I hate
soundtracks and this one doesn’t change my opinion any. After his stunning
debut at number one in last year’s festive fifty, I had high hopes for this
offering from space rock pioneer, Celldweller. Sadly however, the whole thing
falls flat on its face. It’s basically one song from the last album ‘Voices in
my Head’ which is great, but I’d heard it before. And then loads and loads of
chugging guitar based instrumentals.
It’s like
listening to the soundtrack of some mildly engaging video game, but without
actually playing the game! I’m guessing it’s a soundtrack for a mythical game
that exists somewhere inside Celldweller’s head. It’s not offensive but it
really doesn’t work for me.
Buy the song
‘Voices in my Head’ instead and you won’t be disappointed.
After finding 'In Silico' hard work recently, I didn't
really have high hopes for another dose of genre blurring progressive rock. It
sounds like a bad idea, the cover looks pretentious, but astonishingly it's one
of my favourite albums of the year. So why does Celldweller succeed where Pendulum's output was
such a clashing mish-mash of musical styles? Celldweller's head honcho, Scott
Albert, manages to keep the recipe simple and uses quality ingredients. This
sprawling concept album sounds like a cross between Muse, The Infected
Mushrooms and video game soundtracks, with inspired lyrics thrown in for good
measure. There's not a hint of The Mars Volta either, which is always a bonus. It's a refreshing album on so many levels. Initially it's
accessible pop rock with a dub-steppy edge, but at the same time it's
philosophical progressive art rock with Sci-Fi overtones that dwarf ELO and the
Orb's meagre space based rock operas. This is rock music sprinkled with
orchestral classicism in an similar vein to the Mushroom's take on techno, and
Mr. Albert clearly knows his musical onions. Every track is a winner, but 'Unshakeable', 'Blackstar' and
'Birthright' are all worthy of special mentions. 'Eon' however is just one of the
tracks of the year; a storming assault on the senses akin to being force fed
gorgeous cereal bars in a Las Vegas casino while showering in Theakston's Old
Peculiar.
It's a different slant on the rock template and the fact that
I've even mentioned it in the same breath as Infected Mushroom says it all. A
cracking album that appeals to our shallowest senses and deepest emotions.
Highly recommended.
I'm sad to say that I think The Mars Volta have slightly lost their edge. The first album I ever heard by them - 'Frances the Mute' - took absolutely ages to get into. I hated it for about a month. Then slowly I discovered the overall structure of the album and enjoyed its nuances (and bird tweeting). It is now one of my favourite albums ever. The pain I had to go through is proportionate to the pleasure I get from it now.
'Noctourniquet' is a different kettle of fish entirely. I was into it within a matter of days. I've been listening to it for a while and I still can't hear the musical links betweens the different tracks as I can with their best albums. Granted, it still builds to a climax, but the final song 'Zed and Two Naughts' - despite being the best song on the album - has a fairly standard verse/chorus structure. The chorus never progresses. The first is the same as the last. Plus, it borders dangerously on 'catchy' and 'easy listening'. Not something that The Mars Volta are famous for.
There is a period of about five songs in the middle where everything is quite calm and restrained. In fact, there are far too many slow, quiet numbers. Not to say that they're all bad: 'Trinkets Pale of Moon' is one of the album highlights, with its mixture of low bleepy noises and acoustic guitar noodle-doodling. And there we come to another point: Omar's giddy guitar playing seems to have taken a back seat in quite a few tracks. It's still there, but a lot more restrained and at times seems dominated by synth noises.
I've been listening to previous Mars Volta albums recently and I think that this is their weakest offering. But just as with premium quality telly, such as Farscape, where even the worst episode is way better than anything else, this album is still worthy of your time. (Doccortex will be very pleased that the longest track is only 7 minutes and 26 seconds long. I did say they were losing their edge...)
I don't really know what to make of Pendulum. It feels like they threw the kitchen sink at the process of making music. Start with some drum and base, add some hard rock, mix in electro, dubstep, cheesy synths, video game soundtracks and top the whole thing off with a progressive atmosphere akin to the interior of the Mars Volta tour bus after a heavy curry session. And in a similar fashion to mixing all the colours of powder paint in the same palette, the whole thing comes out a bit on the brown side of gorgeous. Imagine a DJ mixing Goldie, The Chemical Brothers, Muse, Depeche Mode, Rammstein and Erasue so seamlessly that they all appear simultaneously in the same song. It's not necessarily a terrible sound that results, but ultimately it's like playing football on ice; possible, but why bother? There's some enjoyable 'bits' however never enough to make a whole song and everything ends up sounding like Fatboy slim on steroids. Having said all that, there's a feintly addictive quality to Pendulum. In the same way that motorists find it difficult to avoid rubber-necking at traffic accidents, 'In Silico' provides the sonic equivalent but in a far more pleasurable way. Something in my reptilian brain keeps saying this is great, whereas the remainder of my brain confirms the theory that it's rubbish. 'Different', 'Visions' and 'The Tempest' are the pick of the bunch and would possibly make teenage boys seriously happy. Having just purchased the Celldweller album I'm a tad worried that it's a similar kettle of fish, but who knows, with a couple of tweaks and less 'ingredients' this rocked up dubstep could be a Bobby Dazzler of a genre. I doubt they care, but I can't say I recommend it.
