3.18.2005
Review: The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts
The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts: The Decemberists get name-dropped a lot by a lot of people. Now I see why. Download Here I Dreamt I Was An Arichitect / Buy
3.17.2005
Review: Death From Above 1979
Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine: It's not as if dance-punk suddenly redeemed itself, it's that this is way too good not to like. Download You're A Woman, I'm A Machine / Buy
3.16.2005
Reviews: Consonant x2 Re: Uncooperative Blogger
Consonant - Consonant: A softer side of post-punk is neither interesting nor engaging. Sad, considering this comes from a Mission of Burma alum. Stream clips of the entire album / Buy
Consonant - Love And Affliction: More of the same, perhaps even slightly more bland, than their self-titled. Stream the entire album / Buy
Consonant - Love And Affliction: More of the same, perhaps even slightly more bland, than their self-titled. Stream the entire album / Buy
3.15.2005
Review: Ciccone
Ciccone - Eversholt Street: Nice collection of pop singles, but just doesn't succeed as an album. A few tracks may end up on a mix CD or two, but that's about it. Stream the entire album / Download clips of Look At You Now, You're Beautiful, You'll Get By, Last Breath, If I Could Prove You Wrong, Just Got Laid, If Friday Falls Through / Buy
3.14.2005
Review: Chin Up Chin Up
Chin Up Chin Up - We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers: This album is very calm and soothing, bordering on refreshing. It just sort of plays in the background, uninhibited without you realizing it's playing. I guess that's a good thing. Download We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers and Virginia, Don't Drown / Buy
3.13.2005
Show Review: Bane, Comeback Kid, With Honor, Silent Drive, Hollywood
Preface: I haven't been to a show of any kind in many months, never mind a hardcore show, which you would have to delve even further into my past to discover the last opportunity I partook of to see a hardcore show. In fact, the last show I attended was the last time Bane was in town.
Since that time, it seems as though the Atlanta "Scene" has grown by leaps and bounds. Whereas the last time I saw Bane, they had attracted an older crowd, this time, it was the young folks's turn to represent. And represent they did, coming out in droves to the order or nearly 600 people packing a larger-than-last-time-I-was-there Swayze's in Marietta (a good 25 minute drive from downtown Atlanta).
The recently-remodeled Swayze's is an excellent place for a show (despite it's not-close-enough proximity to Atlanta, which may ostracize many people), though, as to be expected, the sound was not of the highest priority. But, it is nice to have a fully functional all-ages venue (despite the fact that I am of both legal ages). On to the show.
Doors were supposed to open at 7, but did not do so until 7:30. Hollywood was set to take the stage at 8, but ended up being on stage and playing at 7:45 with their entire set finished by the aforementioned 8. They were really good. Each song comes at swinging and I thought to myself how 'punchy' it sounded. The punchiness only lasted about 20-30 seconds per song before they seemed to fall into a rhythm. This was not terrible, but the excellent way each song began made me hope for a little more. I picked up their demo CD (for $1, how could I go wrong?) and had to fight off the advances of one of the members from trying to sell me a t-shirt (I understand how badly you want to sell your merch, but back off. Next time, just tell me to come to your next show instead of pestering me to buy your merch).
By 8:15 Silent Drive was already on the stage and ready to go. Silent Drive is Zach Bane singing and Nick and Pete Bane on bass (I think) and drumes, respectively. I was burned by the previous Zach-fronted Ink Cartrdge Funeral (though, not terribly), so I never even bothered when they announced the formation of Silent Drive, as I had an inkling of what to expect. It was exactly what I expected. Mellow parts, that sound like Incubus, bleeding into hardcore/metalish parts. While I like Zach's voice and the intensity he showed on stage was second-to-none, I just know that I'll never get into their music. (Side note about Zach: I saw him play in his other band, Barrit, what seems like ten years ago. He played guitar and just looked incredibly evil. He didn't really move around a lot, just stood there, eyes rolled upwards and gave the crowd a metal sign, or evil point, now and again. The last few times I saw Bane, he also didn't move around a whole lot, just kind of playing his music. This time, however, he was extremely animated, talking with the crowd, getting very involved and just going nuts. It was refreshing to see).
Silent Drive rapped up by about 8:45 and by 9 With Honor was on the stage. Now, I haven't been keeping up as much on the hardcore scene as I used to and hadn't even heard of With Honor before that night, so I wasn't expecting the kids to get to rowdy. But they did. Singing along, moshing, stage dives, high fives. They were really hard and tight. They reminded me a lot of the Suicide File, whom I am a big fan of. If I had more money, I would have gotten a CD, but I did not.
Another half hour set and it was 9:30. Another 15 minute wait and Comeback Kid took the stage. I had always heard good things about Comeback Kid and they did not disapoint. They sounded like if you took Hold This Moment and It All Comes Down To This (Bane albums) and mixed them together. As Bane progresses (more on that later), some bands will always attempt to capture what they had during that period. Comback Kid were very tight, had the crowd going apeshit (literally, as they hung from the rafters). Crazy sing-alongs, good mosh parts, a complete package. On my way out the door, I picked up their new CD, though I haven't given it a listen as of yet, but look for a review at some point. Something sad happened during the second to last song though. I was thinking about writing this review and I wanted to make a comment about how the media always 'slams' moshing and how brutal and unforgiving it is. What they don't understand is how fast everybody is to pick someone up that falls down. No one stays on the ground long. No sooner did I finish my thought when a guy was carrying a girl that had gone limp during the song. I'm not exactly sure what happened to her, but she was completely dead weight in the guys hands. I was expecting the worse; she had gotten hit in the back of the head and would never walk again, or even worse she had died and I could envision the headline in the AJC: Local Girl Dead After Attending Rock Concert. My stomach sank and it was hard for me (and most of the people on my side of the stage) to get back into the music. I did hear someone say that she was alright, but I'd still be curious to hear what happened to her.
10:15 they were done and by 10:30 Bane was on the stage (note: This was a smoothly run show, as you can see there was never more than a 15 minute gap between bands. I've waited upwards of an hour and a half for some acts). Everybody knew they were going to play some new songs as they have an album coming out in May (note2: When their last album came out, they had copies of the new album almost 2 full months early while on tour. No such luck this time). They played a good mix of songs, though. Maybe 2 or 3 from the new Album, 1 or 2 from Give Blood, 4 or so off It All Comes Down To This and 3 off of Holding This Moment. I love Holding This Moment, so I was pyshed to see Superhero (my favorite Bane song), Count Me Out and the surprise of the evening, Both Guns Blazing (in lieu of the unrehearsed Struck Down By Me). The crowd was weird, as about a third of them had left before Bane had taken the stage (pay $10 and not stay for the main act...I've done it, but if you're a hardcore fan, you can't leave before Bane). The ones that remained did not disapoint. More hanging from the rafters, more crazy pile-ons and moshing. Par for the course for Bane. It's just indescribable. If you ever been up front during Bane, you know what I'm talking about. Somebody also broke the lights and some ceiling tiles fell down during the mayhem (Aaron remarking something about tearing the roof down is metaphoric for a good hardcore show, and he was right).
As I said earlier, it had been a long time since I had been to a hardcore show and I was not let down this night. I don't think I had ever seen so many good hardcore bands share the same stage (festivals aside). Maybe it's a hardcore renaissance (a la '95), or maybe there's just a lot more really good bands out right now. I'm not sure. Either way, it was an awesome experience and I give major props to the guys at Swayze's for putting an an excellent show (and they book a lot of really good shows coming up too, check them out Swayze's Venue).
Since that time, it seems as though the Atlanta "Scene" has grown by leaps and bounds. Whereas the last time I saw Bane, they had attracted an older crowd, this time, it was the young folks's turn to represent. And represent they did, coming out in droves to the order or nearly 600 people packing a larger-than-last-time-I-was-there Swayze's in Marietta (a good 25 minute drive from downtown Atlanta).
The recently-remodeled Swayze's is an excellent place for a show (despite it's not-close-enough proximity to Atlanta, which may ostracize many people), though, as to be expected, the sound was not of the highest priority. But, it is nice to have a fully functional all-ages venue (despite the fact that I am of both legal ages). On to the show.
