Now where have I heard that name before???
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Artiste: Boduf Songs
Nationality: British
Album: Stench of exist
Year: 2015
Label: Kranky
Genre: Experimental, ambient, acoustic
Tracks:
Jacket cruiser
My continuing battle with material reality
Thwart by thwart
The witch cradle
Great anthem of my youth
Head of hollow-fill and mountaintop removal
The rotted names
Grows in the small world of nerve
Modern orbita
Last song but one
Sky pedal’s plan
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Oww! My ears! But wait: what’s this? A piano?
Best track(s): My continuing battle with material reality, Thwart by thwart, Great anthem of my youth, Modern orbita, Last song but one
Worst track(s): Jacket cruiser
Comments: The odd thing about this is that, when I saw the album I said to myself, that sounds familiar. The name I mean. And yet, searching for the term brings up no other references. I thought it might somehow refer to mythology, particularly the Vikings, but no. It seems not to have been used before. Very weird. Anyway, Boduf Songs is a name taken by Mat Sweet, who has recorded some other stuff but makes this the second album of his own material to be released. I guess in a way he’s like yer man Bon Iver, using an assumed name. The album is all him, playing, singing, writing, producing. “Jacket cruiser” opens with what sounds like the sound of a telephone being dialled and then some mad screechy sounds that Frownland would surely wet himself over. Very experimental, very avant-garde, and the kind of thing that would have had me moving on had I not heard other samples.

It’s only short anyway, just over a minute, and leads into a dark, melancholic piano as “My continuing battle with material reality” changes everything up, a dour, bitter song with almost whispered vocal, slow and morose but somehow quite beautiful in its stark simplicity. I’m told he uses a violin bow (apparently not the violin though) and that may be the sound I’m now hearing, though there is a computer involved too, and something called “manipulated field recordings”, which those of you who are fortunate and talented enough to be musicans will understand more than I do. Next up is a more uptempo song, the same low-key vocal but a little more urgency in it and some more pronounced percussion as “Thwart by thwart” takes us further into Sweet’s dark world.

There’s another short effects interlude before we hit “Great anthem of my youth”, which is a sort of swinging piano beat, but slow, if you understand, with some interesting effects in attendance, a kind of classical influence in the melody, then “Head of hollow-fill and mountaintop removal” has to win some sort of prize for the weirdest song title ever, and it lives up to its name, with a sort of phased spoken vocal (reminds me of Hawking) against what sounds like violin and slow drumbeats. It’s weird with a capital Waits. You ever heard “What’s he building?” It’s a little like that, in terms of a slow, dark menacing feel. Acoustic guitar drives “The rotted names”, with a somehow Simon and Garfunkel idea, some more weirdness at the end and what may be the sound of a train pulling into, or out of a station opens “Grows in the small world of nerve”, with again a violin fading in and a dark, morose atmosphere about it. It may very well be instrumental.

Yeah, it is. Pretty evocative I must say. More tribal and sort of Peter Gabrielesque is “Modern orbita” with a nice kind of droning synth or something, that hushed, whispered vocal again and back to acoustic guitar with echoey drums for the lazily but appropriately titled “Last song but one”, which is really quite nice. Sweet does certainly give here a masterclass on the art of singing without having to shout or roar over the music; I get the feeling he wouldn’t know how to raise his voice, and yet he’s clearly audible all through the album. It makes for introspective, thoughtful singing, as if he’s singing to you personally. The final track is just effects and sounds, closing out a weird but quite starkly elegant album.
Overall impression: Wouldn’t usually be my sort of thing, but I really quite enjoyed this.
Hum Factor: 5
Surprise Factor: 8
Intention: I may listen to his other material at some point

A challenge...
 

Well, not really. But still, as this is supposed to be the year of the discography (to go from what people who had probably had more to drink than is good for them were saying around Christmastime) I now plant my flag and throw my hat into the ring for the title of The Discography King 2015.

In the Playlist, I'm already reviewing Tom Waits, with Marillion and Genesis to come later.
Here, I've got The Eagles started and now intend adding to those Asia, The Divine Comedy, Steve Earle, ELO, Robbie Williams and Kamelot. For now. There may be others.

So that's a planned 10 discographies in total. Oh, and that doesn't mean I won't be also reviewing random albums as well as plenty of new ones anyway. Anyone doubt I can do it? Anyone think they can beat me? (Not physically, Batty, not physically!)

Come an' 'ave a go if you think ye're 'ard enuff!

So, let’s get this thing underway then.
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For those who don’t know, Asia have been (mistakenly) described as a prog band. While there are some similarities --- their music is highly driven on banks of synths, they use some prog-style themes and the album covers, designed almost exclusively by Roger Dean, are very fantasy-like, not to mention that they were originally created by ex-members of prog groups --- Asia are not what I would consider a progressive rock group. I think it’s better to put them in the AOR category. But whatever you call them, they’ve been around since the early eighties and having gone through three lineup changes and two breakups, they’re back now and have a new album out just last year. I wasn’t impressed with their thirtieth-anniversary offering XXX, and made no bones about it when reviewing it, but that aside they have always turned out consistently excellent albums, even when a track or two may be weak. Here’s where it all started.
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Artiste: Asia
Nationality: British
Album: Asia
Year: 1982
Label: Geffen
Genre: AOR
Tracks:
Only time will tell
Heat of the moment
Sole survivor
One step closer
Time again
Wildest dreams
Without you
Cutting it fine
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: I have, and have enjoyed, every album they ever released. Apart from XXX of course. I have it, but I hated it.
Interesting factoid: Not quite sure why they chose the name Asia, as none of the original band (nor indeed any of the later lineup) are from the Far East.
Initial impression: After the first two songs, which I had already heard on the radio and for which I bought the album, I pretty much hated this first time I listened to it. The perils of having your two strongest tracks at the start of your first album!
Best track(s):Only time will tell, Heat of the moment, sole survivor, One step closer, Wildest dreams
Worst track(s):Time again, Without you, Cutting it fine
Comments: I was nineteen when I bought this, just wavering between progressive rock and metal, (I would eventually go for the former) and still kind of led by what I heard on the radio. The first two tracks were singles and I loved them, and bought the album, on cassette, as I expected to be listening to it a lot and didn’t want to have to go through the hassle of taping it. Maybe. Anyway I remember I hated it and put it away, and it was a while before I got back to it. It’s still not the strongest Asia album by any stretch, and as a debut something of a fizzling firework really, but I can appreciate it more in the context of what they later released.

We open on the big hit singles and right from the off you’re hit by the big, growling guitar of Steve Howe that just demands your attention, then the vocal of John Wetton as “Heat of the moment” opens the album phenomenally well , although I do think that after such a powerful opening the chorus is a little weak, almost poppy. It’s still a great song though and it’s followed by another hit, “Only time will tell”, which allows Asia to stretch themselves a little more musically. Even here though it’s pretty clear that the band is the brainchild of Wetton and keyboard man Geoff Downes, as they between them write almost all of the songs and take vocal duties, with the other two doing what they do.

It’s also clear that vocal harmony will be one of the big trademarks and selling points of Asia, though in truth they would never have another real chart hit after this album, while still carving a really successful and lucrative career. And it’s odd, because some of the songs on later albums kick most of the ones here into the dust and stamp on their corpses, later coming back with a 4X4 to run them over and make sure they’re dead. Downes’ intricate layered keyboards would also be a longtime feature of the band, and he in fact would be the only member of the band who would stay through all the changes, shut downs, rebirths and reshuffles.

I guess it’s not possible to follow either of the first two tracks; they are after all commercial gold and radio stations were queuing up to play them, but “Sole survivor” is a good song also, though at the time I didn’t think so. Maybe it’s the more progressive build up approach in the intro, I don’t know. I just wanted the quality to keep high, and I didn’t believe it did. But “Sole survivor” is a really great song, another hooky chorus to die for, even if it only mostly consists of the title sung over. There’s a wonderful pause about halfway where Downes brings everything back up with a flutey repeated synth before Howe lets loose with a superb solo and it cannons into the end section. “One step closer” is almost the end of the really good songs, a boppy, jaunty almost love song with a very Yes-style intro on keys and guitar before Downes takes over again on fluid synth. Again, wonderful vocal harmonies and some almost xylophonic fills really make this song. It does however only seem to be getting going near the end when it suddenly and abruptly stops. That always annoyed me. It was like they were saying “Okay we’re finished with that one, let’s go on to the next one.” It needed a better ending.

As I say, unfortunately that’s where everything starts to drop dramatically. “Time again” is a good rocker, perhaps the closest the album comes to being hard rock, and a great vocal from Wetton, but there’s something missing about it. I don’t know what it is. It’s a good opportunity for Carl Palmer to show why he was such a leading light in ELP at least and Howe rips off a fine solo, and there’s some lovely piano work from Downes. Things look up momentarily then for “Wildest dreams”, with a keyboard arpeggio that would repeat itself three years later on their third album and a song that for me forms part of a quartet of songs across four albums and twenty years, dealing with the idea of world war. With a start taken almost directly from Genesis’s Duke album, it again pushes their prog credentials, but it’s a fast, powerful song with stupendous piano again from Downes and an urgent, almost hurried and frenetic pace that really takes a hold of you, until it all ends with a fading vocal into distant pealing bells.

“Without you” is the first real Asia ballad, and while it’s not a terrible song it really feels like it’s just there because they thought they needed to have a slow song on the album. Even then, it’s not the kind of ballad they would become known (and in some quarters, jeered and despised) for, but seems to waver between slow rock cruncher and love song. Odd. Lovely soft keyboard intro, then it punches up on Howe’s guitar and Palmer’s battering percussion. Again, as in most of this album and indeed most of Asia’s catalogue down the years, the vocal harmonies are exquisite. We then end on the godawful “Cutting it fine”, which is about as poppy and filler as you can get, another sub-Yes tune and really for me closes the album on a really sour note. The only good thing about it is the lovely piano and keyboard outro from Downes.
Overall impression: As I said, I pretty much hated this on first listen. After repeated tries I got into it but it is still not anything close to what I would consider the best of Asia. I find a lot of the time it was like they were looking to find their own identity as they endeavoured to shake off the influences of the bands they had left --- King Crimson, ELP, Yes ---- and they tended to mirror some of these bands in the songs here. The second album would show a totally different bunch of musicians, ones who had left behind the traces of their previous bands and who were now committed to Asia. The album would be so much better for it.
Hum Factor: 7
Intention: n/a

I doubt if I'll even get through all of Billy Joel's 13 album discography in 2015, so I'm not challenging you.

I think Batty said it best: pussy. :)

Tom Waits = 22 albums (some of which are done, admittedly)
Asia = 14 albums
Divine Comedy = 10 albums
ELO = 13 albums
Robbie Williams = 11 albums
Steve Earle = 14 albums
Eagles = 7 albums
Kamelot = 10 albums
Genesis = 15 albums
Marillion = 17 albums

Total = 135 albums
Pshaw! I did that many for Metal Month II! :D
I AM the King!

Looking forward to your Billy J reviews though. Great choice.

[Insert pithy comment here]
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Artiste: Emissary Echo
Nationality: American
Album: Erasing the negatives
Year: 2015
Label:
Genre: Hard Rock
Tracks:
Pushed down
Run away
Infected
Frail
Vengeance
Face me
Erased
Defend
Let go
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Five days before the album release their vocalist quit the band.
Initial impression: Good hard-rockin’ opening, almost more on the side of heavy metal than rock really.
Best track(s): Infected, Frail, Vengeance, Face me, Erased
Worst track(s): Nothing really bad, per se.
Comments: The album title may be positive, sure, but what has the band name got to do with it? Emissary echo? Weird. Anyway they hail from North Dakota and as I mentioned above have just lost their vocalist, leaving them as, at present, a four-piece, though the singer in question, Korey Lee, does feature on this album. It’s quite short really, only nine tracks, the first one a good uptempo thumper, with the vocalist reminding me of Daughtry maybe. Hard, grinding guitars, pounding percussion, decent melodies but I’m not blown away just yet. Second track is … okay. Still not seeing anything that groundbreaking or impressive. Standard rock, nothing special. “Infected” has a nice echoey guitar line and moves a little away from the banal and the expected; it’s quite decent really. “Frail” is good too, but just that. I still have not heard anything that has made me sit up and really take notice.

