Album reviews updated daily

[Daysthatareover]

At the bottom of this post I'll put an example of a review we do. But if you are into this kinda thing, and if you are on this message board you clearly are.

Then you should check out my music review blog at:
http://twowaymonologues.blogspot.com

We specialize in reviewing non mainstream music, and cover all types of genres with four writers with distinctly different taste.

Feel free to leave any comments. Good or bad. And here is a review for Coheed and Cambria's latest album that was done a few days ago.

Coheed and Cambria: In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3

It begins with a phone ringing, and inevitably everyone in the room is confused. You tell them don't worry its just the CD, and strange things like this continue to happen in the COheed and Cambria album. This album is in my opinion the strangest album I bought in 2004. These guys were on Warped Tour and generally people who like them enjoy punk rock. But it is really hard to honestly make an argument for them being punk. I read an article about this band not too long ago, and I found out that every album they release is based on an alternate dimension in an alternate universe that they create and write songs about. That might explain the complexity and bizarreness of the backgrounds, and vocal pacing and basically well everything about the album. But in an unique and somewhat confusing kinda way it works. The vocals are extremely whiney, and some people might be driven to hit stop after a few minutes of them. But I pride myself on being able to appreciate almost all vocals, and I don't like giving up on an album just because a singer has a tough to swallow voice. I did that once with Oasis, and it was a huge mistake. This album stretches almost 70 minutes (altho there is a secret song so its probably more like 60 minutes of actual music) and the best way to describe Coheed and Cambria is that they take you on a journey. And if you can get past the voice, its a pretty wicked journey. Let's begin.

"In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3" is the first actual track, after a dramatic 1:30 second introduction. The aggressive power guitar cords, combined with the vocals emits a sound similar to AFI. But its all in the lyrics. This album is completely average without the lyrics. "For you i'd do anything just to make you happy, hear you tell that you're proud of me. I'd kill anything, cut the throats of babies for them break their hearts for they were them. Waiting for you to say..... I love you TOO". Immediately after this powerful and cryptic lyric, the band takes the song to a different level. Slowing down the pace, and adding an additional guitar track which is more low key, and more thoughtful. These songs... all of them seem like they would be almost impossible to duplicate the same every time live. The openess of the songs, allows every listener to choose their own focus. This song spans 8 minutes and 12 seconds, but it doesn't feel like it. It feels like the song transitions into two new songs without ever changing tracks. Kinda like what Green Day did on the most recent album, except without being so obvious about by listing it on the tracklist.

The gateway drug that got me and many others into Coheed & Cambria is "A Favor House Atlantic". This single didn't get an abundance of airplay, but if you have muchloud (like I do) it was in decent rotation. This is definitely the catchiest this band gets, so it makes sense to put it out as a single. On the other hand, the lead singer's voice cannot possibly annoy more people than it does in this song. But I love it. This is a triumphant song. After the entire album (which is really more or less a story), and all the while through the album the guy just can't seem to get the girl. He does everything he can, and has no luck. Talks about suicide, violence, depression, and all the while he keeps valiantly trying to somehow get the girl. But here is where he lets her go, "Bye bye beautiful, don't bother to write. Disturbed by your words, and they're calling all cars. Face step let down, face step .... step down." The song is also the only track under 4 minutes so if you want a dose of Coheed and Cambria but don't want the buffet. Grab this track.

"The Camper Velorium 1: Faint of Hearts" is part 1 of three songs in a row with similar titles. Of the three this is my favorite. This is like a love song on crack. With an eighties style electric guitar cock rock riff, and a background vocal track going "Coo-coo-ca-chew" (which should be lame, but it actually works.) The beauty of this album, and this track is that every time I listen to it, I find myself rocking a different part of the song. Or finding something neat in a new track. There are so many levels going on at once, that it is hard to really appreciate the complexity with just one listen. This song might have had some mild success as a single.

Not every song is a winner, and some of them aren't even close. "The Light & The Glass" which is the last actual track on the album. (Before all the crazy shit that happens in the secret tracks). Is as close as Coheed and Cambria get to being unplugged. After everything is said and done, this is kinda the "and they live happily ever-after" song. Being it as the album is supposed to play itself out as story. It doesn't work. The band has a really cool sound, and a really neat niche in the music industry. They should stick to it, because without it they kinda suck.

