Top Ten Songs for August

Shut Up and Dance retains the song of the summer title, but not without a fight. Many songs mounted a late challenge, which resulted in an interesting month of music. The next few months will only get more feisty, with some big names dropping some new music, such as The City Harmonic, Justin Bieber, and some bands with new Christmas music. Song of the Year is still up for grabs.

1. Wasn't Expecting That - Jamie Lawson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHmSlgy_Liw
Last month I mentioned Ed Sheeran's new record label Gingerbread Man. Jamie Lawson is the first signing for that label, and for good reason. Not only does he share Sheeran's trademark ginger hair, he also writes in a similar style to Sheeran, sings in a similar style, and plays guitar in a similar style. This song is absolutely amazing, coming close to stealing the song of the summer title from Walk the Moon.

2. Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JCLY0Rlx6Q
Possibly slipping just slightly, Walk the Moon still have captured the song of the summer for 2015. There have been many other songs that have popped up over the past month (Cheerleader, Wasn't Expecting That) that have challenged Shut Up and Dance, but after a strong start to the year, nothing was going to steal the title from this song.

3. Build Your Kingdom Here - Rend Collective - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbdJXKqVgtg
This song is quickly turning into one of my favourite songs to play live. Just like This is Amazing Grace, the upbeat tempo keeps you on your toes, sticking to the beat, and for a guitarist like me, experimenting with strum patterns. Interestingly, the song really sticks to basics. It includes basic chord changes, basic folk drum beats, and semi-basic vocal riffs. Still, combine all that together, and you have a very unique song.

4. Where Are U Now - Skrillex and Diplo feat. Justin Bieber - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKS1xjqEv8o
Justin Bieber is finally back with some new music. His single What Do You Mean is possibly the hottest expected song in the news this month. That single is just a taste of what is to come, with Bieber's full length album coming sometime November. After a lot of hate has been poured on Bieber in recent years, here's hoping his music is ready to prove his case.

5. Fix My Eyes - for King & Country - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lol1tOMR3Y
A seemingly new idea that's becoming more and more popular in music now a days is interaction. Songs like this one, with complicated clapping patterns, or even songs with simple foot stomps, seem to draw the listener into the music and rhythm. Of course, this only works with songs that are upbeat, but it seems to also only work best with songs that have unique tempos, or beats.

6. Youtopia - Armin Van Burren feat. Adam Young - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTgh-QwvyVo
I've been trying to find the effect that really dominates throughout this song, but specifically in the intro. I was leaning towards delay, but now, I'm pretty sure that there actually is no effect at all. It seems instead there is a multitude of tracks being played (at least 3). Each track is simple, repeating the same thing over and over, but the DJ gets to add some variety by adding more tracks, or taking some away. Produces a nice effect, but in reality, isn't actually an electronic effect, rather just a DJ method.

7. Meteor Shower - Owl City - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrihnDl2JQ4
This, for the longest time, has always been one of my favourite songs. For the most part, I enjoy a lot of Owl City's songs, but sometimes they border on all sounding the same. This song though, it's a cut above all other Owl City's songs. Slightly slower then a fewer of his other ones, and slightly shorter too. It just repeats itself, but it flows so so smoothly. That's what I like about electronic music, when it can sound like this song.

8. Chocolate - The 1975 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBKqaVk2Co
Stumbled across this band on iTunes, and now I can't get enough of them. Sadly, I only had room on this list for one of their songs, but I can tell you next month is going to be dominated by them. They have such an unique British sound to them. The bass licks are out of this world, the electric guitar work is like nothing I've ever heard before, and the vocals are utterly unique. I love the sound of this band!

9. Music of the Night - Andrew Lloyd Webber - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77umP7IRxD4
Yes, I love some opera songs. This one for me is the best ever. In fact, I even include it when mentioning my favourite songs of all time. I love the dynamics, especially in the singer's voice. The lyrics are astounding, written with purpose on such an interesting topic. Many times today, musicians just write whatever pops into their minds. Here, it seems like the composer knew what they wanted to convey, and wrote purposefully to get that idea across.

10. Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpyfrixXBqU
I'm not really a huge music video fan. In fact, most times, I try to stay off YouTube to not watch music videos. I find they only try to sexualize things, or add entertainment, to take away from the music. However, the music video for this song is absolutely amazing. It fits perfectly with the song, and shows another side to Sheeran. Is there anything he can't do?

Sky Terminal's We Are One Album Review

Rating: 8.6/10

Website: http://www.skyterminal.net/

Purchase: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/we-are-one/id869734367

This is the second album from upcoming Christian contemporary rock band Sky Terminal. In an album that clearly demonstrates the upward trajectory of the band and the improvement of its sound, We Are One still carries through with the wonderful unique style of Sky Terminal that was coined in their first record. Their sound has remained true, with the mixing and mastering, and overall quality drastically improved.

Sky Terminal continued their rock creativity, as they progress as a band. We Are One is chalk full of anthem songs, with catchy hooks, intros, and meaningful lyrics. Every song is a strong score, and this time, Sky Terminal hits the jackpot with Say Hello. What was drastically missing in Sky Terminal's first album, they have here with Say Hello; a genuine hit. Having an album with all good songs is fine and dandy, but you need at least one or two super songs to make the album great.

