The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 223

Ok so I might as well start catching up with my late reviews. This time I will be reviewing the album @Michael Schmidt gave me like a month ago. I had some choices and hesitated between this and Underoath, but since I had already heard some Underoath tracks, I went with the band I had never heard a track from.



This album is On the Impossible Past by The Menzingers. Now like I said, I had never heard a Menzingers track, but I had heard the name getting praise around here. The album opens up with Good Things and it's catchy half-screamed chorus repeating "Why all good things should fall apart". At first listen, I was hoping the album wouldn't be filled with those types of screams since I am just not able to do them well when I sing (and I sing all the time). Thankfully, there was not so many on the album, but I still appreciate them and Good Things became one of my favorites.

One negative point I have is that I feel like some songs kinda blend together and don't do anything really special to stand out on their own. But other tracks like Sun Hotel, Mexican Guitars and On the Impossible Past really stood out to me and became favorites.

Overall, it is an enjoyable album. Was it enough to make me check out some of their other material? Well maybe at a later date, but it didn't grab me enough to make me go "Oh, I need to listen to their albums right now!" Thanks for the recommendation!

7.5/10

 

Been listening to that SOTY album and will try write something soon as I have a very busy weekend coming up (it's my girlfriend's birthday today and I'm with her for the next four days due to it being a holiday fri-mon over here) so it might be a tad short or have less depth compared to the Jack's Mannequin one.

 

Story of the Year - Wolves


In a move that will apparently surprise absolutely no one, I was given the latest album by veteran post-hardcore band Story of the Year as my second album to listen to. Coming off the back of a hiatus/break up, I tried to keep this in mind when listening to the album, and was comparing it to other bands who have done similar things (TBS' selftitled, Yellowcard's WYTTSY for example).

I thought I hadn't heard any Story of the Year songs, but upon researching their earlier work, it turns out I had heard their two big singles before and enjoyed them, so went into this with a new found expectation.

The album sets its stall out early. Interesting lead guitar work, breakdowns, the usual post hardcore mix of singing and screaming, and some very early-2000s melodramatic lyrics.

Instrumentally I enjoy the album, it's fairly standard fare for post hardcore, but it's still top notch, and with electronic flair and enough variety across the album to stay interesting. It seems to vary further towards the pop end of the spectrum than I expected, with one or two songs being pop-punk leaning, but the variety is welcome and helped break up a genre of music within which I now struggle to listen to entire albums. Parts of the album reminded me heavily of early Hawthorne Heights, whilst others reminded me of more instrumentally interesting bands like Funeral For A Friend.

Unfortunately what I didn't enjoy were the vocals, which I found to be lacking for me. I also noticed the lyrical content early on, with lines such as "We say that we're alive/But all I see are empty coffins", or "I'll pull the knife out slow until I'm somebody new/And then just before the blood runs down I'll tell you that this is all for you." These are the kind of lyrics I probably would have really enjoyed when I was younger, but now they seem a little melodramatic for me, and the inspirational side of the album seems a little vague and hollow for me. One song in particular had me thinking about how I'd rather have been listening to Beartooth's "In Between".

Overall, I feel this is a genre of music I just don't enjoy much anymore. It's a shame as I enjoyed the music, but the vocals and lyrics put me off this album. Despite that, I can see why others would enjoy it, but if I'm going to listen to this genre of music, I'm more likely to put on other artists I listened to when I was younger. Despite that, I'll probably check out their next release, as I acknowledge this is a "comeback" record.

6.5/10

Favourite songs: Bang Bang, I Swear I'm Okay

RIYL: Funeral For A Friend, Silverstein, Hawthorne Heights

 

Love the Funeral For a Friend reference. Always thought that band was underrated.

 

Easily my favourite post-hardcore band of all time and it's not even close. Band was BIG over here, like main support for G'N'R and sub headlining Reading and Leeds big. Their fourth album was the only misstep and even that had some great tracks, it's a shame that they never got back into the mainstream as they did some great stuff later in their career too.

 

Beartooth is such a great band and Caleb’s lyrics are so “wear it on your sleeve”.

 

I found one of my close friends watching them at Slam Dunk festival, the Midlands date, a few years back when it was held in Wolverhampton temporarily. He jumped off a lamp post into the pit and we've been friends since.

Very solid band, although I thought album two was a bit weak compared.

 

The second they put a cover of a Blitzkrieg Bop to record I knew they were a band I could totally get into.

 

I love all their stuff really. I saw them play at a Project Rev tour with Linkink Park and Korn when Casually dressed had just come out and picked up that album. Then saw them again opening up for Story of the Year actually when they were touring Hours.

It's sad that they didn't break it too big here, I know in their later albums they didn't come here at all which is a bummer because Welcome Home and Conduit are amazing albums.

By their misstep, do you mean Memory and Humanity? I actually thought that album was a nice step up from Tales which was a lot softer and change for the band, even though I still liked it.

 

Yeah Memory and Humanity. I liked that album, but looking back I would comfortably call it their weakest, just above Conduit. They didn't do bad albums though, and it was great to see before they broke up how loved they were here.

