Acoustic Demos, August 16th, 2014 by Grady Philip Drugg

//Acoustic Demos, August 16th, 2014||Grady Philip Drugg\\

1. Sleepwalking Child

2. Cliche

3. Sophia

4. Hydrocodone

5. Why I let My Hair Down

One of the local greats (originally from texas), Grady Drugg released this five track ep. Not one of those usually prosaic acoustic releases with a mono-tone voice and the same four chords used in every pop song, Grady sings with a silky voice over wonderful instrumentals, and the simple but well done lo-fi recordings give a soothing feel to the listeners. Harmonica sails through the last track, giving one of those Dylan feels that everyone knows too well. Lyrics of angst and life, disorders, truthful feelings, and much much more, move with the listener, and the way that the tracks meld together fits with the atmosphere entirely.
Essentially everything that's come out of Grady Drugg has been great. His last release, Untitled, is one of my favorite releases to listen to from a solo-artist. This is an artist that you're going to want to check out, so download this and put it in your ears.

Favorite track(s): Sleepwalking Child // Why I let my Hair Down

Bandcamp

Defining Regrets by Landon Rawlings

//Defining Regrets||Landon Rawlings\\

1. Fantasy

2. Fire

3. Without You

4. Would you be Impressed (Cover)

Landon Rawlings is a solo artist from Ozark Missouri, and his debut ep, Defining Regrets, is one about a love that he knows will never leave, said love leaving, and him realizing that he misses this lost love. Acoustic songs are what inhabit these four tracks, (aside from the first song) The first few tracks seem to have better production quality than the others, but they are all fairly nice and not lo-fi so if you're against lo-fi acoustic music this would be nice for you to check out.
As far as music goes, I'm going to break this down into a few things: (Two things)
Instrumental stuff
Lyrical stuff/Vocal Stuff

O K So instrumentational thing stuff:
G Chord D Chord C  Chord F Chord
That's probably not exactly the same, but if you know music then you know what i'm talking about. It's simple stuff, the occasional guitar hammer-ons that catch my attention, but overall boring music-wise. It's not that it's bad it's just that it seems like there could have been more. This is a simple release though, and I guess if I try and compare it to some twinkle daddy math rock guitar instrumentation, it's going to fall short. I've just always thought acoustic tracks should put a lot of focus on the only two things being played, and therefor make them not drag on. Luckily, instrumentation is not the main focus of this release.

Lyrically stuff that and vocally stuff:
Alright (Stuff) here's the thing, I'm not the biggest fan of romantic "I love you" songs, which is exactly what the first song is. I used to be back in 7th grade and stuff, but not really anymore. And without you, which has lyrics like a modern baseball song, just seems weird and cliche on an acoustic guitar.
Which isn't to say it's bad.

The release is relaxing, and Landon's vocals are pretty darn good. The songs are repetative, so they can put you into a kind of a trance, and before you know it it's over. And i mean jeez the songs are so cheesy they make me think about girls and loves and stuff like that, so he did what he was trying to do.
I like the release, it's not something that I'd go back to over and over again, but this is something that he can play in coffee shops and show his parents and such and such. I like the idea that he's going with. While not my 'cup of tea', it is something that people should check out if they like folk/acoustic music.
Well done.

Favo song: Without You

Link to his REVERBNATION!!11!!

GHOST MACHINE/ MACHNIE by Brazil

GHOST MACHINE/MACHINE by Brazil

Tracks:

Trees

Bed

What a Dream

Never Want To See You Again

Awake

Heaven

Summer's Day

Pictures

Again

Townie

Junkie 

Machine

Offensive To Cats??

Warning: this band isn't from Brazil, click the link below and then continue reading. Or else.

~Listen here~

Brazil is from Boston, MA on Waybridge Records that pulls a lot of cool and interesting flavors and textures in their release GHOST MACHINE/MACHINE.

