Released January 14, 2013
Lost Sirens is an album filled with songs about 10 years old now. But since New Order got back together, they just released this album. Woohoo.
The first track, "I'll Stay with You" starts with some gospel-like synth, and then turns into a regular alternative rock song quickly. The song quickly puts you in a good mood. The song, however, sounds like a very generic mix of alternative and indie rock. Yes, it's a tried-and-true formula for a good sound; but for a band that at one time led New Wave, it's surprisingly standard.
Next is "Sugarcane," which makes a much better attempt in changing it up. It's still makes you feel-good, but it's composition meshes in dance, alternative, indie, electronica, and everything British. It's got that low, but bright synth. It's chorus makes you actually smile and bob your head. Also, the lyrics are well-written, which is so surprising sometimes.
Next track is "Recoil," which sounds a bit dated, but at the same time it gives you a nice nostalgic feel. The piano here really leads the song, which shows how much of a difference a well-placed piano makes in a piece. The singer sings beautifully here, showing subtle emotion. The percussion is gentle and stays where it should. The whole song is really relaxing, not as "feel-good" as the other songs per se, but it does put you in a good mellow mood.
After is "California Grass," which goes back to the sound of "Sugarcane," except the singer is singing in a deeper voice during the first verse. The chorus in this song, however, is a bit weak, in sharp contrast to the verses, which lead you in to the song intrigued. 3 minutes in, the heavily distorted bridge and following section really work strongly in the context of the song, which is hard to do. Usually when a band has a bridge, they like to introduce an idea that they had that didn't work as a full song, but here it's very fitting.
"Hellbent" is straight up rockin'. It's verses and chorus are really something. The singing is relaxed, while a chaotic amount of different guitar, keyboard, and synth ideas are introduced. This song is really strong, and so far, my favorite off of the album. The only thing that really remains the same is the drums. Good song, good song.
Next track is "Shake It Up," which starts off with corny music that sounds like it belongs in a Tekken game. And then.... it keeps on sounding like that. If the song didn't have any lyrics, that's where this song would exist. The singing does save it a little bit during the verse. However, the chorus is really strong and is very feel-good (sorry for using that a lot). Other than these facts, I really don't like this song too much.
"I've Got a Feeling" is just a song that you can really get into. A song that you follow, with meaningful lyrics, and great instrument performances. I don't think this album has any singles, but if I could nominate one song off of the album, I choose this one. I see a story in my head, of a black and white city, and the singer looking outside of a window of a cable car. Does anyone else see this?
The last song here is "I Told You So." I don't know what to say at this point, the song is pretty boring, it follows the same formula as the first track, and the guitar track gets pretty annoying. Sorry for such a change of heart for this last track, but I can't stand it when albums are so static in their song structure.
This album was rather underwhelming; it was straightforward and boring, it was electronically instrumented but it wasn't charged nor particularly mellow, it was a boring middle ground. I'm sorry to any New Order fans out there, but this album was not a good one.
RATING - 4.5/10
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Pere Ubu - Lady from Shanghai
Released January 7, 2013
Lady from Shanghai is the fourteenth studio album by an underground band that is extremely experimental and hard to grasp. I have never listened to them before. Wish me luck.
The album opens with "Thanks." It opens with a strange electronic beat. Synthetic effects, an organ, and an extremely effected voice starts singing in something resembling a melody. The song is haunting, but not scary. I believe that if Pere Ubu live up to their rumors, this track is extremely controlled for them. I enjoyed the track. The vocals are reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel's distorted demo tapes, and the organ leaves a strong aftertaste of wonder.
It is followed by "Free White," a song starting with singing, and a minimalist drum beat. There is a sound of a metronome ticking which is extremely unappealing. I don't know if it's a real metronome or not. Anyway, the song sounds very dated in its production. When the song ended, it ended incomplete. The song was too short for its static nature and didn't go anywhere.
The next track is "Feuksley Ma'am, The Hearing." The song starts with a clap-like drum beat and samples and sound effects play through. Possibly record scratching involved? Anyway, the song drones in your mind and kind of just stays there. Things sound like they're happening, different things, but like the last song, it's really not going anywhere. Nothing becomes a melody in this song and ideas just kind of come and go. It's cool in its own way, because it sort of represents imagination as a whole, ideas come and go, sometimes coming back for a bit, only to escape us again. Musically, it's decent, but it only stays in one spot.
"Mandy" opens with some more synth. The singer's voice is extremely haunting. The song sounds like the music to a psychological thriller movie. Like it belongs in "Lost Highway." This song is the only one so far that represents a conventional song. And thus far, it's my favorite off of the album. It does this thing to you, where it sets you up with so little instrumentation and variation, that every bit of variation excites and intrigues you. Make sure you listen to this the next time you're driving at night, I'm sure it'll have some interesting effect. Jeez, his voice does something to you I can't even understand, it really has a bigger part in this song. Five minutes into the song, you're hit by those high synth noises and you're just bugging! The band does something that makes you high or something with their music. It's relaxing and intimidating, euphoric and confused all at once.
