JB Barnett

When I hear about solo acts what usually runs through my mind is dull acoustic chords being played in repetition for three minute segments followed by one uninspired song after the other. Thankfully SoundSuck has found hope in one JB Barnett, a relative newcomer to the scene but definitely an artist who is here to stay. I got the chance to ask JB some questions and pick at the mind of one of our favorite upcoming musicians...

Black Sheep Boy Revisited

Album: Black Sheep Boy

With Okkervil River's latest release, The Stage Names, the band has received a fair amount of deserving publicity but I feel their greatest album was the one before this. Black Sheep Boy was a concept album revolving around the song of the same name by folk singer Tim Hardin. Front man Will Sheff wrote what is in my mind one of the greatest concept albums of all time. From start to finish Black Sheep Boy poetically describes the tension we we all live in between unchecked passion and depressing discontent. Like a disenchanted dream the album holds an ethereal weight that only grows as the album continues...

Four Fantastic Music Videos

The greatest songs tell a story and most directors either try to adhere to far too literally or do something so obscure with a music video that it adds no value to a song whatsoever. The best music videos take a moving melody and create something that not only adds to its meaning but also gives the track a breath of new life. Some are old some are new but all of them add an awesome visual twist to already solid songs...

Tycho

Album: Past Is Prologue

Don't you hate it when a band you like always gets compared to a more popular band and is never "as good as fill in the blank." So it is with Tycho, the moniker under which Scott Hansen creates gorgeous IDM/ambient music which is constantly being written off by Boards of Canada fans...

The Acorn

Album: Glory Hope Mountain

When I first heard The Acorn's latest album I felt slightly assaulted. I'm usually one who enjoys a fairly predictable song structure, but Glory Hope Mountain kicks off with "Flood Pt. 1" in a bit of discorded chaos...

Featured Artist: Wintersleep

Album: Welcome To The Night Sky

Sounds Like: The space between how things are and how they should be.


Sorry I'm late to the party guys, I just found out about this brilliant group from Halifax. Wintersleep released their third album, Welcome To the Night Sky, in October of last year and I must say it is one of the best albums I've heard in several months. I was unassumingly looking for new bands when "Weighty Ghost" started to play. Ten seconds into it I thought "this is a great opener," by the time Paul Murphy's vocals had piped in I thought "this track is incredibly well grounded in it's writing," and by the time the chorus was asking "have you seen my ghost?" it was clear that I was listening to one of the greatest songs of 2007. Needless to say, I promptly bought the album and scrutinized the rest of the songs. There are ten tracks; each is unique, most are memorable, and a few are what I consider instant classics. My only complaint about the LP is that on a few tracks I couldn’t make out the lyrics and wished the vocals had been boosted slightly. It’s hard to describe exactly what makes Welcome To the Night Sky so good because it is a disc that has the ability to evoke unique emotions even after repeat plays. What I liked most about it is that the album feels effortless; although not every track is as superb as “Weighty Ghost,” none of the songs make me feel as if the band was trying to create something that makes everyone say “look at how great we are.” Ironically enough, they made an album that you can’t help but take notice of.

Why They Don't Suck: Like an anthem for those feeling displaced and discontent, Welcome To the Night Sky voices the questions and cries of this modern generation so eloquently that it feels as if Wintersleep is trying to speaking for you and you've been invited to sing along.

[audio:Weighty Ghost-Wintersleep.mp3]
Weighty Ghost.mp3 (right click to save)
(Thanks Janesta for letting us share the song.)

Wintersleep's Website

Author: Ryan Shook
Date: January 30, 2008

The Soft Drugs

Album: In Moderation EP

Sounds Like: keeping a sense of humor even after you've messed up more times than you can count.

I've been a fan of Pedro The Lion for a few years now so of course when I heard the band was breaking up I was dismayed. I thought the breakup would mark the near total end of both David Bazan's and TW Walsh's musical careers. Thankfully it's done just the opposite, sparking new independent creativity in both men which has totally blown me away. While I feel that Bazan's EP shines a little brighter, The Soft Drugs produced an excellent EP which deserves all the more credit for being released independently. Walsh's voice is honest and clear, and the band has the ability to create some well-defined rhythm. Even though the album was released over a year ago I feel The Soft Drugs got it exactly right when deciding how to produce and publish their first EP; self-distribute and offer it for free.

[audio:The Pitch-Soft Drugs.mp3]
The Pitch.mp3 (right click to save)

Why They Don't Suck: If you were a fan of Pedro The Lion and haven't yet heard of this band you owe it to yourself to give In Moderation a listen, it's definitely a set of tracks that grows on you the more you listen. They'll be in the studio April so I'm treating this EP as a stopgap till both Walsh's and Bazan's full discs are released.

[audio:Dont Sweat It-Soft Drugs.mp3]
Don't Sweat It.mp3 (right click to save)

Visit thesoftdrugs.com to download the full EP for free.