Wednesday, June 28. 2006
Billy Talent
Billy Talent II
Atlantic Records/Warner Music Canada
Every song on the album is strong. Every song on the album is angst-ridden, angry, or jaded. Ben Kowalewicz's nasal vocals and larynx bruising screams are in fine form.
For me the shining star in this band is guitarist Ian D'sa. His machine gun riffing style is unique and he somehow manages to make a chimey clean guitar sound incredibly heavy as it teeters on the edge of breaking up. With the exception of the fuzzed-out tone on "Devil in a Midnight Mass," Ian's heavy tone allows every note to be heard and the cool chord inversions don't just disappear under a wall of distortion.
That being said, "Devil in a Midnight Mass" does feature what has to be one of the heaviest guitar riffs ever recorded.
"Pins and Needles" and "Surrender" are the closest Billy Talent get to a ballad. They don't get too close though.
"Worker Bees" has anthem written all over it. I can't wait to hear it live.
So much for the sophomore jinx. Canada's Billy Talent have taken their unique music style and crafted a solid second effort. Billy Talent II isn't noticeably different from their self titled debut, but you know what? Who gives a fuck?
High Points:
The whole damn thing!
Saturday, June 24. 2006
Montreal boys the Stills used Vice records as a catalyst to their fame to break out to the scenesters far and wide (well, in Canada at least) with their debut Logic Will Break Your Heart. It had a sweet sound that wasn't very out of the ordinary, but when the sometimes dark and heartbreaking lyrics drenched in honesty hit you, it was addictive. They sang about love, drugs and sex, typical rock star themes, but somehow you could relate to it. You could lie back and listen to that record and let the imagery flood your mind, and every song could be a soundtrack to one night or another.
So when the Stills finally got around to putting out their second album, there were high expectations to deliver an album as real and personal as the first. Alas, Without Feathers came out a little under par after the band played musical chairs and let the hype of Logic go to their heads. Moving Dave Hamelin from drums to vocalist/guitarist and losing a lot of their charm, the Stills were back with their second album. It opens with a build up of guitar that slowly adds keyboard and other things into the mix, to a very pop melody that is deadened by Dave's flat vocals. The lyrics are mostly repetitive and nowhere near as touching as before; as well as the musical aspects being less innovative than Logic. With "Oh Shoplifter" and "It Takes Time" both having upbeat fairly danceable music but with lyrics that get almost annoying, the songs are ruined. Other songs drone on a little too long, with either poor song writing or Dave's voice simply being a little too much to handle in such a large dose, overall making the album less than impressive.
The band describes it as their journey through dealing with fame and breakups with girlfriends and the like, all things which typically could make a changed band with a great, matured second album, but The Stills seem to have lost their touch. Their charm of cleverly talking about girls and their virginity, night clubs and death is lost in poor singing and song writing, with boring music underneath it all, even on tracks that attempt to revive their dance rock vibe. As with every record there are a couple exceptions, such as "Helicopters" which may be explained by the fact that original Stills singer Tim is taking care of the lead vocals. "Helicopters" is a long buildup of pulsing guitar and the sorrow filled question "Why do you take this so hard?" that rocks out at the end and the vibe of the whole song is almost like a throwback to the feel of the debut album. Great for dancing without needing any sort of electro beats as well, which makes it superb. It is followed by "In The End" a ballad about an unattainable, lonely girl but finishes up with fun keyboard melodies and with Tim's vocals making it much more listenable, this is another great track to give a little bit of merit to Without Feathers. A few other tracks are fun, but overall the album has taken a slide downhill, which probably doesn't lead to anything else noteworthy coming from the Stills boys anytime in the near future.
Wednesday, June 14. 2006
It's hard to imagine that a remake of the old Kansas chestnut "Dust in the Wind" could find new life as an indie/alt rock vocal over an eletcro-tech-trance-house dance beat. And even more bizarre, that it would be so fucking good.
But San Francisco dj/producer duo Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden do all that and more on their debut album Organized Nature. From the massive club hit "Tracking Treasure Down" (don't miss the Francis Preve remix) to standout tracks like "One Step Closer" and "Enemy," this scorching mix of vintage guitar, high tech gadgetry, powerful lyrics, and engaging melodies is kicking dance floor ass all over the US and Europe.