 At first listen of Trees, I thought was in for another junk acoustic release, but then I took a closer listen and then discovered the way the vocals flow on top of the catchy guitar riff kind of a dreamy-vibe to them. Really makes ya think about trees, ya know? Anyways, the next few tracks open up to a full band sound (which I prefer most) but continues to carry that dreamy-state as the first song does.

This album kind of goes back in forth between just acoustic-guitar and vocals (and a harmonica nicely used on Awake, bonus points) and a full-band sound. Which keeps things interesting, and not so predictable, which I'm all about. Summer's Day starts with neat (and standard) disco-drum beat that has a reggae-vibe to it and it just grooves for the entire 2 minute run-time. A cool thing I've noticed as well is that each song makes feel like around or near or doing whatever the title is. Trees makes me think of trees, Bed makes me think of being in bed, etc. etc. etc.

Key songs I wanna/need to talk about: 

1)What A Dream: Starts with this cool concerto sound that quickly comes friendly with a swing-y bass guitar/snare drum which brings Vampire Weekend to mind and is a fun little song that has a Latin-ish chord progression and otherwise worn out-feel to it. Pretty much like when somebody is coming down from being over-caffeinated.

2) Never Gonna See You Again: Starts with a cutesy acoustic guitar riff that adds some layers (like slapping the strings on 2 and 4) and when the vocals you get this sick Jack Johnson-vibe. Introduces some cool harmonica lines and extra guitar layers. This song just keeps adding in layers of cool sounds giving a very cool, trippy-sound. (show to all your LSD-using friends)

3) Machine: FFO: Funeral Party, OK Go, Postal Service, The Little Comets. Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist.

 The MACHINE part of this album (last two tracks) are more a dance-pop sound to them that I can get jiggy with. Reminds me of Funeral Party but not as bright in the production. I hope this is a direction that they seek to try out, because it's cool.

Definitely looking forward to whatever else these guys are going to release. Rad group. Stay rad.

Fav Tracks: Never Gonna See You Again, Machine, Trees

 

Cyber Smokes by B K Club

Grade: 4.2

1. A vs A

2. 3 for 5

3. Farting in Church

4. Burning Roses

Listen Here!

I deliberated on whether or not to give this a grade for awhile, but I ultimately decided that it was necessary lest good music loose its value. For if we consider everything to be great, then what is greatness? 

Anyway, B K Club's Cyber Smokes is really strange, good in some regards, ludicrous in others. They adopt a bluesy, approach to teen angst music (very much like some of Okkervil River's older albums). They are fairly good at this. The guitars and rattles are precise and provide a good, minimalist tempo. The instrumentals remind me of Bon Iver which is very cool. Probably the coolest thing about this record is the use of harmonicas (very Bob Dylan) and horns (very Neutral Milk Hotel). 

Track one (A vs A) is probably the strongest offering on this record. It is repetitive and a bit hypnotic. It is somber and serious, admonishing something closely resembling peace (though this theme is later undermined by track 4). It is kind of hook-heavy though.

Track two (3 for 5) is alright. It feels much like a transition between songs. Drew Lane murmurs almost incomprehensible shit while horns and guitars play over him. It really doesn't go anywhere though because the next track is equally absurd. 

Track three (Farting in Church) begins with idiotic scatting for the first minute or so. This would be forgivable if the record was longer than 4 tracks, but it isn't. Only half of the album is actually music, which brings on this aghast sense of incredulity. After the scatting, Drew Lane tells dumb, cutesy jokes for the remainder of the track, which is sort of endearing and not entirely taboo, but the jokes don't really go anywhere. I saw a close resemblance to Radiohead's Fitter Happier, where the vocalist mutters various phrases while music plays over. The entire body of the album is wasted by tracks 2 and 3, which aren't really music in my opinion.