"And then Nothing Happened" starts off something like a basic alternative rock song. Everything is pretty normal until a little bit after a minute in, when the music suddenly goes out and a bunch of reverse and alarm noises come in. I guess it kind of forces you to wake up. I can't even pay attention writing this as I'm listening to it, it's maddening and I love it, I can't even read right now, what!? I guess that's why it's called "And then Nothing Happened." I think it's so strange why they would stop a whole song, one with potential to be complete, but they do a really good job in just "stopping" and creating this chaos.
The next track is "Musicians are Scum," which starts with some guitar chords, and some singing. I can't really get the lyrics. I believe that he's trying to say just as the title says. Musicians are scum. The song is dreamy, and it kind of ebbs and flows. The singer kind of sounds like something straight out of Rocky Horror, which is weird. But the whole song really resonates as a whole with you.
Next is "Another One (Oh Maybellene)." I'm not really sure what to say about it, it feels like it's building you up for some masterpiece, but it just really stays in one place, and is thus limited to slightly interesting but ultimately boring. The singer here should be showing a tad bit of range, or get louder, but he just mumbles at the lowest end of the volume spectrum.
The eighth track is "The Road Trip of Bipasha Ahmed." It sounds like haunted castle organ, with the only voice you can imagine singing in Transylvania (the same guy singing these other tracks!) This song does that rare thing (that the band failed to do in previous songs on this record) where it stays in one place, but it feels like it's been taking you everywhere. If you give it a listen, not much is really being altered over the course of the song. The song has great structure, making one big arc
Next is "Lampshade Man." This track enters with unusually conventional music chords, and keeps playing them in shifting time signatures. The guitar keeps playing these chords, but it plays them in a way so that they stay fresh. The sound effect/synth stuff here really enhances the overall track. The overall problem with this song is that it gets really boring. This song here becomes more boring than any other track so far. Too much of a good thing is still a bad thing.
"414 Seconds" is 414 seconds long. Anyway, the song starts with potential. The instruments play like they're building up, and so does the singer. It gets louder, and more synth effects come in, and they sound awesome here. The singer shows a change in tone! Oh what a subtle yet magnificent change! You hear anger! The song still fills you up; I'm waiting for it. And then yes, it peaks loudness, complexity, and intensity, as it fades back into another section. This is one of the best songs on the record, it really doesn't bore, I don't think it moves, but the amount of layers on top of it make up for it.
Finally, there's "The Carpenter Sun." This song is the most experimental off of the album within its first few seconds. It's a mix of effected vocals and electronic screeching building up. It reminds me of something off of an early Animal Collective album. There are a lot of ideas that come in, sounding like they want to be part of the song, but are instantly cut out from the power of this composition. The only thing that exists in the universe of this song is layers of chaos.The voice is truly something else in this song, just with a whisper he can say so much.
I know I was very wishy-washy on this album, but it's a lot to take in, and I wasn't really sure what I liked. The usual problem with these songs is that they're static and boring. Some songs of course excluded. But, his voice has the power to be extremely moving, but in some of the songs on here, he's monotonous and annoying. There's a lot going on in here, but not a lot at the same time.
RATING - 5.8/10
Lady from Shanghai is the fourteenth studio album by an underground band that is extremely experimental and hard to grasp. I have never listened to them before. Wish me luck.
The album opens with "Thanks." It opens with a strange electronic beat. Synthetic effects, an organ, and an extremely effected voice starts singing in something resembling a melody. The song is haunting, but not scary. I believe that if Pere Ubu live up to their rumors, this track is extremely controlled for them. I enjoyed the track. The vocals are reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel's distorted demo tapes, and the organ leaves a strong aftertaste of wonder.
It is followed by "Free White," a song starting with singing, and a minimalist drum beat. There is a sound of a metronome ticking which is extremely unappealing. I don't know if it's a real metronome or not. Anyway, the song sounds very dated in its production. When the song ended, it ended incomplete. The song was too short for its static nature and didn't go anywhere.
The next track is "Feuksley Ma'am, The Hearing." The song starts with a clap-like drum beat and samples and sound effects play through. Possibly record scratching involved? Anyway, the song drones in your mind and kind of just stays there. Things sound like they're happening, different things, but like the last song, it's really not going anywhere. Nothing becomes a melody in this song and ideas just kind of come and go. It's cool in its own way, because it sort of represents imagination as a whole, ideas come and go, sometimes coming back for a bit, only to escape us again. Musically, it's decent, but it only stays in one spot.
"Mandy" opens with some more synth. The singer's voice is extremely haunting. The song sounds like the music to a psychological thriller movie. Like it belongs in "Lost Highway." This song is the only one so far that represents a conventional song. And thus far, it's my favorite off of the album. It does this thing to you, where it sets you up with so little instrumentation and variation, that every bit of variation excites and intrigues you. Make sure you listen to this the next time you're driving at night, I'm sure it'll have some interesting effect. Jeez, his voice does something to you I can't even understand, it really has a bigger part in this song. Five minutes into the song, you're hit by those high synth noises and you're just bugging! The band does something that makes you high or something with their music. It's relaxing and intimidating, euphoric and confused all at once.
