Muse - Absolution (Review: Dan)

Tricky one this.

This is the bit where I would probably lie and say 'I wanted to go into this album with an open mind' or maybe 'I really wanted to like this album' but the honest truth is that I really wanted to hate it. However, when Ben revealed that this was the album with tracks 'Hysteria' and 'Time is Running Out' I became very worried that I'd have to swallow my pride and accept that it was going to be good. Well, here it goes:

I've listened to the album a lot now, yet a part of me still doesn't really feel qualified to review the album. However, at the same time I feel that I'm in as good a position now than i ever will be. The first positive is that I've got a lot to write about this album, it's given me plenty to talk about. Unfortunately that could well be the end of the positives list.
The best place to start, I guess, is the start. The album opens with the originally titled 'Intro' not that I'm marking it down for that. However...It is about 20 seconds long, about 5 of which is silence and the rest is just a clock ticking, which builds into first song 'Apocalypse Please'. Now, I don't see the relevance for this intro at all. I don't understand why they could just make it part of Apocalypse please, as it is clearly meant to be listened beforehand.

Now, Matt Bellamy's vocals are obviously a talking point here. They are high and wail-ey, and very similar to those of Thom Yorke. Now don't get me wrong, I actually think Matt Bellamy is a very good singer. However, this album is begging for any vocalist but him. Where the album tries to be fast-paced and heavier rock, it's credibility is crushed by long, droning vocals from Bellamy. There are even songs which I think are good, so long as Bellamy remains shtum, such as 'Stockholm Syndrome'. I think the only two songs that seem like they have been written so that Bellamy's vocals will fit it (and very well I'll add) are 'Time is Running Out' and 'Hysteria'. These two songs are remarkable, although everyone has heard both of them already(or certainly TIRO).

Slower songs are outrageously boring, but they sound like they want to be beautiful. In fact I think that the album has a lot of 'want' and probably made a lot of promises in the writing or recording stages. I get the feeling that they have tried to make an album that can be known as epic, but they seem to have fallen short of the mark on almost every track. I'm also going to go out on a limb here and say that 'Sing for Absolution' is the worst song of all time. It's just the most awful, cheesy song of all time. And though it has been said before and been met with frustration from fans (and myself) Muse do often sound like they are trying to copy what Radiohead are doing. Their sound is much more suited to the fast, heavy rock songs which we can see that they can do. Some of the songs start off with so much potential only to lose all their momentum by the halfway point.

Another of my main gripes is the 'Interlude' in the middle. Now, when a lot of bands decide that they're going to put an interlude in their albums they will more often than not record a short instrumental that will fill the gap. What Muse have done is just outrageous. It is essentially just a bit of noise that lasts 30 seconds. By noise I literally mean just a static sound. It's more like a theatre interlude than anything, in that the audience just have to sit and wait for the show to resume. Pathetic. Get rid of it.

There are a lot of piano parts in the album, so I did my research to find out just how many people were involved in the album, as I found that in the song 'Butterflies and Hurricanes' there is an absolutely dire piano 'solo' if you will, and it just sounded like it had been ripped straight off of Classic FM and dumped on their track. This, by the way, is another strong sounding song until you reach the middle. But anyway, I found out that the band themselves played all of the instruments on the album so I guess that makes things a bit more acceptable. But then I saw that a certain Paul Reeve had contributed backing vocals to the album. This is his only input to the album. Paul Reeve was the producer of their debut album, but this is now their third. I do not understand where they thought his vocal input was truly necessary. I'm sure there was a large number of people who worked on the album, and I'm sure that at least one of them would have been able to record one line of song for them.

I think that Absolution is perhaps an album that I would sit down and eat dinner to. I guess what I'm saying is that it is tolerable so long as I have something to do in the meantime. I think actually having to sit an listen to this 14 track inconsistency is beyond a chore.

One last point I feel the need to make is that Ben said in his upload post that the album spawned about 5 singles and most of them are still played live, which demonstrates the strength of the album. So, I obviously did my research again and pulled up their setlist from their show at the O2 earlier this month. I'd like to say now, anyway, that it is not unusual for a band to play their singles live. At this gig they played 3 songs from this album. To be totally honest with you, I think in a 21 song set that is below standard. Especially when it is their middle album. They've only had two since so it isn't particularly irrelevant. 1/7th of their set was from this album. I don't think that shows any strength. I guess a positive is that at least they are the best three.

Although I wanted to hate the album, I do feel disappointed by this, because I expected more. I'm sure this isn't what Ben was hoping to read from me either so I feel that is has disappointed on two levels. I'll tell you what though, it isn't necessarily a bad album, but it is certainly not a good one. Normally I find scoring tough, in fear of being too generous or too harsh I struggle to come up with something fair. With this though, I am confident that 2/5 is a fair score for Absolution.

