mp3 Albums, Part Two

As promised... Part two of two:

• Editors - An End Has a Start (2007). Eric Lax contribution number two. On this one, I hear a poppier Joy Division, as opposed to Interpol, which was my other touchstone for this one: the distinction lies in that they hit the higher notes vocally and musically, so the music is a little more uplifting, much like JD. I found four tracks I'd call great, and the rest I'd call solid. Very nice stuff.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Portable CD Case.
  
  
• The Frames - Here Comes the Night (2001). Eric Lax contribution number three. This live double album, recorded on New Year's Eve, 2001, at Ireland's TodayFM studios, is a low-key acoustic effort that has a lot of charm (and a lot of covers). It's also a great snapshot of The Frames after they "made it big" the first time (i.e., before Glen Hansard really "made it big" with the movie Once). It's a great show for Frames fans.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Portable CD Case.
  
  
• Klark Kent -Kollected Works (1995). Now, I'd happily buy this, but it's $50+ for this long out of print item... which is simply too much for any single album. So I'm stuck with a posted download instead. This is Stuart Copeland's one-man band side project while he was with The Police -- I still have the 1980 release Music Madness from the Kinetic Kid on green vinyl, with the album jacket cut into the letter "K." (It's truly unfortunate that the logo on the front is designed as "KlarK Kent" -- yup, KKK.) Despite what I will assume was a design "guffaw," I've always loved this album -- it sounds like an extension of the experimentation and wackiness from his songs on Regatta de Blanc. So I've been hunting this down, which is the CD version of the first album PLUS everything else he did as Klark Kent. I have to say, though, that something got lost in the translation from vinyl to CD. Think of this as a companion to work by The Police ("Police-lite," perhaps?), a piece of history that shows Copeland flexing his creative muscles at a very raw phase. This album is way too long, and not for everyone -- it fails when it teeters from quirky into self-indulgence. And it does, somewhat often. Also, I like his vocal style, which will not be everyone's cup of tea.
  Verdict: Recommended for Police completists. It will live in my CD Rack.
  
  
• Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007). Eric Lax's final going-away gift. He did not know that I hate OK Computer, and pretty much everything I've heard from these guys since I fell in love with the song "Creep." I tried this first in the car... not a good start. I then played it on the small stereo in my office (JVC, decent fidelity) and I have to admit... it is pretty darn good. This will be my first successful entry into the Radiohead arena; is this the opening to the rest of their library or a one-off? Only time will tell.
  Verdict: Recommended. Portable CD Case.
  
  
• The Suffocation Keep - A Few Minor Modifications of the Stars (2004). A free download, but this one I would have happily paid for. The brainchild of Built to Spill's Brett Nelson, this is just a great album. The vocals are a bit off at times, but I'll forgive them for that. They wear their influences are on their sleeves: the keyboardist clearly listened to a lot of Rick Wakeman (Yes), the guitarist loved Billy Duffy (The Cult), the drummer emulated Stuart Copeland (The Police), the vocalist wished he had the range of Tony Lewis (The Outfield), and the bass player... well, what bass player wouldn't emulate Chris Squire (Yes) or John Entwistle (The Who)? It all sounds great together... I'll have to find their commercially available release as well. I've been wavering on the vocals (I have to bring that up again, because they are a major factor here) between "great" and "off-key"... it changes from day to day. I still think it's great stuff.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Go to their website and decide for yourself -- the link to the free album is available at their myspace page. Car CD Changer for me.
  

- Snilch

mp3 Albums, Part One

I think I've made it clear I'm not a big fan of mp3's, as they encourage a further degradation of sound quality from CD's (which, to start with, are higher fidelity but still really samples themselves) and vinyl. These albums I am reviewing here are as high-quality as I could find; sometimes, downloads are all you have to work with.

So I'll clear off the hard drive and go through these albums. Part one of two:

• Faunts - Faunts (2007). This is actually an mp3-only album, so this forced me into a corner; a true full mix would be interesting to hear. High Expectations, Low Results went over like a lead balloon; this one features "M4," the soundtrack to the Mass Effect videogame. This is very relaxing... and I'm not sure if that's good or not. Pet peeve: track one is "M4 (Part II)"; track three is "M4 (Part I)." Either put them back to back (which I think would work in this case) or spread them out, but put them IN ORDER please. Annoying. I also wish this had more vocals. The songs don't go anywhere, which (I think) is more of a problem with the genre than these guys.
  Verdict: listen to "M4 (Part II)"; the rest I'm on the fence on. CD Rack for now.
• Al Hotchkiss - From the Dark and Bloody Ground (2007). This was a free download. In this case, however, "free" did not mean that there was not "a cost," which would equate to "a portion of my life I will never get back."
  Verdict: Don't eat yellow snow. Pile of Death.
  
