Punk rock that takes you back to the Sex Pistols heydays. Lies, Fear and Hate by Autonomadic exhibits first class punk rock. The album is almost comparable to the great Never Mind the Bollocks if only they came out back in the 70s.

Today, most people who listen to this album will just cry out and say it's first class imitation. Coincidental or intentional imitation, these guys do a pretty good job.

Lies, Fear and Hate is filled with 20 scathing, energy driven punk rock, with a hint of underground grunge that will blow you away.  This trio of Justin, Todd and Baker capture a sense of raw and punk energy that's hard to spot in bands today.

Hailing from Grunge capital, Seattle, it's no surprise that trio Autonomadics exhibit some influence from some of the best alternative grunge bands from the city. However, despite the geographical influence that they got, they were obviously heavily influenced by Brit import punk rock. Listening to Lies, Fear and Hate makes you wonder whether you made a mistake and popped in an old Sex Pistols album instead.

The growling and incomprehensible vocals is unmistakable and so are the rolling drums and upbeat sound. Lies, Fear and Sound is actually one of their earliest albums. Their most recent release, Gift of the Sun, was released last September 2009 and contains 20 bloody tracks as well.

Despite the huge collection of tracks, it's hard to find a solo standout track that will make you go "wow." However, it's rare to find bands that will actually make the effort to include (and record) 20 tracks for their albums, so Autonomadics gets an A+ for that. Nevertheless, most of the tracks are fun and enjoyable to listen to anyway, so no harm done. It's an energy filled compilation that you can easily play as a background for your pretend rockstar moments.

Among the bands that the trio cites as major influences include The Dead Kennedy's, The Clash, the Pogues, The Pixies, Social Distortion and Screeching Weasel.

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Related Links:
Autonomadic Official Website
Autonomadic on Last FM
Autonomadic on Myspace
Autonomadic on Facebook

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French alternative acoustic indie rockers are at it again for the eighth time! Director's Cut from Fresh Body Shop is their eighth release since they first started. Although information for the band is relatively scarce, their music simply speaks for itself.

Most of their albums have heralded positive reviews from listeners and critics. Thanks to the bands fresh take on alternative acoustic rock, their tracks are not tough to love. Their album The Ugly Army garnered praises for its electronic, industrial rock sound. On the other hand, prior to this, the band released Draw the Circle which also received rave reviews. With Director's Cut, it's won't be long until praises for the album pour in.

Fresh Body Shop is essentially the one man band of, Pedro; he mans the vocals, guitar and composition aspect of the music. As for live performances, he enlists the help of Oli on bass; Djenf on drums and Francois on keyboards. The band was originally set up as an acoustic project back in 2006 by Pedro. But the following year, Oli, Francois and Djenf joined him and they started to perform live gigs. They toured all over France and gained notoriety among the indie scene as they kept releasing their music for free online under a creative commons license. Their album, "The Ugly Army" paved the way for the band to be signed into Magnatune but they still have discretion to release their music for free under a cc license. Although the band prides collaboration, majority of the music is sung, recorded and written by Pedro.

Director's Cut is also released for free on Jamendo and contains 11 acoustic rock tracks that essentially showcase the Fresh Body Shop vibe. Although the album is less industrial sounding and contains an enhanced acoustic feel, the vocals and overall sound still rings true of the band. Tracks like Voodoo Doll still exhibit the sweet, grungy vocals from Pedro which made all the other albums easy to listen to. The guitar work and drumming is still pretty solid as well. Moreover, the mellow acoustic beats make this a fun album to listen to while hanging out in your pad on a lazy afternoon.

Related Links:
Fresh Body Shop on Jamendo
Fresh Body Shop on Facebook
Fresh Body Shop on Myspace
Fresh Body Shop on Insomnia Radio
Fresh Body Shop on Last FM

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Depressive Art makes music that's anything but depressive. Their name can be misleading since Depressive Art seems to have a knack for playing upbeat retro indie rock n'roll. This 6 piece band from Gothenburg can crank up the volume and liven up the atmosphere of any party you intent to throw.

Bye Bye Dear Everything is the group's first album and comes with 10 powerful, danceable, rockin' tracks.

Bye Bye Dear Everything was actually released at the end of 2007 and gained a lot of praises from the presses. It helped the band propel into the Swedish indie scene, allowing them to play at almost 60 gigs all around the country. Apart from the lively tracks, Depressive Art is also deemed an official must-see when playing live. Their frenetic energy and onstage antics is definitely a nice break from your casual, boring Saturday evening.

