What music are you listening to?

[ADG]

The Shins - Wincing The Night Away

Rating: 9/10

'Chutes Too Narrow' and 'Oh! Inverted World' are two of my favourite albums of this decade and I was expecting a lot from the new album. I'm pleased to say that they haven't disappointed. Early favourites are "Australia", "Phantom Limb" and "A Comet Appears", but overall the album doesn't have a weak track to me. A definite purchase.

[John Stones' Paint Trophy]

Willy Mason - If The Ocean Gets Rough

Rating: 8/10

Brilliant album with a far more refined sound than WTHE and 'God Willing...' and a far more complete album. An essential listen if you like acoustic stuff.

Boys Like Girls - Boys Like Girls

Rating: 6/10

Solid, if unspectacular. Shades of Jimmy Eat World from the outset but just not as...good. Shows a lot of promise though, especially on the slower tracks where it shows that they can write a great melody.

Edited February 3, 2007 by Jordan Stiva

[Evil Chase K]

Please ignore this post. For I am a dumbass. Sorry.

Edited February 4, 2007 by Evil Chase K

[Evil Chase K]

CLUTCH - FROM BEALE STREET TO OBLIVION

Out: March 20, 2007

01. You Can't Stop The Progress (2:40)

02. Power Player (3:07)

03. The Devil & Me (3:58)

04. White's Ferry (5:24)

05. Electric Worry (5:15)

06. One Eye Dollar (1:23)

07. Child Of The City (3:53)

08. Rapture Of Riddley Walker (4:09)

09. When Vegans Attack (4:56)

10. Opposum Minister (4:28)

12. Mr. Shiny Cadillackness (5:11)

Overall: The record begins to drag on songs 7 and 8, but finishes STRONG with Black Umbrella and Mr. Shiny Cadillackness. Terrific record, everyone who knows and loves Clutch should get this record. Don't expect too much of their trademark weirdness, but do expect plenty of kickass grooves, great riffs, and powerful vocals.

Best tracks: Power Player, The Devil & Me, Electric Worry and Mr. Shiny Caddilackness.

8.5/10 after one listen.

[Ananas]

Devin Townsend - Synchestra

This is obviously nothing like Townsend's other band Strapping Young Lad, but it's awesome. It's got the wankery for the hardcore metal fans and the grunge influenced stuff that made nu-metal awesome. Great record.

[Ananas]

Kittie - Funeral For Yesterday

It's a bit samey, but I'm happy that their music actually sounds genuine this time around. The last two records felt like Kittie trying to emulate their idols, but this time around they realise their greatest strength is Morgan, and that's a good thing. She's doing more actual singing this time around and I like that, because it seemed that when she was doing the death/hardcore vocals she almost didn't get the joke that everyone else who is successful in those styles seemed to be in on.

[Nerf]

Billy Talent II

A Birthday Present From The Girlfriend

1. DEVIL IN A MIDNIGHT MASS

2. RED FLAG

3. THIS SUFFERING

4. WORKER BEES

5. PINS AND NEEDLES

6. FALLEN LEAVES

7. WHERE IS THE LINE?

8. COVERED IN COWARDICE

9. SURRENDER

10. THE NAVY SONG

11. PERFECT WORLD

12. SYMPATHY

13. BURN THE EVIDENCE

Overall: 7/10

Stand Out Tracks: Devil In A Midnight Mass, Red Flag, Fallen Leaves, This Suffering, Sympathy.

[Steeb]

Not albums as such, but all the same...

Radiohead - Live At KCRW 2003

Set List: A Punchup At A Wedding, I Might Be Wrong, I Will, Sail To The Moon, No Surprises, Go To Sleep, Karma Police, Everything In Its Right Place, Fake Plastic Trees, There There

There's also some interview sections in there. Overall, it's a nice little set. I believe it's just Thom and Johnny, but you can't really tell too much. Everything sounds between quite good, and great. I like the option of starting with A Punchup At A Wedding, it's a bit different. Works very well, but lacks the real live feel - I think it was just a 'studio' audience, I'm not sure. I have to mark it down really because of that.

