Rachel Reviews: Crazy Manic Love (Social Repose)

Today I'll be reviewing the EP "Crazy Manic Love" by Social Repose, I'll be going through this track by track! The first track is "Crazy Manic Love" which is a very powerful song to start an EP with and that's one of the things I love about this track, we jump right into it, the songs lyrics are relatable and the beat keeps the listener's interest. The singer has the perfect range for this song to keep the techno vibe and have a sort of pop-punk sound at the same time. I like how this song slowly builds from slow and mellow to a breakdown that would get nearly anyone in the mood to dance. I give this track 9.5/10 mainly because of the way the instrumentals really portray what the lyrics are trying to get across. The next track is called "More" which is a very mellow, happy piece. My favorite part about this piece is definitley the instrumentals, everything flows together nicely, and while I do like the vocals for this piece I feel as though the instrumentals and the sound of this song don't quite fit with the lyrics that the singer is trying to get across. On the plus side the song has a beautiful tone to it, I give this track an 8/10. The following track is "Wither", this song has a slower pace and really focuses on the lyrics. It has a lot of meaning to it and is a song where I really feel you should pay attention to the lyrics. It's a song that I feel can be taken multiple ways and have a meaning that is sort of individulized to your thoughts and experiences which always makes for a great song, in my opinion. I feel like it is a song that everyone can kind of relate to which gives this song a 9/10 in my book. Next is "I Will Kill Your Sadness" as soon as the song starts you can feel that definite vibe switch from sad and solem to a more, upbeat (for lack of a better term) sound. This is another song where the instrumental is definitley a big part in the song. The vocals are definitley different in this track which is really nice and refreshing, we also have that repeating of "I will kill your sadness" before each breakdown, which depending on the person, may get a little annoying at times but other than that, the beats are good and all flow together very well, the vocals are refreshingly different from the other tracks and we have those breakdowns which are always great, especially if you're in the car jamming with some subwoofers in the back! I give this track an 8.5/10, it would be a nine but the track can get repeatitive. Moving on we have "Temptress", we go back to that kinda slow, Owl City instrumental. The vocals are different, the singing is faster which is refreshing and we have some screaming in this track which definitley got my atttention! Especially when we haven't seen that yet on this EP! Again we have smooth breakdowns, we have some screaming mixed in (Which definitley will give Social Repose a little Pop-Punk attention!), this song is a little heavier than the rest on the EP which is really cool and different and that is something you definitley look for on an album because hearing the same sound over and over can get quite boring. "Temptress" is definitley something to listen to if you're into heavy stuff but also like the techno vibe as well. This track got a 10/10 from me. Finally the last track is "Breathe Carolina - Sellout (Social Repose Remix)" this track was definitley a little hard to review consider it's technically not Social Repose but I managed. That Social Repose vibe is there in the techno sense and the solid breakdowns, Breathe Carolina is definitley still there but you can tell that Social Repose is there too which is nice because sometimes you lose either the artist or the DJ in the remix but here I didn't feel like I lost either of them. This remix got an 8/10 from me, just because I'm not really a huge remix person but I thought it was pretty good! Until next time, check this EP out on Social Repose's Bandcamp it's called "Crazy Manic Love" (Click here for the link!)

Bands you should know: Social Repose

Social Repose is a one man band from Bethesda, MD. Richie Giese formed Social Repose in 2011 and remains unsigned, he's posted many EPs on his bandcamp and has a massive support system. His Facebook page has 5,079 likes, he's attended Warped Tour, and has played many shows in areas such as New York and Pennsylvania. Knowing Richie or Social Repose, on a semi-personal level, I can tell you he's extremely fan devoted and extremely nice. If you look on his Facebook you'll be sure to notice he posts a lot of short ukulele covers of songs such as "The Drug in Me is You" by Falling In Reverse, "Bacon Pancakes" from Adventure Time, "If You Can't Hang" by Sleeping With Sirens, and more. Social Repose also has a cover of Lana Del Ray's "Summertime Sadness" out on their Bandcamp, he has seven EPs out on his Bandcamp (Link here to all his discography), the most recent being Crazy Manic Love (which will be reviewed here soon) which is six tracks including a remix of Breathe Carolina's "Sellouts". I get good vibes from Social Repose, I'll be sure to keep an eye on him and I'm sure you all will too! The link to the lovely Social Repose Facebook is right here so go give him some love by liking the page!

Bands you should know: Conquer The Oceans!

Conquer The Oceans is a metalcore band based out of Northern Virginia consisting of members Emilio Truitt (vocalist), Sebastian Trudeau (drummer), and John Dolan (guitiarist/back-up vocals). The band is unsigned and is currently recording an EP! The band was founded September 13th, 2013 by John Dolan and previous vocalist. The band has 171 Facebook likes, two YouTube videos (which you can view here), twelve subscribers on YouTube, and they are currently writing an album as well! Also you can find some sneak peeks of their EP work on their Facebook so give them some Facebook love here! Stay tuned to my blog where I will review Conquer The Oceans new EP called Broken Morals and their future album coming soon!

Spooky Casual Reveals Big News!

