Crippled Black Phoenix - The Ressurectionists (2009)

This is a terrific album from a post-rock group I’ve only recently discovered. At times, the “post-rock” label seems insufficient as tracks like “Burnt Reynolds” have a psychedelic, hard rock feel and many of the tracks feature a very sludgy, bass-heavy guitar sound. “Rise Up and Fight” and “444” showcase this beautifully; the simple chugging riffs are delightful, even as the other elements of the songs drift into different directions. If you’re a fan of bands like Black Mountain, but could tolerate something a bit more psychedelic and songs that generally take longer to get where they’re going, Crippled Black Phoenix is worth your time. “Littlestep” is a somber ballad that could almost be classified as gothic country. “Human Nature Dictates The Downfall of Humans” sounds very Mogwai-ian, which should be expected since this is the side project of Dominic Aithcison (Mogwai’s bassist). This project also includes Justin Greaves, who played drums with Electric Wizard on one of their recent albums and Andy Semmens who plays in the doom metal band, Pantheist. “Whissendine” is another track that fits the post-rock bill with an arc like that prototypical of the genre. “Song for the Loved,” the only track to break the ten-minute mark, features multiple movements, although the middle portion of the song is a little dry.

Dull moments are inevitable in an album that spans an hour and eleven minutes (“Crossing the Bar” did nothing for me and “Hymn for a Lost Soul” feels like filler), but they are few and far between and more than worth it because most of this album is absolute gold. I like this album for many of the same reasons I loved The Besnard Lakes’ Are the Roaring Night (2010) last year. It’s an atmospheric journey through psychedelic hard rock with beautiful soaring passages, dark brooding moments, and an incredible guitar sound.

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The Dodos - No Color (2011)

The Dodos formed during the heyday of the artists they seem to be trying to emulate. “No Color” sounds like a band trying to be Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, and Wolf Parade all at once. The forays into folk rock lack the majestic, rustic quality of Fleet Foxes’ debut album. The quirky vocals sound like Panda Bear minus the interesting psychedelic soundscapes. The album as a whole sounds like a band who took pages from the be-eccentric-but-sound-kinda-bored playbook, a la Wolf Parade, except nothing here compares with the best songs from any of those bands’ cannons.

There are a lot of songs built around echoing, peppy drums that are lent a hollow sound by the production. Gentle, almost math-y (think Joan of Arc, but sleepier) acoustic guitar melodies just repeat throughout most of the tracks. Nearly every moment of this album is something we’ve already heard, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I loved the album Noah and the Whale just released, and that thing was derivative as hell. It borrowed from a number of different sources, which made it somewhat more original than if it borrowed from just one or two. That album did have a wonderful, inviting character to fall back on, not to mention the knockout melodies. I hear none of that here.

When a band or scene takes flight, there will inevitably be followers who try to strike the same chords with people that made albums like Apologies to the Queen Mary, Arcade Fire’s Funeral, or Sufjan Stevens’ Illinoise such big hits. Though The Dodos do not sound exactly like those artists, I think they were influenced by them. People can be strongly resistant to bands that do what’s been done before, especially if they’re part of the “second wave” of a sound. In general, second waves lack the spark of the first (grunge is the best example). Sometimes a band can transcend this problem and stand up alongside the artists that influenced them (Interpol, Flogging Molly, and The Cribs, for instance). I am not usually one to whine about a band being derivative, but I am really in no mood these days for an album that rehashes required listening for “Hipsters 101.”

“Don’t Stop” sounds like it could be a lost Sunset Rubdown b-side; “Sleep,” an Animal Collective b-side; “When Will You Go,” a b-side from Phoenix’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix sessions. The only moment I liked on this album was “Companions,” which has some nice acoustic guitar work.

Katie Costello - Lamplight (2011)

