Hamster's Album Collection revisited

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Well at least Melt Banana do tour relatively frequently so they should appear in England again before too long.

[Colly]

Vex Red! Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

Hammy, this is all getting very obscure, where's the review of Menswe@rs 'Nuisance'?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Treats" by Sleigh Bells
2010

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

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1. Tell 'Em

2. Kids

3. Riot Rhythm

4. Infinity Guitars

5. Run The Heart

6. Rachel

7. Rill Rill

8. Crown On The Ground

9. Straight A's

10. A/B Machines

11. Treats

Wow, I really do have a penchant for a 4/5 rating. Either that or I have a thing for albums that are NEARLY amazing and instead float around in the "very good" category. "Treats" by Sleigh Bells is another of those. It's also an acquired taste and walks the line of being too hipster....Fortunately though they've been on TV and had some chart success so the hipsters have left them behind to the girls who are too slow on the uptake to be "cool"....and me.

From the second the album starts you realise that they've gone for a very specific sound - that of friends playing loud in their garage and recording it through an old tape recorder, before playing the tape to their friends who record it by holding the mic of THEIR tape recorder up to the speakers. In other words it's purposefully very distorted and fuzzy. The guitars whirr along jaggedly over a drum machine while Alexis Krauss flicks between grumbled quasi-rapping and surprisingly-sweet vocals. They steal from Yeah Yeah Yeahs a little while pop-wise halting short of the Ting Tings.

The biggest triumph for me is that the album retains quality right through to the very end. To my taste, there is a definite drop off in the middle (Run The Heart and Rachel don't work for me and Infinity Guitars is hit-and-miss). However these are more than cancelled out by stand out tracks Tell 'Em, Riot Rhythm and Rill Rill. The last four tracks are great too so there's a lot to like. If you're not so aware of their work though, try before you buy. Also, their albums so far seem like they are quite likely to age badly.

Highlights...

Tell 'Em

Riot Rhythm

Rill Rill

Crown On The Ground

Straight A's

Low points...
Run The Heart

Rachel

[GA!]

Listening to the Sleigh Bells album based on your review. I like music that's distorted and loud and fun. They sound like The White Stripes if they were electronic and evil. I can see this being on my album rotation for a while...

[SRN]

Christ, I haven't listened to Treats since it came out. I remember really liked "Tell 'Em" and "Rill Rill". Maybe I should revisit the record too.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Takk" by Sigur Ros
2005


(5/5)

Full track listing:

1. Takk...

2. Glosoli

3. Hoppipolla

4. Meo Blodnasir

5. Se Lest

6. Saeglopur

7. Milano

8. Gong

9. Andvari

10. Svo Hljott

11. Heysatan

Well, the spectre of this album has been hanging over me ever since I started this list. When I first heard of Sigur Ros (I saw them perform on Later with Jools Holland to advertise the release of Takk) I feel in love with them big time and, I would still class them as a huge favourite and Takk as my favourite album of theirs. I'm not niche and muso enough to have another of their albums as my favourite.

From the very start, Takk provides a perfectly balanced and fused listening experience. It's not just a list of songs, instead it's a series of focal points within a flowing, ever-changing, musical backdrop. Jonsi's wailing guitars and stunning vocals are complimented with the rich bass, beautiful pianos and emotion-stirring drums. Amiina (see much earlier) have long played with Sigur Ros, providing the string work and even the brass band's appearances are perfectly placed.

Despite being a flowing work of art, Takk plays like a best of album. You've got the three "big" tracks ("Glosoli", "Hoppipolla and the heart-wrenchingly exquisite "Saeglopur") all right there but it's what plays around them that really holds it all together. Album tracks really have never been stronger. "Takk" starts the listener off with what sounds like the ending credits to an existential sci-fi film. "Meo Blodnasir" is the perfect riposte to Hoppipola before it all relaxes into the beautiful "Se Lest". "Milano" holds its own amongst the big three. The album eases down at the end, almost as if it was preparing the listener for a time when they're not listening to the album any more. It's all thought out so well and takes you on a vast journey as you listen.

