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Superb soundscapes, gorgeous musical vistas
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating4.jpg http://f1.bcbits.com/img/a2892673673_2.jpg Artiste: Lights and Motion Nationality: Swedish Album: More film/TV music aka Unreleased Vol 1 Year: 2014 Label: None; Bandcamp-only release Genre: Soundtrack/Ambient/Instrumental Tracks: Hope Bravery Discovering mathematics Homebound A beautiful tragedy The fallen Willow The chase Rover Teardrop Home, part 2 Dreamweaver Profound Rise Phobia Solaris Compass Sunshine Crystalline (Piano only) Homebound (Piano only) Chronological position: Third album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: This album was released after Light and Motion's first two, but as it is not officially a release, their next one is seen as their third... Initial impression: Very ambient and cinematic Best track(s): Bravery, Homebound, Hope, Melting ice (?), A beautiful tragedy, Dreamweaver, Home, Part 2; Profound, Compass Worst track(s): Nothing Comments: The alias of Swedish post-rock composer Christoffer Franzen, this is a special album put out between the release of his last one and the debut of his new one. It's a collection of music, themes, pieces either inspired by movies or television (hence the title) or that could accompany such. Taking his cue from people like Hans Zimmer and Thomas Newman, Franzen has put together here a large collection of short music tracks that would be at home in any movie you care to name. The sweeping, majestic grandeur of tracks like Bravery and Homebound sit alongside darker, more intense material like The chase and The Fallen or the upbeat exuberance of Home, Part 2, where his post-rock roots come through strongly. This is also the only one with any kind of vocal, even if it is indistinct, and it comes as something of a surprise. My copy seems to have some issue on track names, with most of them out of order and some either misnamed or just not there and replaced by others, so don't put too much faith in the above tracklisting. However it really doesn't matter: if you're a fan of cinema soundtracks, ambient music or just good instrumentals you're bound to find something in the twenty compositions here that appeals to you. Phobia is manic and urgent, while gentle piano drives Profound in a totally different direction. I said before, more than once, that an instrumental album has to work to keep my attention. This one undoubtedly does; none of the tracks are overly long or outstay their welcome --- though some, like the beautiful Compass and Rover seem to just be getting going when they're over --- and each is different enough from the previous that they all remain engaging. It's like, to quote someone whom I forget, listening to the soundtrack of a movie that does not exist. Overall impression: Excellent music and I'd be interested in seeing what else this guy can do. Hum Factor: n/a Intention: Check out the other albums, certainly. |
Losing my religion?
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating3.jpg http://www.platform-one.com/images/lastcathedral.jpg Artiste: Platform One Nationality: American Album: The last cathedral Year: 2014 Label: Unknown; may be digital download only (fan/Kickstarter-financed) Genre: Gothic synthpop? Tracks: The year is silent Control (LED mix) Surrender without sound Turn the light on Sometimes always The heart and the world collide Valentine Control (Vashta Nerada mix) Marble garden My love remains Chronological position: Third album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Their first album seems to have been released only on CD-R, so presumably self-financed Initial impression: Sounds like some sort of industrial machinery running; what have I let myself in for? Best track(s): Surrender without sound, Turn the lights on, Valentine Worst track(s): The year is silent, Marble gardens Comments: Contrary to public opinion, I don't hate all pop music. Just the generic kind. I get the feeling Platform One have more in common with darker acts like Visage and Kraftwerk and even New Order than One Direction or Taylor Swift. They seem to follow the model pioneered by Radiohead and Marillion, in which they ask their fans to fund the new album by paying for it in advance, and according to their Kickstarter page this came in a thousand dollars over their budget, so it must work then. So far as I can see, it's their third album, discounting a few EPs and film soundtracks along the way. It starts all dark and doomy then kicks into an uptempo groove with a Phil Oakey soundalike, so like him in fact that I expected this was his new band! Also reminds me of Eldritch from Sisters of Mercy. Bleak music whose uptempo beat belies its darkness. Interesting. But it's not my kind of thing. Seems soulless and cold, the way I find much electronic music. Surrender without sound has a nice vibe to it, but Sometimes always could be any eighties pop song performed by Spandau Ballet, ABC or a hundred others. Very generic. Never quite understand the need for mix after mix on these kind of albums. After all, there are only ten tracks: did we really need two mixes of Control? Yeah, it's well played and all, and if you're into this sort of music you'll probably enjoy it, but it's not for me. Overall impression: Meh Hum Factor: 2 Intention: Won't be listening to any more of this. (No YouTubes available, sorry) |
Come to the Sabbath. Please?
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating3.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...um_artwork.jpg Artiste: Opeth Nationality: Swedish Album: Pale Communion Year: 2014 Label: Roadrunner Genre: Progressive, er, Rock? Tracks: Eternal rains will come Cusp of eternity Moon above, sun below Elysian woes Goblin River Voice of treason Faith in others Chronological position: Eleventh album Familiarity: “Damnation” Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Where has the death metal gone? Oh yeah. Right. Best track(s): Moon above, sun below; Elysian woes, Faith in others Worst track(s): Goblin, River, Voice of treason Comments: I remember when I wouldn't listen to an Opeth album, when they utilised death vocals almost exclusively, or so it seemed to me. Over the last few years they seem to have mellowed out their sound and ditched the growls, so that the last few albums have seen them transition from progressive metal to almost pure progressive rock. At the outset, this album is certainly characterised more by keyboards than by guitars, although the latter are still there. The vocal harmonies are quite stunning, but the whole thing evokes a past era, almost as if we're going back in time to the seventies, and yet this is Opeth's latest album. Credit (or blame) must be attributed to bandleader and creative force Mikael Akerfeldt, who has steered the band through a truly evolving process, one which has left die-hard fans of the “old” Opeth fuming at their “wimping out”, and others, like me, who could not get into them giving them another chance. The opener here is like something out of a seventies Yes catalogue, definitely driven by banks of keyboards and harmony vocals, while Cusp of eternity gives more freedom to the guitars and is a heavier song. Mind you, I must admit I'm experiencing a little of that Dream Theater wandering-around-but-getting-nowhere until we hit the third track, when I'm reminded of early Rush as we head into the longest track, over ten minutes long and broken into suites. Some very nice acoustic guitar in Moon above, sun below and some nice piano too. Perhaps the tide has turned? Track goes pretty fast really, always a good sign, then the Rush feel continues with a shot of Shadow Gallery in Elysian woes, while Goblin's an odd little instrumental, steeped in seventies synthesiser and organ. Don't like it much actually. There's a real sound of very early Genesis to River, slow and pastoral, also evoking the likes of Big Big Train, nice acoustic guitar and again good vocal harmonies. Ah but then it breaks into something of a prog-out (prog freak-out) and gets more like taking us back into aimless DT territory again. Hmm. Akerfeldt could be poking fun at himself via his fans with the last two tracks, Voice of treason and the more concillatory Faith in others, which is a tremendous, beautiful and powerful closing track. Either way, he's set the feet of Opeth on a totally new path and doesn't seem to be a man who's used to retracing his steps, so I guess deal with it. He's certainly lost the band some fans with this new direction, but perhaps in the process he's attracted others who found his music too inaccessible before. Of course, there are bound to be tons of people who stuck with him right through the changes; after all, that's generally what true fans of a band do, right? Overall impression: Not as impressed as I had somehow expected to be. Interesting that they've lost all the death metal influences, but their music still doesn't speak to me as I had hoped it would. In places, yes, but not every time. Hum Factor: 3 Intention: May check out their last album or two, and keep an eye on developments over Opeth way. |
Tuck in! They're good for you!