Doors were supposed to open at 7, but did not do so until 7:30. Hollywood was set to take the stage at 8, but ended up being on stage and playing at 7:45 with their entire set finished by the aforementioned 8. They were really good. Each song comes at swinging and I thought to myself how 'punchy' it sounded. The punchiness only lasted about 20-30 seconds per song before they seemed to fall into a rhythm. This was not terrible, but the excellent way each song began made me hope for a little more. I picked up their demo CD (for $1, how could I go wrong?) and had to fight off the advances of one of the members from trying to sell me a t-shirt (I understand how badly you want to sell your merch, but back off. Next time, just tell me to come to your next show instead of pestering me to buy your merch).
By 8:15 Silent Drive was already on the stage and ready to go. Silent Drive is Zach Bane singing and Nick and Pete Bane on bass (I think) and drumes, respectively. I was burned by the previous Zach-fronted Ink Cartrdge Funeral (though, not terribly), so I never even bothered when they announced the formation of Silent Drive, as I had an inkling of what to expect. It was exactly what I expected. Mellow parts, that sound like Incubus, bleeding into hardcore/metalish parts. While I like Zach's voice and the intensity he showed on stage was second-to-none, I just know that I'll never get into their music. (Side note about Zach: I saw him play in his other band, Barrit, what seems like ten years ago. He played guitar and just looked incredibly evil. He didn't really move around a lot, just stood there, eyes rolled upwards and gave the crowd a metal sign, or evil point, now and again. The last few times I saw Bane, he also didn't move around a whole lot, just kind of playing his music. This time, however, he was extremely animated, talking with the crowd, getting very involved and just going nuts. It was refreshing to see).
Silent Drive rapped up by about 8:45 and by 9 With Honor was on the stage. Now, I haven't been keeping up as much on the hardcore scene as I used to and hadn't even heard of With Honor before that night, so I wasn't expecting the kids to get to rowdy. But they did. Singing along, moshing, stage dives, high fives. They were really hard and tight. They reminded me a lot of the Suicide File, whom I am a big fan of. If I had more money, I would have gotten a CD, but I did not.
Another half hour set and it was 9:30. Another 15 minute wait and Comeback Kid took the stage. I had always heard good things about Comeback Kid and they did not disapoint. They sounded like if you took Hold This Moment and It All Comes Down To This (Bane albums) and mixed them together. As Bane progresses (more on that later), some bands will always attempt to capture what they had during that period. Comback Kid were very tight, had the crowd going apeshit (literally, as they hung from the rafters). Crazy sing-alongs, good mosh parts, a complete package. On my way out the door, I picked up their new CD, though I haven't given it a listen as of yet, but look for a review at some point. Something sad happened during the second to last song though. I was thinking about writing this review and I wanted to make a comment about how the media always 'slams' moshing and how brutal and unforgiving it is. What they don't understand is how fast everybody is to pick someone up that falls down. No one stays on the ground long. No sooner did I finish my thought when a guy was carrying a girl that had gone limp during the song. I'm not exactly sure what happened to her, but she was completely dead weight in the guys hands. I was expecting the worse; she had gotten hit in the back of the head and would never walk again, or even worse she had died and I could envision the headline in the AJC: Local Girl Dead After Attending Rock Concert. My stomach sank and it was hard for me (and most of the people on my side of the stage) to get back into the music. I did hear someone say that she was alright, but I'd still be curious to hear what happened to her.
10:15 they were done and by 10:30 Bane was on the stage (note: This was a smoothly run show, as you can see there was never more than a 15 minute gap between bands. I've waited upwards of an hour and a half for some acts). Everybody knew they were going to play some new songs as they have an album coming out in May (note2: When their last album came out, they had copies of the new album almost 2 full months early while on tour. No such luck this time). They played a good mix of songs, though. Maybe 2 or 3 from the new Album, 1 or 2 from Give Blood, 4 or so off It All Comes Down To This and 3 off of Holding This Moment. I love Holding This Moment, so I was pyshed to see Superhero (my favorite Bane song), Count Me Out and the surprise of the evening, Both Guns Blazing (in lieu of the unrehearsed Struck Down By Me). The crowd was weird, as about a third of them had left before Bane had taken the stage (pay $10 and not stay for the main act...I've done it, but if you're a hardcore fan, you can't leave before Bane). The ones that remained did not disapoint. More hanging from the rafters, more crazy pile-ons and moshing. Par for the course for Bane. It's just indescribable. If you ever been up front during Bane, you know what I'm talking about. Somebody also broke the lights and some ceiling tiles fell down during the mayhem (Aaron remarking something about tearing the roof down is metaphoric for a good hardcore show, and he was right).
As I said earlier, it had been a long time since I had been to a hardcore show and I was not let down this night. I don't think I had ever seen so many good hardcore bands share the same stage (festivals aside). Maybe it's a hardcore renaissance (a la '95), or maybe there's just a lot more really good bands out right now. I'm not sure. Either way, it was an awesome experience and I give major props to the guys at Swayze's for putting an an excellent show (and they book a lot of really good shows coming up too, check them out Swayze's Venue).
Review: Cass McCombs
Cass McCombs - PREfection: Each song is a tad different, but they're all held together by a foundation of '60s pop, just a bit slower. It's really, really good though. Stream Sacred Heart / Buy
3.12.2005
Reviews: Bright Eyes
Bright Eyes - Digital Ash In A Digital Urn: Deviation from the familiar? Shun it! Or listen to it, cause it's pretty good.
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: His accessible album to date. His best album to date. Album of the year, to date. (Just don't call him Bob Dylan)
Stream and Download a bunch of Bright Eyes songs and then Buy them both
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: His accessible album to date. His best album to date. Album of the year, to date. (Just don't call him Bob Dylan)
Stream and Download a bunch of Bright Eyes songs and then Buy them both
3.11.2005
Review: Atari
Atari - Ten Years Strong Discography: Very solid hardcore in the same style as IME or TYF. Download Face It / Buy
3.10.2005
Review: The Arcade Fire
The Arcade Fire - Us Kids Know: The desperation and urgency lacking from their LP. Download I'm Sleeping In A Submarine / Buy
3.09.2005
Review: Ambulance LTD
Ambulance Ltd - LP: Broken Social Scene for the shoegazer crowd. Download Stay Where You Are and Primitive (The Way I Treat You) (Sorry you've got to sign up) / Buy
3.08.2005
Reviews: Redneck Manifesto x3
Redneck Manifesto - Thirtysixstrings: Post-rock on the edge of greatness (I know, aren't they all? But this one really is). Download Please Don't Ask Us What We Think Of Your Band / Buy
Redneck Manifesto - Cut Your Heart Off From Your Head: Disappointing follow-up. Download Clue Out Puzzles / Buy
Redneck Manifesto - Taj Compilation: Found this while browsing a p2p network. It's a live set in Texas in which the band just piddle-farts on stage and is a gross waste of time. I added all of their 7" tracks to the end of it to make it worthwhile, but those are hit and miss. Download A Live Track / Buy
Redneck Manifesto - Cut Your Heart Off From Your Head: Disappointing follow-up. Download Clue Out Puzzles / Buy
Redneck Manifesto - Taj Compilation: Found this while browsing a p2p network. It's a live set in Texas in which the band just piddle-farts on stage and is a gross waste of time. I added all of their 7" tracks to the end of it to make it worthwhile, but those are hit and miss. Download A Live Track / Buy
3.07.2005
Review: Redd Kross
Redd Kross - Neurotica: The album that inspired grunge? I doubt it, sounds like to many other 'punk on the inside, pop on the outside' (or is that the other way around?) bands that came before them. Download Neurotica / Buy
3.06.2005
Review: Ray And Porcell
Ray And Porcell - Ray And Porcell: Ray and Porcell (of Youth of Today fame) 'solo' and with a drum machine. It's only two songs, but you wish it were more. Buy
3.05.2005
Review: Neon Christ
