The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 307

@circasurviver said he’ll give us a shot! I’ll be trading with him next week, welcome friend.

 

Thanks for the invite, looking forward to it!

 

The second album that @Night_Sky recommended last week is Arrows, the 2011 effort by Seattle indie rock band The Lonely Forest. Apparently they were "discovered" by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, who produced this album. Unsurprisingly, Death Cab is a pretty good RIYL suggestion for this album.

I will admit I've listened to this album once before this week. I'm semi-familiar with the band and always thought they seemed like they would be in my wheelhouse, but I've never spent enough time with them for their music to really click with me. I was hoping to change that with this recommendation.



Arrows starts off with gentle guitar picking and the first track "Be Everything" is just the acoustic guitar and singer John Van Deusen's exposed vocal performance. It is obvious that this song is coming from a deep and vulnerable place, though I can't yet put my finger on the exact meaning. I thought it may be about a brother with lines such as "I will always look up to him / Together we share our father's sin," but there are other passages that lead me to believe that something else is at play here. In any event, the lyricism is excellent and thought-provoking.

Next up is single "Turn Off This Song and Go Outside," which brings in the full band and an upbeat indie rock sound. This is a fun and lighthearted track that urges the listener to do exactly as the title suggests. This is followed by the even more driving "(I Am) The Love Skeptic," which has a reverb-laden lead vocal in the chorus that reminds me of Guster or Band of Horses. This track has a really cool and unexpected riff-based bridge.

"(I Am) The Love Addict" immediately follows, and though it doesn't seem to directly reference the previous song, it is pretty sonically similar. This is my favorite track on the album with an infectious chorus melody that simply states, "I want to be addicted to love." About halfway through the song, this refrain is repeated a number of times as the music builds and flexes around the vocal. It then launches into a catchy wordless melody that takes you out. This one would have been the single, if it was up to me!

"Coyote" starts off with the fingerpicked guitar and vocals, similar to the opening track, but it soon blooms into a full band arrangement. This song cements what was already becoming apparent from the first few songs on the album; this band is great with dynamics and building their songs to loud and affecting crescendos that create catharsis for the listener (at least when that listener is me).

In "I Don't Want to Live There," the band expresses their pride in the Pacific Northwest, stating "I don't want to live there, buy there, or die there" in reference to L.A. and Nashville and comparing those cities negatively to the natural beauty of their surroundings. As someone who lives in and much prefers the country to the city, I thought this was a pretty cool sentiment. "Tunnels" has a rockin' instrumental outro that might be the heaviest moment on the album. The following track "Two Notes and a Beat" is one of the weaker tracks, relying on the repetition of the one-line hook, which IMO isn't quite strong or sticky enough to carry the whole song.

"End It Now!" contains several different interesting instrumental textures, and the rhythm section really shines on this track with the bass and drums both giving shining performances. "Woe Is Me...I Am Ruined" throws an arpeggiated synth into the mix and also features a nice falsetto that Van Deusen breaks out sparingly throughout the album. The peppy "We Sing in Time" features one of the catchier choruses on the album, which makes me wonder why it's sitting near the end of the record at track 11.

The final track, "Arrows," focuses on a piano and another great vocal performance by Van Deusen, featuring his most extensive use of falsetto. The piano and several guitars form a lush soundscape as the refrain of "Arrows out" is repeated to close out the album.

This is a very dynamic, melodic, and stylistically varied indie rock album. I really dig what The Lonely Forest accomplished here and I will definitely be spending more time with this and their other albums. I can see why I did not quite click with this band on my first listen, as their hooks aren't as immediate or poppy as some other bands in their genre. It can also drag a bit during the back half, with a long run of 4-5 minute tracks and an overall runtime around 50 minutes. However, with multiple listens these songs are starting to pull me back in. I can see this one becoming a favorite over time. Thanks for the great rec @Night_Sky!

 

Almost typed The Lonely Island so many times

 

Ghost
Prequelle (2018)

Alright guys here is my review for the new Ghost album Prequelle, it's going to be more of a track by track review. I'm pretty excited to review this bad boy ! I'm sure everybody has heard of this band at some point by now. They formed in Linkoping, Sweden in 2006. Tobias Forge fronts this amazing band, he goes by many identities and many know him by Papa Emeritus and whom now is Cardinal Copia back by his nameless ghouls. This is the bands fourth album.

Ashes - Alright, this isn't really a song per say, it's more of a intro. It's spooky.

Rats - This is the first single of the album, it blasts right into a cool little drum intro. it's packed with a bunch off simple but yet awesome guitar riffs, the guitar riffs have more of an 80's vibe to them. As to no surprise you get a heavy dose of organs, it blends perfectly. Forges vocals are fucking beautiful, I honestly have to say when he sings the verses in this song it gives me chills. They lyrics are super cheesy but they work and I get a total Thriller vibe from it. It's a banger of a track over all.

