Album Reviews.

[stimpsonslostson]

recently I've heard...
The Raconteurs- Consolers of the lonely
Probably not as good as their debut. With massive similarities to Icky Thump by the White Stripes, this album veers from classic blues rock to garage rock/pop. There are some great riffs but fewer great choruses... its such a shame Brendan Benson doesn't seem to be an equal partner in the Raconteurs- his pop sensibilites could have made this album even better!

Minus- the great northern whalekill
Icelandic melodic rock metal! With the best/worst album cover I've ever seen... (Is that male or female!?!- I actually found out but am not telling!).
Kinda QOTSAish, but heavier and less stonerish, great riffs and powerful vocals. This is a great album and may break Minus to a much wider audience.

Ozzy- Randy Rhodes Tribute
Found this cheap... and its well worth the pennies I spent. Ozzy live, with RR on guitar. How does he play like that? Some cool tunes and even better solos! Not the best sound quality, but overall a very good live album.

[stimpsonslostson]

Frank Turner- Love Ire and Song

I've been looking forward to this album for ages! Now I have it in my grubby little paws! I've only listened to it about 5times, but am thus far very impressed.
Its a FT album, so its all about life and love, and the things that make you happy/sad/mad. Compared to his earlier work this is a more grown up album- previously Frank occaisionally seemed like a rebel without a clue, but now he frequently expresses disillusionment with the state of things in a more eloquent way. There is a humour to the lyrics and delivery which really speaks to me.
Frank spells out the themes of the album here:
http://www.roomthirteen.com/cgi-bin/fea ... tureID=570

I'm also happy to report that I think these songs will work well live!
P
Al- what did you make of it?

[BarcelonAl]

Frank Turner - Love, Ire and Song

Like Phil, I've been looking forward to this album for a while and am not disappointed. Frank manages to get songs about love, life, politics all in the same album without being whiny or annoying (something that affects a lot of singer-songwriters). He's obviously enjoying being part of a settled band and I think the album really benefits from this.

R.E.M. - Accelerate -

Finally the band are back putting out quality recordings. The albums released since New Adventures In Hi-Fi have been patchy and poor in places, with the band sounding like they were just going through the numbers. Not so with the new album, Accelerate brings their sound right back to their roots, rocking hard (in an alternative stylee). Can't wait to see them in the Summer. :D

[Fez]

rancid: b-sides and c-sides

having rested on their laurels for over five years with only the occasional outing for well received solo records and side projects, this is a timely reminder that rancid are an important part of mainstream punk that has been missing in action for too long. coupled with the forth coming dvd release of the band's single videos, this does smack of at best a time killer and at worst a simple cash in. the cd packaging comes with...a cd and some card to put it in; i could have knocked together the art work in an afternoon on zoner draw, and frustratingly for a collection that cross tim and co's career there is no information about when the songs were recorded, who with and crucially what a-sides these were the back up to. there's no help either at www.rancidrancid.com which is probably the most uninformative website for a major music brand ive ever come across. as music guru phil has already pointed out the title reflects the quality on offer, but there are some cracking tunes like killing zone, things to come, blast em, the brothels, and i wanna riot amid the more obvious fillers. only for the fans with little appeal for the wider world, the most important questions this album really raises is when the hell are we gonna get another proper record?

[Claire]

Adele - 19

My friend lent this to me before we went to see her in concert at the Lowry last week, and i was suitably impressed. i would say that Chasing Pavements and Cold Shoulder are good but least favourite off the album. she has got this bluesy, soulful voice which you would totally not expect from the way she talks - all giggly and very suvern...i reckon she from essex or some such?! there's a cover of bob dylan, Make you feel my love, which is brilliantly beguiling and was delicious live. recommended.

[stimpsonslostson]

i've bought a few recently so... I'll keep it brief 5 words each!

alakaline trio- agony n irony
gothic pop punk. too poppy?

my uncle the wolf- my uncle the wolf
mastodon + clutch... say no more!

