The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 235

Noted, and hope to see you back when things calm down.

@Micool1 youll be with @Nate_Johnson instead

 

Does Turnover still play a lot from PV live? Seeing them soon.

 

Looks like about half of their set!

Turnover Setlist at Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill, Dallas

 

Yeah it's a 50% PV, 50% GN set usually, with an EP song usually worked in too.

 

Speaking of Turnover:

 

I will listen to Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony

@broken22 will listen to The Soft White Sixties - Get Right

 

Alright, I'm only a few weeks late with these:

@sophos34 gave me Gil Scott-Heron & Jamie XX - We're New Here

This electronic album is definitely out of my wheelhouse, but I enjoyed it! The vibe is very chill and the productions on the drums is incredible. I can imagine that this is a great album to "Smoke reefer" to, as the kids would describe it. I quite enjoyed the samples of vocal speech littered throughout the album. This was a solid and atmospheric listen that I may return to in the future when I need to focus and get some great work done.

The second album Sophos gave me was Loma Prieta - Self Portrait

This album, also out of my wheelhouse, was a little closer to what I usually listen to. Right off the bat I found myself confused why the group would choose to produce the vocals the way they are present on the album, but after a few songs I grew accustomed to them. Track 5, More Perfect, reminds me a lot of Pup, actually. I had to divide this record up into a few chunks to listen to it all the way through, but there is a lot of instrumental craftsmanship to admire.

 

@highfidelity203 recommended I listen to The New Amsterdams - At The Foot Of My Rival. So I did! I enjoy the get up kids but had never followed matt to other projects. The album was very chill. I found it melancholy but v positive at the same time. "Life is too rich to waste it waiting around for you" is vibing with my life mantras lately. I enjoyed how low-key the album is. It's especially interesting cause I've been taking guitar lessons and it was chill enough that the guitar work and lyrics stood out and I could pay attention to lil things like strumming patterns that I wouldn't have noticed before my lessons. It's nice cause sometimes i get overwhelmed trying to learn music but then u hear a simple sort of record and remember that not all music has to be super high frill and complicated. It can be simple and good and resonate without being like van Halen solos lol. Makes it seem more attainable to learn? Idk if that makes sense haha. It's a nice spring record too!

 

"Fountain of Youth" is perpetually one of my staple summer songs.

 

A little late but here are my two brief reviews for @cshadows2887 recs:

Gerry Rafferty - City to City (United Artists; 1978)

City to City is the second full length release from Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty and it contains he two biggest hits "Baker Street" and "Right Down the Line". "Baker Street" is instantly recognizable by it's saxophone riff and "Right Down the Line" was a track I didn't realize was written by Rafferty. The record overall was an enjoyable listen but ultimately the general sound/vibe didn't click. The big highlight from this record for me was "Whatever's Written in Your Heart". The rest of the record gracefully passed me by.

The Beatles - Abbey Road (Apple; 1969)

The Beatles need no introduction but I will introduce you to my journey with The Beatles. At a young age I was a "classic rock" fiend (I hate the term classic rock but generally it paints a picture of specific bands/music for people so I will use it here), gobbling up any and all artists I heard on classic rock radio except the Beatles. I decided at a relatively young age after hearing a number of singles and constantly reading endless amounts of praise that I didn't like The Beatles. This pretty much continued for a number of years until I heard a few McCartney solo records, some Wings and All Things Must Pass all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. My opinion of the Beatles then morphed into, "I like McCartney and Harrison solo but Lennon ruins The Beatles for me". More time passed and after hearing thousands upon thousands of records I still hadn't properly sat with a Beatles record. @cshadows2887 and I have been best friends since middle school and having always loved The Beatles he had been delicately nudging me to give a record a shot. Maybe about a year ago I decided I was willing and mildly interested in hearing a Beatles record but I wasn't in a rush. Then week or two ago Chris and I were paired up. He used this as his opportunity to expose me to one of the greatest, influential bands that has ever existed. I put my headphones on, hit play and on comes "Come Together"...I'll stop my review there and sum it all up by saying, "I fucked up"...The Beatles are incredible.

 

Damn, 23 dollars to ship to the UK. Suuuucks.

 

Also, @Nate_Johnson and I have swapped.

I will be listening to Kississipi - Sunset Blush

They will be listening to Turnstile - Time and Space

I'll have my review for Fm Static up probably on Wednesday.

 

@JediMasterKevo182 and I are trading:

I received: Senses Fail- If There Is Light It Will Find You

They received: Fireworks - Gospel

 

Damn that is a greeeat swap. Only heard that Fireworks album once or twice a few years back but i’ve meaning to check it out again ever since. This may push me to do so.

