k4's Music Corner

Discussion in 'Music and Recordings' started by k4rstar, Jan 3, 2017.

  1. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    Index
    Entry 1: Metric (01/03/2017)
    Entry 2: D.A.R.K. - Science Agrees (01/12/2017)
    Entry 3: Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research (03/10/2017)
    Entry 4: The Cranberries - Something Else (09/25/2017)
    Entry 5: Leslie Winer - Witch (10/08/2017)
    Entry 6: Beat Happening - You Turn Me On (10/15/2017)

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    I had the shower thought of starting a review style blog where I go over some of my favorite artists, provide some background information, review their discography, etc. It would be something fun to do, help me work on my writing and give some of you poor sobs stuck at work/class/in traffic something to read. I'm not settled on the format or how in-depth I want to dig, but I'll give it a trial run and see what sticks.

    I figured for the first entry I would start with Metric. Why? They:
    1) feature one of my favorite vocalists
    2) are a (mostly) Canadian band, founded in Toronto (I'm from here!)
    3) have a mainstream sound most people are familiar with or can get into easily
    4) have 6 studio albums, plenty to talk about
    5) have fans of 1 or 2 albums, who never really take the time to explore the rest

    If you like this first entry or have any feedback, let me know, even if it's to say my writing is complete rubbish and to never publish anything regarding music ever again. I'd also be curious to hear other peoples subjective takes on the works discussed, it's always nice to have another perspective on things.

    ===================================================================

    My subjective ranking of their releases:
    Grow Up and Blow Away = Live It Out > Old World Underground > Fantasies = Synthetica >>>>> Pagans in Vegas

    Must listen track per release:
    Old World Underground: The List
    Live It Out: The Police and the Private
    Grow Up and Blow Away: Soft Rock Star
    Fantasies: Gold Guns Girls
    Synthetica: The Void
    Pagans in Vegas: The Governess

    Start with Grow Up, if you like that move on to Old World and Live It Out. Congratulations, you've heard the best of the band (IMO). If that wasn't really your taste, give Fantasies or Synthetica a try and then call it a day.

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    Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003)
    "Do lawyers have lawyers? Do landlords have landlords?"
    MUST LISTENS: The List, Dead Disco, Wet Blanket, Combat Baby
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL

    Where to start with this one? How about the fact that it wasn't even the first album they had recorded? While still under the moniker of Mainstream, front-woman Haines and guitarist Shaw began work on their debut album in 2001. However it was delayed by their label Restless Records and ultimately wouldn't release until 2007 under Last Gang Records as Grow Up and Blow Away.

    What we got instead was Old World Underground, an extremely competent debut in it's own right. Fusing synthpop with an indie rock sound with roots drawing from Toronto-based collective Broken Social Scene (which both Haines and Shaw are members of) their first release features impressively catchy singles, although some of the synth-based tracks feel a bit like filler at times.

    We also get our first listen to Emily's vocals under the bands new name, which I can only classify as "effortlessly sexy". The lyrics don't always make sense (OK, they almost never do), the singles feature a lot of repetition and production is a little inconsistent; but all-in-all a solid debut that I wouldn't hesitate recommending as an introduction to the band.

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    Live It Out (2005)
    "Portrait d'une femme, affiche d'une fille..."
    MUST LISTENS: Poster of a Girl, Patriarch on a Vespa, The Police and the Private
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL

    Gears are shifted a little for their sophomore offering, Live It Out, though the band doesn't stray too far from the formula that led to success with their debut. Strong singles Poster of a Girl and Monster Hospital supported sales, but don't carry the album on their backs.

    Some intentional brickwalling and heavier riffs than anything heard on Old World Underground has opener Empty show the band dabbling with punk-ish elements. A more punchy vocal delivery from vocalist Haines in the first four tracks makes you sit up versus the relatively laid-back debut. This provides a nice contrast to the second half of the album, with a few tracks feeling like they could have been ripped straight from Old World Underground's B-Sides, despite a bit noisier production overall.

    I'd put Live It Out on equal terms with the debut, and in fact mostly prefer it due the additional flavour from tracks like Glass Ceiling and Handshakes. Things get a little louder overall, but this is mostly excusable as it is at least partly due to the new sounds the band was attempting to project.

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    Grow Up and Blow Away (2007)
    "Why does it feel so good to die today?"
    MUST LISTENS: Grow Up and Blow Away, Soft Rock Star, Raw Sugar, London Halflife
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL

    With a slightly revised track listing, Metric's original album was finally released in 2007 under Last Gang, though it was really more of a re-issue at this point. Fans had already heard most of these songs on 2001's Static Anonymity EP and live performances.

