The Album Club 2017

DwnWthVwls · 03-18-2017, 02:06 PM

I'll have mine in later today. Sorry for the late response, it's been a busy week.

djchameleon · 03-18-2017, 05:27 PM

later tonight or early tomorrow morning I will have mines up. I keep forgetting that, the album I'm looking for is missing tracks on the streaming service I normally use so I'll have to spotify.

DwnWthVwls · 03-18-2017, 07:21 PM

Bat-Bike - Getting Back

This was an interesting album. I was expecting Frownland to torture us all, but I found myself enjoying this album. Can't say I've ever heard anything quite like this, and it had some nice variety. It has an older sound to it that I appreciate, and I enjoyed the vocals though they could have been a bit more singing like and less talking over instrumentals (for some songs). I'll definitely be following them to see where this goes, there is a lot of potential here. Overall, I'd give this a 8/10, it's not something I would want to listen to frequently, but it was enjoyable enough to just sit there and actively listen to instead of as background music, which I tend to do a lot.

Definite Like.

innerspaceboy · 03-18-2017, 07:33 PM

Bat-Bike - Getting Back

I want to preface my review, (just barely skirting in under the deadline), with an apology for my absence on the forum of late. I’m in the process of ending a very abusive marital relationship and filing for divorce, so I’ve been quite busy. When the opening track queued up on this record, I was instantly delighted - the sound was exactly what I needed in the middle of this psychological and emotional mire.

I like the track-by-track reviews other members are doing so I’ll give that a try.

Frown summed it up perfectly when he described Leicester Holiday as “a great, jammy grungegaze dirge with hints of kratrock and Swans, even.”

And track 2, Sean Lemon was even better. Scuzzy is right, Frown. I couldn’t think of a better term for this sound. And I really dig it.

The instrumental opening of Digital Image reminded me, (in my limited musical experience), of Cyanide Breath Mint from One Foot in the Grave. And the dragged-out vocals were reminiscent of the vocal treatments on several tracks from Golden Feelings.

I’d previously sampled We Like Tom Waits (Because He's Famous) on YouTube to see what I’d be in for with this record, and out of the context of the full album I didn’t really like it. But after soaking in the first three tracks I can definitely dig what’s happening here. And the bluesy, foot stomping stuff going on really gets into a good groove.

Bad Ben didn’t do too much for me, but it isn’t a bad track. There’s nothing wrong with changing up the tempo on a record for some variation but I miss the energy which really shined on the previous tracks. Still, after repeated listenings, the off-key, sour, dronic simplicity of this track might really work to hold the record together.

Alone on the A9 opens with wonky tape-sourced vocal distortion. I’m sorry to keep returning to early Beck but Pay No Mind (Snoozer) immediately jumps to mind here. Perhaps all of these little gimmicks are common of the genre; I’ve just heard far too little of it to identify those tropes. The unrelenting noise of this track, both vocally and instrumentally, really work well, and the track closes with more of the aforementioned tape effects which I hadn’t realized I’d missed so much in the age of polished music.

The energy returns in spades with Winner. The ultra low-fi production quality really shines with tracks like this one - from the nearly-canned percussion to the heavily-clipped vocals making them sound even louder than they already are, to the indiscernible guitar playing… it all works magnificently together for their sound.

Sex is Winner-lite. The formula in their song structure is plainly evident at this point but it’s still enjoyable. Just not a stand-out track in particular.

With a bit more emphasis on bass and more deliberately percussive breaks, Where's the Home? might fit well on Seas of Cheese or perhaps a Surfers’ album. Though there is certainly a minimalist Beatlesque quality here which Frown called attention to.

You're So Sticky does very little for me. Probably my least favorite track so far… just nothing really happening to make it worthwhile.

Shades Off is a nice break from the noise, though I’m not sure it’s interesting enough to keep me coming back to it. Just sort of generic.

Hollywood makes me worried that all the best has come and gone with this record. Even with the same tempo and volume of previous tracks, this fails to carry the same energy as the songs which opened the album.

In Zero attempts to be atmospheric with its slower pace and looser, more “open” vibe, but very little happens here to keep me listening, even for the short duration of the track.

Trapped in the Net is a better effort at accomplishing the same task as In Zero. It’s what I’d expect from a deeper cut on a 90s lo-fi CD. In fact, it was at this moment that I was curious enough to look up when the heck this was recorded because it is definitely faithful to the “real” stuff from 25 years ago. (Christ, has it been that long?)

