I got my first taste of the Kaiser Chiefs back in 2007 (now that it’s 2009, I can officially say ‘back in 2007’ without sounding like a dip), with the track The Angry Mob (off the album Yours Truly, Angry Mob). I was quickly hooked in to the band’s lively British punk rock, and so when Off with Their Heads was announced, I was eager to get my ears on it… I wouldn’t say it’s a must have for any collection – but it’s solid. Fans of the Kaiser Chiefs would do well to grab a copy, as would fans of British-punk.

House of Heroes’ first album, What You Want is Now, was released independently in 2003 but it gained recognition and they were signed to Gotee records with whom they released their self-titled album in 2005. Their self-titled album was one of those that has few standout tracks but isn’t great the first few times through but grows on you and eventually becomes a favourite. I assumed that this would also be the case House of Heroes’ third full-length album The End is Not the End, however I was proven wrong.

There are about 8 or 9 bands out there that I follow and I will buy all the CD’s they ever release to have them in my collection. The Noise Metalcore/Progressive band NORMA JEAN is one of them. On August 5 they released their 4th studio album entitled The Anti Mother which is also known as NORMA JEAN –vs- The Anti Mother. When current vocalist/songwriter Cory Brandon joined the group after the departure of frontman Josh Scogin, [Currently with The Chariot] he promised that each new album would have its own distinct sound. Three albums later, that promise is still good.

A single listen through Constructive Summer, the first track on The Hold Steady’s July 2008 album Stay Positive , was enough to demonstrate to me how the band earned the title of “the world’s biggest bar band.” However, a single listen wasn’t quite enough for me to determine exactly what I thought of Stay Positive.

I happened to run across the band Emarosa at a Project 86 concert. They were the opening act and I didn’t expect much from them however I stood corrected after they left the stage and were greatly applauded by an equally impressed crowd. Their good live performance can be attributed to their then lead singer/screamer Chris Roetter who was a in every way a live-wire and left everything he had on stage. After such a performance, I had to go to their merch table after the show and see if they had any albums for sale. They had one, their 2007 debut EP which is entitled This Is Your Way Out. I took it home and listened to it, and I was not disappointed by it. It completely captured all of Chris Roetter’s ferocity and passion. It was very reminiscent of the album Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord by The Devil Wears Prada and was a very well done melodic hardcore album that featured heavy synth and brutal power chords.

When Coldplay released Violet Hill as a single in early May, I was unsure of what to think. While I liked it – and the more I listened to it, the more in grew upon me – it was not at all what I was expecting from Coldplay. It was dark, featured heavy guitars (for Coldplay, at the very least), and was far more rock-y than I was used to. It was definitely a new direction after 2005’s X&Y. I couldn’t help but wonder what the rest of Viva la Vida would be like.

Over the years, the San Diego-based P.O.D. has become a legend among rock bands. They were the first successful Christian Rock crossover band and have since gone platinum multiple times. This past success puts enormous and almost impossibly high expectations on any new record that they put out. When Angels & Serpents Dance (WASD) is the eighth full-length album put out by P.O.D. It follows in the wake of their highly acclaimed and platinum-selling record Testify which in many respects was their best effort to date.

While it is a full length album, The Killers new release Sawdust is not your standard recording. It is a collection of B-Sides that didn’t quite fit into either of their previous albums and were subsequently cut out. It also includes live songs, and a Dance/Electronic re-mix of their hit Mr. Brightside. There are only two ways to describe the songs on Sawdust: songs that are The Killers, and songs that aren’t The Killers. While all the songs still retain the distinct warble of Brandon Flowers that fans have come to know and love, some songs take on a sound that is somewhat foreign to The Killers.

From the rock-influenced electronica of Chemistry to the softer downtempo sound of track Twilight, War Stories packs a nightmarish sound from beginning to end. Eight out of the fourteen tracks on War Stories feature guest musicians – The Duke Spirit, Clayhill’s Gavin Clark, The Cult’s Ian Astbury, and others – who each add their own flair to Unkle’s moody music – Ian Astbury’s vocals blend with Unkle’s style so well he ought to be a member of the group.