We should tell each other why to listen to albums

[bmack86]

We've got the young'un's guide and the Tell us About thread, but I feel like it'd be fun to have a thread where we just review albums we listen to, not tied to a specific year or a large number of releases.

Inspired by me listening to records and wanting to tell people about how awesome they are.

[welgo800]

k.....you go first!!!

[bmack86]

Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound (2007, Touch and Go Records)



I don't remember the first time I heard Shellac, but the first time I fell in love with them was when I first heard The End of Radio, the first track on Excellent Italian Greyhound, their fourth album. Over slow, plucked bass stabs and snare drum attacks, Steve Albini rants and raves as the last radio announcer on earth, broadcasting to an empty planet. It's 10 minutes long, it's hilarious and it sounds completely vicious. Live they switch up the lyrics and turn it into a massive churning beast; the recording isn't as powerful, but it's still something to behold. I love how metallic and tense the instruments all sound; the recording is excellent throughout the album and every instrument stands on its own exceptionally well. After the 10 minute intro, the rest of the first side of the album sticks to the tried-and-true Shellac formula: loud guitars, nimble bass singing and yelling ridiculous and sometimes hilarious lyrics and some of the best drumming. Steady as she Goes and Be Prepared are both energetic and fierce tracks. Be Prepared, in particular, starts and stops with precision as Steve and bassist Bob Weston swap vocals and heavy riffs. Elephant, which closes out the first side, has some really great guitar work. Side two starts off with the boring twin of The End of Radio. Genuine Lullabelle is largely Albini talking over silence, without most of his humor and no real direction. It's infinitely skippable until some decent riffs at the very end. Kittypants is a really out-of-character instrumental, with clean tones and a pretty guitar melody. Boycott sounds like mid-90s era Fugazi, and has a lyrical shout out to the band: "Here comes the argument." It's a fun but not overly memorable track. The last two tracks are both fun bashers.

So basically, the first half is prime Shellac, raging and focused, hilarious and biting, tense and together. The second half is them stretching around and flailing about, sometimes to cool affect but rarely to great results. If you don't know Shellac, you should start elsewhere, but you need to hear The End of Radio right now. And go see them live: they've got to have a new album coming soon with all the new tracks they played live last year.

Grade: B

[bmack86]

Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That (2008, Kill Rock Stars)



I forget how hard Marnie Stern shreds. Her last album was more tame and focused on the songwriting, and her first album was pretty much a wankfest, but the second one is where she really balanced the two opposing forces to great force. She makes like a punk rock Eddie Van Halen, finger tapping the shit out of some really knotty yet catchy hard-driving indie rock songs. Zach Hill from Hella and general awesomeness plays drums, and the whole album is just these two virtuosos slinging their skills over some really well written songs. Transformer, Shea Stadium and The Crippled Jazzer are three of the best-written post-punk tracks to come out of the 2000s, with her slightly nasal voice fitting well into the shouted melodies and rhythmic chants. Much of the album consists of impressively speedy guitar work used to create an atmosphere rather than to bask in technicality, which really makes for a great flow. Most of the songs are strikingly original, and I struggle to find any apt comparison outside of Lightning Bolt meets Van Halen. Highly recommended.

Grade: A

[Still-ill]

Thumbs up

[buddy]

I did both of these in the Country thread, and they're just both damn good albums that deserve a listen. The links for them are in group.

Newbury considered himself more of a Folk artist than a traditional Country artist, and was responsible for encouraging "Outlaw Country" musicians, such as Townes Van Zandt, and Kris Kristofferson in their own music. This is the last of his albums that has been known as his trilogy that began with It Looks Like Rain. Newbury's music is parts Gospel hymms, Folk, and Country, but above all a singular work.

Grade A

Although, recorded in a bar/music venue, once Van Zandt begins the audience is completely captivated throughout, and subsequently show their appreciation after every song. It's a truly great songwriter at work, who should be considered along the greats, such as Hank Williams, and Leonard Cohen in term of a lyrical standpoint. Van Zandt is also a great showman seamlessly lightening the mood at times with jokes that help to lighten the mood of songs that carry a deep meaning.

Grade A

[SoulDischarge]

You should listen to Save Yourself by the Make-Up because it's a perfect album. It was their final album, and their best. Formed after the dissolution of the great post-hardcore free jazz tongue in cheek hip prophets Nation Of Ulysses, the Make-Up became a place for members of that band to further explore the gospel and soul influences that were hidden under the surface of all the frantic punk fury of the NoU. After lots of dicking around, some of it quite inspired, they finally whittled down their core aesthetic to nine impeccably written gems for their swan song. "Save Yourself" is a love letter from the creature to Dr. Frankenstein that is simultaneously moody, funky, sexy, rocking and hilarious. Much of the rest of the rest of the album manages to pull off a similar synthesis. There are groovy rockers like "White Belts," with its white boy funk, the ambiguous gospel testimonial "The Prophet," and 60's soul/garage rock hybrid "C'mon Let's Spawn," which celebrates the joys of being a big fish in a small pond. Ian Svenonious gets to pull out his ridiculous but somehow totally convincing seductive crooner persona on the atmospheric slow jams "The Bells" and "I Am Pentagon," without a doubt the damn sexiest song ever written about math. Then there's just straight out weirdo anthems like "Call Me Mommy" and the nervous indie funk of "Feelin' Man." They end the whole thing with an extended take on the garage rock classic "Hey Joe," which devolves into a full on freak out by the song's end. If you're a fan of Beck's Midnite Vultures, but want an indie smart ass take on black music that's a little more effortless in it's emulation and more indebted to the 60s than the 80s, this is the album for you. Or if you just like great indie rock tunes with a sexy smirk, don't hesitate. Also, they just re-united, so what better time to discover this too often neglected classic?

