|
Strangeways, Here We Come (Album 1987)
The final album by the Smiths, one that both Morrissey and Johnny Marr have cited as their best work together. I can somewhat concur, as it is apparent that the band was ready to step up to the next level, in terms of their musical compositions, but despite the excellent production quality of Strangeways Here We Come, the album itself is just missing that fantastic song to throw it over the top...though there are some goodies. Thumbs Up ***1/2 stars. Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours Girlfriend In A Coma Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before Final Thoughts: I think it would be pointless for me to write a long monologue on the greatness of this band, because its already been done a thousand times by professional reviewers in the media. So I will just state two things as to why I think the Smiths were important: 1) The Smiths had the guts to express femininity in their music; a quality that earned them the patriarchal scorn of America as being the band for "Art f#gs." As a young male in North America it was okay to listen to everything from AC/DC to Metallica to NWA, but if you listened to The Smiths, the $hit really hit the fan. Makes you wonder where the real rebellion lies. 2) The Smiths made honest pop music that the common person could deeply relate to. In short, it wasn't nonsensical garbage... but its best to let the man of controversy explain it himself... Table of Contents Page 1 Sisters of Mercy Page 2 Blood for Blood Page 3 Gallows (top) Page 3 The Smiths (Mid) |
Not much freedom for a journal these days, I should have never signed that bloody contract to work for Wolfram & Hart but anyways....
So much American hardcore is bull$hit now a days, so lets do some good stuff. Ceremony Hailing from the state of California, Ceremony has been putting the boots to emocore over the years, though their most recent release was a much softer endeavor. Ruined ep (2005) Their first release pretty much borders on Thrashcore/power violence, and although its not my favourite genre this is 7 minutes of good noise, here's some of the more straight up hardcore tunes. *** 1/2 stars You're All The Same I Want To Put This To An End |
Hmmm, I think I'll cut this review short and take another turn as I'm just not interested in hard music anymore, I think its run its course.
Anyways from the soft femininity of The Smiths to the violent femininity of the Violent Femmes. Violent Femmes Ugly/Gimme the Car single To my knowledge the first official release from this extremely talented band; Brian Ritchie's bass playing was always an inspiration to me during my years as a musician. Inspired by artists like Sun Ra, his musical style came from very different place than the standard rock bassists of the 80's that were pumping out endless quarter beats, but in general all three members of this band were above par either musically or lyrically. The emotions that the Femmes could capture the best was self loathing and desperation, which is why it is not the A side, but rather the B side that makes this single a 4 star release. Simply put, Gimme the Car is a classic track **** stars. |
Violent Femmes/Violent Femmes 1983
Now it is time for me to review one of my favourite albums of all time, but as I'm not one for writing long reviews I shall just present the music, as in the end my words matter not, it is only the music you have come here to hear.... The album kicks off with the Femmes most notable track Blister in the Sun, a song that has been played to death countless times at nightclubs catering to the "alternative" crowd. However it is Add it Up that is that is most fondly remembered as the banner song on the album Add it up: Promise: A good straight forward song on the album "Do you know what it's like to hate when it's way down deep inside? Oh, God, I hate what's been done to my life. One of the Femmes great love songs... feeling the good vibes yet. Gone Daddy Gone I haven't really touched on the music composition itself yet. The whole album is pretty much done in standard 4/4 timing but the layers of melodies they build into their songs to accompany the rhythm is great, as seen with the xylophone percussion solos in Gone Daddy Gone. There are so many great songs on the album I probably didn't pick all the right ones, but then again music is about discovery and I don't want to give up all the secrets. **** stars |
Hallowed Ground 1984
In many ways this is a really dark album, but it is also the last legendary release from this band before they headed off into a more pop orientated direction. Never Tell: What can I say, a classic brooding track by the Femmes, it might be a little too dark & depressing for some, but Brian Ritchie's bass playing is on the mark with this one, meanwhile Gordon Gano's lyrics and vocals reek of twisted desperation. Add in some great guitar playing, and you have a classic track. Black Girls: Gordon Gano expressing his dating preferences in this song, which pushes racial and uhm...gender lines for 84. Its a great jazzy swing song, filled with improve that utilizes a variety of different instruments. Sweet Misery Blues I was going to go with the Country Death Song, the banner song for this album, but I've already thrown up a really dark track, so I'll go with this tune. I've always liked it because it reminds me of a homeless junkie bothering the upper class professional woman, who would like to flick him away like a pee. **** stars One more Femmes album and then I'm off into a different direction. |
The Blind Leading the Naked (1986)
This is where I jump off the Femme ship. The band will always be enshrined in greatness for their first two albums and early singles , but after that...they lost what they had. I haven't listened to this album in years but on a quick review a couple of points. The first is that it has a much more happier tone in comparison to their previous albums, thereby substituting punk angst for a lighter rockabilly sound. This wouldn't be a problem if the vast majority of the songs were written written, but they are not. In fact you could literally just listen to the first three tracks on repeat, because the rest of the album isn't really worth the while. I don't really want to start breaking down musical compositions, so just trust me on this one. Thus the verdict ** 1/2 stars Perhaps the last great dark Femmes tune? No Killing Faith Next up some indie rock |
The Smiths, even at their weakest, makes the world a better place.