"And then Nothing Happened" starts off something like a basic alternative rock song. Everything is pretty normal until a little bit after a minute in, when the music suddenly goes out and a bunch of reverse and alarm noises come in. I guess it kind of forces you to wake up. I can't even pay attention writing this as I'm listening to it, it's maddening and I love it, I can't even read right now, what!? I guess that's why it's called "And then Nothing Happened." I think it's so strange why they would stop a whole song, one with potential to be complete, but they do a really good job in just "stopping" and creating this chaos.
The next track is "Musicians are Scum," which starts with some guitar chords, and some singing. I can't really get the lyrics. I believe that he's trying to say just as the title says. Musicians are scum. The song is dreamy, and it kind of ebbs and flows. The singer kind of sounds like something straight out of Rocky Horror, which is weird. But the whole song really resonates as a whole with you.
Next is "Another One (Oh Maybellene)." I'm not really sure what to say about it, it feels like it's building you up for some masterpiece, but it just really stays in one place, and is thus limited to slightly interesting but ultimately boring. The singer here should be showing a tad bit of range, or get louder, but he just mumbles at the lowest end of the volume spectrum.
The eighth track is "The Road Trip of Bipasha Ahmed." It sounds like haunted castle organ, with the only voice you can imagine singing in Transylvania (the same guy singing these other tracks!) This song does that rare thing (that the band failed to do in previous songs on this record) where it stays in one place, but it feels like it's been taking you everywhere. If you give it a listen, not much is really being altered over the course of the song. The song has great structure, making one big arc
Next is "Lampshade Man." This track enters with unusually conventional music chords, and keeps playing them in shifting time signatures. The guitar keeps playing these chords, but it plays them in a way so that they stay fresh. The sound effect/synth stuff here really enhances the overall track. The overall problem with this song is that it gets really boring. This song here becomes more boring than any other track so far. Too much of a good thing is still a bad thing.
"414 Seconds" is 414 seconds long. Anyway, the song starts with potential. The instruments play like they're building up, and so does the singer. It gets louder, and more synth effects come in, and they sound awesome here. The singer shows a change in tone! Oh what a subtle yet magnificent change! You hear anger! The song still fills you up; I'm waiting for it. And then yes, it peaks loudness, complexity, and intensity, as it fades back into another section. This is one of the best songs on the record, it really doesn't bore, I don't think it moves, but the amount of layers on top of it make up for it.
Finally, there's "The Carpenter Sun." This song is the most experimental off of the album within its first few seconds. It's a mix of effected vocals and electronic screeching building up. It reminds me of something off of an early Animal Collective album. There are a lot of ideas that come in, sounding like they want to be part of the song, but are instantly cut out from the power of this composition. The only thing that exists in the universe of this song is layers of chaos.The voice is truly something else in this song, just with a whisper he can say so much.
I know I was very wishy-washy on this album, but it's a lot to take in, and I wasn't really sure what I liked. The usual problem with these songs is that they're static and boring. Some songs of course excluded. But, his voice has the power to be extremely moving, but in some of the songs on here, he's monotonous and annoying. There's a lot going on in here, but not a lot at the same time.
RATING - 5.8/10
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Dropkick Murphys - Signed and Sealed in Blood
Released January 8, 2013
Signed and Sealed in Blood starts off their record with their familiar Celtic singing and bagpipe playing with "The Boys Are Back". Then, their punk rock comes in. Something about the singer's voice is off, however. It sounds exhausted, I know the point in this type of music isn't supposed to be clarity, and the singer isn't supposed to be Mariah Carey, but it doesn't even sound like he's trying here. Also, clearly the song is meant to have energy, but it just doesn't live up to what they're known for. The music is all spot-on, being talented musicians and all. The song was repetitive and a tad boring, to say it bluntly.
The second song, "Prisoner's Song" has that real extraordinary drunken "pub" feel, with a constant beat. The singer's voice works better here, having that tired voice really benefits the picture the video in your head. The accordion works beautifully here and the whole song is really tightly put together. Great song!
Next track is "Rose Tattoo," the first single off of the album. The song seems to be telling a story. It sounds like a sailor bringing you close and shouting his past into your ear. And you're fascinated by his story. The singer literally lists his tattoos to you, and that's it. And yet the song is so intriguing. The backup vocals really work well here. Another great song. With a marching drum beat and the singer actually sounding like he cares about the lyrics he's singing. And what a bridge! Really wants to make you do the jig on a boat! Nothing else has ever made me want to do that before!
"Rose Tattoo" is followed by "Burn," a song where you feel the energy from everyone! The instruments and the singer electrify you. I don't know what much more to say about this song, but it is definitely the most energetic off of the whole album and is done pretty much perfectly.
