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Post by themoviesinner on Apr 10, 2022 17:36:10 GMT
Jack White - Fear Of The Dawn -- 7.5/10Jack White tries to throw everything he can think of into this album, leading to some inspired instumentation and many memorable moments. Not everything on here works and the album as a whole seems very chaotic without a clear indication of what it tries to achieve, but I mostly loved it's sound. It's a loud and obnoxious record, but, despite the, sometimes, bizarre experimentation, it remains highly entertaining and extremely catchy at parts. This is what great modern rock should sound like.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 12, 2022 10:02:19 GMT
Fontaines D.C. - Skinty Fia (comes out April 22, 2022) - 8 + / 10......
The first great Rock band in a generation that is also really big - populist in a way that doesn't exist in "good" Rock music now - even if they are not THAT big (yet) - they feel like Oasis '94-'95, The Strokes '01-'03, Arctic Monkeys '06-'07 .......unlike their rivals for best band in the world atm there's nothing small, cult, niche or quirky ........or God forbid "indie" about them.
In my Top 5 of the year with each of their previous two albums .......Skinty Fia sets them up for 3 in a row but also as one of the great things of the MAR era - that's things, not merely bands.
About as good an album as 1 & 2 were but it gains power from what came before it - and in some ways this is a breakthrough - lyrically and vocally - Grian Chatten sings his ass off - at times really stretching out ......and at times, he's an absolute dick on this album too - daring you to hate him, like all really good Rock stars must - and this dude is nothing, if not a Rock star.
So, the endearing Rock debut.......the challenging, necessary "dark(er) / underrated-overrated / misunderstood" 2nd record and now the 3rd that splits the difference - and seems natural, not like a stunt. Which one you like the best depends on your mood - and isn't the point - that will be argued after they break up - which seemed entirely possible after album 2 and now seems bloody unlikely. Each record is infused with its own personality and vision.....each stands on its own. This record may make the band click for people who never got them ...........and now get not just get this new one but all 3 of their releases.
Skinty Fia opens with a genuine curveball - a weird song - their weirdest ever - the lovely yet creepy, oddly ironic, and unsettling "In ár gCroíthe go deo" ("In our hearts forever") - and much of this album is uneasily frightening in the same way that song is - you think back on it - - weary, majestic, outside itself, strangely sad. Much of this album is concerned with looking into the abyss and seeing the void and running away and scared about your youth slipping away before someone else writes your epitaph - it's the story of frantic searching / comprehension / bewilderment. Lots of this is also about getting away from .............everything - bad relationships, lingering ghosts, a million small failures - and things that won't let you get away without their claws in you. It's political around the edges and a personal album about a life of quiet despair.
Invites repeated plays and very pretentious deep Rock critic BS "analysis" even though the record is not pretentious - and is accessible -it is merely intelligent and densely constructed - a thicket of interweaving themes and its sounds - sounds here are a big deal too: vocals far outside their normal range, going across a ton of musical styles - some of this isn't even music styles but descriptive in other ways - Folk-Horror or something not too far removed from trad Irish folk - goth-y, chilly musical passages, and hollowed out, punctuating, off-beat drums and clanging, bubbling through whole songs pulse beats - echoes and hearing ghostly voices. After a couple plays at least 3 / 4ths of this is superb - just in design - and the couple I'm not quite sure of right now may be pulled in from the whole undertow anyway - and this record has a big undertow just because of how dense it is.
Skinty Fia also gets them away from themselves too - and places them in a broader context - within Ireland......... but also dislocated away from Ireland - this album is very explicitly Irish but also universal. It has a major literary angle to it also - 10 songs, that are like "chapters" - the closer is "Nabokov" (um) and they expressly reference James Joyce (um, again) - and several lyrical passages are like scene sketches from a favorite book or poem.
A superb, idiosyncratic album that doesn't court its audience or condescend to them but dares the potential audience - literate true believers, who know their history - Pop music and otherwise - to come along and get Fontaines D.C. on their own terms.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 13, 2022 5:51:12 GMT
3 for 1:
Romero - Turn It On (2022) - 6.5 / 10 ; Linnea's Garden - Fashion Show (2022) - 4-5 / 10 ; Suzi Moon - Animal 3 Song EP (2022) - 4-5 / 10
Romero
Overrated Aussie debut that's fine as it plays - but doesn't stick the landing much. Another band with a superb frontwoman though - Alanna Oliver - which is getting a bit ridiculous these days there's like 10 out of nowhere - but this needs a sharper batch of (shorter) songs.
