Horse Feathers provides mellow sound

If you have a playlist on your iPod full of songs that relax you, you might want to add Horse Feathers’ latest album Cynic’s New Year to it. Horse Feathers released Cynic’s New Year as their fourth full-length album on April 27. Horse Feathers is classified as a folk/indie band, and they stick to that genre throughout the album.

Members of Horse Feathers play instruments different from the normal lineup in a stereotypical band. The group has gone through changes in members over the years, but current members of Horse Feathers have been with the band since 2009, releasing Thistled Spring in 2010.

Currently, Justin Ringle uses his vocal chords, Nathan Crockett plays violin, Catherine Odell plays the cello and Sam Cooper plays many different instruments to balance out the sounds.

“A Heart Arcane” invites the listener to the album. The song is warm and peaceful, with singer/songwriter Ringle’s voice suiting the instruments perfectly. The four-piece group, and the instruments each members uses, mesh perfectly. The lack of harsh drums in the background or a prominent bass gives “A Heart Arcane” a light feel. Any fan of folk or indie should be delighted when hearing this song.

The second track, “Last Waltz,” is the most popular song on the album. If nothing else, purchasing this track is essential. Odell’s cello and Crockett’s violin can clearly be heard in a beat much more bold than that of the first track. Instrumentals shine as Ringle sings (from what I can pick up): “Calling the doctor and break the news / sick in the head / our hearts got the blues.” Ringle’s voice is different than most. Some of his lyrics are rather hard to make out.

“Pacific Bray” starts off slow and quiet with piano, but picks up gradually over a crescendo. The simple plucks on what must be a ukulele (or a similar string instrument – maybe a very tame banjo?) sound gorgeous in the song. Buying the song just to hear that instrument is worth it.

Crockett’s violin is beautiful in “So Long” as Ringle sings in this powerful line, “Call it by name / the young and the vain / they are one in the same.”

Horse Feathers picks up the beat a little more in “Fit Against the Country.” Instead of sounding nice and easygoing, the instruments have more of an attitude than in any other song. Still, even with the upbeat sounds, Ringle’s voice never wavers from its usual calm. He sings in his usual, somewhat monotonous, tone.

“Better Company” sounds darker than any other track. The instruments change, but Ringle stays the same. The tones of the instruments are more menacing and Ringle’s voice makes it seem like he doesn’t notice. He sings in his usual style despite the stylistic changes in the instruments.

Easygoing sounds return in “Bird on a Leash,” and Ringle’s voice sounds more muffled. The way his voice is delivered suits the tone of the song. Everything meshes perfectly once again.

[This is a piece that should have been the cover of the last issue of The Buzzworthy for the semester, but alas, it never was published.]

 

The Intrepid for SBU Class of 2016 flash drive

The following items will be included on SBU’s Class of 2016 flash drive. These USB flash drives are supplied to each freshman upon attending summer orientation. It contains information about housing, contracts and clubs on campus. Here are my designs for The Intrepid:

[Designed using Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, CS5.]

Photos: Wilderness at home

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Taken using a simple Nikon Coolpix L105 camera.

Photos: First day of spring at Bonas

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Ting Tings not as upbeat as in old album

“Shut Up and Let Me Go” made you want to listen to The Ting Tings’s We Started Nothing over and over. Their bold beat is lost in their Feb. 24 release Sounds From Nowheresville.

In the first song, “Silence,” Katie White’s voice sounds monotonous. That, plus heavier instrumentals, makes the song sound very unlike The Ting Tings.

Songs like “Hit Me Down Sonny,” “Guggenheim” and “Soul Killing” are closer to the catchy We Started Nothing Ting Tings, but these songs won’t stick in your head as easily as “That’s Not My Name” did.

They slow down and soften up for “Help,” but pick their catchy Ting Ting flair back up again for “Hands.” White sings, “Clap your hands if you’re workin’ too hard.”

Don’t pick up this album expecting something as light and appealing as We Started Nothing. Instead, expect heavier, slower sounds from the English duo.

(3 stars)

 

Originally published in The Buzzworthy (3/29/12).

DJ Spotlight: The Rolling Jones roll right to the top

While most freshmen may have felt intimidated by WSBU The Buzz’s position on top, Nick Coyne and Mike Paasch saw it as all the more reason to join the successful radio station.

The two freshmen, along with two other friends, snagged a show on the station last semester, called themselves “Sonic Boom” and became familiar with the way a radio station works.

Spring semester brought a new crowd of shows, including Coyne and Paasch, this time adding fellow freshman Eric Hostetter to the mix. The show, called “The Rolling Jones” isn’t necessarily genre-specific. They like to switch it up.

