Thursday, August 26, 2010

Personal Life

I'm back!  I know its been a while since my last review, but worry not my few readers!  I've been busy settling into my new, awesome apartment, figuring out my classes, and, most importantly, I've started volunteering for the student run radio station here at CU: KVCU 1190.  This, my friends, is incredibly good news because 1) I have a whole slew of brand new, independent music at my finger tips 2) I may be able to start writing long reviews for KVCU and may get some more people trekking through my blog and checking it out and 3) I'm going to be listening to and writing reviews for a significant amount more music.  With that being said, I got my first CD to review a couple of days ago and I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised.

"There's nothing we can do if I don't believe you..."
When I got The Thermals' album "Personal Life," I was a little skeptical.  The person that gave it to me at KVCU said it was one of her favorites and the review that came with it was spotless.  Now, its not that I didn't trust these sources, but I definitely didn't want to be let down.  Suffice to say, I should have believed them because The Thermals definitely made me a fan with their fifth LP.  Immediately from starting the album I was surprised.  The album definitely has a strong sound, in part due to Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla who helped produce the album.  The sound is more than enjoyable for casual listeners, but will also be enjoyable for audiophiles seeing as how a majority of the album was recorded live to tape, the album was mixed to tape, and the vinyl was mastered straight from the tape.  Furthermore, The Thermals definitely have a more successful punk, pop, almost garage sound, something that hasn't drawn me in for a long time.  

The Thermals typically tackle ideas of love in their albums here and there, but "Personal Life" in its entirety is devoted to the concept of love as can easily be seen in the track list with songs like "I'm Gonna Change Your Life" and "Your Love Is So Strong."  However, what is nice about The Thermals is that, while they have sort of a grainy,  fixed punk sound, they manage to twist and turn it so that each song has a different feel.  My favorite song on the album, "I Don't Believe You," has a string of bouncy guitar chords strewn throughout with soft percussion occasionally coming in strong to fill the vocal silence.  While the song is simple lyrically, it is incredibly catchy and will definitely strike that foot tappin', head bangin' nerve in your spine.  

Complimenting the first song, "I'm Gonna Change Your Life," is the track "You Changed My Life" at the tail end of the album.  The slow steady bass line and almost apologetic vocals of Hutch Harris really show how The Thermals' sound can morph and make you feel something entirely different.  Instead of head bangin', you're definitely going to want to sway back and forth to this track.  The lyrics in this song are a bit more complicated than in "I Don't Believe You" and provide an interesting juxtaposition of feelings with those expressed in "I'm Gonna Change Your Life."

While the album is pretty short (only ten songs, barely an LP), and some of the tracks don't seem to carry the same weight some their stronger songs do, The Thermals manage to convey a wealth of emotion and sound within the short track list.  From the uptempo guitar licks of "I Don't Believe You" to the more mild mannered, empathetic tone of "You Changed My Life," The Thermals carry the listener across the pains, warmth, struggles, and treasures of love.  I would definitely recommend picking up The Thermals' "Personal Life" when it comes out on September 7th and enjoy a sound that is seldom seen in the popular music light.

Monday, August 9, 2010

The Odd Couple


"Got some bad news this morning/  Which in turn made my day"
Much like the Arctic Monkeys, I've been on a bit of a Gnarls Barkley binge as of lately.  For some reason, I just can't stop listening to them.  This is good because it gives me something to write about.  Now, while Gnarls Barkley's first album, "St. Elsewhere" (2006), received higher reviews than "The Odd Couple" (2008), I find myself enjoying the latter more.  Some may disagree, but I'll give you a few reasons why I like it so much.

First off, I want to start by saying that I do enjoy "St. Elsewhere;"  in fact, I enjoy it a lot.  However, something that makes "The Odd Couple" so great is that it has a much more seamless and encompassing mood throughout the album.  "St. Elsewhere" tends to be a bit all over the place and "The Odd Couple" flows much more smoothly from song to song.  I will agree that in terms of individual songs, "St. Elsewhere" is stronger: songs like "Crazy," "St. Elsewhere," and "The Boogie Monster" really show Barkley's creativity and versatility.  However, "The Odd Couple" definitely has the same juice.  More upbeat songs like "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" hearken back to "Go-Go Gadget Gospel," while "Would Be Killer" reminds listeners of "The Boogie Monster," solely because of its creepy factor.  

While Gnarls Barkley was praised for their experimentation in their first album, their second album is a bit more tame and down to earth.  Some might see this as a set back, I see it as a positive, only saying that the duo has found a bit of direction.  However, don't take that to mean there isn't any diversity within the album; "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" definitely strays from the common sound of "The Odd Couple."  Gnarls Barkley also manages to pull their funk roots back into "The Odd Couple" with "Neighbors" and "A Little Better."

