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TRIVIUM – WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY album review

TRIVIUM – WHAT THE DEAD MEN SAY

Roadrunner, 2020

Heavy metal/Metalcore

This past week, metal was only a few albums away from being literally half of the new releases I listened to. Given that ratio, it seemed fitting to review a metal album. Choosing what to review was surprisingly difficult as there were more than a couple releases that stood out for different reasons. I finally landed on Trivium for a few reasons, and I’d be lying if I said one of them wasn’t the fact that you’re more likely to click on an article with Trivium in the title than you are one with Sölicitör or Warbringer.

Another thing that I will admit is that I went into this album without the highest expectations. I know that Matt Heafy and the other guys in the band are all solid dudes, but Trivium is a metalcore band that broke out and gained popularity while I was in high school. Most bands that fit that description aren’t making the best music this far along in their career, especially ones that got as big as Trivium. They’re usually making very safe but ultimately bland music that will satisfy longtime fans, but won’t do much beyond that. So that’s pretty much what I expected when I hit play on What the Dead Men Say, and boy was I wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

One of the first things you notice is that this album just feels tight and lean, not just in size, but in sound and structure. Guitarist Corey Beaulieu told Loudwire that this album came out of “a highly-inspired and fast-paced writing and recording process…” and you can feel that urgency in these songs. There’s no real fluff here, no grand arrangements; just four guys making some badass metal music. There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking, but that’s by design. Matt Heafy said in the same Loudwire article that this album “is everything that is Trivium.” To use an automotive metaphor, Trivium doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel because they’re like a company like Enkei or BBS; they’re just really damn good at making wheels.

This translates to every single song having at least one attention-grabbing moment. This is still metalcore music, but it doesn’t have the tropes and cliches of the genre that other bands fall prey to. They also pull off the very impressive feat of having not one, but two songs that are 6+ minutes long and not boring. “Catastrophist” in particular plays almost like a prog metal track, switching up its riff structures and rhythms to keep things interesting. Even slower songs come and go without overstaying their welcome. The albums is also lyrically relevant with one song coming across as anti-war and a few others being about marginalized people and standing up to those who take advantage of them. And going back to “Catastrophist,” while Heafy doesn’t really give any details, it’s not hard to see similarities between the catastrophist in the song and a certain public figure.

As much as this album surprised me and as much as I enjoyed it, there are things that I think could be better. Despite being very good metalcore, there was never really a “wow” moment for me. There was nothing that stopped me in my tracks while I was listening. Second, while there are songs that touch on heavy and relevant subjects, there are moments where the lyrical content can get a little light. And there’s even a track where the second verse is a repeat of the first. Finally, I have a little nitpick where I wish the guitar tone and mixing was a little beefier. It felt like it just lacked that lower end that gets you hooked into the riffs.

Overall though, this is a very impressive album. To have a metalcore band this far in their career release an album that can hold my attention with no fluff or filler is quite an accomplishment. Trivium have been honing their skills for nearly two decades and What the Dead Men Say is a good example of how that hard work can pay off. Trivium is good at what they do, but they don’t use that as an excuse to get lazy. There are aspects of the album that I think could have used a little more spice or something, but otherwise it’s a very solid release.

4.0/5.0

THE STROKES – THE NEW ABNORMAL album review

THE STROKES – THE NEW ABNORMAL

Cult/RCA, 2020

Indie rock/Post-punk/New wave

I know, this is out of order in terms of release date. But I needed a little extra time to form my opinions on this one, and I really wanted to get the Fiona Apple review out. (Translation: I was lazy and didn’t put in the work to get this out two weeks ago.) Anyway, we have a new Strokes album! The New Abnormal comes seven years after the band’s last full-length release, 2013’s Comedown Machine, an album so lazy that it barely has any artwork on the cover. After that stinker came at the end of a line of albums of gradually decreasing quality, I think the world was ready for a little break from The Strokes.

Now that they’re back, have they put their time off to good use and returned triumphantly? Maybe not triumphantly, but there’s definitely some good stuff here. The album starts off very strongly with the first three tracks sounding like The Strokes at their best. They feel like the obvious evolution of the sound laid out in their first two albums with hints of new wave and some of Julian Casablancas’ best vocal work (on Strokes songs, anyway). The guitar tones and riffs take you right back to Is This It and Room On Fire without sounding like they’re pandering to fans of that era.

Unfortunately, this strong first leg is not indicative of the quality of the rest of the album. Act two kicks off with “Bad Decisions,” a song that sounds like a Strokes song and an ’80s new wave song crashed into each other. There’s even a songwriting credit for Billy Idol because the chorus interpolates the melody from “Dancing With Myself.” And to me, the verses sound like Modern English’s “I Melt with You.” Personally, these similarities are very distracting, but if you can get past them, the song actually isn’t that bad.

Then we come to the worst (and unfortunately, the longest) song on the album, “Eternal Summer.” It starts off trying to sound like an ’80s new wave pop song, with Julian employing a falsetto on the verses. And that wouldn’t be too bad if it stuck to that theme. But when they get to the chorus and post-chorus, it morphs into this weird, almost Pink Floyd-ish sound and there’s this high pitched note that some people have accurately described as sounding like screeching tires. And then the end just devolves into a mess before turning into something like Tame Impala psychedelia. It’s just too many ideas that didn’t fit together.

