Signals Midwest - Latitudes & Longitudes

Cleveland, OH's Signals Midwest are a band very much influenced by their location, and Latitudes & Longitudes takes more than a few cues from '90s Midwestern emo. There's the power of Braid, the twinkly guitar lines of American Football and the quirkyness of Cap'n Jazz all on display here, but it is all bound together by a sense of carefully measured songwriting which really sets it apart from bands who just rehash this classic sound. Basically, this is what happens when gruff punk collides with 90's emo, and it's brilliant, with songs like ‘Monarchs’, ‘I Was Lost’ and ‘The Quiet Persuader’ being particular standouts for me. Latitudes & Longitudes basically strikes the perfect balance; it’s accessible without being overly poppy, emotional without being over the top, and technical without being bafflingly so. So yeah, give it a spin, if you’re into any of the bands mentioned then you’ll find something to love here.

Download: http://tinyengines.bandcamp.com/album/latitudes-and-longitudes

Signals Midwest - Latitudes & Longitudes

Stop SOPA Cencorship Bill

There is a bill in progress and might be passed towards anti-piracy. It effectively gives corporations the right to shut down any website that they want if it interferes with their sales. So, this site, would be taken down with no notice or court to fight against. I have gotten cease and desist letters, digital millennium copyright act letters and letters from the RIAA itself asking me to take things down, but this bill would take it to the next level of corporate control. If you want for your ability to fight against it then read up on the links below. Sites like Wikipedia, Google, and Craigslist are blacked out today to protest this bill. I figure that we can do our relatively small part in posting this as well.

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Stop SOPA Cencorship Bill

Younger Siblings - Bald Eagles Aren't Actually Bald

I really like this 7" from Birmingham, AL's Younger Siblings. There are are a lot of different influences on display here, from 60's pop and surf rock to the more toned down elements of Bomb The Music Industry's recent album. Overall, it kind of sounds like grainy, analogue indie colliding with Bright Eyes with John Flansburgh on vocals. There is also a slightly twee undertone which reminded me of certain Dead Milkmen songs, which is always a plus point, and the whole thing is drenched in analogue distortion, reverb and even a little bit of slapback which gives a nice organic feel. My only real problem is that the first song, 'Pure Mechanical Failure' is, in my opinion, a lot stronger than the other tracks, and this disparity in quality started to get to me on the third or fourth listen. It's not that the other two songs are bad, far from it, they just aren't as good as the opener.  Overall though, this is a great little 7" and I will definately be keeping an ear out for what they do in the future.

Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/?dpbsjlaicwuow66

Buy 7": http://springstrecords.storenvy.com/products/137316-younger-siblings-bald-eagles-aren-t-really-bald-7 

Younger Siblings - Bald Eagles Aren't Actually Bald

Sticker Promotion Is Over!

Encase you're wondering where your free stickers are, they are right here in these envelopes. I'm drawing cool designs on them and writing you all personal notes. I take a while to do things, but I think it's worth it to add my personal flair to it. A lot of people requested stickers, I'm really excited that happened. The record label has a lot of cool stuff going on too, including stickers, so you'll be able to get your hands on those soon as well. Thanks for all your continued support.

Sticker Promotion Is Over!

Paul Newman & the Ride Home - The Importance of Being Ernest Hemingway

Normally when I think pop-punk I get bad vibes, but this band from Baltimore changes that notion. They have some folk-punk influence, not in the traditional sense, but in the sense that you would probably think they were from Gainesville, Florida if you didn't know better. I like their band name, their music ain't bad either.

Bandcamp
Mediafire

Paul Newman & the Ride Home - The Importance of Being Ernest Hemingway

Ape Up! - Untitled EP

This EP is supposedly only going to be up for one day so be sure to download it and not wait around.

Download

Ape Up! - Untitled EP

Sticker Promotion!

We messed up big by turning down the idea of running a blog and a record label at the same time. To make it up to you guys that stuck it out and are still here, I'm running a sticker promotion. Remember all those stickers that I had a while ago? I dug 31 of these bad boys up. That means we've given out or put up 94 stickers in the time that we got them. That's a pretty awesome thing to be able to say.

What we want for the blog is for it to be a forum for our fans to tell us what they think about what we're doing and ideas for how to change for the better. If you're in a band, we'll post you. If you are a good band and we have the money, we might release you. Fans of the blog will help us decide on what to release and what they want to buy. We're always open to anything you have to say. Even if it's just to say hi, feel free to contact us at songsfromtheroad@gmail.com

Here's the deal: Send your address to songsfromtheroad@gmail.com with something cool to say, what you intend to do with your sticker, and your address and we'll send you one free of charge. We'll pay the postage and envelopes.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Thanks,
Jesse

Sticker Promotion!

