The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 149

Told you you'd like Thrice! There's a b-side for this album called Sea Change.

 

Nice reviews! Both of these bands are incredible

 

Nice reviews and I can’t believe you haven’t listened to Thrice since Identity Crisis. It’s a hard pill to swallow after hearing the polish on their other albums. I think you would instantly fall in love with The Illusion of Safety and The Artist and the Ambulance as a big fan of SOTY and Silverstein. They were a much different band then but it’s right in your wheelhouse.

 

@BTDandFeelingThis give O’Brother - Garden Window a listen if you ever get a chance. It’s their debut full-length.

I’ve seen them live five or so times and they steal the show every time. They’re awesome and such nice guys. Last time I saw them (in Akron with The Dear Hunter) I talked to them for a while after their set and they’re just normal down-to-earth guys.

Fun fact - the first time I ever saw them was opening for Thrice and Manchester Orchestra. It was in Cleveland on April 20 2010 I believe (fuzzy on the year, but it was definitely April 20).

I went with my now-wife and I got “randomly” drug tested at work the next day haha

 

Huh. Always wondered where that avatar came from haha

 

The third album that @BTDandFeelingThis gave me is:

Taking Back Sunday: Tidal Wave (2016) Hopeless Records

Taking Back Sunday is a band that needs no introduction.

This is the bands 7th studio album and sees the band growing up. Taking Back Sunday attempt to leave their old sound behind while focusing on a folk/punk sound in line with bands like The Gaslight Anthem, Hot Water Music or Frank Turner with their own twist. When they do it well, it is some of their best material to date, while at the same time, this album also showcases some of their weakest, in my opinion. The album title is symbolic in a way and could be representative of a tidal wave washing away their old sound.

One thing I have always loved about Taking Back Sunday is that they are masters of opening a record and Death Wolf is no exception. It builds from silence, transitioning into a choir like sound that brings to mind The Killers and then the guitar kicks in and the band explodes into this frenetic energy we know them for. One thing that has always been a huge part of their sound is this back and forth in vocals between Adam Lazzara and lead guitarist, whether it's John Nolan, Matthew Fazzi or Fred Mascherino. This is the only song on this album in which this occurs and shows that they are a band that is truly trying to reinvent themselves.

It is by far their most focused material with a couple of curve balls thrown in, most notably the title track which sees them channeling The Ramones and they pull it off pretty damn well. Other songs that come to mind are We Don't Come in There, which I was told is a song about former member and ***** *** front man, Jesse Lacey and makes sense with lyrics: "Nobody knows, nobody cares about the how when why or where, the devil's in the details...everyone was hanging onto every single word, nonchalant you shrugged it off, thinking you had us all fooled..." and closing number, I'll Find a Way to Make It What You Want. The two of which are the weakest songs not only on the album but in their discography, in my opinion. They tend to feel like acoustic B-sides.

Lyrically, Adam Lazzara does a great job with themes of not regretting past mistakes (You Can't Look Back), depression (I felt It Too) and being a supportive friend, band member, etc (Call Come Running). You cannot deny the strength in the lyrics for Fences:

"Is there always enough strength for the next step,
Is there always a way back from your regrets,
I want to hear you say, it'll be okay,
I want to hear you say, it's not too late"


Overall, this is a great record that sits at the top of their discography right underneath Where You Want To Be for me.

Favorite songs:
Death Wolf
You Can't Look Back
Homecoming

8/10

 

Excellent write up. I’m glad you got to experience this record. I am a huge fan of their new sound and I’m glad you were too man!

 

Did you pass the drug test?

 

Do you think they’d still let me around trains if I didn’t?!

Yes, I did :)

 

BEST BAND

 

Alright this week i was paired with one of our founding fathers. me and @BTDandFeelingThis spoke. we battled. we tussled. we wrestled. and after much debate, argument, blood, sweat, tears, on both sides. i gave him 2 albums. and he gave me 2 albums. we listened to eachothers albums. and Kevo listened to about 50 more from what i seeing in this thread. but thats besides the fact. now i talk. Everyone please shut up and read my reviews that i terrible at writing.

FIRST ALBUM:

The My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade





Okay. first of all, i want to discuss my pre-conceived notion i had toward this band. i will come forward right now and confess, i was wrong about My Chemical Romance. i thought they were something they werent. if anything, im glad Kev gave me this record just so years of dumb assuming the band was bad on my end could be flushed down the toilet (did yall really think i was going to get through this without bringing up toilets?)

The Black Parade is a concept album. and its a really interesting concept. The character is told he is dying of cancer, and he only has so long to ive. the Black Parade is basically a metaphor for death approaching. The Black Parade - for me - is supposed to be imagined as a long road that you can see miles ahead of. miles and miles away, there is the Black Parade, coming closer and closer to you. there is no way you can avoid it. but once it has arrived, its over. youre dead. i think making a concept album about death seems really predictable on paper, but i think this idea of a black parade coming toward you to your inescapable end is really unique and interesting. i also find the imagery it puts in my head really interesting and eerie. The fact that they chose a parade to represent death is a cool juxtapostion. Parades are events of celebration and joy, while death is the most feared and mourning inducing event in life.

