Trollheart Tries Desperately To Keep Up With This Year's Music

Trollheart · 01-28-2018, 12:15 PM

Taking a little break from my Albums thread to update this. I now have three emails from Allmusic, so you'll excuse me if I don't do your few recs for the moment. I will get to them, but right now I want to catch up on the Allmusic stuff as much as I can. And so...

Title: “Never Be The Same"
Artist: Camilla Cabello
Album: Camila
Genre: Pop/Dance Pop
What I know about this artist: Zero; the email mentions she's from Fifth Harmony. I think they may be a K-pop band I might have bumped into but never listened to in my Albums of 2017 thread.
And now, to listen...
Starts with a darker, more trip-hop or even dark ambient/darkwave feel than I had expected. I was kind of expecting to hear generic poppy dance stuff, but this is pretty mature. Almost rock in its way. She seems to be a good singer too. Sometimes these K-poppers have really surprised me; this looks to be another one who has crushed my preconceptions and prejudices under a crystal high-heel. Hmm.

One-word impression after listening: Impressed

**Frownland** · 01-28-2018, 12:19 PM

Pretty sure that you will hate this, but if your goal is to keep up on 2018 releases then it should be included

Trollheart · 01-28-2018, 12:21 PM

Title: “Energy"
Artist: Joe Satriani
Album: What Happens Next
Genre: Rock
What I know about this artist: I haven't heard much Satriani but I know he's revered as something of a guitar god and seems to have been around forever.
And now, to listen...
Rocks like a good thing of course, and seems to be instrumental (not sure whether the entire album is or not; check that later). Great shredding and really not a lot to say other than that really. If you like your guitar rock you'll like this. If the album is all instrumental, if I ever listen to it that may prove something of a sticking point for me, as it can be hard to hold my attention with just guitar music, but this is pretty bitchin'.

One-word impression after listening: Cool

Trollheart · 01-28-2018, 01:16 PM

Title: “God Save Our Young Blood"
Artist: BØRNS
Album: Blue Madonna
Genre: Pop
What I know about this artist: Nada
And now, to listen...
Kind of hard to judge really, given that Lana del Rey is singing with him. Meh. Decent pop I guess with a slice of electronica thrown in, but I couldn't honestly say it impresses me much, to quote Shania.

One-word impression after listening: Meh

Trollheart · 01-28-2018, 01:27 PM

Title: “Gold Hole"
Artist: Shame
Album: Songs of Praise
Genre: Post-Punk
What I know about this artist: Nuffin'
And now, to listen...
Not too bad. The vocal is a bit drony, and the fact that the video features the singer stopping and giving out to the rest of the band is not cute but actually quite annoying. Singer seems to be quite the *******. Maybe it's all a setup and meant to be funny, but I'd give him a kick up his gold hole. ****. Still, it's not something I'd refuse to listen to a second time. Maybe. But I wouldn't be hurrying to do that.

One-word impression after listening: Meh

Trollheart · 01-28-2018, 01:37 PM

Title: “The Last One"
Artist: Black Veil Brides
Album: Vala
Genre: Goth/Glam Metal
What I know about this artist: I've heard the name
And now, to listen...
Standard singalong metal, kind of a little in the power metal vein to some degree. Nothing terribly special, but I guess conversely nothing terrible either. Just okay. Better than meh, certainly, but not a whole lot really.

One-word impression after listening: Okay

Trollheart · 01-28-2018, 01:38 PM

Title: “Mercury's Rainbow"
Artist: Zomby
Album: Mercury's Rainbow
Genre: Dunno. “Eskibeat”? Something to do with Grime/Wiley? Ya got me.
What I know about this artist: Zero
And now, to listen...
Just basically seems to be videogamelike synth runs, drum pads and one or two words sort of chanted across the music, as it were. I guess you experimental fans out there will like it, but it sure ain't for me.
One-word impression after listening: Terrible

Trollheart · 01-28-2018, 01:43 PM

Title: “The Luddite"
Artist: Corrosion of Conformity
Album: No Cross No Crown
Genre: Crossover Punk/Stoner Metal
What I know about this artist: I think I've heard the name
And now, to listen...
Good grinding metal, decent vocal, marches along nicely. Not bad. Feel there may be touches of Southern Rock in there too. Wouldn't make me a fan, but I wouldn't be averse to hearing the album either.

One-word impression after listening: Not bad

Trollheart · 01-28-2018, 01:48 PM

Title: “Broken Again"
Artist: Unlikely Friends
Album: Crooked Numbers
Genre: Indie Rock/Indie Pop
What I know about this artist: Not a blessed thing
And now, to listen...
A little insipid really. The indie rock I've heard in my thread has usually failed, mostly, to impress me, and I think this might be another. I mean, it's not bad but then again it's nothing different or very interesting.
One-word impression after listening: Shrug

**Frownland** · 01-28-2018, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Title: “The Luddite"
Artist: Corrosion of Conformity
Album: No Cross No Crown
Genre: Crossover Punk/Stoner Metal
What I know about this artist: I think I've heard the name
And now, to listen...
Good grinding metal, decent vocal, marches along nicely. Not bad. Feel there may be touches of Southern Rock in there too. Wouldn't make me a fan, but I wouldn't be averse to hearing the album either.

