Friday, June 13, 2014

Vol. 5 Episode 23

No real new news but there are a lot of pre-orders out there for a lot of bands. Check them out!

I do know that Slumberland Records has had to push back the pre-order for the new album from The Proper Ornaments. There was a pressing issue with the plant that was making the records. I am excited to get my hands on that record but will have to wait.

Here we go...




This is the fourth album from this Swedish group The Hives. The album was released in the fall of 2007. The album takes the group in a slightly different direction. The group made use of multiple producers for this album, the most famous of those were The Neptunes. This gave the album a sort of R&B feel of back in the late 40s/early 50s sound brought current. The music is still loud and noisy but using elements of that classic R&B feel. I really liked this album and the new direction that it took the group. I think it opened up new doors for the groups following album. It gave them new views as to how things can be recorded and the different styles that can be incorporated into the music that they create.

The big single and the first single from the album is called Tick Tick Boom. The song was pushed on Americans through many TV commercials including multiple movie spots and video games including Lego Rock Band. This is my favorite song from the album and has a very catchy guitar riff that is played through the verse sections of the song. The verse is simple musically with long notes being played while the vocalist sings the chorus. The drop off of all music at the end of the chorus while the vocalist sings, “Tick tick tick tick boom” and then the sound of an explosion really unique. It is what really makes the song.

The second single from the album is called T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. This is one of the track that was produced by The Neptunes. This is plainly obvious once you hear that they were the producers for the track. Their style is all over this song. The song has a super smooth feel to it and almost a disco sound. It is a great song but almost sounds out of place on the record. It just doesn’t have the expected sound from The Hives. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good song from the group, just that it stands out like a sore thumb on the album as a whole.

The last single from the album is called Won’t Be Long. The song has the lead singer singing in a lower key than he as in the past at the start. The chorus he sings in his higher pitch. It kind of reminds me of the mock country sound that had been done in the 80s for a short while. It is an interesting way to make the vocals sound different. There is also a hint of disco in the song with the string section playing in the back ground. It is a fun track not to be ignored

If you thought that The Hives were only capable of one sound and haven’t heard this album, give it a spin. You will be surprised.



This is the third album released from Linkin Park. It was released in May of 2007. There were multiple versions of this album put out including a vinyl version and a book style format too. I don’t have a vinyl version of this but want a copy. The official copy that I do have is a censored copy. I have a CDr of the uncensored version but want an official copy still. This is the first album to show a different direction for the group, shifting away from the nu metal sound that they had been known for. Given this idea the album come off with a mix of styles, including punk and hip-hop, but going for classic rock and roll at its heart. Personally, I think it is a great album and a needed change to keep the fans interested. I really like the music on this album and my son, who was seven at the time of this albums release, loved the album too. He really latched on to the second single Bleed It Out. I was forced to listen to that song so much during the year after its release. It is a good song so I didn’t mind so much.

The first single from the album is the song What I’ve Done. The song is played in the key of G minor. This doesn’t mean much to most but it does to those out there who are musicians. Chester Bennington, lead singer, had this to say about the song, “Joe [Hahn] came up to Mike and me and asked us to take the whole idea of Minutes to Midnight and apply that to how the band has changed. So, in a way, it's us saying goodbye to how we used to be...The lyrics in the first verse are 'In this farewell, there's no blood, there's no alibi,' and right away, you'll notice that the band sounds different: The drums are much more raw, the guitars are more raw and the vocals aren't tripled. It's just us out there .... and that's how Rick Rubin wanted it.” The song has a great sounding distorted guitar. It is noisy but you can still hear the chord sound musically. The vocals are raw but controlled in the chorus and clean in the verse. It just works well in the song. The drums are based on a heavy hip-hop sound and have heavy cymbal usage in the chorus to add to the noise there.

The second single from the album is called Bleed It Out. This is the first single to be released from this album with rap lyrics. The lyrics flow so smoothly that I had never even thought of them as lyrics. The guitar work is very simple and for the most part repeats through the song. The drums consist of mainly clapping in time to the music. There is a drum kit used but is kept simple for the song to get down to the core of what music is but still keeping it complex like the band has always done. This is my sons’ favorite song from the album and I have to agree that it is the best song on the album. It is a song that I could listen to over and over.

The third single from the album is called Shadow of The Day. It is a very moving slow song. I think that the strings in the back ground help the emotional status of the song immensely. The guitar solo in this song mainly follows the vocals but expands on the vocal path a little more. The drums start off with a sample pattern but then cut into the live drums. This is a cool idea and has been used by many bands. There are no rap parts on this track but Mike does take part in the track with the background synth parts.

The next single from this album is called Given Up. This one holds on to the clapping that is also used in Bleed It Out but the song is more raw and the clapping is discarded when the vocals start up. The song of uses the loud soft loud style with the guitar dropping out during the verse to let the bass guitar shine a little. The bridge to this song is just hard quarter notes. It is smart and gets the point across very well. This is the heaviest sounding song on the album and really gets the point across.

The last single from the album is called Leave Out All The Rest.  Chester had this to say about the song, “We knew this was going to be a single from the very beginning, so we worked really hard on making sure it had great lyrics. I'm singing 'Pretending someone else can come and save me from myself' during it because it's supposed to feel like an apology letter, as though I'm moving on but I want people to remember the good things and not the bad things. A lot of the song is about humility.” For me the song is about remembering the good things about someone who has moved on. It is a request of memory in a way. It is another slower song with a lot of emotion.

This is my favorite album from the group so far. It is not has heavy as some of their other album but it is diverse in style. I really like the two albums that follow this one but this one covers so much ground.


This is the first single from the first album from the group. This A side of this single was originally released back in 2010 with a different B side, but that is a different story. I was first introduced to the group with the Indie Pop Lesson compilation last year. I didn’t know anything about them at the time. The group consists primarily of James Hoare, of Veronica Falls fame, and Max Claps. There have been other members to support these two but they are the band. I got seriously interested in the group when Slumberland Records said that they were going to put out the latest album this summer. From what I have heard of previews from slumberland and the demo track from the Indie Pop Lesson comp. I am very interested in what they will produce. The sound is very clean sounding late 60s psych pop.

The A side is called Recalling. I have the feeling that this is a slightly different version from the 2010 release. I cant as of yet say what or if there is a difference for sure. The song starts off with a simple chord progression played in muted eighth notes. There is also a slight tinkle of piano and a good drum beat. As the song progresses the guitar parts get more complex and the piano plays more frequently. There is also an organ part that floats in the background that reminds me of the Vox organ that was used heavily in the 60s and 70s. The vocals send me back to that time as well with their lower tone and drawn out sound. The song is really great and I am happy that I have a copy of this.

The B side is called Imagination. It is a super short track but still follows that late 60s sound. The composition is different from Recalling in that there is no real build to the song. The structure is already there and it kind of needs to be with such a short track. The rhythm guitar is still playing those muted eighth notes but the lead guitar picks through a higher chord set. I think that this is the basis for the music of the flower power movement. At least that is what it reminds me of. That combined with the vocal style.

Both songs are very beautiful and I highly recommend picking up the new album when it is released. It is out in Europe now but has been delayed in the us due to pressing plant issues. You can still get their first album from Lo Recordings.

That is all for now...

No comments:

Post a Comment