Review: Stars In Stereo - Stars In Stereo

Although most female-fronted rock bands are immediately compared with Paramore; Stars in Stereo is not one to be thrown into that category.

Opening up the album with their powerful single “The Broken”, the listener is quickly immersed in the immense sound and style that is Stars in Stereo. The band quickly proves itself worthy of sticking out with tracks like “Violence” and “Queen of Catastrophe”. Lead singer Becca Hollcraft really shows herself to be the intriguing element in the band with her powerful full-fronted voice. The songs on this album are very well written and hit even harder with Becca’s dynamic voice.

With this being the band’s debut album, fans can quickly see that Stars in Stereo is a sound to be reckoned with. The band brings a powerful vocal oriented hard-rock tone to the table, especially with their single “The Broken”. Not only does this song introduce the album, it defines the band’s sound strongly with it’s representation of the singing and song structure. The band takes a stereotypical rock sound and pumps it up with their guitar leads and dynamic drums. The instruments on this album prove themselves a massively sufficient background to the vocals, holding their own and propelling the vocals to the point of view.

Although the album has an all around professional sound, it still very much sounds like a debut. The band has a ways to go when it comes to development. They have set themselves up for success but the album still lacks a certain progression that successfully brings it to a close. Another aspect of the album that has room for improvement is the simplicity of some of the tracks on the album. The songs on the debut album are very well crafted, but with a powerhouse of a leading voice and a batch of well written guitar leads, the listener feels the desire to yearn for a higher potential.

The band has a very defining sound, but hasn’t quite mastered it. Many of the songs have moving verses and catchy choruses, but a lot more can be done with the instrumental part of the album. The band has yet to take full advantage of Becca’s voice in terms of incorporating it into the flow of each song as well as the album as a whole. Using the lead singer as an instrument rather than a hook can be much more rewarding to both the band and the listener, and this is something that fans can look forward to for Stars in Stereo.

Overall this album rings of professionalism and great modern rock songs. Any fan of female fronted bands will be overcome with satisfaction when checking out this band. They have a definitive style and a certain “in your face” attitude to their songs. Definitely keep an eye open for this band as fans everywhere will hear of them soon enough.

9/10

- Nic

Review: Paramore - Paramore

With the promising release of the single “Now,” Paramore’s self-titled fourth album appeared to be headed in the right direction for the newly-diminished lineup of the band. But now the 17-song album dropped, and fans are in for a dramatic turn in the band’s sound.

What used to be a powerhouse of punk rock has now turned into a vocal-oriented indie/pop band with a sound only vaguely reminiscent of the unique style that Paramore proved itself with. The opening track of the album, “Fast In My Car,” surprises listeners with a retro drumbeat backed by electronic effects and a new fuzz guitar tone that permeates the whole album.

By eschewing the natural progression set forth by the previous three albums, the new album has turned out to be, for the most part, a disappointment; with the exception of a few select songs like “Part II” and “Future,” these new songs  are almost unrecognizable as being Paramore.

The sixth track, “Ain’t it Fun”, starts off in a solid direction, but veers off into a confusingly-placed bluesy choir which ultimately ends the song with a whimper. Even their soft love song, “I Hate to See Your Heart Break,” only brings a lack of excitement and style that could never live up to the immensely popular ballad “The Only Exception” off of their third album. If it weren’t for the vocalist’s (Hayley Williams) growing writing style and vocal skill backed by the scarcely-heard airy guitar leads trademarked on their platinum-selling second album Riot!, there would be nothing to carry over from the sound they built themselves upon.

The band was not expected to release a repeat, but this album represents a change in the band’s style that does more harm than good; progression is one thing, but changing genres is another. Even the single that was released shortly after the lineup was reduced to three, “Monster,” is only a false illusion of what fans are to hear on this album. The lack of synergy on this album is very unlike the band, and the three “Interlude” songs on this album only serve to dissipate any hope of these songs clinging together. On their own merits, the songs aren’t horrible; if this were a debut album of an upcoming band, they would be promising.

The vocals are catchy, the songs are simple, and give small insights into each genre. But for Paramore, a band that has built itself on an out standing pop/punk/rock style, and had all three of their albums reach gold status (one of them being Riot! which went on to reach platinum status in the US), this album is misleading and unacceptable. This album proves what can happen to a band after losing two main members and having an almost 4-year break in between records.

Although the album mostly rings of disappointment, there are songs that stick out. Their single “Now” showed a catchy intro still in the style of the new found trio. This song could even be connected to the same sound that “Monster” had. The song that ends the album, “Future”, even has the feel of “Misguided Ghosts” and when it breaks out into a full band it ends the album in a fade-out/fade-in which was a very interesting effect that fit well with the song.

With this album leading into Paramore’s new sound and career, fans can only wait and see what is to come next of the band. With a band comprised of only three original members and a record that has redefined their sound for the worse, things are looking cloudy for the band.

5.5/10

-Nic Cheatle

Paramore announce self-titled album

Paramore will release their self-titled fourth album on April 9th. The first single is titled “Now.” Read a statement from the band below.

The time has come Paramore fans, friends, and family… And for that matter, the time has come for the rest of you as well. We are ready to spill the beans about what we’ve been doing over the last *coughYEARcough*. With the most pride and passion we could ever possibly express, we would like to announce that this album, our fourth freaking album… Will be self-titled, ‘Paramore’. It has been self-titled through nearly the entire process. In fact, what usually takes us weeks on end to sum up and put a label on only took us a five minute conversation this time around. The whole making of this album was a rediscovering of ourselves as a band and as friends. It was a process that allowed us the freedom to explore new territory artistically and to liberate ourselves as musicians, singers, as people! Sincerely, we feel that the best way to give it a name is just to call it what it is. This album is us.