The reason I'm such a Sigur Ros whore is that I'm a huge sucker for the way they move from the delicate "plinky plonky", building and building up to something huge, something that wouldn't be out of place playing while you lose your virginity to the love of your life, or when you stand on the edge of a huge canyon and scream, or when someone sacrifices themselves for someone else.

Highlights...
Everything pretty much


Low points...
Nothing pretty much

[METALMAN]

wow. that's a lot of thumbsup.gifs

But Takk is probably best Sigur Ros.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"Body Talk" by Robyn
2010

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

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1. Fembot

2. Don't Fucking Tell Me What to Do

3. Dancing on My Own

4. Indestructible

5. Time Machine

6. Love Kills

7. Hang With Me

8. Call Your Girlfriend

9. None of Dem

10. We Dance to the Beat

11. U Should Know Better

12. Dancehall Queen

13. Get Myself Together

14. In My Eyes

15. Stars 4 Ever

Holy four-out-of-five Batman! Yes indeed my crime-fighting chum, it's time for another 4/5 album in my collection. This time around it's my second Robyn album which is actually a collection of her two "Body Talk" mini albums with a few more songs thrown on top. Basically it's the only Body Talk album you need. Got that? Groovy.

It's long been common knowledge that a) I actually really fancy Robyn and b) I think she's actually a legitimately top synthpop artist. (a) of course helps out (b) a little for some of her more average songs but I DO think she's definitely a better act than Lady GaGa or that one that metalman likes, or pretty much any other poppy female act around. She's been doing it longer than a lot of them too.

Anyway, Body Talk throws 15 songs at you, of which a few were released as singles. "Dancing On My Own", "Indestructible", "Hang With Me" and "Call Your Girlfriend" were well chosen and all excellent high points on the album (which incidentally reached 168 in the UK album chart despite getting excellent reviews from pretty much everywhere). Robyn's music is quirky and the album carries that throughout. Sometimes it borders on a bit twee (mmm nice use of the word twee) but most of the time she carries it off excellently. She's brought in Royksopp and Snoop Dogg(?!) for a couple of tracks on the album and co-lyricist and producer Klas Ahlund does a great job.

So what are the other highlights of this long album then? Well some may not be to every taste but "Fembot" is a great squelchy intro to the album, "Get Myself Together" is the most single-sounding of the album tracks. "Dancehall Queen" should be the most ridiculous thing on earth but actually works. "Time Machine" is good too.

If there's a weakness to the album (which there must be as it's a four) then it's the 9/10/11 which are probably three of the weaker tracks (despite the Snoop Dogg inclusion over an electro track sounding like something from Fischerspooner). "Stars 4 Ever" at the end ain't great either.

Ultimately, Robyn feels like she's doing what SHE wants to be doing. Her dancing in her videos (especially Call Your Girlfriend which grows on me each play through) is how she wants to dance. The quirky mix of songs is her choice and how she markets herself seems to just be how she wants it to be. 'Nuff respec' for that. Give it a try, at least click some of the youtube links in this review.

Highlights...

Fembot

Dancing On My Own

Indestructible

Hang With Me

Call Your Girlfriend

Dancehall Queen

Get Myself Together

Low points...
None Of Dem

We Dance To The Beat

U Should Know Better

Stars 4 Ever

[METALMAN]

Lady Gaga is the one I like!

Though I do also like that Robyn album.

But I still like Lady Gaga more.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

After nearly two years and with a thousand broken links in the thread, I have returned as I think it's time to bring the music back!

"Both Ways Open Jaws" by The Dø
2011

(4/5)

Full track listing:

1. Dust It Off - 3:42
2. Gonna Be Sick! - 4:09
3. The Wicked & The Blind - 5:08
4. Too Insistent - 3:29
5. Bohemian Dances - 4:23
6. Smash Them All (Night Visitors) - 5:12
7. Leo Leo - 3:30
8. B.W.O.J - 1:43
9. Slippery Slope - 2:41
10. The Calendar - 4:03
11. Was It A Dream? - 3:05
12. Quake, Mountain, Quake - 2:10
13. Moon Mermaids - 3:02
14. 14. Open C - 1:15
15. 15. No Clue - 8:01

Another album joins the swollen ranks of my 4/5s and unsurprisingly really. Let's face it, not every album is worth 5/5 but I'll generally chase down albums that I'll enjoy.

Aaaaanyway, I discovered The Do while researching bands for a recentish EWB Eurovision Song Contest diary. Ultimately my choice of song didn't fare well in the competition but I ended up watching the video (Slippery Slope) over and over again. It seemed different and creative and I'm a sucker for those things. The only other song of theirs at the time that I has listened to was "Gonna Be Sick" - which I didn't end up choosing as my entry.

Over the New Year I got their album and it went straight into the car to be listened to numerous times. Ultimately it's an album that's hard to listen to without flicking through tracks. It's not a perfect album and it's a bit all over the place stylistically, while keeping a central core. There are electro touches, ambience, drums and "ethnic" touches, mixed with some folky leanings and even some weird music box country stuff. Olivia Merilahti has a beautiful and interesting voice so even the weaker songs carry themselves well enough for the most part.

As far as my personal highlights go, the album was a bit of a discovery of mini obsessions. I tend to really get into a song for a short time and listen to it repeatedly for a couple of days. This is what I did again here. Firstly "Slippery Slope", then the beautiful "Too Insistent". Then after fighting through "The Calendar" (which I've never been able to enjoy) and the Amiina-esque "Was it a Dream?" one evening in the car, I parked just as the fascinating and refreshing "Quake, Mountain, Quake" came on, which actually blew me away. The other brilliant track on the album is "B.W.O.J". Like Q,M,Q, it's short, does its business and clears space for the next track, leaving me wanting more of it, but loving how short and to the point it was.

So then, an album that, for me, has four legit stand out tracks, supported by a number of very strong songs depending on mood (Dust it Off, Gonna be Sick, The Wicked & the Blind, Smash Them All, Moon Mermaids). The Do are very talented, creative (and both very attractive) and deserve a successful music career.

Highlights...

Slippery Slope

Too Insistent

Quake, Mountain, Quake

B.W.O.J

Low points...
Leo Leo

The Calendar

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

"OK Computer" by Radiohead
1997

(5/5)

Full track listing:

1. "Airbag" – 4:44
2. "Paranoid Android" – 6:23
3. "Subterranean Homesick Alien" – 4:27
4. "Exit Music (For a Film)" – 4:24
5. "Let Down" – 4:59
6. "Karma Police" – 4:21
7. "Fitter Happier" – 1:57
8. "Electioneering" – 3:50
9. "Climbing Up the Walls" – 4:45
10. "No Surprises" – 3:48
11. "Lucky" – 4:19
12. "The Tourist" – 5:24

I should hate OK Computer. I'm a huge fan of Britpop and of being a teenager during the '90s. It was all swagger and love of British stuff and patriotism in a good and cool way and not the UKIP/Britain First way. It was celebrating the artists, the musicians, the directors that we had here, developing our own creative identity again after borrowing so much from the USA previously.

It's said that OK Computer was the album that killed Britpop....and to be fair, within the first 20 seconds of first track "Airbag", it's not really surprising. It sounded like nothing else around at the time. OK Computer is my favourite Radiohead album and is likely to remain that way. Yeah, I love The Bends and Kid A, but OK Computer is one of those "special" albums that come along from time to time, that ends up in all those "100 albums to listen to before you die" books and lists.

True there are naysayers too and that's to be expected. Plenty of early Radiohead fans swear by The Bends and plenty of others prefer later work. but, and maybe it's because I was 16 when it was released, OK Computer resonated with me straight away.

There's not really much to be said that hasn't been. Like with Sigur Ros, I wish I could name another, less obvious, album as my favourite, but I can't. However my favourite track on the album is a bit more hipster than the usual choices. "Let Down" is a beautiful, beautiful song and when, the last time through, Yorke's voice lifts through the "You know, you know where you are with..." it's one of my favourite parts of ANY song, let alone of this album.

Highlights...

Let Down

Paranoid Android

Karma Police

No Surprises

Airbag

Low points...
I need to be in a very specific mood for Climbing Up The Walls and The Tourist.