Bark + Bite

Joe Jonas is not a boy, not yet a man

Nick Jonas may have been pegged as the breakout star of the Jonas Brothers, but it's his elder brother, Joe Jonas, who actually had the guts to try and make a real go at solo stardom. Sure, Nick had his Nick and the Administration spinoff, but that middling effort was hardly ambitious or serious about pop stardom. Joe Jonas on the other hand has spent his time studying the scene and mixing the ingredients of mainstream success.

Cartel, The Ready Set release new EPs to beat the cold weather blues

There is a whole slew of new music slated to come out this October, which is actually an ideal time to release music. It's “just in time for the holidays” but not as competitive as the summer months.

Of course, more albums are set to be released than Bark + Bite possibly has time to review, however, new EPs from Cartel and The Ready Set are worth checking out, for pop/rocks fans.

One week after blink-182 released Neighborhoods (seriously, it rocks) fans of the pop-rock genre are getting even more new tunes to listen to. First up: Cartel.

Album Review: Jay-Z and Kanye West - Watch the Throne

Kanye West and Jay-Z have teamed up for a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration on Watch the Throne. This is good for the listener because the music that the two have managed to compile is of such a high caliber that it's worth much of the hype. Seriously, it's the kind of stuff that can reset the standards for the genre. Hip hop needs this album right now.

The track borrows much of its production sensibilities from the Kanye half of The Throne, but Jay-Z doesn't sound out of place on a single song. The opener, "No Church In the World," is completely parallel to "Dark Fantasy," the opening track on Ye's masterpiece album from last year, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It's all plodding percussion and ominous instrumentals as Jay and Ye relish in their god-like, Scarface state. Frank Ocean blesses the track with a soulful hook, wondering aloud if there's a limit to the powers of fame and wealth.

It's worthwhile to stop and laude Frank Ocean for his contributions to the Watch the Throne album. Frank provides the light to the darkness of Jay and Ye's verses, and on "Made In America," he creates a hands-in-the-air anthem with his chorus praising civil rights leaders and most of all, "sweet baby Jesus." With Frank going from being an almost-discarded refugee from Island Def Jam to providing hooks to songs for Jay-Z and Kanye, this album feels almost as triumphant for him as much as it does for Ye and Jay. And most importantly, it provides Frank with an invaluable platform as he embarks on the task of making his proper solo debut.

Album Review: Kelly Rowland - Here I Am

Kelly Rowland's Here I Am was supposed to be her magnum opus, meant to thrust her out of Beyonce's shadow and into the spotlight. It was to supposed to establish her as a marketable artist with mass commercial appeal, outside of past girl group nostalgia. It was supposed to cement her as dance-pop's resident commander and dancefloor diva.

Instead Here I Am is a collection of b-side, hopeful-singles that fail to paint Kelly as a viable powerful solo star. The 40-minute album boasts a mere 10 tracks, six of which are over a year old, and on the deluxe edition, four bonus tracks. Featuring all-star productions from C. "Tricky" Stewart, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and RedOne, it took two years to record Here I Am. With that being said it's almost scary to believe that thesewere the best of the best.

The success of "When Love Takes Over" gave Kelly, as well as Motown, a false sense of accomplishment and security to promote her as an electro-pop siren. They took the single's overwhelming success as a sign Kelly had finally "arrived", when in reality she was just an interchangeable production variable in the mix---"the female vocal". Despite many singles being released in 2010, it was a very quiet year on Billboard and radio for Kelly.

What followed was a predictable change in direction: dance was out, urban was in. But bolstered by Chris Brown and Rihanna's ability to comingle the genres on one body of work, Kelly proceeded with her potpurri approach to putting her album together, resulting in a sonically un-unified body of work.

