Patrick Dodd Trio

Who is the man with the voodoo voice that lures both the strange and square into Beale Street water holes? Who is the old soul with the fiery lung reminiscent of Albert King, Marc Broussard, Johnny Guitar Watson and Mississippi Fred McDowell? Who is the one with the commanding voice that's strong as a horse and immediately grabs you with its hoarse beauty? 

Listen to Patrick Dodd Trio on BandSoup

Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Patrick Dodd was brought into this world with the gift of the blues and cultivated his talent on the outskirts of the genre, while adding in his own contemporary color. Dodd had a successful run with his band a decade ago, but put aside growing his musical career to grow his young family. Now, along with seasons veterans Harry Peel and Landon Moore, the Patrick Dodd Trio are back in the saddle shelling out soulful vocals, whispering lyrics and knee-bouncing bass and drum beats for perfectly timed full throttle progressions.


The trio's latest release, Future Blues, is quite an accomplishment. The simplicity and straight forwardness of the arrangements allow Dodd to shine bright but still give off a much larger sound than what you would expect from a trio. Their mix of vintage blues, southern-style rock, gospel, and jam music is accessible for both the blues enthusiast and virgin ear alike, mainly due to Dodd's hypnotizing rasp and modern swagger.

Purchase/Listen to Future Blues Here

Patrick Dodd Trio on Facebook

BandSoup Blog Exposure

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Help Us Help You in 2012.

Want To Be Featured On Our Blog?

2012 has been treating us well so far and I hope it has been just as kind to you! On top of the continual growth of our music community, our blog has new contributors to help spotlight some of the site's finest emerging artists. We want to write more album reviews and artist features in 2012 so it would be a huge help if you could send your new albums/EPs for review, videos, and any press releases regarding tours and album releases directly to our staff. If you have a new album set to release in 2012, we would love to know about it. By sending us your press releases and music to review before the album's release date, BandSoup can help increase buzz and visibility before it hits the shelves.

Music videos are also great to post on the blog. If you have a new music video, live performance, interview, or vlog, please send those over as well.

To send us your album for review, press release, video, news, or anything else you deem blog-worthy, fire up an e-mail to:

blog@bandsoup.com 

NOTE: For anything to be featured on the BandSoup Blog, you must first share at least one song on our main site: www.bandsoup.com. If you have shared music in the past and have a new album/single out, it would really be cool if you shared the new song/s on the site. Free albums/EPs and free single song downloads are also great blog material, so let us now about those as well.

Contests/Giveaways

In the near future, we would also love to run a few contests/giveaways. If you're interested and have any material to be used in contests/giveaways, please let us know.

 

BandSoup's goal is to help uplift and promote independent bands and solo artists. We all know how tough it is to get your music out to the masses and to get press exposure, so we would love to get closer to our bands in 2012 and help build those bridges. Keeping us updated via e-mail is the best way to make this happen!

We hope to hear from you soon,

Team BandSoup

* Please don't send in any albums/EPs that are over a year old. Sending in an album/EP for a review does not gaurantee a review or feature on the blog. 

Hot One of the Week: Symbol & Surface- Brothers

Who is down with the resurgence of indie-folk music as a trend in music? With the likes of Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, Bon Iver, and even lesser known artists like The Tallest Man On Earth, I have fallen in love with the new found ingenuity of artists who have a “less-is-more” philosophy. One such example that I have found on BandSoup this week is Symbol & Surface. This four piece from Minneapolis, Minnesota released their debut EP less than two months ago and, believe me, listening to it is worth your while.

Led by brothers David and Brian Bauernfeind, Symbol & Surface boasts intelligent lyrics, clear harmonies, and well constructed instrumentation. Key aspects of Mumford, Iver, and The Avett Brothers' ethos show up in their 5-song EP, Brothers, but you can also hear elements of City & Colour and Simon & Garfunkel. All of these comparisons show they have achieved both a contemporary indie folk sound and a classic nostalgia within their music, which makes a perfect go to band for the new and old generation of folk rock lovers.

I recommend the title track off of the EP, “Brothers”, which you can now find on BandSoup, and checking out this great new act on their main website here.

-Doug Foley

Elos Arma- T.I.T.S. (Free Album Download)

On their sophomore album, T.I.T.S. (This Is The Shit), Toronto quartet Elos Arma nurse numerous turn of the millennium punk and alternative rock influences into a healthier, less clichéd offspring. Their overwhelming energy, flair for power-pop rock, and youthful ethos translates through everything they touch. From the music to their album art to their website design and video direction-- this is a band that everyone can have fun with.