Track four (Burning Roses) gets serious again with dark, antithetical lyrics about murdering someone in a particularly vile, cold-blooded way. This reminds me of Okkervil River's Westfall and For Real. I think that the bluesy, folksy sound is a great medium to explore violence and darkness which are most prominently featured in genres like Metal, Grunge, and Rap. 

Ultimately, Cyber Smokes fails. I don't think that this is a testament to their lack of artistic talent. Rather, I think it's a testament to their laziness. This EP is the inkling of a good idea. It could have been developed far better. Rather than coming up with a few good songs and throwing them out into cyberspace, they should have spent more time honing their songs and adding more. As far as I'm concerned, tracks 2 and 3 should be thrown out altogether or perhaps synthesized into shorter offerings that serve as relevant transitions between songs. I only hope that this inkling of a good idea will eventually become something far better.

Hello, I'm Glad You Exist by Southlakes

Hello, I'm Glad You Exist | Southlakes

1. Hello, I'm Glad you exist

2. Georgé Amoré

3. No Snowing throwballs

4. Leonardo Dicaprisun

Get your tears ready boyz, we've got another emo release to listen to. Hello I'm Glad You Exist is a four song release from the uk by emo band Southlakes. 

"You're still outside, 

crying your eyes out, saying 

"we're back at the start""

I won't go through a track by track detailed description of everything, but I'm going to mention that almost through the entire release, all vocals are harmonized/done as gang vocals. I actually really like this, it adds another layer to the entire thing. Drum wise, I spent quite a bit of time just listening to the accents thrown in randomly. Cool drumming going on there. This is a good emo release, but it's kinda stock. Most emo these days is just that, sadly. Anyway, if you're looking for a new emo/really sad band, this is a good one to listen to. Personally, it's not my favorite and I'm not wowed by it but as I said it's something to check out.

Favorite track: No Snowing Throwballs (cool tremolo parts)

bandcamp

Dos Equis by Qualia

Dos Equis | Qualia

1.  Prehistoric Ovaries

2. Casual Astronaut

3. Woodson Blues

4. The Moon

5. Slim Pickin's 

6. Untitled

7. No Suits to be worn here

Ya know what's nice? When you're just strolling through bandcamp and you accidentally find something amazing. Ya know what's better? When you're starting to find most music boring and repetitive with the same sounds, and you find something that isn't like that at all. Thrash-Funk Jam band from Kansas, Qualia just recently put out this 7 song instrumental release. Starts out really funky and gets really thrashy. Those bass lines. I mean I guess a funk band wouldn't work without a bassist that knows how to funk the funk up on bass but ya know it's cool to listen to. The recordings are a little lo-fi but in a way that suits the band 100%. Any more super nicely done and it wouldn't sound right. It's all really spacey and is totally something that you can just put on and do other things while this plays in the background, like read the latest installment of 17 magazine  or worship Satan. "Woodson Blues" opens with a gosh darn blues part and is like a BLUES song. Wowz. Maybe I just listen to too many emo and hardcore bands to appreciate some good jam bands but idgaf this is a sweet jam band. All the song lengths are relatively long, which is pretty cool (for once). Anywho could go on for hours about how so much music is boring and repetitive and stuff but I'm just happy I found a band that isn't so check these guys out. 

Favorite track: Woodson Blues.

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Bandcamp

Same Mistakes EP by Jerred Williamson

Same Mistakes EP by Jerred Williamson

1.  Too Much

2. Just Right

3. Apple Tree

4. Brain Feud

5. Perspective

\Ya know what I like? When a solo artist/acoustic act is actually fun to listen to. What you've got from solo artist Jerred Williamson is an acoustic pop punk/folk-esq release. Guitar seems layered in production (production is really good (thank god)), and there is some vocal layering. Listening to this Ep brings nothing but good vibes. Jerred has an awesome singing voice, and his guitar skills are really good. Thankfully, the songs aren't like 5 minutes each so thank god about that holy crap. Most of the lyrics are personal or about a girl, but I do want to mention the last song. It's in the title guys, it's about perspective. Like the song has a really cool message about butting things into perspective, which is cool. For someone who doesn't usually review about the lyrics, yeah, but ya know. Plus, I know I've said it once, but damn, Jerred can sing. He can switch to falsetto almost flawlessly and it's really cool to listen to. So check this release out.

