A Stranger's music :: #46 Lemetre, Antlers and more Radiohead [video reviews]

[Stranger of Sorts]

No apology necessary, that song was indeed super slow. I wish I had some bass on my office speakers becuase there must be more to that song than I can hear.

I really do listen to more dubstep than anything else right now. I dont know about you but I do that with music. I go in phases, now its dubstep, later it will be nothing but metal, then I'll go back to electro or breakbeat. But for now, its Datsik FTW.

There's a bit of bass but it's very subtle. Yes, I do find that my tastes vary in phases but it's less extreme than what you said of yourself, although it does change quite a lot over time. I've mentioned before that I've been through phases of metal and emo but I seem to have settled comfortably in indie. Also, it's a broad enough genre that there's always something for the mood I'm in. Dubstep is something on the side, but there's a lot of parallels between it and a lot of indie stuff.

 

[BloodyThoughts]

Loving these review Stranger, just loving em. Keep em coming will ya?

Oh, and I have one request, review Lonely Island if you would please. I like them, a lot of other people like them, but I want to see your opinion on them.

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Loving these review Stranger, just loving em. Keep em coming will ya?

Oh, and I have one request, review Lonely Island if you would please. I like them, a lot of other people like them, but I want to see your opinion on them.

Will do, I'll slot it in at #24 since I don't really need to listen to much of their stuff again to be familiar with it and anyway, I haven't ripped into an album for a while.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

I absolutely love Enter Shikari. Take to the Skies (as in, the entire album) take up slots 1-17 on my top 25 most played on iTunes. The one thing that I want to mention is that you said the second album was mediocre... I have to disagree. While Take to the Skies is exponentially better, Common Dreads had Solidarity, Juggernauts, and the Jester. But it's all opinion.

 

[TheComedown]

Enter Shikari are easily in my top 5 favorite bands, and Take to the Skies is an awesome album, tho what song don't you recommend on it? cause you seemed to really like my least favorite song, adieu. oh, and i was supprised you didnt mention mother ship or Anything can happen in the next half hourany way sweet reviews, anyway keep up the good work.

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

I absolutely love Enter Shikari. Take to the Skies (as in, the entire album) take up slots 1-17 on my top 25 most played on iTunes. The one thing that I want to mention is that you said the second album was mediocre... I have to disagree. While Take to the Skies is exponentially better, Common Dreads had Solidarity, Juggernauts, and the Jester. But it's all opinion.

They tried to add a bit of dance into their songs in the second album and it really didn't work, in the case of Gap in the Fence it served to completely ruin what could have been an amazing song.

Enter Shikari are easily in my top 5 favorite bands, and Take to the Skies is an awesome album, tho what song don't you recommend on it? cause you seemed to really like my least favorite song, adieu. oh, and i was supprised you didnt mention mother ship or Anything can happen in the next half hourany way sweet reviews, anyway keep up the good work.

I can't really mention all the songs on the album without turning it into a list/ going on forever. So if I really like the album I try and pick the three that stand out. The song I didn't like was actually Mothership since it's completely outclassed by the rest of the album and it's just too frantic.

 

[TheComedown]

I can't really mention all the songs on the album without turning it into a list/ going on forever. So if I really like the album I try and pick the three that stand out. The song I didn't like was actually Mothership since it's completely outclassed by the rest of the album and it's just too frantic.

really? thats one of my favorite songs, its got a sweet intro mad breakdowns, and when they played this live it went off, they mixed the intro with some of the sounds from Zzzonked off their second album, insane, anyway to each his own

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

[HEADING=3]23. It's like liquid man... y'know? [/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Wall of Arms[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]_____by The Maccabees[/HEADING]

[h4] Genre = Indie

Number of Songs = 12

Highlights = Wall of Arms, Seventeen Hands + Bag of Bones[/h4]

Spoiler: Here's the review

After the success of the last review by using a cunning tactic called "reviewing a band everyone has heard of and likes" I thought I'd take the initiative and review a largely unheard of band that is very subject to opinion. What do you mean that doesn't make sense?

