Hamster's Album Collection revisited

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Empire" by Kasabian

2006

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Empire" – 3:53 (Pizzorno, Chris Karloff)

2. "Shoot the Runner" – 3:27

3. "Last Trip (In Flight)" – 2:53

4. "Me Plus One" – 2:28

5. "Sun Rise Light Flies" – 4:08

6. "Apnoea" – 1:48

7. "By My Side" – 4:14 (Pizzorno, Karloff)

8. "Stuntman" – 5:19 (Pizzorno, Karloff)

9. "Seek & Destroy" – 2:15

10. "British Legion" – 3:19

11. "The Doberman" – 5:34

This got a LOT of play in the Gamestation store where I worked for the first few weeks after we'd opened a few years ago...then I lost interest in them. About a year ago I picked up "Club Foot" from their first album on Singstar and found this album cheap shortly after to start renewing my interest. Now, Empire is definitely NOT a perfect album but it is a very good one. It's very sad that bassist and songwriter Chris Karloff left during this album but he did co-write "Empire" and "By My Side" before he left, both of which are among the strongest on the album. "Empire" is an excellent opener, even better if watched with the video. I also like "Shoot The Runner" but weirdly the addition of the lyric "bitch" just sounds a bit camp for me and strangely saps some enjoyment out of the song. "Sun Rise Light Flies" is reminiscent of Noel Gallagher's collaborations with the Chemical Brothers. The album doesn't take you on a magical journey or anything like that but won't fail to throw you into high, energetic spirits with a quick listen through when you most need it.

Highlights...

Empire

Sun Rise Light Flies

Apnoea

By My Side

The Doberman

Low points...

Me Plus One

Stuntman

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Yesterday Went Too Soon" by Feeder

1999

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(5/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Anaesthetic" – 3:50

2. "Insomnia" – 2:54

3. "Picture of Perfect Youth" – 3:46

4. "Yesterday Went Too Soon" – 4:20

5. "Waiting for Changes" – 2:44

6. "Radioman" – 3:37

7. "Day In Day Out" – 3:39

8. "Tinsel Town" – 4:29

9. "You're My Evergreen" – 3:24

10. "Dry" – 4:24

11. "Hole in My Head" – 2:58

12. "So Well" – 4:03

13. "Paperfaces" – 4:25

The other day I grabbed a couple of CDs to quickly copy onto my phone to listen to on the long walk to work. This happened to be one of them.

I loved Feeder back when this album was released and went to see them twice within a year while at uni. This is their second album and I remember that I really liked it. What I'd forgotten though was how incredible it actually is. I was thinking that maybe nostalgia had gotten to me at the time and that in hindsight Polythene must have been the better album. Not so.

Yesterday Went Too Soon is full of vigorous highs and rolling, beautiful lows. In fact the only bad thing I'd have to say about the album is that it flicks between highs and lows a bit too much - creating an almost schizophrenic album at times. However just as you finish Yesterday Went Too Soon or Tinsel Town, classics such as Waiting For Changes and You Are My Evergreen kick in and suddenly you're up, loving the high again.

I forgot how many excellent tracks were on this album, but they reminded me by coming one after another....and then just as I thought I remembered the album trailing off quietly over the last few tracks, my memory was proven wrong by the perfectly frantic "Hole In My Head" followed by the beautiful "So Well". There are so many great tracks but the two standout tracks must be "Insomnia" (for the upbeat) and "Yesterday Went Too Soon" (for the introspective). Both of which are probably two of my favourite songs of all time...by anyone.

Highlights...

Insomnia

Yesterday Went Too Soon

Waiting For Changes

Day In and Day Out

Tinsel Town

You Are My Evergreen

Hole In My Head

So Well

Low points...

Radioman (but far from terrible)

Paperfaces

...and yes I know that's too many Highligts but TOUGH.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy" by múm

2007

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Blessed Brambles" – 6:00

2. "A Little Bit, Sometimes" – 3:50

3. "They Made Frogs Smoke 'Til They Exploded" – 4:02

4. "These Eyes Are Berries" – 3:00

5. "Moon Pulls" – 2:32

6. "Marmalade Fires" – 5:03

7. "Rhubarbidoo" – 1:34

8. "Dancing Behind My Eyelids" – 4:07

9. "Schoolsong Misfortune" – 2:39

10. "I Was Her Horse" – 2:08

11. "Guilty Rocks" – 5:02

12. "Winter (What We Never Were After All)" – 4:08

13. "The Amateur Show" – 5:02 (Japanese edition bonus track)

