Do you like Phil Collins? I’ve been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn’t understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins’ presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group’s undisputed masterpiece. It’s an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Christy, take off your robe. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. Sabrina, remove your dress. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Sabrina, why don’t you, uh, dance a little. Take the lyrics to “Land of Confusion”. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. “In Too Deep” is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I’ve heard in rock. Christy, get down on your knees so Sabrina can see your asshole. Phil Collins’ solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like “In the Air Tonight” and “Against All Odds”. Sabrina, don’t just stare at it, eat it. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is “Sussudio”, a great, great song, a personal favorite.
Maserati – Inventions For the New Season
Hailing from Athens, Georgia, this reconfigured post-rock band has tightened up their rhythm section to provide a more immediate album. It opens with an intermittent noisy Neu! background guitar behind plucked delay pedaled guitar reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall (before it becomes a shitty pseudo-disco song. Animals: yes. The Wall: no), setting Inventions’ theme of a constant build-up. The interplay of instruments bucks the trend of meandering deliberate guitar Explosions in the Sky have beaten into the ground in what I like to think of as the Friday Night Lights Effect. They forgo the genre’s characteristic comedowns, instead concentrating on instrumental ascension. Taking the faster-paced writing of Seattle’s Kinski, stripping out foreground Sonic Youth guitar distortion, and adding their own signatures like the percussion at the end of “Synchronicity IV” leave a clean rock sound that is distinctively Maserati.
Stepping back from the love ballads and choirs found on Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus (although those are nice too), Nick Cave and three of his Bad Seeds decided to take a break by creating some barebones noisy blues rock in the vein of a demented David Lynch flick. Exploring the underbelly of modern man’s psyche, he highlights ignorant refinement (“Go Tell the Women”) and also spends a whole (hilarious) song attempting to convince a dame to ride his bologna pony (“No Pussy Blues”). Somehow he manages to pull off the middle-aged man singing about sex bit. He’s poetic as always, even when wailing about getting some tail; and the 40 minute runtime does invigorate some raw soul into the ether.
My hatred for Radiohead Fanboyism has surpassed Tool and has almost reached BoSox Nation Massholes. As life-changing as some fucktards have claimed this band to be, they are just that – a band. Hail to the Thief was half decent, half yawn and it looks like they’ve realized it’s now time to stop noodling around and focus on songwriting. The lead single “Bodysnatchers” may regain fans lost post-OK Computer since it has a fast pace and the end of the track has something resembling a simple guitar solo. Like Pink Floyd, they’ve been able to balance experimentation with commercial success, like that means anything.
As an exception to copycat fashion, this British band managed to out-Interpol American counterpart Interpol in 2007. The monotone singing approach brings up obvious comparisons to Joy Division’s Ian Curtis although singer Tom Smith reaches a wider vocal range. As a maturation from their Mercury Prize-nominated debut The Back Room, the motherfuckers streamlined their hooks, using the U2-sized guitars for more effect, but without the hamfisted ego (fuck you, Bono. Love, the interweb). The serious melancholy lyrics have a bit more empathy than found on The Back Room’s derivative approach, while like Bloc Party, the emoting may make one cringe. They mix upbeat straight-ahead 4/4 drums of “Bones”, “The Racing Rats”, “A Thousand Pieces” with mostly beatless vocal-focused “The Weight of the World”, “Push Your Head Towards the Air”, and “Well Word Hand”. I personally most enjoy the middle ground songs “Spiders” and the Japanese/US bonus closer “Open Up”.
Neurosis – Given to the Rising
The first note of the album let’s you know Oakland’s art metal masters are back and brutal as ever. Whereas their last two albums were more melodic, they have pushed those ideas into the background, returning to the louder metal leanings from Through Silver in Blood and Times of Grace from the late nineties. For the past decade, I’ve heard the post-metal group du jour use Neurosis as a jumping off point, which Isis openly admits to. Acts like Mastodon and Big Business wouldn’t be around in their current form if it weren’t for the sounds of Neurosis. With their ninth album, they express absolute menace with no posturing in sight. Their sound is somewhat like Sabbath-ish tribal metal and Pink Floyd atmospheres mixed with the anger of hardcore to form meditative dirges that punish your eardrum but somehow manage to stay very musical. The trashy segments also show a strong attention to sound design via synthesizers and tasteful samples. Original ideas like the panning feedback surrounding the riff/drum assault in the “Water is Not Enough” outro make Neurosis a cut above metal acts out there today.
The Soulsavers – It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s the Way You Land
Yes, there are comparisons to Death in Vegas’ The Contino Sessions but they didn’t have Mark-fucking-Lanegan from Queens of the Stone Age and the criminally overlooked Screaming Trees (who weren’t “grunge”; 1996′s Dust is amazing). Teaming up with the British production duo, he takes on a funereal tone of Tom Waits gone gospel. Opening with “Revival”, a single containing dominant organ and female backup singers, the sombre mood is set for the next 45 minutes. Next up are two DJ Shadow-like productions in “Ghosts of You and Me” and “Paper Money”, along with two instrumentals, “Ask the Dust” and the Bill Hicks-titled but spaghetti western soundtrack-like “Arizona Bay”. Integrated seamlessly into the tracklisting are two covers in Neil Young’s “Through My Sails” and a slowed-down take on The Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations”, closing out with the pretty voxless original “End Title Theme”. Bridging trip-hop, soundtracks, gospel, folk, psychadelica (see: “Jesus of Nothing”), and noisy guitar rock is no mean feat but it’s all taken care of here.
Aereogramme – My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go
They’re from Scotland and are characterized by a lyrical earnestness that will make most people raise a brow. The band’s heart isn’t just on a sleeve; it’s pulsing on their open palms but covered with a sugary coating of melancholy. Look beyond, for their music is fucking sweet ass. Past Aereogramme releases were of the crowed noise-guitar rock variety, but Heart employs more major chords and overpowering melodies to create a clearer mix that still has plenty of density. Also, that singing voice is… cute. The album has echoing ethereal vocals, piano-led songwriting, and motherfucking violin solos. Are you acquiring it yet? This whole review may sound facetious but it’s sincere. I love it all and I’m not embarrassed to say so. Unfortunately, they have since broken up but at least Aereogramme ended on a high note. Music pun!
EL-P – I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead
Def Jux head’s debut Fantastic Damage contained some juvenile wordsmithing as a result from the growing pains of going solo, but this album improves by taking on an even more stern post-apocalyptic tone. Opening with a stark Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me quote about Laura Palmer “falling faster and faster”, we open in mid-spiral. “Up All Night (Stop Cryin’)” contains my favourite lyric of this year: “I see you all regardless/I know what lies are like/I may have been born yesterday, sir/But I stayed up all night”. Other clever quips like, “my triple-A card has one too many initials”, highlight his lyricist abilities that touch upon a social awareness through humourous angles that expose the absurdity of it all. El-P is an incredible talent with versatility that he already displayed on the jazz album High Water made with pianist Matthew Shipp; this album is no exception. His production stands well on its own, even without vocals, which was earlier proven by Cannibal Oxtrumentals, the instrumental release of The Cold Vein by label-mate Cannibal Ox, which El-P had produced. By making improvements to his own rap delivery and fine-tuning the album’s central themes, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead was created to be the best hip-hop album of 2008. This coming from a pasty white boy, boieeeeee.
Porcupine Tree – Fear of a Blank Planet/Nil Recurring EP
Hey look, it’s a middle-aged Englishman shaking his broom at the kids on his lawn! The new album from the nü-prog act, Fear of a Blank Planet is an obvious nod to Public Enemy’s seminal race-conscious release, as he explores today’s disconnected nature of the connected, pill-popping generation. Porcupine Tree main-man Steven Wilson has obviously been influenced by production duties on Opeth’s Blackwater Park, Deliverance, and Damnation as his albums are blending more metal influences into the synth/psychedelic mix. A few familiar guests appear in King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Rush’s Alex Lifeson to provide their signature guitar-work, while Wilson himself displays his usual dense studio mastery. The album is peaked by “Anesthetize”, an almost eighteen minute opus in the spirit of Deadwing’s “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here”. The Lifeson solo and double-bass drum bursts make PT a lot more in your face than their usual Pink Floyd/Radiohead songwriting. The six tracks cut in at 50 minutes, which is an appropriate length for a 70s-style conceptual album. The release comes alongside the companion four song Nil Recurring EP, which contains songs deemed to not completely fit in with the theme, but they stand well on their own. A few riffs and lyrics are lifted from the album to connect these original songs to the masterwork.
Pinback – Autumn of the Seraphs
San Diego’s duo (with friends) are back with another slice of indie pop. You’ll find the expected harmonizing via multi-tracked vocals and intertwining plucked guitar lines over drum machines. Aside from the fast-moving opener, “From Nothing to Nowhere”, the tempo is toned down when compared to 2004′s Summer in Abaddon. This album adds more live drums and intricate piano/guitar melodies fill every song that are also delicate, excepted by the last half of “Walters” which has a distorted guitar more resembling Pinback member Rob Crow’s side-project Goblin Cock. Yes, that is really the name of it. Please don’t Google the album cover. Returning back to the subject at hand, Pinback is still churning out the most rewarding pop music around. Sublime even.
