Underground Bands and Indie Music Reviews

Parachute is an indie band from Charlottesville, Virginia, and has recently gained recognition with their latest album, “Losing Sleep.”

The 5 members of the band recently graduated college and are now touring and promoting their music full-time.

And it’s no wonder that this band has been gaining a strong group of followers. With a sound that could be compared to a younger, more energetic Marroon 5, you can’t go wrong. Their album is solid. The first song, “All that I am” sets the bar high for the rest of the 11 songs that follow it. And the songs that follow don’t disappoint. “She (for Liz)” is a personal favorite, with a pop-rock, yet original feel, it’s easy to find yourself nodding your head and tapping your feet to the beat.

The album slows down in the middle with some more serious, slow-piano ballads, including “She is Love” (their more popular song). However, their album picks back up the hype with “Words Meet Heartbeats” and “New Year” to wrap it up. Overall, the order and selection of songs proved to enhance the dynamics of the album.

Overall, their sound is enjoyable to listen to. And even though their music isn’t experimental (per se), they’ve got talent and are easy to like.

“The Rocket Summer” is a band that is comprised of one person, Bryce Avery, from Dallas, Texas. Avery records his music by playing all of the instruments (piano, guitar, drum, bass and vocals) individually and then combining them to make a song.  Now that’s real talent. However, when he goes on tour, he has a traveling band comprised of his old high-school friends.

His second album “Hello Good Friend” is nothing special. There are two noteworthy songs, however: Brat Pack, and Around the Clock. Other than that, skip right to his latest album “Do You Feel”.  His music is very upbeat and packed with energy. Though he has fun and bubbly melodies, his lyrics are powerful and touch on his Christian faith, problems in our society, and general everyday life.

His shows are electrifying. When he comes on stage, the crowd goes wild. His stage presence and performance energizes the audience. In the middle of songs he will switch places with one of his fellow band-mates to play a different instrument, clearly to showcase his talent. Not only is this entertaining, but his natural musical ability is apparent. Every one of his songs keeps the audience moshing and singing along; there never is a dull moment. Though a tour date hasn’t been set hasn’t been released for his new album “Of Men and Angels” (coming out later this year), I have a feeling one will be announced soon, so I’ll keep you guys posted.

Though he has talent, his style isn’t for everyone. It has a very emo, pop, ‘give-everyone-a-hug” sort of vibe. You have to be in the right mood for it, or else it can get annoying. But for short periods of time, it’s fun to listen to.

However, if you feel like listening to something that will put you in a good, carefree mood, cruisin’ in your car with the windows down and the music up, The Rocket Summer is for you.  So go on, Rock It Some More!

Air Traffic is an alternative rock band out of Britain. Formed in 2005, their music is piano-led and refreshing.

In July 2006, their first single, a double-a side of “Just Abuse Me” and “Charlotte” was released by Label Fandango. In 2007 their first album, “Fractured Life,” came out which was  followed by a nomination for the 2007 Xfm New Music Award.

Air Traffic’s first album is a mixture of pop-rock and softer ballad songs. Unfortunately, there are more soft-rock songs than I would prefer. When their pace slackens, you find yourself bored and listening to cliché after cliché.  However, when they do perform their harder pop-rock stuff, they are fun to listen to.

The band is currently working on their latest album, as of earlier this year. Hopefully this album will be more exciting then their last. You can find a glimpse of their new material with their Internet-only released song, “Ambulate.”