Album Review: Peeling back Tyler's layers on Goblin

Odd Future has whipped the blogosphere and media into a frenzy in 2011. Many have raved about their great sound and story-like songs. Others have loathed the groups popularity and criticized their vulgarity. With the May 10th release  of Tyler, The Creator's Goblin critics and music enthuisiasts alike were waiting to see if all the hype was worth it. The album sold 50k its first week and while some might call those numbers a disappointment,Tyler took to Twitter to celebrate.

All the tastemakers and critics have given their opinion on the album but many of the reviews center around the state of Odd Future's popularity rather than the actual content of the album. But that does a disservice to Tyler as he has a crafted a complex, layered concept album that's worth dissecting.

The album picks up where Bastard left off(recommend listening or reading a summary of Bastard before Goblin) and the intro, "Goblin," is a perfect response to all of Tyler's critics who've taken issue with the subject matter of his music. Proving himself to be a potent storyteller, Tyler weaves his newfound fame into his rebuttal of his critics by playing himself and a therapist, Dr. TC.

"They claim the shit i say is just wrong/ Like nobody has those really dark thoughts when alone/ I'm just a teenager, who admits hes suicide prone/," Tyler vents.

All Time Low's 'Dirty Work' gets the job done

Thanks to iTunes' 90-second previews, All Time Low fans now have a pretty good representation of the band's latest album, Dirty Work (due out for official release June 7th). Bark + Bite is pleased to report that despite previous doubts about the group's new direction, the album appears to be good - well, mostly.

Any new album comes under scrutiny by listeners, but after albums number 1 and 2, anything a band puts out will either a) sound exactly the same as "their old stuff," disappointing fans who want more or b) stray from their roots, enraging the fan base that just wants them to sound like "their old stuff" again. It seems particularly difficult for the alternative/punk/pop/rock genre, including artists like All Time Low, Fall Out Boy, Cartel, and about a thousand others, to find a balance both they and their dedicated fans are comfortable with. Comparatively, ATL's Dirty Work does an extremely solid job of staying the same while still expanding the band's range, but not without its growing pains.

Ignoring the first single for a moment (for more on that, see the link above), the album begins particularly strong. "Do You Want Me (Dead?)" has infectious energy and the catchiness that makes the band worth listening to, as does "Forget About It." Songs like "Guts" and "Just the Way I'm Not," (as well later tracks such as "That Girl," "Heroes," and "Bad Enough for You") are typical filler for All Time Low - good, not great; songs to thoroughly satisfy fans but numbers that aren't extremely memorable at the end of the day.

Augustana's self-titled third album reveals the band's true sound

Music is evolutionary. Every band goes on a journey from album to album, searching for the exact sound that is distinctly there’s and no one else’s, enabling them to leave their own mark on the musical world. In today’s market, when technology allows anyone with a decent computer to record and release their art to the masses, bands must work even harder to sound like they’re not just ripping off the guy who was popular in their genre last week.

Augustana’s latest release is a testament to the way bands evolve. If you’re looking for band that brought us “Boston” back in 2005, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for the band who created sophomore CD Can’t Love, Can’t Hurt, you’re closer, but still not in luck. The group’s self-titled work is not necessarily worse or better, it is simply different. It's a change that some fans may have trouble accepting and others will embrace.

3 must-hear tracks from Rick Ross's Ashes to Ashes mixtape

Rick Ross rounded out his successful 2010 by releasing his latest mixtape, Ashes to Ashes, Dec. 24. And to top the new year off, his fourth studio album, Teflon Don, was named The New York Times 2010 album of year, while his track "Aston Martin Music" featuring Drake and Chrisette Michele is still sitting pretty at the #3 spot on the R&B/Hop-hip billboard song charts.

With all that success, why did Ross rush out a mixtape before the end of the year? He told Luscious Liz from Radio Big Boy that he was all about “flooding the streets.” Thankfully there are gems in the musical onslaught that is Ashes to Ashes. Ross doesn't roll solo and the Miami rapper has some big name features, including: Diddy, Birdman, Drake, T.I., Ludacris, Ne-Yo, and Meek Mill.

Here are the three tracks that you must hear: