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Bryan Master, “For People Like Us”

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Bryan Master

For People Like Us

Bonavox Records

Release Date : March 15, 2011

Available on iTunes

Official Website

Similar Acts : Foo Fighters, Pete Yorn

This morning whilst stirring my sugar blasted coffee I thought to myself, 2011 so far has been a pretty good year for indie music. This trend continues with L.A. (by way of New York) based singer-songwriter Bryan Master, whose third release, For People Like Us, will hit iTunes and select retailers March 15th.

If I were limited to just one adjective to describe this album I would choose “solid.” Singles “Moments Like This” and “Let Me Come In” (featuring indie queen Liz Phair) are sleek and radio/film friendly. Lyrically, “Moments Like This” is poignant with subtle flakes of dark comedy sprinkled in.  Other stand-out tracks include “Karmacide” (an earlier version of this song is available on the album Incommunicado), “Born Out Of The Breakdown,” and “Lost Angeles.” The song “Paddle Out” is also becoming a fast favorite.

Photo by Adam Arnold

Sonically speaking,  the album includes what you would expect from Alternative Rock; lots of guitar and percussion, a piano ballad, and some well placed strings. Master’s voice is both strong and smooth and takes the spotlight on songs “A Pocket Full of Dreams” and “Let Me Come In.”

Master is known for putting on some great live shows, and a quick perusal of his Facebook page will illuminate some Texas connections (he’s shared the stage with both David Garza and Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s). Master’s will be playing a few dates in California in celebration of the album’s release, and hopefully a more lengthy tour will be announced shortly (and if it is, let’s hope there is a stop in Dallas.)

Monday Nerdgasm : Zombies Ate My Neighbors

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Think you can survive the impending zombie apocalypse? You know that shit goes down May 21st. To prepare I suggest you read this article from Wired.com. I agree, you should travel in a small group. I also think it wise to include at least one person you do not care for. Should it come down to a foot race you could always trip or sabotage him or her which could increase your chances of survival by at least 73 %.

Evening Bender : Tramping with Jeremy Matthew Connors

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If it’s Thursday, it’s time for Evening Bender. Paul and Jon welcome model/actor Jeremy Matthew Connors to the cat studio. Over a few adult beverages, Jeremy shares his harrowing experiences overseas. Later, Diane and Jon will turn his experience into a script to sell to Hollywood for a pretty penny. If you only listen to one episode of “Evening Bender” this year, this is it.

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Video Game Preview : Mortal Kombat

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPn94QQKAyw&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

First Impressions:

Well, artistically speaking the game has never looked better. Each character has his/her own character animations which gives them a little extra “touch of fancy.” The women have unanimously decided that spike heels are appropriate fighting footwear (including Lt. Sonya Blade), and the men are all chiseled and hairless. The backgrounds are also gorgeous. Check out those carnivorous trees in the Forest stage. The Subway stage and creepy church stage are also looking hot.

The violence is, of course, way over the top and unrealistic. I think it would be cool if the blood was less gushy. I mean, one punch to the face should not cause such a hemoglobous reaction, right? Now, near the end of the fight the gushyness should be 80’s B-Horror movie quality. I am hoping that the characters will show damage in their post fight poses, and the new “X-Ray” feature is utterly gruesome. Anyone remember the movie “Romeo Must Die”? Well, the developers do!

The gameplay appears to be “juggle” heavy. This is the only thing that irks me. I find it cheap and frustrating. I am amped for a return to the 2-D fighting…although I must admit, I did love the ability to slam opponents through walls and such in previous games. The game also includes a tag team mode which is reminiscent of the Marvel Vs. Capcom series. I know, I know…this is trite. It would be fun if you could be on the same team with another human player. Just imagining playing team battles with three of my friends gives me a nerdgasm.

Remember, don’t bring a fan to a knife/gun/fireball fight. The Kombat Kontinues April 19th. Check out the official website here.

The Glorious Land

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHACHdNFH0Y[/youtube]

The 4th short film in a 12 part series which accompanies PJ Harvey’s album, Let England Shake, has now been released.

