The Album Club: "Seizure" by Chris Knox

rubber soul · 01-29-2018, 02:51 AM

Chris Knox- Seizure (1989)

Best Tracks: The Face of Fashion, And I Will Cry, Honesty’s Not Enough

Weakest Tracks: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Voyeur

I wasn’t sure about this one, not having heard of Chris Knox, so it was a surprise to see it is from a genre I’m familiar with. I have heard of Toy Love but I admit I’ve never heard them.

So this turns out to be a pretty nice album. There are parts that remind me a little of the Jesus and Mary Chain with more active vocals. As a matter of fact, I had to edit my 1989 list to include this gem in it, thanks, Tech.

There were a couple nits. The song they apparently promoted as the hit single, Not Given Lightly, isn’t anywhere near the album’s best track and I thought Voyeur was a little weird, but overall, I really like the album. In fact I’m going to say I love it since you’ll be seeing this in my member’s journal (eventually).

8/10 (the Word has spoken

)

rubber soul · 01-29-2018, 02:55 AM

In terms to last night's conversation, I didn't find it to be of a power pop vein either. Australia and New Zealand tend to have a unique style all their own from Nick Cave to Split Enz to Mental As Anything. Knox is certainly of that ilk and I think that's what makes him appealing to me.

Now I have to listen to some Toy Love.

OccultHawk · 01-29-2018, 10:48 AM

I like it! It jangles along very nice. Jumps style. Grovey O

Trollheart · 02-01-2018, 02:19 PM

Didn't think much of this when it begun, but it kind of improved as it went on. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is, well, barely audible, then followed by a louder, harsher track. There's reggae beats, pop, post-punk(?) and even some punk in here. It's a bit of a mixed bag. I wouldn't call it a great album by any means, and I wouldn't be looking to hear any more of his stuff, but considering my intention was to give this a "Meh" and it ended up as a "Like" (though just barely) I guess that says something.

6/10

~~MicShazam~~ · 02-03-2018, 01:51 PM

Just like with any random mainstream pop tune, there's hardly any depth to this, musically speaking. That means that it pretty much has to come down to the aesthetics of it, and I plainly just don't like the way it sounds. At all.

Some tracks sound a bit more modern, but a lot of them makes it strange to think that this album is from 1990 and not somewhere in the late 70's or early 80's. Some songs even take after 50's pop tunes - not least the annoyingly happy clappy and overlong 5th track on the album, Not Given Lightly. I have to admit to skipping the final minute of that song.

The guitar tone on this album just doesn't sound good to me at all, and all attempts at percussion are a sad affair. The vocalist does nothing for me either. I've talked about my tendency to dislike rock music before and this album really does what it can to remind me why. Simplistic music, uninteresting melodies, shouty, moany vocals and a load of distortion on top. That pretty much describes this album.

It just means nothing to me at all.

I do love Shannon Wright and PJ Harvey, but they have all the appealing textures, song writing ideas, musical chops and passionately involving singing voices this guy isn't within a lightyear's reach of.

I don't hate this music, because it doesn't actively annoy me, but that is literally the only nice thing I have to say about it.

It was made for people with other musical sensibilities than I have, so no offense to whomever picked this.

Voted "Disliked it".

OccultHawk · 02-03-2018, 01:57 PM

We’d probably kill each other on a road trip.

~~MicShazam~~ · 02-03-2018, 02:07 PM

If we both get terminal cancer, we should arrange for a road trip. One of us will get eternal peace, the other will get revenge. Win/win.

OccultHawk · 02-03-2018, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicShazam

If we both get terminal cancer, we should arrange for a road trip. One of us will get eternal peace, the other will get revenge. Win/win.

We could make it a documentary called “The **** It List”

~~MicShazam~~ · 02-03-2018, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

We could make it a documentary called “The **** It List”

The survivor takes all the debt/profit the movie leaves behind. I'm down with the idea.

View Poll Results: How Much Did You Enjoy The Album?
Loved it	1	14.29%
Liked it	3	42.86%
Meh	2	28.57%
Disliked it	1	14.29%
Hated it	0	0%
Voters: 7. You may not vote on this poll

01-29-2018, 10:48 AM	#13 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,033	I like it! It jangles along very nice. Jumps style. Grovey O __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

02-01-2018, 02:19 PM	#14 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Didn't think much of this when it begun, but it kind of improved as it went on. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is, well, barely audible, then followed by a louder, harsher track. There's reggae beats, pop, post-punk(?) and even some punk in here. It's a bit of a mixed bag. I wouldn't call it a great album by any means, and I wouldn't be looking to hear any more of his stuff, but considering my intention was to give this a "Meh" and it ended up as a "Like" (though just barely) I guess that says something. 6/10 __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

02-03-2018, 01:57 PM	#16 (permalink)
OccultHawk one-balled nipple jockey Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Dirty Souf Biatch Posts: 22,033	We’d probably kill each other on a road trip. __________________ 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Member of the Year & Journal of the Year Champion Behold the Writing of THE LEGEND: https://www.musicbanter.com/members-...p-lighter.html

02-03-2018, 01:51 PM	#15 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,636	Just like with any random mainstream pop tune, there's hardly any depth to this, musically speaking. That means that it pretty much has to come down to the aesthetics of it, and I plainly just don't like the way it sounds. At all. Some tracks sound a bit more modern, but a lot of them makes it strange to think that this album is from 1990 and not somewhere in the late 70's or early 80's. Some songs even take after 50's pop tunes - not least the annoyingly happy clappy and overlong 5th track on the album, Not Given Lightly. I have to admit to skipping the final minute of that song. The guitar tone on this album just doesn't sound good to me at all, and all attempts at percussion are a sad affair. The vocalist does nothing for me either. I've talked about my tendency to dislike rock music before and this album really does what it can to remind me why. Simplistic music, uninteresting melodies, shouty, moany vocals and a load of distortion on top. That pretty much describes this album. It just means nothing to me at all. I do love Shannon Wright and PJ Harvey, but they have all the appealing textures, song writing ideas, musical chops and passionately involving singing voices this guy isn't within a lightyear's reach of. I don't hate this music, because it doesn't actively annoy me, but that is literally the only nice thing I have to say about it. It was made for people with other musical sensibilities than I have, so no offense to whomever picked this. Voted "Disliked it".

02-03-2018, 02:07 PM	#17 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,636	If we both get terminal cancer, we should arrange for a road trip. One of us will get eternal peace, the other will get revenge. Win/win.