7/10

Radiohead - Live At Earl's Court 2003

Set List: The Gloaming, 2+2=5, My Iron Lung, Where I End And You Begin, Kid A, I Will, Myxamatosis, I Might Be Wrong, Sail To The Moon, Lucky, Paranoid Android, Go To Sleep, Sit Down. Stand Up., Just, Idioteque, Fake Plastic Trees, There There, You And Whose Army, The National Anthem, A Wolf At The Door, Street Spirit, We Suck Young Blood, Karma Police, Everything In Its Right Place

Wow. It's one hell of a set, and possibly the closest I've come to a perfect live recording. Again, not an opening I would've expected, but one that they pull off magnificently, and one which sets the mood for the rest of the set. I can't argue with any of the inclusions, just because every single one is done so fucking well. The National Anthem in particular is storming, and Myxamatosis sounds positively monolithic. There's a moment of comedy in We Suck Young Blood as the audience attempts to remember when the claps are in the song - and some still get it wrong even when there's one clapbeat that's louder than all the others for a minute or so. Everything In Its Right Place is a great ending, one worthy of the start it had. Bearing the first line in mind, I give this...

10/10

The White Stripes - Live At Glastonbury 2005

Set List: Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground, Blue Orchid, I Think I Smell A Rat, Lets Shake Hands, The Nurse, Hotel Yorba, Jolene, Ball & Biscuit (First Verse), My Doorbell, Cannon / Broken Bricks / Cool Drink Of Water Blues / Ball & Biscuit (Rest Of Song), Passive Manipulation, Same Boy You've Always Known, The Hardest Button To Button, We Are Going To Be Friends, Little Ghost, Death Letter, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, Screwdriver, Seven Nation Army

I remember watching the bits of this that they did show at the time on BBC2 and being struck with how amazing it was that two people could make such a magical noise, while captivating such a number of people. If I had heard the entire set, I probably would've thought a little differently. It's still mainly great, but there are moments of dreariness, sadly. However, these moments are far outnumbered by the 'classics', and the sheer mastery by Jack of anything he throws his hand to. The constant shouts for Seven Nation Army get a bit annoying, but overall it's entirely worthy of what it gets.

8.5/10

And finally...

Jamiroquai - Live In Verona

Set List: Alright, Bad Girls, Canned Heat, Corner Of The Earth, Cosmic Girl, Deeper Underground, High Times, Little L, Love Foolosophy, Main Vein (Feat. Beverley Knight), Twenty Zero One, Virtual Insanity

I like...nay, love Jamiroquai. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a lot. For some reason, I just didn't think his show could translate as well on a big stage as it does in an intimate venue. Again, I was wrong. His band does well to draw songs out without making them boring, or a waste of time. He plays all the 'right' songs. Hits all the right notes. Does all the right 'soul' chatter (lots of 'baby' and 'ooh's). It's not enthralling. It's not as good as the above Radiohead gig. But it's solid, and has its moments. Overall, I prefer the BBC gig from last year that was available, therefore this gets (a far from bad):

7.5/10

[YI]

"Memory Man" by Aqualung

Matt Hales has always been a man to produce music that makes me like a hormonal school girl, it's just so epic and beautiful. It's at this point I try to figure out which number album this release actually is. Is it his 3rd? (Taking into account the self-titled and "Still Life") His 2nd? (Using "Strange And Beautiful" which is a missmatch of the other two albums) Or is it his 4th? (Just take them all). That's not particuarly important, what is that Matt Hales is still in fine form. As soon as the main guitar riff of "Cinderella" kicks in you know that this is the start of a outstanding, epic, experience. The first thing you'll notice is that the scores have been filled out a bit more on his songs. With more guitars (Acoustic/electric), some electronic background noises and stuff, and some brass in there as well (from what I remember). Personally, this album is what Keane were trying to get from "Under The Iron Sea", but Aqualung has actually managed to pull it off. Whilst there doesn't seem to be the songs that are up there with "Strange & Beautiful" and "Brighter Than Sunshine" in an individual sense, the album is pretty much flawless, there's not one bad song on here. Hales has also managed to keep things fresh and original, with many songs going into something far more upbeat than Aqualung has done to date, but without straying too far from the Aqualung we know and love. Soppy love songs intact. Exactly the kind of album I needed to hear today, not because it's because it's valentines day. But because I have the worst fucking flu/throat infection/ear infection in the world, I just needed something soppy and nice to listen to, to cheer me up.

