Cinema Hearts: Feels Like Forever

Cinema Hearts is a jangle pop band based out of Fairfax, Virginia. This is an interesting release, Feels Like Forever is a standout album to me. Influenced by the music of the sixties, but taking all of the foundations of mid twentieth century pop and modernizing that. The songs are short, but well put together. The songs aren’t any longer than I need to be. This keeps Feels Like Forever from becoming too repetitive, and keeps the songs engaging. Song flow is an important factor in any release, and this is an album that should be listened to start to finish. The vocals are astounding. The harmonies and backing vocals, often a variety of “oohs” and “aahs”,  back up the main vocal lines really well. It’s clear that a lot of time and effort was put into these tracks. There is a definite passion in the lyrics. Based out of Fairfax, VA, a lot of this Cinema Hearts release is about the angst of a college student. In the harmony, there’s a release of anger. There’s aggression, but its more of a subtlety. For those current studying in college, or nostalgic for those times, Cinema Hearts will bring back that feeling of putting off homework and the existential crises that can only be had waiting for finals to be over.

Ive been living here too long is my favorite song on Feels Like Forever. It’s a sad, morose song about the dull parts of life. Wanting more, striving to feel more but being stuck in a placid situation. I just love the way that feeling is expressed in the slow, deliberate chords chugging through the rain and slog of a day that won’t end. There’s probably more to it than that, or I could have missed the point entirely. That’s the great thing about when songs are released to the world. It’s not about the artits intention, not fully, anyway. I think that it’s more about how the song speaks to you. What the notes say, how the lyrics apply to your own life experiences. That being said, Feels Like Forever is a pleasure to listen to, and I’m sure Cinema Hearts will be playing around Nothern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Soon!

 

Other favorite song: Our Constellation – Those melodies. So good!

 

Check them out: https://www.facebook.com/cinemahearts/

Music Here: http://cinemahearts.bandcamp.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Mathrat: First Look

Mathrat is a math/post rock band from Washington, D.C. They haven’t put out a full EP yet, but they do have some great sounding lo-fi d.i.y. tracks available online. Mathrat, like most good math bands, is engaging to listen to. Each instrument has a firmly established place to create. As much complexity as there is with Mathrat, there is still room to breathe in the song. No song ever feels tedious or overwritten, but places in exactly the right way to make beautiful music. I think the post rock elements add to the sense of serenity, and is present also in the structure.

The ways the songs build, the energy and force presented is heavily reminiscent of post rock giants. That’s what this first look is to me, the first look at the footprint of a giant. There’s an endless amount of potential on these tracks, and for as much soft and pretty, there is a hard and violent side to their sound. On the last track, “All Knowing Box”, these elements blend wonderfully. Mathrat is a new up and coming band, so if you see them playing around D.C. or get invited to one of their shows, check them out!

Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/mathratdc/