yo, sorry +81 for not sending you something sooner, i was out all day and i just got home this very moment, i'll have an album upped for you real soon!

ok thanks

+81 sent me

Lullaby Arkestra-Ampgrave
http://static.boomkat.com/images/219800/333.jpg

when +81 sent me this, i haven't heard of the band before, so i didn't know what to expect. well, after listening to it, i've found that this band has a strong, abrasive, and wild sound, ala Modest Mouse and Sonic Youth. while i definately enjoyed much of the album, at times it seemed like the sounds of some songs were a little "borrowed", so to say.

in all i give this an 8/10

This week's present...

https://secure.merchnow.com/images/1667/450x450.jpeg

Another geezer I'd never heard of before this trade, so I was in for a surprise. That surprise came in the form of indie-folk, meaning of course the emphasis of a sonic picture created by an indie band is focused on the acoustic guitar and vocal performances. Doesn't allow for a lot of variation in sound, but the guy's got a good voice, knows how to write a decent lyric, and the title track is pretty good stuff too. All in all, I wasn't exactly blown away, but I definitely liked this.

Thanks Stone Birds :beer:

The Before:
The album I got was Who Will Cut Your Hair When We're Gone by The Unicorns. According to wikipedia, "The Unicorns were an indie pop band from Montreal, Canada, formed in December 2000 by Nicholas Thorburn (Nick Diamonds) and Alden Penner (Alden Ginger), who were later joined by Jamie Thompson (J'aime Tambour) in December 2003." The album I have is their third effort, made in 2003.

I really don't know what "indie" is to be honest, and I haven't listened to much of it. Some artists I have heard name-dropped on the forum as indie that I have are MGMT, The Arcade Fire, Animal Collective, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Though at least one of those is signed to a major record label, so "indie" obviously doesn't mean independent.

Some albums I see in the "Albums Your Digging II" thread, I think to myself "Well, that looks kinda indie I guess" and usually I get the feeling I wouldn't enjoy that album very much. I don't know why, I really haven't listened to much of the genre. I seem to have the same problem with pop.

I am able to say for an indie-pop band this exceeded my pre-conceived notions. Upon scrolling youtube and listening to Tuff Luff, I quickly felt I would enjoy this more then I expected. I heard this was progressive pop, the youtube video gave me insight into why that would be said, which raised my hopes.

The experience:
I spend time with the albums I devote myself to. I usually give it a spin as a background kind of listen, to get used to the sound of the songs, and when I'm ready I look up the lyrics and whatnot. Usually about the fifth listen I can fully appreciate the album (musically, lyrically, etc) and If it is good enough I'm thoroughly in love with it. I could not do this entire process with this album, as I don't do this by forcing myself- I have to want to do it.

I gave this it's first spin today while doing homework. I wanted to get used to the songs, I enjoyed it until the sound started feeling old. I'd say just about over half way through it annoyed me as it was making concentration hard, even for the mindless regurgitation work you get in high school. I kept listening to it. There would be points where the sound got under my skin, and then points of really liking it. This fluctuated.

Later in my free time I looked up the lyrics, they seemed interesting but not insightful or meaningful really, just kind of strange. I did not look them all up.

So, here's my review:
Who Will Cut Your Hair When We're Gone is a strange and quirky listen with electro-pop hooks thrown into a creative arrangement of simple musicianship. The songs have a tendency to change around a bit, like progressive rock, but in a much less complicated way, and to a less extent.

My problem is that although the music is creative, catchy, and definitely not stagnant, it is stuck within the sound that is The Unicorns. What I'm saying is each song gives me an emotion similar to the emotion I got from the last song. So, because the lyrics aren't really a highlight, the product experience of it all is not much more then skin deep. I was taken to a land of electric rainbows and catchy sounds of pop, and it was fun, but all I did was stay there- and then after thirty or so minutes it wasn't really as fun... if you catch my drift.

Overall, the band seemed to make the sound they wanted to. They didn't copy anyone, and they aren't ridiculous, cliche, or stupid. I in no way can say the music or the band is in any way bad, and for that I give them props. Not for me though, just not my cup of tea. If you're into this sort of stuff, I recommend this. I suppose that doesn't mean much unless you've already listened to it though. Who knows though, maybe I don't get it, maybe i just need to give it more time. As of this moment, my personal rating of this album is...

4/10 If you don't like it, convince me otherwise.

WWCOHWWG? is one of my all time favorite albums. Just felt I needed to say that.

same! its def a love it or hate it deal.

Bulldog sent me:

Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA240_.jpg

I really didn't know what expect so i chose "Court and Spark" as the first song i'd listen to (because Norah Jones). it was all pretty good, i probably won't listen to it very much seeing the songs are mostly 7 minutes long but they're good none-the-less.

6.47/10
(i'd show you how i got that number but i'd rather not)

Edit: I don't like the piano solos in jazz when they last over half-a-minute

Yeah, it seems to be what Trace87 said, a love it or hate it. Really, though, I don't hate it at all. 2/5 is actually a pretty good rating for me. You have to understand, there are only five stars. Albums like TheVU&Nico could be 6/5 because they exceed all of my expectations period. Then there have to be room for the albums that blow me away, like Cave's FHTE, but are not a 6/5, those have to be 5/5. So where do I put things at par with Harvey's Dance Hall? 4/5. So 3/5 is still actually a great rating, stuff like Gram Rabbit, 13th Floor Elevators, MGMT, etc. So, 2/5 just isn't as good as this or this. Other 2/5's for me would be The Donnie Darko Soundtrack, early Beatles albums, Ratatat, etc. 1/5 is anything at all below The Unicorns, and that sounds bad, but really, I enjoy a lot of music I would call 1/5.

I've been listening to this Soul Compilation today, mostly while driving (I needed a nice drive), and that kept me pretty much in the same place but I loved it. Maybe it was because I was driving, or maybe I'm just not the type to like being where The Unicorns took me for too long. Two things that are important to note: 1)The Mars Volta I think are great, but I don't like being where they take me for too long, either. 2)Ratings are personal and don't really have a standard, and this is just one opinion.

Just so you all know, I'm definitely glad I heard the album. I wanted to dive further into the indie thing anyway, as I don't know much about it, so it was perfect that I got this album from the trading post- the system worked great and I was sure happy with it.

I know what you mean with ratings. I always feel the need to rate things out of 10 instead of 5 just to have that broader spectrum. I also love the trading post. It's not often I sit around to love making funk.