I feel like such a hypocrite.
Last time, I reviewed My Bloody Valentine. I went on about how they might be boring to some, but there was a certain something that kept it from being as such.
Enter The xx. I find them to be pretty boring, even though they share a few similarities to My Bloody Valentine. OK, so that might be a stretch, but bear with me.
This band is boring. Fact. Why? Continue reading
Ever wondered what it meant when some music guy threw around the word shoegaze and you had no idea what it meant? Perhaps you asked what it meant, and got a really vague answer?
To be fair, it is kind of difficult to describe. Imagine 80s British style rock or 90s rock with tons of effect pedals. So much so, it makes it a little difficult to distinguish from other sounds. Even this is not the cold hard truth. Music shouldn’t be pinned down like that, regardless.
Anyway, the point is that My Bloody Valentine is the correct answer. If somebody asks you what shoegaze is, point them to My Blood Valentine and tell them to turn the speakers on full blast.
It’s an experience. Not in a Phil Spector way, but it feels like a ‘wall of sound.’ No, that’s not right. Perhaps a fortress. You’re encapsulated by guitars and in the center is a quiet voice comforting you to sleep. This isn’t an aggressive sort of music. Continue reading
I’ve always been a passive fan of Paramore. Their radio hits always got me going, but I never had any emotional implication over the band’s music. Never bought a record, and I never really cared to.
First of all, let me say this:
What is going on here!?
I don’t know. I listened to this album twice through, and I can’t decide if it’s my album of the year or if it’s my most hated album of the year. Continue reading
Sometimes the editor and I have wildly different tastes when it comes to music. What would be the point of a music blog where everyone simply agreed? I want to challenge readers to always listen and make up their own minds.
However, this is not a point for point disagreement. Yes, I feel wildly different about the album than he did, I don’t have any problem with his points. I just want to put my opinion out there. Truth be told, I didn’t even realize he had written his review until after I had planned on also writing one.
So, there’s that!
From what I’m familiar with of Yeah Yeah Yeahs they had always been this kinda art punk band from New York City. They had that peculiar sort of aggression mixed with the experimentation you’d see from bands like Sonic Youth.
With Mosquito, you tend to see the ‘hit single’ vibe fade away and Yeah Yeah Yeahs veer more into that experimental territory. Some of it is tolerable, and other songs may make you raise an eyebrow.
I don’t hate any one song on the album, but it doesn’t do anything for me. I’ve listened to the whole thing and I forgot that I even did.
I feel like much of the album is fairly boring. “Mosquito” is missing something I can’t put my finger on. Yeah, it has those 80s and 90s references the other article talked about, but it doesn’t really go anywhere with them. As such, I feel a little let down. Continue reading
Some may be familiar with a DJ by the name of Diplo who is famous for not only having collaborations with famous artists, but also for his reggae/dancehall/electro side-project Major Lazer.
I was a huge fan of “Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do” and really enjoyed the odd mixture of daggering, house, and dancehall. The strange concept of a white guy from Florida trying his best to make a Jamaican-themed sort of album was intriguing at first. The video for Pon De Floor got me hooked.
I loved the first album, but how does “Free The Universe” fair against it?
First of all, the pseudo-mascot Skerrit Bwoy is no longer associated with them. Also, Switch is no longer associated. That being said, the new album is pretty good. It’s pretty good though. Imagine the difference between the first Gorillaz album and the second. Less ‘hits’ and more experimentation. There’s more focus on the music instead of trying to be ‘fun’ or impress anyone. There’s no need for that on a sophomore record, is there? Continue reading
Back in Summer 2011 when I reviewed Tyler the Creator‘s previous album “Goblin” I was on a bit of a rap kick.
I reviewed “Goblin” positively for its cerebral tone while interjecting humorous quips every now and then. It was a bit of adolescence mixed with rather intelligent rhymes. The beats were nothing to shake a stick at, as well.
“Wolf” is a polar opposite of “Goblin.” Continue reading
Tonight we ride the waves towards the new album from Wavves, “Afraid of Heights.”
Still unsure of what words to use to explain Surf Rock, let’s say that Wavves sound like Weezer or perhaps the Pixies. It wants to be punk, it wants to be garage rock, but it’s too chill to be either. Continue reading
I’ve noticed some patterns over the last few weeks. We’ve had two albums with rather effortless artwork (See: David Bowie) and an album about a machine (See: Depeche Mode.)