You don't like this. Icelandic post rock-electronica in a mix of Sigur Ros, Amiina, Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. At times the album pushes music to the edge of what's actually music and what's just being experimental for the sake of it (I'm looking at you Rhubarbidoo) but for me it pretty much always stays just the right side and the album is brilliant because of it. Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir, former lead singer of the group had left a couple of years before and this album is a departure from earlier stuff. I prefer it though. Whimsical lyrics mixed with delicate violins, harmonicas and harps, filled out with electro squelches and at times some pretty hardcore drum samples. Reviewers always talk about Marmalade Fires and Moon Pulls being the big two but they're probably the weaker tracks for me. They Made Frogs Smoke... is just spectacular with glitching, harmonicas, kazoos and great vocals about not pulling legs off frogs. Dancing Behind My Eyelids is another true highlight. It's a legitimate dance track that brings in Squarepusher sounds and a break down in the middle very reminiscent of To Cure A Weakling Child from Aphex Twin. Astonishing.

Highlights...

Blessed Brambles

A Little Bit, Sometimes

They Made Frogs Smoke...

Dancing Behind My Eyelids

Schoolsong Misfortune

Guilty Rocks

Low points...

Moon Pulls

Marmalade Fires

Rhubarbidoo

Check these live performances in which they play the electro stuff with standard instruments:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd14CK_MPRo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8JXgqL70LQ

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Earthling" by David Bowie

1997

(Y) (Y) (Y)

(3/5)

Full track listing:

1."Little Wonder" – 6:02

2. "Looking for Satellites" – 5:21

3. "Battle for Britain (The Letter)" – 4:48

4. "Seven Years in Tibet" – 6:22

5. "Dead Man Walking" – 6:50

6. "Telling Lies" – 4:49

7. "The Last Thing You Should Do" – 4:57

8. "I'm Afraid of Americans" – 5:00

9. "Law (Earthlings on Fire)" – 4:48

With 23 studio albums to his name David Bowie has released more bad albums than most bands have produced albums in total....and yet the number of great albums he's released from all different stages of his career is still fantastic. Sadly Earthling doesn't reach great, instead it sits somewhere in the middle. This was a time when Bowie was working on remixing, on including electro and industrial and as such is a pretty hard listen at times...drilling its way into your head. I actually had to cut to the end of Telling Lies because it was annoying me. There's a decent amount of "meh" in the album which would spell doom for it if it wasn't for the two special tracks which probably do most of the work in salvaging the album's reputation. "Little Wonder" is probably my favourite Bowie track of all time which is saying something (though probably more about me than him! "I'm Afraid of Americans" is the other big track from the album, later remixed by Trent Reznor and generally receiving the plaudits of the album. These two tracks alone probably earn all three thumbs up.

Album cover is magnificent though.

Highlights...

Little Wonder

Dead Man Walking

I'm Afraid of Americans

Low points...

Much "meh"ness throughout.

Telling Lies

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea" by PJ Harvey

2000

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(5/5)

Full track listing:

"Big Exit" - 3:51

"Good Fortune" - 3:20

"A Place Called Home" - 3:43

"One Line" - 3:14

"Beautiful Feeling" - 4:00

"The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore" - 4:01

"This Mess We're In" (featuring Thom Yorke) - 3:57

"You Said Something" - 3:19

"Kamikaze" - 2:24

"This Is Love" - 3:48

"Horses in My Dreams" - 5:38

"We Float" - 6:07

"This Wicked Tongue" - 3:42

This album placed highly in my top 20 list from a while back...Basically because it's fantastic. Amazing. PJ has always been a bit out of leftfield - she was labelled into Britpop yet, like Pulp, really she was making music DURING that period and because she was British she got pulled into that musical "period" when people discuss it. "Stories from the City...." is definitely one of my all time favourites. It's her best album in my mind, probably the most commercial too so a good starting place for any of you lot who don't know her. I'm not going to repeat myself from my earlier thread, let's just say that it's WELL worth a listen. :wub: :wub: PJ. She'd screw you up and then make you a nice cup of tea in the morning.

Highlights...

Big Exit

The Whores Hustle and The Hustlers Whore

This Mess We're In

You Said Something

We Float

(relative) Low points...