RATING : 9/10

BEST SONGS : "Cinderella", "Vapour Trail", "Pressure Suit", "Outside" and "The Lake".

[hailstonehoward]

generation terrorists - manic street preachers

not listened to this in years, dug it out and lo and behold sounds fantastic.

motorcycle emptiness is one of the greatest enormo anthems ever. why they never made it hugh is still a mystery i'd have thought america would have lapped them up with their first four albums plus all the crazy richie manic stuff and great interviews and anger!

[ROC]

Mastodon - Blood Mountain

This isn't really a review, but more me thinking about the tracks I've listened to from the album. Some tracks like "Colony of Birchmen" and "Bladecatcher" are fucking awesome, but there seems to be a massive repetitive nature to most of the album's songs and they seem to dull on me. The Tool argument that their music takes "a certain mood" to listen could probably apply here, or maybe the fact that modern metal for the most part bores me, but I'm pretty lukewarm on the CD for now.

[RPS]

Basement Jaxx - The Singles

10/10

Flawless collection. Every song sticks and every song belongs here. If they had collected the singles off Crazy Itch Radio and placed them here, it'd be even stronger, but nonetheless this collection proves why Basement Jaxx are better than 90% of bands. Effortlessly they hop from genre to genre, sound to sound, song to song with ease and make it sound beautiful. How Do Your Thing can be on the same CD as Where Your Heads At? and Plug It In is beyond me, but Basement Jaxx made it work and will always make it work.

Beck - Guero

6.5/10

I really like this CD. Well, actually I really like a few songs. E-Pro rocks like crazy, Girl sounds like something from a game boy, Hell Yes is slick and cool, and Go It Alone has Jack White. C'mon, its Jack White! But honestly - in between these bits of awesomeness, their is filler galore. Broken Drum? Missing? Emergency Exit? Just not enough here to warrant above a 7. But when its good, its GOOD. But the rest is just yawn inducing.

[Rashid]

Pink Floyd's The Wall

Disc 1

1. In The Flesh?

2. The Thin Ice

3. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 1

4. The Happiest Days Of Our Lives

5. Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2

6. Mother

7. Goodbye Blue Sky

8. Empty Spaces

9. Young Lust

10. One Of My Turns

11: Don't Leave Me Now

12: Another Brick In The Wall, Part 3

13: Goodbye Cruel World

Disc 2

1. Hey You

2. Is There Anybody Out There?

3. Nobody Home

4. Vera

5. Bring the Boys Back Home

6. Comfortably Numb

7. The Show Must Go On

8. In The Flesh

9. Run Like Hell

10. Waiting For The Worms

11: Stop

12: The Trial

13: Outside The Wall

Amazing, superb, excellent, perfect. All words that describe this album. It was much better than I'd expect. For 2 Disc 80 minute album, I thought it'd be boring. I love every song in this, there are no weak points. I don't even have a favourite song. I see this more as one long song than 26 songs.

10/10

This easily ranks among my Top 3 albums, it may even be #1.

(One of the best purchases I ever made, definitely worth the $25)

[Fitzy]

Sevendust - Alpha - 8/10

Great stuff. After the not so good "Next" album, this one was a huge improvement.

[VerbalPuke]

It's been awhile, but here's a quick review.

Alice Cooper - Easy Action

Now for those of you with a passing familiarity with Alice Cooper, this album may not be what you expect. This is a bit different than his critically acclaimed work. This was his second studio album, and technically his third album released to the masses. I've always been a fan of his classic tunes like Billion Dollar Babies, Desperado, and Under My Wheels, but this early stuff blows that all away. This is really Alice Cooper at his finest, a nice little mold of acid rock and garage fused with a Detroit attitude. In fact, I'd say these albums sort of revealed Alice Cooper's darker side even better than albums such as "Killer" or songs like "Welcome to My Nightmare". This is probably an album better reserved for you fans of the psychedelic 60s rock as opposed to straight 70s classic rock.