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating4andhalf.jpg http://www.progarchives.com/progress...07102013_r.jpg Artiste: Kerrs Pink Nationality: Norwegian Album: Mystic spirit Year: 2014 Label: Musea Genre: Progressive Rock Tracks: Final curtain Mysterious wood Until I know The storm Choose your path In Immortality Creepy you crawl Unwanted Secluded Slaves of the west Earth to Earth The last journey Chronological position: Sixth album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Kerrs Pink are a variety of potato. And yes, the band knew that when they took the name. Initial impression: Superb prog record; if it's all as good as this then we're in for a real treat! Best track(s): Final curtain, Until I know, The storm, Unwanted, Secluded, Earth to Earth, Slaves of the west, Worst track(s): Nothing on this could be described as bad. The tracks shown above were just better than the ones not included. Comments: When I first heard of these guys I assumed they were a new act. Colour me bloody surprised when I found out they had been going since 1972! Mind you, in all that time they seem to only have released six albums, of which this is the latest, and their first appears to only have hit in 1990. So why the delay? Don't ask me, but from the very beginning you know it's been worth the wait. With pizzicato strings and a sweet vocal harmony, joined by guitars and sonorous organ, Kerrs Pink put me in mind of Millenium, the Polish prog outfit whose “Ego” I featured as part of the now-defunct “Top 100 prog albums of 2013”. There are also definitel Marillion influences as the very inappropriately-named (or placed, at any rate) Final curtain opens the album, and if this is a taste of what's to come I'm salivating already! Of course, you would expect that, having been together for over forty years now Kerrs Pink would have their act finely honed, and so it seems they do. After a powerful tour-de-force opens the album in fine style, there's sort of folky/French-style music to introduce the second track, Mysterious wood, which has a lot of early Magnum and some Blind Guardian in it, while Until I know is a beautiful acoustic pastoral little song with fantastic vocal harmonies and then a killer guitar solo. Man, this is fucking excellent! These guys also do the “suites”, with parts of The storm, while being mostly an uptempo song, sliding into truly gorgeous slow guitar passages attended by some lovely piano. There's a great sense of drama and majesty about In immortality and the ten-minute epic Earth to earth really has to be heard to be believed. It's actually becoming a little hard to describe how good I find this album. I feel the same as I did the first time I heard “Ego” or “Cold reading”. Basically, if you like good prog, well written and played with style and sophistication, grab this now. Overall impression: Stupendous. Another band I need to check into seriously. Intention: Another band, like I said, I need to check into. Seriously. After I listen to this one more time. Or maybe two. |
Old time rock and roller shows the young guns how it's done
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating4.jpg http://static.bobseger.com/wp-conten...d1-367x367.jpg Artiste: Bob Seger Nationality: American Album: Ride out Year: 2014 Label: Capitol Genre: Rock/Americana Tracks: Detroit made Hey Gypsy The Devil's right hand Ride out Adam and Eve California stars It's your world All of the roads You take me in Gates of Eden Chronological position: Seventeenth album (including all those recorded under the name “Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band”) Familiarity: Absolutely everything. Well, not absolutely. “Night moves, “Stranger in town”, “Against the wind”, “It's a mystery”, “The fire inside”, “Like a rock”, “The distance”, “Nine tonight” Interesting factoid: The most cover songs I've ever seen on a Seger album Initial impression: Ah Bob my man! Where have you been? Tell us your stories. Best track(s):Hey gypsy, Ride out, Adam and Eve, California stars, It's your world, All of the roads, You take me in, Gates of Eden Worst track(s): Not a one Comments: Holy good God it's been a long time since I heard some new Seger! If there's a man who's honest to a fault it's Detroit's finest son, and the album kicks off with the appropriately titled Detroit made as Seger, through John Hiatt, pays tribute to the Motor City with a sense of pride and enthusiasm that is often sadly lacking in these days of the global financial crisis, war on terror and basic worldwide bum-out, but Bob still knows how to rock and how to bring a smile to the most jaded face. There's a shot across the bows of those who don't buy American, but it's hard to take offence when the music is this good. There's a real Texas swing tribute to Stevie Ray then with Hey gypsy, some fine organ, followed by a decent cover of Steve Earle's The Devil's right hand, though it's missing the growl and frustration on the original. Two real standouts are Adam and Eve, a duet with .... um, I don't know: not credited, but there are three female backing vocalists, so maybe one of them, and California stars, though it is perhaps sobering that again these are not Seger-penned tunes, the last seemingly a Woodie Guthrie song, made famous by Wilco I believe. But Seger can write great songs and has done all through his career, and It's your world showcases him in fine form as he takes on the woes of modern living with a certain gospel tint to the chorus and a feel of Springsteen's “Wrecking ball”. Also kind of reminds me of Tightrope from “Like a rock”, while All of the roads is a typical Seger troubadour's tale with some sweet organ and some great fiddle work. Of course, if you know the man then you know he also writes some heartbreaking ballads, and this time around it's the mostly acoustic You take me in, while there's more than a touch of Leader of the pack and a hint of Springsteen's Jungleland in the closer, Gates of Heaven, a slow crunching brooder with some powerful backing vocals. Overall impression: I would have preferred less covers and more Seger original material, but still a damn fine album and well worth waiting nine years for. Hum Factor: 7 Intention: Well I love Bob so I'll always listen to his music. |
Mankind's last hope?
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating3.jpg https://ia902302.us.archive.org/2/it...humb.jpg?cnt=0 Artiste: Lost Radiance Nationality: Russian I think Album: Upon us Year: 2014 Label: United Studios Corporation Genre: Electronic/Ambient Tracks: In the beginning Radiant On the planet far away part 1 Spatium incongnitum Colony On the planet far away part 2 Astronaut and the sky Lost and found Look around Chronological position: ? album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: I don't know if this is meant to be a one-off project or what, but the information I can gain on it seems to make it out to be some sort of collaborative effort. Here's the link if you want to check it out https://archive.org/details/lost-radiance-upon-us: I'm really not sure what to make of it. Initial impression: Spacey. synthy, electronic ... what do you want from me? Best track(s):In the beginning, On the planet far away part 1, Colony Worst track(s):Lost and found Comments: As I say above, I'm quite confused as to what this is, a band, a project, a co-operative enterprise, but it seems to envision the first extrastellar voyage, that to our nearest neighbour, Alpha Centauri, or actually Proxima Centauri, in some sort of starship sent to either colonise or find a planet suitable for colonisation to alleviate Earth's growing population crisis. Not entirely sure what “snapping pictures of our nearest star” means for that, or that it should provoke “celebrations across the globe” --- did they find a colonisable planet? Anyway, that's by the by. What's the music like? Well, it's pretty electronic/spacey, and though I keep bringing up JMJ and I'm sorry, he's one of the few electro artists I know, so yeah, this is pretty Jarre in style, to me anyway. Lots of thick synthesisers, deep bassy buzzy ones, wind sounds and little in the way of percussion. Do I like it? Yeah, pretty much, though a lot of it is kind of hard to distinguish one track from another, though that could be down to my inexperience with this genre of music. Colony is quite a trancy piece that really ramps up the electronic drum machines, and the tempo, but it's way way too long at almost eleven minutes, and I hear an awful lot of blatant ripping off of “Oxygene” in On the planet far away part 2, both in the sweeping synths and the bubbling ones. Lost and found seems to be something of an exercise in minimalist music, unless that's what they call drone? Anyway it's very sparse, and also quite long, at just over nine and a half minutes. Kind of losing interest now, though not completely it has to be said. There are some good evocations of an interstellar journey here, and I'm sure it would be good music to take another sort of “trip” to... Overall impression: Decent but a bit derivative. Good music to fall asleep to I would think. Hum Factor: n/a Intention: n/a |
Where do you dig some of these albums out from, as in how do you select what to review as it's all so random?
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Remember, these are all albums I have yet to hear, so sometimes something will catch my eye as it travels down the list and I'll want to listen to it. If I listen, I'm sure as hell going to review. And so it goes... |
Jaysus Mick! Wake the fuck up!
