SET LIGHT

Author: Eric Pettersson

Eric Pettersson is from Reading, PA and a graduate of La Salle University in Philadelphia with degrees in Communication and Religion. He wrote regularly for IVM 2005-2011. Now he has his own website, Explore Reading, "a progressive guide to the city of Reading, Pennsylvania. Follow him at www.explorereading.net

January 19, 2009

REVIEW : Writer - Blood Drops

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Artist: Writer Album: Blood Drops Label: None (released independently) Release Date: August 29, 2008 Reviewer: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Matthew 2. Anymore 3. Don’t Wake the Sun 4. Try and Stop Me 5. Start a War 6. Where I Was 7. Blood Drops I know I said this for their 7” a few months ago, but when you see an album is mixed and mastered by Jason Martin of Starflyer 59, you know to expect something good. It seems that everything this man touches turns to gold.… Continued →

January 17, 2009

REVIEW : Farewell Flight - Sound. Color. Motion.

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Artist: Farewell Flight Album: Sound. Color. Motion. Label: Released Independently (but paid for by Mono Vs Stereo before they “folded”) Release Date: August 19, 2008 Reviewer: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Lullabye for Insomniacs 2. Widower 3. Over 4. Indianapolis 5. Phones 6. Sailors Mouth 7. Begin Again 8. America 9. Cruel 10. The Usual Vernacular 11. Slow A soft, clear tenor wades over rolling acoustic guitars as “Lullabye for Insomniacs” begins. As the tempo picks up, so do the complexity of the instrumentation and the details of the lyrics, which relate the depression and bleakness found in looking to alcohol as a way to cope with relationship problems and loneliness.… Continued →

January 14, 2009

REVIEW : Erika Soto - Wonderfully Made

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Artist: Erika Soto Album: Wonderfully Made Label: None (released independently) Release Date: April 2, 2008 Reviewer: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Wonderfully 2. Streetlights & Roads 3. 1,000 Goodbyes 4. Sustained 5. Home 6. Worth If anyone from Sparrow Records (maybe even those working on SixStepRecords) reads this site, pay close attention to Erika Soto, as she could easily be your next worthwhile signee. Big words, I know, but I stand by them. Now let me tell you why. Because this Californian indie-folk singer-songwriter was able to work with low-budget production and still create lush soundscapes that smoothly blend an acoustic guitar base with layered strings of sweeping electric guitar riffs.… Continued →

REVIEW : Yours for Mine - Dear Children

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Artist: Yours for Mine Album: Dear Children Label: Blood & Ink Records Release Date: January 13, 2009 Reviewer: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. We Need You Here 2. Absence Is Elegance 3. My Tomorrow 4. The Angry End 5. Native Tongue 6. What Happened to Us? 7. Bling Crosby 8. Dear Children 9. Call Me Distant 10. The Instrumental Every time I hear that gurgly scream, I picture Jimbo, the tallest of the three school bullies on The Simpsons. With this in mind, seeing him screaming the words into a microphone, it makes listening to Yours for Mine different than other melodic metalcore bands.… Continued →

January 13, 2009

REVIEW : The Apprentice - (S/T)

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Artist: The Apprentice Album: The Apprentice Label: Future Destination Records Release Date: August 15, 2008 Reviewer: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Lessons in Letting Your Guard Down 2. Riverside 3. Disease 4. Gray Day in Louisville 5. Tracks 6. This Road 7. Lullaby 8. In the City 9. Adeline 10. Love Deferred This self-titled album, the forth release from The Apprentice on Future Destination Records, contains many things I expected and many things I didn’t. Most of the songs, such as “Disease,” are built on the mellow coffeeshop singer/songwriter sound that has been the constant foundation from The Apprentice from its beginning.… Continued →

January 10, 2009

REVIEW : Philmont - Oh Snap EP

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Normally when you see a charging rhino, you wanna get out of the way. In the case of our blue and purple friend on the cover of this album, however, you will want to keep a safe but interested distance. Or at least I will. Fans of Eleventyseven, Cute Is What We Aim For, and Relient K will rush in close and give that rhino a hug, embracing the catchy pop-punk sound of Philmont, but for now it’s something I will admire from afar. Once my favorite genre, I lost interested when Hawk Nelson became the poster-boy, a band that started out without a lot of skill and later on just became boring.… Continued →

REVIEW : Abandon - Abandon EP

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While this label’s name might not have made much sense at certain points over the past 20 years of Forefront Records existence, Abandon is the type of band that helps this company truly be at the forefront of today’s music. Long time readers of IVM know that I have a big problem with the majority of CCM out there, calling it boring, generic, behind-the-times, cheesy, too safe, narrowly-focused, etc. I’ve torn apart Building 429, had little to say about the mediocrity of Mainstay and Everyday Sunday, and been disappointed by even the great David Crowder Band, one of the most innovative worship artists of our day.… Continued →

