Adrian Younge
Something about April II
Feature Track: Memories of War
Deep Cut: Hear My Love
Rating: 5
As a big fan of the original, April II does not disappoint. It has the same bedroom sound as the original. The vocals are decidedly more polished which gives it less of that raw feeling, but time as a way of rounding out the edges, does it not?
Perfect album for listening to on a day when the snow is falling unexpectedly thick and wet. There is less overt R&B, which defined here as a male falsetto soulfully singing things like "Baby, I want to lick your ear.. Baby I please let me smell your neck" and the like. If you put this on for your buddies who like Wu-Tang and they start catching the lyrics, you might catch some side-eye. Most of this album is instrumental greatness of the highest caliber, though.
Also toned down are the distorted bass jabs. But still present, in songs like Memories of War and April Sonata, is that classic beat and arrangement that holds all the chi.
This album is easy to listen to and shows an evolution of technique, awareness and sound.
The Besnard Lakes
A Coliseum Complex Museum
Feature Track: Towers Sent Her to Sheets of Sound
Rating: 2
I am curious about that thing which can be communicated in one second through one note or sound. Some songs or albums have a sound or energy that tells you instantly how you will feel about them. There is a mechanical, screeching sound that creeps up into the mix well before 3:00 into the first track. The Bray Road Beast.
It is a sound that tells me I will enjoy listening to this album. The Bray Road Beast continues to build. The screeching, metal sound is replaced by a guitar run through pitched-delay. A few clever drum fills and legitimate guitar riffs later, the song is over.
Half way through the Golden Lion I'm beginning to wonder if I accidentally got tricked by a jam band into listening to them rehearse Pink Floyd medleys with their own lyrics substituted for the original.
Towers Sent Her to Sheets of Sound could be pulled right out of the 60's. I am torn about how this makes me feel. Ultimately, people will view music created from 1800-2??? as basically the same. There will be specialists that can tell you all the different variations between this genre and that and how it varies through there 'era', but to most people, it will just be "_______ Music". The same as people perceive "Baroque Music" or "Classical Music" or "Pop Music".
Epistemically, this is of little use in relating my personal feelings. As an individual existing now as myself, I ended up skipping through the later tracks.
Eleanor Friedberger
New View
Feature Track: Because I Asked You
Deep Cut: A Long Walk
Rating: 3.5
Not sure if they are trying to make a point that they used "tape" to record or master this album, but the thing opens with a sample that sounds as if it was taken from the playback of a tape machine. The quality and warmth of the sound on this album is superb and I wouldn't be surprised it was tracked straight to tape.
He Didn't Mention His Mother is absent of any immediate vocal hooks, and the lyrics are not speaking to me right away but I do like how they are treating the bass. For the most part the bass guitar is heard only during the chorus or for fills during the verse. Otherwise this part of the spectrum his filled with a distorted organ. This creates a nice space for the guitars to fill into, as well. Throughout the album, when the guitars aren't filling sonic space, there are layers upon layers of vocals making for a very thick, yet crisp air.
Carrying on a thought from the above entry, This has a similar "constrained-yet-wink-wink-nod-nod-subversive-pop" feel that could be at home in the 60's. EXCEPT, there is a sound here that they would not (or could not have achieved in the 60's. It's possible the band hit straight to tape and then vocals were done later using SSHD and Waves. Maybe they just flew the entire band to Neptune and it sounds the way it does because of the difference in air pressure.
How they got the sound, assuming they meant to, is of no consequence. I think it's a good sound. A modern rediscovery of the vibe that made psychedelic-pop work when it was first invented. Sweetest Girl is a good example of this.
Because I Asked You is a great song. The delivery of the vocals borders on pop-country and I can't tell if that is a natural inflection of her voice or just how she is singing this song. There is the unmistakable fortitude of classic American-Country (Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Reba) rooted in this voice. Never Is A Long Time overlays a masterful melody and delivery atop a slightly askew indie backing track.
Cathy With the Curly Hair is unapologetically pop. I can't tell if she's having fun, but she is definitely smiling. Does Turquoise Work? suddenly ends, and I like that. The album closes with A Long Walk which doubles down on the indie vibe. The thing that makes this track pop is the electric guitar hanging out in the back the whole time. It sounds like they just mic'd up the electric guitar, itself (not the amp) and then ran that sound through some compression. I'm sure that's not what they did, but it makes me want to try it to see what it would sound like. The guitar gets plenty of feature time and is expertly performed, but feels slightly contrived.