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating2.jpg http://www.mickflannery.com/wp-conte...k-Flannery.jpg Artiste: Mick Flannery Nationality: Irish (yay!) Album: By the rule Year: 2014 Label: Universal Genre: Folk/Singer-Songwriter Tracks: Get what you give The watcher The small fire By the rule Even now I'm on your side Bluebird Galfond Own it Pride The blame Live in hope Out to sea Chronological position: Fourth album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: His idol is Tom Waits. Go on there ya good thing! Fair play te ya! Initial impression: Soft and soothing with acoustic guitar, reminds me of Cohen maybe Best track(s): Get what you give, The Watcher, I'm on your side Worst track(s): Everything else. What a snorefest! Comments: From the “rebel county” (Cork), Mick Flannery has made something of a splash in Irish music circles, with three albums released between 2007 and 2012, this being his latest. Although Get what you give, the opener, starts slow and laidback it soon kicks up, but The watcher shows that he can dial it back when he wants to as well. He has that sort of laconic vocal style practiced and made famous by the likes of Cohen, Dylan and of course Waits. Okay, now it's sort of descended into something of a borefest with two slow tracks which are nice but a little dreary. Hope he kicks it back up again soon. Well, I'm on your side has a little bit of a boogie feel to it, but it's not that much faster. I do like it though; he seems to have woken up. But then he falls back asleep as we hit Bluebird. Trouble I see is that, with his vocal style, when he slows it down it just sounds like he's not really that interested. I'm sure he is, but I'm not sure I am. Liking his less than I expected. Yeah, by the time Pride kicks in I've just gone glass-eyed, or whatever the hearing equivalent is and I'm working on a logo for my new section “Trollheart's Music Library Presents...” Ye-awn! Overall impression: A big disappointment. It constantly amazes me how the Irish music press latch onto generic acoustic boredom like this and salivate all over it. It's nothing special. Hum Factor: 0 Intention: Never to listen to Mick Flannery again |
As soon as albums were available for 2015 I was off downloading them, so I now have a sizeable stack, most of which are from artistes I have never heard before, some of which I have never even heard of. Over the next few months then, this journal will be where I will post my thoughts on them as I listen to them. As most are, as I say, brand new, I am instigating a new category, the Surprise Factor, which is self-explanatory.
A Terrible Beauty http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating5.jpg http://www.metal-archives.com/images...77352.jpg?4711 Artiste: Funeris Nationality: Argentinian Album: Funereal symphonies Year: 2015 Label: Silent Time Noise Genre: Funeral Doom Metal Tracks: Funereal skies Tearing the astral seas Desolado despertar Honda sed de la carne Mournful procession Madre Demencia Dusk of melancholy Chronological position: Second album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Funeris only got together last year but already have two albums Initial impression: Piano on a Doom Metal album? Best track(s): Pretty much everything, though if I had to pick out a favourite it would be … um, pretty much everything. Worst track(s): Not a one Comments: I don’t think I’ve listened to a Funeral Doom album before, and what I hear here surprises me. It’s more almost like a much heavier progressive metal sound with ambient music thrown in. Wiki tells me that this subgenre is meant to evoke an atmosphere of emptiness and despair, but the opener --- admittedly an instrumental, so I have yet to be assaulted by the no doubt harsh vocals --- brings forth images of stark beauty to me, with its piano line and moaning violins, thunder and rain in the distance, and then I’m even more surprised to find this is a one-man show, everything played, written and sung by Alejandro Sabransky. Five of the seven tracks on this album are over ten minutes long, with three over eleven, so perhaps I’m speaking too soon about “stark beauty”? Well even when what I assume to be singing begins, it seems to be very low and muted in the mix, with the main melody carried on hard, powerful guitar so I’m not too shocked or even repulsed by the change. In fact, this may as well be an instrumental too for all the impression vocals are making, which is fine by me. The slow, echoey guitar that replaces the hard, crushing riffs for a short while is really nice, but even when the axe assault resumes I’m still digging it. It’s sort of like listening to the theme for a march of demons or something, an army from Hell. Really effective. The three eleven-minute tracks come one after the other, and they’re so good they don’t seem that long, or perhaps not long enough. I’m sort of reminded in a way of Panopticon, though this is much slower and as I say the vocals are so low in the mix that they are barely discernible. I certainly couldn’t tell you what our man Alejandro is singing, not if you put a gun to my head. But I don’t think it really matters, because the music is so entrancing. It is, admittedly, a little hard to distinguish one track from another, but for once I don’t really see that as a minus, especially if you take this as one, as the album title suggests, dark continuous symphony. Overall impression: Just blown away by this. Did not expect anything close to this. Hum Factor: Uh, zero Surprise Factor 9 Intention: I have now to think seriously about checking out other Funeral Doom artistes |
Yes, but who are they?
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating4andhalf.jpg http://www.albumcreatives.com/album-..._lifelines.jpg Artiste: Blush Nationality: Swiss Album: Lifelines Year: 2015 Label: Reelmusic Switzerland Genre: Pop/Rock Tracks: I wonder Brilliant skies Lifelines Great place You are the one Broken glass Storm Strange to meet you now Love Mountains high A place in my heart Chronological position: ? album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: I can find nothing out about this band, even from their own website, which is in Swiss, other than that they are, well, Swiss. Initial impression: Great hooky rock/pop melodies and a very warm vocal. Best track(s): I wonder, Lifelines, great place, You are the one, Love, A place in my heart Worst track(s): Nothing Comments: The fact that there is a mutil-denominational pop girl group also called Blush, who seem to be very popular, helps me no end in tracking down information on this Swiss combo. I can’t even tell you if this is their debut, second or twentieth album. From the album cover it looks to be two guys, but that could be a wrong guess. Originally, I thought this was the girl group, but thought to myself she has a deep voice hasn’t she? Anyway, it isn’t and the closest I can come to with these guys is a sort of cross between maybe Imagine Dragons and Snow Patrol, with strong melodies and a kind of mixture of synthpop and indie rock. Yeah, I know: I’m really bad at describing these genres. Nevertheless, opener I wonder is a great slice of pop/rock with a superbly solid melody, while the title track has some expressive piano against a bouncing beat that tends more on the rock side than the pop. The vocalist’s voice probably sounds a little boyband for some, but I don’t get the empty, vacuous feeling from this that I do from bands like Blue or Nsync. There’s a lot of emotion in this music, and again I feel they come closest to Snow Patrol in sound. Great acoustic guitar on You are the one, though the ending is a little sudden. There’s a nice celtic feel to Storm, touch of The Waterboys there. A simple song title like Love yields a really beautiful and deep little song, and in general these guys appear to be a whole lot more than they at first appear on the surface. Wish I knew who they fuck they are! Overall impression: Superb album, and if it’s a debut so much the better. Hum Factor: 7 Surprise Factor: 9 Intention: Find out who they hell these guys are! |
Gahh! I need a drink!
