Artist: So Long Forgotten

Album: Things We Can See and Things We Cannot

Release Date: 8/25/09

Label: Come & Live!

So Long Forgotten is an indie rock band from Illinois. There sound could be described as a mix of As Cities Burn and mewithoutYou. The album is partially a concept album, but includes some personal stories from the band member thrown in there. "A River Flows In The Desert" opens the album, and starts off slow, but breaks into a As Cities Burn sounding song with more mwY - like lyrics. "Princess Among Provinces" opens with some yelling, but then breaks down into a different unique type of rocker. "Hills Humbled, Mountains Made Low" includes the unforgettable line "We've got God on our side!". "Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes" is a song about a relationship Micah Boyce, lead singer, had with his mother after his father died. The then has him saying that when we have nothing, we'll always have God. A song that personally I enjoy is the calmer song "Basilea Basilea" which turns out to be one of the best indie rock songs I've ever heard. Many more song on the album such as "Onward to the Garden" seem to contain the earlier mentioned As Cities Burn and mewithoutYou influences. Another favorite track is "Hosanna" which is crafted very nicely. "As The Waters Cover The Sea" ends the album in style, being calmer. A few guests vocalists such as singer-songwriter Todd Reese and Daniel Simmons from All The Day Holiday both contribute greatly to the album, especially Todd Reese, who has a great voice.A band who can blend those two great bands sounds together can truly make a masterpiece. A promising band on the indie label Come & Live! may not get much attention for the time being, but will soon be the next breakout band in my opinion.

Rating: 8/10 So Long Forgotten is very promising and I'm sure will bring us more great work in the future. Also, if you're interested in getting the record, you can download it for free at Noisetrade.com

Secret & Whisper release their new song today which is titled "Warrior (Southern Arrowwood)". As a fan of the band, I really appreciate their hard rock style. For only a dollar, I'd definitely pick this song up! Their new album titled Teenage Fantasy will release February 9, 2010 on Tooth & Nail Records.

Here is the new video of House of Heroes song "O Come O Come Emmanuel" just in time for the holidays!

Artist: House Of Heroes

Album: Presents The Christmas Classics EP

Release Date: 11/10/09

Label: Gotee

This has been a big year for House Of Heroes. They've released their critically acclaimed The End is Not The End in stores (It was possibly last year's best of the year), as well as three EPs. This is their third EP, a Christmas one, which carries their style and holiday cheer to the fans. The cover of the hit Christmas single, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey, starts off the album on a high note. Their take on this is sort of like some of their more "love" songs from The End Is Not The End but with a bit of holiday flair thrown in for the ride. Following up is last year's more mellow single, "Silent Night", done in beautiful acoustics, soaring strings and slowly thumping drums. If the true meaning of Christmas was placed into one song, this would be it. "O Come O Come Emmanuel", another traditional Christmas song, starts off slower, but then breaks into more of the classic HoH sound. This is a great EP but is pretty short, leaving the listener for more. Let's just hope that someday House of Heroes will release a full length Christmas album!
Rating: 9/10 The EP is very short, but is, as the title suggests, made up of Christmas classics. A great way to end the year for House of Heroes!

Hope that your year went well! As you can see, I just re-designed the site and will be doing some new reviews lately including Me In Motion, Seabird and lots more! Also, we will soon be adding a new feature, the staff's picks for their top 10 albums, artists, etc. of '09'! Have a great and safe holiday time!

Blessings

~Brooks