One-word impression after listening: Not bad

Have you heard their other stuff? Albatross and Blind are rad records.

01-28-2018, 12:15 PM	#21 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Taking a little break from my Albums thread to update this. I now have three emails from Allmusic, so you'll excuse me if I don't do your few recs for the moment. I will get to them, but right now I want to catch up on the Allmusic stuff as much as I can. And so... Title: “Never Be The Same" Artist: Camilla Cabello Album: Camila Genre: Pop/Dance Pop What I know about this artist: Zero; the email mentions she's from Fifth Harmony. I think they may be a K-pop band I might have bumped into but never listened to in my Albums of 2017 thread. And now, to listen... Starts with a darker, more trip-hop or even dark ambient/darkwave feel than I had expected. I was kind of expecting to hear generic poppy dance stuff, but this is pretty mature. Almost rock in its way. She seems to be a good singer too. Sometimes these K-poppers have really surprised me; this looks to be another one who has crushed my preconceptions and prejudices under a crystal high-heel. Hmm. One-word impression after listening: Impressed __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-28-2018 at 12:22 PM.

01-28-2018, 12:19 PM	#22 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,548	Pretty sure that you will hate this, but if your goal is to keep up on 2018 releases then it should be included __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

01-28-2018, 12:21 PM	#23 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Title: “Energy" Artist: Joe Satriani Album: What Happens Next Genre: Rock What I know about this artist: I haven't heard much Satriani but I know he's revered as something of a guitar god and seems to have been around forever. And now, to listen... Rocks like a good thing of course, and seems to be instrumental (not sure whether the entire album is or not; check that later). Great shredding and really not a lot to say other than that really. If you like your guitar rock you'll like this. If the album is all instrumental, if I ever listen to it that may prove something of a sticking point for me, as it can be hard to hold my attention with just guitar music, but this is pretty bitchin'. One-word impression after listening: Cool __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-28-2018, 01:16 PM	#24 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Title: “God Save Our Young Blood" Artist: BØRNS Album: Blue Madonna Genre: Pop What I know about this artist: Nada And now, to listen... Kind of hard to judge really, given that Lana del Rey is singing with him. Meh. Decent pop I guess with a slice of electronica thrown in, but I couldn't honestly say it impresses me much, to quote Shania. One-word impression after listening: Meh __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-28-2018 at 01:28 PM.

01-28-2018, 01:27 PM	#25 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Title: “Gold Hole" Artist: Shame Album: Songs of Praise Genre: Post-Punk What I know about this artist: Nuffin' And now, to listen... Not too bad. The vocal is a bit drony, and the fact that the video features the singer stopping and giving out to the rest of the band is not cute but actually quite annoying. Singer seems to be quite the *****. Maybe it's all a setup and meant to be funny, but I'd give him a kick up his gold hole. . Still, it's not something I'd refuse to listen to a second time. Maybe. But I wouldn't be hurrying to do that. One-word impression after listening:** Meh __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-28-2018, 01:37 PM	#26 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Title: “The Last One" Artist: Black Veil Brides Album: Vala Genre: Goth/Glam Metal What I know about this artist: I've heard the name And now, to listen... Standard singalong metal, kind of a little in the power metal vein to some degree. Nothing terribly special, but I guess conversely nothing terrible either. Just okay. Better than meh, certainly, but not a whole lot really. One-word impression after listening: Okay __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-28-2018, 01:38 PM	#27 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Title: “Mercury's Rainbow" Artist: Zomby Album: Mercury's Rainbow Genre: Dunno. “Eskibeat”? Something to do with Grime/Wiley? Ya got me. What I know about this artist: Zero And now, to listen... Just basically seems to be videogamelike synth runs, drum pads and one or two words sort of chanted across the music, as it were. I guess you experimental fans out there will like it, but it sure ain't for me. One-word impression after listening: Terrible __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-28-2018, 01:43 PM	#28 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Title: “The Luddite" Artist: Corrosion of Conformity Album: No Cross No Crown Genre: Crossover Punk/Stoner Metal What I know about this artist: I think I've heard the name And now, to listen... Good grinding metal, decent vocal, marches along nicely. Not bad. Feel there may be touches of Southern Rock in there too. Wouldn't make me a fan, but I wouldn't be averse to hearing the album either. One-word impression after listening: Not bad __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

01-28-2018, 01:48 PM	#29 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Title: “Broken Again" Artist: Unlikely Friends Album: Crooked Numbers Genre: Indie Rock/Indie Pop What I know about this artist: Not a blessed thing And now, to listen... A little insipid really. The indie rock I've heard in my thread has usually failed, mostly, to impress me, and I think this might be another. I mean, it's not bad but then again it's nothing different or very interesting. One-word impression after listening: Shrug __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018