Beautiful Feeling

Horses In My Dreams

...oh and the video for

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Robyn" by Robyn

2005

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1. Curriculum Vitae

2. Konichiwa Bitches

3. Cobrastyle

4. Handle Me

5. Bum Like You

6. Be Mine!

7. With Every Heartbeat

8. Who's The Girl?

9. Bionic Woman

10. Crash And Burn Girl

11. Robotboy

12. Eclipse

13. Should Have Known

14. Any Time You Like

15. Dream On

16. Keep This Fire Burning

17. Show Me Love (remix)

18. Jack You Off

I love Robyn and am also kind of frustrated by her sometimes. I think it's because she sits firmly and equally between two genres. One - electro - I love. The other - R&B - I hate.

It means that I can enjoy the stuff she does but rarely LOVE it. Probably for the best though as it's a bit girlie.

I'm going to give some Robyn knowledge (some I knew, some dredged).

I remember Robyn from the 90s when she released the cheese-tastic pop single "Show Me Love":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx6w9ZgjuJI

...and then promptly vanished from the UK charts until her FOURTH album (believe it or not) "Robyn" was released. It did ok, reaching 13 in the UK charts. Critically acclaimed though.

I have the UK special edition which has 18 tracks instead of the original 14.

Her return coincided with my hairdressing course which meant my style-sense were tingling more than they have before or since and in that respect she looked great. The album itself is high-spots and filler (unsurprising considering how many tracks there are).

"Konichiwa Bitches" is probably the most famous and has a great bright and cheesy video. I like the track - her rapping seems tongue-in-cheek and the electro bleeping towards the end is legitimately great. My favourite track off the album is "With Every Heartbeat" which is lush electropop at its' best.

There's plenty to like. Karin Dreijer (The Knife) works with her on "Who's That Girl". "Be Mine!" is strangely lovely. "Cobrastyle" takes me back to Electroclash which is quite groovy.

Highlights...

Konichiwa Bitches

Cobrastyle

Be Mine!

With Every Heartbeat

Who's That Girl?

Dream On

Low points...

Handle Me (bit too rnb)

Bum Like You

Should Have Known

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Let England Shake" by PJ Harvey

2010

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(5/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Let England Shake" 3:09

2. "The Last Living Rose" 2:20

3. "The Glorious Land" 3:34

4. "The Words That Maketh Murder" 3:45

5. "All and Everyone" 5:39

6. "On Battleship Hill" 4:07

7. "England" 3:09

8. "In the Dark Places" 2:58

9. "Bitter Branches" 2:20

10. "Hanging in the Wire" 2:42

11. "Written on the Forehead" 3:40

12. "The Colour of the Earth" 2:32

I'm not muso or pretentious enough to call her Polly Jean. I AM pretentious enough to have gone on about her latest album numerous times on Facebook recently. I really like it.

Every PJ Harvey album is different from the last and offers something new. I wasn't a huge fan of White Chalk from a few years back but Let England Shake is just what I needed right now. Her lyrics are incredibly strong and focus on a decaying England and warn torn lands and the horrors of war. Sounds a bit meh? Well it works really well. As I said on Facebook, it seems to me like she's doing a "Kinks", going from earlier, more mainstream success into carving her own unique niche.

There are no weak points on the album which is extremely good throughout with some definite high points. "The Words That Maketh Murder" is definitely my favourite track. "The Last Living Rose" is exactly how I feel right now in my recent bout of semi-homesickness. The folky direction of the album flickers between a meandering gaze at the flawed, dirty nation that is my own and a chillingly childlike lyrical approach to death on the battlefield from World War I up to the present day. The subject matter makes the album seem timeless but the musical sound of some of the songs (such as the fantastic "Written On The Forehead") are massively up-to-date. Some of the tracks, such as "England" exude a rawness in her voice that adds to the overall complete package.

This "review" has sucked so don't take my word for it, just listen to it from start to finish.

Highlights...

Low points...

The Colour of the Earth (Well, it's the weakest on the album at least)

Do I prefer it to "Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea"? I couldn't say, they can't be compared to each other.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Blur" by Blur

1997

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(5/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Beetlebum" 5:04

2. "Song 2" 2:02

3. "Country Sad Ballad Man" 4:50

4. "M.O.R." (Albarn/David Bowie/Coxon/Brian Eno/James/Rowntree) 3:27

5. "On Your Own" 4:26

6. "Theme from Retro" 3:37

7. "You're So Great" (Coxon) 3:35

8. "Death of a Party" 4:33

9. "Chinese Bombs" 1:24

10. "I'm Just a Killer for Your Love" 4:11

11. "Look Inside America" 3:50

12. "Strange News from Another Star" 4:02

13. "Movin' On" 3:44

14. "Essex Dogs" (includes hidden track "Interlude") 8:08

When I said that Blur's "Parklife" was their best album....Well I lied. I know, I know, I'm sorry. How can you trust me if I'm leading you astray? It's okay though because it's been beaten by a great album. It's a step away from their Britpop works and into something more alternative. Even suggesting that Damon had found "peace" with America (Look Inside America).

