The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 98

Don’t they only have 4 albums?

 

Tonight or tomorrow!
Eyes peeled people. I’ll post in here as well when it’s up.

 

5 thank you

 

That's offensive to @WolvesAreCircling182 and myself.

 

So this group is really just a cover up for a SOTY fan club and anyone who reviews an album badly by them is voted out? Haha!

 

Just teasin. Wolves that was released this month if their fifth and is fantastic. Highly recommended.

 

False. @ComedownMachine reviewed Page Avenue badly and we begrudgingly let him stay

 

He was also very lukewarm to wolves.

 

He warmed up a bit on a second listen

 

Review time! LETS DO THIS!

@bachna84 :

The Mezingers- On The Impossible Past
This was just a fun album. That’s all I have to say. Listening to it two times in a row, I found myself liking different songs through both listens. I tried to take notes as I went through them, but in all honesty I kept getting distracted by just having a good time listening to the songs. Or it could be that many of the songs such as ‘The Obituaries’ were making me wish I was at a bar with a group of friends singing along with it. I have been recommended one other Mezingers album in this club before, and while I liked that one better, I have had more time with that one so it’s hard to compare them. Songs like ‘Gates’ and ‘Sun Hotel’ are just catchy, and yet they have this sense of earnestly in the lyrics that I cannot help but admire. Also, I said it last time, but I love the punk rock vibe of the songs, and their guitarist is quite skilled at this sound. I will definitely be returning to this album. Standouts are: ‘The Obituaries’, ‘Gates’, ‘Sun Hotel’ and ‘Freedom Bridge’. I cannot stress how much of a treat this album was to hear, and I can see the score I’m giving it going up with more listens. It’s fast punk at its finest with a Mezingers twist, a sound I am beginning to really dig. 7.5/10

O’Brother- Garden Window
At 11 tracks, you would think this album was a fast listen. At least coming from the genre of music I am used to listening to. That is NOT the case with this album, with some of these songs spanning 5-7 minutes and one being 15 minutes long itself!! That being said, this is a good album. This vocal delivery on these songs is the part that drew me in first; the front man’s vocals were unlike others. Very stand out, but not in a way that made it hard to bare. It was different, most evident in songs such as ‘Poison!’, ‘Lo’ and others. Tanner Merritt definitely stands out amongst other vocalists, not necessarily ‘better’ but much more unique. The lyrical themes on the album were of a darker tone that what I am used to, or even of that of The Mezingers in my opinion, but that worked great with the sound they were portraying. This album would be something I can see myself listening to this time of year, on cold nights driving or walking alone. I think this album may be a grower though, as at some point mid way through the songs started to blend together and I zoned out a couple times. This was less apparent on the second listening. Some of these songs are slower and moody, while others are in your face and heavy. I love the combination, and I KNOW this album will grow on me. ‘Poison!” Is definitely my favorite, but other stand outs are ‘Sputnik’, and ‘Machines Part I’. 6.5/10

Puscifer- Conditions Of My Parole

I was looking forward to this album a lot. I grew up with Tool, I am a fan of A Perfect Circle. So another Maynard led band? Count me in. And this album delivered everything I wanted from Maynard on this. Melodic singing, to the wall rock, techno and electronic elements and everything in between. I specifically was really hooked on ‘Green Valley’, being a soft acoustic song with a female vocalist in the backing vocals; I was sold. I was pleased to find out that this was the case for a lot of songs on this album, and Carina’s vocals match up well with Maynard’s. This album had elements of both Took and APC in it, along with something new and different to merit it being its own thing. ‘Oceans’ was one of my favorites on the album, with a nice beat to it and soothing singing yet dark lyrics. I think this was my favorite of @bachna84 ’s recommendations; probably because it was the most familiar so I was able to adapt to it quicker than the other two. Time will tell on that. Stand out tracks are: ‘Oceans’, ‘Horizons’, ‘Green Valley’ and ‘Horizons’. This was a darker, yet softer side of Maynard, an. I enjoyed every minute of this album. 8/10

Next was @nickyeatworld

Neversmile- Neversmile

Okay this was a blast. And the funny thing is, I have no clue what the hell I just heard. Neversmile was apparently a Russian emo/ Punk/ Post-Harcore band. Entirely in Russian, I have not a single clue what the lyrics were in any of these songs. However, that being said, musically this album was awesome. This band was DEFINITLEY skilled with their instruments. The vocalist was actually really good too despite being in s language I could not for the life of me understand. It was actually kind of fun hearing it rotate between singing and screaming vocals completely in a foreign language. I hate to say it, but I probably won’t return to this just because lyrics are a huge part of my listening experience. If someone Every translates these to English or the band reunites and does English songs, sign me the fuck up. 6/10

