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Posts Tagged ‘My Heart To Joy’


23.02.2010

Media: Choke Up

posted by Will

in Best New Music, Media
No Comments


(Click on album cover to download)

Who? Choke Up

What? Self-Titled Demo EP

Where are they from? Boston, MA

What do they sound like? Not just another hardcore band, that is for sure. Choke Up play dark and emotional melodic hardcore with several different elements at war. With powerful vocals that will stay with you long after, Choke Up’s thick brand of impassioned hardcore is breath of fresh air. For fans of My Heart To Joy, Hostage Calm and Small Brown Bike.

Where can I buy? The CD will be released on Teenage Disco Bloodbath in April. You can get the tape right now from Brisco Face Tapes and BFT will also have a 7″ of new material to follow in the summer.

Choke Up “Look Up”

Choke Up “Writing”

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08.01.2010

Best Of 2009: Volume Four

posted by Will

in Year End Lists
7 Comments

Here’s my final Top Ten of 2009. Click on the album cover for any more coverage.

#1 Tigers Jaw “Spirit Desire” 7″ (Tiny Engines)

The second release from Tiny Engines, a label I co-run with two other guys. Shameless self-promotion? Sure, but I can honestly say I listened to this release more than any other in 2009. Indie rock and pop punk mixed ever so perfectly!

#2 Brian Bond “Fire & Gold” (Self-Released)

It takes an awful lot for me to get excited about a singer/songwriter but Brian Bond did just that. The fact that he resides in relative obscurity is a shame. And he’s got another album in the can for 2010 that is just as good as Fire & Gold.

#3 Golden City “Self-Titled” (Magic Bullet)

Eric Richter of Christie Front Drive returns with a brilliant set of songs. Imagine CFD crossed with JEW.

#4 Everyone Everywhere “A Lot Of Weird People Standing Around” 7″ (Evil Weevil)

The second coming of The Promise Ring…at least at times it sure sounds like it. The new songs these guys have recorded sound incredible.

#5 Superchunk “Leaves In The Gutter” EP & “Crossed Wires” 7″ (Merge)

Other than Sunny Day Real Estate, there was no greater welcome back party for me than to have Superchunk return with a new set of songs. On their first two releases in years the band puts forth some of their most energetic material since their early days.

#6 Annabel “Each And Everyone” (Count Your Lucky Stars)

Following up on their brilliant EP in 2008 Annabel nail their first full-length. Understated indie rock with just the right amount of pop and power.

#7 Touch Committee “Winter Beard” (Self-Released)

I love when bands come from completely out of nowhere to floor me. Touch Committee did just that with Winter Beard.

#8 Oceans “Nothing Collapses” (Copper Lung)

Sadly, Oceans called it quits shortly after this release. Nothing Collapses is one of the best post rock records I have heard in years. So, can we put the nail in the post rock coffin now?

#9 My Heart To Joy “Seasons In Verse”(Topshelf)

Intelligent and pushing themselves beyond any genre constriction, My Heart To Joy are like a raging hardcore version of Trail of Dead.

#10 Broadway Calls “Good Views, Bad News” (Side One Dummy)

Broadway Calls are the best current pop/punk band period. Bar none.

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30.12.2009

Alan (from My Heart To Joy): Best of 2009

posted by Alan

in Year End Lists
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Alan – SAL Contributor and drummer for the My Heart To Joy who released an amazing album earlier this year.

The Twilight Sad – “Forget the Night Ahead”
Toe – “For Long Tomorrow”
Robert Pollard – “The Crawling Distance”
The Clientele – “Bonfires on the Heath”
Obits – “I Blame You”
Do Make Say Think – “Other Truths”
Pissed Jeans – “King of Jeans”
Jarvis Cocker – “Further Complications”
The Marked Men – “Ghosts”
Morrissey – “Years of Refusal”
The Thermals – “Now We Can See”
Quieting Syrup – “Songs About A Sick Boy”
Fever Ray – “Fever Ray”
Om – “God Is Good”
Native – “Wrestling Moves”

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24.06.2009

My Heart To Joy: Seasons In Verse

posted by Will

in Best New Music, Music Reviews
No Comments

[Best New Music]

myheartojoylp

Some bands are just not meant to be caged in. If you follow the trajectory of My Heart To Joy’s output, the band’s full-length debut, Seasons In Verse, might come as a surprise at first. But, when studied closer it is in fact the logical culmination of a burning that has noticeably been building up from the band’s core.

