What music are you listening to?

[YI]

Spaniards, some Japanese, Christians, an Essex gal and a very Bad Astronaut. All what I plan on 'reviewing'.

First, lets start with the Christians;

"Keep Your Head Above Water" by A Kiss For Jersey

Yeah, it's your typical emo stuff. I had a fairly long review of this posted, but when the baord reset I lost it. Basically I downloaded this album purely because the band's official site is hosted by Angelfire. Not the best way to get into a band, but it's a way nonetheless. They are alright, but totally forgettable. They basically thieve from emo bands like Thursday, Silverstein and Funeral For A Friend, and struggle to create an identity of their own. There's a couple of good tracks, but the rest are very hit and miss. 5/10 If you like this side of emo and are looking for more bands to add to your collection, check them out. But if you're not, don't really go out of your way to find them.

BEST TRACKS : You Carried Me While I Buried You, Real Men Will Be Found With Their Face Flat On The Ground, If Nothing Is Pending......, Dressed For The Occasion

"World Waits" by Jeremy Enigk

Born again Christian and former Sunny Day Real Estate frontman unleashes his longly anticipated second solo studio album (10 years after his first). Maybe unleashed is the wrong word, as it's more like a gentle whisper in the dark than a grand spectacle. But he writes some fantastically beautiful songs, and this album really shows a musical maturity that he didn't have in his SDRE stuff. But, I dunno, it's a little hit and miss. All the songs seem to follow a similar structure, with them all seemingly building up to a big ending. Whilst as individual songs this may be good, but when you've heard this 6/7 times on an album, it gets a little old. Also he has a tendency to repeat a small-riff 4 times in order to make the big riff, if you get what I'm saying. It gets a little boring. But then again, the songs that are the biggest offender of this are generally the better songs on the album. I wouldn't say there's a bad song on here. There's just a few that seem to get lost in the shuffle. If you're a SDRE fan, or an emo fan in general, you owe yourself to listen to this album. Whilst it's not a strictly emo album (More of an indie-chillout kind of vibe) this man is one of the legends of the 'genre' (IMO) and this album is solid, but no Sunny Day Real Estate. 7.5/10

BEST TRACKS : Been Here Before, Canons, Damien Dreams, World Waits, Burn

Now the Spaniards;

"Ezinean" by Ezinean

Spanish punk-rock is fucking weird. Mainly because the lyrics just sound like a pissed English guy singing karaoke. There's a single English track on here. Personally they should stick to Spanish. As the English track ruins the enigma surrounding them. As that's when you realise that what they're singing about is total shite. They're your basic pop-punk kind of band. Nothing overly flash. And the fact they've got a song called; "Zuloa Zuloaz Estali Daitekeelako", which is the greatest song name ever...fuck knows what it means. Once the 'gimmick' of a Spanish band wears off, you realise they're alright. But because they sing in Spanish, they lack the fundamental punk-rock singaong aspect. They have a handful of really catchy tunes. And they appear to be pretty solid musicians, if nothing flash. 6/10

BEST TRACKS : Erreta, Solilik Amets, Hutsik, Mak, Zuloa Zuloaz Estali Daitekeelako

"Speak For Yourself" by Imogen Heap

I'd heard a handful of Imogen Heap stuff, but never actually checked out the full album that was released last year. And it'd beautiful stuff. However I find myself spitting in the general direction of "Goodnight & Go" is in comparison to the rest of the album, it's utter shite. Most of the album follows the same basic formula. Weird production noises and stuff, gentle starting, gets going a bit, sweet little chorus. But each song has their own little identity that stops it from getting really annoying and old. "Daylight Robbery" is the heaviest track, with the inclusion of guitars. "Hide and Seek" sees Imogen singing acapella...with herself (Without technology this album would be fucked Without the gloss, it'd be nothing compared to what it is) etc. Yeah, the gloss. It's quite hard to get distracted by it. Without it, yeah the album probably wouldn't sound as good, but at the end of the days, the songs are still really well written. So, yeah. Good stuff. 8/10

BEST TRACKS : Headlock, Hide and Seek, Clear The Area, The Walk, Just For Now, The Moment I Said It