Imagine a football team. Week in week out they turn up and put in a solid performance. Nothing inspirational, but they get the job done. 1 - 0 results are the order of the day. There are no thrilling 3 - 0 comebacks here. Don't get me wrong, some games contain bursts of excitement, but they are the exception rather than the rule. If you were to watch one game and enjoy it, you would enjoy any of their games. The team consists of players who, whilst they can pass it around competently, never thrill you with their sublime first touches, their prowess at set pieces or their silky ball skills. They are trustworthy players who do a professional job on the pitch and fold their towels neatly in the dressing room after use. (They never - I repeat - never go out drinking and fraternising with ladies the night before a game. And then blatantly lie about it.) At the end of the season they are always in the mid-table spot, exactly in the mid-table spot. Never higher. Never lower. Every season is pretty enjoyable but it is known from the very start where the team is going to finish. Trip to Wembley? No chance. Every season is exactly the same but a modest number of season tickets are always bought. The supporters are generally people with heart complaints and are therefore averse to any divergence from the norm. This team suits them just nicely. Safe and predictable. Imagine that football team is a popular music combo. That team is And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. evlkeith
At The Drive In. But just the boring ones that you normally skip. Job done. Okay, I'll tell you more. I keep having a little look in the CD case to see if there is any Omar and Cedric involvement because it sounds so much like ATDI (I am like so down with the kids and that). But no mention of the hairy fellows. Turns out, from further research that Sparta = ATDI - (Omar + Cedric). That explains it. Why did they decide to copy all of the dull ones then? This is being a tad harsh because there are a few good tracks on there. They are on the gentler side of things, with 'Echodyne Harmonic' even containing a bit of piano. Oo fancy. The other standout track is 'Catarac' which has a top sing-a-long chorus. More shout-a-long really. These songs perfectly fitted the mood as I drove out of Sheffield on a gorgeous sunny day. Played loud obviously. I mean at a suitable volume, Officer. Even though Sparta are a pale imitation of ATDI, I can't help quite enjoying this album on the whole. Maybe I'm mellowing in my old age. Now where's that 'Converge' album... evlkeith
This album is very much like the graph of y=x squared (maths fans rejoice). It starts out strongly with 'I Am Connecting Flight' and '17'. They are both quite harsh, combining screaming with a 'My Bloody Valentine'-esque wall of sound. Then there is a gradual decline until we get to the total shoegazing action of 'Team Radar'. We are in major 'Slowdive' territory here. It's okay (ish, at best) but you can't help craving an album entirely consisting of songs like the first two. Luckily, things start to pick up again after this with the soaring vocals of 'FiveFour', informing the listener that the worst is over. I always breathe a sigh of relief when I get to this point in the album. The quality continues to improve, but it is difficult to be prepared for the sheer brilliance of the final track, 'Audition'. It starts gently with a repeated phrase and gradually builds to be an intense... noise? Think of the 'instrumental break' in 'You Made Me Realise' by the aforementioned 'My Bloody Valentine' and then make it even more excessive. It still won't be close to the ending of 'Audition'. Turned up to full blast it's amazing how emotional the whole experience is. It's definitely vying for song of the year, even at this early stage. With this album, if you learn to take the rough with the smooth, you are rewarded with a satisfying listening experience overall. 'Audition' is made better by the somewhat arduous journey needed to reach it. (The Mars Volta fans will know this feeling all too well.) Definitely recommended. evlkeith
Eight albums from Boston based band Buffalo Tom. Not Boston, Lincolnshire. Boston, Massachusetts.
Why should you listen?
Put it this way: if you listen to one Buffalo Tom album and like it, you’ll like them all. In a similar vein to REM, every album is virtually the same with a smattering of cracking songs throughout.
What’s it like?
Quite pleasant guitar based stuff. Sometimes distorted. Sometimes a bit more jingly jangly acoustic based. The songs can be split into two groups. The ‘Bill Janovitz on vocals’ songs and the ‘Chris Colbourn on vocals’ songs. I can put the difference into two easy equations: Bill Janovitz = Bob Mould, Chris Colbourn = Grant Hart. Hüsker Dü fans know exactly what I mean.
What are the best tracks?