Favorite Track: Perspective. 

Bandcamp

The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas- Courtney Barnett

Grade: 7.3

Tracks:

1. Out of the Woodwork

2. Don't Apply Compression Gently

3. Avant Gardener

4. History Eraser

5. David

6. Anonymous Club

7. Lance Jr

8. Are you Looking After Yourself?

9. Scotty Says

10. Canned Tomatoes (whole)

11. Porcelain

12. Ode to Odetta

Listen Here!

You've got to love the honesty of autobiographical music, even if that honesty admits of mediocrity, or supposedly worse, inactivity. That's exactly what Melbourne's Courtney Barnett admits of in her The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, a passionately passionless mix between slacker rock and 60's folk.

It isn't really folksy in terms of musical style, but it definitely is when it comes to the record's lyrics and their structure. The quick succession of the stories that Barnett tells in her music is very, very Dylan. Barnett's music really is strongest when it tells stories, when it drifts from meandering melodies about the banality and meaninglessness of the mundane to fascinating stories that could've easily been pulled from the pages of a very good novel.

This comparison isn't perfect though. The album does lack continuity. That's to be expected though. It is an EP. Barnett has stated that she is working on a full length record. Hopefully it will grasp the continuity that I know she could form so beautifully.

Avant Gardener (track 3) is really the best song on the album. It captures everything that makes this style of music so good. It's reserved chord progression meanders, her monotone focuses attention on the lyrics rather than inflection, the story is lovely.

Speaking of style, this is hipster music and it's incredibly difficult to put it in any musical category. The influences seem to be so eclectic that if I named them all in succession, your incredulity might keep you from giving this a listen. I'd hate to do that, this is great music and I'll certainly be keeping me eyes open for news of Barnett's full length album.

Stray Observations

• How can something so twangy remind me so vividly of So-Cal Indie Rock? Maybe because it's Indie...
• I love the Pulp Fiction reference on Avant Gardener and the fact that song is called Avant Gardener
• "I'm not that good at smokin' bongs, I'm not that good at breathing in."
• I realize that like %50 of music is influenced by Bob Dylan, but I really didn't expect to find that here. 
• The name of this EP seems unnecessarily long

Introvert Party--January 2014 demos

Introvert Party-January 2014 Demos

Trackz:

Born Mad

Double Dose of Hurt

Beans And Rice

"The kind of party I'd kind of think about kind of enjoying" 

Yeahhhh, here's a Springfield band that's around. They're pretty neat, their vibe reminds me of Reverend Horton Heat. Every thing here just grooves in that rockabilly/blues-rock kind of way. I've hung out with guys that do a lot of weed and this is what I imagine they would sound like if they were to start playing instruments. Vocals are fun, staccato (short for you non-music nerds), and off-key{(I think?) I like the sound of them anyways}. Guitar riffs are pretty heavily Hendrix-influenced in Beans and Rice, which is pretty neat. I don't know if there's bass or not; if there is, it's not coming through the mix at all. I heard these guys play with Those Dirty Eyes a bunch, and if that's the case, then these guys are probably a party to watch live.

Favorite Track: Born Mad

bAndcAmp  

This Bird's Only Cage Is The Sky by Justin Larkin

This Bird's Only Cage Is The Sky | Justin Larkin

Single

Justin Larkin is a local 417 singer and when he asked me to review a song he recorded in his basement, I expected to find a lo-fi acoustic recording. What I found instead is a high quality, well produced and recorded song. "This Bird's Only Cage Is The Sky" starts off as one of those normal acoustic songs, but evolves into much more. Featured is bass, flute, violin, and female background vocals. Justin's voice is smooth and beautiful to listen to, you find this kind of singing on mainstream radios. Just listening to this song made me happy. This entire song sounds radio ready and it's amazing to think that it was recorded in Justin's basement. Definitely check it out, it's something that I really enjoyed hearing. 

