Friday: Thank You Scientist - In the Company of Worms

     Keeping the ball rolling, let's go for an alliterative Funky Friday with some multi-instrumentalist prog from New Jersey's Thank You Scientist.

     Thank You Scientist's debut LP Maps of Non-Existent places is chock full of energetic prog rock that runs a gamut of moods and styles. A variety of horns and strings provide an extra twist, add an interesting dimension to the at-times almost shreddy virtuosity, and take songs that are already great to a whole other level. If you've not heard them before, think Mars Volta with less Latin influence and leaner, more focused songwriting, and then press play on "In the Company of Worms". Very tasty.

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.

Thank You Scientist - Blood on the radio

     I talked recently about how my mandate for Loud Noises has changed from writing about metal music to writing about interesting music, and today's band perfectly exemplifies the fact that something need not be traditionally "heavy" to be interesting.

     I've posted about New Jersey's Thank You Scientist before, with mention of how their energetic pop-prog is built around more instruments than just the traditional guitar, bass and drums of rock and roll, but just in case you doubted me, today's song should be plenty of proof positive.  Strings and horns abound in "Blood on the radio" off of 2012's Maps of Non-Existent Places, forming the song's backbone and contributing some of its best riffs. But don't worry, there's a badass guitar solo in there too, just in case all that other stuff isn't you thing.

     Whatever way you like your jazzy, seven-piece post-rock, Thank You Scientist has got you covered. Got like ten minutes? Why not take a walk down to the lab?

Song of the Day: Thank You Scientist - A salesman's guide to nonexistence

     If Loud Noises were a drinking game, one of the things that would cause you to take a drink would be when a cool song for the Song of the Day falls into my lap via the shuffle of either my mp3 player or my PC playlist. So drink, bitch.

Song of the Day: Closure In Moscow - Kissing Cousins

     Yesterday when I was writing about Thank You Scientist and trying (somewhat vainly) to come up with some way to describe their sound, I mentioned a band called Closure in Moscow. Checking my records (yes, I do keep records) I see that I haven't done a Song of the Day for them yet, and since they're the kind of band that I don't imagine too many of you are into, I figure they could use a day in the spotlight.

Song of the Day: Thank You Scientist - My famed disappearing act

     I read reviews on sites like Heavyblogisheavy and MetalSucks, and if somebody I don't know sounds particularly interesting I'll go and check them out. I'm sure you do much the same thing when you're looking for new stuff. That's how I discovered today's band.