Right, here we go. We’ll have the best song from every album starting with the most recent.
Skins (2011)
‘Arise, Watch’ - Quite a gentle one, but it’s got a gorgeous start. The demo version of it is pretty good too.
Three Easy Pieces (2007)
‘You’ll Never Catch Him’ - Another gentle number. Beautiful song.
Smitten (1998)
‘Scottish Windows’ - Doesn’t sound like the sort of thing I’d like from the first part, but it’s got a great chorus. Smitten also contains the best Chris Colbourn song, ‘Rachael’.
Sleepy Eyed (1995)
‘Summer’ - Another great anthemic chorus in this one too. When are we going to get to a rockier number?
Big Red Letter Day (1993)
‘Tree House’ - Not exactly rocky but definitely picking up the pace.
Let Me Come Over (1992)
‘Taillights Fade’ - Back to a slower pace with yet another quality chorus.
Birdbrain (1990)
‘Guy Who Is Me’ - Proper rock. Quality. Distorted and shouty.
Buffalo Tom (1988)
‘Sunflower Suit’ - Right back to where it all started. The first song I ever heard by Buffalo Tom. Instantly liked it and I still love it now. Possibly their best song. Easily their best album too.
Who does it sound like?
Rival schools, The Twilight Singers, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
Do you have any Coldplay loving friends that you want to convert to the dark side of music? Well, buy them these albums in the appropriate order and give them a chance to get into each album before you get them the next. Within a year they’ll be listening to a lovely bit of Mars Volta. Possibly. If they get down to System of a Down you’ll have done well!
Coldplay - Parachutes
The Zutons - Who Killed The Zutons?
Feeder - The Singles
Foo Fighters - In Your Honour
System of a Down - Toxicity
Deftones - White Pony
The Fall of Troy - Doppleganger
Protest the Hero - Fortress
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute
If anyone actually manages this miracle, let us know.
The first album by Portugal. The Man. Originally from Alaska and now on their seventh album. So if you like this album there’s plenty more to go at.
Why should you listen?
If Mars Volta is a step too far for you, try this. It’s fairly accessible, without being catchy. Always good. I was slightly worried when I got it on the Friday and by Sunday I quite liked it. It normally takes me a good week to get into an album. That normally makes me think that I’ll be sick of it in a couple of weeks, but it’s still going strong at the moment.
What’s it like?
It has some of the Mars Volta elements but in a far easier to digest package. Falsetto voices, extra tremolo on the guitar, twiddly fiddly guitar all rear their heads at some point on this album. The first two songs: ‘How The Leopard Got Its Spots’ and ‘Gold Fronts’ are the first ones I got into. They’re both danceable little numbers. Later on I’ve appreciated ‘Chicago’ more. It starts with a quality bit of noisy business but then morphs into something a lot more melodic and gentle. I normally like the opposite of that but it still works.
What’s the best track?
‘Tommy’ - Bleepy and bloopy sounds to start. Doesn’t sound great really. Then the main guitar chords crunch in and you’re into a sing-a-long chorus with a gorgeous vocal harmony at the end.
Who does it sound like?
The Sounds Of Animals Fighting, Mars Volta, The Fall of Troy
This is the third album by big haired prog rockers The Mars Volta. The Mars Volta consists of Cedric Bixler-Zavala on vocals and Omar Rodríguez-López on guitar along with loads of other band members.
Why should you listen?
As with all Mars Volta albums there is a certain pleasure to pain ration. Amputechture starts off slowly with Vicarious Atonement but this is just a warm up for Tetragrammaton. Filled with Mars Volta staples of fiddly twiddly guitars, squeaky voices and tons of prog rock fun for nearly seventeen minutes, the song only really gets going after eight minutes, it is the first cracker on the album. From that description, I’ve just made The Mars Volta sound incredibly unappealing and I must admit, when I first heard them, it took ages for me to get into them. I’m talking weeks. But stick with it and you will be rewarded. The more you listen to it, the more you find to appreciate: instruments or parts that you have failed to hear for the first twenty listens, song structures that are a tad convoluted and bits of intense pain (experimental jazzy bits) followed by moments of catchy pleasure. Bear in mind that ‘catchy’ for The Mars Volta involves liking that part after ten or more listens.
What’s it like?
Some of the most inaccessible music you’re likely to find, but still end up liking after enough listens. Not as inaccessible as their previous, superior album ‘Frances the Mute’. Now, that one is a challenge...
What’s the best song?
‘Meccamputechture’ which reveals its catchy hook instantly and then forces you to listen to another nine minutes of experimental goodness before it returns. Again, I’m not making this sound very appealing. When the hook does kick back in, accompanied by some quality organ action, it’s the best bit of the album. Play loud. As always.
