The Birthday Massacre

Check out their MySpace page here

The Birthday Massacre give bland, computerized music a make-over by combining two different genres (electronica and rock, aka rocktronica) that would seem to clash if they weren't blended with just the right amount of color. Chibi, the lead singer, has a voice that takes plain old vanilla ice cream rock and gives it a good dose of purple sprinkles. A little less girlie than the color pink, Chibi's voice offers an unexpected but perfect amount of lightness that contrasts with the generally heavier notes created by airy synthesized sounds mixed with lower guitar tones. Borderlining goth rock while incorporating dreampop/electronica elements, The Birthday Massacre create an appealing, unmatched sound that's upbeat while, paradoxically, slightly macabre.

If you judged their album by it's cover, you'd get a good idea of what their music represents: Something dark and youthful, almost like a musical fairytale including goblins and a Peter pan-like hero. But you'd never guess they liked creating songs like "To Die For" with simple lyrics and a happy tune. Nonetheless, they do stay true to their image by covering heavier topics overshadowed by mysteriosly eerie sounds in songs like "Video Kid" and "Kill the Lights".

If you took all of the fun Halloween memories you had as a kid, collected them in a jar, then threw in a few sparkles, you'd end up with a snowglobe that resembles what The Birthday Massacre creates with music-something that's easy to grasp and hard to let go of, once you've seen and heard what it can do.

MySpace Music Discovery: Standfast

Visit Standfast on MySpace Here

There is something very welcoming and familiar about Standfast's music. Just a few seconds after discovering their MySpace Page, my ears easily drank in the new but familiar sound of their featured tunes. How do I describe this experience? It felt like I'd actually stumbled upon a page presenting an artist with years of experience behind them; musicians that might've toured with bands like the Mama's and the Papas. They definitely make the kind of music that could've filled the psychedelic airwaves about 20 or so years before my time.

Standfast is a band that gives an obvious nod to many groups of the past. But, of course, their music is crisp and far from cloudy or stale; they're not just recreating someone else's work. Standfast makes sure to add the more "modern" beats in all the right places so that they work well with the accompanying vintage rhythms. This is how they've put their own signature on this somewhat mellow but modernized happy hippie music. And, last but not least, I can't forget to mention lead singer Suzanne's voice, which is like the perfect pair of shoes that make any outfit worthwhile-the outfit being the music. It fits the band's image just right, and it makes their music what it is.

As for brief bio info, Standfast started making music a few years ago in the place they call home, Stockholm, Sweden. With one album already behind them, they recently released their second one here in the US entitled, Beneath and Beyond; I believe it was this past August. There are more details on their MySpace site, which I highly recommend you check out. Standfast has created the kind of music that reviewers will often fail at fully capturing in words, but that's a good thing in this case.

MySpace Music Discoveries: Annie Stela

Annie Stela: She may be young, but she definitely has the pipes and lyrical know-how it takes to create a song that's less refined than a ballad, but definitely more elegant than a top-40 tune.

Annie Stela's first fans were probably college students, since her musical career began right about the time when she started college over by the Great Lakes. As her MySpace page explains, she kept it simple. Stela began touring with just her piano, but her voice really is an instrument on its own.

It can be said that Stela's music tends to resemble a meaningful homemade card over a store-bought Hallmark. Sincerity overrides the cheesiness factor, even in the love song that I referred to earlier, the one I just can't seem to get enough of, "It's You." There is also something about the piano, and even though its sound brings to mind Fiona Apple, it has a different ring to it. The chords are a bit softer along the edges, maybe more romantic. The singer behind the music is also worth mentioning. While still keeping its overall femininity, Stela's voice is deep but not dark and brooding. It steers clear of angst, but doesn't come anywhere close to detestably peppy.

One of the other songs on her page, "Breathe Through," is a bit more complicated than "It's You." The first line already invites the listener into someone else's world. Stela draws up images and awakens feelings with words that animate a story. Its somewhat sorrowful message is accurately captured in the actual piano-playing and fluctuating high and low notes bearing the vulnerable lyrics. "Fool" reveals Stela's ability to incorporate other instruments appropriately. It keeps a faster pace than "Breathe Through" but it still shares its personal tone, as the lyrics confess regret. The climax of the song would have to be the piano solo toward the end, where Stela's talent is allowed to shine without blinding.

Annie Stela will soon be releasing her first album, but from what I've heard on her MySpace page, she definitely doesn't sound like a newbie. The years of practice behind the piano have definitely paid off, and I'm sure in a few months they literally will. I'm looking forward to hearing what else she has to offer.

MySpace Music Discovery: Feist

This summer, I happened to stumble upon Feist's MySpace page and was delighted with the discovery. She's been around for a little while, and she's also a former member of Broken Social Scene. I don't keep up with them, so I guess that's why I didn't hear the news about her decision to start anew as a solo musician.

When it comes to Feist's voice, Doris Day comes to mind, but there's definitely more vibrato in there, and even a bit more scratchy sultriness. Still, she has that classic voice that makes her sound older than she really is. But don't let the description of Feist's voice being that of someone more mature turn you off, because she takes a youthful approach in creating music that's paradoxically vintage while also being refreshingly new. At unexpected but appropriate times, Feist creatively incorporates the intricately manipulated sounds of various instruments and musical devices. The music they create complements her voice as it adds character to the often lightly poetic and usually amusing lyrics.

Sometimes sounding like stories, and other times resembling songs that could be featured on a fairytale, Feist's tunes give a nod to the past while definitely including the originality and newness that combine to give good music its trademark description.