Spanish Club/Constellations - Split

Alright, so we're back and better than ever. To start, I'd like to share with you a band that never ceases to ask me my opinion on how they sound(Specifically Dominic). I initially told him that they shouldn't try to sound like they recorded through 1/8-1/4 inch adapters shoved into laptop headphone jacks so he came back and thanked me with this release. It's a refreshing Pennsylvania sounding album. I'm not talking about Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, but real heart of America, Pennsylvania. Their folk-punk roots show through into the typical twinkle-emo stuff that I hear way too much. It's also recorded by Joe from Algernon so that's pretty cool. The only downside to the album is that there are only 2 songs. It's for free download, but it will be released on CD off Littleneck Records for 3 bucks so I suggest liking them and keeping up with it if you're interested.

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Spanish Club/Constellations - Split

Best Releases of 2011

With the start of something new, I suppose it is best to create one of those lists to reflect on the year as a whole. The blog's revival starts a new year and the start of a record label that wants to hear what you have to say. I also didn't include either of our releases due to the obvious bias. Here is my top ten favorite releases of 2011. I'd love to hear if you guys have similar artists on the list or what happens to be on yours. Happy new years everyone!

10) Jet Set Sail - Jet Set Sail Free
Look for these guys in the future. They've been playing a lot of shows with a lot of amazing bands, yet have somehow snuck under the radar too many times.

9) We All Have Hooks For Hands - Girls Free
A twenty seven piece band from Michigan. Okay, I don't think either of those are correct. South Dakota with 9 members that will make you feel really happy with upbeat good vibes.

8) Arrah & the Ferns - Soldier Ghost EP Free
Actually a pretty long EP. They've been up on my charts for a while but started listening to them rapidly after booking the first stop on their last tour. A lot of fun to see live, a lot of fun to listen to.

7) Mallard - Mallard "of the Thick" Free
This band brought some next level depth to my listening experience. I was hooked from the first song on this album and wanted more when it was through. I can't get enough of these dudes. They are even more fun live than listening home alone in your mom's basement.

6) You'll Live - Things Would Change If You Heard This Free
Non-generic stuff you can scream along to that people you hang out with probably won't know the words to so you'll end up feeling really awkward at shows.

5) Fucked Up - David Comes to Life Buy
I've heard this band's name so many times and passed it off as "one of those bands". I finally listened to them this year upon the release of this album and I regret all those times I failed to give them a chance.

4) Dowsing - All I Could Find Was You Free
Really, they are wonderful. I don't have much to say on them on why I like them because I like everything.

3) Joyce Manor - Joyce Manor Try/Buy
Did not disappoint, reminded me why I like Joyce Manor so much.

2) Algernon Cadwallader - Parrot Flies Try/Buy
Although Fun and Some Kind of Cadwallader hold a place in my heart, the album caught on quicker than most. I finally managed to see them live this year which is embarrassing.

1) Deer Leap + The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die Are Here to Help You Try/Try/Buy
This split was flawless. I blew off everything by TWIABP until I heard the songs off this split live. I've had this on loop for the last 2 months. Rediculous.

Best Releases of 2011

Blog Return 2k12

Hey! It's been a while, but I know you all missed me because of the mass of submissions that are still filling up the mailbox. Instead of emailing you back, I've starred every demo/album received. I will be posting the best ones occasionally in order to keep up with what this blog is about: promoting music. I mean, that's why we are doing the whole record label thing, right? The new deal is, send us submissions regularly to songsfromtheroad@gmail.com and if we like it, we'll post it. If we love it and see some potential, we might email you back in the future to talk business.

Some stuff that's going on with the label. We have released two artists, Tawny Peaks and Trophywife. You can listen and buy the two at the links below. We are really excited about how things are going and hope that you can continue to show your support. Some distro items will also be in the shop shortly as well from the UK. Keep up, we have an artist coming up that I think you guys are going to be incredibly excited to hear we are working with(because I sure am).

Anyways, check us out at the links below. Expect some more updates in and around 2012.

Facebook
Bandcamp
Store
songsfromtheroad@gmail.com
@songsfromroad

Lots of love,
Jesse <3

Blog Return 2k12