Moroni's Review of The National's "Trouble Will Find Me"

The National

About a month ago, I have never heard of The National.  Never mind that "Trouble Will Find Me" is their sixth studio album.  I was browsing through NME's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and The National had two albums on the list.  I noticed that they were a 4AD album, which you may know is my favorite label, home to Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, Pixies, Bon Iver, TV On The Radio, and Iron & Wine.  I had to check it out.  Boy, am I glad that I did.

Like most 4AD bands, this record has an ethereal, atmospheric quality about it.  The guitars and percussion are subdued and tantalyzing, textured frequently with keyboards and strings.  Matt Berninger's voice is rich and deep like Ian Curtis from Joy Division or Andrew Gray from Wolfgang Press.  The songs also have a story-like aspect to them, like Nick Cave's songs.  They also remind me a bit of The Connells or The Airborne Toxic Event.  This album has a pleasant dreamlike and hazy quality to it.  It is already one of my favorites.

The album starts muted with the opening track, "I Should Live in Salt", with an acoustic guitar and soft oboe.  By the time song ends in a dim guitar solo, you are hooked.  "Demons" is one of my favorite tracks, a confession in Berringer's sultry bass-baritone.  "Fireproof", "Sea of Love", "Heavenfaced", and "I Need My Girl" are all haunting melodies and count as the best songs on the record.  "Graceless" is dominated by the bass guitar.

I can't believe it took this band six albums before I finally came late onto the scene and discovered them.  I have been ranting and raving about this album all week on Facebook.  Of course, I think in a matter of weeks, this band will explode onto the scene as they have a song on the new "Hunger Games"  movie.  But you should definitely hop onto the proverbial bandwagon before that happens.  Right now, while you can say you "heard of them back then."

Moroni's Review of Kanye West's "Yeezus"

Kanye West

It's funny how I came to review Kanye West's sixth album, "Yeezus".  I made a few comments about Kanye on Facebook, and one of my friends accused me of having a man crush on Kanye, saying, "I don't know whether it's cute or creepy."

It's true.  I am fascinated in him as an artist, especially the way he projects himself to the media.  It all started with his his infamous interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMA Awards.  I was amazed at the lack of tact and general narcissism at that event, like the rest of the world.  There were many Facebook posts that dealt with his actions, and they went something like, "Kanye - what a jerk!  And his music sucks, too!  He has no talent!"

And I responded, "Wait, no, that's not true.  He is extremely talented!"

Anyone knows me knows that - like country music - I am not a huge fan of rap/ hip hop as a genre.  There are certain artists or songs that I like a lot.  I do have quite a bit of rap in my collection.  But as a genre, it is certainly not my favorite.  (Although it is interesting to note, I am, and have been since 1987, a huge fan of house music.)

Part of my collection was Kanye's breakthrough album, "Graduation", which was one of my favorite albums.  Like many of the rap artists, he tried to transcend the genre, using samples from Daft Punk and collaborating with Chris Martin from Coldplay.  When I first heard "Drunk and Hot Girls", I realized that this guy was a real artist.  Also, I consider "Heartless" one of the best songs of the last decade, no matter which genre one is considering.

So here I was, on Facebook, defending Kayne as an artist.  I don't care how much of a jerk he is.  I don't care how much chest-thumping he does, it doesn't take away from the fact that he is, as he claims, a musical genius.  Last month, he made some outrageous claims to BBC about rock being dead, rap being the new rock, and he being the king.  He also had a Twitter war with Jimmy Kimmel that ended with Kimmel inviting Kanye onto the show.  I watched it and was amazed at how intense the man is.  I kind of understood him.  I have known and worked with enough artistic geniuses that I kind of know how they work.  They are all intense, driven, opinionated, and socially awkward.  Kanye is no different.  I shared some of my observations on Facebook and was accused of having a man crush on him.

My wife thought it was funny, and so she suggested that I download the new album and review it.  I had heard that Kanye had tried to veer off in new directions by going a bit acid house.  I had to check it out.

So, on first listen, this album is really grating.  Yeah, there is some acid house there, but one should remember - a lot of acid house was really repetitive and grating, even back in the day.  It was that way on purpose, so that the deejay could mix it in with other tracks, making it more palatable.  "Yeezus" is not that palatable, especially on first listen, right from the first track, "On Sight".  But the more I listened it grew on me.  Maybe that is the genius of Kanye.  He intersperses the uncomfortable, enough to make you squirm, and then he throws in something that is exquisitely beautiful to bring you back on track.  Generally, this album is very angry, and I don't foresee many of these songs getting a lot of radio play.  It is just not that kind of album.

Once again, Kanye is very adept at mixing in unusual and refreshing samples into his album - from obscure clips from soul and even dog barks.  "Black Skinhead" - one of the best tracks on the record - features Native Americans singing.  "I Am God" has a part at the end with panicked screams and breathing blended in perfectly with electro, followed my an a capella choir.  That is Kanye's genius coming out.

Musically - and surprisingly, the record is remarkably scaled back on percussion.  The rhythm is mainly driven by keyboards, like on the song "New Slaves".  In many places, the rhythm is implied in the negative spaces, kind of like drum & bass, only without the drums.  Again, genius.

As expected, there is plenty of narcissism here, like in the tune "I Am God", where Kanye raps things like:

"I am a god

So hurry up with my damn massage!

In a French ass restaurant

Hurry up with my damn croissants!"

Of course, there is a ton of profanity.  And not just the occasional "F bomb", but constant.  The occasionaly curse word does not bother me.  But when it is so gratuitous, it gets on my nerves.  And I am talking about the constant sexually explicit comments.  I am not a prude, but some of it even makes me blush.  My kids raid my music collection constantly.  But "Yeezus" will not be one of the albums they get to listen to, if I can help it.

So yes, I like this album.  Kanye again proves himself a genius.  But as I said, this is not my style of music.  I probably won't listen to this record for much longer.

Moroni's Review of The Civil Wars' "The Civil Wars"

The Civil Wars

Before I review this album, I have to say that - as a genre - I generally dislike country music.  There are certain artists that I do really like, and, once every few blue moons, I will put it on the country station for a few days until it starts grating on my nerves.  So when I say "country", I should clarify that I am talking about what country music has become today - glitzy, formulaic, and carefully marketed.  What I mean is that the music industry gets songwriters to pump out songs with cookie cutters.  All you get is the cookies, and then someone puts a different color frosting and sprinkles on it to make it distinct.  In other words, you can easily convert a song to a R&B song for Mariah Carey, or a power rock jam for Nickelback.  Add a few twangy steel guitars, and suddenly it's a hit for Carey Underwood.  No, I don't like that kind of generic quality added to music, and I never have.

But the old-time country...  That is a different story.  That is the kind of music that dad listened to, and it's the kind of music I grew up listening to.  Conway Twitty.  Merle Haggard.  Waylon Jennings.  Willie Nelson.  And if I listen to modern country, it has that "old" quality about it.  My collection includes Alan Jackson, Collin Raye, Garth Brooks, George Strait, and maybe some Martina McBride.  That's about it.  I really don't like about three quarters of the stuff I hear on the radio.

When the bluegrass new wave started over ten years ago, I ate that up.  That was about as "old-time" as you could get - Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek.

The first time I heard The Civil Wars, I included them in this exploration of certain artists in Nashville into our reliquary of musical past - a mash-up of Appalachian bluegrass, Delta blues, old school country, and folk music.  This is all-out Americana.  I hope when people think of "American music" that they think of something like The Civil Wars.  This is stuff that our roots are made of.

I have followed this band from the beginning when I first saw their video on VH1 one early morning from a hotel room as I got dressed.  Then later, I heard that some creative disputes had popped up, and the band had divorced, so to speak.  Suddenly, they are back and have an eponymous, sophomore effort out.  (Man, I can't believe I got to use those words in the same sentence!)

