Life is Not a Waiting Room

     So I actually have a pretty generous review for this one. I love the whole 'mistaken identity' theme of the cover and I'm glad I went with my instinct. This album is Life is Not a Waiting Room by Senses Fail. I've never heard of this particular band, but I've been in and around their circuit for quite some time now. I've never actually been able to coin just one genre for this type of music; I've heard it referred to as screamo, rock, punk, metal. Whatever it is, I dig it.

     I'm glad to say Life is Not a Waiting Room starts out strong, and though it has some low points, it's pretty steady in quality. Half the songs were good and half the songs were just okay. It was in an order where it varied so I'd enjoy one song then be indifferent about the next. My favorites off of this album were probably Chandelier and Wolves at the Door; they were a lot less poppy which is why I didn't like some of the other songs. The lead singer has a high-pitched and very mainstream type voice, almost a little annoying, but he could make it glimmer when he wants to. One thing I have to give them points for is how no two songs sounded exactly the same like many albums who differ very little from song to song. Might have just been the order and how it flip-flopped from extreme highs to extreme lows, but it works.

Youngster

     So I hate myself for being gone so long. But to make it up, I'm gonna review my best pick of all time. Now this album has a little bit of a back story on how I chose it. I was looking through the bargain bin and I see an album with the words 'Rickolus' on it. Being that my dad's name is Rick and Rick plays guitar, I turned to him and told him he was on this album cover. After that coincidence I obviously had to choose it. So I bought it and listened to in the car back home.
     At first we thought it might have been Matthew Shultz' [lead singer of Cage the Elephant] side band or something because the vocals sound remarkably like him. But no, Rickolus is completely independent, completely underground, and completely excellent. When listening to Youngster the first time, track 2, 'Photographs', particularly stuck out as a masterpiece. It has a very simple yet relevant bass line that really makes the song. The way they build up the song is also great. After further listening over the next couple weeks, I discovered that I liked the song 'My Old Face' too. It has a very Radiohead vibe, and when I played it for my friend that's who she thought it was. Like Radiohead, there are a couple experimental songs on the album that wouldn't really sound good on their own but seem to fit with the overall flow. In conclusion, this was a very enjoyable album to listen to and I encourage anyone to go out and buy Youngster, especially if you want hipster stats cause they're really talented and really unknown.

Mechanical Royalty

  

   So when I picked this album, I wasn't expecting it to be rap. A nice chill robot with three brains, seemed like it would be a little more calm. But Babbletron brings the edge with Mechanical Royalty. I guess you could say I liked it. Rap isn't normally my favorite genre of music. But I'm pretty pumped on adrenaline right now so I'm gonna be generous with this.
     After listening through the album for about an hour, I can't say any one part of it really stuck out at all. Now this can be interpreted as a good thing or a bad thing; the album just really isn't memorable, but it flowed together really well from song to song almost like telling a story. I don't have a favorite song because I don't remember any songs, I just remember an album. There was more than one rapper on the tracks which provides a good variety. One constant component of Mechanical Royalty was its intricate background music. There were many interesting sounds pleasant to hear as well as shocking; but all in all, it provided a good balance. I would recommend this album if you are into rap and hip hop. But for people like me who are still on the outskirts of this music genre, it might be a little much to take in at one time. Happy listening.

Odd Soul

     So here is part two of the albums I picked up last weekend. The first one, Nil Recurring, didn't go so well, so I had extra high hopes for this one, Odd Soul by Mutemath. My interpretation of this album artwork is that this particular individual on the cover is trying to be the 'upstanding' citizen with his suit and cross; but in doing that, he's lost his identity leaving him without a face.
     Despite the deep and poetic cover, the music was more on the surface. The songs differed between a modern bluegrass feel and 90s video game soundtrack. Which put together, at times, made for some very amazing music. Though a couple songs were a little longer than they should have been, there wasn't a point where this album ever got boring. My favorite track was probably 'Blood Pressure' which had a nice bass line and lyrics that really went along with the theme of the cover. Mutemath's lead vocalist does more with his vocals than most male singers of this genre do, which keeps it interesting.