It helps that the album has two of my top five Blur tracks of all time - "Beetlebum" and "On Your Own". It also happens to have that little-known track "Song 2". If you played "Country Sad Ballad Man" to some 18 year old kid they'd think it was Gorillaz - proving that the move that Damon made in styles was already well on the way. It also has some other interesting tracks such as "Theme From Retro" and "I'm Just a Killer for Your Love". Basically the album has some great highs and the lows are very shallow lows. There's little filler as there's a great range in styles and variety on the album from the energetic (Song 2, Chinese Bombs), to tracks like "Death of a Party" and "Look Inside America". There's not much here for me to dislike.

It's a grower though. When I first got this album back in '97 I was a bit disappointed after the first few tracks but that's just cos I didn't understand it well. In time and even with the last few recent listens it's just gotten better and better. Might be the Blur album that has aged the very best.

Highlights...(with a high bar set to prevent it being most of the album)

Beetlebum (my favourite Blur track and my ringtone)

Song 2

M.O.R.

On Your Own

Death of a Party

Chinese Bombs

Look Inside America

Low points...

Strange News from Another Star

[Colly]

"Blur" by Blur

1997

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(5/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Beetlebum" 5:04

2. "Song 2" 2:02

3. "Country Sad Ballad Man" 4:50

4. "M.O.R." (Albarn/David Bowie/Coxon/Brian Eno/James/Rowntree) 3:27

5. "On Your Own" 4:26

6. "Theme from Retro" 3:37

7. "You're So Great" (Coxon) 3:35

8. "Death of a Party" 4:33

9. "Chinese Bombs" 1:24

10. "I'm Just a Killer for Your Love" 4:11

11. "Look Inside America" 3:50

12. "Strange News from Another Star" 4:02

13. "Movin' On" 3:44

14. "Essex Dogs" (includes hidden track "Interlude") 8:08

When I said that Blur's "Parklife" was their best album....Well I lied. I know, I know, I'm sorry. How can you trust me if I'm leading you astray? It's okay though because it's been beaten by a great album. It's a step away from their Britpop works and into something more alternative. Even suggesting that Damon had found "peace" with America (Look Inside America).

It helps that the album has two of my top five Blur tracks of all time - "Beetlebum" and "On Your Own". It also happens to have that little-known track "Song 2". If you played "Country Sad Ballad Man" to some 18 year old kid they'd think it was Gorillaz - proving that the move that Damon made in styles was already well on the way. It also has some other interesting tracks such as "Theme From Retro" and "I'm Just a Killer for Your Love". Basically the album has some great highs and the lows are very shallow lows. There's little filler as there's a great range in styles and variety on the album from the energetic (Song 2, Chinese Bombs), to tracks like "Death of a Party" and "Look Inside America". There's not much here for me to dislike.

It's a grower though. When I first got this album back in '97 I was a bit disappointed after the first few tracks but that's just cos I didn't understand it well. In time and even with the last few recent listens it's just gotten better and better. Might be the Blur album that has aged the very best.

Highlights...(with a high bar set to prevent it being most of the album)

Beetlebum (my favourite Blur track and my ringtone)

Song 2

M.O.R.

On Your Own

Death of a Party

Chinese Bombs

Look Inside America

Low points...

Strange News from Another Star

Agreed so much on that last point. I think we're a similar age, and I got it when I was at school round about when it came out and it really did nothing for me (think it may actually have been on tape because I've no idea where it is now...). I think as a 13-14 year old coming off the back of Parklife and The Great Escape (which looking back is pretty weak) it just doesn't really resonate, but looking back now its superb. Must say I had no idea M.O.R. had Bowie and Eno involved though, kerazy.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"We Ate The Machine" by Polysics

2008

(Y) (Y) (Y)