The Maccabees are a very hard band to describe, especially in regards to this album because much like "A Weekend in the City" by Bloc Party, the music completely changes over the course of the album. And as well as that album, "Wall of Arms" is at its best with the final three songs. It starts of with typical up-beat indie tunes that initially put me off the album because some of the songs are rather generic, couple that with the fact the The Maccabees are a bit weird and it's easy to see why it took me a few weeks to get round to listening to the rest of the CD. In fact, the first half of the album is so bland that there isn't really a song worth mentioning.

It is at the title track, Wall of Arms, where things take a turn for the awesome. It's a multi-layered and complex song that somehow manages to also be simplistically pleasing, think of it as a standard indie song but with a depth to it. This is added to by the way instruments are constantly cutting in and out so you recognise each individual part. The tone as well, changes from calm to frantic in the space of half a bar, along with the volume as Wall of Arms constantly changes and surprises you. Yet this song is not the best song on the album, not by a long way. From this point every song is better than the last, which is why the other two highlights are the last two songs on Wall of Arms.

It is at the end of No Kind Words, the song directly after Wall of Arms, that we first glimpse the hidden genius of The Maccabees. It's a 30 second cut of the music from Bag of Bones, music so good that I kept listening to the 30 second snippet, completely oblivious to the fact that there was an extended 5 minute rendition at the end of the album. When I did discover Bag of Bones, all the I could think of for days was that song, nothing else compared. It knocks you in a stupefied trance so deeply that I am still unable to fully get over it. The lyrics are nonsensical and parts seem dragged out but for some reason that just seems to work with this song, Bag of Bones is an extremely slow song that, I hat to use the term, is like liquid. Every part flows into the next, all I can say is that if you are into slow, trace-like music then you should definitely check it out.

The other highlight that I listed (note that there are more than three good songs on the album, I just choose three for time's sake) is Seventeen Hands, a song that I think reflects the album quite nicely. In the first two minutes you have a pretty standard, but very well done indie-pop song that manages to be pleasing to the ear and catchy. It is after the two minute mark where the greatness of this song lies. Like Bag of Bones this song knocks you into a trace, though not as powerfully, but there is one bar that seems to get me every time.

This all being said the singer's voice does take some getting used to, it isn't bad by any stretch. it's just different. Though it does perfectly fit the Maccabees style and certainly complements the later songs superbly. I don't know if they do it deliberately but The Maccabees always but their slowest song (and there best in all cases) at the end of the album. Toothpaste Kisses on their other album equals Bag of Bones for its genius, but it does it very differently and more simplistically.

If you are into your Indie, it will surprise me if you haven't heard of The Maccabees, if you haven't there really is nothing stopping you from listening to them/ They are a unique band with a unique sound, and a very good one at that.

​

This is Seventeen Hands, I'm sure if I put Bag of Bones up here then only a few people would love it and the rest would just be confused, and appeasing the masses is what gets you recognition I'm afraid/ I will link you to Bag of Bones (here [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpjfUyxqRFE]) though.

The bar I was telling you in the review (go read it now if you haven't already) comes at around 2:14 though you really need to listen to the whole song to get the best effect.

In random news, it looks as though I may actually have to review The Odyssey, which I'm not looking forward to, though that will come after The Lonely Island, which is next time's review. So look forward ot that within the week .

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

In random news, it looks as though I may actually have to review The Odyssey, which I'm not looking forward to

Should I interpret this to mean you don't like the album, that you've been putting off listening to it and find 20+ minute tracks a daunting prospect, or that you've come to treasure my nagging and aren't looking forward to a time when I have no more reason to keep on nagging? Inquiring minds must know!

As for this latest album, I actually kind of liked the track you used, in spite of the album artwork suggesting this is the sort of thing I loathe (shocking!). They say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but when it comes to albums, I've found that my first impressions are mostly spot on - music I love almost invariably has cover art I also like, and vice versa.