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating3.jpg http://i.imgur.com/rVvrg7Dl.jpg Artiste: Moonshine Avenue Nationality: Swedish? Album: Moonshine Avenue Year: 2015 Label: Genre: Rock Tracks: Bad mistake 15 minutes of fame The only one Wake me Moonshine asylum Forgotten man Rebel Believe me Bottoms up Shotgun blues Sleepless night USA Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Initial impression: The hammer has come down! Hard! Best track(s): Wake me, Moonshine asylum, Believe me, USA Worst track(s): Nothing bad per se, but most of the tracks are pretty mediocre Comments: Another band about whom I can find out little or nothing. Seems they may hail from Sweden, and have been together since late 2010, so perhaps five years is a long time to wait before releasing your first album? It certainly kicks off hard and heavy enough with a driving, pounding beat that reminds me in places of southern rock bands mixed in with a dollop of Metallica-style metal. Seems a little formulaic lyrically though: “I walked a mile in your shoes/ Singing those lonely blues” -- oh dear. Good guitar work though. Are they trying to sound too American? Yeah, I think maybe they are. A lot of the songs are good, some great, but it’s all been done before and I don’t hear anything new here that I haven’t heard before. Do we really need another band who aren’t from the US but display all the characteristics of being from there? That’s not to say they’re not a good rock band, but I don’t see them as anything special I have to say. This, from their minimal bio on ReverbNation, says it all, I feel: ”Heavy groove at a never ending pace.Made for the stage.The music of Moonshine Avenue should not be trapped on a cd. When you listen to the music, it´s like looking on a bull caught in a Nissan Micra.It´s beersplatter and hardnecking bikers whit no selfrespect. It´s spontaneous dancing and singalong choruses.” Um, what are “hardnecking bikers”? Trying too hard guys, trying too hard. Yeah, just bored now. Next. Overall impression: Meh. Good at what they do but very cliched. Hum Factor: 4 Surprise Factor 1 Intention: Not really bothered to be honest |
A new dawn for Swedish prog metal favourites
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating3.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...the_Broken.png Artiste: Evergrey Nationality: Swedish Album: Hymns for the broken Year: 2014 Label: AFM Genre: Progressive Metal Tracks: The awakening King of errors A new dawn Wake a change Archaic rage Barricades Black undertow The fire Hymns for the broken Missing you A grand collapse The aftermath Chronological position: Ninth album Familiarity: One or two songs. I have their discography but somehow have never been interested enough to listen to a full album. Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Ambient, spoken-word beginning that soon kicks into a high metal groove. Best track(s): A new dawn, Wake a change, Black undertow, Hymns for the broken, Missing you, The aftermath Worst track(s): Nothing Comments: After the short intro, the anthemic King of errors gets us out of the traps nicely, gothic choir working quite well on the slower but no less heavy A new dawn with some truly biting guitar, and, well, some piano work reminiscent of, um, Bruce Hornsby? I’m not kidding here. The oddly-named Wake a change slows things down for a bit with some super keyboard and piano but still enough heavy guitar there to satisfy any metal fan and a chorus to just keep repeating over and over. Great harmonies here and some fine use of keys. That gothic feel is back for Barricades, then there’s a dark, menacing edge to Black undertow, very emotional, then we’re back off rocking with The fire, including a children’s choir which actually fits in very well before the title track hits with a real slice of bombast and power. The first (probably only) ballad is a piano-driven effort, stark and haunting as Missing you brings a real sense of class to the album. The last two tracks are over seven minutes long and both are quite epic in scope. The closer, The aftermath begins as an acoustic ballad but surges near the midsection to become a really powerful curtain dropper. Overall impression: Yeah, pretty damn good. I’ll need to check into these guys more. Hum Factor: 6 Surprise Factor 7 Intention: Start working through the rest of their discography |
^Will check out, I've loved a lot of their stuff. Great review per usz, Trollman!
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Okay, something a little different. With my main journal being taken over by my Tom Waits discography I’m reluctant to post any other reviews till that’s finished, and anyway these are all going to be shorter reviews, but I promised my good friend Anteater that I would review every album in his thread http://www.musicbanter.com/album-rev...s-2014-a.htmll, and here’s where I’m going to do it.
http://www.trollheart.com/antth1.png Although our tastes do very often coincide, and he’s introduced me to some great music, there are areas where we differ, so this may not always be plain sailing for me. Some of the albums on his list I may not like, but I trust the guy enough to know that a large percentage of it is likely to chime with me. I’m going to go numerically as he did, so we’re starting at the bottom of his list with this one at number 30. http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating2andhalf.jpg http://cdn.pitchfork.com/albums/2045...e.c2abfa7b.jpg Artiste: Ought Nationality: Canadian Album: More than any other day Year: 2014 Label: Constellation Records Genre: Post-punk (um…) Tracks: Pleasant heart Today more than any other day Habit The weather song Forgiveness Around again Clarity! Gemini Chronological position: Second album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Harsh, grating, not quite atonal but not melodic. Me no likee! Best track(s): More than any other day, Habit, Forgiveness Worst track(s): Pleasant heart, Around again, Gemini Comments: Post-punk is not a genre I’m familiar, or indeed comfortable with. In fact, anything with the prefix or suffix of punk is something I usually afford a wide berth to. But this is one of Ant’s picks and so, be it jazz, hip-hop or death metal, I’m duty-bound to investigate. So here I go. Harsh enough guitar that reminds me of Waits in a way, and the title of the opening track may be a joke. I can’t really make out the vocals too well over the ragged guitars, and the melody seems very simplistic, something I suppose that should not surprise me, given the punk tag. I’m not exactly expecting orchestral interludes or delicate acoustic passages. It almost goes a little ambient there in the last minute or so, but the guitars are still scratching at the windows like wolves out in the winter forest trying to get in, and it gives it all a very cold, bleak air. At least things quiet and calm down for the basic title track, for about half the song, then it picks up in speed and gets a little more manic, but it’s still much better than the opening track. “Habit” is decent too, holding back the lunacy a little with a pretty low-key guitar track and a vocal I can understand and hear. In fact, now I can hear him, the singer reminds me of David Byrne at times. Course, the song doesn’t stay relaxed for long but even when it kicks up it’s decent enough. Quite catchy, in fact. “Forgiveness” goes further, with a lament on what sounds like violin, very ambient and I really like it. I kind of lose interest after that though. This isn’t the raw, angry punk I usually associate with the tag sure, but it’s still a bit too visceral for me. I’m not a great fan of angry music or shouted vocals, and while this album has its quieter moments, it is mostly something of a roarfest. Just not for me. Not the best start, but I’m sure it’ll get better as I go through Ant’s list. Overall impression: A little too harsh for my gentle soul I fear. Hum Factor: 3 Surprise Factor: -8 Intention: Be a while before I let the word post-punk into my vocabulary again... |
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To sleep, perchance to ... nod off?
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating.jpg http://www.israbox.net/uploads/posts...3737_front.jpg Artiste: The Arc Light Sessions Nationality: Canadian Album: Perchance to dream Year: 2015 Label: None Genre: Symphonic Progressive Rock Tracks: Perchance to dream... ... only to awake There will come a day Through these years Please let me know Eye of the storm The old man and the sea The ghosts of winters past Jigsaw Deception days Misunderstood Over the horizon... … Till the end Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: So far as I can see, this album is only released on CD by individual request, as the artiste does not believe it is the best medium for his music. Initial impression: Powerful, dramatic opening, very Genesis/Yes and other seventies progressive rock bands come to mind. Best track(s): … Only to awake, There will come a day, The old man and the sea, The ghosts of winters past, … Till the end Worst track(s): Deception days Comments: In essence I guess TALS could be described as spiritually similar to the Alan Parsons Project, as this is a band who are made up of musicians who work in other fields and is the brainchild of one man, John Alarcon who, though not really ever considering himself to be a professional musician, has released two albums under the name Synthology, having been playing piano and keyboards for over four decades now. Comparisons of his earlier material have been compared to Arena, IQ and Genesis keysman Tony Banks, so I know I’m interested at least. There’s certainly a very Yes/Asia feel to the opener, with plenty of bright keys and muted drumming, the vocals very APP with a touch of opera thrown in there too. A good start for sure. Not certain though if this is one track or two: album cover shows Perchance to dream … onyl to awake” with one running time, but it’s shown as two tracks on my copy. Either way, the second part is pure mid-seventies Genesis instrumental and I can see why comparisons are made so often to Banks in reviews I’ve read of this album. Alarcon has a great presence on the keys, though praise should also be given to the two guitarists, who do a fine job. I must admit though, either the production is poor or the vocalists are weak, as a lot of the time they seem to be fading into the background. Another problem is that, so far, this album is becoming too piano driven, with two ballads following each other and to be fair, sounding rather similar. After a good, promising start it’s beginning to fall a little apart. The old man and the sea is nice, with some decent flute, but this is not turning out to be the powerhouse I had been led to expect. The vocal is lacking something here too. None of it seems to be strong enough or have enough character to keep my interest. To a degree, given the (possibly) poor production, it really does sound like something put together in someone’s bedroom or garage. Which is not to take from the proficiency of the musicians, but perhaps if it had been an entirely instrumental affair this might have worked better. One of the few albums I’ve ever heard where, with a very few exceptions, the vocal songs let the overall quality down. Deception days really highlights this, with the vocalist straining to reach the notes and sounding like he’s in pain. The music, to be fair, that backs it, is a little confused to say the least. Sad to say, that by the time I reach the last two tracks I really don’t care any more. I thought this was going to be something I’d be enthusing about, but it’s a far cry from what was promised. Good, mostly, but certainly nowhere close to great. Overall impression: Maybe with some better vocalists and some decent production, but not right now. Maybe not ever. A big disappointment. Hum Factor: 5 Surprise Factor: -8 (A minus score means I was expecting much more and was let down) Intention: I was originally going to check out the Synthology albums, but I feel less inclined to now. |
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That last piece was really interesting. Nice to see this thread and your others still surprising me and informing me.
