Music!
I was finally able to tear myself away from the Glee soundtracks and went on a little music-buying spree. Here are a few quick reviews of my latest acquisitions:
Tear the World Down is the debut album from former Evanescence members Ben Moody, John LeCompt, and Rocky Gray, with American Idol contestant Carly Smithson on vocals and bassist Marty O'Brien rounding out the group.
Between the former Evanescence members and Smithson's superficial resemblance to Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee, comparison with that group is inevitable, and not without merit. Both groups are nu-metal, alternative rock, but the biggest difference to me is that We Are the Fallen seems to lack the Gothic vibe of Evanescence. Depending on your taste, this can be either a good or bad thing. It didn't affect my opinion either way.
I really enjoyed this album. The arrangements are sweeping and epic, the drums are sharp, the guitars snarl, the bass is heavy and thumps, and Smithson's vocals are more than a match for Lee's. The first single, Bury Me Alive, is a strong song that does a good job of displaying both the music and Smithson's voice.
Achin' and Shakin' is a 12-song album that features an interesting gimmick that I've never seen before: the first half of the record, Achin', is "the sad story of getting lost and finding oneself beyond temptation, regret, heartache, and loss," while the second half, Shakin', is "the sassy story of losing love, getting over it and finding new love again." It's an interesting concept, but one that mostly fell flat for me.
This isn't because the album is bad. Bundy, a former Broadway actress, has a good voice and sings with confidence and verve, and most of the songs themselves are good, with a nice bluesy, traditional country sound. The way the songs are presented just doesn't work for me.
I'm not a huge fan of slow songs in general, and starting off with 6 of them in a row was way too much. As good as the songs are--Drop On By and Homecoming Queen are standouts--the first half of the album drags.
Things pick up with Shakin'. Giddy On Up, about a cheating lover, starts off with an upbeat banjo solo that sets the tone for the back half of the record, which--if you'll pardon my Southerner coming out--is a foot-stompin' good time. It made me want to go to a bar, grab someone, and two-step, which...doesn't happen often. The two-stepping part, anyway.
In any case, I think this is a record that will work much better for me on Shuffle.
Full disclosure: I'm a huge Van Halen fan, particularly of the Sammy Hagar years (yes, I prefer him to David Lee Roth), so I was predisposed to like Chickenfoot. And I really like Chickenfoot.
This album doesn't do anything new. It's an old school rock album with corny lyrics, over-the-top (but awesome) vocals, and top-notch shredding by lead guitarist Joe Satriani. If you like power arena rock, you'll love Chickenfoot, but if not, you're probably better off staying away.
Brothers Adam, Ashley, and Austin Clark are former members of country act The Clark Family Experience. (Take a peek at that video. Can you believe it's only from 2000? It has not held up well.) The boys play traditional country instruments (mandolin, fiddle, dobro, lap steel guitar), and they're currently opening for Carrie Underwood on tour, but that's about as country as they get.
The best way I can think to describe Revelation is a mix of pop and smooth modern rock, with a few bluegrassy country elements thrown in for good measure. It sounds like a strange mix, and it is; though it generally works for me, I can't honestly say I have a good handle on who Sons of Sylvia is. Going for diversity is great, but in doing so, you run the risk of sounding like a directionless mess, and while that's not exactly the case here, the album as a whole is somewhat perplexing, and in all honesty, I'm not sure what to say about it.
A few songs stood out for me: John Wayne, Song of Solomon, Long Beach, and the lead single, Love Left to Lose, a track that was co-written by Clark cousin and OneRepublic front man Ryan Tedder. If nothing else, that song is worth a download.
XX is not the type of record I typically like, and because of that, I'm totally going to cheat and link to the Pitchfork review. (Don't hold the fact that it's Pitchfork against it.) There's just something about this album that really appeals to me, and it's so far off from what I usually listen to that I can't even explain why. I definitely recommend checking it out, and listening to it 2 or 3 times, as I found that I liked it more the more I heard it.
Sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire got tired of waiting for their fellow Dixie Chick, lead singer Natalie Maines, to get ready to record another album, so they formed the Court Yard Hounds as a side project in the interim. Emily took over on lead vocals, and the sisters wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, which hearkens back to their bluegrass roots and is right up my alley.
Robison and Maguire are Texans, and that comes through loud and clear in their music. The lead single, The Coast, is heavy on the acoustic guitar, fiddle, and harmonies, but what grabbed me were the lyrics: "Blue skies, green water/White birds in the air/Brown skin, blue collar/And the wind blowing in my hair." The words are simple but amazingly effective; they immediately evoked memories of long, lazy summer days spent on the Corpus Christi coast.
A few days ago, I got into a discussion over the merits (or lack thereof) of Ke$ha and her popularity with Alicia of Alicia Hearts Music. We're both music lovers, but we have pretty divergent opinions and tastes, and we had so much fun dissecting the Ke$ha phenomenon that we decided to schedule a chat to have a two-person roundtable on the state of popular music and the music industry. We're both working on different subjects to discuss, but if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear 'em! The transcript of the chat will be posted on her blog when we're done.
