A Stranger's music :: #46 Lemetre, Antlers and more Radiohead [video reviews]
- Thread starter Stranger of Sorts
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Small point: There isn't anyone here named Gildan Bladethorn (though that does sound pretty cool as a surname), my user name is Bladeborn. The link is dead in other words.Stranger of Sorts said:
Certainly not by me, and I'd imagine not by Stranger either given he really liked The Romanovs; one of the things he mentioned was that the tracks I'd used in my review reminded him of Evanescence. Given the positive context of the post overall, I'd conclude that was meant to be complimentary. It is trendy to hate on Evanescence though!Sassafrass said:
Oh, sorry my bad. It's all fixed now.Gildan Bladeborn said:
Extremely trendy! But yes, I am quite fond of them and already own the album.
Manual labour, that's what. I'm working maintenance in the week so the only time off I get is an hour at lunch (that's now) and the evenings. I've been listening to Floyd quite a bit so hopefully I'll be able to write that one up soon.alerriixx said:
Good reviews as always, but again I disagree with a lot of what you said. I very much like plastic beach and Fake Blood.
As for suggestions, if you liked that Mt Eden song, you should try Netsky's self titled album, it's mostly chilled out and all excellent. PS I did say not all DnB was the same
As for suggestions, if you liked that Mt Eden song, you should try Netsky's self titled album, it's mostly chilled out and all excellent. PS I did say not all DnB was the same
You did indeed, thank you for that.razer17 said:
I think the next review I'm going to do is the new Bombay Bicycle Club album, the only problem is is that I can't get hold of it. There's no free torrents and iTunes is saying I need to put in a load of my dad's details and he's not here!. It's horrific!
It's cool, everyone can't like everything.Stranger of Sorts said:
I'll still kill you. But i'll make it look like an accident.
But again, If you'd like to take a break from all that [sup]sheer awesome[/sup] dance music. Take a look at Lateralus by Tool. It's my favorite album of all time.
[img_inline align="left" caption="Flaws by Bombay Bicycle Club" height="250" width="247"] http://efitsoftware.com/uploads/posts/2010-07/1278668708_16xyo1g.jpeg[/img_inline][HEADING=1]A Stranger reviews[/HEADING][HEADING=1]Flaws[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]_by Bombay Bicycle Club[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Genre:__________. Acoustic
Number of Songs:- 11
Highlights: _____._ Rinse Me Down, Leaving Blues + Dust on the Ground[/HEADING]
[hr]
I know I'm supposed to be trundling through all the requests at the moment since I basically said that I'd do all of them. It's just that if the band who released the best album of last year make an acoustic album, I can hardly ignore it. I did actually review "I had the Blues, but I Shook Them Loose" (last year's album), though it was my first go at reviewing music so it's not on this thread. A summary of that album's review is as follows: *drool*...
The sad thing is that the video above this text will play you the best song on the album. Leaving Blues is a beautiful song with great lyrics, moving tone and charming guitar but it's the best song on the album, meaning that immediately this album is not as good as their last one. Why do I say this? Well, there was no "best song" on the last album, it was uniform genius. I could listen to (almost) any song on that album and tell you why I would happily listen to it for the rest of my life.
The other problem is that none of the other songs really clicked for me. They were well done and good to listen to but they sounded a bit hollow and lacking any real feel. Let's use Ivy and Gold as an example: it's a very jolly song and has a melody that chimes up and down a scale in a "knees-up" kind of way. The trouble is that the vocals just follow along with the guitar, hitting the same note at the same time. This, in my mind at least, is incredibly boring. Oh, and this song is meant to be the single of the album...
Of course not all the songs are sub-standard, some are pleasant enough: the opening song Rinse Me Down is one of these. It doesn't rely too heavily on finger picking and somehow manages to be both upbeat and mellow at the same time. This is probably due to the singer's very distinctive voice which is smooth and rather haunting.
That does bring us onto another rather large flaw in "Flaws" (puns!), the singer just isn't suited for an acoustic album, he just sounds out of place and strained when he's trying to sing quietly. His voice was perfect for the aforementioned "I had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose" as it featured a lot of loud, build-up type songs.
