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public opinion
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New York combo covers all the bases with strummy, Progressive Folk verses and big, overdriven choruses. Imagine Dave Matthews on stage with the Stone Temple Pilots.
- listen.com Bucket, listening to 'Looker Down'. This is listed as Folk Rock. This is funny I just reviewed a piece of crap folk tune and then I get this. This song is good. Beautiful imagery in the lyrics. Unlike someone else we know. And something else I like to hear in a song like this. A solo performer. Just guitar and voice. No frills. No nothing. You are left to make an impression just by yourself. And a very good impression. This song sounds like something I have heard before. Can't quite place it. Singer is good. Very emotive voice. Could use a little grit I think. But hey what do I know? Great ending. All good. I give this song a 7.
§ (starkell)
I just listened to Vernacular, Animate and Make Believe from MP3.com, and you guys are great. I spend about 8-10 hours a day coding, so it's good to have some nice tunes in the background. There is a lot of truly good independent music out there if one is willing to look around, and you guys should be proud to be a part of it. - Mike.
BUCKET
bucket - make believe
bucket - at the bottom
bucket - looker down
bucket - animate
bucket - first to know
bucket - destiny
bucket - channel
bucket - clearscreen
bucket - dying in my sleep
bucket - aquarius
bucket - vernacular
bucket - downstairs
DESCRIPTION:
CRITIQUE - CaveDog
Hi! I'm a seventeen year old singer and guitarist from Germany. I discovered some of your songs at mp3.com. They're absolutely great! I especially like the acoustic songs like "Downstairs", "Vernacular" and "Channel"!!! They really rock. I have to say that I am deeply impressed and I guess you guys will present a great influence to the songs I'm going to write in the future... Keep up the good work!!! -Tobias
BUCKET---- "MAKE BELIEVE" A HUGE DELICIOUS 12-STRING DRIVES THIS HEARTFELT ACOUSTIC PIECE! THIS IS ONE OF THOSE SONGS THAT YOU WOULD HEAR AT THE END CREDITS OF A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE. THE CHORUS HAS A POWERFUL HOOK AND GOES UNRESOLVED ON PURPOSE. UNEASY IS HOW THIS SONG WILL MAKE YOU FEEL, AND THAT'S GOOD--IT GETS THE POINT OF THE LYRIC ACROSS. EACH LINE OF LYRIC RUSTLES & STIRS WITH EMOTION AND FORCES THE LISTENER LOOK DEEP INSIDE. SO, DON'T LET THE 'ACOUSTIC' LABEL OF THIS SONG FOOL YOU, BECAUSE IT'S NOT YOUR STEREOTYPICAL 'UNPLUGGED' SOUND. THE SONG IS DYNAMIC, AND EBBS AND FLOWS WITH A TIGHT ENERGETIC PRODUCTION. PUNCHY BASS LINES, SYNCOPATED DRUM GROOVES, POLYRHYTHMIC GUITAR, AND A GREAT VOICE! MP3 LISTENERS: FILL YOUR BUCKET WITH THIS GROUP'S CD's!!!
-ciano
Artist: Bucket Song: Make Believe The chord progession is nice: simple but not hacknied. I feel the same about the vox. You've got a nice voice. The drums and bass come in well. They add a good umph without overpowering things. The lyrics are good. They're not fantastic, but i think they're pretty good and they fit with the song. Overall good job. My suggestions for improvement: Add harmonies! This song is perfect for some nice vocal thirds and fifths. The absence and presence of some extra vox would also add some dynamics that would help out a lot. Concerning the lead vox, for this type of song, i prefer a more live sound vocally. These are very polished and thus slightly impersonal at times. But that's pretty picky. Pretty good job.
- Johnny Tinnitus
Just wanted to drop a line and let you know how much I've enjoyed your sound, and well-crafted lyrics, something that I'm a big stickler on. I especially enjoyed the acoustic driven sounds of "clearscreen". I was wondering if you guys want to trade links or not. My sound is heavily influenced by Dave Matthews, Sarah McLachlan, and Natalie Merchant. I'd suggest trying "Green", "Tree", "It Comes To This" for an idea on my sound, "I'm Not That Strong (unplugged)" is a good number with just me on the acoustic switching between 11/8 and 3/4 time.
