AWmusic

At The Gates is a Swedish melodic death metal band. They belong to the Gothenburg metal scene with bands such as Dark Tranquillity and In Flames (whose upcoming album sucks). These guys made it big after the release of their last album, Slaughter of the Soul, in 1995. However, they broke up in 1996, after two of the members left.

Suicidal Final Tour is a North America reunion tour for At The Gates and features special guests, Darkest Hour and Municipal Waste. It is coming to Toronto on July 13th at the Opera House. This might as well be ATG’s last tour as they say they’re not coming out with any more albums. I saw Municipal Waste last summer at the Opera House. It was a pretty wild show. I actually found out about this show after searching for Municipal Waste concerts.

Anyways, for those of you who are At The Gates fans, I suggest checking out this concert because it is very likely that it will be their last tour. For those of you who aren’t too familiar with their music, these guys sound a lot like The Haunted, as it was formed by three of the At The Gates members after they broke up. They can also be compared to Dark Tranquillity. Listen for yourselves:

Blinded By Fear

The Swarm

Under A Serpant Sun

Anyway I plan to see the show tomorrow and when looking back on my original review of Random Spirit Lover, I gave it a good score but I couldn’t really find many words to describe it’s greatness.

It’s been 6 months since it was first released and from that point on, listening to Random Spirit Lover has kept getting better and better. There have been many reviews of this album, some calling it the best of the year well others lambasting it’s roughness and complexity.

The general statement I hear around this album that it’s “Not For Everyone”. No music is for everyone to begin with and it’s mainly the thought that either the listener won’t appreciate the art work of the painter or in this case the artist takes a different approach. Ultimately when looking at Random Spirit Lover, it’s an absolutely masterpeice where you have to look at the nooks and crannies to find it.

Let’s divulge into why I consider Random Spirit Lover to be oh-so-fucking-great.
1) Lyrically complex (or “fucked up”). Songs on RSL are quite strange indeed. Interpreting songs are near impossible and can have a broad range of meanings. Generally, it’s confusing to take the “literal” route with trying to think of songs. Either way it’s a pleasure to attempt to dissect them and ultimately come with a conclusion of I Don’t Know or I’m Not Sure

2) Random musical composition.
This is where Sunset Rubdown lives up to its album name, complementing their lyrical randomness involves using an unsymmetrical structure whether by guitar or keyboard. Sometimes kicking it in latter portions of tracks adding a riff or just random guitar playing it seems.

3) Spencer Krug’s singing
Whereas critics are quick to judge and dismiss the singing due to the “annoying” yelps and screams. However I am going to say that this is what actually gives some tracks some of its passion. There are times where his voice is just fine and times where he’s screaming off his lungs. When he is is screaming off his lungs it’s more bearable then not and it’s not like theyre screeches that you would find on a metal album.

4) No song is boring
If you see a critic say this album is boring, they’re liars or pretentious fags (okay that’s not too nice). There’s a ton of diversity where you have soft moments mixed with the full hard-rock moments and Sunset Rubdown perfects all of them perfectly. You have to give this album a chance as you have a lot thrown at you at once and each time you take in something different. Boring is just a shitty way of characterizing things.

As you can see, I’m very high on this album. It was at least given the most #1 votes in Pitchfork’s Fan Voting so there are guys who see what I see. Otherwise for such a classic, there’s very little fan fare, maybe because a lot of critics didn’t give it the time it needed. A lot of people may miss out on it but I’m here spreading the word as much as possible.

I think of the discussions I have with friends is how a band like Pink Floyd would never live in our era. We’re either too mainstream/pop obsessed (guilty!) that we don’t dare challenge ourselves. I’m willing to put myself out there and call this album Pink Floyd art rock-esque. Random, challenging, brilliant. So far one of the better albums I have ever heard. 5 out of 5.

Winged/Wicked Things by Sunset Rubdown

The Courtesan Has Sung by Sunset Rubdown

For The Pier (And Dead Shimmering) by Sunset Rubdown

Buy Random Spirit Lover at Insound, CD Universe and Amazon.

Team Genius is sextet (they might put sex in sextet, not this sex though ) out of the centre of the indie rock universe (seemingly) Brooklyn, New York. They were introduced me by the great Fanatic Promotion. Though the press release, I found rather funny; “comparable to the energy of The National”! The National is great in their own right but when it’s a band that’s more pop…you couldn’t be more wrong.

