Waiting For The Dawn

     Waiting For The Dawn sets itself up on this bright sunny day featuring a drumset on the beach. I found the contradiction between the title and image interesting, and the theme endearing, so I picked it up on my last trip to the bargain bin. I later realized I was probably drawn to this album by the nostalgia of the band's name, The Mowgli's, which for me, being a 90's kid, invokes the classic Disney movie The Jungle Book where Mowgli is the main character's name. Though a beach and a jungle couldn't be more different.
     When I listened to the first song all I could think was 'this stuff sounds exactly like what they overplay on the radio.' Not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation. San Francisco is actually a fine song in my opinion, it just wouldn't take many listens for it to become hackneyed and played out. The second track was more or less the same, although here I noticed that there is a lot going on musically with different instruments and rhythms. This was also evident in the first song, however the way all the instruments work together makes the music sound quite simple so it is very easy to overlook its complexity; I have to give The Mowgli's props for that. Waiting For The Dawn's title track was fun to listen to, but it also sounded as if they were trying too hard to find a Black Keys single dominating guitar-riff sound. The fourth track, and just about everything after it, sounded like the soundtrack at the end of a romantic comedy where the lead actress smiles at the lead actor and with the reassuring upbeat music, the audience knows everything is going to work out okay. Traditionally, these moments in romantic comedies only last about 30 seconds, so it was a little dismaying to listen to 50 minutes of it. The fifth song reassured this even further because there was actual cheering as part of the song, complete with over-the-top, carefree whistling. Track six was a ballad where you kept expecting something to happen but it never did; it's just three and a half minutes of repetitiveness. The first six songs pretty much wrap up all the diversity in Waiting For The Dawn. Everything after that can be divided into one of those six categories. All in all, just your everyday average indie band, where back in 2003 I might be reveling in my find, but today certain moguls of their genre are given way too much airplay and there just isn't enough room for smaller up-and-coming bands like The Mowgli's. Sad, but true.

Fetch

     "Fetch" by Melt-Banana. Black cat, odd ghost things, spooky cave; I'm sold. I pop it in my computer to be greeted by an inconclusive resonance of bells and various other like noises, until about 30 seconds in where a lone guitar begins to emerge. I have high expectations for the climax of this build  up, so I listen in anticipation. After about a minute and 15 seconds a steady drumbeat and bassline join the scene. 30 seconds later a dynamic guitar riff comes in to intensify it right up to its peak, and then... I hear an instrument almost like a mouse attempting screamo. With this, I'm immediately evicted from my trance and made to question exactly what it is I'm listening to. In all my time of blindly listening to albums, I don't think I've ever been so unprepared for such an unpleasant surprise. Looking back I'd dub it Yoko Ono's experimental teenage years. 

     From there on Fetch neither got better or worse, my ears only got soarer. My only respite was the uncommon snippet of instrumental ruckus throughout the songs. This went on for forty minutes when I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel and heard silence. After listening to this all the way through, I had to do some research to figure out how Melt-Banana even got signed in the first place. Upon doing so, I learned that Melt -Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that started in the 90's. Surprisingly, they have a huge cult following and Fetch happens to be their 11th studio album, receiving close to five stars on iTunes. I'm at least astounded by this knowledge, and at most outraged at how the combination of sidewalk construction and female squawking could become so popular. But nevertheless, the only purpose this album could ever serve me is a guaranteed win in any "here, let me show you the worst music ever" contests.

Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon

     Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon by Murder By Death I found at the bargain bin yesterday, and I was kind of hesitant to buy it because it had the same sort of vibe as the other CD I was buying. Overall I'm glad I did. I won't say it was amazing, but certainly better than some of the stuff I find. I knew their name sounded familiar, so either they copied the movie or the movie copied them, which would make the band 40 years old. Luckily, this album came out in 2012. The artwork promotes a moon that is flooding the Earth with light also coming out of it; very intriguing.
     The album starts with a very flat song, where the lead singer doesn't deviate much from a single tone. The music in the background is some high-pitched string instrument, probably guitar, playing individual repetitive notes. The only thing I really got from this song is that the vocalist's voice sounds remarkably like Eddie Vedder, however that initial recognition fades as the album progresses. Anyhow, the second track, Lost River, was much better. It was a lot more upbeat and in an odd way, awkwardly hopeful. The third song, Straight at the Sun, was probably my favorite. It had this sort of tinge of excellency in a very grunge way. No Oath, No Spell, the song after that, was highly cello-driven which provided a unique addition to the sound. That was actually one of the more notable aspect of Murder By Death, the band features a cellist in almost every one of their songs. The fifth track wasn't quite as good and sounded a little like a drinking song the way the tune goes. Number six, Hard World, actually sounds very country but with a steady rock drumbeat. Track seven starts out slow but gets better with time. The eighth song, The Curse of Elkhart, really sounds like they are relaying a prophecy, and an eerie one at that. Ramblin', the ninth song, had good independent aspects, such as vocal or instrumental breaks, but when put together I'd have to say it was strangely structured. The tenth track of the album was instrumental with some very good cello solos; a nice break from the overbearing resonance the album seems to pile on. This continued with the 11th track which parallels a Zero 7 song I know. The last song was good as an ending song an brought things to an appropriate close; I wouldn't trust it to stand by itself though. I am happy I decided to buy Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon. The first four songs, excluding the first one, was worth it all in its own. And as a bassist myself, I am very appreciative of the cello branching out into different genres of music.

Hide and Seek

     I don't totally remember when I picked up Hide and Seek, but I found it in my already-reviewed CD pile. Though obviously I haven't reviewed it. This album, by the synthrock band The Birthday Massacre, reunites some of my favorite sub-genres for some kind of music I haven't seen in a while. It was also refreshing to have a female vocalist because, for whatever reason, the majority of the albums I pick tend to have male singers. The lead vocalist calls herself 'Chibi' which is a term used in Japan to describe small and cute. Chibi's voice in the beginning of the album quite resembles Beth Gibbons of Portishead when using her airy voice not her nasally one. Chibi also becomes less shy as the album progresses and really grows into her voice, ending on a very strong note.

     The opening song to Hide and Seek, Leaving Tonight, starts with an eerie gust of wind, and then abruptly goes into the tune, which I was not prepared for. But the quality of the song later made up for that. The second track, Down, starts out with industrial-type music that kind of sounds like futuristic Nine Inch Nails but when the chorus hits the music changes to an 80's pop background which was a little odd at first but made for an interesting song. Tracks 4 and 5 solely had relations to 80's pop music. The sixth song, Alibis, I especially liked except for some discontinuity between the flow of the lyrics and the music. Track 7 was where Chibi's vocals really started to pick up and retained that throughout the remainder of the album. The last song ended with the same eerie gusts of wind the album started with. All and all, a pretty enjoyable listen, not really a bad song on there. I think this is  what trip hop from the 90's evolved into. So enjoy, listen, and critique.

Partygoing

     Once again at the bargain bin, I picked up this vibrant album most notably because it had a kilt on it. Would you do any different? So we journeyed home and two months later I'm finally reviewing it. Partygoing by Future Bible Heroes is an album full of variety, some good some not. the musical group features two different singers both with two very different voices. The first voice has its own unique style highlighting the more psychedelic triphop aspects of the album, while the other one highly resembles Big Black Delta's Jonathan Bates. The songs that this vocalist sing tend to be slower and calm versus the others of a more pop nature.
     My favorite song was probably the first one called "A Drink is Just the Thing." It's very eloquent and mesmerizing while keeping composure of a more upscale era. The song is also only a minute and 27 seconds long, so I can assume that it was meant as more of an into than a full-length song. This into set my expectations a little high for what I was getting into and none of the rest of the songs seemed to live up to it, primarily because most of the others were of a different genre all together. Tracks like "Sadder Than the Moon" and "Satan, Your Way is a Hard One" really accentuated the Jonathan Bates-tendencies in the second singer's voice and musical style of the song, differing heavily from the intro. Some of the songs seemed pointless such as "Drink Nothing But Champagne" and "Keep Your Children in a Coma." They kept me asking myself 'what if I don't like champagne since I'm only 16" or "what if I don't wanna keep my children in a coma, then what?" The sixth track "All I Care About is You" reminded me immensely of the soundtrack used in the online arcade on the virtual world of tamagotchi. While track seven, "Living, Loving, Partygoing," sounded like indie Christmas music. All in all, the Partygoing was a bit all over the place for me to truly enjoy it. I feel like Future Bible Heroes haven't quite established a defined sound with this piece and try to hop from genre to genre hoping we won't notice. Unfortunately, I noticed, but doesn't mean we can't still appreciate this album for its creativity

