The Indie Rock Dojo

 Four Story Fall and Jeremy Abrams, from Seattle, Washington USA has a pop punk rock song called "Weather // Whether" that is a very well-done tune with a really nice touch.  It veered the genre away from the abrasive feel of punk rock and gives a more sentimental feel with catchy melodies and sincere vocal tone. Right away, I could hear the professionalism of an experienced guitar player with the steady picking, which the rhythm section picks up on flawlessly .  The guitars have a nice low-gain tone and very often have lead melodies being played over the top of the rhythm guitars.  The bass guitar has a nice steady tone that fits the genre.  No fat low-end, but a blending tone that lays below the rhythm guitars.  The vocals sound very clean, authentic, and hit every note spot-on. This band has a very tight sound.  The part of their sound that catches my attention the most is the layers of vocal harmony that are almost as high in the mix as the melody....

 The Great Homesickness, out of Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, brings a very energetic rock with a great genre mixture that I LOVE.  All the Wrong Questions is a banger, to say the least. I hear these genres the most... Pop Punk -> The lead vocals are very melodic with a tone that is full-force and full-speed ahead, including a lot of group unison parts.  The drums are very aggressive and have incredible life inside those beats. Hard Rock ->  The guitars are hitting heavy power chords with a strong low-end with the bass guitar.  The drums are big and high-in the mix, assisting with that hard rock power. I'm so very glad to get the opportunity to discover this band.  The band as a whole is very tight, even through all of the complicated rhythms that require a considerable amount of precision.  The mix is solid with the heavy guitars getting that audible accent by a nicely toned bass.  The drummer is spectacular, keeping the ship moving with metrono...

 "Gluttony" by Mick Combs (from Port Pirie South Australia) is definitely an alternative rock instrumental with very interesting ideas.  The part that caught my attention right away was the string keys, very high in the mix, sliding from one note up several steps, then back down to the original note.  It's not often that you hear this, as the keys took the lead, and stay high in the mix throughout. I like the crisp and snappy sound the drums have, which is on full display as soon as this jammer starts.  The bass is also jamming along rhythmically and sounding great, although I do have to say I could have used it higher in the mix! What is highlighted in this song is definitely the guitar soloing, which takes the place often filled by a lead vocalist.  There's so much melody and it consistently follows the path the melody takes in this song...and also leaves lots of room for some solo-shredding, too!  I hear some squealing and top-notch control of that ...

 James Snelling is a very impressive rock guitarist from Ontario, California.  "Villainaire" displays this with no doubts.  It brings a classic rock feel with lead guitar chops that are steady, consistent and flashy...taking care of both the rhythm guitar and lead all alone.  The vocals have a distortion on them and follow the melody already set by the guitar, and the bass guitar is a solid foundation with the drums. The guitar soloing sections of this song are what caught my attention the most.  As the lead guitar continues to pound out the riffs, guitar solos go on top with soaring squeals, nicely controlled cry-baby wah pedal effects, and shredding on the fretboard that completely takes the song to a new level. I highly recommend this guitar-focused rock song to anyone who loves Guitar Hero-esque performances.

 Luke B is a rock band out of Chorley, England who brings a rhythmic solid rock to the ears.  "Viral Vision" starts out with distorted guitars getting the beat along with the drums, then the lead vocals join continuing the melody started out by the guitar.  The chorus is led by the vocals and synth strings coming into to fill up a lot of space, giving the song more of a soul-fulfilling vibe.  Later in the song, choruses really feel like a strong build, adding power to the song.  I really like the melody throughout and the minor feel. There is very interesting songwriting to this song that is out of the ordinary.  The chorus itself seems to be structured as the area where the building of the song occurs.  In my first listen, I naturally thought we had a prechorus preparing to lead into a chorus, but after repeated listens, this doesn't seem to be the case.  The chorus has two parts that do their own building (in my mind).  They lead into the n...

