Vol. 3 Episode 24

Well, We are done with the apartment, thank god. The house is still a mess because we had to focus on the apartment. So now we focus on the house. The studio now has a portable air conditioner and the windows need to be sealed. Baby steps. It is really driving me nuts that I can't yet listen to music on my stereo. I actually went to the living room to listen to some music yesterday. I hadn't listened to any music on a big stereo for a couple of weeks now and did so on the movie watching equipment. I have a tenancy to listen to just parts of songs sometimes and was doing this yesterday. It was driving the family nuts. They would say why can't we listen to the whole song. I would apologize and say that I only wanted to hear that part or this part. Any way, the work is coming along and I am very excited to have my full fledged stereo up and running again.

This is a short post, two albums, but I really like the both of them a lot.

Linkin Park – Living Things

This is the fifth album from Linkin Park. It was released in the end of June 2012. This album was set up to combine elements of all four past albums. I think that it accomplishes this idea quite well. Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin co produced the album together. Mike is the second vocalist and rapper for the band. The two of them producing the album together made a great team as Mike would take the information that Rick would give to help push the envelop of the creations that the band were working on. There were also many different influences in the music ranging from folk styling to punk rock. The group sited Bob Dylan and Pennywise as direct influences. One thing that I thought was strange was that the group did not release the album on vinyl. It was released only on CD as a physical copy or as a download. I would have thought that a group with rap roots would understand that fans want their album on vinyl. I am only one voice but I will put a link up on FB and Twitter with a mention and maybe they will read it or not. Either way I have said my piece about the album. The album is very good and I always seem to find my self at the end of the album before I can even blink. It is not that short by the way it is that good. I guess that it is exactly what I want at the moment. I haven’t been so satisfied by an album in a while.

The start of the album is very old skool with the 80s styled keyboard stabs in the opening of the song Lost In The Echo. It is a good song that is made even better if you like that sound.

The second song, In My Remains, moves in the same direction with an organ styled sound holding everything up this time. This song seems to be about coming clean and telling the truth about what needs to be said. I really like the chorus repeat. They sing, “Like an army falling one by one by one.”

The third track, Burn It Down, must have been a sister song to In My Remains because it uses the same chord progression in the verse. This is the first single released from the album as well. They seem to hit what man kind is at its core. The chorus sings like this, “we’re building it up to break it back down. We’re building it up to burn it down; we can’t wait to burn it to the ground.” This is the heart of everything that man does. Cities rise and fall to be built back up into bigger better cities.

The next track, Lies Greed Misery, is a big beat smash in the face. It hits hard, has a great beat and makes me want to jump around and smash some stuff. It is a fun track that makes me want to be a kid again but with the knowledge that I still have now.

The album is a great album full of twelve tracks of really good music. I like that fact that they tried to use different styles but still kept the album cohesive enough to make it seem like you have listened to an album and no time has passed during that time. This is an achievement that every band strives for I think and they have accomplished it on this album. 

Echo Lake – Wild Peace

This is the groups’ first full length album. It was released at the end of June 2012. They are a dream pop group. I guess that the album could be lumped into the new shoe gaze movement that is happening but they are something else to me. They have put out a single and an EP before this album and I am waiting to get them from the record company over seas, No Pain In Pop. Slumberland Records has been licensed the music for sale in the US. I got the limited white vinyl version that came with a poster and a tote bag. The bag is nice but nothing special. I love colored vinyl though so I am always happy to get colors. Although white is pretty boring it really fits with the cover well as there is a white boarder on the cover around the picture. The music is filled with echo and reverb making the music sound very dreamy.

On a sad note, the drummer for the band died around the release of the album. I think that it was natural causes but can’t be absolutely sure. I feel for the band but hope that they continue write music.

I am not sure if there will be a single released with this album but I have heard the title track quite a few times on the internets via the Slumberland website and a few of the indie music review web sites. This song starts of with a 60s sounding organ, like an old Vox, playing staccato quarter notes. It sounds very organic/not programmed. It is refreshing considering that everyone is programming the music now making it way too perfect sounding.

The track called Even The Blind is a peppier track than the others on the album and it is still slower than average. It does have a driving drum beat that helps get through the track. The music is still beautiful. The female singers’ vocals float over the top like a beautiful blue summer’s day with light airy clouds over head. The guitar is the single jet in the sky. The drummer and bass are the beautiful green field and tree line in front of you. This isn’t a description of just this track either; it is a depiction of the whole album. Yes it really is that pretty of an album. Every one should hear it and everyone can. It is streaming at Huffington Post.