All in all I have to give this band credit for going for it. I mean, by releasing all their albums with this crazy idea of writing a story about an alternate dimension, and then turning it into songs and eventually an album is a trifle ambitious. But Coheed and Cambria throw caution to the wind and go for it. You have to love that kinda balls to the wall mentality. And you know what? It isn't perfect. In fact it is far from perfect, but its decent. This is a mood album for sure, you have to feel ambitious to listen to it. You need to be ready to open your mind to the music, and not doing something that is going to take a lot of your attention because the music is gripping and will distract you. I'd recommend this album, but I have come up with a litmus test that you should take before listening. Ask yourself these three questions, 1. Do I like complicated music?, 2. Can I stand fairly whiney dramatic vocals (like A.F.I. or Jimmy Eat World), 3. Are lyrics and concepts important to me with music? If you fit the bill, then get to the downloading. Silent Earth awaits.

Tracks you should download: This is more of an album. If you want to truly experience it you need to hear it as an album.

If you like this you should check out: AFI, Old Jimmy Eat World.

SCORE: 7.8 (in reviewing this album I heard it about four times this week, and that has been both a good thing and a bad thing. But this CD has lasting appeal, I know it will pop up again in my cd player for years to come.)

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[Esuohlim]

Do a review of "Lasagna" by Weird Al :D

[Helm]

It seems to me there's too many cliches in your review. I'm amazed you didn't put something like 'listening to this music is like watching a trainwreck happen in slow motion, scary, but strangely alluring' in there.

Also, Oasis?

[Rez]

i appreciate the effort, and applaud having an obvious love for music, but the rating system is more ridiculous than pitchfork. how does an album get an 8.73?????

what the hell is that "3" there for?

[Rez]

btw, that top ten list is desperately boring.

[Daysthatareover]

The rating system is easy, I rate each track individually. And then divide by track #'s.

And then adjust if I think its unfair. But I rarely have to adjust.

And as for cliches, I never really noticed that but I'll keep an eye out for them.

And beck as a #1 is boring? modest mouse, dave grohl?:)

i'd love to see yours.

[Rez]

firstly, i thought this list said "today." i hardly think "float on" or anything worse on MMs worst yet is a continuation of their greatness, which is nonexistant. dave grohl? rad. but what is he doing? beck, have you heard sea change? he's one of my first favorites but the man is doing the exact opposite of what would be considered important, reaching in deeper and deeper to make more personal music devoted to his core base, which is great (bjork is going the same route and i happen to love it) but as far as important/relevant, it's really rather losing out.

it's not about mine vs yours, it's about genres. you talk of the most important bands/artists today and instead relegate it to rock/indie music. techno enthusiasts would list matthew dear, for example. others could say LCD soundsystem or ali faka toure, for all i care. but such lists of importance or relevance would have to have a fairly lucid understanding of most genres of music, then impart their own opinion of what important means.

and goddamnit, i see this exact list 6 times a week >:

[Helm]

A record is not as important as the sum of it's songs divided by their total number. That's just stupid. If there's a very uneven record where half a side is generic drivel and the other half is simply genious, some of the best music you've ever heard. Would you generate a score of an average of 5 due to your system? A record creates a certain resonance and that should be taken into account regardless of whether the songs themselves are involving or interesting. Consistency is one thing. Mood, texture, relevance are different. The scope in which you approach the music you review is limited.

[Daysthatareover]

Not really man..... because i'll weight things differently.

For instance, lets take the review I did for Jimmy Eat World. At the end it ended up averaging a bit over 7, but the album on the whole felt far worse than that. So I dropped the rating.

You say the way I review is limited, yet the way you want to review if reverything to be either an 8 or an 8.5 or a 7 or a 7.5.

But that is far more limiting. So i hear an album and I don't think its good enough to score an 8, but it is dam close. Right away I have to drop it to a 7.5, which is really misleading because I feel its better than that.

Its like when you are in school, I'm sure if you deserved a 79 but the teacher didn't want to give you that 80, and rounded down to a 75 you wouldn't be overly impressed.

I mean to call it limiting in one breath, and then to ask for something that is far more limiting is very contradictory.

For me an album is the sum of the parts, and evne if you have one of the best songs of the year if you have two brutal songs. your album deserves to feel the wrath of that in the score.

my scoring system allows for that. most reviews do not.

[Rez]

but it really does look like douchebaggery when you think of what could be the difference between an 8.73 and an 8.75.

and you're acting like people depend on you for something, like more people read your BLOG than they actually do.

[Helm]

To be frank I don't think albums should be rated. They should be discussed on their merits and flaws and whatever, but you shouldn't stick a hard number on them and go 'you sir, deserve an eight point seventy three'. Music isn't like that. I can't rate how a record makes me feel. I can try to explain it, but to set it to some completely abstracted scale is sorta rediculous.

But yeah, enough talking, I don't think many people care about your record reviews, 7.83 or not.

[Daysthatareover]

If you can't talk about an album, and describe how you feel about it.