January 7, 2009

REVIEW : My Epic - I Am Undone

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Artist: My Epic Album: I Am Undone Label: Dreamt Music (Facedown Records imprint) Release Date: August 5, 2008 Reviewer: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Prologue 2. The Oil Press 3. Lest We Die 4. The Lover and the Thief 5. Perelandra 6. You Know We All Love You 7. Our Little Girl 8. Men in Little Houses 9. Communion 10. You Became I 11. – 12. It’s at Times like This I Realize That Survival Is Not Enough. When I first started writing for Indie Vision Music, I loved a lot of crappy bands because they were all I knew.… Continued →

REVIEW : Esterlyn - Mending the Meaning (Acoustic EP)

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Tracklist: 1. Sweet Love 2. Esther 3. Still Beauty to Be Found 4. How Great Is Your Love 5. Free the Light When I heard I would be reviewing this EP, I was excited. I remembered liking their first album, Lamps, and an acoustic EP is almost always a good time. But then I realized that I hadn’t listened to their debut since I had reviewed it back in March. I had to look at my old files to see that I had given it a 7/10.… Continued →

December 31, 2008

REVIEW : Goodnight Caulfield - The Masquerade

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Artist: Goodnight Caulfield Album: The Masquerade Label: None (released independently) Release Date: January 3, 2009 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. All You’ve Got 2. C.S. Why 3. The Prowl 4. Blue Room 5. The Departure 6. Goin’ Nowhere Fast 7. You Don’t Love Me Anyone 8. Hearts 9. Far from Fiction 10. Angels in Disguise 11. Without a Sound 12. Sleepwalk It’s been a number of years now since the fall of emo. The music itself still exists under its new name, indie-rock, but the old word has become something to be avoided.… Continued →

December 11, 2008

REVIEW : Shane & Shane - Glory in the Highest

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Artist: Shane & Shane Album: Glory in the Highest: A Christmas Record Label: Inpop Records Release Date: October 14, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. O Holy Night 2. O Come O Come Emmanuel 3. Away in a Manger 4. It’s Beginning to Look like Christmas 5. Born to Die 6. Silent Night 7. White Christmas 8. Holiday 9. Glory in the Highest 10. O Come Let Us Adore Him While our site has never been especially big on CCM singer/songwriters, there’s a special leniency that comes every December where people who love all styles of music come together to celebrate winter and/or the birth of Jesus.… Continued →

December 10, 2008

REVIEW : Danielson - Trying Hartz

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Artist: Danielson Album: Trying Hartz Label: Secretly Canadian Release Date: November 4, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: Disc 1: 1. Now Try 2. Body English 3. Flip Flop Flim Flam 4. Singers Go First 5. Jersey Loverboy 6. Animal In Every Corner (Version) 7. Rubbernecker 8. Sold! To The Nice Rich Man! (Live) 9. Thanx To Noah 10. Rallying The Dominoes 11. The Lord’s Rest (Live) 12. A Meeting With Your Maker 13. Daughters Will Tune You 14. Runnin’ To Brother Disc 2: 1. A No No 2.… Continued →

December 8, 2008

REVIEW : Switchfoot - The Best Yet

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Artist: Switchfoot Album: The Best Yet Label: Credential Recordings Release Date: November 4, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Dare You to Move 2. Meant to Live 3. Stars 4. Oh! Gravity 5. This Is Home 6. Learning to Breathe 7. Awakening 8. This Is Your Life 9. On Fire 10. Only Hope 11. Dirty Second Hands 12. Love Is the Movement 13. Company Car 14. Lonely Nation 15. The Shadow Proves the Sunshine 16. Concrete Girl 17. Twenty-four 18. Beautiful Letdown Switchfoot is a band that has always stood out among its peers.… Continued →

REVIEW : Jon Foreman - Limbs & Branches

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Artist: Jon Foreman Album: Limbs & Branches Label: Credential Recordings Release Date: October 28, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Your Love Is Strong 2. Behind Your Eyes 3. The Cure for Pain 4. Resurrect Me 5. Southbound Train 6. Broken from the Start 7. The House of God Forever 8. Instead of a Show 9. A Mirror Is Harder to Hold 10. In My Arms 11. Learning How to Die 12. Over the River Taking a break from the crunching guitars and loud sing-a-longs of bestselling modern rock band Switchfoot, vocalist Jon Forman spent the past year recording a series of four EPs, each named after the season in which it was released (starting with Fall and ending with Spring).… Continued →

