Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
Purchase this album on: iTunes | Amazon
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In this age of indie rock stars, no one is more synonymous with indie as a new musical continent than Bon Iver, the musical brainchild of songwriter Justin Vernon. Given his affinity to beards, acoustic guitars, tiny remote cabins, and soft-spoken vocals it’s pretty hard to tear myself away from that connotation. Bon Iver is now more than just one man, more than just a lone collection of songs written in a remote Wisconsin cabin. With the release of the self-titled album Bon Iver, we are greeted with a tidal wave of sonic exploration.
Taking flight with the beautiful and haunting “Perth”, the album sets a pretty golden standard for itself. Thankfully Vernon is able to keep this standard rolling throughout the entire album; a hard task indeed. Almost every title pays homage to a city, which one is meant to assume has significance for the sound or direction each tune takes on. Maybe each track is his portrait of some dimension to each place and it paints a beautiful world I’d be lucky to see.
The production for this album is immensely creative and in many ways can harken back to a prog rock direction. Any sense of a standard song structure is completely abandoned, leaving a complete mish-mash of intertwining parts. This is definitely apparent when the album decides to throw you a curveball every 30 seconds or so and therein lies one of Bon Iver’s greatest strengths. It was impossible for me to guess what would come next, and many times I was completely taken aback at how interesting and creative he was able to make each song. If you are a fan of lush arrangements, then Bon Iver delivers a healthy dose.
Lyrically, this album lacks a clear motive, and I found it to be the main weakness of the project. To be fair, after second glance, I don’t think Vernon intended lyrics to be orthodox. Not only is the music meant to create a portrait, but I believe by their very sound and delivery, the lyrics are meant to do the same. Definitely not something for the lyrically minded. Sadly there was one minor venture which I found downright silly, which was the album closer “Beth/Rest” which sounded like a straight up 80′s electro-pop ballad. The kind of thing you’d expect to hear during the sex scene in the movie “Ghost”. Beyond this though, the real stand outs on this album are “Perth”, “Holocene”, “Wash”, and “Calgary”.
The final word on this album for me is the immense and cinematic power it holds. Not only does it paint pictures in my mind, but I find its depths an inspiring change to the two dimensional “artistic” stance that so many trendy bands take. With Bon Iver, we are shown that being artistic is not just a matter of how weird you are, but how much honesty and simple beauty you use and employ when creating a piece of art.
Monday, June 6th, 2011
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Not too many people start rocking the world at the tender age of 16. In fact, you’re lucky if you can even rock out in your room at the age of 16. This was never the case for The Arctic Monkeys though, as they flew to commercial success by building a fanbase through Myspace and the internet, drawing the attention of major record labels and the music industry with the mass of fans they had brought into their fold. Given that they were all barely young adults was even more impressive. Their 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not put them on the forefront of English music, and even had people like Noel Gallagher “passing them the torch”. And it didn’t stop there. With 2007’s Favourite Worst Nightmare and 2009′s Humbug, we were introduced to a much more mature sounding band, but with all the flavor and energy of their first release. Sometimes though, you make a belly flop when trying to land in the pool that is music.
Their newest release Suck It And See has the band flowing into much different waters than their previous releases. Unfortunately, for something with such a new and different sound, the substance that was the strength of the band in the past is all but missing in this artistic endeavor.
Running twelve tracks deep, Suck It And See is a rich and deep sounding record, that echoes the psychedelic fuzzed out rock of the 60′s and early 70′s. The biggest let down though was the plateau dynamic the album takes on. Song blends into song, without much of a change in the approach of the vocals or overall band. What could have been a strong album full of standout tracks quickly became a droll and monotonous repetition of the same retro-rock angles. This is not to say that there aren’t the select songs that have their own charm and magic. The gritty and razor edged “Brick by Brick” leads you on with its tilting rhythms, only to break down into shark mouthed riffs. Another strong contender is “All My Own Stunts” which echoes the bands original trademark guitar hooks.
Still, this was over all, plain and simple, a weak album. The only strength that remains for The Arctic Monkeys are lead singer Alex Turner’s biting and witty word play, which stays as strong as it always has been. Choosing his words carefully and making a landmark point with one sentence, he is clearly still in control when it comes to lyrics.
Given what they have achieved in the past, and the standards by which I measure this band, I’m deeply disappointed at such a weak piece of work. Suck It And See could have shaped up to be a fantastic record, given its new musical inflections and direction. Lack of solid and evolved songwriting left me caring very little for their new sound, and more bummed out at a very forgetful group of tracks. Fingers crossed for the next release.