- Dawson
Hey guys I skipped your band when reviewing songs as posted on the artist area... my name is chip aka sugar and I think your music kicks ass... I just listened to all, and have to say, first to know will be my fav. I'm sorry about my screw up here. I WILL link you on the www site and I will put you where you would have been link position wise,because you posted early on, third out of all. thats all. no other promises just a link to your url from my website,Free, no strings. for real. that's all I can say, look for it at www.chipritter.com in two days it will be up, I'm sorry I missed your songs, it was my fault for being so scattered, Thanks for the tunes and keep up themusic, it is in my opinion one of the very best bands here that I have had the pleasure of hearing, and I'm not just saying that because I dropped the ball... I really consider you very tight, pro material. better than most.
- Sugar Bear
Artist: Bucket Song: Vernacular Lyrics: 82% Music: 80% Production: 79% Bucket powers through this nice alt-rock song with a headlong garage-y rawness. I'm guessing it was recorded in one live take- there's a live feel to the whole thing. Reminds me a tiny bit of early REM. A little loose, but in a good way. I like the rambling feeling, particularly in the chorus. Pretty cool.
- The Razzles
"at the bottom" You want brutality? This aint no fuckin Rock n' roll!!! ATTITUDEATTITUDEATTITUDE! Thats 90 percent of what rock n' roll is! This just aint rollin me man...... Its rock, but it aint roll... Know what Im sayin? Sounds like a mix between Pearl Jam and ... and I dont know what! I think you guys should really goto the bottom and read the Jimmy Flame handbook on rock n' roll... 5
- Jimmy Flame
Bucket, listening to "at the bottom". Ambient guitar distortion noise at the top of this tune and then poppy and catchy drums and bass. Guitars are kind of buried under the drums and bass. The riff reminds me of Zeppelin. Weird. This song is certainly catchy. But it needs something to distinguish the verse from the chorus. The song is big to begin with i think it needs to be bigger for the chorus. Kind of stays static. This song probably works really well live. But in the studio you have to kind of fake the hills and valleys in a song like this by adding instument parts that may not appear live to distinguish one part of the song from another. A high guitar part in the first chorus. Stuff like that. You guys need a producer who can turn you on to things like that. Great song. Mix is Ok. The guitars could be a little less mushy. Drums could be a little softer in the mix. Production is ok. As said kind of static but could be... could be... Peace.
- § (starkell)
We really like your music. Reminds us a little of Jars of Clay (an excellent Christian band). We really liked dying in my sleep, very nice, lots of conviction. Excellent lyrics. You guys have a tight sound, like you have been playing together for awhile. I personally would add a little more instrumentation, but that's just me, I know you guys are going for that stripped down, folk/rock sound. Keep the tunes coming, we like it!
Dying in my sleep. Another cool song. I like the way you dip into the minor chords off the majors. Good, clear, strong voice. Clean, well recorded instruments. I really liked this song, but realized after my third listen that I'd like it more with a stronger chorus. You make a good jump into it, dynamically it works well, but the lyrics don't jump to a new level. If anything, they seem to take second fiddle to the melody in the beginning. The music builds nicely, but I think the vocals(lyrics) should also build alongside. But a great sound. I'm downloading another to check out... - Aslan
"Aquarius" Ok now, this is a great song if you like this type of slow rock music. That was actually my only problem with this track, it was just to slow. I kept hoping to hear a hard driven distorted guitar come in but it never did, and I found myself getting bored. Aside from my own personal feelings about the track, the instrumentation is excellent and the vocals are pretty good. All in all a pretty good song. You actually have a very similar but slower sound as Mocker another cool rock group.Keep it up guys, oh and i love your symbol. 3 out of 5
- Tyler O'Reilly (Burnt Chemist)
Bucket - Dying in My Sleep First off, anyone who has not landed on Bucket's page and given them a listen, you're really missing out. They are by far my favorite band on here so far. You guys really have something. I listened to Dying in My Sleep. Great tension, good pace and deliverance. Everything is on. The only comment I would make is that you guys should really consider adding another person to your band. There is so much potential to your music as far as additional instrumentation goes. If you like the simpler sound, then its on. I tend to beef up music at times, so I could be off on this point. All in all, great music.. I encourage anyone to give Bucket a listen.
