Vol. 3 Episode 23

All right, back up and running. It has finally calmed down enough that I can write something. The move is 99% complete but there is still work to be done at the old apartment, cleaning mainly. The house has full boxes all over it at the moment but we can live here now. I have a couple of new albums to review and am awaiting the arrival of others to the house in the near future. I am very excited for these future albums. I also have a stack of 80s albums to record and talk about too. The stereo is not quite set up to play music yet. There is a couple of things that have to be done yet to the audio room before I can get to those 80s albums yet.

OK, lets get a move on, here we go...

Hot Chip – In Our Heads

This is the fifth album from Hot Chip. It was released in June 2012. I have written about the group in the past but they are a great electronic rock group that put together perfection on a keyboard. This new album is no exception. There has been only one single released from the album so far but I expect that there will be more.

There was a free download of a track from the album if it was pre-ordered. That track is called Flutes and is found on the album. This track seems to do nothing but the repetitiveness of the track makes me want to sit through it to see if something will change. It is a long track at 7:05. There is a brief climax at 4 minutes then the track goes back to the same flow from the first half. If you like trance music you may like this track with the repetitive go nowhere theme.

The first actual single released from the album is called Night And Day. This single was released on Record Store Day 2012. I am not sure if it was just released on this day or if it had a limited release for RSD 2012. The song is very up beat and from what I can tell has to do with living, working and having fun 24 hours a day. There is a video for the track but I did not think that it was that interesting.

The album starts off with a track called Motion Sickness. It does not give me motion sickness to listen to it though. The song has some very cool synth brass on the low end and classic synth trumpet sounds. The song is a lot of fun. I think that this track could be a single but has yet to be released as such.

I also think that the second track on the album, How Do You Do?, could be a single too. With this song it is the lyrics that pull at me. The singers sing, How do you do it. Make me want to live again? It makes me think about what is it that makes me want to continue living this life that I am living. It is the songs that make me think that make me like them the most.

John Mayer – Born and Raised

This is the fifth album from John Mayer. It was release in May 2012. This is the first album from Mayer since his two year break because of the surgical removal of a granuloma near his vocal chords. With this album he confronts a different musical style than what he has done in the past, using elements from folk and Americana styles. He does them well with the help of some professionals from the past (Crosby and Nash). I think that most would classify this album as alt-country.

The first single from the album is called Shadow Days. This is a slow song that fits the folk profile. The song has classic country elements with the use of a steel/lap guitar. I like the song and the album follows suit making the album just as easy to listen to as this song is on its own.

I hope that the title track, Born and Raised, will be the next single. There is something special about this song. It could be just that Crosby and Nash are featured on the track or it could be the old school country feel to the song. It just pulls at you emotionally and you instantly understand what he is talking about. Even with the harmonica, I hate harmonica, it sounds good. The acoustic guitars, organ, vocal harmonies, it all just works so well together.

This is such a good album. Even if you don’t like country give it a try.

Squarepusher – Burningn’n Tree

This is a compilation album that contains track from Conumber E:P and Alroy Road Tracks. The latter of which was released under the pseudonym Duke of Harringay. There are also three previously unreleased tracks on this album, all of which are labeled Untitled. All of these tracks use influences from electronic breaks and jazz.

The first track, Central Line, has a very fast beat. It also makes use of my favorite instrument, the Rhodes keyboard. It has that smooth jazz feel with speed and hard breaks. This track is great fun.

The first untitled track has a funky bass line that I really like but you have to listen to it through the other noise on the track. This doesn’t really bother me as I have had to listen to music on radio stations that always had static. I have learned to listen through the noise to the bits that I want to hear.

One of the tracks that I really like is called Eviscerate. I like this track so much because he uses the drums as part of the music, not just as a unit to keep time. The tones of the drums become the leading part of the song. The drums are fast too making the track more exciting. There isn’t much else to the song though. It is very interesting though as it is.

The album as a whole is not a necessary purchase unless you are after more from Squarepusher like me. There is some very interesting stuff on the album though and I do recommend the album if you are into jazz and electronic music. The two styles are related after all.

Ani DiFranco – Not A Pretty Girl

This is the sixth album from Ani DiFranco and my introduction to her. The album was released in 1995. This album was recorded with just her and her guitar and the drums. As a side note, the art work was designed to be looked at as a left handed album, meaning the spine is on the right hand side and opens from the left.

This was a fresh look at music for me. Before this all I had ever listened to was electrified fuzzy guitar that was grunge/alternative. One of my local radio stations, Rev 105, introduced me to the song 32 Flavors. This was the first single from the album. There is something special about this track. The lyrics make me think. More importantly I want to experience exactly what she is talking about. The words almost become physical in my head as she says them. Even the ululations as she sings them. It is a beautiful song and she is a brilliant word smith especially with this song.

The track Shy was made popular through her double live album called Living In Clip. The song was not released as a single but I do remember hearing the song on the radio. It has a quick beat and makes you want to move. The song seems to be about a women who has cheated on her man with another woman. It is an interesting twist considering the time that the song was put out.

All through the album Ani has a very unique way of playing the guitar. It is very mind blowing and has influenced many guitarists since including Trace Bundy (a friend of mine, Koz, thinks he is the best thing since sliced bread). 

I am hoping to get the new Echo Lake album in time for next weeks post.

That is all for now...