Bandcamp

Edit by The Kursk

       

Edit | The Kursk

1. Cleave

2. Ice Cream Shop

3. Crushin' Cousins

4. Radio

5. If You

Blues rockish band hailing from the 417,  The Kursk's release is chock filled with mid 20th century instrumentation and vocals/lyrics. Production value of this release is really well done on a whole, and even though I don't listen to a lot of this kind of music, I found myself really enjoying the sound of The Kursk. You get a lot of blues-esq riffs throughout the songs, and the bass lines are wonderful to listen to. The vocals are great, the singer really knows how to sing, and everyone seems skilled at the instruments they play.  The song writing is good, and I can differentiate each song easily by instrumentation, making it not feel like there is just one huge song. Lyric wise, the songs seem a little young, the kind of stuff you'd find on the radio (pre-swearing radio). The entire release has a blithely feel to it, and it's a great listen, check it out. Really well done. 

Favorite Track: If You

Soundcloud

In The Shadows by Nate Maingard

In The Shadows by Nate Maingard

1. Little Brother

2. 9 Lives (Cat's Got Time)

3. Slow It Down

4. In The Shadows

I'm on some weird kinda folk/indie rock kick right now, and I found In The Shadows by Nate Maingard in the "folk" music genre tag on Bandcamp. I'll be honest that I chose to review this release out of the countless others simply because it had only four songs on it, aside from the 10-12 song average on all the other releases. When you listen to emo/hardcore music all the time, releases with a bunch of songs/songs that last longer than a 2 minute average seem to last forever. Anyway, this blue eyed man's singing some nicely produced folk music with a nicely english voice. Instrumentation is large, ranging from harmonica, guitar, piano, banjo, lap steel, bass, viola, drums: ya know, the folk get up. Really honest and light sounding music, great for if you're on a folk music run or if you want to relax and fall to sleep to something like this on a warm summer day. 

Favorite Song: Little Brother

Bandcamp

The Oh Hello's by The Oh Hellos

The Oh Hello's by The Oh Hellos

1. Hello My Old Heart

2. Lay Me Down

3. Cold Is The Night

4. Trees

The Oh Hello's is The Oh Hellos debut EP release. The Oh Hellos has a folk/indie feel that reminds me of Mumford and Sons, Phillip Phillips, and The Lumineers. The Oh Hellos is a two piece brother/sister group, and both of the siblings feature vocals throughout this release. Both of them have very good singing voices, and compliment each other well. Guitar is well done, and production on a whole is high quality. Vocal layering is seen, and many different indie-esq instruments are heard. In a whole, this is a very well done release, especially for a first release. Sometimes you just need a good Acoustic release, and this is definitely one.

Favorite Track: Hello My Old Heart

Bandcamp

Jared Gills by Jared Gills

Jared Gills by Jared Gills

1. Tommy's Bomb

2. It Begins

3. We Are Falling

4. Swells the Size of Manhattan

5. Train

6. 15th and Martin

7. Bury Me At Sea

Jared Gills is a singer/songwriter from Broomfield, Colorado. His self titled release is high-energy and acoustic. The instrumentation is simply a single guitar, and lyrics are very punk-esq. There is some track-layering, such as on Train, but not much throughout.  Vocals are well done, and production on a whole seems very professional. Not much bad to say about this release, except that the seven songs on it do seem to become one large song, as there is not much to separate/ tell a difference between the songs. 

bandcamp

Jake Wesley Rogers--Diamond EP

Jake Wesley Rogers--Diamond EP

1) Jim Dean
2) King
3) Matter Of Time
4) Wonderful
5) Hall Of Fame

Jake Wesley Rogers is a singer/songwriter from Ozark, MO (hey, that's where Adrian and I live.) That really embodies art-pop on basically every level I can think of. This is a well put together first release, that really help Jake push off.

