The Cure- 4:13 The Dream

Robert Smith, perhaps one of music’s most interesting characters. Even almost at the age of 50 Smith is still dawning his trademark lipstick and wild messed up hair look that made him a hero to all goth kids long before most goth kids were even born.
4:13 The Dream is drastically different then the late 80’s post punk Cure there are no bouncy choruses and catchy guitar riffs. Interestingly enough it seems like Smith’s lipstick may have entered into his brain and caused him to dawn a more glam metal sound akin to that of T-Rex and The Sweet with double guitar harmonies and all.
The albums opener Underneth The Stairs is one of the most interesting Cure tracks I’ve ever heard, Layered with distortion and reverberated guitars the tracks screams out to the listener and is easily one of the best tracks on the album and its as close to romantic as The Cure can possibly get. Another key track of 4:13 The Dream is The Only One which conjures up some classic Cure pop sound but with an edge which is what makes the Cure so good.
4:13 The Dream is one of the The Cure’s most interesting releases to date and it seems like Smith’s vocals have gotten increasingly worse from album to album. But understand this, 4:13 The Dream is certainly no Wish which is the pinnacle of classic Cure maybe it’s the age of the band that’s changed the sound but the edginess is all here it just sounds different.
The album as a whole is very un even and evenness is what made all the late 80’s Cure albums the best. If you’ve like the string of latest Cure albums then you probably wont like this release but if you hated the grunge only 10 years later sound of 2004’s self titled release then you may like this album.

Classic Album: Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Believe me I know what your thinking, “man this guy really cant fit the stereotypical music snob more then this choice, I mean come on man, Wilco is the band that every music magazine creams their pants over. Cant you pick something a little more original?” I know that Wilco is talked about way to much in the indie music world and writers for publications such as Rolling Stone and Pitchfork Music cant seem to get enough of them, but there’s a reason for it, they are an amazing band, they have a sound that is so unique and yet sounds so strangely familiar, its like The Beatles, The Grateful Dead and Steely Dan had a baby and that baby grew up to become a horn rimmed glasses wearing hipster spewing out thought provoking and relatable goo goo’s and ga ga’s.
Wilco, formed in 1994 born from the ashes of alt-rock band Uncle Tupelo, the band’s mastermind Jeff Tweedy has been able to write some of the best sounding music released in the last 10 years. But perhaps Wilco’s best album to date is the seminal 2001 release Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, originally an album that was never supposed to be released due to contract controversies the album tales tells of love lost to heavy metal drummers and the never ending search for a radio cure.
The album starts off with song I Am Trying to Break Your Heart which starts off with the line “Im an American aquarium drinker” if that’s not one of the most interesting lines written in music I don’t know what is. The song evenutlay explodes into a chaotic mess of feedback and random noise and then beautifully segues into the acoustic pop-rock sounding Kamera.
This album is full of beautiful gems, but perhaps my favorite song on the entire album is the tune Heavy Metal Drummer a fast paced rocker with a Aphex Twin sounding intro that shouldn’t fit into the song but fits so incredibly well. The song tells the heartbreaking tale of a man who loses his girlfriend to the drummer of a heavy metal band. This album is what I would delightfully call a modern rock epic album, perhaps even the Sgt. Peppers of the 2000’s its beauty and poeiantcy is something to truly behold. Saying you don’t enjoy this album is like saying you don’t enjoy breathing or eating food, its something you just have to do.

Classic Album: The Mars Volta - De-Loused at the Comatorium

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, even the names conjure up cryptic thoughts. Theese two men are the backbone of the sensational progressive metal latin jazz hardcore group The Mars Volta. One could even go as far as saying that the two are the Lennon- McCartney of this generation, ok that may be taking it a bit far but its certainly worth a try. Theese two men have bonded a music friendship unlike any other musicians I can think of. Their willingness to push each other to their musical limits is what drives their creativity.

Since their early days in the legendary El Paso hardcore band At The Drive-In they have made some of the most electric and emotionally charged music perhaps their music could be considered “REAL” emo because it is pure emotional and raw music. Thats just what the first release of the The Mars Volta showcases and that’s what makes this album so amazing.

It’s really hard to explain into words why this album is so gosh darn epic. Maybe it’s the fact that all the tracks segue into each other with seamless quality. Or maybe its just the raw power of songs like “roulette dares” or “take the veil cerpin taxt” The Mars Volta don’t just stick to one sound all the time they range form different epic sounds throughout the entire album and they seem to master each one of those sounds. But the album isn’t all power its got a softer side featured in the song “Televators”

No matter what you think of this review, wether your interested in the album or you agree with me or you just think I’m plain batshit insane for loving this band so much. Just understand this De Loused In The Comatorium is one of the best albums put out in the last couple years from its amazingly complex sound to its cryptic lyrics and bizarre story line its just to perfect. It has all the things that make music so amazing. The album never gets old for me and I doubt that it ever will.