• Keith Lubrant - Searching for Signal (2007). Thanks to Pandora for this one. Lubrant kind of reminds me of the John Faye Power Trip (which I loved and Denis hated) as very pleasant pop. The album goes on forever -- and not in a good way. "Disconnected" and "Too Late" are standouts.
  Verdict: Lightly recommended. CD Rack.
  
• Really Red - New Strings for Old Puppets (1982). Believe it or not, this actually finally wraps up one of my first posts from two years ago. For melodic hardcore, this was surprisingly not great in the car, but I still heard what I needed to. I really love this. I would love to hear more stuff by them... but everything else is long out of print. "I Was a Teenage F@$#up" is not for the kids, but is a great song.
  Verdict: Recommended to download for free here. Portable CD Case for me.
  
• Sleater-Kinney - BBC Sessions (1998, 1999, 2000). This is a compilation of three BBC sessions, and surprisingly good for live recordings. It's a good set list and a great snapshot of one of my all-time favorite bands.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Portable CD Case.
  
• Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild soundtrack (2007). On his way out the door from Mrs. Snilch Report's place of employment, faithful reader Eric Lax (not to be confused with Eric Salt), dropped a few albums on The Snilch Report's doorstep. He may or may not know that I'm not really a Pearl Jam fan; I respect them but simply don't listen to them all that much. I did not have high expectations for Eddie, and I generally don't like soundtracks, so this was a big surprise. Think Eddie Vedder reigned in (which is a good thing) -- it's a controlled burn. It's listenable in a non-self-indulgent way, which was the opposite of what I WAS expecting. I'm honestly surprised at how good this is (did I say that already?). This will get some more spins for sure.
  Verdict: Surprisingly recommended. Portable CD Case.

- Snilch

Just the Stats, Ma'am

We've reached the end of year two. I figured it's about time to quantify and tabulate this sucker.

So I did some research; if you are interested, here are a lot of numbers:

In 2007, there were 19 posts, 17 of which were posts that included album reviews.
In 2008, there were 28 posts, 20 of which were posts that included album reviews.

In 2007, I reviewed 40 albums. They broke down like this:

8 (20%) Car Changer
10 (25%) Portable
4 (10%) CD Rack
9 (22.5%) Sell-back 1
9 (22.5%) Pile of Death

In 2008, I reviewed 148 (!) albums, which is insane - that's a 370% increase in production! (I think I need to talk to the auto makers.) They broke down like this:

23 (16%) Car Changer
55 (37%) Portable
36 (24%) CD Rack
23 (16%) Sell-back 1
11 (7%) Pile of Death

In terms of the ratings:

• Both years, most albums (35% overall) went into the Portable CD Case. Now, if I were reviewing all albums and albums "cold" (i.e., with no reviews or recommendations), I'd expect that number to shift downward towards the CD Rack or Sell-back 1; because I'm selective to begin with, the CD Rack or Portable CD Case would be what I expected in terms of landing spots. Conclusion: I like good music. (This is a self-fulfilling prophesy.)
  
  
• The percentage of "bad" albums (Sell-back 1 & The Peaches Pile/Pile of Death) dropped almost exactly in half between 2007 and 2008 -- from 45 to 23%. The primary beneficiary was the CD Rack, which jumped from 10% to 24% of albums reviewed. Conclusion: I listened to Pitchfork less this year.
  
  
• I've reviewed 96 albums I'd call very good to great in the last two years. That is WAY too much. Conclusion: I listen to WAY too much music.

Prior to this post, I had never actually posted in either January or April, for whatever reason.

And that's The Snilch Report, by the numbers. Good night, and good luck.

- Snilch

Year-End Roundup, Part 3

Thank God for 10-12 hour car rides. Final installment for 2008.

• The Cribs - The New Fellas (2005). After declaring these guys the next big thing on my radar, I felt a strong need to go back to check this album out. It's not as good as Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever, but it is a solid, decent effort; there are more dead spots here, but it's still very good.
  Verdict: Recommended. It's a CD Rack-quality album that gets into the Portable CD Case based on their 2008 effort.

