Hailing from Salt Lake City, UT, the pop-punk quartet Drop Dead Julio has been keeping pretty busy since their formation in early 2006.

Between their 2007 debut EP Lack of Direction, countless shows and touring while opening up for the likes of Unwritten Law and Royal Bliss, and their just-released second EP The Stories We Could Tell, DDJ is gaining more momentum every day—and there’s no sign it will slow down anytime soon.

Drop Dead Julio, consisting of vocalist/guitarist Gene Kennedy, bassist James Checrallah, drummer James Julio and guitarist Brian Jensen seem to enjoy taking bits and pieces from every related genre of rock and punk and mixing them together in a punk-rock-pop-sing-along-post-hardcore-alternative 12 layer cake.

Admittedly, I wasn’t originally as smitten with Misery Signals’ new album Controller as I was with their 2006 release Mirrors, or even with 2004’s Of Malice and the Magnum Heart. At first I thought the band was merely trying a move in a different direction on this album, rather than a step forward. That said, I actually fell in love with this album. 

It took a few listens to really get into the album, but once I did I realized the superb recording quality on this album (produced by Devin Townsend). I began to appreciate it more as I started to notice much of the beauty that I had missed while initially focusing only on the heavy riffs and monster vocals. I overlooked the intricate way in which the guitars play off each other, creating the beautiful chaos that I’ve come to expect from Misery Signals. 

Unlike the previous offerings, each song is very, very strong on its own, whereas on prior albums there was one or two songs that needed the support of each album’s epic contributions. The songs on Controller just have a different flow to them that is not immediately as palatable as their earlier albums, though after a few samples it goes down just as well-albeit with a slightly different taste. Some transitions from crunchy riffs to more melodic parts are seamless, while others take a few moments to catch up to as they are so abrupt. 

Los Angeles’s, Jay Nash’s, latest album, The Things You Think You Need , is a good representation of what you get when you juxtapose rock, folk, pop and a bit of country and then add a bit of poignant acoustic guitar in the mix. It is an effortless and easy album that is extremely likeable from the very first track.

The album succeeds in calling to a wide range of emotions, and the more cheerful tracks make for a good balance with the few somber songs, the former gaining an upper hand when determining the record’s overall mood.

The album displays Nash’s thoughtful lyrical ability which allows quiet moments of reflection and lamenting to coexist with more funky, playful offerings. With a vocal style reminiscent of both David Gray and Isaac Slade (The Fray), Nash’s soulful and seamless voice is the strongest when crooning his feelings of scorned melancholy. But he is also quite at home leading the more pop-oriented radio-friendly tracks, or even doing his best to channel Bruce Springsteen on track 6, “Hard Lesson.”

The one song that just doesn’t fit the mold of the album is on the last song, which is actually untitled. A more electronic feel combined with the haunting lyrics makes this a very short but ethereal track. 

The stark contrast in instrumentation makes this the most memorable and anomalous moment on this wonderful album. It leaves the listener with an unfinished, haunted feeling when Nash ends with “Open your eyes, you’re not alone.”