|
Gordon Gano if that is who's singing, sounds like a fusion of Stan Ridgeway and Tom Verlaine. There's a lot of interesting stuff in your journal that I need to get listening to.
|
I haven't listened to all that much Femmes, but I have discovered just how awesome an album Hallowed Ground is. Pretty much the perfect combo of punk/alt rock and country.
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
I thought I would compare my two favourite female fronted indie bands of the 00's, to see in the end, which one I like better, so first up...
Yeah Yeah Yeah's Yeah Yeah Yeah's ep (2001) I find that early ep's are often wastebasket material, and sadly this is the case with this release, its a good effort, but you can tell that their still learning their craft. Art Star is the stand out song for me, but it's not really worth posting. ** Stars Machine single (2002) This single is where things start to get interesting, at this point you can hear their musical potential bubbling to the surface. *** stars Machine *** |
Date with Night ep 2003
One more ep, but as the best song is also on their first full album I'll skip over this one. ** 1/2stars Fever to Tell 2003 I seem to be at odds with many of the professional music reviewers on this album. Not to sound arrogant, but this may be because I use to work in the music industry to an extent, so I know my music theory, whereas I find that a lot of folks in the media, are simply music appreciators on the lookout for something risque. Thus the reviews on this album usually go something like this, "Fever to Tell is their best album because it captures the raw primal energy of the band, while their latter stuff is overproduced." So let me get this right, 27 years after the Sex Pistols, and over a decade of gangster rap & death metal, we were somehow supposed to get excited about the raw primal rebellion of an indie rock band?!? Can someone please explain to me how the Yeah Yeah Yeah's or any alternative rock band in the 21st century constitutes a threat to modern society? The truth is that there is one absolute killer song on this album, and it is because it appears that the record company threw a lot of money into its production. There are some other notable songs, but overall the album is plagued by repetitive chord change overs, and annoying cracks and squeals by a singer who almost appears to be struggling to remain on key. **1/2 stars Rich |
fuck man....and this is one of your favorite female fronted bands? :)
|
Quote:
I just think this album is really choppy. |
Show Your Bones 2006
This album in my mind is one of the best indie releases of the 00's. It is where everything for this band gelled together perfectly. Unlike the previous release, the songwriting is focused with a lot of thought put into the compositions. Great choruses, bridges, and melodies being played over top of the rhythms. Yes it is more subdued than Fever to Tell, but Karen O's vocals are also a lot more on the mark with this album. Thus if your reading this Bob, you need to fling your Gorilla Biscuits Cd out the car window and put this on repeat. JK, I like the Biscuits so long as their not the Limp ones. Its also nice to hear a rock band sample a hip hop song for once, instead of the other way around (Phenomena). It may not be as good as the LL cool J's version, but its still pretty cool. Although the album tends to nod off a bit at the end, I give it, **** stars. Gold lion Way Out Phenomena |
It took me a long time to be able to appreciate Show Your Bones but I'm glad I stuck with it. I still enjoy Fever To Tell too though, Black Tongue is too infectious for me to ignore.
|
Quote:
|
It's Blitz 2009
I'm probably not the right person to be reviewing this album, as for me it just sounds like one of those 80's electronic post punk ventures that got buried in the annuals of time. Like a bad B version of the Eurythmics with synth chords being played in substitution for a strumming guitar. In short, it seems like every post punk/ or post punk revivalist band has this bizarre tendency to turn electronic after making a killer rock album. I say leave the electronic music to the pros like Underworld & Portishead. No real songs worth posting, ** stars |
Mosquito 2013
The Yeah Yeah Yeah's latest album is a trip, some pretty good stuff on here. Very mellow and subdued and more organic than the last one. They're still making use of the synth affects, but for most of the album it plays more of a subordinating role, and is used much more effectively than in the It's Blitz! release. The album almost has a bit of a down tempo trip hop feel to it, especially with songs like Subway and the dub based track Under the Earth. The opening song sacrilege of course is the banner song on this release, and from there it nudges on fairly well until it hits a slow decline near the end. *** stars Sacrilege Subway Under the earth Well that wraps it up for the Yeah Yeah Yeah's. |
SOLD!