Which is not to say I really like like The Maccabees, but they didn't annoy me, and I could sit through an entire song without feeling as if I'm being emasculated, which is far more than I can say for most indie-rock. I suppose that's good to know.

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Which is not to say I really like like The Maccabees, but they didn't annoy me, and I could sit through an entire song without feeling as if I'm being emasculated, which is far more than I can say for most indie-rock. I suppose that's good to know.

That will be taken as nothing but glorifying praise for the band, especially for a man of your musical tastes.

To answer the question concerning "The Odyssey", yes I am daunted, especially as the last album I was requested to review was The Crooked Vultures and I think we all remember how that turned out.

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

[HEADING=3]24. Quotation marks of contempt[/HEADING]
[HEADING=1]Incredibad[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]_____-by The Lonely Island[/HEADING]
[h4]Genre = "Comedy"

Number of "Songs" = 19

"Highlights" = I'm on a Boat + Gizz in my Pants[/h4]

Spoiler: Here it is! I"m afraid it's a tad short.

Comedy music... to me it seems to be a genre that is destined for failure. Because, as we all know things are rarely as funny the second time you hear them; let alone the third, fourth and fifth time which is the case with many of these songs. And when the laugh factor wears off, what happens then? Well, the songs have to actually stand up as... songs. This is the main place where "Incredibad" falls flat on its face. Most, if not all, of the songs are unbearable as actual songs. Especially when you take into consideration that what The Lonely Island do most of all is to take the piss out of Rap. Which I cannot stand.

I'm afraid the only two groups I can compare The Lonely Island to are Tenacious D and Flight of the Conchords; two undeniably great duos that, I'm afraid to say, completely outclass The Lonely Island. The reasons for this are both numerous and major: firstly, the actual comedy used in this album is very repetitive. Each song starts out with a silly concept, which is only made even sillier as the song progresses. This is perfectly fine if used in moderation, for example Albi the Racist Dragon by Flight of the Conchords is hilarious. But The Lonely Island do this is in every one of their songs.

Silliness appears to be the only thing The Lonely Island have going in their favour, songs titled Dick in a Box and We Like Sportz highlight this perfectly. Every song seems to mention sex and they seem to have a childish fascination with it, to the extent that even a 16 year-old like myself is quickly bored with the mention of it. An anomaly that I have never experienced before.

Secondly, they don't reinforce their songs with good tunes like Tenacious D do; once the humour is spent there is nothing left to make you want to listen to the songs again. Which is the main reason why I was only able to listen to the album 3 times over before I got sick of it. The songs are not just not good, but some verge on terrible: there are songs with no break or bridge to speak of, the same techniques are stamped out in most songs and they like to shout rather than sing.


But don't get me wrong, on the first few playthroughs some of the songs are actually funny, Jizz in my Pants is incredibly stupid but definitely produces some laughter. I'm on a Boat is similar but is funny for an entirely different reason. This reason being that it "feat." T-Pain, a rapper who obviously takes himself seriously. So we have a rapper participating in a song that is making fun of people like him. For me this really highlights the greed of people like T-Pain, I will back up this point by pointing at the list of people "from the ghetto" that have sung with Justin Bieber. So much for integrity....

The problem with reviewing a "band" such as The Lonely Island is that there is really not much for me to say apart from that yes, you should listen to their songs, if only for a few times. (To be honest I'd be surprised if you haven't already). But this is definitely not the best example of the genre for reasons previously stated.

​

The censoring is a bit annoying isn't it? Well the only version with video is hosted by Vevo and they have to be family friendly. Bollocks to that!

Oh and god damn auto tune is doing my head in. It's got to the point where it's the norm to hear it on new songs. Because who needs to be able to actually sing?

This is my first negative review in ages, the last one being a review of Them Crooked Vultures that I believe was exactly 10 reviews ago. But hell, I would happily listen to Them Crooked Vultures if I didn't have to ever listen to The Lonely Island again.

Be sure to leave a comment saying why I'm wrong!

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Loving these review Stranger, just loving em. Keep em coming will ya?

Oh, and I have one request, review Lonely Island if you would please. I like them, a lot of other people like them, but I want to see your opinion on them.

