Since it's been a while since I last updated, I just decided to do a mega post and through a bunch of stuff at you and see what sticks. I'd also like to say that it's crazy how cyclical culture is.
Scott Walker - Bish Bosch
I saw this one when I was perusing Metacritic for new release. I listened to about 2 seconds of the track "Epizootics!" (which starts with a contrabass clarinet) and bought the album. I had NO idea of what I was getting myself into. I'll keep it short and be frank about this one. This album is avant garde and isn't something you sing along with. Very very different from anything else I've been listening to recently or since I had to for class in college. That being said, I haven't listened to it enough to give an honest review of it. This one takes a little more intentionality in listening to it and is likely going to take more than seven listenings for me say anything intelligible about it. Its is rated highly on Metacritic though
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
If you listen to adult alternative radio you've heard the song "Midnight City" which was my first introduction to the band. The song has been played ad naseum on the radio and I still don't mind it when it comes on. This tells me that it's basically a great pop song. Anyway, before we get into the music a little bit about M83. One thing that I love about M83 is that they got their name from a barred spiral galaxy called Messier 83. This hits on one of my key random infatuations in that I love space and learning about all things universe related.
On to the album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming almost sounds like it belongs in the 80's, and that's not a derogatory comment. The title of the album is very appropriate as much of the album does feel like a dream (or that could just be because I'm tired). You can tell the band takes their music serious, but it's as if they don't ask you to, you can listen to it seriously, but you don't have to. The audience is free to engage with it however they please. In this sense it is very much a piece of art. I don't know what their intent was with this album but in the proper setting it provides a very complete listening experience. Some albums require the proper setting to be fully appreciated and as I listen through it again with the windows down at 11:45 on a perfect summers night, the album couldn't be any more appropriate.
That being said, if you find yourself in a peaceful state of mind on a late summers night, this may just be the album for you.
Boy - Mutual Friends
This one comes courtesy of Starbucks, the song, "Little Numbers", was one of their downloads of the week. Boy is a Swiss/German folk/pop duo consisting of two women. Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass met while they were both attending a university for music in Germany. While they've already started to make a name for themselves in the European, they've just recently made it across the pond to the U.S. with their single "Little Numbers" gaining substantial notoriety already.
The album itself was recorded over the course of 2 and a half years!!! That's a long time to put into one album, but I think it is reflected in the quality of the music. Upon first lesson, the catchy up tempo songs, such as "Little Numbers" and "Oh Boy", are the tunes that come most naturally to the ear. Nothing wrong with this, but once you listen to it again, and perhaps a little more intently you'll start to be turned on to more of the album. This is another way of saying that the album gets better every time you listen to it. Not only that, but the album is accessible on different levels of audibility, let me explain. The first couple of times I listened through the album I had listened to it through my iphone or my earbuds, both ways providing an enjoyable experience, but they don't provide the greatest auditory effects. So then I began listening to it in my car, again, not the greatest way to engage music, but I've actually got a decent 9 speaker system in my car with a 10" sub and it provides for a much better effect than what you get on the earbuds. That being said I felt much more engaged with the music as I drove down the highways. It was much more of an actual experience. Now here I sit with my headphones on, and again not the absolute best option, but they are studio quality Sony's and are giving me a level of insight and detail into the album that I was previously un-privy to. There's much more detail in this album than I originally thought. You might think this is true about most albums, but unfortunately it's not.
The album is excellent. It is very enjoyable, well mixed and produced, and leaves you feeling good. It's not afraid to go deep, but does so in a way that doesn't have you reveling in misery as you listen. Obviously I would definitely recommend this album.
Buke and Gase - Rhythm and Repose
Fun fact about the band name, Buke is taken from a baritone Ukelele and Gase is a hybrid bass/guitar. Those are two of the handmade instruments the band uses. The first song I heard on this album was "Revel in Contempt". I had it in my library since at least early 2010 but had never knew it was there until last year. Since then I've downloaded the full album and have been very happy with it since. I'm not familiar at all with Buke and Gass and haven't heard any of their other work outside of this album, but I love what they did on the album. For nearly every song on the album they use a compound meter, generally 12/8, to offset themselves from anything you normally hear on a regular basis, it gets your attention for sure.