(3/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Moog is Love" 3:32

2. "Pretty Good" 3:02

3. "Rocket" 2:55

4. "機械食べちゃいました (I Ate The Machine)" 2:53

5. "DNA Junction" 3:21

6. "Kagayake" 2:56

7. "ポニーとライオン (Pony and Lion)" 3:08

8. "ありがとう (Thank You)" 3:19

9. "イロトカゲ (Colored Lizard)" 4:39

10. "Mind Your Head" 2:58

11. "Digital Coffee" 3:20

12. "Boys & Girls" 3:04

13. "Blue Noise" 3:17

14. "Dry or Wet" 3:23

Definitely the weakest Polysics album I own. We Ate The Machine is a bit "through the motions" for a band who, like most Japanese artists, churn out albums, best ofs or remix collections up to two per year. It starts disappointingly too which is very much a surprise for Polysics who are pretty adept at putting together albums which start with a great intro song and finish with a quirky outro. "Moog is Love" is just annoying. Next are the two single releases "Pretty Good" which is, well, pretty good and "Rocket" which is amazing and easily the best song on the album. That's a bit annoying though as it was the song that I bought the album on the back of. The rest of the album is just kind of there. At their best Polysics are a quirky Japanese Devo offering a manic blend of punk, harder rock, computer synths and random moments of girlie singing or playing the recorder (notice "I Ate The Machine" and the piano on "DNA Junction"). At their worst they're just going through the motions and it's a generic wall of noise that starts to all sound the same. Most of this album falls into the second camp, although there are enough good songs to bring it up to a 3 star album for me.

Highlights...

Rocket

I Ate The Machine

DNA Junction

Mind Your Head

Boys & Girls

Low points...

Moog is Love

Itotokage

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"A.D.S.R.M!" by Polysics

1999

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1. "A.D.S.R.M!"

2. "Poly-Farm"

3. "Hot Stuff"

4. "Eleki Gassen"

5. "Nice"

6. "Married To A Frenchman"

7. "Monsoon"

8. "Pike"

9. "TIME SHOCK!"

10. "Modern"

While on my Polysics kick I remembered that I have their second album recorded back in 1999. Back then they were still more like Devo I guess (one of their biggest influences) and quickly looking over the tracklisting I knew it would be fun (after not listening to it for ages). It is. Much rawer of course than their recent stuff (some tracks have been updated over the years and given a fuller sound. The album is less than 30 minutes long and just a perfect little burst for when you need it. A lot of electro squelches, ridiculous lyrics ("Nice" talks about wanting to go to lunch) and of course plenty of energy.

The album is well crafted with tracks seamlessly following each other even to the point that a couple of times I lost where I was on the track list. "A.D.S.R.M!" to "Poly-Farm" to "Hot Stuff" shows Polysics album intro at it's best. Hot Stuff is probably the pinnacle of the album which on the whole isn't perfect at all but that's fine. It'll be going on to my phone so I can listen on the way home from work when I need cheering up. Nice and loud, right in my ears.

Highlights...

Poly-Farm

Hot Stuff

Nice

Monsoon

Modern

Low points...

Eleki Gassen

Pike

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRMI-ehkUnE

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Now Is the Time!" by Polysics

2005

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

(I have the Japanese edition. Japanese, American and British editions all differ slightly).

1. Tei! Tei! Tei!

2. シーラカンス イズ アンドロイド (Coelakanth Is Android)

3. I My Me Mine

4. Ah-Yeah!!

5. Walky Talky

6. Wild One

7. Rack Rack [Japan Exclusive]

8. Toisu!

9. Boy's Head

10. Oh! Monaliza!

11. Jhout

12. The Next World [Japan Exclusive]

13. Skip It

14. Baby BIAS

15. Bye-Bye-Bye

Here we have another high energy, slightly mental album from Polysics but this is one of their better ones. For a start it's got my favourite Polysics song ever - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0hEkSGahgc. It's also got a much better intro track than "We Ate The Machine"'s and "Heavy Polysics"'s - Tei! Tei! Tei!.

It's also got two of their more well-known tracks in Baby BIAS and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Q7XFFy_j0. Add to it a decent cover of Wild One and great tracks like Jhout and you're left with only a small amount of filler, which is always a good accomplishment when you've got 15 tracks on the album.

In fact I kind of wish that Polysics would sometimes just trim some of the fat off their albums and they'd be left with some really really great stuff.

Highlights...

Tei! Tei! Tei!

Coelakanth is Android

I My Me Mine

Wild One

Jhout

The Next World

Baby Bias

Low points...

Ah-Yeah!!

