Recently (and by recently I mean within the last few hours), I was invited by Razor and Tie Records to join an exclusive panel in which they let individuals preview their upcoming artist releases. Pretty cool, huh?

The invitation was specifically to hear The Graduate’s upcoming release Only Every Time, which is due to hit stores on August 31st.

Here is a brief bio of the band via information from a press release:

Atmospheric rock band The Graduate will release their new album, Only Every Time on August 31st. The album will be the first since the band signed to Razor & Tie in May 2010…Vocalist Corey Warning expressed his view on the album when he said, “We do see this album as an evolution of sorts. I think about bands that make the same record over and over again, and it has to get boring for them – and even more for the listener. We made sure we didn’t do that on this record.” While Only Every Time has the atmospheric feel for which The Graduate is known, it is definitely a different album than anything they have previously recorded.

Produced by Brian McTernan, who has previously worked with artists such as Thrice, Circa Survive and Cave In, Only Every Time was recorded at McTernan’s Baltimore based studio, Salad Days Studio.

The Graduate will hit the road once again this August for a month of dates with The Bigger Lights. They will then join Ludo, off of Razor & Tie Music Publishing’s roster, for a two month nationwide tour throughout September and October kicking off in Chicago on September 9th and ending in Milwaukee on October 15th.

Only Every Time kicks off with ‘Don’t Die Digging’, which has a Killers-meets-gang-vocals-chorus vibe to it. If you are using Arcade Fire’s ‘Rebellion’ as a baseline, ‘Stuck (Inside My Head)’ -- Only Every Time‘s third track -- wouldn’t be all that out of place on Neon Bible.

Just judging by the last two sentences, you can see why I scoffed at some of the YouTube comments from people classifying The Graduate as a pop-punk band. Simply having a catchy chorus does not make you a pop-punk band. Try to tell the nearest guy on a Harley that AC/DC is a pop-punk band…but make sure you practice picking up your teeth from the sidewalk beforehand.

‘Make Believe’ sounds like a track that Black Lab would have put on their album Passion Leaves a Trace. Bands like this -- Black Lab, the Killers, Future of Forestry, Snow Patrol -- are the best comparison I can make when listening to The Graduate.

The bottom line here is this: Corey’s quote in the blurb above is a perfect indication of this band. A lot of bands say they are influenced by 20 different artists from varying genres, but their music sounds exactly like the last big band in their scene that broke out of obscurity.

This is the first release in a while that I listened to and it actually sounded like the band took their influences and paid homage to all of them…instead of just the hottest one at the moment.

If you are looking for a unique blend of pop, indie, and rock, give Only Every Time a spin when it hits shelves at the end of August.

Here is The Graduate’s ‘I Survived’, from their 2007 album Anhedonia:

Special thanks goes out to Razor and Tie Records for the invitation to the panel.

For more information and to see a whole slew of tour dates, visit The Graduate MySpace Page

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All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

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Here we have another artist, Wildwood Music Co., submitted by Jon over at LikeZEBRA.

Their Facebook Page Info reads like this:

A little bit of blues, rock n roll, folk, and indie, Wildwood Music Co. has been about fifteen years in the making. Noah Berberea and James (Jimbo) McKinnon have been singing and playing music together since 1996.

Born and raised in Southern California (former members of the band Ferona Vei, A Streetcar Murder), the pair met at 16 and quickly discovered that they both had music in common, and people liked it when they played together. They spent a long time playing together in various projects, in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but ended up back together in Ventura, California, writing music with an ocean view.

The two have taken back to their roots in music, drawing from the music that inspired them growing up and what pouring in their ears today. Naming the band Wildwood Music Company to dedicate it to the memory of a wonderful friend, and the love energy that comes from the coast of California.

Their EP, comprised of just four songs (‘Little Boy Boo’ [embedded below], ‘Race’, ‘Stoned and Fidgety’, and ‘Sunset’), shows a lot of promise and sounds very crisp and clean. If I sound surprised by that, it’s simply because a lot of first recordings by bands sound like they were recorded in someone’s closet…through a coffee can.

‘Race’ actually sounds a lot like ‘Stay Tonight’ song by Eagle Eye Cherry at the very beginning. Like the previous song (‘Little Boy Boo’), it’s another uptempo rocker.

Likewise, ‘Sunset’ sounds like a track that a crossover country/rock artist could pull off (think Keith Urban or even Rascal Flatts).