Listen to Elos Arma's T.I.T.S. on BandSoup

As mellow, lo-fi shoegazer rock and electronic music continue to build popularity, it's refreshing to hear an indie band revive an uptempo and happier vibe in their music. T.I.T.S. leads off with Super Diamonds, a song that spotlights the band's best attributes with infectious multi-layered vocals, twinkling keys, and catchy construction, and immediately shows us why the album title can also be used as an adjective to describe their talent. Much like Super Diamonds, the succeeding songs You Shut Your Mouth When You're Talking To Me and Walker follow the same blueprint and are equally endearing. The classic punk spawned layered vocal chants in each song add an extra pinch of catchiness to an already toxic batch of tunes. The outcome? Addiction and future interventions. Oh the Light and PS show the flip side of Elos Arma. The slower tempo and more serious tones in these songs add depth to the album and show that the vocals aren't the only thing in the band that is multi-layered.



My first dive into the chest of these young canucks was a satisfying one. The five tracks presented on T.I.T.S. reveal a future powerhouse of pop rock and a band that deserves way more attention than they have received thus far. What I like most about T.I.T.S. is, instead of being a casual spectator to an album like I usually am, Elos Arma made me want to jump in and motorboat.

Sorry for the all the spit.

- Ryan Monk

Click Here to Download Elos Arma's T.I.T.S.

Elos Arma on Facebook

Diamond- Don't Lose Your Cool EP (Free Download)

Birthed through binary communications and garage recordings, Diamond was born in bedrooms scattered across Baltimore, Richmond, and Chicago. Despite their disconnected locations, this energetic quartet made up of 90's alternative raised skate kids deliver one hell of a sophomore EP full of catchy and endearing melodic rock in the same vein as Jimmy Eat World and Weezer.

Listen to Diamond on BandSoup

Don't Lose Your Cool will please both the nostalgic and new era of alt-pop fanatics. The nods to the past and the present collide cohesively and provide a flawless pop rock experience that not many have been able to pull off in recent years. Oddly enough, a couple of the band's core members come from hardcore rock backgrounds (former members of Trapped Under Ice and Down To Nothing), but mask their upbringing in an ocean of happy hooks and radiant riffs that will roost in your head for days after listening.



Diamond may be diamonds in the rough now, but I have a feeling that will soon change. They are radio ready, adept, and accessible. If this EP is just a peek into what the band can accomplish long term and in full length, Diamond could be forever.

Free Download of the Don't Lose Your Cool EP 

Diamond's Website

Photo by Luke Williams

Surgeon- Surgeon EP (Free Download)

Surgeon is a St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada based group of post-rock phoenixes that rose from the ashes of a previous instrumental rock project called Narrows in 2008. After adopting a darker, heavier, and structural vibe to their music, these practitioners of prog, led by leftover Narrows members Steve Cowan and Andrew Wicks, went full speed ahead into another realm of instrumental rock and came up with their debut self titled EP that we bring you today.

Listen to Surgeon's EP on BandSoup

Unlike many other post-rock and math-rock outfits, Surgeon are careful to avoid weaving compositions that are under developed or overly complicated; instead, the band combines moody multi-layered melodies, waves of intricate guitar work, and a rousing rhythm section that seamlessly flow through multiple genres while still offering audiences music that's easy to digest. Instrumental rock is a still a niche genre, but Surgeon is one of those bands that could entice a new brand of listener because they understand how not to alienate the average joe while keeping the attention of listeners that are searching for a musical mind fuck.

On their six track EP, Surgeon first lures you in with the aptly titled intro, "Spectrum", where they begin with a sequence of pulsating hard rock riffs that eventually splash onto a shore of trickling guitars and dreamy percussion before looping back into a nightmare of metal. "Octomom" opposes the intro as slow tentacles full of ethereal electronic noise, hypnotic bass and drums, and layers of guitars and eastern woodwinds slowly swirl in circles before the song breaks off into a fast and hopeful swim. The band then shows their various talents with the meat and potatoes of the album-- "Silverfish", "Doso", and "Solar"-- where Surgeon's song composing, expert musicianship, and knack of playing within the heart beat of instrumental rock's cardiovascular system surges through each epic twist. The grand finale, "Rat King", is exactly that, culminating everything the band did throughout the EP in one last dramatic song fit for everyone's end.

The music on this EP is almost two years old, so it will be interesting to see where the band goes next with their music. For now, this emerging Canadian outfit is looking to leave their Newfoundland shores to explore the world and are hoping that this EP gives them the wings to do so.