Not sure if this is some sort of Illuminati mind control scheme by Mystic Sounds to convince everyone that they are robots or what. That’s not the point anyway, the point is that everyone’s favorite rock band The Strokes have a new album out.
Granted, these songs sound completely different than their hit Last Night I was so familiar with back in high school. They’ve toned it down a bit and got a little weirder. They sound far less like those sorts of bands from the early 2000s such as The Hives or The Vines. You know, all those louder clean punk rock “The” bands.
Once in a while on the album you’ll hear some shreds, but it’s mostly a little bit of this and that. Reminds me of the band !!! but with less funk. This is a good thing.
I keep getting this 90s alt-rock vibe as well.
Perhaps calling it an identity crisis would be too drastic.
Tell me that doesn’t sound 90s. “Yeah guys, The Strokes, Collective Soul, and Live are my favorite bands!”
It all seems to come together perfectly, doesn’t it?
I’m still scratching my head as to what happened. They lost that tenacity that drew me to them in the first place. They sound watered down and a bit washed up. Maybe they are just giant sea creatures who love water. Who knows?
I know that I still found the record to be moderately pleasing. It’s not going to be a mainstay in my MP3 player, but it is a fairly solid album.
It’s less angry! That’s what it is. It’s chirpy/happy rock music.
What the heck?
The reviews I’ve read so far have been mixed, with some critics raving about the new album and others regrettably admitting disappointment. The lead single, Sacrilege, is a decent song. If the album had consisted of more songs in a similar vein, I could have savored the whole album. But I find listening to the album straight through an intolerable exercise.
I’m with those who don’t much care for “Mosquito.”
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have succeeded in creating an album extremely different from their previous releases. I can listen to any of their previous albums and enjoy them in their entirety. But when I listen to “Mosquito,” I get antsy. I want the album to end. I listened to it straight through twice, and on the second listen I could hardly hold back from stopping the music player and putting on something else. When the album finally ended, I put on “It’s Blitz!
I won’t be playing the “Mosquito” album straight through by choice ever again. I wanted to listen to it all the way through at least three times before making any judgments about it, but I can’t bear the thought of playing it again.
What’s so bad about “Mosquito?”
Maybe it’s just me, but I found the album boring and lifeless. When it wasn’t boring and lifeless, it was annoying. Some songs are repetitive in ways that grate my nerves. I don’t want to hear the words “alien” or “always” for the rest of the week. A month might be too soon.
Sacrilege is the only song on the album with a hook that works for me. The album reminds me of CDs I’ve bought in the 80s or 90s that had one good song while the rest were all throwaways.
Some critics reviewing “Mosquito” picked one or two songs other than Sacrilege that they adore, so I’m hoping that if I hear those songs come up in random play, I’ll see what they see in them. But when listening to the album straight through like I did, the depression just keeps building, so that when those supposedly good songs play, I’m already lost. Continue reading
Depeche Mode is one of those bands that was a bit before my time. “Violator” came out only a few years after I was born.
I think it is a natural instinct to be infatuated with the culture of which you were born into. I was born in 1986 and find myself partaking of all sorts of entertainment from that era. Depeche Mode happens to be one of those bands I never really sunk my teeth into. What songs I’ve heard, I enjoyed quite much.
Their new album “Delta Machine” is largely comprised of music that I do not recognize Depeche Mode as being.
This is not the Depeche Mode I’m used to. Yes, it still sounds like them, but it is marginally slower than anything I’ve heard from them. Soft Touch/Raw Nerve reminds me of that 80s synthpop I (didn’t) know and love.
The rest are slower and more brooding tracks. Dare I say they border on boring? I honestly almost feel like I’m listening to a modern synthpop band, just slowed down to nearly uninteresting levels.
Hear what I mean? It’s not like it’s really bad. I just find that it’s marginally slower than what I’m accustomed to. Heaven has a nice mysterious tone to it that makes for a great single. It is just one example of many on the album that kind of rub me the wrong way.
I think I like Should Be Higher better.
I think my work here is done.
Ultimately, there are some really great songs on “Delta Machine” that are solid. The rest I can’t seem to lay my finger on. None are really ‘bad’ per se, but feel like they could use some extra pizazz. See above.
Should Be Higher is slow, brooding synthpop but it doesn’t rub me the wrong way like the rest.
You can hear samples of all the songs on Amazon.
