Saturday, August 9, 2014

Vol. 5 Episode 32



Falling Up have set up a new kickstarter campaign for a new album. They are shooting for $40,000 to get the album made. The campaign went up two days ago now and they are already a quarter of the way there. They have written such good music in the past that I can’t believe that this would be a bad one either. Please, give what you can to get this off the ground.

Sea Wolf has gotten the test pressing for the Cedarsmoke album. I am another step closer to getting that record! It will be translucent gold from the picture that I saw.

Eternal Summers is starting a tour with Surfer Blood this fall! I am excited about that.

If you are a music writer and use Reason, they are coming out with Reason 8 this fall. It will be quicker and easier to use.

Here we go...




This is the fourth album from Family Force 5 (FF5) not including the two remix albums. The original lead singer, Solomon Olds (Soul Glow Activator) has stepped down as lead singer from the group but will still be active in song writing and remixing. Brother, Joshua Olds has taken over the lead vocalist roll and Teddy Boldt has come up to play the drums for the group. The new album hasn’t changed in sound from their past albums with the exception of a slight tonality change in singing for obvious reasons. The album was released on CD or DL this past week. There were two levels of preorder available both with the same CD content. One with a signed poster and basket ball jersey the other with just the poster not signed. I think that this is their best album to date. I has the hard hitting songs that I like and has songs that are very obviously talking about god in a vague sense. The latter has been somewhat lacking in some of their previous albums but I am happy to see them back. It is not that they haven’t been talking about god at all on the past album but they had hidden it very well. I feel that if I wasn’t a Christian and I listened to the last album I may not have known that Christianity was the basis for the music on the album.

There have been four singles released from the album digitally already. The first single is called BZRK. This song is super hard hitting electronic music with lyrics that are so jerky that it melts your face off as you can’t stop dancing to the music. It is a bit childish as the song simply talks about all out dancing. The lyrics talk about getting your heart rate up to the sky. This is a buried lyric about dancing for God. The bible does talk about making a joyful noise and I think that it is hard to make a joyful noise without moving your body in a way that adds to that feeling. All this is done to make a connection to God. This is one of the best songs I have heard from the band ever. I think that the best song and the one that means the most to me comes from their first album, I Love You To Death. BZRK hits me as hard as this one does.

The second single released from the album is called Let ItBe Love. This is a slow track that pushes the idea that love should be what makes the world go around. The lyrics brefly talk about argument and protests and how they don’t really solve the problem. What does solve the problems of the world is love. It really is as simple as that. If human beings could let profit go and live life in love we truly would be so much farther in life. This is not to say that having a home over our heads isn’t needed but more that putting our differences aside and working instead through love, kindness and grace that the world would be such a better place. It is a grand message and idea to live by.

The third single that has been put out is called Sweep TheLeg. It is a fun song that pulls on the 80s nostalgia of US desire to better understand Asian martial arts. The lyrics reference The Karate Kid and Bruce Lee among other references. The lyrics are so much fun for me being a kid of the 80s. It is a great rock track with a heavy beat that makes me want to bob my head like I was in a mosh pit in high school. This is a super hyper big beat track that is so much fun to not only dance to but to sing along with. I can’t stop smiling when playing this song.

The fourth and so far last single from the album is called Glow In The Dark. This is another big beat track. The lyrics talk about glowing in the dark. This is a reference to being the light of god. This is awesome to me as the darkness is always around us and God wants us to be the light, his light, in the darkness. The song is a re-imagining of the kids song that is still sung in churches today. It is truly a perfect idea of what we should be every day for god. Not only would this make us able to see the light for the darkness but it also makes us able to see others who glow in the dark and attract others to the light of God that have never seen it before. I really like  the idea of this song for those reasons.

I think that this is my new favorite album. I hope you all give it a chance!


This is the new album from Spoon, their eighth album. It was released on Aug 5th, 2014. This is their first album put out on Loma Vista. There have been a few different versions of this album put out. It was put out on CD and DL but the Vinyl was put out on translucent blue with a glow in the dark print on the sleeve over the standard graphic. It was also put out on standard black, white and, through Urban Outfitters, a clear version. If you pre-ordered the album from a local record store there was a limited 10” record with three tracks from the album given away for free. This usually was accompanied with the white vinyl version on the release date.

At this point there have been two digital singles released. The first is called Rent I Pay. I like spoon for what they create but they do have a style that I feel most of their music has. That style is very staccato in nature. This song is not lacking in that style at all. I would not have bought all of their albums if I didn’t like the sound that they have created. I don’t think that there is any other band that has put this type of sound all over so many albums. This is not to say that there aren’t soaring sounds in the background to fill in the gaps of the staccato notes. I think that this is part of what makes the band so great. Rent I Pay is more of an up beat track even though it talks about having to spend money on things that keep life moving smoothly.

The second single from the album is called Do You. The song seems to be about asking who ever your with if they just want to escape for a bit and do something different and unexpected. It is a fun idea. I like this idea and when I get the chance to do something like this is ends up being something really fun and memorable. The sound of the song is a bit different in that the lead guitar part is mostly acoustic. This is a happy change for me, not that the band has not done this in the past but more that I have been listening to a lot of electrified music recently. This is a nice change for me.

I have a feeling that the third song, Inside Out, that is on the pre-order 10” will probably be the third single. Keep your ears pealed for this one on the radio


With the upcoming second album from phil I decided to fill out my lacking collection in his solo career. I recently picked up the limited 10” called Running Blind and this single for the single from his first solo album. This single features not only the lead single from the album but also the lead single from the EP, Running Blind, which hadn’t been released quite yet. Maybe I will get to a full review of the EP at some point in the near future but for now here is the two songs from the single.

By Some Miracle is a very smooth track. The song is very slow with both acoustic and electric guitars. The drums seem to be played with brushes giving the beat a dreamy wash sound. There are also some other stringed instruments being played in the back ground adding to the emotionality of the song. The backing vocals add to this organic emotional feel to the song as well. And then it is over before you can blink. The song is short at two and a half minutes. The emotion that the song stirs though is what makes the song special.

The second track on the single is called Running Blind. This song adds bells to the song that sparkle like stars in the darkness above the beautiful acoustic guitar and bass parts with heartfelt lyrics from Phil. Later in the song there is an instrument that I can’t put my finger on but it adds soaring notes that almost overtake the song. This is perfect considering that the lyrics are over at this point and these notes draw the listeners’ attention. It is another beautiful track from phil and co.

I am happy to have this single and saddened that I never picked it up in the past. It is a bright gem that I have now added to my collection.
 
That is all for now...

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