This is a monumental post. This is my first attempt at an album review. Ever. So um yeah, if it's a bit rough, that's why.
But one of my favorite bands is releasing an album on Tuesday. Not only an album but their debut album. So if they can release their debut long-player, I can release my debut review.
Anywho.
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line.
It is no secret that I love this band. One of the best live shows I've ever seen came from them and if I told you how many times I have listened to their EP, you would think less of me as a person. I think this worked against me with The Rhumb Line. I think my complete and total knowledge of their catalog, of every sound and every nuance of their songs, took away from the experience of The Rhumb Line for me.
First, there were no surprises. I knew everything that was on the record and I knew about how it was going to sound.
Second, I already knew how it should sound (or rather, how I wanted it to sound) so naturally when I heard how it actually sounded, I was disappointed.
Don't get me wrong. I love this album. It will be in my top ten for the year BUT it could have been a ton better I feel. I'll start by talking about what I don't like.
I don't like the tracklisting. It's not bad but it's not how I would have done it. I don't think Ghost Under Rocks is a good opening track and I was disappointed to see one of my favorite songs, A Manner To Act, was left off.
I don't like the production. The EP was underproduced. It sounded tepid and hesitant but that also gave it an endearing and warm quality. Wes's vocals were fantastic and full of authentic emotion. But on the LP Wes's vocals sound distant and metallic, as if they were recorded completely apart from the rest of the band.
The songs themselves sound more live, which is a good thing, but there are little things that bug me. Too Too Too Fast is the best Donnie Darko-esque 80's song that is not actually from the 1980's that I've heard. It has a great synth line and a fantastic rave up. Instead of putting the synth up front in the mix, they bury it behind the drums. Still a really good song but it could have been great. Same thing with the great Kate Bush cover, Suspended In Gaffa. If you listen to live recordings of the song, it builds and swell at the climax in a manner that is almost cinematic and that comes off sounding fantastic. The LP version of the song is still great, still builds but it doesn't swell with orchestral grandeur so it ends up feeling a bit flat.
Finally, Dying Is Fine. Great song. But the EP version is hands down better then the LP/current live version. The EP version is 6 minutes long and has this great Modest Mouse-esque jam in the middle. The version they play live (which is the version on the LP) now is only 4 minutes long and the completely cut out the best part of the song, the middle jam. The 4 minute song builds and builds and builds and then just sits there with its tension and does nothing about it. The EP version was so great because it built the same tension but then it released it, much in the manner of a rollar coaster climbing the initial hill. The LP version climbs the hill and stops while the EP version climbs the hill then rushes downward with a flurry of screams and waving arms.
After all that one would likely feel as if I thought this record was a wasted opportunity and a waste in general. But I don't. I love these songs. They do sound great. The recorded versions of the two newer songs (Oh, La and Run My Mouth Off) are fantastic and show an exiting future direction for this band. I love Wes as a front man and a singer and I love their unique set up and instrumentation.
This is a really good record and I can definitively say that your life will be improved by listening to it. Check it out.
7.9/10
Added Bonus! Here is how I would have made the Rhumb Line tracklist. Listen and enjoy! http://thebetterrhumb.muxtape.com/
Monday, August 18, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
In Retrospect....
In retrospect I should have entitled my Radiohead post "Meeting Radiohead Is Easy"
Damn.
"Oh yeah? Well, the stupid factory called. They're running out of YOU".
Enjoy the pictures:
Damn.
"Oh yeah? Well, the stupid factory called. They're running out of YOU".
Enjoy the pictures:
Monday, August 11, 2008
In Yr. Head...Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
I messed up. I didn't charge the battery in my camera. I assumed it would be okay and well, we all know what happens when you assume.....A: you aren't able to get any photos or video of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Please forgive me.
And it's a shame too, cause Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (henceforth refered to SSLYBY) is a great band. Or rather a fun band. Or....it doesn't matter. They're just that band that you constantly underrate, never give the lavish praise so heaped upon so many other bands. SSLYBY does not have a lot going for them on the surface. They're from Springfield, MO (isn't that where the Simpsons takes place?). They're youngish and to call them unassuming is to give to much weight to the word "unassuming". These are the guys who, when you see them on stage, you realize that you'd been standing next to the lead singer for both opening acts and didn't even realize it.
Now that I've been dismissive and condescending towards SSLYBY...
But I love this band. They're just pure enjoyment. They operate in the melodic middle ground between Weezer, The Shins, and Elliott Smith. In fact, I think the Shins are the closest comparison for SSLYBY. Both bands feature short, catchy, jangly pop songs that are the pure embodiment of a hazy summer evening spent with close friends in grassy fields (with grassy clippings under your bare feet), full of diffused light and children running in slow motion.
That's the sort of overwrought writing that if I read in a review on pitchfork, I'd probably fire off an angry letter to Schreiber. But that's the is the mental image I get when I listen to these songs. And I listen to these songs often because I secretly love pure pop music. SSLYBY is pure pop music.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is music to fall in love to. It's music to soundtrack a relationship. It's the "holy shit, am I in...LOVE?!" moment in pop form.
