Subtly powerful is the best way to describe the latest work from UK duo Turin Breaks and their latest forthcoming album, ‘Outbursts,’ which drops April 20th here in the states. Some music out there is made to speak straight and true to your soul and not just to the bearded, soft hearted indie kids of the day, but it seems that anyone who puts on a pair of headphones and listens to this album could grow to fall head-over-heels in love with it.

Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian have a long history together, long time mates from childhood to be exact, and formed the group in 1999. Between then and 2003 the two released a few EP records including ‘The Door,’ ‘The State of Things,’ and ‘Fight or Flight.’ All of which are fantastic and lead to their first LP album ‘The Optimist,’ which was released on Source Records in the UK and re-released in the states under known label Astralwerks (AIR, Badly Drawn Boy, The Kooks, Sia, etc.). Since then the band has released several more successful album works including ‘Ether Song,’ ‘JackInABox,’ ‘Dark on Fire,’ and a live album, ‘Live at the Palladium.’

Outbursts is the latest jewel in the two’s stellar catalog so far. It’s a whimsical, light and airy acoustic love affair with a plethora of styling undertones. It’s almost a full 360° evolution of the band returning to its musical roots with everything learned and gained over the years. The single out now, “Sea Change,” has a powerful, driving undertone but is still lightly carried and kept in check by the duo’s soothing voice and the twinkling of acoustic guitars. The music video is just as powerful and quite creative using plastic soldiers and stop motion. You can find the video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fawhVcprjDA. The rest of the album takes you on a ride from lullaby like songs for lovers, more folk-ish sounds with lessons to be learned in the lyrics to more deep, soul driven tracks that come down like a heavy rain in the end. It’s Brit Pop, it’s Folk, it’s rock all wrapped up in to one package.

Turin Brakes is probably the best UK band you’ve never heard of, which is like the Brits to keep their crown jewels to themselves, hidden…usually in a tower. And despite that they’ve had tracks featured on The O.C. and Gossip Girl. Although if your reading this review on our site you probably don’t frequent such television programs. Its music for lovers, its music for your soul and its music you’re guaranteed to fall in love with. Technically Outbursts has already dropped, but in the UK. The official US drop is April 20th on Cooking Vinyl Records and the two are already touring in support of it in the UK with US dates to come. Keep on top of the two by checking out their website, http://www.turinbrakes.com.

Review by: Will O.

Editors- In This Light And On This Evening Album Review

It's dark...Real dark. Granted the past two albums from Brit Rock band, the Editors, have always been subtly eerie but their new album, 'In this Light and on this Evening,' is a little more heavy then past works. It was so to a point that after the first couple listens I really didnt enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I was ecstatic that the Editors were putting out a new record. I had figured they had a good thing going with that loud, boomy fast paced sound theyve had before. In the end they almost went the other way.

In This Light And On This Hour is toned down a bit, slowed down a tad and has a lot of deep dark undertones mixed with some wicked electo noises. It almost sounds like a bastardised 80s epic movie soundtrack, you know like Running Man or Blade Runner. Admittedly some of the more dark tracks aren't as fun, but when you cut into some of those more uptempo, electro backed tracks you can get moving a bit. Im sure theres some potential on the remix for all you DJs out there.

Overall the album may be an acquired taste to all those new Editors fans. The hard core old ones will probably fall in love with it. I have to admit it was slightly a new direction for them. And so far it's worked. It caught on to me, you just have to switch gears a little to listen to the album, set the mood. I am, however, very excited to see their live performance again, as they never disappoint. Im sure it'll be fantastic. The band tours the states all through the month of February and will be stopping by at the House of Blues San Diego on February 9th.

Mute Math- Armistice Album Review

Finally, after three years of touring around and riding they're debut album, Mute Math, the boys from New Orleans have produced another gem of an album. Armistice has to be one of the most eclectic albums Ive ever heard in a very long time.