There’s a nice hard bite to “Vengeance”, some good guitar work there, while “Face me” has a very catchy melody; could see that as a single maybe. A sense of progressive metal about “Erased”, possibly one of my favourites on the album, lot of passion and frustration in the song. One of Lee’s best vocal performances yet. Yeah, “Defend” is really good too, great hook in the chorus. The final track begins on an unexpected acoustic line but then punches up into another rock anthem, perhaps a pity as it could have been more than just a generic rock song.
Overall impression: Not bad, not bad. But I don’t get the gushing enthusiasm for them I’ve read from other reviewers, basically citing them as the saviours of rock. Don’t see it. They’re okay, but that’s about it.
Hum Factor: 5
Surprise Factor: 4
Intention: Meh. Nothing else to listen to as this is their debut, but I won’t be their emissary just yet.

Not quite the Russian winter but...
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Artiste: Sawmail
Nationality: Russian?
Album: Autumn
Year: 2014
Label: Moscow City Records
Genre: Electronica/Trance
Tracks:
Clear sky
Gibraltar
Castle by the sea
Leaves
Robin Hood
Sunrise
Winter holydays
Wonderful morning
Illusion
Say
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Get me out of this club!
Best track(s): Gibraltar, Leaves, Say
Worst track(s): Clear sky, Robin Hood, Illusion, Say
Comments: I can find out absolutely nothing about this band. When I input the word “Sawmail” into Google it helpfully asked me if I meant “Shawmail”? What? No, fuck you Google I did not! From the very little I can discover though I think they may be a trance band, and that’s not good for me. I’m assuming they’re Russian though they *may not be. And it does not start off well for me, with a fast pounding trance beat, the kind of thing I hate. Oh well. Thumpity-thump it goes, and I shake my head, not in time to the music but in despair that I somehow managed to buy this. What was I thinking? Oh I know now what it was: I have an idea to, at some point, feature a whole pile of different albums that are either by artistes who have Autumn in their name or whose albums have. Sigh. Well I may as well let it run now that I have it. Don’t expect too much from me though; I hate this kind of music.

I think it’s all likely to be instrumental --- isn’t most trance?--- certainly the first track is. Well at least there’s a nice sequence there where the percussion drops out and a nice lush keyboard line takes the tune, then some nice piano too. Ah but then the drum machines pound back in and we're off again. Still, it's not too terrible I must admit. “Gibraltar” has a nice sort of warbly synth line running it, and the percussion isn't too much to the forefront, so again I can stand this. Nice little dancing piano arpeggios, and I like the way the bass makes its way back into the tune late on. They call this “uplifting trance” apparently, and I can see why: it's very uptempo but generally not what I'd call harsh. It's still principally music for dancing though; if you're in a club this probably sounds great (if you care) but outside of that isolated environment it's a little hard to judge the music on its own merits.

Oh right: it's moved into “Castle by the sea” now. Didn't notice. Nice sort of phased synth line which gives way to some clear piano then some stabbing bass chords as it bops along, then there's an interesting start to “Leaves”, almost New Romantic in a sort of Human League “Open your heart” way before it slides more into a JMJ sort of thing. “Robin Hood” then returns to that thump-thump-thump sort of thing I hate, like someone's trying to stamp down the walls or something. Lots of squiggly squeaky synth makes this easily the most hated track on the album for me. “Sunrise” doesn't do much for my mood either, although it does slow down and calm down nicely in the middle, while “Winter holydays” is okay I guess, but nothing that great. “Wonderful morning” isn't wonderful, not to me anyway, just more generic trance, although it has some interesting warbly keys on it and some nice bass synth too, but still, meh.

That leaves us with two tracks before this is over, and they are both have vocals! Ah that's it: I'm done with this now. Trance is not for me, nor is this album. Boo. Actually, hold the phone: the last track is pretty damn good. But overall this is not the kind of music I want to be listening to. Just not my scene.
Overall impression: Probably great to dance to but not something I want to listen to, on balance
Hum Factor: 2
Surprise Factor: 1
Intention: Not going to listen to trance again if I can help it.

The new Journey album? No, the new Meat Loaf. No....
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Artiste: Care of night
Nationality: Swedish
Album: Connected
Year: 2015
Label: AOR Heaven
Genre: AOR/Melodic Rock
Tracks:
Cassandra
Hearts belong
Those words
Dividing lines
Say a prayer
Contact
Please remember
Unify
Give me strength
Say you will
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Good, heart-pumping AOR with hooky choruses, though it fools me by starting on a fade with a slow piano...
Best track(s): Cassandra, Dividing lines, Say a prayer, Give me strength, Say you will
Worst track(s): Those words
Comments: I've had a lot of luck with Swedish AOR over the last year or so, with Houston, Work of Art and others, so I'm hoping for good things from this debut. If anyone happens to know Seven Tears, some of the guys here are from that band which apparently broke up in 2009. An interestingly low-key start before it kicks into life with a real AOR vocal harmony chorus and we're off and rocking. Kind of gives me a Meat Loaf feeling right from the start with touches of Van Halen in around the edges. Nice snarling guitar on “Hearts belong”, which keeps the tempo high, and again those vocal harmonies, the lifeblood of any good AOR song, are in evidence. I find this song though very reminiscent of a Journey one, just can't think of it ...

Quality dips a little for “Those words”; just not quite feeling it on this track, but that's soon forgotten as the first ballad comes through, and “Dividing lines” certainly returns us to the promise of the first two tracks, a power ballad if ever there was one and a big hit single if there's any justice in the world. Just oozes emotion and even has a sax solo to make it complete. Superb. Not to be left out, guitarist Jonathan Carlemar lets loose with a fine solo. Best track so far without question. “Say a prayer” is another great track, though somehow very familiar; I almost felt I could predict the lyric. Is this a cover? I don't think so, but it does sound if not copied then very generic, which is not to say it's not a good song, just nothing original and very familiar, like the Journey deja vu of “Hearts belong”. The same with “Contact”: great song but I'm sure if I have not actually heard the song before I've heard the melody and structure. AOR by numbers? Let's not be that cruel. Yet.

Another nice sax break, then “Please remember” heads into boogie rock territory, very catchy though a little left of centre considering what has gone before, while “Unify” I have to say tries a little too hard to be something it isn't, but it's a good slow rock cruncher with an anthemic chorus. Happily, “Give me strength” gets back to what Care of Night do best: rocking with great vocal harmonies and catchy choruses, and this is a big improvement on the last two tracks. Again the Journey comparisons are there, but then as another reviewer would have it, “Not a single trace of originality but ... why mess with a winning team?” Can't really argue with that.

There's a nice finish then for “Say you will”, an acoustic opening (which sadly again reminds me this time of Extreme) which turns into a very powerful track that builds up to a strong climax and then fades out on single piano. Very nice.
Overall impression: A very good AOR album but there are far better I've heard. For a Swedish AOR band a little disappointing.
Hum Factor: 8
Surprise Factor: 3
Intention: If they release another album in a year or two I wouldn't be averse to hearing it.

Run with the pack!
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Artiste: Antalio
Nationality: Russian
Album: Wintry wolf tales
Year: 2015
Label: None (Bandcamp release)
Genre: Electronica
Tracks:
The wild (Running 1)
My frozen hearth
Nocturne Z
Nothing new
Wintry fantasies
One touch
The wild (Running 2)
Chronological position: Sixth album under this name, though he also records under under identities
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Two of the tracks here are also on his fourth album, Nocturne Z...
Initial impression: Dark, atmospheric, wolf howls ... all good so far.
Best track(s): My frozen hearth, Wintry fantasies, Nocturne Z
Worst track(s): One touch, The wild (Running 2)
Comments: What, another Russian act? Seems Antalio, real name Anton Talnov, has a few aliases under which he composes different types of music. As Lihosvet he plays atmospheric black metal, as Durbur, experimental electronic music, and as Antalio, this. I really have no idea what to expect, but as usual I liked the title (love wolves) and the few samples I heard convinced me it wasn't going to be music I hated, so I hit the “purchase” button and here we are.

Kind of dark waves of synth with wolves howling in the background as we get underway, echoey booming percussion, mid-paced tempo, instrumental of course, then a slower, more deliberate marching rhythm for “My frozen hearth”, kind of industrial: reminds me of Depeche Mode or Numan maybe. Seems bleaker somehow, colder. Would suit maybe the advance of the White Walkers in Game of Thrones as they near the Wall. Very inhuman feel to it. Much softer, more organic shape to “Nocturne Z”, one of those tracks I mentioned that were on a previous album. Quite an uptempo piece, odd little echo effects and a nice sprinkly piano. It's the longest track easily, almost eight minutes.

It has a nice repeated melody running through it that is quite catchy and easy on the ear. “Nothing new” belies its title, relying heavily on guitar rather than synth (though they're there of course) and chugs along nicely, whereas “Wintry fantasies” slows things down a little and rides along on a really clever little keyboard line, piano sparking along the edges, but if as I say he also does experimental electronic music then “One touch” must come closest to this, with some odd instrumentation and a kind of syncopated rhythm running through it. The closer then is some pretty straightahead trance, which kind of takes the gloss off what I've heard up to now a little.
Overall impression: Decent electronic music, well played and I might end up getting into it
Hum Factor: 0
Surprise Factor: 4
Intention: I'm not ready to go checking out any more of his stuff just yet. But perhaps in the future.

Spend your plastic on this album!
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Artiste: Plastic Violins of Darkness
Nationality: German
Album: Spiral
Year: 2015
Label: DHU Records
Genre: Doom
Tracks:
Anime in herba
Spiral
Solstice
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Another one-man effort
Initial impression: Dark, atmospheric, powerful
Best track(s): Everything kind of runs together, and as there are only three tracks I wouldn't pick one, but none of them are bad and most are really good.
Worst track(s): See above
Comments: Three tracks, none of which are less than thirteen minutes, and one of which is twenty? It's either prog rock or doom metal. And it seems it's the latter. Although according to Metal Achives, it's “progressive doom/post-metal/space rock”. Hmm. Based out of Leipzig, Plastic Violins of Darkness (PVOD) is the brainchild of Marc-Andre Mahn, whom we don't even get a picture of. Ooh! Mysterious! As to the album, the first track is the longest, that twenty-minuter, and “Anime in herba” opens with a dark atmospheric growl, slow percussion and what could be synth though I can't tell as Herr Mahm is simply credited with “all instruments”. It's not as plodding as some of the Doom I've heard, though admittedly I haven't experienced that much, but as yet I don't get the feeling of claustrophobia about it that I've read another reviewer speak of. I'm not sure if there are vocals buried deep in the mix or if I'm just imagining that the instruments are speaking words?

Fairly spooky but nothing that's turning me off so far anyway, and we're a fifth of the way through the track.Certainly sounds like a vocoder but that could be just effects on the guitar I guess. I can see where the progressive tag comes from certainly. It's interesting how it kind of continues on the one basic melody all the way and yet doesn't seem to drag at all. Maybe good music to be depressed to? Kind of an idea of whalesong or something there at the end, and then it flows directly into the next track, which is the title (and penultimate) one.

More bass evident here and a lot of feedback, either voices or some sort of audio recording going on and yes, I do get the feeling of being in a spiral, so well done that man. Heavier guitar bursting in now with some choral vocal it sounds like, could be synth of course. I hear definite echoes of Floyd in some of the guitar work here, kind of circa A momentary lapse of reason, and there's some nice almost acoustic guitar too. This time we end on pealing bells (very Doom Metal!) and then birdsong (not quite so Doom Metal) with hi-hats tapping out a sparse rhythm before the guitar growls in and we head into the closer, “Solstice”, which is the shortest track at just over thirteen minutes (never thought I'd utter those words!) and has some nice eastern influence on the guitar in places.

And rather quickly it's over, with a big booming clap of thunder (very appropriate) and pattering rain hissing into the distance and fading out.