"Wild Peace" by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra

FUCKING BRILLIANCE!!! A mix of Japanese and English...ska, punk, jazz and be-bop, and a hammond organ, what's not to love (Besides that track with the chick singing, it's shocking...because of her). Seriously some of the melodies on here are outstanding. From the 'rejected Hong Kong Phooey theme song' (Taiyou Ni Onegai), 'Sims background music' (Ska Pedalada), 'cool credit card company advert music' (Walking Alone) to the downright filthy sounding "Pinzoro". These are just one of those bands that are so full of energy, and the album is exciting from start to finish. Even if you don't like ska music, you'll probably find something here you'd enjoy. 9/10. Maybe the 'rag-time'-esque solo in "The Pretender"?

BEST TRACKS : Come On, Taiyou Ni Onegai, Pinzoro, Ska Pedalada, Walkin Alone, The Pretender

"Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Dissapointment" by Bad Astronaut

1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9....I love that song ("Good Morning Night"), the vocal line (especially in the verse) just flows so perfectly. It's such a beautiful song, and a great way of kicking off the album. They've went for a much more indie-rock approach to this record, dropping lots of the 'spacey-ness' and 'experimental' stuff. There's some big punk-rock styled choruses, but this album is still far away from the regular stuff the members toss out. At the end of the day, this is Joey Cape's gettaway. Often pidgeonholed into the 'fun-loving' stuff with Lagwagon, he needed a side project to get stuff off his chest, and push some musical boundaries. He hasn't done much as far as experimental stuff goes on this album (Which is possibly good, as sometimes it got a little out of control, with too much happening at once), but because of this, there's odd occasions it just becomes your average heavy indie-rock release. But much like the previous BA efforts, it's held together by some beautiful melodies. Even more so here IMO. I'm not creaming myself over it like some people on other boards, but it's a really solid effort, for what I believe may be the last Bad Astronaut release. 8.75/10. Clocking in at an hour, it's a really solid listen. It's hard to know who to recommend this for. But those of you who like bands with slight progressive twists, like Muse, At The Drive-In, Muse, Sparta, Coheed & Cambria may appreciate a band/album like this.

BEST TRACKS : Good Morning Night, Beat, Minus, Best Western, San Francisco Serenade, The "F" Word

[Styk]

Rob Zombie - Educated Horses...

This album has really grown on me, so much so that it's been one of the CDs in my cd player for about two months now... usually i switch CDs out rather quickly. This is after listening to it once when I first got it, and ignoring it for a couple of months...

Songs to listen to: American Witch, Foxy Foxy, The Scorpion Sleeps

overall about a 7/10

Edited October 24, 2006 by Styk

[Tarheels.]

My Chemical Romance- Welcome To The Black Parade

8.5/10

I was looking forward to this album since Welcome To The Black Parade came out, it seemed like they went a new direction with their sound but its still a lot like what they were before. Their songs feel a bit different, with a bit more slower ones and less like generic emo rock. Overall its a good cd, a few filler songs thrown in there but a lot of stand outs too.

Standout Tracks: Welcome To The Black Parade, Dead!, Mama, I Don't Love You

[Scruffy The Janitor]

The Meat Loaf/Jim Steinman albums died, when I got a leaked version of Bat Out Of Hell III . I'll review the last two albums, and Bat Out Of Hell III, when I get a decent version and not a crappy net-release. Oh and I recently got some DragonForce, so that'll get reviewed at some point....lol. Without further ado, just one review today:

8 Foot Sativa's Season For Assault

9/10

With the new's that the original bassist has left 8 Foot Sativa, because he "wasn't having fun anymore", I thought I would review the only 8 Foot Sativa album I haven't reviewed. This so happens to be my favourite 8 Foot Sativa album (Well Breed the Pain is a close second). Sam Sheppard joined the band, on drums on this album giving this album the lineup that most people accept as the ultimate 8 Foot Sativa lineup (Jackhammer/Gary Smith/Brent Fox/Sam Sheppard). Sam gives a noticably better drum sound than Peter Young, and it really adds to the sound of this album. This is highly evident in the bonus track on this CD which is the "Hate Made Me" song minus Pete Young's drum track plus Sam Sheppards drum track, and It really just sounds 100% better. Jackhammers vocals have increased 5000% as well, and this album doesn't have the garage-metal feel of Hate Made Me. Add in songs, that once you hear you just can't stop playing in your head, and you've got a classic of an album. If you haven't heard 8 Foot Sativa before, this is the album you wanna hear.