Highlights:
Time is Running Out
Hysteria
Stockholm Syndrome

Dan

Tonedeff - Archetype (2005)

Following the recent AS success of PackFM and the not so recent success of Cunninlynguists, I feel I should now usher you towards the man who, in my opinion, is the strongest artist on the QN5 label. Archetype is Tonedeff's debut singles album, and is the album that really turned my head towards underground hip-hop, as opposed to the mainstream tripe I was then infatuated with. Tonedeff obviously has a lot to live up to, with his fellow QN5 artists having a perfect average of 5/5 from Ben, and I fully expect him to do so.

Muse - Absolution (2003)

Muse's third studio album is undoubtedly one of the most heralded 'rock' albums of recent times and in my opinion is probably their best album. Spawning the singles 'Butterflies and Hurricanes, 'Hysteria', 'Stockholm Syndrome', 'Time is Running Out' and 'Sing for Absolution', it has so many highlights and the fact that most of these songs are still in their setlist some 6 years later says alot about the strength of this album. I never made a statement that "Muse are better than Slipknot" as Dan suggested as that is purely my opinion. I merely suggested that he may want to consider other bands in his choice of 20 songs in an ultimate seltist and include songs from more than one band. Enjoy.

GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords (1995)

Lyrically my favourtie hip-hop ablum ever? I think so. The GZA (pronounced Jizza) is easily recognised as the most intelligent member of the Wu-Tang Clan and remains one of the only members with a shred of talent left in his body. This is a violent, dark and bloody album and the beats and lyrics reflect this. It, as the album cover suggests, is like a graphic novel with over the top violence and the like. In nearly every line of the album you can find double, even triple, meanings. The main idea of the album is GZA rapping about the ninja wu-tang persona and how certain aspects of this relate to real life situations in New York. It's difficult to explain as I get a different idea of what the album's about everytime I listen to it.
The production is amazing from RZA, very raw and grimey in the original US way, rather than the Wiley sense of the word. If this album is lyrically enjoyed I recommend the Wu's first solo album for further listening, if it is enjoyed due to the beats then I recommend the first album of Mobb Deep.
I hope you enjoy it Matt.

Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003)

Coheed and Cambria are a progressive rock band and this is their second full length release. It is also the second installment in frontman Claudio Sanchez's 'The Amory Wars' saga, and is accompanied by a graphic novel. However, we aren't reviewing this as a concept album. It wouldn't make any sense without hearing their debut album anyway.
I think this is one of a select few 5/5 albums for me and every single track is brilliant. 'The Camper Velourium' section of the album is a personal highlight for me.
This album is for The Chief this week, and I'm very hopeful that he will enjoy it.

Track Listing:
[1]The Ring in Return
[2]In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
[3]Cuts Marked in the March of Men
[4]Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)
[5]The Crowing
[6]Blood Red Summer
[7]The Camper Velourium I: Faint of Hearts
[8]The Camper Velourium II: Backend of Forever
[9]The Camper Velourium III: Al the Killer
[10]A Favor House Atlantic
[11]The Light & the Glass
[12]21:13

note: '21:13' could be track 23 on the album, it depends really. If it is it will follow 11 tracks of silence called 'A Lot of Nothing I-XI'. My version of the album doesn't have this, which is good because that's very annoying.

Here's a download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/179472340/CAC.IKSEOSE.GARF.WBB.rar

Enjoy,

Dan

Great Change is Afoot

From now and onwards AlbumSwap will be working differently. Each week each of us will be assigned another member to recommend an album to. This way we can decide what we want the others to listen to and defeats the problem of 'X has heard this so I can't upload it'. This album can obviously, therefore, be the same for three consecutive weeks if you want each member to listen to it. There is of course nothing really stopping anyone from reviewing someone elses so long as they do theirs first, but I think it would be better if we could delve into the back-catalogue first as I'm sure there are some hidden gems in there. The rota will cycle every week to ensure that we don't get any repeats.

This weeks cycle will be:

Dan recommends to The Chief (In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 by Coheed and Cambria)
The Chief recommends to Matt (Liquid Swords by GZA/Genius)
Matt recommends to Ben (Archetype by Tonedeff)
Ben recommends to Dan (Absolution by Muse)

Make your choises wisely, gentlemen.

Thanks,

Dan

Really Dan? "choises"? I am disappoint
Chiefy

Really, Chief? "[You are] disappoint"?
Dan

I am disappoint is a meme, choises is a typo.
Chiefy

I don't give a fuck.
Dan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeQMB_SUtI8
Chiefy

Noah and the Whale - The First Days of Spring (Review: The Chief)

Well, I laughed in the face of Dan when he asked Alex, Ben and I to come with him to watch Noah and the Whale. While I'm not sad I missed it as I might never have discovered Frank Turner if I left the NME Tent went to the Main Stage, I do regret making fun of this group so much. I judged way too soon on one crappy song and couldn't even imagine they'd make such beautiful little pop-folk songs. Well when I say that it sounds as if I'm in love with the album, far from it, its pretty good background music but it doesn't really grip me like the artists I love do. Still I judged Noah and his pet Whale before giving them a proper listen and for that I can only apologise.

