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Apologies to any bands that's been waiting for me to write about them. I get daily submissions, so please be patience, I will eventually get around to everything... However if you supply all the right tools for me, it might help you get elevated up the queue.
What I'm looking for: if your band is going on tour or is releasing music and the article needs to be time-sensitive.
Beyond that, my next step is if you mail me something as I consider the cost and time spent on actually mailing me something. All mail will be reviewed within a three months window, and again, apologies if I missed any deadlines.
The other type of submissions I get are digital ones. So in an effort to clear out any emails in my inbox, I've rounded up a few submissions that I thought were interesting.
Since most of these bands haven't been around to have a more established history (and most importantly that I'm only exposed to one or two songs) don't expect a very detail writeup.
First band up: Alberteen (www.myspace.com/alberteenmusic).
Formed in 2006 in the UK, they seem to be huge music fans as their singer, Phil Shaw has a forthcoming book, Horses on Patti Smith under the 33⅓ series.
I liked the
song they sent me to use, although I think there's a few other songs on
their 'space. I don't know, it just felt very 80s, like The Church or
Talking Heads. Also, is he singing in Italian or French Spanish somewhere in
the song?
Good news is they have a few dates if you live near these area:
02/14/08 The Criterion Leicester
03/06/08 The Miller, London Bridge SE1 London, London and South East
In keeping with the England-thing, Plans & Apologies (www.plansandapologies.com) sent over "Meetoo", which I quite like.
They seem to be really young with a good sense of humor - especially with their song "Mel Gibson's... IRAQ!". This second song is actually a double-A-Side, and is made available in 2007 from Pandaz Pop and Exercise1.
I don't know the format they released it, but I think it might only be sold as a 7".
The best line in the song, and the one that caught my ear is:
You've been around for twenty-five years, been sad for seventeen.
Also, there's something about that young English accent that I like. If you like the singer from the Kooks, you'll like Plans & Apologies.
Witness (myspace.com/witness) is hip-hop artist, based out of Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
I did noticed that he has a rap song about Sylvia Plath, which was not on the EP that was submitted. I tried downloading the song off myspace, but without luck. I think Tom hates me.
Instead, I'm going to force to use the first track off his The Evermore EP. It starts off with violins and acoustic and even has a woman singing at the intro. The rapping sort of reminds me of a less-dancey Stereo MC's.
I see that he's playing with a bunch of people at The Rotunda in Philly:
03/07/08 The Rotunda w/ Reef The Lost Cauze, MC Squared, Unsung, Others TBA Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Let's see who else we have here? How about Beast From Sea (myspace.com/beastfromsea)? Aren't they missing a "the" in there somewhere in their name?
So, I was expecting them to sound really loud and punk, but the songs that were submitted were pretty mellow. Kind of like something that would play on a WB show.
Since I believe they are constantly discovering where their music is heading and I am assuming they would want me to use their latest song: "Advance", the current (and only) song on their myspace.
This song is a little peppier.
It looks like they're also on tour, so check them out if you live in Illinois:
02/29/08 Mt. Zion High School Mt. Zion, Illinois
03/01/08 NV Ultra Lounge (All Ages) Normal, Illinois
03/15/08 Recording at Chicago Recording Company Chi town, Illinois
Last on my list is Penny Broadhurst (pennybroadhurst.com). They actually didn't contact me, but I just wanted to talk about them because I really dig that librarian look the singer has going for her. I half expect her to have a tattoo of a book with angel wings, I don't know.
They are also on a long tour, so I was hoping people would take a chance on them at a live show. See all their tour dates on their myspace.
It is also a place where you can check out some of their songs.
I like songs like "Give it Up" (it sounds like a synthy-motown number) and "LJaded" (it's like a pseudo "rap" song about Live Journal). Some great DIY sound and I officially predict Penny Broadhurst will be a household name by 2009, if not sooner.
And that's it for now.
Note: If you decide to submit digital songs for me to review, please email me (see below) and include the following:
A cover artwork (if none is available, send a photograph of your band), and a brief biography. If you're just starting out, perhaps just tell me where you're from and what genre of music you guys are influenced by (that's really all that I'm looking for in a biography anyway).
02/03/2008 00:42:37
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