    Though the chronological shift in their sound after the formula established by their first two albums has some modern-day listeners confused, this remains my favorite Metric LP due to some new wave influence and a greater focus on Haines' vocal ranges. Definitely more indie than rock here, but I love every track and usually listen front to back. Most reminiscent of Haines' solo work (which I'm also a fan of) than any other Metric offering.

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    Fantasies (2009)
    "I'll write you harmony in C..."
    MUST LISTENS: Satellite Mind, Gold Guns Girls, Stadium Love
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL

    Straight-forward indie pop. Though Synthetica would go on to sell more, Fantasies is arguably their best-known work and what most people think of when Metric is brought up. Harder guitars from Live It Out are swapped out for piano work and the socially-conscious lyrics mature a bit, but I just can't help but feel most of the tracks here are smothered with a poppy vibe I didn't get from their earlier offerings. Still, nothing to complain about, just not exactly the groundbreaking release you would expect from the 4th album of a band 8 years running.

    Also, opener Help I'm Alive has a DR of 4. Ouch. This unfortunately sets the tone for the rest of the album which is brickwalled to hell and back and this time there's no f'ing excuse. If some of the otherwise great tracks like Stadium Love didn't have a wall of sound effect that makes dynamic drivers sound like planars I'm sure I would appreciate this album a lot more.

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    Synthetica (2012)
    "I was looking for a hooker when I found you..."
    MUST LISTENS: Speed the Collapse, Clone, The Void, all acoustic tracks on the deluxe edition
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL

    Synthetica would drop in 2012, self-released through the bands own label and recorded at least in part at their own studios. Like the title suggests, focus shifts a bit towards the ambient and electronic, but for the most part this record plays like the other side of Fantasies' coin. Traces of harder rock or punk influence are totally absent, and with them so is most of my interest. To call this album indie is a bit of an insult, since it couldn't really be more mainstream if it tried.

    I could have tolerated this stuff better when it was fresh and matched up with the albums "here and now" sentiments (Youth Without Youth, seriously), but I have a little difficulty sitting through the whole thing now. The saving grace is the acoustic tracks included on the deluxe edition are very, very good if you're a fan of Haines. Really. Better than the originals.

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    Pagans in Vegas (2015)
    "Guilt she is the governess..."
    "MUST" LISTENS: Fortunes, Blind Valentine, The Governess
    LISTEN (but why would you want to?): SPOTIFY | TIDAL

    If you're like me and have difficulty swallowing the pop pill of Synthetica and Fantasies, Pagans in Vegas is sure to make you gag. If mediocrity was an album, it would be Pagans in Vegas. If ever an album deserved a strong 5 out of 10, it would be Pagans in Vegas. There is little substance or creativity here, and for the most part you're better off enjoying the tracks I've outlined and skipping the rest.

    It's hard to call Metric sellouts as they stay on their own label and had great fan interaction leading up to the 2015 release of this record via their own mobile app Pagan Portal (ugh), which let fans get a sneak peek at singles and read updates from the band. After Synthetica, hell even after Fantasies, this was the inevitable conclusion for Metric's sound. Lifeless, overproduced and glossed over synthpop (this time with a serious emphasis on the synth) accompanies some of the weakest lyrical content from the group yet. To add insult to injury whoever mastered this managed to net not only an avg. DR of 6 but also completely wiped any sort of grit or dynamics from the release! Way to go.
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2017
  2. thegunner100

    thegunner100 Hentai Master Chief

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    Thanks, I'll give this a read and maybe an album to listen!
     
  3. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    Man - what a thread. Ive mostly listen to Metric's newer stuff but this made me go back and try their older records. Thanks K4!
     
  4. Pilsnerpunk

    Pilsnerpunk Friend

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    Well done. I listen to Metric sporadically. Your review has motivated me and given me a good starting point to go back and listen to some of their earlier albums. I'm only familiar with Fantasies and Synthetica so maybe I haven't heard the best of them yet. I'm looking forward to finding out.

    If you keep writing similar content, I'll definitely keep reading it. Nice start.
     
  5. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    Great recommendation!
     
  6. kiss m

    kiss m Dill weed - acquaintance

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    Great writing, k4r, very fun to read. I just listened to their song IOU and really liked it, am gonna check out some albums now.