Neon Christ - Neon Christ (Discography): What starts out as a run-of-the-mill punk band from the early '80s quickly progressed into something a lot better. Then they broke up. Buy
3.04.2005
Review: Mos Def
3.03.2005
Reviews: Talib Kweli x2
Talib Kweli - Freestyles and Rarities: Why is it necessary to reach EVERY piece of recorded music from a rapper? I deem it unnecessary. Buy
Talib Kweli - Quality: Now I get the hype. Kweli redeems himself on the previously-released Quality where his skills are apparent and he's not trying to sell out (a la The Beautiful Struggle). Stream / Buy
Talib Kweli - Quality: Now I get the hype. Kweli redeems himself on the previously-released Quality where his skills are apparent and he's not trying to sell out (a la The Beautiful Struggle). Stream / Buy
3.02.2005
Review: Moonbabies
3.01.2005
Review: Bloc Party
2.28.2005
2.27.2005
Reviews: Mission Of Burma x8
Mission Of Burma - Forget: Such immediacy that will not be forgotten soon. Didn't know until post-listen that this was a posthumously odds-and-ends collection, so I look forward to delving into their proper catalogue. Stream / Buy
Mission Of Burma - Signals, Calls and Marches: '80s punk that's insanely catchy. I dare you not to like at least one song. Stream / Download (Videos, 2002 reunion) / Buy
Mission Of Burma - VS: It has taken me far too long to discover these guys. Stream / Buy
Mission Of Burma - The Horrible Truth About Burma: Another live disc, another dud. Stream / Buy
Mission Of Burma - Mission Of Burma: Easily the best way to get into this band. The catchy songs are here, the immediate songs are here, the rest of the songs are here. Buy
Mission Of Burma - Let There Be Burma: Another odds-and-ends collection, another waste of a casual fan's time. Buy
Mission Of Burma - Peking Spring: Better-than-most odds-and-ends collection because it foreshadows that what-could've-been. Stream / Buy
Mission Of Burma - Signals, Calls and Marches: '80s punk that's insanely catchy. I dare you not to like at least one song. Stream / Download (Videos, 2002 reunion) / Buy
Mission Of Burma - VS: It has taken me far too long to discover these guys. Stream / Buy
Mission Of Burma - The Horrible Truth About Burma: Another live disc, another dud. Stream / Buy
Mission Of Burma - Mission Of Burma: Easily the best way to get into this band. The catchy songs are here, the immediate songs are here, the rest of the songs are here. Buy
Mission Of Burma - Let There Be Burma: Another odds-and-ends collection, another waste of a casual fan's time. Buy
Mission Of Burma - Peking Spring: Better-than-most odds-and-ends collection because it foreshadows that what-could've-been. Stream / Buy
2.26.2005
Review: King Missile
2.25.2005
Review: King Crimson
2.24.2005
Review: Kent
2.23.2005
Reviews: KC Accidental x2
2.22.2005
Review: Jimmy Chamberlin Complex
2.21.2005
Review: Japancakes
2.20.2005
Review: In/Humanity
In/Humanity - Humanity/Violent Resignation: The Great American Teenage Suicide Rebellion 1992-1998: It's just noise. If you're a Converge fan, you should check them out, otherwise avoid them. Buy
2.19.2005
Reviews: Rachel's x3
Rachel's - Handwriting LP: I'm not sure this can even be classified as post-rock for it seems to be something more. Stream / Download / Buy
Rachel's - Music For Egon Schiele: Rachel's is no longer a post-rock band. They are now just a plain old instrumental band. Some of the most interesting, engaging, emotional, sentimental and amazing instrumental music ever. Each song is a complete thought, complete emotion, beginning to end. Stream / Download / Buy
Rachel's - The Sea And The Bells: Rachel's is a post-rock band, but a better-than-most post-rock band. Stream / Download / Buy
Rachel's - Music For Egon Schiele: Rachel's is no longer a post-rock band. They are now just a plain old instrumental band. Some of the most interesting, engaging, emotional, sentimental and amazing instrumental music ever. Each song is a complete thought, complete emotion, beginning to end. Stream / Download / Buy
Rachel's - The Sea And The Bells: Rachel's is a post-rock band, but a better-than-most post-rock band. Stream / Download / Buy
2.18.2005
Reviews: Michael Franti x2
Michael Franti - Songs From The Front Porch: Soulful, laid-back, but most importantly, enjoyable. Not going to make you rethink your musical tastes, but my broaden them slightly. Stream / Download / Buy
Michael Franti & Spearhead: A more conceptualized album, complete with radio segments/skits. Kicker is, I don't want to cut out the skits and burn it cause I think it will detract from the album, and what a fine album it is. Stream / Download (Videos) / Buy
Michael Franti & Spearhead: A more conceptualized album, complete with radio segments/skits. Kicker is, I don't want to cut out the skits and burn it cause I think it will detract from the album, and what a fine album it is. Stream / Download (Videos) / Buy
2.17.2005
Review: Flipper
2.16.2005
Review: Primal Scream
2.15.2005
Review: The Faces
2.14.2005
Review: Maggie Estep
2.13.2005
Review: Earlimart
2.12.2005
Review: Black Star
2.11.2005
Review: Devendra Banhart
News: Top 88 of '04 Complete With Reviews
Devendra Banhart was the final album I listened to last year and while I have listened to more albums released last year I have opted to not update the list. For now, the Top 88 of '04 is complete. Perhaps next year I will make a revised list which will surely be the Top 107 of '04, but not today. Tomorrow will continue with regular updates of albums from all years of release.
News: UponFirstListen Ripped Off
I read several music websites each day. All of the blogs you see to the right get a hit once a day (usually at night, after they've updated for the day) as does antimusic, velvetrope and pitchforkmedia. Others I check less frequently. Two of these are popmatters and stylusmagazine. Not that their news or reviews are any less entertaining or important, but they both have terrible layouts and are difficult to navigate and difficult to ascertain needed information. So, tonight, I'm browsing the internet at random and I decide to hit both of them up to see what I'm missed. Nothing major at popmatters (new Hood and Sage Francis review), but stylusmagazine has something interesting. Called "On First Listen" it's exactly what you think, only slightly different. They take established artists and make theire reviewers listen to them for the first time (the first one is a review of the Rolling Stones). Granted, their review is a lot longer than anything I write (or plan to, sans this and a feature here and there), but still, I can't help but feel violated. Of course, there's not much I can do, but the satisfaction of knowing that I've been doing this (at 3 different locations) for almost a year and a half, with more than 300 albums reviewed for the first time, makes me feel cheated. I plan to continue updating this site every day for as long as I possibly can (I already have the next 2 months worth of reviews sitting in a .txt document on my desktop, so assuming I have internet, you will see an update for at least that long. Additionally, I have approximately another 150 or so albums I have in the to-be reviewed column and that's not counting new stuff I discover, and trust me, I discover a lot of new music). UponFirsListen did it first, just remember that.
2.10.2005
Review: Saul Williams
2.09.2005
Review: pAper chAse/Red Worms' Farm
2.08.2005
Review: The Music
2.07.2005
2.06.2005
Review: Madvillain
2.05.2005
Reviews: Fiery Furnaces x3
The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat: It feels so complete, even after just a solitary listen. I can't think of a reason why it needs to exit my CD player. Stream / Download / Buy
Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark: This one's going to take a lot longer [than Blueberry Boat] to get into, but I think it will be much more rewarding. Stream / Buy
Fiery Furnaces - EP: A b-sides collection that will see just as much play as both of their full lengths. For a more complete collection, add SBN versions of We Got The Plague, My Dog Was Lost and Up In The North along with the Fall and Clash covers (Winter and One More Time, respectively). Download / Buy
Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark: This one's going to take a lot longer [than Blueberry Boat] to get into, but I think it will be much more rewarding. Stream / Buy
Fiery Furnaces - EP: A b-sides collection that will see just as much play as both of their full lengths. For a more complete collection, add SBN versions of We Got The Plague, My Dog Was Lost and Up In The North along with the Fall and Clash covers (Winter and One More Time, respectively). Download / Buy
2.04.2005
News: Redesign & New Blog
I redesigned the site. Got tired of having a Blogger Template that other people have, so I made my own. Many thanks go to my lovely girlfriend, Sara, for the logo design, color scheme and basic layout. Never realized how powerful CSS and XML are. Started another blog (PenguinVirgin.blogspot.com) to document my adventures of Linux.
