LPF Album Reviews 2.0

[Stenners]

Single Reviews

 

http://drownedinsound.com/images/27934.jpeg

Kate Nash

Mouthwash

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QsoLMXHhx2k

 

I don't mind the intro of this song but after that it goes down to the obvious from the

disasterous album, in order to make the most out of this chavette singer they rushed

everything she did, on the bat of an okay single 'Foundations' everything after that

is terrible and this is no different.

3/10

 

http://drownedinsound.com/images/27972.jpeg

Land Of Talk

Young Bridge

 

The appeal is there & I can see why people would like it, a good introductory

alternative band I guess as the formula of music is do what has done been

done before but in less intimidating and smaller doses, the result? A fairly average

melodic song.

5/10

 

http://drownedinsound.com/images/27974.jpeg

Gallon Drunk

Grand Union Canal

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eQbqoQLCxQ0

 

Being in and out of the music game could be destroying for many artists

but Gallon Drunk do the right thing, rather then trying to catch up to the

sound that is in at the moment they stay hoaned in on their own sound

and expand on it, it's rockin with a ska edge to it that can't be ignored,

very good job.

 

8/10

[HaziLPTonz]

someone do a review of Cartel's new one? its self-titled

 

and has anyone ever done a Hellogoodbye review(zombies!aliens!~)? i was just interested cause i like some of their songs

[Stenners]

http://www.linkinparkforums.com/showpost.php?p=507209&postcount=507

 

Get with the times!

[HaziLPTonz]

it was somewhere in the middle...i couldnt honestly remember lol

 

can you do the Cartel review? or someone? not sure you would like it thats why i chose it,that and its one of my new fave albums

[Toxic1]

I'm pretty sure you know you want Stenners to stay clear of reviewing Cartel. LMAO.

[HaziLPTonz]

i know he wont like it, thats why im telling him to review it

 

its been awhile since hes done a request other than anything from you. basically all hes ben doing is review anything he wants and i couldnt even name 10% of the stuff hes been reviewing lately, and seeing as how this is one of current faves, i thought id like to see if stenners will pick the "flaws"out of this album,just to remind me how much i like this album, since well, me and him have a fair difference in terms of our music taste =P

[Jeezy]

I would like to see Jay-Zs Reasonable Doubt reviewed...

[Stenners]

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Radiohead

In Rainbows

Alternative/Indie

 

Ah Radiohead, easily one of the greatest bands that have ever existed, constantly

pushing boundries, innovating their sound & providing some of the most memorable

melodies, hooks and albums of all time. So how does a band make their return album

grab even more attention? By letting the consumer have total control of the valuation

of the product! Right thats the back story but at the end of the day an album is an

album and all gimmicks aside it's the music were only ever interested in right? RIGHT!

I am proud to say this album has exceeded my expectations, I was excited at the

prospect of this album but I had this feeling that it just wouldn't be up to much & just

wouldn't hit the right buttons well from the electronical opener '15 Step' and the ever

present 'Epic' melodical gems still in tact this album is one which should in theory please

any Radiohead fan.... it's experimental & melodic.... but not to the levels which people

may of come to expect from this band.

For the most part the album is an effortless listen which doesn't demand you skip any

tracks & that is always a good thing but the is one major thing about this album that

kills me.... the is just no song that deffines the record, no climax... that and the production

does sound flawed to me, but wether this down to the 160kbps deafault bitrate or not

I don't know. Musically it's alot softer then I would of imagined having heard many of

the original live recordings & these alterd versions do work very well, in fact the only

rocking song on here is 'Bodysnatchers' which is a brilliant combonation of heavy riffs

and complex layers. The one song that I would say comes close to the 'Song that

deffines the album' which I say is sadly missing is 'All I Need' melodic & hooky as well

as memorable & a stand out track on the first listen makes this the albums highlight but

it's just not the 'Karma Police' i'm looking for. It's their best album since 'Kid A' though.

