The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 245

I think the majority of my recs have not been from this year. That's what I find great about this thread is that you can find all sorts of new (to you) music here and of all sorts of genres. My favourite discovery’s from here so far all came out a few years ago (Deafheaven, Bleachers and Ryn Weaver if you were wondering what they were).

Also I'm happy you've enjoyed that album @bachna84

 

Everyone keeps calling this CMCS, which is confusing me because I thought this was the SOTY and Senses Fail fan club thread?

 

This is very true. I have given @anonimito three albums he loves (Vessels, California, Tidal Wave) and those are from 2016-2017. I gave @Patterns in Traffic his (last I checked) favorite received Rec in Hawthorne Heights’ Hurt EP and that’s from 2015.

Again this is moot since Nate doesn’t outright refuse anything that’s 2018. He is within his rights to prefer those.

 

Can't think of another rec off the top of my head that I preferred to Hurt, although I can't even remember all the albums I've been rec'd at this point. I should keep a running list, it would be cool to see everything I've checked out as a result of the club in one place.

 

Damn. What a trade.


The talk of asking partners for specific things:

For the record I have been asking for summery releases lately, preferably something energetic, but if someone gives me something else than I'm pretty down for that too. I think saying you would "prefer" something in a certain style or whatever is cool, as it's just saying what you would feel most enthusiastic about listening to, and that in turn will lead you to being more receptive.

For instance my first rec was Jack's Mannequin and listening to that on the first sunny day of the year hugely influenced how much I enjoyed it. But had I been given Oathbreaker or something similar, I'd still have tried to get into it and remain impartial regardless of how I feel mood wise.

Basically, this is a long winded (pun intended) way of saying that the weather hugely affects my music listening.

 

On a similar note, whenever I have "free time" again (it's a foreign concept), I've been wondering if @JediMasterKevo182 would like there to be a frequently updated version of the list in the original post that contains all the album recommendations. Not only would it have the artist/album title, but I was thinking it might be cool/handy to have a hyperlink to the actual review(s) (plural if recommended more than once) in the same list. Not sure if it would be something he/we would want to have, but I'd be happy to do it. It fits my personality and desire for order and lists pretty well. ;) It would just have to occur sometime after the next few weeks.

 

I’ll also add to this that I’ve found some really great newer bands through this thread too, that I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on. For example that Casey album I just reviewed is incredible and growing on me more with ever listen.

 

nice you like the best song on here

 

As someone who came in late, it would be good to simply have who reviewed/recommended what. It's hard to know who has heard and been recommended what albums and that makes it tricky.

 

I won't give up on them just yet and I think giving someone a newer record by an artist that's been around for awhile is exciting because as a listener you have so much more to be excited about knowing the band sustained quality to some degree.

Also, Wolves is much better than Black Swan...and boom goes the dynamite.

 

That would be amazing if you did that, it’s a lot of work but would be handy

 

This would be amazing!

 

Jamie Lenman
Devolver
2017



I was paired up with @ugman_2000 again last session and they recommended me Jamie Lenman's 2017 album Devolver. Prior to that session, I don't believe that I ever heard of Jamie Lenman or his former band Reuben. Reuben was a British alternative rock trio who went on hiatus in 2008 after releasing three full-length albums. At that time, frontman Jamie Lenman (guitar, vocals, piano/keyboard) began his solo project. He released his first solo album (Muscle Memory) in 2013, followed by 2017's Devolver. With that brief background out of the way, I'll move forward with this specific album.

Going into this album, I really had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that Jamie Lenman formerly fronted an alternative rock band, so I had a feeling that the music would fall under the alternative rock umbrella to some extent. I also knew that there was no way that I could pull off that hairstyle on the cover (which, to be honest, I'm not sure that Jamie Lenman pulls it off either). The opening track Hardbeat is a little over 5 minutes long and was an interesting start to the album. While not one of my favorites on the album, it's a song that I enjoyed and it gave me Nine Inch Nails and Beck vibes at various points in the song. I know that's a bit of an odd thing to say, but I can't help the things I hear! The next track Waterloo Teeth is one of my favorite songs on the record. It's an aggressive 3 minute track that gives off a 90s alt-metal vibe. His vocals at times reminded me of Brandon Boyd's (Incubus) specifically during the Make Yourself era. Track 3 is titled Personal and there are definite Nine Inch Nails vocal similarities here. This was another one of my favorite tracks on the album and I really though the lyrics were solid on this one. Questioning ones religion is the main lyrical theme on this track:

