OSU Reviews New Rock CD's

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 22, 2013 at 05:44 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

I live (work) in a cubicle where I audit files all day for a failing corporation ... it is a boring life, but thankfully I get paid enough to afford Spotfiy.
I listen to dozens of new CD's every month, always trying to find good artists and/or seeing what some of my favorite artists new work sounds like.
I figured... why not review the stuff that I'm listening too and let everyone else chime in? My main genre of choice is rock, so I will stick with what I know when I write up my reviews.
So, without further ado, my review will be...
---
Buckcherry - "Confessions" (release date 2/19/13)
I can't say that my hopes were sky high when I saw that Buckcherry had released their newest album. While I was admittedly a big fan of the group in the late 90's (saw them live back in the late 90's at Durty Nellie's... GREAT show), and feel that
15
is one of the better rock CD's put out in the mid-2000's... they have really struggled as of late.
Black Butterfly
and
All Night Long
had some catchy tracks, but as you dug deeper it was the same, worn out formula at the core. There was very little evolution.
Confessions
unfortunately follows the same path as the previous two releases, but is the first Buckcherry album that I can say that I've listened too... and been unable to pick out a single "stand out" track.
The album is strange and I can't figure out if it was a concept, a concept that was scrapped at the last minute, or just an album with no concept at all.
There are 7 songs about the "7 Deadly Sins" and a song called "7 Ways to Die", which would lead one to believe that it's a concept ablum. However, the CD is rounded out with songs called "Dreamin' Of You", "Air", "Water" and "The Truth" (placed at weird points in the middle of the "sin" songs)... which seemingly have absolutely nothing to do with sinning.
To be completely honest, the CD is a clusterfuck, both musically and lyrically. There is some great guitarwork on some of the tracks, but everything is unfortunately drug down by Joshua Todd's rather ineffective vocals throughout. For example, in the song Envy, the word Envy is repeated over and over to get across the point that he envies a dude because he is married to/with a great chick. It's about as subtle as an anvil to the head that was dropped from a Boeing 737. In Joshas's defense, he definitely keeps up the raunch that Buckcherry fans are accustomed too (and that I loved back in the day), but unlike catchier work in the past, a lot of
Confessions
is plauged by repetition and rather uninspired lyrics. It's not so much that the lyrics as a whole are bad... it's just that they are the exact same thing that Todd/Buckcherry have been singing about for 15 years now, in a more repetitive fashion. (see "The Truth" for an example of this)
Personally, I would only recommend this CD to the most hardcore of hardcore Buckcherry fans . It's by far and away their worst album to date. It really feels l ike they put this out to have an excuse to continue to tour... I'd be shocked if more than 2-3 songs from this disc end up being played during their live shows.
The only songs that I might even recommend as stand-alone listens are, "Gluttony" (which sounds like a weird mashup of EVERY other Buckcherry hit) and "Seven Ways to Die" (solid guitarwork). Maybe an honorable mention to "Pride", which is probably the best song lyrically on the disc (some surprisingly honest and insightful lyrics from Joshua Todd) and which non-coincidentely sounds the least like a Buckcherry song. Other than that, this CD was a dud from start to finish.
Overall:
A disappointing
5/10

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: Fight Magnet
Date: February 22, 2013 at 09:37 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

"A"
for effort.
What's up with Chris Cornell/Audioslave?

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: Brick
Date: February 22, 2013 at 09:55 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

Man, you really would have got on with Performify. That type of audio dissection was all him.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 25, 2013 at 10:46 AM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

Fight Genome said:
"A"
for effort.
What's up with Chris Cornell/Audioslave?
Click to expand...
Audioslave broke up about 6 years ago... which is really unfortunate because their self-titled CD was probably one of the top 5 rock albums of the 00's. ("
Out of Exile"
was also outstanding. "
Revelations"
was also solid, but definitely couldn't match the first two efforts.)
Cornell is back together with Soundgarden as well as putting out solo albums. He relesed "
Songbook
" in 2011 (I haven't get around to listening to it so I can't offer an opinion either way).
Soundgarden released the album "
King Animal
" about 3 months ago. It's a very solid listen, I don't know that any of the individual tracks beat Soundgardens old hits like
Spoonman
or
Black Hole Sun
or
Fell on Black Days
... but the album goes along better than other Soundgarden efforts and is a great/smooth listen from start to finish.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 25, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

Brick said:
Man, you really would have got on with Performify. That type of audio dissection was all him.
Click to expand...
I took about a 6 year break from listening to music just because I either hated 90% of the s--- that was on the radio... or I inititally liked a song and then grew to hate it because it would be played twice an hour, every hour, for weeks on end.
Spotfiy has been a godsend, there's still a ton of great rock music being put out... most of it just never hits radio airwaves.
Oh, and I only plan on reviewing music on weekdays and my reviews are going to be very sporadic and mostly on a "whenever I get around to it" basis. Some CD's will probably be thousands of words... others will only be a paragraph. I'll probably sound like a condescending prick in some reviews, and a wanna-be groupie in others... but, such is life.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 25, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

