435: Album reviews.
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
I've listened to this album enough to say that it is excellent. Sure, there are hints of Gang of Four and Joy Division in their music, but it's all relative. I mean, you can hear My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth in Autolux. Great bands often yield great bands. That's how it works. Anyway, this album is a perfect example of balance. Everything is even danceable, haha. So if you love melodic indie rock with a spacey electronic twist, this is for you. Tracks like "Positive Tension" and "Price of Gas" are monumental achievements, and work of musical prowess for sure. Even the less intense, "So Here We Are" and "Blue Light" are brilliant. Such a cohesive album surely is a contestant for album of the year for many critics, and it also is for me.
9/10
Victory at Sea - The Dark is Just the Night
Victory at Sea aren't initially addictive. You have to open yourself to their style, and then they will transform you. In fact, each one of their albums are different, and takes time to understand them. It's something I appreciate in an artist, because it's something that many are afraid to do. However, their albums maintain a similar feel with Mona's vocals. She has a lower, awkward voice, almost haunting. This album has a very distinct feel. It feels empty. It lacks something, yet it lacks nothing. Victory at Sea are able to achieve a solid, continuous sound with little movement; enigmatic would be the best word to use here. Despite this mystery, there's a tremendous accomplishment to produce an album where every track carries over into the next, yet leaving you guessing on what's going to happen. "On the Surface of the Sea" is perhaps the best track here, because it's ominous and uplifting all in a period of a few minutes. It begins with oddly beautiful crafted notes floating inbetween bizarre beats from Christina Files, but evolves smoothly. It also connects the first half and the second half of the album, and provides an excellent lead into "Submarine". Highly recommend; might be difficult to find, but it's worth it. Look.
9/10
Between the Buried and Me - Alaska
The third album from the incredibly talented technical metal quintet (if you want to call them a quintet). When I first sat down to listen to Alaska, I was expecting a change as drastic and different as the jump from s/t to The Silent Circus. Not so. Btbam stick to the same basic formula as their last album and rearrange a few things. It's essentially retread. "All Bodies" is the best of the lot, because it demonstrates that they can do new things, but the momentum sank after that. The song "Alaska" is something that belongs on The Silent Circus. The instrumentals are nice. However, they don't fit into the album as you'd think they would. There's an unnecessary one fifty-seven second one before "Robotuner". They could've interwoven it with the song instead of making it separate. "Medicine Wheel" is nice at over four minutes, but even that drags. It doesn't feel right inbetween the brutality of the other tracks for some reason. "Laser Speed" is experimental jazz (or something) and hardly works as a conclusion for the album. I think their biggest fault is disconnection. They shouldn't have broken the tracks up into eleven. It should be eight or nine longer songs. A few listens and this record will be sitting on your record behind the other two, which I would have given tens. One other thing to note: They are airing the "Alaska" video on Mtv2. For shame.
6.5/10
Expect Sigur Ros and Coheed and Cambria ones relatively soon.