 Battle Bard is a band from Bournemouth, United Kingdom that brings a solid hard rock / metal style to the ears with solid musicianship and plenty of attitude! "The Empty King" starts off with ringing chords over the top of a solid beat, then come the fast-drum improvisations, including double-kick, that really get the song moving.  The vocals come in with a rhythmic emotional monotone, ending each vamp with fierce gravel.  There are also backing team vocals taking turns with the lead vocal.  The drums come through in the overall mix very well. Overall, the drums are the highlight in this song.  They are very busy and keep things very interesting throughout.  Their tightness with the rhythm section bring a level of professionalism to the team.  The drummer brings the excitement to the song with the incredible double-kicking that cannot get enough credit, especially mixing the double-kick during improvisation.   I recommend this to any rock en...

 Fime is a band out of Los Angeles, California USA who brings in solid rock and roll with a Foo Fighters feel to it. The first thing I noticed was the driving guitars that have a strong mid-range EQ power with lead guitars acting as the melody for the song, but not at the forefront.  The vocals are hollered with a fierce grungy feel so much like David Scott Lucas of Local H.  The bass starts the song rhythmically while playing along with the snare and definitely does a good job enforcing that rhythm along with those drums.  Very solid. I'd have to say the highlight of this song is the bridge where a new lead guitar melody erupts with a new chord progression.  This bridge is short-lived as it leads us directly to the end of the song.  I would have enjoyed that bridge to be expanded and built upon, if Fime would have chosen that route.  That's what I was ready for! I recommend this song to any rock enthusiasts who really enjoyed the grunge or post-grunge...

 Quarantine Angst is an instrumental rock band from Brooklyn, New York, USA! I have to admit, I generally prefer rock songs with vocals, but this song brought me happiness. First of all, the instruments all sound very clear and are mixed well.  It is very easy to hear the natural guitar guitar talent throughout.  Aside from the nicely toned rhythm guitar being perfectly tight with the solid drums and the awesome guitar distortion, the melody of this song is controlled by seemingly a never ending guitar solo.  I can feel the personality behind it, which comes to guitarists with YEARS of experience.  The vibrato added to held notes, the bending of strings, the smooth muted slides to new notes across the fret board, the choice of playing two or three-string chords to add a fierce harmony...it all sent me straight to my happy place. I also really enjoyed the songwriting.  The transitions flowed nicely and often gave the song a change-up with volume or with a di...

 Robots in Love is an alternative/electronic rock band from New Zealand that I enjoyed right out of the gate!  I had never heard their music before, but the amazing part of accepting submissions for a blog like this is that it brings incredible music to my attention, then I can shout it out! I love the incredibly tight rhythm with industrial-sounding electronic drums joined with the bass and guitars riffing.  This sound is heavy and powerful.  It makes me think of a scenario where humans are in a battle with the overpowering army of robots. The vocals are clean, full of harmony and melody.  They are led with solid female vocals and there is backing by male voices are well, covering a lot of ground!  Not only that, but the lyrics are well written and solid... "This is how we save us This is how we stay alive This is how we save us This is how we survive This is how we stay unbroken Activate Crush it away" This is a great anthem of inspiration. This is a fant...

 This Side of Anarchy is an incredible aggressive punk rock band out of Los Angeles, California, USA!  I enjoy his music and style so much that I received the honor of song collaborations with him (but it definitely wasn't on this banger).  That being said, let's break down this song. The Problem is You starts with some fast punk guitar riffing on top of some speed rock drums.  Dennis's raspy vocals directly hit the topic at hand with fierce precision.  There are so many people who forget to think inwardly about themselves before blaming everyone else.  He crushes the issue with this line... "Don't follow your instinct cause The problem is you Just stop feeling and think The problem is you" The rhythm section is very much connected all the way through the instruments, tight as can possibly be.  I love the guitar's sound as it is smooth, a nice amount of gain and a solid punch.  The bass is also smooth, but contains that higher-end clarity that mak...