Rack Rack

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Whoops.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"More! More! More!" by Capsule

2008

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Runway" 1:20

2. "More More More" 4:12

3. "The Time Is Now" 6:32

4. "Jumper" 6:56

5. "Phantom" 3:55

6. "Gateway" 0:39

7. "Pleasure Ground" 4:48

8. "The Mutations of Life" 4:24

9. "e.d.i.t." 6:00

10. "Adventure" 6:30

Japanese music returns! If music was a graph, which it often is, Capsule exist where Daft Punk, Polysics and Perfume meet. If you don't know who Perfume are that's okay but you should know Daft Punk and Polysics are just above this so educate yourself.

Capsule are producer Yasutaka Nakata (who also produces Perfume - more later) and singer Toshiko Koshijima and, like other Japanese electropop and dance acts, they mix great tracks and moments with some more average stuff and girlier sounds. For that reason this album is never going to score a five in my books but the highlights are very high. More! More! More! is an excellent example of decent Japanese electronic music. Jumper is what introduced me to Capsule and I've got a lot of time for it. Runway is a great little intro track and e.d.i.t is the other legit highlight. I'd dance to them. The Time is Now is perhaps more ghetto than I'd usually go for but really works in this setting and with the great production. The title track is, for me, ok at best. Phantom is as Daft Punk as it could be (in a good way). As usual in Japanese albums I've found, the second half drops into a more girlie, chilled out affair with Pleasure Ground and Adventure relatively generic. Shame. Good otherwise.

Highlights...

Jumper

e.d.i.t

Runway

Phantom

The Time is Now

Low points...

Pleasure Ground

Adventure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtx-qq1Ix5A

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Triangle" by Perfume

2009

(Y) (Y) (Y)

(3/5)

Full track listing:

1.1. "Take Off" 0:49

2. "Love the World" 4:33

3. "Dream Fighter" 4:54

4. "Edge (Triangle Mix)" 8:43

5. "Night Flight" 5:21

6. "Kiss and Music" 2:35

7. "Zero Gravity" 4:54

8. "I Still Love U" 4:33

9. "The Best Thing" 4:24

10. "Speed of Sound" 3:59

11. "One Room Disco" 5:09

12. "Negai (Album Mix)"

So yeah, Perfume. When kids at work ask me my favourite Japanese band I know that they won't know Polysics, or Special Others, or Melt Banana, or Capsule, or various other ska or punk bands of past and present. They know J-pop (afterall these kids are probably between 8 and 12 years old). So I tell them that my favourite is Perfume. That gets a laugh off them too as Perfume are three young ladies in their early/mid 20s produced by Yasutaka Nakata from Capsule but with a poppier, girlier vibe. They are far, far from perfect but they have numerous tracks that have something cool in them or something that is nearly great.

Triangle is not their most successfully selling album but got to number one in the charts which ain't bad going for their corner of the genre - usually it's AKB48 or the boybands. Perfume are relatively famous for not fulfilling the classic look of successful girl acts who are usually skinnier (believe it or not) and more made up for otaku to masturbate over. Aaaanyway...

Triangle has a couple of good electropop tracks - namely "One Room Disco" which has a brilliant intro/chorus and "Edge". Whereas stuff like "Zero Gravity" sounds like it should be the end credits for Animal Crossing or something. Such is life with Perfume. Still, Nakata usually knows how to construct a decent song so the actual structures of the songs aren't too disastrous. He relies a LOT on auto-tune and vocoders which gets overpowering at times. He ALWAYS provides fantastic intro tracks to albums though.

Highlights...

One Room Disco

Edge

Take Off

Low points...

Night Flight

Zero Gravity

I Still Love U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdLCZtZxbx8

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Finelines" by My Vitriol

2001

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing (UK version. US had a different listing):

1. "Alpha Waves" - 2:16

2. "Always: Your Way" - 3:50

3. "The Gentle Art of Choking" - 3:29

4. "Kohlstream" - 0:26

5. "Cemented Shoes" - 3:02

6. "Grounded" - 2:31

7. "C.O.R. (Critic-Orientated-Rock)" - 0:38

8. "Infantile" - 3:48

9. "Ode to the Red Queen" - 4:04

10. "Tongue Tied" - 5:18

11. "Windows and Walls" - 3:29

12. "Taprobane" - 1:19

13. "Losing Touch" - 3:03

14. "Pieces" - 4:25

15. "Falling Off the Floor" - 3:22

16. "Under the Wheels" - 3:02

Wahey! My Vitriol! I saw My Vitriol supporting Feeder back at London Astoria in late 1999/early 2000. They're a strange band who have kind of lasted for years but never really put out any albums since apart from a live and a remix and a rejigging of Finelines. They collected quite a rabid, diehard fanbase though.