Act two ends with “At the Door,” a ballad heavy with ’80s synths and not much more. It’s not a bad song, I just feel like there’s some unrealized potential or a missed opportunity with where the arrangement could have gone. We then move on to act three with “Why Are Sundays So Depressing?” which is another song that feels like it’s made up of a couple different ideas that just don’t really jibe with each other. The remaining tracks are on-brand for The Strokes, but just really aren’t that remarkable. “Not the Same Anymore” in particular goes into this extended instrumental outro and stays almost a minute longer than it has to.

Despite all my complaining, The New Abnormal isn’t an awful album or even really a bad one. And if you compare it to the band’s output immediately prior to it, it’s absolutely a step in the right direction. Some of the songs here represent their best work in 15 years or more. It’s just that they’re unfortunately weighed down by some equally bad songwriting, missed opportunities, and distracting references to other genres. Hopefully The Strokes will continue on this path and deliver another great album to us in the future.

2.5/5.0

FIONA APPLE – FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS album review

FIONA APPLE – FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS

Epic, 2020

Art pop/Singer-songwriter

When Fiona Apple drops a new album, the world stops and listens. I almost didn’t want to review this album because it would just be another in the massive pile of Fiona Apple reviews coming out, all of them heaping praise upon praise on it. But at the same time, I almost feel a responsibility to, because we never know when the next album is coming. When The Idler Wheel… came out, reviewing new music was an idea that I had only toyed with. And yes, I will be praising this album, but hopefully not in the same ways as others.

What we have here is a rare situation where there’s actually something to the hype. Apple might have only released five albums over the course of 24 years, but nothing in her catalog is bad or even mediocre. Bolt Cutters is not only the latest in a line of consistently excellent albums, but some of her best work yet. Structurally, the album still sounds very much like a Fiona Apple album. The art pop and rock songs that reject standard song structures are built around the piano and Apple’s unique brand of lyricism. Despite not holding to typical structures, the songs are not so artistic or experimental as to chase listeners away, a mark of a truly skillful experimental songwriter.

Something a little new for this album is the very raw and almost DIY sound of the recordings. Some tracks were, indeed, recorded at Apple’s own home and this raw feeling is only emphasized by the reflective echoes from walls and the barking of dogs. The percussion plays a role in this too as it sounds very loose and even like it was played on improvised objects like boxes and shelves. This all serves as a fitting backdrop to some of the rawest, and sometimes angriest, lyrics of Apple’s career.

Which is a nice transition to what we really need to talk about and the main reason you listen to Fiona Apple. She is a truly gifted lyricist. She has a talent for sharing her thoughts plainly and with authority and they still make sense lyrically in the context of a song. This album brings us brilliant lines like:

People like us get so heavy and so lost sometimes
So lost and so heavy that the bottom is the only place we can find
You get dragged down, down to the same spot enough times in a row
The bottom begins to feel like the only safe place that you know
“Heavy Balloon”

I mean, holy shit! Do I even have to say anymore? Actually I probably should because there’s a lot to unpack here. I said before that this album finds Apple in a very raw and sometimes angry place. She’s extremely honest about how different people and situations make her feel. This ranges from predators and people who take advantage of others for their own gain (“Relay” and “Under the Table”), to feeling a connection with the new partner of an abusive ex (“Newspaper”), to breaking yourself out of emotional prisons (“Fetch the Bolt Cutters”), to just venting about someone who left (“Drumset”). This is just scratching the surface, nearly every track on this album takes you through something that Fiona has experienced herself, and she guides you along in the way that only she can.

Now comes the big question. There are a lot of publications and reviewers that have given Fetch The Bolt Cutters a perfect score. So we have to ask, is it a perfect album? For me, personally, it’s not. It really is fantastic, but there are just a couple things that keep it short of that coveted ace. First off there’s the raw recording. Most of the time it’s a positive feature and helps with the feel of the album, but there are a few instances where it hurts rather than helps. And second, there are a couple tracks with repeated lyrics that come dangerously close to going too far with the repetition. But those are really my only complaints.

Overall, this really is a fantastic album. With this being only her fifth album, Fiona Apple makes a strong case for quality over quantity. This album has a raw and unpolished sound that complements Apple’s raw and honest lyrics. She expresses anger, sadness, frustration, and longing in ways that only she can; plainly and yet, somehow eloquently at the same time. I hope we don’t have to wait eight more years for more music, but even if we do, it’ll be worth the wait.

4.5/5.0

Quarantine Quick Takes, Part 3: My Picks

Alright, this should be the last one before we get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Who am I kidding? This thing has never been regularly scheduled. But you know what I mean, we’ll get back to single album reviews. Anyway, in this last entry, we have some albums that I wanted to make sure I got to share my thoughts on. A lot came out in March, so I have a lot of thoughts.