- Matt
BUCKET - DYING IN MY SLEEP: It's always a pleasant surprise to hear lyrics that are either intelligible or intelligent and this song has both! I really liked the way the song built and particularly appreciated the fact that the band chose to keep it fairly acoustic sounding, rather than resorting to the obvious (ie -rocking out with a big grungy guitar sound). Nice one.
- Mark Crozer
Dying in my Sleep Damn this one's good! It's up my street. I love the complete unpretentious of it. I like the changes, small breaks and space that's in it. A great natural recording, no fancy stuff here...the recording could be really bad and the song would really stand up for itself. Everything fits well. Nice vocals, guitars and drums. When I read the lyrics as I downloaded it I didn't think too much, but hearing them to music they work very well. Good timeless stuff. You guys could go pretty far. If I was a record A&R I'd be very keen to sign. I must try some of the others tomorrow when I'm at my faster connection. Bloody good job
- gordon bell
My name is Amanda. I just happened to be listening to some bands(MP3.com) and came across yours. I liked the songs I heard and thought that they were really good. Well, I guess that this is it. Thanx for giving me the chance to let you know what I thought. You guys are a great band!
I picked up all of Bucket's MP3 stuff. Looks like I'm going to have to buy the CDs now too. I really like what I hear... and after reading all your "bios" and crap I feel like there is lotsa common ground where you and your music is coming from. What can I say? I'm a fan. Keep it up! You have my support... I'll spread the word here in Colorado and rub the MP3s in people's faces. I hope there will be millions more like me to boost you guys along. It is certainly worth it.
- Chris Milliken
'downstairs' An arpeggio in the background would help wake up this 2 chord progression ... guitar playing is too predictable; the part is cool, but it could be treated with more character. Your vocal is cool, man ... but not enough committment in the delivery. When I'm singin' I try to give my entire being over to each word AS it comes out of my mouth ... I find the more I consider what I'm "saying" ... as I'm "saying" it ... the more of a real delivery I give. 'aquarius' Too much chorus on the acoustic! ... Tull? I hear a little Ian Anderson in your vocal on this one. Nice vocal. Nice melodies. Again, not enough committment in the vocal delivery to take it over the top for me. 'vernacular' Ooh! I like THIS one already! and I'm only into the 3rd bar of the intro! NICE progression!!! Vocal's not gettin' me again (at the 1st verse) nice melody line, tho'!!... ah-ha! Your vocal is GETTING me here! and I BELIEVE you! "Gave you everything I had ... " and on thru' the rest of the chorus, kicks! The lyrics are being DELIVERED to me with your vocal. I need to hear MORE of that from you, Jase. That's the crux of what I get from your work ... nice stuff! ... very cool melodies and songs ... vocal delivery needs work, but you've at least got something to work WITH! Nice vocal ... just needs focus. Focus. Focus. That could have much to do with the lyrics too ... sometimes the lyrics aren't saying enough for the vocal to deliver much. A buddy of mine (GREAT singer songwriter, Kevin Welch/Nashville) says: "If you ain't killin' 'em, maybe your point ain't sharp enough." and then I always say, "It don't happen till you do."
- Alan Horvath
SONG:Downstairs
 - http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Pavilion/8741/
"Vernacular" My first impression of this track is, "whew - I like it..." - for some reason Edie Brikell and New Bohemians came to mind - not sure why... perhaps it's the writing style. I do detect the Dave Matthews Band feel here. The writing is good, and the song has a nice easy feel to it. The instrumental separation in the recording needs some attention. I think it's mostly with the drums... it seems the mic placement wasn't what it should have been. Vocally, I think the backups could be a bit higher in the mix. The lead was pretty good... I liked the fact that it was up front...where it belongs.
