Kicked Out Heel Drag (ex-Further Seems Forever, sort-of-but-not-really-ex-UnderOath) have parted ways with vocalist Travis Sanders. The band will be holding tryouts for a replacement. If you think it should be you, contact them via myspace.

Artist: Mahteo
Album: The NuWave Republic
Label: Scotoma Artist Co-op
Release Date: August 14, 2007
Review by: Eric Pettersson

Tracklist:
1. Lucky
2. Montreal
3. To Manifest like Breath
4. Ahi Te Encontrare
5. New Love

The fact that the 80s are still trying to live on is, in my opinion, a rather confusing thing. At times it can be entirely thrilling, and at others it can be downright horrifying. Take the example of 80s cartoon shows being turned into modern movies. You’ve got TMNT, Transformers, The Incredible Hulk, and so forth. Then there’s the recent rise of bands who grew up in the 80s and have decided to make that influence known in their music. From the 80s metal/southern rock influence of The Showdown and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, to the 80s nuwave/ dance punk influence of The Killers, Jonezetta, Mahteo, and many more. For most of these, I will leave it up to you to decide which fits under the category of “thrilling” and which belong to the “horrifying,” but I will go into more detail on Mahteo. These keyboard infused indie rockers hail out of Dallas, Texas with the majority of their members sporting “Spanish roots” that shine through in their music.

Taking a sharp turn away from most of the indie bands these days, Mahteo’s vocalist has a deep voice without much pop training. There are a few exceptions of course, and this rougher sound has worked for many great bands, but instead of embracing a powerful and energetically raw voice, this guy has tried to sing smoothly and it comes into the blend sounding awkward and out of place. To put it simply, he’s not very rock and roll. So what is left? Instrumentals that rock. Once I stop paying attention to the vocals, I notice songs with great musicianship. The music blends several true indie influences to create a new feel. The keyboard is the most upfront 80s factor and present throughout most of the songs, but the guitars are what really set this album apart, ranging from crunchy to stringy to tangled and jangled to intricately melodic. The drums keep toes tapping and twist together with the keyboards to keep all of the music cohesive and interesting.

Lucky for us, Mahteo are not ripped right out of the 80s, and the influence is taken to just the right measure. This music is purely modern, but it also contains a nod to mid and late 90s indie rock pioneers. It’s a shame that I found the vocals so hard to get into, but if you connect with them, this release should be a great listen for you, but as cool as this music may be, I sure hope a NuWave Republic never actually occurs politically. ::shudder::

5/10

MySpace

Thrice have started a tour blog at AlchemyIndex.com. Check it out, if you’re into that sort of thing.

The Poison Written have posted a new song to their myspace.

UnderOath think you should check out the new Far-Less, Oh, Sleeper, and The Glorious Unseen records.

If you put their music video on your myspace page, Dizmas will leave you a nifty, personal (individualized) comment. Their newest blog has the info.

Apparently Guitar Hero III is released. Any thoughts on it? Do any of you own it? Just curious.

Apparently Jon Forman of Switchfoot and Matthew T. of Relient K have written a song together and are performing it nightly on the Appetite for Construction tour. [absolutepunk.net]

Hundred Year Storm have a new myspace page and you can find that here.

Cold War Kids are currently touring Europe. Click here to see dates and times.

Uprise Zine is hosting a crazy cool sale at their site, click here for it.

We Shot the Moon have posted up the final cd versions of their new songs to myspace. Go listen and leave a comment or two. This band features Jonathan Jones formerly of Waking Ashland and two members of Sherwood.

The Distance Between have posted up two new songs to their myspace page and they now have a snocap store where you can buy the new album before it’s even out. Do it now! Go listen.

Apparently there are Haste the Day ringtones now available from most major carriers. Go check them out.

Hello everyone, I’m back. I had a good time though I didnt really win any money in Vegas. At least I won back half of what I put in to the slots. The race was fun though he didnt qualify so we didnt get to see him progress down the track the rest of the weekend. The wife and I enjoyed ourselves and had a relaxing time (what we needed). The drive home was even pleasant and we didnt encounter the crazy traffic we thought we were going to get. Lucky! So anyway, it’s Monday and back to work for me. It also looks as though our site is needing some urgent news posts since it looks as though the site’s been neglected the past 4 days. Yikes! I also noticed that when you typed in www.indievisionmusic.com it took you to our store page for some strange reason and it wasn’t because of something I did. I put a temporary redirect on the address and it now goes to /wordpress where the zine site lies. I’ll get to the bottom of it and find out why the store site pops up. Weird. Well, back to work I go (and back to posting), i’ll try to find some worthy news or reporting……….

