OLD
Old Lady Drivers
1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Annoying, confusing, amusing etc... Name an adverb and I probably felt that way at some point during the opening track.
2. What did you think of the opening track?
I've only listened to a little bit of grindcore. One of my most music affluent friends introduced me to Pig Destroyer and Cattle Decapitation a while back. Obviously they're on another planet compared to O.L.D, but that's pretty much all of the recognizable grindcore that I have more than dabbled in. Other than picking up on some thrash influence, the first track was kinda a blur in terms of actually making sense of what the **** was going on.
3. What did you think of the next track?
It was still a bit of a mess in my head after the second track, but I did pick up the comedic tone.
4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
I've heard more grating voices. And in terms of how the vocals match the music, these work really well. So, in the end, the vocals were actually a major positive for me.
5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
Overall, I did like this. I've seen reviews compare it to Ween in terms of the musical variety, but I was reminded more of the Residents' Third Reich and Roll, especially because of the vocals. I did like this, but it's one of the those albums that I like more for the fact that it exists rather than listening to it.
6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
My enjoyment improved a lot within the first listen.
7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
Old people jokes written by Beavis and Butthead...? Cool.
8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)
The really fast grindcore parts were solid, but thrashier parts were a bit better. The splashes of clean guitar were a cool since it allowed the album to slow down a bit, but actually made the whole package even more confusing and disorienting.
9. What did you think of the production?
Kinda terrible. And that's a good thing.
10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
No lo sé.
11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
Not really.
12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
I enjoyed listening to it again each time, since it didn't feel like a chore (unlike our last album...) It didn't improve much from the first listen when I revisited it, but it did become clearer as I could decipher what was going on each time I heard it.
13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
Special Olympics, I Laugh As I Chew and Old Ladies Always Break Their Hips.
14. And the one you liked least?
Maybe the opener.
15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
From my limited knowledge, this is far enough outside the box that there's plenty of leeway in terms of how you feel about it. But, this album also hedged its bet being weird by also being fun, and that helps a lot too.
16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
I'm not sure I'd seek them out. But this album could easily be in a rotation where I don't listen to it for awhile, and then listen to it several times over a few days and them forget about it for a year.
17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Based on my very first few minutes, I kinda am. But after my first complete listen, not really.
18. Did the album end well?
It gave me a little taste of everything that I already heard on the album, so yeah.
19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
I liked their cover of Cocaine, but it could easily be taken off this album.
20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
This album is very much it's own thing and these tracks form a nice little ecosystem of grindcore insanity together.
7/10