Tag: Alternative Rock

An alternative pop-rock band by the name of “Caedmon’s Call” that got their start in the 90’s has returned for this special kickstarter campaign to fund the re-recording of their “Self Titled” debut record, make a film about it, and play a special show in Nashville. There are several stretch goals that have already been met and the final one at $300k will be to add a 3rd show on the West Coast (2nd one will be in Texas).… Continued →

This obscure little band, while relatively unknown, has ties to some more connected acts. They only released one 4-song 12″ EP before breaking up and/or morphing into other acts. The most well-known member was Robert Vaughn, previously of RV and the Hubcaps, and who went on to play with Gloryhouse, Southside Blades of Eden (Broken Records), and most notably Robert Vaughn and the Shadows. RV and the Shadows was essentially the New Presidents line-up with a different name and slightly more mainstream style.… Continued →

I first heard Sixpence None the Richer while listening to a cassette demo in the Christian bookstore in 1993. They had me from the opening acoustic guitar riffs on “Field of Flowers,” the opening track from The Fatherless and the Widow. That album was fantastic, but even so, it was only a foretaste of what was to come. While the band are largely known for their romantic pop radio hit, “Kiss Me,” from their self-titled third album, many fans and critics alike are drawn to their sophomore album, This Beautiful Mess.… Continued →

Falling Up is a  band even mothers can like lol! My mom actually likes this band for real. They were quite different as they played a experimental variety of alt-rock as they continued in their discography. They have many good ones but this is my fave. It was co-written with Family Force 5 & try not to sing along with “Let Go Now!” … Continued →

In what may seem like a surprising move, a band that got their start with their debut record in 1997 – “Caedmon’s Call“, who inspired many and wowed fans across the globe with their original blend of music and lyrics, are teasing something BIG. Click on their website here and sign up for the newsletter list. They are saying “something NEW (and old) is happening SOON” on their website. Any guesses? Maybe a re-release of their debut for its 25th anniversary?… Continued →

Names Without Numbers return with their first NEW song of 2022. The song is titled “You Do The Talking” and it deals with issues of self doubt, social anxiety, and maintaining confidence while attempting to stay strong and dealing through the emotions. It’s a powerful track not just for subject matter but also because the music is some of the best out there. This is without a doubt one of the band’s strongest songs on record and one of my personal favorites.… Continued →

The Fold just dropped their new single titled “Behind Us Now” which you can listen to below or on your digital network of choice. The band will release a new full length record this spring! Can I just say that this new song is the best thing the band has done up till now? This is really great stuff! Less keyboards, more ROCK.… Continued →

This band was the epitome of one of those all-too-common scenarios in 90s Christian music: the frustratingly great one-album wonder. Driver Eight released Watermelon via Tooth and Nail Records in 1996, to high acclaim from fans and critics alike, and then disappeared into the . . . well, that’s just it–we don’t know what happened! The album featured a highly-effective mix of alternative rock styles including Britpop (even though the band was American), quasi-shoegaze, and jangle pop.… Continued →

I don’t know why it took me so long, but recently a very simple thought has helped me out immensely in my spirituality and my walk with Christ. It’s simply this: choose love. That’s it. When I am tempted to sin, choose love instead. When I want to be selfish, choose love. When I want to do something that would only please or elevate myself and not others, choose love. Mike Stand was singing about it decades ago.… Continued →

This quirky alternative rock band released one independent EP and one full-length for Broken Records (also home to Undercover, The Holidays, Adam Again, etc.). While their normal material was interesting, to my ears the most compelling thing they recorded was a song for the Broken Christmas project, called “Born in a Stable.” While technically a Christmas song, it does a great job of pointing to Jesus’ purpose for coming to save us, by tracing the story of Jesus’ life and ministry all the way up to the empty tomb.… Continued →

Welcome to the best band you’ve never heard of. Enemy Ships (FKA The Emergency, not to be confused with The Emergency, AKA Ten-33) was a sort of supergroup with members from Christian alternative heavyweights like Jason Martin (Starflyer 59, Bon Voyage, Neon Horse, etc.), Dirk Lemmenes (Stavesacre, Focused), Ryan Denne (Stavesacre), Travis Zimmerman (Jupiter James), and Frank Lenz (Fold Zandura, Frank Lenz, etc). The band recorded an album for mainstream Atlantic Records entitled The Emergencyin 2007, but sadly it was never released.… Continued →

