Key

^I went ahead and tried to listen to the album he released this year, "A Wasteland Companion". Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get all the way through it as I was with his other albums. It didn't sound like the style I came to like with his older albums, it sounded over produced and the mellow acoustic style was gone. I'm willing to give it another shot in a couple days because it may be a grower, it just didn't appeal to me as much as I thought it would.

Don't let me brief review discourage you from listening to his recent release, i'm sure it'll appeal to me in a few days once i've had time to let his other albums sink in.

Key

Figured i'd finish my introduction to this artist with the album I am nearly finishing, "Hold Time". After my disappointment with A Wasteland Companion, I was a little afraid to see how his other albums that were released a few years away would sound, but I am glad I gave it a listen, because it sounds exactly how I would hope it would. It's got that sad indie folk sound that I have come to really enjoy with this artist. Not too sure where I would put it in terms of my favorites, but it's a must listen to again for me. Hell, his whole discography give or take a few albums is getting a full listen again. And again, and again.

I am very happy I found this guy, because not only has it made some good content for my spider web infested journal, it's introduced me to a very good artist, and one that I have come to love in a short time. I highly recommend him if you are a fan of indie folk rock.

Key

Looking back @ 2012: These entries will consist of all the albums that I have enjoyed this year. So to start it off right away:

Part 1:


Sigur Ros - Valtari

I really like what they did with this album, made it more of an ambient post rock album as opposed to their Takk... album where it was more vocals and less ambiance. Not to say that the vocals are bad, I love them, I was just happy to see that they came back with the sound that they brought with (). Perhaps my opinions are different than others, but I can listen to this album from front to back and be completely satisfied each time. The album is timeless.


Asia - XXX

This album seemed to get mixed reviews upon it's release, but I thought it was a big step up for the band, it contained all of what I would expect from an Asia album, though I was curious as to what people were expecting (more so the people who were disappointed with the album). When they released Face On The Bridge, I already knew the album in full was going to be good, and when it was finally released, it met my expectations, didn't completely exceed them, but met them comfortably for me to find a liking in it. A pretty good AOR release and will be happy to see what their next release sounds like if they plan to release one in the next couple years.


The Sword - Apocryphon

Wasn't even aware that they released an album this year until someone posted about it in the albums you're digging thread, or one of those threads. I gave it a listen and first impressions were that they had gone back to their original sound that they introduced with Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth. I was happy to hear that as well, since I found a lot of enjoyment with that sound, even though Warp Riders was a nice change of pace. After a few more listens, it continued and continues to grow as a great album. I hear something new that I like each time I listen, and I don't think that will end until they release another record. Really impressed with this release, and I am hoping they make their way to Seattle soon because I would love to hear some of the songs on this album at a live show.

Key

Part 2


Devin Townsend Project - Epicloud

This album exceeded expectations that I had for the album when I heard it was coming out. Devin puts a mixture of his heavy and soft stuff, which I like. It's like a newer version of Synchestra or some sort. I listened to it a few times and read reviews during, there was a mixture of people who loved it and people who thought it was very bland. I thought it was fantastic throughout, and had a nice combination of fast and slow. The opening Effervescent! is a pretty cool way to introduce the album, and I thought it was something people would expect from Devin, at least in my experience. One of my top 5 of 2012 easily.


Anathema - Weather Systems

This album, after really diggin' Alternative 4 caught me by surprise the first time I listened to it fully. It didn't come off as an Anathema record at all, it seemed very slow and boring. But after a few listens, it clicked. It started feeling like an Anathema release with the guitar sounds etc. Untouchable 1 and 2 are both very beautiful songs and it took me a couple listens to really see that they should be listened to together, not separately. The female vocals aren't really ones that I would have chosen in this album, or with this particular band, but I feel like they still fit even for people who don't like female vocals all that much. I listen to this album time and time again now, it's not one of my all time favorites of this year, but it definitely got onto my list of albums that I came to enjoy with a couple listens. I'm hoping in their next release, they put out something a bit more heavy and Alternative 4-esque.


pg.lost - Key

Yes yes, I know. This album again? I'm sorry, but it deserves a spot on my 2012 list, even though I do talk about it a lot, and it won the album discussion polls. I'm okay with admitting that it is my number one album of the entire year. It manages to exceed every expectation that I had for an album like this, even upon first listen I already knew it was going to be very high on my list of this year. It takes a lot, for me anyway, to choose one album out of the whole year to really be considered my all time favorite album, but this one did it. Until this band releases another album, which time will only tell, I am probably going to continue to enjoy this album even after ten or twenty years.

