01/09/12: The Notwist - Neon Golden (2002)

01/09/12: The Notwist - Neon Golden (2002)

1. One Step Inside Doesn't Mean You Understand
2. Pilot
3. Pick Up The Phone
4. Trashing Days
5. This Room
6. Solitaire
7. One with the Freaks
8. Neon Golden
9. Off the Rails
10. Consequence

     This album has been in my collection for a long time. I knew a few songs from the album really well. I would tend to put songs from this album on various mix CDs but I never listened to it in its entirety. That proved to be a mistake. It is a really solid album that I regret not listening to sooner.
     After doing my research they are described as a German Indie band. I don't know if I'd describe it the same way. If i had to make comparisons I'd say they sound like a less experimental The Books or Tunng.
Its a very nice mix of electronic beats with acoustic instrumentation. I like the singers voice and the songs are built very nicely. This is a quality album and highly recommended. Every song is worth while and I think that's demonstrated by the fact that my key track choices are a majority of the album. I will probably be grabbing some of their other albums in the near future. (009)

01/08/12: Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life (2008)

01/08/12: Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life (2008)

1. Son The Father
2. Magic Word
3. Golden Seal
4. Days Of Last
5. Crooked Head
6. No Epiphany
7. Black Albino Bones
8. Royal Swan
9. Twice Born
10. Looking For God
11. The Chemistry Of Common Life

     This is another story of going backwards. I heard Fucked Up for the first time last year with their concept album "David Comes to Life". They are an experimental hardcore band from Toronto (I just realized how much Canadian music I've listened to for this project so far. Apparently I like my music with good manners and gravy on the fries). They are experimental in the fact that stylistically the music strafes from straight forward hardcore music. I had gone through some of their oldest music and it seemed to have a fairly old school punk/hardcore sound that seems to be shedding away more and more with each full-length release.
     Their music has a punk style with traditional hardcore screaming vocals, but the music jumps around quite a bit. There are poppier punk sections, straight up hardcore parts mixed with a a touch of the psychedelic (like on the 2 instrumental tracks; "Golden Seal" and "Looking for God"). There was even moments that could be described as rock anthems. Damien their lead singer is truely the lead, but the other members of the band sing small parts that really provide good changes of pace on some of the songs like "Black Albino Bones".
     This album was really great and I highly recommend it especially if you have time to read the lyrics while listening to it. I've found that knowing the words makes me appreciate them even more. This album seems to be a commentary on life in general. Listen to this album but also listen to "David Comes to Life". The order is up to you. (008)

01/07/12: Flying Lotus - Los Angeles (2008)

01/07/12: Flying Lotus - Los Angeles (2008)

1. Brainfeeder
2. Breathe. Something/Stellar Star
3. Beginners Falafel
4. Camel
5. Melt!
6. Comet Course
7. Orbit 405
8. Golden Diva
9. Riot
10. GNG BNG
11. Parisian Goldfish
12. Sleepy Dinosaur
13. RobertaFlack (feat. Dolly)
14. SexSlaveShip
15. Auntie's Harp
16. Testament (feat. Gonjasufi)
17. Auntie's Lock/Infinitum (feat. Laura Darlington)

     This is Flying Lotus' 2nd album and came before his most recent release "Cosmogramma". Cosmosgramma was one of my favorite records from the last couple years and I decided it was time to delve deeper into his back catalog. Overall "Los Angeles" was a good record. It sounds like the Flying Lotus I've come to know and love but his sound still had another major step to take. It was a much darker sounding record than Cosmosgramma at times. The couple songs with guest singers were some of the highlights of this album. He closes with a track sang by Laura Darlington as he seems to have made tradition on his full length releases.  Camel was the song covered on my earlier review of that BADBADNOTGOOD record. If you like the hip-hop and jazz in space vibe of Cosmogramma, this album is definitely worth a listen. (007)

01/06/12: A Silver Mt. Zion - 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons (2008)

01/06/12: A Silver Mt. Zion - 13 Blues For Thirteen Moons (2008)

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13. 1,000,000 Died to Make This Sound
14. 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons
15. Black Waters Blowed / Engine Broke Blues
16. BlindBlindBlind

     A Silver Mt. Zion or Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band are a band that I am not fully sure how to classify. They are Canadian, a little bit post-rock and a little bit punk. They started off as an almost completely instrumental post-rock band. The lineup is ever changing and the amount of singing they do has gone up exponentially over their 6 full length releases. "13 Blues For Thirteen Moons is their 5th full length and I had somehow not listened to it yet.
     It was one of my favorites by them so far. It starts with 12 very short overlapping tracks of feedback before it kicks into the actual album on track 13. I really enjoy what this band does. The 4 tracks that make up the bulk of the album add up to about an hour of slow tempo songs that build up to very loud distorted riffs, fairly political lyrics and some very interesting instrumentation via string and horn sections.
     I really am at a loss overall when describing these guys. Its a rock album for sure. The songs are all epics and have some really great ups and downs. The second half of the album really caught my attention, but at the same time I don't want to discount the first half. Its a complete album and the conclusion is definitely worth the wait. (006)

Tenhornedbeast - Hunts & Wars

Our Laughter Will Cause The Stars To Mourn

#11) Tenhornedbeast - Hunts & Wars (2010)

1. Reaching for the Stars We Blind the Sky
 2. Hilnaric
 3. Father of the Frosts
 4. Ironborn
 5. I Am the Spearhead
 6. Cimmeria
 7. Hunts & Wars

shimmery evil noisy drone doom.  i've just recently gotten into this band so i don't really know too much about it, other than that it's a one-man project, and i'm too tired to look shit up. i really dig this band though and i'm gonna try to get to some of the other albums at some point. will also try to do a better write up next time

01/05/12: Triclops! - Helpers on the Other Side (2010)

01/05/12: Triclops! - Helpers on the Other Side (2010)

1. Glaciers (Cry of the Modern Neanderthal)
2. Brown Summer
3. Until All the Threads Are Stripped
4. Send Conan Home
5. Homage to Monte Cassino (Red)
6. With SARS, I'll Ride the Wind

     Alright... This is a band I randomly downloaded a while back for some reason or another. I saw their name while going through my music collection and decided to check out their newest album. I think it may have had something to do with Mars Volta comparisons.
     Their sound is definition Proggy and jumps around a lot within these 6 tracks. They go from sounding like Mars Volta if they were more faithful to their At The Drive-In roots to sounding like Daughters to sounding like a cock rock band to sounding very pop rock and finally a small touch of Zepplin for good measure. Good album. Nothing ground breaking as far as prog music goes, but the very punk vibe almost makes me wonder what Mars Volta could have been if they leaned in a different direction. (005)