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Rules are made to be broken. Especially when they're my rules, and this is my journal. So, when I began this one I made it a strict criterion that I would only listen to albums I had never heard before here. Now, with the Tom Waits discography going on in my main journal, and not wanting to interrupt that, I find this is a good place to drop in short reviews also of albums I do know. So that's what I'll be doing from now on: a mixture of old and new, current and classic, and anything in between. With that in mind... Any direction of the compass you look, it's solid gold! http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating4andhalf.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...28album%29.jpg Artiste: Gerry Rafferty Nationality: British Album: North and south Year: 1988 Label: London Genre: Rock Tracks: North and south Moonlight and gold Hearts run dry Tired of talking A dangerous age Shipyard town Winter’s come Nothing ever happens down here On a night like this Unselfish love Chronological position: Sixth album Familiarity: Night owl Snakes and ladders, Sleepwalking Interesting factoid: Initial impression: n/a Best track(s): North and south, Shipyard town, Tired of talking, Winter’s come, Hearts run dry, Moonlight and gold, A dangerous age Worst track(s): Nothing ever happens down here, Unselfish love Comments: One of my very favourite Gerry Rafferty albums, it’s one of those that keeps giving up until about the last three tracks, when it dips slightly and ends badly, but what goes beforehand is enough to solidify its status among his albums for me. It kicks off with the title track, a real celtic atmosphere built already thanks to the uilleann pipes of Davy Spillane and soon becomes a boppy mid-tempo track as Gerry recalls ”I was born a poor man’s son following tradition/ When I came of age I hit the road/ And followed blind ambition” while horns and fiddles paint a background to a great opener. Really gets you in the mood. It’s followed by Moonlight and gold, a semi-ballad with some really nice keyboard and percussion, Knopfleresque guitar too, though he’s not on the album. Tired of talking kicks up the tempo with the help of fine whistles from Spillane and a thumping beat, while thick brass backs up Hearts run dry, one of the true ballads on the album, super little guitar solo too, then there’s a beautiful runup to one of the other standouts, A dangerous age, which has everything in it you ever need to realise that Gerry was rock and not pop as some people who have only ever heard a certain song about a certain street would have you believe. What a lovely line: ”We stood on the motorway shoulder/ The moon rose over the rolling hills/ And my heart broke down/ When I looked at you.” The connection to being broken down in a layby and the failure of a relationship is just so well observed. Wonderful sax outro just completes this amazing song. And it keeps getting better. For now. A look back to youth and high hopes, Shipyard town was the single from this album, and deserved to be, even though there are deeper, better songs on it (almost the whole album if I’m honest). It kicks off with the same uilleann pipes intro that started the album, then jumps into a rockin’, uptempo song driven on striding sax and jangly guitar. Despite its upbeat tone, the song actually deals with the ending of a relationship, rather like the previous one. And the one before that. And the one before that. You know, it's something I never really realised before, but now that I listen back to this album I don't think the title has to do with geographical locations at all. I think "North and south" may refer to woman and man, or even north representing the beginning of the relationship when everything is fine, the romantic side of it, and then south (when it, literally, goes south) the ending of it. Interesting. I never thought of it that way before. May not be the case, but still, something to think about. Winter’s come fades in on what sounds like pan pipes but is surely synth-created, with an ambient, atmospheric rendition of the intro just used on Shipyard town and becomes the second ballad, with quite a tinge of Country in it, accordion and fiddle adding to it. After this though is where the album begins to nosedive. The pure fifties rock-and-roll of Nothing ever happens down here is okay but very much inferior to all the tracks that have gone before, and it comes as something of a shock, the album having been so perfect up to this point. There’s a slight recovery with the beautiful classical piano introduction to On a night like this, but it quickly becomes an accordion-driven but fairly nondescript semi-ballad, and the album ends on the reggae-infused Unselfish love. Quite a disappointment. Overall impression: I loved this album right up to Nothing ever happens down here, and was quite annoyed at the fact it never really recovered from there, but that apart I love this album to death, one of my favourite Rafferty recordings. Hum Factor: 9 Surprise Factor: n/a Intention: There are still some of Gerry’s albums I need to listen to, especially his more recent ones. A sad loss to music. |
He's (not quite) dead, Jim!
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating3.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ighborhood.jpg Artiste: Meat Loaf Nationality: American Album: Welcome to the neighborhood Year: 1995 Label: Virgin Genre: Hard rock Tracks: Where the rubber meets the road I’d lie for you (and that’s the truth) Original sin 45 seconds of ecstasy Runnin’ for the red light (I gotta life) Fiesta de las almas perdidas Left in the dark Not a dry eye in the house Amnesty is granted If this is the last kiss (Let's make it last all night) Martha Where angels sing Chronological position: Seventh album Familiarity: Bat out of Hell, Dead ringer, Bad attitude, Bat out of Hell II, Bat out of Hell III, Hell in a handbasket Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Good solid opener, very Meat Loaf but a little derivative. Best track(s): Original sin, I’d lie for you (and that’s the truth), Left in the dark, Not a dry eye in the house, If this is the last kiss (let’s make it last all night), Where angels sing Worst track(s): 45 seconds of ecstasy, Fiesta de las almas perdidas, Runnin’ for the red light (I gotta life) Comments: Though I’m a pretty big fan of Meat Loaf there are several of his albums I have yet to hear, and this is one of them. Is it just me, or does the woman on the cover look like she’s pregnant? Anyway this is another of his almost-Steinmanless efforts, with only two songs written by the man who, it could be argued, put him where he is today. But since their falling out Steinman and Meat Loaf have not worked together, with the main man hiring in people like Diane Warren to help fill in the gaps, and duetting with some star names. In fairness, the songs here written by Steinman are old ones, not specially written for this album, covers of his own solo material. The opener tries to fool us into thinking it’s a ballad, with a soft piano opening and a gentle vocal from Meat Loaf, but with a title like Where the rubber meets the road nobody’s fooled, and indeed it becomes a swaggering rocker. It’s decent but a little tame for Meat. I’ve heard of course the single I’d lie for you (and that’s the truth) and to be honest it comes across as something of a rip-off of I’d do anything for love (But I won’t do that) off the previous album, even down to the piano intro. Good song, but a little derivative, which is odd, as it’s written by goldmaker Diane Warren. Good duet with Patti Russo, one of two on the album. One of my favourite tracks off the album of the same name, Steinman’s Original sin from the Pandora’s Box project gets the full Meat Loaf treatment next, and it’s a decent effort but lacks the drama and theatre Steinman put into it on the album. It’s a bit annoying that about half that album has been covered now by other artistes, but yet nobody has heard of Pandora’s Box. Pah! Peasants! It’s a much shorter version here too. I believe this is the first album Meat Loaf has released on which there’s a track featuring another singer, but to be honest though Susan Wood does a good job on 45 seconds of ecstasy, it’s more like sixty-six seconds of torture, a poor reggae-led pop song that really does not belong here at all. Things get rockin’ again quickly though with Runnin’ for the red light (I gotta life) --- what is it with Meat Loaf and parenthesised subtitles to his songs? --- a basic rock and roll track that while it’s okay is nothing terribly special. Neither is the annoying little salsa instrumental that precedes another cover of a Steinman song, this time the closer from his “Bad for good” album, which now makes three songs from that album that Meat Loaf has covered. Left in the dark stands, so far, head and shoulders above everything else on this album, and that’s not a good thing to be saying, but it is the truth as I see it. Warren tries to work her magic again and rescue the album, and to be fair, yeah, Not a dry eye in the house pulls the quality right back up to where you expect it to be, both for a Meat Loaf album and for a Diane Warren song. Amnesty is granted is a good enough song, but it’s a duet with Sammy Hagar and sounds more like one of his songs. Another Warren tune is next, and another bracketed title, with If this is the last kiss (let’s make it last all night). It’s a decent song that you can detect right away as the songstress’s work, then of all things there’s a Waits cover, which unfortunately is one of my least favourite early songs from him, though Meat does a very passionate version of it, dare I say, better than the original? Put down those torches, people! Good, strong ending then with Where angels sing which at least leaves me with the typical Meat Loaf power ballad/epic song that I like him to end one of his albums with, and almost makes up for some of the truly substandard material earlier. But not quite. Must do better, and hopefully did, after this. Overall impression: A decent enough album, but quite below par for what I expect from Meat Loaf Hum Factor: 6 Surprise Factor -3 Intention: It certainly hasn’t turned me off Meat Loaf’s music, but I’d be interested to see what the other albums I haven’t heard yet are like. |
have you been storing these up, I feel like I've approved a whole novel today.