This album speaks to my heart.  It is minimalist, often with not much more than Joy Williams's sweet voice and a banjo or acoustic guitar.  The record kicks off with the regretful "The One Got Away", accented with a mandolin and steel guitar.  John Paul White takes over on the next piece, "I Had Me a Girl", a sultry blues piece with a slippery electric guitar.  Some songs sound like they really hail back the times of the Civil War, like "Devil's Backbone".  There are bluegrass ditties like "From This Valley".  My favorite songs are the soft songs that are almost whispers - "Tell Mama", "Disarm", and "D'Arline".  In "Sacred Heart", Williams sings in French, reminding us that our nation has never been an English-only culture.  My absolute favorite song is "Eavesdrop" - sheer sweetness.

The Civil Wars are a celebration of our rich culture.  They are what country music is really about - no twang, but real southern comfort.  Give this album a listen.

Moroni's Review of Phantogram's "Phantogram" EP

Phantogram

This duo from upstate New York describes themselves as "street beat, psych pop".  I think this description of Phantogram's music is very apt.  Even before I knew that this is how they described themselves, I thought that there was a sense of duality to their sound.  On the bottom layer, they have a driving rhythm and synth bass.  The top layer is filled with ambient noises and celestial keyboards.  All of this is threaded with Sara Barthel's airy voice.

This band is relatively new to the scene with only a couple of albums and a handful of EPs.  This self-titled EP is a bit confusing, because it is not their first EP to be self-titled.  The EP starts out with "Black Out Days", an angst-driven piece with breathy wails pummeled by electronic beats.  My favorite song is the second track, "Never Going Home", sung by Josh Carter.  The intro reminds me quite a bit of "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.  He sings:

If this is love, I'm never going home

And the guitars swirl like a Cocteau Twins song.

The next song, "The Day You Died" has a New Order dance vibe that is unmistakable.  The EP closes out with the marching cadence of "Celebrating Nothing".

This EP was a good way for me to be introduced to the work of this group.  They have a new album coming out next year.  I will anticipate it warmly, eager to see what an entire set by these guys is like.

Moroni's Review of Au Revoir Simone's "Move In Spectrums"

Au Revoir Simone

Au Revoir Simone was immediately awesome for me for a few reasons.  As I did research for this band, I discovered that their name is derived from a line from the movie "Pee Wee's Big Adventure", which is one of my favorite movies, and certainly my favorite Tim Burton movie.  Next, David Lynch is a big fan and had the band play at one of his art exhibits.  And that makes total sense, because their music has a dreamy, atmospheric quality to it, just like Lynch's films.

"Move in Spectrums" is this Brooklyn trio's fourth album, and yet this is the first I have heard of them.  Their music is characterized by breathy, soft vocals and mostly synthesizers.  How do I feel about this album?  I started listening to it last night, and I could not put it down.  When it came time to go to bed, I put on the headphones and kept listening to it.  I woke up in the middle of the night with the music on repeat, still playing.

The album starts out with the moody "More Than", a sparse drum beat and bass keyboard and an almost inaudible and haunting keyboard in the background.  Her vocals are deep, almost like a Joy Division or Jesus & Mary Chain song.  Then the synth rhythm starts.  This is dark wave at its best.

There are a few ambient songs that are great - "We Both Know", "Boiling Point", and "Hand Over Hand".  Simple, emotive, and stripped down, these songs will carry you in an effervescent crest of noise.  There are also some bouncy pop emeralds like "Crazy" and "Graviton".  My favorite songs is "Just Like a Tree" with its tinny drum machine, staccato keyboards and layered vocals.

What was I feeling as I listened to this in the middle of the night?  Nostalgia.  Strange for a band I had never heard before yesterday.  This record is already one of my favorites.

Moroni's Review of Hollywood Undead's "Notes From the Underground"

Hollywood Undead

Okay, there is not much that is too terribly original about this band.  They definitely take a page from Linkin Park, before that band veered off into experimental trip hop.  They wear masks a la Slipknot.  Regardless, these guys frickin' rock.  They are my flavor of the week.  I can't stop listening to this album.  I wake up in the middle of the night singing these songs.

Before I was introduced to these guys by Jason McDonald, my body-burning, gator-wrestling friend in Colorado, I had only heard a couple of songs by these guys.  Jason suggested that I take a break from reviewing indie bands and steered me in the direction of Hollywood Undead's third album, "Notes from the Underground".

First of all, any band who gives homage to Dostoyevsky in their album title is going to get my attention.

Next, this is an easy album to listen to.  None of this "after a few listens it grows on you" stuff.  I was jamming from the first scary tones of "Dead Bite", the hard-hitting opening track.  In our modern day, where internet and technology have brought cultures crashing together and created things like "fusion cuisine", is it so wrong that a band has such an eclectic sound?  Hollywood Undead has definitely brought an amalgamation of sounds together on this record.  There are hip hop, metalcore, electronic dance music, screamo, and dubstep, all mashed together in a bucket to create a monster of a good album.  There is even a harpsichord in "Believe", one of my favorite tunes.

Their strong point is that this band is an equal opportunity crew.  Everyone gets turn on the mic to MC.  What is amazing is that all of the members also play their instruments as they rap.  All of the band members have monikers.  I am not going to even try to try to figure out who is rapping on what song, but I have to say - whoever the guy with the falsetto voice is, he has a lovely voice as evidenced in "Lion", "Rain", and "One More Bottle".  The latter song is one of my favorite songs, definitely a drinking song.

My favorite tracks also include the rousing anthem "We Are", the pounding beat of "From the Ground", and the wobble bass of "Another Way Out".

So if you are looking for something new, something catchy definitely check out this release.  It still has me bouncing.  This is a fun, energetic record.  I don't know when my next review will be, because I am not putting this album away for a while.  Thanks, Jason.

Moroni's Review of Arcade Fire's "Reflektor"

Arcade Fire

2013 is not even over, and yet I already believe that "Reflektor" by Arcade Fire is the best album of the year.  Allow me to explain why.

NME recently posted the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and many people were surprised to see The Smiths at the number 1 spot, beating out acts like The Beatles.  It caused me to reflect on The Smiths.  Practically everyone knows who they are now.  Everyone acknowledges what an influence they have had, even getting shout-outs in movies like "(500) Days of Summer" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".  And yet in the midst of the '80s, they didn't make as much of an impact on mainstream music as they have today.  Sure, The Smiths became the darlings of the alternative crowd by the late '80s, but in 1985 - when my friend Melisa lent my a vinyl copy of their eponymous first release - in the day of Michael Jackson and Madonna, no one would imagine that, 28 years later, "The Queen Is Dead" would be considered Greatest Album of All Time.  The Smiths were not considered quintessential '80s in the '80s, but they sure are now.

As I first listened to the fourth album by Arcade Fire, I wondered - in this day and age of Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Jay-Z - what will be considered the music that defines our era 28 years from now?  Will it be what's on the Top 40 radio?  Or will it be bands like Arcade Fire?

And then I read articles that indicate that "Reflektor" is currently #1 on the Billboard Album Charts, beating out Katy Perry's new album.  (This is the second #1 album I have reviewed in two months.)  Which is amazing, because they are essentially still an indie band, even with a Grammy under their belt (for 2010's "The Suburbs").

Arcade Fire is a band that I have followed since the beginning.  Both "Funeral" and "Neon Bible" are two of my favorite albums ever.  ("The Suburbs", not so much.)  This time Arcade Fire gets to exercise their expression through a sprawling double album.

Yes, Arcade Fire can be annoying sometimes.  At times, they seem self-important and puffed up, because they are "art".  But there is no denying that they are pure genius when it comes to crafting songs.  Some of the songs on the new album are like that - they are weird and start out annoying, but then they do what they do best - the add layer upon layer to the song until you perk up and are forced to ask, "What is this?"  Even the most irritating songs eventually grow on you.