Cee-lo's lyrics are inspired as ever, especially in "A Little Better" (Also, check out this cool video of "A Little Better" for MTV) which consists of rhyming triplets and really rounds the album out on a pleasant, ambient note.  While Cee-lo's range isn't as drastic as on "St. Elsewhere," he is much smoother and consistent, adding to the sound that branches through "The Odd Couple."  Dangermouse's beats are just as creative, some of the most impressive coming from the song "Charity Case," where he not only plays with the synthesizer and a running base line, but also manipulates Cee-lo's vocals in an impressively melodic way using several layered samples, as well as complimenting his voice with an almost omnipresent female vocalist.  Both Cee-Lo and Dangermouse successfully combine to take the smooth, yet some times heavy atmosphere from start to finish of "The Odd Couple."  

While there aren't as many stand out favorites as in "St. Elsewhere" and experimentation both vocally and instrumentally isn't as strong, "The Odd Couple" is a worthy successor to Gnarls Barkley's critically acclaimed debut album.  Cee-lo carries a passion and emotion in his vocals that is seldom seen in the music world and Dangermouse never ceases to amaze with his creativity and inspiration.  "The Odd Couple" successfully shows that Gnarls Barkley cannot only produce one great album, but two, and hopefully several more to come.  Take a listen here.  Also, I'd be lying if I didn't half write this review to put this picture of me and Cee-lo up:


"The Odd Couple": 84/100

Friday, August 6, 2010

Humbug

Seeing as how I haven't been able to find any new music that I've really wanted to review as of lately (outside of "Suburbs," but I still have to give that a solid listen), I've been rummaging through some albums over the past couple of years that I really enjoyed.  I managed to stumble across Arctic Monkeys album "Humbug," which was released in August of last year.  On another note, I've noticed that my reviews have gotten a bit wordy, so I'm going to try and keep this review around 700 words, excluding this intro paragraph.  Alright, here we go:

"Puff your chest out like you never lost a war"
With the release of "Humbug," listeners that enjoyed Arctic Monkeys' album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (2006) will certainly feel like they're listening to a completely different band.  As one can guess from the album's title, the Arctic Monkeys decided to go in a much darker direction compared to their previous album.  Some people I've talked to think this was a bad move, but personally, I think it was a successful experiment, if nothing else.  

While the album doesn't contain anything funky or necessarily fun like "Dancing Shoes" or "Fake Tales of San Francisco," songs of the sort wouldn't fit into what "Humbug" is overall.  As a total album, "Humbug" seems to have a much more pointed direction than any of Arctic Monkeys' other albums.  The album seems to be driving at a much deeper, darker feeling both instrumentally and lyrically.  Songs like "Crying Lightning," "Dangerous Animals," and "The Jeweller's Hands" rely on heavy bass lines and slow, steady lyrics to convey a somber, yet almost angry and bitter mood, something that isn't common to Arctic Monkeys.

However, while the album does have a much gloomier overall mood, softer songs are present as well, such as "Secret Door" and "Cornerstone," both of which give a pleasant break about a third and two thirds through from the heavier songs that make up a majority of the album.  These also help frequent listeners of Arctic Monkeys to recall songs such as "Mardy Bum" and "Riot Van" (my personal favorite Arctic Monkeys' song) from their album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not."  

While some have said that "Humbug" is the weakest of Arctic Monkeys releases ("Humbug" received a 75 whereas "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" and "Favourite Worst Nightmares" both received an 82), I think it only strengthens their musical repertoire and is a step in the right direction towards finding what sound suits them best.  While more upbeat songs as well as slower works garnered fame for Arctic Monkeys in the past, the bleaker, more morose sound of "Humbug" only adds to the unique sound they have managed to build up over the years.  Alex Turner, the band's vocalist, manages to still keep the creativity of his lyrics fresh and interesting (especially in "Pretty Visitors" and "Crying Lightning"), something that would seem difficult with such a drastic shift in mood of the band's encompassing sound on "Humbug."  However, the album very well could have been influenced by some sinister and/or somber lyrics Turner had come up with.  Regardless, the sound is successful.

If anything, the direction Arctic Monkeys chose to go with on "Humbug" doesn't hinder them, but rather should lead listeners to speculate where the band will go next.  The album overall isn't necessarily superior to either of its predecessors, but it certainly is different.  It is well understood that listeners may have a hard time adjusting to Arctic Monkeys' new sound, but if anything, they should be intrigued that such a different mood can be represented so well by a band not known for its morbidness.  Arctic Monkeys has unearthed a new side of themselves and have managed to triumphantly mold their talent into a completely different voice.  In the future, fans can only hope to hear a culmination of all of the great sounds Arctic Monkeys have found success with over the years.  Take a listen to "Humbug" here.

"Humbug": 86/100

(583 Words, boo-yah)