City Sleeps- Not An Angel
Now this was great. I knew I was in for a ride the second I heard the intro ‘Hotel’, and the album delivered in SPADES. The musicianship on all fronts of this band was awesome. The guitars were heavy, yet melodic and catchy. The drums were rythmic and yet wild, and the vocals were top notch along with the lyrics. Why have I never heard of this band before? The title track ‘Not An Angel’ was actually one of my favorites on the album, and the lyrics were relatable to a time in my younger life when I was a very cynical person about myself and relationships. ‘Prototype’ was another stand out of the album, along with ‘Be A Man’. This is definitley a mid 2000s rock album, and each song was great. And surprise, produced by John Feldmann(sorry @ComedownMachine ) who produced Blink’s California and two of my favorite SOTY albums (Page Avenue and Black Swan), so I guess it makes sense that I liked this sound. This may be my favorite of the Recs I listened to. It’s a toss up between this and Puscifer. But, like Puscifer, it’s a Sound I am familiar with but still enough to not be TOO FAMILIAR. 8/10, would listen again.

 

Nice write-ups! I’m glad you enjoyed the albums :)

If you ever get a chance to see O’Brother live, please do it! They really sound great and their songs translate well to a live setting.

Puscifer’s newest album, Money Shot, is something I think you’d enjoy too.

 

I’ll keep that in mind. And I planned to check out it and Puscifer in general eventually so thanks for the push lol

 

It's been at least a few years since I listened to the album, but "Not an Angel" still ends up stuck in my head from time to time. Such a good track.

 

Apologies my reviews are so late! I was paired with @Larry David who recommended great albums to me. Unfortunately, This Day & Age - Always Leave The Ground wasn't on Spotify so I still haven't heard it, but I did listen to a few songs from their 2006 album The Bell And The Hammer and really enjoyed them. Emotive, soaring vocals paired with intricate guitars is always a match made in heaven for me. This Day & Age remind me of a poppier version of The Dear Hunter minus the concept story. I will definitely go back to the band in the new year!

Beck - Sea Change (2002)
I can't believe I had never heard this before. Its my second exposure to Beck's music, as I heard his 2017 album Colors earlier this year. That was totally different to Sea Change, and variety is what I love most in any artists' discography. Sea Change is completely up my alley, tender and emotional, and more to find with repeated listens. Sea Change is primarily an acoustic driven singer-songwriter album, with gentle drums and strings elevating the songs. Nigel Godrich's influence is all over this record, and Sea Change instantly took me back to the atmosphere I found in Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool. "Lonesome Tears" is definitely my favourite song here, but according to my last.fm, I "love" most of the tracks here. Thank you for the recommendations Adam, I can't wait to hear more from both artists!

 

On the impossible Past is one of the best punk albums ever and that's a fact

 

My bonus assignment was The Trials on Van Occupanther by Midlake courtesy of @Fuck You Aurora



I've never heard of Midlake before, not even in passing, so I was very excited to dive right in, especially after seeing the cover art, which I included not because I'm a teachers pet and want to write these elaborately detailed posts but because I found this is almost up there with The Money Store when it comes to being weird yet oddly fitting.

When it comes to genre, this record is probably best described as chamber-pop, including stylings that nowadays are staples in Broken Social Scene, Grizzly Bear and even Radiohead's catalogue. Instrumentally, most songs have a drums, bass, guitar and piano as their main components, but adding 1-2 different ones to the mix in each song, be that a cooky synth lead or some strings, which I generally dislike but really dig here for some reason.

Also bonus points for using a Fuzz pedal very creatively on Head Home, distorting the guitar to a point where it sounds like a saxophone.

One of the nicest qualities of this record is how low-key it is, it is very pleasant to listen to, even if it is only on in the background, which is also where my main criticism of it comes in: It might be a little too low-key for it's own good, it feels emotionally a little too indifferent, which in turn makes it perfect background music -- even though there's plenty for you to dig your teeth in if you choose to do so.

I'll also say this: I think this record would've sounded way more impressive to me back when it came out in 2006, as the elements that make up their style have been commoditised by other and more exciting bands.

