The Passive Standouts - 2013 - The Passive Standouts

Indie Punk Rock

[FOR FREE]

http://thepassivestandouts.bandcamp.com/

• 9 songs to download
• For free
• Direct Download
• Listening recommendations: The Bomb Squad Is Dead

Impressions

More like The Passive Standups because that’s all I want to do when I listen. This self-titled album spits out rather gritty tunes with ferocity and flare but nothing of an angry nature. They are a 3 piece punk rock band with what sounds to me like plenty of Arctic Monkeys influence (1^st album). But what makes this album so fun? Layers! As far as the eye can see. No but really, these guys really know how to jam and that’s one of my favorite things about really rad bands. Jamming out is what turns a two minute rock song into a three of four minute I WANNA ROCK song. More importantly, their name is so accurate. They do stand out and yes, in a passive manner. Stand out with a different edge and focus but passively accessible. These talented boys make indie tightly knitted in a punk beat. Sometimes you get a distorted and shreddy solo, sometimes you get a smoothly groovy bass line, and if you’re lucky the drummer will fill you up with nitrogen. This is a band I’d love to watch live.

Tempest - 2010 - Passages

Hardcore Punk

[FOR FREE]

http://consume.forgediniron.ca/album/passages

• 6 songs to download
• You name the price (min 0,-)
• You get the link if you register your email address
• Listening recommendations: Late-as-usual, No-means-no, Hitmans-lovesong-feat-paola-graziano

English

Have you ever heard of gypsy punk? You're about to.

The Freak Fandango Orchestra will not be everyone's cup of tea, the genres at work here are so seemingly at odds most of the time it can confound and confuse. Others will grab a a draft and dance around a tavern with their lass. Gypsy punk, from what I've come to understand over time, is a mix of punk music and the traditional music of the Roma ('gypsies' – I do dislike this loaded term, personally). To break it down, you've got what sounds like polka, folk, rock, swing, and punk all coming together to form one sound that is really unlike any other (even a bit of jazz in here). Thankfully this is sung mostly in English (good luck deciphering Gogol Bordello if you dare).“Tales of a Dead Fish” is lively and cheery, good for a stroll through town or a bar brawl. Tongue is firmly in cheek lyrically here, but you're not missing out on any joke, these are the sounds of people having a lot fun making kind of weird music. This might be a concept album about a touchy-feely hitman, but I'm not 100% sure. Fun all around really. I mean come on, 'No Means No' has got to be the swinging-est song about sexual harassment in human history. All of the instruments are uniformly excellent, nary a rough edge or distortion to be found here. There are just too many to go into details, suffice to say The FFO make fiddles and accordions cool again. The vocals are also great, with a Spanish accent added to the traditional folk delivery (it's a nice touch for me, as a native English speaker anyway). “Tales of a Dead” has the songs for a night of non-stop drinking and revelry during a game of Dungeons and Dragons. I can see your head has exploded. This really must be heard to be believed.