 Silhouette Cities is a band out of Washington DC, USA.  Their song "What It's Like to Lose" is a pop-punk song sticking pretty close to what you'd expect from the genre, but does have some sleight veering from the norm to the alternative rock area.  First of all, the rhythm guitars carry a tone with light gain, giving clearer chords and a less aggressive feel.  The lead singer sings within the style, but also has a thicker voice with well-used vibrato when appropriate.  Also, the lead guitarist gives tasteful melodic solo with solid and confident chops!  Same with the drummer, great chops and perfect feel for when to improvise and what the song needs. All of that being said, the song overall is well written.  I really enjoyed the feel of this song, which veers into the alternative rock area.  There is a solid foundation with the freedoms that rock provides...in a garageband-type experience.  I get this feeling the band is enjoying playing th...

 Lion Trail, out of Israel, is a heavy rock/post-grunge/hard rock band that with amazing chops on every instrument and they aren't afraid of showing off the shredding skills!  Does shredding mean incredible skills on other instruments than just guitar?  In this case, I say YES!  Not only that, but they all are rhythmically tight with one another and depend on each other completely.  I can't get enough of this band because this is what they always do. OK, so I said directly that the guitars are incredible.  Now, I need to mention that the bass sounds great and powers through.  It leads with the chord progressions, but also improvises its own path very tastefully.  The drums are steady and change rhythms effortlessly.  The drummer pushes an incredible amount of energy into the song and is in full force as captain of the ship.  As a related note...I LOVE the metal speed drums when they come in!  The vocals keep a great melody, but most...

 Lenny and the D, out of Texas USA, are a melodic rock band with a strong 80's rock presence.  "Vice Grip" has a very catchy melody.  There is some very good musicianship in this song, as well.  The rhythm guitars are solid, and the bass is very active and adding lots of flavor to the rhythm section.  The vocals have a a clean delivery with a lot of melody doubling.  I also enjoyed the keyboard additions that carry decoration around the top-end of the frequency spectrum, adding nice color as a lead  above the guitars. I really enjoyed the dualing guitar solo in the bridge.  They played together very creatively and were rhythmically perfect.  I loved hearing each guitar in opposing headphone sides! One great hook in this song is the vocals in the chorus.  I hear a shout "You" (DEVO-inspired???), then I hear the melodic vocal response "...got a vice grip on my heart." I recommend this song to anyone who loves a good-feeling 80's inspired r...

 Anarchy & Son is a father/son project out of Los Angeles and Michigan in the United States.  Dejected is a solid rockin' mix between metal and punk, with definite heavy riffage often with fast soloing on top.  Often times, the song kicks into double-time speed.  The guitars bring the metal aspect to the song with rhythmic and fast-moving chord progressions, with the vocals adding the melody and angst found in punk. I LOVE  the diversity between different areas of this song.  The beginning of the song starts with a drum intro, and the bass comes in alone with the drums to get us going.  The guitars then blast in full-fledged!  In the middle of the song, an instrumental kicks in that brings the song to a new level!  It starts similarly to the beginning of the song with drums and bass building it up, then the lead guitar starts to melodically lead us to a driving piece of the song that makes me feel like I'm in the middle of a battle with a...

 "2 Winks and a Shot" by Book of Golems is an impressive mesh of high-level guitar skills and slamming drums with heavy riffs in varying rhythms carrying on smoothly throughout! It has a strong classic rock feel with the guitars carrying the lead as well as the rhythm chord progressions simultaneously.  When the vocals come in, I hear a strong inspiration from the great Ozzy Osbourne! I really like the transition between verse, pre-chorus and into the chorus!  Different rhythms carry them, like the verse is getting funky, the pre-chorus moves to a groove led with the ride's dome, and the chorus moves into a fast-paced punk-like drive! There is a challenging aspect to this song that was nailed...which is the tightness between all band members.  There are areas of the song where the drums will do a masterful improvisation...then the guitars and drums with hit the groove together and move into yet another tasty improv.  I'd love to see this connection live and LOUD...

