Modern Rock Reviews

Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere - A
The Boss' best song in a couple years, "Radio Nowhere" has a "Born in the USA" vibe to it, but an appropriately mature sound as well.

Serj Tankian Empty Walls A
Finally, the return of an artist that I actually WANT to hear more music from. Serj is technically on his own, but his first single sounds like it could have easily been lifted from any of the SOAD albums. If you're curious, that's a VERY good thing. Only now it's better because it's just Serj and we don't have to put up with Chris' screechy vocals.

Modest Mouse We've Got Everything A-
The weird thing about Modest Mouse is that they may be the first band I've come across whose songs seem to sound better each time you hear them. This is a fine example of that phenomenon. By the end of the year, I wouldn't be shocked if I move this one to an "A+".

Siouxsie Sioux Into A Swan B+
The original queen of goth rock returns with a peppy and clever song with a great beat.

Tegan And Sara Back In Your Head B+
Not quite their best, but still an excellent indie pop tune with a distinctive sound.

The National Mistaken For Strangers B+
An interesting post-punk throwback that distinguishes itself from bands that are just ripping off post-punk bands instead of making their own style.

Motion City Soundtrack This Is For Real B+
At this point, they're probably second behind Fall Out Boy for their pop punk genre. Their new album is their best yet and this first single is possibly their best song yet. Not quite great, but maybe getting there.

The Arctic Monkeys Old Yellow Bricks B
Above average for most bands, but right in the middle for the Monkeys. They just can't seem to pick the right songs to release as singles.

VHS Or Beta Can't Believe A Word B
A solid debut for this band. The song itself is full of hooks and has above average lyrics.

Stone Sour Zzyxz Rd. B
Another solid, but not quite excellent ballad from Stone Sour. Hard to believe the singer in this band is the singer from Slipknot, isn't it?

Athlete Hurricane B
Not the best song I've heard from them, but it's still a pretty good, if tame, slice of indie rock.

Coheed And Cambria The Running Free B
Their sound is starting to wear thin, but they can still create some good hooks and great choruses, so never mind that you need a handbook to figure out what the hell is going on in their songs.

The Hives Tick Tick Boom B
Another clever song from the Hives, but they're all starting to bleed together at this point.

The Cribs Men's Needs B
Though the song does sound an awful lot like The Strokes, it does still have a good guitar riff and solid hooks throughout.

Monster In The Machine Savior B
Pretty good, but definitely the latest in the "let's steal from Joy Division" genre and not quite the best.

Jimmy Eat World Big Casino B
Another exactly-average song from the most exactly-average band in rock n roll history.

Maroon 5 Wake Up Call B
A catchy, but lyrically lazy follow-up to the razor-sharp "Makes Me Wonder".

SKindred Ratrace B
They still get points for originality, but this song isn't nearly as much fun as their singles from their last album.

Dave Gahan Kingdom B
A good debut single from the new solo album from Depeche Mode's lead singer, but the song never really takes off.

Puscifer Queen B B
Maynard James Keenan takes a weird post-punk turn with the first single from his latest side project (#87, but who's keeping track). It's good, but not as good as his other projects have been.

Matt Nathanson Car Crash B
Catchy, but borrows rather heavily from Switchfoot for my tastes.

Shadows Fall Another Hero Lost B
A lyrically weak metal song is somewhat redeemed by excellent guitar work.

Bobaflex Home B
An average Pink Floyd-ish modern rock song that isn't entirely clever, but not a total waste either.

Mae Sometimes I can't Make It Alone B
Not bad for a debut single for a new band that has already got the hooks down if not so much the chops.

The Dropkick Murphys The State Of Massachusetts B
Another strong rocker from the Murphys, if only they could stop their lyrics from tripping on their instruments, they might really have something.

Saliva King Of The Stereo B-
More of the same from Saliva. Nothing new here at all.

Angels And Airwaves Everything's Magic B-
Easily their best single to date, this song manages to not be a complete bore, a first for A&A. It's still nothing special, though.