(This is not a criticism) |
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Seriously though, if it's too frequent let me know. I appreciate all the fast approvals but I know you've a lot on your plate. I just don't like to see my journals languishing on the third or fourth page... |
You keep posting them , I'll keep approving them :thumb:
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Sometimes it's better not to take that step...
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating2andhalf.jpg http://cdn.discogs.com/UWI94SfdA0B1I...-7147.jpeg.jpg Artiste: Don Airey Nationality: British Album: All out Year: 2011 Label: Music Theories Recording Genre: Progressive Rock/AOR Tracks: The way I feel inside Estancia People in your head B’cos Running from the shadows Right arm overture Fire Long road Wrath of Thor Tobruk Chronological position: Third solo album, thirty-fourth overall Familiarity: I know his work from Deep Purple, Gary Moore, Whitesnake and Rainbow among others Interesting factoid: Don’s second name is Smith, as in Donald Smith Airey Initial impression: Big rocky keyboard sound that definitely recalls the heyday of Purple Best track(s): Estancia, B’cos, Running from the shadows, Right arm overture, Long road, Tobruk Worst track(s): The way I feel inside, People in your head, Fire, Wrath of Thor Comments: I had originally been saving this for my series (of so far one) about keyboard players, “Keyboard Wizards” but god knows when I’ll get back to that, so let’s give it the “Bitesize” treatment here. As it kicks off it’s almost more guitar driven with The way I feel inside, but it’s a little offputting to hear this sort of seventies rock on a current album, even given that Airey is in Purple and was in Rainbow, as well as a lot of other big bands. Still, you know, if I want to hear Purple I’ll buy a Purple album. Not a great start. Estancia is better, with big mellotron and rumbling drums, an instrumental, which is sort of what I expected. Still very seventies sounding though. Some great keyboard histrionics though. Better. Then we’re back to a real Purple groove with People in your head, but the vocalist is even imitating Gillan’s woos and waahs. Sigh. Liking this less as it goes on. For an album made by a guy who carved out a living sitting in front of a bank of keyboards, this has way too much guitar on it. Not even any piano yet, though the rising chords opening B’cos certainly give me some hope. Mind you, here comes that guitar again and the keys are kind of fading into the background. It is a nice instrumental though. Very reminiscent of the kind of stuff Airey did with the late Gary Moore. The first vocal track I really like is Running from the shadows, which eschews the seventies hard rock feel for a more eighties AOR idea and it really works. Like this a lot. Very keyboard-driven too, as it should be. As is Right arm overture, though it also features some peerless fretless bass, another instrumental --- is it? I look and see it runs for seven minutes… Yeah, looks like it is. And finally Airey gets a chance to really flex his muscles on the keys, showing us why he’s one of the most in-demand keysmen in the business. Great organ work, mellotron, some piano. Lovely stuff and very progressive rock too. Unfortunately there’s a massive step backwards then with his frankly awful cover of Hendrix’s Fire, which at over five minutes is way too long, but thankfully we can forget about that with the lovely Mooresque ballad Long road, with its stupendous guitar intro thanks to Joe Bonamassa, another instrumental, then Wrath of Thor has a dark, ominous opening before it crashes into another seventies Gillan rip-off. Oh lord save me! I don’t know about Thor, but much of this album is feeling the wrath of Trollheart! I see the last track is ten minutes long! God I hope it’s a good one; I’ve not listened to an album in quite a while that had this many bad tracks on it but wasn’t total rubbish. I’m hoping for a strong ending. And it certainly starts that way, with a big throaty synth and a piano introduction that really hits the spot. Then it pounds along in the best tradition of Dio, which is heartening. It’s not an instrumental, so I wonder if it will be the second vocal track on the album I like? Sounds like it could be. Yeah, looks like he saved the best for last. Epic. Why couldn’t the rest of the album be like this? Overall impression: An album of two halves, where the good don’t quite balance out the bad. Not enough keyboards for an album by a keyboard player and not something I would be intending to listen to again. Hum Factor: 4 Surprise Factor: -8 Intention: Think very carefully before approaching Airey’s solo work again. I see he had a new one out last year. I won’t be rushing to listen to it. |
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As 2015 is supposed to be the Year of the Discography (or was, I haven’t seen anyone else yet take one on hint hint!) I’m already as you know deep into my Tom Waits reviews in the Playlist, with Genesis and Marillion to follow later in the year. Rather than try to do too much there --- and as each discography is being granted exclusive access to the journal, with nothing else posted while it’s going on --- I thought I’d try a few smaller ones here. Unlike the main journal though, there will be other albums reviewed in between, which is why I’ll be signposting the discographies with this http://www.trollheart.com/thpresentsbite1.jpg And the first one I want to look into is a band I know well, but have not really listened to all their albums through at length. Often vilified for “selling out from their Country roots” --- even by my idol, Waits --- I still think they made some incredible music and will leave you to make your own judgement. http://www.prosportstickers.com/prod...cal__22452.jpg Starting, of course, at the beginning, which is always a good place to start... http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating4andhalf.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...he_Eagles.jpeg Artiste: The Eagles Nationality: American Album: Eagles Year: 1972 Label: Asylum Genre: Country/Rock Tracks: Take it easy Witchy woman Chug all night Most of us are sad Nightingale Train leaves here this morning Take the devil Earlybird Peaceful easy feeling Tryin’ Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: Very familiar with the Eagles. I’ve heard all their albums, though some more than others. Interesting factoid: Initial impression: n/a Best track(s): Take it easy, Witchy woman, Train leaves here this morning, Most of us are sad, Take the devil, Peaceful easy feeling Worst track(s): Chug all night, Tryin’ Comments:Interestingly, given the great songwriting partnerships that would come out of the Eagles, it’s a collaboration with Jackson Browne, he having released his own debut album that year, that kicks off this album and it became a huge hit. “Take it easy” rocks along gently with a great sense of freedom as Country meets rock and the two get on just fine, thanks. What would become the trademark vocal harmonies of the band are very evident here, as is the banjo work of Bernie Leadon that would characterise their first few albums. “Witchy woman” is a slower, more broody affair, with almost Native drumbeat, electric guitar more to the fore and the first chance for Don Henley to show what he can do behind the mike, with Glenn Frey having taken the previous track. This kind of sharing of vocal duties would also become a feature of the Eagles, allowing both men to rise to almost equal stardom within the band. There’s an undeniable sense of the US West Coast here, with the laidback melodies and soft crooning vocal harmonies, the references to cities and towns on the west coast, but sadly for Frey’s first solo-penned tune, “Chug all night” is a low point on the album. A pointless drinking song that says little but temporarily reinforces the idea of Country musicians being all rednecks. I really hate it, though it does push the rock element more to the front, so there’s that. Next up we have the third vocalist, and though Randy Meisner would not sing on too many songs, his voice is a nice change from the smooth tones of Frey or the gravelly drawl of Henley. The slow, acoustic folky ballad is also a great antidote to the previous track and shows that the Eagles were just as at home on an acoustic tune as they were rockin’ along. Again, the close