“Unfortunately, I only have 8 gigs of space on my proverbial chopping block, so I have to be fairly selective about who makes the cut, and because of that, Visions didn’t quite make it.”
music review
REVIEW: Visions – Home
July 27th, 2011 
James Shotwell 
Posted in Features, Reviews 
Tags: album review, basick, hard rock, Home, metal (genre), music review, reissue, visions, visions album review 
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REVIEW: Paradise Fears – Yours Truly
July 4th, 2011 James Shotwell “Yours Truly is a sprightly experience, one that certainly makes a valiant effort to take your breath away. It could be just me that didn’t quite react in any definitive way, as there is plenty of promise and some very enjoyable tunes here, particularly the title one. I just can’t figure out whether it’s sincere and lovable, or slightly turgid. Either way, probably best to take it at face value and play on. Give it a spin for cheeriness alone.”
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: album review, Debut, ep, music review, paradise fears, pop (genre), pop rock (genre), sargent house debut, your truly, yours truly 1 Comment »
REVIEW: Fair To Midland – Arrows & Anchors
June 28th, 2011 James Shotwell “In the end, I’m sort of torn about this album. Yes, some parts are catchy, they seem to be a quality rock/progressive band, but it is just not quite the same as bands such as Porcupine Tree and the like. I am glad I came back to this album and gave it another shot though, because it certainly deserved a solid listen. But while I did enjoy parts of it, I don’t really see this album making it’s way on to my regular rotation. It did inspire me to give Deadwing another spin, though.”
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: album review, anchors, and, Arrows, arrows and anchors, critique, e1, Fair To Midland, ftm-aa, ftmaaa, hard rock, metal (genre), music review, new, new album, premiere, review 14 Comments »
REVIEW: Simple Plan – Get Your Heart On!
June 23rd, 2011 James Shotwell “To be fair, I came into this album with an unfounded bias, I was expecting to have to sit through another awful, whiney, postmortem emo album, with contrived and way-too-angsty lyrics, but I could not have been more wrong, this album has a much more dynamic and interesting sound. Don’t be mistaken, this really is just a straight-up pop album, but I still have immense amounts of respect for those that can put together a dynamic and interesting pop album, without pandering to their audience with gimmicks and watered down songs. And Simple Plan did just that, no tricks, just good music, which was really a genuine surprise.”
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: album review, atlantic, cd, digital, get your heart on review, Get Your Heart On!, laval, leak, music, music review, pop (genre), punk (genre), review, rock (genre), Simple Plan, stream, vinyl 1 Comment »
REVIEW: Big D And The Kids Table – For the Damned, the Dumb, and the Delirious
June 19th, 2011 James Shotwell Unfortunately, I seem to have missed the boat on the whole ska thing. But regardless of that fact, I can say that this is definitely a very good album, not necessarily a complete one, but a good one. For the Damned, the Dumb, and the Delirious was let down by the filler songs mixed in to the album, the good songs did a good job of making up for the empty songs, but in reality, the filler just really shouldn’t be there at all. Old school ska fans are going to like this album, but they aren’t going to love every song, and they should really be able to.
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: 2011, album review, big d, big d and kids table, boston, For The Damned The Dumb And The Delirious, leak, music review, new, premiere, punk (genre), review, sideonedummy, ska, stream Comments Off on REVIEW: Big D And The Kids Table – For the Damned, the Dumb, and the Delirious
REVIEW: All Time Low – Dirty Work
June 6th, 2011 James Shotwell “So, verdict? As I already said, I’m merely…whelmed. If that’s possible. Much like the Sex and the City sequel, this is cannon fodder for its target audience, and anathema to everyone else. To its credit, it’s accessible and very fun on occasion, but endlessly bland – though considering I did interrupt my review to watch the new teaser trailer for Breaking Dawn, maybe I’m not the best one to judge.”
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: album review, all time low, Dirty Work, download, full length, interscope, music, music review, pop punk (genre), review, rock (genre), streamd Comments Off on REVIEW: All Time Low – Dirty Work
REVIEW: Of Mice & Men – The Flood
June 3rd, 2011 James Shotwell “Forget what you’ve read, forget what you’ve heard, and hell, forget what you know about Of Mice & Men. The Flood is a decidedly huge step forward for a band that many didn’t believe would ever have a second album and sets the bar for other genre titles this year. While it has its moments of doubt, there is no denying the amount of hard work, passion, and emotion poured into every second of this record.”
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: album review, austin carlile, flood, hardcore (genre), leak, metalcore, music review, new album, Of Mice & Men, of mice & men the flood album review, of mice and men, om&m, omandm, omm flood, post hardcore, review, Rise Records, stream, THE FLOOD, Warped Tour 6 Comments »
REVIEW: Bon Iver – Bon Iver
May 30th, 2011 James Shotwell “As much as I love this album, and I do (if I think about it subjectively, standing alone), I unfortunately can’t help drawing comparison’s to For Emma, Forever Ago. As much as I don’t want to, I’m human, and loving a band means knowing when they’re strong and weak. It would be wrong of me to pretend this album existed in a bubble, living without ties to other releases, because it would mean this album was a product of completely originality (and it isn’t). This is a continuation of artist growth and development that challenges listeners to forget the feeling and mood of the previous album with a platter or new thoughts and ideas.”
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: a lbum review, bon iver, bon iver review, critic, folk, jagjaguwar, music review, new album, review, self titled Comments Off on REVIEW: Bon Iver – Bon Iver
REVIEW: Fireworks – Gospel
May 21st, 2011 James Shotwell “Don’t get me wrong, like any band, Fireworks definitely suffer from growing pains. That said, Gospel stands as the strongest and attempt at growth and progression that we’ve seen from this still young pop punk scene.”
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: 2011, album review, dave pest, fireworks, gospel, michigan, music review, pop punk (genre), poppunk, review, triple crown Comments Off on REVIEW: Fireworks – Gospel
REVIEW: Parachute – The Way It Was
May 20th, 2011 Jacob Tender “The Way it Was not only lived up to my expectations, it surpassed them tenfold. Anderson’s writing and singing talent grows with every record Parachute makes. The band is fantastic in all aspects, as always. Instrumentals are flawless (no pun intended) and little things are added here and there to keep things different.”
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: 2011, album review, island def jam, mercury, music review, Parachute, parachute news, perfect album, review, the way it was Comments Off on REVIEW: Parachute – The Way It Was
REVIEW: Tombs – Path Of Totality
May 17th, 2011 James Shotwell “While Path of Totality is not really groundbreaking, it is a really solid album with lots of replay value, but I could very easily imagine anyone with a dislike of black or sludge metal having almost no interest in this album or any song within it. The real question becomes “Is this the best they’ve got or is there better yet?” It’s hard to imagine what Tombs could do better, but somehow it doesn’t feel like it’s the best they’ve got.”
Posted in Features, Reviews Tags: album review, metal (genre), music review, path of totality, relapse, review, tombs, tombs path of totality review Comments Off on REVIEW: Tombs – Path Of Totality
REVIEW: Sleeping With Sirens – Let’s Cheers To This
May 16th, 2011 James Shotwell “Let’s Cheers to This really impressed me. The song writing is fantastic, the vocal melodies are amazing, and the musicianship is incredible. I have nothing bad to say about it. I highly suggest buying this record. You won’t be disappointed.”