evade the noise™

This EP is $6.99. Go buy it–it doesn’t disappoint. Don’t believe me? Listen to it for yourself, right here:

Alchemy is Joe Hedges second solo album and fifth studio release. Hedges was once signed with the band July for Kings on MCA Records and was ultimately lost in the shuffle during MCA’s merger with Geffen Records. Hedges has experienced the music business, and thankfully has continued to release wonderful music.

Alchemy’s first track is appropriately entitled “Magic.” The term alchemy is commonly connected to the idea of “magically” transforming a basic element into gold, but it also conveys the idea of a mixture. Both of these ideas could be used to describe this album. Alchemy is a captivating mixture of acoustic and electronic music that makes you want to both tap your foot and stop to meditate on what you are listening to. Hedges has a knack for writing music that is both catchy and interesting to listen to.

Hedges, throughout Alchemy, alternatingly moves in and out of acoustic and electronic instrumentations, usually within the same song. “I Can Try,” Alchemy’s second track moves effortlessly from acoustic guitar and vocals to building into an electronic motif. “Ladders” is electronic through and through (do you hear that auto-tune?), but features acoustic drums. “Proletarian” is unabashedly and almost heavy-handedly electronic, but “Cicadas,” the very next track, uses acoustic guitar, piano, acoustic drums, and sensitive vocals.

Bottom line, Alchemy is a lovely album that (in my opinion) gets better the more you listen to it. Go check it out!

Aaron Hale is a worship leader and Christian recording artist out of Kansas City, and he kindly sent us his newest EP Ghostly this week and we were happy to take a listen. I’ve been around the Christian music scene long enough to know that I’m pretty much a skeptic at this point when it comes to “worship” music. However, I don’t think Aaron shouldn fall into that category as his songs aren’t really “worship” tunes if you ask me. These are more like original songs that you would hear on a new indie film. Sure, he’s singing about Jesus and how a Christian should live, but musically these aren’t your typical “worship” songs to be sung by the congregation. Maybe that’s his intent and if so, I’m sorry but he should just move forward with his songs as just songs and not label them “worship”, because he’s got enough talent to hold his own in that crazy Christian market without having to drop the big “W” buzzword.

At just three songs the EP is short and sweet. Mostly acoustic, it’s got a pretty relaxed feel throughout. The title track “Ghostly” is probably the better of the three songs both in writing and production quality. The chorus is very light, airy and radio-friendly. Simple verses and his voice is a little more “dirty” which is kind of fun, but as you approach the chorus you’re treated with some good harmonies and the “I’m ghostly white…” line which gets stuck in my head. The second song “Got A Lot to Give” is nice, but I really don’t think it goes anywhere dynamically–it just stays the same throughout. It’s not a bad song, I just think it’s my least favorite of the three. Finally, “Wake Within Me” is more along the lines of the title track and the melody is nice. I struggle with what they have done with his voice on the production end of things and I don’t like the the reverb or whatever that is, but the song is good and actually quite perfect for the rainy day we’re having as I write this.

Aaron Hale may not be the next CCM artist to top the charts but I like the direction he’s going. It sounds like he’s hanging with the right people (Robbie Seay to name one) and trying to get his music out there and we hope the best will come of it. As well, he has been giving proceeds from his song “Got A Lot To Give” to work in Haiti and we obviously respect that effort. Oh, and we’re digging that front cover–3D for the win!

The Ghostly EP comes out on October 12 and you can purchase it from Amazon.
Follow Aaron Hale on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

We dig indie artists here at evade the noise, so when we got an email from Mike Reeb this week giving us the heads up on his new album Breaking we were happy to take a listen. What we didn’t expect was a well-written, well-produced acoustic folk album that doesn’t feel forced and comes from the heart. Acoustic driven, and at times almost country with some subtle steel guitar, Breaking is actually a refreshing Southern sound.