Fight Genome said:
"A"
for effort.
What's up with Chris Cornell/Audioslave?
Click to expand...
I might as well write up an official review for Soundgarden's newest CD...
Soundgarden - "
King Animal
"
Release Date: 11/12/2012
This is Soundgarden's first effort since 1996's "
Down on the Upside".
Chris Cornell is back along with Matt Cameron, Ben Shepard, and Kim Thayil. Essentially, it's the same lineup that had been in place from 1990 forward, so no major changes on that front.
The album starts off very strong with "
Been Away Too Long"
(a true statement for former Soundgarden fans such as myself), which is also the first single. No other way to describe it outside of saying that the song is very Soundgarden'ish, which is a good thing for Soundgarden fans. Soundgarden always did a great job of mixing in a repetitive/catchy beat with great solos/individual efforts that just kind of seeped in seamlessly, and they continue that trend with their first single. Cornell's vocals are on point as always, he's really one of the better rock vocalists around, his voice is so distinctive and he knows exactly when to change pitch/tone to accompy the music behind him. When he needs to carry the song, he does. When there is a great solo effort in the background, he tones it down and lets the music take over. I don't know that "
Been Away Too Long"
is better than their early-mid 90's hit singles, but it's definitely a solid/worthy track and a great welcome back track for the band. It does an excellent job of setting the tone for the rest of the album.
I won't review every song individually, but I can say that the following tracks stood out to me... "By Crooked Steps" is the third track on the disc and it's one of my favs off the album. The song just flows so well. The guitar work is outstanding, there is a very catchy riff and it is surrounded by amazing solo's at very appropriately placed positions throughout. At points it feels like it is going to spiral out of control and become an absolute mess, but it never does. Every time you get near that point, they reign it back in and continue on with the song.
Other tracks that stood out to me were: "
Bones of Birds
" (the most "
Audioslave"
sounding track, IMO, but it spins off into a purly
Soundgarden
finish), "
Black Saturday
" (a toned down, but still excellent song that shows the maturation of the bandmembers over the last 20 years), "
Worse Dreams
" (towards the middle/end you get some old school Soundgarden, hit you over the head with powerful rock, moments), and "
Eyelid's Mouth
" (very catchy guitarwork in the start as well as the very end).
All in all,
King Animal
is a very solid CD. It might not have multiple radio friendly hits like past efforts
(Been Away Too Long
is probably the lone exception to this)
,
but there weren't really any really bad tracks either. It flows very well from start to finish, and is a worthy listen to anyone who has been a fan of the band and/or a fan of Cornell in general. If there is one major difference between this album and the 90's offerings, it's that this version of Soundgarden is much more toned back (from Cornell down the line). You don't really have any of the hit you over the head, go for broke tracks that you found on previous albums (
Burden in my Hand
comes to mind, that song just hits you over the head from the start and doesn't let up.. there is not much of that on this album).
All in all, it's a more conservative approach, but it still sounds very good and is very technically sound.
Overall: (a very respectable) 7.75/10
Buy/Download/Skip?
Soundgarden fans should definitely buy or download and I'm reasonably sure that they will be pleased with this effort. That being said, don't expect a "greatest hits" album where every track is as amazing as their best work back in the 90s. Everyone else should probably give the tracks I mentioned a listen and make the decision for themselves. If you're a fan of strong vocals and outstanding technical guitarwork, I think you'd really enjoy Soundgarden.
---
So, any time Soundgarden puts out an album, people are now going to ask, "how do it compare to
Audioslave
". It's kind of unfair to do this, but it's going to be natural because Cornell had so much success with them.
To be honest, they are uncomparable because they are so different. The biggest difference between Audioslave and Soundgarden comes from the guitarwork. Kim Thayil is an outstanding guitarist (listen to the last 45 seconds of "Eyelid's Mouth for proof, along with a ton of other tracks), but he has such a different style than Tom Morello. It's not so much that one is leaps and bounds better than the other, but that their styles are so very different. Thayil steers clear of lots of the "bells and whistles" that Morello loves to mix in when playing. Morello is able to go all over the map in the course of a 4 minute song... he can start it low, bring in sirens and whistles, then bring it low and make it seem effortless, whereas Thayil kind of sets a tone at the beginning of a song and then compliments that tone with a couple of seamlessly mixed in solo's throughout the course of the 4 minutes. Again, it's not so much that one is technically better (most would probably give the edge to Morello on that front, but it's not a blowout), it's that they are wildly different in their style/philosophy. Because of this, Soundgarden and Audioslave are completely different bands and are very hard to compare. Also, Audioslave was always much more on point with their songs (mostly apocalypical/the end), whereas Soundgarden is kind of all over the map and there is much less of a theme.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: JW1978
Date: February 25, 2013 at 01:58 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

Wow! I was just thinking that it would be a cool idea to have a thread regarding new music that has come out recently. I have a Spotify account, but it's the free one, and it's a bit of a pain to listen to stuff through the computer (as opposed to the phone). I've been buying quite a bit of music lately--both CD and digital--and when I get some time, I'll throw a few up here. Right now, I'm really digging Alt-J and twenty one pilots.
I've only heard a few songs off of
King Animal
(well, I heard a few more when Cornell surprised the audience at the Pearl Jam 20th Anniversary show and did a mini-set of his solo, Soundgarden and Audioslave stuff), and while I didn't think it quite rose to the
Superunknown
level, I liked it better than their earlier stuff.
I didn't even realize that Buckcherry came out with something new until I saw it at Best Buy the other night. I've been a fan, have both the self-titled and
15
, and I even bought Josh Todd's "solo" album. A lot of people didn't like the solo album since it was more "nu-metal" than the kind of rock that Buckcherry was known for and the backing band was a bunch of emo-looking kids that he met by answering an ad looking for a singer. But, IMO, the solo album has some pretty good tracks on it. "Flowers and Cages" is a staple in my workout mix.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 25, 2013 at 02:06 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