Eliot Sumner
Information
Feature Track: Halfway to Hell
Deep Cut: Say Anything You Want
Rating: 4
Honest lyrics, driving electronic drums in the background. Continuously building pop sweetness evolving into distorted noise-town. I'm a fan of the opening track, Dead Arms & Dead Legs.
These are songs designed for arenas. If a different time, Eliot Sumner could rise to the heights of U2, Bono or RadioHead. Maybe even Journey. He is chasing the ring, unabashedly. The title track, Information is 7:18 long. He doesn't care. He's proving that he knows where and what it is.
This is a man who has come to conquer music. Let My Love Lie On Your Life, is reminiscent of Sting at his best. Three songs in and there is a pattern. Drum-machine pop song opening. Isolate Hook and repeat it out while the arrangement becomes progressively more obtuse. Now that I'm expecting it, I will be disappointing if he stops.
I'm a sucker for the surprise ugly bass tone. Halfway To Hell, showed up just in time to keep the record moving. Directly after is I Followed You Home that opens with a piercing high-hat/ticking clock sound and reckless sounding cymbal arrangements. I like this guy more and more.
John Cale
M:FANS
Feature Track: If You Were Still Around
Deep Cut: Damn Life
Rating: 6
You will not like listening to the beginning of this record. It's the sonic equivalent to listening to a David Lynch film. Or, what my music will sound like when I'm 80 years old. This is what "post-punk" music should be. If I'm going to listen to a 3:00 track designed to be obtuse, it should sound like this.
Starting at If You Were Still Around, the songwriting prowess can not be overshadowed by the indie production. This point is driven home with the stark featured bagpipe outro hammering the hook to Close Watch. This is a master at work.
By track 6, Broken Bird I am completely enthralled. The arrangements are perfect and the sound is enveloping. Changes Made shows that John Cale could have been Bruce Springsteen. There is no doubt he could write and produce songs all day long that sound like that. However, this is a man who chooses his ingredients wisely.
This is a good use of a double-disc 25 song release. Take notes, kids and hate on this record at your own risk. In a time where it is so easy to produce a good song at the highest quality with the world's best musicians. What extra step of focus and fortune does it take to push the boundaries into the depths of arrangement risks philosophical exposition displayed on this album?
Damn Life quotes Beethoven's Ode To Joy as an introduction to one of the best interludes I've ever heard. Ode To Joy, itself, is simply a declaration of the existence of the powerful emotive responses elicited by the 3rd note of the scale. Cale, further expands on this idea with the next track, Library of Force. This song only consist of two unrelated tracks overlyed atop each other. A spoken word track that would be impossible to listen to by itself with some Rimsky Korsakov. I am blown away by the first 13 tracks of this album.
I just realized that the 2nd half of the album is some kind of remix or instrumental. I'm going to listen to it anyway. I am truly disappointed that there are not 13 more tracks just like this.
The end of the album is like the beginning. obtuse and elusive. Some alternative takes and "outakes" provide a glimpse into the production process. This is one of my all time favorite devices and is often viewed as trite or "gimmicky" in real-world production settings, but I have never been disappointed to have included these at the end (or in the middle of an album). In this case, they serve to lay bare the song behind the production in a way that should be satisfying to both listeners and students.
EDIT (Feb 4.) I've seen some reviews of M:FANS recently and see that it was technically a re-recording. My first time ever hearing this masterpiece and I am stunned that it was done so long ago. I stand by my first impressions. But technically not a 2016 album.
King Charles
Gamble For A Rose
Feature Track: Tomorrow's Fool
Rating: 4
I can empirically say that 2016 is off to a better start than 2014. I know there will be a slog of albums somewhere that I just can't stand, but so far the trek has been not only pleasurable but inspirational and beyond enjoyable, impressive.
King Charles enters the race with Gamble For A Rose. Looking like Dan Tedesco on the cover and doing his best Jeff Buckley impression at the beginning. I was worried. However, there are enough smart arrangement choices to keep me listening. I'm a bit worried that over 12 tracks the energy will peter out into a stalemate of recycled "folk-rock" tropes. Most of the tracks are pushing 4:00 and I just listened to one of the best albums I've ever heard in my life (see above). And my shoulder hurts. In other words, there is a lot going against this guy, already.
The title track starts to show an independence from production and while the Buckley/Dawes hooks are still prevalent, they take on a certain uniqueness when sung in a style more like Axl Rose (is this intentional on a track called Gamble for a Rose)?\
Tommorow's Fool is the first time I see some real original character. This is a stand out track with a great arrangement and lyrics that shows a lot of this artist's personality. By the time Carry Me Away is playing I'm a fan King Charles. Hopefully this guy is still writing songs when he is John Cale's age.