BRIAN FALLON – LOCAL HONEY–There are a few specific genres of music that I’m just a huge sucker for and heartland rock is definitely one of them. Brian Fallon, lead singer of The Gaslight Anthem, is one of the modern artists scratching that itch. His second album, Sleepwalkers, was one of my favorite albums of 2018. Local Honey is his follow-up and it’s a much quieter, more personal album. Despite this, the spirit of heartland rock is still very much present. With the exception of the murder ballad “Vincent,” all the songs are very personal, with half of them being love songs and one being words of hope and encouragement for Fallon’s daughter. There are a couple moments where I wish the song would go big and loud but that would defeat the purpose of the album. 4.0/5.0

CIRCA WAVES – SAD HAPPY–Earlier this year, I praised the first half of tracks released for this album back in January. The upbeat and catchy dance rock hooks were working a lot better for me than the band’s last album. I was hoping that they would continue the momentum when the full album was released. Now we have the whole thing and it’s a somewhat confusingly packaged double album with only 14 total tracks and a run time of 47 minutes. Unfortunately, as with most double albums, there are tracks that don’t need to be here and it runs out of steam by the end. This is a little concerning when you consider this album isn’t that much longer than your average rock album. It’s still better and more enjoyable than last year’s What’s It Like Over There? but cutting this down to a single album with 10 tracks might have been a better course of action. 3.5/5.0

ERIC JOHNSON – EJ, VOL. II–For 2020, guitar virtuoso and songwriter Eric Johnson has given us a sequel to 2016’s acoustic album, EJ. Much like that album and a lot of Johnson’s recent work, he is showcasing his songwriting and vocal abilities. This isn’t new, even Ah Via Musicom–famous for his signature song, “Cliffs of Dover”–has songs with lyrics. But anyone but his most die-hard fans will find the lack of electric guitar on this album a little disappointing. Is Johnson an accomplished musician across multiple instruments? Absolutely. Are his songwriting skills and vocal performances competent? Sure. Is anything on this album noteworthy? Not really. 2.0/5.0

PHANTOGRAM – CEREMONY–I’ve had an interesting relationship with Phantogram’s music. I fell in love with the trip-hop-meets-indie-rock sound on their debut. But they apparently decided that they did’t want to make that kind of music soon after releasing it. I’ve been unable to connect with the music on the following albums in the same way. Ceremony is the closest I’ve come and I’m sure that’s due to the fact that some of their trip-hop origins are popping back up on a few tracks. I’m sure it’s always been there, but it’s really front and center here. There are still tracks that just don’t grab my interest and some other just general weirdness. But this is the first time I’ve really enjoyed some Phantogram tunes in about 10 years. 3.0/5.0

R.A.P. FERREIRA – PURPLE MOONLIGHT PAGES–Another one of those genres that I’m a sucker for is jazz rap. I am all about groups like A Tribe Called Quest and Digable Planets. Every year, I find at least one album that scratches my jazz rap itch. So far this year, that honor falls to Purple Moonlight Pages from R.A.P. Ferreira (formerly known as milo). As the “Rhythm and Poetry” on the cover implies, there is a bit more of a spoken word element to this than just rapping. But Ferreira delivers dense and conscious lyrics with clever rhyming and structures that call to mind the best lyricists of hip-hop’s golden age. And the jazz instrumentals just make them that much better. The album’s one major weakness is it’s length, clocking in at a stout 52 minutes. When your music is this dense, length is not your friend. Otherwise, this is a very enjoyable album. 3.5/5.0

SILVERSTEIN – A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DROWN–Honestly, I had no idea that Silverstein has been consistently releasing new material this whole time. As such, this is probably the first time I consciously listened to new music from them in over 10 years. Which is a funny coincidence because a lot of the album sounds like music that was coming out 10 or so years ago. Given the gap in my listening history, I don’t know if this comes from a conscious effort to recreate the sound or the fact that their sound has changed so little over the course of 15 years. Either way, A Beautiful Place… brings the bad along with the good from the time. About half of the tracks sound like the more produced emo and pop-punk songs of the late 2000s instrumentally and lyrically. And some of the melodies sound like they came right out of an All-American Rejects song. But the other half is full of the things we fondly remember from post-hardcore and screamo from the same era. It’s not bad, but it could have been better. 3.0/5.0

SUFJAN STEVENS/LOWELL BRAMS – APORIA–This latest release from celebrated songwriter Sufjan Stevens is a collaboration with is step-father, the Lowell from the title of his 2015 album Carrie & Lowell. The track list consists of mostly instrumental electronic compositions that came out of a jam session that occurred when Lowell visited Sufjan in New York. And it mostly sounds like just that: a bunch of electronic improvisations cut down into digestible tracks. It’s not unpleasant and there are a few moments of brilliance, but the overall impression I get is that it’s all just pretty “meh.” I know it’s not really fair to expect an artist as seemingly restless as Sufjan Stevens to stick to a particular sound or formula, but when you compare this to his previous work, it is a little disappointing. 2.5/5.0

WAXAHATCHEE – SAINT CLOUD–On this album, singer and songwriter Katie Crutchfield taps into the worlds and sounds of indie folk and alt-country. For me personally, the result is ultimately only okay. There are bright spots both instrumentally and lyrically, and sometimes it’s even on the same song. But one of the pitfalls of the peak of indie folk was forgettable songs for the sake of a sound or aesthetic. Saint Cloud unfortunately falls into that trap on more than a couple songs. That’s not to say it’s bad, the brightest moments shine especially bright. In the end it’s still a good album, just not a great one. 3.0/5.0

Quarantine Quick Takes, Part 2: Heavy Stuff

As is typical for me, the majority of what I end up listening to falls into the category of heavy music. So far this year, the ratios seem to be a bit more balanced, but heavy stuff is still the clear leader. As such, we can’t leave them out to dry so here are some quick reviews of heavy albums that came out in the month of March.

