03 March 2011 - 0 Comments

DUDLEY BENSON – FOREST: SONGS BY HIRINI MELBOURNE – CD

The much-anticipated follow-up to his 2008 debut The Awakening, Forest: Songs by Hirini Melbourne is a full-length album of Benson’s interpretations of bird waiata by renowned composer Hirini Melbourne (1949-2003). Recorded almost entirely with only the human voice, Forest is a musical journey that tells the stories of our native birds, guiding the listener into an enchanted world of nocturnal hunters, messengers to the gods, and magnificent singers.

Recorded and mixed by Adrian Hollay (The Awakening) and mastered by Mandy Parnell (Dirty Projectors, Sigur Ros), a bold contingent of artists was assembled to create Forest’s unique sound. Specially formed close-harmony ‘alt-barbershoppers’ The Dawn Chorus provide the album’s foundation, while reigning Aotearoa beatbox champion King Homeboy executes an inimitable rhythm section. Several other guests appear on the album. In Tui, Benson has recorded his first duet – an ode to birdsong – with the legendary matriarch of contemporary folk, British singer Vashti Bunyan. Taonga puoro authority Dr Richard Nunns offers his expertise to the pulsing Ruru, while Benson continues to explore his choral routes with a four-part choir performing the ten-minute epic Kiwi. And in his own unmistakable voice, binding it all together in both te reo Maori and English, is Dudley.

DECODER – DECODER – CD

Decoder is setting the bar high for post-hardcore in 2011. Their self-titled debut implements scathing post-hardcore influences from the two bands they formed from, Oceana and Of Machines, and fuses these with ambient elements to create a delightful, promising debut.

One of the highlights of the album is the vocal performance. The two vocalists, Keith Jones and Spencer Pearson play off each other very well. They pour their heart outs on every track, and the raw emotion in his voice is absolutely beautiful. Their best vocal performance is on The Horrid, where Pearson showcases his entire clean range, and Jones, some of his best harsh vocals. However, Jones' screaming is inconsistent at best. It can be a little grating, especially in the first two songs, where his harsh yell sounds far too raw and unproduced. Then again, his vocals steal the show from Pearson in The Light.

For Fans of: MsWhite, Tides of Man, Woe, Is Me

THE AQUABATS – HI-FIVE SOUP – CD

The Aquabats! have been around for a long time. Formed in 1994, the synth-pop ska group from Orange County, California has gone through line-up and label changes, but has been consistent in delighting fans of all ages with their ridiculous, positive music. Six years after the release of Charge!!, The Aquabats! have released their sixth album, Hi-Five Soup!

In addition to heading the band of musical superheroes, front man Christian “MC Bat Commander” Jacobs co-writes and directs the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba! (interesting, considering the song “Idiot Box” from their 1994 release The Return of The Aquabats). Working with kids must have gotten to him, because Hi-Five Soup! Seems to cross the line from all-ages party music into full-fledged kids album.

For Fans of: Less Than Jake, Blink 182, The Vandals

WORD ALIVE – DECEIVER – CD

The Word Alive has certainly come a long way since ditching Craig Mabbitt. Armed with a vocalist who is more than capable of both clean and screamed vocals, a fantastic EP, and a couple years of touring under their belts, the band's debut full length "Deceiver" has all the makings of a good album, and it capitalizes on this to the fullest degree. By taking a standard post-hardcore/metalcore sound and tweaking it with some personal flairs, The Word Alive have put out an album that not only lives up to the hype it's generated, but for some might even pass it.

For Fans of: Of Mice & Men, Woe Is Me, Miss May I

Thanks to www.border.co.nz for this story.

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