The New Loud is one of those bands that are holding on to that sound and that synth with one hand and attempting to drag it into the new decade with the other. Thankfully they are doing it their own way and infusing a bit of present day into it, so it isn’t totally unbearable…but it also isn’t something you can put on repeat. Their new album Measures Melt is full of earnest energy and enthusiasm, but some songs fall short and fall fast.

We’ve introduced you to this Milwaukee band before, after the release of the Can’t Stop Not Knowing EP earlier this year, and this debut full length continues the band’s attempt at relevant dance-pop-Vagrant-emo blending. Lead singer and guitarist Shane Olivo does a good job of combining different genres to make some catchy danceable beats, but where I tuned out was the point that he tuned up, or auto-tuned up I should say. The New Loud employs a good deal of techno/Fruity Loops beats throughout their songs to fill out the trio’s sound, so the electronic sound is tolerable, but I, like Jay-Z, am kind of over the auto-tune vocoder. I really think Olivo could do perfectly well without the aid of the electronic filter, but he uses it far too many times over the course of the record. Songs like “Secrets”, “All I’ve Got”, and the very Anniversary-sounding “Heartattack” suffer greatly from the reliance on electronic vocals. The electronic backing vocals in “Heartattack” of, “if I move I might have a heartattack” were especially grating. I think these could be solid songs if they just ignored their vocoder desire.

The band itself is tight on the record, and the songs are fairly well crafted with keyboardist Jessi Nakles and drummer Radish Beat (his credited name) rounding out their sound. Nakles is especially great on keyboards and backing vocals. Her vocals and screams in “Better This Way” are a definite highlight on the album. She has an almost Cedric Bixler quality on this song that took me off-guard in a good way. The song itself is a solid beginning-to-end highlight on an album of tracks that only have pockets of solid moments. The lead single “Don’t Dance” has a great punk energy and a Ting Tings sound that make a song I could see playing in a commercial or movie. That’s a good thing I promise. The songs I mentioned earlier that use the vocoder bring bands like Hellogoodbye and Owl City to mind, especially the harmony lead vocals on “Secrets” and Nakles’ vocals on “Out of Control”.

Overall the album is well crafted and well produced. It fits the modern ’90s emo revival aesthetic very well, so if you like Owl City, or any other band that still uses the synth, then you’ll probably dig this. The duds on the album are pretty big duds (“Rubberman” and “Every Girl I See” for instance), and the strongest songs (“Better This Way” and, to an extent, lead single “Don’t Dance”) aren’t terrible, and definitely make my foot tap and hips shake. I hear good things about their live show, and you can definitely feel their enthusiasm, which I like. I can tell they would be a good time if I was 16 or 17 years old, and that’s not a slight against them at all. They have awoken nostalgia in me, and I appreciate them for that. With a little growing, they could be a stronger success. I just feel they should ditch some of the electronica and embrace the power trio. And keep Nakles screaming. Love that.

“Secrets”

“Don’t Dance”

After a recent exploding concert in New York, The New Loud click alive on the heels of its debut EP Can’t Stop Not Knowing. Led by guitarist/singer Shane Olivo, the band’s mesmerizing sonic twists and turns defy musical trends and prove to be truly solid songs, well-written and well-executed. Kicking off this six song jaunt is the band’s debut single “Don’t Dance”. With Olivo’s jangly guitar cutting in between keyboardist Jessi Nakles’ electric mastery of the keys, “Don’t Dance” is a delicious slice of Euro-pop, New York dance and snotty punk rock all thrown into one. With their battle cries of “You don’t dance me, but I dance you!”, The New Loud amp up the aggression on the dance floor. For this power trio, loudness goes with the territory and these three amigos certainly know how to manipulate walls of sound without coming off too harsh or hacked. Olivo’s vocals sound of a cross between The Cars’ Ric Ocasek meets XTC’s Andy Patrtidge, but for the 21st Century, they’re all in a class of their own.

