Rachel Rocks the Reviews - 6/15/10

I first heard of Civil Twilight last summer and since then have kept up to date with their music and tours. The song that originally drew me to there music was Letters From the Sky. You might have heard it on the summer mini series Harpers Island or a variety of other television shows. This song has it all, from the beginning with it's piano, to the middle where you think it might be over and then finally to the end where the combination of all the instruments come together to a finalizing jam. I look forward to more from these guys from South Africa.

A few months back I went to a concert where Steel Train was the opening act. I didn't know much about them but after listening to their music and watching them perform live and interact with each other I was immediately hooked on them. I found myself smiling through their entire act and made me want more from them. I went home got their cd, Trampoline, and immediately fell in love with it. They also performed a bunch of new stuff at the concert because they have new cd coming out at the end of the month (which I'm looking forward to getting). But from their last record I recommend I Feel Weird. This song is a great example of their harmony, amazing beats, and catchy tunes. I also will recommend Firecracker and Kill Monsters in the Rain from this cd and getting their live version of Road Song. Next month I'll be traveling to Rochester to see them perform I look forward to it and more from them. I'll let you know how the concert is!

I originally heard of Flyleaf from my fiancé. I'm a big fan of music and especially live music, but when my fiancé offered to take me to the Family Values tour with Korn I was a little nervous. It's not really my typical music scene, but I figured you only live once. They had upwards of 10 bands open and Flyleaf was one of the later bands. I immediately fell in love with the music. Joe will make fun of this about me but I seem to be drawn to girl led bands...maybe it's just that there aren't as many and as a female I need to stick up for them and support them. I was completely blown away by the music that came out of this 5' nothing woman. The power of her voice and the words she sang have stuck with me even 4 years later. One of my favorites is So I Thought, followed closely by Arise from the new album released late last year. I recommend their whole self titled first album, it won't be a disappointment. To hold you over I'll leave you with So I Thought, this is some live stuff cut together with the actual song.

Last but not least is a group that I recently just came across, The Dodos. I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed them after listen through their whole album Visiter. It's a great mix of indie and folk music, not to much or not to little of the other. The use of guitars, banjos, drums and an always must hand claps really draws you into this whole record. One of my favorites off the album is Ashley but I also recommend Walking and The Season.