BODY COUNT – CARNIVORE–Ice-T took a little break from the SVU and got his metal band back together to record an album. That’s right, Detective Tutuola fronts a thrash metal band, and has since the early ’90s. Early in his career, Ice-T noticed the similarities between the attitudes of gangsta rap and thrash metal and started his own band. And they’re not too bad, honestly. Some of the tracks on this album go straight back to old school thrash. There are features from Riley Gale of Power Trip, Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed, and Amy Lee of Evanescence. There’s also a pretty spot-on cover of “Ace of Spades.” It’s not perfect, some tracks fall into the tropes of modern alternative metal, and I could do without the spoken intros on a couple tracks. But the good stuff is pretty good. 3.5/5.0

CODE ORANGE – UNDERNEATH–I’m just going to say it, these guys are the future of metalcore. There are very few bands out there being as creative and forward-thinking with the genre as Code Orange. Underneath takes what they started with their last album and takes it even further. They incorporate elements of industrial metal, alternative metal, glitch, and even a touch of harsh noise into these tracks. The result is a wild ride from start to finish. The textures and riffs and movements in these songs are so varied that they come and go before you realize it. Seriously, I never had a moment where I felt like a song spent too much time on a particular thing. This album is the fastest way to pass 47 minutes. It’s not perfect, there are some instances where the glitch elements are a little too jarring and sound more like a genuine flaw in the audio file rather than a musical glitch. But otherwise this thing is great. 4.0/5.0

HEAVEN SHALL BURN – OF TRUTH AND SACRIFICE–I went into this one without any prior knowledge of Heaven Shall Burn, but I listened to quite a bit of metalcore back in my day. When I saw this was a double album that ran 97 minutes, I had my suspicions that it was going to be an overall “meh” experience. Turns out, I was right but that doesn’t mean there aren’t bright spots. After the intro track, the first part of the first disc is made up of some of the best things about metalcore. They also manage to have a track over 8 minutes that isn’t a slog (however there is one on the second disc that is). And on the second disc the experiments with industrial metal are interesting and the Nuclear Assault cover is decent. Otherwise, the second half of the first disc falls into metalcore tropes and the second one feels like it’s full of B-sides. If they kept it to one disc, it might have been a lot better. 2.5/5.0

HYBORIAN – VOLUME II–This! This is what I look for in my stoner and sludge metal! Just riffs, riffs, riffs, riffs, and more riffs that are dirty, sludgy, and greasy. Tempos that range from ponderous swagger to blistering thrash, and lyrics that tell stories of sci-fi and fantasy. (Seriously, the band’s lyricist wrote a companion novel telling the story of this album… I want it.) Another thing that makes this album great is that Hyborian avoids the pitfall of being over indulgent. The album is only 40 minutes long and the longest track is 8 minutes and change, and even then, the last 2 minutes are taken up with a weird, reversed dialogue and Morse code. The only thing keeping it from being exceptional is that the dynamics are pretty flat and if you’re not paying attention, a couple tracks kind of blend into each other. Otherwise, I like this one a lot. 4.0/5.0

IGORRR – SPIRITUALITY AND DISTORTION–Where do I even start with this one? This is probably the most fun and wildest ride I’ve had all year with a metal album. Igorrr is primarily the project of French musician Gautier Serre. With this project he combines a couple different metal subgenres with breakcore, trip hop, classical baroque, and Romani folk music. This ain’t your dad’s industrial or symphonic metal; this is a different beast altogether, and boy is it fun. What’s really impressive is Serre doesn’t try to cram every one of his influences into every track. Some lean on certain influences more than others, and he knows how to spread these variations out over the course of a 55 minute album. And the juxtaposition of accordion and double bass and black metal on a couple tracks alone is worth the price of admission. This is easily one of the most interesting and best albums I’ve heard all year. 4.5/5.0

IN THIS MOMENT – MOTHER–Heavy bands with female singers usually go two ways. They’re either a fantastic example of their subgenre and they don’t have to use the singer as a selling point, or they play average symphonic or power metal and have to lean on their singer’s exceptional voice and affinity for costumes or gowns. This album from In This Moment feels like it’s trying to do the second and failing. Maria Brink’s vocals feel lazy and over-indulgent throughout this, and with the exception of one or two tracks, the instrumentals are pretty boring. Then it also has three covers that just don’t land at all, and the “Fly Like An Eagle” cover feels like it was just tacked onto the front of the album with it’s own intro track because it’s followed by another intro track for the first original song. I’m sorry, I just wasn’t feeling this one at all. 1.0/5.0

LUCIFER – LUCIFER III–There’s something about old school hard rock and doom metal that the female voice just complements so well. If you don’t know what I mean, this album from Lucifer is a great example. This band got on my radar with a strong single from their last album, but the rest of it left a bit to be desired. Nothing else really stood out on it. This third album fixes those problems. It feels like the band got into a groove with each other this time and the songwriting improved greatly. Old school riffs abound on this album, and there’s at least one moment in each song that grabs your ear. Vocalist Johanna Sadonis has exactly the effortless kind of voice that you want with these kind of tunes, too. 3.5/5.0