Getting Back - Can’t really go wrong returning to the foot-stomping one-two blues nods we heard earlier in the album for a fun closing track. The sloppy horns were a surprise here, and they were a nice touch. Really dug the choral breakdown, (I’m a total sucker for that sh*t), and I was glad to see the album end this way. This was one of my favorite tracks.

I feel comfortable enough scoring this one - 8/10

DwnWthVwls · 03-18-2017, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by innerspaceboy

I like the track-by-track reviews other members are doing so I’ll give that a try.

I need to try this or the template, because I am at a loss of words when trying to write these reviews.

**Goofle** · 03-18-2017, 08:02 PM

I liked the album. Give a fuller review tomorrow.

djchameleon · 03-19-2017, 11:57 AM

I'm going to rate this album as a like. I did feel a bit tortured by the vocals because I'm a whiny baby that likes clean vocals but I got over it by the midway point of the album. I will definitely have to give it another play through and skip around certain tracks but I liked it overall. The latter part of the album appealed to me more though. I also like the first track.
Leicester Holiday was a great intro to the album but I felt a bit deceived by it.

Electrophonic Tonic · 03-19-2017, 02:27 PM

Bat-Bike
Getting Back

I'm going to go song by song for my review:

Leicester Holiday The main riff reminded me of BJTM, it has this nice mixture of jam and psychedelic elements. It was also interesting since rather than wait a few minutes into a 9 minute track before beginning to ramp things up, you can make out the slow increase in background noise from the beginning, and it works really well by the time the song ends. This is a promising start.

Sean Lemon This is definitely one of my favorites. The slight twang of the lead guitar works really well both against the fuzzed out freakout sections and on it's own during the quieter moments, especially during the meandering end section. I'm not in love with the vocals, but they're by no means a detriment to the song.

Digital Image Maybe this is supposed to work as an interlude, but this was mostly forgettable. As a positive, it didn't overstay it's welcome, so that's cool.

We Like Tom Waits Because He's Famous We're only four songs in, but I think it's clear Bat-Bike works better with longer songs, where they can develop ideas over the length of the track. This is one songs where I say the vocals were a negative.

Bad Ben This songs wound have been solid if it ended after 3.5 minutes. But again, Bat-Bike takes that extra time in the song to develop some ideas and turn a good songs into something a little bit better.

Along on the A9 I'm not gonna name names, but I enjoyed this take on shoegaze more than a certain other album we reviewed in this club. I love the hazy ending after the false fadeout.

Winner This feels like an album ender, not sure why's it's in the middle of the tracklist. Either way, add being able to rawk to the list of things Bat-Bike does well on this album.

Sex One of the better short tracks. It's a nice little detour from the rest of the album.

Where's the Home? Kind of like a B-side Yardbirds/Kinks track. I dig it.

You're So Sticky It's just kinda there. It's not all that bad, but it's for sure one of the lesser tracks on here.

Shades Off I like the vocal part here, it's one of my favorites on the album. The song itself is meh. It's continues the theme of the shorter tracks not being the greatest.

Hollywood At this point, the guitar tone is getting a bit stale. The noisy chorus and vocals help this songs stand out in a good way.

In Zero Another short track, but this one is helped out by the off-kilter ending.

Trapped in the Net This is a nice change sound with the horn part (and maybe piano...?). I've mostly enjoyed the track that get loud/let Bat-Bike freakout, but I like this one a lot.

Getting Back It's nice to hear new sounds on the album (female vocals, maybe another phantom piano), I just wish they didn't come this late. I see why this the closer. It's a nice ending.

I think I'm gonna give this a 7/10. When this is good, it's really good. And if we are applying the maths to our rating, the longer tracks are better tracks on the album, so the vast majority of the album is really good. The problem I think is the track list turns into filler by the second half and the album also gets repetitive. Those new wrinkles in the last few tracks are really nice, and if a few more had been sprinkled throughout the album, it might have staved off the bordom for all 15 tracks. If I had the power, I would have cut the album down to these tracks and re-arranged the tracklist, this could have an 8.5-9 for me:

Leicester Holiday
Sean Lemon
Bad Ben
Along the A9
Winner
Sex
Where's the Home
Hollywood
Trapped in the Net
Getting Back

**Frownland** · 03-19-2017, 03:02 PM

Leicester Holiday is definitely a bit of a tease in some ways, I'd like to see them focus on that style more in the future.