Overall impression: Yeah, I really liked this. Gripping stuff, and not half as crushing or cloying as I had been led to believe.
Hum Factor: 0
Surprise Factor: 9
Intention: May listen to his debut now.

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Time to check out another of the discographies I'm going through. This time it's
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Neil Hannon, aka The Divine Comedy.
Although his debut album has apparently been disowned by him (possibly in much the same way Cold Spring Harbor was by Billy Joel) it still remains as one of his recordings, and as I have never personally heard it I think it's incumbent upon me to do so. And so we start, as we always do, and as is always advisable, at the beginning. No we don't. I cannot find a full copy of his debut anywhere, so we're going to have to skip it and go straight to his second, but the one he thinks of as his true debut.
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Artiste: The Divine Comedy
Nationality: Irish
Album: Liberation
Year: 1993
Label: Setanta
Genre: Chamber pop
Tracks:
Festive Road
Death of a supernaturalist
Berniece bobs her hair
I was born yesterday
Your daddy's car
Europop
Timewatching
The pop singer's fear of the pollen count
Queen of the south
Victoria Falls
Three sisters
Europe by train
Lucy
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: I've heard almost all his albums at this point.
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: n/a
Best track(s): I love each and every track here.
Worst track(s):
Comments: There are so many different musical styles on this, and pretty much all of Hannon's albums, that they're hard to pigeonhole really. I mean, the opening track on this one is based on the cartoon character from the childhood of many of us, Mister Benn. A lovely piano drives the tune, with a beautiful rippling passage basically forming the chorus, as such. It's violin and cello though to take us into “Death of a supernaturalist”, with a dramatic, almost poetic feel to it, while more uptempo and poppy is the guitar-centric “Berniece bobs her hair”, and then he channels Bowie in “I was born yesterday”. Nice spoken passages against a soft guitar, the voice almost inaudible it's so low.

Off at a fine lick then for “Your daddy's car”, with what I believe may be a harpsichord leading the melody, very catchy and commercial. “Europop” is, well, a Europop song that pokes fun at the genre with a really memorable beat, including a super little organ solo that is so ironic, and then everything slows down for “Timewatching”. This is an interesting song for a few reasons. One, it's basically ripping off the entire melody of “When I fall in love”, and knows it: he even references the lyric in the song. As well as that, it comes up later in 1997's A short album about love, which in itself is odd as that is, literally, a short album: only seven tracks on it and this is one of them. Why he chose to include an “old” song on such a short album is something I don't quite understand. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful, beautiful song, with a melancholy violin and mournful cello taking the song at a snail's pace and a perfect vocal from Neil. It's one of the few songs of his that has absolutely no percussion.

Another uptempo pop song then in the Britopop-like and hilariously-titled “The pop singer's fear of the pollen count”, with a droning kind of organ running “Queen of the south”, a slower song with a somehow ominous feel to it. Great vocal harmonies on this, while “Victoria Falls” has a Simon and Garfunkel idea about it, with some really nice jangly guitar and again great vocal harmonies. A doleful organ opens “Three sisters” before it develops into a kind of industrial rock bopper, and as it ends a steam-train puffs us into “Europe by train”, the only instrumental on the whole album but just as good as any of the rest of the tracks here. We end then on “Lucy”, another fantastic little midpaced pop/rock song which brings the curtain down well on what is an album without a single solitary fault. Incredible.
Overall impression: If this were to be taken as his “real” debut, one of the very best I've ever heard. I got into this after Casanova, which blew me away, but had this been my introduction to TDC I would have been just as happy and as impressed. Superb.
Hum Factor: 10
Surprise Factor: n/a
Intention: n/a

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Artiste: John Grant
Nationality: American
Album: Pale green ghosts
Year: 2013
Label: Bella Union
Genre: Synthpop
Tracks:
Pale green ghosts
Black belt
GMF
Vietnam
It doesn't matter to him
Why don't you love me anymore
You don't have to
Sensitive new age guy
Ernest Borgnine
I hate this town
Glacier
Chronological position: Second solo album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: The title of the album refers to a line of trees that stand on the highway outside his home
Initial impression: Oh man! Dancy synthpop? This is not what I expected :(
Best track(s): GMF, Vietnam, It doesn't matter to him, I hate this town, Glacier
Worst track(s): Black belt, Sensitive new age guy
Comments: Apparently John Grant used to front alternative rock band The Czars, but I don't know anything about that. I've never heard of him, so this will be a classic “Bitesize” review as I dive headlong into unknown territory. Will I bang my head on the rocks and drown? Will I swim like a dolphin in the clear blue sea? Will I even remember I can't swim? Well we open with a thick bassy synth line which gives way to an echoey vocal before the percussion kicks in. It's odd, because looking at the guy on the album sleeve synthpop is not what immediately comes to mind: I expected this to be a Country, if not Folk sort of album. Some good synth hits there add a sense of drama to the song, which I have to admit right away doesn't impress me that much, but let's give it a chance.

Ah, now here we go. The second track is much ... worse. Don't like this at all. Very disco-dancey and sort of Europop I feel. Meh. In fairness, “GMF” is much much better (seems it stands for Greatest MotherFucker), a nice acoustic-y ballad with a clever lyrical line in it and a real hook. And “Vietnam” is beautiful, with orchestral arrangements that are lush and sweeping, a soft vocal and some handclap percussion that somehow is not incongruous. The slow, laidback --- and yes, folky --- influence remains through “It doesn't matter to him”, as the album slowly but consistently gets better than I had expected, or hoped. After a rocky start, I'm really getting into this now. “Why don't you love me anymore” is darker, has a sort of almost complaining, moany feel to it, very bleak and self-pitying; not sure how I feel about it. I don't hate it, but I sure don't love it, and the addition of Sinead O'Connor on backing vocals does nothing to help.

“You don't have to” gets things back on track, some pretty mad organ in there, nice kind of stuttering bass too, not mad about “Sensitive new age guy”, too dancy and poppy for me, very electrobeat or whatever the fuck it's called; reminds me of Depeche Mode or Yazoo or some shower like that. Erasure maybe. Yeah, Erasure. Cunts. “Ernest Borgnine” slows it all down while still bringing in the thrumming, throaty synth and also some nice sax. A cool little bitter ballad with a lot of Divine Comedy in “I hate this town”; really like this one, possibly my favourite. Sort of a mad Carpenters-on-crack vibe from this too. Sinead O is back for the closer, “Glacier”, with some totally gorgeous orchestration, a laidback ballad with more bitter lyrics, it swells triumphantly in the midsection as O'Connor lends her voice, but to be honest it could be anyone; she's just not that powerful a force on this album as I've heard her be on, say, The The's Mind bomb. She tries, but Grant holds court over everything. I must say I've really grown to like this.
Overall impression: Didn't like it at first, slow to get going but once it did, with a few little valleys it's mostly really quite excellent, with sharp lyrics and a real couldn't give a fuck attitude that's refreshing.
Hum Factor: 7
Intention: I think I'll listen to some of his other stuff.

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Artiste: Night Runner
Nationality: Mexican
Album: Starfighter
Year: 2014
Label: None; Bandcamp release
Genre: Synthwave
Tracks:
After hours
Invaders
Starlight
Ride the sky
Roses and blood
Almost there
The sentinels
Nuclear countdown
The driver
Murder in Miami
Chronological position: Debut album?
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Some pretty good electronica here
Best track(s): Um, everything really
Worst track(s): n/a
Comments: “Just two guys trying to make rad music” is the bio, as such, that you'll see if you go to the Bandcamp page of Night Runner. Which while interesting and different, does not give you much of an idea as to what kind of music you're gong to encounter. I mean, “rad” could cover a whole heap of genres couldn't it? I'm guessing, from the titles and the album cover, AOR, hard rock or maybe even metal? The “two guys” in question are Alex Dioddao and Tabique Malevolo. Well, “After hours” certainly has a synthy, poppy opening but give it time. Builds nicely for an opener, layer on layer of sound, very electronic before some sort of taped vocal cuts in, but it kind of dies out and “Invaders” comes in on strong synth and this time some nice electric guitar, high tempo, rocks nicely. No vocals yet; not sure if there will be any. “Starlight” is another uptempo synthy piece, pretty sure this is all instrumental now at this stage.

“Ride the sky” has an almost orchestral tinge to it before it kicks up into a real high energy number with handclaps and thumping percussion, some sweet bright piano lines, while “Roses and blood” is the first time these two guys slow down at all, delivering a strong, dramatic piano-led piece that just smoulders. Things pick back up then for “Almost there”, trundling along really nicely with some very expressive guitar, and “The sentinels” has a dark kind of brooding menace about it. Very infectious, very upbeat, like this a lot. Pretty definitely electronic music anyway, mostly synth-driven. “Nuclear countdown” is the first track since the opener to have vocals on it, though they're again the soundtrack to a movie I think, where someone shouts about missiles being locked in and the world shortly being at war. There's a really nice strong synth line leading this, with rippling piano and a descending synth line too. Really pretty good. Back uptempo rockin' with “The Driver”, which hurtles along like a Lambourghini cruising along a high mountain road in Monte Carlo, and we end on “Murder in Miami”, which sort of brings things down a notch and does certainly remind me of the best of Jan Hammer. Superb offering all round.
Overall impression: For two guys who aren't even signed, and for a debut, this is nothing short of stunning. If Night Runner can get a deal with some major label, they have one hell of a bright future ahead of them.
Hum Factor: 6
Intention: Keep a close eye on these guys.

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Artiste: British Sea Power
Nationality: Um, British? ;)
Album: From the sea to the land beyond
Year: 2013
Label: Rough Trade
Genre: Instrumental, Original Soundtrack
Tracks:
From the sea to the land beyond
Remarkable diving feat
Strange sports
Heroines of the cliffs
The Guillemot girls
Suffragette riots
Heatwave
Melancholy of the boot
Be you mighty sparrow
Berth 24
Red rock riviera
Coastguard
Perspectives of Stinky Turner
Bonour Copaines
The wild highlands
Docklands renewed
The Islanders
Heatwave
Chronological position: Seventh album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: One of the few albums I know that has one track on it twice...
Initial impression: Really nice piano opening here
Best track(s): Everything really; fantastic album
Worst track(s): n/a
Comments: Another band I know nothing about, and it would seem perhaps a bad choice, as this is a film soundtrack (well, the soundtrack to a documentary) and so is all instrumental. It's also to follow the basic idea of the film, which is one about Britain's coastlines, so there's plenty of wind sounds, surf and the opening track is led in with a grave piano almost completely solo, then on a rush not unlike a seawave breaking on the coast, trumpet, cello and percussion pile in, and I find to my surprise that this is not all instrumental as vocals come into the mix. Nice sort of jangly guitar keeping the piano company before the brass slips in again, a great start to the album I must say. The next track is much more bright and uptempo, again piano leading the line but a more indie-rock vibe to it. Sounds like mandolin there, could be wrong.

“Strange sports” has a sort of vibrating guitar line and some spooky keys, much slower and statelier than the previous track, then breaks into a nice guitar line with organ backing, then a gorgeous melancholy cello drives “Heroines of the cliff” but by contrast uptempo, boppy happy guitar runs through “The Guillemot girls”, kind of almost a Country feel to it, and it's only the second track to have vocals on it. We're back then to that stunning solo piano for “Suffragette riots” before bass picks up the beat and brings up the tempo too, and “Heatwave” is a nice midtempo instrumental.

This is a long album, eighteen tracks in all, so I'm not going to describe it track by track, but generally I have yet to hear something I don't like. Vocals come back in for “Be you mighty sparrow”, which seems to reuse the motif from the opener (and title track) and indeed uses the name, so I guess you could say it's a slightly faster version of that with words, and it's brilliant. The quality just seems to be maintained all through the album, and though at this point I'm only a little over halfway there, I can't really see this dipping dramatically, if indeed at all. Just class all the way through.