It pains me to be blasting this album in this way as I feel I am the perfect audience for an album like this: I really enjoyed Bombay Bicycle Club's first album, I love mellow acoustic songs and I even play the same style of guitar playing that this album features. But I can feel nothing but disappointment for "Flaws", I can appreciate that Bombay Bicycle Club wanted to try something new but they've completely thrown away their style for songs that come across as (and I hate to say this) generic. The fact that one of the highlights for me (Dust on the Ground) is an acoustic cover of a song on the last album shows this.
Unless you're a die hard acoustic/ Bombay Bicycle Club fan, you most likely won't take anything from this album. I've been listening to the album for less than a week and I'm already bored of it. And to think I payed for it...
[HEADING=2]_by Bombay Bicycle Club[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]Genre:__________. Acoustic
Number of Songs:- 11
Highlights: _____._ Rinse Me Down, Leaving Blues + Dust on the Ground[/HEADING]
[hr]
I know I'm supposed to be trundling through all the requests at the moment since I basically said that I'd do all of them. It's just that if the band who released the best album of last year make an acoustic album, I can hardly ignore it. I did actually review "I had the Blues, but I Shook Them Loose" (last year's album), though it was my first go at reviewing music so it's not on this thread. A summary of that album's review is as follows: *drool*...
The sad thing is that the video above this text will play you the best song on the album. Leaving Blues is a beautiful song with great lyrics, moving tone and charming guitar but it's the best song on the album, meaning that immediately this album is not as good as their last one. Why do I say this? Well, there was no "best song" on the last album, it was uniform genius. I could listen to (almost) any song on that album and tell you why I would happily listen to it for the rest of my life.
The other problem is that none of the other songs really clicked for me. They were well done and good to listen to but they sounded a bit hollow and lacking any real feel. Let's use Ivy and Gold as an example: it's a very jolly song and has a melody that chimes up and down a scale in a "knees-up" kind of way. The trouble is that the vocals just follow along with the guitar, hitting the same note at the same time. This, in my mind at least, is incredibly boring. Oh, and this song is meant to be the single of the album...
Of course not all the songs are sub-standard, some are pleasant enough: the opening song Rinse Me Down is one of these. It doesn't rely too heavily on finger picking and somehow manages to be both upbeat and mellow at the same time. This is probably due to the singer's very distinctive voice which is smooth and rather haunting.
That does bring us onto another rather large flaw in "Flaws" (puns!), the singer just isn't suited for an acoustic album, he just sounds out of place and strained when he's trying to sing quietly. His voice was perfect for the aforementioned "I had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose" as it featured a lot of loud, build-up type songs.
It pains me to be blasting this album in this way as I feel I am the perfect audience for an album like this: I really enjoyed Bombay Bicycle Club's first album, I love mellow acoustic songs and I even play the same style of guitar playing that this album features. But I can feel nothing but disappointment for "Flaws", I can appreciate that Bombay Bicycle Club wanted to try something new but they've completely thrown away their style for songs that come across as (and I hate to say this) generic. The fact that one of the highlights for me (Dust on the Ground) is an acoustic cover of a song on the last album shows this.
Unless you're a die hard acoustic/ Bombay Bicycle Club fan, you most likely won't take anything from this album. I've been listening to the album for less than a week and I'm already bored of it. And to think I payed for it...
[img_inline caption="It's been a loooong time" height="250" width="247" align="left"]http://superneonblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/faintcover.jpg[/img_inline][HEADING=1]A Stranger Reviews[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Fasciinatiion[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]_by The Faint[/HEADING]
[h4]Genre = Indie Electro-Rock
Number of Songs = 10
Highlights = Mirror Error, I Treat You Wrong + A Battle Hymn for Children[/h4]
Why did I ever stop doing these...? I asked myself that question yesterday as I was preparing for the journey back from the Lake District, where I'd been staying for a week's holiday. It wasn't just about music reviews that I was thinking about, but reviews in general. I mean, I had plenty of time to do them but I could never find the drive for them, especially if it involved listening to music I didn't particularly like. I guess that in the end it started to feel a bit like a job. And we can't have that can we. Oh, I'll certainly do all (or most) of the suggestions that I have failed to do but after that I may cut back on them a bit. But before I start on them I thought I should break myself into it again with something in my comfort zone, keep in mind that it is now 11:00 at night and I've been in a car for 6 of the previous 10 hours.