If the album had this order, it'd be a 10/10 album for me.

Leicester Holiday
Alone on the A9
We Like Tom Waits (Because He's Famous)
Sean Lemon
Sex
Winner
Digital Image
Bad Ben

Tristan_Geoff · 03-19-2017, 04:05 PM

Bat-Bike - Getting Back (2016)

It feels like a lazy day but like a weird lazy day where like cool ****'s happening around you but you don't really wanna take part in it cause you're pre-occupied with some other stuff you gotta get done.

Oh this is great, by the way. I love the aforementioned scuzziness of the record, like Ty Segall from a dimension where people get their kicks from surfing and DMT trips.

8/10 for sure

03-19-2017, 02:27 PM	#398 (permalink)
Electrophonic Tonic Your Ad Here Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: The Twilight Zone Posts: 876	Bat-Bike Getting Back I'm going to go song by song for my review: Leicester Holiday The main riff reminded me of BJTM, it has this nice mixture of jam and psychedelic elements. It was also interesting since rather than wait a few minutes into a 9 minute track before beginning to ramp things up, you can make out the slow increase in background noise from the beginning, and it works really well by the time the song ends. This is a promising start. Sean Lemon This is definitely one of my favorites. The slight twang of the lead guitar works really well both against the fuzzed out freakout sections and on it's own during the quieter moments, especially during the meandering end section. I'm not in love with the vocals, but they're by no means a detriment to the song. Digital Image Maybe this is supposed to work as an interlude, but this was mostly forgettable. As a positive, it didn't overstay it's welcome, so that's cool. We Like Tom Waits Because He's Famous We're only four songs in, but I think it's clear Bat-Bike works better with longer songs, where they can develop ideas over the length of the track. This is one songs where I say the vocals were a negative. Bad Ben This songs wound have been solid if it ended after 3.5 minutes. But again, Bat-Bike takes that extra time in the song to develop some ideas and turn a good songs into something a little bit better. Along on the A9 I'm not gonna name names, but I enjoyed this take on shoegaze more than a certain other album we reviewed in this club. I love the hazy ending after the false fadeout. Winner This feels like an album ender, not sure why's it's in the middle of the tracklist. Either way, add being able to rawk to the list of things Bat-Bike does well on this album. Sex One of the better short tracks. It's a nice little detour from the rest of the album. Where's the Home? Kind of like a B-side Yardbirds/Kinks track. I dig it. You're So Sticky It's just kinda there. It's not all that bad, but it's for sure one of the lesser tracks on here. Shades Off I like the vocal part here, it's one of my favorites on the album. The song itself is meh. It's continues the theme of the shorter tracks not being the greatest. Hollywood At this point, the guitar tone is getting a bit stale. The noisy chorus and vocals help this songs stand out in a good way. In Zero Another short track, but this one is helped out by the off-kilter ending. Trapped in the Net This is a nice change sound with the horn part (and maybe piano...?). I've mostly enjoyed the track that get loud/let Bat-Bike freakout, but I like this one a lot. Getting Back It's nice to hear new sounds on the album (female vocals, maybe another phantom piano), I just wish they didn't come this late. I see why this the closer. It's a nice ending. I think I'm gonna give this a 7/10. When this is good, it's really good. And if we are applying the maths to our rating, the longer tracks are better tracks on the album, so the vast majority of the album is really good. The problem I think is the track list turns into filler by the second half and the album also gets repetitive. Those new wrinkles in the last few tracks are really nice, and if a few more had been sprinkled throughout the album, it might have staved off the bordom for all 15 tracks. If I had the power, I would have cut the album down to these tracks and re-arranged the tracklist, this could have an 8.5-9 for me: Leicester Holiday Sean Lemon Bad Ben Along the A9 Winner Sex Where's the Home Hollywood Trapped in the Net Getting Back __________________ I was told I wouldn't need a signature... Last edited by Electrophonic Tonic; 03-28-2017 at 04:42 PM.

03-19-2017, 03:02 PM	#399 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Leicester Holiday is definitely a bit of a tease in some ways, I'd like to see them focus on that style more in the future. If the album had this order, it'd be a 10/10 album for me. Leicester Holiday Alone on the A9 We Like Tom Waits (Because He's Famous) Sean Lemon Sex Winner Digital Image Bad Ben __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x