I like the way the album alternates between fast, snappy rock tunes and slower, more broody and often quite expansive almost ambient music, and the odd vocal track thrown in just kind of upsets the balance enough without ruining it, kind of keeping you on your musical toes as it were. Sometimes, like in “Red rock riviera”, the vocals come in near the end, which really surprises you and always adds to the music rather than just feel like a gimmick or as if they're shoehorned in there so that the singer doesn't feel left out. Mind you, he plays guitar too so there's nothing he needs to prove. There's a real melancholic and yet triumphant feel to “Docklands renewed”, with that cello back in evidence, and we're back with that motif again from the opener for “The Islanders” before we close on “Heatwave”, which is oddly on the album twice.

Overall impression: Superb (mostly) instrumental album, very stirring and evocative and, I guess if you're British, makes you proud. Part of the heritage indeed.
Hum Factor: 8
Intention: Will check into some of their other material now.

Only just saw this.
I have it if you want it.

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Artiste: Anima Mundi
Nationality: Cuban
Album: The Lamplighter
Year: 2013
Label: Self-released
Genre: Progressive Rock/Symphonic Rock
Tracks:
Suite: The Lamplighter
On Earth beneath the stars
The call and farewell song
Light the lantern of your heart
The human house
Suite: Tales from endless star
The dream child behind the mask
The return Part 1
Endless star
The return part 2
His majesty love

Chronological position: Fourth album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Nice and laidback, pastoral with a shot of space rock thrown in
Best track(s): Everything except His majesty love
Worst track(s): As above, but, you know, the other way round...
Comments: We've been doing really well recently, with four and even five-cookie ratings, so you would think we'd be on to a winner with not only a prog album, but a symphonic prog album. This is in fact the first I have experienced of any music from that troublesome little bastion of Communism down the toe-end of America, so at least it promises to be interesting. In a move that would be odd for any band other than a prog rock one, this album is divided into two suites of four tracks, with one tacked on at the end, under the subheading “Epilogue”. The first suite is simply called “The Lamplighter”, and there's certainly a nice pastoral beginning to the opener, with some soft keys and synth, then the vocal (in English, thank God!) is clear and rich, sounds like it could be a harp in the background there. There's a kind of Yes sentimentality to the song, a short one to kick off with, just over four minutes. Guitar punches in now and the vocals get kind of Genesisesque. Very impressive start. Things get a bit harder and more raw with the second track, “The call and farewell song”, with tough guitar and those trumpeting fanfare keyboards that Urban hates so much. It breaks down then into an acoustic guitar passage, some lovely flute opening “Light the lantern of your heart” (shut up) and then a soaring guitar with a pulsing bassline leading into thunderous, rolling percussion and a powerful organ (I said, shut up) with the vocal floating above this musical soundscape.

“The human house” is the final movement of this suite and is mostly instrumental, with a bitchin' guitar solo and the reprise more or less for “Light the lantern of your heart”. The second suite, called “Tales from endless star”, opens on “The dream child behind the mask”, with a kind of droney synth then a Beatlesesque flute type melody, drifting slowly like a feather in a gentle updraft. Gets quite dramatic in the later parts, with what sounds like orchestra but is I think just very good work on the keys. Superb guitar solo followed by powerful dark keys and choral vocals; definitely my favourite so far, though there's nothing here I don't like.

But then there's the harpischord and pan pipes(?) excellence of “The Return Part 1”, with some great acoustic guitar and more strings-style synth, just lovely, an instrumental which ushers us into the epic, ten-minute “Endless star”, screeching droning synth and feedback laying down the groundwork before the guitar just takes the tune by the scruff, and we're now four minutes in and no vocals, though I doubt even these guys would pen a ten-minute instrumental, to say nothing of the previous track being one. Great music though. Super piano passage as we pass into the fifth minute, so we're now halfway through.

I'm beginning to wonder, to be honest, if there are going to be any vocals. It's progressing on now to the seventh minute and really, if singing began now it would be kind of superfluous. Yeah, we're in minute nine now and there is no way this is not an instrumental, as powerful choral vocals seem to be the only voices in this epic track and it begins to move towards its grand conclusion. Vocals however are all that “The Return Part 2” consist of, totally acapella at least for the first minute or so before guitar chimes in nicely along with some soft flute. Superb guitar outro, and this closes the second suite. The final track which, as I mentioned, has “Epilogue” before it, is “His majesty love”, and is a punchy, uptempo track which kind of ruins the effect of the last part of the closing suite. Actually it's more as if it were a bonus track; just does not fit in. Pity, because it's the only low point in a really great album.
Overall impression: Superb album, totally blown away by this.
Hum Factor: 8
Intention: They have three other albums, so, you know...

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And now, the sharp dividing line which separates those who love and those who hate this man. I fall on the side of the former, not surprisingly, but I can see why a lot of people hate him. Nevertheless, this is where we begin the discography of one
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Robbie Williams

In case you've been living under a rock for the last decade or so, let me advise you that Robbie Williams came out of the boyband Take That, and began a solo career in 1997 that has since elevated him to superstardom and resulted in hit singles, million-selling albums and sellout tours. His music is mostly pop, but you'll get the odd shot of rock or at least pop/rock in there too. If you haven't already made up your mind, I'd recommend approaching his music with an open mind, and concentrating on that more than the often adverse press he's received or his admittedly massive ego.
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Artiste: Robbie Williams
Nationality: British
Album: Life through a lens
Year: 1997
Label: EMI
Genre: Britpop
Tracks:
Lazy days
Life through a lens
Ego a go-go
Angels
South of the border
Old before I die
One of God's better people
Let me entertain you
Clean
Baby girl window
Hello Sir (Hidden track; spoken only)
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: I know most of his albums up to and including Escapology
Interesting factoid: Being his debut album, this sunk without a trace quickly on the charts. It was only the unexpected success of the single “Angels” that dragged it back into the upper echelons, eventually reaching the very top.
Initial impression: n/a
Best track(s): Life through a lens, Angels, Old before I die, One of God's better people, Let me entertain you
Worst track(s): Ego a go-go, South of the border
Comments: As a longtime sneerer at boybands, Take That not least of them, it surprised me how much I ended up liking this album. I had heard Robbie vaguely on the periphery, through singles like the aforementioned “Angels” and “Let me entertain you”, and I think it may have been to disprove my sister's contention that he really was a musical talent that I listened to this album, and had to radically change my view of him. I expected that the singles would be flanked by some real filler, and most of that written by others. But whatever you think of him, love him or hate him, or even ignore him, you can't deny Robbie Williams knows how to pen a great tune.

Right from the very start I was impressed, with the power and melody of “Lazy days”, its semi-Indian arrangement and powerful guitar riffs getting my attention right away. In an era where much of the pop music was still based around keyboards and synths, Williams was one of the new rising stars who, with Blur and Oasis and others, would reintroduce the guitar to music fans outside of the rock genre. Pretty much every song here is catchy, and most of them could have been selected as singles. It says a lot for the quality of the album that, great song though the opener is, it's really one of the weaker ones. The title track is a good poppy uptempo with a clever twist in the lyric --- ”Just because I ain't double-barrelled/ Doesn't mean I haven't travelled well” --- though oddly I feel Robbie sounds a little like Neil Tennant here.

Like most of his songs (that I've heard anyway) this has a great hook in it, and it's hard not to find yourself singing it later on, and there's some great bass and a kind of northern soul idea to “Ego a go-go” with some nice brass, while you really have to feel for Ray Heffernan. Who? Oh, he's the Irish guy who wrote “Angels” and sold it to Robbie for ten grand; the song went on to become Williams' most successful, bringing him instant stardom when it looked like he was going to fall flat on his face. I think everyone knows it by now, and it's the first ballad on the album. A beautiful song, with orchestral backing and a gorgeous piano line.

“South of the border” is great fun and features another great hook in the chorus, cool little guitar solo too, then guitar drives “Old before I die”, another single and a really catchy song, hard to ignore. Another smart lyric --- "I hope I live to see the day/ The Pope get high.” It's interesting that the idea in the lyric reverses the traditional rock mantra of “better to burn out than fade away”, which is kind of refreshing to hear. Also refreshing is acoustic guitar, which takes us into “One of God's better people”, showing how Williams excels in writing sentimental but not necessarily cloying ballads. Certainly, he's ably assisted on almost every track by songwriting partner Guy Chambers, and I don't know how much input either has into the songs, though in my review of Take the crown I noted that without Chambers, Williams' writing really suffers, so one would assume his partner was the main songwriter.

Again, most people probably know “Let me entertain you”, with its rising intro on piano and guitar, a real vehicle for what would become Williams' often out of control ego, but again it's really enjoyable. There's a lot of rock in the guitar and it's not too hard to see some of the harder rockers shaking their heads to this. On the other hand, there's a lot of soul in “Killing me”, with a really nice keyboard line leading it and a kind of ELO/Beatles midsection on violin and cello. “Clean” has a nice kind of swagger about it, with a good sharp, jaunty piano line and it certainly references his time in rehab, ending on a warped, twisted piano line to no doubt reflect the times he was out of his head.

“Baby girl window” then ties everything up really nicely, another acoustic ballad which rather unfortunately is followed by a bitter “hidden track” in which he speaks to his former teacher, reviling him for not believing in him and predicting he would go nowhere. It's understandable, yes, but a little unnecessary, and comes across as the equivalent of kicking a man who has already fallen to the ground. I'm sure the teacher was mortified, and its being a hidden track ironically would have brought it more attention than had it just been a normal one. Revenge may be best served cold, but this is pure ice. Oh well.
Overall impression: After this album I was ready to hear more Robbie Williams, and even bought his new albums as they came out. Who woulda thought it?
Hum Factor: 10
Surprise Factor 10
Intention: n/a

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Artiste: And So I Watch You From Afar
Nationality: Irish
Album: All hail bright futures
Year: 2013
Label: Sargeant House
Genre: Post rock
Tracks:
Euonoia
Big thinks do remarkable
Like a mouse
Ambulance
The Stay Golden Pt 1
The Stay Golden Pt 2 (Like rats on a rock)
The Stay Golden Pt 3 (Trails...)
Mend and make safe
Ka Ba Ta Bo Da Ka
Things amazing
All hail bright futures
Young brave minds

Chronological position: Third album
Familiarity: I liked their debut album; haven't heard anything else from them
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Needs more guitars!
Best track(s): The Stay Golden Pt 1, The Stay Golden Pt 2 (Rats on a rock), Mend and make safe, All hail bright futures, Young brave minds
Worst track(s): Ka Ba Ta Bo Da Ka, Things amazing
Comments: I've been getting a little more into post rock recently, mostly through the “Love or Hate?” thread, and I have heard ASIWYFA before, in fact they were one of the very first bands to be reviewed here, and their debut album did impress me. That was very guitar driven though, whereas this one at least starts off on a more electronica note, with bouncy keyboards and synth, some effects as the guitars come in, and generally it's a good rather than a great start, at least in comparison to the first album. Guitar does explode into action though for “Big thinks do remarkable” (huh?) and the track has a real punch about it. Interestingly, it's the first with actual vocals, even if all they do is repeat one line.

“Ambulance” has a weird kind of metallic, industrial start before it powers up; some nice digital piano at the end. The next three tracks are all part of one “suite”, going under the umbrella title of “The Stay Golden”. Part 1 has that upbeat dancy sort of keyboard that kicked off the album, gives way to a vocal line halfway through, but again it's just one line repeated. Sort of Mariachi style ending and then Part 2 has a real Caribbean/Calypso feel about it, while “Mend and make safe” has a tremendous, infectious energy. Ka Ba Ta Bo Da Ka, on the other hand, is clever but quickly becomes very annoying. As does the lacklustre “Things amazing”. The title track then is straight out of a prog rock album, marching along on a thick bouncy keyboard line with a really nice melody and some vague vocals in there too. The album ends well, with a powerful flourish as “Young brave minds” brings proceedings to a close.
Overall impression: It's that thing with post rock again. I mean, this is a very good album, but the instrumental nature of it makes it a little hard for me to properly review it, at least in this format. Not quite as good perhaps as their debut but a worthy successor to it.
Hum Factor: 5
Surprise Factor - 6
Intention: They have a new one out last month so I may listen to that.