"Downstairs"
Loved the closeness. I felt like I was there with you, like I could feel what YOU were feeling - which is very nice. The raw quality really lends itself to the material. The chorus is strong and meaningful.
- sterling
Vernacular- This is a nice acoustic rock'n'roll tune. Driving beat and jangling acoustic guitar strumming really sound good. The vocals are tasteful and not overdone. This reminds me alot of Jars of Clay. I can hear these guys jamming in the top floor of a local rock'n'roll bar. This is really good college rock. The mix is good. Just a good tune. Hard to pick this one apart cause it makes me feel good. If you like straight ahead, feel good college rock, this is one to check out.
- Carter of 'torn'
Bucket "vernacular" ***1/2 Nice chord changes (they sound a lot like an unplugged Live) But they need to edit themselves a bit, bring out their hooks more (maybe a nice guitar lick dring the chorus, fatten up the harmony, write some counterpoint over the lead melody) Good Lyrics, ever come and play ion NYC guys, drop me a line.
- Mark McInerney
Bucket: 'vernacular' :) :) :) :) (Rock and Roll) Infectious, upbeat, melodic 'bar pop'. There are a lot of bands doing this kind music, and in this case, these guys do it quite well. It's the kind of song that gets played when everything else has failed to get people out of their chairs and onto the dance floor. I can find nothing wrong with their playing style and since there's only three members, not a hell of a lot can go wrong anyway. Of course, there's not a hell of a lot they can do either, but in most cases, a decent bar band only needs drums, guitar and bass. As long as one of 'em can sing, your all set. In this case it works. The singer has a great voice, the drums thump along nicely, the guitar strums rhythmically, keeping the tempo going and the bass fills in all the gaps. All in all... this one's for you if straight up 'bar pop' is your thing and you like hangin' with the guys in the band... -THX1138-
vernacular Ah yeh, just the remedy for a trying day at the office. Shame this wasnt on the radio on the way home. Damn this reminds of something so much, but i can think what it is. Could be Toad the Wet Sprocket. Nice beat, good guitars and accomplished singing. What could go wrong. If theres one thing that gets me, its that i keep expecting an acoustic solo burst near the end. As it is, I enjoyed it very much and will bookmark your page for a download at the weekend. aquarius You guys like Jeff Buckley? This is a little bit like something off Grace. (thats a good thing in my books) The sustained vocals sort of remind me of Michael Stipe's style. Its a shame you only have two songs on mp3.com, I'd like to hear more of your material.
- Pete91z
BAND:BUCKET SONG:Aquarius
- http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Pavilion/8741/ Bucket [vernacular]: Super catchy acoustic rock song. Well produced, good vocals, and a nice live sound. The acoustic guitar is DI'ed it would have been nice to have a mic'ed full acoustic sound as well, it would have filled out the sound a little, as would some fuller harmonies. The singing is great, emotional without being histrionic. The main criticism is the lack of dynamics, although well recorded it feels like a demo, and would really benefit from a bridge and some more instrumentation but at the same time I realluy like the bare feel of it all. Over all this is infectious and stays in you heard and the lyrics although obscure are well written. With a fuller sound I could Can see this one blaring the radio while doing some sunny day driving. Good job.
- john_mc_dermott@hotmail.com
DWE - I highly recommend this album. A great mix of songs. I find a new one I like every time I listen!