The retro indie album is filled with beautiful swelling organs and crooning vocals, reminiscent of 60s rock and roll. It's hard not to think of The Doors when listening to this band. However, not all songs conjure up a psychedelic flashback. One of the best tracks to listen to is "How to Breathe." With its falsetto backing vocals and the pounding drums, it's the perfect accompaniment if you want to get your dance on. "Solar System" is another track worthy of cranking up.

Despite making beautiful music together, as of this writing, the band has officially announced that they will be parting ways. Fans will not be disappointed though as the band left an EP (download link is on the lower right side) before ultimately saying goodbye.

The album is available under a creative commons license.

Related Links:
Depressive Art Official Website
Depressive Art on Jamendo
Depressive Art on Facebook
Depressive Art on Last FM
Depressive Art on Aural-Innovations

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Hardcore emo rock that starts and ends with lots of Spanish shouting. Although its often a bit challenging to absolutely love a song sung in a language you don't know, there are special tracks and albums that transcend beyond the language barrier. Interlude's 1000 ans de vengeance is certainly one that you can mark down on that list.

Listeners who love hard core post- rock that borders around emo and screamo will definitely find this album a delight regardless of whether they understand Spanish or not. The compilation showcases 7 loud rockin' tracks that are great for head bobbing and air devil horns.

Interlude is the result of a combination of band members from Criatura and Nevergood. The group recorded their first couple of songs, which were included in the EP 7", back in 2005. From there, they recorded 6 more songs that became the basis for their Les Miserables album. Both of these albums were released almost consecutively back in 2006. To rally more support for their albums, the band also did a brief summer tour to promote their album.

1000 ans de vengeance is their third release. The recordings were done at the Ultraminos Costa Brava as well as the Montreal Studios, the same two studios for their previous releases. The album compiles 7 powerful tracks; all exhibiting characteristics of Interlude's heavy rock emo sound.

It opens with "De vuelte a tu origen" which showcases soft  guitar and drumming work then builds up to a crescendo and a rabid mixture of screamed-out lyrics and loud drumming. "El valor de otra ocasion perdida" opens with lyrical belting, it's almost like having rocks (in the form of words) getting thrown at you. Not completely sure whether this is a good thing, but in this case, it works just fine.

With Interlude's current sound, it's not difficult to see traces of post hardcore rock greats, At the Drive-In. Hopefully the group will be able to define their music more and continue to create great sound.

Related Links:
Interlude on Jamendo
Interlude on Myspace
Interlude on Taringa!

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Britpop rock music...tagged as an "optimistic Oasis" if you will. London to Tokyo was initially a collaboration between two diversely inspired musicians, pop melodic lover Simon Steadman and Sacramento-based band, Tenfold, drummer Justin Butler.

Deciding that their sound simply is not worthy of just having a duo running it, they decided to instill the help of bassist Curtis Roach and lead guitarist Nicholas J Tyler. Together they gave birth to London to Tokyo and have released a self titled EP. 

Getting rave reviews for their music, London to Tokyo is one band that definitely deserves to be on the "watch out for" list. Originally, frontman and guitarist, Simon Steadman, led an indie alternative quintet called Steadman. The group was signed under Elektra for two albums. Their second release, Revive, got rave reviews from nothing less than former Beatle Paul McCartney himself.

Fast forward to now and Steadman has formed a new crew, London to Tokyo; complete with new bandmates and a fresh EP. The band's EP comes with six tracks including The Anthem, with its beautiful guitar work and chant like lyrics. It's hard not to imagine this song being played in some big arena to a massive audience with lighter or cellphone lights waving in the air. High Ground is a bit more upbeat and a little rougher on the edges.

You can get a taste of London to Tokyo's music by downloading 4 tracks from their EP simply by clicking on the link they provide for the zip file.

Related Links:
London to Tokyo Official Website
Steadman Official Website
London to Tokyo on Facebook
London to Tokyo on Myspace

Girl fronted rock band... another Paramore in the making? With the success of female fronted bands slowly on the rise again, Nomoredolls is taking a crack at the formula. Fronted by talented and highly energetic Cecilia Miradoli along with an equally diverse and talented band; Nomoredolls delivers alternative pop rock with a jagged edge.

Although based in Italy, the group has written their tracks in English for a more worldwide appeal.

This self titled debut gives you 12 powerful, energy driven pop rock songs that make you bounce around. Whether they have what it takes to make it big, you be the judge.The name Nomoredolls came about because of Cecilia's past. The high-energy female used to perform at jazz clubs and essentially played Billie Holiday covers. She confesses that she always felt that people treated her like a "doll" while on stage singing jazz covers.