Anyway, I saw them live, knowing nothing about them, instantly fell in love with Carolyn Bannister (mmm female bass guitarists)...

...and when their album came out I grabbed it at the first opportunity. They're probably most famous for Always Your Way which got some MTV2 play time and some radio time too I think. Grounded got a single release too.

Anyway it's shoegazey and the album is far too long (like they poured everything they had into it as a one chance at "making it".....which actually might close to the truth). Finelines can be split into thirds - the first third is magnificent, the second third is very very solid and then it drifts away at the end. In my opinion, finishing with Windows and Walls would have been perfect. Anyway, I'd recommend tracking this down if you have interest in turn of the century shoegaze. It's very well crafted. Make sure you get Finelines though and not their reissue Betweenthelines which added all the B sides but changed the composition of a couple of tracks.

As for my all time fave My Vitriol song? The Gentle Art of Choking.

Highlights...

The Gentle Art of Choking

Always: Your Way

Cemented Shoes

Ode to the Red Queen

Tongue Tied

Alpha Waves and Kohlstream (both shorter pre-tracks)

Low points...

Taprobane

Under The Wheels

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Bambi's Dilemma" by Melt Banana

2007

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(5/5)

Full track listing:

1."Spider Snipe"

2."Blank Page of the Blind"

3."Cracked Plaster Cast"

4."Heiwaboke Crisis"

5."Cat Brain Land"

6."Plasma Gate Quest"

7."Type: Ecco System"

8."The Call of the Vague"

9."Green Eyed Devil"

10."Crow's Paint Brush (Color Repair)"

11."T For Tone"

12."Slide Down"

13."Lock the Head"

14."One Drop, One Life"

15."In Store"

16."Dog Song"

17."Chain Keeper"

18."Last Target On the Last Day"

A Japanese noise-rock, grindcore, hardcore punk group with a squeaky-voiced female vocallist?! Spectacular.

Melt Banana are probably one of the best things to ever come out of Japan and that includes sushi, anime (meh), samurai movies and school girls. Their earlier albums are pretty intense and lo-fi - a wall of noise comprising a load of 1-2 minute tracks. As they went along though they became a bit more mainstream (well, not really, but probably a bit more listenable). Yasuko Onuki's vocals are a spectacularly great accompaniment to the energy of the music. Ichirou Agata (always wearing his medical face mask) is a legitimately top quality guitarist and, Rika Hamamoto (joy of joys a female bassist) is brilliant.

That's the intro, now onto this album which is their latest (although they still tour extensively). I'm not the biggest fan of the genre but I have always liked a decent amount of what I've heard of it. However I don't think the album will change the minds of people who hate it, even those tracks like "Type: Ecco System" offer nuggets of ambient electro into the mix. Their strongest tracks mix the frenzy with more tuneful and quirky moments (which have become more frequent over the years). The album changes pace plenty of times, often numerous times within songs. The lyrics are in ENglish but don't always make "sense" as such. Songs like "Green eyed Devil" could probably be a highlight in a Tony Hawks Skating soundtrack (in a similar style to Mad Capsule Markets in THPS2). The album starts strong, maintains a solid run of middle tracks and towards the end throws in a run of sub-1 minute bursts of noise, which suits the album by that point. "Dog Song" almost goes into a sped-up breakbeat with a ridiculous string of Yasuko barking into the mic which I can't decide is either brilliant or annoying.

Ultimately it's an excellent album. "Cracked Plaster Cast", "Cat Brain Land" and "Green eyed Devil" are the highlights of the highlights. "Crow's Paint Brush" is wonderfully quirky too.

Highlights...

Spider Snipe

Cracked Plaster Cast

Cat Brain Land

The Call of the Vague

Green eyed Devil

Crow's Paint Brush

Low points...

Heiwaboke Crisis (I don't think it's that bad but seem to skip it the most)

Green eyed Devil

Cracked Plaster Cast

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Oh La La!" by Oh La La!
2011

(Y) (Y) (Y) (Y)

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1. Paris Ne T'Aime Pas
2. Relax
3. Carmen
4. Rendez-Vous Avec Un Salaud
5. Goodbye Superman
6. Really Nothing
7. Oser
8. Nu Dans Ton Jean
9. Un Poing C'Est Tout
10. Not In The Mood
11. Tomorrow

My discovery of the work of French group Oh La La! and subsequent purchase of their 2011 self-titled album is pretty unique for me. Someone entered their track "Un Poing C'Est Tout" into a previous Eurovision Song Contest diary in the Diary Cube. I loved it instantly, gave it loads of points and went out to check out more of Oh La La!'s work. A few Youtube videos was enough to convince me and finally I decided that £16 was a reasonable amount to spend on a hard-to-get album from a random French 3-piece who I'd never heard of until EWB intervened.