    I hope you keep this up, I love your music recommendations and writing!
     
  7. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I saw Metric open for Phoenix several years ago at the Greek Theater in LA and IMO they wiped the floor with Phoenix. I was gobsmacked at how good they were. This was just before Fantasies came out, IIRC. I immediately tracked down all their releases and have been a fan ever since. I look forward to seeing further posts!
     
  8. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    So I originally planned to have the next update done by the end of this week, but that doesn't look likely. Instead I wrote a bit about an album I've really been digging lately, back to our regularly scheduled programming soon.

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    [​IMG]

    D.A.R.K. - Science Agrees (2016)
    "I'm dreaming in stereo, I'm dreaming in color..."
    MUST LISTENS: Curvy, Watch Out, High Fashion, Miles Away, Loosen The Noose
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL

    D.A.R.K. is a collaboration between Andy Rourke (of The Smiths), Dolores O'Riordan (of The Cranberries) and Olé Koretsky (NY-based DJ). The project began with Rourke and Koretsky meeting in New York and working under the moniker JETLAG since 2009. A chance meeting between Rourke and O'Riordan would incorporate her songwriting and vocals into the mix and the result would be a 10-track LP in the form of Science Agrees.


    Although my own preference has me gravitating towards some of the safer rock arrangements such as "Watch Out" and "Chynamite", production is wildly varied throughout the album and gets quite experimental towards the end. Tastes of new wave influence on opener "Curvy" to post-punk "High Fashion" and ending with a cover of a Russian rock song in closer "Loosen The Noose" keep this debut offering feeling fresh even on repeat listens. Though Rourke's iconic bass remains in the center of the mix on most tracks, occasionally Koretsky's DJ influence is allowed to take the reign in "Miles Away". Taken on their own any of these tracks could have been offered as singles, which is impressive for a debut and speaks to the talent behind this group.

    Lyrical arrangements are kept simple and feature a decent amount of repitition, with a few cliches (see "Gunfight": it seems O'Riordan can never go one album without reminding us how awful war is). O'Riordan and Koretsky handle all vocals, though the Cranberries fan in me would like to see her voice utilized even more. Koretsky's singing isn't great, and in some duets I wish he would shut up and let Dolores take over, but that's just me. Though it takes a good three minutes to get underway, the hook in "Underwater" is a great showcase of why I love O'Riordans voice.

    A bit of an uncanny collab, there is obvious influence from every members background scattered throughout the album. Don't go in expecting The Smiths or Cranberries, you'll be sorely disappointed. However, take this one at face value and you'll get an extremely enjoyable listen that's easy to sit through start to finish. Overall, I give Science Agrees a 8.5 out of 10, strongly recommended.
     
  9. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    *Re-post due to SBAF outage

    Apologies for the long break between updates, busy with life and I kept putting this one off until I wasn't sure I'd be doing it at all.

    This week I'm going to be going over Heavenly, an English twee pop band founded in 1989. The line-up consisted of Amelia Fletcher (vox/guitar), her brother Mathew Fletcher (drums), Cathy Rogers (vox/keyboard), Peter Momtchilof (guitar) and Robert Pursey (bass). Active until '96, the group put out 4 studio albums and a 5-track EP, all of which will be covered.

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    Talulah Gosh - Backwash (1996)
    "Or was it just a dream..."
    MUST LISTENS: Talulah Gosh, My Boy Says, Testcard Girl, I Can't Get No Satisfaction
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL | BANDCAMP

    Wait, wait, I thought we were talking about Heavenly? What's this about Talulah Gosh? Well, Talulah Gosh *were* Heavenly. Or maybe it's the other way around. All four core members of Heavenly were once upon a time members of Talulah Gosh, a key member of the late 80s twee pop and C86 movements in Britain. In case you don't know, C86 refers to a cassette compilation released by NME magazine featuring artists such as The Pastels and Primal Scream and later became synonymous with the guitar-driven jangle pop and indie rock that dominated the British indie scene towards the latter half of the 80s.

    Though the group would put out a series of well-received singles and radio sessions, they never published an album, and instead we have 1996's retrospective compilation Backwash released under K Records. An expanded version of Backwash would be re-issued in 2013 on Damaged Goods titled Was It Just A Dream? and features additional demos, though the track listing remains otherwise the same.