TEMPLE OF VOID – THE WORLD THAT WAS–I suppose getting into death-doom metal is a logical move considering my obsession with stoner and doom. I’m still new to it and there have already been a couple good releases in the genre this year. This is one of them. Temple of Void bring a balanced mix of fast(ish) and slow riffs and make interesting use of atmospheric synths. They very effectively evoke the right mood for this kind of album. Some moments can be drawn out a little too much, but I’ve heard worse. Also, there appears to be two versions of this album out there. If you’re listening on Spotify, make sure it’s the one that says Shadow Kingdom Records at the bottom, the mix is way better. 3.5/5.0

Quarantine Quick Takes, Part 1: Big Names

I have been a bad blogger and I haven’t published anything for a few weeks. Even when I was told to work from home, I didn’t take advantage of the time to keep up with new releases. Instead I didn’t listen to anything for an entire week. Now I have a huge backlog and I’m working hard to get through it and to get some more content out. To make up for the lack of posts, I thought I’d put together some quick reviews of stuff that’s come out in March, similar to my monthly reviews but a tiny bit more in-depth and with actual scores. To kick things off, here are my thoughts on some of the releases by big-name artists that dropped this month.

CHILDISH GAMBINO – 3.15.20–I promise there’s album art there, it just happens to be a white square. Anyway, on March 15th, Donald Glover started streaming his latest Childish Gambino album in a continuous loop on a website, hence the title of the album. It was only up for a short time and then properly released to streaming services on March 22nd. People were wondering if a new album was coming after the singles “This Is America” and “Feels Like Summer” (the latter being on this album, as “42.26”). While most people seem to be into this thing, there are some who have expressed some disappointed, or at least mixed feelings about it. And I’m one of them. I’m sorry, but this just feels directionless and forgettable at times. I do like some of the beats and the occasional industrial feel, but overall this is pretty disappointing. 2.5/5.0

DUA LIPA – FUTURE NOSTALGIA–Here we have another pleasantly surprising album for this year. I went into this with no previous knowledge of who Dua Lipa is or her music up to this point. All I knew is that her name is freaking everywhere right now. What I didn’t expect was to be hit with nu disco banger after banger. Falling right in line with the title, most of the tracks draw heavy influence from the disco revival of the past decade, and they’re pretty damn good. The instrumentals are the real stars here with at least one instance of all of your favorite disco throwbacks, including talkbox, strings, and a properly French disco vocoder! With only a couple exceptions, the lyrics aren’t anything special. Most are about dancing, sex, or both. But then again, so was a lot of old school disco. You can tell that Dua Lipa had fun with this one. And you know what, so did I. 4.0/5.0

MEGAN THEE STALLION – SUGA–Megan Thee Stallion came up with a surprisingly strong debut mixtape with last year’s Fever. She quickly took her place beside Nicki Minaj and Cardi B as one of the top female rappers and gained some viral traction with her “Hot Girl Summer” last year. This year started with reports that Megan was having trouble with her record label. The result of these troubles is a restraining order and this EP to hold us over until she can release a proper debut album. Like Minaj and Cardi, Megan isn’t shy about her sexuality, and honestly I’m still getting used to that being a subject in hip-hop, but the fact that it makes me uncomfortable means it’s working. Megan’s skills as a rapper are on full display on this EP, but it does suffer a bit when she dips her toes in the realm of pop R&B in a couple later tracks. These attempts come across pretty generic and forgettable. Hopefully her eventual debut album can make up for it. 3.0/5.0

NIALL HORAN – HEARTBREAK WEATHER–With his debut solo album Flicker, this former member of One Direction proved himself to be one of the more capable performers without the support of the group. Which has been a challenge for most of the members. With his second album, Horan continues to prove that he has more to offer than his association with the group. A handful of songs have nice nods to ’80s pop and solid hooks. The album opener and title track is particularly fun, as is the dance pop “Nice To Meet Ya.” Other tracks fit comfortably in the realm of modern pop but they’re mostly tolerable. Nothing particularly special, but nothing outright awful either. Lyrically, it’s pretty safe. A common theme seems to be small talk with a romantic interest. It’s not amazing, but it could be a lot worse. 3.0/5.0

NINE INCH NAILS – GHOSTS V: TOGETHER/GHOSTS VI: LOCUSTS–On March 26, Trent Reznor and company surprise released two sequels to the dark ambient Ghosts I-IV released back in 2008. Full disclosure, my familiarity with the previous Ghosts is limited to the sample used in “Old Town Road” and any instance of it being used in the real world and I heard it unknowingly. I’m also not a very active fan of ambient music. However I am familiar with Reznor’s soundtrack work with Atticus Ross. Starting with Together, I found it to be ultimately disappointing. The first half of the album has aimless synth and string drones with piano bits that are just kind of there and not really generating any interest. Things pick up a good bit on the second half with more interesting uses of the space and more intriguing synths. Reznor said that Together was meant for when you feel hopeful, but there’s still an atmosphere of tension and uneasiness. I guess it’s about as hopeful as a NIN release can get, though.

