The Dining Room Presents

I haven’t written a review in ages. I think it’s high time I did. I’ve picked Transit and their shiny new acoustic ep ‘Something Left Behind’

Transit are known for their loud fast punky songs so to hear them slowed down, stripped bare and what can only be described as raw is beautiful. They are one of the few bands that can manage to pull off the acoustic/slower sound and still manage to sound just as good as their usual sound.

This 9 song collection, that includes a song from every release they have made and a few newbies thrown in for good measure.

Hearing a song such as ‘Please Head North’ stripped down and acoustic, you can really understand how talented Transit are as musicians, a song that’s normally full of energy and vibrancy done acoustically normally loses a lot of it’s appeal but that is not the case here, the songs work just as well acoustically and in the case of some of the older songs such as ‘Castaway’ they even sound better.

‘Just Go, Just Leave’ features the line:

‘I’m no good now and I’m not sure I ever was’

The truth is Transit are anything but good, they are a band packed with potential, they could be one of the best bands around at the moment. The lyrics are personal but easily realatable. The music is catchy and not depressing like it can be on some acoustic releases.

In my opinion this sits comfortably with other stellar acoustic releases such as Nirvana’s Unplugged, Bayside’s acoustic ep and The Early Novembers acoustic releases. Defintley worth a listen. This band could do anythnig, so jump on the bandwagon before it gets too full.

I trully mean every word I’ve ever said to you. I have never loved anyone as much as I love you, I have never been as comfortable or safe or less scared than I am when I’m with you. I have never felt less insecure in my whole life. I’m not jealous or paranoid or insecure when it comes to you. I know I have no reason to feel that way.

You make me happier than anyone ever has, no one could ever smile and change my mood completley. You don’t have to believe me but it’s true. I love you.

I love everything about you. From the way you smile, to the way you say ‘LOL’ or ‘ROFL’ in sentences. I love the way you look when you’re tired and I love the way you look when you’re happy. I love the glint in your eye when you watch Elf and I love how you still laugh so hard at the parts you’ve seen a thousand times. I love the way you smoke. I love the way you noticed my pointy shoes. I love when you refer to people as peng or babe. I love that you’re just as scared of failing as I am. I love that you have ambitions. I love that you read. I love that you make fun of me and call me names. I love that you notice things I never notice and let me bitch to my hearts content. I love that you don’t judge me or my bad taste in clothes. I love the way you look when you’re fast asleep. I love how you fidget. I love the way you play with my jewelry.I love that you don’t mind just sitting there when I eat. I love that you laugh at how I eat cream eggs. I love that you bought me Inception just because you knew I wanted it. I love that you lend me books I love when you worry about me. I love talking to you until 6 in the morning and still wanting to stay up and talk for longer. I love how you want to sit and look at the lights with me. I love how I’m completley intrested in everything you say. I love the way you talk about your friends and travelling. I love that you accept me as I am. I love the way you always look sad, cause to me you always look beautiful.

I’m sorry I get stupid at times. I’m sorry if I ever have made you sad. All I know is that when I’m with you I’m happy. I could lay in your bed and do word searches all day, I could lay on your sofa and watch crappy daytime tv til it rotted our brains. I wouldn’t care what I was doing, just as long as you were there.

Like I said this is not for everyone, this is for you but I’m posting it here cause I want everyone to know. There are so many more things I could say but this for now is what I want to say. I love you Alexa and that is all that matters.

I was fortunate enough to witness the very first live appearance by this UK band. They kindly agreed to support my band at our final show and were damn good then. This was nearly a year ago, in that short year Futures have managed to go from unsigned, self releasing this ep to signing to Mercury.

Futures were formed from the ashes of another uk band called Tonight Is Goodbye and come from a scene that features You Me At Six, Kids In Glass Houses, The Blackout, Young Guns and many more.

Where Futures fit into this scene is harder to place as they contain elements of these bands but are something different and worth listening to.

They remind me a lot of early 90’s emo like The Get Up Kids, with their knack of writing catchy choruses but also channel the TAYF and YFW era Taking Back Sunday and Brand New.

In the space of just 7 songs Futures manage to showcase a song writing talent that is not to be missed. On songs such as ‘Sal Paradise’, ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’ and ‘16’ Futures have written songs that will stick in your head and make you feel happy. Frontman/guitarist Ant West sings in his own accent, unlike a number of UK bands who sing with american tinged accents (i am guilty of this, im man enough to admit to it though) this manages to give the listener an experience that allows them to believe in every word that Ant sings.