    Tantalizing and upbeat hooks delivered by what I consider to be an almost perfect twee duet are backed by adequately rough around the edges (though never bordering on lo-fi) guitar work make this compilation a perfect 5 for me. While "Just A Dream" and "My Boy Says" invoke the lazy sounds of an idyllic summer, thrashers "Testcard Girl" and "Way Of The World" highlight that Talulah Gosh were just as punk as they were twee. Oh, and eponymous single "Talulah Gosh" belongs on the radio. That is all.

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    Heavenly vs. Satan (1991)
    "Oh, hey Robert, you're driving much too f'ing fast..."
    MUST LISTENS: Boyfriend Stays The Same, Wish Me Gone, Stop Before You Can Say It, Escort Crash On Marston Street (bonus on 2001 CD)
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL | BANDCAMP

    NOTE: I'd recommend sourcing the 2001 re-issue CD under K Records, the bonus tracks are totally worth it and round this out into a more satisfactory listen.

    So Talulah Gosh split in 1988, and from the ashes a year later Heavenly was born. After two 7" singles their debut album Heavenly vs. Satan released on Sarah Records in 1991. Despite the confrontational name, this album is anything but. Instead it's comprised of sugary sweet and pleasant indie pop with the same jangly guitars found on Talulah Gosh, except with a little bit less punk roughness. Lyrical content is primarily concerned with heartbreak, unrequited love and other flirtatiously innocent teenage angst.


    As we'll later see, their debut was very much a safe bet in terms of song composition and lyrical content, borrowing more from their less original peers during the C86 era instead of trying to re-create the magic of Talulah Gosh. With the original issue clocking in at 8 tracks and just over 30 minutes, Heavenly vs. Satan is bite-sized twee pop you can consume for supper and still have room for seconds. 3.5 stars out of 5.

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    Le Jardin de Heavenly (1992)
    "If you're a C you'll end up like me..."
    MUST LISTENS: Starshy, Orange Corduroy Dress, C Is the Heavenly Option, So Little Deserve
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL | BANDCAMP

    Towards the end of 1991 the group would pick up Cathy Rogers (vox, keyboard) whose backup vocals would shift the sound of Jardin de Heavenly closer towards the romantic hymns of Talulah Gosh, without drifting too much from the safe formula of Heavenly vs. Satan. Roger's vocals would very much play the backup role to Amelia's lead on this release but would later become an integral part of song composition on all of their later works.

    Indeed, while most tracks on Jardin are a notch down in tempo from the upbeat jangles of HvS, the real standout is "C Is the Heavenly Option" which features a guest appearance by K Records (responsible for Heavenlys' US issues) founder Calvin Johnson. His deep baritone voice provides excellent contrast to Amelia's playfulness, building up the narrative of the track into their most original on this album. The rest is good but not outstanding twee pop; sometimes cathartic with fey melodies, other times overwhelming with teenage angst.

    Regardless, Jardin plays it safe and provides the foundation for the bands future: narrative-driven duets with irresistibly catchy melodies. 3.5 stars out of 5.

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    Atta Girl (1993)
    "N is for the new wave dreams..."
    MUST LISTENS: It's short, play the whole damn thing
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL | BANDCAMP

    Heavenly would not play it safe for long however in between Jardin and their next LP they released two non-album singles titled "P.U.N.K. Girl" and "Atta Girl". To make matters more confusing the singles were repackaged as 5-track EPs of the same names, P.U.N.K. Girl in the US and Atta Girl in the UK, with the same tracks in slightly different orders.

    Painfully short, there is more creativity and punk instrumentation on this EP than their last two LPs put together. As a track, "Atta Girl" is incredibly infectious and the biggest throwback to the thrashers of Talulah Gosh since the groups inception; doubling the tempo from the now relatively laid-back melodies of their last LP to reach a pop punk climax. Cathy Rogers is no longer just in the background but now assists with the lyrical narratives in both title tracks, with "P.U.N.K. Girl" sounding like it could have been ripped right off of a Talulah Gosh demo tape.

    Things take a sharp dark turn with "Hearts & Crosses", likely the most cheerful song you will ever hear about sexual assault and date rape. I'm not sure where the inspiration behind this track and "So?", an a capella soliloquy which sports similar content matter, come from. These middle of a track "plot twists" become defining features on both their later LPs, though they may never be done better than they are on this EP. "Dig Your Own Grave" feels a little out of place and weak, but that speaks more to how powerful every other track on this EP is. 5 stars for 5 tracks.

