Paedantic Basterd

Just an observation Starrynight, but I don't think I've seen you make a positive post yet.

starrynight

Just an observation Pedestrian but maybe you haven't been looking hard enough.

I've made positive comments about some things here for sure, whether older things (Elton John, The Moody Blues, Ultravox, Coltrane's Giant Steps, The Beatles, the Pakistani music thread, Lieder recommendations I made in a classical thread) or newer things (Kate Bush, Girls, Emmy the Great, First Aid Kid, Thai pop, Fitz and the Tantrums, Evelyn Evelyn) to name just a few. I don't have the time to look through all my posts, but I don't think I really have anything I need to prove. It's very easy to come in on a board and say 'this album's amazing! Wow, incredible!' but I don't think that opens up much for discussion. Of course some people won't like even a slight criticism being made about something they like but I tend to think that is their problem. Some people maybe don't like discussion so much and would prefer just having appreciation threads, which is ok that's their choice but it isn't mine. Again, some people will make assumptions about this post being about them (don't people always want to think that lol) but I'm talking in general terms about music boards.

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non-cliquey member of every music forum I participate on

Zer0

I'm interested in seeing your top 50/60 albums of 2011

The new Kate Bush album just missed out. It's still a fantastic album and I could have included it as number eleven.

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Trollheart

Yeah, agree: pretty amazing (other than that damn title track!), but I think if I've to choose a top album for 2011 --- look for the Polly Awards in the new year! --- it has to be Lanterns on the Lake's debut, "Gracious tide, take me home". Never, EVER heard a debut that was not only so incredible (sorry starrynight!) but was unexpectedly so. Having few hopes of it even being good, it absolutely blew me apart, never mind away.

Anyway, more soon... (shameless plug to be inserted into every member's journal on which I comment...)

As for negativity, that as well is in the eye of the beholder. If someone said Marillion were crap I'd consider that negative, but someone who doesn't like that band would not. Maybe. Anyway, honesty is always the best isn't it? No point saying everything is great --- this is a discussion forum, not an agreement forum, and for proper discussion there has to be at least two points of view, usually opposing or at least different, otherwise as SN says it's nothing more than an appreciation thread...

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Zer0

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Trollheart

All right, I give in! You guys have convinced me! I WILL try both Bon Iver and Feist, and see what I think of them. I'll let yaz know.

(I guess a good New Year's res would be to expand my musical tastes more and be a little more adventurous...?)

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Zer0

Definitely! Bon Iver and Feist both released two of the best album this year. I will keep an eye out for a post either praising them or slating them in your journal. That reminds me, I must listen to the rest of Feist's albums as well.

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Zer0

Sometimes beauty can be found in very dark places. Black metal is probably one of the darkest forms of musical expression and a lot of the times is viewed in a very negative light or even overshadowed because of non-musical events, in particular the Norwegian scene in the early-90s. But if you take a look at the artwork on the cover of this album, featuring the drawing “Fattigmannen” by 19th Century Artist Theodor Kittelsen, it is morbidly dark and embraces death yet is somewhat beautiful and even peaceful to look at. The music itself has that same feeling, a strange and eerie mixture of light and darkness as well as a great sense of isolation. It gives you that great sense that death is an escape from all the ugliness of this world and that you will be at peace with yourself forever.

Hvis Lyset Tar Oss is an album that proves to the untrained ear that there is more to black metal than blood-curdling screams, warp-speed tremolo-picked guitars and blastbeats. It is hugely progressive and ambitious, exploring sonic textures and emotions that no other black metal musician would even attempt at the time. It completely tore down the restrictions of the genre and took its own form as an expression of dark art. Allowing ambient yet dark instrumental passages to sit seamlessly alongside full-on black metal assaults. Despite this it still has a sense of being closed off and isolated from the rest of the world, not surprising considering Varg Vikernes’ somewhat nationalist political views. The eerie and cold intro of the first track ‘Det Som En Gang Var’ (What Once Was) sets the tone for the rest of the album very nicely, with its almost seamless intertwining of majestic synths and distorted guitars before pummelling drums and fist-pumping guitar riffs shatter the calm just before the three-minute mark. This epic fourteen and a half minute track keeps the listener in a trance with its sweeping, repetitive synth melodies over layers of harsh guitars creating a sense of detachment and isolation that engulfs the listener. Varg’s vocals seem to have a feeling of sadness and anger, perhaps completely disillusioned with the modern world and all its forces. The title track ‘Hvis Lyset Tar Oss’ (If The Light Takes Us) is harsher and more aggressive. The guitars have more presence, have a darkly menacing bite to them and create a more sinister and uncomfortable atmosphere overall. But despite the dense and harsh sound if you dig further down in the music you can pick out the long melodies flowing underneath, as if their purpose is to secretly burrow into your mind and brainwash you in the process.