JW1978 said:
Wow! I was just thinking that it would be a cool idea to have a thread regarding new music that has come out recently. I have a Spotify account, but it's the free one, and it's a bit of a pain to listen to stuff through the computer (as opposed to the phone). I've been buying quite a bit of music lately--both CD and digital--and when I get some time, I'll throw a few up here. Right now, I'm really digging Alt-J and twenty one pilots.
I've only heard a few songs off of
King Animal
(well, I heard a few more when Cornell surprised the audience at the Pearl Jam 20th Anniversary show and did a mini-set of his solo, Soundgarden and Audioslave stuff), and while I didn't think it quite rose to the
Superunknown
level, I liked it better than their earlier stuff.
I didn't even realize that Buckcherry came out with something new until I saw it at Best Buy the other night. I've been a fan, have both the self-titled and
15
, and I even bought Josh Todd's "solo" album. A lot of people didn't like the solo album since it was more "nu-metal" than the kind of rock that Buckcherry was known for and the backing band was a bunch of emo-looking kids that he met by answering an ad looking for a singer. But, IMO, the solo album has some pretty good tracks on it. "Flowers and Cages" is a staple in my workout mix.
Click to expand...
Definitely feel free to chime in with reviews (good or bad) of anything that has been released somewhat recently. I'd like to keep it to full CD reviews, but if someone has listened to multiple songs off an album and wants to chime in, that's fine.
About the only thing I'd like to avoid... is turning this into a "post a review of your favorite CD's of all time" thread. That's definitely not the point. The point is to listen to new stuff. Could be new stuff from a favorite band, or from a completely new band that you've never heard of before but who you noticed put out a new CD and you wanted to give it a whirl.
After a 6-7 year break from finding new music, I'm really just looking for new stuff to add to my playlist. It got boring listening to the same 2,000-3,000 songs for years on end... despite how good they all were and still are.
Regarding Buckcherry... I'd hold off on buying
Confessions
until you're able to listen to the tracks and decide for yourself if you like them. I personally think it's their worst CD to date.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 25, 2013 at 04:49 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

I'm in a musical mood today, so lets keep the good times rollin:
Coheed and Cambria
-
The Aftermath: Ascension and Descension
Release Date(s): 10/9/12 and 2/5/13 (see below*)
*The Aftermath
is a double album. The first half (Ascension) was released on 10/9/12, and the second half (Descension) was released on 2/5/13.
Let me get my bias out of the way before I even hit play on this album for the first time. I've always been very mixed on Coheed and Cambria. Some of their songs are very catchy and insightful, others are downright weird.
Here is an example of the weirdness I'm referring too. I did a quick Wikipedia search and here is the concept (all C&C albums have a concept, generally a weird one) for
The Aftermath
...
" The double album will tell the story of Sirius Amory, the namesake of the concept, as he explores the energy source holding together the Keywork (the 78 worlds in which the Amory Wars is set) and finds that it is in fact a horrible afterlife for departed souls.
[6]
The artwork for the book will be created by Heidi Taillefer and Nathan Spoor, and the book is expected to provide a "song-by-song" experience for the listener.
[12]
"
Let me also get out of the way the fact that, I don't have the book, so I won't be able to comment on it.
So anywho... that's the weird part of Coheed and Cambria.
But... while their lyrics oftentimes tie into a super niche concept that only diehard fans would know, they also generally have enough of a general meaning to enjoy without knowing all of the "lore" (which I definitely do not know, outside of the Wikipedia paragraph above).
Disclaimer out of the way, onto the review:
I hit play and the first song "
The Hollow"
comes on. It initially sounds like a 10 year old playing a piano recital, followed by some very cheesy dialog where Sirius is talking to "The Mother", which sounds like a computer voice. Yes, this is definitely a warm welcome back to the weirdness that is Coheed and Cambria... I would expect nothing less out of them. It's an impossible song to rate because it's not really a song, it is just someone hitting a few keys on a piano that sets up the rest of the album.
The first "real" song is
Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitude
it starts slow, but builds quickly into a very solid song with solid guitarwork and has a great flow throughout. The lyrics are kind of goofy, but basically tell the story of Domino, a boxer who seems to have turned to a life of crime and turned his back on the protagonist. The song is very well played, but then there is a goofy 45 second play-by-play of one of Domino's fights. Again, this is Coheed in a nutshell... they rely on gimmicks when gimmicks are completely unnecessary because they have the natural talent. On one hand it's frustrating because some of it is so off the wall that it makes you want to roll your eyes... on the other hand you have to respect them for not going to conventional route of trying to sell a billion records by playing the same formulaic bulls--- over and over.
I will not review every song individually, but a few standouts form the
Ascension
half were:
Mothers of Men
which is an excellent song with great lyrics, I personally think that it's right up there with Coheed's best work to date.
"Key Entity Extraction III: Vic the Butcher"
is another very solid song (minus a weird close that is again tied into the weird concept).
Really, goofy opening aside,
Ascension
might be Coheed and Cambria's best album yet. While the "concept" is lost on me, and I'm guessing it is lost on all but the most diehard of fans as well...it doesn't matter because a good majority of the songs, while also tying into the concept I'm sure, can also tie into everyday life as well. Just take out the intergalactic parts and you've got meaningful lyrics which are surrounded by great music.
I also have to praise the band for really honing it on this record. Past efforts from Coheed have kind of been all over the place at times (not in a good way).
While the band still experiments with different sounds and while there are some instances where they jump around a bit within songs, it's in a much more refined and polished way. The only two things from making me rank this higher are the facts that the CD is only 39:29 long, and 2 minutes are wasted on the opening track along with another 3-5 minutes wasted throughout opens/closes of songs that tie into that damn concept. That being said, I'd rather have 30-35 minutes of good/great music than 60 minutes of crap with 3 good songs mixed in. The other thing that lowers the score a bit is the abscene of a radio-friendly track that I could see a casual fan of the genre getting behind. Everything on the album (save for the open) is good, but nothing really stands out as absolutely great.
Overall: 7.5/10
Buy/Download/Sell:
Coheed fans should definitely buy. Others should download and give a listen. This is by far and away Coheeds most "accessible" album to date. You can jump into pretty much any song (save for the opener) and not feel like you just walked into a hipster bar where everyone is going to point and make fun of you for not understanding what is going on (which is kind of how you might have felt if you dove into the middle of other Coheed albums). Put this 30 minutes up against any other (non-greatest hits) 30 minutes from past Coheed records, and I think this might win... despite not having a signature track.
---
Descension
is the 2nd half of the concept, which I will review seperately since it was released so far off from the first half.
The first track is
Pretelethal
and it definitely picks up where the last track of the first half left off (
Subtraction).
It's a very slow song and is very "rock opera'ish" in scope. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it really just goes to show the versatility of the band.
Standout tracks from the second half of the double-disc include:
The Hard Sell
and
Dark Side of Me
, both of which I could definitely see playing on mainstream radio. If you have never heard of Coheed, I would recommend you listen to those two songs as well as Welcome Home and A Flavor House Atlantic to see the band at their peak.
The song
Number City
is a huge letdown. It's extremely goofy and is basically everything that I hate about Coheed... they revert back to their gimmicky bulls--- and campy lyrics/beat and it makes no sense. There are trumpets mixed in with some squeely vocals and counting and all other kinds of theatrical garbage. It sounds very out of place for the album and while I'm sure that it in some way ties in with spaceships and aliens and entity retrievals and Siruis Armory... but... I don't get it. It is totally lost on me.
All in all
Descension
is much more hit and miss than
Ascension
, but, both albums are a step forward for Coheed when compared to prior efforts. There are some clunkers on the second half, but there are also two of Coheeds best songs (in my opinion) ever in
The Hard Sell
and
Dark Side of Me
.
Overall: 7.5/10
Overal Overall (both albums): 7.75/10
I know, you are saying how can two 7.5's equal a 7.75 overall? It's because put together this is a really good album... probably Coheed's best. It has a couple signature tracks on
Descension,
and
Ascension
is a solid listen from start to end. There are 2-3 clunkers, and some weird concept filler crap thrown in there that might put off some people... but if you can get past that, you've got a very good album.
I'll wrap this up by touching on the concept again. The concept was probably WAY more ambitious than necessary, but that is just kind of what Coheed does. I can't even comment on it because I have no freaking clue what the backstory is because I don't follow Coheed that closely. Personally, I think it's goofy and unnecessary and I think that Coheed would be 10x more popular and their music would quite frankly be better if they scraped the weird sci-fi concepts and just stuck to writing "normal" songs, but they are not me and they are going to do their own thing and more power to them for being able to go that route and still put together great music. I just think that they fall into the trap of the concept and have to put some s--- songs to fit the concept on records... where other bands wouldn't need to put those shitty efforts on.
In conclusion, I thought that as a whole the album was very good. As I said above,
Ascension
is a much smoother listen than
Descension
, but is also devoid of the signature tracks that the second half boasts. Seperately, each album has holes... put together, it's a very solid effort.
I know I said it before, but this is probably Coheed's best album to date.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: JW1978
Date: February 25, 2013 at 05:59 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