 "Quarter to Nigh" by Agency Panic (from Ireland) is a strong progressive hard rock song bordering on metal yet with extreme heaviness.  The songwriting is absolutely exceptional...and so is the studio production! The song starts with a spooky whirring drone that gets drowned out by creative tom/kick/snare rhythm, that is soon joined by the bass and guitars giving an intense feeling of panic and anxiety.  Very creative unconventional rhythms are being pounded out with tight precision amongst all musicians.  The very "Maynard James Keenan"-esque vocals add to the intensity, which includes melody, long-held fading notes and screams from deep within, plus tight harmonies.  I LOVE the sliding bass parts within the basslines.  Can't even call them basslines...the bass is more accurately riffing just as much as the guitars if not more by solidifying its cohesion with those professionally slammed drums. This is a song that I know I'll never get bored listening to ...

 Tomorrow Dies by Wizard Tattoo (from Indianapolis, Indiana USA) is intense blackened metal that is six minutes of huge growling vocals, fast riffage, speeding drums with plenty of snap and double-kick racing to the finish line with heavy rolling bass to fill out the bottom end. When I first started playing this song, my mind went directly to the setting of a video game set in the medieval time period.  I imagine the main boss enemy coming out much larger than life with full armor, sharp spikes sticking from the armor with glowing red eyes while holding a gigantic axe and growling out threats to its good-guy opponent who awaits the battle that will soon take place.  Once the battle starts, unexplainable magic starts being thrown at the good-guy with giant explosions occurring at every turn.  A hoard of the undead comes to join the fight and cheer on the boss for sure victory. I really enjoyed how tight the instruments are with one another.  The drums make a lot ...

 "Moonlight" by St. Doval is a fantastically crafted song with beautiful studio production, amazing vocals, very talented guitar work, precise and active bass playing and solid drums from a technically precise and talented drummer.  The professionalism is outstanding. As I begin this song, I hear that beautiful acoustic guitar playing, soon joined by an exceptionally impressive vocal that gives me Chris Cornell vibe.  Soon, the full band joins.  I'm very impressed with the clarity of the distorted guitar sound. I'm also very impressed with the rhythm changes throughout this song!  It starts with a definite 6/8 time signature, then later switches to 4/4 while breaking the final vamp's measure into a shorter one.  The band is fully tight with the time signatures, which the drummer laid perfect groundwork for.  I love how the bass player is smooth as silk and plays off of the drums, plus adds tasty fills to keep things active! The songwriting is some of t...

 "Trigger" by Montgomery Night (a band based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada) is an alternative rock song full of personality.  It can be characterized by: Steady and solid drums Active bass lines Consistent guitars with great guitar soloing Powerful alto vocal with great tone/control A catchy melodic hook! The song starts with a steady beat with a catchy rhythm added with the clean guitar chord progressions.  The vocals come in with a great alto presence that cut through the mix nicely. I really appreciate how the full band sticks with a solid rhythm, even when the bass line plays alone on top of the drums between the guitar chords.  The vocals work very nicely in accentuating the rhythm, too! How about that vocal hook in the chorus?!?! "You'll never see me crumbling, Oh no.  There's only one way from the bottom; it's up." That chorus is very catchy and has the added distortion in the guitars to add the intensity.  Not only is it catchy, but the v...

 "Brand New" by Hidden Giants is a peaceful acoustic rock song.  It starts with 2 guitars picking away to a tight rhythm together, while the vocals come in with the melody over them.  The drums and bass come in with a steady rhythm section to give some drive.  I really like the kick/bass tightness with the vocals when entering the song. As I listen, my mind was taken to a location with a beautiful river flowing from the waterfalls pouring into it around me.  Prairie grass moving in the gentle wind with a bright sun near the horizon.  Possibly having a picnic with people important to me.  A great place for reflection. The band as a whole do a great job creating the scene, creating ups and downs flawlessly.  Instruments come in, instruments go out.  Drums did a beautiful job of bringing the intensity to the song, but not too much...leading the way with ease with the dependable bass guitar teammate.  There were keys that filled in the sound...