According to his bio he is,

“…. an independent musician from Indiana and have shared the stage with Sleeping at Last, Alejandro Escovedo, Denison Witmer, Derek Webb, Bill Mallonee, Pieta Brown, and Joe Pug next month. Additionally, one of my songs is featured in the new movie Janie Jones which stars Abigail Breslin and Elisabeth Shue”.

It wouldn’t surprise us if he started seeing some label interest with songs like “It’s Been A Real Hard Year”. The song is sad, but what he packs in two and a half minutes is actually quite interesting with lines like “we got married in ’93, but cancer took her from me, oh my God it’s been real hard year”. It’s hard to say whether this is a song from actual experience or just some thoughts, but either way we’re digging it. It’s definitely worth a listen, and Breaking is a completely free download so there’s no reason not to at least check it out.

For whatever it’s worth, if you’re reading this Mike we wish you the best and we’ll be listening. Thanks for giving us the heads up on your latest release.

Follow Mike Reeb on Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace.

Check out diegostocco.com for more creative compositions.

Future of Forestry releases the 3rd and final act of the travel themed EP series entitled Travel III June 29th. See evade post for Travel I and Travel II. As the prior albums had flight and nautical themes, it appears the latest endeavor takes an automotive theme. Songs are available to listen via their facebook page. You can also check them out on myspace and twitter.

Pre-order Future of Forestry’s latest album on Amazon.com

As a long time fan of Dashboard Confessional it make sense that I would be enjoying the acoustic power pop duo The Icarus Account. Craziest thing about these guys is that at this point their unsigned, but you can guarantee it won’t last long. When you start seeing them pop up in PureVolume’s Best Unsigned Bands of 2009 list and big time A&R sites, you know they’ll be snatched up shortly.

The Icarus Account is Ty and Trey Turner (twin brothers) and they reside in Florida. But let’s be honest–Los Angeles will be calling them soon.

Check out their latest album (in full) on PureVolume.com and click down to the track “For the Both of Us”–I can’t stop playing it.

We talked about Theresa Andersson back in 2008, and I’m pretty excited about her upcoming DVD release “Theresa Andersson: Live at Le Petit”. She’s a one-girl band and I’m sure this will be a great DVD if you’re looking for some chill violin girl rock–yes, I said “violin girl rock.” Whether or not you know what that means is beside the point, just watch this video:

Hoc n’ Pucky

“Timeless: The Composer/Arranger Series is the name of a concert series that was created in homage to the composer/arrangers who have influenced hip-hop in the most literal and profound ways. Timeless was conceived by production house Mochilla in Los Angeles during February and March 2009 and included the performances of over 150 musicians in front of ecstatic sold out crowds. These three historic events were recorded and filmed in exacting detail with Mochilla’s unmistakable style.

From Mulatu Astatke to J.Dilla to Arthur Verocai, the Timeless Concert Series touched upon the works of three musical giants. Mochilla is proud to announce the release date of our 3 DVD Box Set with downloadable audio portion as April 2010!” (via mochilla.com)

I first heard about Suite for Ma Dukes in the Spring of 2009 on Stones Throw Records which was later performed live for a sold out audience. This is the DVD follow up to that event and is currently available for pre-order. This is an extremely limited release and is set to drop April 2010.

Order the Timelss Series DVD box set from Mochilla.com

I got wind of All Night Chemists over the weekend and after one listen I’m enjoying it. It’s not anything mind-blowing, but for an album their giving away I think it’s worth a listen. They are definitely a more chill music then anything else, but their acoustic ballads are probably their strong point. Not every song is worth your time, but whenever I find music that seems to be hiding I want to bring it in to the light. From what I can tell they’re still unsigned and don’t have much of a following at this point, but they don’t seem to update their online presence much either. Whatever the case, I still think you should give these guys a listen.

You can download the entire All Night Chemist’s latest album Meet Me Again right here. Give it a listen and let us know what you think.