Saturday: Coheed and Cambria - Atlas

     That didn't take long, did it? Less than two weeks of on-time posts, and then I go and sleep away most of yesterday, putting me behind where I want to be on a number of projects both personal and professional. Fiddlesticks. Oh well. Back to it? Back to it. So: how're you liking Coheed and Cambria's new record?

     The Colour Before the Sun is a bit of a mixed bag for this longtime Coheed fan. For one thing, it's the first and only Coheed LP that doesn't take place in Claudio's Amory Wars universe, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, except that I happen to like big, epic space operas. For another thing, the admittedly well-crafted selection of songs has a tendency to eschew Coheed's traditional, more adventurous brand of space prog in favour of earnest, more straight-forward pop-rock.

     Does that mean I don't like The Colour Before the Sun? (Great album title, by the way guys) No, it doesn't mean that, I like it alright, but it does mean that I'm going to try and pick what I think is a more Coheedy-sounding track for your belated Saturday song. To that end, have a listen to (the album version of) "Atlas" (not the acoustic one from a while back) to kick off your Sunday afternoon.

Friday: Coheed and Cambria - You've Got Spirit, Kid

     Like a diminuitvely-sized steam-thing that could do... something... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can hit you with another late post on the path to calendrical responsibility. And, praise the Allfather, the deities responsible for new music have deigned to smile upon me and aid in my efforts. Decent.

     Let's start with your Friday song, and a bit of a twist: Coheed and Cambria have a new single out ahead of a new album, and for the first time Claudio and Company are eschewing their usual concept record route in favour of something much more grounded in meatspace (my words). Will longtime fans like myself explode with disappointment?

     If first single "You've Got Spirit, Kid" is any indication, probably not. It might be lyrically less obtuse and more direct than past Coheed stuff... or it might not. Since Claudio always built personal meaning into the Amory Wars story anyways, things don't sound worlds apart with that concept stripped away. And musically, well, Coheed pretty much just sounds like Coheed; this one's not as instantly in my brain as some of their stuff, but it's got plenty of potential. Bring on The Color Before the Sun in October.

Thank You Scientist - Suspicious Waveforms

     I've known about the awesomeness of Thank You Scientist for a while now, but apparently the rest of the world is starting to catch up with things. Rest of the world, you're in for a treat.

     The band's 2012 debut Maps of Non-Existent Places is a jazzy, virtuosic masterwork of prog rock, and now it's getting a wide remixed and remastered release on a label called Evil Ink Records, the of none other than Claudio from Coheed and Cambria. Add in the fact that Thank You Scientist are opening support for Coheed on this fall's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 tour and you've got a couple of pretty sweet feathers in Thank You Scientist's collective cap.

     Awkward metaphors aside, Thank You Scientist definitely warrant a little extra attention, and their fluid fusion of guitar-based funky-jazz-prog rock with less traditionally rock elements like a horn section deserves a much larger fanbase than they're currently enjoying. Discover a fun and interesting new band tonight by having a listen to "Suspicious Waveforms" from Thank You Scientist's Maps of Non-Existent Places.

letlive. - The Priest and Used Cars

     I've written about letlive. before, but that was before I'd heard all of their latest album The Blackest Beautiful. Upon closer inspection I've decided that the catchy aggressive edge of "Banshee (Ghost Fame)" is not a one-off fluke. If you dig that sort of thing, The Blackest Beautiful has a bunch more where it came from.

     When "Banshee" was the song of the day, I believe my comparison was of letlive. to a bastard child of Refused and Glassjaw. While I stand by that simile, I would throw a bunch of other bands into the mix if I were trying to define letlive's sound. They're a post-hardcore band in the truest sense of the word, building on the hardcore genre in a myriad of ways.

      Case in point: today's song, "The Priest and Used Cars", which has a punky energy that brings to mind Protest the Hero and another helping of vocalist Jason Aalon Butler's virtuosity, which is often reminiscent of Claudio from Coheed and Cambria (if Claudio had a more frantic, manic energy). It's a tasty combination.

      But I could go on all night about who letlive. sounds like at one moment or the next. Why not listen to "The Priest and Used Cars" and see how awesome they are for yourself?

Twenty Questions - Michael Ciccia from Mandroid Echostar

     As you may have seen me mention in a recent post, Loud Noises turned a year old about two weeks ago now. If you've followed the blog for any length of time, you may also have seen me mention that I've got some things in the works, simmering away in the background, that I couldn't yet unveil to the world. But none of those things has ever really amount to much more than continued simmerings. Until now.

Song of the Day: Mandroid Echostar - Kingdom and the Crown

     We're back in the present today, and I've got yet another recently-discovered band to share with you. I found Mandroid Echostar (yes, that's their name) at the same time that I found Intervals (they're going on tour together this fall), and both bands are proggy outfits based in southern Ontario (go Canada!). But while Intervals is heavier, instrumental (for the moment, anyways) and kinda djenty, Mandroid Echostar sounds like Coheed and Cambria if the latter leaned away from proggy punky pop-rock and towards proggy metal. Vocalist Michael Ciccia even resembles Coheed and Cambria's Claudio Sanchez a little. But make no mistake -- these guys aren't just Co&Ca copycats, and I think they're definitely worth a listen.

     As such, today's song is "Kingdom and the Crown", the lead track from Mandroid Echostar's self-titled first EP, which you can download from the band's bandcamp FOR FREE! So if you like the song, check out the rest of the EP and let me know what you think.