"Fasciinatiion" is an album that eluded me for a while; I've had it on my hard drive for the best part of 3 months but it was only recently that I listened to it thanks to a slip of the finger that resulted in the "shuffle songs" option being selected. The song that was shuffled toward me was I Treat You Wrong: it's not terribly exciting to listen to, the verse is a little bit boring and the chorus is lacklustre but the lyrics are simply brilliant. They manage to tell a story without being direct, some of the rhymes are quite clever and some lines are definitely memorable. The opening lines of:
show this perfectly.
This isn't really a trend that continues throughout the album. Songs like Mirror Error encompass the clever lyrics with catchy electro-beats in the chorus. It happily stands on it's own merit as a song that's pleasing to the ears but the words just give the song another dimension, meaning that it's definitely worth a few repeats.
This whole album seems to be pretty experimental, the songs are never straightforward and often have their own element that cannot be seen in the other songs. That being said, some songs on "Fasciinatiion" are quite dull and seem to merge into the album as a whole in that they just aren't distinct enough to be noticed. In fact, I wouldn't hesitate to say that basically the first half of the album fits this as all the "good"[footnote]Remember, this is my opinion which means that it is probably wrong.[/footnote] songs come later on.
Songs like A Battle Hymn for Children: it's haunting, quite sad and carries a political agenda with it that only becomes apparent toward the end of the song. (That agenda being that it is hypocritical to say that God is on "our"[footnote]If you're American[/footnote] side as "we"[footnote]See footnote 2[/footnote] are bombing innocents). Anyway, the most important thing is that the song sounds good and once again showcases the skill of The Faint in producing songs with clever lyrics and that sound good as well.
If you're into the genre then I wouldn't hold back in getting this album. It will definitely entertain you for a few listens, though for me it did start to become strained after the shock of the lyrics had gone. Yes, the songs are good on a musical level but without the lyrics they are nothing special.
[hr]
Even I can tell I'm rusty. Feedback anyone?
[HEADING=1]Fasciinatiion[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]_by The Faint[/HEADING]
[h4]Genre = Indie Electro-Rock
Number of Songs = 10
Highlights = Mirror Error, I Treat You Wrong + A Battle Hymn for Children[/h4]
Why did I ever stop doing these...? I asked myself that question yesterday as I was preparing for the journey back from the Lake District, where I'd been staying for a week's holiday. It wasn't just about music reviews that I was thinking about, but reviews in general. I mean, I had plenty of time to do them but I could never find the drive for them, especially if it involved listening to music I didn't particularly like. I guess that in the end it started to feel a bit like a job. And we can't have that can we. Oh, I'll certainly do all (or most) of the suggestions that I have failed to do but after that I may cut back on them a bit. But before I start on them I thought I should break myself into it again with something in my comfort zone, keep in mind that it is now 11:00 at night and I've been in a car for 6 of the previous 10 hours.
"Fasciinatiion" is an album that eluded me for a while; I've had it on my hard drive for the best part of 3 months but it was only recently that I listened to it thanks to a slip of the finger that resulted in the "shuffle songs" option being selected. The song that was shuffled toward me was I Treat You Wrong: it's not terribly exciting to listen to, the verse is a little bit boring and the chorus is lacklustre but the lyrics are simply brilliant. They manage to tell a story without being direct, some of the rhymes are quite clever and some lines are definitely memorable. The opening lines of:
"I don't mean to sound like I want a fight, but the arguments I've started make it sound like I might. I've got to prove my point, got to show that you're wrong. Does the topic even matter? Why's my throat getting sore?"
show this perfectly.