The album starts out perfectly with the title track, "Reflecktor", a bouncy disco piece that has so many dimensions that one can spend hours analyzing it with headphones, right down to the background vocals by none other than the Thin White Duke himself, David Bowie.  The song is followed by "We Exist", with its "Billie Jean" beat.  In "Flashbulb Eyes" and "Here Comes the Night", Regine Chassagne's Haitian roots seem  to emerge in the carnivale/ reggaeton rhythms that are prevalent.

"Normal Person" - one of my favorite tracks - is uncharacteristically hard for an Arcade Fire song, kind of with a T-Rex vibe.  The vibe in "You Already Know" is definitely dance hall, and "Joan of Arc" has a glam feel.  But these descriptions are superficial at best.  Even though they might pay homage to older styles of music, they make it theirs by adding a sense of atmosphere and elegance.  This is true with "Here Comes the Night II", "It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus)", "Porno", and "Afterlife" (another favorite).  The album finishes our with a glowing ambient piece called "Supersymmetry".

When I personally rate albums, I ask myself two questions:

1)  Are all of the songs on the album good?
2)  Do I want to listen to it over and over?

The answer is yes, and yes.

This album is definitely one of the best of 2013.  And who knows?  Maybe in three decades, it will rank as the best album of all time.  I would not be surprised.

Moroni's Review of Chvrches' "The Bones of What You Believe"

Chvrches

Before Chvrches' debut album - "The Bones of What You Believe" came out, it seemed that this Scottish trio was ubiquitous on Sirius Radio.  I rarely imbibe in satellite radio, but it seemed that they were on every time I turned it on.  So I resolved to check them out as soon as their debut release came out.  Admittedly, it took me a long time to get into this album - a long time.  Although it is no fault of their own.

It seems like the musical landscape is filled with electronic music, and it seems that most of my downloads (and reviews) have comprised of '80s-flavored synthpop.  This band was no exception.  In a time when I am craving some old-time rock-n-roll, here was another synthesizer-heavy band, emulating Yaz or Erasure.  I had to put it aside for a couple of weeks.

When I came back to it, though, it spoke to me.  These are scintillating, opalescent little pop songs as fragile as bubbles ready to burst.  Lauren Mayberry's voice is sweet and flits like a stream of butterflies to the bouncy rhythms.  Her voice reminds me of Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays, or Caroline Crawley from Shelleyan Orphan.

The main singles - "The Mother We Share", "Gun", and "Lies" are perfect example of this bands' well-honed attempts at pop music.  But you have to delve deeper to get at the heart of what this group is about.  There is the Depeche Mode-ish pulse of songs like "We Sink" and "Night Sky".  My favorites are the wistful "Recover" and the frantic "Science/ Visions".  My absolute favorite song is the final track - "You Caught the Light" - with it's languid shoegaze pace with Martin Doherty doing his best Ian Curtis.  What a great way to end an album.

This album is a jewel.  It may have taken a long time for me to "get" it, and I am looking forward to what these guys do next.  Please check it out!

Moroni's Review of Pixies' "EP1"

Pixies

Anyone who knows me knows that the Pixies are one of my favorite bands ever.  To me, 1989's "Doolittle" is the best rock album ever, as I talked about here.  Last weekend, on my first karaoke experience ever, my wife suggested that I sing a Pixies song, and I did a rousing rendition of "Monkey Gone To Heaven."  I was heartbroken when they broke up in 1991 and thrilled when they reunited in 2003.

However, their reunion was mainly to tour.  They really didn't produce any new music - until now.  2013 has been an interesting year for the Pixies.  Earlier this year, they released a new single - "Bagboy" - on their website.  It was such a relief to me to hear the Pixies back in their form.  Sadly, this year, bassist and vocalist Kim Deal left the band.  She has been replaced by Kim Shattuck, who is quite good, but I was sad to see the band's performance last month on Jimmy Fallon without Kim Deal.

Last month, Pixies released their first new music in 22 years - the simply-named "EP1", which hints that other EPs are to follow.  This is a very exciting deal to me.

Of course, nothing is going to ever match up to "Doolittle".  But it is nice to see the Pixies back in form.  The songs remind me quite a bit of a lot of the music that Frank Black (aka Black Francis) released during his solo years.  The album starts out with a little space oddity called "Andro Queen".  The song is followed by "Another Toe in the Ocean", which continues their penchant for surf music.  The EP concludes with "What Goes Boom", a hard rocking tune with Francis's trademark roar.  It is offset with a melodic chorus.

The centerpiece of the EP is "Indy Cindy", as good as anything the Pixies have ever done - psychedelic lyrics spat out with sarcasm and a sweet chorus.

It is great to see the Pixies back, and I hope to see more new music from them in the future.

My Desert Island Top 10, Round 2

So not too long ago, I posted "My Desert Island Top 10".  The idea was taken from Tower Records's now-defunct magazine, "Pulse".  They invited readers to imagine that they were stranded on a desert island, and you could only take ten albums with you.  Which ones would you take?

I posted my ten, but, being me, I could not take just ten.  So I decided to include a second round of another ten albums.  The rule I made for myself is that I could not include any album from any band that I have already reviewed on this blog.

I invite you to include your top 10 on the comments section, or on my Facebook page.

Well, here it goes, in no particular order:

Catherine Wheel

1.  Catherine Wheel "Chrome" - Back in the early '90s, I didn't know what "shoegaze" was.  I only knew that, even though this band rocked hard, there was something about them that reminded me of Cocteau Twins.  This band alternated between soft verses and explosive choruses.  Their guitars had a swirly quality, something ethereal about them.  It has been said that bands like Death Cab For Cutie and Interpol would not exist without the influence that Catherine Wheel had on them.  The main single off this album is "Crank", a delicious ode to meth consumption and the lack of sleep that accomapies usage.  The whole album is good, but my favorites are "Broken Head", "Pain", and "The Nude".  I tried out other albums, but they never had the same feel as this one.  I have heard that their debut album is good, but I have never heard it.  I will have to check it out.  But for now, this album is their opus.  It is one that I never get sick of no  matter how many times I listen to it.

Sons & Daughters

2.  Sons & Daughters "This Gift" -  I have this standing private joke that my musical tastes are identical to actor Elijah Wood.  I usually wind up liking bands that he has promoted, except that I wind up liking them three years later.  Such was the case  with bands like Sigur Rós, Modest Mouse, Gogol Bordello.  Sons & Daughters, a quartet from Scotland was no different.  I was saddened to hear last November that they had broken up.  We were just barely getting to know them, with only a few albums and a couple of EPs.  I discovered this band while I was working in South Carolina in 2009.  This album stayed on constant rotation on my phone.  It is raw and stripped down - a hint of rockabilly and a heavy dash of '60s psychedelia.  This is The Smiths with a hangover and a pissed-off lady singer.  My favorite songs are "Gilt Complex", "Split Lips", the title track, and "House In My Head", which sounds like it could be from Throwing Muses' early album "House Tornado".  A great listen.

