False Priest-Uncanny Valley

False Priest is an interesting alt rock band with a tight and crisp sound that will stick in your head and keep you coming back. Their new record, Uncanny Valley, shows a group of young musicians who are very confident in what they want to do. Crisp songwriting and stellar musicianship contributes to a very interesting record that is definitely worth a few spins. Modern rock and roll but artsier this a band that fans of art punk and college radio will adore, it could even have some mainstream appeal!

The guitar work on this record is fairly solid. There are a lot of arpeggio bits that add a lot of flavor and help keep the songs going forward. Olaf Stelland's work is vaguely psychedelic, yet it always seems to be moving on, it nicely compliments the song progressions. The bass work is solid, Sam Forester provides a beating heart to the band. His lines really fill out the bottom end and manage to add a nice extra bit of melody. Meanwhile the drums can be both crashing and restrained. They take the music to a whole new level in that they really set the mood for the music. While the rhythms are fairly standard the fills are fabulous. Finally, the vocals have a modern rock beauty to them that shows a passionate man pouring out his heart into the songs. Evan Greenwald really manages to make the listener connect with the music.

To finish, False Priests debut effort shows a band with huge potential and a very clear goal. Their music has a certain undefinable beauty to it. Its specially prevalent on songs like "The Internet" where we really start to see the true nature of the band. Their sound has all of the magic of the Grateful Dead and the solid songwriting of Bowie. Even though this is definitely not metal I think an open minded metalhead would really enjoy this record. With definite appeal to most rock fans I would strongly advise going to check these guys out, with big hopes in the future I am confident in there getting huge!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/False-Priest/118608134874533

The Bum Hips

 

The Bum Hips are a nice indie jam band that provide some nice laid-back listening and fun songs that are usually very tasty. This is a band that captures the magic of the Grateful Dead but modernizes the essential ideas. Its' a rather interesting mix. The guitars are cool because asides from the bouncy rhythms there is almost a solo going on. This adds a lot of flavor to the music and spices up some of the simpler sections. The bass work is rather heavy and really fills out the sound. In particular it really makes songs like Beneath the Clouds a lot more interesting. The drumming is upbeat and features a ton of nice little fills. Its nothing magnificent but it definitely gets the job done and keeps the mood up. Finally the band singer has a very strong voice that he uses to help give the songs a bit more of a sense of direction. He grounds the band in the earth. So go check out the Bum Hips, they are quite the band.
https://www.facebook.com/thebumhipsmusic/app_2405167945

Forest Friend

Forest Friend is a fun hipster jam band that might intrigue a lot of my more alt-rock leaning friends. This band distills the hipstery essence of all the biggest acts in the genre and makes it into their own thing. Their is a major Grateful Dead feel here, it shows the band to be acoustic nature lovers. this is nicely offset by the Aphex Twin like electric effects that add flavor. In addition, the synth work is very tasty and adds a lot of atmosphere to some of the plainer and more straightforward songs. The songs feel loose and unstructued, yet they flow in their own beautiful way, this music is almost hypnotic, it has its own special magic to it. So go check them out, metallers and non-metallers alike should find something of merit in these guys!

https://www.facebook.com/forestfriendband