It's like a personal insult from God
Don't you think it's mighty odd
How every time I try for grace
It blows up in my ugly face?
A personal rejection man
Guess I just don't fit the plan
All despite my every plea
He closed those pearly gates on me

The next track Body Popping was a bit of a departure from the first few tracks and it had some catchy repetition and backing vocals that will make this a song that the listener finds stuck in their head throughout the day. Comfort Animal is a brief ambient interlude that gives way to another one of my favorite tracks on the album Mississippi. This song doesn't technically fall under the industrial music umbrella, but it definitely gives off some strong industrial vibes from the start. There are definitely some more Nine Inch Nails similarities here as well. I feel confident in saying that this track features the best spelling breakdown that I have heard in my 33 years of existence:

M-I-double S-I-double S-I-P-P-I

By this point in the album, it's very apparent that this is an eclectic album and it doesn't fall under any one particular genre. It's also best (like most albums) listened to in its entirety as opposed to listening to one or two singles. Since each track is so different from the previous track, this isn't really an album that you could just listen to one song and make a snap judgment whether you like the album or not. I also really appreciated this album's eclectic nature as it kept me guessing from track to track. It never once felt "samey" and it made the album fly by.

I typically don't like to do a track-by-track review, but since this album is so eclectic as mentioned above, I've decided to make an exception! Hell In A Fast Car is another solid rock song that gives off some more 90s rock vibes and features lyrics touching on music originality:

Rock and roll is all about the fresh and new
Why would you do something someone else did do?

The song I Don't Know Anything starts with some funky bass and gives me some Red Hot Chili Peppers vibes and the following track Bones is a bit of a chilled, subdued track that gives off Queens Of The Stone Age vibes. The penultimate track All Of England Is A City is one of the shortest songs on the album and it's another catchy track. These three songs were all enjoyable. Honestly, there wasn't one single song on this album that I didn't enjoy.

When I got to the final track, I had big expectations. Right or wrong, I tend to expect a little more from closing tracks. Additionally, the track is named after the album (or vice versa) so that adds a little more to my expectations. Finally, it's the longest song on the album at just over 6 minutes, so I had high hopes that it'd deliver. It absolutely delivered. It's a fantastic end to this album as it builds for its first half before exploding at the midway point. I enjoyed this song from a lyrical standpoint as well. He repeats the phrase "I am irrelevant" and the entire track has the theme of people thinking that they're more important than they are, but in the grand scheme of the world they're really not much. It's a bit of a nihilistic viewpoint I suppose, but the song did make me think. Here's one of my favorite lyrics from that track:

I want to talk in every magazine
I want to grin on every TV screen
But come a day they're bury me
And it will be as if I've never been

All in all, this album was an absolute treat to listen to. It's highly unlikely that I would have checked this album out (or even heard of this album in the first place) had it not been for this thread and for @ugman_2000 so I'm thankful that we have this!

My favorite tracks on this album (right now) are Waterloo Teeth, Personal, Mississippi, and Devolver. I strongly recommend listening to all of these tracks before deciding whether you like the album or not, because as I've mentioned several times above, the album is very eclectic.

I would recommend this album to fans of genuine alternative/rock music, Nine Inch Nails, and Queens Of The Stone Age. Crafting a good RIYL list is a bit difficult for this one, so perhaps @ugman_2000 would like to chime in!

Great recommendation @ugman_2000 ! Truly one of my favorite albums that I've been recommended in here thus far.