OK...First review. As a nod to your old stomping grounds, OSU, I'll review twenty one pilots, who cut their teeth on the Ohio college town circuit before breaking out late last year.
twenty|one|pilots
Vessel
12 songs, 47 minutes
I'll start this off by saying that I have a general rule before I buy an album: I have to hear and like three songs before I'll consider buying it.
The first song I heard from these guys was their single "Holding on to You". I didn't know what to make of it. It kind of reminded me of Flobots (who I like) mixed with Iglu & Hartly ("Who?!" Exactly. Catchy stuff, but I grew tired of them after a short while.) It's more-or-less your typical college white boy rap. Later, I heard the song "Semi-Automatic," which was very much along the same lines as "Holding on to You," but with an added hook at the end of the song that was more along the lines of the band fun. This song is not yet a single, but it will be. Then I heard the song "Trees," which was
completely
different than the other two songs I heard. "Trees" had a much more universal sound...something you might hear coming from Snow Patrol (if Snow Patrol didn't suck), or fun. (if fun. didn't insist on being inspirational and anthemic on every song). Indications were that I shouldn't like this CD all that much; I'm not really a fan of EDM, and the whole kitschy college rap thing seemed played out to me. But nonetheles I love this album.
One thing I noticed almost immediately is the paradox between the ridiculously upbeat music and the extremely dark lyrics. Much of the lyrical content deals with depression, suicide, wanting to feel normal ... not exactly the kind of stuff I usually buy into, but the flow is super tight and the music itself is very catchy.
On to the stand-out songs (in the order that I presently like them, not track order):
"Holding on to You" and "Semi-Automatic" are the two full-on rap tracks on this album. Between the two, I prefer "Semi-Automatic." Being that this is the sound that it seems the band wants to lean toward, I would imagine that it won't be long until it joins "Holding" as a single release. It also sounds very good in my car.
"Car Radio" is another song that gears toward the rap end of their spectrum. This song is a really dark track about basically having no car radio and driving in silence with nothing other than one's own thoughts running through their head. The song is really well-developed, starting with a simple rap over a piano and drum, evolving into all out rage at the end of the track. This isn't really a radio-friendly track, but from the videos I've seen, it's a fan favorite in the live environment.
The second official single is a song called "Guns for Hands," which starts off something like a lot of modern indie pop (i.e., fun., Imagine Dragons, etc.) and then turns into what might be their tightest raps over a simple reggae beat. This is one of those weird tracks with an insanely danceable beat, but with probably some of the darkest lyrics on the album relating to suicide.
So, as you're listening to this album with dance beats and rapping...out of the blue comes "Screen," a song that sounds more like something off a Jason Mraz album than anything that fits in here. Even the singer's vocal inflections seem to hint at Mraz here and there. Another song with a really upbeat sound but with rather depressing lyrics.
"Fake You Out" starts off with an electronic track that sounds like an old Nintendo game or something that later turns into a cheesy dance beat. But as cheesy as it is, it works--part of that is this is probably one of the least rap-centric songs on the album (next to "Trees"). Another song about being depressed and hiding it from other people, suicide, etc.
"Migraine" is another rap-focused track with a cool vocal chorus and a tight beat. This one, while having a lot of the dark lyrical content of the other songs, it would also seem to have the most obviously positive message. Probably not a single-quality song, but it keeps the flow going and isn't a skip-over song in any way.
Overall: 7.5/10
. It's not for everybody; I'm sure the rapping and EDM beats will turn a lot of listeners off. But if you're into modern alternative bands like fun. or Imagine Dragons and don't mind lyrical content that would seem to belie the up-beat-ness of the music you're listening to, you will probably enjoy this album. Also, the emo-ness of the depressed lyrics isn't exactly what I usually listen to, but it's not the typical "woe is me, FML," emo whining; it seems deeper than that. It seems like they are singing more about the resolution of problems that cause depression rather than simply singing about being depressed in and of itself.
Funny thing was that I picked up this album as an afterthought while buying another album (Atlas Genius), and yet I've probably listened to
Vessel
10 times all the way through since I bought it to 2 times for Atlas Genius.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 26, 2013 at 12:04 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