As I said Noah make a very pretty song, they know how to make the listener tap their foot or sway to the music but I didn't ever find myself being gripped by a song. I feel that this is down to the vocalist, in other folkish music that I listen to (such as Bob Dylan and Frank Turner) I find that their voices are what make me think 'hold on let's listen to what he's got to say'. The singer of Noah has a nice enough voice that goes along with the music very well, but in this case I believe that is a negative. Dylan is frankly a poor singer but its so brash it makes me listen to the lyrics. This just doesn't happen in The First Days of Spring.

I think that the instrumentals and the orchestra are a great addition to the album. They really pick it up and it sounds really exciting. This part of the album is so good because it took me completely by surprise and really shows the great musicianship of the band, not to mention their creativity. Another stand out track on the album is Stranger, even though I was a bit annoyed that the pace of the album slowed down again I found this song to be pretty compelling, something that I've found most of the other tracks lacked.

The First Days of Spring is a nice album. It's a good piece of easy listening for a day when I've got a bad hangover or something but its far from one of my favourite albums. 3/5

PackFM - WhutduzFMstand4? (Review: Dan)

It's no mystery that I'm not an expert on hip-hop. I like bits of Jay-Z and what I've heard from Tonedeff and Immortal Technique. And I like most of what I know of Eminem...but who doesn't?

I reviewed Cunninlynguists earlier in the year and didn't really like it. But I am determined to get more involved in hip-hop, so the more that is recommended to me then the happier I'll be.

This is the first I've heard of PackFM before. I know nothing about him or his history. A quick search on wikipedia to do some research provides me with nothing so I have to jump in with both feet.

The album opens with 'The Fuck'. It's quick, and PackFm is basically just telling me who he is. It's a good song actually.

One thing that I've grown to admire about hip-hop is that unlike any other genre is that it's all about the lyrics and their delivery. Tracks rely on samples taken from other songs, and you'll find that a hip-hop artist (or certainly PackFM) has the ability to put their own work over the top to create a great song. This is an admirable attribute to PackFM's album, because even the simplest musical tracks can make some of the better songs - 'Stomp' springs to mind.

I love PackFM's rapping, I think it's clever and it's hard-hitting at the same time. He conveys his lyrics with flow and rythm that I didn't notice with Cunninlynguists.
Although I find a lot of what he is saying cringey and embarrassing he seems to do his job with so much conviction that he comes across very cool. Especially in the song 'Click, Clack & Spray'. I think my problem is that I'm not a hip-hop fan, I don't circle with the same type of person and so it's just like a different language to me.

Nigga Pass is what I'd call a skit (although correct me if I'm wrong). Although I don't see it's value on the album. I've listened to the track twice now, and never want to listen to it again. Not because I didn't like it (though I didn't) but because it's just a bit useless. It's like an ad-break.

Overall 'WhutduzFMstand4?' is a really good album. It's changed my perspective on hip-hop and I want to listen to more of it until I can rap along when I'm listening. The album isn't perfect though, there are several tracks I think the lyrics are poor, or I just don't like the music samples or the way the words have been made to fit over it. Suzie and Ugly Woman are probably the two worst in this way. I think I'm going to re-listen to Cunninlynguists with my new appreciation, just to see if I need to take back some previous comments. One last point I want to make is that the production is nothing short of brilliant on the album, and it's something that seems consistent in hip-hop. I like what PackFM has done here, I look forward to hearing more hip-hop (hopefully a tonedeff or immortal technique album is on the way) and I'm going to carry on listening to my favourite tracks from this album. 4.5/5

Highlights:
I Can't Win
Lessons
Forevershine

Dan

One More Week

This week has been pretty slow in terms of reviews...I think we've all just been keeping busy, but Matt and I have decided to extend this weeks albums until next monday, just so we can all catch up.
Cheers :)

Dan

Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun (Review: Dan)

I was downloading Kyuss when it was uploaded so I guess that was fortunate. I was downloading it because I was doing a bit of Josh Homme research, just because he's an interesting fella I suppose and he has done quite a lot.

I'm annoyed at the genre tag of 'stoner rock'. I didn't know what that means before I listened and I still don't really understand now. I don't know who the vocalist for Kyuss is or what he's doing now...I think nothing of any value to the music industry today, which is no real surprise. He isn't very good really, but I think it depends. I hate him on Thong Song, absolutely dire...