Tori Amos

3.  Tori Amos "Scarlet's Walk" -  Tori Amos is an artist that I listened to from the beginning.  I was introduced to her work when I was in college in Utah when her first album, "Little Earthquakes", came out.  After that, I didn't follow her work that closely.  Mainly because at age 25, I isolated myself by moving onto my ranch with no power.  I had no computer, no internet, no TV, no way of learning about new music except by occasional magazine or trip to a record store in Phoenix.  I did listen to a bit of 1996's "Boys For Pele".  In 2001, my brother-in-law ordered "Scarlet's Walk" from a CD mail-order thing, and he didn't like it.  He asked me if I wanted it, and I said yes.  Who am I to turn down free music?  I took the CD to my office and drove my coworkers nuts by playing this CD over and over and over.  Like most of Tori's albums, it is dominated by her sweet voice and her piano playing.  She has described herself as "the Little Mermaid on acid", and this description seems to fit.  This is a concept album that tracks her roadtrip across the United States.  There are the sparkling pop songs like "A Sorta Fairytale" and "Taxi Ride"  But it is the other songs that speak to me.  I love the otherworldly softness of the title track as well as "Carbon", "Virginia", and especially "Gold Dust".  This is my favorite Tori album.  I have a few friends who are rabid Tori fans, and they are appalled that "Scarlet's Walk" is my favorite when there are other apparently better albums.  But as I have described, it is totally circumstantial that this is the album I have been exposed to.  But I don't think anything would change what this album means to me.

Sonic Youth's 1986 album "EVOL"

4.  Sonic Youth "EVOL" - I almost picked their 1990 album "Goo", because, musically, I think it is better, and I listened to it much more than I did their third album, "EVOL", which was released in 1986.  I picked "EVOL", because this album changed so much of how I view music and art.  In the '90s, everyone knew who Sonic Youth was.  They even had a shout-out in the movie "Juno" as the go-to band for aging hipsters.  But I can honestly say that I was into this band before most people even knew who they were, back when they were playing small clubs.  I had heard of them, because they came to Arizona a lot.  The 1995 greatest hits collection, "Screaming Fields of Sonic Love" even has an old flyer in the liner notes of one of their shows at Phoenix's Mason Jar.  This was a venue where I have seen many, many live acts and had some good times.  So I was sixteen years old and had seen the flyers.  I knew they were on the SST Record Label, which included bands like Meat Puppets and Black Flag.  I assumed that they were a hardcore band, so I bought it.  I didn't know what they were - a white wash of noise, a wall of distortion that didn't seem to make any sense.  They were avant-garde, but they weren't punk.  I didn't know what they were.  This was a bit before the term "alternative" was on everyone's lips, so these guys were way ahead of their time.  Soon, these guys exploded onto the scene.  My favorite is still "Shadow of a Doubt" which is a subtle song featuring lyrics whispered by Kim Gordon.  Other favorites are "Expressway to Yr Skull" and "Star Power".  This is a very nostalgic record.

Tool

5.  Tool "Lateralus" - Tool is the perfect example of my opinion that rock music can be just as complex, emotive and artistically relevant as classical music.  I hope that 100 years from now that works like this will be lauded as much as we revere classical masterpieces today.  This is a progressive magnum opus that ranges from tentative and tender to hard, raw and ugly, all of it tied together with crafted filigrees of artful noise.  Whether it is the strange, off-kilter rhythms of "Schism" to spacey themes of "The Grudge", "Eon Blue Apocalypse", and the staccato interplay between guitar and Maynard J. Keenan's mournful voice in "The Patient", it is evident that this is not your ordinary, run-of-the-proverbial-mill heavy metal.  This is art rock.  Back in the day, heavy metal bands donned pentagrams and flashed their "devil horns" in your face, claiming a sort of theatrical satanism.  Tool is truly a band that delves into the occult, the hidden geometry and sacred psychology found in the universe that is our human experience.  This is a serious album.  If you have not see the YouTube video that illustrates Tool's use of mathematics and the Fibonacci sequence in the song "Lateralus", it is a must see.  This is much more than rock music.  This is a celebration of the mysteries.

Hugo Largo

6.  Hugo Largo "Drum" - This EP was very important to me in my high school years.  This was definitely art rock.  The arrangement was very minimalist - two bass guitars, one violin, and the swooping vocals of Mimi Goese, with her vivid poetry and bizarre enunciation.  The music is languid and slow, drawing influence from Southern Blues.  Their debut EP was produced by Michael Stipe from R.E.M.  In fact, he sings background on a couple of songs on here - including a rapidly shouted poem on "Eureka".  In fact, I saw R.E.M. twice in huge venues in Arizona.  During both intermissions, Michael Stipe would emerge onto the stage, tired and sweaty, singing powerful a capella songs.  I was one of the few who recognized those songs as Hugo Largo songs.  It was like being included in a well-kept secret.  The best songs on here are "Grow Wild", "Scream Tall", and "Country".  Following this EP, which was released in 1988, they came up with one album, "Mettle", which was really good, but then they sadly broke up.  I have always wondered and wished that they would return.  The most that happened was that Mimi Goese sang vocals on a couple of songs by Moby in the '90s.  This album is what true alternative was really about - unlike anything that was playing on the radio back then.

Arcade Fire

7.  Arcade Fire "Funeral" -  There is a reason that this band has been declared a favorite by such artists as Coldplay's Chris Martin as well as David Bowie.  They are the coolest music to come out of French Canada.  (Sorry, Celine.)  The reason is their unique sound.  This band is known to unfold layer after layer of sounds in their music, using complex arrangements of unique instruments like pianos, violins. cellos, xylophones, French horns, harps, accordions, and and hurdy-gurdies.  The result is a richly textured sound accented by Win Butler's wavery Talking Heads-like vocals balanced by Regine Chassagne's lush voice, singing often in French.  I have all of their albums, and think that they are all really good.  But I keep coming back to their 2004.  Every song has me grooving, including the four-part "Neighborhood" arrangements.  The best songs are the wistful "Haiti", featuring Chassagne singing about the troubled nation, and "Rebellion (Lies)" where Arcade Fire does what they do best - introducing a simple melody and then building upon it and building upon it until it turns into a rousing anthem.  The new album is supposed to come out next month.  I am excited and will definitely be writing a review.  I have already downloaded the first single, "Reflektor".  If the rest of the album is as good as this song, then it promises to be excellent.

R.E.M.

8.  R.E.M. "Life's Rich Pageant" - My introduction to alternative music took place around 1984 at the tender age of 14.  My older brother came back from college, and, without his knowledge, I raided his box of cassettes that included some mixes of what was called - not "alternative music" - but "college radio music", because college radio stations were the only ones playing this kind of music back then - The Cure, New Order, Depeche Mode, and a little jangle pop song called "Radio Free Europe" by a band from Athens, Georgia called R.E.M.  I was hooked.  All this culminated in 1987, my senior year in high school, when Rolling Stone featured the boys on the cover with the caption:  "The Best Band in the World".  I had arrived.  My music was finally relevant.  Soon after, they left their IRS label and went big time.  I followed them for a couple of albums, but mostly lost interest after that.  For me, their heyday was the '80s when the took '60s psychedelia and made it their own.  1986's "Life's Rich Pageant" is still their best album to me.  Every song gets my fingers tapping from the rocking start "Begin the Begin" to the end, a cover called "Superman".  (I always liked Mike Mill's voice better than Michael Stipes's.)  There are tons of good gems on this one - the nonsensical "Fall On Me" and the nostalgic "These Days" and "Cuyahoga".  "The Flowers of Guatemala" is a nod to Simon & Garfunkel, and the acoustic "Swan Swan H" is a throwback to my wannabe hippie days.  The thing that I love about this album is how timeless it is; it is still relevant.

TV On The Radio

9.  TV On The Radio "Dear Science" - This band from Brooklyn is one of those groups that defies description, being insanely original.  There are certainly elements of jazz, funk, and R&B - especially on songs like "Crying", "Dancing" and "Red Dress", and they are known to erect walls of noise like Sonic Youth.  But by and large the music on their third album is hard to pin down.  They belong to the prestigious 4AD label, which is known to discover unique talent.  I am going to go out on a limb here - there is quite a bit of the music here that reminds me of This Mortal Coil, the collaborative showcase band created by 4AD founder, Ivo Watts-Russell.  It makes me wonder how much of it is his influence.  I hear it in "Halfway Home" - which is by far my favorite song.  It starts out with a funky beat, but ends up in an angelic wash of noise.  I also hear it in the ghostly "Family Tree".  One of my favorites is "DLZ" which was featured in the 2nd Season of Breaking Bad as the music when Walter White first makes the transition from concerned dad to bad guy.  It was fitting music.

