Archive for the 'Albums' Category

Ok here’s my track by track review of the new Jimmy eat world album Chase This Light.

If you want to ignore my diatribe about earlier Jimmy releases then just skip the first paragraphs and go to the track rundown.
I only starting listening to Jimmy eat world or JEW (how’s that for an acronym) with their release Bleed America which was later self titled due to the S11 attacks. This platinum selling record is my favourite to date as it has the perfect blend of pop rock hooks and catchy chorus’s. However I must admit that when I first gave this album a spin it didn’t really appeal to me. The initial pop flavour was the antithesis of the music I was listening to at the time, which was mainly fast and loud punk. While I have since given Static Prevails, Clarity and Futures a good listening to I’ve never liked these earlier releases as much as some other fans out there as I found them to be too slow for my liking. I also think this overemphasis of softer melodies can sometimes tread a fine line between pop music and sappy songs about relationships. However if you can relate to their lyrics or you can forgive their sentimentalism you’ll more likely to get more out of Jimmy Eat World and hence this album.

Track Rundown
1. Big Casino: A rousing number that rocks hard (well as hard as Jimmy gets anyway). Good tune that grabs you from start to finish with a cool chorus about living life to it’s full after your prime has gone. Described by Jimmy as a loser anthem. As with a lot of releases nowadays this first track is the best off the album. 10/10

2. Let It Happen: Carries on the rocking momentum built up from the last track with twanging guitars and a catchy bridge. The soft deceptive “ha, ha’s” convey the message of using bravado to fake strength in a relationship. 9/10

3. Always Be: This number starts of fairly slowly and has a soft finger clicking and twanging of guitars in the background. This song is about how co-dependency in a relationship can lead to vulnerability. While the chorus is slightly repetitive the melodic sound of this song is still enjoyable. 7/10

4. Carry You: This overtly pop friendly number is too sugar-coated with female backing harmonies and sappy vocal “do, doo’s” to thoroughly enjoy. The slightly toned down guitar and slow speed doesn’t really do it for me either. This song involves analysing and looking for too much in a relationship rather than living in the real moment. 6/10

5. Electable (Give It Up): Back to a rocking drumbeat and full of catchy “oh oh’s” and stirring guitars in the background. Its politic message is slightly glossed over with simpler lyrics than expected from a song that should be full of anger. However as with other aggressive JEW songs (Nothing Wrong and Pain) the real anger is best expressed through the guitar hooks. The infectious energy on this track makes it my 2nd favourite song of the album. 10/10

6. Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues: A slow but enjoyable track about apathy that starts off with acoustic guitar and violin in the background. The stable drumbeat kicks off the moody vibe of this song while the soft mournful vocals, strong string work and drawn out pace make this the most atmospheric song on the album. 8/10

7. Feeling Lucky: This is the second loser anthem on the album with a title that along with Big Casino carries on the gambling theme. An early chorus and great guitar hook push this song along. Again more female backing humming and a very catchy chorus will have you singing along in no time. 9/10

8. Here It Goes: My least favourite song off the album seems to be trying too hard to be tick all the boxes for a perfect track. The hand clapping (probably synthetised) and female backing leads to the most pop sounding song on the album which is meant to be about knowing what is really important to you. It’s at this point that Jimmy crosses into territory that’s too radio-friendly for me. 5/10

9. Chase This Light: This title track follows on from the last song in that it’s slightly lacking in depth and just not unique enough to stick with me. Cring worthy lyrics like “Confetti rainfall” are just too sappy and sentimental for me. 6/10

10. Firefight: Doesn’t start of promising (see above two tracks) but the pop guitar hooks keeps things moving along until the rousing drums and chorus pick up. By the end this song about viewing new things seems to have more of an anthem feeling than Feeling Lucky or Big Casino. 8/10

11. Dizzy: This song is appropriately titled with soaring hooks and vocals that build up and spin down again. This song didn’t really do much for me the first time but has really grown on me after a few listens. The string work and passionate vocals give this song a vibe that that reminds me of some of JEW’s epic’s such as Futures or Get It Faster. 9/10

Highlight Tracks
Big Casino
Electable (Give It Up)
Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues
Feeling Lucky

While Chase This Light is missing some of the heavier guitar work found on Futures the faster pace of songs makes this album much lighter and easier to listen to than JEW’s earlier work. On the flipside the female backing vocals on most songs overstay their welcome and a few tracks lack a certain level of depth and are too pop orientated to be of lasting value. However the overall sense of optimism and energy found on this album hasn’t been matched since the Bleed America days when Jimmy Eat World’s were at their pop rock best.

Overall Score: 8/10

Hi music fans,
Well as promised here’s my second review on some of the new shit I’ve been listening to recently.

