New release a keeper

Flood the Stone
All is Not Lost
Revolution Studios
4.5-out-of-10

Flood the Stone is a new band coming out of the Yorkton area. I am always excited when new bands come out of Yorkton and look forward to what they have to offer.

Unfortunately Flood the Stones debut album "All Is Not Lost" just did not cut it for me.

There wasn't much on this album I liked, but the songs are well written, and they hold a good message.

The weak point of the entire album is the vocals. I just did not like the overall sound of the lead singer, and it is hard to get past that and enjoy an album when the vocals are lacking.

The one bright spot of sorts for me was the song 'Made for You'. It is the only song that I somewhat liked on the album. The lyrics of the song are good and the keyboard works for the overall sound.

After listening to "All Is Not Lost" multiple times there isn't much that would make me want to listen to it again. This is one of those albums that eventually would get lost on your IPod and over time you forgot you had. The only time you would really hear any of the songs, is if you put the shuffle-all option on. The songs aren't bad enough to skip over, but you are not going to be hitting the repeat button for any of them.

-ADAM DANIELS

Said The Whale
'hawaiii'
Hidden Pony Records
8-out-of-10

Said The Whale is an indie rock band that hales from Vancouver. Their latest album "hawaiii" is a solid album which delivers many uptempo and catchy alternative rock songs.

It doesn't take long to figure out the album is properly named "hawaiii" because many of the songs give off a beach vibe.

What I like about this album is that although many the songs are uptempo, there are a few songs that strike the vain of being folk songs. "More Than This" is one of those songs The album opens with the song and on first listen I thought the album would follow along the folk tones that this song has.

It doesn't and it leads into perhaps my favorite song on the album 'Mother' which is a great song which has been stuck in my head from the moment I heard it. Unlike some songs that get stuck in your head this song doesn't make you want to take a drill to your temple.

'I Love You' is another song that is very well-written and performed on the album. It maintains the beach vibe that is carried throughout the album.

"hawaiii" is the fourth album from Said The Whale, and after listening to this one they have a fan.

Having never heard their material before this album, I now want to go back and check out their previous work. For a fan that likes this genre of music, Said The Whale's "hawaiii" definitely deserves a listen.

This is an album I will happily have on my IPod and will get multiple listens in the future.

-ADAM DANIELS