Showbread has finished recording their new album and are on their way to mixing. The catch is though, that instead of one album being released, it will be a double release. One album is going to be call “Anorexia” and the other, “Nervosa”. Both albums will be released the same day and contain 12 all-new tracks. There is some other cool information about this album as well on their latest blog on myspace. Very interesting… What do you guys think?

Joel Piper (the man behind the magic of Avery Pkwy) is starting a new band. He will presumably drum and sing. Some demos are up here. Also, he is currently finishing up the next Avery Pkwy record, and songs will surface soon.

On December 1st, Sullivan will re-release Cover Your Eyes. (Incidentally, the first edition will soon go gold in Japan.)

The new Copeland album, Dressed Up and in Line, can be pre-ordered from The Militia Group right here. It will be in stores November 20.

The new Pillar single, “For The Love Of The Game,” has begun to be used in World Series montages on Baseball Tonight. You can hear it there as long as the Series goes on. The band’s forthcoming release (of the same name) drops next February.

Remove The Veil has the title track from their recent release up on their myspace for you to listen to.  Click here to hear Another Way Home. (bandsonfire.com)

Hey guys, it’s Brandon here. I am going to pull a disappearing act starting tomorrow and you will not hear from me until Monday. The rest of the staff here at IVM will be keeping you in tune with the latest and greatest in Christian music. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct it to one of them and they’ll answer it for you. I won’t have internet or email access while I’m gone so you might want to hold off on emailing me until Monday. I’m going to watch a family member race NHRA in Vegas. Over and out.

Tooth and Nail’s The Classic Crime have posted a trailer for their Acoustic EP set to release November 6. You can check out the youtube video here.

Long Live Logos has some pics up on their myspace site right here of them in studio recording with Brad Wood who has worked with acts like the Smashing Pumpkins and mewithoutYou.  (absolutepunk.net)

As Cities Burn wants to let you decide which old songs it plays at its shows.  If you’d like to have a part in that, then click here to go to their myspace and vote for your favourites.  (absolutepunk.net)

Also, seems a bit weird to me but their ascitiesburn.com site says that the account has been suspended?  I wonder what that’s about.

Fireflight’s brand new track “Unbreakable” has been chosen by NBC to air in promo spots for the hit show Bionic Woman. The spots start airing this week. Read the full press release by clicking below

(more…)

A new Mxpx Christmas song has been recorded and is now being mastered. I think you have to be a member of their PXPX fanclub to get it.

Inhale Exhale will hit the studio on December 3rd to record their new effort for Solid State. [decoymusic.com]

Hey just finished my album review of The Glorious Unseen’s “Tonight the Stars Speak”.

Check it out

Band: The Glorious Unseen
Album: Tonight the Stars Speak
Record Label: Tooth and Nail Records/ BEC Recordings
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Reviewed by: Cory

Track List
1. Hear Our Prayers
2. Forever Holy
3. Meet Us Here
4. Tonight the Stars Speak
5. Wrapped Up in You
6. Oh Praise Him
7. Where Your Glory Dwells
8. Embracing the Call
9. Burn in Me
10. Close to Your Heart

I’ve probably waited for this album release for a good year and a half now. Ever since The Glorious Unseen was first introduced to us at IVM, I’ve been stoked for an album to come out. This album has been spinning in my laptop non-stop all day. And I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed at all. The music is flawless, Ben Crist’s voice is spectacular, and the lyrics are heartfelt.

I’m not usually into listening to praise music unless I’m at church, but this band makes anytime a perfect time to sit back and worship God. Ben Crist’s unique voice and the haunting guitar melodies create an atmosphere where you can get lost in the moment with God. The band makes good use of keyboards, bells, and cellos to build on their music. The background vocalist Christine Glass Byrd’s singing is like icing on the cake. Her voice adds to the atmosphere and sheer beauty of the songs she is featured in. The lyrics are a cry out to God for His love and mercy, and they underscore His glory.

The Glorious Unseen is a praise band for the independent music scene. Drawing influences from bands like As Cities Burns and even borrowing Cool Hand Luke’s Mark Nicks to play drums on a few songs. But despite how rooted they are in the underground scene, I can picture their songs being played at contemporary worship services all across America. The band manages to keep a reputation with independent music but is radio-friendly enough for youth groups to sing along with.

Standout tracks: Hear Our Prayers, Tonight the Stars Speak, Oh Praise Him (David Crowder cover song), and Close to Your Heart.

Rating: 9/10

Official Site

Myspace

Purevolume

You can listen to a new song called “Carry Me Down” on Demon Hunter’s myspace now.

One of the cooler clothing companies around, Disciple, has new merch out. Check the clothing line out here.

Check out a new Dream Too Late song on purevolume. Listen and then comment.

The Showdown have posted up new pics on their myspace page.

Finchely has posted up two new songs to myspace. Check them out now!