First Impressions of Alexis, Bidini, Billy, Dancehall, Dirty, and Hayden

Billy Talent III - One thing about this Ben Kowalewicz rock group is that they are unwavering in their sound. BTIII sounds much like BTI (and BTII for that matter) but since they charged out of the gate at such high quality they left themselves less room for improvement. This is not a criticism, in fact I am still a fan of the new music despite my tastes changing since that original album (was that back in high school? sheesh). In subtle ways they've polished their chops and honed their songwriting, and the lyrics have consistently told a strong story - from Standing in the Rain to the new The Dead Can't Testify. If the crowd (that I read about) at Edgefest is any testiment to Billy Talent remaining relevant, they have no need to reinvent their sound, this is just fine.

Alexisonfire Old Crows, Young Cardinals - Disclaimer: This is based on one quick listen through my sh*tty laptop speakers. That said, the previous albums had improved from one to the next in my opinion though some fans of hardcore music would disagree with me, but I liked the increased melody and decreased "Ra Raaa". In fact, Crisis even came in at the top of my year-end list when it was released back in '06. I'd heard the vocal dynamic had changed even further on this album, and though it will take a more thorough listen to distinguish all of this my first impressions are that something has changed. In no means does it sound bad, but I wasn't taken by any of tunes in the first go-round. They've earned my benefit of the doubt so I'm going to spend some time with this in the days to come. (Update: First track in through headphones this time and I'm already enjoying it more)

Dancehall Free For All 9-5 - This young sextet burst out of the Guelph high school scene a few years back with a brass section, pop sensibility and unbridled enthusiasm - wowing crowds in order to earn a Hillside up & comer spot which allowed them to win over even more. The first EP was short and sweet and managed to capture most of that live energy. On the second album things haven't let up a whole lot, though the songwriting has seemed to mature just as quickly as 18 year olds do. Again they are brief (9 tracks, clocking in under 27 minutes) but the tunes are still catchy, and fleshed out musically now that they have had some time and experience under their belts. Perhaps it is toned down slightly in terms of poppiness, but there is much more lying underneath to make up for it.

Hayden The Place Where We Lived - This one is really cursory since I listened to it once, while traveling and wasn't paying particularly close attention. However nothing grabbed my ear throughout, not even in a haunting or lovely way as Hayden is capable of. I've read this is a breakup album that is more pop than most of Hayden's previous work, and so far it isn't stacking up to even his latest release of just last year In Field and Town. He is a grower though, hopefully this one can grow on me too.

Bidiniband The Land Is Wild- The effort from former Rheostatic Dave Bidini. Not sure he's going to carve out enough of a name for himself with this effort to lose the Rheo precursor but this is an entirely listenable disc. The eight-minute How Zeke Roberts Died caught my attention with its story. Song Ain't Any Good is somewhat true in its statement musically, but is interesting enough to stand out. I'll give it a couple more spins to see if there are any more keepers.

The Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca - That Stillness is the Move song is flippin great. There are a couple more tunes I like from this album, but after that one being the leadoff that I'd heard I had high high hopes and it couldn't quite live up. Ah well, I'll take one great song anyday, the other decent ones are a bonus.