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Artiste: Sleep Thieves
Nationality: Irish
Album: You want the night
Year: 2014
Label: Minty Fresh Records
Genre: Dark Synthpop
Tracks:
City of hearts
Sparks
You want the night
Oceans
French kiss
Ishimura
Through a sea
High
Tusk
Casiotone lover
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: A band who met over Twitter? It happened.
Initial impression: Very eighties new-wave dark feel to this
Best track(s): City of hearts, You want the night, Through a sea, Tusk
Worst track(s): Ishimura, High
Comments: Sort of bouncy, throaty synth with clapping drums opens up the album with a very eighties new wave feel as “City of hearts” kicks things off. The vocals of Sorsha Brennan are very clear and almost operatic at times, kind of reminds me in ways of Propaganda. Good backing vocals too. “Sparks” is more uptempo, with a real punch to it, while the title track slows things down a little with a darker tinge and a truly lovely vocal. The male vocals contrast well with those of Brennan. We're off at full synth tilt then for “Oceans”, with again dark, almost tortured and guttural vocals meshing with the clear, soft voice of Sorcha.

Very deep and dark then for “French kiss”, powerful drum hits and some very sharp guitar. Big cinematic introduction to “Ishimura”, with some great orchestral hits, and there's something very atmospheric, even poetic about “Through a sea”, quite celtic in a way. I hear a lot of the style of School of Seven Bells here, which is no bad thing. Turns into something of a trance workout, but still with the dark ambience about it. I don't really get that much from “High” but “Tusk” is much better, with a slow, moody pace and some crying guitar as well as a very ominous piano line.

The closer is called “Casiotone lover” and has a dark, almost menacing synth line backed by some perhaps incongruously light drumbeats, then a high keyboard melody that really brings the song to life. It's a slow, almost plodding tempo, quite sparse really, an interesting choice to end the album.
Overall impression: I'm still not sure if this kind of dark pop is for me, but for what it is, this is a pretty good effort, and the added bonus of these guys being Irish makes it easier to like it.
Hum Factor: 6
Surprise Factor: 5
Intention: I guess I'll see what they come up with next.

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Artiste: (The Lord Weird) Slough Feg
Nationality: American
Album: Ape uprising!
Year: 2009
Label: Cruz del Sur Music
Genre: Heavy Metal
Tracks:
The Hunchback of Notre Doom
Overborne
Ape uprising
Simian manifesto
Shakedown at the Six
White cousin
Ape outro
Nasty hero

Chronological position:Seventh album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: The band's name comes from a character in one of the stories in 2000AD. Ah, ya can't get away from it in my journals!
Initial impression: Dark, doomy, morbid but with a certain flair
Best track(s): White cousin
Worst track(s):Shakedown at the Six, Nasty hero
Comments: Those of you who know me will knwo why I got this album. In the 2000AD strip “Slaine”, there is a character called The Lord Weird Slough Feg, a kind of dark druid. He's bloody hilarious, saying things such as “Stupid boy! This meat is fresh! I only eat rancid flesh! Go get me something stale and rotting from the bins!” and giving advice like “If you can't afford to feed her, may I suggest you eat Granny?” So this band were going to be on my radar, whether they suck or become my new favourite. Plus they're metal. Slough Feg (sometimes they use the full name but often drop the first three words) have been in existence since 1990 apparently, and this is their seventh album, of which they now have, at the time of writing, nine. I'm not sure whether this is a) a concept album (though you would think so with a title like that and the songs mirroring same) or b) anything to do with the movie franchise for Planet of the Apes but at any rate it kicks off with a biting guitar as “The Hunchback of Notre Doom” takes us in, with indeed a Doom Metal feel.

It's slow and grindy, crunching along and when the vocal comes in it's dark and growly, though very understandable. The song itself is like a lament, and does seem to be based on the famous Alexander Dumas character. So perhaps not a concept album after all. “Overborne” speeds everything up, kicking along nicely with some fine guitar work, while the title track keeps things flying along well, though it is perhaps a little stretched at just over ten minutes. Some sort of eastern influences in the melody, bit of a celtic swing too.

“Simian manifesto” has a lot of energy and aggression about it. Excellent drumming with a sort of seventies hard rock idea in the guitar and a kind of boogie near the end. Nice. Departing from what has been, up to now, something of a continuing narrative, “Shakedown at the Six” is one of those hard-driving road warrior songs. And for what it is it's good but it's nothing terribly special. A very Lizzy style to the guitars that open “White cousin”, then it goes acoustic for a bit and it's probably one of the better tracks on this, which is just as well, as I was so unimpressed up to now that I was having real problems selecting tracks that were better than mediocre.

“Ape outro” has a lot of eighties Iron Maiden in it, some very good shredding, and returns to the slow grind of the opening right at the end. I guess that's closing out the ape storyline as such then. This leaves us with just one more track, and “Nasty hero” is a decent fret workout and a good song, but again there's nothing terribly distinctive or special about it.
Overall impression: Other than the name, and one track, the final sentence of the review above says it all. Fairly pedestrian, generic metal and nothing really that I haven't heard a hundred times before. Something of a disappointment.
Hum Factor: 3
Surprise Factor: - 8
Intention: Unlikely I will bother checking out their eight other albums now.

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Artiste: Prefab Sprout
Nationality: British
Album: From Langley Park to Memphis
Year: 1988
Label: Kitchenware
Genre: Pop
Tracks:
The King of Rock and Roll
Cars and girls
I remember that
Enchanted
Nightingales
Hey Manhattan!
Knock on wood
The golden calf
Nancy (Let your hair down for me)
The Venus of the soup kitchen
Chronological position: Third album
Familiarity: Jordan: the comeback and the various singles
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: I know the first two tracks so kind of n/a
Best track(s): The King of Rock and Roll, Cars and girls, Hey Manhattan, The Golden calf, Nancy (Let your hair down for me)
Worst track(s): Enchanted, Knock on wood
Comments: Having listened to Jordan: the Comeback I was really impressed by a band I had previously ignored, and yet up to now I have not checked out any of their other material, so since I know two tracks off this one I thought I'd give it a spin.Two big hit singles kick it off, with “The king of Rock and Roll” being most famous for that mad video with the frog waiter and the dancing hotdogs, but it's a bouncy, poppy tune that belies a bitter, self-recriminatory lyric which speaks of a guy who had one hit in his career and believes he is still a pop star all these years later. It's got a great hook though, which is probably one of the reasons why it was such a hit. Although “Cars and girls” slags off the lyrical themes used by Springsteen I can forgive them, as this is such a great song. Again it bounces along on pretty much the same basic beat as the opener, but the vocals of Wendy Smith really add to its bleakness. Paddy McAloon of course holds court over everything as usual.

It is true, of course, what he says: ”Some things hurt more/ Much more than cars and girls” so you can't fault him for taking The Boss to task. There is the pop sensibility that permeates much of his work, and clever lyrics as he sings ”Life's not a cruise/ With a cool chick/ Too many folks feelin' carsick/ But it never pulls in.” It's pretty impossible not to like this song. But that's it for what I know off this album, so from here on, to borrow an analogy from this song, we're on unfamiliar roads. “I remember that” pours a layer of lounge/jazz over the music, a slow swaying ballad with a great stabbing synth line, nice touch of gospel in the backing vocals.

“Enchanted” has a sort of soul feel to it, with some jangly, funky guitar, but it's a little lightweight for my tastes, while the great Stevie Wonder pops up on “Nightingales” to add some harmonica, and the strings accompaniment injects real heart into this soulful ballad. Oh, wait: I'm wrong. I know another track, and it's this one. “Hey Manhattan” is a great bouncy pop song with a wonderful hook, and guitar by Pete Townsend. Nice. Strings are even more effective here. I must say though, “Knock on wood” is terribly, terribly dreary. It's soon forgotten though as we hit the rock'n'roll of “The Golden calf”, very catchy, sort of a Tears For Fears feel about it.

Another fine ballad in “Nancy (Let your hair down for me)”, lovely piano work and fine backing vocals from Wendy again, then the album wraps up with a nice mid-pacer which happens to contain the title of the album, but is not so titled. It's a decent track but a little underwhelming.

Overall impression: Not by any means the powerhouse Jordan is, and since I already knew three tracks there wasn't too much for me to get excited about. Much of it was quite mediocre, though there were some good spots too.
Hum Factor: 7
Surprise Factor: - 2
Intention: I'm really not sure. I do like McAloon's voice and his lyrical prowess, but do I let myself in for another disappointment? Stay tuned. Or maybe not.

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Another discography to get under way. I started listening to this man's music purely on the basis of the first of his albums I bought, which I pretty much only bought for the cover, hoping some decent music was inside. I've already reviewed that in full, in fact it was one of the first albums to be looked at in my main journal, but when it comes round I'll be giving it the "Bitesize" treatment too.

For now, for those of you who don't know him, let me introduce you to
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Artiste: Steve Earle
Nationality:American
Album: Guitar Town
Year: 1986
Label: MCA
Genre: Country
Tracks:
Guitar Town
Goodbye's all we've got left
Hillbilly Highway
Good ol' boy (Gettin' tough)
My old friend the blues
Someday
Think it over
Fearless heart
Little rock'n'roller
Down the road
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: I've listened to everything Steve Earle has done; big fan
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: n/a
Best track(s): Guitar Town, Good ol' boy (Gettin' tough), Hillbilly Highway, My old friend the blues, Fearless heart, Someday, Down the road
Worst track(s): Little rock'n'roller
Comments: I got into Steve Earle through Copperhead Road and The hard way, which are albums more rooted in the rock he would follow for many years, so his debut was something of a shock to me. It's not that it's a bad album --- it's actually very good --- but it couldn't really be called rock, or even Country/Rock: it's pure Country with a lot of bluegrass and rockabilly thrown in. You can hear this from the off, when the title track, a good rocker, is nevertheless very much the kind of thing you'd expect to hear coming out of Nashville around this time. Like the opener, “Hillbilly Highway” relates the (perhaps autobiographic, perhaps not) tale of a man breaking away and finding his own way in the world. Some really nice slap bass in this.

What I do like about Earle's music is that, like the best songwriters, they mostly tell a story, usually about ordinary lives, and often they touch on political issues. There's not really any of that though till we hit “Good ol' boy (Gettin' tough)”, when he laments the state of the American automotive industry --- "A twenty thousand dollar pickup truck/ Belongs to me and the bank/ And some funny-talkin' man from Iran” and the decline of the attitude in the heartland of the USA, where a man is a man and does what he can to survive. ”I was born in the land of plenty” he tells us sadly, ”Now there ain't enough.” This is the first time the album really breaks out into something that could be said to approach rock, with a hard guitar driving the tune, where up to now, though the guitar has been present, much of the music has been reliant on the organ and synth lines of Ken Moore.

Earle plays to his strengths here, as he will on future albums, with songs coming in from the two to four minute mark: you won't find any eight-minute compositions on a Steve Earle record. He says what he has to say, with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of honesty and moves on. But he can write heartfelt ballads too, such as “My old friend the blues”, which relies mostly on picked guitar and his mellifluous voice, which here is completely cowboy singer, but will change soon to a harsher, rougher and less formulaic sound. Pedal steel of course adds its voice, then “Someday” returns to the singer longing to break out of the one-horse town he's stuck in --- ”They ask me how far to Memphis son?/ And where's the nearest beer?/ They don't even know/ That there's a town around here.” It's another song that has a good deal of punchy guitar in it, but the steel does rule, something that Earle would slowly drop, or at least cut back on, on later releases. “Think it over”, however, is pure rockabilly, not one of my favourites though it is catchy, with again a great bassline.

Much better is “Fearless heart”, which marches along confidently and resolutely, and which pretty much typifies Earle himself, a man few would try to tangle with but who has a gentle and compassionate heart. It's a slower song but not a ballad, however the next one is. I'm really not fond of “Little rock'n'roller”: it's just too twee for words, with a trucker calling his young son (the little rock'n'roller of the title) and agonising over being so far away. It's just too Country-by-the-numbers for me, with Earle almost breaking into tears. But the album ends well on “Down the road”, which opens on an acapella line from Earle and then quickly turns into a bluegrass workout, returning to the acapella vocal to end.

Edit: Just heard him doing a version of “State Trooper”, reminded me I need to check out Nebraska again at my earliest opportunity!