Linnea's Garden
Nothing that matches "Glitter" from last year's pretty good EP - this let down debut is something of a fascinating trainwreck......
Cut & Paste is a clusterfnck of 80s Madonna fronting Franz Ferdinand singing a song that your 14 year female cousin wrote about her first breakup while sharting out "The Best of Kylie Minogue" from her busted Boombox over a humming, buzzing, migraine-inducing Indie rock production .....or a bad mastering fault..... It's not even the best song to use the tired "in my / your head" lyric this year - The Mysterines did it too (In My Head), which tops this, slaps much harder, is way sexier (obviously), with a smoking hot video........and um..........is professionally produced too.
Suzi Moon
3 song EP with 1 Pop song winner - that could get played on the radio or at the shopping mall (Gold Record Autograph) that I like against my better judgment ...........and 2 sub-Joan Jett / Stooges knock-offs that I really don't
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Post by Joaquim on Apr 13, 2022 22:35:23 GMT
www.theringer.com/music/2022/4/13/23022787/television-marquee-moon-tom-verlaine-richard-hellReally great write up for the 45th anniversary of one of the all time great albums - Marquee Moon. It’s a bit of a weird comparison but my first time listening to this album was like my first time watching Fight Club. Every 15-20mins or so I’d find myself saying “holy shit this movie is really fucking good”. Listening to Marquee Moon for the first time was very much the same. After the first 2 songs I was saying “holy shit this album is really fucking good” every song after that, and Torn Curtain of course is one of the all time great album closers
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 14, 2022 7:29:24 GMT
Amyl and The Sniffers - Comfort to Me (2021) - ......somewhere around an 8 / 10 .....but if I was younger ....... This is exactly the record California's Neighborhood Brats wanted to make this year (reviewed in this thread) - and this is what that pretended to be. Female vocal album of the year by far atm ..... positively terrifying no BS Punk Rock ..... that makes the parade of indie female "singer-songwriters" in 2021 look like the soon to be basic Soccer Moms - who need a long nap - that they are. I really want to visit Australia because it seems like a nice place but on this new album - which obliterates their debut btw - Amy Taylor suggests Australia is a place of constant threat, anxiety and menace to her .......and her to it too......she comes off as no one so much as a female Iggy Pop. Almost every song is a frantic ripper - and drops profanity right in your face too - and Amy who is less annoying than last time, now also sounds a lot sharper, less screeching, smarter, more pissed off and a better lyricist too. This is an amazing - and exhausting - vocal performance and the band follows her right down the black hole she's all too eager to jump head-first into - the only downside is it's too intense, too ferocious, too much - it just wears you out ..... For a record THIS noisy it's a genuine shock how many of these songs stand out here that basically follow a "play fast and have her scream over the guitars" pattern. Released just yesterday ....and it's a stunner ......will take several listens to settle in......recommended for people who like '77 female fronted Punk.......Bikini Kill .....etc. Amyl and The Sniffers - Comfort to Me (Expanded Edition) - will be released May 13, 2022 - Still awesome.....but the 13 song OG works just fine thanx.......^
My #2 album of 2021 ........now it adds a 2nd disc which is this album done live (mostly) - on a shipping dock (?) - with no crowd (?!?)........so (almost) the same record for........ a 3rd time. A victory lap......but they earned it .......a thrilling record in any edition
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 16, 2022 20:35:20 GMT
Kate Clover - Bleed Your Heart Out (comes out April 22, 2022) - certanly an 8 / 10 or.........perhaps higher.........it's crazy enjoyable ......sort of a minor but awesome and tight version of "Parallel Lines"(1978) ....
Kate Clover did not take any chances with the tracklist on her debut album:
Just 10 songs - 5 previously released over the last few years - and 4 of those are her entire, well received Channel Zero EP (reviewed in this thread). That leaves just 5 new recordings - and they all fit the winning formula.