The album is generally driving and keeps you on your toes although the compound meter does get a little overwhelming towards the end. My personal favorite song of the album is "Naked Cities" and for completely musical geek reasons. It had me reminiscing of rhythmic dictation in college. I'll admit it did take me a little while to figure out the patterns but I did figure it out, I have my analysis at the end of the post.
Aloe Blacc - Good Things
Like the previous artist/album this is another one of those albums where I had a song in my library and had no idea why. The song was "You Make Me Smile", which I enjoyed quite a bit but never really took a second look at Aloe Blacc for some reason, that is until someone at work mentioned him. He was actually asking me for advice on music he might like and I happened across the song in my library when he said, "I've got that album and it's great! Definitely worth checking out." So I did.
Again I didn't really know much about the artist or the album with the exception of the one song. As I listened through the album two things became prevalent. First, Blacc is a talented singer and has a lot of style and soul in his voice, very reminiscent of John Legend. His voice doesn't carry quite as much trustworthiness as Legend's does, likely because it's got a little more edge to it, but it still makes for an enjoyable experience. The second thing I noticed was that the production on the album was, this may seem a little harsh, but it just seemed poor. There were quite a few great ideas expressed throughout the album, but at least once or twice in a song you'd here something that stands out noticeably and just confounds you. Worst yet is when it happens at the end of a song where the ending is abrupt or maybe just slightly unsettling. Either way, one of the worst things a song (or album) can do is end poorly. It just leaves such a bad taste and makes you second guess the quality of the rest of the piece. All that being said, I don't hold that against Blacc, I hold it against the producers for not demanding higher quality. That's their job. So, definitely go check it out, especially if you're in the need for some catchy soul music, you won't be disappointed.
The Strokes - Comedown Machine
I initially became acquainted with The Strokes in high school. I came across their single for the album, First Pressions of Earth, and was infatuated with it, especially the song "Juicebox". When I got to college I decided to look further into their repertoire and bought the album Room on Fire. I loved that album very angsty and gloomy and but almost jokingly so. Their most heralded album, however, is their first studio release, Is This It, which is an excellent album in of itself (ranked as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone).
The band is lead by front man Julian Casablanca who has a fairly distinct and recognizable voice. In total their are five members of the group, which originated from New York. Their sound is multi-faceted, especially on this record, Comedown Machine. The styles can vary from indie rock to synthpop to post-punk revival. All are evident on this album.
The album starts with this quirk and random little guitar riff. It seems to mainly function as an attention getter, and to that effect it works. I won't go song through song, but there are a couple of songs I'll talk about. Right off the top is the first track, "Tap Out" with that quirky little solo at the beginning of it. If you've listened to The Strokes much before the first track will grab your attention because it's nothing you've heard from them before. It's more layered and seems a little more intricately woven than most of their music, plus you throw in female harmonies and the way the vocals just seem to slide into the established groove and you get something you're not used to with The Strokes.
One of my favorite tracks on the record, "One Way Trigger", has a much more familiar Strokes feel to it. The tempo is pushed here and it immediately gets you moving with the music. The familiarity also stems from the rhythmic synth loop and of course Julian Casablancas unmistakable voice. This track also kicks off what I feel is the meat of the album. Although the styles vary throughout tracks 3-7 they're all done well. "Welcome to Japan" is another track that establishes its groove quickly and never lets up until the end where it leads into "80's Comedown Machine" quite nicely. The next track, "50/50" is as post-punk revival as it gets. I didn't grow up in the glory days of punk, but this track lets me imagine being a skater in the late 70's/early 80's. Lastly, "Slow Animals" is just a solid track. I could stand the vocal mix to be a little more prominent, but I must say I love the off-beat hand claps in the chorus.
All in all the album is a good listen. If you're not acquainted with The Strokes, I'm not sure I'd recommend it first out of their discography, but it's still worth your time.
Let me know if you count the same thing!