Faith - Faith, well this song is sorta hit or miss. I'm not sure where to begin with it because it's all over the place. I mean the chorus isn't very good and neither are the verses. I guess the only things redeeming about this track are Forges Vocals and the arrangements musically. This is a skippable track overall.

See The Light - Alright this where it picks up in my opinion. See The Light is easily one of my favorite songs on this album, from the beautiful piano to the heavy guitars and the tasty bass lines. The chorus is fucking huge too, Forge has a purpose and that purpose is to completely drag you in and he just does that. Is story telling is outstanding in every way on this track,

Miasma - Alright guys, you are in for a fucking treat here. This is a master piece called Miasma, yes I called it a master piece. This is a beautiful instrumental that is all over the fucking place. It starts off with beautiful organs and synth, it's very prog rock with the use of keyboards and synths. Actually, the first half of this song is all prog rock ! The second half of the song starts to speed up a bit with a tasty little guitar solo and a tasty little keyboard solo. The band is fucking locked in here, and out of no where comes this awesome horn section, and ends this thing beautifully. I'm not sure how to explain this song because it's all over the place but man it's a piece of art !

Dance Macabre - This easily one of the corniest songs Tobias Forge has easily written and I'm such a sucker for it. This is a song that has 80's power metal blended with 80's power pop, you can easily hear the Europe and Foreigner influence. Judging by the lyrics this is easily a cheesy 80's love song and I'm not even complaining.

Pro Memoria - This is easily my favorite song on the album, as cheesy the lyrics may seem they hit me in some sort of way. I guess when any song has to do with death I guess it just kind of drags you in. The piano is very haunting along with Forges vocals on this track. It has a very November Rain feel to it and also a Beatles feel to it as well. It tells a beautiful and haunting story.

"Lucifer, whispering"
Silently into your mind
Who walks behind
Who walks behind
Standing tall, invincible
But do not forget your knives
To save your lives
To save your lives
Don't you forget about dying
Don't you forget about your friend death
"Don't you forget that you will die"


Witch Image - This is tied for my second favorite on the album. It's another haunting but beautiful song. At certain points you can hear the Kansas influence. The chorus is catchy and will stick with you. The thing I love about this album and this song proves it is how melodic this record is and how much Forge wanted to hit it out of the park with the big choruses. I'm just so happy they went this route.

Helvetesfonster - This is the second instrumental on the album, let's just say when you are listening to this you're taking a fun trip on acid. This is honestly all over the place. Again, it's very Beatles influenced, but at time you can hear the King Diamond influence as well. Believe it or not certain parts make you think you are in a circus. The piano playing is beautiful and reminds so much of Freddy Mercury's playing. The sound effects of the wind and ocean are so, so relaxing. I feel like when Forge came up with this piece he wanted us the listeners to come up with our own story to put to the piece. It's a fun but dark ride.

Life Eternal - This is the closing track, and in great fashion it ends in a power ballad. Lyrically again it's cheesy but it totally works ! The thing about this track is Ghost put it's own spin on a power ballad and it's something you wouldn't even expect ! The ending even resembles Meatloaf !

Overall this album is fantastic, the band really went into a different direction with this release. It's very melodic, it has hints of classical music and tons of 80's power pop and metal. With the exception of one song,every song is great. This is already on my list for album of the year. Oh, I forgot, this is like my first actual actual review, it's pretty choppy and shitty ! (:

 

I love a lot of their past work but I have yet to enjoy an album back to front. I need to check this out.

 

Again I'm really glad you like this, and this a fantastic write up that points out quite a lot of the strengths of this album (and band in general). I have to agree with you in saying that they are not as immediate a some of their contemporaries, but every time I return to them (particularly this album) I uncover more and more I like. I wasn't into 'Two Notes and a Beat' for the longest time until one day I had it stuck in my head not realising what it was, and I'm about 80% sure the bass line is just the same two notes. Van Deusen is a solo artist now and released two albums last year (which TLF's drummer tracked drums on) and has another two in the works, I would recommend listening to at least the first one of those.

 

Nice! I didn't know he had solo stuff. I will have to check that out for sure.

 

(I Am) Origami Pt. 2 - Every Power Wide Awake, by John Van Deusen

Boths LP's are on there with the 2nd available for a name your price.

 

Thanks! He likes the (I Am) thing. Is there a theme behind that that you know of?

 

That’s been my opinion on Ghost up till this release, this one I’m fully in on.


Great review @broken22 , I’ve been enjoying this album a lot, I love the fact they’ve gone so 80’s on this.

 

Not to mention I think Forge is on to something with this album. I do think he'll be returning to Papa at some point.

 

Not that I'm aware of, but I interpret it as a clarification of him speaking acutely from his perspective. For example, 'Every Power Wide Awake' seems to be on the whole a worship album about his experiences with God.

 

Interesting. Yeah I thought I was picking up some religious aspects in "Be Everything"

 

20storiesfalling
Existence
2017



For this bonus session, I exchanged two albums with our fearless leader @Bad Frequencies - here is my review of the first one (review for album two most likely coming tomorrow!).

