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Tag: Adam Bender

American Songsmith

Published by Adam on July 7, 2009

With memories of Independence Day still lingering, now seemed like a good time to highlight a new album from one of my favorite American singer-songwriters. If nothing else, Pete Yorn proves that good things do sometimes come from New Jersey.  For what it’s worth, I was born in Princeton.

backandfourth Pete Yorn – Back & Fourth

I’ve read a few reviews describing this CD as a mellow, more acoustic turn for Mr. Yorn, but I don’t think that’s  quite accurate. This CD is not nearly as folky/acoustic as say, Jakob Dylan’s “Seeing Things.” On the contrary, electric is a critical element to several of the tracks, and “Last Summer” is a bona fide rocker.

Perhaps what the critics really mean by “mellow” is that Yorn sounds a little upset.  Regret and anger over lost love is a theme that runs through the album, moreso than any of his previous releases. But Yorn’s sincerity and penchant for stick-in-your-head hooks keeps Back and Fourth from feeling like a downer. He also keeps things concise with 10 tracks and a 42 minute running time. That’s a good thing, because as much as  I liked previous, hour-long efforts “MusicForTheMorningAfter” and “Nightcrawler,” I couldn’t help but feel the guy could have saved a couple tracks for B-Sides.

Check out “Last Summer” and “Social Development Dance” at Pete’s MySpace page.

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Are You Watched?

Published by Adam on June 1, 2009

book_cover_22_largeFor those of you who don’t know, I wrote a novel. You can’t find it at Borders, but it is free to download on this newfangled thing they call the “Information Super Highway.”

I released all 22 chapters on a weekly basis last year as individual PDF files. Today, I’m happy to announce the complete novel is now available in a single, easy-to-read file! If you haven’t read the book already, or want to read it again, please check it out.  Please feel free to print the file, or share the PDF with friends and family.

A quick synopsis:

This modern Orwellian tale imagines a nation in which the people have come to accept government privacy intrusions and forced uniformity as necessary for keeping the homeland strong. Opposition is heresy—and punishable by death. Seven, a 20-something male, wakes up without memory or the learned self-compromise that comes with it. He makes strides toward getting his life back together, but the fresh perspective granted by his rebirth soon proves to be more a curse than a gift.

For more details, please visit WeTheWatched.com.
Click here for a direct link to the complete PDF.

Oh, and yes, I’m already hard at work on a followup novel.

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Silversun Pickups: Alt Rock Ain’t Dead

Published by Adam on May 12, 2009

Periodically, I like to highlight a few of my favorite new rock albums. In previous posts this year, I’ve exalted fresh discs by Glasvegas and The Rakes. Today I’d like to swoon (you’ll get the pun in a second) over the latest work by Silversun Pickups.

For those of you born in the ’80s, I have some news for you: alt rock ain’t dead.

After scoring a few years ago with hypnotic single “Lazy Eye,” Silversun Pickups come out guns-a-blazing on their second full-length, Swoon. The band missed a few times on their debut, but show on the followup they know how to go heavy with the rock while still maintaining a fine sense of melody and atmosphere.

It’s easy to draw comparisons to the acronym-sharing Smashing Pumpkins, a group which similarly spends a lot of time “working the layers” in distortion-heavy meloncholia. But whereas that band flourished in negativity, there’s something undeniably hopeful in the Pickups’ sound.

As good as Swoon is, not all tracks are created equal. Single “Panic Switch” is clearly the best of the bunch, incorporating a compelling mix of chords and instrumentation.  Other highlights include the bouncy “Substitution,” the string-laden “The Royal We” and high-tension “Surrounded (Or Spiraling).”  But a couple tracks, like the repetitive “It’s Nice to Know You Work Alone,” lack the same freshness.  Still, it’s overall a solid CD that’s certain to reassure ’90s alternative rock fans there’s still some creativity left in the genre.

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The Rakes Keep It Real

Published by Adam on April 10, 2009

Just picked up a cool new album from The Rakes, an underrated rock band from London.  It’s hard to believe this band isn’t more well known in the states. I’ve thought of a few ways to describe their sound:  Blur if they did punk exclusively, Bloc Party if they were smarmier, The Strokes if they hailed from London. But really I detest those descriptions, as they make The Rakes sound unoriginal.

On the contrary, this band sounds quite fresh on most of their tracks. For example, they do great social commentary, specializing in the topics “regrettable things that happened after several pints” and — somewhat surprisingly — fear of terrorism. Somehow, this all comes across as upbeat britpop.

But enough of my bubbling enthusiasm. Check out this video for their single “1989,” from the new album Klang.  I think it’s import only at this point, but I found a great deal on cdwow.us. The album is less than 30 minutes, but it’s great fun. I also recommend their debut album, Capture/Release.

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Adam Bender | adambenderwrites.com | watchadam.blog