Then you really don't appreciate music. Someone who can truly listen to an album, and feel what the album is all about. Can talk about, and anyone else who has heard that album can read the review and feel what your talking about even though the way you describe it is somewhat bizarre or abstract.

Its basically like a percent, i score my album as a percent. with the bench marks being the number. 8 or 9 or 10 or even 7 or 6.

How close to achieiving the next benchmark is the album? if its very good but not spectacular then it is going to score somewhere between 8.5 or 9 depending on how close it is.

Its funny because its like you guys think i'm a math nerd or something, but I Hate math. I despise it, but if decimals is too complicated for the people on the board.

Then no big deal. But the same people who hate on pitchfork media and shit like that. Visit it on a regular basis.

[Rez]

it's way fucking laughable that you think music appreciation includes the ability to give a work of music a percent rating. i'll start up a fine art site and give van gogh a 7.36 because i dont like his broad and untrained paintbrush.

often when music writers ask to relate to them when they write on an album is really just a veil for a poor grasp of the english language. a lot of so-called intangible benefits of good music is understood by most anyone who likes it, and people who go "yeah, i see what you're saying" are distracted from the writer not actually being able to write clearly and instead using some absurd technique of reader participation.

no one sees you as a math head, the issue is kinda the opposite: it's how retardedly arbitrary it all seems with how you take it way seriously.

and plus the music you review is boring. i have most of these records, next.

[Daysthatareover]

I disagree completely.

There is no cash benefit out of reviewing these cds, or anything like that. sure we get a deal on the cds we r reviewing..... but thats just cuz my friend has a record store.

anyhow.....

the point is how arbitrary is a 7.5? rather than a 7.44? its either way just a number.

you dont own all these albums, stop flattering yourself

i dont own all these albums.

[Rez]

I disagree completely.

There is no cash benefit out of reviewing these cds, or anything like that. sure we get a deal on the cds we r reviewing..... but thats just cuz my friend has a record store.

anyhow.....

the point is how arbitrary is a 7.5? rather than a 7.44? its either way just a number.

you dont own all these albums, stop flattering yourself

i dont own all these albums.

i'm not interested in how or if you benefit from what you do, it's how completely ridiculous the post decimal point rating is. which then leads one to realize to how dumb giving numbers or (god forbid) letter grades are. music reviews like these make people realize that they are completely meaningless except to make us aware of new music or tell the unsure what to think of the new Streets album. if the reader knows the album which is being written about, its relevance to them is nearly zero.

and yes, i either own or have heard most of the albums you write about. >:

[Daysthatareover]

What do you think of the new Ted Leo / Kings of Convenience / Hot Water Music / Datsuns / Coheed and Cambria/ Tv on The Radio?

[Big Papa Goat]

I don't think you really care what he thinks about them :rolleyes

[Daysthatareover]

Contrary, i'd love to knwo what he thinks about them.

talking about music is one of my favorite things to do.

and since hardly anybody i know, knows of those bands.

i'd like to hear some input on them.

[Big Papa Goat]

and since hardly anybody i know, knows of those bands.



:rolleyes

[Daysthatareover]

you really dont have anything to say do u?:)

honestly.

[Rez]

not getting in a pissing contest with you, but

ted leo - i dont like the decemberists, and i dont like him

KoC - shelved them off as boring aster a couple astralwerks samplers, rather liked Oye's mix CD so i gave it another run. i was bored again :(

hot water music - havent heard of, sorry.

Datsuns - they're special in their genre of garabe-rock, which contain the loathsome vines and the tolerable Hives, but i could never dive into that stuff before.

coheed and cambria - haven't heard either, but i dont keep up with anything off of the Warped Tour, either.

TV on the Radio - goddamn fucking brilliant. completely deserved the shortlist prize, and "new health rock" is rather exciting as far as anticipating future releases.

i have a thread 1 or 2 pages back full of porly written blurbs of stuff i get excited about (or dont) if you're actually interested, i just hold you up to a higher stand because you plug yourself.

[Daysthatareover]

nice finally someone else who agrees with me on the tv on the radio shortlist prize.

i was positive franz was going to win.

but tv on the radio deserved it.

i wouldn't rush out to hear hot water music:) its not that good.

as if you dont like ted leo tho, the new album is awesome.

[Rez]

good god, fuck franz ferdinand. an entire album of "take me out" that gets really tiresome 4 songs in. DULL.

[Daysthatareover]

its not only that.

i mean i first heard franz and i was impressed. but it just seems like it has appointed as the greatest album in years.

and nobody seems to question it.

really pisses me off. have u heard the new tv on the radio disc?

i think it only has 4 songs.

i haven't had a chance as of yet.