Review: Xiu Xiu
2.03.2005
Review: Wovenhand
2.02.2005
Review: Wilco
2.01.2005
Review: Walking Concert
1.31.2005
Review: Valley Of The Giants
1.30.2005
Review: Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1
1.29.2005
Review: Garden State OST
1.28.2005
Review: Twelve Girls Band
1.27.2005
Review: Thee Silver Mountain Reveries
Thee Silver Mountain Reveries - Pretty Little Lightning Paw: Talk about an acquired taste. The sad part is that I'm starting to acquire it. Buy
1.26.2005
Review: Taking Back Sunday
1.25.2005
Review: Slowdive
1.24.2005
Review(s): Shots Fired
1.23.2005
Review(s): Bloc Party
1.22.2005
Review(s): Secret Machines
1.21.2005
Review(s): Saves The Day
Saves The Day - Ups And Downs: Early Recordings and B-Sides: I've had most of these tracks for years (oddly, different versions) so I knew what to expect. What I don't get is why not fill the whole CD. This is supposed to catalog all of their early years, yet they only use a fraction of the alotted space on a CD while a ton of music goes unheard (all of the Sefler stuff, a bunch of B-sides, outtakes and covers). Just make your own compilation, I did. Download / Buy
1.20.2005
Review(s): Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez
1.19.2005
Review(s): Nirvana
1.18.2005
Review(s): Sondre Lerche
1.17.2005
Review(s): Ben Kweller
1.16.2005
Review(s): FC Five
1.15.2005
Review(s): Joanna Newsom
1.14.2005
Feature: Top 88 of '04
I apologize for this being so late, but had I released this list at the end of last year or even the beginning of this year, it would have been a radically different list (what with most of the top 15 not being there). As a side note, I did a Top 11 of '03 list last year and struggled to come up with 11 of them, but this year, I can honestly say that the top 40 or so will be in some kind of rotation.
1. Green Day - American Idiot: More than I ever expected from a Green Day album, but less than I expect out of a truely amazing album. It is very solid and I will be purchasing it and I will be listening to it again.
2. Piebald - All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time: I must recuse myself from this review due to my undying love for Piebald.
3. The Futureheads - The Futureheads: This quirky acapella-pop record is the best record I've heard this year.
4. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat: It feels so complete, even after just a solitary listen. I can't think of a reason why it needs to exit my CD player.
5. Brian Wilson - SMiLE: Everything you'd want and wouldn't want in an album that took 35 years to complete. Far too many layers of texture to adequately judge on a single listen.
6. Feist - Let It Die: I had no idea Leslie Feist had this in her. It's just so good on so many levels. I may never enjoy it like I do Broken Social Scene, but it may be just as good
7. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous: Make no mistake, this is definetly Rilo Kiley, but it's a slicker, more mature, (dare I say it...?) more adventurous Rilo Kiley. If you liked the previous albums, you'll like this, perhaps not as much though.
8. Bloc Party - Bloc Party EP: Every song feels like it could fall apart at any given time. This is why I listened to it so intently. And this is why I'll listen to it over and over again.
9. Sondre Lerche - Two-Way Monologue: Gone is the inhibition found on his debut and a more confident Sondre makes for a much better album.
10. Secret Machines - Now Here Is Nowhere: Now here is an album that I fell in love with Upon First Listen.
11. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike: Such a fun indie-rock record.
12. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose: A fabulous album, but at times can be bogged down by too much White influence.
13. The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives: Did you like Veni, Vidi, Vicious? (yes) Do you like The Clash? (yes) You'll like this. (I do)
14. Interpol - Antics: I've tasted love's second culinary creation only to find parts of it stale and other parts not sweet enough.
15. the pAper chAse - god bless your blAck heArt: It just doesn't feel like an album, which is a shame.
16. Jens Lekman - When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog: All I could think of was the episode of Rocko's Modern Life where Philbert wanted to be a lounge singer. That aside, this is a very good pop album with some very good lyrics.
17. The Citizens - Are We There Yet?: If an awesome laid-back pop record with tons of Beatles influence is considered 'there', then yes.
18. The Music - Welcome To The North: It just doesn't rock like their self-titled album did, but it sure as hell is catchy.
19. Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Live 1964: Concert at Philharmoic Hall: The odds of winning the lottery: 1:135,145,920 Odds of this being bad: 0:135,145,920
20. Ben Kweller - On My Way: Gone is the naivete associated with Sha Sha. What's left is a better indie-rock record, but inferior pop record and a more mature Kweller.
21. Elbow - Cast Of Thousands: Elbow (and the Bunnymen).
22. Walking Concert - Run To Be Born: Just about everything Walter Schriefels touches (Gorilla Biscuits, Moondog, World's Fastest Car, Quicksand, Rival Schools) is gold. This is silver, but still a damn fine album.
23. Keane - Hopes And Fears: They sound like (insert modern-era Britpop act). In other words, they're good, but not great.
24. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans: I'm really, really starting to like Sufjan Stevens. I look forward to hearing more.
25. Ben Folds - Super D: Worth it for the cover of Darkness' "Get Your Hands Off My Woman," but if you like Ben Folds, you'll also really like the rest of it.
26. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born: I thought previous albums were okay, but didn't get the hoopla. That aside, I really got into this album (despite the high pitched noise towards the end).
27. Wovenhand - Consider The Birds: I love it. Empty and dark without being boring, pretentious or fake.
28. The Delays - Faded Seaside Glamour: Better-than-average Brit-pop, even if the singer does sound like a girl.
29. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free: Part of the allure of his first disc was the in-your-face attitude. Yeah, about that, gone
30. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand: Pitchfork is losing its credibility.
31. Saves The Day - Ups And Downs: Early Recordings and B-Sides: I've had most of these tracks for years (oddly, different versions) so I knew what to expect. What I don't get is why not fill the whole CD. This is supposed to catalog all of their early years, yet they only use a fraction of the alotted space on a CD while a ton of music goes unheard (all of the Sefler stuff, a bunch of B-sides, outtakes and covers). Just make your own compilation, I did.
32. Sparta - Porcelain: Still not as good as The Mars Volta.
33. the pAper chAse - whAt big teeth you hAve: Chasing after a more melodic vocal doesn't seem to fully work for the pAper chAse, but it's not bad. Not until after did I find out that two of the songs are covers - they were that convincing.
34. The Elected - Me First: It's obvious who wears the pants in Rilo Kiley. (Hint: It's not Blake)
35. The Plastic Constellations - Mazatlan: It's good, but not nearly as good as the Futureheads or even the Unicorns.
36. Thee Silver Mountain Reveries - Pretty Little Lightning Paw: Talk about an acquired taste. The sad part is that I'm starting to acquire it.
37. Arcade Fire - Funeral: I have difficulty distinguishing the good from the bad when it comes to downtempo rock. This is no exception, but with so many people saying how good it is, I have no choice but to at least listen to it again. And again.
38. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles: It's good, but I don't really know why. Nor can I decide if I want to listen again, but I will.
39. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs: The Books done well.
40. Emperor X - Tectonic Membrane/Thin Strip On An Edgeless Platform: Somebody give this guy a producer and a recording budget.
41. Fly Pan Am - N'ecoutez Pas: By far the best Fly Pan Am album, but it's still not enough to be considered good.
42. Joanna Newsom - Milk-Eyed Mender: More indie folk-pop that's just nice to listen to, at least once you get past the 12-year old vocals.
43. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing In The Hands: The indie-folk revoluting is being blogged about.
44. Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache: Now this can be a genre standard.
45. Leonard Cohen - Dear Heather: One part gospel album, one part Creator Talking Over Music From A Barren Landscape is a little slow moving, but worth at least one listen.
46. MC Lars - Radio Pet Fencing/Laptop EP: He's a total geek, he's white and he's rapping. Yet somehow, it manages to work, just don't ask me to explain it. (Props for the Piebald sample too)
47. DJ Kno/Kno vs Hov - The White Albulum: Far better than Danger Mouse's fiasco and even better than the original.
48. Sex Positions - Sex Positions: A better follow-up to American Nightmare's Background Music than their actual follow-up. With a little refinement, it could have surpassed the original.
49. 90 Day Men - Panda Park: I'm so confused. This was either genius or rubbish.
50. Patti Smith - Trampin': Having no frame of reference, this is a pretty decent, yet unappealing record.
51. R 'n' R - Infamous and Notorious: Hardcore-styled, and poorly yelled, vocals don't match up with the traditionally-styled rock instrumentation making for a frustrating listen.
52. Madvillain – Madvillainy: Avant-Garde Rap? I don't get it, but keep trying to push the genre forward, it really needs it.
53. The Album Leaf - In A Safe Place: Broken Social Scene (Feel Good Lost-era) meets Sigur Ros. Emphasis on the Sigur Ros.
54. The Whole Nine - Take What You Get: Seeing as how I'm an acquaintance of a member of this band, I'm going to take some extra space for its review. Bottom line is that it is too busy. Too much going on and the vocals get lost (poor production/mixing?). Additionally, none of the music stands out. It's all the same emo/pop punk whiny repetition (as are the vocals). The songwriting is not the strongest either. That being said, this band has the potential to fill the void left by Reach the Sky, which was a band that was "emo for the hardcore kids, and hardcore for the emo kids." Now all they need to do is work on that.