I completely forgot to post about this for about a week and I do apologize. Vinyl boutique label, Lost in Ohio, have taken it upon themselves to re-release some awesome classic Christian alternative albums on Vinyl, some for the very first time. They just launched a kickstarter to fund their latest creation, Morella’s Forest “Super Deluxe” which was the official Tooth & Nail label debut released back in 1995. Check out the kickstarter right here and make sure to visit the record label website here for more great music including a rerelease of Sixpence None the Richer “This Beautiful Mess” on Vinyl.… Continued →

Wonderfully noisy, and delightfully obscure, The Lonely Now only released 3 full-length recordings in their short career: —Captive, 1986, Narrowpath Records (cassette only) —Original Intention, 1987, Narrowpath Records (cassette, LP) —Honest Tear, 1990, Narrowpath/Refuge (cassette only) While all of their releases are somewhat difficult to obtain, ironically their final album–the only one with national distribution through Refuge–is the most difficult. It was released through the same agreement as debuts by The Crucified, Breakfast with Amy, and The Swoon.… Continued →

So a new friend or acquaintance finds out you’re into music. The inevitable question follows: “what kind of music do you like?” How honest are you? Do you simply say, “I like a little bit of everything?” You know that’s not true. You can’t stand Matchbox 20. Do you try something a little more honest, but still generic, like, “mostly rock stuff.” No, that won’t work either–they might think you mean Lynyrd Skynyrd. Or are you blatantly honest with them, knowing they are unlikely to have a clue what you mean: “my favorite genre is probably shoegaze.”… Continued →

Jeff Elbel has been around the block a few times. Active in one form or another since the 1980s, first via Farewell to Juliet, then Sunny Day Roses, and then Ping. He’s played with members of mainstream new wave/prog band The Fixx and also new age instrumentalists Mannheim Steamroller. He’s even had songs featured on Dr Demento! His latest project The Threefinger Opera is almost at its goal of $5,000 and boasts a wide variety of packages from downloads to CDs, vinyl, and other merchandise!… Continued →

You might be familiar with Sally Grayson’s name due to her collaborations with The Blamed–lending her vocal cords on their cover of the scaterd-few classic “U” (for their Quarantine Days project), or for her contributions to “Away in a Manger” on 2020’s Christmas album. The scaterd-few cover is where I first became familiar with her work. Or you might recognize her from her Ted Talk on creativity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia2ldxK2rF0), or as a member of post-punk outfit Black Swift.… Continued →

I first heard L.S.U. in about 1991. I had been a pretty staunch metalhead, but a few alternative rock bands were starting to open me up to new colors in my musical palette. While the experimental This is the Healing was the first album I heard from them, The Grape Prophet is a favorite of fans and critics alike. The album was one of the first and only concept albums, or “rock operas” as band leader Michael Knott liked to call them.… Continued →

One of the longest-running indie/alternative bands in the Christian scene, The Choir emerged in the 1980s initially as Youth Choir, shortening the name after the release of one album and one EP. The band formed in 1983 and were instrumental in the early 80s Calvary Chapel scene in Southern California, that also included stalwarts like Undercover, Altar Boys, and 4-4-1. Where some of their counterparts flirted with punk and harder alternative sounds, The Choir’s sound rarely ‘rocked’ so much as it created atmospheres and layers that have never been easily pigeonholed into any particular scene or sound and yet have toyed with dream pop, indie pop, and at times even shoegaze.… Continued →

First things first: I must apologize for missing a couple of weeks on my Song of the Day features. We’ve been in the middle of an international move. Yes, after 13 years of life in the UK, my family and I have returned to the United States! And we’ve been living out of suitcases while we finalize our housing. So do please forgive me for missing a few posts. However, I hope a new song from Starflyer 59 this week can make up for it.… Continued →

Arizona’s No Laughing Matter were kind of a ‘love ’em or hate ’em’ kind of game. Dark and broody, they didn’t fit in with most CCM at the time. Heck, even the alternative stuff wasn’t quite this dark, for the most part. Scott Roman’s dramatic wail was an acquired taste. The guitars alternated between goth-rock and the occasional nod to funk (see “Helltown”). Of particular interest were the deep bass grooves. They were one of Christian music’s very few, true “post-punk” bands in the proper sense of the term.… Continued →