JW1978 said:
twenty|one|pilots
Vessel
Click to expand...
Release date: 1/8/13
Gave this a CD a listen this morning.
This style of music is not generally my cup of tea, but there are a few bands in the genre that I love (Imagine Dragons and Modest Mouse probably being the most well known) so I figured I'd stick it through from start to end.
First impression... the lead singer (rapping one) sounds a little like MC Chris (who does a lot of Aqua Teen Hunger Force stuff and has done a lot of songs for Kevin Smith movies) when he raps. That's not a good or bad thing, just made me chuckle a bit as I was ready for him to start rapping about Bobba Fett and rocket jets.
"Holding Onto You" is a fun track, though I personally do have an irrational dislike for when artists go the, "lyrics that mean nothing/I don't even know what I'm saying/lyrics don't mean a damn thing, so stomp your feet and groove to the beat" (Linkin Park did this a few times as well) route, as they are basically just saying they are going for the poppiest most radio friendly bulls--- they can put forth. I won't hold my own pet peeve against the band though, and while it's not something I'd personally jam out too, I can see why it's a single.
"Migraine" is one of the better tracks on the album IMO. I agree with your synopsis, starts dark but an overall positive message.
The middle of "Car Radio" feels like it should be included on the game Dance Dance Revolution. The beat is very video-gameish, I'm not a fan of that stuff (again, I won't hold my own pet peeves against the band)... though I enjoy the rest of the song. Agree with your synopsis of the meaning, but will add that the reason he has no car radio is because someone stole it (very different than just having a car with a broken radio).
"Semi-Automatic"... I really don't like it. It has a very feel good vibe/beat to it, but the lyrics are cripplingly depressive at points, and at other points are pure whine-pop nonsense repetition. I'm sure that this is going to be a single because of the poppy beat, but it's pretty much everything that is wrong with alternative/rock music right now IMO.
"Screen" is 100% Mraz (the first half at least)... it is borderline hilariously out of place with the rest of the album.
"The Run and Go" doesn't really go with the rest of the album at all. It's not necessarily a bad song, but it feels very out of place... both lyrically and in the beat.
Overall, you can probably see that I have mixed feelings about this album. I dislike the repetitive beats and one-dimensional nature of the lyrics (the further along you get they turn from insightful to pandering and finally to annoying), but I do think that the band has a lot of potential. The beats are very amateur hour on some songs ("The Run and Go" for example... a 9 year old could probably produce that beat), and are very tight and well crafted on others ("Holding Onto You" for example, especailly towards the end). The lyrics stick to the same theme, but, are kind of all over the place with changing inflections and there a constant... almost bi-polar shift between pop/rap/poppyrap throughout the album, which makes it hard to really get into a groove listening to it from start to finish.
In all fairness though, that's to be expected with a groups first record on a major label. I'm sure that some songs were forced on there by the label, and I'm sure that others were forced on there by the band. It's just what happens with bands first CD's and you can't hold it against them too much. The bands who get 5-6 singles off their debut album are the exception rather than the rule. I'm sure that the studio just threw as many different types of songs that the artist could produce up against the wall and are looking to see what will stick.
Overall I give them the beneift of the doubt with it being their first studio release and rate it a respectable
6.5/10
.
The theme of this album ... with a few slight deviations off the path sprinkled in... is pretty clear, as it is about struggling with depression/thoughts of suicide and wondring if others feel the same way and what they do to hide it/conceal it. That's not necessarily a bad thing... Smashing Pumpkins become one of the greatest rock bands of the 90's by sticking to essentially the same thing (struggles of adolescene/growing up/finding acceptance)... however, I think that for Twenty One Pilots to really take a big step forward, they need to find different avenues for delivering their message, or they at the very least need to sneak in an uplifting song or message in there from time to time. Too many of these songs are basically just the same message with a different beat behind it. The few times they deviate from depression, they just sidestep into insecurity ("Screen" for example), or puss-emo-rock/pop ("The Run and Go"... basically begging a chick to stay the night after he's killed a man and needs to hit the road on the run... fun song, but out of place).
If the band can evolve lyrically and evolve their beats to match those evolved lyrics (they've shown they have the talent... they just need the consistancy), they will probably end up carving out a nice niche for themselves in the genre. I think they have some work to do though. All in all though, a solid, but not spectacular debut effort.
Thank you for the recommendation, please continue to write reviews of anything you purchase and listen too. I'm always looking for good new music.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: redd1
Date: February 26, 2013 at 02:16 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