Broom, their debut album, is one of my favorite albums of all time. I've listened to it a couple times a month since I first found it in April of 2007. Oh, sad story. The only reason I ever listened to SSLYBY was because Boris Yeltsin himself died and I felt that illegally downloading his namesake band's album would be a fitting tribute. Turned out to be a good move for me. My favorite song on the album is the closer, a breezy two and a half minutes with one of the best and most devastating climaxes in a song I've ever heard. I wish this song was twice as long as it was.
Their second album is Pershing. I've had this album for some time but never really warmed up to it until just the past few weeks. While Broom was more immediate, Pershing it more a grower. But it features the same gorgeously catchy and simple pop songs.
I recently saw SSYLBY at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ. What really impressed me most about the band was their fanbase. Here is a band whose fan base transcends your typical hipster scensters. Maybe it was because the show was in NJ, I don't know. But I cannot remember the last time I saw a show where a father accompanied his high school daughter to a show. I cannot remember a time when a band seemed to have an entire fan club at a show (and they were all young). Absolutely one of the most diverse crowds I've ever seen.
A quick note about Asbury Lanes. Best.Venue.Ever. Seriously. It's a bowling alley first and foremost. People were bowling during the show even. The middle half of the lanes were covered by the temporary stage. The place was literally across the street from the ocean (and a few feet from the more famous Stone Pony). I don't think they had invested any money into it since the 1970's at the latest but that's what made it wonderful. If Happy Days was took place in 1977 and had punk undertones instead of taking place in the 1950's, this would take the place of Arnold's Drive-In. It was a bowling alley, yes, but they had somewhat gourmet food (that was cheap!). No horrible pizza here. They had good beer (and cheap!). This place is absolutely my favorite semi-punk rock and non-intentionally hipster bowling alley ever. Such a cool place.
Okay, music. I'm using a new (and vastly superior) site for posting songs, Drop.io. You can find four songs from SSLYBY HERE. Two songs from Broom (Pangea and Gwyneth) and two from Pershing (Modern Mystery and I Think I Want To Die). Listen, enjoy, then go see them live and buy some vinyl.
http://drop.io/afakeempire
And it's a shame too, cause Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (henceforth refered to SSLYBY) is a great band. Or rather a fun band. Or....it doesn't matter. They're just that band that you constantly underrate, never give the lavish praise so heaped upon so many other bands. SSLYBY does not have a lot going for them on the surface. They're from Springfield, MO (isn't that where the Simpsons takes place?). They're youngish and to call them unassuming is to give to much weight to the word "unassuming". These are the guys who, when you see them on stage, you realize that you'd been standing next to the lead singer for both opening acts and didn't even realize it.
Now that I've been dismissive and condescending towards SSLYBY...
But I love this band. They're just pure enjoyment. They operate in the melodic middle ground between Weezer, The Shins, and Elliott Smith. In fact, I think the Shins are the closest comparison for SSLYBY. Both bands feature short, catchy, jangly pop songs that are the pure embodiment of a hazy summer evening spent with close friends in grassy fields (with grassy clippings under your bare feet), full of diffused light and children running in slow motion.
That's the sort of overwrought writing that if I read in a review on pitchfork, I'd probably fire off an angry letter to Schreiber. But that's the is the mental image I get when I listen to these songs. And I listen to these songs often because I secretly love pure pop music. SSLYBY is pure pop music.
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin is music to fall in love to. It's music to soundtrack a relationship. It's the "holy shit, am I in...LOVE?!" moment in pop form.
Broom, their debut album, is one of my favorite albums of all time. I've listened to it a couple times a month since I first found it in April of 2007. Oh, sad story. The only reason I ever listened to SSLYBY was because Boris Yeltsin himself died and I felt that illegally downloading his namesake band's album would be a fitting tribute. Turned out to be a good move for me. My favorite song on the album is the closer, a breezy two and a half minutes with one of the best and most devastating climaxes in a song I've ever heard. I wish this song was twice as long as it was.
Their second album is Pershing. I've had this album for some time but never really warmed up to it until just the past few weeks. While Broom was more immediate, Pershing it more a grower. But it features the same gorgeously catchy and simple pop songs.
I recently saw SSYLBY at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ. What really impressed me most about the band was their fanbase. Here is a band whose fan base transcends your typical hipster scensters. Maybe it was because the show was in NJ, I don't know. But I cannot remember the last time I saw a show where a father accompanied his high school daughter to a show. I cannot remember a time when a band seemed to have an entire fan club at a show (and they were all young). Absolutely one of the most diverse crowds I've ever seen.