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
Purchase this album on: iTunes | Undertow
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Friday, May 13th, 2011
By Carlos Cisneros
Rating: 5/5
The highly anticipated self titled album from Bay Area instrumental band Fights Without Fears Within is one solid debut. It contains some of the most grand, ambient, and atmospheric instrumental music you will hear this year. All the instruments which include guitar (Jonathan Werness, Luke Young, Chris Jew) , bass (Blaine Jackson), keys, drums (Michael Rose) and even cello (Shannon Rose) blend together to create a soundscape that builds up and blows you away. Throughout the album you will hear lovely instrumentals that contain loud-soft dynamics, surrounded by delicate guitar tones, all carried by fantastic drumming.
The album opener “Welcome to the Himalayas” showcases this rather well, as it starts out very delicate, with an ambient intro and keys, drums kicking in around 1:30, and at 2:45 the song completely explodes. This leads to an interesting bridge around 4:18 which leads to another crescendo. For a band this early in their discography, this song is extremely well structured and it shows great promise for guitarists Werness and Young. This song also portrays the bands ability to delve into some rock territory and the entire album sees the band creating soft textures just as much as they create heavier sounds.
“Airplane Coffee” contains some notable tremolo, along with a recording of a person speaking in the background. “Fire & Beauty” is probably one of their most immediately accessible songs, due to its length but also containing beautiful strings during the crescendo in the form of a cello (Shannon Rose). “Stretching Out the Heavens Like Curtains” clocks in at 6 minutes, and includes some great bends during the guitar riffs. “Still” is a change of pace as it is a short, piano only instrumental.
Some electronic influence shines through on “Joshua”, and “The Deep Sea” marks a change from the loud-soft dynamics structurally present across the album. It showcases the ability of drummer Michael Rose to drum lightly just as skillfully as he drums heavy. It also has some great bass lines from Jackson. The album culminates with “Watch Me Disappear”, where their loud-soft dynamic returns to end the album amidst pounding drums, sharp notes from the cello, and heavy power chords. A fantastic and wonderfully structured debut. You can’t help but be excited for what this band will be capable of creating once they write a follow up album.
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You can find Fights Without Fears Within at the following links:
http://fb.com/fightswithoutfearswithin
http://www.purevolume.com/FightsWithoutFearsWithin
http://fightswithoutfearswithin.bandcamp.com/
Monday, May 9th, 2011
By Brittany Coleman
Max Thompson strung his first tunes on a guitar he paid $40 dollars for from his high school music room. Self-taught and a native to Campbell, California, Max discovered that his craft was more than just a hobby. He threw himself whole-heartedly into his music writing, and now has a soon to be released EP titled “Fall of an Empire.” His latest fascination involves playing at intimate venues across the Bay, crooning his Bob Dylan influenced style to stir the souls of all who can catch a listen. Max agreed to give me some insight about his artistic goals, as well as explain why music has such a strong hold on him. You can check out his band Fall of an Empire on Twitter and Facebook!
So do you play all your own instruments?
I play the guitar and keys. But my friend Brad Lewis plays the bass and leads in the songs. He’s really talented and has been recording the EP for me.
At what point did you start writing your own lyrics, and what was your motivation?
I started when I was 18 or so, but it didn’t really get serious until a few years ago. I think just the experiences in life are some of the best forms of writing. When someone can share stories from what they’ve been through. It’s just so therapeutic to use that in music form and share it with others. Especially finding out later that people can relate to what you have to say.
The fun part is trying to get it from your mind to the song. Kind of like the gratification a mechanic might get from assembling a car. It’s work, but you feel great when you’re done.
What do you hope your music will accomplish when others listen to it?
Well I have this fascination with how influential music is, how one band can inspire a generation. Planting seeds, so to speak. So many musicians out there have influenced me and other others.
If I can inspire even one person or kid to buy a guitar or instrument because they enjoyed my music, then I’ve succeeded.
Who are the artists that have influenced you the most?
Bob Dylan, Dallas Green, John Lennon, Jared Leto, and Kurt Cobain to name a few…
So from your original songs, is there one that is your favorite or has deep personal meaning to you?
I’d have to say “Ill Make It Yours Again” has the most meaning. It’s about wanting to repay your friends and loved ones for being there when times are hard.