“We try to infuse pretty much everything,” said Coyne, known as D.J. Yonkson the show. “Everything” ranges anywhere from indie rock to alternative rock, with home hip-hop as well.

“We try to play as much hip-hop as possible without delving into heavier rap,” he said.

Though The Rolling Jones is not a genre-specific show, they still stick to guidelines with what is played during their timeslot. Though different, genres played on the show share common elements.

“We try to incorporate any kind of hip-hop that has natural rock instruments in it,” said Coyne (Hostetter can’t seem to get a word in edgewise, and Mike Paasch was M.I.A.). With that, “been there, done that” topics on songs are taboo to this group – no song will feature common themes like dying.

“All music influences other music,” said Hostetter (D.J. Hos), finally. “It’s all interconnected.”

When it comes to indie rock, influences of hip-hop are essential, and vice versa. No connection? No play on the show.

One hip-hop/rap group that occasionally can be heard on The Rolling Jones’s playlist is Atmosphere. The piano parts in some of the songs appeal to what the group looks to put out there to listeners.

A Tribe Called Quest is another band on the playlist. “They were the first hip-hop group to use natural instruments,” said Coyne. “They’re like The Beatles of rap.”

Another requirement for The Rolling Jones: artificial sounds are a no-no. Plenty of hip-hop groups rely on computers to create the background music, but The Rolling Jones will have none of that. By natural instruments, Coyne means the instruments have to be recorded manually instead of on a computer to create a sound or replace an instrument.

In the indie rock world, The Rolling Jones puts out music from Dear and the Headlights and Kevin Devine. We’re back to the natural aspect of the show with these two groups.

“Kevin Devine relied on the natural, acoustic sound in his first couple albums,” Coyne explained. “And Dear and the Headlights (has a) Modest Mouse-like feeling.” (It can be assumed Modest Mouse would make the cut as well, then.)

They’re not being sexist by barely including females in the playlists; it’s just “not something we relate to,” Coyne said.

Each D.J. in The Rolling Jones contributes something to make the whirlwind of requirements and songs played possible.

“Hos is more in-tune with the rap part and Paasch knows what’s happening with indie music,” said Coyne. “I meet them somewhere in the middle.”

And no wonder Coyne has more to say than Hostetter: Coyne’s iPod hosts over 14,000 songs to Hostetter’s 2,400. It doesn’t matter, though. People like The Rolling Jones’s show and Coyne gets to fulfill his dream of hosting a radio show.

Tune in on Tuesdays from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. to enjoy an array of carefully arranged music from different genres.

“It looks good on a resumé,” Hostetter said simply.

Originally published in The Buzzworthy (3/29/12).

Fun. stays true to its name

Take three guys from three different, albeit successful, bands, cram them into one band, and what do you have? Fun. Literally.

Nate Ruess (The Format), Andrew Dost (Anathallo) and Jack Antonoff (Steel Train), released their second full-length album on Feb. 21 under the name “Fun.” Since the album’s release, Some Nights has brought in a whole new crowd of listeners for the band.

“Some Nights (Intro)” opens the album. The instrumentals and vocals are barely audible in the beginning.

About a minute in, one thing becomes clear: the song is a crescendo. Slowly but surely, vocalist Nate Ruess’s voice picks up. “And you, why you wanna stay? / oh my God! Have you listened to me lately? / Lately, I’ve been going crazy…” By the end of the song, you could swear you listened to a musical number after hearing Ruess’s voice bring the finale, followed by applause.

The next song, “Some Nights,” takes off in an a cappella fashion. Like most of Fun.’s music, the song is catchy but the lyrics mean something. Ruess sings, “Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle / some nights, I wish they’d just fall off.”

The third song on the album is one everyone should know by now. Fun. teamed up with Janelle Monáe, an R&B singer, for “We Are Young.” Monáe and Ruess sing together: “Tonight / we are young / so let’s set the world on fire / we can burn brighter / than the sun.” “We Are Young” is popular enough to reach the coveted number one spot on the iTunes top charts list for singles.

“Carry On” has a positive message attached to it: “If you’re lost and alone / or you’re sinking like a stone / carry on.” “It Gets Better” and “Why Am I the One” are lesser-known tracks on the album, but are still worth a listen.

“All Alone” sets itself apart instrumentally. Its catchy beat will get stuck in your head.

“All Alright” opens up with piano, adds some techno and then takes off with the chorus immediately. Anyone can relate to the chorus Ruess sings. “I got nothing left inside of my chest / but it’s all alright.”

“Stars” is a 6:53-long song, but it’s not the type you wish would end. It keeps you interested, much like the entire album.

Some Nights is a catchy album. Buy it and you won’t regret it.
(4 Stars)

Originally published in The Buzzworthy (3/29/12).