[FEELS]

this thread is going to be reallly great. Downloading all of those since I haven't heard any of them, thanks guys.

[bmack86]

One thing I hope people will do is get inspired, listen to an album, and put up their own reviews. Music is better in conversation than in a vacuum.

[zircona1]

IRT bmack

I thought Shellac's 1000 Hurts was disappointing, I got it b/c 'Prayer to God' is one of my favorite songs ever. I didn't expect all the songs to be like that one, but most of the other songs didn't really go anywhere, they just kind of stood there and spun in place. I'll check out 'The End of Radio'.

That Marnie Stern album has a couple of awesome tracks, but also a few duds.

[PassiveTheory]

Music is better in conversation than in a vacuum.

Unfortunately it's fairly difficult to write about music without sounding either unintelligent or completely uninspired (case in point, the Junior Boys' review from 5 years ago that I get mocked for to this day). That being said, I'd almost rather just elect some people to write reviews and read their reviews than contribute. Why? Because that way we wouldn't have to deal with the more vocally pissed off members of the board destroying threads like this with a bunch of put-downs of reviews that (in all honesty) are lackluster.

Especially since this thread might end up being difficult to organize (unless someone wants to take up the task of archiving every single review like in the young'uns thread), I'd be down for a "Bmack reviews records thread" and a slew of other singular approved author threads that keep things organized and coherent. At least I could count on the readability/quality of the thread instead of a "EVERYONE REVIEW RECORDS" one.

[kreutz2112]

Jesus. You've gotten worse in your old age. This isn't a fucking professional music criticism site. We're just talking about music. We know each others taste. No one is going to make fun of reviews and if they do then the review probably deserved it and/or the reviewer can defend him/herself.

tl;dr version: Shut the fuck up.

[Newro7ic]

Unfortunately it's fairly difficult to write about music without sounding either unintelligent or completely uninspired (case in point, the Junior Boys' review from 5 years ago that I get mocked for to this day). That being said, I'd almost rather just elect some people to write reviews and read their reviews than contribute. Why? Because that way we wouldn't have to deal with the more vocally pissed off members of the board destroying threads like this with a bunch of put-downs of reviews that (in all honesty) are lackluster.

Especially since this thread might end up being difficult to organize (unless someone wants to take up the task of archiving every single review like in the young'uns thread), I'd be down for a "Bmack reviews records thread" and a slew of other singular approved author threads that keep things organized and coherent. At least I could count on the readability/quality of the thread instead of a "EVERYONE REVIEW RECORDS" one.

I've enjoyed all the reviews thus far, but this one was just horrible. Hopefully there are no more like this.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Great idea Bryan!

I often find myself wanting to talk about random albums and the default music thread just doesn't get enough activity.

Also, I LOVE that Marnie Stern album.

[roberto73]

Solid idea. I've often considered trying to revive the Music Lounge BMOTW thread, but I know I don't have the tenacity to post even a week's worth of reviews. As with many things in my life, my inspiration is more ambitious than my work ethic. Anyway, this thread will let me post reviews whenever I'm not feeling lazy.

[bmack86]

Unfortunately it's fairly difficult to write about music without sounding either unintelligent or completely uninspired (case in point, the Junior Boys' review from 5 years ago that I get mocked for to this day).

Just write about what the music does to you and it'll come across well. Oh, and we still laugh because of the absurdity of predating Justin's Sexyback faze, even though it was an apt description. Just because it's ridiculously funny doesn't mean it wasn't also a way to describe what you meant, and I got it.

So basically, I give your complaint a D and say you should review some albums Lee.

[afox19]

I'm psyched I stumbled on this thread. Basically, I've been wanting to tell everyone how phenomenal this album is, but no one cares. Hell, Spin/Pitchfork didn't even review it, and they review everything.



