A few weeks back San Jose, California's The Holdup dropped their sophomore album release Confidence on Dub Rock Records. The album was the followup to 2009's Stay Gold in which the band burst on the rock/reggae scene. If for some reason you missed out on Stay Gold, The Holdup have elevated their game to ensure no one misses out on a little boost of Confidence.
The Album
Confidence kicks off with Up All Night, a song about partying and living it up without worry about life's little problems. A nice slow paced groove with auto-tuned vocals placed in just the right spots make for a solid opener. Next up is Slow, a track about taking your time with your girl and treating her right, despite the urge you're probably feeling to jump right into things.The heart of the album can be found in tracks 4-7, which by far is the strongest stretch of songs you could hope for in an album (every track is very good, but this stretch is a standout). Kicking things off with Obsessed With Success (Track #4) lead singer Mike Garmany let's loose a powerful line that sums up what every band hopes to archive - commercial success without changing themselves - "I'll admit we're trying to sellout so just try to understand us, we'd never compromise ourselves so we can gain status." The song is filled with powerful and nasty one liners such as "so come and get your girlfriend and tell her to get off me, boy I got some work to do somebody brew some coffee." and "long as I'm breathin you'll never catch me sleepin, inspired by reality when I'm awake I'm dreaming".
Be sure to check this band out on Myspace. Just la few weeks ago they were at Lupo's with Collie Buddz. Unfortunately I missed it, but hopefully they'll be back out on the east coast soon. You can also check out the recently released video for "Summertime Baby" below.
Your about me intro was great. Really described why you chose this topic, being a music enthusiast and also what you hope to convey in your blog: getting new music out there. The description was very straightforward describing exactly what the blogs purpose is getting “lesser-known” artists music out there with your reviews. The first post gets right into it with the first band’s cd you review, The Holdup. It was very helpful as you pointed out certain songs as I would see it easier for readers to look up individual songs you point out rather than looking up the album and listening to each track. I also think it was a great idea to post a music video right on the page making it even easier for the reader to immediately hear the bands music. I think readers would definitely come back for more. The review is great, short and sweet but gets the point across as well as pointing out specific songs and lyrics that readers should look into.
ReplyDeleteHey AJ your blog is awesome! I never ever, ever listen to mainstream music so this blog really calls out to me. Some of my favorite bands are Passafire and Pepper so maybe you should check them out and maybe even do a review on them! Pepper is actually coming to the met cafe in Pawtucket in a few weeks, they are so good live I will most definitely be there! Good stuff my friend! As far as your blog goes, the about me section was a little short. Maybe you could include a little bit more why music means to much to you and maybe some of your favorite artists so people know your groove. The description was great, it really was straight forward and introduced people to the topic very well. I really love the fact that you are doing this, I was thinking of doing something similar to this but instead decided on something else. I can totally relate to you in the sense that people should expand their music taste beyond just what they hear over the radio waves. There are some really amazing artists out there that don't get enough recognition for their talent, especially because most of them are a million times better than the shit you hear on the radio. Your first post was really cool! I have never heard of The Holdup but I really like their style. They seem fun and energetic and I think they are a good way to start off your blog! Really well done! I will definitely be coming back to read your blog.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely appreciate this blog because I have some of the same tastes in music. Providing publicity for lesser-known artists is a great idea and something many people will connect with. Anyone who likes these genres will be interested in discovering new music. I like how you used a band from the West Coast that certainly many people haven't heard of. It shows you're trying to display artists that are new. YouTube isn't loading for me right so unfortunately I can't listen to the song, but that was a great way to end the post. I recommend you provide links with every artist you speak about so the reader can connect with the music itself. While your blog description is great, I think you can make your about me section longer. While it covers everything simply to the point, readers would like to see a little more background information, such as how you discover new music and the ways you do it.
ReplyDeleteHey AJ! I love the concept of your blog and your about me section tells me exactly what you intended while creating it, recommend and expose readers to new music that they may have never checked out on their own. I would love to hear a little more about yourself and what the "cali mindset" means to you..
ReplyDeleteI think the description perfectly sums up what your blog is about, what genre artists you plan on posting about and why you are creating this blog. I also love the wording you chose for the description and think it really shows personality.
Your first post is GREAT. It definitely stands true to what you stated in the description of what your blog is about. I thought that you gave a fantastic review of the new album from The Holdup. Before reading this post, I had never heard of them and really got a great background of the band and their music from their latest album from your review. The addition of the video in your post is perfect for readers to easily listen to the band you just reviewed.
I also really liked how you mentioned the band had recently played at Lupo's. You should think about adding local concert dates and information to the bands you feature on your blog.