This isn't really a trend that continues throughout the album. Songs like Mirror Error encompass the clever lyrics with catchy electro-beats in the chorus. It happily stands on it's own merit as a song that's pleasing to the ears but the words just give the song another dimension, meaning that it's definitely worth a few repeats.
This whole album seems to be pretty experimental, the songs are never straightforward and often have their own element that cannot be seen in the other songs. That being said, some songs on "Fasciinatiion" are quite dull and seem to merge into the album as a whole in that they just aren't distinct enough to be noticed. In fact, I wouldn't hesitate to say that basically the first half of the album fits this as all the "good"[footnote]Remember, this is my opinion which means that it is probably wrong.[/footnote] songs come later on.
Songs like A Battle Hymn for Children: it's haunting, quite sad and carries a political agenda with it that only becomes apparent toward the end of the song. (That agenda being that it is hypocritical to say that God is on "our"[footnote]If you're American[/footnote] side as "we"[footnote]See footnote 2[/footnote] are bombing innocents). Anyway, the most important thing is that the song sounds good and once again showcases the skill of The Faint in producing songs with clever lyrics and that sound good as well.
If you're into the genre then I wouldn't hold back in getting this album. It will definitely entertain you for a few listens, though for me it did start to become strained after the shock of the lyrics had gone. Yes, the songs are good on a musical level but without the lyrics they are nothing special.
[hr]
Even I can tell I'm rusty. Feedback anyone?
Well that was... interesting. Not really my particular cup of tea, but hardly ear poison either. So feedback eh? Well for some reason or other the line "show this perfectly" is oddly indented on a line by itself, sort of stands out. Also I notice you've switched up the colors for the beginning segments, and while I'm all for variety it's a tad bit too light a shade of blue to really work against a white background - makes the text harder to read. If you're committed to blue instead of black I'd suggest something darker.
Hello again, the colour at the beginning changes every week depending on what colour the album cover is. It's not a perfect fit but I can't be bothered to go through the whole f1a3g-whatever list till I get a match.Gildan Bladeborn said:
[img_inline align="left" caption="... is not as good as DSotM" height="250" width="247"]http://www.myfreewallpapers.net/music/wallpapers/pink-floyd-the-wall.jpg[/img_inline]
[HEADING=1]A Stranger reviews...[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]The Wall[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]_by Pink Floyd[/HEADING]
[h4]Genre = Progressive Rock
Number of Songs = 26 (depending on version)
Highlights = [small]Is There Anybody Out There, Another Brick in the Wall (P.2) + Comfortably Numb[/small][/h4]
Let me say this first, 26 songs is a helluva lot of songs to trundle through. Also, "The Wall" is not nearly as good as "Dark Side of the Moon" (a much shorter album which I had already listened to extensively and could have reviewed off the bat! Why did you ask me to review this one! WHY!) Death threats aside [sub]wut?[/sub] this album is still pretty good, if a little patchy, and was just about interesting enough to keep me listening for a few plays.
This being a Prog. Rock album, it is extremely experimental and not without it's extensive guitar solos, instrumentals and seemingly random selection of sound bites. It ties together to create an effect that is only really felt if you're in the mind set of reading meanings into things, which luckily I was. Take Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) as an example as it's a song that you've probably heard of, in any case you should be listening to it now. Right at the end there are several clips of parents screaming at their children ("If you don't have any meat, you can't have your pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!" It symbolises (I hope) the oppression of children and mirrors the song itself, a chant about the education system.
It's not often that I pick the most popular song on the album as a highlight ,which Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) is, but it's just such a classic that I can't ignore it. It's catchy in a funky way and is incredibly easy to sing along to, at the same time it perfectly mirrors a lot of peoples' opinions on the British education system and childhood in general. That aside, it will definitely surprise those who don't know that the other two highlights are very popular as well. I must be getting old.
My personal favourite is Is Anybody Out There?: it starts out in a creepy manner with the singer repeating the lines of the title while eerie instruments and backing singers add to the atmosphere. It's very well done, even to the point that I feel genuinely uncomfortable listening to it. What makes this song great though, is the calming guitar part that surprises anyone listening with simplistic beauty. It's the contrast that really makes it work and it gets me every time.