"Holding Onto You" is a fun track, though I personally do have an irrational dislike for when artists go the, "lyrics that mean nothing/I don't even know what I'm saying/lyrics don't mean a damn thing, so stomp your feet and groove to the beat" (Linkin Park did this a few times as well) route, as they are basically just saying they are going for the poppiest most radio friendly bulls--- they can put forth. I won't hold my own pet peeve against the band though, and while it's not something I'd personally jam out too, I can see why it's a single.
Click to expand...
I could be wrong on this but my understanding was he was complaining about other bands going that route, hence the lean with it rock with it call out of another rap song.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 27, 2013 at 09:32 AM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

redd1 said:
I could be wrong on this but my understanding was he was complaining about other bands going that route, hence the lean with it rock with it call out of another rap song.
Click to expand...
I'm probably wrong. I listened to the album while typing up employee evaluations and setting up a bunch of reports later in the day (my focus level was probably not as high as it usually is when I listen to music).

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: redd1
Date: February 27, 2013 at 11:42 AM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

No problem, that's one of the good things about music, everyone can take what they want from it and doesn't change what it means to others. Really enjoying these reviews as I don't get to spend as much time on music as I used to be able too.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 27, 2013 at 05:29 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

I was just browsing some sites that showcase new music and stumbled upon...
Riverside - "Shrine of New Generation Slaves"
Release Date: 1/18/13
So, I've never heard of Riverside before which prompted me to go to the ultimate source of information WIKIPEDIA!
Here is what Wiki says about the band:
Riverside
is a
progressive rock
band from
Warsaw
,
Poland
. It was founded in 2001 by friends
Mariusz Duda
, Piotr Grudziński, Piotr Kozieradzki and Jacek Melnicki, who shared a love for progressive rock and
heavy metal
. Riverside can be described as a blend of atmospheric rock and metal elements, resulting in a sound similar to that of
Pink Floyd
,
Porcupine Tree
,
The Mars Volta
,
Opeth
,
Dream Theater
, and
Tool
, while still maintaining an identity of their own.
Sounds fun!
I pressed play on the first track ""
New Generation Slave"
and it's very different. There is a LONG 2 minute intro that is ... well... rather boring, but then around 2:10 things pick up and it's a very catchy rock song. The guys definitely have some talent and I'm very interested to see how the rest of the CD plays out. I think that the title of the song sums it up pretty well, it's about someone who is a slave to the "new generation". The best lyric would probably be, "So how am I doing? Oh, I can't complain. Smoke too many ciggarettes... but I don't care."... simple, but an effective way to sum up the song.
One thing that took me a little while to get used too was the accent of the lead singer. All of the lyrics are in English... but you can tell the guys aren't American. Words like falling sound like, "farring"... there is a decent amount of this. It's not deadbreaking, but it is different and takes awhile to get used too.
The first real standout song on the album (outside of a fun 1-2 minutes from the title track) is
Celebrity Touch
. It's a bit long, at 6:48, but I added it to my playlist and think it will go in my regular rotation (along with about 600 other songs... but still, not bad). It's hard to really describe their style... There's definitely rock in there and good guitarwork (not Tom Morello level or anything, but servicable), but there is also some piano/jazzy stuff mixed in at points. It's not overwhelming though, it all flows very well and feels very natural.
Another song that I enjoyed was
Feel Like Falling
. The first half is very smooth, but repetitive, but it then flows into probably the technically best guitarwork on the track. It's just a very well put together/structured song. If these guys had more raw talent I could see them being a huge crossover success in the States, but 5 albums in, I just don't know that they will ever get there. That's not to say that they suck... I just think they have hit their peak, and it's a plesant, but not spectacular, peak. I could be wrong, but I get the impression that they understand their limitations and work around them well to disguise them from novice rock listeners.
Oh yea, I did a little research and this is their 5th sudio release, which makes sense because there is a definite flow to the album that a debut CD wouldn't have. These guys have obviously figured out their niche and they hit much more than they miss. There aren't a ton of overwhelming tracks, but there is a very solid flow to the album.
One last song I really enjoyed was
Deprived (Irretrievably Lost imagination)
. It has very Radiohead'ish vibe to it. It's different from everything else on the album, but yet it still flows well.
If I have one gripe about the band it's that the lyrics are very rudimentary at times. Can't really fault the band though, because they are Polish and I doubt English is their first language. They get it right more than they get it wrong, but the delivery is weird for me (as an American) and kind of throws some of the songs off for me.
One thing I really like, I touched on it before, is the flow of the album from start to finish. There are harder rock tracks and then there are softer more progressive tracks... but the band did a really good job of spacing these out so that one flows well into another.
I think that this would be an outstanding group to see live. They are actually playing at the DoubleDoor in Chicago on 5/8/13. Tickets are only $12. I'm tempted to go, but it is 2 days after I return from Playa del Carmen and it's a weekday (Wednesday), so I dont know.
Rating: 7.25/10
Buy/Download/Skip:
Download or Youtube either of the two tracks I highlighted (I'll do it for you below) and see if you like them. Personally, I dug these guys and I'd listen to this album again. They are definitely a veteran band who is probably putting out the best work they will put out. I don't think you're going to miss out on the next big thing if you pass on these guys, but I think you'll gain some enjoyment from listening to them.
I'll sum it up... while they don't really excel at anything in particular, they are very solid in all areas and understand their limitations and work around them as best they can to put out a very respectable product.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: February 28, 2013 at 10:15 AM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

