B-Sides: October 2013

Long Live the Night, the debut release from local indie-smooth rockers A Cool Hand, straddles the line between EP and full-length with the addition of two well-executed covers (“Jacksonville” by Sufjan Stevens and “Twice” by Little Dragon). The band’s various musical interests come together on the album, though subtly; you can hear flashes and flourishes of everything from jam band grooves to jazz-rock-esque guitar runs and even some attempts at a Steely Dan smoothness. Acoustic guitar takes the forefront opening up “0.47”, track 4 on the recording, a nice diversion from the groove-based approach of the first three cuts. Standout tracks include opener “Nightlife”, the blues rock-influenced “No Soul” (which has much more edge to it than the other tracks, but seems to fit in anyway), and closer “Stones”. Overall if you’re looking for some quality musicianship that’s subdued in service of each song, this album is worth a spin or two (or more). — Jason Brown

Orator — 1

I won’t deny that I’ve never really listened to metal music but listening to Orator, it’s quite clear that these guys know how to rock. With their hard hitting samples and their hardcore, rough and tough vocals, it’s hard not to notice them. The album starts off with this loud feedback and banging of drums just to get you started on this intense rock and roll journey. And as it proceeds to blow your hair back, you are then lead to the next song which starts off with a man talking about the future and the injustices of the system. After that the vocals come in tough with more powerful instrumentals which then go on to a more mellow intro of the next song which is cool because after head-banging for 8 minutes, it’s nice to take a break. Just when you think it’s over, BOOM! They come right back at you with the hardcore sounds again. This album is definitely not for the soft hearted, it’s for the intense and the hardcore rockers. — Taylor Polydore

Earth Witch — Earthbound EP

There are plenty of great things to say about the debut EP from Earth Witch. The riffs are ferocious throughout, the balance between the trio is top-notch, and the entire EP is paced very well. The three piece has made their presence known within the local music scene through their Black Sabbath-esque thunderous and shrill guitars, but that ultimately might be their kryptonite. Earthbound in many ways sounds like a reinvigoration of those Sabbath riffs, rearranged into something else. Ultimately, the EP is something that is a valuable portion to the C-U music scene because stoner rock still lives—and should continue to live. The noteworthy portions of the EP come when they steer away from the constant pace the album as a whole seems to follow. Comprised of five tracks, the most exciting track comes in the title track at the tail end of the collection, which features the most varied sections on the entire EP and a shredding outro. Earthbound, although beastly, it simply lacks in variation, but that could be due to the concept of the EP itself. I think the ingredients are there, and I would imagine their live show is a true head-banging experience, per the wall of sound I hear here. — Patrick Singer

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B-Sides is a monthly article designated for local albums released that might get overlooked for feature articles, but are definitely worth discussing. If you’re interested in your band’s record being featured on B-Sides, let us know at music@smilepolitely.com. Note: Because some albums featured in B-Sides are released at the end of the previous month, we sometimes bump them to the next month.