I knew I could count on you two :D

When/if we get a few more names down for this, I'll put a list up...

despite still having rick's to review...i'm in.


i just can't stay away.

rick, yours will be up in a bit...promise.

Good stuff. Welcome to the throng :D

Remember people, the theme for the next trade is melancholy, ie contemplative, down-tempo and/or down-in-the-dumps albums we'll all be looking for next week.

Cool stuff. This should be much easier than the uplifting theme:D

Hmm.. I could go for something obvious. But I won't.

Unless I do

Rickenbacker sent me:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nsCT3EFoxK...+cons-1978.jpg
The Jam - All Mod Cons

I had never listened to anything by the Jam before Rick sent me this, so I was pretty excited going into it. From the first song, I thought I could tell what I was in for. The familiar sounds of 70's punk started playing in my headphones. This isn't a bad thing since I happen to love punk from this era. At the start, I could compare them to the Clash with a lot of hints of the Who stuck in. As the album played on, though, I could tell these guys really had a great pop sensibility. This is smart punk music right here. They could be tearing through your typical punk lick and then nail something that sounds fit for pop radio.

There isn't really one particular song that stands out, the album pretty much works as a whole for me. Sadly, that works against the album for me a little bit. Not too much, since it makes this an album I can just happily stick on and not worry about. I would, however, have loved a couple songs to just go to and be able to play for people curious about them. Maybe those songs will reveal themselves after a few more listens (and I think this album deserves that).

All in all, solid album, Rick. You definitely sent me something I have been meaning to get more into. I have quite a superficial knowledge of that era's punk music. I listen to all the standards, but have nothing past those. This is a happy addition to my collection. 7/10

As much as I love "Down in the Tubestation at Midnight", I always well...return to "English Rose", perhaps one of the most honest and beautiful songs ever put to tape. Great song.

From - abdullah424

Indie rock isn't my thing, and I've honestly never been into slow songwriter/guitar ballads either. Since Monta and this album of theirs is a combination of both, I really had a hard time with this initially. On first listen, I actually decided that the opener sounded like the perfect cliche song to play in a movie during the break up scene. You know the sorta scene I'm talking about right? The guy mopes around the house shaking his head, it then cuts to the girl on her bed crying...only to cut back to the guy who is now driving his car with an angry look on his face before punching his steering wheel in rage...that sorta scene. This sorta bugged me, as I'm way too tough for that kinda sh*t. When I listened to the rest I realized that it was all pretty much acoustic jams, with the same slow tempo, and so I judged it sorta unfairly the first time through.

I gave it repeated listens yesterday and this morning though, and I'm glad I did. Since I always try to listen to something mellow when I first get up I thought this would fit well enough, and it actually ended up being a surprisingly enjoyable listen as I sat there, chilled out, with the sun coming in through the window. I payed more attention to the lyrics and song titles this time around and realized many of the songs were actually more happy than I'd previously thought, and also became aware of many beautiful details such as piano melodies scattered throughout the disc. The singer's voice started to stand out to me as well, as I realized that his delivery was amazingly soothing, and really quite perfect...almost annoyingly so, but not quite (if that makes sense).

In conclusion I might say that this album just depends on the situation for listening enjoyability. But even as I hear it while I type, I'm liking this even more, so maybe it just takes a willingness to look deeper than the surface and give it a fair shot even if you're not a fan of the genre.

Also I have to link the video for Good Morning Stranger here, as it is amazing and by far my favorite. It's just growing on me at an insane rate the more I hear it. I'm a tough guy like I said, so don't get it twisted, but this is probably the best song ever to wake up to while watching the sun creep in and listening to the birds singing. :D



Good stuff abdullah. Thx for sending it.

Put me down for the next round plx!

Duga sent me:

Asobi Seksu - Hush

http://www.pastemagazine.com/article...seksu_hush.jpg

I came into this with high hopes given the glowing praise Duga gave it earlier. Listening to it, one tends to zone out and let it wash over you. This experience was nice and quite soothing.

However, when I listened to Hush, the third record from female shoegaze artist Asobi Seksu (who's totally hot by the way), again, I noticed significant flaws. While Seksu's voice is calm and suited to the style of music, the songs themselves fall flat, coming across as uninspired. Shoegaze by rote.

There are redeeming factors of course, such as the pieces that rely less on ambient noise and more on Seksu's voice and lyrics, which are great at times. Thanks for the album though, it provoked me to download Citrus, which I much prefer.

5/10