I've just posted the review. Hope you like it, even though I disagree with your opinion of them.

 

[BloodyThoughts]

Ah, I knew you were going to rip into this album right when I read what you said to me the first time. While I disagree with almost everything you said, this was a great review. I am not going to try and tell you why your wrong cause you bring up some very good points which will just, well, beat the ones that I would bring up.

By the way, I agree with you that Tenacious D and Flight of Conchords are fucking hilarious and awesome.

I shall say it again, great review man. I have nothing to try to prove you wrong with even though I love Lonely Island. Also, yes I agree that Jizz in my pants and On a boat were their big highlights, but I also thought that Like a Boss was also. But, like I said I don't really feel like trying to prove you wrong.

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Ah, I knew you were going to rip into this album right when I read what you said to me the first time. While I disagree with almost everything you said, this was a great review. I am not going to try and tell you why your wrong cause you bring up some very good points which will just, well, beat the ones that I would bring up.

By the way, I agree with you that Tenacious D and Flight of Conchords are fucking hilarious and awesome.

I shall say it again, great review man. I have nothing to try to prove you wrong with even though I love Lonely Island. Also, yes I agree that Jizz in my pants and On a boat were their big highlights, but I also thought that Like a Boss was also. But, like I said I don't really feel like trying to prove you wrong.

Thanks, Like a Boss is alright but I found that it stopped being funny on the second play which really is too early. Possibly the main reason for my harshness was that I've heard I'm on a Boat in excess of 20 times due to people playing it on iPod speakers at my school. Each time I hear it I die a little inside.

 

[Fightgarr]

I'm not sure the exact content of the album but my favorite Lonely Island songs came before they all started writing for SNL. Ka-Blamo!, Stork Patrol, The Heist, these were all songs that I legitimately enjoyed, and they were written back when Akiva, Yorma and Andy were trying to get their own show, Awesometown.

One small thing to clarify: when you say that most of their songs are parodying mainstream hip-hop and that you can't stand it should I assume you mean parodies of hip-hop, mainstream hip-hop or all of?

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

The problem with Incredibad, as an album, is indeed that it's relying on the strength of it's jokes and not the strength of the music itself. Listening to it as an album is just going to be detrimental to your long-term enjoyment. I don't personally have that album, but a few tracks from it sometimes pop up on my Pandora station, and that's really the perfect balance - my Pandora station is a ridiculously complicated mishmash of just about everything I enjoy [small](it went from playing Pyramaze (with Matt Barlow, yay) and Kamelot, to Matt Nathanson and Norah Jones, to The Swear over the course of perhaps 10 songs)[/small], so no one element is ever pushed to the forefront for long enough that I start to get sick of it.

I guess what I'm saying is that, if you happen to own this album for some reason, you should rip it and listen to it on shuffle along with a ton of other stuff - will help keep it (relatively) fresh.

Oh and god damn auto tune is doing my head in. It's got to the point where it's the norm to hear it on new songs. Because who needs to be able to actually sing?

What that statement tells me is you're just listening to all the wrong "new" songs Stranger, I almost never run into Autotune in the musical genres I frequent. Heck, use of any pitch correction at all, even in the pre-'we can make everyone sound like pitch perfect robots?!' fashion where it actually makes sense, is grounds for mockery with a lot of it.

And then they play an awesome guitar solo that melts your face off, ha ha!

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

I'm not sure the exact content of the album but my favorite Lonely Island songs came before they all started writing for SNL. Ka-Blamo!, Stork Patrol, The Heist, these were all songs that I legitimately enjoyed, and they were written back when Akiva, Yorma and Andy were trying to get their own show, Awesometown.

I'll be sure to check them out.

One small thing to clarify: when you say that most of their songs are parodying mainstream hip-hop and that you can't stand it should I assume you mean parodies of hip-hop, mainstream hip-hop or all of?

The genre. Well, not really but good hip-hop songs are so few and far between that you can get away with blasting the genre. This, of course, is only my opinion. But it isn't exactly a rare one.