 

Time to review a pair of albums given to us by our anonymous friend, @anonimito !

Conditions- Full Of War

I had not really heard much about Conditions until I was first paired with Anonimito a couple sessions ago. When I introduced him to Starset, which he loved, he commented that they had some similarities to this band called Conditions; so of course next time we were paired he found it only right to send one of their albums my way to see if I heard it too. What I found when I began to listen to this album was amped up catchy choruses, driving guitars and a focus on rhythm. Musically there isn't that much of a comparison to Starset, but there are some similarities in the feel of the songs. This 2013 album is filled to the brim with all of the aforementioned features in each song, with some similarities to Anberlin and The Offspring in places. A very cohesive album that runs only about 40 minutes long, these songs have an energy and feel to them that you just cannot help but appreciate.

The first three songs on the album are downright incredible anthems; 'Open Eyes' being my favorite of the three, though 'Walking Separate Ways' and especially 'Skeletons' have strengths to them too for a good 1-2-3 stretch. Open Eyes and Skeletons both feature some extremely catchy choruses; with Open Eyes having gang vocals and this insane intro fast paced break neck intro of a guitar. Along with the driving guitars are some very stellar vocal works, and on songs like the love anthem of 'Best Mistake' this comes to the foreground of the album and shows where this band really shines; catchy and melodic rock music, with this song in particular being one of the more catchy songs on the album. The album is also prone to having a massive exploding sound with their choruses, with the former mentioned song and the build up/chorus of 'Love Elusive' being good examples of this. There are no filler songs on this album either, every song stands out and plays its roll in the album; as well does each component. As I mentioned, the guitars and vocals/lyrics, but there are great bass lines in some of these songs, and then on songs like 'The Descent Of Man' which is one of the more epic songs on the album, you have these thumping drums that help carry the catchiness of the songs. That song in particular is perhaps my favorite track on the entire album, it just is full of anthemic rock, passionate lyrics, some shredding guitars and the aforementioned drums. Its a song I found myself wanting to hit repeat on many times, and with lyrics like "I thought you knew, and I thought I could believe the words you say. You took advantage anyway." you can just tell that these are some powerful lyrics on display emotional wise. There is something I could say about every song on this album, but this is one of those albums where if you like alt rock, you really should just stop reading right now and listen to this album for yourself.

This is a powerful release, and I am hard pressed to find something bad to say about it. It has everything I could want from this genre of music, and this is the type of album I play a lot; which I have been, having listened to this one repetitively though out the past week multiple times. Powerful, melodic, and well crafted from the intro track to closer 'Not Giving Up...Not Yet', this anthemic and catchy album will have your attention the moment you start listening to it. I highly recommend it, and this may have ended up being one of my favorite CMCS heard albums. I might have to add this to my recommendations list for future partners. Stand out tracks: Walking Separate Ways, Skeletons, Open Eyes, Best Mistake, Love Elusive, The Descent of Man, Long Division, Not Giving Up...Not Yet
9/10

House Of Heroes- Colors

If you had asked me who these guys were before this past week, what genre they were, or anything I wouldn't have had an answer for you. So when Anonimito asked me if I had listened to them, I was like "Who?". What I found when I started listening to this album was something ambitious and full of energy, even if the intro track had me a little confused and cautious about what I was about to hear. I didn't like the intro, still don't. But once you get to the second song and hear the passionate track 'Colors Run', at least for me, you find something much more palpable and very energetic. And as I said, ambitions; as we have a rock opera here, folks. One that after a few listens you will discover is a tragedy tale about love, passion, sins and murder; and the inevitable seeking of redemption. While the story is very prominent through the album, I found myself enjoying these songs more when I didn't focus on the storyline running through them; which to me is the sign of a good concept album. Both My Chemical Romance and Starset, bands I love, have done something like this before; and I like when you can listen to the album by itself or as the story piece they formed.