Kate Clover's whole presentation fascinates me: flawless musical influences, a great look and persona - which is close to perfectly evocative of a Punk fashionista without pandering........... right down to her alterna-marketing campaigns / video presentations - filled with a winking retro campiness and kitsch but not a joke. There's also Clover's connections throughout the LA music scene and with this album designed to make her "career". She's on a noticeably small label - that's slightly more than self-released really ............when she could apparently be on a far bigger label (?)
Bleed Your Heart Out however is outside of all that - it just completely works as an album. Maybe because of the freedom her connections and personal resources allow her - or her own savvy artistic instincts - she certainly doesn't seem beholden to anyone. Clover has been around for a while in bands - she's not just dabbling in this - and you get the feeling that she's seen enough things go wrong in the music business to only do it her way..........and her way kind of seems so obvious you don't know why others aren't doing this sound and copping her overall frame of reference.
Songs are simple and direct but genuinely endearing - and that focus is part of the charm. These are also not lazy in their hooks - work has gone into how they're constructed but it all feels effortless .......Clover knows what works and what doesn't - for her tastes, this genre and for your tastes too - it doesn't play as calculated, it plays as on point.
The new tunes play a big part in this overall effect - and provide space and variety - Gnarcissist sounds like a dreamy foreboding 50s ballad ("and you know it" Clover sings) - her vocal is beautiful here - the album's sole ballad. Pleasure Forever is one of those quirky left-field type bouncing pop songs that you think you might be able to write off but then it builds and you can't get it out of your head - and the rocking closer Follow My Heart is like a Spaghetti Western / Old 97s song - a cow punk rave up that's exactly how you should end an album.
Blondie, Patti Smith, Pretenders and the LA Punk / Post Punk / New Wave bands -- X, Gun Club, etc. of that era - even the more obscure ones - are referenced with much specific detail and genuine affection.
Basically an album that makes you feel like it's 1982 all over again - and this plays like the best New Wave radio station in the world playing 10 cool songs in a row......
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 18, 2022 7:25:23 GMT
Royal Blackouts Coastal Fever - Endless Rooms (Comes out May 6, 2022) - I dunno...... it's not bad ........not at all......better than their 2nd album even but.........it's just over between us anyway though.......it's not you........it's ME
You could call all these songs about water, thunder, rocks, the sea, tidal waves, dew, lightning, leaves, foliage and Mother Nature a bid to be The Great Climate Change Rock Music Champs - but is that what you really want to be anyway fellas?
First record still stands up and was among the best of its year (Hope Downs 2018).......but the mystery is gone. We shant be lovers now........guitars are crisp and interlocked in a way that is gonna make critics fall over themselves again to love you......like I once did .......... at one time .......we had some great times but as Bob Dylan said......Things Have Changed
I wish you the best in your future relationships with a mermaid or someone you meet while hiking near a fncking waterfall.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 20, 2022 0:45:31 GMT
The Jeanines - Don't Wait For A Sign (comes out April 22, 2022) - 7 + / 10...... an exceptional record but alas..........not my kind of thing.......but ......an impressive piece of work in general
Hipsters are gonna freak out though I reckon.....
One of my least favorite genres, Twee Indie Pop - and from an act (a duo) I thought laid it on too thick on their debut which a lot of people lovvvvvvvvvvvved and which I thought lacked a clear vision buried within its too cutesy schtick..........and had 16 songs which was just too much.
But on Don't Wait For A Sign - album # 2 - they've sort of crystallized it, sweetened it, shortened it (13 songs - this like 20 minutes............20 ?!?!). Incredibly short songs - with great production and forward momentum that soar and flutter - all get in and out quick and float into thin air. They don't sound like songs but fragments in the best sense - like something from the past that you can only remember short moments from.
They slightly remind me here of the one band I like in this "Twee Indie Pop" genre - Talulah Gosh - a guilty pleasure of mine - but I don't feel too guilty about it tbh - I've reviewed them in this thread - didn't record a proper album when they existed (in the 80s, but have a marvelous full compilation "Was It Just A Dream?"). Talulah Gosh were tougher than this - this is more bordering on 60s sunny hippy-ish hashish ruminating ........but it's not too far away from their floating melodies and winning Pop sense of wonder.