"Jimmy Collins' Wake" is a song about a baseball pitcher. This song is a little bit boring. It feels like it's missing an instrument or something. If there's not, then they just made a poor decision placing this song after "Burn"
"The Season's Upon Us" is the next track, and is the second single from the album. A little bit late for Christmas, but you know what? I love Christmas! The song really puts you in a great mood, even though the song is describing the singer's shitty family events. You just have to laugh at it and say, "well at least my family's not like his!" And not only that, the song is extremely well put together. It sounds like it could be a brand new familiar Christmas tune. Although the man says that the song is not meant to be cheesy and that it really is about a dysfunctional family (made up or not), one can't but help feeling like it's a cute song that makes you feel good.
Track 7 is "The Battle Rages On." The song sounds like a great song to shout along to while going into war, which I think may have been the point? The problem is that all of the instruments really collide and you can't distinguish one from the other. You can hear the vocals loud and clear, but everything else just becomes a series of crashes.
The next track is "Don't Tear Us Apart." It starts off with a piano riff, which is then echoed by all of the instruments. I try to imagine a place where I would listen to these songs in my head, as you may have noticed. Here, I imagine laying down on a bed, bouncing my foot to the beat, mouthing the lyrics, and reading a magazine. This song is awesome, you just really get the beat stuck in you, and you want to just sing along to the chorus. "Don't tear us apart!! OOOOHHHH!!"
"My Hero" is another one of those songs where you don't really get the energy that you should be getting. Not that it's a necessarily bad song. The repeating lead guitar part is weak, yet they keep repeating it. Other than that, it's just shouting and it really doesn't sound like much more than static.
"Out on the Town" is next. It succeeds in giving you that "walking in the city" feel. You really feel like you're there, going out on the town. You feel like strutting along and going anywhere. The melody is catchy and playful, even with the singer's slightly garbled voice. Nice guitar here, nice drums, nice everything.
"Out of Our Head" is a song that fits the formula of the past songs. The drums here are a bit off, but that's about it. The song is pretty good. It sounds like a cop-out answer, but with this kind of music, there gets to be a kind of redundancy. I'm not expecting them to make a Rush song, but something a little different would be appreciated.
The last song on the album is "End of the Night," and it starts off like its a credit roll to a movie. The song makes you miss listening to the album. All of the instruments are controlled, they mix well together, the lyrics are great, the whole song is awesome. There is a clear tone to the piece, and you feel it inside of you. It sound like a closer, that's what makes it great as a last song! It's beautiful and I don't know what else to say about it.
The album succeeds in bringing something fresh to the punk scene, as they do all the time. The main problem is the stigmata that punk seems to have in general, with some exceptions: it gets repetitive. By the sixth song or so, you feel like you've heard every possible combination that they could come up with. It's not true, but it can certainly feel that way. But clearly, they are talented musicians, the lyrics and music put you in the mood that they want to, et cetera. One thing's for sure, they should perform on a boat.
RATING - 7.3/10
Signed and Sealed in Blood starts off their record with their familiar Celtic singing and bagpipe playing with "The Boys Are Back". Then, their punk rock comes in. Something about the singer's voice is off, however. It sounds exhausted, I know the point in this type of music isn't supposed to be clarity, and the singer isn't supposed to be Mariah Carey, but it doesn't even sound like he's trying here. Also, clearly the song is meant to have energy, but it just doesn't live up to what they're known for. The music is all spot-on, being talented musicians and all. The song was repetitive and a tad boring, to say it bluntly.
The second song, "Prisoner's Song" has that real extraordinary drunken "pub" feel, with a constant beat. The singer's voice works better here, having that tired voice really benefits the picture the video in your head. The accordion works beautifully here and the whole song is really tightly put together. Great song!
Next track is "Rose Tattoo," the first single off of the album. The song seems to be telling a story. It sounds like a sailor bringing you close and shouting his past into your ear. And you're fascinated by his story. The singer literally lists his tattoos to you, and that's it. And yet the song is so intriguing. The backup vocals really work well here. Another great song. With a marching drum beat and the singer actually sounding like he cares about the lyrics he's singing. And what a bridge! Really wants to make you do the jig on a boat! Nothing else has ever made me want to do that before!
"Rose Tattoo" is followed by "Burn," a song where you feel the energy from everyone! The instruments and the singer electrify you. I don't know what much more to say about this song, but it is definitely the most energetic off of the whole album and is done pretty much perfectly.
"Jimmy Collins' Wake" is a song about a baseball pitcher. This song is a little bit boring. It feels like it's missing an instrument or something. If there's not, then they just made a poor decision placing this song after "Burn"
"The Season's Upon Us" is the next track, and is the second single from the album. A little bit late for Christmas, but you know what? I love Christmas! The song really puts you in a great mood, even though the song is describing the singer's shitty family events. You just have to laugh at it and say, "well at least my family's not like his!" And not only that, the song is extremely well put together. It sounds like it could be a brand new familiar Christmas tune. Although the man says that the song is not meant to be cheesy and that it really is about a dysfunctional family (made up or not), one can't but help feeling like it's a cute song that makes you feel good.