A rising indie band from Nebraska called Salt Creek, made a lot of waves and significant buzz on the underground scene for a number of years and they just earned their spot among a lot of great bands on legendary Seattle based label – Tooth & Nail Records. The label just released the band’s label debut EP titled “Our Own World”, through all digital networks and streaming sites. Give it a listen and comment with your thoughts.… Continued →

When I first heard this song, I was diving in the “alternative rock” scene & my musical overfilled mind was whirling from all this weird music that was not like the Petra’s or White Hearts I had grown up listening to. There were so many linked bands to this project such as Fluffy (check my review on Guitars Guns & Girls!) & Duraluxe which was formed with Hoi Polloi’s Troy Daughtery to name a couple. Check out the www.knottheads.com… Continued →

Veil of Ashes was a college rock band from Oakland, California, who debuted with the critically-acclaimed album Pain on Graceland Records (an imprint of Frontline) in 1989. While they had started out as a post-punk outfit with goth leanings, most of that influence had faded by the time their debut hit. A second album The Young and the Reckless: The Regression of Veil of Ashes was released on Blonde Vinyl in 1992, but it was actually a retrospective release of earlier demos.… Continued →

Welcome to what is probably the most underrated album in Christian alternative music history. The problem is largely that it just wasn’t heard by enough people. This Pennsylvania band comprised one third of the ‘holy trinity’ of Christian jangle pop, rounded out by Virginia’s The Throes and Minnesota’s The Swoon (coincidentally all band names beginning with the definite article). They released their one and only album, not counting their independent demo cassettes, through Talkingtown (also home of metal band Armageddon) and co-released through R.E.X.… Continued →

I’m really hesitant to do this, but I’m gonna lay it on you. I’ve been a fan of music for well over 40 years. Narrowing down a favorite anything is really difficult. My list of favorite songs probably numbers near 1,000, and that’s just favorites, not all the songs I ‘just like.’ But, most days, if you ask me my favorite song of all time, it’s this one. The Seventy Sevens have had an extremely long career, with roots going as back as the late 70s/early 80s in a Sacramento church-based band called the Scratch Band.… Continued →

The funk-punk and funk-metal scene(s) rose quickly in the early 90s and then disappeared just as quickly. At one point, it was looking to be the next big thing, but as a genre it never dominated alternative rock as it once looked like it would. In fact, aside from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction, few in the general market ever made it big, even though bands like Fishbone and 24-7 Spyz were just as talented.… Continued →

First things first–merry Christmas everyone! It’s been a challenging year, and many of us are ready to see the back of it. I always post my Song of the Day picks on Friday, so I was pleased to the lucky draw for Christmas Day! Of course, it had to be a Christmas song, and there are lots of good ones to choose from, even from our niche scene. For those unfamiliar with Adam Again, they have deep roots in the Christian music scene.… Continued →

From the opening riffs of opener “Armadillo”, you know this is going to be something interesting—dual harmonic guitar riffs in fuzzy tones. Vocals reflect Markham’s alt country background, but this is clearly a rock record. His bio claims he was trying to return to the hard rock and heavy metal that made him happy as a child, and while that is certainly a tangible presence, it’s filtered through his alternative consciousness. It’s like the rock era of Starflyer 59 where they essentially wrote doom metal riffs but set them into the context of shoegaze songs.… Continued →

There used to be a fairly well-known release formula for SF59. Step one: release full-length album. Step two: release EP of similar material within the following year (or even later that same year). While the formula has been tweaked over the years, it still more or less holds. Whereas She’s the Queen was the counterpart to Silver, Miami functions that way for Young in My Head. Although there are some stylistic—and more noticeably, lyrical—differences, any of these songs probably could have been on Young in My Head.… Continued →

Power pop was (is?) a strange phenomenon. Despite the big hooks, melodic overtones and just enough of a punk edge to keep things interesting, it never really caught on in a huge way. Although it’s made inroads into new wave and, more recently, indie pop, the leaders of the subgenre still remain fairly underground, with a few notable exceptions (Cheap Trick and The Romantics are among the few artists with major radio hits). It should be no surprise then, that in Christian circles, artists in the style were even fewer.… Continued →