Matt (Stanley) said to me that after just the first two tracks you can tell it's a Homme record but...I don't know if I could. In fairness I'd never listened to a full one prior to this week, so I guess this felt like a bit of a treat. In terms of Homme's guitarwork, it's fantastic. He's a really good player, and he has really done well to get to where he is today. I don't know who the mainman of Kyuss is but they have also done a great job on this album. It's got a fantastic flow to it, and it all feels connected by its series of magnificent instrumentals.

Opening title 'Thumb' is a pretty decent song, it's one of the better vocal tracks and it's got a good bit of music behind it. The song 'Mondo Generator' is also a good one, and I am also aware that Nick Oliveri (bass) named one of his other bands after this song. I listened to a song of theirs, it wasn't very good though.

Standout track for me is 'Writhe'. I think this is the track which says everything about Kyuss. Well, certainly the way I see them. I think the vocal style is best this way, and it's got a decent riff and it makes a good listen.

Even though Kyuss exists no more, I think it was probably just a great stepping stone for Josh Homme to make himself one of the better known guitarists of today's music generation. I certainly prefer Blues for the Red Sun to what I've heard from Queens of the Stone Age's 'Songs for the Deaf'.
Overall I'd score the album a 4/5. A decent album, I'd recommend it to any one on this blog. Although I think the Chief just did that...

Dan

Highlights:
All of the Instrumentals
Writhe
Thumb

PackFM - WhatduzFMstand4? (Review: Ben)

It all sounds the same.

OK, so after two quite negative reviews last week, I was determined that this week would be different. If you happen to have seen my review of Cunninlynguists on AlbumSwap (Chief's favourite review ever, I might add) you'll already be aware that I don't really care for rap or hip-hop in general but that I found an exception with that album. Having said that, for some reason I still had the same assumption about this album, that it would not be to my tastes, especially after Matt said it had 'a more mainstream sound'. Somehow this preconception seems to be a recurring theme in my reaction to anything in the rap/hip-hop genre. Most of the time I hate being proved wrong, especially with music, but something about this album made me hope to be drastically wrong and love it.

As with Cunninlynguists, I'd heard snippets of this album coming from the brother's room but never really taken an interest. So, into the content of the album we go. 'The Fuck' is a fantastic opener. It has such a good beat to it and it's lively, something which I tend to find absent from mainstream acts in this genre. Instantly I remembered what it was that I loved so much about Cunninlynguists: the production. I absolutely love the notion of taking the best parts of other songs and sampling them into something totally different and it just always seems to fit so well in this album in particular. 'I Can't Win' is an equally addictive track and I started to find myself really enjoying the tracks on this album at this point. The chorus is brilliant and sums up everything that I love in this genre perfectly.

I found the spray can noises in 'Click Clack & Spray' a little bit annoying but that doesn't detract from what is also a very good song. I don't think this album is as thought provoking lyrically as Cunninlynguists but it still has some real meaning to it, again something I find missing from hip-hop as a whole. 'Lessons' is one of my favourite songs on the album as it has an incredibly good beat and I can actually feel myself nodding along to it. Lyrically it's also a very nice track and I just enjoy listening to it. Whilst not really enjoying casual racism in music (I think it's ridiculous and overused to the point where it doesn't mean anything anymore) I found 'N*gga Pass' really funny and for the first time found myself enjoying an interlude on an album so well played PackFM.

'Stomp' is for me the standout track on the album and sounds like it could be absolutely huge in the mainstream. The production on it is absolutely immense and it's just a brilliant song which I'll definitely be playing over and over again for a long time. Other highlights include 'Free-Esta' again due it's fantastic production and the amazing 'Token Love Song'. I felt that the album tailed off a little towards the end but that didn't really seem to matter when the strength of the rest of the album was such that I couldn't wait to listen again.

I can't really write too much more other than a track by track review as I just feel I'm reiterating points already made in my Cunninlynguists review but this album has once again proved me so badly wrong and apparently I'm actually really into underground rap and hip-hop. I can't really give this album anything other than 5/5 when it's made such an impact that I'm going to seek out more artists from this genre in the near future and I can't wait to hear more from PackFM.

PackFM - whutduzFMstand4? (2006)

PackFM is a Hip-Hop artist on the QN5 label, which brought us past Album Swap success in the shape of Cunninlynguists. PackFM has a much more mainstream sound than most other underground artists and this album is extremely well produced. I hope you treat it with an open mind, and I warn you in advanced that 'all the tracks sound the same' wont cut it here, because they don't. Enjoy, fellas.
Let me know if you need a link, I am currently uploading it as I can't find it anywhere but its taking ages.
Edit:

http://rapidshare.com/files/302380454/whatdoesfmstandfor.rar