Track 7 is "The Battle Rages On." The song sounds like a great song to shout along to while going into war, which I think may have been the point? The problem is that all of the instruments really collide and you can't distinguish one from the other. You can hear the vocals loud and clear, but everything else just becomes a series of crashes.
The next track is "Don't Tear Us Apart." It starts off with a piano riff, which is then echoed by all of the instruments. I try to imagine a place where I would listen to these songs in my head, as you may have noticed. Here, I imagine laying down on a bed, bouncing my foot to the beat, mouthing the lyrics, and reading a magazine. This song is awesome, you just really get the beat stuck in you, and you want to just sing along to the chorus. "Don't tear us apart!! OOOOHHHH!!"
"My Hero" is another one of those songs where you don't really get the energy that you should be getting. Not that it's a necessarily bad song. The repeating lead guitar part is weak, yet they keep repeating it. Other than that, it's just shouting and it really doesn't sound like much more than static.
"Out on the Town" is next. It succeeds in giving you that "walking in the city" feel. You really feel like you're there, going out on the town. You feel like strutting along and going anywhere. The melody is catchy and playful, even with the singer's slightly garbled voice. Nice guitar here, nice drums, nice everything.
"Out of Our Head" is a song that fits the formula of the past songs. The drums here are a bit off, but that's about it. The song is pretty good. It sounds like a cop-out answer, but with this kind of music, there gets to be a kind of redundancy. I'm not expecting them to make a Rush song, but something a little different would be appreciated.
The last song on the album is "End of the Night," and it starts off like its a credit roll to a movie. The song makes you miss listening to the album. All of the instruments are controlled, they mix well together, the lyrics are great, the whole song is awesome. There is a clear tone to the piece, and you feel it inside of you. It sound like a closer, that's what makes it great as a last song! It's beautiful and I don't know what else to say about it.
The album succeeds in bringing something fresh to the punk scene, as they do all the time. The main problem is the stigmata that punk seems to have in general, with some exceptions: it gets repetitive. By the sixth song or so, you feel like you've heard every possible combination that they could come up with. It's not true, but it can certainly feel that way. But clearly, they are talented musicians, the lyrics and music put you in the mood that they want to, et cetera. One thing's for sure, they should perform on a boat.
RATING - 7.3/10
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Black Veil Brides - Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones
Released January 8, 2013
Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones opens up with a confusing monologue titled "Exordium," and then the first real track "I am Bulletproof" hits you hard. The track opens with a lead guitar solo. The singing sounds extremely forced in this track, as if he has to make his voice sound like the way that it does. After about half way into the song, there is a bridge. The bridge tries to put way too many ideas into one 45 second section and can't really be considered stable. After the final refrain, the track ends on a weak scream from the vocalist.
The album eases into "New Years Day" very well. This song is much more controlled then the previous one, although the drummer seems to be trying to make himself more noticeable. The odd violin solo even works in this song. The guitar solo (which at this point I assume will be in all of the following songs) is quick and effortless. The whole song is good, and really illustrates that sometimes less is more, even though there were some sections that were extraneous.
The album is filled with things called "F.E.A.R. Transmissions" which I assume are small monologues based around the idea of fear. This first one is just as confusing as the intro track, and I don't really see the point in them, although the way they're orchestrated makes for good segues between tracks.
After the first transmission, "Wretched and Divine" starts with more lead. Deep singing comes up, but the song loses its momentum by the chorus which is weakly sung. The lyrics are a bit awkward, almost as if he wanted to say "I know what the words Wretched and Divine mean, let me make a song off of that." Other than that, the song seems to follow the same formula as the past two songs. It's retains the control from "New Years Day," but also retains the weak singing from "I am Bulletproof."
Next is "We Don't Belong," which opens with building anticipation. The song feels like it's going to explode at any second, but it keeps you held on, waiting for it. And I actually showed some excitement waiting for it. But when the loudness actually hits, it's weak. It's weak in general, not even because we were eased into it. The chorus makes the silly remark that "We don't belong here, we don't belong" without really explaining to us why we don't, even in the verses. This track doesn't do enough, in comparison to the previous tracks.
The second transmission is just as absurd as the previous ones, as I predicted.
It does connect nicely to the following track, however, "Devil's Choir." This shows the singer resulting back to the awkward, forced, slightly-garbled singing from the first track. The guitarist here is trying to do way too much, even in the chorus, where his playing, however intricate, takes away from the song. The actual guitar "solo" isn't impressive in this song, no buildup. It just sounds like show-offy riffing.
"Resurrect the Sun" opens softly with electronic beats and clicking. Here, when the instruments actually come in, as opposed to "We Don't Belong," the music is strong, catchy, and well-made. This track is arguably the best off of the album thus far. All of the keyboards and electronic instrumentation meshes well with the real instruments. The guitar solo shows a real attempt to impress instead of show off (although it's still a tad short).
The next song is "Overture," which I guess is an overture. I don't get it. An overture to what? I don't know. I suppose it's just rhythm guitarist Jinxx trying to show everyone he doesn't just play rhythm guitar.