If you want to listen to a band with heart listen to Futures. I know this is the most biast review I’ll ever write but please if you read this, go listen to them. The ep is free via bandcamp which can be found from their myspace: www.myspace.com/futuresband

Go listen and sing along at the top of your lungs, you won’t regret it.

Travis ‘Travie’ McCoy is best known as MC/Rapper frontman of Gym Class Heroes. It’s hard to forget that when you listen to his solo record ‘Lazarus’ which is littered with guests spots, especially when you hear certain songs that do that Gym Class thing of sampling an old pop song.

The album will obviously gain a lot of attention due to it’s brilliant first single ‘Billionaire’ which showcases Travie’s lyrics at their best but Bruno Mars as he did on the fantastic B.o.B song ‘Nothin’ on you’ steals the song with his catchy vocals and chilled out guitar line. To judge the album souly on Travie’s other band and this one song would be an injustice and inaccurate as there is more on offer than just those things.

Of course the songs do resemble Gym Class material but with more of an urban feel, one songs bridge/middle eight strays uncomfortably close to musically sounding like the bridge/middle eight of Limp Bizkit’s ‘My Way’, here’s looking at you ‘Superbad’.

Theres a chilled out summer vibe to the album but it lacks a certain urgency and kick that you might expect McCoy to provide. There is the Supergrass sampling ‘We’ll be alright’, the T-Pain featuring ‘The Manual’ and the strange childrens gospel choir featuring ‘akidagain’ that do stand out and show you what travie is capable of when he tries. The 80’s refrences on ‘akidagain’ are typical of an MC who has never hidden his love of his childhood.

It’s fair to say ‘Lazarus’ isn’t a bad album. It’s not as good as you might hope it might be and considering this summer we’ve had releases by the likes of B.o.B and Eminem, McCoy might feel that this record hasn’t lived up to it’s potential. Don’t get me wrong I like the album and in my eyes McCoy can’t do a lot wrong but I had hoped for more, let’s just hope that the ‘Forgetting Katy Perry’ mixtape sees the light of day and manages to take the good parts of this album and make them great.

Man Overboard are a band I stumbled across on a free label sampler and they just appealed to my musical tastes. I managed to get hold of most of their old material and thought they were great.

I’ve recently been spinning Real Talk, the bands latest album. It’s 13 songs that are made to be played loud.

The albums first two tracks ‘Real Talk’ and ‘World Favorite’ are the sort of pop punk songs that wouldn’t be out of place in the background of a teen movie or teen show like American Pie movies or The OC.

The dual vocals that are utilised through out the songs on the album shine through on songs like ‘Darkness, Everybody’ and ‘Septemberism’, but the albums best work musical,vocally and lyrically is saved for ‘Montrose’ which is probably the most pop punk song on the record, featuring the standard gang vocals and catchy chorus.

If you like pop punk that makes you wish for summer and late nights hanging out with your friends this is the album to soundtrack those nights.

Man Overboard could be massive. I’d jump on the bandwagon now before they explode.

Sometimes I stumble across a new band by accident or cause I hear a song that someones uploaded on here or is streaming on ap.net. How I came to hear Bright & Early has escaped my brain which is rare but I don’t mind cause all I know is that I like this band. Alot.

The ep consists of 5 songs that refrence Midtown, Green Day and Glamour Kills, you can’t get more pop punk than that really can you? But I wouldn’t class these guys as pop punk, yea they remind me a bit of You, Me and Everyone We Know and fit very nicely into the scene that exists around The Wonder Years, Man Overboard et al.

The ep kick starts with ’ The good things end’ which is the type of song that makes you want to be driving fast in summer with the windows down singing along to the chorus. It’s just the sort of song to get you in the mood for a night out. This is quickly followed by the scene baiting ‘Something Personal’ that aims digs at the likes of All Time Low, twitter and Attack!Attack!, it’s probably the most pop punk song on the ep and the chorus is the kind that just gets stuck in your head for hours.

‘Slow One’ is the best song on the ep by a mile, capturing all thats great about the band. Good music, good vocals and a hook you could hang your coat on. ‘Of Wasted Life’ reminds me most of You, Me and Everyone We Know as it sounds musical like it would sit easily on that bands last ep ’ So Young and Insane’

The ep closes with ‘Nik Nac’ which reminds me a little of The Ataris but more mature and less hung up on high school.

A very solid ep worth checking out. For fans of YMAEWK, The Wonder Years and early 2000’s pop punk.

I’ve decided to start a new blog just to write reviews of movies, music, books and other such random shit that I decide I want to voice my opinion on, that would be the journalist in me begging to get out, screaming ‘Use your fucking degree moron!’

So here it goes. Let’s see what happens. If you want me to review something just email me at jamesoxley@live.co.uk.

And the adventure starts…