Wonderful, Glorious

     I wouldn't say that this album lives up to its name completely, but it had its moments. At a glance, the album artwork is quite bland, though the orange color is pretty. The name though is the most inriguing: Eels. I haven't yet met a band named after an animal that I didn't like (the Gorillaz, Doves, the Beatles, etc.) And eels are pretty extraordinary, so I had similar expectations for this album.
     It started out upbeat with an opening track that pretty much kept my expectations in tact. The second track, called Kinda Fuzzy, was probably my favorite. Not only were the lyrics adorable, but the song as a whole had a happy-go-lucky beat that kept things interesting. After that, the album dipped a little bit, going into some slow and repetitive songs and then changing vocalists for more slow and repetitive songs. By track 7, New Alphabet, Wonderful, Glorious had picked back up again with this kind of shady upbeat rock. The next two tracks went back down in grade, but then the album made a comeback for track 10, Open my Present. The last three songs were forgettable but the conclusion to the album was appropriate. Overall, not a bad album, but not wonderful or glorious and certainly not both of them put together.

Leveler

     This album has an interesting story. So I am once again at the bargain bin, a couple months ago I might add, and I find this cute little album. An animated destroyed farmhouse with some chickens, seems innocent enough. My curiosity peaks me and I buy it. Well I get home, pop it in my boom box, and press play. Little did I know that I would then have to endure forty-eight minutes of metalcore. For those of you who don't know what metalcore is, the internet defines it as "a fusion genre combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk." Needless to say, it took my ears a little while to warm up to it.

     So from listening to the first track, "Empire," I could have guessed that it was meant to be the single; it was just kind of triumphant and structured in its way. Then it went onto track two; I couldn't tell where or when because it all sort of blended together, but it did. The fourth track "Cutting the Ties" was when it started to get better for some reason or another; probably because my ears were then somewhat used to the constant noise. It stayed pretty consistent through track seven. Track eight, "Salt & Light," was more mellow and had some good guitar licks. I really didn't notice anything else after that on the account that they all pretty much sounded the same. Now I'm not saying that it's a bad sound; I don't mind metalcore, it's just a little forceful. All in all, not what I was expecting from the front cover, but still a good album.

Runner

     This album, Runner, is by a band called The Sea and Cake. The "sea" part is evident from their cover, but I can't say the same about the cake which seems to be absent. If you know me and see the robot on the left you can probably infer why I picked this; I just couldn't resist. I know I bought this with another album but I can't remember which. The cover of Runner does depict the content well, as I could guess the genre almost entirely from just the calm color choices. Nevertheless, Itunes calls it indie rock so I won't argue.

     The first track, "On and On" was probably my favorite. It had a nice jump-start to it and really provided a good first impression. The fifth track, "Skyscraper", was a close second. Skyscraper had an edgier sound than the rest of the album, making it especially interesting. Most of the album stayed pretty safe, but I wouldn't call it great; long instrumental intros, the occasional ballad, strange underlying white noise. Track 8, "Neighbors and Township" had a more eerie vibe which accounted for some healthy variety. The album ended with its title track, "The Runner", a bit long but a fitting farewell.

     I afterwards learned that The Sea and Cake was a band started in the 90's although The Runner was released in 2012. Its members were all in previous bands, none of which I'd heard of. Overall I enjoyed it, though I definitely liked some songs more than others; it brought a good end to this beautiful Sunday. It sounds a lot like what you would hear on the radio nowadays. I'm sure it sounds like one band in particular but I can't quite put my finger on it. If you decide to listen to it and think you know it, please post your educated guess in the comments.