After the blistering deliverance of “Don’t Dance”, the band follow it up with an amped up cover of Radiohead’s “2+2=5″. This is a case where the cover is better than the original, hands down. While the Radiohead version is excellent, The New Loud’s take on it is pretty stellar. Fast punk rock beats meshing with sonic jaunts of guitar waves, the trio take the British quintet’s musical offering and crank it to 11. I could go on, but you’d have to hear it for yourself; it’s totally worth it.

The EP then follows with the final tracks “Heaven (single mix)”, “The Short Way To Get You” a demo of “Every Girl I See” and an extended version of “Heaven”. Drummer Radish Beet proves to be a great percussionist with the band, keeping up with the aggressive paces of Olivo and Nakles. Combining early New Wave and dashes of minimalism with punk rock mentality, The New Loud are looking to 2010 with a hungry set of eyes. While their full length debut is expected to arrive sometime this spring, Can’t Stop Not Knowing proves to be a welcome introduction to the band’s already spoken of charismatic live shows and intricate musicianship. Do these guys know how to party or what? Don’t ask me, the answer’s right here.

Check Out:

Buy:
Can’t Stop Not Knowing [EP]

“Apparently one of the neighboring clubs called the police because we were way too loud and it was disrupting their performers – so much for rock and roll in NYC! The cops showed up and we had to pause while security talked the cops out of giving anyone citations with the understanding we’d be quieter.”

With all the shenanigans and loudness abound, The New Loud is also in the midst of preparing its debut EP Can’t Stop Not Knowing. The EP will consist of six songs, including a heavier-than-hell cover of Radiohead’s “2+2=5″. Mixed by Mark Trombino (Finch, Jimmy Eat World, Rocket From The Crypt) and produced by band leader and singer Shane Olivo, Can’t Stop Not Knowing promises to deliver one helluva sonic send-up straight to the forehead. The EP will be released in late February with a full on debut album to follow later on in 2010. This writer has already witnessed the sheer force this band can put up and is seriously looking forward to next February 23rd.

Check Out:
“Don’t Dance”

All hailing from their native Minnesota, each member of The Minneapolis Henrys strikes a pose without posing. It’s a refreshing display of honest posture that reminds us why we go see terrific underground acts in the first place. No supermodels. No guns. No Pete Doherty. Just three gentleman-donning non-skinny-ties, and proportionally sized-clothing. The lone female member in a quaint, modest party-dress. There were no ironic cardigans, nor any pretentiously placed bandannas to mention.

They left all the statement-making up to the music. Oh, what a sound. They don’t’ so much beat you to death with excellence as they tantalize your ear drums with melodic homage’s to what alt-rock music is capable of without a fashion guru modeling their on-stage garb.

With The Minneapolis Henrys, what you see is what you get. Four simultaneously cadence-driven musicians whose collective talents enable the four-piece to woo an audience without pushing any inward-thinking art-rock tendencies on them. What they’ve created is a subtly brilliant live show that hardly allows its audience members time to breathe. They engage those in attendance by requesting even the most jaded of the hipster set to approach the stage, and “get jiggy with it,” rather than mug and pout in the distance. They’re about as personable a young band as you’re likely to see in the area.

Jai himself is a living, vivaciously breathing representation of what we’re all capable of if we (a) have talent, (b) undeniable spirit, and (c) a willingness to let our innate awareness of how to carry a tune rummage through our lanky-frames and dance to good music as we create/perform it. If you haven’t yet seen, or heard of, The Minneapolis Henrys, Friday night’s show at the refurbished Bottom Lounge may have been just enough to win you over.

Oh, and not to discredit the opening act of the night, The New Loud should be everyone’s favorite new band. They’re superfluous interpretation of how to excel at the delivery of driving, surging sonic testaments to how to woo an audience is a mesmerizing live experience I would recommend to anyone willing to lend an ear to music that sounds not only groundbreaking, but decadently powerful.

Set List:
The Ballad of Robert Murdoch
So Long Sophie
The Ballad of Sophia Green
Magnum
Tusk Wounds Rockets
The Black Rose of Santa Lucia
Ice Storms
Letters from Odysseus
Tumbleweeds
All’s Fair