• James - Pleased to Meet You (2001). Reviewed here, after their Greatest Hits compilation it seemed like the chapter was closed on these guys. This, their "spectacular" return to form (quoted from allmmusic.com), is not as rock oriented as their previous efforts; lead singer Tim Booth has a great voice, but the previous successes of the band were based on contrasting his voice with the music. Here, they blend his voice with the music, which is fine, but just not as interesting to me. There's no song that reaches out and grabs you, which is what James is all about in my book; this is thus more consistent in a bad way. It needs more bite and a hit single.
  Verdict: Slightly recommended. This goes into the CD Rack for now, but I'd be surprised if the album is still there five years from now.

• LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 (2006). This was commissioned by Nike to be a long-form song suitable for a 45 minute workout, which intrigued me. Here's what I read at Wikipedia (after I had bought and listened to the album): "The track is, strangely, 45 minutes and 58 seconds long, and was claimed to 'reward and push at good intervals of a run.' However it was later revealed that this was not the case, but that [LCD Soundsystem songwriter and frontman James] Murphy merely wanted the opportunity to create a long piece of music." Thanks for nothing then. In fact, the "track" is boring, monotonous, and plodding. (Hey, isn't that what we're trying to escape from during a workout?) I didn't like LCD Soundsystem before, and this effort and deception does them no favors with me for the future.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Run away (get it? get it? WOW I am clever). Pile of death.

• Naked Raygun - Jettison (1988). Here's what you need to know about Naked Raygun: they know how to write a heavy guitar riff. It's old school, aggressive, viciously effective guitar play. This album includes four bonus tracks, which are well worth it: the cover of Stiff Little Fingers' "Suspect Device" is absolutely great. If it were more consistent, it'd be in the Car CD Changer... but it's not. Still damn fine punk/rock 'n roll.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Portable CD Case.

• Ride - Nowhere (1990). Ride was a significant shoegazer band in the early 90's, but history swallowed them up (like most of the other bands in the genre) in the mighty wake of shoegazer geniuses My Bloody Valentine. This is a great second place to MBV; time and the rock canon appear to have conspired to allow this one to fall through the cracks. It shouldn't be. It's not as layered and flowing as Loveless, but it's great in its own right.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Car CD Changer.

• Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004). This is a reunion I doubt anyone saw coming. Childhood friends Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith hadn't spoken since an acrimonious breakup of their songwriting partnership in 1992; Orzabal even made two more albums as TFF without Smith. In 2000, they were forced to communicate with each other for the first time since the break over some legal matters; they patched things up and decided to give it another go. Now, this is no Songs from the Big Chair (their 5x Platinum breakthrough), but it is a nice, pleasant, poppy, Beatles-esque album. It's listenable throughout, and a more mature sound, but "Quiet Ones"... well, that separates this reunion from others. It's classic TFF, and an absolutely sky-searing pop tune. Phenomenal. That song alone is worth the price of admission -- if they have more like this left in the tank, I hope they come back for at least one more rodeo.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. "Quiet Ones" takes this album on its shoulders and moves it from the CD Rack into the Portable CD Case.

- Snilch

Year-End Roundup, Part 2

Our year-end cleanup, part deux.

• Against Me! - Reinventing Axl Rose (2002). As indicated here, I did in fact decide to look at Against Me!'s back catalog; when I saw this title I knew that was the one to try. "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" was a good start, but the rest is a bit raw; this experience dictates that I won't venture back into the rest of their catalog but will continue with them forward.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Sell-back Pile 1.
  
  
• John Cale - Close Watch: An Introduction to John Cale (1999). After seeing him perform on Later with Jules Holland, I was intrigued. This album was less rock-oriented than the live effort, but nevertheless enjoyable. Think David Byrne meets Pink Floyd and Discipline-era King Crimson, with a dash of Arcade Fire and The Alan Parsons Project. Very sparse, very cool, sophisticated, and jazzy; at times the music is almost pristine, and at others it's very rough. I'll need a lot more time with this one -- it's complicated.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Portable CD Case. Great for the casual fan; for the hardcore fan, it's not worth the money.
  
  
• Faunts - High Expectations, Low Results (2005). An aptly named album. After hearing the 2007 epic track "M4 (Part II)," I went back and found this album. I had high expectations. I experienced low results.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Pile of Death.
  