Nickel Creek

10.  Nickel Creek "Nickel Creek" - Here is a strange thing - I am not a fan of country music in general, although there are some country artists that I like.  But I love, love bluegrass.  In the year 2000, I was at my sister's house flipping through the channels and came across a video on CMT for Nickel Creek's "When You Come Back Down".  I wan entranced.  It reminded me of music that I loved, like Cowboy Junkies.  I went and bought the album.  This CD made the rounds around my family, and, when I say family, I mean the whole extended family, even my dad.  In the year before his passing, he listened to this album often.  For me, they were not only a bluegrass band, but a cool bluegrass band that did covers by Collective Soul and Pavement.  It is amazing what you can do with a mandolin, a fiddle, an acoustic guitar, and some exquisite harmonies.  My favorite songs are "Out of the Woods", "Reasons Why", and "The Hand Song".  It was sad when this band broke up, but the members are still busy.  Chris Thile still does some intricate plucking on his mandolin, even doing classical pieces for live audiences.  Sara and Sean Watkins often perform with Glen Phillips from Toad the Wet Sprocket, another one of my favorite bands.

Moroni's Retro-Review of Elliott Smith's "Either/ Or"

Elliott Smith

I had never even heard about Elliott Smith until his untimely death in 2003.  At that point, I went and checked out his music, which I found haunting and achingly beautiful.  His tale is one that is all too common - the tortured artist haunted by drugs and depression, capable of making exquisite music, and then taken from us when they are too young.  Jim Morrison.  Tim Buckley.  Nick Drake.  Jeff Buckley.  And of course, Elliott Smith.  All of them were gone before their time.  None of them received the appreciation they deserved until they were gone.  All of them were a huge influence on artists that followed.  Elliott Smith is an admittedly huge influence on one of my favorite bands, Silversun Pickups.

Previous to this, the only music I had from Elliott Smith was the soundtrack to "Good Will Hunting".  And of course, "Needle in the Hay" from "The Royal Tenenbaums", which was set ironically to an attempted suicide scene.  I always had the intention of exploring his music further, but I always had other music that I wanted to get.  Being laid up in bed after leg surgery this summer, I was reviewing EW's July issue of "100 Greatest Albums of All Time".  In my boredom, I was cataloging how many I owned or had owned.  (I think I scored around 40.)  Elliott Smith's third album, released in 1997 - "Either/ Or" - was included on that list.  That very day, I decided to download it.

Coming out of the post-grunge era, this album is considered by many to be the quintessential Elliott Smith album.  Stripped down to mostly just an acoustic guitar, Smith whispers his intelligent lyrics with a soft voice.  The album is somber and contemplative.  It is hard to imagine that - with just a guitar and his voice - that a person can evoke such feeling with songs like "Between the Bars" and "Angeles", which is my favorite song on the album.  Then there are songs like "Pictures of Me" that show a definite Beatles' influence, and "Cupids Trick" that almost rocks hard.

This album is a very good place to introduce yourself to Elliott Smith's music.  I am looking forward to exploring more of his music, which is the legacy of a musical genius, haunted by his inner demons and taken from us too soon.

Moroni's Review of Kitten's "Like A Stranger"

Kitten

Every music lover needs to have a friend like my awesome friend, Nikki, my tattooed Mormon mom friend who has great taste in music.  I would have never heard of Kitten if it had not been for her.  Truthfully, this band is new.  "Like A Stranger" is their third EP, and their debut album won't even come out until next year.

So other than Nikki's raves about them, I knew nothing about them.  I started the music, and my wife Martha immediately observed, "This sounds like '80s."  And their first song does.  It is so '80s that Nu Shooz would be proud.  But that is not altogether a bad thing.  It is catchy.

The next song is "Yesterday", and it continues with the '80s obsession.  The drum beat is lifted from Prince, and the guitar riffs have an uncanny resemblance to the Fixx.  The whole album continues like this.  "Doubt" is a sythpop gem that evokes Camoflauge, and the EP finishes out beautifully with shoegaze distortion on "King of Kings" that would make Jesus & Mary Chain hang their mop heads in approval.

This album is catchy and infectious.  Each of the six songs will have you grooving incessantly, even though it is a throwback to days when things were prettier in pink - and in leg warmers.  It will be interesting what mysteries their new album holds.

Moroni's Review of Frankie Rose's "Interstellar"

Frankie Rose

I have a theory that most of the '80s alternative acts were influenced largely by music of the '60s.  R.E.M. took a page from the Byrds, and Joy Division admittedly worshiped the Doors.  Furthermore, most of the alternative acts today find their roots in the music of the '80s.

I first downloaded Frankie Rose's solo album, "Interstellar", when a friend posted a link to one of her videos on my Facebook page.  One of the comments described her as "post modern + Cocteau Twins".  So I took a listen.  Sure enough, like most shoegaze acts that have ever existed, Cocteau Twins - who are probably  my favorite band ever - are a huge inspiration to this music.  This is especially true with Frankie Rose.  Her vocals on songs like "Know Me" and "Had We Had It" evoke Elizabeth Fraser's distinct vocal style and layering.  There are the swirly guitars, the dreamy sound, and ambient arrangements.  On "Daylight Sky" and "Moon In My Mind", there is even a bass solo that could be Will Heggie, from Cocteau Twin's early days.

Cocteau Twins were always known to have a unique sound that people could not classify, and yet they were even influenced by acts like Kate Bush, as well as '60s acts like the Shangri-Las.

I had never heard of Frankie Rose, and so I did a little research.  She had been in such acts like Crystal Stilts, Dum Dums, and Vivian Girls.  When I checked out the music of these bands, I was surprised to learn that all of them had a faux '60s vibes - mimicking girl bands from the '60s like the Shangri-Las.

It has never bugged me when music is influenced by music from another era.  Everything is influenced by something.  For me, I like it.  It is a reminder that my tastes are still relevant, and it stirs up nostalgia for other days.  I am certain that this album will be nostalgic for me someday.

This whole album is very good.  It has a very ethereal quality to it and is richly textured.  My favorite song is probably "Night Swim".  If you don't check out the whole album, at least listen to this one song.  It would make any playlist that much more diverse.  In the meantime, this whole album is on heavy rotation on my playlist.  Enjoy.

Moroni's Review of Avenged Sevenfold's "Hail To The King"

I have already talked about here about how Avenged Sevenfold is one of my favorite bands.  I have greatly anticipated their sixth record, "Hail to the King".

In December of 2009, the tragic and untimely death of drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan was a huge blow to me.  There was a part of me that thought, "Man, this band is finished!"

The Rev was one of the principal songwriters.  His influence on the band was undeniable.  Arguably, he was the creative force that made it all work.  All of my favorite songs - like the dark and quirky "A Little Piece of Heaven" - were written by the Rev.  So I wondered how they were going to survive.  I have seen it with other bands - their songwriter dies, their creative muse dies, and the band withers, like with Gin Blossoms.

Avenged Sevenfold went into the studio without the Rev and finished their fifth album, "Nightmare", recruiting the Rev's favorite drummer, Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater, (also one of my favorite bands), as a session and touring drummer.  They have since added Arin Ilejay as their new drummer.  "Nightmare" was a great album, but it still was dominated with songs written by the Rev.  This included the final track, a eleven-minute opus called "Save Me", written just days before his death and containing an  uncanny prediction.  The last lyrics of the song contain the haunting refrain:

Tonight we all die young

So "Hail to the King" is the first album totally written and recorded without the input of the Rev.  I'm going to be honest - I miss his contribution.  I miss his background vocals and his distinct impression on the group.  Frankly, this album does not grab me as firmly as "Nightmare" or their eponymous record, or any of their other albums, for that matter.