Bright Thing is a HUGE track. Wow!
Lionheart
Love Don't Live Here
Feature Track: Lock Jaw
Deep Track: Dead Wrong
Rating: 5
Angry music. Some days, I will still listen to this type of music. But for the most part it is behind me.
I don't seek it out as a salve to my wounds, but I recognize the effect it has on my adrenaline. The lyrics are extremely raw and openly speak of depression, suicide and anger.
When I felt like this all the time, this kind of music helped me feel better. It that way it has a valuable place in society as a way to balance out the type of music designed to make a person believe that everything is all right, always has been alright and always will be alright.
However, after consistent listening I find that I'm not that angry at the core anymore and while it is good to be reminded of the energy that once drove me, it is also a good perspective check. This is the energy that Uto drive me.
There is a truth to the sound. Perhaps if my life had taken a different turn, I would feel more comfortable identifying with this music at my current slice of time. The truth is, my life is OK. Any anger or frustration I feel comes from family or work related issues that are not life-threatening nor do they threaten my social or cultural standing as it relates to the people closest to me.
It would be easy to assign a power to this anger and frustration equal to the energy coming from the speakers, but it would be disingenuous. In truth I don't identify with this music anymore than I identify with most rap that I like.
That being said, if you are wandering teen, full of angst and depression. If your looking for something that can fill your head with something that amplifies your feelings in a way that only punk rock and hardcore can, then this band is for you.
Check my back / full of knife woundsI gave this a 5 because it is a really good album. Superbly produced and powered by an internal engine of it's own creation.
We're not the kind you pussies [unintelligible]
Not words for the back of a shirt
Theses are real scars, real pain and real hurt
Cause when I was doing push-ups in a 6x10
You were flexin for the camera with all of your friends
Tryin post up [unintelligble] play pretend
But I was born in the gutter, mother fucker that's where I lived.
Megadeth
Dystopia
Feature Track: Death From With
Deep Cut: Conquer Or Die
Rating: 5
I'm so afraid to listen to this album. I'm a huge Megadeth fan. I once got into a fist fight in 7th grade with a kid who was a much better fighter than me. He thought Metallica was better than Megadeth. I disagreed. He whooped my ass, proving once and for all that Megadeth fans are pussies. This was my bad, people. I'm sure there are plenty of Megadeth fans out there that are not pussies, I am not one of them and I failed you all in the clutch.
But that was far away in the past. And it never changed the fact that Megadeth is the vastly superior band. Dave Mustane, the eternal, unconquerable emperor of metal.
So I go into Dystopia a bit apprehensive. Please be awesome. The Threat Is Real sees Dave Mustane much older and the years show on his voice. But it sounds good. Of course the guitar playing is there in spades. I settle in for the obviously dystopian story that is about to unfold.
It sounds like he is relying more than ever on the layered vocals to achieve his trademark monster narrator voice. Hard to tell if this is a product of age-degradation supported by technology or maturation of process. One thing though, the fuckin' guitar solos, man.
Never one to shy away from the big subjects. Mustaine takes on the idea that we are headed for certain apocalyptic disaster which no one can save us from. The shifts that take place in the title track Dystopia are among his best work to date and highlight exactly why he is our Superior Overlord.
Fatal Illusion sounds like a city landscape falling in on itself. The solo bass-line comes in like a the last man on earth running from whatever beasts have taken over our god-forsaken planet after the events of the first two songs have taken place.
I think it tells the story of an evil, criminal who dies in prison and then comes back to life a frantic zombie demon of some kind. The lyrics hint at this without much additional research and the music certainly sounds like it. Death Within returns to a classic Rust In Peace sound, only with much more sophisticated musical elements. It turns out, I still really like this sound.
Dave Mustane is one of the few guitarists that, not only always impresses with technique and virtuosity, but he somehow always surprises me with what harmonies and techniques he will attempt to play through.
Death From Within weaves poignant political narrative with ridiculous double guitar work and terrifyingly prodigious guitar solos.
Warning signs ignored, they have all but been denied
Prophets and messengers, mocked and vilified
Final destination lying deep inside their court
Their first line of defense soon became their last resort
Hardened deceivers entered through their open gates
It's only track 4.
Post American World has one of the most amazing guitar solos I've ever heard.
When you walk away from that which makes you strong
You only fool yourself; you only weaken your cause
There's creeping hate if you resist the false narrative
Crushing all the dissenters who still think for them selves
If you don't like where we're going
Then you won't like what's coming next
If this album is to be believed as an accurate record of the current state of Dave's voice, he has only garnered more strength with his passage through time. One of my heros, still killing it! :)
RUFUS
Bloom
Rating: I got distracted
I'm hooked right from the beginning. There is this really low, hard to hear track which is building very slowly. The main sound is a digital glitch sound that at first reminds me of the barking chipmunks from Ummagumma. As the noise builds, I am getting more and more into it but wondering when the sound will kick in. So I skip ahead in the video. The same. It's my speakers, or the video encoding.