Overall impression: If this had been my first Earle record I doubt I would have gone much further, if at all. That would have been my mistake.
Hum Factor: 8
Intention: n/a

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Artiste: Alestorm
Nationality: Scottish
Album: Sunset on the golden age
Year: 2014
Label: Napalm
Genre: Pirate Metal (?)
Tracks:
Walk the plank
Drink
Magnetic north
1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)
Mead from Hell
Surf squid warfare
Quest for ships
Wooden leg
Hangover
Sunset on the golden age
Chronological position: Fourth album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Fun, fun, fun!
Best track(s): Drink, Magnetic north, 1741 (The Battle of Cartagena), Quest for ships, Wooden leg, Sunset on the golden age
Worst track(s): Nothing: this is fucking brilliant!
Comments: So, Pirate Metal, eh? Never heard of this before. I'm told it's not really a subgenre as such, but utilises elements of Power and Folk Metal to evoke a kind of pirate-themed version of Viking Metal (which isn't really a subgenre either: with me so far?) and tends to have song lyrics based around piratey things. So let's give it a go and see what it's like, shall we? Mateys.

Good hard and heavy opening as we are invited to “Walk the plank”; kind of more Thrash Metal than Power though I would think. Not bad stuff though. Chorus is hilarious. You've got to love a song that has the lyric “We are here to drink your beer!” Good song too; great I would think for, you know, drinking. Love the hard Scottish accent on “Magnetic north”, also the way it suddenly metamorphoses into a death metal song, complete with cookie monster vocals! The sailor's hornpipe idea on “1741 (The Battle of Cartagena)” is great, and the track rocks along with great excitement and fun, even if they do go all death metal for a short time during the song. It's almost endearing.

I have to say, so far I'm enjoying this immensely. It's not going to change your life or anything but it must be a fantastic album to get just totally pissed to. And the guys can certainly play. Oh come on! No matter how bad it is (and it's not, not at all) you have to give props to a song called “Surf squid warfare”! And the lyrics just get better: ”I'm on a quest/ A quest for ships/ Sailing's how I get my kicks!” Fucking inspired! And a hornpipe at the end. Perfect. Then we get “Wooden leg” which has the fantastic chorus “Wooden leg! Wooden leg! I've got a wooden leg!” and calls the Spanish and Japanese bastards. You gotta respect that!

You know, I'm just going to stop writing about this now and enjoy what's left. If you have the urge to be entertained and made smile, even if it necessitates slightly disengaging your brain, you really should get a hold of this album. Everyone should hear it, preferably, I would assume, when drunk.

Overall impression: Probably the most fun I've had listening to an album this year so far. Loved every bit, It's not going to win any Grammys or change anyone's worldview, but it's one hell of an enjoyable ride.
Hum Factor: 10
Surprise Factor: 10
Intention: I need to hear more from these guys!

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Artiste: No-Man
Nationality: British
Album: Flowermouth
Year: 1994
Label: One Little Indian
Genre: Dream pop, Progressive Rock, Ambient
Tracks:
Angel gets caught in the beauty trap
You grow more beautiful
Animal ghost
Soft shoulders
Shell of a fighter
Teardrop fall
Watching over me
Simple
Things change
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: I've heard Schoolyard Ghosts, and some of Wilson's material, with and without Porcupine Tree.
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: A wistful, dreamy opening that immediately pulls you in
Best track(s): Angel gets caught in the beauty trap, You grow more beautiful ... ah hell, just everything!
Worst track(s): Not a one.
Comments: A lovely rippling piano which reminds me of a faster version of Peter Gabriel's “San Jacinto” opens the album, with another, more stately piano joining it before the clear voice of Tim Bowness invites us once more into his ethereal world. Actually, that could be a loop, courtesy of King Crimson's Robert Fripp and his Frippertronics. A very clever line I find is ”I cannot scream for the dust in my throat”, which at once gets across the idea of drowning in the urban sprawl, choked by smog and exhaust fumes. Some beautiful violin and trumpet, with a superb sax solo from the great Mel Collins. And of course Steven Wilson does not disappoint either (does he ever?), handling various instruments and writing all the music. When these two get together, the result is never anything less than astounding. No-Man are one of the bands you can start playing and just know --- just know, with complete certainty --- that it's going to be an enjoyable experience at the very least.

At almost ten minutes for an opening track, Bowness and Wilson show here how to ensure a song this long never gets boring, repetitive or seem overstretched; in fact, when it eventually fades out you wish there was more. Luckily, there is, as we head into “You grow more beautiful”, with a sort of funkier upbeat feel, sort of reminds me of George Michael around the Faith era. Great guitar from Wilson, has a real kind of growling edge to it, and we have another standout already. And now the inimitable Collins sighs in with a smooth flute solo against kind of jungle percussion and a rolling, sprinkling piano, all perfect backdrops to the voice of Bowness, which really can only be called heavenly or angelic. Throw in some more beautiful violin and you're there. And if that wasn't enough, Fripp is back on guitar.

It's kind of hard to review this, as I keep feeling myself just laying back on the bed, closing my eyes and threatening to drift away... have to shake myself into action. Low, echoey drums usher in a funky beat driven on lush organ as we head into “Soft shoulders”, with gentle violin and an echoing vocal which reminds me of Soft Cell, though this song is another slow, laidback one, tempting me back to the embrace of the pillow... Okay... there's slightly more of a bite to “Shell of a fighter”, though nobody would call it uptempo. Great synth in it and a very Arabian idea in the riff. More great Frippertronics and a kind of mechanised vocal too.

There's a nice move towards something a little more upbeat, paradoxically perhaps, with “Teardrop fall”, nice electro/dancy beat, reminds me of Ceronne and Donna Summer. Vocal is perfect of course, great guitar from Fripp and more flute from Collins. Lovely. “Watching over me” takes us back to soft, gentle territory with acoustic guitar and very low-key percussion, while “Simple” ups the ante slightly with a more dancy number while still keeping the overall atmosphere going. Some pretty harsh guitar, it must be said, courtesy of Fripp, and some pretty mad effects to end, then “Things change” wraps the album up with a soft organ-driven tune, Bowness's gentle vocal whispering the album out as softly as he breathed it in. Sublime. Absolutely gorgeous guitar outro. Stunned, but not surprised to be.
Overall impression: As expected: another perfect album from the duo who seem unable to put a foot wrong.
Hum Factor: 8
Surprise Factor: 0
Intention: Listen to more

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Artiste: The Hammers of Misfortune
Nationality: American
Album: The August Engine
Year: 2003
Label: Cruz del Sur Music
Genre: Progressive Metal
Tracks:
The August Engine, Part 1
Rainfall
A room and a riddle
The August Engine, Part 2
Insect
Doomed parade
The trial and the grave
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Sounds like this may be an instrumental album, driven on guitar
Best track(s): Rainfall, Insect
Worst track(s): The trial and the grave
Comments: A big, powerful progressive instrumental opener to kick off, showcasing the fretwork of bandleader, creator and guitarist John Cobbett, then “Rainfall” introduces violin and cello, with vocals from guest singer Lorraine Rath, and something that sounds like timpani or vibes. Great vibrating acoustic guitar line running through this, the back to hard and heavy guitar for “A room and a riddle”, bringing in what I must admit are fucking fantastic vocals from Mike Scalzi, adding an extra layer to the sound.

“The August Engine Part 2” is a heavier affair, with a sort of dramatic vocal and an almost viking swing to it. Great soft instrumental in the middle that suddenly takes you by surprise by powering up into a real shredfest except ... well, no it doesn't. Slips back into a sort of relaxed --- no, no, wait: it's screaming along now. These guys sure know how to keep you hooked, that's for certain. Building up to a big climax now, and you would not expect a song called “Insect” to be a folky, 1969-Genesis-like ballad, but it is. And lovely to boot. Ah, but then they fire it up and we're off down another unexpected offramp, heading for parts unknown!

“Doomed parade” keeps everything rocking well, with a really over-the-top vocal and very Lizzy guitars, very powerful and the album then ends on thr epic, eleven-minute “The trial and the grave”, opening on a very power metal guitar intro, slow and stately but I have a feeling it won't remain that way for long Well, it has actually dropped to a sort of combined vocal now, almost a lament, with definite contribution from at least one female. Hmm. I see the bassist is a woman and I wonder if it's her and maybe Lorraine Rath again? If so, they're working very well together, and I think I hear Scalzi in there too. Slow, thumping drums adds to the overall doomy atmosphere of this track. We're now more than halfway through and a fine guitar solo from Cobbett takes the tune.

I have to say, though, I think it tries to be all things to all men, alternating between Doom, Gothic and power Metal over the course of its eleven-minute length, and while it works at some points, at others it really just gets too confusing and it's hard to know at the end whether it's a good closer or a bloated track that might have been better left off, or at least put somewhere else on the album. Some great guitar work by Cobbett comes very close to saving the song, but in the end it's a case of too little too late.
Overall impression: There's definitely talent there, and HoM have enough pluses going for them to ensure they're taken notice of, but whether or not I'd be interested in checking out more of their work is still a question I'm grappling with. When they're good, they're very good, but unfortunately it's not always the case.
Hum Factor: 4
Surprise Factor:: 7
Intention: Not sure at this point

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Artiste: Death Valley Athletic Club
Nationality: French
Album: Death Valley Athletic Club
Year: 2015
Label: None; Bandcamp release
Genre: Experimental?
Tracks:
Murti
Cereza
Salamander
Thanatoproxy
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Describe their music as “Surreal rock for the masses”...
Initial impression: Nice acoustic start, can hardly hear the vocal...
Best track(s): Salamander (just)
Worst track(s): Everything else
Comments: This is more an EP, with only four tracks, and yet, like some of the EPs I've reviewed over the last while, there's a lot of running time, as three of the four tracks clock in at well over ten minutes, with one running to sixteen! I have no idea what to expect so here we go. We open with a soft acoustic number with almost inaudible vocals, so low that I can't be sure if they're singing in French or ... oh no, it's English. Ok. Getting a bit more animated now on the guitar with synth coming in and the vocal getting a little more biting. This short track is the opener, a mere three minutes and then a jazzy, bouncy guitar instrumental sees it out and into “Cereza”, which runs for twelve minutes.

This starts slow too and kind of dreamy, then kicks up into another rocky number, with some pretty good flourishes on the keys. Rather oddly, in about the eighth minute it stops and then goes into a kind of experimental/ambient/Frownland thing with feedback, effects, sounds and general weirdness. Now this to me (and I may be wrong) indicates that DVAC are just extending this track for the sake of it. I mean, what's the point here? The song was relatively okay (though nothing special) for eight minutes, now we're getting “let's play with effects!” for another four?? Losing sympathy in my eyes here people!

The third track features a nice smooth little bassline, but I can see a pattern emerging here: start low and muted, kick it up and rock out. It's a little predictable, though there is some nice angry guitar here. This is eleven minutes long and breaks down in the fourth into a nice piano and vocal, slowing everything into a sort of lounge crawl. Good vocal. Some nice relaxed guitar and some slick bass. Favourite track so far, though I have to admit that's not saying much. Now they've ruined it by trying to mix Doom and Death metal, with a staggering degree of ineptitude and therefore total lack of success. Oh dear.

I should also point out that their logo is very confusing and does not look anything at all like DVAC. If anything it looks like XXC. Weird. I also don't see any justification for their description of their music as “surreal”, except in the sense that if they think they're getting anywhere commercially with this, that is indeed surreal. We're now into the final track, and it's the longest, at just over sixteen minutes, but I'm basically expecting more of the same. At least it didn't start low-key but seems to be something of a carryover from the ending of the previous one. Good sharp guitar, decent melody.

So after a pretty decent, it must be said, guitar workout we again stop in minute seven. And I mean STOP. For several seconds. You'd definitely think the song was over if you were just listening without running times. Eventually the guitar comes back with a sort of funky passage, which to be fair, has been worth waiting for, but why the big gap? People are mostly impatient and will be unlikely to wait for this to start up, meaning they may miss half of the track. Smacks a little of arrogance to me. Anyway, on it goes and the drums roll in, but it's really more of a jam than anything else. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but in the middle of a song like this and following such a pause?