I think a proper comparison would have been Wolf Parade but more importantly lead singer Drew Hermiller is in so many ways like Spencer Krug (Sunset Rubdown/Wolf Parade/a bajillion other projects). Drew shows off his various vocal range with yelping and sometimes rough unperfected vocals that ultimately give Team Genius it’s charm as being silly/fun and almost uncaring.

With only 5 songs of the EP. Team Genius show some range while keeping it simple. While Drew’s vocals change drastically throughout each track so does the band, sometimes with an interesting, other times taking over with some upbeat keyboarding. They even change it a bit with their last tune which is rather slow moving and ultimately rewarding. A comparison I’d like to make that hasn’t been thrown out there is that they are really similar to Los Campesinos! providing punk elements with great lyrical content.

Let’s do a run down of all 5 songs to organize my thoughts.

1. Let’s All Sleep Together
This is a fun pop gem lasting a mere 2:15 but it has some of the funniest lines that I would love to quote or just sing in my head. Clearly it’s talking about orgies and the line “I’m so beautiful, you’re so beautiful, let’s all sleep together!” is stuck in my head like that that “is your bed made…etc” from Vampire Weekend’s Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.

2. Sing Song
This is THE track that I believe Drew sounds 100% like Spencer Krug. It’s actually the first track I liked by them. The lyrics seem inaudible at times even when this is supposed to be a song for you to sing sing sing along. It almost sounds like a drunken anthem at times. It’s a pretty catchy track though at this point I give up trying to figure out any deeper moments as I can’t keep up with vocally… after awhile I just hear “we’re sorry”.

3. Hand Claps in E Major
This song utilizes the keyboard for a lot of the track, giving off the good old new wave sound. Like the title says you get hand claps in E Major… though I find the title as an interesting choice. Lyrically this track is rather simple and its simplicity complements the full-out sing song and I’m Just An Idiot.

4. I’m Just An Idiot
This track is extremely fun, fast paced and having a good time. This song is more complex to the ear and while the mixing/production isn’t top notch, it’s probably their best track. The 2:26 of this track is quite dense. I love the line “I guess, you guessed I’m Just An Idiot”.

5. Must
I was going to say I didn’t like this track…but it’s probably one of the deeper songs on here. It’s not so much of a pop song to me and it’s a strange way to end of EP with all the high-paced pop.

This band may be unheralded until they release a full release but I see this band coming up with great things. Comparisons aside on their own, this band rocks and they aren’t as geeky as they want to make themselves out to be.

Rating: 5 out of 5! – After much thought, it is the perfect EP.
You can buy the EP here.

I’m Just An Idiot by Team Genius

Let’s All Sleep Together by Team Genius

Must by Team Genius

First things first, I’d like to give myself a pat on the back for posting on the Fleet Foxes earlier then 99% of the blogs. Alas, I doubt many read it but it’s proof that we’ve got some ability here to be “tastemakers”. It almost saddens me that I don’t have that much of a sway to get people to like something. It’s fun to get on the bandwagon earlier then others, if not snobby. Anyway back in November I was just addicted “White Winter Hymnal” which is on Ragged Wood their LP set for a June release, there wasn’t much by them at the time but Siberian assured me that the Fleet Foxes were going to be big.

Come around 4 months later, they had White Winter Hymnal featured on P4K and it seems as if they wanted to personally push the band by giving a rather generous 8.7 causing a craze it seems. I personally think the score is biased as a way of P4K pushing bands they see fit but I have no problem with that as I would do the same. The problem with getting a great review is the inevitability of backlash which they have received. People calling them a carbon copy of Band of Horses and what not.

I’ll just keep it simple and review the 5 song E.P and shut up about P4K. I checked out both the Sun Giant EP and Ragged Wood (yeah I downloaded it) and while the Sun Giant EP does give a taste of whats to come, it’s more like eating left over crumbs off a lemon meringue pie (mmm). With that said, the Sun Giant EP is a decent effort mixing different styles of country and folk but I don’t think it’s that good of an EP to introduce you with what their capable of.