FLIBBIDDYDIBBIDYDOB

     For those of you reading-challenged, that phonetically spells flibbiddy-dibbiddy-dob. This album is from a band named Snuff who sounds like they're from the 80's because, as we later found out, they are from the 80's. There are actually too many fun facts about this band to include in just this paragraph so I'll come back to it in a paragraph at the end. I may have cheated a little bit with this one. I didn't get it at my usual record store, or a record store at all for that matter. I picked FLIBBIDDYDIBBIDYDOB (I'm just gonna refer to it from now on as "the album") up at a thrift store in Ventura where there was definitely a qualifiable variety that could be dubbed a bargain bin. I guess the attractive aspect about its album cover was the compilation of different signs and things almost like a scrapbook or magazine cutouts under the glass on tables at classy restaurants. I didn't have much expectations about this album other than it was probably upbeat based on the bright colors on its cover, which proved to be true.
     So about the sound: If I were to compare them to another band I would probably choose the Clash, also from the 80's, for their likeliness and also the fact that I heard them on the radio today. The album started out very brash and before I even knew what I was hearing the lead lick from Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water." The second track was more substantial and had that kind of obnoxious vibe sometimes found in Blink 182 or Green Day that continued throughout almost the entire album. The next few tracks blended together in their stunted-punk glory. Certainly got the impression that the vocalists were yelling at me, but then again it was the 80's. Track 6 was a tiny bit different from the rest, sounding more psychedelic and relaxed and loosing most of its prehistoric Green Day/Blink 182 vibe. Track 7, like the first track, was a cover. And the remaining four tracks, except for track 9, retained the demanding, obnoxious vibe of many of the previous songs. This whole album lasted a total of 17 minutes and 31 seconds. Eight tracks were named on the back of the album but the album actually had eleven albums which was a little bit baffling. Overall, the album was okay. Very played-out and overdone for 80's music; though they could have been the first, who knows?
     So now here's a bit of background information on the band Snuff. FLIBBIDDYDIBBIDYDOB was apparently a mini album of theirs which was composed of covers and some tricked out versions of commercial jingles. Track three was based off of a jingle from a carpet freshener, and track 10 was the jingle from Kellogg's Bran Flakes. The album actually only had one original song while the rest were covers. Very stereotypically 80's was the band with their long hair and "trusty tour bus." They broke up in 1991, but recently came out with a new album just this January titled WoodProp.

Yuck

     Yuck by yuck. Contrary to the name, and fortunately for me, its title does not suit it well. I found about seven eligible albums yesterday while sifting through the bargain bin; I guess this one won out for its obvious pretense of self-loathing on the cover, with a nice cheery picture of the band under a bright blue sky on the back.
     I mean I guess it's more alternative rock than anything else if I had to confine it to just one genre. The first track on the album, "Get Away," is definitely the best in my opinion. It has a certain spunk to it that's really intriguing in the way it draws attention. It's almost familiar like it has been around your whole life, but you just have to pinpoint that one moment in time that it brings it back to you. Well played Yuck, well played. Sad to say I can't praise the rest of this album as highly. The remainder of the songs seemed to pass quickly and unnoticeably. In the few moments when my attention was brought back to this album, I noticed the songs were prolonged longer than they needed to be and were just repeating words and phrases. The album also continually got calmer and more mellow as it progressed, with the enthusiasm slowly fading away. But still, props for the first song, and overall worth it just for that specimen of musical masterpiece.

Gimmick

     So this week I chose the album Gimmick by Barkmarket. Not that you can tell from this picture, but the rear artwork of this album is really what sold me. It is a compilation of ears, all different, with the track names underneath. So all that combined, the appearance of the album was definitely good enough to qualify. The music, however, I couldn't be so sure.
     Gimmick started off extremely rough to the point where I wasn't so sure what I was listening to anymore. The first song, Easy Chair, sounded like more than one track in the way that it stopped and started frequently each time picking up a different tune. It wasn't until track four, Dumbjaw, that I realized this band really does bear a resemblance to Nine Inch Nails, with the voice of their lead singer largely matching that of Trent Reznor. From Dumbjaw on Gimmick never let down that claim. I have to applaud Barkmarket on their competent use of variety. Their songs didn't quite slur together like so many other albums I've listened to. A little quirk I picked up on was the lead singer's tendency to take very loud deep breaths in the middle of phrases. It wasn't as distracting as it was amusing. In conclusion, it wasn't amazing, but it wasn't bad. I have to say even Trent Reznor goes off on some odd songs sometimes and those most resemble these.

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?