I'm not going to bore you with a history of the band, or talk about their previous, more well known releases, or do a track by track listing complete with YTs. To me, this is an example of a band refusing to rest on their laurels (yes, I know they have a minimal amount of laurels [laurelettes?]) - but heading off in a somewhat different direction for a new album. With a new guitarist on board, they've captured a distinctive sound with Odd Soul. Some of the other reviews I read said it channeled Black Keys and Radiohead, but to really get a sense of the variety, you just have to check the Spotify 'similar artists' list:

Explosions in the Sky
Thrice
M83
Metric

I personally don't find those comparisons apt, but it gives you a sense of how hard it is to pin these tracks down. My personal favorites are Quarantine, Walking Paranoia, Allies, and One More. These are all great examples of songs building and building until the listener snaps to and has the 'wow, how did we get here!' moment. One of my favorite experiences in listening to music.

Plus, as a bonus, they put on a filthy live show, as anyone who saw them at Coachella 2010 can attest. I get the sense that many on this board have heard 'Typical' and written off MM as standard mainstream alt rock. Or maybe everyone just thinks they suck, and in that case, oh well. But if you haven't heard any of this album, give it a shot. You might not love it, but I'm pretty sure you won't hate it. How's the for an endorsement??

[bmack86]

I haven't really enjoyed a Mutemath album yet, but hot dam do they put on a great live show. I was absolutely astounded when my dad and I saw them recently. He's a huge fan and he said they played a good majority of their material. I do know they played over 2 hours and were so full of energy.

[bmack86]

The Monk - Black Monk Time (1965, Infinite Zero)



Do you remember how punk rock is full of energy and don't-give-a-fuck attitude? And how people thought that really was a product of the late 70s response to economic downturn and social upheaval? Well, turns out being stationed in Germany in the early 60s as part of the US Army disenfranchised people pretty well. Cue The Monks, five American servicemen who decamped to Hamburg, Germany, cut their hair into monk tonsures, wore the robes and played the most demented 60s scuzz garage rock you'll ever hear. Monk Time alone is worth the whole record, with a batshit insane rant from Gary, the singer, a pulsing organ riff and so much energy it jumps off the turntable. Every song is like that, and you'll be amazed to realize that, unlike almost every other band that sounded this way, they were contemporaries of the Velvet Underground and the Doors, and were not familiar whatsoever with their styles. You like good music? IT'S MONK TIME.

Grade: A

[SoulDischarge]

Prove to me a better song has ever been recorded:



You can't, can you? Admit defeat and stand in awe of the annihilating power of the Monks.

[bmack86]

1965. Fuck you, Beatles.

[SlowMotionApocalypse]

Possibly my 2nd favorite album of the 1990's. While a lot of their stuff is boring art rock, with this release they seem to totally nail that Black Crowes sound down hard. This band should have targeted the HORDE festival crowd during this era to attain greater popularity. This was great to get stoned to back when I got stoned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thank_Y..._Trux_album%29

[FEELS]

Prove to me a better song has ever been recorded:



You can't, can you? Admit defeat and stand in awe of the annihilating power of the Monks.

ahh this is fuckin amazing! & pretty insane it's from the mid 60's

[guedita]

I fully support this thread.

I also need to be pointed in the direction of PassiveTheory's tragic Junior Boys album review. Help a brotha out.

[icedKeg]

I'd like to thank buddy for the Townes Van Zandt posting.
Thanks buddy.

[SoulDischarge]

I fully support this thread.

I also need to be pointed in the direction of PassiveTheory's tragic Junior Boys album review. Help a brotha out.

http://www.coachella.com/forum/showt...905#post988905 It's just the "cool and swagger" part everyone remembers.

[TomAz]

I fully support this thread.

I have listened to this album about once a month for the past year:



One of the appeals to me about this album is that it is very easy for me to picture it being a bootleg of a Coachella set with Elvis & band in their prime. So in that respect it functions as a sort of time machine. But instead of taking me into the past, it brings them into the present, and, you know, it works really well.

This set was recorded at the tail end of the phenomenal This Years Model tour, before the release of Armed Forces, but includes early versions of a few AF songs including a stunning piano-and-vocal version of "Accidents Will Happen" as the opener. The first half of the set is quite good, but you can really feel the band gain momentum and just tear through the latter songs. The 7 songs that close the album are so some of the best live recorded music you will ever hear.

Grade: A+

(Note: there are some who will argue that Live at the El Mocambo is a better document of this tour, but I disagree -- and I've listened to both records many times. The Hollywood High set has more songs, better sound, and includes material from Armed Forces. El Mocambo is a ferocious record, yes, but you have to put up with one guy in the audience [now infamous among Costello fans] who was particularly loud and must have been standing right by the floor mics -- it really gets annoying. As one guy on a Costello site put it when Mocambo was re-released: "Will they edit out the annoying screaming guy? Is so I better get this")

[TomAz]

Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That (2008, Kill Rock Stars)

So I got Marnie Stern a while back because I decided she was someone I would like. I found it almost unlistenable -- the guitar playing is cool, but the breathy vocals and brittle bassless sound were grating to me. Is this record better?

[TomAz]

Also, buddy's exactly right about that Townes Van Zandt record. It's really great and better than any of his studio albums.

[rage patton]

I don't care much for Marnie Sterns other two albums, but that record is absolutely fantastic.