This album starts off with the dance-y, pop tune "James Dean" that kind of reminds of some newer Linkin Park tune up until the verse. Talking about the verse, they're really short on this song, like 8 bars or whatever. Which leads into the pre-chorus, and then Chorus. Which leaves this song into a very common pattern; Intro/verse/pre-chorus/chorus/intro-thing/verse/pre-chorus/chorus/bridge/quiet chorus/chorus/outro that really just the intro again. With a strong emphasis on the Chorus at the end. This is how this entire EP is basically written, but it's the instrumentation and how it flows so well--that is the catcher for me.

The main song of this EP, "Matter Of Time" (basically the one that's pushed the most) starts off with a tribal drum and bass groove, remains that way for the verse and then drops out into some piano chords for the pre-chorus and comes back together for the chorus. Lyrics are kind-of generic for a pop album, but I don't usually care about lyrics, so it doesn't really bother me.

All in all this is actually a solid EP, tight instrumentation, great voice, and a change-up on what's inside the stereotypical pop song.

Bandcamp

I Am Going To Die+Dad by Roof Doctor

I'm Going To Die, by Roof Doctor

1. Ocean City
2. Thanks For The Blankets
3. Mark Dog
4. I Am Going To Die
5. Dishwasher with a Dishwasher
6. Family: Mark Do Better
7. Soda Jerk
I'll apologize in advance for the longish review, I had a lot to say about this release.
I recently did a review on June, Roof Doctor's first release, and I wanted to finish up by doing Roof Doctor's other releases. Now, let's have it known June was a completely acoustic release, and I'll tell you what, I was in for a pleasant surprise when "Ocean City" opened up the song with some nice Saxophone and easy guitar playing. What you have returning in I Am Going To Die is a few aspects seen in June. One is that nasally singing voice from Mark Harper. I'm not saying this is a bad thing at all, however. I was talking with Kasey, who also does reviews for this Blog, and he stated that he for one enjoyed these vocals. I for one did grow accustomed to Mark's singing through June. Anyway, for me it was an acquired taste, but I love it. Another thing brought back would be some of the songs from Roof Doctor's first release, June, such as "Thanks For The Blankets" and "Dishwasher with a Dishwasher".
Maybe it was just me because I heard "Thanks For The Blankets" from June, but the addition of the drums, guitars, bass, and sax just made an already great song, so much better. Plus, "Thanks For The Blankets" is one of those songs with lyrics that go with my life right now.
There is definitely an Emo twist to the music this time around, the simple-yet-well done guitar parts adding so much to the songs. The addition of the Sax brings around a Jazz feel, and the drums seem to roll with that in some songs.
Run times are a little longer on this release, but that's not bad in anyway. I had to download and re-listen to this release multiple times because the sweet Jazz and sad emo put me into a trance-like state, making me space out for half of many of the songs. While June seemed like the kind of album that should be the soundtrack to Juno or some other teen-coming of age movie, this seems to me like the kind of album you put on in the background of taking a bath, taking a nap on a summer day, or kissing your girlfriend in a car or whatever. It's chill.
Just going to point out some favorite part. "I Am Going To Die". Alright, sorry, but if you put Gang vocals into the "I love you song" by Barney, I'll freaking love it. I love the addition of Gang Vocals towards the end of "I Am Going to Die", which seems a little repetitive through the entire song, even though it's the good kind of repetitive, like "Imagine" by John Lennon repetitive.
"Soda Jerk" has a quartet kind of thing going on, and, as a choir student/barber shop quartet lover ,this is awesome for me to see. You've got this sick bass singer and tenors and probably alto or sopranos doesn't matter and then there is clapping and it's good okay.
Just going to point out least favorite parts: "Family: Mark Do Better" I can see this is supposed to be a lyric-heavy song, but clocking in at 6:29, it does get a little repetitive. And not exactly in a good way. In a back of the bar Jazz band playing kind of way, still good, but not really an attention grabber. However they tie the song together in the end with a buildup, even if it is a little too late into the song.
In all, yeah. Make out with your girlfriend to this, or something. It's chill. I dig, recommend.
Favorite Track: "Soda Jerk" "I Am Going To Die"
Bandcamp