Comfortably Numb is less interesting, though still very good. It's linked to the rest of the album with repeated themes, such as including the line: "is there anybody in there?". In the end, it's probably the closest Pink Floyd get to a conventional song and I familiarise with the verse-chorus structure so I suppose that is why I included it as a highlight. Oh, it's also extremely well done with a great guitar solo and intricate layering of instruments.
The problem (as I've mentioned before) with "The Wall" is just that it is, on average, a pretty poor album since the few good songs that are scattered around are dragged down by a sea of awkward, seemingly half-finished songs that just try to be a little too clever. The album is definitely worth delving into, if you're interested, but it isn't something that will take most of your time away.
[hr]
[hr]
To do (hopefully)
[HEADING=1]A Stranger reviews...[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]The Wall[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]_by Pink Floyd[/HEADING]
[h4]Genre = Progressive Rock
Number of Songs = 26 (depending on version)
Highlights = [small]Is There Anybody Out There, Another Brick in the Wall (P.2) + Comfortably Numb[/small][/h4]
Let me say this first, 26 songs is a helluva lot of songs to trundle through. Also, "The Wall" is not nearly as good as "Dark Side of the Moon" (a much shorter album which I had already listened to extensively and could have reviewed off the bat! Why did you ask me to review this one! WHY!) Death threats aside [sub]wut?[/sub] this album is still pretty good, if a little patchy, and was just about interesting enough to keep me listening for a few plays.
This being a Prog. Rock album, it is extremely experimental and not without it's extensive guitar solos, instrumentals and seemingly random selection of sound bites. It ties together to create an effect that is only really felt if you're in the mind set of reading meanings into things, which luckily I was. Take Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) as an example as it's a song that you've probably heard of, in any case you should be listening to it now. Right at the end there are several clips of parents screaming at their children ("If you don't have any meat, you can't have your pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!" It symbolises (I hope) the oppression of children and mirrors the song itself, a chant about the education system.
It's not often that I pick the most popular song on the album as a highlight ,which Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) is, but it's just such a classic that I can't ignore it. It's catchy in a funky way and is incredibly easy to sing along to, at the same time it perfectly mirrors a lot of peoples' opinions on the British education system and childhood in general. That aside, it will definitely surprise those who don't know that the other two highlights are very popular as well. I must be getting old.
My personal favourite is Is Anybody Out There?: it starts out in a creepy manner with the singer repeating the lines of the title while eerie instruments and backing singers add to the atmosphere. It's very well done, even to the point that I feel genuinely uncomfortable listening to it. What makes this song great though, is the calming guitar part that surprises anyone listening with simplistic beauty. It's the contrast that really makes it work and it gets me every time.
Comfortably Numb is less interesting, though still very good. It's linked to the rest of the album with repeated themes, such as including the line: "is there anybody in there?". In the end, it's probably the closest Pink Floyd get to a conventional song and I familiarise with the verse-chorus structure so I suppose that is why I included it as a highlight. Oh, it's also extremely well done with a great guitar solo and intricate layering of instruments.
The problem (as I've mentioned before) with "The Wall" is just that it is, on average, a pretty poor album since the few good songs that are scattered around are dragged down by a sea of awkward, seemingly half-finished songs that just try to be a little too clever. The album is definitely worth delving into, if you're interested, but it isn't something that will take most of your time away.
[hr]
I've thought of doing that before so it's very likely that I will review it.Freebird. said:
[hr]
To do (hopefully)
- Fear Factory
Evanescence
Maximo Park
The XX
The first 10 songs that pop up on shuffle.
Reservoir by Fanfarlo - in retrospect
Another good review. I am quite fond of The Wall, although I do agree that it isn't on par with Dark Side of the Moon. However, Comfortably Numb is one of the best songs ever written, in my humble opinion.
I think you should review Skream - Outside the Box, great dubstep album.
I think you should review Skream - Outside the Box, great dubstep album.