Notable Tracks: Return of the Spiders, Mr. and Misdemeanor, and Refrigerator Heaven

10/10 - Easy grade for Easy Action

[YI]

"Conqueror" by Jesu

I admit to not really being into 'metal' and such. So when I heard about these guys and was told they're kind of prog-rock/drone metal or whatever, I envisaged 2 chords spanning the durations of 10-minutes, and some awful vocals. But what you get is a really well presented, atmospheric album, with a number of truly beautiful melodies in the vocals. I udnerstand the vocalist used to be much of a screamer, but unlike lots of the times where someone is primarily a screamer, his natural singing voice is also really good. Things kick off perfectly with the title track, where the thick wall of guitar is perfectly complimented by the bittersweet "ah's" of the vocalist, and from the get-go, you know this is going to be an awesome song. And it continues throughout. With the kind of music that Jesu produce, you don't really sit there and think "So & So" is an amazing song, you just let it all soak in, and every song flows on so well, and it provides an awesome, album experience. Personally, I was greally gripped by the atmosphere of it all, and the vocals are just flat out beautiful.

RATING : 8/10

BEST SONGS : "Conqueror", "Stanlow" and "Weightless & Horizontal".

"We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank" by Modest Mouse

With Brand New parading around being Modest Mouse, Modest Mouse needed to become someone, and seemed to have settled as some sort of Decemberists tribute band on occasions with this release, mixing in some of the Modest Mouse of old. The album tends to follow the more upbeat nature the band has been seemingly going for, but it also a flat out good release. The first thing that strikes you is the vocals. Definately brought the A-game in that respect, strong, so charismatic, and ride over the instrumentation with charm. All the songs are exciting, and fairly varied. I could probably rant and rave on about how great this album is, but much like The Decemberists release of last year, I'm not entirely sure what the 'staying power' of it will be. I adored "The Crane Wife", but by the end of the year, whilst still ranking it highly, I thought of it nowhere near as much as I did after my first few listens. There's 14 songs on here, and very few, if any, seem like filler, everything is top class, and seemingly deserves to be here. Definately a surprise release.

RATING : 9/10

BEST SONGS : "Spitting Venom", "Dashboard", "Education", "Little Motel" and "We've Got Everything".

[Liam]

"Conqueror" by Jesu

I admit to not really being into 'metal' and such. So when I heard about these guys and was told they're kind of prog-rock/drone metal or whatever, I envisaged 2 chords spanning the durations of 10-minutes, and some awful vocals. But what you get is a really well presented, atmospheric album, with a number of truly beautiful melodies in the vocals. I udnerstand the vocalist used to be much of a screamer, but unlike lots of the times where someone is primarily a screamer, his natural singing voice is also really good. Things kick off perfectly with the title track, where the thick wall of guitar is perfectly complimented by the bittersweet "ah's" of the vocalist, and from the get-go, you know this is going to be an awesome song. And it continues throughout. With the kind of music that Jesu produce, you don't really sit there and think "So & So" is an amazing song, you just let it all soak in, and every song flows on so well, and it provides an awesome, album experience. Personally, I was greally gripped by the atmosphere of it all, and the vocals are just flat out beautiful.

RATING : 8/10

BEST SONGS : "Conqueror", "Stanlow" and "Weightless & Horizontal".

Jesu are exceptional. Check out the EP "Silver" as well.

[ROC]

Matchbook Romance - Voices - 7.5/10

It took me a while to really get around to listening and enjoying the album, but it is definitely a solid keeper. Beautiful songwriting and lovely chords definitely put it a step above the typical emo record, especially "My Mannequin Can Dance", "Surrender", and "What A Sight". Oh, "Monsters" is pretty awesome as well, though, it's relatively easy to get burned out on.

[YI]

I really dug the first Matchbook Romance album, but "Voices" did nothing for me, and people have been ranting and raving about it.

Oh and Jesu are indeed awesome. I have got hold of the selft titled album and the Silver EP, but haven't properly listened to them yet.

Edited February 26, 2007 by YI

[ROC]

I really dug the first Matchbook Romance album, but "Voices" did nothing for me, and people have been ranting and raving about it.