Scott Walker - Bish Bosch
I saw this one when I was perusing Metacritic for new release. I listened to about 2 seconds of the track "Epizootics!" (which starts with a contrabass clarinet) and bought the album. I had NO idea of what I was getting myself into. I'll keep it short and be frank about this one. This album is avant garde and isn't something you sing along with. Very very different from anything else I've been listening to recently or since I had to for class in college. That being said, I haven't listened to it enough to give an honest review of it. This one takes a little more intentionality in listening to it and is likely going to take more than seven listenings for me say anything intelligible about it. Its is rated highly on Metacritic though
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
If you listen to adult alternative radio you've heard the song "Midnight City" which was my first introduction to the band. The song has been played ad naseum on the radio and I still don't mind it when it comes on. This tells me that it's basically a great pop song. Anyway, before we get into the music a little bit about M83. One thing that I love about M83 is that they got their name from a barred spiral galaxy called Messier 83. This hits on one of my key random infatuations in that I love space and learning about all things universe related.
On to the album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming almost sounds like it belongs in the 80's, and that's not a derogatory comment. The title of the album is very appropriate as much of the album does feel like a dream (or that could just be because I'm tired). You can tell the band takes their music serious, but it's as if they don't ask you to, you can listen to it seriously, but you don't have to. The audience is free to engage with it however they please. In this sense it is very much a piece of art. I don't know what their intent was with this album but in the proper setting it provides a very complete listening experience. Some albums require the proper setting to be fully appreciated and as I listen through it again with the windows down at 11:45 on a perfect summers night, the album couldn't be any more appropriate.
That being said, if you find yourself in a peaceful state of mind on a late summers night, this may just be the album for you.
Boy - Mutual Friends
This one comes courtesy of Starbucks, the song, "Little Numbers", was one of their downloads of the week. Boy is a Swiss/German folk/pop duo consisting of two women. Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass met while they were both attending a university for music in Germany. While they've already started to make a name for themselves in the European, they've just recently made it across the pond to the U.S. with their single "Little Numbers" gaining substantial notoriety already.
The album itself was recorded over the course of 2 and a half years!!! That's a long time to put into one album, but I think it is reflected in the quality of the music. Upon first lesson, the catchy up tempo songs, such as "Little Numbers" and "Oh Boy", are the tunes that come most naturally to the ear. Nothing wrong with this, but once you listen to it again, and perhaps a little more intently you'll start to be turned on to more of the album. This is another way of saying that the album gets better every time you listen to it. Not only that, but the album is accessible on different levels of audibility, let me explain. The first couple of times I listened through the album I had listened to it through my iphone or my earbuds, both ways providing an enjoyable experience, but they don't provide the greatest auditory effects. So then I began listening to it in my car, again, not the greatest way to engage music, but I've actually got a decent 9 speaker system in my car with a 10" sub and it provides for a much better effect than what you get on the earbuds. That being said I felt much more engaged with the music as I drove down the highways. It was much more of an actual experience. Now here I sit with my headphones on, and again not the absolute best option, but they are studio quality Sony's and are giving me a level of insight and detail into the album that I was previously un-privy to. There's much more detail in this album than I originally thought. You might think this is true about most albums, but unfortunately it's not.
The album is excellent. It is very enjoyable, well mixed and produced, and leaves you feeling good. It's not afraid to go deep, but does so in a way that doesn't have you reveling in misery as you listen. Obviously I would definitely recommend this album.
Buke and Gase - Rhythm and Repose
Fun fact about the band name, Buke is taken from a baritone Ukelele and Gase is a hybrid bass/guitar. Those are two of the handmade instruments the band uses. The first song I heard on this album was "Revel in Contempt". I had it in my library since at least early 2010 but had never knew it was there until last year. Since then I've downloaded the full album and have been very happy with it since. I'm not familiar at all with Buke and Gass and haven't heard any of their other work outside of this album, but I love what they did on the album. For nearly every song on the album they use a compound meter, generally 12/8, to offset themselves from anything you normally hear on a regular basis, it gets your attention for sure.
The album is generally driving and keeps you on your toes although the compound meter does get a little overwhelming towards the end. My personal favorite song of the album is "Naked Cities" and for completely musical geek reasons. It had me reminiscing of rhythmic dictation in college. I'll admit it did take me a little while to figure out the patterns but I did figure it out, I have my analysis at the end of the post.