These guys definitely have a lot of potential; and if they get some more songs under their belts they could fit well as an opening act for any of the bands listed below.

If they have more songs like these four up their sleeves, I wish this would have been a full-length album rather than just an EP.

For more information on Wildwood Music Co., head over to the Wildwood Music Co. Facebook Page, and while you’re at it, also visit the Outsider Vocals Facebook Page too!

Recommended If You Like: Carbon Leaf, Ryan Adams, Old 97s

Wildwood Music Company -- Little Boy Boo

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All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

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Stuedabakerbrown (SBB) was originally reviewed back in October 2009 (Stuedabakerbrown Closer Review) after I heard their song ‘Heartbeat’ when Josh (one of the band’s now ex-members) contacted the site.

Their EP, Closer, had a lot of potential and I really liked what I heard on it. Now that the band has released a new album entitled Strangers We’ll Become, they sent that over to us as well. The new album has the same general vibe as their previous effort, but you can tell their ability to construct songs has improved. This album seems to flow a little better and feel more complete.

SBB has a hint of Green River Ordinance to them; a band which I happen to be a huge fan of (Green River Ordinance -- Out of My Hands Review). A lot of these two artists’ songs are more mellow and perfect for a rainy day when you want to just lay around and be lazy. Ironically enough, it happens to be raining right now as I write this.

There are some tracks on Strangers We’ll Become which are more upbeat (relatively speaking); such as the embedded track below, ‘Couch Sitting Rattlesnake.’ Out of the faster-paced album tracks, this one is at the top of the list if you are looking at both quality and tempo as the ranking criteria. ‘Through the Gate’, the album’s last track, is also up there. It’s an acoustic track which could very well be labeled as a bonus track to the album because it’s vast departure from the previous ten tracks.

The band even throws in a beautifully crafted longer track, entitled ‘Steelman’, for good measure.

Long story short, if you have heard SBB before, you know what to expect from this record. However, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. If you try to go in a different ‘creative direction’, you might end up with a record like The Ataris’ Welcome the Night…apparently some bands take a wrong turn when following those directions.

To stream the entire record, visit the Stuedabakerbrown website -- Stuedabakerbrown Strangers We’ll Become Album Stream.

Recommended If You Like: Coldplay, Green River Ordinance, Let Love In and/or Dizzy Up the Girl by the Goo Goo Dolls

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All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.

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I last saw Pulled Apart By Horses in a dimly lit, cavernous venue in Kingston. The crowd probably held no more than 40 people; a small turnout for a group who’ve recently been dubbed the best live act in Britain by none other than The Observer, but a turnout intimate enough to afford everyone a front-row seat to one of the most explosive performing bands in the country. This point was illustrated approximately half way through the opening track as singer/guitarist Tom Hudson strode purposefully from the stage, guitar held above his head, and straight through the centre of the crowd, which parted like the red sea and remained that way until long after the front man had returned to the stage. A couple of songs later, as if a one-upmanship was almost to be expected, guitarist James Brown is at the back of the venue playing on top of the bar before continuing his touring riff at the feet of the crowd and then finally returning to the stage. This is what constitutes a relatively tame show for one of Britain’s most exciting up-and-coming bands.

As a live act, as with on record, Pulled Apart deliver an explosive, energetic, visceral brand of rock. The kind of music you could be forgiven for forgetting that contemporary British bands are capable of playing. The foursome combine riffs as intricate as they are heavy with screamed vocals and a seemingly boundless energy to form an abrasive, and utterly entertaining auditory assault. As soon as the fist note sounds it’s clear you’re in store for a barrage of something big, and the band’s debut album puts its foot to the floor and runs with this theme, valiantly refusing to pause for air, and in turn refusing the listener the same right. All said and done, it’s a massive sound, and a magnificent example of organised chaos, but certainly not to be recommended to the weak of heart.

Recently, Pulled Apart have been collecting a plethora of accolades from the British music press in anticipation of their debut self-titled album, due for a UK release on June 21st. With the attention they’re gathering it may only be a matter of time before the northern noise aficionados are a household name. My advice would be to jump on board now so you can be the annoying kid who heard of them before anyone else.

Here’s one to get you started. Behold, the first single from the album Pulled Apart By Horses, Back To The ___ Yeah.

For more information on Pulled Apart By Horses, check out the Pulled Apart By Horses MySpace Page.

All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.