If you haven’t heard of Katie Costello, which is very likely, pretend you have a human-sized blender in which you can throw your favorite artists and have it spew out some musically-inclined humanoid synthesis of them. Throw in Mirah, Imogen Heap, and the singer from Camera Obscura and you might get something like Katie Costello. This is her second album (I wont comment on her first cause I haven’t heard it) and it begins with one of the most charming songs I’ve heard in the past few years (sorry “Gimme Sympathy,” “Living Room,” and “Higher Than the Stars”). It’s an upbeat little number called “Cassette Tape,” more or less a love song in which she proclaims her desire to make some young gentleman a mixtape. That song, with its infectious melody, engrossing ethos, and flawless execution, would have been enough for me to sit around for the rest of the album, but there are several other gems here. “No Shelter” has a more aggressive flow to it, and almost grunge-y guitars in the verses. “Out of Our Minds” is a lovely duet with someone who sounds like the guy from Stars. “Dig a Hole” is a muscular pop song, using a recycled (but winning) melody. “People: A Theory” is an almost indescribable semi-vaudevillian pop song that is probably meant to be taken more seriously than it will be. “The Weirds” is the best of the mellow songs. Every time she sings “I guess I have the weirds,” it’s touching in perhaps the cheesiest way possible. This is not a universally stunning album. It hits some lulls, mainly on the slower tracks, but never gets worse than “pleasant.” It’s the times when Katie steps outside of the singer/songwriter “box” that she leaves all the Starbucks-CD-selling girls-with-acoustic-guitars in the dust. They wouldn’t know rock ‘n’ roll if it peed in their lattes. Katie, though not a rocker by trade, is one in spirit, and she has created a very fulfilling album.

Hum - Downward is Heavenward (1997)

This is a very good alternative rock album from the late 1990s. It has an enthralling guitar sound, often dipping into the shoegaze playbook, but also being content to just rage without abandon. Despite using those hazy guitar tones, this is an album more about melody than texture. [Actually, I’d say they care about both.] Every track is a song—a rock song to be precise—which means no filler, no interludes, and no issues with cohesion. There are a couple of tracks here that I’m not in love with. “The Inuit Promise,” for example, but even those tracks manage some interesting guitar parts. My least favorite moments were the ones in which the band treaded a little too closely to mainstream radio-ready rock for my happiness. These guys never got big, which is surprising because our world is one in which Smashing Pumpkins can sell 18 million albums, and I don’t know why it wasn’t kinder to Hum.

Some people call this “space rock.” I don’t know what that means. That they’re like Muse? Not especially. That they’re like Pink Floyd? I wouldn’t say so. That they use reverb? Oh, okay then.

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Hello

Let's get this going again. I've grown disenchanted with the wordpress blog. In my absence, this blog has gained a modest followership and I was always more comfortable with this blog anyway. Wordpress has some nice features in terms of formatting and such, but I just feel like a blog strictly about reviews has to be more formal than I want it to be. I just don't enjoy wordpress. It's about the feel of it. What can I say?

When posting links, I'm going to leave out the mediafire part. Just go to mediafire and add the part of the links I put in the comments to the URL.

I will maintain the other blog and probably just copy and paste my reviews into it. That way, I can direct anyone there if I ever need to provide a writing sample or something.



While it may not be necessary, a quick word on what I'm into and what I'm likely to post. I want this to be very diverse because I'm into pretty much everything. It will all most likely be grounded in rock music.

I'm into punk and many of its subgenres. This includes classic punk bands (Ramones, The Clash, Social Distortion), some pop-punk (Green Day, Alkaline Trio), bands having to do with folk-punk (Against Me!, Andrew Jackson Jihad), post-punk (Sonic Youth, Wire, Jesus Lizard, Les Savy Fav), really any punk genre except ska (but I've found a few ska albums that I don't hate).

I'll post a lot of stuff that falls under the massive umbrella of "indie" including post-rock (Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, Grails), indie folk (Iron & Wine, Felice Brothers, Sun Kil Moon), twee (Mates of State, Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura), the obvious indie darlings (Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene) and various others that I can't classify with just one easy label (like Built to Spill).

I am into a lot of metal, generally not mainstream metal (like Metallica). I am especially fond of sludge metal from the gritty, dirty stuff (Electric Wizard, Eyehategod) to the more ambient/prog stuff (Pelican, Isis). I like some death metal, though generally not melodic death metal (Death, Aborted, Deicide). There are some other fantastic metal bands that are a hybrid of styles (Mastodon, Opeth, Boris), and I also like some bands that would fall under the hardcore/mathcore label (Converge, Dillinger Escape Plan).

I love early emo bands like Rites of Spring, Moss Icon, Jawbreaker, and even some of the bands who took emo into more indie rock territory like Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas is the Reason.

I also expect to post a lot of stuff that has to do with electronic music to varying degrees (Four Tet, LCD Soundsystem, Holy Fuck). I like shoegaze and dream pop stuff as well, though tend to be rather picky with that type of music. I may post to occasional hip-hop album, although I am extremely selective. The list of hip-hop acts I enjoy is very short, including Mos Def, Jurassic 5, and Jay-Z's first album.

