FaSho

#4.Hail To the Theif(2003)-Radiohead

A few months ago, I was an avid radiohater. I then found The Bends and fell in love with the cliche alternative sound of it. As my taste in music improved, as it has greatly the last three months, I discovered the addicting, almost unclassifiable sound of Ok Computer. They were the only Radiohead albums that i liked, but earlier this week i was willing to complete their discography by downloading Hail To The Theif, a great decision on my part. It sounds completly diferent from The Bends, and OKC, but it has it's own unique and very impressive sound. The album starts of with 2+2=5, a song I'd heard much about before getting the album. It is definatley remiscent of their earlier work, as it starts off with Thom's slow, sootihng voice I've come to love, then fades into a blaring mixture of energy, a very solid track. The album continues to take a unigue path with the next tracks Sit Down, Stand Up and Sail To The moon, the latter being almost aballad of sorts. Then we come to one of my favorite songs on the album, Backdrifts. It sounds very electronic, like some of the slower songs on the previous album I reviewed. It is also lyrically one of my favorites, starting off the track with the biting verse:
We're rotten fruit
We're damaged goods
What the hell we've got nothing more to lose
One gust and we will probably crumble
Then we get to songs that are very Bends-ish, which I found to be a suprise after hearing the first four songs on the album. Especially the song Go To Sleep, which to me sounds like a very unique take on folk music. The second half of the album starts out with anothe runexcpected turn with The Gloaming. I feel i could give this album a much higher rating if it wasn;t for this one track. It's borderline unlistenable, because it's just noise for the most part, and not in a good way. The lyrics are also sub-par for a Radiohead song. Thankfully, the album returns to the previous styles of the album throughout the last few tracks. The one exception is my favorite song on the album Myxomatosis. Humourous lyrics, with a very serious undertone, coupled with soem of the best percussion work Radiohead has ever done, makes it so listenable. It would be one of the first tracks I would tell someone trying to get into Radiohead to listen to. This album is very underrated by Radiohead fans, and I can understand that, as it does sound very mainstream at points, and we all know how Radiohead fans are
Top Tracks:Backdrifts, Where I End and You Begin, Myxamatosis
Overall Grade:A-

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dac

It was a great review until you got to that part. I love you FaSho, but you're so wrong on that song. The song gorgeous and probably my favorite from HTTT. Perfect bass in the background that sneaks up on you, and the whole song has a wonderfully eerie feeling to it. Lyrics are sub-par?


That's quintessential Thom Yorke writing right there. Not straightforward, a wee bit pretentious, and a little creepy. It has the styling of a lot of my favorite Radiohead songs actually. Seeing it live is what got me hooked, so try this out cause this is the version I saw:



Skip to it at about 5:25 though, cause it's stuck together with Weird Fishes at the beginning.

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FaSho

Sorry for forgetting about this my many avid readers(HA!)

#3.III(2009)-Maylene & The Sons of Disaster

A long, long time ago my buddy Alfred sent me the ablum, II by Maylene, and I was really into it, because it sounded like one of my favorite bands at the time Every Time I Die. When I downloaded this album, I wasn'y sure whether I'd like it or not, because in the time between I had strayed away from band slike Every Time I Die. I was pleasently suprised to find they MAylene had strayed away from that sound. It is depending on the song, a lot heavier and lighter then most bands that can be classified "southern metal", and I was blow naway by the lyrical content when compared to other band sof the genre. The album starts out with angry yelley, guitar heavy Waiting On My Deathbed, reminescent of their previous work, but much more complex. This album like heaven for fans of guitar hooks, and there's not better example then the opening track, and the third track, and my personal favorite, Just A shock. Which also features one of the only well-done breakdowns I've heard...ever. The album isn't all a great example of when metalcore can be good, it also has it's lighter, more sensitive parts. Example: Listen Close, something I wasn't excpectig at all from this band. Their last album had Tale of The Runaways, but this is no ballad. Not only does it have one of my favorite opening riffs that they've ever done, but also by far the best bass line of any of their songs. I would go as far to even consider the track 'alt-country', and while it's not lyrically one of the best tracks on the album as a whole, it does contain everything else I was wanting more of after hearing II. We then reach The Old Iron Hills, a nostalgic track with a chorus that will definatley make you sing along. As the album comes to a close, the biggest suprise of all unfolded. The track Oh Lonely Grave. The intro is pretty much their best attempt at the sensitivity that they tried to convey in Tale of The Runaways. But then it breaks into the heaviest minute on the entire album. It then switches up again, and becomes an almost orchestral ballad. Definatley one of the best songs on the album. Overall, I was blown away by the changes that took place between II and III, and this is a mus tlisten for anyone wanting to try something new.
Top Tracks: All of them
Overall Grade: A-

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