - Case-in-point, boy-band OneRepublic
7. Oh Cecilia (Breaking My Heart) - Energy's dying out
8. Another World - Seriously, this song is powerless my neighbor fell asleep right away
9. Move My Way - I feel a little jump-y, finally
10. Shout About It - If this keeps going, I might fall asleep
11. High Hopes - too bad the energy wasn't that high
12. She Was The One - Yeah, this record could use a song like this
13. Dangerous - Yeah, I can get behind this. 
14. Lovestruck - I swear, I've heard this song before somewhere in this very same record
15. Smile - Well, finally it's over. At least in a good way. 

Score: B-

The Vamps' Meet The Vamps now available. 

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"5 Seconds Of Summer" Self-Titled-Debut ALBUM REVIEW

Remember the rumors about Harry Styles saying he hopes One Direction to lean towards to a more rock sound in the future? I'm guessing this was the record he had in mind.

To be honest, I have prepared myself to nitpick this record head-to-toe limb-from-limb. The moment i saw them on Channel V I knew this was going to be a band that my sister will like to death. Now that I have heard 5 Seconds Of Summer's self-titled-debut album on Spotify, what happens next isn't exactly what I had in mind. 

I don't know much about this boy band or boys-in-a-band and I'm not going to look them up on Wikipedia, everything I know about them is that they're a group of Australian lads who's only intentions are to make music that are honest and sincere about them and their teenage ways. I honestly don't have any problem with that. Listening to this album kind of breaks my heart though because I had a feeling that this group is being restricted to fully rock out like they really wanted to, and I'll get into that more as we move on with this. 

The first time hear She Looks So Perfect, I was hooked for this bad. I know it's not the best thing to ever come out, but it's the upbeat energy and the all out sincerity of the song that got my attention and the song is very catchy, I'm not going to lie.  

I had a little trouble going into Don't Stop, but I liked it the second time around. It was the song Good Girls that started to cause some minor heartaches within me, you can tell that somewhere in the recording studio theirs a man in a suit and tie telling things to do and what not to do. 

You can tell that this band wanted to follow acts like Boys Like Girls or even blink-182 which is fine, but you can tell by listening to their songs when the band is being manipulated and restricted like Kiss Me, Kiss Me as the song came from two different groups.

And yes, there are songs here that sound like songs from One Direction or even some of their own material. We can argue that because these are just new musicians and they're still learning the ropes and I can see that clearly. But the thing is, trying to manipulate their image to a specific demo-graph  (female pre-teens, mostly) hurts the overall composition of this record. 

But I'll say this, I liked the flow of this record. It knows when to jump hard and it knows when to sit down. When the band is being manipulated, they know how to please the corporate douche-bags. however, whenever they are let loose, they let loose. 

It's very surprising though, cause I happen to appreciate this band more than my sister. Turns out I didn't hate it as much as I expected to. 

Overall, this isn't something that hasn't been done before and there are certainly other acts that have done better. But nonetheless, it's a fun album if you know what you're in to. This band has definitely shown potential, and hopefully they live-up to that in the next record.

Track-by-track thoughts:

She Looks So Perfect - Interesting and catchy.
Don't Stop - Liked it better the second time
Good Girls - Corporate-manipulated song spotted
Kiss Me, Kiss Me - Whoah, a hard track? Not bad.
18 - Yeah, ain't doing it for me. Moving on..
Everything I Didn't Say - My favorite so far.
Beside You - Generic pop punk ballad
End Up Here - What a mess? But at least they're aware of it
Long Way Home - It's good and catchy, but that intro sounds like Empire State Of Mind.
Heartbreak Girl - Typical, but it ain't bad.
Lost Boy - Again, not bad, but typical.
Amnesia - Definitely a good way to end this.

Score: B

5 Seconds Of Summer self-titled-debut album out now.

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Owl City- Ultraviolet EP REVIEW

What better time to write this review than night time? It's Owl City for crying out loud!

The sky is dark, the night is lovely, the stars are mesmerizing and you're all alone in front of your desktop. Let's take a few moments and listen to Adam young's infamous solo project- Owl City. Tonight, we venture with Adam's journal about the beauty in loneliness with his new 4-track EP, Ultraviolet. 

Now keep in mind that I am not an Owl City aficionado. I have not heard any of his materials before Ocean Eyes, and I have only heard a few songs from that record. I wasn't a fan of All Things Bright And Beautiful but I did like the first single, Alligator Sky. I have heard The Midsummer Station in its entire, but I feel like it's not the definitive Owl City experience. 

The EP is only composed of 4-tracks so it will be a short ride. But will it be a memorable and cherish-able one? LEt's find out as we begin our journey into Ultraviolet. 

The first track Beautiful Times (ft. Lindsey Stirling) is easily the most lyrically optimistic of the record. Sure it also has very sad elements to it like the rest of the record, but it was the composition, the relatable and beautiful lyrics, the lovely synths and graceful violin track from Lindsey Sterling is what made this song stand out. You can almost imagine Lindsey dancing around Adam gracefully, playing her violin while Adam is playing his keyboard in the middle of a star-y night.

Up All Night is like an homage to his older works but with a much more upbeat sound to them. The rhythm is catchy and you can easily hum to this song even without knowing what the song is about. Lyrically, this might be the most straightforward song next to the consecutive track. 