November 9, 2008

REVIEW : Brave Saint Saturn - Anti-Meridian

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Artist: Brave Saint Saturn Album: Anti-Meridian Label: Department of Biophysics Release Date: September 15, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Here Is the News 2. Mercenary 3. Starling 4. Underground 5. When You Burn Too Fast 6. Through Depths of Twilight 7. Hero’s Homecoming 8. Ammodramus 9. Fields of the Fallen 10. Always beneath the Dawn 11. Fortress of Solitude 12. Blessed Are the Land Mines 13. Aegolius 14. Begin Again 15. These Frail Hands 16. Invictus Right now I’m taking a Communication Theory course, and in the theory we just studied we talked about parasocial relationships.… Continued →

November 1, 2008

INTERVIEW : House of Heroes

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Eric, IVM: Who are we talking to here?  Name and instuments. Tim, HOH: This is Timothy Ryan Skipper.  I play guitar and sing in House of Heroes. Your new album just came out September 23 on iTunes.  How does it feel to finally have this thing out there after all the complications? It’s actually a really weird feeling.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely amazing and relieving to have it out. But since it’s been done for so long, all of our friends have already listened to it a bunch and gotten sick of it, so it’s weird because to us and the people immediately around us, it’s kind of old news. … Continued →

INTERVIEW : Cool Hand Luke

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Eric, IVM: Please start us off by giving your name and what you do in the band. Mark, CHL: My name is Mark Nicks. I play drums and piano and sing in Cool Hand Luke. I think the big thing we obviously need to talk about is your new record, The Sleeping House. First off, how do you feel about it? Everyone reads what critics (myself included) have to say about records, so here is your chance as the artist to write your own brief review.… Continued →

October 22, 2008

REVIEW : Above the Golden State - Above the Golden State

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Artist: Above the Golden State Album: Above the Golden State Label: Sparrow Records Release Date: July 22, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Loud and Clear 2. Gaze into Your Eyes 3. Sound of Your Name 4. Streets 5. I’ll Love You So 6. Comeback 7. Love 8. Chapter 13 9. Scared 10. One Thirty-nine 11. The Haunting 12. All My Heart 13. Real to Reel Last night I went to Gravity, my friend Rob’s music/bookstore in Reading, Pennsylvania, to pick up the new Copeland record and Shane Claiborne’s new book about prayer.… Continued →

REVIEW : Josh Wilson - Trying to Fit the Ocean in a Cup

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Artist: Josh Wilson Album: Trying to Fit the Ocean in a Cup Label: Sparrow Records/ EMI Music Group Release Date: April 29, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. The Saints 2. Savior, Please 3. 3 Minute Song 4. Turn Around 5. Let Me Love You 6. Something’s Got to Change 7. Tell Me 8. Pull Me Through 9. Oak Avenue 10. Dear Money 11. Beautiful Like This Great, another singer/songwriter on a CCM major label. These albums usually get barely a full listen before I decide they don’t fit our site or they’re just plain terrible and I don’t feel like reviewing them.… Continued →

October 20, 2008

INTERVIEW : Jon Foreman (Switchfoot)

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What does a typical day look like in the life of Jon Foreman? When I’m home I try to do the following at least once a day: record, write, surf, hang with my wife, read, and eat. Most of our readers probably know about your seasons EPs, so you can briefly recap on that for those who don’t, and then we’ll go on to talk about your new release, Limbs and Branches. The EP’s are titled Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. The music on each EP was recorded in season- Six songs a pop for a total of 24 songs to round out the year.… Continued →

INTERVIEW : Deas Vail

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Name and duties. Wes- singer Justin- bass Kelsey- drums Laura- keys Andy- guitar What have you been up to lately? We have been in the studio working on a full length that will be out in Jan/Feb. We have also been getting into playing more college dates. We have started to work with naca to meet more people and college representatives in this market. So far, it is going really well. I’ve been listening to your new EP, and you really made some pretty sweet songs this time around.… Continued →

October 16, 2008

REVIEW : Cool Hand Luke - The Sleeping House

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Artist: Cool Hand Luke Album: The Sleeping House Label: Lujo Records Release Date: October 14, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Fast Asleep 2. Cast Your Bread 3. Failing in Love 4. Buy the Truth 5. The Mirror 6. Eye of the Storm 7. The City Prevails 8. Spirit Sing 9. Wondertour 10. The House 11. Incomprehensible Sleep 12. Wide Awake A song that I’ve always had a special connection with since the day I heard it is Cool Hand Luke’s “Cinematic.” The piano and voice work together to create a beautiful song in itself, but it is the lyrics that make it so amazing in painting a picture of personal failure and God as the hero who saves the victim from that failure.… Continued →