Nil Recurring

     So returning to the bargain bin, I found Nil Recurring, released in 2007 by Porcupine Tree. The name by itself sold me on this album because porcupines alone are just metaphoric. That paired with the eerie vibe and the broken basketball hoop, I just had to buy it.
     Nil Recurring didn't exactly meet my expectations. First of all, it was a 'mini album,' consisting of four painfully long tracks and lots of instrumental fills. My favorite out of the four, and the one I didn't think was entirely shabby, was ironically called 'Normal.' 'Normal' was just as agonizingly long as the others, but is actually had decent vocals at some points. These songs weren't so distressing as they were weird. Yes, these songs were very weird! They would break at random points to have a minute of animal noises in the middle of some songs.

     After learning a little more about Porcupine Tree, my opinion of them changed from that a mentally deranged chimpanzee, to that of a commonplace hipster band pushing out the limits and trying to be 'different.' Porcupine Tree has been around since 1987 and has put out more than ten albums. For this band to still be active, I'm sure they have to have some sort of following. I understand that Nil Recurring is a concept album of songs that weren't good enough to make the feature album, so I really can't judge too harshly. But maybe, just maybe, these songs shouldn't have been released at all.

National Record Store Day

Today is National Record Store Day! So go out and support your local independent record Stores

Nico Vega

     Today, I guess I'm cheating a little. Because I just started this blog, but I've been finding music for months, I have sort of a build up. So I am going to review the first album I ever selected: Nico Vega by Nico Vega; though they've kind of gained some buzz since I stumbled upon them last November.
     The album starts off strong and finishes strong with little variation. It follows an evident format, featuring a ballad, a hit, and a 'sing-along.' It's almost like they were following a cookbook: 'How to Make an Album.' They took their lead singer, Aja Volkman, a pinch of glitz, a tablespoon of innocence and blended it with riskiness, a stratocaster, and topped it off with cherry icing. In my opinion, the first three songs are the most impressive; my favorite, being 'So So Fresh.' Nico Vega sounds very full for only having three members, two of which play instruments on the tracks. I've heard that they've added a bass player this year, but didn't have one while recording this album. One thing I could definitely compliment Nico Vega on was their ability to perfectly mix the album, keeping steady consistency between the vocals and other tracks having none outshine the others when not necessary. Overall, this was a killer album and I see bright things in the future for Nico Vega. I only hope they can stray from this format they're currently stuck to and try some more carefree experimental songs.

The Cold Nose

     So it's Sunday again. It was also Easter, but I'm not particularly religious. So, today I went back to my favorite record store and selected another random album from the used (bargain) bin. Out of a couple possible choices, I chose "The Cold Nose" by Department of Eagles; mostly because I love the ghost on the left's socks.
     Department of Eagles uses a lot of complex drum beats and integrates a lot of random percussion sounds together that wouldn't seemingly sound good. They used some interesting vocal manipulation, not like autotune or anything, but more like turning the human voice into an instrument, which didn't always work in their favor. All of their songs have complete, unique, and even metaphoric titles, such as "The Curious Butterfly Realizes He is Beautiful." My heart melted a little bit inside when I read that. My favorite two tracks would have to be "Romo-Goth" and "Family Romance." These two songs are the most well put together and most 'normal' out of the rest, actually having sound vocal leads and relevant rifts. The album goes in a different musical direction for the second half, turning into a more neo-instrumental, psychedelic kind of feel, consisting of random words and a sort of dark edge. I could compare the second half of the album to The Beatles' "Number 9," though songs are shorter and more busy. I like the overall feel of the album, complete with its ghosts and song titles. All and all, it was an interesting and enjoyable album to listen to.

The Rules

So essentially, this is a game; it's quite easy and very fun, if done right. Go to your neighborhood record store, preferably a large one; rummage through their selection and pick out any album that catches your eye for any reason. Buy it, take it home, and listen to it all the way through (no exceptions). Then write a review of it and publish it here or inbox it to me. Sound cool?

New Beginnings

So I recently started a tradition. Every week, I head over to my city's biggest record store and pick out a random record based only on the album artwork. Throughout the months I've found a lot of really cool music, so I decided to share it throughout the world. I will be posting a review every Sunday of what ever random album I pick.