If youre a fan, as you should be, youd notice on their website the entire recording process over the past few years while on the road and in the studio both in Nashville and New Orleans. The apparent long and strenuous process of producing the new album actually prompted tension within the band leading them to bring aboard producer Dennis Herring (producer of Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello, The Hives, Ben Folds and others) to help them bring focus towards the creative process as the band scrapped nearly everything done to the point and starting from scratch which helped them produce 20 or so new songs which would eventually be boiled down into the twelve that make up Armistice.

Armistice in itself is an amazing album from start to finish. You may or may not know that you got a taste back when the film Twilight came out with the bands first single to come out from the new album, Spotlight. Whatever you do, dont base that one song to be the entire album, its an amazing ride filled with Mute Maths patented form of unique art and experimental rock. If you listen closely its you can hear possible influences or just overall different genres of music. Some singles have a hit of radio head with that airy lift you off the ground feel, almost West Indian Girlish. Other singles have a heavy electro poppy feel to it as well. While the rest of the album is filled with strings and brass, including a second cut from the title track, Armistice, which includes back up from the Rebirth Brass Band outta the bands hometown of New Orleans.

Mute Math has to be one of the most creative and hard working bands out there today. They're record music is only seconded by their live performances which never disappoint. If you havent picked up Armistice then there probably is something a little off about you. Otherwise go get and watch out for them to hit a town near you. For us here in the fantastic city of San Diego Mute Math will be hitting the House of Blues on October 11th. Be there or be of the squared variety.

AIR- Love 2 Album Review

The French have invaded again. Its been about two years since Airs last album, Pocket Symphony, dropped in early 2007, followed by a stellar tour, time off and lots of studio time the French electronic pop duo has dropped their sixth studio album dubbed, Love 2. We got a little snippet of the fuzzy, feel good sound of Love 2 in August of 09 when the first single, Sing Sang Sun, dropped. It set the tone for the rest of the album is probably one of those perfect fit songs.

Love 2 offers us mostly what wed expect from the Frenchmen Nicolas godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. A mystical, whimsical journey through space and time which can really only be enhanced through light drug use and sexual activities. Its definitely a fun album to listen to and at first I thought, well, its Air...and I still love them. But I had another listen, and another, and maybe even indulged in some of the activities above, to try and find the uniqueness of their latest work. I guess vice theyre last work, Pocket Symphony, which was sounded very clean, mellow and down tempo, something you could definitely chill too; Love 2 has done something of a 180° by sounding much more organic. The album has a faster tempo in most songs, its a little more creative chaos and toned back on the electronic as it accents the music less drives the music. And going back the single, Sing San Sung, its just fun and cheerful, something destined for a soundtrack. You want to fall in love to this album. Even the titles of the tracks are somewhat humorous. Be a Bee, Eat My Beat, Tropical Disease, So Light Is Her Footfall, I have to wonder what they were thinking while writing this album. I mean after all, they are French.

Overall if youre a raving Air fan, like myself, youll just love Love 2 in its entirety. Its classic Air to the letter and a joy to listen to, one for the collection. The band is currently on tour in Europe, no plans laid out for a state side stint at anytime yet, however if they do cross the pond I highly suggest you see them live, its an experience, just about life changing...bring a lover. And pick up Love 2.

West Indian Girl- We Believe Album Review

"Its about finding the best thing in life, be it a wave or a state of mind or a perfect escape," co-founding bassist Francis Ten says.

It has been a summer of highs & lows for LA sextet West Indian Girl. On the heels of their well-received sophomore album 4th & Wall comes the sad news that their female lead singer has departed from the band due to recent life & priority changes. One of said changes may be Mariqueens recent engagement to Trent Reznor, but who are we to speculate?

As posted on their blog, the show must go on and thus West Indian Girl has a full line-up of shows this summer that will be played without interruption including a top-billed performance at Street Scene here in sunny San Diego. According to their blog, they are looking for an immediate replacement for their dearly departed lead singer, so any interested females should contact: info@westindiangirl.com

On a more musical note, West Indian Girls new CD is excellent and absorbing. They have a vintage, acid tinged-feel that combines international and So Cal charms.

