Fuck you.
Sincerely,
Lucas Thurston.
Sunday 15 February 2009
Thursday 12 February 2009
Music Review: Blood Bank EP - Bon Iver
It's almost been a year since the release of Bon Iver's debut release, For Emma, Forever Ago. About three months ago I finally picked it up and gave it a listen. I think it's a great album, maybe not as great as some reviewers said, but a very solid and touching album. You could say I wasn't particularly excited for this release but I was interested in hearing where Bon Iver had gone since last year.
The EP starts off with the title track, a subdued sombre piece, classic Bon Iver. The song slowly builds to something of a climax, though still a subdued one. It ends with quiet guitar feedback and some static buzz. This is definitely the highlight of these four songs. "Blood Bank" sounded like the
Bon Iver that we all know but progressing slightly.
The next song, "Beach Baby", really isn't that interesting. It's just an acoustic song, nothing more. The playing is adequate and it has the signature beautiful singing voice, but it just doesn't add anything.
"Babys" is a song I really like. It has piano riff that really reminds me off Sigur Ros mixed with Arcade Fire. It just has this really uplifting feeling, it just repeats and repeats, getting slightly more intense as it goes. It's the kind of music you want to run down the street to.
Right, I'm just going to come out and say that I hate vocoders/auto-tune, and Bon Iver doesn't make me hate them any less. It just sounds like he decided to mess around with auto-tune and record it. It adds nothing to the EP and ends up just being irritating.
In the end only half of this EP is really worth listening to. Two promising songs, 1 mediocre, and 1 actually awful song. But fear not, the "Blood Bank" and "Babys" are promising enough that one should definitely look forward to the next Bon Iver release. Let's just hope he doesn't try to be Kayne next time.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
Tracklisting:
1. Blood Bank
2. Beach Baby
3. Babys
4. Woods
-Lucas Thurston
The EP starts off with the title track, a subdued sombre piece, classic Bon Iver. The song slowly builds to something of a climax, though still a subdued one. It ends with quiet guitar feedback and some static buzz. This is definitely the highlight of these four songs. "Blood Bank" sounded like the
Bon Iver that we all know but progressing slightly.
The next song, "Beach Baby", really isn't that interesting. It's just an acoustic song, nothing more. The playing is adequate and it has the signature beautiful singing voice, but it just doesn't add anything.
"Babys" is a song I really like. It has piano riff that really reminds me off Sigur Ros mixed with Arcade Fire. It just has this really uplifting feeling, it just repeats and repeats, getting slightly more intense as it goes. It's the kind of music you want to run down the street to.
Right, I'm just going to come out and say that I hate vocoders/auto-tune, and Bon Iver doesn't make me hate them any less. It just sounds like he decided to mess around with auto-tune and record it. It adds nothing to the EP and ends up just being irritating.
In the end only half of this EP is really worth listening to. Two promising songs, 1 mediocre, and 1 actually awful song. But fear not, the "Blood Bank" and "Babys" are promising enough that one should definitely look forward to the next Bon Iver release. Let's just hope he doesn't try to be Kayne next time.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
Tracklisting:
1. Blood Bank
2. Beach Baby
3. Babys
4. Woods
-Lucas Thurston
Tuesday 10 February 2009
Music Review: Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
So, I sat down and put my headphones on. I started listening to this album, with only Lucas' thoughts on what it could was like: "It's bad. Save yourself the trouble of even listening to it!" Well, Lucas, I've got news for you! I'm listening to Tonight: Franz Ferdinand!
But it seems to me Lucas speaks in half-truths. Or perhaps, I should model my distaste for this album with a GRAPH?
See that bump in the middle there? Thats the song "Bite Hard", the only worthwhile track on the album. Other than that, every single song is a funky bass riff, some chords, and an unmemorable phrase repeated over and over again as the chorus. Example!
"Ulysses": Lets get high
"Turn It On": I know you turn it on, yeah
And many others, which I don't care to go through as of now, because that would be giving my ears a lesson in repetition. Now, the songs themselves are pretty alright, if not formulaic, but I'm willing to take a bet that most (and I know there's always an exception) people won't want to listen to the same thing for 42 minutes and 38 seconds. However, if Franz Ferdinand released an album that was just their bass riffs, my money would be in their pocket faster than you could say "funk".
Avid listeners of Franzie may notice that the demo "Can't Stop Feeling" made the cut onto the album. Avid listeners, heed my call! Stick with the demo, even if the copy you have has a crappy bitrate. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand's mix of this song completely took what was good about it (the classic, dancey Franz Ferdinand) and replaced it with what is new (the modern, we're-trying-to-be-different-but-we're-doing-it-wrong Franz Ferdinand). This album's cut of "Lucid Dreams" also replaced the climactic buildup with something much more disappointing. It just kind of, switched and petered out. Words cannot describe the look on my face when I was thinking "Oh man! 'Lucid Dreams' cannot be ruined! It was SOLID" and was proved wrong by Franz Ferdinand once again.