Aranda -
Stop the World
Release Date: 1/31/12
Well, the CD was release awhile ago, but the band is still new to me. I heard a song of theres (
One More Lie
) the other weekend on the radio when my wife was driving me home from my birthday celebration. I didn't particularly like the first half of the song (sounded like 99% of the other rock stuff on the radio... same hook over and over and over) and was ready to change the station, but my wife said she liked it so I kept it on... but then this overwhelmingly awesome solo came on and it peaked my interest. The solo comes at the 2:27-2:52'ish mark in the video below:
I figured that I would give the rest of the album a listen, just to see if it was more like the first 2 minutes of the song... or more like the last 70 seconds.
Before listening to any album, I do some rudimentary homework on the band via Wikipedia. Here is their background:
Aranda is a
rock
band from
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
. The band is composed of Dameon Aranda, Gabe Aranda, and Mike Walker. They were nominated in 2012 for a RadioContraband Rock Radio Award in 2012 for 'Indie Artist of the Year". Aranda became signed to
Wind-Up Records
in mid-2012. Aranda has toured with bands like
The All-American Rejects
,
Buckcherry
, Sevendust, Anew Revolution, Since October, Edisun,
Saliva
,
Shinedown
,
Puddle of Mudd
,
Theory of a Deadman
,
Black Stone Cherry
and
Tantric
. They also were on tour with
Halestorm
,
Adelitas Way
,
3 Doors Down
, and
Daughtry
.
Hit play and the first song was
The Upside of Vanity
. It's a catchy track, but it's rather formulaic and sounds like
Nickelback, Hinder,
and
Theory of a Deadman
had a kid and it's name was
Aranda.
Message of the song is very straightforward... basically about a dude who is just infatuated with a chick on the TV ("Captured by the mirror that you're lookin through" hints at this, but then the line "You on my T.V." kind of gives it away) who is extremely image concious. Honestly, if this song came out 12 years ago, it would probably be a hit... but there are 900,000 songs just like it right now, so it comes across as rather boring and uninspired.
The first standout track is actually the second track "
Undone"
. This is a song about struggle and the options to either rise above it or crumble and come (you guessed it) come Undone. It has a very different tone from the first track, which is a good thing. This sounds much more like
Sevendust
than
Nickelback (well, modern Nickelback)
and I think shows that these guys are more (or at least can be more) than just jock pop/rock.
Next standout track is "
Satisfied
" which I actually had heard on the radio awhile back, and didn't know who sang it. It's a very solid track. Starts out almost Tom Petty'ish, and works it way into a solid rock song very seamlessly. It's definitely going on my playlist and I think that this is probably the best song on the album, as it really showcases everything that the band can be, well, minus an outstanding guitar solo... but there is plenty of that mixed in throughout the rest of the album.
One More Lie
is the next standout track, but I touched on that earlier so I won't dig into it again.
The track
Hey Sally
sounds completely different than everything else on the album. The song is very jam-bandish (sounds like something that should be on a
Widespread Panic
album. It's not bad, just different and feels a bit out of place with the hard rock tracks that surround it.
Overall: 8.25/10
Best start to finish album that I've listened too since starting my reviews (I know, it's only like 5 albums, but still). There are 3 tracks that I think could easily be radio hits (
Satisfied, One More Lie, Undone
) and the rest of the CD showcases all the other things these guys can do well.
The only thing keeping this from a higher rating is the fact that it's pretty obvious that this is a band that is still trying to find it's niche. One song is pure hard rock, next is jock rock, next is grunge... it's kind of to be expected from an atrist who switched from an Indie to major label though. I'm sure that the band had to make some concessions with Wind-Up to put more "radio friendly" (stupid) tracks on the album. That being said, while there are a couple of
Nickelback'ish
sounding tunes (pop/rock really devoid of a lot of heart or substance... just a catchy repetitive beat and nothing more), there really aren't any horrible tracks on the disc. Also, the last 2-3 tracks are devoid of a real standout tune (
The Rest of My Life
is a fine effort, but it's not a standout when compared to the rest of the tracks)... but there are 3 others earlier on, and in this era of music, 3 hits makes a very good record. Anything more than that and you've got a hit, and while this is just shy of that, it's still one of the better rock CD's of 2012 that I've heard.
I will say that I don't fully understand how these guys are opening for a band like
Theory of a Deadman
... it should really be the other way around. They are extremely versitile, they have a ton of natural raw talent and the lead singer sounds like a rock singer from this generation. The lyrics are straightforward (Smashing Pumpkins... these guys are not), but that's not necessarily a bad thing because lets face it... 90% of people listening to music in this generation don't give a s--- about lyrics. I'm just weird like that.
If these guys come in town to headline at a smaller venue, I'd definitely go out of my way to get tickets to see them live.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: LighthouseKeeper
Date: February 28, 2013 at 09:45 PM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