Weezer - The Red Album

A very good friend of mine once made a very interesting argument about what true “emo” music is, he claimed that even though we oftentimes think of “emo” music as bands like Taking Back Sunday or Thursday, (at least that’s what I consider to be true emo.) The only true and pure emo band around today is Weezer, the music that they make is the most raw and emotiona around and can put any one of those other so called emo bands to shame.

Weezer is one of those few bands that even since the 90’s with their early release Pinkerton they have done what very few bands of the post grunge era were able to do and that is stay interesting and stay relevant. The band consistently has successful record sales with each album they put out, and hell they even had a music video with The Muppits that should give them at least a little bit of credibility

Rivers Cuomo is known for not only having the best name ever, but for having the talent and ability to write simplistic indie-rock songs that don’t just appeal to the indie rock fanbase, but are enjoyed by a very large and broad audience. And Weezer’s latest album The Red Album is really no different. Produced by legendary producer Rick Rubin The Red Album is certainly no Pinkerton and no Blue Album, even though Weezer have been able to stay popular after all these years that doesn’t necessarily mean their music is actually all that good.

There are times on this album where they try and sound like their classic sound but just come off as too sarcastic and then there are times when they try and sound like a pop band with tracks like “Pork and Beans” and those songs are at least entertaining. Rivers even attempts to sing falsetto on the track “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)” which is the best track on the album. One of the cool things on The Red Album is every member of the band sings a track on the album. However a creative idea but a miss as far as interesting sounds go.

Weezer certainly has come a long way since their alternative post-grunge sound and it seems like with every album they try harder and harder to be a terrible hipster band with pop sensibilities. Maybe they could have done it back in 2001 but not today, and certainly not with The Red Album.

Score 2/5

Pnuma Trio- Character

The Pnuma Trio a truly fascinating and amazing band, comprised of Lane Shaw; the master drummer, Ben Hazelgrove ripping up the keys and Alex Botwin bringing the funk. Its these three men that make up the live electronic band who seems to be popping up everywhere on the scene recently and they certainly are making a name for themselves. One of the tough things for bands in the live/electronic genre is successfully transferring their live sound into a studio setting without sounding like generic electronic music.But in fact the music found on Character is certainly far from generic.

Each of the songs found on Character are so complex yet diverse that they themselves have enough character to stand independently. One of my favorite tracks on this album is “More Samples” which is an in your face heavy sounding track that leaves you breathless from beginning to end. One of the most interesting things about this album is the fact that it certainly is no common electronic album, the album even features some hip-hop tracks featuring MC’s Ced Hughes and Rashaan Ahmad and Pnuma’s music finds to be the perfect backdrop for a rapping and doesn’t out of context or unnatural which is really too perfect and is something the band should look into more of down the road.

Character is a great album in world of generic electronic albums they do what they do with originality and their music flows too well together at times, expect to see more out of these guys they’re hitting the road and dazzleing audiences and now with this release their blowing your mind in your very own home.

Score 5/5

A Very Sad Day

I just found out that Led Zeppelin may be touring without Robert Plant... not only that but with the current singer of Alter Bridge (aka all the members of Creed minus their lead singer)

tis a very sad day

and for that we mourn

AC/DC- Black Ice

If you know anything about music you cant deny that AC/DC have it all figured out. They know how to make rock music that kicks you in ass and rocks your soul. Their riffs are some of the most recognizable and they certainly have the credibility; they’ve been using the same formula since 1973 and have had multiple number one albums. They even managed to survive and stay interesting after the death of their original lead singer, Bon Scott.
Black Ice is no different, the same riffs are all here and it still kicks ass, certainly AC/DC can be accused of beating a dead horse, but they’re not just beating it they’re consuming its insides and bathing in its blood. Black Ice is AC/DC’s return to music, their first album since 1990 the album certainly shows their age. Lead singer Brian Johnson still has his classic tortured piercing vocals but its not how it used to be you can hear his age.
But one man in AC/DC still has the rock, the legendary power behind AC/DC, Angus Young. The rock is flowing through his body and I don’t think its going to go away anytime soon. He’s still got the school boys outfit on which seems a bit ridiculous now that he’s about 53. But all his classic riffs are here especially on the track Rock’N Roll Train which lives up to any of the bands classic tracks. My one complaint is that there is nothing new here its all the same music just rehashed its certainly apparent in tracks like “Wheels” and "Spoilin' for a Fight" The album still has the rock but its nothing new. But AC/DC isn’t going to change anytime soon and for that we salute them

Score 3/5