Oh dear god! Now we get a death vocal! Why? We're twelve minutes into the sixteen-minute run and DVAC have decided they want to be a death .,.. well, no, the music is not death metal, just the vocal. And now we have another false ending. Three minutes still to go. :rolleyes: Sounds like some more weird effects and feedback on the way. Talk about filling out a song for the sake of it.
Overall impression: Pretty run-of-the-mill. The only thing that makes them stand out, in my opinion, is the way they keep stopping and starting songs, and also how they can't seem to decide what sort of band they want to be.
Hum Factor: 3
Surprise Factor: -7
Intention: Well this is their debut, but I doubt I'll be breathlessly awaiting any more of their material!

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Time to kick off another discography, this time yet another band that seems to get a lot of hate here, not sure why, also don't care. Welcome to the discography of
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Artiste: Kamelot
Nationality: American
Album: Eternity
Year: 1995
Label: Noise
Genre: Progressive Metal
Tracks:
Eternity
Black tower
Call of the sea
Proud nomad
Red sands
One of the hunted
Fire within
Warbird
What about me
Etude jongleur
The Gleeman
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: I have all of Kamelot's albums
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: n/a
Best track(s): Warbird, Fire within, What about me, Etude jongleur
Worst track(s): Black tower, Eternity, Proud nomad
Comments: There aren't that many bands who I got into via their debut, unless they're newer ones, and so it was with Kamelot, which is just as well, as had this been my initial impression of them I doubt I would have gone any further. The difference changing their singer two albums later made it nothing short of amazing. I personally don't like Mark Vanderbilt; this album and the next one which featured him makes it seem as if you're listening to a whole new band by the time Siege Perilous comes around. Even now, there's little from this album I will give the time of day to, but it is as always interesting to see how the band began, and how their sound changed over a relatively short time.

In some ways, this album is closer to thrash metal than progressive, and the title track and opener certainly demonstrates this. There's something I really don't like about Vanderbilt's style of singing: I'm not sure if it's his propensity to throw in wails and go a little off-key a lot of the time, or his attempts to emulate Dickinson (which does not work), but the rest of the band work hard to compensate for him, with a nice sort of dramatic little guitar passage thanks to creator and driving engine Thomas Youngblood, but the song is basically pretty throwaway. “Black tower” is worse, one of my most disliked Kamelot songs, while “Call of the sea” at least gets into the swing. Mind you, it's not that much of an improvement. I remember listening to one of their live albums and the tolerant, polite applause that greeted this song tells you all you need to know about early Kamelot.

And so it goes. “Proud nomad” has a chorus that doesn't scan --- too many words jammed together --- and sounds like “Red sands”, “Red sands” sounds like “One of the hunted” ... in fact, the only tracks that really break the basic mould here are “Fire within”, “What about me” and, to an extent,"Warbird". It's certainly true that once all songwriting duties were handed over to Youngblood Kamelot's lyrics improved in leaps and bounds. Here, he writes only the music while drummer Richard Warner looks after the lyrics, as he would on the next album before his final departure for the third. And was he missed? Well, with lines like ”Oh black tower, what is your power?” I think we have our answer. :rolleyes:

It's probably not fair to do down this album so badly, as I am; it's not that bad, it's just that, considering what Kamelot would go on to achieve this is very poor indeed, and is in no way an example of their best work. They found the winning formula in 1998 and retained it for seven albums, until 2010, when vocalist Roy Kahn left the band and since then they have struggled to replace him, as evidenced by 2012's depressing Silverthorn. “What about me” is one example of when they rise above mediocrity and give a foretaste of what they could and would become; even Vanderbilt puts in a great performance. “Etude jongleur”, though less than a minute long, does highlight the acoustic guitar skills of Youngblood, but then they blow it by ending on another generic track, and “The Gleeman” does nothing to help close the album on a strong note, kind of undoing all the hard work from the last three tracks. Oh well, they would get better.
Overall impression: A poor start for a band who would go on to be so much better in time.
Hum Factor: 5
Intention: n/a

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Artiste: The Birds of Satan
Nationality: American
Album: The Birds of Satan
Year: 2014
Label: Shanabelle Records
Genre: Rock
Tracks:
The Ballad of the Birds of Satan
Thanks for the line
Pieces of the puzzle
Raspberries
Nothing at all
Wait till tomorrow
Too far gone to see

Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: I know some Foos, the odd Niravana, that sort of stuff
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Bit chaotic at the start
Best track(s): Too far gone to see
Worst track(s): Everything else
Comments: Created as a sideline project of Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins, this was apparently something of a rushed album, thrown together quickly and with no real aim in mind other than to lay down some tracks and do something a little different. And man does it show! The Birds of Satan originated from Chevy Metal, a covers band Hawkins had been fronting, and departs considerably from his usual work. With a somewhat confused rolling drum intro with added sound effects, the first track soon settles down into, not surprisingly, a guitar-driven tune with what sounds to me like Nirvana meets Queen and then bump into Bowie. It's not bad but I'm not really feeling it I have to say. There is some very good hard rock guitar on it, but again I would question the wisdom of opening what is a debut album on a nine-minute-plus track, even if there are only seven tracks in all on it.

Going a bit Sabbathy now, vocal cutting back to a much more gentle phrasing, then guitar feedback kicks it all up again, though it remains slow but heavy. Vocal is very Bowie now. I think the trouble here is that TBoS are trying to squeeze way too much into one (admittedly very long) song, and it just ends up sounding confused and overblown to me. There are some great ideas in there, but they're a bit lost in the mix and overwhelmed by everything else going on. Yeah. “Thanks for the line”, the single from the album is nothing terribly special either. Tempo kicks up with “Pieces of the puzzle”, very Queen-influenced especially in the vocal harmonies. There's a good energy about this song, but basically I'm getting the impression of an album thrown together in a hurry, and for a bit of a lark, as seems to be the case.

There's a nice sense of Country and West Coast to “Raspberries”, but it fires up into a kind of uptempo, slightly punkish idea for the chorus. God I am bored with this album! I'm on autopilot now unless something interesting happens. OK, the closer is a beautiful little ballad with touches of the Eagles and CSNY. Very nice.
Overall impression: Really, REALLY meh. The last track is the only one that makes me feel this was not a total waste of my time. Very poor overall.
Hum Factor: 2
Surprise Factor -8
Intention: n/a

After the success of my “Love or Hate?” thread I've come to realise that for the shorter style reviews for which I originally set this journal up, the format works really well and so from today I'm changing to that format. If anyone doesn't know about the thread (come out from under that rock) the brief synopsis is that I go through the album track by track and colour code each song according to how much I liked, or did not like it. The codes are as follows:

Red = Truly hated this track. Nothing to redeem it. Would not listen to it again.
White = Characterised as Meh in the thread, this can be a song which either I was not very impressed with but did not quite hate, or that I have not yet made my mind up about. It can also be one that made so little impression on me that I can't really say whether it was any good or not.
Orange = A track I liked but did not love
Green = A track I loved
Blue = A track I am absolutely wild about.

Because of this change of format, some of the old categories have been moved and some have in fact been deleted, as they no longer really fit in. The latter include “Initial impression”, “Overall impression”, “Intention”, “Best/worst tracks” etc., all of which can now be gleaned from looking at the individual tracks and how I reacted to them.

Okay then, let's go with the first album reviewed under the new format.

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Artiste: Flying Colors
Nationality: American
Album: Second Nature
Year: 2014
Label: Mascot Label Group
Genre: Progressive Rock
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero, though I've heard good things
Interesting factoid: A “supergroup” made up of some of the stars of progressive rock, including Mike Portnoy and the two Morse brothers from Spock's Beard, Neil and Steve.
Tracks:
1. Open up your eyes: Excellent top-level prog instrumental opening which takes us about five minutes into a twelve-minute track, then the vocal comes in from Casey McPherson and it just gets better. There's a little of that Yes-style stop/start guitar and keyboard that often turns me off some prog rock (Spock's Beard use it a lot too) but that only detracts slightly from the overall excellence of this as an opening track. You could say the guys were taking a chance with such a long opener but I reckon they pulled it off and it sets the rest of the album up to really try to match, or even outdo, this.
2. Mask machine: A real chance for bassist Dave LaRue to show off his skills with a superb dark little bass solo to open. The vocal is oddly mechanised or somehow muddy at first, a little hard to make out, but it quickly takes shape. The song itself is much rockier than the opener, with a real killer hook and was in fact the first single from the album.
3. Bombs away: Well this is a heavy guitar led tune too, but in a slower vein, almost “When the levee breaks” in its style. Quite a passionate vocal, leaning just a little into AOR territory at times. Great solo from Steve Morse. Somewhat of a sudden ending. Hmm.
4. The fury of my love: Beautiful piano ballad on which Neal Morse gets to really shine. Lush strings accompaniment.
5. A place in your world: Kind of a feel of The Alan Parsons Project about this, Sounds like a Hammond there. Great vocal, a real rocker. Reminds me a little of Asia too. Another great hook, and the song just buzzes with energy. Okay, the lyric is nothing original but it's a good song.
6. Lost without you: Not a ballad, but a sort of mid-paced love song with again a very Asia feel to it, especially Aura/Phoenix era.
7. One love forever: Very jangly guitar, celtic style with what sounds like accordion but is probably synthesised. Really bouncy, upbeat song but again I cannot shake those Asia comparisons. If I didn't know better I would think John Payne or Wetton were in this band. (They're not). Still, not very much at all to complain about so far on this album.
8. Peaceful harbor: Great kind of crooned vocal opening, then it's acoustic guitar in what I guess must be the second ballad. Sounds a bit like steel guitar there too. Superb powerful vocal chorus from some women called The McCrary Sisters really adds heart to this.
9. Cosmic symphony (i) Still life of the world (ii) Searching for air (iii) Pound for pound: And what prog rock album would be complete without an epic multi-part suite? Running for just shy of twelve minutes (and so making this an album with an epic opener and closer very close in length to each other) this is, as you can see, split into three parts. Part I, “Still life of the world”has a very Tony Banksesque piano opening it, and a somehow ominous feel to it, helped along bu some urgent strings. You can kind of sense it building towards something, though in fairness it peters out and in part II “Searching for air” it turns into a really nice guitar led piece, then the strings return and with a slick guitar solo lead it into part III “Pound for pound”. Back comes that Banks piano joined by (dare I say it?) Rod Stewartlike guitar, with the vocal this time very reminiscent of Springsteen to me. Mostly driven on Steve Morse's expressive guitar, and with a return of those McCrary Sisters, who could be the “new Pink Floyd” girls, it's a great closer to an excellent album.

Comments: There really is nothing on this album I don't like, and much I love. I think I may have to make it a priority to check out their debut now. A wonderful effort.I do hear a lot of Asia, and of course a lot of Spock's Beard, but not so much as to make this anything like a clone/amalgam of those bands. Plus, of course, it helps that I like them both.
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So, would you be open to reviewing a sort of short album? It's I think 20 minutes long and I bet you haven't heard much like it. I think if memory serves it's either Italian and Japanese or just Japanese but, not in the Jpop way you're thinking of. It's my favorite type of music from one of my favorite artists so, let me know. I'll give you the youtube link and all. I'll be pretty surprised if you know her though.

Yeah, absolutely. Drop it here or PM me and I'll get on it.

I'm not sure if you've heard Akiko Shikata before but, if you haven't I can't wait to hear what you think of her. She's something else really. Spiritual, Soft, Hard. I don't even know. I discovered her played a game called Ar Tonelico of which she wrote and sung most of the music for. I love the fact that she writes music but, I can't tell you if she write all her music anyway, here's the album.



I decided on one of her smaller ones because, I know you're busy with so many projects. Anyway, hope you like it!

