Click album covers for links. Feel free to share your opinions on these albums and keep in mind that what I write are merely my thoughts and feelings and I do not expect them to be shared.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Quickies

A quick look at some stuff I've heard recently.

Mono
Hymn to the Immortal Wind (2009)
Temporary Residence

A Japanese post-rock group, this is their 5th record and it's exactly what I look for in a post-rock album, dynamic movements, subtle progression, beautiful guitar sounds. Closest reference points are Explosions in the Sky and God is an Astronaut, though they have a bit more of a penchance for chaos than those two. Favorite track: "The Battle to Heaven." Mediafire.



...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
The Century of Self (2009)
Justice

I eagerly awaited this album and it was worth it. It's quite a bit more cohesive than "So Divided" and "Worlds Apart" (I thought both were decent, though underwhelming) but nothing it quite as gratifying as the best songs on those albums. Overall, it feels more energetic though, and they don't have anything particularly bad on this. Mediafire.

Friday, April 3, 2009

The Decemberists
The Hazards of Love (2009)
Capitol Records
This isn’t their first foray into prog-rock, but it’s probably their most blatant attempt at the style, which robs the album of some of its potential charm. For one thing, this is their first album to have any filler. “Prelude” is merely overlapping synth notes that add absolutely nothing to the album. “The Queen’s Approach” is 30 seconds of slow banjo playing. “An Interlude” is a soothing folk piece, which would have made a fine intro to the album. “The Rake’s Song” is a throwaway. “The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)” is unnecessary and they could have tacked the extra minute of so onto the song when it first appears on the album. Much of the music is built around fairly stereotypical rock riffing, which doesn’t suit them because The Decemberists have really been more about the sum of their parts than any one component. The long folky pieces of their past albums were wonderful because they didn’t seem to borrow all that much from any one place and worked as a sum of its elements. “California Ones,” “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” and “The Crane Wife 1 and 2” were all wonderful prog-folk-rock songs. There’s nothing like any of those here, nor is there anything quite as striking as “Sons and Daughters”, “The Infanta” or “Song for Myla Goldberg.” Simply put, the best songs here are on par with some of the weaker songs of their past catalog, although ultimately, that makes for some decent music. “Wont Want for Love” is built along a meaty blues riff with high female vocals, it’s one of the better tracks because the riff is catchy, but it sounds like nothing else they’re recorded. “Isn’t it a Lovely Night” features wonderful vocal interplay between Colin Meloy and whoever he’s singing with. The song would have fit just fine on “The Crane Wife.” “The Wanting Comes in Waves” is an adventurous listen, and it has a glorious chorus making it my favorite song here. “The Queen’s Rebuke” and “The Abduction of Margaret” feature more heavy guitars but not a whole lot else worth noting. The four parts of “The Hazards of Love” are fairly decent songs in typical Decemberists fashion, but I wouldn’t have been sad if parts 2 and 3 were cut from the album. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled; three of their four previous albums have been immediately gratifying. They made their value evident right of the bat, and years after hearing them for the first time, those songs are as moving as ever. “The Hazards of Love” is still very much a mystery to me, even after maybe 8 listens over the course of 2 weeks. It has likable components but none of them really translate to moving songs. I would have loved another album like “The Crane Wife,” but I guess that wasn’t in the cards.