Tales Don't Tell Themselves holds a lot of nostalgia for me so I'm a little biased towards that being more of a mid range album for me, plus Into Oblivion is an absolute rager.

They did definitely have a renaissance later in their career, as Welcome Home Armageddon and Chapter and Verse were fantastic for sure, and are up with the first two albums for me.

 

Conduit in the bottom two!?!

Tales has held up over the years for, but I remember coming off of Hours I was like "wtf is this" haha. Yeah, Into Oblivion is a great opener, I still jam it all the time.

I would place Welcome and Casually Dressed up in their top two...maybe tied, but I dunno lol. Hard choice.

 

Thanks for listening! This is one of my favorite modern records in the last few years, so we probably have slightly different tastes haha. This wasn't a negative review at all, but yet this is probably the most negative review for this album I've seen. Maybe at some point the band/album will click because there are some good lyrics and imagery in their music.

 

I am glad you got to check this out and you at least semi enjoyed it, enough to check out their next release anyway. Good job!

 

If the most negative review is my fairly positive review, then I understand why I see them getting so much praise on this website! There's a lot of bands that are praised on here that I have the same opinion as this. But it's still a good album! That's the fun of doing this, getting different opinions. :)

 

@anonimito last trade with me was the album:

Better Than Ezra: How Does Your Garden Grow? (1998) Elektra Records

Better Than Ezra, like Tonic and Vertical Horizon (I'm noticing a theme here @anonimito!) are a alternative rock band that formed in Louisiana. Most people may know them for their song "Good" off of the album Deluxe. I had never heard much else beyond that album. This is their fourth studio album and sees them getting a little more experimental incorporating some electronic and even progressive rock elements. I would even go so far as to say they sound like a softer version of Muse and frontman, Kevin Griffin, sounds exactly like Muse frontman, Matt Bellamy.

The album starts out with this sort of electronic intro song mixing in robotic vocals and even uses a flute (yes a flute) throughout the song. On my first listen I wasn't sure if I was ready for what I was about to experience. I will also say that this album is a grower and takes repeat listens in order to absorb everything that is going on, because there is a lot going on! I will say that I think this is my biggest complaint about the album in that there is a lot of filler that takes away from how talented the band is and makes you appreciate the more "stripped down" songs. When they do this, they sound like the traditional alternative rock we know from the 90's.

The great thing about the album is that it is sort of divided into the more traditional alternative rock songs in the front half with the more experimental ones in the back half. I really enjoy songs like One More Murder with it's sort of funky beat to it and At the Stars, the lead single off the album, that reminds me a lot of the other acts at the time.

I believe my favorite song on the whole album is Under You with it's beautiful simplicity and a harpsichord playing in the background.

Right around the halfway point and the song, Happy Day Mama, does the album sort of take a turn for the more experimental/progressive. It's not bad per se, but it may alienate people with a lot of electronics and odd instrumentation. Although, I will say love the almost Nirvana riffs on Pull. It's a rocker!

I feel like even after three listens this album deserves more of my attention so I will keep it in my rotation. Despite my negativity towards this album, I think Better Than Ezra deserve some credit for stepping outside the box and experimenting with alternative rock.

6/10
Thanks for another really cool recommendation @anonimito!

Favorite Songs:
One More Murder
At the Stars
Under You

 

Haha, yep - that's the trifecta!

"Under You" is my top favorite; in fact, it may be my absolute favorite BTE song. "The Killer Inside" from "Deluxe" comes close. Electric violin solos are kind of my thing.

So glad that you were able to find something to enjoy in it! I will certainly agree that it's a grower. "Pull" is such a fun track! Awesome review, and thanks for being such a good sport through your 90s alternative rock experience.

 

I’m just popping in here to quickly say I think Conduit is a bloody great FFAF album. I think it’s my 2nd fav of theirs behind Casually Dressed. It’s a shame that band aren’t around anymore as I feel they found a great new sound in the last two albums.

 

I'd place it 3rd!

 

Cave In, Etc. Bassist Caleb Scofield Dies In Car Accident | Theprp.com

This is the saddest news. If you have ever listened to Cave In or Old Man Gloom you know the amazing talent this person that was taken too early had. My heart goes out to his family and friends.

 

I mean, the only I rate as less than an 8 is Memory and Humanity, and I consider them to have three nines in Casually Dressed, Hours and WHA. I still think Conduit is a fantastic record, I just wasn't quite as into it as their previous releases at the time.

 

This calls for a ranking! (sorry everyone)

1. Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation
2. Welcome Home Armageddon
3. Conduit
4. Hours
5. Chapter and Verse
6. Memory and Humanity
7. Tales Don't Tell Themselves

Every album of theirs is great though.

 

CMCS is not a ranking thread. Ahagsjjcyhejencg ghwhxg gshsgwgshzjxh

 

@bachna84 check out this vinyl version of Gillian Welch’s album that was just released on vinyl:

The Harrow & The Harvest LP

Does the artwork look familiar?

 

I forgot to mention that I recommended all their albums to myself and that is my review.

 

Looks very Baroness-esque to me!