Locusts, on the other hand, I found to be far more interesting and successful at creating atmosphere and mood as ambient music. Reznor and Ross make much better use of the space to induce anxiety and create tension. It plays like the unsettling ambient soundtrack to a psychological thriller or atmospheric survival horror game. While it’s longer than Together, it’s packaged better over shorter tracks. However, it’s not really a game changer when it comes to ambient music or NIN in general. And they both are quite long, each one clocking in over 70 minutes. 2.5/5.0 (Together), 3.5/5.0 (Locusts)

PEARL JAM – GIGATON–Full disclosure, I’m not too familiar with Pearl Jam’s work post-Vitalogy except maybe the odd single here and there from the early 2000s. That being said, this album is pretty disappointing. When I think of Pearl Jam, I think of memorable guitar riffs and catchy chorus hooks. A few of their songs had some of the most impressive guitar work coming out of the biggest Seattle bands of the early ’90s. Gigaton just feels like it has no idea what it wants to be. Most of the tracks just feel like generic guitar rock, others go on longer than they need to, and “Dance of the Clairvoyants” sounds like they’re trying to be the Talking Heads. This is another one getting a lot of praise I just don’t understand. It’s average at best and nothing special at all really. 2.0/5.0

THE WEEKND – AFTER HOURS–The Weeknd has come a long way from his trilogy of mixtapes in 2011. I never really listened or got into R&B music, but I always kept one eye on The Weeknd because I felt like, of all the alternative R&B artists getting big, he had the potential to really impress me. There have been a few bright spots, but overall he hasn’t really accomplished that. When I saw the promotional material for After Hours, I got a little excited about the new vintage aesthetic. Maybe this could be the one. Well, it’s still not quite there. After a weak start, the album picks up a little, but there’s still a bit of bland, generic sounding R&B here that just fails to excite me. Later we get the more new wave and even synthwave inspired tracks like “Blinding Lights,” and that’s where the album really shines. The Weeknd still hasn’t quite blown me away, but this is the closest he’s gotten yet. 3.0/5.0

Good Albums I Didn’t Review in February 2020

I am getting into a bad habit of putting these monthly list articles off. I won’t be making the same mistake in March for reasons that you’ll soon see. But anyway, we all know the drill here. I can’t review everything, so here are some other releases from the month of February that I think are worth your time. As always any of these albums would be scored 3.5 or higher if formally reviewed.

AGAINST ALL LOGIC – 2017-2019–Nicolas Jaar returns once again with his house-centric Against All Logic side project. This time around the tracks are a little dirtier and less polished, but they’re actually better for it. I personally feel like the start of this album is a little weak, but it really picks up a few tracks in and stays good through to the end. If you’re into house music, don’t sleep on A.A.L.

BEACH BUNNY – HONEYMOON–While the band’s name and sound might suggest California, this band is actually from Chicago. Despite their Midwestern origins, they inject some much needed life into the world of west coast power pop. The album short, coming in at only 25 minutes, but it uses that short time to deliver some solid guitar driven indie pop.

BLACK ROYAL – FIREBRIDE–Apologies in advance for the album art. Last month I expressed my hope that 2020 would be a better year for slow metal than 2019. February has only strengthened my hope, and Black Royal played no small part in that. This is a sludgy death/doom band from Finland that bring the heavy with some pummeling and yet catchy riffs. They haven’t forgotten that death/doom can be a fun genre as well as a dark one.

DENZEL CURRY/KENNY BEATS – UNLOCKED–Denzel Curry continues to prove himself to be a perennially consistent rapper with his third great project in as many years. Kenny Beats does the same, continuing his trend of short, but potent albums starting with Vince Staples’ FM! and Rico Nasty’s Anger Management. Beats throws out some of his wildest and inventive beats and Curry rises to the challenge of complementing them with great lines and flows.

HMLTD – WEST OF EDEN–This debut album from experimental art-punk band HMLTD is a wild ride. Over the course of its 50 minutes you get elements of industrial, spaghetti western, surf, blues, cabaret, and electro-pop. Song structures range from bizarre to accessible. I feel like it tends to drag on in places and some of the decisions don’t fit well with others, but it’s a very promising debut otherwise.

JAMES TAYLOR – AMERICAN STANDARD–JT has brought us his 12th studio album and his first in five years. As the title indicates, this album consists of Taylor performing a selection of American standards in his familiar, laid-back, acoustic style. There are songs on here from Rogers and Hammerstein, Billie Holiday, and Henry Mancini among others. It’s slightly unfortunate that there are no originals, but familiar songs in a welcoming and familiar style is kind of nice to have in times like these.

LOWRIDER – REFRACTIONS–Yet another release that’s convinced me that 2020 will be a year for slow metal. Sweden’s Lowrider took their time with this one, releasing it 20 years after their debut, despite a semi-regular performing schedule. But good things come to those who wait. There’s some fine stoner rock to be heard here, and it’s probably the best of that specific vein of hard rock and metal I’ve heard so far this year.

SEPULTURA – QUADRA–Speeding things up in the metal department, we have the 15th album from the Brazilian thrash veterans. Well over 30 years into their career, Sepultura are still producing quality work. A big part of that is that Andreas Kisser is a thrash riffing machine! It kicks off strong and stays strong. The riffs hit hard and even the more groove metal tracks are tight.

