EWB Music Club Meeting #2

[fr34k]

Discuss away! I will listen to it tomorrow probably.

[Lowerdeck]

I'm listening to bits and pieces here during gaps in the Pats game...

First thoughts:

NY Girls: wasn't a huge fan of the vocals and lyrics, but wasn't paying too close attention

A Begging I Will Go: an improvement

Cross-Eyed and Chinless: nice instrumental track here, I have a feeling this will be my favorite of the album

Broomfield Hills: Is it me, or is every song on this album going to sound pretty similar?

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

My old man absolutely ADORES Bellowhead. So I learnt to when I was back visiting at Christmas.

[Steeb]

I love the idea of Music Club, and want to be as involved as possible, let me just clarify that much. However, I cannot do this album properly. It's unlistenable. I work in a bar that has folk gigs 4/5 nights a week, and I've heard some innovative stuff there, bit this isn't, at all. I tried to get through a whole song, but couldn't. I find that a lot of the time this sort of folk music tends to blur together. I really wanted to give a full breakdown of the album, like I did with Chilis, but I can't put myself through it. It's boring, repetitive and has weak, uninspiring vocals. Sorry jack.

[jack95]

Bah, you're all heathens. Of course, it's each to their own, and I didn't expect this would be everyone's cup of tea. I agree that the vocals aren't particularly great, though there aren't many folk singers that actually have decent voices in my opinion. In defence of Bellowhead though, I certainly think it's very harsh of Steeb to say it's unlistenable, especially having only heard one song. I don't blame him for turning it off after one song, because if someone nominates some shouty nu-metal band I'll end up doing the same, but unlistenable is undeserved I think. I just genuinely can't imagine someone listening to a song as upbeat and bouncy as New York Girls and not being able to physically stomach a second track. I disagree that it's boring, certainly for me it's more catchy and interesting than anything I heard on the RHCP album. Repetitive? I can understand that one, because the chorus does pop up quite often, but that's not off-putting to me. And un-innovative? It's not meant to be. They're old folk songs re-imagined. Some of them were written hundreds of years ago.

Admittedly, I don't have the broad music tastes and knowledge of some of you, but I love this album. It's escapism for me, to a time where there was actual magic (Broomfield Hill) quaint beggars on cobbled streets (A-Begging I Will Go) and whores. Lots of whores. Bellowhead like singing about whores. But again, I knew not everyone would like it, and I accept that. I'm not a massive fan of Bob Dylan, and I realise for some people that makes me the devil incarnate. But I didn't think it would get this much distaste, especially after it got a fair amount of critical acclaim upon it's release...

[Steeb]

I listened to two and a half, and could stomach no more. It's repetitive, for me, because it's what I get forcefed at work all week, and I find the genre as a whole fairly boring. I get the evocative nature of the style, but I have heard it done better. And I've enjoyed acts that have played nothing but 12th/13th century songs, but did so in a much more evocative and affecting way. It's just not for me. I also hate Dylan.

[Matt]

Eh, I'll agree it does sound very samey as folk generally does to me but I wouldn't say this was terrible. The vocals are way too weak, I'll agree with Steeb there. If the music is as generic as this is, the vocals should be more powerful than this. That and there should be more vocal presence altogether, the music is very repetitive, yet there's (what seems like, anyway) minutes on end of instrumental. I quite like a couple of songs – Broomfield Hill and Cold Blows the Wind – but I think they'll get very boring, very quickly and the rest of it, as Steeb put it was unlistenable... Well maybe that's a bit harsh, it's not unlistenable, but it's background music in a pub whilst I'm having a chat rather than something to actually listen to when I'm on the bus.

[Steeb]

Yeah, it was a bit harsh, I wouldn't storm out if ot was on in a loud pub, but I would never choose to listen or leave it on.