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    The Decline and Fall of Heavenly (1994)
    "Don't say thats groovy, don't say that to me..."
    MUST LISTENS: Modestic, Three Star Compartment, She and Me
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL | BANDCAMP

    If Heavenly vs. Satan and Jardin de Heavenly were sugary, then Decline and Fall tastes like caramel. It's not that the songs necessarily got any sweeter, but swept up in the rapidly expanding Britpop movement Heavenly are arguably at their most commercial with this record. 8 tracks timing just over 25 minutes this one blazes by like an EP and sometimes I still can't believe it's already over when I've finished it.

    Some of the dual vocal experimentation from Atta Girl EP is carried over, the lyricism isn't quite as dark or telling but ditches the hopelessly romantic view of their first two albums in favor of tracks such as those about an unwanted pregnancy on "Sperm Meets Egg, So What?". Decline and Fall also features the only instrumental track ever released by the group on "Sacramento", which fairs surprisingly well as a mid-record interlude since it doesn't beg to have Amelia singing over it. It also sports a cowbell.

    4 stars out of 5, but only because I'm a sucker for anything that remotely identifies with Britpop.

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    Operation Heavenly (1996)
    "Pass the bottom stair, and I'll become your worst nightmare..."
    MUST LISTENS: Ben Sherman, Nous Ne Sommes Pas Des Anges, Mark Angel, Pet Monkey
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL | BANDCAMP

    Undoubtedly my favorite Heavenly record, sometimes grating in it's intentionally less than pristine production values, sometimes brash fun but certainly their most mature and complete release under the Heavenly name. The guitars are EQ'd up with some welcome distortion offering some loud rockers, some of which take steps away from twee and towards alt. Openers "Trophy Girlfriend" and "K-Klass Kisschase" are almost a torture test to judge if you deserve to sit through the rest of the album or not, because even if you don't like them there are some sophisticated listens here.


    "Space Manatee" and "Mark Angel" are just too smart for an album whose loudness belies dumb fun, with "Mark Angel" in specific being the most obvious example of the narrative "plot twist" first explored on Atta Girl EP. "Ben Sherman" is all about cutting your hair short and leaving your loser of a boyfriend. The message of girl power is still on this record, but less obvious and more smugly buried in tracks like "Snail Trail" and "Cut Off". There is also an exceptional cover of Serge Gainsbourgs' "Nous Ne Sommes Pas Des Anges", sung entirely by Amelia in French as an ironic homage, given this album released in 1996 during the height of Britpop. Calvin Johnson also makes a guest return for another duet on closer "Pet Monkey" to let you cool down from the aggressive arrangements preceding it. 4.5 stars out of 5.

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    Marine Research - Sounds From The Gulf Stream (1999)
    "You tug your hair with your hands, adjust your specs..."
    MUST LISTENS: Parallel Horizontal, Chucking Out Time, At the Lost and Found, Venn Diagram
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL | BANDCAMP

    WTF is this? Where is Heavenly? You already talked about another band once! Well sadly before the release of Operation Heavenly drummer Mathew Fletcher took his own life and use of the Heavenly name would be discontinued. The good news is the group picked up right where they left off in 1999 under Marine Research with a single album, Sounds From The Gulf Stream, only released in the US under K Records.


    It doesn't quite resemble any single previous Heavenly work and yet there are several nods back in the guitar and layered vocal style. Lyrical content is at the same time witty and quirky, and more or less what you would expect from Amelia at this point with some added art rock influence. The track listing is diverse and doesn't follow one upbeat or dark direction which is a refreshing change from the sometimes monotonous nature of earlier Heavenly albums. If Atta Girl EP's "Hearts & Crosses" is the most cheerful song about date rape, then "Hopefulness to Hopelessness" is the most cheerful song about suicide.

    The stylization of tracks like "Glamour Gap" and "At the Lost and Found" conjures images of the 70s, but Sounds From The Gulf Stream is anything but a throwback album, instead maintaining an inventive sheen that makes it a great listen. 4.5 stars out of 5.
     
  10. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    [​IMG]

    The Cranberries - Something Else (2017)
    "Lost, I see the rose..."
    MUST LISTENS: Linger, Dreams, The Glory, Just My Imagination
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL | GPM

    It is with a heavy hand and heart I write today's entry. This yesterday past, September 24th, The Cranberries were scheduled to play a show in Toronto for which I held tickets for. Sadly, the tour in its entirety was canceled as lead singer Dolores O'Riordan developed a back complication that prohibited her from performing. Needless to say, I was heartbroken. I more or less got over it though, because I still have this CD to show for it.