20storiesfalling (referred to from here on out as 20sf) are a band from Orem, Utah and they feature a couple of Chorus members - Colton Swapp (@CSWAPPO ) on guitar and vocals and Brad Rhoades (@bradsonemanband ) on guitar. Based on what I see on Bandcamp, it appears as though this is their debut full-length album. They did have a release in 2014 titled A Reminder Of You, but based on the number of tracks (six) and it's relatively short length I'm guessing that was more of an EP (please correct me if I'm wrong, guys!). Also, it looks as though Brad was not a member of the band at that time.

Anyway, heading into this album I really didn't know much about this band other than the fact that the two guys I mentioned above seem to be pretty cool based on my limited interactions with them. I know @Larry David is also a big fan in addition to @Bad Frequencies so I expected it'd be something I enjoy. The album opens up with an intro track titled Coming Into Focus. It's about two minutes long and an instrumental and it's a nice start to the album. Up next is one of my standout tracks Yeah, You're Right. I really enjoy the vocals quite a bit. There's a good mix of sung vocals and more harsh vocals which I found to be effective. I liked the line in the song "I used to matter to someone somewhere" a lot. It closes with an instrumental outro that I enjoyed as well.

Up next is possibly my favorite track on the album, Skeletons. The chorus is really catchy and the music itself is really good - this track is the band firing on all cylinders. There's a bit of a breakdown around the three minute mark which was great. At this point, I would describe the band as alternative rock with elements of post hardcore and emo. Really good stuff here. Burning Alive is up next and its first half is a bit slower, but it builds throughout the song. I really enjoyed the lyrics on this track as well. The high point of this song for me was the backing vocals in the final minute of the song. The Other Side Of This follows and it's the longest track on the album to this point at nearly six minutes long. It's another song that starts out a bit slower and continues to build throughout, much like its predecessor Burning Alive. I liked this song as well, but it wasn't as much of a standout to me as the three prior songs. This song also had an instrumental outro to transition into the following track.

The title track is the first song on the second half of the album and it's another of my favorite songs on here. I really enjoyed the guitar intro and I liked the lyrics in this one a lot. "What is my purpose here?" is a question that most (if not all) of us have asked at some time or another and it's easy to see why this track (and album) was named Existence. This is probably the heaviest track on the album to this point as the vocals tend to be more harsh than sung.

Co Co is next and at over eight minutes in length is the longest song on the album. Almost three minutes go by before the vocals kick in. I liked this song, but it wasn't necessarily one of my standout tracks. The lyric "you stole the breath from my lungs" stood out to me in this one. (We Are) The Fallen is next and it features another solid guitar intro. This is another track on the heavier side, mostly in terms of vocals, and it reminds me a bit of Touche Amore.

Amends is another of my favorite tracks on the album. It's the second longest song here at about seven and a half minutes in length and it's a really solid track overall with some pretty heavy lyrics. It's another aggressive song and the outro of this track is well done. The album's final track, Closing Remarks, is a more calm song even though there are some harsh vocals - again, I am reminded a bit of Touche Amore here.

All in all, this was a really enjoyable effort from a young, talented band. I'm glad that @Bad Frequencies recommended them to me. I would have listened to this album eventually as I already had it in my iTunes library, but this forced the issue! Every aspect of this album was top notch, in my opinion. I really enjoyed the lyrics a lot. Lyrical themes touched on various aspects of existence such as inadequacy, doubt, and purpose. I found many of the lyrics to be very relatable, and I'm sure most listeners will latch on to something that they find relatable as well. The vocals were right up my alley and the musicianship was stellar.

I would recommend this album for fans of Touche Amore and Pianos Become The Teeth.

Here are some tracks I would recommend checking out if you're on the fence: Yeah You're Right, Skeletons, Burning Alive, Existence, Amends

Please consider supporting the band on Bandcamp: 20STORIESFALLING

 

Awesome review! Thanks so much for checking it out! I'm stoked (and relieved) and you liked it. The Touche Amore comparisons are going to definitely pump Swappo up.

 

Nice review! It really is a great album.

 

Thank you!

 

@Patterns in Traffic do you have physical versions of your EP?

 

I wish he did.



And I wish Harsh Lights would have one too (cough @Dumblecore cough)

 

I wanted so badly to work a reference to The Used in there (since they're from Utah too) but it just didn't fit haha

 

I also had to be nice in my review because I'm partnered with @CSWAPPO this upcoming session

;)

 

@Patterns in Traffic find us a label

 

Thanks so much for asking! I don't - not enough interest in physical for it to make sense unfortunately.

My wife did give me a gift card for a site that makes vinyl for my birthday though...so I can pick like four of my songs to put on it haha. It'll be a limited edition, 1 out of 1.

 

Disclaimer: 20SF guitar player is not a man of his word!

ALFM @bradsonemanband