- Jason Jancaitis
Vernacular-Don't fall into the trap of singing through your nose, as so many poop singers do. All it takes isopening your mouth and throat further, which usually translates from more confidence. Listen to yourinfluence Dave Matthews, because he has good vocal tone without going all the way to opera style.And Tracy Chapman (bravo, by the way) is another good example to follow. I can hear her vocalphrasing in this song, but she is the Queen of the full, totally open, uninhibited vocal. "Last night Iheard the screaming...", that is where you need to take it. The guitar intro is well done, and the guitarand percussion meld very well rhythmically throughout, as does the vocal at the percussive line "sothis is not" at about 3:05. Oh, and no matter what you say in the notes, "one eyed parasite" canONLY mean one thing! "Isn't it awfully nice to have a penis, isn't it frightfully good to have a dong, etc." - GOLDRUNT Bucket is an Alternative Rock Bnad from Poughkeepsie NY.It's members include Jason Heim,Chris Newcomer, Ryan Zimmerman. Aquarius is a sweet sounding medium tempo Rock song reminiscent of Dave Matthews with a littlemore edge.The production here is decent.The song is well written and well performed.Singer has anidentifiable voice and carries the tune well.My only suggestion is that I could see this tune makinsome waves on college Radio maybe even mainstream if it was a bit shorter.Just my opinion.Sortof nit picky really cause it's a good song.My heads really into the "radio ready vibe " these days. Vernacular is a slightly more up tempo tune.Again the production is decent and the playing isexcellent.I dig the singers voice. Smooth and Identifiable. Well written tune.Sounds acoustic drivenbut with some edge. Ala DMB. You sound like you have a great band going. I bet you guys aregreat live.Nothing really to suggest here.If I had to get nit picky maybe a little guitar solo wouldspice this type of tune up, but that's just my tastes. Overall Id recommend Bucket to all who dig progressive Rock as well The Alternative scene.Anyone into DMB .en Folds etc. would definately appreciate these guys I think. Good Job. Bucket - Aquarius This is a good sounding group but If I were an A&R person I would wan't to hear a few more tunes. Thevocals remind me of some current artists but I need to hear more tracks to determine the big picture. Thistrack is ok but I'm not really excited about it. Hit the studio guys! - 'eddie' of the mp3 review site: I'm listening to yours [aquarius] right as I'm writing. My first impression is that this is GREAT songwriting. Very impressive in structure and arrangement.The overall mix is very good. This builds very nicely from a nice laid back jangly thing into a big finish. One thing I thing that would have made it even better would be to really GIVE IT vocally near the endof the song. The music builds nice, but the vocals don't match the progression of power. I do like thishowever. I gotta be honest though. The fuzzy guitar accents at the start of the song sound like you hit yourdistortion peddle by mistake. Apart from that, this is a very worthy download. - Carter of 'torn'
Aquarius - The guitar mixture sounds very regal and lush, like a Queen type of grandeur. A very even mix of thissong, radio-worthy. The vocal is nasal and harsh on the "EEE" and "AAA" sustained notes like the1st time at 44 secs, "waaaatch it again" then really harsh at "I can't escaeeeeeeep". Without thosereally overwhelming syllables, I could ignore the naturally nasal sound of the voice. Also, a lot of topbands do the same thing, like Billy Corgan a lot, so obviously most people don't dislike that vocaltone. Very together rhythmically throughout, including the vocal. - GOLDRUNT Aquarius has a chorused Cocteau Twins guitar as an intro without really sounding like the CocteauTwins then breaks in to an acoustic section followed by severely distorted Guitar, so severe that atfirst I though the mp3 was playing badly. It's a nice song, but I though the singers voice was a littlegeneric. The way you played around with those blocks of electric guitar was interesting though,liked that! The acoustic break was really nice and it flowed well into the distorted section. Lyricallyit was alright, I really believe that lyric writing is a craft, and a tightly well written lyric is a rare andwonderfull thing. Not that the talent isn't there, it is, it just needs to be honed. keep up the goodwork, I'd like to hear a wider range of your songs. Put some more up.If you get a chance check out mine. - john_mc_dermott@hotmail.com Great CD guys. Enjoyed all your stuff so far and this one isgreat too. The game is fun and great to play just when there's nothingto do. Keep up the good work - Jim My opinion as a non-musician is: I