    Something Else is the seventh studio album from The Cranberries and as the name suggests is a bit of a departure from their previous polished pop/rock releases. Outside of teaming up with a string ensemble to provide fresh acoustic versions of ten singles from their first four studio albums; the album also features three new pieces following the more ominous “unplugged” style.

    It is, on the whole, a very worthwhile offering for both fans and newcomers alike. The track listing sees the three new songs evenly spaced in between orchestral renditions of old favorites, and as a return listener I find myself more than willing to wait for them despite knowing every other track by heart. Though O’Riordan’s voice is beginning to show its inevitable age, not unlike the collaborative D.A.R.K. album I wrote about a few months ago, I think it works more to her favor here combined with the (previously unfamiliar) strings and very clean but not overdone production. The new songs "Why" and “Rupture” in particular take on a brooding presence which contrast with the upbeat classics “Dreams” and “Just My Imagination”. As a fan I can only hope to hear more of the same direction from a future release, though the possibility of which is dubious given the singer's health concerns. Still, Something Else is a highly recommended listen, easy 4.5 out of 5 for me.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2017
  11. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    While you say this is worthwhile for both fans and newcomers, would this be the best album to familiarize oneself with the band or do you have another recommendation?
     
  12. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    Good question. It's a good modern synopsis of their work without necessarily being a compilation album, so if you are new you can pick and choose which singles you like from a song-writing POV and pursue the relevant album. Should probably choose one of the first two, whichever cover art you like more. Outside of that, I'll provide little summaries for each:

    Everybody Else Is Doing It: Solid debut, easily categorized as dream/jangle pop. O'Riordan was a massive Smiths fan and had a poster of Morrissey in her room as a teenager. The influences show. Arguably the best production of out any of their studio albums via Stephen Street, who also worked with the Smiths. Sounds more 80s than 90s.
    No Need To Argue: Sales were already quite impressive for the debut but this was the blockbuster release. A smattering of acoustic classics and radio singles. Despite releasing during the build-up of Britpop the Cranberries as an Irish band had little to do with that movement and this release remains fairly alternative with some Celtic/chamber influence in the second half. Another great production by Stephen Street, a little more clean and radio-friendly than the debut however. Firm early 90s sonics.
    To the Faithful Departed: The most questionable release, but according to last.fm stats somehow my favorite. Blockbuster sales and fame had gotten to the group after 2 years of heavy touring. Producer Stephen Street had been ditched for Bruce Fairbairn (AC/DC, Aerosmith) for a much heavier and raw sound (and dynamically squashed). Riding the coattails of post-Cobain grunge this release is squarely alt. rock and the lyricism focused heavily on world issues, though it can come off as a bit self-important and preachy. Still, I'm a sucker for it.
    Bury the Hatchet: After the relative flop of their previous release the group would go on hiatus until 1999 where this was to be seen as a comeback album of sorts, even implied in the name. They would work with a no-name Irish producer and put out an album that was much more endearing and homegrown than the last, going back to their dream/jangle pop roots. The most inconsistently produced album out of the first five but still solid, it did "save" them as a band and allowed them to continue into the 2000s.
    Wake Up and Smell the Coffee: The most inoffensive and straightforward pop/rock. I guess some songs could be borderline adult contemporary. The gang teams up with Stephen Street again and everything is produced and performed immaculately, it has that bright and compressed early 2000s digital sound, but I'll be honest when I say it's for fans only. (I still like it a lot, but I am diehard at this point)
     
  13. Brad Tombaugh

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    Wow, I'd almost forgotten about the Cranberries! Very nice... I'll have to check out their later albums. Reminds me of "Everything But The Girl" that I listen to a lot back then...

    Too bad about the cancelled concert! Maybe they will come back around after she's mended?
     
  14. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    Will write about another album that maybe doesn't suck this weekend. In the meantime, I was listening to a freshly acquired batch of CDs when I noticed something seriously wrong. Halfway through a Canadian pressing of Oasis' (What's The Story) Morning Glory? I felt the sound was off: everything sounded muddy and veiled with zero dynamics (yes, even more muddy and compressed than Oasis normally is). I double-checked everything, including making sure I hadn't accidentally bought a remaster (which makes no sense, as this issue is from 1995). I quickly compared to the local rip I had from a different pressing and it was immediately better; despite the disadvantage of being from an inferior digital source (USB).