Here are a few words from director Seamus Murphy:

As with the other films, I wanted to avoid too literal an interpretation of Polly’s lyrics, but to try to remain true to the spirit and feel of the track. The Glorious Land was the third film we edited and completed in Berlin in the cycle of the 12 films, the first was The Words That Maketh Murder and the second was The Last Living Rose. Both editor, Sebastian, and I loved this track, and for me the bugle blast and where it sits is truly a glorious thing. It has the courage to be discordant, out of place and yet perfect on its own terms, surely the quality of great Art? At the first London show at the Troxy last week, when the bugle came in as they played The Glorious Land it was like experiencing the music floating high above the band and audience and hovering over all of us like a massive Jackson Pollack. And it swung.

I had noticed interesting things coming through the trees when driving around Dorset in October. Autumn colours, the sunlight streaming through the trees, the effect of movement during driving, how things changed if I speeded up or slowed down. How the angle at which the camera was held changed things so I started experimenting with shooting and driving. Some of this was shot through the car sunroof straight up into the sky, some deliberately overexposed and out of focus, to increase the abstraction. I particularly liked the white, washed-out look of the sky and how at times there are stretches of pure white. I originally had All And Everyone in my head for these images, but knew visually it could work elsewhere. But when we started editing The Glorious Land it became obvious it was made for it.

Episode 47 : Girls Just Wanna Have Guns

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…and by girls, we mean Diane. On today’s show Jill, Diane, and Jon chit-chat about guns on campus and Sarah Palin. News topics include this super-fun caravan of doomsday peeps (hopefully you don’t have big plans for May 21st), a flight attendant getting fired for placing a toddler in the overhead compartment, students being suspended (and in one case expelled) for writing that their teacher was a pedophile rapist on Facebook, a list of “ugly/hot” actors, and Cheaters invades a game of kickball. This week’s Twitter Face Off is between Charlie Sheen and Jill’s conscience.

This week’s featured song is “Young Throats” by Parenthetical Girls.

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Review: Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, III/IV

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III/IV, the latest offering from the ever-prolific Ryan Adams and his phenomenal band The Cardinals, was actually released back in December only in mp3 or vinyl formats, and made available as a double-CD a short time later. I’ve just recently gotten around to listening to it, which is unusual for me, a pretty devoted fan, but I’ve been a little busy these days. As for whether I regret this slight delay, well… kinda.

Adams’ penchant for paying musical homage to his influences is evident here as always. I tend to prefer when his records hearken to the Grateful Dead (Cold Roses) or Hank Williams, Sr. (Jacksonville City Nights), and I most certainly did not get my way here. Much like earlier his solo records Rock and Roll and Demolition, III/IV doesn’t reach quite as far back, instead echoing Tears for Fears and even The Knack in the musical equivalent of the ’80s skinny jeans and high-tops at Urban Outfitters. The vast majority of the songs on III, and more than half on IV, blend together in a reverb-y tribute to music that was popular about six years before I got into popular music. (Which makes sense, considering Ryan Adams is six years my senior.)

Within the minority, though, a few gems appear: “Typecast” (IV) the made-for-college-radio duet with Norah Jones, and “Ultraviolet Light” (III), which opens with a riff straight out of Led Zeppelin’s similarly-titled album, IV, and doesn’t disappoint. And as always, Ryan Adams shines brightest when back in touch with the alt-country roots that put him on the map as the frontman for Whiskeytown. “The Crystal Skull” (III) and “Death and Rats” (IV) showcase that side of him enough to appease those of us who could do without the Ramones-influenced majority of both records.

Given my obvious bias in favor of Adams’ alt-country work, and general sense of underwhelm toward all things early-’80s, it may not be fair for me to pronounce III/IV as mostly “blah.” After all, it’s a Ryan Adams album, so the default setting is Not That Bad. However, I’m concerned that a perfect storm of culture-wide ’80s nostalgia, Adams’ tendency to produce new music about ten times faster than the average rocker, and his bizarrely mismatched marriage to pop waffle Mandy Moore, all contributed to this less-than-stellar release. Again, though: Ryan Adams record = always better than average. III/IV, though: just barely.

Grade on the Ryan Adams Scale: C+
Grade on the Rest of Music Curve: B+