relient k: five score and seven years ago

finally, a new album. i got into these guys a couple years ago when i got their last album 'mmhmm' for christmas. i wasnt very interested in it, but i was told that i should be. ok. so i gave it a try and it started to grow on me. i began listening to it incessently and quoting the lyrics to friends every chance i could get.

well, the boys have finally released their next album. i am expecting mediocrity, so my sites arent set too high. after getting into 'mmhmm' i went back and checked out some of their older stuff. i picked up 'two lefts dont make a right...' and was sorely disappointed.

i picked up the new one earlier this week. i havent had much time to listen to it yet, but so far i am liking it. it doesnt seem to break any new grounds musically, most of the songs sound similar to the last album, but im going to give it some time and take a good look at the lyrics before it decide if its going on the 'heavy rotation' pile, or the 'at least it makes a good coaster' pile.

brothers martin

a couple weeks ago i picked up an album i had been awaiting for quite some time: the brothers martin. if you are unaware, then i will explain who this is: it is the collaboration between the lead singer of joy electric, and the lead singer of starflyer 59. the reason they are collaborating is because they are brothers. and their last name is martin. clever, huh?
the album is very enjoyable (i like both bands seperately, so it wasnt a big surprise that i would like them together...) and the sound is exactly what i expected. there are mellow guitars, like sf59, and there are blippy synths, like joy electric.
the way the collaborated is a bit interesting. it seems that there is only one song that they sing together on, and the rest of them are split up every other song. its clear that they each took turns coming up with the skeleton of the song, and the other one was in charge of filling up the backgrounds. its sounds strange, but the two styles complement each other quite well.
the songs are very catchy, and i look forward to getting more and more familiar with them and singing along (loudly) in my car!