55. Various - Garden State OST: The epitome of a good soundtrack; a well thought-out mixtape of songs that come from and make you think of the movie.
56. Twelve Girls Band - Eastern Energy: Pretty interesting the first time through, but I doubt it'll hold up.
57. Saul Williams - Saul Williams: Not as innovative as Amethyst Rock Star, but it's more accessible and just plain better.
58. Bjork - Medulla: My first ever Bjork album is decent, but not as revolutionary as Bjork-fanatics have led me to believe.
59. FC Five - Final Countdown Five: Despite not being able to hear what is being said, this is some awesome hardcore.
60. Nirvana - With The Lights Out (3 Disc): Historically significant, but only for those diehard fans. Casual fans will enjoy some of the tracks but find most of it redundant.
61. Ratatat - Ratatat: There are a lot of aspects of this band that I like, but it lacks something. Most noticably, words.
62. TV On The Radio - Desperate Youths, Blood Thirsty Babes: If the goal of this record was to make me feel indifferent, then mission accomplished.
63. Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez: A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack, Volume 1: No substitute for a new Mars Volta album.
64. Mare - Mare: Doesn't match the instensity or the vision that that City of Caterpillar, but it certainly is brewing.
65. The Whole Nine - Falling Out and Falling In: "Until the day I die..."
66. Various - Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1: Such an amazing concept (too bad it didn't work out), but what's more amazing is how well this whole thing flows despite it large roster of bands, styles and nuance.
67. Various - the pAper chAse meets red worms' farm: Both of these bands compliment each other well and are a good introduction into each. The real gem, though is the remixed "Out Come The Knives" which is better described as an acoustic version.
68. Redneck Manifesto - I Am Brazil: As is the case with most post-rock it seems as though all of these songs are rough demos that need to be fleshed out with direction.
69. Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned: Talk about ruining a band's potential.
70. Danger Mouse - The Grey Album: In what was easily the most promising and anticipated album of the year (and perhaps the last few years) I find the sum of the whole to be inferior to both pieces of the puzzle.
71. Califone - Heron King Blues: If I hadn't expected it to be mind-blowing, I'd probably have enjoyed it.
72. Converge - You Fail Me: I'm not even not a Converge fan, but even I realize that this outing is far insuperior to Jane Doe.
73. Blood For Blood - Serenity: Owing more to side-project Sinners and Saints than to side-project Ramallah, it's just a bad album for Blood for Blood.
74. Hot Water Music - The New What Next: Too polished, too slick, too much effort. Just break up already, before you really jump the shark.
75. Slowdive - Catch The Breeze (2 Disc): It's slow. It's post-rock. It's not as good as Low. It's still worth at least one listen.
76. The Get Up Kids - Guilt Show: Sacrificing musical maturity for the sake of record sales is something I cannot get behind if I didn't like you before you matured.
77. Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle: I really hope that all the hype for his previous works holds up, because this is certainly not great.
78. The Pixies - Wave Of Mutilation: The Best Of The Pixies: I really don't see the huge allure to the Pixies. It's not that I'm unimpressed, just not impressed.
79. Shots Fired - Shots Fired: Erring on the side of generic, there are a few good songs, but not enough for this screamo/emo band.
80. Circle Takes The Square - As The Roots Undo: When trying to do more than the guy next to you, do it. Don't pussyfoot around.
81. Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want To Be: I never gave this band any credit before listening to them. Looks like I don't have to start.
82. Valley of the Giants - Valley of the Giants: Finally, proof that not everything a Broken Social Scene member touches is gold.
83. Apostle of Hustle - Apostle of Hustle: Too inconsistent, ranging from the terrible to the tolerable.
84. The Killers - Hot Fuss: Killer single, shitty album.
85. Charalambides - Joy Shapes: Absolutely riveting (compared to anything by The Azusa Plane).
86. Eric Clapton - Me and Mr. Johnson: Robert Johnson is good. Eric Clapton is good. Eric Clapton covering Robert Johnson? Not so much.
87. Ghost - Hypnotic Underworld: You'll be bored before you find anything rewarding.
88. Faithless - No Roots: I hate this album with much of my being, but I love the single (well, the single edit version).
1. Green Day - American Idiot: More than I ever expected from a Green Day album, but less than I expect out of a truely amazing album. It is very solid and I will be purchasing it and I will be listening to it again.
2. Piebald - All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time: I must recuse myself from this review due to my undying love for Piebald.
3. The Futureheads - The Futureheads: This quirky acapella-pop record is the best record I've heard this year.
4. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat: It feels so complete, even after just a solitary listen. I can't think of a reason why it needs to exit my CD player.
5. Brian Wilson - SMiLE: Everything you'd want and wouldn't want in an album that took 35 years to complete. Far too many layers of texture to adequately judge on a single listen.
6. Feist - Let It Die: I had no idea Leslie Feist had this in her. It's just so good on so many levels. I may never enjoy it like I do Broken Social Scene, but it may be just as good
7. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous: Make no mistake, this is definetly Rilo Kiley, but it's a slicker, more mature, (dare I say it...?) more adventurous Rilo Kiley. If you liked the previous albums, you'll like this, perhaps not as much though.
8. Bloc Party - Bloc Party EP: Every song feels like it could fall apart at any given time. This is why I listened to it so intently. And this is why I'll listen to it over and over again.
9. Sondre Lerche - Two-Way Monologue: Gone is the inhibition found on his debut and a more confident Sondre makes for a much better album.
10. Secret Machines - Now Here Is Nowhere: Now here is an album that I fell in love with Upon First Listen.
11. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike: Such a fun indie-rock record.
12. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose: A fabulous album, but at times can be bogged down by too much White influence.
13. The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives: Did you like Veni, Vidi, Vicious? (yes) Do you like The Clash? (yes) You'll like this. (I do)
14. Interpol - Antics: I've tasted love's second culinary creation only to find parts of it stale and other parts not sweet enough.
15. the pAper chAse - god bless your blAck heArt: It just doesn't feel like an album, which is a shame.
16. Jens Lekman - When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog: All I could think of was the episode of Rocko's Modern Life where Philbert wanted to be a lounge singer. That aside, this is a very good pop album with some very good lyrics.
17. The Citizens - Are We There Yet?: If an awesome laid-back pop record with tons of Beatles influence is considered 'there', then yes.
18. The Music - Welcome To The North: It just doesn't rock like their self-titled album did, but it sure as hell is catchy.
19. Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Live 1964: Concert at Philharmoic Hall: The odds of winning the lottery: 1:135,145,920 Odds of this being bad: 0:135,145,920
20. Ben Kweller - On My Way: Gone is the naivete associated with Sha Sha. What's left is a better indie-rock record, but inferior pop record and a more mature Kweller.
21. Elbow - Cast Of Thousands: Elbow (and the Bunnymen).
22. Walking Concert - Run To Be Born: Just about everything Walter Schriefels touches (Gorilla Biscuits, Moondog, World's Fastest Car, Quicksand, Rival Schools) is gold. This is silver, but still a damn fine album.
23. Keane - Hopes And Fears: They sound like (insert modern-era Britpop act). In other words, they're good, but not great.
24. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans: I'm really, really starting to like Sufjan Stevens. I look forward to hearing more.
25. Ben Folds - Super D: Worth it for the cover of Darkness' "Get Your Hands Off My Woman," but if you like Ben Folds, you'll also really like the rest of it.
26. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born: I thought previous albums were okay, but didn't get the hoopla. That aside, I really got into this album (despite the high pitched noise towards the end).
27. Wovenhand - Consider The Birds: I love it. Empty and dark without being boring, pretentious or fake.
28. The Delays - Faded Seaside Glamour: Better-than-average Brit-pop, even if the singer does sound like a girl.
29. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free: Part of the allure of his first disc was the in-your-face attitude. Yeah, about that, gone
30. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand: Pitchfork is losing its credibility.
31. Saves The Day - Ups And Downs: Early Recordings and B-Sides: I've had most of these tracks for years (oddly, different versions) so I knew what to expect. What I don't get is why not fill the whole CD. This is supposed to catalog all of their early years, yet they only use a fraction of the alotted space on a CD while a ton of music goes unheard (all of the Sefler stuff, a bunch of B-sides, outtakes and covers). Just make your own compilation, I did.
32. Sparta - Porcelain: Still not as good as The Mars Volta.
33. the pAper chAse - whAt big teeth you hAve: Chasing after a more melodic vocal doesn't seem to fully work for the pAper chAse, but it's not bad. Not until after did I find out that two of the songs are covers - they were that convincing.