Either way, the song flows nicely into "Shadows Die," which starts off with a cool neo-classical feel. Then the music hits you hard in a good way. This particular song feels very Avenged Sevenfold-esque. The song is pretty much the same as all of the other tracks until about half way through where the song makes a sort of confused call to action in its listeners. Then the song continues, and it begins to become tiresome. The song is too long to not move anywhere.
Another strange short segue track, entitled "Abeyance," which then goes into "Days are Numbered." The songs starts with a Crazy Train-like riff, and is really charged with energy. The song pulls you through it pretty well. The chorus is slower, but it doesn't necessarily remove the energy that it had. The track features a notable contribution from The Used's Bert McCracken. This track's energy and spastic, hectic bridge is very controlled and sounds good in context with the song.
The next song is "Done for You," a song that sounds an awful lot like the cliched soft semi-romantic track in the middle of a hard rock album. Oh right, it is. Jokes aside, the song doesn't hold much value. It's instantly forgettable and doesn't really make you feel anything, especially if you're listening to it in the context of the whole album. The lyrics are vague and don't seem genuine and the backing instruments just seem very generic.
Track 15 is "Nobody's Hero," which goes right back into that loudness. Reviewing this album is becoming tiresome, may I note, because these tracks lack any true variety. They all follow a very similar structure and formula. The lyrics of this track really makes you wonder, does anyone really consider him their hero? (Don't answer that).
The next song is "Lost It All," which starts off like "Done for You," but works its way up a bit into a louder, fuller sound. It sounds like a modern hair metal track. Featuring singing from the greatly talented Julia Simms of Automatic Loveletter, this track DOES work as a kinda inspirational track. I feel this track in my body, it really is a very good song and it captures that nostalgic sound.
This strange Transmission thing doesn't work, and I think they should have taken it out in order to play down their semi-annoying "larger-than-life" attitude.
Anyway, the last full song on the album is "In the End," the first and only single off of the album to date. The track sounds like it doesn't know what it wants to be, heavy? Poppy? Dark? Uplifting? I think they want to transcend those categories, but they instead sound like a confusion of all of them. I think, personally, that there are many other better choices for a single off of this album. The solo is showy. The track follows the same basic formula as the other tracks, but somehow, this one does it slightly worse.
The album ends with a "Final Transmission," and I still have no idea what's going on. Was this a concept album? Should I have been listening harder? Is there a message? Why'd he say fear for no reason?
Anyway, all in all, the album was much better than I anticipated. The album's main flaws were that the band tried to show off way too much and that all of the songs sounded pretty much the same, with some key tracks here and there. The album did an excellent job, however, in flowing from one track to the next (even when it was through those stupid transmissions).
RATING - 6/10
Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones opens up with a confusing monologue titled "Exordium," and then the first real track "I am Bulletproof" hits you hard. The track opens with a lead guitar solo. The singing sounds extremely forced in this track, as if he has to make his voice sound like the way that it does. After about half way into the song, there is a bridge. The bridge tries to put way too many ideas into one 45 second section and can't really be considered stable. After the final refrain, the track ends on a weak scream from the vocalist.
The album eases into "New Years Day" very well. This song is much more controlled then the previous one, although the drummer seems to be trying to make himself more noticeable. The odd violin solo even works in this song. The guitar solo (which at this point I assume will be in all of the following songs) is quick and effortless. The whole song is good, and really illustrates that sometimes less is more, even though there were some sections that were extraneous.
The album is filled with things called "F.E.A.R. Transmissions" which I assume are small monologues based around the idea of fear. This first one is just as confusing as the intro track, and I don't really see the point in them, although the way they're orchestrated makes for good segues between tracks.
After the first transmission, "Wretched and Divine" starts with more lead. Deep singing comes up, but the song loses its momentum by the chorus which is weakly sung. The lyrics are a bit awkward, almost as if he wanted to say "I know what the words Wretched and Divine mean, let me make a song off of that." Other than that, the song seems to follow the same formula as the past two songs. It's retains the control from "New Years Day," but also retains the weak singing from "I am Bulletproof."
Next is "We Don't Belong," which opens with building anticipation. The song feels like it's going to explode at any second, but it keeps you held on, waiting for it. And I actually showed some excitement waiting for it. But when the loudness actually hits, it's weak. It's weak in general, not even because we were eased into it. The chorus makes the silly remark that "We don't belong here, we don't belong" without really explaining to us why we don't, even in the verses. This track doesn't do enough, in comparison to the previous tracks.
The second transmission is just as absurd as the previous ones, as I predicted.
It does connect nicely to the following track, however, "Devil's Choir." This shows the singer resulting back to the awkward, forced, slightly-garbled singing from the first track. The guitarist here is trying to do way too much, even in the chorus, where his playing, however intricate, takes away from the song. The actual guitar "solo" isn't impressive in this song, no buildup. It just sounds like show-offy riffing.
"Resurrect the Sun" opens softly with electronic beats and clicking. Here, when the instruments actually come in, as opposed to "We Don't Belong," the music is strong, catchy, and well-made. This track is arguably the best off of the album thus far. All of the keyboards and electronic instrumentation meshes well with the real instruments. The guitar solo shows a real attempt to impress instead of show off (although it's still a tad short).
