Deborah Remus
01/20/09, 07:50 PM
Aspirations - EP!
Record Label: Underground Operations
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Who?
If you consider yourself a fan of Vancouver pop punk act Daggermouth, perhaps you're already familiar with their guitarist Stuart McKillop. With Daggermouth taking a break for an undetermined amount of time, Aspirations is what McKillop has been working on alongside Kirsten Harris instead.
How is it?
The thing you're likely to notice right off the bat is the vocals, which could certainly be considered an aquired taste by some. McKillop's voice is overly gruff, seemingly better suited for thrashing drums and crunchy power chords while Harris' voice is high pitched and a little too overproduced. Together the two blend together nicely, as is proved with the overly catchy chorus on "10729 King George HWY." The samples are poppy too, "Get Fucked" in particular is catchy and repetitive, perfect for hip hop but it is hard to think of a hip hop artist that has a voice anything like McKillop's.
Ultimately, crystal clear samples with punk style vocals is the best way to describe Aspirations. Take the band's cover of "Accident Prone" by Jawbreaker. The band take a song by one of the more beloved punk acts, ditching the power chords for atmospheric samples and Harris' high pitched voice, which adds their own personal touches to it while still doing the original justice. Doing so, they also prove the punk influence can still live on even without the traditional instruments, making Aspirations a welcome change compared to what is out there today.
Punk, pop and samples all in the same song
myspace.com/aspirations604
Record Label: Underground Operations
Release Date: June 10, 2008
Who?
If you consider yourself a fan of Vancouver pop punk act Daggermouth, perhaps you're already familiar with their guitarist Stuart McKillop. With Daggermouth taking a break for an undetermined amount of time, Aspirations is what McKillop has been working on alongside Kirsten Harris instead.
How is it?
The thing you're likely to notice right off the bat is the vocals, which could certainly be considered an aquired taste by some. McKillop's voice is overly gruff, seemingly better suited for thrashing drums and crunchy power chords while Harris' voice is high pitched and a little too overproduced. Together the two blend together nicely, as is proved with the overly catchy chorus on "10729 King George HWY." The samples are poppy too, "Get Fucked" in particular is catchy and repetitive, perfect for hip hop but it is hard to think of a hip hop artist that has a voice anything like McKillop's.
Ultimately, crystal clear samples with punk style vocals is the best way to describe Aspirations. Take the band's cover of "Accident Prone" by Jawbreaker. The band take a song by one of the more beloved punk acts, ditching the power chords for atmospheric samples and Harris' high pitched voice, which adds their own personal touches to it while still doing the original justice. Doing so, they also prove the punk influence can still live on even without the traditional instruments, making Aspirations a welcome change compared to what is out there today.
Punk, pop and samples all in the same song
myspace.com/aspirations604