This album is very varied in its sounds as well, with many different sonic tidbits through the tracks. Songs like 'Pioneer', which is a rip roaring heavy anthem sounds much different than a song like 'Feel' or 'God', which is a more biting song and a rock ballad respectively. Feel is especially a very dark lyrically song, diving into all of the sins of a man such as addictions, desire for sex, etc. that send a man spiraling out of control in life but they feel so good they cannot resist temptation. Vocally this album has some good work on it, some points reminding me of more aggressive sounding vocalists like Maynard from his work with Tool. The songs are catchy in the way they are crafted, but not in the traditional sense. You won't realize it until after the fact, but you will find yourself singing along with these songs relatively quickly and they will be in your head for quite a while after the songs are done. This is a progressive rock album, plain and simple, and with each listen you will find yourself loving this prog rock album. 'Matador' was a song I was coming back to a lot in particular, the heavy vocal delivery of this one in it verses and then its insanely passionate and rhythmic chorus was a great switch up in vocal works, and the song was just one of those songs that got better and better with each passing listen. Like I said earlier, sonically this album is vastly different each song through but every instrument plays their role. The guitars are played amazingly, and work well with these songs, feeling just as grand as the lyrics do in certain places. The drums are thumping, and the plucked bass in some songs is great.

This album will take a few listens for you to truly appreciate it, but its one you'll like from the first play. If you like progressive rock and alternative rock acts like Relient K or I Am Empire, you will find something to like in this ambitious and driven album. You may not like every song on the album because of how varied they can be, but you will find something to appreciate about each song; they are not afraid to try different things with each song to make it work within the context of the album and their story. This is a good album, and one that does best listened to with headphones to hear the minute nuances added to the songs. Recommended tracks are: Colors Run, Pioneer, Feel, God, Crash, Matador, Shots Fired, Get Away.
8/10

 

Awesome reviews! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed them so much! We have *many* overlaps in our favorites, which is really cool. Both of these bands are somewhat new to me (2014 or so), but they quickly became two of my favorite bands once I heard an album by them.

 

I can see Conditions moving up there for me, no doubt!

 

For sure - I had a feeling you'd like them! I miss them a lot.

 

@cshadows2887 will be listening to Hello Love by the Be Good Tanyas and Women + Country by Jakob Dylan and I'll be listening to Like An Old Fashioned Waltz by Sandy Denny and Satellite Rides by Old 97s

 

Nice reviews! We had a lot of the same favorite tracks on Colors!

 

I was paired with @Patterns in Traffic last week.

He assigned me Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Beat The Devil's Tattoo

I was very intrigued by this band for many reasons. One reason being that it's one of my friends bands favorite bands along with The Cure. Also, I knew that they also had a very loyal fanbase, and had been fairly successful for quite some time. They sound nothing like the Cure, however, I can see their appeal after listening to the record.

The album begins with the title track, with a guitar lick that sounds like it could appear in an episode of Sons of Anarchy. This was not reminiscent of how the record sounded however. The first few songs of the record didn't pull me in the way I'd hoped they would, and seeing the run time of the record at 1 hour and 10 minutes, I was fearful that I was in for a long listen of a record I wasn't completely enjoying. The record started winning me over when "Mama Taught Me Better" came in. It sounded like it could be a Stone Temple Pilots b-side in every way. The bass and the guitar were tight, and completely in sync with each other, and the vocals were very reminiscent of Scott Weiland (something that was a common theme through the record) The record had it's ballad moment with "The Toll" which almost went in the direction of a Bruce Springsteen song, even complete with a harmonica lead. I really enjoyed the singers vocals on "Aya" and the aggression in which he sang the name in the chorus of the song. A surprising song for me was the track "Long Way Down" While a majority of the record the singer sounded like he was heavily influenced by Scott Weiland, in this track it sounded like a song that could easily fit into the records XO or Figure 8 by Elliott Smith.

This was an enjoyable listen, that was very back heavy in my opinion. I'll definitely check out more from the band. Thanks @Patterns in Traffic

Favorite Tracks: "Mama Taught Me Better" "Aya" "Long Way Down" "The Toll"

 

Nice review! Glad you enjoyed the back half. I actually prefer the front half more, I might have to revisit this to refresh myself a bit. The title track is a staple of their live sets, super fun song. Glad you called out "Aya," that might be my favorite song on this album. Lots of emotion in the vocals. It was really cool seeing them play that one live when they toured on this album. The bassist actually detuned the bass up and down during the verses to create that deep slide sound.

 

Isn't it funny how two people can hear the same record completely differently? "Aya" was definitely one of the highlights for sure! I'm sure they're probably fantastic live

 

They are excellent live. My friend got me into them and he and I go see them pretty much every time they come to the area. One of the bands I've seen the most for sure.

If you're interested in checking out more by them I'd recommend their debut, lots of hooks on that one that are probably more immediate than some of their other material. Howl is also great and it is an out of left field folk/gospel/acoustic record if that kind of thing is your bag.

 

I think @Larry David would definitely dig their debut