Key

Part 3


Rush - Clockwork Angels

This was an album I was very much looking forward to this year, as I have always had a soft spot for Rush, I mean c'mon, who doesn't?! This album seemed more like a safe album to them as compared to their other albums, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Geddy Lee doesn't sound like he used to, but he knows how to use his voice to make it sound great. To me, it sounds more like an AOR album than a prog album, because I didn't really notice any significant prog influences in this album with the exception of a few songs here and there, but overall, I wouldn't consider a prog album. Even if we disagree, which i'm sure we will, I still find it to be a fantastic album from a band that has never released a disappointing album, and only being 3 band members, it's a tough thing to do, shows that the chemistry is still strong with the members.


Circa Survive - Violent Waves

When I first saw that this album was going to be released under Circa Survive's personal label, I thought it was going to sound "garagey" and non produced. In a sense, I was sort of hoping to hear a more pure Circa sound, but this album was a typical Circa Survive album with some of the same elements as their other releases, which is pretty fine by me, considering I have grown to really enjoy their sound. Hopefully in some newer albums, they will branch out and try something completely out there, because I think they have the potential. I did and still do enjoy the album for what it's worth, it's another album by a favorite band of mine, so naturally i'm going to look for more pro's than con's. Probably not in my top 5 of the year, or in my top 10, but it certainly deserves a spot on my favorites albums of this year.

Key

Adding a bit of spirituality to rock n roll

There's a band called Gregorian, and though there's a lot of christmas / spiritual related songs that they perform, they've also done covers of popular rock songs, songs like Boulevard of Broken Dreams



And others like...



I'll admit, I was a little hesitant to listen to it, but i'm finding that I am enjoying it a lot more than the originals, not to say the originals are terrible, but it's pretty fantastic regardless.

Key

My Introduction To...

Since I felt that my M. Ward entries had a pretty good flow, I figure I can add a new addition to my journal titled "My Introduction To..." This will basically consist of new bands and artists that I am listening to. I'll do my best to listen to full discography's, but I will review an album based on when I listen to them, makes the review easier to write due to it being fresh in my mind. Right now, i'm listening to The Principle of Moments by Robert Plant, so that'll be the first official entry once i'm done listening to it.

Key

My Introduction To...Robert Plant


The Principle of Moments

First album I listened to was The Principal of Moments, going into this with zero expectations of how it will sound or what I will be looking for really made this album a lot more enjoyable. It contains a lot of catchy tunes, Horizontal Departure being one of the catchiest of the album. It seemed to keep me interested and kept strong throughout the entire album, and the live tracks at the end of the album were a nice touch. I feel like i'm hearing the "real" Robert Plant as opposed to the Zeppelin Robert Plant, but that could just be my opinion, and it could very well be wrong, but hey, it's my first time listening to him, that opinion could change. Definitely looking forward to listening to more of his solo work, because i'm finding his voice specifically to be much more enjoyable and easier to take in than when I first listened to Zeppelin. Not to say he wasn't great with Zeppelin, but I just didn't find what was so great about it. Off to a good start with his solo work.

Key

Dreamland

Another pretty fantastic album. It's still taking a little while for his solo albums to sink in because of what i'm expecting to hear from him having listened to Zeppelin prior. This album actually has a lot of the characteristics that I heard with Led Zeppelin, which isn't really bad, just a bit more comforting and familiar. When I looked up the album, I saw that One More Cup of Coffee was performed with Bob Dylan, and when I heard it, it was more than incredible, easily one of the best songs i've heard of Robert Plant's so far. I wouldn't say this is one of my favorite albums that I've heard of his right now, but that could change as I listen to his other albums. The reason I decided to create such a gap between the last album and this album in terms of years, is to see the difference in sound, and i'm finding that i'm enjoying his earlier 80's era much more than the post-millennium albums. I'm actually giving Now and Zen a listen right now, so that'll be receiving a review very soon.

Key

Now and Zen

Enjoyed this one much more than Dreamland, probably due to the fact that it was much more similar to The Principal of Moments, which I found a lot of enjoyment from. It's very interesting to hear Robert Plant with more of an 80's influence as opposed to hearing him with a rock n roll background. The album ended with Walking Towards Paradise, that even almost reaching 5 minutes long, I feel like I would have enjoyed it if it was longer, it had a really cool feel, and I think it ended the album on a good note. It's an all around fun album.