34. The Elected - Me First: It's obvious who wears the pants in Rilo Kiley. (Hint: It's not Blake)
35. The Plastic Constellations - Mazatlan: It's good, but not nearly as good as the Futureheads or even the Unicorns.
36. Thee Silver Mountain Reveries - Pretty Little Lightning Paw: Talk about an acquired taste. The sad part is that I'm starting to acquire it.
37. Arcade Fire - Funeral: I have difficulty distinguishing the good from the bad when it comes to downtempo rock. This is no exception, but with so many people saying how good it is, I have no choice but to at least listen to it again. And again.
38. Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles: It's good, but I don't really know why. Nor can I decide if I want to listen again, but I will.
39. Animal Collective - Sung Tongs: The Books done well.
40. Emperor X - Tectonic Membrane/Thin Strip On An Edgeless Platform: Somebody give this guy a producer and a recording budget.
41. Fly Pan Am - N'ecoutez Pas: By far the best Fly Pan Am album, but it's still not enough to be considered good.
42. Joanna Newsom - Milk-Eyed Mender: More indie folk-pop that's just nice to listen to, at least once you get past the 12-year old vocals.
43. Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing In The Hands: The indie-folk revoluting is being blogged about.
44. Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache: Now this can be a genre standard.
45. Leonard Cohen - Dear Heather: One part gospel album, one part Creator Talking Over Music From A Barren Landscape is a little slow moving, but worth at least one listen.
46. MC Lars - Radio Pet Fencing/Laptop EP: He's a total geek, he's white and he's rapping. Yet somehow, it manages to work, just don't ask me to explain it. (Props for the Piebald sample too)
47. DJ Kno/Kno vs Hov - The White Albulum: Far better than Danger Mouse's fiasco and even better than the original.
48. Sex Positions - Sex Positions: A better follow-up to American Nightmare's Background Music than their actual follow-up. With a little refinement, it could have surpassed the original.
49. 90 Day Men - Panda Park: I'm so confused. This was either genius or rubbish.
50. Patti Smith - Trampin': Having no frame of reference, this is a pretty decent, yet unappealing record.
51. R 'n' R - Infamous and Notorious: Hardcore-styled, and poorly yelled, vocals don't match up with the traditionally-styled rock instrumentation making for a frustrating listen.
52. Madvillain – Madvillainy: Avant-Garde Rap? I don't get it, but keep trying to push the genre forward, it really needs it.
53. The Album Leaf - In A Safe Place: Broken Social Scene (Feel Good Lost-era) meets Sigur Ros. Emphasis on the Sigur Ros.
54. The Whole Nine - Take What You Get: Seeing as how I'm an acquaintance of a member of this band, I'm going to take some extra space for its review. Bottom line is that it is too busy. Too much going on and the vocals get lost (poor production/mixing?). Additionally, none of the music stands out. It's all the same emo/pop punk whiny repetition (as are the vocals). The songwriting is not the strongest either. That being said, this band has the potential to fill the void left by Reach the Sky, which was a band that was "emo for the hardcore kids, and hardcore for the emo kids." Now all they need to do is work on that.
55. Various - Garden State OST: The epitome of a good soundtrack; a well thought-out mixtape of songs that come from and make you think of the movie.
56. Twelve Girls Band - Eastern Energy: Pretty interesting the first time through, but I doubt it'll hold up.
57. Saul Williams - Saul Williams: Not as innovative as Amethyst Rock Star, but it's more accessible and just plain better.
58. Bjork - Medulla: My first ever Bjork album is decent, but not as revolutionary as Bjork-fanatics have led me to believe.
59. FC Five - Final Countdown Five: Despite not being able to hear what is being said, this is some awesome hardcore.
60. Nirvana - With The Lights Out (3 Disc): Historically significant, but only for those diehard fans. Casual fans will enjoy some of the tracks but find most of it redundant.
61. Ratatat - Ratatat: There are a lot of aspects of this band that I like, but it lacks something. Most noticably, words.
62. TV On The Radio - Desperate Youths, Blood Thirsty Babes: If the goal of this record was to make me feel indifferent, then mission accomplished.
63. Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez: A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack, Volume 1: No substitute for a new Mars Volta album.
64. Mare - Mare: Doesn't match the instensity or the vision that that City of Caterpillar, but it certainly is brewing.
65. The Whole Nine - Falling Out and Falling In: "Until the day I die..."
66. Various - Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1: Such an amazing concept (too bad it didn't work out), but what's more amazing is how well this whole thing flows despite it large roster of bands, styles and nuance.
67. Various - the pAper chAse meets red worms' farm: Both of these bands compliment each other well and are a good introduction into each. The real gem, though is the remixed "Out Come The Knives" which is better described as an acoustic version.
68. Redneck Manifesto - I Am Brazil: As is the case with most post-rock it seems as though all of these songs are rough demos that need to be fleshed out with direction.
69. Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned: Talk about ruining a band's potential.
70. Danger Mouse - The Grey Album: In what was easily the most promising and anticipated album of the year (and perhaps the last few years) I find the sum of the whole to be inferior to both pieces of the puzzle.
71. Califone - Heron King Blues: If I hadn't expected it to be mind-blowing, I'd probably have enjoyed it.
72. Converge - You Fail Me: I'm not even not a Converge fan, but even I realize that this outing is far insuperior to Jane Doe.
73. Blood For Blood - Serenity: Owing more to side-project Sinners and Saints than to side-project Ramallah, it's just a bad album for Blood for Blood.
74. Hot Water Music - The New What Next: Too polished, too slick, too much effort. Just break up already, before you really jump the shark.
75. Slowdive - Catch The Breeze (2 Disc): It's slow. It's post-rock. It's not as good as Low. It's still worth at least one listen.
76. The Get Up Kids - Guilt Show: Sacrificing musical maturity for the sake of record sales is something I cannot get behind if I didn't like you before you matured.
77. Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle: I really hope that all the hype for his previous works holds up, because this is certainly not great.
78. The Pixies - Wave Of Mutilation: The Best Of The Pixies: I really don't see the huge allure to the Pixies. It's not that I'm unimpressed, just not impressed.
79. Shots Fired - Shots Fired: Erring on the side of generic, there are a few good songs, but not enough for this screamo/emo band.
80. Circle Takes The Square - As The Roots Undo: When trying to do more than the guy next to you, do it. Don't pussyfoot around.
81. Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want To Be: I never gave this band any credit before listening to them. Looks like I don't have to start.
82. Valley of the Giants - Valley of the Giants: Finally, proof that not everything a Broken Social Scene member touches is gold.
83. Apostle of Hustle - Apostle of Hustle: Too inconsistent, ranging from the terrible to the tolerable.
84. The Killers - Hot Fuss: Killer single, shitty album.
85. Charalambides - Joy Shapes: Absolutely riveting (compared to anything by The Azusa Plane).
86. Eric Clapton - Me and Mr. Johnson: Robert Johnson is good. Eric Clapton is good. Eric Clapton covering Robert Johnson? Not so much.
87. Ghost - Hypnotic Underworld: You'll be bored before you find anything rewarding.
88. Faithless - No Roots: I hate this album with much of my being, but I love the single (well, the single edit version).
Review(s): Rilo Kiley
1.13.2005
Review(s): Redneck Manifesto
Redneck Manifesto - I Am Brazil: As is the case with most post-rock it seems as though all of these songs are rough demos that need to be fleshed out with direction. Buy
1.12.2005
News: Top 85 of '04 Coming Friday
I've finally finished listening to all of the albums I wanted to listen to from last year (at least for the purpose of this list) and will post a Top 85 of '04 on Friday. It will be missing entries (you will see a number, but no album) and that's because I have yet to post a review for that album. As I post the reviews of that album I will update the list.
