Isaac Graham - "Nomads" video

I have many a musical weakness and everything that Australian singer/songwriter Isaac Graham does seems to fit the bill. Punk-inspired folk, recording simply but masterfully on a Tascam 8 track player, being Australian; there's not much to dislike about Graham. His new video for the debut single "Nomads" off his debut album Empty Vessels is just lovely. Scenes of Graham alone with some recording equipment are featuring alongside him in a record store, walking around as his band members form more-or-less around him. It's the same simplicity that had me regretting my decision to ignore Graham for the better part of a year. Never again.

Enjoy the video for Isaac Graham's "Nomads":

Isaac Graham - Empty Vessels

After what seems like months of my friend Joe (of Music Industry Earthquake) mentioning Australian musician Isaac Graham, I just got around to checking him out. After hours or listening to music that seemed a bit insincere, too generic, and occasionally forced; Isaac Graham and his simplistic, laid-back style of punk-inspired folk was a welcome change.

Armed with just a Tascam 8-track recorder and microphone, Isaac Graham's Empty Vessels has a smooth recording sheen that belies the album's lo-fi nature allowing it to shimmer with an honest truth and pervasive intensity that's a definite rarity. Whether in the folky "When I Found Gold" synth-poppy "Heat Exhaustion" or country-ish "Hurricane", Graham wears his genre influences on his sleeves but rather than coming off contrived, they inform his songwriting past the point of mere mimicry and make Empty Vessels into a feat of modern storytelling. Here's hoping there's more to come from Graham.

You can listen to Isaac Graham's album on his Bandcamp and if you like it, download it for free.

Streetlight Manifesto to resume touring

After nearly a six month hiatus, New Jersey ska/punk troubadours Streetlight Manifesto is packing up their trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and sardonic wit and hitting the road once again. On their new summer tour titled the "Ship of Fools" tour, they will be hitting pretty much every major US city, several in Canada before heading off to play several shows in Europe. The tour already started in June but there's still tons of dates remaining so check the tour poster and see if they're playing a city near you.

Against Me! releases new video

Against Me! are unequivocally one of the most punk-y of all the punk bands around today. And now after a recent drummer change, they're offering up some more of what they do oh so well. The video for single "Rapid Decompression" off their upcoming June 8th album White Crosses features the band playing in front of a bunch of rowdy youths before things break out into an all out mosh-fest. It's fast-paced, short, and hard-hitting, just like good punk music should be. Check it out:

Streetlight Manifesto - 99 Songs of the Revolution: Volume I (2010)

New Jersey Ska/Punk troubadours Streetlight Manifesto are back with their new album 99 Songs of the Revolution: Volume I. The first in a series of eight releases from the band, and other friends of the band who signed on to the project.

The album is a cover album featuring ska arrangements of works by artists from a variety of different genres such as folkies Mason Jennings and Paul Simon (of Simon & Garfunkel fame), electronic-inspired The Postal Service and Radiohead; even fellow punk rockers NOFX and The Dead Milkmen. The band also covers the song "They Provide The Paint for The Picture-Perfect Masterpiece That You Will Paint On The Insides of Your Eyelids" which was written by Streetlight's own Tomas Kalnoky for side project The Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution. The album is interesting in that it contains what I never thought I'd hear on a Streetlight Manifesto album: acoustic guitar. In addition to acoustic guitar featured on tracks like "Linoleum" and "They Provide the Paint...", the album also contains other cool effects like a trumpet fanfare intro on "Such Great Heights", and ukelele in "Hell".

The album's conception and release has been argued by fans but regardless of their concerns, the album manages to deliver awesome music in the band's traditional style despite consisting of all covers. If you want the album, support the band by buying it at their live shows or ordering it from the band's merch website here:
http://www.theriscstore.com/streetlightmanifesto.aspx