The first few songs, To Die in LA, Blue Wave, and Sofia all sound a bit similar, with jangly instruments and trippy, out of this world sound effects over male vocals. The Indian Ocean brings a bit more depth to the album, with sentimental lyrics such as this is our last chance to make it rain over sentimental chords.

Lost Children comes roaring in with a disco beat reminiscent of Jamiroqui, and the album continues to build & surprise from there. Get Up & Rise from the Dead feature howling, classic rock style vocals & harder guitar chords to close things out on a haunting note.

Line up changes or not, West Indian Girl is a band to watch and I for one will be front row & dancing at their upcoming Street Scene debut. We Believe is an excellent album and a must have for any WIG fans out there, a collection of rarity, remixes and b-sides from over the years. Released by indie label, Origami Records (also an excellent vinyl store), We Believe is sure to relax your soul when the day turns to night. You can find out more about the band and their current comings and goings at http://www.westindiangirl.com, and check out Origami Records at http://www.origamiorigami.com.

Muse- The Resistance Album Review

Muse. They've produced some stellar work in the past. Their debut hit full length album, Absolution, broke records and boundaries setting them as one of the premiere and hardest rocking UK bands out there. Their follow up with Black Holes and Revelations only solidified them as a progressive creative machine. And now with theyre third album, The Resistance, theyve gone and done something that few bands can ever pull off. They have re-defined rock opera. Honestly, whether they intended to or not they did just that. With the bands unique electo-classical music rock mashing and progressive flow from one track to another theyve created some nue age rock symphony.

Muse has always been noted for their involvement of big sound, big noise, big show and The Resistance is no exception. The only real way to describe the sound being blasted into my mind would be simply epic. Its a perfectly produced musical blend of forward rock music with electronic filler and symphonic back up. Something that Muse has done before but only in this album has it really all come together for me. For instance: Absolution was a fantastic album, but it was edgy, it was loud and it was raw. Something to march too and bang your head two, especially with the two hit singles off the track, Hysteria and Time is Running Out. Now, Black Holes and Revelations was also a stellar piece of work. But it was more experimental and a bit poppy with its singles Suppermassive Black Hole and Starlight. Now you take both of these albums and mash them together, progress and experiment and produce the hell out of it until its absolutely perfect in sound and then youve got The Resistance. Its got movie soundtrack production quality and is amazing to listen to, especially the last three tracks which are quite literally a rock symphony.

Briefly on the last three tracks, known as Exogenesis: Symphony, Pt. 1: Overture, Pt. 2: Cross-Pollination and Pt. 3: Redemption, are beautifully produced with Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt being referenced as the influences behind the classical tracks. Although no official symphony or established orchestra was partnered with a group of 40 classical musicians were brought together to form an orchestra with the band. The tracks are a totally unique concept for the band with front man Matthew Bellamy having hinted on its creation in 2008 when entering the studio saying I think the next album Id like to do at least one 15-minute space-rock solo. Honestly its utterly fantastic through and through.

So Blog About It.

Everyone. Everyone whos part of generation Z and has access to the internet has a blog. Theyre everywhere. Mostly of no consequence, most of them could be considered no more than public diaries for whoever is bored enough to stumble by them. San Diego has its fair share of these. So we dove in and had a look to see whats what, whose writing about what, where, when and should you actually care. Now first we should set out some ground rules as to what actually is considered a blog. Well first it has to be in some form of WordPress format going through such providers as wordpress.org, or blogger.com. For exampleus truly, we are not a blog. We are an actual built website. Aside from that we could really care less. So lets begin, shall we?