Vocals on "Dust in the Wind," "One Step Closer," and two other songs are handled by Atlanta's indie rock vocalist Molly Bancroft, and four others, including "Enemy" are sung by London-based Josh Burton, whose voice at times bears an uncanny resemblance to that of David Sylvian.
It's true that Gabriel & Dresden are best known for producing the massive trance hits "As the Rush Comes" by Motorcycle and "Way Out West" by Mindcircus, but a little trance goes a long way with me, and I loved this album. Although frankly dance music and certainly electronic, it plays with the boundaries of many genres, including rock and pop, for a sound that's easily recognizable as their own.
Gabriel & Dresden have also done remixing chores on songs by Annie Lennox, Dido, Sarah McLachlan, Depeche Mode, and a number of other artists. This is the first release on their own label, also called "Organized Nature."
By the way, you don't have to take my word for it... the album is streaming free here.
Sunday, June 11. 2006
It's awfully hard to think of any band that sounds stranger than Primus, but Primus frontman Les Claypool apparently finds even Primus too constricting at times. Thus begat Les' latest solo project "Of Whales and Woe."
This disc is a lot like eating sushi with a a variety of tastes and textures, flavors and smells. Some of the dishes you want to go back for seconds on, others just may not be your thing. Certainly his music is not designed to appeal to the great unwashed masses, but to push the boundaries of what music is and what it is composed of at the nuclear level.
My best description aurally of this new release is that of an MTV deathmatch between Primus and the Mothers of Invention with the blow-by-blow commentary provided by Buck Owens of Hee-Haw and a guest appearance by Ravi Shankar. Les is flat out all over the place on this disc as usual (was that a theremin I heard?), and being un-bounded by the restrictions (?) of Primus, it gets kinda funky and kinda freaky.
Some of the tunes are annoying at best, filler at most, some of them are wonderfully bouncy and funky. "Vernon The Company Man" is a strange tale with some odd sitar work. "Iowan Gal" is a bluegrass tune that left its harmony in my head and took days to shake. The song "Nothing Ventured" sounds like a something taken from the King Crimson's Discipline song book . "Of Whales and Woe" and "Phantom Patriot" have a Mothers-esque vibe that is helped by some neat xylaphone work. "One Better" and "Rumble of the Deisel" are just flat out funky in a Parliment/Funkadelic meets Zappa kind of way. "Robot Chicken" is pure Primus and "Filipino Ray" and "Off White Guilt" have some of the wickedest bass riffs you'll ever hear.
Not for beginners, Les Claypool is definitely an aquired taste.
Favorites:
One Better
Nothing Ventured
Rumble of the Deisel
Monday, June 5. 2006
Cannibal Corpse, the forefathers of death metal as we know it, are back with a vengeance. Kill is hard. Not like Cannibal was ever pussified, but this one is hard. It starts off like a punch in the chops and a kick in the nether regions and does not let up. Hearing it, I yearn for the hella pits I have been in. As I have said before I always worry when a band I have loved for a long time starts releasing things these days. Are they going to change? Well Cannibal has proven that they, much like a good whiskey, only get better with age.
This album brought back they days of Eaten Back to Life for me for some reason. Hard, fast, and straight in your face. They show the delicate balance between death and nlack metal.
I really liked some of the changes between the chunk guitar and an almost melodic tone on both "Murder Worship", "5 Nails In Your Neck" and "Necrosadistic Warning," however, the pauses in "Necrosadisitic Warning" left me bored (a second of silence in the pure aggression that is Cannibal). The solo, though, was lovely.
The drumming is flawless. Double bass that when turned up can make your heart stop.
The first video and single off this album is "Make Them Suffer," a kick ass song. Over the years, I have always defended the aggression of the land of death metal, and recently some of the newer acts are too busy sounding evil in their growls while losing themselves completely lyrically. That is one thing I have always adored about Cannibal, be it back in the Chris Barnes days or present. They don't try too hard to be what they are, they just be.
Whatever mix that is needed to create the perfect death metal band has always been present in the land of Cannibal Corpse.
Favorite Tracks:
Time to Kill is Now
Purification By Fire
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