Rachel Rocks the Reviews - 06/08/10

First up for this week is Ra Ra Riot with Dying is Fine. Later this summer I will be going to a concert and I wanted to get comfortable with all of the music that would be played. This is one of the groups that will be opening for the main act. After listening to a few songs I grew to like their style, it reminds me a bunch of Vampire Weekend. I then went online to find out as much as I could about them. As it turns out they are from Syracuse, New York (not that far from us here in Buffalo) and got their start doing house parties and college events at the University, again very similar to Vampire Weekend. The chorus of this song is catchy and I bet after a few listens you'll be bopping to it. Not to mention how many musical groups include a violin and cello? A good band that I look forward to seeing later this summer...I'll let you know how they are live.

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Next up is Killola. I tend to spend hours on iTunes viewing little known groups and stumbled across this group among the many. I went to the bands website and found that I could actually download both of their albums for free...how can you turn down a sweet deal like that? They released a single, Cracks in the Armor, at the end of last year that will be on their new album that they're working on/finishing now. This has become one of my favorite songs from this group and I hope that the rest of the record is just as great as this single...hopefully there is more to come from them in the future. Enjoy!

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A few summers ago I went to visit my sister in Virginia and her friend introduced me to Ballyhoo. They are very well known in the Baltimore/DC area. As I left to return home I got their cd from the friend and haven't stopped listening from that day on. One of my favorites is Cali Girl. It reminds me a bunch of 311, which always puts me in a summer mood. So I figured since the weather is getting better out and the temps are going up, why not throw in a summer like song. If you get a chance I recommend listening to I Lately Notice and Cerveza, definitely worth the listen.

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Last but not least this week is Matt & Kim. I was recently catching up on the acts that performed at Coachella this year and came across this group. I watched the whole live act and still wanted more. I picked up their latest album Grand and immediately fell in love with the first song, Daylight. The catchy piano will keep you intrigued throughout the whole song and make you want to come back for more. It was also featured in a Bacardi commercial. Plus the video is a lot of fun to watch...(you might also know them from their other video, lessons learned, were they strip in the middle of Times Square...surprisingly enough they actually played it on MTV)

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