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Artiste: Folkearth
Nationality: Multi
Album: Balder's Lament
Year: 2014
Label: Stygian Crypt Productions
Genre: Folk/Viking Metal
Chronological position: Twelfth album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Oh yeah, interesting is the word! Folkearth is a multinational, multi-musician project that takes in players from the likes of Spain, Australia, Russia, Belgium, Croatia, Italy, USA and more. There are currently twelve band members from eight separate countries, including Greece, Monaco, Argentina, France, Italy, Germany, Russia and USA, and that's only less than half of the members and countries who have participated over this extraordinary band's so-far eleven year existence. They play a mixture of folk music and Viking Metal, and include musicians from bands in both spheres. Hey! I see both Athestan and Wulfstan from Forefather and Autumn and Winter from Hordak all played in this project at one time.

Tracks:
1. Beliskner: Big power metal style guitar attack with that dark growly voice so familiar to those who known Viking Metal. Hammers (sorry) along like a good thing, with a great warrior's chorus. Sad to say, it seems the vocalist, Metfolvik, of Folkodia and Ravenclaw, died shortly before the release of the album, which is dedicated to his memory (see “Comments” section). Some great female backing vocals here too, and it's a great start to the album, wasting no time and getting right down to it. Definitely more on the Viking Metal side than the folk, though. Certainly stirs the blood.
2. Balder's lament: Somewhat slightly slower but still very powerful with some great guitar work.
3. From Volga to Bosphrus: Kicks the tempo back up again in the vein of the opener, with a real folk reel type thing going on with the guitar. Some powerful and passionate vocal work from Metfolvik too.
4. Farewell to the north: This kind of sounds to me, when it starts, like something by Panopticon, which is no bad thing. Another romping rocker, female vocals added this time from the HOT Hildr Valkyrie (see below), also of Folkodia as well as doing her own solo thing. If I have a complaint so far, it's that this is mostly Viking Metal whereas it's supposed also to contain “normal” folk music, and I see cello, violin and accordion credited, none of which I've yet heard.
5. The crimson wine of battle: Nice flute intro (I think it may be recorder, as one is credited, not that I'd know the difference!) with acoustic guitar, then it kicks up again on the electric, Hildr adding her voice to this one too, sharing vocal duties with Metfolvik. Slightly lower-key to a degree, doesn't charge along like some of the other tracks. Oh, there's the violin now. Very nice. Soft passage here in the middle where Hildr takes the vocal solo before Metfolvik comes back in as the song heads towards its end, which is played out on a great acoustic strummed guitar.
6. Eyes of the volva: Back to the full frontal assault now with a big thundering rush as we hear about demons conjured up by Odin, maybe. Powerful, expressive guitar solo halfway through.
7. Donar's hammer: There's a big ringing powerful guitar to start this off, though it rockets along whereas I thought with a title like that it might be more of a cruncher, a grinder. Some very effective female vocals coming in too
8. The silent warrior: Not as silent as you would think! ;) Big powerful snarling guitars, with attendant cello, this is a slower song, punching along moodily with again a sort of duet between Metfolvik and Hildr.
9. The wine-sacks of the emperor: Serious folk jam going on here for the first few seconds with violin, accordion and guitar before it takes off, but remains in the same kind of jig/reel rhythm just now with electric guitar and harsh vocals. Great performance from Hildr.
10. Anvil of storms: Again more celtic/folk influence in the music here. A good fast rocker to close, and to, I would assume, serve as the swansong for Metfolvik. Some lovely violin here too.

Comments: A touching tribute to the late Metfolvik is on the Metal Archives under his page. It reads ”Thus our hearts and eyes are weepping (sic) for you, our friend forever shall be, in our minds forever shall be, Immortal! You enter the Hall of Brazen Shields as a True Warrior, Who fought brave till the last breath...” The album cover reflects this too, showing a Viking funeral which ties in also with the title of the album. Overall a pretty satisfying album, though given the description of Folkearth I would have liked to have seen a better mix of metal and actual folk music, rather than just snippets before each song tore off into a Viking Metal headbang. Good album, though, even if it didn't quite deliver on the original promise as I understood it.
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Artiste: Julia Wolfe
Nationality: American
Album: Anthracite Fields
Year: 2015
Label: Cantaloupe Music
Genre: Contemporary Classical
Chronological position: Kind of doesn't work; she's created hundreds of short pieces, collaborations, works etc. Just take it that this is not her first recording.
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: It's not often I come across someone whose music is said to “inhabit a place of its own, a place where classical forms are recharged by the repetitive patterns of minimalism and the driving energy of rock” as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Wolfe#Solo The Wall Street Journal puts it, nor one who has won the Pulitzer Prize for music!
Tracks:
1. Foundation: It's very quiet for most of the opening (runs for like nineteen minutes) apart from some clashing drums and piano I think that break out, then a low male vocal choir starts chanting, getting faster and more insistent, then female choir coming in too. Some more music added in now, guitar I think and maybe oboe or clarinet as the female vocals take over. We're about ten minutes in now. Big punching vocal in the fifteenth minute, attended mostly by stabbed piano and now the male vocal choir is advancing into the piece, the two eventually joining for a choral rendition to take the track towards its end. Not really my kind of thing, but good for what it is.
2. Breaker boys: This one's only (!) fourteen minutes long, and starts off more boppy and uptempo, getting right into it with a peppy clarinet and double vocal from the male and female choir. Sort of think I preferred the first track already! Yeah, it's only four minutes in but I already don't like this much at all. There's nothing of the gentle undertones of the first track in this; it's just a little too lively. Okay, suddenly it's beginning to settle down on a slow male choir. Wolfe uses something she calls the Bang On A Can Allstars and to be honest, in minute nine it sounds like that's exactly what's happening, as female vocals rise into the mix. Now it takes off into a sort of rocking rhythm somewhat in the vein of “We didn't start the fire” to a degree. Yeah, liking this less as it develops.The stupid chant of “I am the king of the castle” at the end does nothing to change my mind.
3. Speech: Something of an Indian twist to this, more choir work , slow doomy percussion. Meh.
4. Flowers: Nice acoustic guitar start, soft and flowing, gentle voices. Some very nice violin and cello, a lot more relaxed.
5. Appliances: And a twelve-minuter to end. It's been something of an endurance test and I can't really see this one making it any easier an experience for me. Sort of broken-up vocals here, with some nice but slightly distorted piano. Gets pretty intense, but to be honest I'm just waiting for it to be over now.

Comments: I wouldn't want to put down what she does, as I'm sure this is a great composition, but it is definitely not for me. I prefer my music a bit more, shall we say, musical? Frownland probably loves this, which tells you how much I don't. It's clever, it's deep, it's well-produced, but it's not something I'd listen to again.
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You're right in assuming that I'm a Wolfe fan, but I haven't heard this album yet. From what I'm reading, I think that some of David Lang's (a fellow member of the Bang on a Can All Stars) work might be a little more up your alley.

I can tell she has passion and talent. I hate to, and try to avoid, putting down an artiste just because I don't like their work. If I can hear the passion and commitment there, and get a feel for why others may enjoy it, then I'll give them credit for that. But it just is not for me.

I thought you would be into it though. ;)

Unsurprisingly indeed. Contemporary classical opens itself up to weirder places than most genres.

Ah well. At least I gave it a go.

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Artiste: The Blues Overdrive
Nationality: Danish I think
Album: Clinch!
Year: 2015
Label:
Genre: Blues
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Tracks:
1. Pistol blues: Has a very Credence feel to it from the beginning, starts low and restrained but I imagine it will kick up shortly... actually, no it doesn't. Bit of a disappointment actually.
2. Rolling thunder: Better. Rocks out from the start. Good guitar work and some fine percussion. The vocal fits the music perfectly.
3. Three time lover: And now we're boogying at last. Aw yeah! This is the blues, man! Pretty cool.
4. Woman of love: Kind of a Dire Straits guitar here, actually very like a slower “Sultans of Swing” or “Water of love” (any coincidence?). Softer vocal which is interestingly different, almost a touch of folk in there. The guitar goes Santana-style halfway through.
5. Daughter of the devil: And this is The Eagles' “Witchy woman”. Oh dear.
6. Jealous: This is a bit better, but I'm starting to get a little bored now. Where are the hard-rockin', hard-drinkin' blues stormers? This is, so far, pretty damn weak.
7. Cherry: God! Another limpwristed borefest!
8. Lay your burden down: Do these guys EVER rock out? This is just total snoozedom. Did not expect this.
9. Living here without you: Okay, there's a decent Rober Crayesque groove here and some nice electric piano. This is not bad. Still not really kicking out any stays though, and I'd like to hear that. Given that we have only one track to go, however, I kind of doubt it's gonna happen.
10. Aurora: No, it's another slowburner. Not bad, but ffs, wake up guys huh?

Comments: For a blues album, I just expected it to be more lively. I guess the blues can be introspective and sort of downbeat, which is how this album came across to me. But how these guys won the accolade of Best Blues Album of 2015 is beyond me. They say on their website they can't believe it: neither can I. Big disappointment personally. I'm certainly no expert on the blues, but I've heard the greats and the not-so-greats, and this doesn't come close. I guess some people prefer their blues downbeat and low-key. Not me though, at least, not all through the album.
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Artiste: Exes For Eyes
Nationality: American?
Album: Tongues Like Figure Eights
Year: 2015
Label: None; Digital release through their website (for a dollar!)
Genre: Thrash/Death Metal?
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: You wouldn't think there were two bands with this name, and in essence there aren't, but I thought this was the Irish band Little Xs for Eyes, and they had just changed their name. It's not and they haven't. There is however very little information, even from their website, on the band, with the result that I am just assuming they come from America.
Tracks:
1. Tongues like figure eights: Starts deceptively relaxed but then bursts into what is I guess a death metal or thrash vein, growly voice, hammering guitars, good melodies though. Certainly rocks.
2. Done for good: Meh, bit slower but I really didn't notice the transition from one to the other, and that's seldom good. Bit grindier than the opener, but essentially sounds pretty much the same to me. Aggressive, angry, loud and powerful. Batty would probably love this.
3. I will stand my ground: Another roared vocal, bit all over the place, but then it settles down for the midsection with a really nice softer guitar and a far gentler vocal. It won't of course stay that way, but it's nice while it does.
4. Collision: Nice sort of vocal chorus with some really biting guitar. Different, anyway.
5. Bleed the stone: Nice jangly guitar start, then it kicks into another headbanger. I'm getting more used to the vocal now. It's not too bad.
6. A strange man: Sort of a boogie feel to this, hops along nicely. An almost melodic/progressive metal guitar at times. Far too long though at six minutes plus. Nice staggered riff at the end.
7. Remember Savannah: This definitely sounds like it has some keyboards in it, and again there's a real progressive metal tone to it. Do they have keys? I don't know; as I say, information is sketchy at best. Okay, from what I can see, they don't, yet those definitely sound like keys. Maybe there's a guest performer? Best track yet, although really that's not saying a lot, is it? I'm actually gonna Green this one, first one on the album I've felt deserves it.
8. Parade of one: All right, that is definitely piano. No question about it. Kind of murder it a few seconds later though with a total thrashfest which could end up getting this a Red if it doesn't do anything else over its run. Ok, it actually has a good hook and the vocal is pretty expressive, those prog metal overtones in evidence again. I can give this a Green, though it annoys me what they did to that poor piano!
9. Shot in the dark: This is pretty good, with a sense of creeping menace in the guitar and in the at times kind of hissed vocal. Good bit of shredding there in the last minute or so.
10. My life vs your vacation: Actually sounds a lot like mid-eighties Maiden; hammers along with great energy and enthusiasm, though what the hell it's about I have no idea.
11. Closure...: I'm not going to suggest this is a ballad, but it does start on really nice reflective guitar that for the moment hasn't been blown away by a harder one. And it isn't. This is actually quite beautiful and totally unexpected. An instrumental that's low-key, soft and relaxing, and remains that way to the end.

Comments: Although this album started really badly for me but improved as it went on, and made a very presentable showing at the end, I still feel it's nothing special. It's probably categorised as thrash metal, and in that vein it's pretty ordinary: I don't see these guys standing out from the crowd as they need to do if they're to make it (which I assume they haven't as I had to search a lot to find them). It's not an album I'm sorry I listened to, but equally I could have lived without it, which is a pity, as they seem to be nice guys dedicated to their music, very honest and down to earth. But it takes more than that, unfortunately.
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