October 9, 2008

REVIEW : Coolfield - The Minimalist EP

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Artist: Coolfield Album: The Minimalist Label: None (released independently) Release Date: August 1, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Wake up the Sun 2. Chestnut Tree 3. Time Passes By 4. My Fair Lady 5. Surrender (I’m Tryin’, I’m Dyin’) 6. Melody Won’t Do 7. HopeYadFun (Sarah’s Song) [demo] As someone who has followed Coolfield from the original release of Sincerity in 2005, I have to say I am very impressed with the growth shown on this release. What used to be simple man-and-acoustic-guitar songs with simple lyrics have grown to include drums, some electronic sounds (“Time Passes By”), and more.… Continued →

September 19, 2008

REVIEW : Deas Vail - White Lights EP

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Artist: Deas Vail Album: White Lights EP Label: Brave New World Records Release Date: August 26, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Under Cover 2. White Lights 3. Last Place 4. From Priests to Thieves 5. Balance I hate Deas Vail. Not as a band. No, their music is absolutely incredible. But as people. I hate them as people for making the decision to release a five song EP that leaves me begging for more. It seems almost every time that last song comes to the end, I’ve already hit the play button again to start the thing over.… Continued →

REVIEW : Dizmas - Dizmas

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Artist: Dizmas Album: Dizmas Label: Forefront Records Release Date: April 29, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Yours 2. Play It Safe 3. Save the Day 4. Redemption, Passion, Glory 5. Different 6. Shake It Off 7. Jealousy Hurts 8. This Is a Warning 9. Worth Fighting For 10. Dance After acquiring On a Search in America, Dizmas’ debut release on Credential Recordings, my final conclusion was that this was a band with good potential that needed to make a decision. Their sound was half enjoyable screamo along the lines of Emery, Spoken, or (at the time) Underoath, and the other half took a more CCM approach along the lines of Leeland, Everyday Sunday, or Sanctus Real with lyrics and melodies cheesy enough to make me squirm.… Continued →

REVIEW : Ryan Morgan - Come to Life

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Artist: Ryan Morgan Album: Come to Life Label: None (released independently) Release Date: June 5, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Let Your Glory Fall 2. The One I Adore 3. Glorious 4. Giving Back 5. Listening 6. Come to Life 7. Pour over Me 8. Inner-mission 9. Redemption’s Song 10. The Strength I Need 11. Lost 12. I Need You 13. Harbor Ryan Morgan creates some good music as far as today’s “worship” artists go in that I can actually stand listening to this album.… Continued →

REVIEW : Endeverance - Serenade of Lost Hearts

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Artist: Endeverance Album: Serenade of Lost Hearts Label: None (released independently) Release Date: August 30, 2007 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Surgery by Heartache 2. Apologies 3. Hard to Breathe 4. Cry of a Broken Home 5. Serenade of Lost Hearts 6. Heart Whispers Grace 7. Relinquish the Doubt 8. Trying to Last the Winter 9. Crimson Eyes 10. Waiting for Something 11. Love in Forgiveness Despite the slightly overdone emo song names and overall appearance of the band and packaging, Endeverance manage to put out a sound with substance, catchy and heart-driven songs in the emo-rock genre with lyrical themes that usually center on God’s healing of our pain and suffering through his grace and Christ’s death on the cross.… Continued →

September 2, 2008

REVIEW : Maps - The Wick and the Fire

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Artist: Maps Album: The Wick and the Fire Label: None (released independently) Release Date: June 10, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Failure of Constancy 2. Ambuscade 3. The Words Will Grow 4. Breathing Water 5. Spread My Love 6. With a Knife 7. Reverse Telescope 8. The Alchemy of Economy 9. Party Hats & Attitude 10. Sandburg 11. My Desire to Be Napoleon 12. Synergy With so many bands out there by the name of Maps, I wasn’t sure which this one was and came into it expecting to hear the one with the soft shoe-gazer indie sound with the girl singer, but apparently I was wrong.… Continued →

August 27, 2008

REVIEW : Brendan Moss - Your Face Is Glowing

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Artist: Brendan Moss Album: Your Face Is Glowing Label: Friendly Arctic Music Release Date: May 11, 2008 Review by: Eric Pettersson Tracklist: 1. Action 2. Character 3. Manna from Heaven 4. Revolution Song 5. On His Citadel 6. To His Absurd Redeemer 7. Man of God 8. Powerlines 9. Make Way When Jesus said “Blessed are the meek,” I bet he was talking about people like Brendan Moss. His humble songs about God present him in a way that makes words like Almighty and Holy actually mean something.… Continued →

August 21, 2008

INTERVIEW : Smoking Popes

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Q: Just so everyone knows, who are we talking with here? Name and instrument(s). A: Josh Caterer, lead vocals and guitar. Q: Well, I guess the obvious first question is after nearly ten years away from recording music, what made you suddenly decide to get the band back together? Give us the whole story… what were you guys doing since you broke up in 1999, and what changes in life made it possible to reform the Smoking Popes? A: When I left the band, it was a personal decision I made to concentrate on my relationship with Jesus.… Continued →