The Rock Album Survivor Reviews Thread

JGuy Grungeman · 06-19-2016, 10:50 AM

I actually wanted to start with this when I went over the post-punk albums. I totally brainfarted and started with Joy Division. Can I call it post-punk? I can't really "Call" it anything as it is so beneficially crazy and experimental that it seems unfair to set it under a genre tag. It has a little bit of a lot of things (post-punkl new wave, electronic, dance, funk, pop), and yet it exudes all of these diofferent aspects so well. I suppose that's what makes it a great album. I might keep it on the list for a while just due to how creative it is. I'm not sure how much of a "post-punk" album it is, but I do think it deserves a lot of credit for its creativity and variety.

JGuy Grungeman · 06-19-2016, 12:08 PM

Gonna be reviewing This Heat for the Experimental round.

JGuy Grungeman · 06-19-2016, 01:02 PM

This Heat by This Heat

Style: Experimental Rock, Noise
Release: 1979
Length: 41 min.
Round: Experimental Rock

I started this album to prepare for This Heat's Decieit. I'm writing this as I go along, as usual.

Upon the first beep, I understood the album would be unpredictable. I think Testcard was pretty pointless as a track, but it did help set the standard for the album in a small way. The first real track, "Horizontal Hold," is the real intro. It's six minutes of unpredictable changes in time signatures and a buttload of noise-shattering, brain breaking rhythm. And I'm not saying this is bad. In fact, if that's what the album does while remaining catchy throughout, it's unique enough. I'm not really a fan of "Not Waving," however. It felt like a pointless noise for nearly 3 minutes. Than the singing began, and I was less impressed. In fact, it was actually pretty horrible. "Water" had a little bit of grip. But overall it was too short to really go anywhere. For three minutes, irt felt like an intro. So I can imagine the next song would pick it up. "Twilight Furniture" gave me what I hoped for. A little grip, a little emotion. At this point, I realized the irony of the album. Despite going so slow, the songs feel a lot shorter than they are. two minutes in, and I felt that I had barely scraped off the first minute. And by the end, this 5-minu8te track felt like 3. Track 6: "24 Track Loop." With a track title like that, I was afraid I'd be hearing the same tune in loop over and over again. However, that wasn't what the track was like at all. It had an electronic feel akin to Kraftwerk. It's actually one of the best tracks due to its experimentation and its high complexity. It gets more and more exciting throughout.

Before I continue, would you eat this?

Halfway through, I start "Diet of Wormjs." I'm so glad this album feels a lot shorter than it is, because it was mostly just a bunch of dull, headache inducing screeches on a low volume but high pitch. I can see a bunch of dogs surrounding me wondering where the sound comes from. Yeah, the music's like a dog whistle. And then came "Music Like Escaping Gas." I think to myself I'm about to put myself through hell. It begins with the screeching noise from the last track, but put to a low and somewehat intense vibration and used in a creative way. Like, remember that weird high-pitched noise from the Alien trailer? Imagine this noise but doing that. Eventually, it gets a little more inventive and a simple, but effective guitar solo begins. Obviously, this was one of the better tracks. The cough halfway through was pointless, however. It reminded me a little of Kid A. The singing, what with the ghostly backing vocals and the deep lead vocals, were very effective towards the tension. I didn't know gas sounded so good. Next was "Rainforest," which was loud and obnoxious in comparison. The cymbals had drowned out the vast majority of instruments and I couldn't hear a thing. It didn't even slow down until halfway through. "The Fall of Saigon" was a more inventive and original track. It had an excellent structure, clever instrumentals, and a very intense aura. Then the singing began. And I was more impressed. Such a dark song. Finally, the last ttrack, also named "Testcard," started. FOPUR MINUTES OF THAT REDUNDANT BEEPING? Aye.

Well, I've gotta say the songs that were good were really good, and the songs that weren't were unnecessary. Personally, I think this should have been released as a shorter EP, or at least shown more creativity for some songs.

75/100. I've heard more than half of the experimental list. This was the worst. I'll be voting this off along with three others. Don't know what they'll be.