OBLIGATORY RATING OUT OF 5: approaches 2 but will never reach it out of 5
I haven't gotten the hang of ending blog posts yet, so heres a happy image I drew to counteract the latest Franz Ferdinand outing:
But it seems to me Lucas speaks in half-truths. Or perhaps, I should model my distaste for this album with a GRAPH?
See that bump in the middle there? Thats the song "Bite Hard", the only worthwhile track on the album. Other than that, every single song is a funky bass riff, some chords, and an unmemorable phrase repeated over and over again as the chorus. Example!"Ulysses": Lets get high
"Turn It On": I know you turn it on, yeah
And many others, which I don't care to go through as of now, because that would be giving my ears a lesson in repetition. Now, the songs themselves are pretty alright, if not formulaic, but I'm willing to take a bet that most (and I know there's always an exception) people won't want to listen to the same thing for 42 minutes and 38 seconds. However, if Franz Ferdinand released an album that was just their bass riffs, my money would be in their pocket faster than you could say "funk".
Avid listeners of Franzie may notice that the demo "Can't Stop Feeling" made the cut onto the album. Avid listeners, heed my call! Stick with the demo, even if the copy you have has a crappy bitrate. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand's mix of this song completely took what was good about it (the classic, dancey Franz Ferdinand) and replaced it with what is new (the modern, we're-trying-to-be-different-but-we're-doing-it-wrong Franz Ferdinand). This album's cut of "Lucid Dreams" also replaced the climactic buildup with something much more disappointing. It just kind of, switched and petered out. Words cannot describe the look on my face when I was thinking "Oh man! 'Lucid Dreams' cannot be ruined! It was SOLID" and was proved wrong by Franz Ferdinand once again.
OBLIGATORY RATING OUT OF 5: approaches 2 but will never reach it out of 5
I haven't gotten the hang of ending blog posts yet, so heres a happy image I drew to counteract the latest Franz Ferdinand outing:
Monday 9 February 2009
Music Review: Merriweather Post Pavillion - Animal Collective
I'll say it right now. I am in love with Animal Collective. So far, by any of the changes they've made in their music, I have yet to be alienated. I admit though, "Winter Wonderland" from Strawberry Jam did have me worried. I mean it sounded just as weird as the Animal Collective I have grown to love, but there was something a little too poppy about it. That being said, Merriweather Post Pavillion has some of the best "pop songs" that have been written in years.
Now don't let that scare you away. Merriweather is still an acid trip and a half, it just happens to be fucking catchy at the same time. Many of the tracks just make you want to do more than just nod your head and shyly tap your feet. No, many of these songs don't ask, they demand you stand up and shamelessly dance infront of your family and friends. When the claps kick in on the chorus of the masterpiece that is "My Girls", it makes you wonder why this isn't played in every club across the nation.
"Brothersport" is yet another pop song on heavy hallucinogens. The song starts off with Panda Bear singing a catchy tune, then it moves into an experimental breakdown until the original tune finds its way back, slowly building and building, working itself into a fervor until it explodes into an enormous dance party in your headphones.
"In The Flowers" exhibits the giddy Animal Collective we are all accustomed to, with one of the most psychedelic synths I've heard in a while, and "No More Runnin'" is the slow moving chill-out staple of the album.
Panda Bear was quoted saying that he believed this is Animal Collective's best record so far. Do I agree? It's hard to say when a band changes their sound every album, but it's definitely up there. Merriweather Post Pavillion is perfectly produced, each song has sparkling highs and booming bass hits. Every piece of the album sonically jumps out and makes itself known. There isn't a track that could be called filler, each song fits onto the album without sounding too similar to eachother.
If you are going to listen to an album this year that has a man shouting "lyin' in a coma" make it this one.
Rating: 5/5
-Lucas Thurston
Now don't let that scare you away. Merriweather is still an acid trip and a half, it just happens to be fucking catchy at the same time. Many of the tracks just make you want to do more than just nod your head and shyly tap your feet. No, many of these songs don't ask, they demand you stand up and shamelessly dance infront of your family and friends. When the claps kick in on the chorus of the masterpiece that is "My Girls", it makes you wonder why this isn't played in every club across the nation.
"Brothersport" is yet another pop song on heavy hallucinogens. The song starts off with Panda Bear singing a catchy tune, then it moves into an experimental breakdown until the original tune finds its way back, slowly building and building, working itself into a fervor until it explodes into an enormous dance party in your headphones.
"In The Flowers" exhibits the giddy Animal Collective we are all accustomed to, with one of the most psychedelic synths I've heard in a while, and "No More Runnin'" is the slow moving chill-out staple of the album.
Panda Bear was quoted saying that he believed this is Animal Collective's best record so far. Do I agree? It's hard to say when a band changes their sound every album, but it's definitely up there. Merriweather Post Pavillion is perfectly produced, each song has sparkling highs and booming bass hits. Every piece of the album sonically jumps out and makes itself known. There isn't a track that could be called filler, each song fits onto the album without sounding too similar to eachother.
If you are going to listen to an album this year that has a man shouting "lyin' in a coma" make it this one.
Rating: 5/5
-Lucas Thurston
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