The Fleet Foxes are going to be big. Marks my words, expect a huge score for Ragged Wood from everywhere unless the critics are dumbasses. They are better than Band of Horses though I understand that the lead singer sounds exactly like him. It’s more lyrically engaging and his singing (too lazy to look up his name) shows some awesome range while the band itself shows some creative musicianship especially on the title track “Sun Giant”. The only downside is that I get kind of bored with the beginning of most of the tracks as they take long to get going. The songs are actually quite dense but I feel as if some of the tracks could be fast forwarded a bit or just have the instruments kick in a lot earlier.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Not bad at all and it’s probably a low score due to Ragged Wood being absolutely amazing.

Two of my favorite tracks off Sun Giant:

Mykonos by The Fleet Foxes

Sun Giant by The Fleet Foxes

Buy the Sun Giant EP @ Insound, CD Universe, Amazon

The Kings are the epitome of mellow. They’ve got mellow vocals, mellow instrumentation, and yeah—even mellow sex appeal. If you like Feist, I’m pretty sure you will like the Kings (in fact, Feist collaborated with the Kings on their 2004 album, Riot on an Empty Street). You’ll find the Kings mostly use guitar and piano melodies, interesting bass (often upright) riffs, soft percussions and other accompanying instruments (such as violins and trumpets). Don’t let the “folk pop” label throw you off. They’re kind of like Belle & Sebastian without the rock, and Simon & Garfunkel without “Scarborough Fair” and “The Sound of Silence”. The Kings blend [acoustic] guitar jazz and folk together to fulfill some simple, yet intensely emotional tunes.

I have been dying for a new Kings album since 2004; apparently it’s in the works but not in the works at the same time. Such logic only suitable (and acceptable) for the Kings. Hopefully they’ll start another world tour soon. They’re a rare band not to be missed! Check out some of my favourite songs by the Kings of Convenience:

Kings of Convenience – Toxic Girl (Quiet is the New Loud, 2001)

Kings of Convenience – Little Kids (Quiet is the New Loud, 2001)

Kings of Convenience – Know How feat. Feist (Riot on an Empty Street, 2004)

Kings of Convenience – I’d Rather Dance With You (Riot on an Empty Street. 2004)

Check them out on Amazon
Or Insound
…or CD Universe

The EP starts off with a mellow song “The Love”, which features a soothing melody and reflective lyrics. The key attribute that shoots The Morning Light into stardom is the soft, slightly high-pitched, but talented vocals of Bobby. Normally the vocals would seem whiny, but it matches very well with the style of music being played. The instrumentals are driven by soft percussions, an acoustic guitar and incredibly addictive hand claps. Combined is a song that isn’t as complete as the rest of the album, but only in the sense that the song is more soulful and less upbeat.

“Your Not Mine,” is a better representative of what The Morning Light is all about. The general direction of the song is still mellower and less upbeat than the typical pop rock sound, but the instrumentals are much fuller and vibrant. That isn’t to say that The Morning Light is emo, because they are anything but, instead they offer more memorable, expressive music. The drums are louder, the guitars are on overdrive, and the presence of a keyboard truly put this song over the top.

The EP consists of much of the same, but the song “Clouds” is probably what has made me a huge fan of The Morning Light. “Clouds” breaks free of the EP by unleashing a fiery of upbeat, moving music. Definitely the most upbeat song from The Sound Of Love, it offers a dangerously catchy verse, followed by an even further addictive chorus. The backing vocals are just as memorable as the lead, and overall the song feels really complete and well produced. When The Morning Light releases a full length album, I would assume they might include this song on it as it has HIT writing all over it. It’s already a favourite amongst those who have only started listening to The Morning Light.

The Sound of Love is a solid first effort that I feel will transcend into a great full length album in the future. While I think some of the songs on this EP are a tad short of brilliant, I do feel that they are noteworthy. I think the EP is worth checking out as it’s an honest mellow approach to pop rock.

Check out their Myspace for official tour dates and future album info.

The Morning Light – Clouds

Buy The Sound Of Love from amazon.ca.

Meshuggah means “crazy” in Yiddish. It describes their music well. Meshuggah is a thrash/death metal band out of Sweden. Their style consists of complex drum patterns, odd time signatures, and dissonant guitar riffs.

obZen is the latest album released by Meshuggah. It debuted at #16 in Sweden, #151 in the UK, and #59 in the USA with the first week sales at 11,384 copies. According to their drummer, Tomas Haake, obZen means the ‘zen’ within the obscure and obscene. I didn’t quite get that…

I find Meshuggah’s music fast, mathy, and angry. The vocals are quite harsh and hard to understand and has a doom metal feeling to them. It’s pretty hard to compare their music to another thrash or death metal band since their sound is so different. I guess the closest thing to them would be the Dillinger Escape Plan.

