Posts Tagged ‘album review’
Paramore – Brand New Eyes
Perhaps one of the more profound bands under the Fueled By Ramen umbrella, Paramore has quickly grown into a household name amongst listeners around the world. Having had significant radio and video play, the face of Hayley Williams has been instilled upon millions of viewers. More recently, their single ‘Decode’ has been featured in the box-office hit, Twilight. So Paramore need not the introduction because most average pop-rock fans will have already heard of them. Personally, Paramore has been a favourite of mine for quite sometime. The unique vocals and melodramatic storylines lend a hand in capturing my attention, time and time again. I thought both their previous albums, ‘All We Know Is Falling’ and ‘Riot!’, were seemingly differently, yet powerful. While their themes might not hit home with all fans, it’s their exquisite ability to turn music into an emotion that is powerful. To play in such a way that’s not overly aggressive, but far from being shy with their talents. There’s definitely a sense of attitude when it comes to Paramore, and that’s what makes them special.
Brand New Eyes is the third studio album, and given their positive history, there was much buzz over its release. Having had the opportunity to hear it in full, many times over, I can say that Paramore is still alive and well. While it may not outshine the previous two LPs, it was certainly not a drop in quality. From the very first track you can hear the dark and serious undertones that ellipse the album. ‘Careful’ has the aggressive melody that is pretty standard of Paramore. This includes grungy and mellow guitar melodies combined with hard hitting drums. But the root of most Paramore songs comes down to Hayley’s performance and her lyrical input. While not discrediting any of the other band mates, Hayleys voice really sets precedent on whether the track will be aggressive, soulful or both. In the case of ‘Careful’ it was definitely both an emotional trek as it was a testy statement to the world. Her passionate vocals told a story, but were aggressive enough to leave an impression. This is in contrast to ‘Ignorance’ which fell more towards the aggressive end of the album.
The third track ‘Playing God’ is where things really get good. From here on out the album continues to grow more original and exciting. While I admit you need to be in the mood to listen to the music, when you are, it’s phenomenal. ‘Playing God’ has a mellow, somewhat tranquil melody and verse for that matter. The verse is like the cool breeze before a storm, and that’s where the aggressive chorus comes into play. Perhaps my favourite chorus of the album, it has clever lyrics and an edgy sound which is very typical of Paramore. It can be a calming listen but it’s also aggressive enough to feel intense emotions and to have a more soulful experience. The melody moves with the flow of vocals, leading to a nice transition from verse to chorus. I think it’s catchy enough to stay relevant, yet original enough to have some emotional attachment, and that is perhaps why I could listen to endlessly.
However, like I said, the album only continues to grow more and more epic as each track finishes. ‘Turn It Off’ is another song which had an inspiring chorus and a message so to speak. Another tale about struggle, Paramore does a great job of translating this feeling into music. ‘The Only Exception’ is another notable track off the album. Extremely mellow in nature, it is like the albums second ballad, but there is still a full ensemble of instrumentals. This is followed by ‘Feeling Sorry’, which to me comes off as the most mainstream ready of all the tracks. It uses the rebellious nature that made them so famous with ‘Riot!’ The album is abundant with tracks that have edgy punch lines, and this is made prominent with Hayley’s aggressive singing style. I can continue to list songs from the album, but they all have the same basic makeup, that isn’t to say they aren’t all quite different. I did find the last two tracks rather bland in comparison with the six or seven preceding it, but there’s really no damage done. Especially considering ‘Misguided Ghosts’ is probably the true ballad of the album, being the single acoustic song. Also as a bonus, they added ‘Decode’ which I’m sure most listeners, fans or not, have heard on the radio or in theatres.
A very memorable album, it’s darker than the usual Paramore, and more matured than I’d ever seen them. ‘Brand New Eyes’, is an aggressive and melodramatic kind of pop rock. Lots of emphasis on rock, and subtle hints of pop make it an album worthy of a listen. I think most fans will enjoy this album, but it may not see the same kind of mainstream success ‘Riot!’ had. ‘Riot!’ was considerably more fast paced and mainstream, whereas ‘Brand New Eyes’ is more of a profound thought provoking album, and for that I applaud them.