Review(s): MC Lars
MC Lars - Radio Pet Fencing/Laptop EP: He's a total geek, he's white and he's rapping. Yet somehow, it manages to work, just don't ask me to explain it. (Props for the Piebald sample too) Download / Buy Laptop EP / Buy Radio Pet Fencing
1.11.2005
Review(s): Mare
1.10.2005
Review(s): Jens Lekman
1.09.2005
Review(s): Fly Pan Am
1.08.2005
Review(s): Talib Kweli
1.07.2005
Review(s): Hot Water Music
1.06.2005
Review(s): Ben Folds
1.05.2005
Review(s): Feist
1.04.2005
Review(s): Converge
1.03.2005
Review(s): Emperor X
1.02.2005
Review(s): The Delays
1.01.2005
Review(s): Blood for Blood, The Citizens, Leonard Cohen
Blood For Blood - Serenity: Owing more to side-project Sinners and Saints than to side-project Ramallah, it's just a bad album for Blood for Blood. Download / Buy
The Citizens - Are We There Yet?: If an awesome laid-back pop record with tons of Beatles influence is considered 'there', then yes. Download / Buy
Leonard Cohen - Dear Heather: One part gospel album, one part Creator Talking Over Music From A Barren Landscape is a little slow moving, but worth at least one listen. Stream / Buy
The Citizens - Are We There Yet?: If an awesome laid-back pop record with tons of Beatles influence is considered 'there', then yes. Download / Buy
Leonard Cohen - Dear Heather: One part gospel album, one part Creator Talking Over Music From A Barren Landscape is a little slow moving, but worth at least one listen. Stream / Buy
12.31.2004
Review(s): Apostle of Hustle, Arcade Fire, Bjork
Apostle of Hustle - Apostle of Hustle: Too inconsistent, ranging from the terrible to the tolerable. Stream / Buy
Arcade Fire - Funeral: I have difficulty distinguishing the good from the bad when it comes to downtempo rock. This is no exception, but with so many people saying how good it is, I have no choice but to at least listen to it again. And again. Stream / Buy
Bjork - Medulla: My first ever Bjork album is decent, but not as revolutionary as Bjork-fanatics have led me to believe. Stream / Buy
Arcade Fire - Funeral: I have difficulty distinguishing the good from the bad when it comes to downtempo rock. This is no exception, but with so many people saying how good it is, I have no choice but to at least listen to it again. And again. Stream / Buy
Bjork - Medulla: My first ever Bjork album is decent, but not as revolutionary as Bjork-fanatics have led me to believe. Stream / Buy
News: I'm back
I'm back from skiing. Had the time of my life, can't wait to go again next year. Didn't get a chance to listen to as many albums as I had wanted to, but got a few done. Sick as a dog right now, so I won't be doing any listening today, but maybe tomorrow.
12.24.2004
News: Vacation
Going skiing in Vermont. Site will not be updated until I get back around the first of the year. Hopefully, I will have finished listening to all the album released this year and will have a top 10 list for all of you.
Review(s): Plastic Constellations, Pleasant Grove, Andy Pratt
The Plastic Constellations - Mazatlan: It's good, but not nearly as good as the Futureheads or even the Unicorns. Stream / Download / Buy
Pleasant Grove - Auscultation of the Heart: It's good, just not something you're going to listen to repeatedly. Stream / Buy
Andy Pratt - Resolution: Too cheesy to take seriously. Stream
Pleasant Grove - Auscultation of the Heart: It's good, just not something you're going to listen to repeatedly. Stream / Buy
Andy Pratt - Resolution: Too cheesy to take seriously. Stream
12.22.2004
Review(s): Path Of Resistance, Piano Magic, Placebo
Path of Resistance - Who Dares Wins: Daring to sound like Hatebreed doesn't win. Stream / Download / Buy
Piano Magic - Low Birth Weight: Not as magical as advertised. Download / Buy
Placebo - Black Market Music: I tossed around a half dozen reviews in my head while listening to this (both strongly bad and good) only to come away more confused. It's good, I think, but you might hate it. Stream / Buy
Piano Magic - Low Birth Weight: Not as magical as advertised. Download / Buy
Placebo - Black Market Music: I tossed around a half dozen reviews in my head while listening to this (both strongly bad and good) only to come away more confused. It's good, I think, but you might hate it. Stream / Buy
12.21.2004
Review(s): Palace Music, Panoply Academy Glee Club, Jaco Pastorius
Palace Music - Viva Last Blues: He's no Bob Dylan, but it's still awesome. Stream / Buy
Panoply Academy Glee Club - Rah!: Some people may use the word 'genius' for this band. Not me. Stream / Buy
Jaco Pastorius - PunkJazz: The Jaco Pastorius Anthology (2 Disc): Disc 1 has some under-developed songs, but Disc 2 is mind-blowingly amazing. Stream / Buy
Panoply Academy Glee Club - Rah!: Some people may use the word 'genius' for this band. Not me. Stream / Buy
Jaco Pastorius - PunkJazz: The Jaco Pastorius Anthology (2 Disc): Disc 1 has some under-developed songs, but Disc 2 is mind-blowingly amazing. Stream / Buy
12.20.2004
Review(s): One Fifth, Outburst, Over My Dead Body
One Fifth - Demo/Evergreen Terrace Split Tracks: If I could understand the words, I'd love this band. I like this band. Buy
Outburst - Miles To Go: ...before they're any good. Download / Buy
Over My Dead Body - Sink Or Swim: It's no No Runners EP, but it's a lot better than Rusty Medals And Broken Badges. It's just sad they broke up. Download / Buy
Outburst - Miles To Go: ...before they're any good. Download / Buy
Over My Dead Body - Sink Or Swim: It's no No Runners EP, but it's a lot better than Rusty Medals And Broken Badges. It's just sad they broke up. Download / Buy
12.18.2004
Review(s): New Order, No Denial, No Warning
New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies: Boring without words. Awesome with words. Stream / Download / Buy
No Denial - Soundtrack Of Decline: Every word of every song sounds the same. Download / Buy
No Warning - Ill Blood: Layering a vocalist's own vocals on top of previously recorded vocals has got to be one of the worst ideas in music. Download / Buy
No Denial - Soundtrack Of Decline: Every word of every song sounds the same. Download / Buy
No Warning - Ill Blood: Layering a vocalist's own vocals on top of previously recorded vocals has got to be one of the worst ideas in music. Download / Buy
Review(s): Miltown, Molasses x2
Miltown - Miltown: A precursor to Audioslave (not good).
Molasses - Trilogie- Toil & Peaceful Life: S...o.... s....l...o...w.
Molasses - You'll Never Be Well No More: Just as slow as 'Trilogie' but what it gains is texture to the songs, making it far superior, if still slightly unlistenable.
Molasses - Trilogie- Toil & Peaceful Life: S...o.... s....l...o...w.
Molasses - You'll Never Be Well No More: Just as slow as 'Trilogie' but what it gains is texture to the songs, making it far superior, if still slightly unlistenable.
Feature: mp3 Links
Every artist and CD on UponFirstListen will now come with a link to one of the following: a. Legal mp3 downloads b. streaming song clips. All future reviews will come with these links and the archive will be updated (though I anticipate that taking a great deal of time and effort). In the event that I cannot find samples or mp3s of the album in question, I will find a link for the artist. In the event that neither can be found, I'll link you to somwhere you can purchase it (not Amazon, though I may link to them for samples).
12.17.2004
Review(s): Loretta Lynn, Mezzanine, Miles Between Us
Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose: A fabulous album, but at times can be bogged down by too much White influence.
Mezzanine - Zimbabwae Mousesmear/Transcending Dada: I didn't even make it through 3 songs before ejecting it.
Miles Between Us - When It Counts: Not as hard as some bands, but hard enough.
Mezzanine - Zimbabwae Mousesmear/Transcending Dada: I didn't even make it through 3 songs before ejecting it.
Miles Between Us - When It Counts: Not as hard as some bands, but hard enough.
12.15.2004
Feature: Top '04 Nominees
The following albums were albums that have been released this year and I have either reviewed them or plan to review them before the year is out. After I finish reviewing them, I will compile a Top 10 of '04 list. At the same time I will release the "Reader Top 10 of '04" list. Click here to vote. Please only include albums that have seen a review on this site. If you must choose something not this list, include it as an 11th or 12th option with a review of your own.
90 Day Men - Panda Park
Album Leaf - In A Safe Place
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
Apostle Of Hustle - Folkloric Feel
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Bjork - Medulla
Bloc Party - Bloc Party EP
Blood For Blood - Serenity
Brian Wilson - SMiLE
Califone - King Heron Blues
Charalambides - Joy Shapes
Circle Takes The Square - As The Roots Undo
Citizens - Are We There Yet?