There.  Now that I have said that, I can say - regardless, this album rawks!  They have shown that - without the Rev - they can still craft good rock songs.  At the moment I write this, this album is the #1 album on the USA Billboard charts, and there is a reason for it.  From the first song - "Shepherd of Fire" - you can immediately tell that this is a different sound for A7X.  On this record, the band has scrolled back from the screamo in favor of an old school metal grind - not quite Black Sabbath, maybe more like Dio.  Absent is the Iron Maiden "gallop" that usually pushes their music at a break-neck speed.  This one has a slow and heavy inevitability like a glacier sliding across the landscape, a more adult adult sound for a band that has been making us headbang for more than a decade.

James "The Rev" Sullivan - R.I.P.

Arguably, the best song is the title track, "Hail to the King", suspended effortlessly by Matt Shadows's growl and Synyster Gates flawless guitar-picking.  "Doing Time" and "This Is War" hit you hard and heavy.  "Requiem" and "Acid Rain" display the band's penchant for the dramatic.  The former starts with a chorale arrangement that would make Mozart proud before crunching down into a fist-pumping rhythm.  The latter is a progressive piece dominated by the piano.

Every heavy metal album needs a ballad, and "Crimson Day" fits the bill nicely.  "Heretic" and "Coming Day" are among my favorite songs.  If you are going to download this album, make sure you download the version that has the bonus track, "St. James", which is one of the best songs on the album.  It is the only track to feature the vocal harmonies that are prominent on their other records.

All in all, I am pleased with this album.  I am glad that they found a way to survive the tragedy of losing their friend.  It is a good way to honor his memory.  I hope that they will be around for a long time.

Moroni's Review of Phoenix's "Bankrupt!"

Previous to purchasing their new album "Bankrupt!", I had never really listened to French group, Phoenix.  I did own a copy of their fourth album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" released in 2009, but I had only downloaded that album for their single "1901".  That was a catchy pop song, and it went really well with the playlist that I developed for when I was working the fair circuits.  The song just grabs you and makes you want to dance.  It stayed on my playlist for two seasons straight.  I don't know why I didn't listen to the rest of the album.  Too busy, I guess.

So when I first listened to "Bankrupt!", I hated it.  Absolutely hated it.  It was too jazzy, to disco-y - something that seems common with a lot of French pop music, and something I dislike.  The whole album was too sappy, too... happy.

I think I posted something about this earlier - that many bands today have a nauseatingly giddy sound - fun., Passion Pit, etc.

But like Passion Pit, the more I listened to it, the more I came to like it.  There are still some aspects that are fairly annoying to me, but it is actually a pretty good listen.

The album begins with "Entertainment", and the first sound you hear are grating Chopsticks keyboards.  But if you wait for a few moments, you will see that these guys don't just produce mindless pop.  There is actually some well-crafted songwriting here.

This is no more visible than on the seven minute opus "Bankrupt!" which focuses on making synthesizer-driven sonic landscapes that would make Pink Floyd proud, a piece much like "Love Is Like A Sunset, Parts I & II" on their previous album.  These songs showcase their writing abilities, just like the song "Chloroform", which seems like a nod to the Beatles like many of their other songs.

There are some other upbeat pop gems here like "The Real Thing", "S.O.S. in Bel Air", and "Drakkar Noir".  My favorite song is the piano-heavy "Oblique City" where they seem to be channeling Elton John.

This album is a proof that one should not judge a book by the cover, or an album by the first listen.  There are actually several finger-tapping moments here.

Moroni's Review of Eisley's "Currents"

Previous to purchasing "Current", I had not heard much by Eisley - a group from Tyler, Texas that consists of four siblings and one cousin.  Around 2007, I had a friend who gifted me one of their songs on a mix CD, saying that they sounded a bit like Throwing Muses.  And they do.  They also remind me of other '80s and '90s acts like the Sundays, Belly, and the little-remembered Downey Mildew.

So I have this little OCD thing.  If I purchase a download, I will put it on queue on my phone until I have a chance to listen to it.  And I won't listen to it until I have a chance to sit and listen to it in its entirety.  Many times I keep the music on rotate.  Periodically, I would come across a song by Eisley, and, being the stubborn individual that I am, I would skip the song.  But what I heard gave hints to me that this would become one of my favorite albums.

And it has.

With a name like "Currents", this record has many marine references.  It is soft and languid like lolling on blue-green waves on weathered dinghy.

The album starts out with the title track, "Currents", which starts out with Stacy King's quavering voice and a dulcid piano waltz, and then bleeds into a bridge with a textured lead guitar, and then changes again into a catchy melody, its rhythm driven by an acoustic guitar.

This whole record is piano-driven, interlaced with the beautiful harmonies of the three sisters.  There are several songs that are reminiscent of Tori Amos, especially from her "Scarlet's Walk" album.  These songs include "Blue Fish", "Drink the Water", "Real World", and especially "The Night Comes".  The latter song consists of haunting vocals, an acoustic guitar, and a chamber orchestra.  It is so beautiful it makes the heart ache.  Most of this album is like this.  My favorite song is "Save My Soul" - another song carried by the vocal arrangements.  This song is the closest they come to rocking hard.

I know that I have drawn many comparisons to other artists.  But, really, this band owns their own sound.  They are breathtakingly original, and this album will go down as one of my favorite records of this year, of all time, maybe.  These melodies will captivate you, and, if you let them, they will wrap you in nostalgia.  For me, it will remind me that - during a difficult time of my life - there was some beauty.  I can't wait to explore their back catalog.

Moroni's Review of Blue October's "Sway" and "Debris" EP

Okay, anything I could say to express how much I have looked forward to this album would be a severe understatement.  Blue October ranks up there among my top five favorite bands, which also include (in no particular order) Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Muse, the Pixies, and Silversun Pickups.  So to say that Blue October is coming out with a new album is a really huge deal to me!

I stumbled on this band quite by accident, shortly before they started hitting the airwaves.  I saw their name in a magazine and ordered their fourth album "Foiled" just because I liked the name of the band.   I remember getting the CD in the mail in early 2006.  I popped it in, and, the first moment I heard Justin Furstenfeld's growl on "You Make Me Smile", I was hooked.  The sheer poetry and power of his words, the bizarre juxtaposition of soft music and lyrics about disposing corpses was nearly titillating.  One song would be mournful with an equally morose violin, and the next would be raw and angry, accented by Justin's painful roar and buzzsaw guitars.  This album soon became a favorite of mine, but not just me.  My wives and children also fell in love with this album,  Soon after, the singles "Hate Me" and "Into the Ocean" dominated the radio, and then everyone knew who Blue October was, much to my chagrin.

Since then, I have been able to enjoy their back catalog, as well as live and acoustic releases.  Then have come out with a couple of albums since then - "Approaching Normal", which is one of my favorites, and "Every Man In America", which was an angry album that even shocked many fans.  (Still good, though.)

But in my mind, none of these releases matched the artistry, cohesion, and the emotionally gripping intensity of "Foiled".  Until the new album "Sway".  This is Blue October's 7th album!  Most bands seem to lose their artistic integrity after a few albums.  How is it that a band can release that many good albums, and then years later release one that is even better?  It boggles my mind.  Do you know how rare that is?  It is well known that Furstenfeld suffers from mental issues.  Maybe there is a proverbial method to the diagnosed madness.  Maybe the cliche is true that from pain comes beauty.  Because this album is beautiful.  It is fresh and raw and there is none of the tiredness that seems to settle on bands that have been around a long time.  Blue October will be around a long time.  Hopefully.