**Frownland** · 06-19-2016, 01:10 PM

I kind of felt the same way when I heard the experimental tracks on my first go around on the album, but I'm pretty into them now. Deceit is wildly different from the debut, just FYI.

JGuy Grungeman · 06-19-2016, 01:14 PM

Yeah, I figured as much. Despite our conversation even I can tell that wasn't close to post-punk. I'ma take a break from albums for a little bit, then I'll get on to Deciet.

**Frownland** · 06-19-2016, 01:15 PM

Deceit is definitely post punk, the debut isn't at all.

JGuy Grungeman · 06-19-2016, 01:18 PM

I know. Hell, it didn't even feel close to rock, let alone punk or post-punk. I played it because I wanted to introduce myself to the band before tackling the second. Might as well get both studio albums done today, especially since both are in the game.

Actually, that makes another rerason for this being my least favorite choice on the exp. rock list. It didn't feel like a rock album, at least not throughout.

**Frownland** · 06-19-2016, 01:21 PM

There's totally rock in it, but it's kind of hard to notice on some tracks since they...experiment...with the rock sound. So maybe this is the best candidate for the experimental rock list.

JGuy Grungeman · 06-19-2016, 01:29 PM

I suppose, but a lot of it is senseless noise that's somewhat unappealing. An album's main goal is to appeal to its target audience. I'm a fan of experimental music, and I didn't even walk into this one with a "rock" mindset at all. I mean, I am aware of its fame, but I honestly feel that Kid A is far more deserving because it manages to heavily experiment without steering away from Radiohead's rock roots. My number 1's gotta be Freak Out.

**Frownland** · 06-19-2016, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JGuy Grungeman

An album's main goal is to appeal to its target audience.

Maybe you'll see the noise as a lot less senseless over time like I did.

06-19-2016, 10:50 AM	#181 (permalink)
JGuy Grungeman Primo Celebate Sexiness Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 2,662	I actually wanted to start with this when I went over the post-punk albums. I totally brainfarted and started with Joy Division. Can I call it post-punk? I can't really "Call" it anything as it is so beneficially crazy and experimental that it seems unfair to set it under a genre tag. It has a little bit of a lot of things (post-punkl new wave, electronic, dance, funk, pop), and yet it exudes all of these diofferent aspects so well. I suppose that's what makes it a great album. I might keep it on the list for a while just due to how creative it is. I'm not sure how much of a "post-punk" album it is, but I do think it deserves a lot of credit for its creativity and variety. __________________ I'm a pretty nice troll if you ask me.

06-19-2016, 12:08 PM	#182 (permalink)
JGuy Grungeman Primo Celebate Sexiness Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 2,662	Gonna be reviewing This Heat for the Experimental round. __________________ I'm a pretty nice troll if you ask me.