  
• Haircut 100 - Pelican Brief (1982). I had never really had these guys on my radar until I saw their reunion as part of VH1's Bands Reunited (a canceled show that I am still obsessed with). Any band that can take the stage for the first time in 20+ years and make it sound like they had been playing together all along gets at least a listen from me. This album is so poppy it almost makes me sick listening to it. Yet... I find it really compelling. There's definitely something cool happening here. So, despite their terrible videos and occasional "teeny-bop" moments, I have to conclude that this album is excellent, fun pop that is well-produced; their songwriting and musicianship is too good to dismiss. It's too bad lead singer Nick Heyward had a nervous breakdown after the first album and this is their only group effort with him; there are solid foundations here that indicate this group could have gone on to do something great.
  Verdict: Highly recommended for a trip down cultural memory lane. Portable CD Case.
  
  
• The Moonbabies - At the Ballroom (2007). I love The Moonbabies sound -- a little retro, a little ultra-modern, with great harmonies. The one problem I have with them is that they have dragged out the song "War on Sound" (granted, a fantastic song) around for three years, as its appeared on at least there (!) official releases. They have other strong songs as well, and this album is great; time to find another cow to milk, though.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. Portable CD Case.
  
  
• The Outfield - Any Time Now (2006). After the commercial blockbuster Play Deep in 1985, The Outfield actually released five more albums from 1986-1999; I still feel 1986's Bangin' was the only album of theirs worth owning (including Play Deep). This one, written over a four year period, is the second. It sounds like they wrote it in 1987 -- no surprises musically, although the subject matter (which is more political and religious than their early material) is a bit more mature. There are even a few excellent tunes here (like "No Fear"). They have no pretense of changing their formula, which is fine by me. The second half drags a bit, but it's a nice listen overall.
  Verdict: Recommended. CD Rack.

- Snilch

Year-End Roundup, Part 1

My goal: to get through all of my outstanding CD reviews before the end of the year. Here's part one of three.

• Big Wheel - Slowtown (1993). Peter Searcy's first post-Squirrel Bait project. This band is simply not edgy enough for Peter's voice; it has potential to be much better but unfortunately is not. Too much sickly sweetness throughout. I'll take a few tracks and call it a day.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Sell-back Pile 1.
  
  
• Eric Matthews - It's Heavy in Here (1995). I went out and found Eric Matthews' 1997 album The Lateness of the Hour, which I find to be absolutely fantastic. It's Heavy in Here is the (allegedly) breakout debut, which is well crafted, low tempo, orchestral, crooner pop. It's a great offering, but at the moment I'm really stuck thinking the second album is better, which might be due solely to the order I listened to the two albums. After this album, he stuck his head in the sand until 2005, and has released three albums since -- any Matthews fans here listened to them? The reviews were not great so I've shied away.
  Verdict: Still processing, but recommended. Despite the hesitation, it's good enough to hit the Portable CD Case.
  
  
• Me'Shell Ndegéocello - Peace Beyond Passion (1996). Eh.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Sell-back Pile 1.
  
  
• Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway (2002). This was suggested to me on the Sugarlist (a.k.a., the Hüsker Dü/Sugar/Bob Mould e-mail list) in a thread as a driving disc. When I listened to it in the house, it sounded really soft, so I was not that encouraged. I was therefore extremely surprised when I played this in the car -- it is not only absolutely a great car album, but a great album period. Who knew? It's beautifully sparse. Think Uncle Tupelo without the country conventions, fronted by Nick Drake. Occasionally I even hear Christopher Cross when listening to this. And still like it. Verdict: Highly recommended. Car CD Changer.
  
  
• Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead (2007). The first question I have: Why is this necessary? Why not just make this another System of a Down record (a guilty pleasure I openly admit)? SOAD is better than this. Collaborate and get it right! In the end, though, despite the fact that it sounds just like SOAD, despite the fact that SOAD is better than this, and despite the fact that it does drag in a couple of places, Tankian is such an excellent artist that even this mis-step has its moments of brilliance, and is worth keeping.
  Verdict: Recommended. CD Rack.
  
  
• Various - The Baxter Soundtrack (2005). This is an eclectic indie soundtrack with a few really strong songs; "Put" by Amy Miles is a real standout.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Sell-back Pile 1.
  
  
• Year of the Rabbit - Hunted EP (2003). Containing two album tracks from their Car CD Changer-worthy full length self-titled album and two non-LP tracks, this one is for completists only. Yes, I am one of those people.
  Verdict: Recommended (completists only). CD Rack.

- Snilch

Face-Off!

Well, I just made this format up, so we'll see how it goes. The premise here is that I've recently listened to two albums by either the same band or bands that have something in common, and I'll tell you which one is better, worse, or just lame out and push. (I'm good like that.)