    Curiosity got the better of me and I ripped the Epic CD to compare the waveforms. Ever thought digital was digital and all CDs were made equal?

    [​IMG]

    Top is the Canadian Epic pressing while bottom is from the original UK pressing under Creation (or some variant of it). Sad to say the only epic thing about the top disc is how squashed it is. Lesson learned, I'll have to re-buy this one.
     
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2017
  15. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Thanks for posting about this latest Cranberries album, wouldn't have found out about it otherwise. Zombie is what turned me onto them way back in uni. Everyone Is Else Doing It ... is my favourite though.

    To me, the waveform of the Epic pressing looks like it's scaled down from the UK pressing, judging from the the relative "heights" of the peak and rms. I know DR values don't tell the whole story, but EK 67351 (Album DR0 6) has slightly better numbers than CRE CD 189 (Album DR 05). Not doubting you heard what you heard.
     
  16. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    @gixxerwimp No problem. Whoever was in charge of the Epic CD put the whole thing through a leveler for whatever reason. Recorded DR lines up on some tracks but not others. It sounds terrible either way and I've binned it to buy some Creation discs instead.

    =============================================================================

    [​IMG]

    Leslie Winer - Witch (1993)
    "When I hit you, you'll feel it..."
    MUST LISTENS: N1 Ear, The Boy Who Used To Whistle, 5, John Says
    LISTEN: YOUTUBE | BANDCAMP

    Today's entry was originally going to be about another dreary guitar pop album, but I've stumbled upon (in the greatest sense of the phrase) something very special that I would like to share instead. Every once in a while fate or dumb luck has it that you find an album or artist that is truly great, mindbogglingly so, and yet you have never heard of them before. Some time ago I was listening to Sinead O'Connors first CD and flipping through the liner notes. The closer on this album is my favorite track, "Just Call Me Joe", the last minute of which sports a spoken word segment about nonsense among a cacophony of distorted guitars and synth lines. It's an oddly cathartic outro to an emotional album; I was always curious who was responsible for the voice at the end, since it clearly wasn't O'Connors. The answer would lie in the last page of the CD booklet: "leslie winer speaks on just call me joe courtesy of herself."

    Leslie Winer? Curiosity got the better of me and a quick search on Wikipedia, RYM and then YouTube led me to find the best album I've heard all year. Apparently some time in the early 90s androgynous fashion model Leslie Winer would meet up with Jah Wobble (former bassist of Public Image Ltd.) and Kevin Mooney (former bassist for Adam and the Ants) to record Witch, released under the moniker © in 1993 and then again under her real name in 1999. The details of how this record came to become a cult classic and not a breakthrough hit in 1993 are still unclear to me. What is clear to me however is that this album is really f'ing good and you should probably try listening to it.

    The musical styles on this 42 minute LP are eclectic; the influences from Wobble's and Mooney's backgrounds in new wave apparent but the originality on this record is greater than the sum of its parts. It's not easy to categorize this one to any one genre, the closest thing I have resembling it in my current library would be Lizzy Mercier Descloux' own brand of late-70s no wave pop and yet Witch is still more than distinct enough to be its own thing. It could very well be a 41 minute extension to the last minute of "Just Call Me Joe" as it gives me the same sense of surreal satisfaction the whole way through. For starters the lyrics are almost entirely spoken word, sometimes resembling nothing but gibberish and other times focusing on anti-war and anti-capitalism sentiment. References are made to artifacts of Americana such as John Wayne and the Dukes of Hazzard on track '5'; references which I can only describe as coming out of left-field for a track (and album) that somehow manages to have no narrative and a completely satisfying narrative at the same time.

    The stupid smile on my face when I discovered this album only grew wider when I was about half-way through and it kept throwing f'ing curveballs at me. Clean, trippy beats popularized in the 90s by UK bands such as Portishead and Sneaker Pimps on the first few tracks trade places for skinhead drum sections straight out of a R.E.M. album overlaid with 60s neo-psychedelic riffs. Sampling is taken from the most random places, including a quote from a U.S. Gulf War general promising victory and success in the Middle East. Despite lyricism commenting on subjects such as war and misogyny in what feels like the blink of an eye there is no sense of preaching or excessive moralizing, just understated consciousness.