have to say that I enjoyed listening toall the songs as they were very professional: clear, clean, goodinstrumentals and vocals. I'm a sucker for good guitar solos withaccompanying drums so **Channel** turns out to be my favorite. EXCELLENTsong! For me it was like mid to late 70's rock ... a hint of Lynyrd Skynyrdor something similar. After listening to the others I came back to this oneand burned it on a CD I made for when driving to work. I'll crank it up inthe parking lot and see who asks about the song :) **Ampersand** is also excellent with the guitars. The beat is something I'dlike to listen to on a rainy Monday to get the juices flowing. **Aquarius** is something that really fits the name. I could imagine kickingback on the beach and getting more out of the music and lyrics than here athome. Have to plan that for this summer. (I kept hearing a burst of staticevery 5 or 10 seconds...don't know if this is intentional or not but itreally draws away from the song) **Destiny** is excellent in the switches between 'quiet' and 'busy'. 'Quiet'meaning the slower parts and 'Busy' meaning the sudden burst of music. **Fully automatic anti stress machine** has very good lyrics but when Ilistened a second time I thought they didn't quite fit the music. Perhaps alittle slower or less 'busy' would better fit the lyrics. Backside would beto make the lyrics stronger by forcing them out or using stronger language. **Vernacular** is an excellent fast-paced ballad. The acoustics got me onthis one too. I'll always choose an acoustic over an electric any day. Afitting title for the song. All in all, again, I enjoyed the music. It is still hard to find qualitybands on the net and I'm glad to offer my opinion that you are in that smallminority. Keep up the excellent work and if you can figure how to teachsomeone the guitar over the Net I'll be your first student. - Jeffrey Johnston I started listening to the [new] CD thinking that Iwould never like it as much as the first one but I actually came out thinking it was better. Bucket lives!!!!!!! Great stuff. - Anonymous Great Rock & Roll. - Anonymous Great sh*t. I just heard both your cds. A friend of mine had them. - Anonymous Bucket, a pop-rock alternative band hailing from Harrisburg, PA, has released "ULTRA GENERIC RETAIL WORLD". They are an impressive three-piece - Jason Heim on lead vocals/guitar, Christopher Newcomer on bass and backup vocals, and Ryan Zimmerman on drums and backup vocals. Kudos to them for a great jewel case design. I loved the simplicity of the cover. This is fun disc, strongly reminiscent of early Pearl Jam. I was impressed with the simplicity of some of the songs and how they stayed in my head. The opener, "channel" has a nice hook, somewhere between Eddie Vedder and Tracy Chapman. I was a little disappointed in the album as a whole because of the limited vocal delivery. The lead singer, Heim, tended to stay with the same approach throughout the whole recording, despite changes in the song moods and tempos. However, on a better note, one of the more aggressive tunes, "fully automatic anti-stress machine" has a very Green Day-ish quality, which surprised me on this album - that is tosay, the straight-ahead three chords, in your face, upbeat punk kind of guitar playing. I feel this band is at their best with the more stark ballads, such as "dying in my sleep" which really caught my ear, as did the closer "downstairs". Musically, I'm sure these guys are Kurt Cobain fans. But hey, what's wrong with that? They have produced a disc of solid, rhythm-based rock that is at times moody, often poignant and filled with well-written lyrics. I loved the line in "dying in my sleep": "I don't believe in fate but fate believes in me." The song really made me feel the anxiety of dying unexpectedly without closing out the issues of my life. I'd love to see these guys live. Hopefully they will branch out of Central PA and hit The Valley in the near future. - Joe Ramirez (written back when UGRW was first released)They have a prototypically alternative name, but Bucket is essentially a jam band. After all they thank three different fraternities in the album's credits. They don't reach much new ground musically, but at least they try to be serious. Lead singer Jason Heim covers a wide range of topics, and comes up with some intelligent lines along the way. Unfortunately, he can'te help wandering into tiresome territory a few times. "If life is a practical joke i have no sense of humor," he whines to begin "Catch Me If You Can." Ultra Generic Retail World isn't incredibly memorable, but you might buy it anyway, especially if you know the drummer, Ryan Zimmerman '96. - Brennan Buck (from Cornell U.'s Newspaper music reviews) |
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