Overall, I liked the album. I find it hard to describe them, so your best bet would be to listen to these samples below.

Bleed

Pineal Gland Optics

Pravus

Buy this product at:
Amazon.ca
InSound
CD Universe

Why? can be described to revolve around Yoni’s Wolf rapping with the band facilitating a strange atmosphere. Either way this type of abstract hip-hop is something I don’t ever divulge myself in. I think I expected to have a hard time listening to this album.

Unlike most hip-hop which is in your face, this one takes a back burner and just has pure lyrical content (sometimes hard to follow). I don’t really look at any of the specific sounds across the album as something special and it’s not what I checked the album for anyway. I’m still having trouble to get under the surface of this album it seems, I’ve thought about delaying a review of this (once again) but I’ll try to endure and give the best I can.

My favorite track on this album is by far “These Few Presidents”. At first I thought this track was going to be a political statement and was in for a song that covers money, death and religion. It gives off some weird vibe and the line “even if I haven’t seen you in years, yours is a funeral i’d fly to from anywhere”. This album is dark and lyrical complex where I probably won’t understand some of these tracks.

I think this album is great but I don’t know if I like listening to it to be honest (not exactly my cup of tea, saying as I love pop music). Being dark and hard to listen to usually aren’t great formulas for a lot of people so this album isn’t for everyone. I can’t fault the music because of that though, you fault the listener . There’s no track I hate actually, all of them are solid if not excellent. The track twenty eight was a downer though, being just 44 seconds I wanted more of that track.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

These Few Presidents by Why?

A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under by Why? -I’m convinced the cover art is for this song.

Fatalist Palmistry by Why?

Buy this album at Insound/CD Universe/Amazon

As is the case with tons of albums this year, everytime I really like a single..the album generally disappoints and ends up being quite average. I think after listening to Crystal Castles’ album for a little bit over a week, I really believe it isn’t as strong as I expected it was going to be. When I heard their singles on their myspace and wanted to dance their remix of Crimewave by Health, I thought the sky was the limit.

I first heard about Crystal Castles from both a friend talking about them and receiving an e-mail promoting Health, the band they were touring with. The following day I saw an article in Now! Magazine which I then decided to pick up even if I dislike the sex-ad filled newspaper with subpar reviews.

Anyway when first listening to the album, it was filled with familiar songs of their myspace so it wasn’t hard to listen to at all. One thing I would like to point out is their range. The amount of sounds they display is actually quite wide but I think the most disappointing part to me is that there were more video games sounds then tracks you can dance to. Granted that might not be their purpose but in a interview where they claim their attempt was to “annoy people” they did exactly that on some tracks. I think the real negative for me is that with all the sounds they display it doesn’t really gel that well. With a big number of 16 tracks there were also quite a few misses.

It’s still a pretty good album with some pretty good tracks. My favorite track is “Good Times” which is more a dance track and is actually much more simpler then their noise/video game inspired tracks. With that said, it’s difficult to go through the album as a complete whole unless I want my brain to fry.

Rating: 4 out of 5. Good but not great.

Good Time by Crystal Castles

Courtship Date by Crystal Castles

Tell Me What To Swallow by Crystal Castles

Buy Crystal Castles release at Insound/CD Universe/

I’ve only had the chance to listen to 3 tracks provided by Series Two Records and the two other tracks that I don’t have found on their myspace. I think all are pretty solid with quite a bit randomness in some sections that I wouldn’t call them pop. Though I do admit these tracks were instantly likable which I find kind of rare with non-pop bands. My favorite songs are “Secrets” and Posts”. The album “States” will have only 200 available copies from Series Two Records.

There’s very little info on the actual band, other then giving the names of the two band members. I wanted to know more about the band name and I kept think it was something like Oh! Custard because the thought of food got in my head. Doing a google search for Custer yields the name George Armstrong Custer but I don’t know what to make of it. I guess I’ll have to leave a message to the band or something.

States by Oh! Custer

Post by Oh! Custer

Your Name by Oh! Custer

Other blogs who blogged about Oh! Custer: We Say Disco, It’s Not The Band I Hate It’s Their Fans, Swedes Please, Quarter Life Party, The Culture Of Me, The Sound Of Indie