Check out their Myspace for more info.
Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover Re-Review
I have an extra ticket for tomorrow’s show at Lee’s Palace. So if anyone from the Toronto area would like to see the show (the ticket is going to waste otherwise), email me and we’ll meet up before the show.
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
The Bell – Make Some Quiet Review
The Bell is an indie Swedish band with influences such as Echo & The Bunny Men and Joy Division. You could argue many newer bands use this influence in the post-punk revival genre BUT The Bell stays true to their influences that it feels nostalgic and if you told me this band was from the 80s I’d believe you.
Usually when I think of Swedish bands, either you think of Scandinavian metal or indie pop (from the likes of Peter, Bjorn and John + Shout Out Louds). It was definitely refreshing hearing a small band like The Bell. This band is basically the 2000’s version of Echo & The Bunnymen using a drum a machine and I swear Mathias Stromberg sounds like Ian McCulloch which I find more of a great thing. The only other thing is probably the mix of poppy sounds used by synthesizers which give a Joy Division feel.
“Make Some Quiet” hits the US on February 12, 2008 and luckily for me I was given a review copy. I wouldn’t instinctively call The Bell a pop band but a lot of their songs do deal with love and a lot of the songs do end up being catchy. However there’s just so much to each song that makes The Bell so kick-ass (I was going to say wonderful but I needed something strong). Genre wise, classifying them as post-punk revival seems kind poor on my side of things. Make Some Quiet musically can be whatever it wants to be as each song shows something different from awesome guitar riffs to catchy bass lines. Stromberg has a rather a deep voice but it’s not the type that bores you as he knows when to bring his voice higher when he sings “On and On It Breaks My Heart” on the song On and On. With the numerous guitar riffs throughout each song, great lyrics/singing and overall the diversity that The Bell displays on Make Some Quiet, this is an amazing album to listen to.
I should probably digress on on the band comparisons as this band sets itself apart by being incredibly diverse. You’d think as an album it would be tiresome but this one is just so entertaining and it keeps getting better and better as I keep playing it with new favorites emerging.
The Bell currently stands as a smaller band with only 11,000 myspace hits, they definitely deserve a lot more respect. At this time, I would say a review is not important, rather if you like this band, support them any way you can. If you care I would say it’s a 4.5 out of 5.
Here are some of my favorites off this album:
Daft Punk – Alive 2007 Review
It’s weird with Daft Punk. They are one of the first electronic artists I would name as my favorite and it’s a rarity finding someone who actually hates them because they’ve released some great stuff. Generally with some awesome singles, I never actually got around to ever picking up and listening to a full Daft Punk album. I think others share the same sentiment as Daft Punk is recognized with songs like “Da Funk”, “Around The World” and “One More Time” but would the average person know the name of a Daft Punk album? I doubt it and it’s a shame.
When putting on Daft Punk’s Alive (the 2007 version) it almost makes me feel like I missed out big time with this electronic house duo from France. Sure I liked them but I didn’t appreciate them enough like this record makes me feel. “Alive” may be just a live soundtrack but it really taps into the greatness into what you would see hear if you saw them.
The album itself is great. From mixing well known tracks to one’s I haven’t been accustomed to, Daft Punk does a great job a keeping you interested for the full 74 minutes (or 84 with the encore track) and I think this will leave both hardcore fans who follow Daft Punk well and for casual fans like me who not only gets a taste of songs I’ve been accustomed to but some tracks I haven’t been exposed to in a remix style.
There is no way I can say anything bad about this album, sure it’s only a live album but where mainly live albums leave me not giving a shit, this one is down right amazing. 4.6 out of 5.
It was hard choosing two tracks between the rest of the album but check out these ones that make me want to get me out of seat:
Face To Face/Short Circuit by Daft Punk
Touch It/Technologic by Daft Punk
Buy Alive 2007 @ Amazon
Buy Alive 2007 @ Insound
Buy the deluxe edition of Alive 2007 @ CD Universe