Download Surgeon- Surgeon EP for Free

Surgeon on Facebook

Rare Monk- Astral Travel Battles

Rare Monk is a five piece band out of Portland, Oregon that immediately pulled my heartstrings with their special brand of violin smoked indie rock that floats through galaxies of psychedelic guitars, 90s alternative, and indie rock. On their most recent album, Astral Travel Battles (self released, June 2011), the band shows off its collective dexterity and schizophrenia by jumping through an array of musical genres over seven oddly cohesive tracks.

Listen to Rare Monk on BandSoup

The album's spirited opener "Shoot Me Down" sets the standard as lead singer Dorian Aites wails a simple tale of an outlaw on the run over a catchy background of pulsating guitars and saloon table slapping strings. "Teak" then steers in a different direction. The band's unpretentious political side emerges through Aites' banshee screams and metaphorical imagery, playing with your analysis of what Rare Monk really is, before bleeding seamlessly into the dreamy, Minus the Bearesque "Declaration of Entropic (In)Dependence"; an infectious song with a classic indie rock sound that pairs well with the soaring foundations of "Crystalline Logic".

The morphing face of Rare Monk continues through the rest of the album, but you are never left bewildered with their motives. Astral Travel Battles is a cornucopia of post-90s alternative influences cultivated within a pristine rhythm section's superior skills, the charisma that strings bring to rock and roll, and the voice of a compelling lead singer that demands attention like the two lead singers he reminds me of in Isaac Brock and Matt Shultz.

The "rare" in their name is as authentic as their arsenal. This is a band to keep your ear on.

Free Download of Astral Travel Battles

Rare Monk on Facebook

Laserfang

It's kind of odd how a wooly mammoth drenched in melting pastels is the first visual impression a band wants to make, but Laserfang, a Salt Lake City based band known for their energetic and unforgettable live performances, sport this prehistoric psychedelic beast on the cover of their debut album with pride,  and its gaudy design (courtesy of artist Sri Whipple) ends up being a perfect accessory to the band's abrasively colorful sound and spirit.

Mammoth, a 9-track trip through a kaleidoscope of funky rhythms, buzzy guitars, stabbing brass, and blotches of electronic noise, is the most interesting album I've heard in over a decade. Devoid of obvious influences and genre, Laserfang should be filed under 'Mindfuck', 'WTF', or have a genre named after them. Each track on the record is named after a famous TV or movie villain and the accompanying music matches each characters menacing facade. "Master Control Program" is the perfect introduction track. It is an 8-minute roller coaster through Laserfang's psyche-- danceable rhythms, trippy transitions, buzzing bass lines, infectious guitar riffs, crisp drums, and oddly hypnotizing vocals-- a true crayola box of noise. "Priss & Roy" enters the vortex like it was part of the intro track and continues to peacock and strut along with Shane Asbridge's retro cries, cradling them in streaks of whirs and computerized keys. "Alan Stanwyck", the bands stand out track, is entrancing. A voodoo cobra like composition that's ready to be lauded by blogs, the giants of indie rock press, and every American Apparel wearing hipster apathetically flicking clove ash into a PBR, which instantly makes me wonder-- why haven't these guys been dubbed 'the next big thing' yet?

The caboose of the record begins to show off a cool and calm side of Laserfang. "Sardo Numpsa" is a slithering jazz smoked cut with latin undertones and "Aunty Entity" a slight nod to the 70's; however, the pace picks right back up with the spastic, robotic vocalized "Baron Vladimir Harkonnen" and "Hans Gruber", the album's closer that gives a smooth landing to one turbulent voyage through the mind of Laserfang.

Despite their cult following in Utah, it took Laserfang five years to put their brains on wax, but the wait was well worth it. Mammoth is a word that not only explains their sound and their shows, but their balls and their future.

Click Here to Listen to Laserfang on BandSoup

(click the artist link to purchase)

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By submitting this form, you will have a chance to be featured on our affiliated blog in a full album review, 60 Second Review, or one of our many featured columns. You can also submit a press release for a new album and any free downloads/free album downloads to the same address.

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NOTE: For anything to be featured on the BandSoup Blog, you must first share at least one song on our main site: www.bandsoup.com. If you have shared music in the past and have a new album/single out, it would really be cool if you shared the new song/s on the site.

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* Please don't send in any albums/EPs that are over a year old. Sending in an album/EP for a review does not gaurantee a review or feature on the blog.