The first one that stands out for us has to be the most basic, simple and yet effective blog site out there for the San Diego area. And, to some respects, our main competition. San Diego Dialed In, http://www.sddaledin.com. Founded a couple years ago by local indie scene guru Rosemary, SD Dialed In is actually one of the best sources to find out whats what in the scene. Although youll notice a long list of contributing writers on the right side of the page youll come to notice that along the read that Rosemary is really the only one that posts content. More power to her, the girl has such a low key reputation but can just about go anywhere she wants too. Constantly updating the events calendar, there really isnt much this blog cant provide you if youre looking for where to go on any particular day. If its worthy shell note it. Kudos to SD Dialed In. But you know, keep on tabs with us as well.

Next on the list came to our attention about a month and a half ago or so, give or take a week. Its brand spanking and for better or worse is starting to rock the boat and make the ripples into waves. SD Gossip Scene, http://www.sdgossipscene.com. Ran by a short, dark haired girl, who out of some wayward professional courtesy asked of by our producer and editor, shall be left anonymous. Although we dont know why cause although her plan to keep low key in the scene to us is failing miserably. Maybe she shouldnt pass business cards out, despite they are nameless, and youre passing them out. Aside the point though, you all know her and probably just dont realize who she is. But youll notice that over the past year the San Diego hipster/scenester/indie/electo/dance/cracked out/drunk/ 21-23yro scene has been getting more and more highschool-ish. And this gossip blogger loves to add fuel to the fire. Reporting on just about everything scene, heard, or otherwise rumored about, snapping photos and drawing like a 5 year old on them. The sad part is that people, for better or worse, look at this and then go all OMG, WTF. Its amazing how easily peoples buttons can get pushed in this town. But in some instances, making a break up public, putting people on something of a spotlight just isnt cool. There are scene reports and local event promotions on the site as well, but that doesnt really do justice. We predict that its only time until the mystery girl is made very public and either crucified or accepted in some sadistic way. San Diego has never been a gossip town; the major tabloids even stay out of town. And no offense to anyone out there but reallydo you even think your worth blogging about? But we wish her good luck, and god help her if and when the kettle boils over.

A little known blog, but in actuality a very intuitive blog to us, would be Mintphonic, http://mintphonic.blogspot.com. What is it you ask? Well its a scene specific blog reporting on local and global happenings in the electro scene. Promoting local events and reporting notable DJ acts coming and going through town as well as industry news on that scene. Its not too shabby. Brought to you by local DJ Joseph Maldonado, aka DJ Headshake has also created Ping Pow Zing, a promotional gig for DJ events and producers of Kitchen Time with the #1 Julius, which in itself is an interesting phenomena. Funny to watch most the time, mainly promoting what is coming up event wise and the love of Julius and cooking with beer.

A similar blog, pretty much with the same goals and aims, would be Colour Vision, http://www.colourvisionmusic.com. Created by fellow DJ Corey Hurley, Colour Vision seems to be more of a reposting of events to come and reports been made in the electro scene; Vice its sister blog, Minphonic, which seems to provide us with more of an insight of whats going on with all that noise.

There are others, some such as Insomniac-Rant, http://bre-nice.blogspot.com, maintained by local scene girl Berenice Diaz, is pretty much a public diary for all those who care to see what shes up to and where shes been and is going. Its amusing at times since she is an amusing character herself. Other blogs such as Boots Baby!, http://bootsbaby.blogspot.com, maintained by once local scene girl (gone to college but drives 4-6hrs on the long weekends back home) Brittney Boots Bowels, focuses on more of the fashion and culture phenomena . Oh yeah, did we also mention that she too.is a DJ Brazzabelle. Go figure. Following her, would be EcologiqueSD, http://ecologiquesd.blogspot.com. Created by Andrea Krystine, Ecolgique is her brainchild and baby from start to finish. After putting on a highly successful fashion show exposing designers who are totally green, using reused materials and so forth to create their designs. Saving the world one designer line at a time, we applaud.

Overall though the point isif you wanna get something off your chest, make some waves, wear your heart on the internet or actually report on some legitimate stuffor maybe just to be cool as the reststart a blog.

Review by: The Scensters