The Academy Was...

The Academy Is... is falling apart and losing almost half of their members just like a whole slew of other Fueled By Ramen bands (Paramore, Fall Out Boy, ring any bells?). If you're too lazy to read the letter above, Andy "The Butcher" Mrotek and Michael Guy Chislett are leaving to pursue other creative ventures, for The Butcher, namely a band with the same name as his online art gallery, The Animal Upstairs, and for Chislett, touring as a guitarist for Brooke Fraser. Just conjecture here, but I don't think that this was their idea.

Neither leaving musician was a founding member (The Butcher replaced Michael DelPrincipe, the original drummer, and Chislett replaced Tom Conrad, making him the third lead guitarist). TAI has begun to follow suit in the manner of many young(ish) powerpop bands with a revolving door of musicians coming and going for one or two albums each.

The majority of lyrics have been credited to singer/frontman William Beckett, and the majority of the music has been credited to Beckett and only-remaining-guitarist Mike Carden, so they seem to be in good hands as far as writing new music goes. Their website features a clip of new material, though there's no hint as to when there will next be an album release. The last formal album came out in 2008, though an EP came in concurrence with their spot on the AP Fall Ball Tour in 2009.

" i feel the tide is turning, the end of a chapter starts today, do i really belong here anymore anyway?"

click to listen.

Faded Paper Figures

In this digital age, many a band relies solely on messy lyric search engines to display the words that accompany their music. Rather than pour over pages printed on glossy paper, we Google for posts by other listeners, which is quite subjective. And while Seal might be okay with any interpretation, some listeners just want to know the true meaning.

Which brings me to Faded Paper Figures. Much in the style of The Postal Service, the Californian indie-electronica band features both male and female vocals, punctuated with both organic drums and electro blips. Like the Postal Service's Give Up, their 2010 album New Medium was recorded unusually (in the case of FPF, on both coasts of the United States, in the case of the Postal Service, by mail). And their gorgeous lyrics are gorgeously displayed in one place, with hyperlink annotations to give context for where their got their inspiration. You mean there's someone using the Internet to give rather than take credit? Yes, indeed Faded Paper Figures is something different. If you don't believe me...

"the cold is nice, when love is ice, our solitude will warm the room.
we'll melt here like icicles, electric and lyrical, our solitude will warm the room"

...click here.

Butch Walker and the Black Widows

Cover art from the coolest forty-something musician in America, Butch Walker manages to write for his own current band and produce for everyone from female pop stars to powerpop bands (P!nk, Avril, Katy Perry, The Academy Is..., and All Time Low to name a few).

After losing his house and all his worldly possessions in a wildfire, Walker pressed on and wrote Sycamore Meadows. He's not afraid to express emotion and he's also not afraid to have fun (check out his spoof of Taylor Swift's "You Belong to Me" - watch from 2:47 to hear the song and skip the shenanigans).

The above art belongs to his 2010 effort, and he has a brand-new album, The Spade, in its final stages before its release.

"as i'm waiting for those eyes, to say what's on your mind, i finally think i've found the words to say"

click to listen.