    I have no idea what else to say. If what I wrote above won't convince you to at least try this album out I don't know what will. As it stands, it's the best thing I've heard all year and incredibly fresh. Reading through the featured musicians on this production I shouldn't be surprised the end result is so fantastic: Helen Terry, John Maybury, John Reynolds, Kevin Mooney; all of whom have worked with artists such as Sinead O'Connor in the past. And yet O'Connor, for all her eccentricities, sounds mainstream when compared directly to this. Sadly, I cannot link to streaming services like I usually do as this album is apparently too obscure to appear on any. It is available to try in its entirety on YouTube, if you are taken with it try to hunt down a physical copy. There were only two CD copies of Witch listed on Discogs, and now there is only one as I have bought the other. Five stars.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2017
  17. powermatic

    powermatic Friend

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  18. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    Thank you! I appreciate it. The 2014 re-issue is through Superior Viaduct, I have 1 or 2 releases from them and have been satisfied with the pressing quality, but there isn't much info about the quality of this issue in specific.

    Found the original album is also available through Bandcamp, linked that in the review above as a listening option.
     
  19. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    [​IMG]

    Beat Happening - You Turn Me On (1992)

    "It's only noise, it's only noise..."
    MUST LISTENS: Noise, Teenage Caveman, Godsend, Bury the Hammer
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY | TIDAL | YOUTUBE

    Beat Happening is a three-piece indie pop band from Olympia, Washington; composed of Calvin Johnson (you may remember him from K Records), Bret Lunsford and Heather Lewis. You Turn Me On is their final album, and also my favorite. Their influential blend of lo-fi recording techniques with warm, lethargic melodies throughout the 80s and early 90s would pave the way for similar indie noise acts both in the US and across the pond in the UK. Though their previous releases would see much more reliance on a hit-and-run style of shorter songs (usually less than 3 mins in length), often forgoing the need for elaborate structures or creativity, You Turn Me On is a more ambitious final project that really pays off.


    As the title of 'Teenage Caveman' suggests, booming caveman beats are augmented with hazed-out surf-style guitars and an infectious melody carried by the deep baritone voice of Calvin Johnson, occasionally supported by drummer Heather Lewis' lazy murmur. It's a formula designed to hook the listener instantly and mesmerize them for the duration of the song, lest they discover how many of these tracks revolve around heavy repetition of both melody and lyricism. While Heather does provide vocals for the stand-out tracks, Calvin's deep vocal delivery is very much a love it or hate it type deal, and it is thrust at you from the very first cut.

    Even if you're not a fan of Calvin's vocals I would still suggest checking out 'Godsend' on the second half of this record, as this 9 minute track is all Heather and I can only describe it as "progressive twee", building in and out of an intense wall of sound despite a distinct lack of beat which forms the backbone for every other track. Once you make it through this gauntlet, the album closes with the same minimalist strength it started with on 'Bury the Hammer', where Calvin and Heather take turns dreamily resigning to the conclusion of not only the album, but also the bands musical career. If you like your indie pop noisy and can dig the vocals You Turn Me On as well as the rest of Beat Happening's discography should be your next stop.

    ====================================================================================================

    P.S. My Bloody Valentine re-issues coming to LP on 01/18
    article - https://www.analogplanet.com/content/two-classic-my-bloody-valentine-records-be-issued-all-analog
    order here - https://www.mybloodyvalentine.org/home?hs=1
     
  20. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    [​IMG]

    Metric - Art of Doubt (2018)
    MUST LISTENS: Dark Saturday, Die Happy, Art of Doubt
    LISTEN: SPOTIFY \ TIDAL

    I'm the type of person to find out about new music really late, even from artists I really like. I have a fairly specific taste in music and do not get bored listening to the same 40 or so albums in rotation. If I find something new it's usually by complete accident, like when I was opening Spotify on my phone earlier this week to play Metric's Live It Out and I saw they had actually released a new album last year. I was very apprehensive of it being any good, mostly due to their last album Pagans In Vegas being completely trite, but curiosity got the better of me and I played it anyway.


    My first listen in my car and I actually thought the album was pretty unimpressive, more of the same synth pop that came across as very repetitious and uninspired. Even the album art was uninspiring. However, because of how the Bluetooth connection in my car works, every single time I got in my car for the rest of the week this album started playing from scratch and I was too lazy to change it to anything else, so I've probably heard Art of Doubt about 9 times now in total. It's grown on me immensely and I actually think there are quite a few good tracks on here. At it's worst, it sounds less like Metric and more like any number of generic indie bands using synths to make cheap pop tunes. At it's best, it's very reminiscent of 2012's Synthetica, just a little darker. Recommended if you're into the whole synthpop thing.
     

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