The album officially comes out on March 23 and will be available split up in individual tracks.

Buy on Amazon.com

My rec: One For The Team

This band has been recommended plenty of times here, but their new record is pretty addictive. The band remains the same, just refined and focused.

You wouldn’t go wrong by placing Dirty Sweet right next to the likes of Airbourne, Wolfmother, Jet,  or even Queens Of The Stone Age. While not quite being sonically related,  these bands believe in the heart and soul of rock n’ roll, crafting albums that bleed with devotion to either the long-haired, bluesy-distortion rock of the 70s or the more rebellious glamour of the 80s—sometimes both. Dirty Sweet, in particular, are taking the idea of keeping the essence of real rock n’ roll intact and alive with the offspring of their studio workings, going straight to the heart of the British-popularized phenomenon with their sound and gathering influences from movements that followed before and after the genre’s initial inception along the way to finalize things—anything from gospel and country to R&B and metal can be found here.

Sophomore release ‘American Spiritual’ is a glorious reminder of the golden rock age of old. “Rest Sniper, Rest” finds cycling three-note guitar riffs setting up vocalist Ryan Koontz for a hook-filled chorus, all of which balancing on—wait, what is this?—a strong, audible bass line. For too long have modern rock bands down-played their four-string players, revolving their songs on a repetitive four-chord guitar crunch that sort of makes the inclusion of an additional third or fourth band member seem like no more than a mere practice of tradition. Dirty Sweet know better, and bassist Christian Schinelli gets plenty of audible playing time on this album—particularly on the Led Zeppelin worship of “Get Up, Get Out”.

The slightly dragging “An Empty Road” cites the Eagles via a “Take It To Limit”-like structure, and highlight “You’ve Been Warned” revolves around a Rolling Stones song idea that warns of coming insanity: clearly, Dirty Sweet know how and when to pull from their influences. But that’s not to say that ‘American Spiritual’ amounts to be no more than an offering to the original gods of rock; the band add their own flair to things. “Marionetta” may be the most interesting song here: beginning on a tale from Ryan Koontz that slowly builds to a climax—albeit, a reserved one—a backing choir of men come in to harmonize and give “oohs” to push the band’s intent that much closer to their target of interest. The closing title track, likewise, is an odd number: hand claps and an African-American hymn-like melody is voiced by Ryan, collectively built on an acoustic guitar that rounds this album off pleasantly, if not in a wholly conventional way.

The whole of ‘American  Spiritual’ is very pleasant, well-played, and nostalgic for those that remember when rock was classified as being really good. Bands like Dirty Sweet are setting out to play to the music of their influences with respect and gratitude, drawing ears and eyes back to the radio of a few decades ago. The band add their own touches to things, making this album stand out from the rest of these like-minded retro rockers with its mixture of before-there-was grunge riffs and grooving rhythms, which actually aren’t exclusively based off Zeppelin. Keep an eye out for this, and let’s hope that, unlike their debut release, ‘…Of Monarchs and Beggars’, ‘American Spiritual’ doesn’t fall to the wayside with the rest of the good, long-forgotten rock n’ roll.

Release Date: 4/6/10
Label: Acetate Records
Listen: Myspace
Buy:

Review written by: Jared Ponton

Listen to Neon Trees
Release Date: 3/16/10

I’m sure everyone can agree that the business side of music is and has been going through changes. Public radio station WNYC’s show ‘On The Media’ has a fantastic episode bringing up all different aspects with honest and intelligent conversation about each.

For 10 years, music execs have waged a war against digital file sharing — and software like Napster and websites like The Pirate Bay — which have decimated the industry’s profits. But recently, there are signs from Europe that the battle over free music may be changing.

On The Media – ‘Facing The (Free) Music’

Starting The Album Project back in 2007, I thought that if I was able to have an impact on a band in some kind of meaningful way that then this site would have been a success and worth it. The thing I hated the most was discovering some small independent bands that I loved, only to lose them based on the lack of exposure. I wanted to somehow give bands, that I loved, a way to be heard.

I’m not so naïve as to believe that getting signed to a label is the end all be all. Today though, announcing Brandon Clark & The American Standard have signed to the P Is For Panda record label and knowing The Album Project had a hand in that really does make the site feel like a success, even if just a little bit.

To celebrate the album’s release we’re giving 500 digital copies of the new EP away for FREE.

Your help in spreading the word about this giveaway and band are absolutely essential. Please post links, send emails and tell all your friends [reference, of course, intended].

thealbumproject.net/honestly

Update: Only a few left

Listen to Boris Smile
Release Date: 3/16

Recently, I was searching my daily internet sites and happened upon a gem of a band. Leslie and The Badgers, is a charming alt-country band based out of Los Angeles, California.Their song “Old Timers” was featured on the FX show “The Riches”, which might coincidentally be the only reason you may or may not have heard of them. Check out their latest album “Room Full of Smoke” on iTunes — I recommend starting with the songs “Los Angeles” and “Ball Park Lights”.

If you’d like to catch some of their real charm, check out these videos of them that initially caught my attention.

iTunes Link
Zune Link
Direct MP3

Track Listing

1. Fun. – All The Pretty Girls
2. Pet Lions – Propeller Plane
3. Alcoholic Faith Mission – Nut In Your Eye
4. Alberta Cross – Old Man Chicago
5. Paper Route – Good Intentions
6. Sequoyah Prep School – Old #4

I started writing a full review for this album, but what I really want to do is just talk about how much I love it. On my first sheepish listened to “Fall Hard” the song was just good enough to get me to listen again. The second and third time however, the songs subtitles, which are never forced upon the listener, begin to show up and become bright and visible.

I love the way the songs start off slow (hook wise) and over the course of 4 minutes, sink (deep) in to your skin. Among the strongest songs are “Fall Hard,” “Candle Burned Out,” “Four By Four,” and “Show Me Something”, which is probably my favorite. The second of “Show Me Something New” jumps out of the speakers with so much flavor, yet in such a simple way. After listening to so much music, the way I can tell I really like something is that after each listen, I have a new favorite song that I think won’t change, but always does.

This is a record I have become so enamored with, yet I didn’t mean to. I actually don’t even know why I love these songs so much, but I do.

Shout Out Louds on MySpace

You can download a remix of “Fall Hard” by Passion Pit on the band’s site for free right now.