 

I haven't been here too long but off the top of my head I have given out:

Boston - Self Titled (1976)
Chevelle - This Type of Thinking
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Sevendust - Animosity
Story of the year - In the Wake of Determination
Sing me a Fiction - A Hole in the Sail
Underoath - Erase Me

And I've been given:
Silverstein - This Is How The Wind Shifts
Starset- Transmissions
Starset- Vessels
Hawthorne Heights- HURT
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
Half Moon Run- Dark Eyes
City & Colour- if I Should Go Before You

A lot of stuff I probably never would have listened to on my own. I've personally gone back to Half Moon Run, Brucey boy, Starset and Silverstein a lot actually.

 

It's possible that I have a spreadsheet including who I've been partnered with, what recommendations I've given, and what recommendations I've been given

 

My work here is done.

 

Bloody hell that was a great review there. Glad you liked the album so much, I had no idea what way it'd go with you when I rec'd it last week. I've been a big fan of Jamie's work for over a decade now and this was one of my favourite albums from last year.

Be sure to check out his old band Reuben, they're nothing like this album musically but all 3 of their albums are really great British rock music from the 00's, they came up in the same scene as Biffy Clyro and kind of fits in that sort of sound. His first Solo album is a wild trip too, again nothing like this one, it's a double album, one half heavy and one half melodic.

As for RIYL as it's so diverse sounding I'd probably just go with great British rock music that jumps from genre to genre still and somehow makes it all work together cohesively.

 

Yeah, I will definitely check out his other solo album and the Reuben albums!

 

@bachna84 Let me know what you think of them if you do. I've come pretty close to rec'ing Reuben in here a few times now.

 

Will do! I'm not sure how soon I'll get to them, but they are on my list and I'll get to them eventually :)

 

So this week @Micool1 gave me:

The Used - The Canyon



I always meant to listen to this album as I love their first two albums and their forth Artwork. At this point they have more albums I don’t care for than I do, so I wasn’t in any rush (obviously). I found this refreshing in a way, and has the band experimenting more and trying new things. I would say even though it’s not all good, I like this a lot more than their last two releases.

The first track For You opens with around a minute and half of talking in the studio. It adds to the emotional weight of the stripped down song because of the insight of who the song is about, the lost of a loved one. The song itself is actually beautiful and really good, but the long intro before the song starts takes away from it on repeat listens and its placement as the first track doesn’t really fit. That is the only acoustic song on the album, and it picks up from there.

The third track Broken Windows sounds like classic used from the ILAD and LFTL era, it’s maybe the catchiest song on the album and Rise Up Lights kicks in next and has the energy a Used fan would want, another classic Used sounding song. I really like the guitar in the bridge, it’s a lot of fun. This probably should have been the opening track.

Upper Falls is probably my favorite on the album, a pretty good slow jam that builds up nicely to a faster paced piece for the last minute and a half of this 5:30 song.

Here is a good place to mention that this is the first album without Quinn on guitar and introducing Justin from Saosin taking over. His playing is awesome and such a breath of fresh air to the band, especially after the last two albums which seemed to just be the band going through the motions. Songs like Pretty Picture has such interesting guitar work that for me, it was proof that losing Quinn wasn’t a terrible thing. Even on songs I don’t care for like Selfies on Aleppo, the guitar is really good and during the bridge jam, almost tricked me into liking the song….almost.

Moving The Mountains opens with such a crazy guitar solo, it sounds like a different band. It’s a shame the song doesn’t carry the energy and is forgetful. Losing Justin is a bummer because his touch was definitely the thing that made this album stand out from the previous few releases.

The final track The Mouth of the Canyon, starts as a slow song with picking guitar and builds to a full out rocker, with bluesy guitar and soulful female choir backup vocals throughout. This is probably the best track to end the album on, as it goes through all the motions really, which would typically stand out but this album is so long and does it all in other songs that there is nothing special about it even though it feels like that’s what it was going for. Not a terrible track by any means, just a victim of being at the end of a bloated album (17 songs!)

The Quiet War has Bert rapping and that is a huge no no. That is what I will end on and also should be the title of my review.

Highlights – The stretch from Rise Up Lights through This Divine Absence.

If this album was cut down, say Selfies in Aleppo, Moving the Mountain, The Quiet War, Moon-Dream, The Nexus, About You were all cut out (release them after as B-Sides) and it was just a 10 track album with Rise Up Lights as the opener, I feel this would have been received a lot more positively.