Bag Raiders - Bag Raiders

A dance pop duo from Australia, Bag Raiders has had a good start right off the bat.  With their first album, Bag Raiders, this fantastic duo quickly broke into success in 2010.  Charting on various boards around the world they sure put themselves in my "Watch list" for new releases.  Unfortunately it seems that they have yet to release any new material.  Honestly this isn't a bad thing, it's just the same frustration I get whenever I listen to a good, new artist...  Suffering the wait of new material!  The only kind of new material they have been releasing are remixes, which don't particularly interest me.  As far as this album goes, it's a very solid dance pop album with some good house music songs.  It has a few REALLY good songs, and some other forgettable tracks.

The main success of this album is Shooting Stars, with good reason.  The song is an upbeat, fun song that makes me want to dance along every single time.  Other good songs include Gone Away, featuring great female vocals in another song that makes the beat flow through you.  Last song I wanted to include is Snake Charmer, a house music song that keeps a nice, steady beat.

If you enjoy dance pop and house music, this is a good, entertaining album that you might want to give a listen to.  If it isn't your music preference, at least give a listen to "Shooting Stars".  It's an amazing song and it was what brought me to the album in the first place.  Hope you guys enjoy!

From Chaos - 311

311 is a band that, in my opinion, needs more recognition in the music industry.  This band is like a Red Hot Chili Peppers in the sense that their music is original, very different and enjoyable.  They are considered a mix between alternative rock, reggae rock and rap rock. "But Chris, this just sounds like a bunch of different genres that should never be together!"  Bro.  Are you kidding me right now.  I have never seen such a great mix of unlikely genres perfected by a band like 311 has!  This melting pot of genres is usually called "White boy reggae" and is usually attributed to 311's creation, along with other bands like, of course, Sublime.  This is one of the reasons why I hold 311 in such high regards.  The other is because they make awesome music!  After having downloaded their discography I can say that From Chaos is my favorite album so far.  The songs on this album are just so well made and fun, you really don't want to stop listening to it!

Songs that stand out are:  You get worked, a song that works mostly in the rap rock genre in a fun beat.  Another song is I Told Myself, a cool song that talks about how the singer can't believe he's still going after someone that betrayed him before.  Now, my favorite two songs by 311:  I'll Be Here A While and Amber.  These two songs are some of the most relaxing songs you may ever hear, practically made so you could listen to them while watching the sun set on the horizon with sand in your toes. While The first is a bit more upbeat, it still holds the secret element that makes people snap their fingers and bob their heads. Amber on the other hand is practically the definition of relaxation.  While it still holds anchors itself to rock, it definitely pulls in some great reggae elements.

Basically, this is a really good album, I enjoyed it a lot and I know that most others that enjoy exploring rock genres will also like it.  But if you don't feel like getting into the white boy reggae genre, I suggest you get 311 Greatest hits.  It's a great album that goes through most of 311's chalky history of albums and gets most of the golden nuggets out. It was the first album I heard by 311 and the door that peaked my interest for the band.  You can use it as an introductory level, if you like it, keep searching for their other albums!

A great introduction to 311 as a whole.