Today I’ll be covering the first full length release from the three piece band Horsell Common titled ‘The Rescue’. The U.S producer on this album Stephen Haigler has previously worked with cult icons the pixies and a favourite band of mine Brand New. While these fellow Melbournites have toured extensively and played a number of support gigs my first real listen came after I saw a pre-album video clip on Rage one night. The track ‘good from afar’ really grabbed my attention with its energy and got me really looked forward to the full album. After reading a good little review on the bombshellzine website I rushed out to JB hifi and got my copy. After a few solid listens I can definitely say this album has met my expectations and will be sure to please those into rock or punk music. Now for a little track by track rundown.

Good From Afar: What a way to start off the album. A soft twanging of guitar strings then the drum beats smash right into the rock. A fucking catchy chorus and hooks make this a ripper track. I’m a sucker for any song with ‘hey hey’s’ throw in and there’s also a great breakdown. As the lyrics say ‘Breakdown popularity contest’ is what this song is about and all those fashion victims should take note. Dressing the same doesn’t make you unique you fucking clone clowns. This is actually my favourite song off the album, but unlike another recent release (damn you foo fighters), the first track isn’t the only good one and is a taste of things to come. 10/10

Bruise Easy: Another great track with a fine guitar riff and double pedal drum kickers throughout. The chorus is sure to stick in your head after a couple of listens which is great because it’s about how much they miss their Melbourne homes when they’re touring. 9/10

Automaton: This track brings down the vibe a little with melancholy vocals which sound like something from a deftones album. However this suites the songs theme which is about someone resisting a change in their personality through either fame or other circumstances, I’m not quite sure. It’s a bit lengthy at over 5 min but the presence of piano before the build up at the end lifts this song. 8/10

Help is on its way: The drum beat and well timed guitar work fit well with the aggressiveness of this song. I like the bitter lyrics on this song ‘all the qualities of a cancer, get back to work you amateur, you’ll never make a salesman’ I’ll have to remember this line next time someone tries to upsize me at a fast food restaurant. 8/10

Sing the news: This is the first track that showcases the vocal ability of the lead singer Mark Stewart. A moving song about making the most of your time and creating a good mood on a bad day. Mark greatly vocalizing his frustration in the lines ‘miss you all the same my alcohol’. This song sets the vibe for the rest of the album, with the remaining songs being slightly slower and mellower. 8/10

Annie if you’re listening: The first acoustic track off the album is much better than most of the rubbish from the latest foo fighters album. They’ve been playing music for over ten years so what’s their excuse for playing boring music? Sorry about the ranting tangent. The vocal depth is again presented well on this song, which has additional female vocals making it almost sound like a duet at some stages. 7/10

It’s Ok: If you’re not a fan of the previous acoustic track this one brings back the rocking. As with most of the songs off the album there’s a sense of frustration this time aimed at being stuck in a meaningless relationship. But as the title says ‘its ok, it’s a resort, compared to what I had before’. 7/10

I’m Dead: Due to the slow guitar pacing this song takes a while to get used to, but by the end the track speeds up and the drum beats turns it into quite an epic. The presence of guest vocals by Stephen Christian from Anberlin is a pleasant surprise (They recently toured together). 7/10

The sound of breaking records: This song seems to be lacking the uniqueness of the previous tracks. By no means a bad song but there isn’t anything that particularly stands out on it. Nuff said. 6/10

Gone for the summer: Makes up for the last track with a nice drum bit in the middle and a cool sound that will stick in your head. I think this song is about escaping the rest of the world possibly via drugs as indicated by the lines ‘We laugh so hard we almost die, everyone slips like a waterslide’. 7/10

Surgery: A great rollercoaster of a song to end the album on. Has a stable guitar riff at the start which highlights the vocal strength on this track. Really breaks into something special near the 3 min mark with the vocals soaring and then coming back down to finally end with a slow patter of drums. I could see this one really growing on me. 8/10

In wrapping up I would like to say that the first full length release from Horsell common has delivered the goods. After a few listen The Rescues great hooks and catchy verses are sure to be stuck in your head. While the first 4 tracks are rocking its great to see a bit of diversity in the later tunes which showcase the bands ability to write great songs. Slower songs like ‘Annie if you’re listening’ and ‘Sing the news’ also highlight the vocal range of the lead singer Mark and show he’s capable of covering more mature themes. I can’t wait to see these boys live but unfortunately I’ll be away at Inverock during their next gig. They’ll be touring with my favourite Australian band Gyroscope over November so make sure you check them out if you get the chance. http://www.myspace.com/bombshellzinepresents 

Overall Rating: 8/10

Hello all,

Just listened to the new foo fighters album Echoes,Silence,Patience and Grace and thought I would share some of my initial impressions. As I’ve only given a couple of listen’s and will probably give an update after I’ve given it more of a spin.