TAME IMPALA – THE SLOW RUSH–Yes, yes, Tame Impala is a trendy thing right now, but you should believe the hype! Kevin Parker has crafted meticulous psychedelic sounds over the course of his discography, and while The Slow Rush pushes further into the realm of synthesized sounds, it’s no exception. I don’t know if it’ll be my favorite Tame Impala release, but it is an excellent one.

BRANDY CLARK – YOUR LIFE IS A RECORD album review

BRANDY CLARK – YOUR LIFE IS A RECORD

Warner, 2020

Country

Given that we just observed International Women’s Day this past weekend, I figured I would feature one of the many albums made by women that were just released. I landed on this new record from country singer and songwriter Brandy Clark. Normally, I wouldn’t give a release like this too much attention, but then I learned that she co-wrote “Mama’s Broken Heart” with Kacey Musgraves and has songwriting credits on a few of Musgraves’ releases. If you know me, you know this is more than enough to get my attention, and I will say that I’m glad I decided to dig a little deeper into this one.

Since Brandy Clark is known as a songwriter, let’s start off by looking at the songwriting. And perhaps what impressed me most about this album is that there really isn’t a single lyrical dud on it. Modern country music can often reek of cliches and tropes, and while the female artists tend to fall prey to them less often than the men, they do have their own. Clark manages to practically avoid all of them. Even when songs get dangerously close like on “Long Walk” and “Bigger Boat,” both songs manage to end with their dignity intact.

The songs are really at their best when they’re telling relatable stories about real people. Take “Pawn Shop” with its recent divorcee and failed musician going into the titular store and selling things that ended up costing more than they bargained for. Or “Bad Car” with its narrator sad to see an old car go away despite how unreliable it was because of the memories it holds. About half of the tracks are about love and heartbreak with the final three tracks forming a kind of trilogy of various stages of the aftermath of a falling out. But even these topics are covered in a way that never induces eye roll or cringe.

Musically, the album is a little less exciting for me. I personally tend to prefer the more folksy, vintage, or rock-tinged sounds of outlaw country, but this album falls on the more tolerable side of big pop country productions. Much like the nearly-cliche lyrics, the instrumentals sometimes knock on the door of being over produced, but never quite cross that line. Sometimes the string arrangements can feel like a bit much, but what’s really surprising is the inclusion of horns, flute, and organ in a few tracks. These instruments in particular give the tracks hints of ’70s soul, which is pleasantly surprising.

One real outlier instrumentally is “Bigger Boat,” which features Randy Newman. It’s lilting rhythm and almost honky-tonk flavor feels like Newman could have written it himself, and it pulls off the difficult feat of being silly without being corny. It doesn’t feel out of place among the rest of the songs on the record. Unfortunately, except for maybe one or two exceptions, there’s no instrumental here that really stands out as unique or particularly captivating. There’s nothing here that will really stand out from the crowd musically on country radio. But again, this is a songwriter’s album, not a bro country release looking to land a huge hit. The content is what’s important.

Overall, I ended up enjoying Your Life Is a Record more than I expected when I gave it the time it deserved. In some ways it plays like a songwriter’s resume or portfolio. I could hear just about any country artist singing many of these songs, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few showed up on some future release from one of Nashville’s superstars. There’s even songs on here that I wouldn’t be ashamed to be caught singing myself. The touches of soul music are nice, but I do wish the instrumentals were a bit more memorable. Even so, there’s no denying that this album has some of the realest songwriting that you’ll hear this side of mainstream country music.

4.0/5.0

TYCHO – SIMULCAST album review

TYCHO – SIMULCAST

Mom+Pop/Ninja Tune

Electronic/Downtempo/Ambient

Okay, you’re getting a bonus review this week because I can’t compress my thoughts on this one down to a single paragraph for the end-of-the-month post. Simulcast is a companion album to Weather, Tycho’s release from last year. As such, I will be referring back to that album quite a bit in this review, so I highly recommend that you watch my review of it here. But the bottom line with Weather is that I liked it quite a bit because I happen to enjoy Tycho’s brand of laid-back electronic music and it’s inclusion of vocals from Saint Sinner gave it that little extra something.

Like I said, Simulcast is intended to be a companion album to Weather, but this time around it’s all instrumental. I actually hesitate to call this a new release because 3 of the 8 tracks on it are the 3 instrumental tracks from Weather with no changes (“Weather,” “Into The Woods,” and “Easy”). And the remaining 5 are just instrumental reworkings of everything else. So I guess you could call this a remix album? But only like, 5/8 of a remix album? I don’t know, the electronic music world can be weird sometimes.

It’s important to point out that while this is an instrumental companion to the previous album, the reworked tracks are not just the vocal-less backing tracks. They truly have been reworked. They have key defining characteristics that tie them to their lyrical counterpart and maintain the same spirit, but Tycho has given them new embellishments to fill in the gaps left by the vocals. These tracks also have new titles and most have longer running times. Interestingly, the only new title that gives you any hint to the original is “Stress,” a heavy rework of “No Stress” from Weather.

