Fake Problems‘ own, Casey Lee, has released a solo EP full of acoustic folksy goodness. As described by the man himself:
the songs are in no particular order since this was never recorded or meant to be any kind of record. The recordings of these songs are how they sounded exactly then. It was never meant to be a single piece of art and most certainly was never meant to be finalized or set in stone in any sense. these songs will change along with everything else. i put them all together because it seemed easier to be able to download them all at once (duh). everything was played and recorded by me in my bedroom in naples florida and my big brothers apartment in los angeles california during march and april of 2011. enjoy!
Here’s something new, two bands that seem to be one and the same: Why I Hate and Why I Hope. In any case, heed little attention to my curiosity, because when it comes to their recently released two song single released on Kiss Of Death Records, these songs basically speak for themselves. The first being a good old punk rock tune, and the second being the same track, taking the guise of an acoustic number. If you don’t listen for the lyrics you’d think they were completely different tunes!
Their upcoming four track will be of a similar nature and has me pretty excited for this, listen to the description: “The upcoming CD for Why I Hate has 4 bonus Why I Hope versions of the songs on it, and the limited LP version will be a double vinyl, with 10 Why I Hate versions of the songs, and 8 Why I Hope versions. The album just has a WIH on the cover”
But this isn’t supposed to be a news post, so do download! (and the cover looks like Keith’s style, which is always a treat!)
Why I Hate/Why I Hope – The Symbol I’m Known To be
I recently reviewed and loved Dandelion Snow’s latest album, The Grand Scheme of Things. It’s a real gem and listeners would be advised to check it out. But he has another release out there as well. It’s called It’s Just A Bad Dream, and it came out in late 2009. It too is gold. Granted, Roger Harvey doesn’t have as much experience behind his older offering, but it’s just as passionate and well written. The label has it up over on their website and released it as a free download at the time of release. It’s still up, so get grabbing!
This guy is a fantastic acoustic song writer. Not punk in any way, but undeniably listenable and easily appreciable. I have a soft spot for this kind of stuff when it’s this good.
When we last saw Josh Woodward he was posting in the comment section of this very blog. Well, I rooted around his website recently and came to appreciate the vast array of free album Mr. Woodward has up for download. So if you liked his 2008 double disc, The Simple Life, the I highly recommend giving his back catalogue a spin. Each one has a wonderful balance of acoustic, indie, and folk influences.
Mike Hale was and is part of now defunct punk rock band Gunmoll as well as the alive and well rock band In The Red. All of his work in various genres is always up to an extremely high quality, making Mike Hale one of the most well rounded musicians I can think of. But not only is he an amazing musician in a band, but he’s also one of the best solo acoustic artists in recent memory.Lives Like These is his second solo outing, and damn, is it ever great. Thankfully, with a little persuasion from Suburban Home Records management, Hale agreed to release his new album for free, with the hopes that those who love the album will donate through the website.
edit: I wrote that all last year, I think I my have been a tad overly enthusiastic, but it’s still a good release none the less
Another free EP offered exclusively at absolutepunk.net finally surfaces, and this time the band has a sophisticatedly funny name and isn’t just another faceless emo group. Sure, the songs all have a similar acoustic feel, but they’re stripped down in such a way that makes them oddly enjoyable. Don’t be discouraged by the squeaky clean album art, with Sunshine,The Lives of Famous Men have a rough and unpolished edge that makes them stand out from the pack.
Ok, change of pace guys, here’s something really nice and mellow. If you like Matt Pryor then you’ll also love this. There are lots of acoustic tracks with little flourishes like accordions and banjos, and a bunch of almost folk-like songs. Sure the album is waaaaay too long (it’s actually two discs), but taken in small doses it provides some really calming background music, or a nice addition to a playlist.