First of all I must say I was expected a lot from this release as the Foo Fighters got back with Gil Norton who was their previous producer from their 1997 recording ‘The colour and the shape’, which was my favourite Foo album. They’ve recently released a 10 yr anniversary edition and I must say that all songs still stand the test of time remarkably well. Anyway as Tre has previously pointed out the Foo’s will never be able to make a better album than that and therefore this album should be judged on it’s own merits.

The best description of this album would best be summed up as ‘acoustic/rock!’ The reason for the exclamation mark is due to the fact that a the start tracks on this album start sounding really acoustic and then explode into rock later on.

Now for a little description of some tracks

1. The Pretender: I’m sure most of you have heard this first single multiple times, but I just can’t get enough of this song. Starts out acoustically slow with Dave nearly whispering the initial lines and then bang in come the drums and then this track rocks hard for another 4.30 min. On a side note I can’t help but draw parallels between this opening track and the one on the album ‘One by One’. The self-titled song on this release was first released as a single way before the album came out and it had such an epic sounding rock song that I was expected great things. Unfortunately the rest of the album was a bit of a sleeper and had too many bland songs mixed between some pretty good ones. Anyway I digress. This track has it all, awesome riffs, catchy lyrics and even a break down in the middle. I would have to say this is definitely my favourite track off the album.

2. Let it Die: Again starts off slow acoustically and takes quite a bit longer to rip into its stride than ‘The pretender’ but once it does this track brings back memories of the slow burning songs found on ‘The Colour And The Shape’. A great song and I’m sure it will grow on me.

3. Erase Replace: Starts out well and keeps the rock vibe throughout the song. Easy to get into as the main chorus is repeated numerously and will probably stick in my head after a while.

4. Long road to ruin: Surprisingly no acoustic start on this one, which is best described as having a bit of a pop rock sound. Good but doesn’t really have much depth to it.

5. Come Alive: Back to acoustic. Gentle patter of drums and rather slow lyrics until the 3 min mark. After this it actually picks when the lyrics get more repetitive and when Dave throws in some screaming. Actually pretty good song by the end.

6. Stranger Things Have Happened: The most acoustic track yet, no drums just Dave and the guitar. Chorus is rather nice. Unfortunately brings back memories of the bonus album release with ‘In your honour’, if that’s your thing then I guess you’ll like this one.

7. Cheer Up Boys (Your Makeup is Running): Ahh back to a good start.  No acoustic, just rock. A little generic as the lyrics and chorus isn’t anything special. Based on the title was actually expecting a song deriding the emo bands out there but seems like it has nothing to do with that.

8. Summers End: Rather catchy and the title is rather appropriate as it has rather an upbeat sound. It’s a relaxing song and could grow on me after a few quite listens while kicking back and drinking beers.

9. The Ballad Of The Beaconsfield: No lyrics just guitar, but all Australian’s will know the whole story behind this anyway. Best described as a ditty.

10. Statues: Should have been put on their acoustic ‘In your honour’ album. Slow, boring and doesn’t go anywhere. I would have to say at this point the whole album for me unfortunately goes downhill. No Rock = boring shit

11. But honestly:  Title sums it up. Honestly enough with the acoustic shit I’m getting bored of it. Better than the last track but that’s only because it finally rocks out at the end near the 3min mark, but it’s a little too late with only 1 min to go.

12. Home: If they carried on the momentum from the last track and amped up on this track they could have really had something special to finish with. While it’s rather of a nice song it just doesn’t have enough grunt and balls to really finish this album on a high note. Interestingly it does have piano in it, which is probably a first for the foo’s and maybe a sign of things to come.

13. Once And For All (Bonus Track): Not too bad actually and would have been much better placed between tracks 10 and 11 to break up the boredom. Since it’s a bonus track it might have originally been left of the album, which makes me wonder what else didn’t make the cut.

Well, quite a lengthy post as per usual but here as some of my final thoughts. This review might come across a bit negative but as I’ve mentioned earlier it’s only my initial impressions. No matter how hard I try I can’t help but make comparison this with their previous albums and therefore my standards are a bit high.

I’ve now listened to the album again on my mp3 player at work while writing this review and have had to tone down the volume quite a bit. Maybe playing this album through a good stereo and cranking it up would give a bit more life to some of these songs and would bring out the rock arena vibe that Foo’s are renowned for. As Tre has mentioned their last album ‘In Your Honour’ really benefited from being blasted out at ridiculous volumes to really get the most from it. I think if all the boring acoustic songs were replaced with catchy rock tracks like from  ‘In Your Honour’ this album really could have been something great.
My initial conclusion is that ‘Echoes,Silence,Patience and Grace’ is better than ‘One By One’, and after a few listens maybe equal with  ‘There Is Nothing Left To Lose’, but doesn’t come close to matching ‘The Colour And The Shape’ and even ‘In Your Honour’.
Feel free to give your comments, opinions, views or even if you just want to talk about discuss all things Foo (And no I don’t mean Christian aka: Fu).