Along with the many Blue fans I have acquired over the years, I started hearing whispers of the new album earlier this year.  One of my closest Blue friends, Becca, told me that the album even reminded her of Cocteau Twins.  I was one of those people who sat and pathetically listened to every song preview on Amazon before the release of the album.  Upon listening to the previews, I could see what Becca was talking about.  It was definitely a different sound for Blue October.  It was less edgy with a more textured and swirly vibe.  I liked what I was hearing.

Last week, the album was released, and I was able to download the new album, along with its accompanying acoustic EP, "Debris".  Luckily, I had a short road trip planned, and I got to drive through the vivid landscapes of Northern Arizona while listening to the new album.

The album starts languidly, beautifully with an acoustic guitar and violin, starting with Justin's soft voice, whispering:

How did he make the waves crash over?

The song is called "Breathe, It's Over", and this piece is short and wafting with the reverb that seemed to dominate this album.  It is a great way to start the album.  Then it blends into "Sway", the title track.  The song is simple, driven mainly by a pounding bassline and stripped down lead guitar, and cemented by an infectious drum beat.  The song reminds me of something either by The Cure or early New Order, if it was sung by Peter Gabriel.  It finishes out with a haunting violin solo by Ryan Delahoussaye.

The following track is "Angels In Everything", which is an anthem that is worthy of Blue October.  I don't want to say that Blue October has a "sound", because their pieces are very eclectic.  But this song does have their signature.  "Bleed Out"  is one of my favorites.  It starts out with a plaintive piano, and then explodes into a chorus with Justin begging:

Hear my plea!

The next song, "Debris", is probably my favorite.  Which surprises me, because it was not one of the song that grabbed me on the first listen.  The song is subdued and soft, like an early morning drive, sustained by Justin's hoarse whisper.  It reminds me vaguely of something by Placebo.  Then the song builds up until it finishes with a wash of guitar that would make Robin Guthrie (of Cocteau Twins) proud.

The album has a few soft ballads that are pleasant to listen to - "Fear" (which has a chorus at the end that reminds me of Of Monsters and Men), "Things We Don't Know About", "Light You Up", and "Not Broken Anymore".  The thing I notice about Justin's lyrics - they resonate with a lot of people.  One thing I hear from many of my friends is, "It's almost like Justin wrote that song just for me."  And I am no exception.

There are only two tracks that I really don't like - and even then, they are not that bad.  "Hard Candy" sounds like a bad rendition of '80s hair metal, and "Put It In", which is not a bad song, a bit like something by Collective Soul, but it doesn't really seem to fit the concept of the whole album, like it's out of place.

One of my favorite is "Things We Do At Night" which is the song that song that sounds like it could be from "Foiled".  Justin's stacatto vocals are offset by the ghost-like voice of Ashleigh Stone.  The album finishes out the way it started - with soft violins on "To Be".

This album is fantastic, and I recommend it to anyone.  I foresee this becoming one of my all-time favorite records.  While I was listening to this, many of my family members would walk by and say, "This doesn't sound like Blue October."  In fact, some of my Blue friends were a bit put off by the new sounds.  But change is good, right?  Especially if there is no compromise in artistic integrity.  This change of sound does not reflect "selling out", or trying to create a more marketable milieu.  This album represents a creative attempt to hone one's craft.

And if this album was not enough, there is a companion EP called "Debris" which features many acoustic versions from the new album like "Sway", "Angels In Everything", "Bleed", "Fear", and "Debris".  There is also "Sorry Hearts", which is an unreleased 5591 release (5591 being the number assigned to Justin when he was in a mental hospital and the alias he uses when he performs solo acoustic sets.)  Blue October's strength is their live performances, and many of their shows have been acoustic.  This EP represents the raw and stripped-down essence of their music.  I have enjoyed this EP as much as I have the new album.

I told both my friends Becca and Nikki, "I need music that I can fall in love with."  And that's not just because I grow sick of my collection.  I need music that will be in my head when I wake up, that vitalizes me, that will heal me, that makes me want to walk...

I got what I wished for.  Justin Furstenfeld, you're a frikkin' genius.

Moroni's Review of Nico Vega's "Fury Oh Fury"

Nico Vega (the name of a band, not a person) is living proof that a band can find a success through MySpace.  They had released a clutch of EPs, and one album - released on MySpace records.  And they are proof that a MySpace band can cause waves and reach people's ears.  The proof is that their tune "Beast" is ubiquitous and has been featured in several commercials.  

Their latest EP, "Fury Oh Fury", is a prime example of their diverse sounds.  (Although it is the only selection from their catalog that I can find on Amazon.)  There are only six songs, but each one is quite different from the other, showcasing a talent of a broad musical range.

The EP opens up with grinding distortion and wailing vocals that would do Janis Joplin proud.  The two opening tracks - the title song "Fury Oh Fury" and the aforementioned "Beast" - sound like they could be White Stripes' songs.  "Easier" and "We Are the Art" are keyboard drive songs with a funky vibe.  I was listening to "Lightning", and my wife overheard it and mistook it for a song by the Cranberries.  I wouldn't have noticed it, but she is totally right.  The final song - "Lead to Light" - is a catchy song, a new wave piece reminiscent of Metric.

All in all, this is a pretty good listen.  I will have to check out their back catalog, and I am curious to see if they will develop past MySpace.  After all, I did...

My Desert Island Top 10

There was a beautiful Tower Records store in Tempe right next to Arizona State University.  (Remember Tower Records??)  I sunk many a dollar there.  Every time you made a purchase, you were allowed to take a free issue of their in-store magazine - Pulse.  Every month, there was a section where readers picked their Desert Island Top 10.

The premise is this - if you were stuck on a desert island, but you had a chance to have with you ten albums, which albums would you pick?

This is always a tough one for me, because my top 10 invariably becomes my top 30.  I made a rule for myself that I could not list any band that I have previously reviewed on my blog.  So albums like Pixies' "Doolittle", anything by Cocteau Twins or Dead Can Dance will obviously not be on this list.

I also invite YOU to post your top 10.  You can know a lot about a person by the music that they like.  It is always interesting to see what music people like.

So here it goes, in no particular order:

1.  Avenged Sevenfold "Avenged Sevenfold" - This album represented to me a return to metal.  I belonged to a hotel renovation crew that worked all over the country, and, during our cross-country drives, we would always settled on Sirius's Octane station.  This was when I was first introduced to this band.  My daughter bought me this album for Christmas in 2007, and my next job took me to Albuquerque.  It was a cold January, and this album was on constant rotation on my mp3 player.  I have since acquired their entire catalog.  I think the thing that I have always liked about this band is that they remind me of one of my early favorites - Iron Maiden.  Just like Iron Maiden, this band has a flare for the theatrical - with their music ranging from Bible quotes to evoking Hunter S Thompson.  This album is no different.  From the Spaghetti Western "Gunslinger" (which reminds me of an episode of "Firefly") to the country twang of "Dear God".  My favorite track is the "A Little Piece of Heaven" which is obviously an homage to Danny Elfman.  It is a twisted piece complete with nightmarish orchestra that tells of a man who murders his woman.  Her corpse comes to life and exacts revenge, they forgive each other, and had a wedding in hell.  It was written by the Rev, the band's drummer who died tragically in 2009.  A7X is releasing a new album next month (which I will review).  It will be their first album written without the aid of the Rev.  It will be interesting to see how this album will emerge.

2.  The Church "Starfish" - The Church is one of several psychedelic, '60s-influenced jangle-pop bands that came out in the '80s.  But they are one of the bands that has had lasting influence on me.  This entire album is nostalgic, and, in particular, "Under the Milkyway", which is still a sort of personal theme to me.  The entire album is good, and the opening track, "Destination" is haunting, the lyrics having special meaning to me.  "Reptile" is an excellent guitar-driven song.  This whole album was written with nostalgia in mind.  Steve Kilbey wrote a poem that was included in the liner notes.  Here a part of it that sums up how I feel about this album:

Good, now and forever music reach and awakens

Swimming in the shallow end, down, down, remember

A need, a gnawing longing for what?