Holy s---, this music sucks. Seriously, I listened to that 'awesome' solo but it was actually just s---. And the vocals / everything else is putrid. Good luck to you tho.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: coreymb
Date: March 01, 2013 at 01:10 AM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

LighthouseKeeper said:
Holy s---, this music sucks. Seriously, I listened to that 'awesome' solo but it was actually just s---. And the vocals / everything else is putrid. Good luck to you tho.
Click to expand...
Yeah, those last two bands just didn't do it for me in anyway. Still good reads and bringing some new threads/life to the forums! Well done OSU.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: March 01, 2013 at 09:44 AM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

LighthouseKeeper said:
Holy s---, this music sucks. Seriously, I listened to that 'awesome' solo but it was actually just s---. And the vocals / everything else is putrid. Good luck to you tho.
Click to expand...
To each their own
If you want to take a crack at some reviews that might enlighten me to better music, please feel free to do so.

 

[Nastycrow]

Originally posted by: osubuckeye4
Date: March 01, 2013 at 10:36 AM
Source: https://forum.mmajunkie.com/threads/osu-reviews-new-rock-cds.52121/

Silverstein -
This is How the Wind Shifts
Release Date: 2/5/13
Never heard of these guys, just picked a CD at random on allmusic.com's "noted" new releases.
Here is what Wikipedia has to say:
Silverstein
is a Canadian
Post-Hardcore
band from
Burlington, Ontario
, formed in 2000. Their band name is a reference to the famous children's author
Shel Silverstein
, whom the band had admired and read the stories of as children.
[5]
They have released a total of seven
studio albums
, three
EP's
, a
compilation album
and a
live DVD/CD
. Their lineup had remained unchanged for eleven years since December 2001, consisting of
lead vocalist
Shane Told,
guitarists
Neil Boshart and Josh Bradford,
bass guitarist
and
backing vocalist
Billy Hamilton, and
drummer
Paul Koehler
. In September 2012, the band had announced that Neil Boshart had left the band and would be replaced by Paul Marc Rousseau. The band achieved moderate success with their second
studio album
,
Discovering The Waterfront
, reaching No. 34 on the
Billboard
200
charts, with the following two albums charting at similar positions.
[6]
The band left long time
record label
,
Victory Records
in 2010, and are currently signed with
Hopeless Records
and
Universal Music Canada
.
[7]
[8]
Silverstein released their fifth studio album, titled
Rescue
in April 2011. Their sixth studio album, a "mini album" made up of songs under 90 seconds, called
Short Songs
was released In February 2012. Their seventh studio album,
This Is How the Wind Shifts
, was released on February 5, 2013.
Regarding the album:
According to front man and lyricist Shane Told, the album is a concept album, similar to 2009's,
A Shipwreck in the Sand
. Told said of the album:
“​
The idea of this album is how a persons life can change forever with just one event. It is the "what if" that everyone thinks about from time to time. This album is different from a typical start to finish story concept album, or an album where all the songs have a common theme. Each track has a parallel track that tells the story in a different light, what would have happened if things were different due to a single event. The song titles of each parallel track go together, forming a sentence or in some cases two words that relate to each other and to the story. Overall, the point of this album is not to prove the existence of fate, or to disprove it. It's a discussion of life, of loss, of and , of success within failure, of failure within success, of the struggle between your actions and your feelings, and how those don't always go together. This Is How The Wind Shifts is a journey that jumps around but stays cohesive, with underlying meaning and stories that have a real human meaning and cater to the soul.
[6]
I hit play on the first track
Stand Amid the Roar
and am greeted with someone screaming at me. Interesting way to start an album, not particularly my cup of tea. Immediately shifts to a bit of melody and then back to screaming. This band is kind of like a mix of
Emery
meets
Taking Back Sunday
... and I don't really care for either of those bands.
I'm 4 songs into the album now and I really don't think this type of music is for me. Every time I start to somewhat get into a song or start enjoying the lyrics in the slightest bit, another singer comes and delivers a horrible screaming set of lyrics that completely throw off the entire song. Some people might like this, I definitely don't.
Hide Your Secrets
is the first track that someone isn't constantly screaming at me... but it's a rather annoying song filled with whiney lyrics. I don't know what it is about this band, but it is like nails on a chalkboard to my ears.
OK... I'm (mercifully) done with the album... there were really no standout tracks at all.
Musically, for a 7th CD, these guys have an extremely limited skillset. Everything they are doing sounds like it could easily be done by a group of high school kids playing in their garage after a few months of practice. It's quite disappointing that these guys have been able to make a living for over a decade putting out s--- like this.
Lyrically, the songs tell a story, but it's generally a strightforward one that is constantly ruined by unnecessary screaming. Then again, on the non-scream tracks, there is a lot of whining. As far as the concept, I can't really get into it because of all the screaming. It really throws everything off when you have someone cry-whining something and then 2 seconds later someone screams at you.
I'm sure that there is an audience for this type of music, but it is definitely not me. I will never listen to these guys again and to be honest I wouldn't see these guys live if they paid me the cost of the ticket to show up and see them.
Overall: 2.5/10
Allmusic gave this 3.5 out of 5 stars. I'd like to buy that reviewer a beer and then smash the bottle over his/her head.
Anywho, here are some of their songs if you want to judge for yourself.
This was the most popular off of Youtube from this album:
Here was the second most popular: