Despite attempting to check them out for some time now, this'll be my first encounter with the Whigs. High hopes.
[b]Afghan Whigs - John the Baptist[/b] - 5:34

Starts off very cool, if rather hard to describe accurately. Whatever it is, I like it. The main part drops away soon enough for the vocals to come in, but the little, slightly ska-influenced (not really, but that's what it brings to mind for me so now I can't think of any better description) jumpy bit of guitar keeps going underneath, and sounds really good. The vocals are good so far too, nothing particularly impressive, but sounds like it'd be a good voice if/when it does something. First impressions matching up to those hopes, then.

Drums and horns(?) build up some energy behind all this, slowly, while the guitars change it up slightly, I think, before we reach a good bit. Singing rather than hushed talking, while the music rather explodes around the vocal. Excellent. Female backing vocals too, I think, or else double-tracked spectacuvocals from the main guy (Dulli?).

Back to the hushed talking bit, with a similar build-up of energy behind him. This is awesome. For some reason this time I was noticing the bass. Tis good bass. And then another chorus, more or less as it was before.

And the last two and a half minutes or so of the song is basically an extended outro. The vocalists (both/all of them) singing "anything for a lover" and "ooh"ing away, while the music continues and the horns mess around a bit. The last minute or so is much more low-key than the rest of the song, with the music all winding down, no vocals, and the horns and (previously unnoticed) strings just playing more relaxedly to the end.

10/10. Can't really give anything I liked that much any less.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2WKBZXCASUQUP2WTL7XNWDSXV7]Nomeansno - It's Catching Up[/url] (rock)
[url=http://s8.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RQFK8OO694053F6I1EKG9U8Z6]Nomeansno - The End of All Things[/url]
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1H4A7T8EKMAJH1TYSIA6SWFMAK]Hot Cross - Finger Redux[/url] (emo/hardcore)
[url=http://s14.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0DXHNU6WGMYFO2JJWE9OV99S2L]Kaada/Patton - Pitié Pour Mes Larmes[/url] (?. Experimental/pop, maybe)

[B]Nomeansno - It's Catching Up[/B]

I've wanted to check out these guys for a long time, noting the love they get from folks who's taste I respect. I recently found out they played a show in town a couple weeks ago that flew under my radar so I also want to find out what I missed. Here we go:

Starts out with stabs of sound, then a little hardcore riff and then the singer comes out. Throughout the song, there's a lot of cool dynamics, they start off a verse kind of quiet, then explode. I don't want to say spastic but they've definitely got some qualities that might be considered as such. I'm not the world's biggest heavy music fan but I like this stuff. For lack of better comparison, it reminds me of the Minutemen.

The drummer sounds fu[COLOR=White]c[/COLOR]king great, doing a lot of stop and start stuff. I don't know what else to say aside from, fu[COLOR=White]c[/COLOR]k. I wish I caught that show. I mean seriously, fu[COLOR=White]c[/COLOR]k. Fu[COLOR=White]c[/COLOR]k, man. Fu[COLOR=White]c[/COLOR]k.

10/10

(Bad review, I know Fu[COLOR=White]c[/COLOR]k.)

[URL=http://www.devindaviswebsite.com/Iron_Woman.mp3]Devin Davis - Iron Woman[/URL] (Alternative country indie rock sort of)
[URL=http://www.demolitionrecords.com/music/ELECTRIC_EEL_SHOCK_DO_THE_METAL.mp3]Electric Eel Shock - Do the Metal[/URL] (Japanese guys rock and rolling)
[URL=mp3.insound.com/download.cfm?mp3id=2458]The National - All the Wine[/URL] (Indie rock)
[URL=http://www.lexrecords.com/were_winning.htm]Fog - We're Winning[/URL] (Electro-pop)

I'll take dibs, then. Two 10/10s in a row, eh.

Incidentally, I think I've put Alt/Indie-friendly choices in the Pit and R&M Forced Listenings, in case anyone's interested..

I've heard of them before, but never heard anything by them.
[b]Electric Eel Shock - Do the Metal[/b] - 3:03

Starts off with a cool little riff, accentuated by periodic stings from the rest of the instruments. The bass joins in a little more substantially, and then with a distorted intro yell from the vocalist, we're off.

The verse riff basically builds on that which introduced us to the song, and the bass is nicely prominent without overpowering anything important. I'm about a minute in now, and I was about to say that the vocalist sounds a little uncomfortable, perhaps because English isn't his first language, but he now sounds perfectly comfortable. So, good. Another distorted yell introduces a short break back into the catchy riff that started the song, before another verse (which is ended by another yell - he likes them).

A short section of "Do the metal!" before a solo. The lyrics seems to be about rock'n'roll and heavy metal; both things which ride high in my list of favourite lyrical themes.

Anyway, the solo lasts more or less the rest of the song, before a final "do the metal!" bit, and the song stamps to a close and fades out.

10/10. Where can I find more?

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2WKBZXCASUQUP2WTL7XNWDSXV7]Nomeansno - It's Catching Up[/url] (rock)
[url=http://s8.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RQFK8OO694053F6I1EKG9U8Z6]Nomeansno - The End of All Things[/url] (rock)
[url=http://s14.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0DXHNU6WGMYFO2JJWE9OV99S2L]Kaada/Patton - Pitié Pour Mes Larmes[/url] (?. Experimental/pop, maybe)
[url=http://s8.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1WAAF9AXOV1AI0RVEFN37J1NDH]Aeon Spoke - Grace[/url]
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=20AVASIPSCCBQ06A1EAXE1NK9Z]Aeon Spoke - Silence[/url]

I refrain from giving genre to Aeon Spoke because I know I'd probably come out with "soft rock", and that just makes them sound crap. Suffice to say they're nothing hard or heavy.

[QUOTE=Bartender]Where can I find more?[/QUOTE]

There's another song on their webite ([URL=www.electriceelshock.com]right here[/URL]) but it wouldn't download for me. They seem like the kind of band that would be real nice live.

Not a dibs for now.

edit: also, the middle guy on their homepage is waiting to be someone's avatar.

/makes mental note of future avatar

Not a dib, yet. I will if nobody else has by tomorrow night, though, because I've been meaning to getinto NoMeansNo for ages too.

,.-*(dibs)*-.,

[b]Aeon Spoke - Grace[/b]

Never heard of this band before. No clue what to expect. Perhaps metal? This will be written stream of conciousness style and I'm kind of tired now, so excuse me if it's horrible.

OK, starts off very ambient. Hey here's some guitar, nice and chilled and slow. Drums come in with piano/keys/whatever. All very chilled and pretty. I'm digging this a lot right now.

Here's some vocals. Aww, he wants faith in the world but doesn't know how to love! I don't really dig the lyrics. But his actual voice is fine. I mean, it's nothing spectacular, but it fits the music.

There's not a whole lot of variety in the song, verse chorus etc (oh and here's a guitar solo thing), but it's really nice as it is. Very relaxing and melodic and airy and... stuff. The atmospheric stuff, like the echoing and the keys, is very nice, and it's probably what makes the song good. Like I said, the lyrics are dancing near the flames of cheesiness, but I can overlook that because the atmosphere/mood of the song is so d[SIZE=2]a[/SIZE]mn good.

Yeah I dug this.

[b]7/10[/b]. That's pretty good. This review wasn't. Apologies.

Next up:

Mark Lanegan - The River Rise:
[url]http://s8.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3N64RCSU260UR27SA7PFE7NRFJ[/url]

American Music Club - Gratitude Walks:
[url]http://s17.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0BHAKVUPW44700MZP82W8ZE6PP[/url]

The Pogues - Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six:
[url]http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0XKB31OJBUIAA1YV693J53AYUX[/url]

Dibs.

Another band I've been interested in checking out, again thanks to an MXican, so here we go.
[b]American Music Club - Gratitude Walks[/b] - 4:17

Starts out with piano. Anyone who happened to follow my Forced Listening reviewing travels, weird though they may be, would know I'm a sucker for piano. So this starts well.

Anyway, the piano's just playing a simple little melancholy thing, and it doesn't stay alone for long; pretty soon the vocals and the rest of the band all come in, following in the slow footsteps of the piano. I'm not too keen on the guy's voice at first, it seems a bit too direct (or I suppose you could say "unsophisticated") for the music, but after a while he doesn't seem so bad.

There seem to be lots of little things going on throughout the song; no major dynamic shifts in sound or anything, just little odd bits throughout, while the body of the song carries on. I might have heard some kind of horn instrument just then (0:34 or so), but I'm not sure. Lots of these bits are hard to identify, so I won't try.

Chorus starts just before 1:00, and seems a little lacklustre. Now bad enough to ruin the song, though, and it heads straight off into another verse anyway, before another chorus c2:00.

Up til now it's all been very nice, but nothing especially grabbing. The end of the song doesn't change that too much, though it introduces some variation in the music which is enjoyable. And it just ends, with a rather abrupt fade-out (does that make sense?), after another chorus.

7/10, I think. It seemed a bit directionless, but otherwise was alright. Kinda reminded me of Aeon Spoke actually, though without the ambience.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2WKBZXCASUQUP2WTL7XNWDSXV7]Nomeansno - It's Catching Up[/url] (rock)
[url=http://s8.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RQFK8OO694053F6I1EKG9U8Z6]Nomeansno - The End of All Things[/url] (rock)
[url=http://s14.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0DXHNU6WGMYFO2JJWE9OV99S2L]Kaada/Patton - Pitié Pour Mes Larmes[/url] (?. Experimental/pop, maybe)
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=20AVASIPSCCBQ06A1EAXE1NK9Z]Aeon Spoke - Silence[/url]

Dee eye bee ess

[b]Kaada/Patton - Pitié Pour Mes Larmes[/b]

Good reviews all round for this musical project. Now I hope to add another one.

Strange sounding intro pianio and pizzicato strings, Mike Patton sings something, then someone who sounds like Usher doing an R'n'B sounding harmony.

Then into some minimal piano and operatic female vocals. Things are a bit random at times, which is something I don't really like. Luckily there isn't much of that. However up until about 3 minutes, the song seems very aimless. I like the instruments used, especially the percussion.

From 3 mins, it seems to be following something more musical, a slight country influence starts it off, then it moves on to something experimental and maybe neo-classical. Mike Patton sings more in this part, it's slow and plodding, I'm finding it a bit boring to be honest. At the very end, which seems a bit sudden, it reminds me of The Beatles.


I don't know what to think, it's probably one of those songs that takes time to grow on you, and being my first listen, I just find it a bit random in the start, and unfocused towards the end. I do like some of the instruments and sounds a fair bit, which I guess saves it for me.
I'll just have to give this some time to sink in, since it's unlike Bartender to recommend something for no other reason but for someone else to gain something from it, much like me ;).
7/10

____________________________

[b][url=http://www.comcen.com.au/~caracarol/The%20Red%20Paintings%20-%20Walls%20-%2002%20-%20The%20Streets%20Fell%20Into%20My%20Window.mp3]The Red Paintings - The Streets Fell Into My Window[/url][/b] - very art rock

Deebs.

Never heard of this guy before, but I decided to take this one since I'd heard a Marvelous 3 song before.
[b]The Red Paintings - The Streets Fell Into My Window[/b] - 5:38

Well, two seconds in and so far this is kicking arse. It started off on a rising and falling violin (I think), just playing up and down. Very cool thing to start on. Soon joined by a vocalist. Well, a narrator, really, as they're just talking. They sound like they're actually narrating a story too - the first thing to come to mind for me, for whatever reason, was Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, but it could be any kind of narrative book - so, yes, narrator.

I think he's narrating Alice in Wonderland.

As he gets to the bit about getting up to pick the daisies, we get some very nice, very precise sounding, guitar (I think). Working really well so far.

Drums, and I'd assume other instruments, come in shortly afterwards, along with some "aah"ing backing vocals, as the guy's narration gets more hectic (louder, more intrusive). Singing starts, as opposed to talking. The voice isn't definitely the same as the narrators, but neither is it definitely not the same guy. The drumming's very cool; tribal-esque, without being overdone or overblown.

The drums stop, except for a single thump every now and then, for the chorus - at least I think it's a chorus. The chorus is strange in itself; cold without being emotionless, slow without being boring. Interesting. Glissandos on the violin in the background.

Slightly marred here, as the song is skipping quite a bit. It doesn't totally ruin the flow though, and only lasts about ten seconds, if that. After the chorus, the drums and heavier guitars come back in with a vengeance, before allowing the violin to play largely on it's own for a while.

Leads into another chorus, though this time, everything get's a bit..frantic. But in a good way; everything swelling, etc. Very cool.

And all of a sudden, it calms down; we're back with the pensive da-dun-da-dun-da-dun that joined the violin at the start, as the similarly pensive narrator comes back to continue his narration. The words of the chorus are sung around, interspersed with, the lines of the narration, and we fade out with everything but the narrator in silence.

10/10*. Awesome awesome awesome.

*ignoring the skipping file

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=36022016GLYZC0QX9TQCW3NDKA]Solomon Burke (w/the Blind Boys of Alabama) - None of Us Are Free[/url] (soul - a civil rights/protest song, in the vein of A Change is Gonna Come)
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2S3MGQRWZT58B3UXLSMO7V8RL8]Mr Bungle - Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy[/url] (genre? Mr Bungle? hahahahhaha)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=313V84HPRGE2U3QDIU508P3X1I]Mr Bungle - Retrovertigo[/url] (ahahahahahahah)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1PQB2V1UQYYP624FR36405164S]Mr Bungle - Vanity Fair[/url] (...)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0NTWVUYCP8YA60P9SZDXMH1Q4Y]Murder By Death - You Are the Last Dragon[/url] (alt/indie fodder, with violins and pianos and things)

20 hours seems a decent time for a bump.

I'll dibs this. Give me a while though, please.

[b]Murder By Death - You Are The Last Dragon[/b]

Just reading the band name would make me almost :rolleyes: at first, but my opinion quickly changed as soon as I heard how mature the band's music actually was.

The song starts off with a sole piano playing a fast littloe number and is quickly joined by guitar. The two instruments harmonize and are joined by violin.

Soon, the music halts and short, fast guitar licks surface and are follwed by rolling drums. The guitar stops but the drums keep going and the singer starts singing. Under him is the piano and violin playing quietly as to not drown him out. Little busts of guitar intertwine with the mix as the verse moves along into the chorus.

Around the 2:30 mark, the music slows down once again and the violin is heard over piano and drums once again. The drums and violin stop and the song fades out with the piano.

This was a surprisingly enjoyable song. Not a huge fan of the vocal styling, but other it's a good listen. 7.9/10

[url=http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2EOB4R5J1TEVX3ON3LX7EFIO5D]Bark Psychosis - Shapeshifting[/url]
[url=http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0MDGIVZTP24YJ09RWC8GSHJQJF]Broken Social Scene - Shampoo Suicide[/url]
[url=http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2FEVAFQVUZVI60JTW6Z1SBZQ6I]Do Make Say Think - Ontario Plates[/url]
[url=http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=04FDXB5ACXW8B1QCZRUSY2CWVE]Flying Saucer Attack - Unknown[/url]

Dibs. Return the favour in giving me a while, though.

No prob, bob.

Longer even than I anticipated; sorry for the wait.

This band is permanently linked in my memory with mx's review of [i]You Forgot It In People[/i]. I've heard a couple of tracks by them on Launch, and they were pretty good.
[b]Broken Social Scene - Shampoo Suicide[/b] - 4:07

Starts off with rather a low-fi feel, emphasis on the percussion, I think. It's a pretty good start, calm, could lead into something good. Some very cool low pitched "chk-chk"s and high-pitched clean bits from the guitars. About a minute and a half in now, and all it's been is this simple repetitive rhythm section with these awesome clean guitar stings.

Having said that, it's now changing up a bit, with vocals coming in. Sounds like more than one vocalist, or more than one vocal track. Either way the vocals are waay down in the mix, probably on purpose. At first I found it annoying, but now (about 3:30 in) it seems a pretty cool effect. Just all layered, repetitive; would be hypnotic if the vocals didn't sound like the Saetia vocalist talking, i.e. if they were a bit lower, more droning, less lively.

Anyway, it just repeats like that til the end, so there's not much more I can say about it. Good song.

8/10

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=36022016GLYZC0QX9TQCW3NDKA]Solomon Burke (w/the Blind Boys of Alabama) - None of Us Are Free[/url] (soul - a civil rights/protest song, in the vein of A Change is Gonna Come)
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2S3MGQRWZT58B3UXLSMO7V8RL8]Mr Bungle - Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy[/url] (genre? Mr Bungle? hahahahhaha)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=313V84HPRGE2U3QDIU508P3X1I]Mr Bungle - Retrovertigo[/url] (ahahahahahahah)
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1PQB2V1UQYYP624FR36405164S]Mr Bungle - Vanity Fair[/url] (...)

Dibs again.

[b]Solomon Burke - None Of Us Are Free (5:29)[/b]

The song begins with a man tapping his drumsticks and giving the old "1-2-3" and then a slow, jazzy drum comes in along with clean acoustic guitar, bass and jazzy keyboard (at least that's what I think it is). Burke himself has a very pleasant baritone voice.

The guitar line stays the same throughout the song with a few variations. But for the most part, it's the same catchy tune. The lyrics definietly relate to some sort of protest theme, with the lines, "None of us are free," sung through the chorus.

After the chorus there's a keyboard interlude that leads into the next part.

Its gets a little quiet again but then goes right back into the chorus with (assumingly) Burke singing over several other men's voices. One is a really deep bass that I'm liking a lot.

Towards the end, they repeat the line "None of us are free, one of us is chained, none of us are free." And then it fades out with cymbal and low piano.

It really was what I expected I guess because Bartender mentioned that it is a War Protest song. So I expected a catchy tune with a lot of feeling and that's what it was.

8.3/10

[url=http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2EOB4R5J1TEVX3ON3LX7EFIO5D]Bark Psychosis - Shapeshifting[/url]
[url=http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2FEVAFQVUZVI60JTW6Z1SBZQ6I]Do Make Say Think - Ontario Plates[/url]
[url=http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=04FDXB5ACXW8B1QCZRUSY2CWVE]Flying Saucer Attack - Unknown[/url]
[url=http://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1KOUGBJI4PLXH2F1BJUJDRATMJ]Ruby Zoo - Noonday Breeze[/url]

takes one to take one (d word)

[b]Do Make Say Think - Ontario Plates[/b]

I've seen the name a few times, but I've only heard them about 0 times.

I was expecting pure post rock, but it's slightly jazzy, the drums fade in and out each bar.
A clarinet buzzes around playing a lead melody, with the string section as backup chords. I think there's trumpets in here too. It's sort of upbeat, and not at the same time. The drums have a sense of urgency about them, but the rest of the music isnt like that..

3:30 the drums bust out of the repetitiveness and seem to improvise more, guitar becomes more prominent, sounds a bit like Mogwai and theres a buzzing bass or cello, giving it some edge.

4:30 It drops right back for a bit, with a guitar that sounds out of tune... but it soon comes back with power. This bit seems like it's trying hard to be something it can't. It lacks something really gutsy, I don't know what, maybe its because the drums still sound jazzy, it just seems really thin here.

The power slowly builds a bit more over time, but I think it would have been better to start this bit with full power. Trumpets add a triumphant sound, though it sounds strange
and it goes a bit improvised and frantic towards the end.

Not bad, it was easy to listen to. A change in the timing of thier power distribution would make me like it more. And.. I don't know what else to say. 7/10

__________________________
[b][url=http://www.fagan.com.au/mp3/beautiful%20mundane.mp3]Fagan - Beautiful Mundane[/url][/b] - trip hop

[b]Decoder Ring - Collapse Coming On[/b] - like Mogwai on speed (still not that fast)

[b]Custard - Monkey[/b] - tacky-experimental-pop

[b]Conjure One - Center Of The Sun[/b] - laid back dance

[b]Rumors Of The Big Wave - Nightmare[/b] - prog pop-rock

[b]XTC - Greenman[/b] - pagan pop-rock

[b]Salmonella Dub - Push On Through[/b] - dub, for the passive listener

[b]Simon And Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m.[/b] - acoustic folk

Dibs.

<_< >_>

okay, I remember really liking the last Fagan track I heard/reviewed (Dante, I think it was called - awesome name), so I've got high hopes for this one.
[b]Fagan - Beautiful Mundane[/b] - 4:17

Starts off with a desolate, howling sort of noise, and what sounds at first like a clock ticking, which resolves itself into a beat, part of the music, pretty soon. Mellow male vocals come in, somewhere between rapping and singing. Female vocals follow shortly, again, semi-singing, semi-talking. That clicking beat is still going on in the background, so I've not much to say. It's all just very serene, calm, and peaceful.

Vocals drop away for something in the way of an instrumental section, in the form of a few layers of occasional distorted noise, and some very nice, slow violin (the violin I remember being a nice touch from Dante). Vocals come back in without going back to the previous musical structure - again, first male, then female. The girl is definitely singing now, and there's lots of echo on hers and the guy's voices (layered sounds in the background, underneath the music).

And the song just fades out on an ambient piece of noise, and a last piercing note from the violin.

8/10, I think. Another good track, but I don't think it is (or will prove to be) as memorable as Dante.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2S3MGQRWZT58B3UXLSMO7V8RL8]Mr Bungle - Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy[/url]
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=313V84HPRGE2U3QDIU508P3X1I]Mr Bungle - Retrovertigo[/url]
[url=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=29JFBV1BUO1S20R9JQM0KB9A7Z]Cocteau Twins - Aloysius[/url] (alt. pop/rock, featuring the incredible vocals of Liz Fraser)
[url=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2ZGMGJAB5YJ0L3TFO0US71ZGG9]Mr Bungle - None of Them Knew They Were Robots[/url]
[url=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1LFD4VLGFJQU90OZYY5PBFMEKC]Mr Bungle - The Air-Conditioned Nightmare[/url]
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1GXJ8H8BX6V8E1IIXV5G6PK72H]Gang of Four - I Found that Essence Rare[/url] (post-punk)
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=28YMDZ4FYNX001LOZWTZ0OHGW6]The Polyphonic Spree - Section 11 (A Long Day Continues)[/url] (the happiest band in the universe - long)
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1QNNXB88X97LA3PW4EEI5JI7KM]The Polyphonic Spree - Section 12 (Hold Me Now)[/url] (the happiest band in the universe)

Dibs! :)

[B]Mr Bungle - None of Them Knew They Were Robots[/B]

Ok; I've heard a lot of Mr. Bungle obviously. The Patton craze on this forum doesn't allow me otherwise. I haven't actually heard them though. It's supposed to be some funky sort of metal. So Aight, I put it on.

Cool start! What's this, haunting synths and funky drums?! Nice. Now the vocals kick in, good of course. They are sung over a energetic bass line and the synths are still there, there is also some kind of brass instrument, which is cool.

Now the guitar goes a bit chaotic and Mike is shouting in the background. Ah, chorus? The vocals seem to have an effect on them, it's a pretty cool chorus.

Bass interlude, eh? This is a good one, shame it's so short. There are those funky sounds again, and some sort of bubbles. :\ And now he's hiccupping? :\ Yeah, weird stuff. I like the bubble interludes and the trumpets remind me of Tom and Jerry/cartoon music.

Yep another verse and something that sounds like a camera, this song seems to be very long. More interludes, chorus returns. This reallly would be the perfect soundtrack for Tom and Jerry - Halloween.

Ah, all over. Well, I liked it, it was certainly very interesting and as a song, it was also good. Perhaps a tad too long.

8.7/10


[URL=http://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3EHQ5FEZLM0HT2LZ5XBP4MLPK6]Therapy? - A Moment of Clarity[/URL] (Not quite as weird, but a great track with great lyrics. It's one from Therapy?'s alt-y period. Enjoy)

[URL=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=02TP8Z0JRH87O192G62150YL02 ]Swervedriver - Last Train to Satansville[/URL] (Shoegaze/ drive in your car rock)

Which song were you reviewing?

Title and new song edited in now.

Thanks. Dibs.

Don't think I've heard them before.
[b]Swervedriver - Last Train to Satansville[/b] - 6:45

First thought; cool song title. Starts off with a pounding drum beat and guitar note which kind of explodes into the start of the song, before settling down into a rather nicer chugging rhythm. Sounds like a nice bassline.

Vocals come in, and they're just 'normal' male vocals (in as far as you can standardise a voice, I mean), and the songs just kind of..playing. Not much I can find to say. Oh, there's a nice kind of jangly guitar bit in the background. After the minute mark, the vocals cut out and there's a short, pretty cool instrumental section (involving variations on that jangly, spiralling guitar), before we're back with that awesome bassline. I can see what you mean about it being driving music; just listening to it (especially the quieter, chugging parts with the prominent bass) I see vehicles racing down highways. This'd probably make great music for some kind of car scene in a film.

That^ whole pattern basically repeats itself - awesome bassline, vocals come in for verse, vocals leave, instrumental section, back to awesome bassline - which takes us up to about the halfway point in the song. From there, the awesome bassline section extends itself for a long time, with various sound effects (engines revving, for example) and musical variations (feedback squeals, non-lyrical vocals, little guitar solos) buried deep in the background. About forty-five seconds from the end now, and it looks like the song's just going to go out like this. The feedback and messing about with guitars gets more pronounced as it goes on, and the song just kind of fades out.

9/10. It probably would have been just a seven (maybe an eight, for the gradual breaking down guitar at the end), but well..I really liked that bassline.

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2S3MGQRWZT58B3UXLSMO7V8RL8]Mr Bungle - Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy[/url]
[url=http://s19.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=313V84HPRGE2U3QDIU508P3X1I]Mr Bungle - Retrovertigo[/url]
[url=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=29JFBV1BUO1S20R9JQM0KB9A7Z]Cocteau Twins - Aloysius[/url] (alt. pop/rock, featuring the incredible vocals of Liz Fraser)
[url=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2ZGMGJAB5YJ0L3TFO0US71ZGG9]Mr Bungle - None of Them Knew They Were Robots[/url]
[url=http://s10.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1LFD4VLGFJQU90OZYY5PBFMEKC]Mr Bungle - The Air-Conditioned Nightmare[/url]
[url=http://s11.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1GXJ8H8BX6V8E1IIXV5G6PK72H]Gang of Four - I Found that Essence Rare[/url] (post-punk)
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=28YMDZ4FYNX001LOZWTZ0OHGW6]The Polyphonic Spree - Section 11 (A Long Day Continues)[/url] (the happiest band in the universe - long)
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1QNNXB88X97LA3PW4EEI5JI7KM]The Polyphonic Spree - Section 12 (Hold Me Now)[/url] (the happiest band in the universe)

Hey! Ho! Let's Dibs!

[B]Cocteau Twins - Aloysius[/B]

Right-o. I've heard a lot about this band as well, but I haven't heard them.

Starts with some acoustic chords and then the guitar continues a nice little acoustic riff with some effects on. Sounds dreamy, there are also some atmospheric sounds in the background. Then the drums kick in, they seem to be produced by a drum machine. An excellent beginning to this song.
Then the vocals, it's a songstress. High vocals, very medieval sounding, the language seems to be some sort of Celtic language, I'm not sure, I can't understand it anyway. The vocals are maybe a tad too high in the mix or something, not perfect anyway. But still good at times. They are growing on me, though. The song keeps to go back and forth -Verse, chorus-. Hmm; the song ends abruptly.

Well, it was certainly a nice song, the intro where the guitar was in the spotlight was probably the best part, very atmospheric and dreamy song. A good one.

8/10

[B]Ye song(s): [/B]
[URL=http://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3EHQ5FEZLM0HT2LZ5XBP4MLPK6]Therapy? - A Moment of Clarity[/URL] (Not quite as weird, but a great track with great lyrics. It's one from Therapy?'s alt-y period. Enjoy)

dibs

[B][I]A Moment of Clarity[/I] - Therapy?[/B]: 6:02

I have heard a song or two by these guys and have enjoyed them. Hope this track doesn't break the pattern.

The song opens with a very chilled and electronic sounding opening, already something I didn't expect, very nice mellow stuff, off to a good start. The 'chick-chick-chick-chick's speed up and a couple of thunderous effects are played which kind of dissipate the calm before. Great intro.

So after the just over a minute intro the guitar starts playing its chords, not breath takingingly awesome, but not the horrible cheesy strummy kind. The vocals come in soon enough, nice voice, very fitting for the guitar. The transitions from electro part to guitar to inclusion of vocals feel a little rushed; if they had been extended I think it would have worked a lot better.

At the 1:40 mark the major riff has already begun, and again it feels like to may have came too soon. Although this riff does kick major ***, very stark and powerful, really love it. The kind you want to let blast out even though it's very late and PC speakers do no justice to.

After this strong section the song settles itself in that in-between area of full throttle and slow, sorta mid-throttle. Lots of bell on the ride which always good. The vocals are resting back in the song.

Instead of falling back into another full throttle section it drops to a very quite section, mostly snare and ride with very quiet guitar and vocals. This bit I don't like, doesn't do anything for me.

After a little 'flump-flum' on the toms the kick *** riff blares out again and firmly cements itself as the best part of the song (apart from the electro intro). Also during the second half of this section the singer lets fly and provides the higher less constrained vocals you knew from the start his was capable of. They suit this end section really well.

The song lulls into a sort of 'break-down' section and doesn't rise back up to the riffage again. The volume drops and the chords come back again to cap this song off.

Overall, a very enjoyable and oddly quick 6:02. This track was quite different to the other songs I have heard by this group. On this songs own merits I give it an [COLOR=Red][B]8.5/10[/B][/COLOR].

[B]Forced Listening:[/B]

[URL=http://s21.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1RF5DDXGF7BDB32WPL7GHXUM4K]Ellen & Ben - The Dismemberment Plan[/URL]

[URL=http://s23.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0YUR2QUSNEL0Y3LJQF5BWRBXSK]Big News - These Arms Are Snakes[/URL]

[URL=http://s27.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2GBLVMCSQG53A223TAV9B29R7R]Time is an Imploding Unit/Waiting for Green - Biffy Clyro[/URL] <-- Just shy of ten minutes this track is, so watch out.

deeeeebs

I agree with you about Ellen & Ben, it is a bit of a tedious song with the repetitiveness of it, but I love the melody.

[B][I]Starseed[/I] (Armageddon Remix) - Our Lady Peace[/B]: 4:02

The eastern twinge can be heard in the plucky guitar intro, it's very quiet also, which with hindsight works nicely contrasted with the louder parts about to come up.

In the bridge section from intro to first rock part there is some really nice driving bass (great tone) and the drum sound really good too. It is really reminding me of The Screaming Trees so far. A long snare roll takes the song to the second part of the bridge section and it is sounding even more like The Screaming Trees, which is no bad thing at all. The guitar goes into a bit of full overdrive for a small section (sounds very nice) and eventually the song drops down into the first versey part.

The vocals come in now and don't particularly grab me, but they aren't awful by any means, just something I feel I would have to let grow on me about the band. That said, his 'ehyeeayyeeehyeeayyee's in the pre-chorus soon after the verse are really cool.

The chorus part (1:30 - 1:48) doesn't quite do it for me as it's a bit too 'weak' compared to the full over-drive part if you get me.

The song repeats the verse/pre-chorus/chorus pattern (I think, there aren't any inclusions of different parts) until around 2:50 where there is a brief section where the drummer plays a really tasty fill and then the guitar solo begins.

The solo is average. It doesn't/didn't really get me; it is a bit low in the mix I feel.

The song goes on to resolve itself in a pretty typical rock fashion and with the band fading out at the end.

The song has a really nice driving bass line and the guitar works really well with it. The drumming is really cool and the vocals are decent. All in all I would say it was a very good track and would rate it as a [B]9/10[/B].

[B]Forced Listening:[/B]

[URL=http://s27.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2GBLVMCSQG53A223TAV9B29R7R]Time is an Imploding Unit/Waiting for Green - Biffy Clyro[/URL] Pop-Punk/Alt. Rock - 9:23

[URL=http://s23.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0YUR2QUSNEL0Y3LJQF5BWRBXSK]Big News - These Arms Are Snakes[/URL] Punk tinged rock? - 3:18

[URL=http://s23.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=38QOKDHWFFF9T02XTV7RWT2QBD]Witness - The Screaming Trees[/URL] Alt. Rock - 3:39

I only have Dust by them, but good tracks off it are All I Know, Halo of Ashes and Gospel Plow.

Infact, I could upload it to one of the YSI threads if you would like me to.

Ibid.

Haven't heard them before. Not sure what's going on with that name :-/
[b]DieCiS1e7E - Zoe[/b] - 3:23

Guitars fade in for a couple of seconds, and then we're hit with some cymbal-heavy drum beats and a good rock riff. The cymbal goes away for the drums to pound in an intro, and the riff takes over fully. I really like this riff. The bass is quite easily heard underneath too, which is nice.

Basically carries on like this until the vocals come in around fifty seconds in; Spanish lyrics, as promised, so naturally I have no idea what's being sung. It sounds like there's more than one voice there, though; one main vocalist and one or two more supporting him rather quietly in the background. About a minute and a half in now, and I'm assuming we've hit a chorus. I think the guitar's playing a little mini-solo behind the vocals, too. It's all been very high-energy so far.

Vocals cut out, and the guitars get slightly deeper and slightly heavier for a pretty cool little instrumental midsection. Reminds me of something The Wildhearts do in some of their songs, actually. The vocals come back for a short while, and then the guitars return, briefly, to the part they played in that midsection, to end the song on a pretty cool note. Unfortunately this means there isn't much for me to say about it, which results in a short review :-/

I was thinking about 7/10 for most of the song, but then that midsection pushed it up to around an 8/10. It also gets +5 points for having a positive reference to the Wildhearts made about it, so;

13/10

[b]Songs;[/b]
[url=http://s43.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1SQ60BMAO21RJ178MEZ81TGF4Y]William Shatner (w/Joe Jackson and various others) - Common People[/url]
[url=http://s43.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3P6C68LJSGT5I0VTWGYSZ8F8XB]Johnny Cash - The Wall (live)[/url]
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=28YMDZ4FYNX001LOZWTZ0OHGW6]The Polyphonic Spree - A Long Day Continues[/url] (the happiest band in the universe)*
[url=http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1QNNXB88X97LA3PW4EEI5JI7KM]The Polyphonic Spree - Hold Me Now[/url] (the happiest band in the universe)
[url=http://s32.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1EXLY4UYJ9VAC0RXP7A9X7J564]North - Through Fire[/url] (relaxed, slightly funky alt/indie)
[url=http://s32.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RN2V6Z5RZ4052IZKYXUQZH054]North - untitled bonus track[/url]
[url=http://s29.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2H8H5N1OB9IY233EIZFCC5S98G]Thirst - State of High Piss Off[/url] (alt/hard rock?)

Dibs.