A quick note about Asbury Lanes. Best.Venue.Ever. Seriously. It's a bowling alley first and foremost. People were bowling during the show even. The middle half of the lanes were covered by the temporary stage. The place was literally across the street from the ocean (and a few feet from the more famous Stone Pony). I don't think they had invested any money into it since the 1970's at the latest but that's what made it wonderful. If Happy Days was took place in 1977 and had punk undertones instead of taking place in the 1950's, this would take the place of Arnold's Drive-In. It was a bowling alley, yes, but they had somewhat gourmet food (that was cheap!). No horrible pizza here. They had good beer (and cheap!). This place is absolutely my favorite semi-punk rock and non-intentionally hipster bowling alley ever. Such a cool place.
Okay, music. I'm using a new (and vastly superior) site for posting songs, Drop.io. You can find four songs from SSLYBY HERE. Two songs from Broom (Pangea and Gwyneth) and two from Pershing (Modern Mystery and I Think I Want To Die). Listen, enjoy, then go see them live and buy some vinyl.
http://drop.io/afakeempire
Sunday, August 10, 2008
On Radiohead OR How I Was Less Than Ten Feet From My Idols
I finally saw Radiohead live for the first time Friday night, at the All Points West Festival. First off, the festival. What a gorgeous location. A large open grassy field on the banks of the Hudson/Atlantic with views of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline so good I could not believe they existed. The festival itself seemed to be really well set up and run and they didn't seem to gouge you on the prices (well, $90 a day for tickets is pretty steep....). The only complaint I (and others) seemed to have was the long walk from the Light Rain to the actual grounds. It was probably close to a mile.
Second, Radiohead. Amazing. There is not a BETTER band over the course of the last 15 years. And I'm a weird person because I prefer In Rainbows to any other album of theirs.
Third, I managed to get into Radiohead's after party after the show. I was chilling there, drinking a beer, right next to Ed and Phil. I'm sure to some people who are more involved in the music industry this is a "so what" but for somebody who up until a couple of months ago was still going to crappy college frat parties, to be there at RADIOHEAD's party, the BEST band over the course of the past FIFTEEN years! Me? I, traditionally, am not a cool person. Or so past history tells me. And my friends. And that's okay, I don't really seek to be cool. But....I don't know, call me star-struck. And the funny thing is, as impressed as I am with their music, the true root of my respect for Radiohead comes from their handling of their business.
Like most college students I had no idea what I wanted to do for the longest time. I went to school for five years (in order to use all my track eligibility) and I did not even have a loose idea of what I wanted to do until I was half way through my 4th year of school. It was at that point I realized I wanted to work with music, the internet, and marketing. But while I had a concept of what I was interested in, I didn't even really know if such a place existed in the "real world". It was not until October of 2007 that I really began to construct and articulate what is was/is I want to do for my career and the genesis of this crystallization was the release of In Rainbows by Radiohead. When Radiohead came out with the "pay-what-you-wish" model for In Rainbows and then continued along those lines with numerous innovative and creative promotional events (free live webcasts, etc), I essentially saw my future. I spent the next 6 months or so deep in thought about what Radiohead and their followers (Saul Williams, Trent Reznor, etc) pioneered. I had found the thing I was truly passionate about (oh and if you work at all in the music industry or with social media or marketing then check out the site I just created http://www.hitsingularity.com )
So that is why going to a party with Radiohead has left me a giddy little boy; the chance to be next to my heros, but not in the way you'd think.
Second, Radiohead. Amazing. There is not a BETTER band over the course of the last 15 years. And I'm a weird person because I prefer In Rainbows to any other album of theirs.
Third, I managed to get into Radiohead's after party after the show. I was chilling there, drinking a beer, right next to Ed and Phil. I'm sure to some people who are more involved in the music industry this is a "so what" but for somebody who up until a couple of months ago was still going to crappy college frat parties, to be there at RADIOHEAD's party, the BEST band over the course of the past FIFTEEN years! Me? I, traditionally, am not a cool person. Or so past history tells me. And my friends. And that's okay, I don't really seek to be cool. But....I don't know, call me star-struck. And the funny thing is, as impressed as I am with their music, the true root of my respect for Radiohead comes from their handling of their business.
Like most college students I had no idea what I wanted to do for the longest time. I went to school for five years (in order to use all my track eligibility) and I did not even have a loose idea of what I wanted to do until I was half way through my 4th year of school. It was at that point I realized I wanted to work with music, the internet, and marketing. But while I had a concept of what I was interested in, I didn't even really know if such a place existed in the "real world". It was not until October of 2007 that I really began to construct and articulate what is was/is I want to do for my career and the genesis of this crystallization was the release of In Rainbows by Radiohead. When Radiohead came out with the "pay-what-you-wish" model for In Rainbows and then continued along those lines with numerous innovative and creative promotional events (free live webcasts, etc), I essentially saw my future. I spent the next 6 months or so deep in thought about what Radiohead and their followers (Saul Williams, Trent Reznor, etc) pioneered. I had found the thing I was truly passionate about (oh and if you work at all in the music industry or with social media or marketing then check out the site I just created http://www.hitsingularity.com )
So that is why going to a party with Radiohead has left me a giddy little boy; the chance to be next to my heros, but not in the way you'd think.
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