Trollheart

Popcorn Fish Guinea Pig - Museum Mouth

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
A whole lot more indie and acoustic than I had expected. Really nice.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
I liked it. It was nice and laidback and gentle, very indie folk I feel. Maybe.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Liked that too. Heavier. Kind of a shock after the opener (not a shock, really, but a surprise) but still quite good.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions? (see note 1)
He was all right, nothing special, nothing that stood out really.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not? (see note 2)
Generally, mostly yes

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
Kind of the same; lost interest halfway through each time I listened to it.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
I didn't take too much notice really

8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)
Yes

9. What did you think of the production?
You know me and production...

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
No. I had seen it posted in one of the threads, that's all.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
It's basic rock so yeah, mostly.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
It was kind of the same. No, actually, it got a little wearing after the fourth time.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
“Bugeyed”, “History's mysteries”, “Failure's hall of fame” (he sounds like Lloyd Cole on this!) “The big stairs”

14. And the one you liked least?
There's nothing I actively don't like but much of it I don't remember or it passed me by. Every time.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated? (see note 4)
n/a

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?

Probably not. It was good, enjoyable but I wouldn't be actively seeking out more of their work. I would call it okay but quite forgettable, bit bland at times. Nothing wrong with that, but there's not much here that would make me check out any more of their material.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Not really; I wasn't sure what to expect.

18. Did the album end well?

It did, yeah. Good rocky closer, one of my favourite tracks.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Not really; it's not that I think it's that great, I just couldn't be bothered trying to point out flaws. I really don't care enough. Definitely agree about the crappy cover though, and this is coming from a prog and power metal fan!

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
(Shrug)

Overall I'd give it a weak Like, maybe 6/10

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

OccultHawk

Popcorn Fish Guinea Pig - Museum Mouth

They saved the best for last. Big Stairs is the only song on this record not destroyed by a stupid bridge or embarrassingly bad lyrics or, most often, nothing of interest at all. Mostly sounds like talentless hacks who like Dinosaur Jr. History's Mysteries hoped to successfully rip off Severed Lips but that hope was quickly destroyed by horribly daft song writing. It was a good decision to keep this relatively short at 32 minutes but a very bad decision to record the first 28 minutes in the first place. 2 out of 5 stars.

TechnicLePanther

Museum Mouth - Popcorn Fish Guinea Pig

Overall extremely bland songwriting, most of the tracks fall under the da da da da da da da da... category and tend to feel like they drag on a bit too long even with their short runtimes. There were a couple standout tracks where the songwriting was a bit better, I Scream at You When You're Not in the Room is a great penultimate song, and the opener Bugeyed was another good one songwriting wise and so was Incubus Tattoo. However, the middle of the album suffers from poor songwriting smothered by the generally clean performances. Overall, the album does become a bit of a bore after a while; there's nothing here that will hold your attention for very long, but there are certainly a few solid singles.

Also, introducing the Neverending List of My Favorite Albums; the new way I've decided to categorize how much I like an album. As of now, it only has a few albums but as I listen and re-listen to more and more it will fill up. Anyway, this LP falls in between Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' Damn the Torpedoes and Radiohead's The King of Limbs.

__________________
Many have tried to destroy it... but... true evil never dies. It is only... REBORN

SUGGEST ME AN ALBUM - I'm probably not going to listen to it but I will if you bother me enough.

Goofle

Museum Mouth - Popcorn Fish Guinea Pig

Listening to this for the first time now. The first track is rather slow. Not particularly interesting but it's pleasant. And oh, that second track was a surprise. I was expecting the album to continue in that slow emocore style, but it's a lot more upbeat and rockin'. Good stuff. And it carries on with Riff From My Head which kinda has a Strokes/Franz Ferdinand riff vibe. Then we move into a slower track, with Slowdive vibes. I'm not expecting any whirrling effects, but it would be magnificent. I like the song. Digging the album so far. The next song was kinda sucky. The next three tracks are steps up, but don't pack much of a punch. The second to last track goes back to the "slowcore" style and it's pretty good. But I think the album has already worn a bit thin at this point. The last track is good but as I just said, I think the album lacked something to maintain staying power. Some albums just have a unique ability to maintain your interest even if the style is similar all the way through, I think whatever that quality is was missing here.

6.5

__________________

Aloysius

Museum Mouth - Popcorn Fish Guinea Pig

This was well done overall, but to me it doesn't add much to a lot of other similar but better indie rock bands. So while I liked it I'm not sure if I'd go back to it rather than one of Pixies' 6 albums or Pavement's 5 albums if I'm in the mood for that sort of thing. Having said that there were some moments of brilliance that made me think there could be something more to this band in the future - for example the outros to Lacquer and I Scream at You both had a heavy dreamy soundscape thing going on mixed with the college rock vibe that made me think just maybe these guys are heading toward something really great down the line - we'll have to wait and see.
6.5/10

innerspaceboy

Museum Mouth - Popcorn Fish Guinea Pig

File Under: contemporary emo power pop

This is not a bad record. Nothing repulsive or grating. But certainly not a record I'd describe as captivating, intriguing, novel, or explorative. It has a generic feel and none of the tracks are particularly memorable. Still, tracks like "History's Mysteries" and "Lacquer" are decent efforts of noise pop, (though the latter is instantly reminiscent of The Fly's "Got You Where I Want You"). They remain faithful to all of the genre's tropes, but there's just not anything that really grabs the listener here, possibly due to the less-than-stellar vocals and lyricism of vocalist and drummer, Karl Kuehn.

Don't get me wrong - I didn't mind leaving it on for its full duration. The college-rock-heyday dreamy elements were indeed enjoyable. And the production value was consistent with that of its genre mates. And the album ends on a splendid high note - "The Big Stairs" might be the best track on the record.

What the album lacks in novelty it makes up for in its pulls to the listener's nostalgic 90s heartstrings.

6.5/10

__________________
The Innerspace Connection | Essential Recordings | Top Archives | Hot 100 Albums | Top 550 Artists

Trollheart

I'm thinking of kicking pansygayboy69 out of the club. He has put in minimal effort, despite being annoyed at one point at being passed over, has contributed to I think two reviews, certainly not the last three or four, and to be honest I don't think his heart's in it. Maybe he's busy, and if so, fine, he can take a break like Pet Sounds and Exo have. But he should really be contacting me and letting me know the sitch.

I'm reluctant to have people just come in and out as they please: it is a club and the least we should get is some sort of effort from every member for every album, unless otherwise advised.

I'll give him till next week then I'm sending him a PM telling him he needs to get his **** together or he's out. I don't want to be a dictator here (insert Hitler.gif) but **** it, why should one person be allowed remain in the club without putting any effort at all in? Missing one album is not great but somewhat undersandable, missing two is bad, missing up to four is just not on. Everyone has tried here, even if it's only to write a few lines, except him.

So he's on notice from next week. I also don't intend to have him nominate an album and then not turn up to even comment on it or hear the comments on it. There needs to be some sort of basic commitment, like everyone else here has given, to some degree or other.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

He hasn't been on the site in weeks, bro. Doubt he'll respond to a PM.

__________________

Trollheart

Anyone in contact with him? If he has genuine r/l issues I don't want to be getting on his case, but still, if he can't or no longer wants to be in the club, I need to know, and if I can't determine that I need to take action, yes?

I'll mark him as missing for now, give him a few more albums but if I don't see him around by let's say the album after Goofle's I'll probably just go ahead and assume he's no longer part of the thing.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

__________________