Tracks to look out for: Escape From Reality, For Religions to Suffer, Destined to be Dead, Season For Assault & Chelsea Smile

Tracks to perhaps skip: Slight skippage maybe on The Abused

[Whoo]

Pepper - No Shame

Sadly, I hadn't heard of these three guys until this album came out. But, better late than never. A very nice mix of styles.

Check it out if you're into: Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, 311, No Doubt

Top Tracks: "No Control", "Green Hell", "Lost in America", "Nice Time"

[ROC]

My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade - 4/10

Yeah, so just about what I said in the actual big ass thread for it, Way still sounds like a fag, the album gets somewhat better after the fifth or sixth track, but not enough for me to like it.

Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche - 8/10

While it's obviously not as brilliant as Illinois (and that's obviously not the intention here with it being an outtakes album), Sufjan Stevens still manages to create a rich, flowing album of music that feels like just as much of a worthy contribution to his body of work as all of his other albums. It's hard to explain but most certainly if you liked Illinois, you will like this CD.

[Styk]

Wednesday 13 - Fang Bang

I finally was able to find a copy of Wednesday 13's new CD (its been out about a month)... And it is really good, there are 4 standout tracks to me with the other songs still be good but not as good... (those 4 are Curse of Me, Haddonfield, Till Death Do Us Party, and Faith in the Devil)

Overall 7.5/10 (it is an excellent CD however, i do prefer Wednesday's CD Transylvania 90210...)

[VerbalPuke]

After a bit of delay I bring you Battalion of Saints A.D. - Cuts.

This is a bit of an interesting album, not interesting to you maybe, but to me the title is morbidly funny. Ya see, originally Battalion of Saints were a prominent hardcore punk band from the Orange County area. Somehow, Battalion of Saints had awful luck, it seemed as if members died left and right, new members replaced old members only to fall victim to death. The re-naming to Battalion of Saints A.D. is funny to me, the A.D. obviously meaning "after death".

This album features only one original member, that being the vocalist George Anthony. It's probably a good thing it was him to be the only original member being that his vocals helped tie the music together. This album in paticular really sticks to their hardcore roots, but also throws in elements of metal. Surprisingly the album has flown under the radar within punk circles. This surprises me because of the raw energy it brings, it's a pretty straight forward kick in the ass. At the same time, it's not fast for the sake of being fast, as the music quality is quite up to snuff. I wouldn't give them a gold medal for lyrical content because the lyrics aren't written to have a deep, thought provoking meaning. At the same time, I've never been one to be swayed by lyrics, as long as the lyrics sound good with the music, which they do.

As I mentioned earlier, the album is a swift kick in the ass (or ear) and I really love it. It's an album that can absolutely pump you up and make you want to smash your head through a wall. I'd recommend this to anybody that enjoys hard punk, metal, or any sort of music that is rough and abrasive.

Recommended tracks: I don't like you, Freedom, Faster Faster

10/10. Fucking right.

Next review: Flesh Eaters - A minute to pray, a second to die.

Edited October 28, 2006 by VerbalPuke

[GoGo Yubari]

Blue Scholars - Blue Scholars - 9/10

The kingpins of current Seattle hip-hop released their self-titled debut in 2004 and it holds up as one of my favorite hip-hop records of the current decade, possibly my favorite period. They have an innate method of blending catchy, politically-charged rhymes with simple but effective beats that just works masterfully. I wholeheartedly reccommend this to anyone who enjoys rap with a message and a purpose.

Top Tracks: "selfPortrait," "The Ave," "Life & Debt," "No Rest for the Weary"

[Tarheels.]

The Prize Fighter Inferno- My Brothers Blood Machine

6/10

I went into this only having heard 'Who Watches The Watchmen?' which is still my favorite track. Listening to it seems like a chore, the second go through it got a bit better but it is still nothing compared to the Coheed stuff. If you're a Coheed fan looking for a Coheed level of music then you'll be dissapointed. However, if you just want some music to mellow out to this could be decent.

