Sunday, April 29, 2012

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.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

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.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

National Record Store Day

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

Sunday, April 15, 2012

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.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

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.

Monday, April 2, 2012

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.