Sea Wolf - Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low

Tracklist:
01. You're A Wolf
02. The Garden That You Planted
03. I Made A Resolution
04. Ses Monument
05. I Don't Know If I'll Be Back This Time

If You Like: All Smiles, Bright Eyes, Death Cab For Cutie

Sea Wolf is one of those indie bands that you wouldn't really expect to stand out from the crowd, but they manage to pull it off. Get To The River Before It Runs Too Low is their debut release, featuring five relaxing indie gems. I've heard 'You're A Wolf' on the radio before, which isn't surprising since it is the most pop-sounding track on the album. The Garden That You Planted is very calm and relaxing with nice lyrics. I Made A Resolution opens horribly lyrically in my opinion; Alex Church says he'll never sing a sad song again but he clearly breaks this resolution. The rest of the song is nice though, kind of a mix between You're A Wolf and The Garden..., picking up towards the middle. Ses Monument is my least favorite song on the album, but it's still good. It's very upbeat, but I find I get bored of the song quickly. I love I Don't Know...; it's short and to the point with good lyrics. It's probably too far on the sad side for many people but it reminds me of Bright Eyes a little, so I like it. 8/10

Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - Not Animal!

Tracklist:
01. A Children's Crusade on Acid
02. German Motor Car
03. Broadripple Is Burning
04. Holy Cow!
05. Cold, Kind, and Lemon Eyes
06. Hello Vagina
07. As Tall As Cliffs
08. Real Naked Girls
09. Pages Written On A Wall
10. Shivers (I've Got 'Em)
11. The Ocean (Is Bleeding Salt)
12. Hip Hip Hooray

This album doesn't have much new material on it; half of the new songs are also on Animal!, and most of the others are remakes of their earlier Demos. The only two songs that I think bring attention to Not Animal! are Pages Written on a Wall and Shivers. The first was amazing live and tends to get stuck in my head. I just wish Margot would sometimes try making songs longer than 5 minutes, because the instrument part alone could easily last for 6 minutes without getting old. Mariel's Brazen Overture and At the Carnival are the longest of their tracks, both lasting 6:01. Maybe their next album will have more variety? Based on their progression so far, I hope so. 7/10

Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - Animal!

Tracklist:
01. At The Carnival
02. O' What A Nightmare!
03. Hello Vagina
04. I Am A Lightning Rod
05. Love Song For A Schubas Bartender
06. Mariel's Brazen Overture
07. There's Talk Of Mine Shafts
08. A Children's Crusade On Acid
09. German Motor Car
10. Cold, Kind, and Lemon Eyes
11. My Baby (Shoots Her Mouth Off)
12. As Tall As Cliffs

If You Like: Balance Problems, Band of Horses, Cursive

I saw these guys play near my house last year after releasing this album. They opened with At The Carnival, which did sound better live. Just hearing A Children's Crusade on Acid was enough to make me immediately love this band though. That song is definitely my favorite on the album, followed by Cold Kind and Lemon Eyes and Hello Vagina. German Motor Car, Love Song..., and Mariel's... are also great songs. Mariel's Brazen Overture is the most distinct song on the album since it features a lot of Emily Watkins' vocals in addition to Edwards'. 8/10

Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - The Dust of Retreat

Tracklist:
01. A Sea Chanty of Sorts
02. Skeleton Key
03. Vampires in Blue Dresses
04. Quiet As A Mouse
05. Jen Is Bringin' The Drugs
06. Dress Me Like A Clown
07. On A Freezing Chicago Street
08. Paper Kitten Nightmare
09. Barfight Revolution, Power Violence
10. A Light On A Hil
11. Talking In Code
12. Bookworm

This album is the main reason I love Margot. It is a perfect transition between their older demos and the Animal! albums since it has more complex music then the acoustic demos but is not as spacey as the new stuff. It also has all new songs; a fault I find in the Animal!s. Jen Is Bringin' The Drugs and A Light On A Hill keep the old sound while Skeleton Key and Quiet As A Mouse foreshadow Animal!. It has the sadness of Broadripple is Burning (from Demos) in A Sea... and A Light... but also fun sing-a-longs like On A Freezing Chicago Street and Skeleton Key. Every song has it's own reason for amazingness, even Paper Kitten Nightmare -- the lyrics annoy me to death, but the title is clever (who can have a nightmare about kittens??) 9/10

Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - Demos

Tracklist:
01. As Tall As Cliffs
02. Holy Cow
03. Broadripple Is Burning
04. Hip Hip Hooray
05. The Ocean
06. Open Your Eyes
07. Things You Shouldn't Do
08. Real Naked Girls

If You Like: Bright Eyes, The Early November, Nada Surf

This is the first album from Margot, who sounds completely different now. These demos are a bunch of acoustic, bare songs by Richard Edwards. Most were re-recorded on Animal! and Not Animal! to fit with their new style. Though the new ones are good, I much prefer these demos. Broadripple is Burning has more emotion and better lyrics as the demo, since some of the words were tweaked on Not Animal! I also like The Ocean, As Tall As Cliffs, and Real Naked Girls better as demos. If you don't like the acoustic sound, Open Your Eyes and Things You Shouldn't Do are not on any later releases, so this album is worthwhile for those two if nothing else. Enjoyable songs -- 7/10

Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind Of Cadwallader

Tracklist:
01. Casual Discussion In A Dome Between Two Temples
02. Some Kind of Cadwallader
03. The Stars
04. Horror
05. Motivational Song
06. Yo Soy Milk
07. I've Got Piano
08. Katie's Conscious
09. Serial Killer Status
10. In Response To Irresponsibility

If You Like: American Football, Cap'n Jazz, I Would Set Myself On Fire For You

This is one of the most unique bands I have ever heard, and I've heard a lot. The instruments are very high-energy, as Algernon lets you know right from the beginning. The singing is very raw and a little annoying -- kind of singing, a little whiny, and the rest some kind of yelling. I wouldn't think all of it goes together, since it really doesn't, but Algernon finds a way to throw it together and make an incredible feel-good album (like a distorted The Format) with a side effect of confusion. I find that ignoring the confusion about what's going on is the best way to listen to the music. If you can stand the strange vocals, this album is for you. 7/10

Webcomics

Mediafire did some maintenance this afternoon, and I still can't access my files. Here's some awesome webcomics though. If you ever find yourself with a few hours/days to kill, check these out.

Pearls Before Swine
Cyanide and Happiness
xkcd
Abstruse Goose
Cowbirds In Love
Core Dump
Dinosaur Comics
909sickle (Popsicle?)

The first is one that's in my Sunday newspaper, the second is very sarcastic and offensive, the third (favorite) and fourth are nerdy at times and at others about relationships/life, the fifth & sixth are kind of weird, with a lot of puns and obscure references, and the last two are similar to xkcd and Abstruse Goose but not really. Dinosaur Comics tries to be more insightful, but it's hard to really take seriously because it's dinosaurs and every update uses the same pictures... all of them are really good.

Funeral Diner - The Wicked

Tracklist:
01. ...and the Beast Shall Be Made Legion
02. The Wicked
03. End On 6
04. It Burns

This EP is similar to the last two I posted: the Beast... is a very dark instrumental, with some uncharacteristic synth-sounding noises, which always sort of reminds me of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. End On 6 is my favorite on the EP. It has a lot of energy, good progression, and ends with Seth screaming "...until your heart stops beating." I like the beginning of It Burns, but I don't think that is a very outstanding song. This probably isn't the best album for sampling Funeral Diner. 6/10

Funeral Diner - The Underdark

Tracklist:
01. Decline
02. Collapsing
03. We Become Buried
04. It Is Good That We Never Met
05. Two Houses
06. What Was Said
07. Regardless We Fall
08. We All Have Blood On Our Hands

The Underdark is another one of Funeral Diner's more popular albums. Like The Swept Under, it's on Amazon, Pandora, and even Lala. Decline is an intro, but it's a real song unlike some intro tracks. It has the dark, slow, melodic touch that makes Funeral Diner great. Collapsing is similar, but with lyrics. We Become Buried is even better, with high-paced energy that they keep up for the first third of the song and then some varying tempos, finishing the song with some pure epicness. It Is Good... is 9-minutes, and is similar to Funeral Diner's other long songs in terms of development and mood. I like the intro to Two Houses as well as the interlude What Was Said. Regardless We Fall begins sub-par in my opinion, but I really like the buildup with the guitar, drums, and eventually vocals towards the middle. We All... is an intense end to the album with vague yelling and guitar work. This album is pretty consistent, but does not have many parts that wow'd me. 7/10

Funeral Diner - The Swept Under

Tracklist:
01. Borne Upon My Shield
02. Under
03. Never To Be
04. For The Beasts
05. City of Webs (Title Mix)
06. Shifting (Battery Cage Remix)
07. This Truly Is God's Country (See Colin Slash Remix)
08. Shifting (Midnight Laserbeam Remix)
09. Shifting (Black Van Remix)

Happy New Years! I hope everyone got nice and smashed. My resolution is to post here nearly every day, since I haven't in forever and it seems a few people are actually looking at it, going by the download counts on mediafire. Back to Funeral Diner - this is one of their more known albums, since it's on Amazon and iTunes. Borne Upon My Shield is unusually high energy with an awesome intro and little interlude. Under has good instrumentation and intensity typical of Funeral Diner, but I can't find anything extraordinary about it. Never To Be, however, bursts out strong, dies, builds up, and then ends all of a sudden -- which I love. Not to mention I can actually understand all the lyrics without looking them up. For The Beasts is one of their 8-minute songs like Fire...Deth or A True Triumph of Man vs. Machine, all of which are awesome. Matt Bajda sounds great on the drums, which is the main reason this song is incredible. The vocals and guitar are better than usual too. The remix's aren't really what I like; I think the album would have made a good EP without them. Shifting and This Truly Is God's Country are incredible songs, but See Colin Slash is the only one on here that I think does a good cover.
First 4 tracks - 8/10. Last 5 - not as good, but try anyway.