Alicia Hyman is the singer on these - with excellent vocals and Jed Smith is the less starry member of the duo - he is the same guy as pacinoyes fave "Mick Trouble" (also review in this thread, a lot btw)..................Mick's having quite a year, huh?
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 21, 2022 15:10:28 GMT
Kate Clover - Bleed Your Heart Out (comes out April 22, 2022) - certanly an 8 / 10 or.........perhaps higher.........it's crazy enjoyable ......sort of a minor but awesome and tight version of "Parallel Lines"(1978) ....Kate Clover did not take any chances with the tracklist on her debut album: Just 10 songs - 5 previously released over the last few years - and 4 of those are her entire, well received Channel Zero EP (reviewed in this thread). That leaves just 5 new recordings - and they all fit the winning formula. Kate Clover's whole presentation fascinates me: flawless musical influences, a great look and persona - which is close to perfectly evocative of a Punk fashionista without pandering........... right down to her alterna-marketing campaigns / video presentations - filled with a winking retro campiness and kitsch but not a joke. There's also Clover's connections throughout the LA music scene and with this album designed to make her "career". She's on a noticeably small label - that's slightly more than self-released really ............when she could apparently be on a far bigger label (?) Bleed Your Heart Out however is outside of all that - it just completely works as an album. Maybe because of the freedom her connections and personal resources allow her - or her own savvy artistic instincts - she certainly doesn't seem beholden to anyone. Clover has been around for a while in bands - she's not just dabbling in this - and you get the feeling that she's seen enough things go wrong in the music business to only do it her way..........and her way kind of seems so obvious you don't know why others aren't doing this sound and copping her overall frame of reference. Songs are simple and direct but genuinely endearing - and that focus is part of the charm. These are also not lazy in their hooks - work has gone into how they're constructed but it all feels effortless .......Clover knows what works and what doesn't - for her tastes, this genre and for your tastes too - it doesn't play as calculated, it plays as on point. The new tunes play a big part in this overall effect - and provide space and variety - Gnarcissist sounds like a dreamy foreboding 50s ballad ("and you know it" Clover sings) - her vocal is beautiful here - the album's sole ballad. Pleasure Forever is one of those quirky left-field type bouncing pop songs that you think you might be able to write off but then it builds and you can't get it out of your head - and the rocking closer Follow My Heart is like a Spaghetti Western / Old 97s song - a cow punk rave up that's exactly how you should end an album. Blondie, Patti Smith, Pretenders and the LA Punk / Post Punk / New Wave bands -- X, Gun Club, etc. of that era - even the more obscure ones - are referenced with much specific detail and genuine affection. Basically an album that makes you feel like it's 1982 all over again - and this plays like the best New Wave radio station in the world playing 10 cool songs in a row......Look - I've said it before - 2 greeeeeeeeeeeeeeat albums come out tomorrow - the best music day of the year (so far) - best of the year contenders - Fontaines D.C. Skinty Fia - that is gonna get raves and sell a lot too ........it's just terrific........but Kate Clover ^ is terrific in its own simple, entertaining way - and a lot more under the radar ............... and it's streaming for free today if you're curious to check it out. www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2022/04/bleed-your-heart-out-by-kate-clover-album-stream.html
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Post by themoviesinner on Apr 22, 2022 16:37:24 GMT
Fontaines D.C. - Skinty Fia (2022) -- 8/10Well, this is a great album and it's graet mostly because it has something that most alternative/indie rock albums lack, ATMOSPHERE. this is a dense album, that creates a mood of melancholy, even gloom, throughout. And while the approach to this mood is different in each song, the common atmosphere is what combines each one of them and makes this a great coherent record, unlike most other modern rock albums that just feel like a random collection of rock songs. Not every individual track on here is great, but their combination definitely is. My personal favorites were the opener In ár gCroíthe go deo, which has a very post rock vibe, that I definitely didn't expect, Bloomsday which reminded me a lot of 90s Lake Of Tears and I Love You, which definitely portrays the love, but also bitterness, one feels for their home country incredibly well (I often feel the same way about Greece for sure). Anyway, great album and I definitely see myself appreciating it more with every relisten. pacinoyes this definitely is one of the albums of the year and thank you for praising it this much on this board, because, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have listened to it.