3.  Coldplay "X&Y" - Yes, I like Coldplay.  Thanks to "The 40 Year-Old Virgin", I must defend my heterosexuality every time I say that I like them.  Actually, I don't know how anyone could not like them.  Their songs are beautifully crafted and deliciously layered.  This is a band that I hope keeps putting out great albums, because every release has been spectacular.  I owned "Rush of Blood to the Head", but it was "X&Y" that sealed the proverbial deal, for me.  It was Father's Day in 2005, and my wives gifted me this album.  I took it with me to San Diego to do a particularly stressful hotel job.  This album was my only reprieve, parking at Ocean Beach, listening to this album over and over.  I love it all - the emotive ballads "What If" and "Fix You", the R.E.M.-inspired "The Hardest Part", and multi-faceted "Talk".  I can still listen to this album and not get sick of it.

4.  System of a Down "Mezmerize", "Hypnotize" -  Okay, this is cheating, because it's really two albums.  But they were released six months apart and are part of the same concept.  This is a band that I loved from the first time I heard them, and they have remained a favorite.  They are part Dead Kennedys, part Frank Zappa, and part Armenian folk music - and this is about the best and most accurate description I could give them.  Hard-driving guitars interspersed with the the quavering voices of Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian ("Killing Rock N Roll", "Stealing Society", and "Revenga") mixed with political satire (B.Y.O.B.", "Violent Pornography", "Sad Statue"), the absurd ("This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm On This Song", "Vicinity of Obscenity"), the obscene ("Cigarro"), the sad and contemplative ("Holy Mountain", "Lonely Day", "Soldier Side") as well as my favorites - "Radio/ Video" with its bridge of nothing but Armenian music, and the beautifully crafted "Lost in Hollywood".  This is not just a heavy metal band.  These are artists, and these two albums always stay on my phone in their entirety.

5.  Blue October "Foiled" - This is a band that will always be special to me.  They, also, will have a new release next month that I will review.  Temple, the mother of three of my boys, gave the best description of this band - soft violins combined with Justin Furstenfeld's growling vocals creates a pleasant effect, as in the plaintive "Let It Go".  This album is proof that beauty can indeed come from pain.  Furstenfeld has admitted to having mental illness, and this produces some starkly beautiful lyrics - the softly melodic "She's My Ride Home" about disposing of dead bodies on the way home, and "Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek" about torture.  My other favorites are "You Make Me Smile" with its Pixies-like tune and beautiful poetry, the hard-rocking "What If We Could", the Depeche Mode-ish "X Amount of Words", and the romantic "Sound of Pulling Heaven Down".  I accidentally stumbled upon this band in 2006, and they have become one of my favorites.  I have made some online friends who love this band just as much as I do, if not more.  (Hi, Becca!)

6:  Heather Nova "Oyster" - My brother, Tony, introduced me to this album around 1996.  I had just moved to my ranch.  I had no electricity, no power - the only way I could listen to this was in the car.  I gravitated to it.  It represented, in my twenties, a hope of things to come as my life unfolded in front of me - in contrast to now, where I have a sense that my life is essentially over.  Heather Nova wasn't just a beautiful hippie chick with a guitar - although I really like beautiful hippie chicks with guitars.  Her songs were wistful, sung in a deliciously breathy voice, sad, plaintive, and sometimes angry.  "Walk the World" could be an anthem to me - not in the sense of its sexual metaphors, but my true desire to walk this world again.  "Light Years" and "Verona" show that this hippie chick can rock.  "Heal", "Walking Higher", and "Doubled Up" demonstrate how much she can do with just a guitar and her voice.  My favorite song is "Island", which is about escaping your problems to a remote island.  It has a trudging pace, offset by her haunting melody and a cello.  There was a time in the '90s where this album was mostly what I listened to.  It still stands the test of time.

7.  The Hush Sound "Like Vines" - What do you get when you combine a rock guitarist (Bob Morris) with a classical pianist (Greta Salpeter)?  You get an awesome band like the Hush Sound, who were probably ahead of their time.  With their ragtime piano, vocal styles (both his and hers) that sound like they come from the Prohibition Era, they would fit right in with today's steampunk motif, taking a note from the Dresden Dolls.  Produced by Patrick Stump (of Fallout Boy) this album also has a Danny Elfman feel, like in the circus-themes "Lion's Roar".  Many of the songs are just dulcid - "Sweet Tangerine" and "Magnolia".  Some are haunting like the piano melody, "Lighthouse".  My favorite is "Wine Red" which is a funky piece driven by the piano and vivid lyrics:

The sea is wine red

This is the death of beauty

The doves have died

The lovers have lied

The Hush Sound broke up in 2008, but they recently reformed with talks of a new album.  I am excited.

8.  Dream Theater "Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From a Memory" -   When I was in high school, all of the and geeks were into Rush, who admired their technical precision.  Dream Theater - one of the last surviving hair metal bands - are one of those precise bands who seem more like jazz than metal.  What I mean by this -  long, extended jam sessions where each musician in the band gets some time to showcase their unique ability.  "Metropolis Pt. 1" was a part of a previous album, and the second part encompasses an entire concept album.  On the surface, this album could seem pretentious - written and divided into scenes and overtures and movements.  But it works.  The album tells the story of a man obsessed with a love triangle in the 1920s that ended in a murder.  This is progressive music at its best - ranging from hard and heavy to sounding like a Broadway musical.  As it should.  This album needs to go onto Broadway.  James LaBrie sings all of the roles, but this is definitely a theatrical piece.  Almost fifteen years later, I break out this album and still enjoy it.  It is such a concept that one song does not sit well by itself.  You have to listen to whole album.

9.  Modest Mouse "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" -   Around 2004, I was hearing a lot about Modest Mouse in magazines, and such.  So I decided to see what the big deal was, so I bought their album "The Moon & Antarctica".  I hated it.  Over the next couple of years, I would periodically pull it out and listen to it, only to have the same low opinion of it.  Then, I remember, it suddenly made sense.  I finally "got" it, and I loved it.  By then, "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" had come out, and it was much more palatable than their previous releases.  The catchy "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty" reminded me so much of Wolfgang Press, but it is nice to see bands that are influenced by the same music I grew up listening to.  This band has a delightful penchant for the discordant as in "Bury Me With It" and "Dance Hall".  "The Devil's Workday" is a jazz song from hell played on brass.  My favorites are the songs that feature the stand-up bass and banjo - "Bukowski" and "Satin in a Cofin".  The album ends with a guest appearance from Wayne Coyne (from the Flaming Lips).  I have loved everything this band has done since, but this album is the one that stands out to me.

10.  Tears For Fears "The Hurting" - For my last album, I have to say - I am not a Tears For Fears fan.  In fact, they kind of annoy me.  No "Songs from the Big Chair" for me, no "Shout, shout let it all out", no "Sowing the seeds of love"...  I only like this album, and that's it.  This album is enough to establish them as musical geniuses in my book.  It is dark.  It is moody.  And that was enough for me when I was a teen.  This album encapsulated every heartache I experienced back then.  But it really is an original album.  "Mad World", with its infectious rhythm, has been covered ad nauseum.  But the original version is really the best.  Of course, everyone recognizes the early MTV staple, "Change".  "Pale Shelter" and "Watch Me Bleed" are unique, because in the days when electronica was new, they combined acoustic guitars with keyboards, something that other dark wave bands like Clan of Xymox later imitated.  "Memories Fade" and "Start of the Breakdown"are just dripping with angst, just what I needed as a surly 15 year-old.  I think this album stands the test of time.  It is an ingenious arrangement of piano, keyboards, and percussion.

So that's my list.  Now tell me yours...