Although she adores jazz music, she realized that it simply wasn't her calling and decided to focus her attention to alternative pop rock music. Nomoredolls gave her the opportunity to explore a long repressed side of her that was just craving to get out.

All 12 tracks in this debut album exhibit edginess in every corner. Starting out with upbeat and surprisingly catchy "Electric Sheep," the band manages to open up their album on a positive note. It is easily one of the best tracks in the entire compilation. "Invisible," on the other hand, starts up slow and builds to a fast pop rock track coupled with sweet vocals from Miradoli . "Another Girl" was released as a single and won a huge audience in Italy as well as other parts of Western Europe.

Nomoredolls can definitely rock out, although the lyrics are not completely impressive and the enunciation is a bit distracting at times, the album is worth checking out for those who have a special affinity for female fronted alternative pop rock bands.

Related Links:
Nomoredolls Official Website
Nomoredolls on Yahoo Music
Nomoredolls on Myspace
Nomoredolls on Facebook

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Alternative pop grunge rock at the hands of the French. Grunge rock definitely works great in the hands of the French as proven by Miss Daisy Black. The band is composed of four band members exploiting alternative pop rock and occasionally acoustic rock.

Nevroses comes equipped with 11 French rock tracks that showcases plenty of grunge style guitars, electronic beats and angst driven drumming. Most of the songs have an industrial/dancy feel to it and the vocals are interesting. Oddly enough, if you don't listen closely, you won't even notice that the guy is singing in French not English.  If you are looking for a band that sounds like popular indie and Jamendo favorite, Fresh Body Shop, this album is a good way to start.

Although you can definitely call their music as "pop rock," there's no doubt that it tips the scale to the rock part as opposed to the pop side. Listening to Nevroses makes you think of hard rock grunge bands in the 90s if only they wailed out French lyrics and were slightly (every slightly) had a happier disposition.

It's not unusual to hear hints of influences from bands like Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, Deftones and Soundgarden, among others, since these are some of the bands that the members of Miss Daisy Black have on their playlists.

Nevroses opens up with an acoustic upbeat track "Le Dernier Mot," which works great in letting the listener have a taste of what the rest of tracks are like. Although its not as heavy as other songs on the album, the guitar work and throaty vocals make it work. The humming in "Mort Ne" is catchy enough to induce LSS to anybody who listens to it long enough.

Personally, I think the album is a great listen, although the quality of the recording could be greatly improved. Not sure if this is caused by mixing though. Anyway, despite the lo-fi quality, the album is a sure hit for those who love alternative, pop rock and grunge. This goes, even for those who have zero French comprehension.

Related Links:
Miss Daisy Black on Last FM
Miss Daisy Black on Jamendo
Miss Daisy Black on Myspace

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Exciting rock music that makes you wish it was the 90s all over again. Sinkhole is a band I wish I had found sooner. Retrospectacles brings with it a genuine energy that's hard to find in most rock acts today. The guitar and drumming style is clearly lifted from the 90s workbook, and this makes the band even more endearing.

This album, Retrospectacles, is made up of 7 new tracks, lumped together with 12 previously released tracks. It is the band's fourth full-length album and has a fast, punk rock sound with a tinge of 90s grunge.

Even though the band recorded their tracks during the mid 90s, their music is more contemporary than ever; furnishing Retrospectacles with great tracks from beginning to end. The band is made up of Thatcher Ulrich on bass/vocals, Jon Clark and Eliot Shepard on guitar/vocals, and Chris Pierce on drums.

Sinkhole specializes in fast sounds, speeding through songs and blurting out lyrics one after another. They definitely excel in their own genre and make sure they veer off the emo tinge, although emo wasn't really as big as it was back then.

A personal favorite from the album includes Donut and Wreck on the Highway. The former is a fun song to listen to. It's catchy and will definitely make you fall for their music; hook, line and sinker.

However, despite their good music, the band played their last show on their bassists wedding day, August 2, 1997.  The band writes:

" It's all friendly, no hard feelings (except over that incident where Chris unintentionally sold Jon's sister into slavery.) We're just busy, geographically dispersed, and anxious to form new bands and cash in on the whole techno thing."

Their past four albums included Groping for Trout, Space Freak, and Core Sample. All their albums are now available for download under creative commons.

Related Links:
Sinkhole Website
Sinkhole on Tulrich.com
Sinkhole Interview on eWire
Sinkhole on Myspace
Sinkhole on Jamendo

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