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Post by countjohn on Apr 23, 2022 18:33:56 GMT
Also just listened to the new Fontaines DC today. Definitely an improvement over the last one which I thought was way too pop, synths on every song and that thin 80's drum sound. Not sure if I like it better than the first, they're so different it's hard to say. This is the first time I've ever thought anything they did was pretty with the lush backing vocals on the opener and the track with the organ or harmonium or whatever it was. So they're definitely trading new ground and I'm interested to see how they combine these disparate elements.
I will say I think the title track was a mistake. It's fine on its own but it doesn't go with the rest of the album at all with the hip hop beats and psychedelics guitar, especially when they stick it right in the middle of the album. Maybe it could have been the poppy opener before getting into the rest of the album.
But it's still a good record 8/10
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 24, 2022 8:33:43 GMT
Camp Cope - Running With The Hurricane (2022) - ..... 2 / 10 but......the margin of error is + / - 2 points
Abysmal sophomoric ear rape masquerading as personal growth.
"I thought god was a man, I was so wrong about that / Lay me down on my back and tell me / I've finally been caught staring at you for a while / It's you, baby blue"
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 25, 2022 7:05:06 GMT
Bridge City Sinners - Unholy Hymns (2021) - ~ 6.5 ++ / 10
Metal fans and folk fans may love this - also punk fans who like Gogol Bordello - very funny murder ballads, creepy folk (like Violent Femmes brilliant Country Death Song).
This gets repetetive to me but it's a blast in a way too.......totally blasphemous and inappropriate......has to be heard to even get the novelty of approach ........but not sure how much mileage you can get out of this sound?
Their theatricality is wonderfully OTT
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 27, 2022 8:50:25 GMT
Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (1968) - ~ 9 / 10 What can I say - it's great........it also has too many tracks...... - it totally does........then again when you're doing time you got plenty of time.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 28, 2022 12:31:38 GMT
CMAT (Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson) - If My Wife New (sic) I'd Be Dead (2022) - 7.5 ++ / 10.........higher probably A stunning sad clown on medication (or needing to be) play on Pop Country music - that is yet another brilliant 2022 debut. Gee, shame about the movies this year, huh MAR? .......and how the fnck is this ANOTHER 2022 album from Ireland which already has maybe the album of the year ( Fontaines D.C), the years best EP ( Sprints) and now one of the Best Non-Rock / Pop records of the year....... .......this is almost an hour long - whaaaaaat? ......... and has more words in it than Dylan in a blender.... I recently praised The Jeanines Don't Wait For A Sign album as being an "I don't care about it at all" record that is sort of a masterclass within its lame genre (twee IndiePop). Well, this is like that too.........but the complete opposite in its execution - where that is simple, small and charming this is roaringly complex, ambitious and even more charming.......This is quite simply my favorite Pop Country album by someone not from America.........um, like ever? ....... urbanpatrician might dig this.... But: This album is fncking exhausting too - she's finding a sweet spot like a wise ass would - she's not selling sex - she's far more subtle (..........and odd ..........she loves Robbie Williams, getit?) it is so packed with stream of consciouness lyrical ideas, with cleverly integrated instrumentation and vocal lines.......but also and the length of songs (4 minutes + - it's like taking a test sometimes) - that it works best if you split in half imo. I'm not kidding - this album is hysterically funny and hysterically camp.........a refracted mirror through a Pop cultural history tour.......You might not "like" it but this is an essential 2022 listen......what a year.....
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 29, 2022 6:55:05 GMT
Coach Party - Nothing Is Real EP (released today April 29th, 2022) - 7 / 10 I'd argue them for Pop when no one else would - Shit TV, 3 Kisses and Weird Me Out stick with me more at first than their arty aggro-Punk palette cleanser (FLAG, this EPs sorta hit) or modern shoegaze (the title track, this EPs sorta artistic statement and best song) - which also have their own charms just different.