06-19-2016, 01:02 PM	#183 (permalink)
JGuy Grungeman Primo Celebate Sexiness Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 2,662	This Heat by This Heat Style: Experimental Rock, Noise Release: 1979 Length: 41 min. Round: Experimental Rock I started this album to prepare for This Heat's Decieit. I'm writing this as I go along, as usual. Upon the first beep, I understood the album would be unpredictable. I think Testcard was pretty pointless as a track, but it did help set the standard for the album in a small way. The first real track, "Horizontal Hold," is the real intro. It's six minutes of unpredictable changes in time signatures and a buttload of noise-shattering, brain breaking rhythm. And I'm not saying this is bad. In fact, if that's what the album does while remaining catchy throughout, it's unique enough. I'm not really a fan of "Not Waving," however. It felt like a pointless noise for nearly 3 minutes. Than the singing began, and I was less impressed. In fact, it was actually pretty horrible. "Water" had a little bit of grip. But overall it was too short to really go anywhere. For three minutes, irt felt like an intro. So I can imagine the next song would pick it up. "Twilight Furniture" gave me what I hoped for. A little grip, a little emotion. At this point, I realized the irony of the album. Despite going so slow, the songs feel a lot shorter than they are. two minutes in, and I felt that I had barely scraped off the first minute. And by the end, this 5-minu8te track felt like 3. Track 6: "24 Track Loop." With a track title like that, I was afraid I'd be hearing the same tune in loop over and over again. However, that wasn't what the track was like at all. It had an electronic feel akin to Kraftwerk. It's actually one of the best tracks due to its experimentation and its high complexity. It gets more and more exciting throughout. Before I continue, would you eat this? Halfway through, I start "Diet of Wormjs." I'm so glad this album feels a lot shorter than it is, because it was mostly just a bunch of dull, headache inducing screeches on a low volume but high pitch. I can see a bunch of dogs surrounding me wondering where the sound comes from. Yeah, the music's like a dog whistle. And then came "Music Like Escaping Gas." I think to myself I'm about to put myself through hell. It begins with the screeching noise from the last track, but put to a low and somewehat intense vibration and used in a creative way. Like, remember that weird high-pitched noise from the Alien trailer? Imagine this noise but doing that. Eventually, it gets a little more inventive and a simple, but effective guitar solo begins. Obviously, this was one of the better tracks. The cough halfway through was pointless, however. It reminded me a little of Kid A. The singing, what with the ghostly backing vocals and the deep lead vocals, were very effective towards the tension. I didn't know gas sounded so good. Next was "Rainforest," which was loud and obnoxious in comparison. The cymbals had drowned out the vast majority of instruments and I couldn't hear a thing. It didn't even slow down until halfway through. "The Fall of Saigon" was a more inventive and original track. It had an excellent structure, clever instrumentals, and a very intense aura. Then the singing began. And I was more impressed. Such a dark song. Finally, the last ttrack, also named "Testcard," started. FOPUR MINUTES OF THAT REDUNDANT BEEPING? Aye. Well, I've gotta say the songs that were good were really good, and the songs that weren't were unnecessary. Personally, I think this should have been released as a shorter EP, or at least shown more creativity for some songs. 75/100. I've heard more than half of the experimental list. This was the worst. I'll be voting this off along with three others. Don't know what they'll be. __________________ I'm a pretty nice troll if you ask me.

06-19-2016, 01:10 PM	#184 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	I kind of felt the same way when I heard the experimental tracks on my first go around on the album, but I'm pretty into them now. Deceit is wildly different from the debut, just FYI. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

06-19-2016, 01:14 PM	#185 (permalink)
JGuy Grungeman Primo Celebate Sexiness Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 2,662	Yeah, I figured as much. Despite our conversation even I can tell that wasn't close to post-punk. I'ma take a break from albums for a little bit, then I'll get on to Deciet. __________________ I'm a pretty nice troll if you ask me.

06-19-2016, 01:15 PM	#186 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Deceit is definitely post punk, the debut isn't at all. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

06-19-2016, 01:18 PM	#187 (permalink)
JGuy Grungeman Primo Celebate Sexiness Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 2,662	I know. Hell, it didn't even feel close to rock, let alone punk or post-punk. I played it because I wanted to introduce myself to the band before tackling the second. Might as well get both studio albums done today, especially since both are in the game. Actually, that makes another rerason for this being my least favorite choice on the exp. rock list. It didn't feel like a rock album, at least not throughout. __________________ I'm a pretty nice troll if you ask me.

06-19-2016, 01:21 PM	#188 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	There's totally rock in it, but it's kind of hard to notice on some tracks since they...experiment...with the rock sound. So maybe this is the best candidate for the experimental rock list. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

06-19-2016, 01:29 PM	#189 (permalink)
JGuy Grungeman Primo Celebate Sexiness Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 2,662	I suppose, but a lot of it is senseless noise that's somewhat unappealing. An album's main goal is to appeal to its target audience. I'm a fan of experimental music, and I didn't even walk into this one with a "rock" mindset at all. I mean, I am aware of its fame, but I honestly feel that Kid A is far more deserving because it manages to heavily experiment without steering away from Radiohead's rock roots. My number 1's gotta be Freak Out. __________________ I'm a pretty nice troll if you ask me.