Swamp Donkeys- whats wrong with the crusades
sludgy southern metal, gloriously dirty.

cage the elephant .5
funk pop, perfect summer soundtrack?

mudhoney- billion suns
grungy rock from veteran band

less than jake- losers kings and things we don't understand
early ska punk madness. HAPPY!

less than jake- gnv fla
floridian ska punk, added maturity.

[Fez]

cover artwork and a track listing have appeared at http://www.metallica.com for the new record and i can hardly wait another hour for the release date. the build up to this album has been quite different from st anger, and i dont mean all the therapy stuff; when lars doesn't feel the need to keep talking up how good the new material will be, you know that means some serious killer tunes are in the making. anyway, here's some stuff i've had on thr stereo recently;

darker days by time again. "this is what punk is. this is a band that's gonna be around for a long time" - lars frederiksen. maybe they will be kicking around for a while and maybe this does fit some loss definition of what punk is supposed to be, but i'm sorry to disaggree lars but this band just dont seem to have any teeth. the production leaves the half hour of songs a little flat, there's an obvious lack of punch in the guitar sound and things only show any rowdiness on 'montreal' which unfortunately is the same point you realise these canadians are still quite young, haven't seen too much of the world and keep lurching dangerously toward emo subjects because they went straight into a band from school and haven't had to face the real world. maybe the imagary is slightly darker than normal, but unfortunately this four piece are securely occupying blink 182 territory and for that they should be pleated with bricks in the street.


outsider by the restarts. this is what punk is. an angry whirlwind of politics and wry humour coupled to some genuine fast guitar work and headbanging bass lines. running the gambit of subjects from teaching evolution theory in american schools ['intelligent design'], calling for the ban of cluster bombs ['cluster bombs'] to political rhetoric [bolloxology], these guys have what bands like time again desperately need; a wider view of the world and the ability to relate big ideas to personal experience. that being said, there's also a few songs designed just to get a mosh pit moving; 'my enemy's enemy' and the sublime 'fucking bored'.

[stimpsonslostson]

Gaslight Anthem 59 sound
Springsteenesque modern rocky americana. Wonderful!

Newton Faulkner. Handbuilt by robots
Adept acoustic tinklings. Slightly repetitive.

Slipknot All hope is gone.
People = Shit. This doesn't!

Black Stone Cherry- Folklore and superstition
BSC. More of the same...

The Answer. Rise.
70s influenced rock. As advertised.

I've got more to come... Black Lungs, Hot Water Music, To My Surprise and others. I just need to listen to em all.
p

[Fez]

please advise on black lungs. i know their on tour soon and i downloaded a decent sounding song so it would good to know if i should check them out further

[stimpsonslostson]

Black Lungs- Send flowers
Surprisingly mature ska-infused anthemic rock.

(Are hyphenations allowed in my 5 word limit? I think so!)
Fez, I'll get you a cd.

p

[BarcelonAl]

In keeping with the quirky review styles that Phil has introduced, I'm going to try this one like a recipe...

Stay Positive by The Hold Steady

• Take one heap of the E-Street Band at their rockingest.

• Add a large honky-tonk piano.

• Stir in some wry character observations and wit.

• Bring to the boil and serve with a beer or ten.

[stimpsonslostson]

Stay Positive by The Hold Steady
Springsteen + Bob Mould. Not convinced.

To My Surprise- To My Surprise .5
Clown does warped pop rock.

[Fez]

beat union - disconnected
birmingham's answer to the jam


big d and the kids table - good luck
ska meets california and fucks its brains out


anti-flag - the bright lights of america
trying to vary their heavilyy politicised punk with a bit of hard rock. interesting

[stimpsonslostson]

Stone Gods- Silver spoons and broken bones
Darkness minus histrionics. Solid, unspectacular.

winnebago deal- dead gone .5
guitar. drums. screaming. nothing else!

Cancer Bats- Hail destroyer
Punk/Metal crossover. Earbleedingly good!

[BarcelonAl]

Gaslight Anthem - '59 Sound

Springsteen meets the noughties!