The instrumental first song, “Time Spent Breathing” reminds one of the lushness of Trail Of Dead rather than the melodic and screamy hardcore of the band’s past. And really that is a great comparison for My Heart To Joy (formerly My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone). The collision of art, indie and punk rock is quite similar to Trail Of Dead’s earlier material. Thankfully though, My Heart To Joy leave the pretension at the door. The band follows up the opener with the impassioned “Empty Homes” which leads into the album’s mid-paced mid-section. Songs like “Seasons In Verse”, “Worn Out Weather” and “Giving My Hands Away” may not be as in your face but they never lack the power and depth of the band’s more raging material either. “Old Capitals” is the collison of all facets of the band’s songwriting and is breathtaking in its delivery. My Heart To Joy even cover a Guided By Voices song, (ironically also covered by Trail Of Dead), “Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory”, with great success as they take the inner beauty of the song and turn it upside down with a healthy dose of vitriol.

When I reviewed the band’s seven-inch in January my RIYL was Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike and Latterman…certainly good company to keep. But, with Seasons In Verse, My Heart To Joy have moved beyond those influences into more ambitious waters. The challenge with growth is to somehow maintain the signature quality of your songwriting. Even though the band has pushed their creativity into interesting new realms they have still managed to retain the raw and powerful nature of their earlier material. Seasons In Verse is proof of the dynamic and diverse heart that My Heart To Joy possess.

Label: Topshelf/Asbestos

Seasons In Verse
03%20Seasons%20In%20Verse.mp3

www.myspace.com/myhearttojoy

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04.06.2009

Sound Off: Monument

posted by Will

in Band Interviews, Sound Off
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Indie/emo heart throbs Monument have decided to interview themselves for SAL’s Sound Off feature. These guys are really long-winded and name drop a lot of bands. It sucked doing the Tags for this post. Warning: this is the longest interview ever in the history of band interviews…but oh so entertaining! You can check out my review of the band’s most recent release, a 3 song 7-inch here. Monujamz!!

Read more

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09.03.2009

Spring Breaking

posted by Will

in Random Thoughts
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Alright everyone, I am taking this week off to enjoy the weather and concentrate on getting ready for some upcoming Beartrap projects. This is something that will probably happen a bit more frequently in ‘09. Ah, such is life, I apologize.

Also, I think I announced this on Twitter recently but not sure if everyone (or anyone) saw it. SAL will start to have genre-specific weeks more often in the future. And if you have been paying attention during the last two weeks you will notice the site has already gone in that direction. Upcoming, I have a singer/songwriter week planned out and pop/punk should be close behind. Granted, this will not happen every week but should be fun regardless. See you in a week.

Oh, here’s what I’ve been listening to lately…

Annabel
The Appleseed Cast
Brian Bond
PJ Bond
Neko Case
Cheap Girls (still!)
Joie De Vivre
Morrissey
My Heart To Joy
Oceans
The Reptilian
Tigers Jaw
Touch Committee
Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves

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13.01.2009

My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone: Virgin Sails 7″

posted by Will

in Best New Music, Music Reviews, Vinyl Corner
7 Comments

[Best New Music]

Virgin Sails 7″ boasts three powerful and moving songs from Connecticut’s My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone. This is pretty awesome stuff that has left me quite impressed (and kicking myself that it’s basically been sitting on my floor for a few months.) I think a lazy comparison (and the band seems to think so too) would be to Hot Water Music. But really, My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone sound even thicker than HWM which might sound impossible but whatever. Perhaps a better comparison would be early Small Brown Bike which had a pretty dark atmosphere much like the first two songs here possess. My Heart To Joy, which they seem to be calling themselves now, are driving in their approach and pack these songs with subtle melodies, anger and emotion that simply boils over at the seams. The third track, “All Of Life Is Coming” has an almost Latterman-ish feel to it as it dips into quieter parts before exploding with a rapturous sing along ending. Familiar yet completely refreshing at the same time, My Heart To Joy At The Same Tone are on to something special here. The band just finished recording an LP for spring 2009. I’m pumped!

Genre: Punk Rock

RIYL: Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike, Latterman

Label: Triumph Of Life

Virgin Sails

02VirginSails.mp3

www.myspace.com/myhearttojoyatthesametone

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