Friday, January 13, 2012

Vol. 3 Episode 1


Here it is, the first episode for the third volume. It is a double size post because the last episode of volume two was so week. I decided to make up for that on this first episode. Enjoy!

This is the seventh album from The Black Keys. It was released in the beginning of December 2011. The album was co-produced with Danger Mouse. Danger Mouse was also credited with co-writing each of the tracks on this album. This was mainly because of the wide reception of their album Attack & Release and the follow up hit single Tighten Up from the album Brothers that Danger Mouse helped them out with in the past. In 2010, guitarist Dan Auerbach opened the Easy Eye Studio in Nashville TN. This new album was recorded at that studio. Although the album is called El Camino there are multiple pictures of Crystler Town & Country vans pictured all over the album. This is because they first toured in one of these vans. It is kind of an inside joke for them that everyone now knows. I thought that it was funny that the promo stickers on all of the albums say “Play Loud”. The first and only single from the album so far is called Lonely Boy. I went to my local record store for Black Friday this year for the Record Store Day Black Friday sale. I picked up this 12” single. The single contains two tracks from the album. The fun thing about this single is that it plays from the inside to the out side edge. I have played the single on both sides and you can’t hear a difference in sound because of this. It is just a unique way to run the groove. The song itself is super catchy just like any song that The Black Keys have put out. It pulls from old American Rock and uses modern sounds to keep the kids interested. I saw this song played live on SNL recently too. Dan uses a pedal to electronically bend the sound that he is making in the opening of the song. It makes such a cool sound. The sound is used a second time in the song about half way through. The drums keep the song rolling along at a good pace too. There have not bee any other songs released from the album as singles yet but the songs on this album are so good I would think that there would be more to come still.

This is the fifth album from Coldplay. It was released in 2011. This album was collaborated on with Brian Eno. The album is supposedly a concept album. Chris Martin has stated that it is about “a love story with a happy ending.” As seen with the cover the album is also inspired by American graffiti. I really liked this band when they released their first album. They seem to have slowly become full of themselves. The problem is that their fans seem to love everything they do. I suppose that I could say the same thing about my favorite band, Radiohead (RH). I don’t feel that RH stand out as starkly as Coldplay do though. That is just my opinion though. I will probably still continue to buy the Coldplay albums though so I can’t say that I am some how better than they are either. I did write a review of the first single from the album, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, in Vol. 2. It is still a good song musically. There have been a few more singles that have been released from this album since its release. The second single from this album is called Paradise. This song uses strings in the opening and as part of the lead as well. The bass is a nice sounding distorted bass line. The song seems to be about a female living a hard life but dreaming about a fantasy life that would be more enjoyable but not easier. The Third single from the album is called Charlie Brown. The album was written around this song. It has been called the center piece of the album. It has sort of an anthem sound to it. The song makes you want to stand up and march and do something positive with what you have been given in life. I think this is a good thing, especially in America with the high unemployment rate and the housing market as it is. The album as a whole is a positive one but this seems to be typical for the band. Have they gone in a new direction? I think they have but only slightly. I think that I also miss the warmth that this group has brought to the table in the past. I can’t say that they should return to their roots but at the same time that is what I love about them, the roots.

This is the third album from Famly Force 5 (FF5) if you don’t count the remix album or the Christmas album that they put out. This album was released in the fall of 2011. I have already written about the III EP that preceded this album by a few months. It featured three tracks that are on this album. Soon after the release of the EP they released a free lo-fi version of the song Get On Outta Here. This song is also on the album. The album has released many singles already but I can not seem to find any place that is keeping track of this at the moment. The Whole album is filled with high intensity tracks that are very infectious to listen to. I can’t recommend this album enough to fans of Christian, rap/rock and big dance tracks. The best part is that you can’t tell that they are writing music that is Christian inspired, the music it just good. They have smartly interlaced the big sound tracks with the tracks that are just a bit slow. This makes the record flow really well. The record starts off with a big sound track called Can You Feel It. There is lots of screaming and heavy distortion. The lyrics on this song are actually understandable and just hilarious to listen to. The next song, called Paycheck, really brings up the fact that there are a lot of people out there who are still dealing with having low income and just trying to make ends meet. The next song, Wobble, is a very fun song depicting a dance that they have made up. The lyrics in this one are very funny too. The fourth song, You Got It, takes inspiration from the originating R&B vibe. I was very surprised that they had come up with something like this when I listened to it for the first time on the III EP. The other two tracks that I really like are Dang Girl (I talked about this one with the III EP as well) and Get On Outta Here. Get On Outta Here Is a great end song for the album. It is another big sound song from the group that has a great 80s hip-hop sound with a very sharp ending.

This is the second album from Grizzly Bear. It was released in 2006. I was not a fan of this album the first few times that I listened to it. I picked up the album just a little after their third album was released. I have started to listen to it again more recently and have found it to be very warm and inviting. I have listened to it a few times recently actually. The first and only single released from this album is called Knife. It is a slowed down track with chorus echoes that stand out. I think that this detracts from the song but it is still very good in its own right. I think that there are better songs on this album than this one personally. I think that the B-side to this single, Easier, could have stood out on its own as a single with its Bon Iver sound (I know that Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago came out after this album but you get the sound I am referencing here). The sound is so ethereal on this song it reminds me of a wood cabin in the woods near a lake. Hence the Bon Iver reference. The music on the album is very simplified. There is electric guitar used on the album but it is not the center piece to the album. The organic sound that the group has made is really the focus of the album. For me this makes it a better album because of the focus on the organic sound. There are a few other stand out tracks on this album that I really like. I have also found that these songs were also used on the commercial spots for some of the Cartoon Networks Adult Swim spots. This probably adds to the reason that I like the songs and the album so much more.