So boom, right off the bat i really like this concept. The albums first 2 songs are a couple of my favorite, "The End." and "Dead". I love the theatrical feeling feeling of The End. like the way it sounds i feel like this could be the opening song to a musical literally about the black parade. as im listening im actually picturing a stage with people dressed up as nurses, doctors, cancer patients, all dancing and singing the song on a stage built street setting as the black parade is coming. as the song transitions into "Dead!" (a transition i LOVE btw, probably my favorite thing musically on the entire album) i still see the same stage in my mind, i still have that epic broadway musical feeling happening for me. Also, there is a KILLER guitar part at the beginning of this song. I just think these first two tracks are perfect for opening up this album. They both feel like openers, and they play off eachother so well. i love that they literally make me feel like im watching something theatrical.

So, right there, those two tracks, loved that. But part of the reason this album was something that was good for me, rather than something that was amazing for me, is because that theatrical feeling didnt stick for me. the next two songs on the album kind of lost me in terms of retaining that feeling. they kind of felt a little more generic in contrast with the epic one two punch opening of The end and Dead. it isnt until "Welcome To The Black Parade" - track 5 - that i really pulled back into the story of the album. This song continues what i enjoyed so much about the first 2 tracks. also the song structure of this song is really really interesting to me. this is one of the more well known songs on the album, and props to the band for having a song over the 5 minute mark with an interesting song structure be a huge successful single.

My other album highlights are Cancer and the final track Famous Last words. those tracks for me did the best job of building upon the concept of the album lyrically. while also musically pulling me in. one song i am totally confused by is "Teenagers", like lyrically i cant make any sort of connecting to the concept of the album. it seems totally random when i listened and read along to the lyrics of every song.

final thoughts, yeah, this is a great record. i can see why people love this record. the songs i liked, i really really liked. but everything in between really didnt do much for me yet i am still able to realize the appeal. i wish i had gave this album a chance at a time in my life when i was listening to more of this stuff. me and Kevo have already talked about this, but i dont mean that in the way that "ive grown out of this kind of music" or "im above this kind of music" or some stupid BS like that. i just find my taste are always changing. month to month theyre changing (thats why i struggle with all time lists). i dont mean to say "i wouldve liked this as a whole more when i was younger" as a condescending "this music is for kids, i say it because very simply there was a time in my life when this wouldve catered to what my tastes were more. simple as that, no need to look deeper than that. I did enjoy listening to it, there are songs on here i will be revisiting again. and who knows, maybe when i do it will inspire me to give the songs that didnt do anything for me this week, more of a chance.

 

Fantastic. Review. And I’m glad that you realized that this band wasn’t what the people who don’t really listen to them would think they are by their image. They have chops.

The one thing I’ll note, is that you were almost completely right about the concept except one thing; teenagers and the some of the rest aren’t random. A couple of them are supposed to be members of the Black Parade That main character ‘The Patient’ is meeting as the parade comes to him and hearing their life stories. Teenager, for example, a kid who shot up his school and is now a member of the parade. Mama is about a soldier. But I can see how you didn’t catch it, it’s hard to catch that in a week’s time and not having read interviews with the band prior.

I am really happy you enjoyed the album though (and I see FLW made your standouts finally). Hoping the others grown on you

 

Also side note, how you imagined The End...that’s how they opened their tour where they played this album in full, complete with Gerard being wheeled out on a gurney covered in a sheet and springing up as the guitar transition to Dead started

 

Huh. I didn’t know this. A common gripe I have with concept albums is I always find it impossible to know wtf is going on in the story without being told and this is a primo example lol
Teenagers still sucks though

 

"What To Do When You Are Dead" is my favorite concept album i think

 

Glad you dig thrice so much!! Obrother is harder to get into so I hope you explore their other stuff

 

I have every intention of doing so

 

I’ve studied the crap out of this album. I’d be happy to do a live listen of the album and explain where each song fits in the story lol

 

O'Brother is seriously one of my favorite bands on the earth

 

After listening to T. Rex and knowing the bands love them I may have to revisit their discography.

 

Teenagers 100% does not fit into the story though haha

 

@bachna84 gave me Paint Brain by Toy Cars
so listening to this and knowing I'd have to write about it stressed me out because I know one of the guys from the band lurks here, what if I hated it what would I say
don't worry I didn't hate it but this isn't the kind of music I typically listen to, that's the point of this whole thing huh, so it didn't quite click with me the way it seems to have clicked with the rest of you

Some songs that stood out- Leaving A/B, Iron Me Out, Track 7, Erie

 

I'll have my write ups done by this evening

 

This week I've listened to The Smiths - S/T and Backwards Dancer - S/T

I really didn't care for either album. Backwards Dancer sounded impressive initially but quickly made me lose interest.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

This is true they do.


Keep that in mind @Nate_Johnson since I gave you that awesome album this week!


@MikeTC