The first single off the album is called “Now”. Not really sure what else to say except for we love this song. It just feels like the perfect way to start this new journey we are embarking on not only as a band but as a movement. To show people that you can lose battles but come back and win full on wars. You can rise from ashes. You can make something out of even less than nothing. The only thing you have to do is keep moving forward!

Thanks to our fans for believing in the three of us before we ever even did. And to our producer, JMJ, for seeing a brand new band in us. We are prouder than ever and more excited now than ever to be Paramore.

'Paramore' will be released April 9th.

Interview: Jenna McDougall of Tonight Alive

We spoke to Jenna from Tonight Alive about her hometown, favorite foreign foods, and her favorite places to play. You can check them out on the Vans Warped Tour 2012, coming to a town near you this summer.

For the record, what’s your name and what do you do in the band?

My name’s Jenna and I sing in Tonight Alive!

Let’s talk about your roots. I’ve never been to Sydney, Australia before. What’s it like down there?

It’s awesome! I love it and I’ll probably never leave it [laughs]. Sydney kind of has everything really: City, Sea, Bush, Suburbia. It’s very multicultural and the weather’s pretty good too.

What was the very first concert you attended and how much of an impact did that have on you musically?

My parents took us to fairs and sit down concerts of super group type bands but my first REAL concert was Status Quo and Deep Purple at the Hordern Pavillion with my Dad. It was the first time I saw a real venue and the first time I every smelt weed. The first time I ever saw a band that I really loved was All American Rejects with Hellogoodbye at the Roundhouse. I’d never experienced a mosh pit before and it was love at first sight!

"What Are You So Scared Of?" finally came out in February in the USA - what’s the meaning behind the album title? What’s the concept behind the album overall?

"What Are You So Scared Of?" is generally the concept of recognizing your fears and overcoming them. It’s an idea that we came to when we realized we could either quit or keep pushing, even though to keep pushing was the harder option. We know firsthand the kind of hardships that our fans go through growing up because we’ve been there too. It’s a kind of culture at our shows to unite against fear in a way and we feel really strongly about setting the example to our listeners that everything happens for a reason, nothing worth having comes easy and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Will we ever see a video for “Thank You & Goodnight?

Probably not; no! Sorry to disappoint!

What was your first tour in the USA like? Have you found a favorite food/drink/etc here that you can’t get back home?

I seriously had the time of my life. It was the first time we’d left Australia on tour and it felt like nothing else. I really love Baby Swiss Cheezits, Sunchips, Chipotle, Grape Juice, white chocolate coated Oreos and Denny’s. I love Denny’s. Basically all your junk food because it’s totally excessive and delicious!

What are some of your favorite venues/cities/countries that you like to play in? Any standout experiences that you’ve had (good or bad)?

We were lucky enough to play The House of Blues in New Orleans and Orlando and I absolutely loved it there! The Metro Theatre is my favorite venue in Sydney, The Gramercy Theatre in New York, The Academies in the UK and especially Shepherds Bush in London. They were all really feel good places to play!

On that note, which is the best/worst run venues from a production and band point of view?

I think there are far too many poorly run venues to list and I think we’ve played in almost 90% of them [laughs]. But I will say that everywhere we played in Europe was extremely accommodating!

A good amount of Australia bands have found success here in the United States, such as Parkway Drive, Hands Like Houses, The Amity Affliction I Killed The Prom Queen, etc. What are some artists from Australia that you think people here in America are going to respond really well to?

Our friends Skyway from the Gold Coast and Northlane from Sydney!

Do you guys get tired of the constant comparisons to Paramore?

I can’t remember the last time that happened actually. It’s been wearing off for a while now.

If the opportunity presented itself, would you have Hayley Williams do guest vocals on the next record?

Not unless we recorded a super group girl power song with Tay, Sierra, Hayley and me [laughs].

Last question: What is one book AND one band that you’d personally recommend to anyone that listens to Tonight Alive and what reasons do you have to support your choices? 

Man I could answer this question 10 different ways and I know the boys would answer very differently because they’re big readers [laughs].. But I love love love ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ and Jack’s Mannequin. I just think both of them are so honest and real. There’s nothing preconceived or pretentious about the way ‘Perks’ is written and I feel really connected and open minded to Andrew McMahon.

Paramore are meeting with record producers

Paramore are currently in LA meeting with producers for their next album.

Well… It’s been about 4 months since we’ve written to you guys. Awkward! But honestly, this “off-time” has set the record for the longest amount of time we’ve ever spent off since before the couple of weeks we spent making our 1st full length album back in 2005. Don’t kid yourself though. It hasn’t been all hangs and no hard work! What the three of us want you to know is we are headed to Los Angeles next week to meet with a whole mess of really incredible producers. And we are - basically - bringing you along with us to find the one that will help us create our 4th full length album. So, we’re taking a video camera with us to producer meetings, hotel recording sessions, and all of our LA adventures. If you don’t know, now you know, next week is a big deal for us and we are psyched to make you a part of it.

Maybe he should start by spelling her name right.

In a recent twitter status, Shane Blay of Oh, Sleeper reveals his interest in writing a song with Hayley Williams, and is starting a twitter campaign/petition to make it happen.

Paramore’s new music video for “Monster”