This morning at 10:30 A.M. Spooky Casual announced a lot of amazing things. The band is releasing their split with Naked through Sunset View Records, Nick Overfelt (Jack Motel) is offically going to be drumming for Spooky Casual (yay!), and that they are going to begin writing an EP soon! Spooky Casual is also looking for a bassist! To qualify you need to be out of high school, have reliable transportation, and have professional gear. If you're interested please contact Spooky Casual here. For all the latest Spooky Casual news stay tuned into Rachel Vanity Reviews: Local Bands!

Bands you should know: Dungeon Kids

Dungeon Kids is a pop band from Baltimore, Maryland. The band consists of members Dan Windsor, Zac Yelnosky, Ben Woodworth, and Kinsey Mathews. The vocals are very unique to each song and the instrumentals are very calming and beatiful, but can be very upbeat as well. Each song has its own unique sound which is very refreshing in the pop scene. I would describe Dungeon Kids as great driving music for sure, especially for long drives. This band has 543 Facebook likes, a Tumblr, and a Bandcamp which has Three EPs on it. The band's most recent EP is titled "Oh How it Hurts" and has four tracks on it. "Oh How it Hurts was released on September 11th, 2013. I think this band has true potenial is very underrated, let's fix that! Give Dungeon Kids some love by liking their Facebook page here, following them on Tumblr here, and listening to them on Bandcamp here. Oh and here's a lovely fact, if you're like me and you really like these guys' music can download any of their EPs on their bandcamp for whatever price you want! Go give them a listen, trust me you'll be glad you did!

Local bands play show in Eldersburg area!

A bunch of bands including Spooky Casual, Naked, Jack Motel (Nick Overfelt), Danger Parker, Paul O'Sullivan of Woodbine Hotline, Shane Conard of Playtime Revenue, and Nolan Kerbert played a show in Eldersburg, Maryland last night, Wednesday, August 6th, 2014 at Victor's Italian Ice. While I wasn't able to go I was told there was a great turn out and Naked was selling merch. The event lasted from 6-9:30 P.M. and there was even an after party at Denny's for the musicians who played! I did get a few quotes from some of the musicians that played last night, Matt Hiles of Spooky Casual had this to say about their set "The harmonies were sharp, the melodies were on point, and everybody was in top sad boi shape." Carl Smith had only two words to say about the event, "Turn Up." Nick Overfelt, or Jack Motel, had this to say about the show "It was the epitome of DIY local shows, great to meet people that are as into the music and not the notoriety as I am." and finally Emma Pailer of Spooky Casual had this to say about last night's show, "Even though our wires were in wet grass and we almost got electrocuted, it was still fun and spooky and we were still the saddest sad boys on the block." I heard that the show went extremely well and everyone had a good time! Great job to everyone that played last night all of you are incredibly sick musicians so I bet it was amazing!

(Pictured above is Spooky Casual preforming)

Bands you should know: Teen Suicide

Teen Suicide is a band based out of Maryland with College Park roots that was founded in 2011 consisting of members Sam Ray, Alec Simke, John Toohey, and Brian Sumner. The band is unsigned and "sort of active" but that's not stopping them from growing in the scene with 12,331 Facebook likes, tons of support on Bandcamp, seven EPs, various reviews, and their ever growing fan base on Tumblr (which is also the root of their popularity). They consider their sound pop, noise-pop, lo-fi, and punk. They have very mellow sounds and a very unique sound that sets them out from the rest of their scene. The band was very active from 2010-2012, taking a break and dubbing themselves "sort of active" as of late. They do a bit of touring here and there but the best way to listen to them is definitely their Bandcamp! The band's most recent release is titled "rarities, unreleased stuff, and cool things" which is a 25 track tape that was released on February 3rd, 2013. Go ahead and check that out here! Like their Facebook page here, check out their lovely merch here, and stay tuned into them to see what they may come out with next!

Bands from MD: Polkadot Cadaver!

The alternative metal/experimental rock band Polkadot Cadaver is from Rockville, MD! The band consists of members Todd Smith (vocalist),  Jasan Stepp (guitar, keyboards, cello, and programming), Scott Radway (drummer ), and Brian White (bassist). They've toured with big bands including Blood On The Dance Floor. These guys are signed to RazorToWrist Records and if you like heavy music, I suggest you give them a listen, they're well worth your time, I assure you! Also these guys have a new release coming out called Last Call In Jonestown, give it a listen! Their music and everything is on their Facebook page. Be sure to stay with my blog for my review of  Last Call In Jonestown!!!!!

Bands you should know: Balor's Eye!

Balor's Eye is a progressive metal band from Baltimore, MD consisting of guitarist Josh Yarnall, guitarist Ben Becraft, bassist Luke Francis, drummer Tyler VanOstrand, and vocalist Doug Hill. The band was founded in 2010 and is signed to Dark Harvest Records. Some of their influences include (but are not limited to) Between the Buried and Me, Don the Reader, Lamb of God, Deftones, Soundgarden, and Cannibal Corpse. This band is no tiny project either on July 21st, 2014 Balor's Eye played a show opening for Rings Of Saturn and Arsonists Get All The Girls, Tyler was featured in a 6 page interview by Sick Drummer Magazine in January 2012, the band's Facebook page has 1,231 likes,  and they've released two EPs titled Lorcan and a self titled EP, and they've done a lot more. They're very kind and witty people and another good word to describe them may even be hilarious. I suggest if you haven't already please visit their Bandcamp page (link right here!) and give them a Facebook like! (link here!)