The Holloways Generator B-
A dull indie rock song that just doesn't click at all. They lyrics are too fast for their own good.

Just Jack Starz In Their Eyes B-
A decent british rap-rock sort of song that doesn't stick to the memory very well.

Operator Nothing To Lose B-
Not a great song, but I'm glad more people are at least trying to sing like Chris Cornell, even if they come up short.

The Hoosiers Worried About Ray B-
Another mid-range pop punk / emo song that's completely forgettable.

Fall Out Boy I'm Like A Lawyer With The Way I'm Always Trying To Get You Off B-
Now we have Fall Out Boy ripping off Maroon 5? When will our most boring bands stop cribbing off of each other? When will the madness end?

The Plain White T's Our Time Now B-
Another generic emo pop song that sounds like everything else on the radio.

Seether Fake It C+
Another post-grunge band that keeps coming back just as I've finally cleansed my ears of their bullshit. Catchy as always, but never great.

Poets & Pornstars Rock And Roll C+
A fatally dumb Black Crowes knockoff without the style.

The Matthew Good Band Born Losers C+
An extremely tepid and dull song from the Canadian rock idols.

The Secret Handshake Summer Of '98 C+
A boring song made worse by irritating Daft Punk technical effects.

Breaking Benjamin Until The End C+
A big step forward for the band as this song is officially "mediocre"!

Linkin Park Shadow Of The Day C+
Since when do Linkin Park do ballads? Hopefully never again, if this snoozer is any indication of their ability. They sound like fucking Angels & Airwaves for God's sake!

Killswitch Engage Holy Diver C+
It's not bad, but Killswitch is ignoring one of the most important rules of music: Never re-make a classic! "Holy Diver" defined heavy metal in the late 70s, early 80s and shouldn't have been touched for any reason other than a tribute album and no one is ever going to put together a Dio cover album unless they're doing so ironically. In short, this song shouldn't exist.

The Scorpions Humanity C+
So The Scorpions are still around, huh? Well, as surprising as that might be, it's even more surprising that they decided to come back as Queensryche, though not nearly as good.

New Found Glory Kiss Me C+
They're doing this again?!? I thought they were supposed to be a legitimate band now instead of just a goofy cover band. This is NOT progress, NFG!

Lillian Axe Waters Rising C+
Dumb, somewhat dull and totally generic heavy metal song from a band with no distinct features.

Finger Eleven Falling On C+
A tedious copycat of many different styles that sounds like watered down Korn.

MXPX You're On Fire C+
A lame Blink 182 knockoff that never goes anywhere worth going.

Fair To Midland Tall Tales Taste Like Sour Grapes C+
An average hard rock song with a stupid title and a boring chorus.

The Donnas Don't Wait Up For Me C
A throwback to hair metal music complete with stupid lyrics and the most obvious use of "girl power" gimmickry since The Spice Girls.

Onesidezero My Confession C
A sludgy metal mess with terrible vocals and a lousy chorus.

Biffy Clyro Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies C
Boring and uneventful, this song never seems to do anything other than simply exist.

Puddle Of Mudd Psycho C
Dumb lyrics and the irritating sense that Wes Scanlan is now holding his nose will trying to rip-off Kurt Cobain's voice kill this song.

Korn Hold On C
A departure for the band into mellower more Breaking Benjamin-like music fails miserably as this song is downright boring.

She Wants Revenge True Romance C-
True to form, the band once famous for ripping off Joy Division has now moved on to ripping off New Order.

Kid Rock So Hott C-
A promising beginning is squandered as Rock sinks low enough to bring out the worst aspects of Buckcherry, Aerosmith and Motley Crue all rolled up into one painfully bad song.

Black Sabbath Ear In The Wall C-
I'm not sure why this is being released to rock radio in 2007. This song is everything that was wrong with 80s metal (notably, not hair metal, but 80s metal).