Clapton, Eric - Me And Mr. Johnson
Cohen, Leonard - Dear Heather
Converge - You Fail Me
Danger Mouse - Grey Album
Delays - Faded Seaside Glamour
DJ Kno: Kno vs Hov - The White Albulum
Dylan, Bob - The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall
Elbow - Cast of Thousands
Elected - Me First
Emperor X - Tectonic Membrane/Thin Strip On An Edgeless Platform
Faithless - No Roots
FC Five - Final Countdown Five
Feist - Let It Die
Fly Pan Am - N'ecoutez Pas
Ben Folds - Super D
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Futureheads - The Futureheads
Garden State OST
Get Up Kids - Guilt Show
Ghost - Hypnotic Underworld
Green Day - American Idiot
Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives
Hot Water Music - The New What Next
Interpol - Antics
Keane - Hopes And Fears
Killers - Hot Fuss
Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache
Kweli, Talib - Beautiful Struggle
Kweller, Ben - On My Way
Lekman, Jens - When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog
Lerche, Sondre - Two Way Monologue
Liars - They Were Wrong So We Drowned
Lynn, Loretta - Van Lear Rose
Mare - Mare
MC Lars - Laptop EP
MC Lars - Radio Pet Fencing
Music - Welcome To The North
Nirvana - With The Lights Out
pAper chAse - god bless your blAck heArt
pAper chAse - whAt big teeth you hAve
pAper chAse/red worms split
Piebald - All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time
Pixies - Wave Of Mutilation: The Best of the Pixies
Plastic Constellations - Mazatlan
R 'n' R - Infamous and Notorious
Ratatat - Ratatat
Redneck Manifesto - I Am Brazil
Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
Rodriguez-Lopez, Omar - A Manual Dexterity, Soundtrack Volume 1
Saves The Day - Ups and Downs: The Early Recordings
Secret Machines - New Here Is Nowhere
Sex Positions - Sex Positions
Slowdive - Catch The Breeze
Smith, Patti - Trampin'
Sparta - Porcelain
Stevens, Sufjan - Seven Swans
Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want To Be
Thee Silver Mountain Reveries - Pretty Little Lightning Paw
TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
Twelve Girls Band - Eastern Energy
Valley of the Giants - Valley of the Giants
Various - Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1
Walking Concert - Run To Be Born
Whole Nine - Take What You Get
Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
Williams, Saul - Saul Williams
Wovenhand - Consider The Birds
Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
Click here to vote.
90 Day Men - Panda Park
Album Leaf - In A Safe Place
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
Apostle Of Hustle - Folkloric Feel
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Bjork - Medulla
Bloc Party - Bloc Party EP
Blood For Blood - Serenity
Brian Wilson - SMiLE
Califone - King Heron Blues
Charalambides - Joy Shapes
Circle Takes The Square - As The Roots Undo
Citizens - Are We There Yet?
Clapton, Eric - Me And Mr. Johnson
Cohen, Leonard - Dear Heather
Converge - You Fail Me
Danger Mouse - Grey Album
Delays - Faded Seaside Glamour
DJ Kno: Kno vs Hov - The White Albulum
Dylan, Bob - The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 Live 1964: Concert at Philharmonic Hall
Elbow - Cast of Thousands
Elected - Me First
Emperor X - Tectonic Membrane/Thin Strip On An Edgeless Platform
Faithless - No Roots
FC Five - Final Countdown Five
Feist - Let It Die
Fly Pan Am - N'ecoutez Pas
Ben Folds - Super D
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Futureheads - The Futureheads
Garden State OST
Get Up Kids - Guilt Show
Ghost - Hypnotic Underworld
Green Day - American Idiot
Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives
Hot Water Music - The New What Next
Interpol - Antics
Keane - Hopes And Fears
Killers - Hot Fuss
Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache
Kweli, Talib - Beautiful Struggle
Kweller, Ben - On My Way
Lekman, Jens - When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog
Lerche, Sondre - Two Way Monologue
Liars - They Were Wrong So We Drowned
Lynn, Loretta - Van Lear Rose
Mare - Mare
MC Lars - Laptop EP
MC Lars - Radio Pet Fencing
Music - Welcome To The North
Nirvana - With The Lights Out
pAper chAse - god bless your blAck heArt
pAper chAse - whAt big teeth you hAve
pAper chAse/red worms split
Piebald - All Ears, All Eyes, All The Time
Pixies - Wave Of Mutilation: The Best of the Pixies
Plastic Constellations - Mazatlan
R 'n' R - Infamous and Notorious
Ratatat - Ratatat
Redneck Manifesto - I Am Brazil
Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
Rodriguez-Lopez, Omar - A Manual Dexterity, Soundtrack Volume 1
Saves The Day - Ups and Downs: The Early Recordings
Secret Machines - New Here Is Nowhere
Sex Positions - Sex Positions
Slowdive - Catch The Breeze
Smith, Patti - Trampin'
Sparta - Porcelain
Stevens, Sufjan - Seven Swans
Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want To Be
Thee Silver Mountain Reveries - Pretty Little Lightning Paw
TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
Twelve Girls Band - Eastern Energy
Valley of the Giants - Valley of the Giants
Various - Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1
Walking Concert - Run To Be Born
Whole Nine - Take What You Get
Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
Williams, Saul - Saul Williams
Wovenhand - Consider The Birds
Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles
Click here to vote.
12.14.2004
Review(s): Leadbelly, Logh x2
Leadbelly - King of the 12-String Guitar: He's no Robert Johnson, but he'll do.
Logh - Everytime A Bell Rings, An Angel Gets His Wings: Painting the picture of a sparse and barren landscape, this album still manages to fill you with hope.
Logh - The Raging Sun: A bit more of a traditional rock outing, but more of the same Lift To Experience meets Slint simplicity.
Logh - Everytime A Bell Rings, An Angel Gets His Wings: Painting the picture of a sparse and barren landscape, this album still manages to fill you with hope.
Logh - The Raging Sun: A bit more of a traditional rock outing, but more of the same Lift To Experience meets Slint simplicity.
12.07.2004
Review(s): DJ Kno, Lapsus Linguae, Lard
DJ Kno/Kno vs Hov - The White Albulum: Far better than Danger Mouse's fiasco and even better than the original.
Lapsus Linguae - You Got Me Fraiche/Parade! (And That's An Order): I have no idea what I just listened to. I think it sounded like the pAper chAse, but I'm wrong.
Lard - Pure Chewing Satisfaction/'70s Rock Must Die: It's no Dead Kennedy's but it'll suffice for a fix of Jello Biafra.
Lapsus Linguae - You Got Me Fraiche/Parade! (And That's An Order): I have no idea what I just listened to. I think it sounded like the pAper chAse, but I'm wrong.
Lard - Pure Chewing Satisfaction/'70s Rock Must Die: It's no Dead Kennedy's but it'll suffice for a fix of Jello Biafra.
12.05.2004
Review(s): Killswitch Engage, King Crimson, The Kinks
Killswitch Engage - The End Of Heartache: Now this can be a genre standard.
King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King: Just about everything I thought I knew about this album was wrong and I enjoyed it immensely, much to my chagrin.
The Kinks - Something Else By The Kinks: I just didn't expect the something to be mediocrity.
King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King: Just about everything I thought I knew about this album was wrong and I enjoyed it immensely, much to my chagrin.
The Kinks - Something Else By The Kinks: I just didn't expect the something to be mediocrity.
12.02.2004
Review(s): Jack Kerouac, The Killers, Killswitch Engage
Jack Kerouac - Jack Kerouac Collection (3 Disc): Maybe it's because he doesn't rely on sophmoric humor and imagery, but Jack Kerouac will forever be my icon of the Beat Generation, sorry Allen Ginsberg.
The Killers - Hot Fuss: Killer single, shitty album.
Killswitch Engage - KillSwitch Engage/Alive Or Just Breathing: If either of these are genre standards, the whole genre is in trouble.
The Killers - Hot Fuss: Killer single, shitty album.
Killswitch Engage - KillSwitch Engage/Alive Or Just Breathing: If either of these are genre standards, the whole genre is in trouble.
12.01.2004
Review(s): Rickie Lee Jones, Janis Joplin, Keane
Rickie Lee Jones - Evening Of My Best Day: A wonderful mix of jazz, soul, r&b, blues, folk and rock 'n' roll.
Janis Joplin - 18 Essential Songs: I always heard that her emotion didn't carry over on recordings very well. If that's the case I probably would have cried at one of her performances.
Keane - Hopes And Fears: They sound like (insert modern-era Britpop act). In other words, they're good, but not great.
Janis Joplin - 18 Essential Songs: I always heard that her emotion didn't carry over on recordings very well. If that's the case I probably would have cried at one of her performances.
Keane - Hopes And Fears: They sound like (insert modern-era Britpop act). In other words, they're good, but not great.
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