Standout Tracks: 'Who Watches The Watchmen', 'The Going Price For Home', 'Wayne Andrews, The Old Bee Keeper'

[Ananas]

Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire

It's really good. I stand entirely corrected.

[Guest The Bleeding Heart Show of Ringy]

Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire

It's really good. I stand entirely corrected.

[ROC]

The Game - Doctor's Advocate - 5.5/10

After earning acclaim for his impressive flow and efforts to distance himself from 50 Cent (even when being on the same label as 50 Cent), The Game returns ever so strangely with Doctor's Advocate, a record that while is not a hard front to back listen, is hard to say that any of the songs on it are as impressive as his material on The Documentary. The biggest problem with the new album is that it seems that when stripped away from Dre's production, somehow Game's flow seems weaker. While tracks like "Compton", a surprisingly brilliant track featuring Will.i.am (who has almost forgiven himself for Fergie's solo album with his work on this and Justin Timberlake's CD...almost), are solidly driven by Game's rhymes, it seems too often Game is obsessed with just wanting to be Dr. Dre's heir apparent and not having the material to back it up. Doctor's Advocate is a decent to good rap album, but much like Outkast's Idlewild, there's not enough hit and a little bit too much miss.

Solid Ass Tracks: "Compton", "Wouldn't Get Far", "It's Okay (One Blood)"

Edited November 1, 2006 by Hot Topic is not Punk Rock.

[Tarheels.]

(+44)- When Your Heart Stops Beating

9/10

I came into this having only heard 'No It Isn't' so needless to say I had high expectations, but even with those expectations this cd just blew them out of the water. The first listen through was great and it just gets better with each listen. The only 'dull' track up there is the Interlude, which is understandable. The rest of the songs are incredible. Honestly one of the best albums I've heard all year, hell in quite some time. This is miles better than AVA, and hell its better than some of the Blink stuff.

Standout Tracks: 'No It Isn't', 'Lycanthrope', 'Make You Smile', 'Baby, Come On', 'When Your Heart Stops Beating'

[Styk]

Shadow Reichenstein - "It's Monster Rock" and "Werewolf Order"

"It's Monster Rock" is the bands debut effort, and has a reworked version of the Animals (?) "house of the rising sun", called "Fear of the Rising Sun" which is probably the best song on the CD. The album features 5 instrumental songs and overall isn't bad. Other Standout songs include "Be My Victim" and "My Dear Deceased"

"Werewolf Order" by far a superior album to "It's monster rock", standout tracks include "Werewolf Order", a reworked "Be My Victim" (on this album its heavier and less "punky"...), "It's Halloween", "Dracula" and the song which I can't get out of my head "Wakin' the Dead"

[Ananas]

Kevin Federline - "Playing With Fire"

The most glorious trainwreck ever. "From Justin 2 Kelly", meet your film equivalent. This is way more fun than that ghastly Paris Hilton record.

[Skummy]

Jello Biafra & The Melvins - Sieg Howdy!

I'm not going to give it a number rating, because I don't do that, but if I did, it would be somewhere upward of 10. I was worried that Biafra was losing it a bit after hearing some of his spoken word stuff that I wasn't overly fond of, but this restored my faith in him completely. It's not quite as good as the Dead Kennedys, but not an awful lot is, so I won't hold that against him. Kalifornia Uber-Alles 21st Century alone makes this an album worth buying, though.

[MalaCloudy Black]

V/A - Punk Goes 90s

Fucking immense. There's seriously not a single song on it I dislike. My favourites so far are Gym Class Heroes' Under The Bridge rendition, Eighteen Visions' Beautiful People cover, and Mae's March of The Pigs. Hell, they're all fucking awesome!

[METALMAN]

The Back Room - Editors

[Guest Ringo Masterson]

Get Set Go - Ordinary World.

I first heard this band on Weeds, and it's strange. The lyrics and song title names are very emo/angry ("Die Motherfucker Die", "I Hate Everyone"), but the music is pure indie and melodious and pleasant. As such, Die Motherfucker Die is the best song ever .