The next song is "Overture," which I guess is an overture. I don't get it. An overture to what? I don't know. I suppose it's just rhythm guitarist Jinxx trying to show everyone he doesn't just play rhythm guitar.
Either way, the song flows nicely into "Shadows Die," which starts off with a cool neo-classical feel. Then the music hits you hard in a good way. This particular song feels very Avenged Sevenfold-esque. The song is pretty much the same as all of the other tracks until about half way through where the song makes a sort of confused call to action in its listeners. Then the song continues, and it begins to become tiresome. The song is too long to not move anywhere.
Another strange short segue track, entitled "Abeyance," which then goes into "Days are Numbered." The songs starts with a Crazy Train-like riff, and is really charged with energy. The song pulls you through it pretty well. The chorus is slower, but it doesn't necessarily remove the energy that it had. The track features a notable contribution from The Used's Bert McCracken. This track's energy and spastic, hectic bridge is very controlled and sounds good in context with the song.
The next song is "Done for You," a song that sounds an awful lot like the cliched soft semi-romantic track in the middle of a hard rock album. Oh right, it is. Jokes aside, the song doesn't hold much value. It's instantly forgettable and doesn't really make you feel anything, especially if you're listening to it in the context of the whole album. The lyrics are vague and don't seem genuine and the backing instruments just seem very generic.
Track 15 is "Nobody's Hero," which goes right back into that loudness. Reviewing this album is becoming tiresome, may I note, because these tracks lack any true variety. They all follow a very similar structure and formula. The lyrics of this track really makes you wonder, does anyone really consider him their hero? (Don't answer that).
The next song is "Lost It All," which starts off like "Done for You," but works its way up a bit into a louder, fuller sound. It sounds like a modern hair metal track. Featuring singing from the greatly talented Julia Simms of Automatic Loveletter, this track DOES work as a kinda inspirational track. I feel this track in my body, it really is a very good song and it captures that nostalgic sound.
This strange Transmission thing doesn't work, and I think they should have taken it out in order to play down their semi-annoying "larger-than-life" attitude.
Anyway, the last full song on the album is "In the End," the first and only single off of the album to date. The track sounds like it doesn't know what it wants to be, heavy? Poppy? Dark? Uplifting? I think they want to transcend those categories, but they instead sound like a confusion of all of them. I think, personally, that there are many other better choices for a single off of this album. The solo is showy. The track follows the same basic formula as the other tracks, but somehow, this one does it slightly worse.
The album ends with a "Final Transmission," and I still have no idea what's going on. Was this a concept album? Should I have been listening harder? Is there a message? Why'd he say fear for no reason?
Anyway, all in all, the album was much better than I anticipated. The album's main flaws were that the band tried to show off way too much and that all of the songs sounded pretty much the same, with some key tracks here and there. The album did an excellent job, however, in flowing from one track to the next (even when it was through those stupid transmissions).
RATING - 6/10
Hollywood Undead - Notes from the Underground
Released: January 8, 2013
Notes from the Underground begins loudly with the opening track "Dead Bite." Its circus-like singing and sloppy rapping make for a bad combination. Yet, the song's poorly written lyrics almost make up for the fact by turning it into a novelty song of redeemable catchy quality. The song could have been infectious if it weren't for the loud overbearing beats and instruments in the background.
The next track "From the Ground" works much better with its loud instruments by adding loud singing, which isn't half bad. The lyrics are marginally better than the first song. The whole song has merit. It's nothing particularly special, but it does keep the "catchy" factor from the first song, which one could suspect that that was what they were looking to achieve.
"Another Way Out" opens with silly synth pulsing. However, despite this one line of instrumentation, which is echoed in the chorus, the whole song is surprisingly well-made. The instruments all mesh together coherently, yet still sound hectic, which can only be assumed to be incidental.
The next track "Lion" is extremely poorly written lyrically. The song is not sung well. The rapping is sub-par, and its placement in the song is obnoxious at best. The whole song is extremely forgettable. The backing instruments just become boring noise after a while.
The song "We Are" is the first and currently only single off of the album. This baffles me personally. Not because of the quality of the song, but because the song follows the same formula of "Young" off of Swan Songs, a popular song by them previously released as a single. The song is good. This is the first song off of the album thus far where the rapping isn't annoying and can stand on its own. The problem lies within the instruments, which have the same problem as the previous song, where they just become a confused mess of noises. I don't think HU knew what they were trying to achieve with this song, but it didn't end up bad.
The sixth song "Pigskin" is god-awful. I suppose their terrible "Myspace" habits die hard. They cannot become a serious band if they make songs like "Pigskin." The song has no redeeming qualities, and it almost makes me sick. Even its placement in the album is wrong. Why is it there? There were no songs like it so far!