Tear the World Down is the debut album from former Evanescence members Ben Moody, John LeCompt, and Rocky Gray, with American Idol contestant Carly Smithson on vocals and bassist Marty O'Brien rounding out the group.
Between the former Evanescence members and Smithson's superficial resemblance to Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee, comparison with that group is inevitable, and not without merit. Both groups are nu-metal, alternative rock, but the biggest difference to me is that We Are the Fallen seems to lack the Gothic vibe of Evanescence. Depending on your taste, this can be either a good or bad thing. It didn't affect my opinion either way.
I really enjoyed this album. The arrangements are sweeping and epic, the drums are sharp, the guitars snarl, the bass is heavy and thumps, and Smithson's vocals are more than a match for Lee's. The first single, Bury Me Alive, is a strong song that does a good job of displaying both the music and Smithson's voice.
Achin' and Shakin' is a 12-song album that features an interesting gimmick that I've never seen before: the first half of the record, Achin', is "the sad story of getting lost and finding oneself beyond temptation, regret, heartache, and loss," while the second half, Shakin', is "the sassy story of losing love, getting over it and finding new love again." It's an interesting concept, but one that mostly fell flat for me.
This isn't because the album is bad. Bundy, a former Broadway actress, has a good voice and sings with confidence and verve, and most of the songs themselves are good, with a nice bluesy, traditional country sound. The way the songs are presented just doesn't work for me.
I'm not a huge fan of slow songs in general, and starting off with 6 of them in a row was way too much. As good as the songs are--Drop On By and Homecoming Queen are standouts--the first half of the album drags.
Things pick up with Shakin'. Giddy On Up, about a cheating lover, starts off with an upbeat banjo solo that sets the tone for the back half of the record, which--if you'll pardon my Southerner coming out--is a foot-stompin' good time. It made me want to go to a bar, grab someone, and two-step, which...doesn't happen often. The two-stepping part, anyway.
In any case, I think this is a record that will work much better for me on Shuffle.
Full disclosure: I'm a huge Van Halen fan, particularly of the Sammy Hagar years (yes, I prefer him to David Lee Roth), so I was predisposed to like Chickenfoot. And I really like Chickenfoot.
This album doesn't do anything new. It's an old school rock album with corny lyrics, over-the-top (but awesome) vocals, and top-notch shredding by lead guitarist Joe Satriani. If you like power arena rock, you'll love Chickenfoot, but if not, you're probably better off staying away.
Brothers Adam, Ashley, and Austin Clark are former members of country act The Clark Family Experience. (Take a peek at that video. Can you believe it's only from 2000? It has not held up well.) The boys play traditional country instruments (mandolin, fiddle, dobro, lap steel guitar), and they're currently opening for Carrie Underwood on tour, but that's about as country as they get.
The best way I can think to describe Revelation is a mix of pop and smooth modern rock, with a few bluegrassy country elements thrown in for good measure. It sounds like a strange mix, and it is; though it generally works for me, I can't honestly say I have a good handle on who Sons of Sylvia is. Going for diversity is great, but in doing so, you run the risk of sounding like a directionless mess, and while that's not exactly the case here, the album as a whole is somewhat perplexing, and in all honesty, I'm not sure what to say about it.
A few songs stood out for me: John Wayne, Song of Solomon, Long Beach, and the lead single, Love Left to Lose, a track that was co-written by Clark cousin and OneRepublic front man Ryan Tedder. If nothing else, that song is worth a download.
XX is not the type of record I typically like, and because of that, I'm totally going to cheat and link to the Pitchfork review. (Don't hold the fact that it's Pitchfork against it.) There's just something about this album that really appeals to me, and it's so far off from what I usually listen to that I can't even explain why. I definitely recommend checking it out, and listening to it 2 or 3 times, as I found that I liked it more the more I heard it.
Sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire got tired of waiting for their fellow Dixie Chick, lead singer Natalie Maines, to get ready to record another album, so they formed the Court Yard Hounds as a side project in the interim. Emily took over on lead vocals, and the sisters wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, which hearkens back to their bluegrass roots and is right up my alley.
Robison and Maguire are Texans, and that comes through loud and clear in their music. The lead single, The Coast, is heavy on the acoustic guitar, fiddle, and harmonies, but what grabbed me were the lyrics: "Blue skies, green water/White birds in the air/Brown skin, blue collar/And the wind blowing in my hair." The words are simple but amazingly effective; they immediately evoked memories of long, lazy summer days spent on the Corpus Christi coast.
A few days ago, I got into a discussion over the merits (or lack thereof) of Ke$ha and her popularity with Alicia of Alicia Hearts Music. We're both music lovers, but we have pretty divergent opinions and tastes, and we had so much fun dissecting the Ke$ha phenomenon that we decided to schedule a chat to have a two-person roundtable on the state of popular music and the music industry. We're both working on different subjects to discuss, but if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear 'em! The transcript of the chat will be posted on her blog when we're done.