Sell Out Records - A Music Review Blog

I’ve heard a lot of rap music in my day, and a lot of is contrived. When I hear from a good artist, I pay attention to how the put together words, how the production values work to showcase a message, and of course whether or not I will listen to it again. I’ve been fortunate enough to discover some great work from the world of underground hip hop, and this is another great one. Vero drops “Look What God Did” and it’s an incredible mixtape that features a great amount of honesty through the story telling that Vero pushes forward. It’s a combination of laid back rhymes, honest story telling and a lot of moments that pull at your mind’s eye. The mixtape has a lot of different elements to it, not giving the listener one style or rhyme scheme, and that’s where Vero really shines. He finds a way to incorporate all sorts of musical flavors to rhyme over, and the eclectic sounds makes this one of the stronger mixtapes that I’ve heard in a while. Just the jump from “Mr. Hyde-And-Seek” to “...

Pop Punk is a hit or miss type of music genre. You either love it or you hate it. Then again, if you’re a hardcore punker you think that the term is stupid, and you hate anything that is poppy and you can sing along to without your fist in the air. I was first introduced to Fenix Tx like everyone else was, their debut record was getting heavy press in the 90s and Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge of Blink 182 were talking about them at every single interview. Well, those guys helped the band get a huge single with “All My Fault” and it’s definitely a positive thing. Their debut record was solid, but there was a few things lacking. That’s where “Lechuza” picks up, as it is a complete record that should bridge the gap between releases and give you a sense of intrigue. The record opens up with a slick and catchy song, full prowess on display with every single cliché being thrown at the listener amidst clear and concise song writing structure. The track, “Phoebe Cates” really pushes the env...

As with all musical endeavors, the listener looks for something that catches the ear and doesn’t let go. The Yellow Dress immediately does this like an infection. Ok, that may be a bit rough, but that’s not a detriment, it just means that it gets so attached that you will remember their signature sound long into your day, even after you’ve finished listening to their record. On their upcoming release, “Faint Music Tiny Light” they put together a serious contender for one of the best examples of independent, folk, alternative music. It’s disingenuous to put them into a box and say that they are just one genre, because they do so many things so well. From the first buzzing sounds of their album to the end, you get treated to a kaleidoscope of lyrics, music, and intelligence. It’s melodic, it’s harmonious, it’s appealing, and intrepid. San Francisco’s, The Yellow Dress are doing something that is very much in tune with rock radio right now. Mumford & Sons, Imagine Dragons, Floren...

There are a lot of different songs that capture the soul and heart of what you're going through. One of the songs that continues to ring true for me on a lot of different occasions is this one by Guns N Wankers. It's called "help" and I've written about it so many times before. It's a song that details the heartache of losing someone in the first half and then drives the point home that there is hope. The second verse for me is amazing. It illustrates my divorce, feeling like my world collapsed. Living, without living at all, and then the chorus rings so true it almost hurts. "I found a better place without you. I found a better life as well." This is so true, and it's well worth hearing and remembering. Listen to the song, and then pick up the Guns N Wankers album "For Dancing and Fighting" well worth the money, even if it's a short EP.

Hot Chick :) Not me If you know, particularly Jorge Sellout (Sir Jorge), than you will know that I love ska . I’ve loved ska music since I was a kid, and no matter what I go back to the trumpets, horns, and upstrummed guitar work that has come out of Jamaica. I love traditional, dub, reggae, two tone, new wave, and speak about it on my blogs. I’ve spoken about Trojan Records in the past, and often times find that no one knows what I’m talking about or even buys the records. I even linked the top records here, and nothing, no one seems to care about them. That’s ok. I wanted to bring to light that I live in Pomona and have recently found an awesome shop. Demented Clothing in downtown, where I live, features a lot of cool stuff that you should see in Hot Topic, but don’t. Remember when that store was all about the music? Well, it’s no longer about the music, it’s about something else. Well, I was in the shop recently and they had a lot of cool patches, and one caught my eye that ...

Hecpat Traditional Ska The 1990’s brought out of the woodworks all sorts of ska bands. The third wave ska movement has since died off, with only the top bands still playing today. Most of them stopped playing traditional rock steady and ska, but still manage to have a following, including The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, and No Doubt, just to name a few. However, for the purists of ska music from the Jamaican tradition, there wasn’t much to be had in the third wave, but out came Hepcat and their third record continued their traditional of replicating and enhancing traditional ska motif’s. The fourth album from Hepcat was called “Push ‘N Shove” and was recorded in their hometown of Los Angeles and was released in the summer of 2000. The music on their fourth record was somewhat derivative and was more steady and reggae, which was not the norm at the time. In fact, few people even called the release ska, and by the end of 1999, no one was listening to ska, at least not ...

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Jean Grae "Bootleg" 5/5

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 If you haven’t done so already, get Murs and Fashawn’s “This Generation” by clicking here .