The following track, "Rain," has potential to be a very good song, but, again, the instruments try to do much and end up hurting the total product. I enjoy the acoustic vs electric thing they're trying to do, but it isn't being done properly here. There's a large amount of rapping on the track, which isn't bothersome, and actually add to the track. The song is very memorable in the grand scheme of the album.
"Kill Everyone" is another surprisingly abrupt change in style. This track sounds like a very dumbed-down early-Linkin Park track. It's pre-chorus is extremely annoying. However, although the lyrics are poorly written in particular here (not to mention extremely irrelevant and confusing), the song still manages to sound pretty good overall. Except for that pre-chorus, there's nothing about the song that "sounds bad." The instruments all work together here and the singing isn't bad either.
The ninth song "Believe" makes a confusing choice of instrumentation. The song fails to give off the inspirational tone that it wants to. This song is a real mess, where the rapping is actually the high point of the track. All of the instruments collide with each other and show that sometimes there can be enough instruments in a song.
"Up In Smoke" is silly, and that's it. It's neither particularly bad nor good. The instruments mix together pretty well here, but just because they're mixed well doesn't mean it's good to begin with. The lyrics are ridiculous and I think (hope) they know it.
The last track on the album is "Outside." This song is structured very well, with an endearing opening verse. Then the loud part hits you with slow smacks (in a good way!) The rapping mixes well with this song in particular. I hoped that the song would be the one that doesn't have any problems, but the chorus ended up being sung extremely obnoxiously in a whiny voice with lyrics that I didn't even realize were whiny until they were sung in this fashion.
All in all, the album could have been much better. Most of the songs followed the same general patterns with the same general flaws. But it does definitely show some maturity.
RATING - 3.5/10
Notes from the Underground begins loudly with the opening track "Dead Bite." Its circus-like singing and sloppy rapping make for a bad combination. Yet, the song's poorly written lyrics almost make up for the fact by turning it into a novelty song of redeemable catchy quality. The song could have been infectious if it weren't for the loud overbearing beats and instruments in the background.
The next track "From the Ground" works much better with its loud instruments by adding loud singing, which isn't half bad. The lyrics are marginally better than the first song. The whole song has merit. It's nothing particularly special, but it does keep the "catchy" factor from the first song, which one could suspect that that was what they were looking to achieve.
"Another Way Out" opens with silly synth pulsing. However, despite this one line of instrumentation, which is echoed in the chorus, the whole song is surprisingly well-made. The instruments all mesh together coherently, yet still sound hectic, which can only be assumed to be incidental.
The next track "Lion" is extremely poorly written lyrically. The song is not sung well. The rapping is sub-par, and its placement in the song is obnoxious at best. The whole song is extremely forgettable. The backing instruments just become boring noise after a while.
The song "We Are" is the first and currently only single off of the album. This baffles me personally. Not because of the quality of the song, but because the song follows the same formula of "Young" off of Swan Songs, a popular song by them previously released as a single. The song is good. This is the first song off of the album thus far where the rapping isn't annoying and can stand on its own. The problem lies within the instruments, which have the same problem as the previous song, where they just become a confused mess of noises. I don't think HU knew what they were trying to achieve with this song, but it didn't end up bad.
The sixth song "Pigskin" is god-awful. I suppose their terrible "Myspace" habits die hard. They cannot become a serious band if they make songs like "Pigskin." The song has no redeeming qualities, and it almost makes me sick. Even its placement in the album is wrong. Why is it there? There were no songs like it so far!
The following track, "Rain," has potential to be a very good song, but, again, the instruments try to do much and end up hurting the total product. I enjoy the acoustic vs electric thing they're trying to do, but it isn't being done properly here. There's a large amount of rapping on the track, which isn't bothersome, and actually add to the track. The song is very memorable in the grand scheme of the album.
"Kill Everyone" is another surprisingly abrupt change in style. This track sounds like a very dumbed-down early-Linkin Park track. It's pre-chorus is extremely annoying. However, although the lyrics are poorly written in particular here (not to mention extremely irrelevant and confusing), the song still manages to sound pretty good overall. Except for that pre-chorus, there's nothing about the song that "sounds bad." The instruments all work together here and the singing isn't bad either.
The ninth song "Believe" makes a confusing choice of instrumentation. The song fails to give off the inspirational tone that it wants to. This song is a real mess, where the rapping is actually the high point of the track. All of the instruments collide with each other and show that sometimes there can be enough instruments in a song.
"Up In Smoke" is silly, and that's it. It's neither particularly bad nor good. The instruments mix together pretty well here, but just because they're mixed well doesn't mean it's good to begin with. The lyrics are ridiculous and I think (hope) they know it.
The last track on the album is "Outside." This song is structured very well, with an endearing opening verse. Then the loud part hits you with slow smacks (in a good way!) The rapping mixes well with this song in particular. I hoped that the song would be the one that doesn't have any problems, but the chorus ended up being sung extremely obnoxiously in a whiny voice with lyrics that I didn't even realize were whiny until they were sung in this fashion.
All in all, the album could have been much better. Most of the songs followed the same general patterns with the same general flaws. But it does definitely show some maturity.
RATING - 3.5/10
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