Oh La La! are pretty much everything you'd expect from a small (I'm guessing) French band - a bit rocky, a bit poppy, a bit grungy, a bit chic (a woman singing French over any music automatically makes it chic of course), a bit electro and loads of fun. The bass work throughout their tracks is tight, jaunty and nicely loud, bouncing the synths, drums and guitar wonderfully along with it. The album is a toe-tapper, a 35 minute (or so) burst of making-life-feel-better cheer.

My personal favourite has to be "Oser" which, pleasingly, doesn't take itself seriously. The rest of the album (mostly) plays around a similar vibe and is pretty strong throughout. "Really Nothing" is the weakest link in the album but it's hardly terrible. "Not In The Mood" even wanders into Air-esque jazzery-pokery.

http://youtu.be/FS1qsWZ3sn4

Highlights...
Relax
Carmen

Goodbye Superman
Oser
Un Poing C'Est Tout

Low points...
Really Nothing

Nu Dans Ton Jean

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"All The Pain Money Can Buy" by Fastball
1998

(Y) (Y) (Y)

(3/5)

Full track listing:

1. "The Way" – 4:17 (Tony Scalzo)
2. "Fire Escape" – 3:21 (Miles Zuniga)
3. "Better Than It Was" – 2:48 (Scalzo)
4. "Which Way to the Top?" (Featuring the artist Poe) – 3:50 (Zuniga, Jeff Groves)
5. "Sooner or Later" – 2:39 (Zuniga)
6. "Warm Fuzzy Feeling" – 1:55 (Scalzo)
7. "Slow Drag" – 3:37 (Zuniga)
8. "G.O.D. (Good Old Days)" – 3:31 (Scalzo)
9. "Charlie, The Methadone Man" – 3:17 (Zuniga)
10. "Out of My Head" – 2:32 (Scalzo)
11. "Damaged Goods" – 3:02 (Zuniga)
12. "Nowhere Road" – 3:25 (Scalzo)
13. "Sweetwater, Texas" – 3:53 (Zuniga)

That period of time around sixth form and into my university years (so let's say 1997-2002) were years where my breadth of music listening, experimentation and weird purchasing decisions were at their peak. I have a number of albums from that time that I haven't listened to in YEARS that I bought on the strength of one song and because music was relatively cheap, especially when I had a part time job while at school. Fastball's "All The Pain Money Can Buy" was one of those. Why the hell would I want some alternative American rock from Texas anyway?! It was probably because after getting lucky with Third Eye Blind I got a bit cocky.

Anyway, ATPMCB went platinum within 6 months or something ridiculous. I certainly wouldn't buy it now if I heard it playing in a shop or something but there are a few decent enough songs on it. "The Way" was probably the most famous and probably what got me to buy the album and is still pretty good. However, listening through I think the songs I prefer now might be different to those I liked most then. "Which Way To The Top?" has some wonderful harmonies from singer Poe (who I just had to wiki but see that she sings Trip Hop which has me interested). "Warm Fuzzy Feeling" is short and entertaining. "Slow Drag" peaks into some quasi-psychadelica which is a nice change of pace. Actually, to be fair to Fastball, the album frolics around pretty well except when it dips into the edge of country (such as in "Better Than It Was").

I was all ready to throw a 2/5 on this and chuck it back onto the shelves for the next ten years but to be honest it is better than I feared and, although it's unlikely to get many more listens, it turns out it wasn't a ridiculous mistake after all. Bonus.

Highlights...

The Way

Which Way To The Top?

Warm Fuzzy Feeling

Slow Drag

Out Of My Head

Low points...
Fire Escape

Better Than It Was

Damaged Goods

Sweetwater, Texas

[Skummy]

My Vitriol. Holy shit. They were one of many bands my brother listened to that just seemed to drop off the face of the earth. I always get them confused with Vex Red. I'd pretty much forgotten they existed.

Melt Banana, obviously, are incredible. They're silly, and a lot of fun, but they're absolutely amazing. One of the more brilliantly bonkers Japanese bands out there. I'm still kicking myself that I missed seeing them in Hull a few years back in favour of going to yet another "last tour ever, honestly, we mean it this time guys" Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster show.