I never really gave much thought about looking deeper into Yeah Yeah Yeahs.....I loved what Karen O did for the "Where the Wild Things Are" soundtrack and her vocal track on The Seer by Swans is by far the best song under 12 minutes on that album so while I will be throwing NO great New York hardcore out the window.....I will purchase Show Your Bones and put it on repeat :) |
Quote:
Its weird all these responses...I didn't think anyone was reading this, but after I polish off Metric I'm probably going to do some classic hardcore, thinking maby Suicidal Tendencies. |
Metric
Old World Underground: Where are you now? 2003 2003 in many respects was the breakthrough year for indie rock and the post punk revival. Although the Strokes had already helped break down the doors a few years prior, 2003 not only saw the White Stripes skyrocket into the charts with their Seven Nation Army single, but it also featured a series of initial releases from notable indie rock bands. One of these albums was Metric's Old World Underground: Where are you now?" an album title that pretty much sums up how people were feeling at the time. Thus I think indie rock broke in 2003 for two reasons, 1) the political climate had become very reactionary with the invasion of Iraq, which helped push underground music into the forefront, and 2) music in the early 2000's sucked really bad with the pop charts being ruled by shallow R & B artists like 50 cent, and spineless rock bands like Matchbox 20. Metric's Old World Underground: Where are you now?" captures both these sentiments. The first with songs like Combat Baby and Succexxy with lyrics such as "All we do is talk, static split screens as the homeland plans enemies. Invasion's so succexxy" and the second with Dead Disco's lyrics "Cause all we get is...Dead disco Dead funk Dead rock and roll Remodeled" So in many respect this is a landmark album that captures the sentiment of times, and with these three stellar songs it deserves **** stars Dead Disco Combat Baby Succexy |
I just wanna say I have been peeping in on your journal here and there. Very well written, great stuff!
I haven't been that familiar with the bands you're reviewing so I don't know your taste well. But maybe if you're ever at a lack for material.... Sopor Aeternus- Children of the Corn And if you're not already familiar... the artist is a very interesting human being. Good music, fascinating artist. Sopor Æternus & the Ensemble of Shadows - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Quote:
|
Live it Out 2005
Live it Out contains my favourite song by Metic (Empty) as they continue with their alternative punky mix of music with another anti war single with Monster Hospital, which takes a lyrical page from the Clash. Overall a good album with good singles, but there are just a few to many average rock songs on here, so close to greatness but not quite... ***1/2 stars oh f(ck it I changed my mind **** stars Empty Monster Hospital Poster of a girl |
never heard of them....these three songs have made a fan
thanks man :) |
Quote:
|
In many respects this is Metric's best album in terms of well crafted songs, but it is also the point where I begin to lose interest in them.