3 Kisses - the most obvious "haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate it" song here (not to me!) - is almost entirely Jess Eastwood (still lovely btw) crooning "I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend" for a full 2 minutes (um) over a goofy ass ABBA-esque cheesy backing sugar rush of instrumentation and positivity backing vocals............awwwwww..........I think she likes me!
This 3rd EP is their most cohesive and professional produced release - but it lacks the bite of their 3 best previous songs (Bleach, Can't Talk, Won't, Everybody Hates Me)......still an act with a high upside........they need to make an album though at this point ......songwriting is starting to look arbitrary a bit.....
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Post by themoviesinner on Apr 29, 2022 17:47:54 GMT
Pain Of Salvation - BE (2004) -- 9.5/10This is one of my favorite progressive rock albums of all time. It's a concept album which revolves around existentialism. Often cited as one of the most pretentious albums of the genre, it's definitely a divisive work, as it is, both lyrically and musically, complex and ambitious. I, personally, love it, since I find it such an immersive experience. Everything here is closely connected to the overall concept in such a way that listening to any track individually, probably lessens it's impact and regresses it quality wise. One of the best rock albums of the 21st century for sure. pacinoyes have you heard this by any chance? I doubt you'll find it very enjoyable (that's not it's purpose anyway) but it's one of the few albums I think every fan of rock music should listen to, since it's such an ambitious and unique work. The band did a live performance of this album (or original stage production as they called it), right after it's release, and I actually own the DVD.
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 29, 2022 18:31:02 GMT
Pain Of Salvation - BE (2004) -- 9.5/10This is one of my favorite progressive rock albums of all time. It's a concept album which revolves around existentialism. Often cited as one of the most pretentious albums of the genre, it's definitely a divisive work, as it is, both lyrically and musically, complex and ambitious. I, personally, love it, since I find it such an immersive experience. Everything here is closely connected to the overall concept in such a way that listening to any track individually, probably lessens it's impact and regresses it quality wise. One of the best rock albums of the 21st century for sure. pacinoyes have you heard this by any chance? I doubt you'll find it very enjoyable (that's not it's purpose anyway) but it's one of the few albums I think every fan of rock music should listen to, since it's such an ambitious and unique work. The band did a live performance of this album (or original stage production as they called it), right after it's release, and I actually own the DVD. I don't know the band but it doesn't matter if I like it - I'll give it a listen - all recommendations are welcomed and appreciated - thanx. Even when I don't like stuff my friend is likely to ............and his favorite bands are like Cirith Ungol and Celtic Frost ..........we have many (good natured) arguments about music.......last time I saw him was Record Store Day and while we were driving around he took out my T.Rex CD - flung it in the back seat and put on Witchfinder General.............his car, his rules ..........he lurks here but technically he's forbidden to post or register as a user - that's a MAR restriction as part of my 40 year probationary period. As one moderator put it to me........."Oh fnck no, we can barely tolerate you pacinoyes.......much less someone who would admit to actually being your friend"
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Post by pacinoyes on Apr 30, 2022 8:55:29 GMT
Jay Bennett - Kicking At Perfumed Air (2010) & Whatever Happened I Apologize (2008) (2022 combined) at least 7 / 10......some of it is terrific
pacinoyes Hot Take: I haven't cared about Wilco in a very long time and I don't care much for at least half of their overrated "Masterpiece" Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001) but I'll tell you this: the late Jay Bennett plays on and is responsibe for much of their best music includng their "closer to being a real masterpiece" (Summerteeth (1999)).
These 2 mixed bag records gain a fresh perspective power when combined and some of this is real deal goosebump inducing stuff in the new setting .....
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Post by pacinoyes on May 5, 2022 7:20:34 GMT
Nirvana - Roma (Bootleg) - February 22, 1994 - ~ 8 + / 10
I am not the biggest fan of In Utero because I find on that record the dirge songs grind it down at times into something ugly (which is the point I know) but in concert those songs become the dark half of a thrilling musical bi-polar personality.
..........and those same songs ........in this setting work in an odd way going back and forth between spiraling descent and buoyancy and counterpoint of That Great Big Hit Album.......what before sometimes curdled on their 3rd album by itself now compels live in combination ...... and Cobain's howls are sometimes almost animalistic - the one before the break in "Breed" is particularly haunting.