[Rez]

it's mainly NME's fault. i hate the british press because its main over-inflated rag of a mag pumps up absolutely anyone with a glimmer of hope as the next big thing.

take an album i like. if they see a populist appeal to it, it gets a smattering of praise and vocabulary that tempts us to think it's the second coming. if not, then it invariably has some good qualities but for some ass-end reason "falls flat"

:/

the new tv on the radio disc is a three track should-be-a-friggin-promo-or-itunes-feature disc. there's "new health rock" and "modern romance" both great new tracks, and for some arbitrary reason a re-presentation of "the wrong way"

[Ninjavenom]

I agree with Helm. Numbers are arbitrary when reviewing music. The best i can do for someone is describe the album in the most imaginitive, yet accurate way possible to convey to them how the record may make them feel. Dropping names like a scenester also helps. I'm not going to look up a band unless someone tells me what they play, what it sounds like, and why i should care.

[Daysthatareover]

I should pick that up.

There was another nominee for the shortlist called Air I think?

I've never heard that cd. anyone know if they are any good?

[Helm]

Air is interesting low-key pop with a psychedelic twist. Mainly keyboard based. Not my kind of thing, really.

[Daysthatareover]

Not sure if it would be my kinda thing either.

R u into John Frusciante?

[Helm]

Your attempts to strike up conversation are ruined by your lack of understanding that around here, people that use internet abbreviations like 'r u' instead of 'are you' and keep a straight face are severily mocked. Especially people that have written four novels, was it?

[Rez]

:lol

the "talkie walkie" air album is sweet. it's always been chilled back and atmospheric, except when they went crazy and made "10,000 hz legend" which is wierd as fuck and probably their best stuff.

there were a handful of others that maybe deserved the shortlist prize, but mainly bands like fucking keane flooded the nominations.

[Daysthatareover]

I really don't care about whether or not my abbreviations bother you.

Honestly, i'm secure enough with myself that trivial bullshit like that just makes me realize how elite you feel by posting shit on the message board.

my attempts to strike conversation, might bother you since the bands I am talking about you know nothing about.

keane is another band I really hate. all in all though its hard to fault the shortlist in general. it is a cool idea and it gets a surprising amount of media coverage considering the type of bands that generally get voted for it.

unfortunately it likely won't be too many more years before that award is going to bands that never would have been considered for it previously.

[glowbelly]

i like rez.

just sayin.

[Rez]

dude, the man was joking around :/
take some advanced literature classes so you can study subject matter and tone of writing to help you spot such flippantness in the future. :(

regardless though, dont be a jerk, especially when discussing who knows what in music. it's twice you've been wrong about that in this thread.

[Rez]

i like rez.

just sayin.

and i like you too ;)

just that i seem to be someone who dont "know you" on your LJ friends list, huh? huh? yeah, i dont need no intro >: , though the pics were rad. :)

[Helm]

It's great that you accuse me of being an elitist and then basically say that 'you don't know these bands I'm talking about so shut up' in the same breath.

I really don't care about whether or not my abbreviations bother you.

Yeah, that's the spirit of i-mockery right there. You don't have to care what other people think. You're special. You're a star. You so don't care what other people think that you've got a blog in which you review bland albums in bland ways, and you spam internet message boards about it.

I didn't intend to come here to mock you, but you're just setting yourself up so much I can't help it. I mean, look at this here:

my attempts to strike conversation, might bother you since the bands I am talking about you know nothing about.

If you were talking about somebody really really obscure like Medieval Death or Moahni Moahna I'd understand that you wouldn't expect people to know who they are, but it's pushing it to assume that people don't know who the fucking guitar player of Red Hot Chilli Peppers is, (not to mention a complete brain-fried junkie zombie that referred to the World Trade Centre terrorist attack as the 'Empire State tragedy') or a band that made a high-profile soundtrack to the Virgin Suicides. That's like feeling you're really hardcore because you found this great punk band you really like, called Dead Kennedys. Maybe in your social circle, listening to anything other than mtv top 10 music makes you really hardcore awesome, but that doesn't mean everybody else on the internet that calls you on it has to be as musically retarded as them, or a late-as-hell bloomer as you.

Rez didn't want to play this game with you, but I couldn't care less either way. I listen to tons of music, different genres spanning from Bela Bartok to Zeni Geva to King Crimson, and looking at your reviews and lists, I don't think you're at any place to tell people that they don't know what they're talking about. You have horrible taste. You have delusions of being important. You're a jerk. Goodbye.

[glowbelly]

see, i was going to say just about the same thing helm did up there...but i so knew that he would say it better.

yeah, see what i mean?