In short, they've mastered their song writing formula, but they've lost their punk edge, and have become too syrupy and poppy. **** stars but not really a fan overall. Gold Guns Girls Gimme Sympathy Help I'm Alive |
Synthetica album 2012
Okay time to wrap up Metric with their latest release Synthetica. The album almost cracked the billboard top 10, (Number 12) so they're on their way to stardom, good for them, they've earned it! That being said, I miss the Metric of old, the album is too poppy, and I'm just not hearing their great songs of past days. *** stars |
Sisters of Mercy pg 1 (Goth rock)
Blood for Blood pg 2 (Hardcore) Gallows pg 3 (Hardcore) Smiths pg 3 (Alternative Rock) Ceremony pg 5 (Hardcore) violent Femmes pg 5 (Alternative/folk punk) Yeah Yeah Yeahs pg 6 (Indie Rock) Metric Pg 7 (Indie Rock) |
Suicidal Tendencies
Crossover thrash pioneers and hardcore legends that were mired in controversy in their early years for their alleged ties to Surenos gangs in LA, which of course was reflected in their wardrobe. The band would eventually rise to prominence by riding the thrash metal wave of the late 80's before slowly fading out in the 90's. Suicidal Tendencies album 1983 My reviews of this band will probably piss everyone off because fans of this band seem to fall heavily into camps. The hardcore fans, reflected in this album, and the metal fans reflected in How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I can't even Smile Today. I have a different take on this band, so I don't fall into either camp, and just go with my musical ear. This album is remembered for two reasons. One, it was one of the fastest selling hardcore albums of its time, and two, it contains the legendary song Institutionalized, which would be featured in films and numerous video games for years to follow. All that being said, I don't think the album is all that groundbreaking or legendary. There is...as there always was with this band, some great guitar playing, but overall it fails to produce any real memorable riffs outside of You'll be Sorry, which would be redone years later as the riff for Send Me Your Money...a far better song may I add. So take away Institutionalized and you've got a handful of decent hardcore songs, but nothing to write home about. **1/2 stars plus a little more. Institutionalized Suicide's An Alternative / You'll Be Sorry Subliminal |
Join the Army 1987
This album gets a lot of hate from traditional hardcore and metal fans because it falls right smack in the middle between the two genres, which is the perfect mix for me! There are various pros and cons to this release. On the pro side you have guitarist Rockey George shredding things up on guitar, and even though there is no knock out punch song like Institutionalized, they come close with tunes like Join The Army, and I Feel Your Pain and I survive. On the con side, there are a lot of filler songs, and the production quality is... not good, but hey this is the world of punk rock. If the $$$s poured into this album were anywhere near How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today, it would have had the potential to be classic material. ***1/2 stars (Be Forewarned: I have soft spot for this album) I Feel Your Pain And I Survive Join The Army Suicidal Maniac I feel Your Pain and I survive done years later with better production quality |
How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today (1988)
This release is usually regarded as the Suicidal Tendencies first official metal album, largely as a result of Rocky George's guitar riffs and solos. All that being said, the album still retains many hardcore elements in its sound, from the backing vocals to the drums to specific guitar parts. Nevertheless, this is where the band began to be defined as metal and started to tour as support for prominent thrash metal acts. The first thing that really stands out in this album is the production quality... it is superb. Signed to a subsidiary of Sony Records the Suicidal Tendencies now had the financial backing to put out a really good sounding record, which incidentally is why many hardcore fans hate this release, viewing it as a sell out by going metal. Personally I just feel this was the direction the band was heading in as crossover thrash was simply a sign of the times by the late 80's. Anyhow, since I imagine I pissed off the hardcore fans with my first review, it's now time to piss off the metal fans...equal opportunity I say, for despite all the great production quality put into this album and a worthy opener of a song with Trip at the Brain, this album really falls flat. In short, there are no real killer guitar riffs or hooks that reach out and grab you, and outside of a handful of decent songs your left yawning in the end. For me to give this album 4 stars would mean that it would have to rival thrash metal albums like Metallica's Kill em all, or Slayers Reign in Blood... It simply does not. *** stars. (for the production quality) Trip At The Brain |
Lights...Camera...Revolution 1990