Aloe Blacc - Good Things
Like the previous artist/album this is another one of those albums where I had a song in my library and had no idea why. The song was "You Make Me Smile", which I enjoyed quite a bit but never really took a second look at Aloe Blacc for some reason, that is until someone at work mentioned him. He was actually asking me for advice on music he might like and I happened across the song in my library when he said, "I've got that album and it's great! Definitely worth checking out." So I did.
Again I didn't really know much about the artist or the album with the exception of the one song. As I listened through the album two things became prevalent. First, Blacc is a talented singer and has a lot of style and soul in his voice, very reminiscent of John Legend. His voice doesn't carry quite as much trustworthiness as Legend's does, likely because it's got a little more edge to it, but it still makes for an enjoyable experience. The second thing I noticed was that the production on the album was, this may seem a little harsh, but it just seemed poor. There were quite a few great ideas expressed throughout the album, but at least once or twice in a song you'd here something that stands out noticeably and just confounds you. Worst yet is when it happens at the end of a song where the ending is abrupt or maybe just slightly unsettling. Either way, one of the worst things a song (or album) can do is end poorly. It just leaves such a bad taste and makes you second guess the quality of the rest of the piece. All that being said, I don't hold that against Blacc, I hold it against the producers for not demanding higher quality. That's their job. So, definitely go check it out, especially if you're in the need for some catchy soul music, you won't be disappointed.
The Strokes - Comedown Machine
I initially became acquainted with The Strokes in high school. I came across their single for the album, First Pressions of Earth, and was infatuated with it, especially the song "Juicebox". When I got to college I decided to look further into their repertoire and bought the album Room on Fire. I loved that album very angsty and gloomy and but almost jokingly so. Their most heralded album, however, is their first studio release, Is This It, which is an excellent album in of itself (ranked as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone).
The band is lead by front man Julian Casablanca who has a fairly distinct and recognizable voice. In total their are five members of the group, which originated from New York. Their sound is multi-faceted, especially on this record, Comedown Machine. The styles can vary from indie rock to synthpop to post-punk revival. All are evident on this album.
The album starts with this quirk and random little guitar riff. It seems to mainly function as an attention getter, and to that effect it works. I won't go song through song, but there are a couple of songs I'll talk about. Right off the top is the first track, "Tap Out" with that quirky little solo at the beginning of it. If you've listened to The Strokes much before the first track will grab your attention because it's nothing you've heard from them before. It's more layered and seems a little more intricately woven than most of their music, plus you throw in female harmonies and the way the vocals just seem to slide into the established groove and you get something you're not used to with The Strokes.
One of my favorite tracks on the record, "One Way Trigger", has a much more familiar Strokes feel to it. The tempo is pushed here and it immediately gets you moving with the music. The familiarity also stems from the rhythmic synth loop and of course Julian Casablancas unmistakable voice. This track also kicks off what I feel is the meat of the album. Although the styles vary throughout tracks 3-7 they're all done well. "Welcome to Japan" is another track that establishes its groove quickly and never lets up until the end where it leads into "80's Comedown Machine" quite nicely. The next track, "50/50" is as post-punk revival as it gets. I didn't grow up in the glory days of punk, but this track lets me imagine being a skater in the late 70's/early 80's. Lastly, "Slow Animals" is just a solid track. I could stand the vocal mix to be a little more prominent, but I must say I love the off-beat hand claps in the chorus.
All in all the album is a good listen. If you're not acquainted with The Strokes, I'm not sure I'd recommend it first out of their discography, but it's still worth your time.
"Naked Cities" Rhythmic Analysis:
Intro: 9/8 - 3 measures; 6/8 - 1 measure
A1 Section: 7/4 - 20 measures
B1 Section: Alternating 4/4 and 12/8 - 28(?) measures
A2 Section: 7/4 - 12 measures
C Section: 7/8 - 7 measures before it breaks/ends
Intro: 9/8 - 3 measures; 6/8 - 1 measure
A1 Section: 7/4 - 20 measures
B1 Section: Alternating 4/4 and 12/8 - 28(?) measures
A2 Section: 7/4 - 12 measures
C Section: 7/8 - 7 measures before it breaks/ends
Let me know if you count the same thing!
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