I was actually very disappointed with the music contained on this score/album. There is technically only two new songs from Jónsi on this album. The first is called Ævin Endar. The second is called Gathering Stories. Both are very good songs from Jónsi that take the idea of what the album Go was about and takes them in a slightly different direction. There are also three other songs from the album Go on this album along with a song from Sigur Rós. From there it is all short pieces of score that were used in the movie. Personally, when I heard that Jónsi was doing a soundtrack for a movie I was a little excited. When I found out the details about what was going to be on the soundtrack I though it was mislabeled as a soundtrack.  There are 15 songs on the album and six of them are songs that Jonsi was involved in writing. I guess I am disappointed because I would rather have a full score and/or a full soundtrack. Having a half and half record is kind of a let down for me.

This is a live album released in 1995 originaly. It has been released by various other record labels including Touch and Go Records. It was recorded live in Gainsville Florida on Nov 19, 1994. All 17 tracks are classics from the group but with some funny wording replacements from the original recordings. The titles of the songs also have some slightly different titles from the originals. Here are a few examples of this: Transmissions From Venus becomes Transmissions From Uranus. Cowboy Playing Bomboro is actually Cowboy Playing Dead with Bombora being added in the middle. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. becomes The Man From F.U.C.K. Y.O.U. This is not an essential MOAM album but If you are still looking for more from them you can turn to this one.




My Bloody Valentine – Before Loveless & Things LeftBehind
Both of these albums are compilations of various EPs that My Bloody Valentine put out before the album Loveless. The best thing about these two albums is that they do not overlap each other. Because of these two compilations I can happily say that I have every thing except a free 7” single that came with the original pressing of Loveless that the group has put out. I did have to buy 3 other EPs that were not included on these two compilations though. I had to buy This Is Your Bloody Valentine, Glider and Tremolo. The mini album This Is Your Bloody Valentine is their first release. Glider and Tremolo are the last two releases that the group put out. All of this music on these two compilations sounds nothing like Loveless. It is still good music but it does not have the spacey psychedelic sound that is found on Loveless. I was lucky to find the both of these new at a local record shop. Before Loveless is actually a double LP that has one record on black vinyl and the other on red clear vinyl. I thought that was kind of fun having only one record being colored. Both of these records are only for the collector who wants everything. They are very unnecessary for someone who wants more from Loveless. There isn’t any more from Loveless. If you are interested in these albums they can probably be ordered from your local record store or I know they can be ordered online from http://www.soundstagedirect.com/

This is the groups second EP. It was released for the Record Store Day Black Friday special. This is the other release that I picked up for that special sale. It was pressed on a 10” record. The three songs that are on this EP are from the original recording sessions for their third album Swoon. These songs just didn’t fit on that album. The first song is the title track to the EP, Seasick. The song has a very 80s sounding synth that runs through the whole song. The song is somewhat down tempo from what they have put out in the past but it is soothing at the same time. The next song, Broken Bottles, has a quicker tempo than the first song. For an indie group this track is very up beat and danceable. This is my favorite track from this EP. I wish they could add a bit of brightness to their music. It would be a lot more fun. The last track on this EP is called Ribbons & Detours. This is another slow track but it is very stripped down. The simplicity of this song brings me down though. There are no drums on this track too. I am not sure if drums would add or be in the way though. This is a very good EP. If you are into this group I would advise getting this EP for sure. If you can’t find it at your local record shop I think they are still selling it on the groups’ web site.

This is their first EP that I am aware of. It was released in fall of 2011. I picked up the limited version of the EP that came on a teal swirl vinyl. The EP is four tracks plus two remix tracks. The limited version also came with a download card that gave you access to an additional five remix tracks. It also came with a live DVD recorded in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the summer of 2011. I really liked the first full length album from the group and they had me at colored vinyl and bonus tracks. I was not disappointed with this EP. The new tracks from the group are fantastic. The first track, I’m Not Ready, starts off with the vocal line on the guitar. Then the lyrics pick up. It is pure indie heaven. The next track, Miranda, has a great distorted guitar sound. The title of the song always reminds me of the movie Serenity. They are trying to find the planet Miranda. It is really the way that the planet is said for the first time in the movie. The name is whispered very quietly. It is kind of funny to me. Anyway, the next song on the EP is called Voyager Reprise. The verse uses a cool electromechanical piano with a slight distortion on it. This is a sound that I adore. It is so smooth that it could be overlooked if you weren’t aware of it. It is a very nice song with up beat drums. The last song that the group put out on this EP is called Drinking Problem. It has a fun light synth sound as the lead instrument. It flows nicely with the vocals. The vocals also have a very nice harmony that flows in and out. There is also a synthetic bug/over all jungle sound that happens in the song giving the song a wild sound that flows in and out. This is a very easy to listen to song. The rest of the EP is only for those that like remixes. I like techno music and the use of it in remixed songs. Especially with the latest crop of remixed songs that seem to be coming out. From The Pains of Being Pure At Heart to the 8 disc set that Radiohead put out this past year. Remixed songs can be very fun and usually are too.

That is all I have for now...







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