So this is it, the Suicidal Tendencies classic masterpiece, the album that has forever engraved their name in the history of metal and hardcore, a release that has something that How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today does not, memorable songs that you can play over and over again without wearing them out. These being of course the singles of You Can't Bring Me Down, and Send Me Your Money, but there is more than just these two songs, as tracks like Alone, Go'n Breakdown, and Discos out murders in " keep this album moving along nicely. Although I concede it isn't as equally balanced as the former release, and that it hasn't aged as well as some other thrash metal classics, it remains the benchmark and high point for crossover thrash, a genre that would fade into relative obscurity until its resurrection by bands like Municipal Waste. **** Stars You Can't Bring Me Down Send Me Your Money Discos out, murders in So here is where I jump of the suicidal train, as their next album would be more of a lackluster commercial venture into alternative rock before they attempted to save their skins by returning to thrash in their subsequent release, but by then too much time had passed and no one cared, so I think I'll end this on a high note. Next up, a band that helped spearhead the Cali powerviolence/thrashcore movement of the last several years. Pg 1 Sisters of Mercy (Goth rock) Pg 2 Blood for Blood (Hardcore) Pg 3 Gallows (Hardcore) Pg 3 Smiths (Alternative Rock) Pg 5 Ceremony (Hardcore) Pg 5 Violent Femmes (Alternative folk/folk punk) Pg 6 Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Indie Rock) Pg 7 Metric (Indie Rock) Pg 8 Suicidal Tendencies (Crossover Thrash) |
Trash Talk
Thrashcore isn't a genre that I would usually get a strong desire to review, but because the band Trash Talk has been making waves over the years, I figure they're worth the listen. For those who don't know, thrashcore is simply hardcore played slightly faster, so its quite different from thrash metal and other punk genres that utilize heavy metal guitar techniques (grind, crust ect) Its cousin Power violence, is an even faster and more brutal form of thrashcore. Anyways the punk/metal underground is filled with all sorts of **** genres that the general public never hears off, but they all have one thing in common... they're better than Nu metal! I'm going to skip over Trash Talk's initial self titled ep, as there were limited copies printed and a lot of their songs appear on their next release so... Walking Disease ep 2007 As far as thrashcore goes this is a pretty good album, though the quality songs are straight up hardcore. After the first three tracks it pretty much becomes you run of the mill thrashcore album with the ep clocking around 9 minutes in length. *** stars F.Y.R.A/Worthless Nights Walking Disease |
2008 Trash Talk (self titled)
Trash Talk's first full fledge album, not to pan it, but there isn't really anything worth reviewing here, its straightforward thrashcore bordering on power violence at times, sheer aggression but no real stand out songs. * 1/2 stars Well of Souls |
So next up we have a serious of small ep's and singles all of which I will skip over, about 2 stars each.
Steel Trap / Trash Talk 2008 Plagues EP 2008 East Of Eden / Son Of A Bitch 2009 after that.... Eyes & Nines album 2010 Their second album running slightly longer this time at approximately 14 minutes. Standard thrashcore, It has the popular song Explode, but other than that there is not much there. ** stars Sigh...I think I'll wrap up my Trash Talk review prematurely as this band is just not brining me any joy, so I'll leave you with there Awake ep ** stars Awake If your digging this more than I am 119 Album 2012 No Peace album 2014 Next up: The sorry state of American hardcore has been really off putting, so I think I'll just hunker down and do a long set of classic British hardcore from the 80's. Pg 1 Sisters of Mercy (Goth rock) Pg 2 Blood for Blood (Hardcore) Pg 3 Gallows (Hardcore) Pg 3 Smiths (Alternative Rock) Pg 5 Ceremony (Hardcore) Pg 5 Violent Femmes (Alternative folk/folk punk) Pg 6 Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Indie Rock) Pg 7 Metric (Indie Rock) Pg 8 Suicidal Tendencies (Crossover Thrash) Pg 8 Trash talk (Thrashcore) |
Discharge
I shall start my set with Discharge as they are typically cited as the godfathers of British hardcore, crust and D beat amongst other things. I did a hardcore countdown over a year ago where I posted a lot of my favourite songs by these types of bands, but this will allow me to revisit things in more detail. A couple of things to note, although I enjoy writing, I just do this for self therapy, so if a review seems short it is because my words matter not, it is only the music that is important.:drummer: Reality of War ep (1980) Although I am aware of the historical significance of this album that has resulted it being praised by music reviewers as a groundbreaking feat for 1980, it is simply not very good when you compare the ep it to its American hardcore counterparts that predate by two years. (Black Flag: Nervous breakdown 1978, Misfits Bullet 1978) I would recommend these instead for your fledging hardcore kick. ** stars Society´s Victim |
Fight Back ep 1980
Their second ep, 5 songs...most of them are brutally awful including War is no Fairytale, but another glimmer of hope keeps me from panning the ep, I vaguely remember this song, but it starts off with a nice driving bass line, and Tony Bones guitar playing helps out a bit. ** stars You take part in creating this system |
Decontrol 7 inch 1980
Three songs of better production value with a band that seems to be finding their step. Decontrol is a decent single but nothing special, still I'm feeling generous. **1/2 stars Why? album 1981 Man if I were on a punk rock forum, I'd be on a collision course with Discharge fans because I really don't think there is anything redeeming about this album, especially when I compare it to what else had already been released, or was to be released in the punk world that year. I could ramble off a dozen or so albums & singles that were better, but what really drives me batty about Discharge's early releases is the redundant chord progressions on many of their songs, da da da da da da da da, dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee and repeat. Nevertheless, it should be noted that I am a big fan of Tony Bones guitar work overall, so an evenly balanced album, but unfortunately nothing stands out. ** stars |
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:39 AM. |
© 2003-2025 Advameg, Inc.