What that statement tells me is you're just listening to all the wrong "new" songs Stranger, I almost never run into Autotune in the musical genres I frequent. Heck, use of any pitch correction at all, even in the pre-'we can make everyone sound like pitch perfect robots?!' fashion where it actually makes sense, is grounds for mockery with a lot of it.

And then they play an awesome guitar solo that melts your face off, ha ha!

The statement was aimed directly at chart music, as far as I know auto-tune is the taboo in both of our tastes.

 

[epikAXE]

With regards to the Macabees review, i found while listening to this album, it lacked any real...power. that was for the first few listens anyway, but did you not find that the more you listen to it, the more awsome it gets? thats what happened with me anyway .

And the Frank Turner reveiw, im sad to see you wernt more impressed with his singing, besides being a lyrical mo'fo' i think he has a really individual voice, and while being rough and gravely, he always hits the right notes, it makes you wonder, did he not intend his voice to sound like that?

Also while were on the subject of Frank Turner, could you reveiw 'Million Dead - A Song to Ruin'? because i like reading your reveiws, and would love to see a reveiw of one of my alltime favourite albums

 

[Fightgarr]

The genre. Well, not really but good hip-hop songs are so few and far between that you can get away with blasting the genre. This, of course, is only my opinion. But it isn't exactly a rare one.

Well, we'll have to agree to strongly disagree. It's long been my opinion that if you believe that good hip-hop is rare you haven't looked... almost at all. The thing is there are so many great hip-hop artists just below the radar. If you will allow me to make a couple of recommendations of (what I believe to be) great hip-hop albums: Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow I consider one of the best hip-hop albums ever created, De La Soul - Art Official Intelligence: Bionix, Jurassic 5 - Power in Numbers, The Roots - The Tipping Point, Nujabes - Metaphorical Music and RJD2 - Deadringer would be my top recommendations on great, just below the radar, hip-hop artists.

Now if it's the case that you've thoroughly explored the hip-hop genre and still don't like it because of the style rather than because of the content? Well that's a subjectivity I can understand, even if I think totally differently. Cheers!

 

[Stranger of Sorts]

Well, we'll have to agree to strongly disagree. It's long been my opinion that if you believe that good hip-hop is rare you haven't looked... almost at all. The thing is there are so many great hip-hop artists just below the radar. If you will allow me to make a couple of recommendations of (what I believe to be) great hip-hop albums: Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow I consider one of the best hip-hop albums ever created, De La Soul - Art Official Intelligence: Bionix, Jurassic 5 - Power in Numbers, The Roots - The Tipping Point, Nujabes - Metaphorical Music and RJD2 - Deadringer would be my top recommendations on great, just below the radar, hip-hop artists.

Now if it's the case that you've thoroughly explored the hip-hop genre and still don't like it because of the style rather than because of the content? Well that's a subjectivity I can understand, even if I think totally differently. Cheers!

I've done a fair bit of experimenting with the genre, I actually came across Blackalicious pretty early on. The problem I had with them, and indeed the genre in its entirety, is that it is unrelenting. Sure Blazing Arrows is pretty easy listening but throughout the whole verse there are no breaks to speak of. Sure, the chorus is there to provide contrast but that too is continuous.

With regards to the Macabees review, i found while listening to this album, it lacked any real...power. that was for the first few listens anyway, but did you not find that the more you listen to it, the more awsome it gets? thats what happened with me anyway .

Exactly that.

And the Frank Turner reveiw, im sad to see you wernt more impressed with his singing, besides being a lyrical mo'fo' i think he has a really individual voice, and while being rough and gravely, he always hits the right notes, it makes you wonder, did he not intend his voice to sound like that?

Also while were on the subject of Frank Turner, could you reveiw 'Million Dead - A Song to Ruin'? because i like reading your reveiws, and would love to see a reveiw of one of my alltime favourite albums

His voice is a bit flat and doesn't vary in tone that often, but I will definitely check out the album and will get back to you if I don't end up reviewing it.