This Isn't The End features a sort of storytelling that starts of really depressing and ends with a little bit hope for the listeners that was touched by the lyrics. The fluidity of this specific track is flawless. Compared to the other songs, this is the one that is more stripped-down from the synths and is very piano centered.

The closing track of this record, Wolf Bite, is easily the most upbeat song of the record. With imaginative lyrics and an electro-pop beat, making this song the most dance-y out of the bunch. This song is the best way to end this record, on a high and happy note. 

Ultraviolet is no doubt an homage of Owl City's previous records. Imagine, it's like all of his previous records mashed into four songs. The fun part is that it feels like there aren't any filler songs, just four greatly composed and produced songs. This is like the essential Owl City for the new listeners, and a must-have for the fans. 

Track-by-track  thoughts:

1. Beautiful Times (ft. Lindsey Stirling) - beautiful.
2. Up All Night - dreamy.
3. This Isn't The End - hopeful. 
4. Wolf Bite - bubbly.

When you go to sleep, think of these songs.You will not regret it. 

Score: A

Owl City- Ultraviolet available now.

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Linkin Park - The Hunting Party ALBUM REVIEW

" I give you what you came for
This is not the same flow
Got a different method
But I still can bring the pain so "

Take a few moments and read vocalist Mike Shinoda's rap verse from the opening song Keys To The Kingdom above, because if there's anyway to describe what the Cali based rap-rock group Linkin Park has to offer in their six full length record The Hunting Party, is perfectly summed up in that verse. We'll get to that specific song later, let's talk about the album in its entire first. 

For some fans, this record might be a dream come true. The band gears up their DeLorean time machine, feeds it with all the trash they got from the nay-sayers, preps their flux capacitor and literally goes back in time to take notes from influential acts like Motorhead, Helmet, Eric B. & Rakim, Anthrax and almost every other acts that inspired Nu metal to make a not so Nu metal record, but something close. But it's okay, because in a way the record is not aiming to be a Nu metal record by any means, but rather the record is some sort of a diary about the band's journey of refining old school rock music. 

The opening track Keys To The Kingdom doesn't takes it time to slow down and introduce the record smoothly, the song is just firing missiles in every direction. That energy continues on with All For Nothing (ft. Page Hamilton of Helmet) and the album's lead single Guilty All The Same (ft. Rakim). Both songs have different structure to them which makes them both unique and identical in some way, but they are songs that could make the crowd go crazy like it was 1999. The Summoning/War is a song though that is kind of hard to swallow, especially if you didn't get the punk influence that the song offers. By the second half of the album it is undeniable that some of that high energy from the first half ran dry. Wastelands and Until It's Gone both are good songs, but both felt like the play-safe of the record. Drawbar (ft. Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine) maybe the biggest surprise of the album, because if you're expecting Linkin Park/Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave going all out wrecking your house, this is not that song. It's more a soft piano instrumental track, but a good one though, makes you feel relaxed after all the boom-bastic noises we've heard before. Final Masquerade, is undeniably one of the most saddest Linkin Park songs of late, it's just that great it makes you feel sad. The closing track A Line In The Sand, I honestly have mixed feeling to it. It's like it's both a tribute track to the previous songs of the record and just a rehash of recent ideas because they're simply running out of it.

The band themselves pushed their limits to show everybody that they are still capable of pulling such amazing feats. Lead vocalist Chester Bennington still has that amazing vocal range, even though with age he sounds like he could use a glass of water badly. Mike Shinoda's verses are all relevant, both singing and rapping. He's rap verses are maybe few but it made him look like an underdog claiming victory from the big players, but he sings like a less-intimidating puppy. Guitarist Brad Delson and drummer Rob Bourdon are the members the felt like they've pushed their limits and channel their inner angst-y teenagers to bring out the fire of this record. Bassist Dave Farrell and DJ Joe Hahn are the ones that felt like they were left out in the background though, but their functionality still brings more fire power to the record. 

The Hunting Party may not be the Hybrid Theory III or Meteora 2.0 some fans were expecting. It's not a perfect record, but in terms of fluidity it is flawless. This is definitely the rock record every Linkin Park fan and regular head-bangers deserve.

Track by track thoughts:

1. KEYS TO THE KINGDOM - bring on the pain, brotha!
2. ALL FOR NOTHING (ft. Page Hamilton) - you know what would make this song more awesome? crowd vocals. Ya'know? like the ones from Thirty Seconds To Mars.
3. GUILTY ALL THE SAME (ft. Rakim) -  hit me with the double peds Rob. Just don't break your back again.
4. THE SUMMONING - Err, okay. I guess?
5. WAR - Is Chester calling out the astral beast? 
   
6. WASTELANDS - a bit generic, don't you think?
7. UNTIL IT'S GONE - play-safe, next. 
8. REBELLION (ft. Daron Malakian) - where's my crowd vocals with Serj Tankian? That would have been cool 
9. MARK THE GRAVES - the filler song
10. DRAWBAR (ft. Tom Morello) - Yeah, I could use some slow instrumental
11. FINAL MASQUERADE - BREAK UP SONG!!! *sobs*
12. A LINE IN THE SAND - you're running out of ideas, aren't you? 

Score: A

Linkin Park's The Hunting Party available now.