Please do not hesitate to comment on albums I post. Let me know what you thought and I am always receptive to recommendations.

Jaill - That's How We Burn (2010)

Wonderful blend of garage-rock and post-punk with great pop sensibilities.

New Blog

Started a new blog here. Eventually it'll probably replace this one, but maybe someone will occasionally share music with you on this one :).

Slowdive - Souvlaki (1993)

Artist/Album: Slowdive—Souvlaki
Totally Subjective Number Rating: 10/10
Recommended if you like: Any contemporary dream pop or post-rock.
Released By: Creation Records
Favorite Tracks: “Catch the Breeze,” “Waves,” “Primal”

In introducing a little more rock to their sound, Slowdive both benefit and suffer. Yes, this is a less atmospheric album than Just for a Day, which is forty of the most beautiful minutes ever recorded. However, the more tangible vocals, toned-down synths, and clear melodies, increases the impact of these songs. Not to mention the diversity of sounds on this record, which surpass most of what you’ll hear in most shoegaze or dream pop albums. It’s kind of a neat thing to know that this type of stuff can be incorporated into popular music forms, and to do it takes skill. Not that it doesn’t take skill to do what Slowdive did on their debut, but they’re two different things. Some of the vocals have an almost twee vibe to them, which doesn’t really bother me, but it could conceivably bring the band’s music a bit closer to Earth and rob it of some of its ethereal beauty. I don’t think this matters because this album’s introduction of Slowdive’s slowly churning atmosphere into more a standard pop/rock format really works as well as I could have expected. This edition of the album has four bonus tracks.

Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)

Artist/Album: Spoon—Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Totally Subjective Number Rating: 9/10
Style(s): Post-punk, indie pop/rock.
Released By: Merge
Favorite Tracks: “Don’t Make Me a Target,” “Rhthm & Soul,” “The Underdog,” “Black Like Me”

When I think of Spoon, I think of a very tight sounding band, with rigid rhythms and a penchant for occasional experimentation. Everything is just so tight, so controlled; their songs tend to be really skeletal, with simple, common drum beats, repetitive guitar melodies, and a post-punk reliance on bass. They tend to dress these elements with pianos, brass, and other bells and whistles, none of which distract from the simplicity of the melodies. Note the citar (I think) solo on “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case,” as just one of the many creative flourishes they include on this album. Spoon is so good at dressing their angular post punk melodies in a rather unique way. Britt Daniels also has a fairly distinctive voice, if not an especially strong one. They achieve a lot of cool guitar tones, really giving each song a different feel. A lot of these vocal hooks are really catchy too. I have to highly recommend this band to anyone with any interest in independent music. Few bands combine creativity and catchiness like Spoon, and post-punk is rarely made this catchy while staying true to its foundations. They aren’t one of my favorites, I find I have to be in a specific mood for Spoon, but few bands combine creativity and catchiness like Spoon. This is probably their most upbeat, most accessible album. It’s pretty consistent, though there are a couple tracks I like less than the rest, there’s nothing here that doesn’t fit.

Sick of it All - Based on a True Story (2010)

Artist/Album: Sick of it All—Based on a True Story

Totally Subjective Number Rating: 5/10

Recommended if you like: Sick of it All

Released by: Century Media

Favorite Tracks: “A Month of Sundays,” “Dirty Money”

Sick of it All’s Based on a True Story is pretty basic New York hardcore. Whether you look at this strain of punk rock as dated or nostalgic will determine whether you like this or not. If you like your punk on the melodic side, or are into melodic hardcore, this probably isn’t where you want to be unless you’re looking to discover some of the relics from the 80s, in which case I’d still think you’d be better served to look into the early emo bands. Allmusic’s review of this album call this “old-school hardcore comfort food for punk rockers.” I sort of agree. I liked their debut album Blood, Sweat, and No Tears (1989) better. The difference is in the production. With the slicker production on this new album, it sounds like vocalist Lou Koller is shouting at you, rather than with you. That’s what happens when his vocals are so high in the mix. The guitars exist just to continuously slap you in the face, again sort of what hardcore aims to do, but I like a little more tact. On their debut, the riffs were more varied. The variation from song to song is relatively minor. It doesn’t have to be that way though, as these guys proved 21 years ago. It’s almost like they try to be so aggressive that it really loses some of its impact. Good hardcore? Sure, but this has been done better many times, and there are contemporary bands who put interesting spins on this without compromising aggression.

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