Here we go, in completely arbitrary order:

• King Crimson: Beat (1982) VS Thrak (1995). In this corner, in the blue and pink trunks, we have Beat -- part two of the three part Discipline/Beat/Three of a Perfect Pair troika that King Crimson offered from 1981-1984 as part of a re-found identity of progressive rock meeting industrial pop. In the other corner, in the midnight blue and gunmetal grey trunks, is Thrak -- their first album since 1984 and ostensibly the partfour continuation of the three part series. At its simplest level, the comparison is as easy as their one-word titles: Beat is a real word; Thrak is made up. Beat sounds like a band in their prime making vital music; Thrak sounds like a band imitating their former selves. Beat is self-indulgence with a means to an end; Thrak is just self-indulgence.
  Verdict: TKO. Beat goes into the Portable CD Case; Thrak goes into Sell-back Pile 1. (Note: If I had never heard TOAPP or Beat, I'd keep Thrak; I've just heard them do better than this album.)
• Billy Duffy side projects: Circus Diablo - Circus Diablo VS Coloursøund -Coloursøund (1999). We match The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy's side projects: both self-titled offerings that begin with the letter 'C.' Circus Diablo (which includes The Cult and Guns 'N Roses' Matt Sorum) sounds like it was intended to blow off steam more than anything; it's literally The Cult meets mainstream pop. It's a pretty safe attempt musically, harmless and inoffensive but fun. Coloursøund (which includes The Alarm's Mike Peters) sounds like it was intended to blow off steam more than anything; it's literally The Cult meets The Alarm meets unbelievably clichéd lyrics. It's a pretty safe attempt musically, harmless and inoffensive but fun; the lyrics really hold this album back.
  Verdict: There are no winners here, only a reviewer who has wasted time and money. Coloursøund wins a split decision over virtually identical twin Circus Diablo, but we stopped caring long ago. Better lyrics would keep Coloursøund in the CD Rack; instead it crumbles to Sell-Back Pile 1.
• J Church: Nostalgic for Nothing (1995) VS Arbor Vitae (1995). The late, greatLance Hahn (who I reviewed here) will never get his due. He passed away a little over a year ago, and it's too bad that the music he brought to the world (as J Church is really just Lance with various rotating band members) still resides in virtual obscurity -- he really added a great melodic element to hardcore, or a nice hardcore edge to grunge, however you want to slice it. These two albums are a couple of his best efforts (although 2000's One Mississippi is [IMHO] his opus) but have very different approaches. Nostalgic for Nothing is consistently good for all 26 tracks; Lance tells weird off-kilter stories throughout an album that does not have his typical highs and lows (although "Hypothesis" is a standout). But a consistently excellent album with covers of Nick Lowe, Duran Duran, and Morrissey is a formidable beast. Arbor Vitae, on the other hand, exposes one of Lance's pet writing tricks: start with a typical 3-chord riff, then throw in an unbelievable hook and/or harmony waist-deep into the song. You go from generic to transcendent in 3.2 seconds -- I've never quite heard anything like it done so successfully AND repeatedly. "Church on Fire" is epic; "Waiting on the Ground" and "Sinking Seas" are also great. But the album is also good overall; not as consistent as NFN, but a good album nonetheless.
  Verdict: One ring, two champions. You really can't go wrong either way (or with One Mississippi), but the edge (and controversial Don King-influenced decision) goes toNFN. Both go into the Portable CD Case.
• Rich Hopkins and Luminarios: Devolver (2000) VS The Best and Worst of the Luminarios (2004). Now it may seem odd to pit an individual album against that same band's greatest hits, but I think it's justified in this case. Devolver is supposed to be Rich Hopkins' (former Sand Rubies lead guitarist) opus -- so both should be equally good. The first three songs of Devolver start off with a lot of promise, but at this point the album could still go either way. Track four ("Elaine") is not a good turning point: Rich Hopkins' pet trick is a guitar lick that I've heard him use a dozen times on a dozen different albums. I draw one of two conclusions for this: 1) he wrote this lick when he was eight, and has been trying to (unsuccessfully) write the perfect song for it ever since, or 2) he includes a song with it on every album as his "signature." Either way... it's not very interesting or inspired to hear it over and over again. By track eight ("Tres Amigos") it's clear the album is not a great one; it's all fallen apart by this point. By the time The Best and Worst enters the arena, Devolver has collapsed in the corner as a self-indulgent puddle of gelatin. The Best and Worst is all you'll ever need.
  Verdict: The Best and Worst wins without throwing a punch. It ends up in the CD Rack;Devolver in the pile of death.

- Snilch