So the real question here is whether Tycho managed to sufficiently replace Saint Sinner’s vocals. The answer is… mostly. Some tracks like “Cypress” (companion to “Japan”), are still pretty basic and sound like backing tracks despite being stretched out to almost twice the length. Others like “Outer Sunset” (companion to “Skate”) have clearly recognizable parts but benefit from additional percussion and synths. And then there’s songs like “Alright” which I think is the companion to “For How Long,” but it honestly sounds like an entirely different song.

The second question is if the tracks are any good. And I personally think they are. People like to give Tycho a hard time because his music is so inoffensive. It’s background music for the kitchen or office, only slightly more creative than lo-fi hip hop beats to study to. And I won’t deny it’s good music for that, but I also think it’s impressive that an artist has set out to make music like this and still make it distinctly their own. Despite being electronic music, Tycho finds ways to make it feel organic with electric guitars and vocal improvisations (still provided by Saint Sinner, by the way). And these little touches make the songs unquestionably his, and very rewarding when listening actively with headphones.

At first, I wondered if this album was really necessary. Weather was already so good. Tycho took his music to new places when he incorporated lyrics. Did we really need an instrumental companion? At the end of the day, maybe we didn’t, but I’m not upset that it exists. The vocal-less tracks from Weather represented some of Tycho’s best instrumental work up to that point, and the reworks on Simulcast are just as good, if not better. And if there are people out there who wished that Weather didn’t have vocals, well now you have your wish. I do still think Weather is the stronger release here, but Simulcast is still a strong entry in Tycho’s catalog.

3.5/5.0

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – F8 album review

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH – F8

Better Noise Music, 2020

Alternative Metal/Groove Metal/Hard Rock

Normally, I don’t review metal albums so close together, but sometimes the universe throws something your way that you just have to comment on. Five Finger Death Punch have bestowed their eighth album upon the world and it’s…. well it’s something. The album is called F8, pronounced “fate,” and that should tell you everything you need to know about it. FFDP is the kind of band that thinks naming an album F8 is clever and a good idea. And they make music for the kind of people who believe the same thing.

If you can’t already tell, I didn’t really like this at all. And I know it’s the popular thing to hate on Five Finger Death Punch. But before you write me off as just another hater, please allow me to at least try to explain why I don’t like it. And yes, I’ll go beyond the fact that I think FFDP is the favorite band of the guy whose favorite movie is any of the Fast & Furious movies after Tokyo Drift and now thinks that F8 of the Furious would have been a better title.

As usual with my negative reviews, I will try to start with something that I like about the album. On F8, FFDP move away from the groove metal of their previous albums and lean even harder into alternative metal. Whether you love it or hate it, you have to admit that alt metal can produce some seriously badass riffs, and a few show up on this album. “Full Circle,” “Bottom of The Top,” and “This Is War” in particular have some riffs that just absolutely rip. There’s no denying that the members of FFDP are talented, Jason Hook and Zoltan Bathory especially. It’s just a shame that their talents are often undercut by other things.

The most glaring of those things, as is typical with a Five Finger Death Punch album, are the lyrics. And even more frustrating is the fact that the songs with the worst lyrics, are the ones with the best riffs! Yes, yes, people hate on FFDP because of the “tough guy” lyrics and image, but it’s getting to a point where they’re almost a parody of themselves. The first verse of “Living The Dream” clumsily name drops comic book heroes and has a robotic vocal effect when Moody sings the name Iron Man. “Bottom of the Top” hints at self-awareness with lines asking if the song is metal enough, heavy enough, and destructive enough, but then turns right back around to the same defensive, tough guy rhetoric.

Even the slower moments on the album, when they’re not just fading into the background, put the blame on other people and never on the narrator. This is music for the guy who drives a lifted pickup to the gym and tries to start a fight when he’s confronted about dropping weights and grunting too loud. I’m not saying music can’t be cathartic, but if your response to any kind of hardship is to throw up defenses and shout “This is war!” you should probably consider getting professional help. Even the angriest emo songs have some kind of self-reflection in them. And I don’t care who you are, no metal band that wants to be taken seriously should use the word Google in their lyrics, let alone sing it with harsh vocals!

Good grief, I could write another paragraph on the lyrics, but I need to move on to other things. A slightly smaller issue I have with the album that probably wouldn’t bother most listeners is how inconsistent the mixing is. I think this album has some of the lowest guitar tunings the band has ever used, but the production doesn’t do it any favors. Things are compressed to hell and sap any definition from the guitar tone. Yeah, it sounds heavy, but there’s no texture. Along with that, the drum mixing seems to change from song to song, and where certain instruments sit in the mix changes too.

Overall, this album… just… it isn’t good. There are some cool riffs, but even the tracks with them are hamstrung by bad mixing and cringe worthy lyrics. The quieter songs are forgettable and I remember the louder ones for the wrong reasons. With this new stylistic direction, I keep finding similarities with Demon Hunter. Depending on your opinion of that band, this is either like Demon Hunter but bad and with awful lyrics and they say fuck a lot, or it’s like a worse version of Demon Hunter with awful lyrics and they say fuck a lot. When I imagine a FFDP fan, I see a guy who wears a Realtree hoodie all year, spits tobacco out the window of a rusty Camaro IROC-Z, and tries to race people at every red light. I guess as long as those people exist, we’re going to keep getting FFDP albums like this.

1.0/5.0