Dad, by Roof Doctor

1. Dad. (Dad is off the upcoming full length release Mobile Freedom Home)

"Dad" was released over 2 years after June, Roof Doctor's first release. If you showed me June Roof Doctor, and "Dad" Roof Doctor, I'd have a hard time realizing they are the same band. "Dad" has a chill Emo aspect to the song, and with the lack of Sax, it's almost like they are heading back to the indie-emo sadnesscore aspect as seen in their first release. Which would be totally fine with me, I loved June. There is a spacey-ish feel to "Dad" the kind you get from an indie band trying to be a shoegaze band, if you know what I mean. I for one enjoy "Dad'. Not my favorite of Roof Doctor's, that would have to be either "Roof Doctor" from June, "Soda Jerk", from I Am Going To Die.  

"Dad", however, is a perfect precursor to what is to come for Roof Doctor, and I for one can't wait to see what Roof Doctor has in store. 

imagine like 12 dogs running around on top of you, by Leaky Soups

imagine like 12 dogs running around on top of you, by Leaky Soups

1. jameson (not) lameson

2. i want 300 girlfriends

3. coconut part ii

4. "over the horizon" by samsung

What can I say, I clicked on this band on bandcamp because of the release title. Leaky Soups is some weird indie rock band from Philadelphia that I found under the emo genres on Bandcamp. I can kinda see where emo may come into the songs, like the guitar parts in "i want 300 girlfriends" and such, but the vocals are all clean. Runtimes are all short on this release, the longest tracks tying in at 2:58 between track one and four.
I enjoy the drums and bass lines done on coconut part ii, which is a song that's quite progressive. It starts off slow with a simple uke and vox part, and in it's 2:04 runtime it goes somewhere. In all Leaky Soups is the kind of indie-cute band that you need to already be into, in my opinion. But then again this is coming from a guy in an indie band who hates the fact that he is in an indie band. So I'm kinda prejudice against indie music. I do enjoy the guitar in all of these songs, which does in fact border on Emo. Cullan's vocals are done well throughout the entire release, and did I mention the guitar lines? They're good.
Favorite Track overall: ""over the horizon" by samsung" It has great guitar, drums, bass, everything. And the ending, which, I won't spoil, is perfect.
Bandcamp

June, by Roof Doctor

June, by Roof Doctor

1. Thanks for the Blankets

2. Dishwasher with a Dishwasher

3. When I was really losing it

4. I think it went quite alright

5. Ocean city May 2011

6. Roof Doctor

7. Losing Matt and leaving school

I found Roof Doctor on Bandcamp by searching Emo music, but the review I'm doing now is of Roof Doctor's release, June, which is not Emo in anyway. June is Roof Doctor's first release, entirely acoustic, guitar and vocals. I feel like this entire album should be something on a "growing up teenager" type of movie, like Juno, or something. The guitar is well done, nothing just "Same for chords every song", and the lyrics are personal and deep. The Vocals are a little nasally , but that's fine because it all fits.  One good thing about this release is that the songs aren't all five or so minutes long, like I've usually seen with this genre. The songs are around 2 minutes long on average, the longest song being Losing Matt and Leaving School, clocking in around 3:16.  Everything about this release screams indie acoustic sadness. The kind of music you listen to after a breakup and cry, which, I think may be the point. It made me a little sad to listen to.
Favorite Track for guitar: Losing Matt and Leaving School
Favorite Track overall: Thanks for the Blankets
Bandcamp