Still, I'll keep listening to this record quite a lot for the forseeable future, even if I only end up putting it on in the background at a social gathering.

 

Here's my review for Couleur by Fjort courtesy of @mescalineeyes


So, this is a band from Germany whom I've never heard of in my entire life so I wasn't sure what to expect ! Believe it or not I thought this was going to be some German techno album ahaha. Anyway, I was far warned that this album wasn't in English and I've gotta say that certainly didn't cause a problem with me. This album is a banger, the very first track on this record called " Sudwarts " is fantastic and sets the tone perfectly. It's aggressive and oh my the guitars are tasty. " Sudwarts " leads into a track called Couleur, and my lord it's a perfect one two punch. Couleur is easily my favorite track on the album as the the tones of the guitars and drums are big and loud. The album ends with a track called " Karat " and it's such a perfect ending. " Karat " ends the album on a very hollow and dark note, that's something I can dig ! When I listen to this album I feel like it would have been band I would have loved on Victory Records back in the early 2000's except that these guys are leaps and bounds better than those bands and the production on this album is just out of this world, it's big and loud and every detail stands out on this album. This is a fantastic album, and I will listen to it again as it depends on my mood. It's a great Winter album !

Standout tracks: Sudwarts,Couleur and Karat.

 

I’m about to head to the gym and your review made me really excited to bump some fjort

 

Apparently I'm good at doing that to people, just ask @skurt ! Ha.

 

I wonder who I am
Reflections offer nothing
I wonder where I stand
I'm afraid of myself

 

Dude at this point I ask skurt anything. Not sure I’d get through life without him.

No you’re codependent.

 

Our DM's are basically a @skurt AMA

 

This part was so beautiful, you would be fine without me though dude.

 

Young Guns
Bones
2012



Young Guns is an alternative rock/modern rock band from England and this album is their second full-length album. Prior to @WolvesAreCircling182 assigning this to me, I had had some exposure to this album but had never listened to it in full. I was very familiar with their hit single Bones (which reached #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock and Active Rock charts) and I had also heard their single Towers (On My Way) which was a minor radio hit.

Going into this album I more or less knew what to expect and I was not disappointed. The vocals are really good and remind me of Brandon Boyd (Incubus) and also a little of Jared Leto (30STM). The music itself is pretty upbeat and catchy and most of the choruses on the album have huge hooks.

This album has 12 tracks (including 2 short interlude-type tracks) and is only about 40 minutes long, so it's a quick listen and it really flies by. As I said above, I was already very familiar with the song Bones, but that remains my favorite song on this album. I would honestly say that it's one of my favorite modern rock/radio rock hits from the past several years. It's so catchy and the gang vocals in the chorus really work for me.

Other than the song Bones, the highlights for me are Dearly Departed, Towers (On My Way), and Headlights. As soon as I was done listening to this album, I wanted to return to some of these songs.

Since this album's release, Young Guns have released two more full-length albums which I will have to check out as well!

 

So, here is my bonus album review. Holding On The blindfolds We Hide Behind by Ambry courtesy of @thenewmatthewperry

I've never heard of this band, so before I dug into this album I did some research. It appears this band isn't around anymore and they formed in 2002, and this was the bands lone release back in 2005. This album came out at a time when Emo was still a big thing, It's more of a mixture of early Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy and Chiodos. The album kicks off with a track called " Better Scene Than Heard " and it pretty much gives you the general idea where this album is going. The singer sounds like a young Adam Lazzara and a young Craig Owens with his screams being pretty much Craig Owens. From here on out the songs pretty much sound the same. No vocal changes, no chord progression and I feel like the drummer doesn't know much of any other style considering the drums sound the same in every song. The production isn't great either, it's a bit muddy and the vocals and drums needed a bit work as the production seemed sloppy. On a few positive notes, the use of double bass is pretty tight and I can get down with the break downs. Oh, the screams are actually pretty decent as well. " Memory Or Tragedy " and " Car Crash Love " are decent jams. I will say I love that classic early 2000's Emo intro on " Car Crash Love ". Would I listen to this again ? I don't think so, I would be better off listening to Taking Back Sunday, Chiodos or early Fall Out Boy. I get what these guys were trying to do at the time, they were just a bit too inconsistent on this album and just couldn't nail it.

Standout tracks: Memory Or Tragedy and Car Crash Love