‘Inn I Slottet Fra Drømmen’ (Into The Castle From The Dream) steps up the aggression even more. Relying on intensity rather than atmosphere during the first half of the song to create a feeling of dread and suffering. The tone and tempo starts to shift around the halfway mark as if the song has a will of its own. The more atmospheric ending to the song lets the listener catch their breath and take in the epic and sweeping feel of the music. In stark contrast to the previous two tracks yet complementing them greatly is the fourteen minute dark ambient piece ‘Tromhet’ (Emptiness). The layers of drones and repetitive synths create an almost peaceful twilight feeling, yet with this comes a sense of isolation and perhaps a feeling of destiny. Coming after the uncomfortable and sometimes intense sounds of the previous three tracks this track makes you feel like you are releasing your soul and leaving this world behind. Like the album cover itself and indeed the album title Hvis Lyset Tar Oss (If The Light Takes Us), this track give you a sense of finding peace and tranquillity in death and being alone forever.

Another strong characteristic about this album is that it really sounds like it could have been recorded at any point over the past twenty or so years. It could fit in with today’s underground music no problem although I think one of the main goals of Burzum was not to fit in anywhere at any time. Varg’s lo-fi D.I.Y. approach to making music makes it feel timeless and completely non-conforming to any sort of musical trend. But long may this album live, provide another world for its listeners to escape into during its forty-four minute duration and embrace the sense of isolation it gives, and not Varg’s ideals.

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Zer0

Scarling. formed in 2002 consisting of former Jack Off Jill frontwoman Jessicka Fodera, her now husband Christian Hejnal-Addams and various other members coming and going. So Long, Scarecrow was the band’s second album after their debut Sweet Heart Dealer and their strongest statement. While Jack Off Jill was the by-product of Jessicka’s teenage angst and anger at society, Scarling. (yes that full-stop is very important) was a more mature vehicle and a better reflection of adult life. In fact if you were to draw a line from the debut Jack Off Jill album Sexless Demons and Scars (1998) to this album the changes in maturity and style are very noticeable.

Scarling. drew heavy influences from shoegaze and gothic rock and incorporated them seamlessly into their alternative rock sound. For every dark and sinister spidery guitar line there are dense walls of guitar to break the sombre mood. But more importantly there are some great songs on this album, with memorable choruses and some great lyrics. None more so than ‘City Noise’, which was the lead single from the album and is the band’s finest moment. In fact I still think it is one of the most criminally over-looked songs of the 2000’s. Its quiet-loud dynamics, noisy multi-tracked guitars and thrilling chorus never fail to please me after many, many listens. ‘We Are The Music Makers’, ‘Bummer’ and ‘Manorexic’ also ensure that there are plenty of hooks elsewhere, with ‘Manorexic’ even giving guitarist Christian Hejnal-Addams an opportunity to give his effects pedals some hot action.

Songs such as the brooding ‘Cahuenga (Northbound On)’, ‘In The Pretend World’ and the quiet yet downbeat closing track ‘So Long, Scarecrow’ allow for some introspection for the listener. It’s an album that reveals quite a lot of depth and character when you allow yourself to become immersed in it. But more impressively is the almost seamless amalgamation of guitar noise and pop hooks that prove that alternative rock didn’t die during the 90’s. The opening song ‘Hello London’ is a great example of this with Jessicka’s voice sitting on top of slow, sludgy guitars and making it sound completely natural. The album is not without some weaker moments however, with ‘Like a Killer’ and ‘Caribou & Cake’ perhaps filling out the running time a bit. Not that they are bad songs of course, but in comparison to the rest of the album they don’t seem to have as much purpose or intent.

Despite the album receiving very positive reviews on release, and with the band even being hand-picked by Robert Smith himself to tour with The Cure, commercial success was not to be, making it a classic case of wrong sound wrong time. The band are still officially in existence and the follow-up has seemingly been in the works for a number of years now. Whether the new album will ever see the light of day is debatable but hopefully it will be with us soon. Never the less So Long, Scarecrow is a forgotten gem of the last decade and deserves to be heard by more ears.

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Trollheart

Well, I did it! I finally listened to (and reviewed) Bon Iver's album (the new one). What can I say?
WOW! IT WAS.... how can I put this? It was .... okay.
I was hugely underwhelmed. I really expected this was going to blow me away and it, well, didn't.

As I make clear in my review, it's not that I don't think it's a good album (it is), but there are hundreds better I've listened to --- okay, not this year, it's only less than two months old after all, but come on! It's pretty ordinary, is what I found. I'm obviously in the minority, as I see it won best album in plenty of mags etc, but I just don't see it. I was really left with a feeling of "Yeah, but so what?" after it was over. VERY disappointed.

Oh well, guess it's just not to my tastes. Scratch that: I do like it, but I'm just not going to cream all over it like some of you guys (and a lot of others) have. Just didn't hit my sweet spot I guess.

In return, may I recommend Joseph Arthur's new double CD "Redemption City", available for free download from his website? Check my review of that, and then compare it (maybe) to Bon Iver. I know who I prefer.

Still got to listen to Feist though, but first, Van Halen....
TH

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018