vocal harmonies are just too sweet to be true and help to make the song so much more than the sum of its parts. In addition, there’s a fine slide guitar solo from Frey. “Nightingale” then revisits slightly the setup of “Take it easy”, kicking up the tempo and rocking along with great energy, while one of the standouts on the album is next, as Bernie Leadon takes the mike for “Train leaves here this morning”, which is pure laidback Country, with elements of Simon and Garfunkel at their best, a gentle acoustic guitar pulling the song along. Meisner then gets his chance to really step it up on the smouldering grinder “Take the devil”, a song that should shut anyone up who says the Eagles are only country boys and can’t rock, before Leadon is back for “Earlybird”, a banjo-driven bluegrass tune you just have to nod your head to. Another song that would turn out to be a hit is “Peaceful easy feeling”, which is just California laidback with a capital L. Lovely song. “Tryin’” is okay but it’s a little flat for ending the album. Not a bad song but a little generic perhaps. Rocks well though and I guess it’s a good sentiment to end with: “We gotta keep on tryin’”. And they did. Overall impression: For a debut this was chock-full of great tracks and three hit singles. Can’t say fairer than that, can you? Hum Factor: 10 Intention: n/a |
Year of the discography you say? Might have to do something for that...
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There's hope for new music yet!
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating5.jpg http://cdn.discogs.com/W2l2OzKsIQXp8...-8220.jpeg.jpg Artiste: Natalie Prass Nationality: American Album: Natalie Prass Year: 2015 Label: Spacebomb Records Genre: Hard to say really… I guess singer/songwriter kind of covers it. Kind of. Tracks: My baby don't understand me Bird of prey Your fool Christy Why don't you believe in me Never over you Reprise It is you Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Lovely voice, orchestral backing, smooth and aching... Best track(s): Everything Worst track(s): Nothing Comments: I’ll be the first to admit, when I read this woman auditioned using her iphone I groaned, but you know, maybe it’s time for this old dog to accept that the world is different now, and perhaps not everyone who uses the new tech is necessarily a popstar wannabe. Certainly, from the opening track I hear a very mellifluous voice with keys, guitar and even violins, and not a sign of autotune, so that has to be good. Looking at the little information I have to hand, seems like she writes or co-writes all of her songs, so that’s another plus. Definitely not a pop diva then. Looks like she may be in this for the long haul. Shades of a young Kate Bush or Beverly Craven here, and a lot of brass which is interesting. A very good start certainly. Nice to see also that she didn’t overload the album: there are only nine tracks here. “Bird of prey” is more uptempo, with some lovely clarinet and flute, recalling sixties and early seventies soft rock tunes, yet her voice holds court over everything, strong but not shouting as so many female vocalists seem to think is the way to go today. I definitely hear elements of songstresses of yesteryear such as Carole King and Carly Simon, who honed their craft over years and are still relevant and played today. A swinging bluesy roots song is “Your fool”, which dances along on a tapping piano line, backed by again beautiful orchestral sweeps. Very impressed so far. I must say, I also like the slightly-cartoonified picture of her on the album sleeve, a clear indication that she is not trading on her looks but intends to prove her worth through her music, as should be the case. Substance very much over style. “Christy” is dreamy and dramatic all at once, even has some harp, while there’s a lovely slow strut to “Why don’t you believe in me”, and I just love the way the clarinet soars and dips, swoops and dives. There’s something so gloriously seventies about it. “Violently” is oddly enough a swaying ballad driven on piano and cello, with pedal steel and French horn. The vocal is so low-key that you just don’t expect it with a title like that, and yet she injects so much passion into it you can’t ignore it. Staying relaxed in a sort of Country style for “Never over you” with very Eagles-style backing vocals. There’s a spoken vocal (mostly) with some incredible instrumental backing for “Reprise”, a rearranged version of “Your fool”, including some powerful trumpet (or is it trombone? Never too sure about that), flute and violin. Comes very close to being the best track. Fuck it. Is. Just an amazing track. Closing then on a truly sumptuously orchestral “It is you”, almost like something out of a musical. Breathtaking. Overall impression: A new star is born? Hum Factor: 8 Surprise Factor: 10 Intention: I’ll be watching her very closely. We need more artistes of this sort of calibre in music. |
That picture in your Eagles review looks familiar :p
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Time to return to
http://www.trollheart.com/antth1.png and this time I’m glad to see that Ant has given me a progressive metal album to listen to. Whether I’ll like it is neither here nor there (I suspect I will) but at least it’s better than post-punk! Therefore we find at number 29 in his list http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating3.jpg http://www.metal-archives.com/images...02944.jpg?0849 Artiste: Teramaze Nationality: Australian Album: Esoteric symbolism Year: 2014 Label: Nightmare Records Genre: Progressive Metal Tracks: All seeing eye Lines of symmetry Transhumanist Bodies of betrayal Parallels/Dual reality Spawn Punishment by design Dust of martyrs The divulgence act Esoteric symbolism Order out of chaos Darkest symphony In vitro Chronological position: Fourth album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Teramaze began life as a thrash metal band called Terrormaze, but apparently after finding God (must not have hidden well enough!) they changed both their musical style and their name. Initial impression: Black mass? Best track(s): I’m not interested enough to choose either Worst track(s): Comments: It’s a pretty, er, esoteric opening, with dark stormy sounds and then what sounds like a choir chanting before the guitars punch through, allied to fine keys and I can hear the progressive now. Seems the opener is an instrumental, so we don’t get to hear what the vocalist is like until “Line of symmetry” hits, and he certainly seems to know what he’s about, with a lot of power and yearning passion in his voice. Some very expressive guitar too. Get a sort of a feeling of Threshold from this, while “Transhumanist” is faster and harder, and reminds me more of the late lamented Balance of Power. Some really smooth and beautiful guitar work in “Bodies of betrayal”, but so far I’m not hearing what Ant is apparently hearing. It’s good, there’s no doubt about that, but I don’t so far anyway see it as anything more than that. I kind of feel the songs are struggling to find a hook they can use, and the previous track came close but fell short. They’re all good songs, in general, just nothing terribly memorable, or nothing at least that’s sticking in my mind or jumping out at me. Also, I feel the keyboards are not getting enough airtime here, with the guitars just bludgeoning them into almost submission. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if you have a keyboard player in your band then I’d expect to hear him. There’s something of a change of pace for “Spawn”, but it’s still nothing I’d call remarkable. In fact, we’re now onto the tenth of thirteen tracks (it’s actually the title) and I can’t remember the ones that went before. Now I’m just bored, waiting for the end. Okay, it kind of got better in the last few tracks but at this stage my interest is gone and I just could not be bothered. Overall impression: Big disappointment, very flat and generic. Don’t get it. Hum Factor: 3 Surprise Factor: -8 Intention: Wouldn’t be too bothered listening to more of their music to be honest. |
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I guess what I enjoyed so much about Esoteric Symbolism was its near singleminded dedication to putting the guitar work out and front. Some gorgeous melodies and ideas on display here. They definitely aren't keyboard-led like Threshold or as overtly technical as Dream Theater either.
