Crazy intense hard rock band, Disturbed, is not the typical type of band I’d like, but man they are talented. Their guitar work is impressive. I am looking forward to listening to the rest of their new album, Asylum. So far I’ve listened to the title track, “Asylum” (with the instrumental intro they call “Remnants”) which was very cool and the single from the album, “Another Way to Die” which wasn’t so cool. “Another Way to Die” is about the global warming, pretty lame.
In this new era of digital music, it’s rare that I (or anyone) actually buys a physical CD, but this summer I bought three. Two of them were old Something Corporate CDs (Leaving Through the Window and North) and were very good. The other was Rooney’s new Album, Eureka, which came out on June 8th and was supported with a summer tour. They played with Black Gold (awesome live performance) and The Young Veins (markedly weak live performance), and I was lucky enough to see them in Atlanta.
I’ll keep this brief, share a little about Rooney’s new album, and hopefully I can just get one person to stop listening to rap or even worse…whatever Justin Bieber‘s noise is!
Eureka opens with “Holdin’ On,” which is far and away my favorite song on the album. It has the classic Rooney sing along feel with great guitar work and of course Rob Schwartzman’s great voice.
An aspect of the song I really like, is how they reference a personally tough experience the band members went through, as they felt trapped and bullied by their former record company (Eureka is self-produced). At least that’s how I interpret these lyrics:
And my mother said, “You’re theirs to your dead,
To them, it’s just another meal.”
Now I’m fat with regret, I’m placing my bet on me.
To them, it’s just another meal.”
Now I’m fat with regret, I’m placing my bet on me.
Track #2 is the album single, “Can’t Get Enough.” It’s extremely catchy, which I assume is why it is the single, but it is awfully poppy. It’s a very good sounding song, but it lacks emotion and doesn’t have rock elements that make “Holdin’ On” so great.
Stars and Stripes, Track #8, represents a different sound for Rooney, but the more I listen to it the more I like it. It is a keyboard based song, and keyboarder Louie Stephens truly shines. When they played it live in Atlanta, they extended the song giving everyone a long solo, and it was amazing. It definitely has some political commentary too. My favorite line is this reference to the national debt:
What have we gained at the end of the day?
Just a bill that we can’t pay.
Just a bill that we can’t pay.
As beachy and happy as Rooney sounds, a lot of their lyrics are rather dark or mean (e.g., I wake up in so much spit and sweat, it is not normal from “I’m Shakin'”). That said, Track #10, “You’re What I’m Looking For,” is a nice love song with positive lyrics and an enjoyable sound.
Track #11, “Not in My House,” has a great classic rock feel, but I’ll leave it at that. I’ll let you make your own judgements on the rest of the tracks. I’ve listed each song below and linked them to a YouTube video with the song.
Enjoy!
Eureka
Ignore the track listings in the actual YouTube videos, as they are incorrect.
RyanKantor.com 
While the album received good reviews, the record failed to bring the group increased sales. Digital Minidv Wholesale
They were the main act on their tour. They toured with Panic at the Disco and when part of that band broke and formed The Young Veins they added them as the 2nd band to their tour. If they had toured with Weezer or a big band like that I wonder if they would have done better. Crowds at their concerts weren’t big.