I click a related video to see if it is my speakers or the video. I get Peptalk by De Staat. My speakers are definitely working and I've just discovered a new release (Jan 15, 2016) by Dutch band De Staat. This isn't on my Wikipedia list...
What the hell is going on around here??
De Staat
O
Feature Track: Blues is Dead
Deep Cut: Life Is a Game
Keep Listening: She's with Me
Rating: 5
See above for how I ended up on this band. Immediately hooked by their sound and into the 2nd song, I feel comfortable comparing them to Cake. There is no trumpet yet, and the vocal delivery is unique in and of itself. But there these are very "cake-like" grooves this band is hitting.
Make the Call, Leave It All displays a sophisticated sense of arrangement as well as hints of Alice in Chains. I'm sure these guys have listened to tons of American Rock and they are expertly weaving that influence in with very Kraftwerk EDMvibe. Such as Get on Screen.
Murder Death features an instrumental/noise solo that all rock songs from this point on must live up to. Blues is Dead is, as the title suggest the nail in the coffin to American Rock.
Hip hip hooray! The blues is dead!
Hip hip hooray! The blues is dead!
Hip hip hooray! The blues is dead!
Hip hip hooray! The blues is dead!
Baby would be easy to describe as derivative and sleepy except for that one synth sound in the back and the break around 3:30. The listener gets the feeling that these guys are having a little fun at his expense. What's next, boys?
Something that sound like Radiohead, shifting into Gnarls/Daniel Johns within 4 bars. this hook evolves into a sonic garden of distorted flange-verb soaked organ and blissfully unaware guitar solos. This is what risk sounds like. This is guts and glory and rock and roll, motherfuckers.Time Will Get Us Too. Indeed, it will.
Time will torture us
Time will nurture us
Nothing stays the same
At times, the sound is a little too 80's demo-pop (Devo, etc), but I can't say enough great things about this album. An unexpected detour on my mission to listen to every album on wikipedia's list of albums released in 2016. I am currently about 2 weeks behind.
I'm only half way through the album. I would probably call out every track if I didn't shut it down. Go check this one out and discover all the subtle things on your own. As I'm writing this sentence, track 9 kicks in.. what the...
PostScript: I almost got distracted from listening to the next album on the list because Spotify kept playing into De Staat's discography. A lot for a young music explorer to discover down that road.
Savages
Adore Life
Feature Track: Sad Person
Deep Cut: I Need Something New
Keep Listening: T.I.W.Y.G
Rating: 6
Ooooh. I am going to like this. Again, I'm a sucker for a bad-ass punk/rock band with a female singer. There is so much energy here. Thoughtful, and hopeful. But very high-energy. Evil sounds a little Vedder inspired. This is great. Women should copy Eddie Vedder, maybe we would get more Savages and less crud-rock. What is this song about? Am I evil? Is she evil? Is she talking about something evil? Is she just being provocative?
Post-Punk. It hits that S-K/Sonic Youth sweet spot. A lot of noise, A lot of music. More energy than can be contained in a studio. Brilliant production and execution.
Sad Person and Adore sit next to each other on the album and compliment each other like yin and yang.
From Sad Person:
I wanna know why I hesitateTo brace myself and love youTo brace myself a good, good, girlTo face myself and hear me roarYou wanna know why I change my mindAnd when I did everything was fineSometimes the truth is right there, right thereIf you're beautiful here, you're beautiful thereFrom Adore:
I know evil when I see itI know good and I just do itIf I hadn't been so starvedIs it human to adore life?
I understand the urgency of lifeIn the distance there is truth which cuts like a knifeMaybe I will die maybe tomorrow so I need to say
I adore lifeThese two songs, alone describe the desolate, inarticulate feelings that resonate within this movement of art and sound. By the time Slowing Down the World is in full swing, I might be listening to a Chris Cornell album. And it just keeps getting better.
Shearwater
JetPlane and Oxbow
Feature Track: A Long Time Away
Deep Cut: Radio Silence
Keep Listening: Stray Light at Clouds Hill
Rating 4
This album just stayed on in the background. I skipped a couple of tracks. But that was only because I was annoyed that I couldn't articulate any precise reason that I didn't want to skip the track. Post-Pop?
I am 15 albums behind the times, man.
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