I have some... issues with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album - not through any fault of the album necessarily, but because I was once stuck at a social gathering where I was introduced to the whole "combine it with the Wizard of Oz" deal, courtesy of a local broadcaster actually playing it as an alternate audio feed, which I sat and watched because it was that or staring blankly at a wall.
If you've never tried that, my advice is don't - it doesn't really match up all that well despite what stoners would have you think, and watching silent dancing munchkins is super creepy. And the movie is longer than the album by a good margin, so it just starts to repeat, and all the while everything else is silent and gradually taking on an air of increasing malevolence... but mostly it was just really boring! Some things are apparently only fun if you're extremely high. I came to resent being stuck there with nothing else to do, and in turn that resentment got passed along to Dark Side of the Moon, which I know isn't particularly fair but them's the breaks.
The Wall though I have no particular problem with - thanks for reviewing it in fact, because now I know that, in a different context, I probably still wouldn't have really liked that other Pink Floyd album I try not to think about too much lest dancing munchkins haunt my dreams. I clearly don't dislike the band of course, and I certainly wouldn't complain if they happened to be playing, I'm just not particularly enthused.
Personally I find that kind of odd given I actually LIKE progressive rock, a lot of which is remarkably similar to the song I just listened to; the mind is funny that way.
And now for something completely different (but still related): Though I did spend a good length of time nagging you about that Symphony X album, I wasn't the one who originally suggested it and I've never requested anything else. Well I totally have a suggestion/request now!
Thinking about Pink Floyd set my mind working: You should review Opeth's Damnation album, I'm quite confident you'd love it. Opeth's normal albums... perhaps not so much, but Damnation is definitely right up your proverbial alley.
If you've never tried that, my advice is don't - it doesn't really match up all that well despite what stoners would have you think, and watching silent dancing munchkins is super creepy. And the movie is longer than the album by a good margin, so it just starts to repeat, and all the while everything else is silent and gradually taking on an air of increasing malevolence... but mostly it was just really boring! Some things are apparently only fun if you're extremely high. I came to resent being stuck there with nothing else to do, and in turn that resentment got passed along to Dark Side of the Moon, which I know isn't particularly fair but them's the breaks.
The Wall though I have no particular problem with - thanks for reviewing it in fact, because now I know that, in a different context, I probably still wouldn't have really liked that other Pink Floyd album I try not to think about too much lest dancing munchkins haunt my dreams. I clearly don't dislike the band of course, and I certainly wouldn't complain if they happened to be playing, I'm just not particularly enthused.
Personally I find that kind of odd given I actually LIKE progressive rock, a lot of which is remarkably similar to the song I just listened to; the mind is funny that way.
And now for something completely different (but still related): Though I did spend a good length of time nagging you about that Symphony X album, I wasn't the one who originally suggested it and I've never requested anything else. Well I totally have a suggestion/request now!
Thinking about Pink Floyd set my mind working: You should review Opeth's Damnation album, I'm quite confident you'd love it. Opeth's normal albums... perhaps not so much, but Damnation is definitely right up your proverbial alley.
I shall take a look at it.razer17 said:
I shall take a look at that too!Gildan Bladeborn said:
Thanks for the feedback both of you.
I actually have a few albums I think you'd enjoy. First of all, the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz, especially the "March Aux Supplice" (aka March to the Scaffold" and "Songe un nuit de Sabbat" or "Dreams of a Witches Sabbath"). Next is the classic heavy Metal album "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath. "Days of Future Passed" by The Moody Blues, The Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach, and "Watermark" by Enya. I listened to "Cursuum Perficico" for the first time ever on a night trip by ferry, and being out under the night sky at the front of the boat with friends was a mind-blowing experience. Literally. And "Boadicea" from her "Celts" Album is gorgeous. Maybe add a "Queen" Album to that... "A Day at the Races", maybe?
That being said, I bought "The Wall" when it first came out- on vinyl, no less. Andmy favorites song back then was "Waiting for the Worms". And "The Trial" as well.
That being said, I bought "The Wall" when it first came out- on vinyl, no less. Andmy favorites song back then was "Waiting for the Worms". And "The Trial" as well.