That being said, it IS a dense listen without a whole lot of tonal variety. Some individual songs are exceptionally catchy ('Bodies Of Betrayal', 'Spawn', 'Transhumanist'), but the overall album experience is a long one. The energy, however, is infectious, similar in some respects to a really good alternative rock or pop-punk album. :D By the way, nice review of Natalie Prass. Never heard of her before, but dug into a few other songs and I'm pretty impressed! |
Go on ya good thing ya!
http://www.trollheart.com/cookierating4andhalf.jpg http://f1.bcbits.com/img/a1212141668_2.jpg Artiste: Shattered Skies Nationality: Irish (Yay! …?) Album: The world we used to know Year: 2015 Label: None; digital release Genre: Progressive/ Djent Metal Tracks: Collapse of man The end and the rebirth Haunted 15 minutes Elegance and grace Show’s over As the sea divides Flipside Aesthetics Saviours The world we used to know Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: These guys are from Wicklow, and my ancestors used to be kings there, so technically they are my subjects… Initial impression: Oh man I hate … um … love this. Best track(s): Elegance and grace, As the sea divides, Aesthetics, The world we used to know Worst track(s): There’s nothing bad here. Comments: Oddly, I had no idea these guys were Irish when I bought the album, which I did just because I happened to like the name, and the few samples I heard. I didn’t even know they were prog metal, so that’s two bonuses. Unless this turns out to be crap. Well I thought I would hate the short intro piece, being just static really but then it broke into an emotional piano piece and I really like it. It’s less than two minutes long though and slides into “The end and the rebirth”, and for a moment I think I’m hearing an electronica album until the guitar bites through, and now we’re rocking! The vocalist puts me in mind of Damian Wilson or Sean Filkins, and in fact his name is Sean, Murphy, while the guitars could maybe be pulled back a little in the mix; at times they almost drown him out. Very powerful, energetic stuff though. “Haunted” has a lovely jangly guitar intro before it just explodes all over the place in a really good way, but again the vocals are a little swamped. I am a little disappointed to see on their Bandcamp page they describe themselves as “London-based”. Well, sure, but why not Irish? You know, you can take the boy out of Ireland but … something something. Anyhoo, they do admit to being from Wicklow and Dublin, so I guess that’s okay. Great banging piano intro to “15 minutes”, whose running time does not reflect its title. Excellent vocal harmonies, when you can make them out, somewhat in the mould of Arena, and I love it when the guitars cut back to allow the piano to take centre stage for a moment. “Elegance and grace” presents itself as one of the best tracks so far, but I must admit the guitarist is getting on my nerves a little. It’s like he thinks he has to hammer out the chords all the time and doesn’t know how and when to dial it back. I guess this is what they call djent, from what I read. The track sounds like it should be a ballad, but the man on the frets has other ideas. Still a great song though. The keys, when they’re allowed to poke through the guitar assault, really add a layer of grandeur to the music, such as in the opening to “As the sea divides”, before the axes grind all over it with, quite frankly, unnecessary violence. You can hear the piano still going in the background but it’s almost completely drowned out till the guitar fades back out and lets it have its head. We also get to hear vocalist Sean Murphy strut his stuff properly before he’s swamped again, which is a real pity, as it’s kind of ruining the song. If this is djent metal, I’m not so sure I like it. The piano-driven “Aesthetics” is a lovely song, closest they come to a ballad, and the guitarist mostly holds himself back here, which is nice. Is there a choir in there? Could be. Title, and closing track, is pretty brilliant too. Overall impression: While the guitar may be a little too punchy for me, a bit in-your-face, this is still a fantastic debut, and the fact that the boys are Irish, well sure I have to support them don’t I? Hum Factor: 7 Surprise Factor: 9 Intention: Follow these guys! |
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...other_Step.jpg Artiste: Kim Wilde Nationality: British Album: Another step Year: 1986 Label: MCA Genre: Rock/pop Tracks: You keep me hangin' on Hit him Another step (closer to you) The thrill of it I've got so much love Victim Schoolgirl Say you really want me She hasn't got time for you Brothers Missing How do you want my love? Don't say nothing's changed Chronological position: Fifth album Familiarity: “Close” plus most of her singles Interesting factoid: Well you probably all already know (or don’t care) but Kim is the daughter of sixties pop sensation Marty Wilde. Yeah, I thought you wouldn’t care... Initial impression: n/a Best track(s): Another step, The thrill of it, Brothers, Missing, Don’t say nothing’s changed Worst track(s): Hit him, She hasn’t got time for you, Say you really want me Comments: I’m pretty sure I bought this after having been impressed by “Close”, her next album, even though this preceded that. If you see what I mean. But whereas I don’t think this album comes, er, close to that opus, it’s still a very good album, and a lot of other people must have thought so too, as it’s her biggest selling album in the US and gave her a number one hit single. Sadly, that single is a cover of the old Supremes number You keep me hangin’ on, though she does give it an eighties makeover and turns it into the kickass dance tune it was always meant to be. Still, I’m not one for covers, especially when they give an artist a hit. And I could certainly do without the funk pop of Hit him, but then we get to the meat of the matter. The title track is a glorious slice of pop/rock, the first really guitar-driven track, very uptempo as indeed were the two tracks preceding it, but this is the best so far. Nice big dirty guitar and peppy piano in The thrill of it, while I’ve got so much love leans a lot more in an AOR direction, with Victims keeping the tempo high and with a nice rock vibe about it. Odd thing about this album is that it seems to be intentionally laid out in two halves, with all the fast tracks on one side and all the ballads on the other. I would have preferred more of a mix to be honest. You have to of course like a song that goes by the title of Schoolgirl, but it's a bit dancey and poppy for my tastes. As is Say you really want me, which has very funky guitar and brass but annoys me. Mind you, it brings us right on to the ballads, of which there are five in all. Odd that none of them were ever released as singles, as there are some fine songs here, and where a song like Schoolgirl or You keep me hangin’ on made it into the charts, I feel something like Brothers, Missing or the closer would have done very well, but it was not to be. There’s a lot of seventies Motown soul in She hasn’t got time for you, which reminds me in places of Judie Tzuke, and a sax riff right out of Glenn Frey’s You belong to the city, and to be honest it’s a bit dreary. Brothers has much more punch about it, while there’s a great Spanish guitar intro to one of the standouts, Missing, on which Wilde gives one of the most passionate vocal performances of her career. There’s a certain bleak feel to How do you want my love and then the album closes strongly on another standout. One of the few songs written by her solo, and indeed produced by her, Don’t say nothing’s changed is a world away from most of the songs on this album, a deep, thoughtful, tender ballad with beautiful backing and a hook that many of the other songs fail to land in your heart. Listening back over to this now for the first time in years, I realise it’s actually not as good, track-for-track, as I had remembered it, and “Close” is a far better album. Still, for someone written off by most people as the girl who had that “Kids in America” song, she’s done a very decent job here. Another step, indeed. Overall impression: A worthy album that has rather more flaws than I originally remembered Hum Factor: 8 Surprise Factor: n/a Intention: n/a |
One of these days I've really gotta just put the kettle on, put my feet on the desk and take an afternoon to have a good read through this thread in detail. The sheer determination and effort you've clearly put into this is absolutely mindblowing.
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I'm quite liking that Gerry Rafferty track you posted a page back by the way...I'll be checking out some more of his stuff yet :thumb: |
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