This is definitely a band to watch in the future, as they progress in their song writing, and continue to churn out hit song after hit song. Consistency doesn't seem to be an issue, improvement is on track, now it's just a matter of time before they start to dominate Christian and contemporary rock charts alike.

Sky Terminal

Best Multi-Effect Pedals

Boss US

1. Boss ME 25 - http://www.bossus.com/products/me-25/ - 270.00 - 4.0/5
Good old trustworthy Boss! Their range of multi-effect pedals is astounding, without even including their double pedals! The ME-25 is the toned down version of their multi-effect offerings, but it is still jam packed with a multitude of effects. With the same strong sturdy build of their other pedals, and with the same pristine, cutting sounds of all their effects, this pedal is immediately recognizable as one from the Boss family.

Boss is known for their strong effect sounds, and this pedal is no different. All ranges of effects are stellar. Although Boss doesn't have a speciality in the effect market, it provides above standard sound for every offering.

The only other thing that docks marks from the pedal is it's slightly confusing set up. The manual is definitely required, and a few hours of experimentation is needed to even just start to understand the board.

Musicians Friend

2. Line 6 M9 - http://line6.com/m9/ - 545.00 - 4.9/5

This is my go-to multi effect pedal, the one that is central to my current set up. It's the mid part of the M series, but in my opinion the best option of the 3 Ms. At times it can be a little restricting compared to the M12, but those times are very rare.

The pedal again utilizes Line6's electronic system with tons of preset tones for 5 categories (Delay, Mod, Distortion, Verb, and Filter). The range for each effect is amazing as well, with at least five options to tweak to get the sound you want. You also have six switches to save an effect to. The only down fall is only three can be used at a time. Still, add this to your board, and the options are endless. The pedal also allows for up to 24 different "boards" at one time, which you can switch through fairly quickly. The pedal also plugs into your computer with regular updates and new effects added.

3. Line 6 POD HD X - http://line6.com/podhd/ - 680.00 - 4.8/5

This is kind of the step up to the M9. It's definitely the largest, and most complicated pedal on this list, but it's also the most professional. Many pro electric guitar players will use this multi-effect pedal live (although most pro electric guitar players like to avoid multi-effects). For example, Lincoln Brewster uses two of these pedals live!

Line 6

The pedal, although extremely large, is pretty slim and aesthetically pleasing. It includes everything, but heavily relies upon electronics, which can get slightly confusing at times. But after a while, after getting a hang of everything, the pedal can be miles above everything around. The control over each sound is also amazing. Not only can you electronically create each pedalboard with a multitude of effects designated for each knob, but you can bank and save your creations, and adjust almost every aspect of the effect. The board also includes an expression pedal, as well as a looper. There's almost nothing that this pedal can't do!

4. Digitech RP500 - http://digitech.com/en/products/rp500 - 270.00 - 4.2/5

Digitech

This is definitely one of the simplest multi-effect pedals on the market. The RP500 system attempts to follow a stompbox idea model, combining a compressor, a distortion, a chorus, a reverb, and a delay effect, along with an expression pedal. While this may be slightly more restrictive (not allowing two different distortions at one time), for the most part you can scrap by. The actual amount of offerings for each different effect is quite large, which allows for a great time experimenting.

The make and build of the pedal is decently stylish, but slightly cumbersome. The expression pedal seems to be hastily added on, almost as a side thought. Still, any multi-effect board with an expression pedal built on is a step up.

5. Vox StompLab 1G - http://www.voxamps.com/stomplab - 70.00 - 3.7/5

Sweetwater

This is definitely the weakest pedal of this list, but it's still a good pick for a start up pedal. Vox isn't really known for their strong effect pedals, instead specializing in the tube amp sector. That lack of specialization is clearly seen in this pedal, but the effects are still decent.

The pedal is smaller then some other multi-effect pedals, and almost acts like a dual effect pedal. The pedal doesn't focus on effects, as much as different sounds. There are multiple preset tones in the pedal, that you can adjust through gain and level. There are tones such as ballad, hard rock, jazz, metal, and some other ones. Not as much fun as some other pedals, but also not as complicated, and therefore easier to use right away without much experimentation.

A nice feature of this pedal is the included tuner with bypass. This is an essential aspect to a multi-effect pedal, or you'll have to buy a separate tuner pedal and take up space on your board, which is a hassle, and unnecessary.

All in all, a nice pedal, without many flairs. It's a great one for someone who is just starting off, or looking for a simple pedal.

Upcoming - Line 6 Helix

Line 6 

This is the newest and coolest pedal coming out on the market, again from pedal geniuses Line 6. In fact, Line 6 seems to be taking the edge in recent years when it comes to new guitar and effect inventions on the market. This new multi-effect pedal combines the best of the M9 and the Pod HD X into a sleek, top of the market model. This pedal has everything. It's clearly the best of the best. Again, the Line 6 trademark electronic computer system dominates the board, with endless opportunities. This is going to be one fun pedal to play around with when it comes out.