Very little joking around, no covers, this is the version of the band - with Pat Smear added - as an assembly line beast of a pulverizing power.
6 weeks later it would all be over.
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Post by countjohn on May 7, 2022 1:56:57 GMT
We- Arcade Fire
I remember when their last album was coming out it felt like we were getting updates on it every day. Maybe that's a testament to how bad it was and also how our music forum has declined in activity that we're not seeing that this time.
Anyway, my expectations were pretty low considering the low quality of that one and the big gap. But the first three songs (or three of the first four since for some reason on Spotify there's an "exclusive" instrumental as track three) are all really good and by the third one I was actually thinking it could be a really good album. But the second side isn't nearly as good. Often forgettable, occasionally genuinely quite bad with that acoustic song that sounds like it would play over a cancer PSA or something and some bad attempts at social commentary. The song where Butler keeps bellowing "I unsubscribed" is Boomer meme tier satire and then it goes to the other side with "Race and Religion" being corny woke crap.
But it's still alright, I'm going to have the early tracks on rotation for a long time. Even though they've always been orchestrated this is probably the "ballad-iest" stuff they've ever done, a direction I'd like to see them explore more in the future. I've always wanted them to dump the strings and try a full on rock album too but they might be a bit old for that now. 7/10
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Post by pacinoyes on May 7, 2022 10:00:25 GMT
Judy and the Jerks - Music To Go Nuts (comes out August 1, 2022) - ~ 7 / 10
Genuine fringe culture Hardcore Punk Rock - from America ?!? in 2022 .......this is indebted to The Germs and a young Kathleen Hanna and it's rousing in small doses........... unless you're an old dude, which I am.......thanks, but I am hep to your jive youngins. No concession to popularity, commercial appeal or fads........suggests basement shows in houses, fanzines, bratty fun, cassettes, Red Bull ...........lots of Red Bull. If you know them, you won't be disappointed by this .......if not, you may need to hop on the bandwagon right now.........or just get out of their way I guess. Noise more than music, but there used to be bands that did this stuff all the time, now Judy and the Jerks almost do it by themselves.......not easy, try to write a song in this style and see how well you pull it off.
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Post by DeepArcher on May 9, 2022 21:59:42 GMT
New Arcade Fire is pretty atrocious. A memorable melody or two but their songwriting continues to descend into pure cringe. Just empty nonsense references to trendy buzzwords in place of any actual emotion, thought, or imagery. All the hype about it being some big return to form for them is mind-boggling to me.
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Post by pacinoyes on May 9, 2022 23:59:27 GMT
New Arcade Fire is pretty atrocious. A memorable melody or two but their songwriting continues to descend into pure cringe. Just empty nonsense references to trendy buzzwords in place of any actual emotion, thought, or imagery. All the hype about it being some big return to form for them is mind-boggling to me. I haven't heard it in total because I'm not a fan of the band .............but the review of this record in The Quietus is one of the most brutal for a critically adored band that I can ever recall - and completely at odds with usual Rock Critic BS nowadays.......ie it's a pan from their target community.......you almost never see that......it's the kind of thing you used to see like in the 70s or something ......... certainly not post social media where people form tribes around bands.......
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Post by pacinoyes on May 10, 2022 7:03:06 GMT
Neil Young - Citizen Kane Jr. Blues - Live at the Bottom Line (1974) - (2022) - 7 /10
Neil Young's 2 dour early 70s Beautiful (and Pre-Punk Rock, not Hippie Folk) Bummers - On The Beach (1974) and his masterpiece Tonight's the Night (1975 but recorded in 1973) - are so perfectly captured as studio records they never quite work live.
That's the case here where Young plays A LOT of On the Beach - solo, acoustic - before its release in a small club and the songs are also tremendous but blunted out of context. Those records are great BECAUSE of their incongruous moments not just their best moments.......change the context and they seems like mere sketches.
Still, this would have been, I guess - the earliest unveiling of On The Beach's Revolution Blues - the better movie version of OUATIH (yeah, you heard me, there's no happy ending here pal) - one of Rock's scariest songs ever.........and enough to justify this set all by itself.
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