 

Rating: 8.75/10

Reccomended: 15 Step, Bodysnatchers, All I Need, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Videotape

[Stenners]

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Cartel

Cartel

'Emo' (I say it in air quotes because it's another pop punk reject trying to pass off for hardcore)

 

How the hell can you take this band seriously, most of the principles the users

of this very forum claim to stand by are completely shatterd by listening to a band

that was more or less created by MTV.... an MTV reality show.. it's not as if MTV

created the band on the crendentials of it's music and by providing mass-exposuer

(thats impossible, the is no music on MTV) & that point is made very clear by this

band... the is NO music on MTV.... Okay that might be a bit harsh but this really

is alot of rubbish, paint by numbers, emo rock that teenage girls love...

The best way to put it is this is nothing more then a cashcow praying on teenagers

that don't know any better, this is the EMO boy band... manufactured & pushed out

to the market... the hooks are simple... the meanings are cliche & the chord progression

has been done so often that it makes Fox's endless re-runs of the Simpsons seem modest.

The glossey production kills any emotion to the song leaving them to be industry standard

rock band with fuck all going for them other then a confused fanbase.

 

Rating: 2.5/10

[Stenners]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51i3jVt88jL._AA240_.jpg

The Hives

The Black & White Album

Garage Rock/Alternative

 

The Hives have been pretty damned popular for several years now, providing album

after album of infectiously fun Garage Rock/Punk full of several hits, potential singles

& some of the recognisable guitar riffs of recent times. They have been missing in action

for a while now, about 3 years & the antiscipation surrounding this album has been

pretty big, this is reflected on it's massive download figures on Oink already. So do 'The

Hives' still rock like 'The Hives' know how? Well of course, their original sound is still

here but here is what I was hoping for, before going totally stale they have changed

it up quite a bit, they tend to lean towards the weird on this album whilst not compensating

their original guitar orgey sound. This should keep existing fans very happy but more

interestingly, for a band so late into their carrer, could bring them an entirley new fanbase

all together.

The opening track 'Tick Tick Boom' isn't that far of a venture for the band but it's a bloody

good rock song full of spunk and and energy but what I'm more interested in is the more

surreal moments 'Puppet On A String' isn't original or mindblowing but it's an interesting

piano jingle which sounds like it has the devil dancing around each note, 'Giddy Up' is great

fun. It's the added variety this time around which stops the album doing what their recent

previous albums unfourtenetly did & thats just drag on, this time round 'The Hives' are alot

more interesting and have put out one of their best albums if not their best album to date

fine return to the spotlight lads!

 

Rating: 8.25/10

Reccomended: Tick Tick Boom Boom, Well! Alright!, T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S, Giddy Up, Puppet On A String

 

Tick Tick Boom Boom:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xRNwueXuAPY

[HaziLPTonz]

now i like Cartel even more, thansk Sten

 

i only "take them seriously" because i dont, i like the "simple" things, sure its overdone, but i dont listen to enough "EMO" (in inverted commas), to care, i listen only to a few that i like. i dont honestly bother scraping through the million bands in this world to listen to what YOU may pertain as "good", but hey, its my musical taste, and really, it wasnt as much a review as it was an attack on the MTV culture

 

anyways, carry on, i was thinking Cartel woulda topped fri's TBS review and scored a 0-0.5, but you surprised me...somewhat

[Stenners]

It was an attack on mtv culture, the cd is so simple that I could sum up the entire album in a couple of lines as each critisim applies to each song.

 

If you thought it woulda got worse then the TBS review then seriously, why do you listen to it if you think it will be labled crap? I'm not bias to any genres, this is just a cash cow and nothing more.

[Stenners]

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Iron & Wine

The Shepherds Dog

Folk/Singer Songwriter

 

The feeling you seemed to always get from Iron & Wine was that this is

a musician that despite his very much accoustic & singer songwriter background

wanted to to a more band like project. This was evident in various collaberations

& with this album 'The Shepherds Dog' he abandons the more lo-fi approach

and he surrounds himself with additonal musicians playing a range of instruments

that allow this album to be his most diverse and progressive album he perhaps has

put out to date. The melodies, the lyrics the soft and sweet vocals that reflect

every note played on this album perfectly makes you realise that all the attention

he has been getting has been totally validated. Skyrocketing in popularity over

the past 2 or 3 years since the impressive 'In The Reins' hit the stores in 2005

this album is sure to appeal to those newly aquired fans and could very easily

build on this fanbase.

The album is full of atmosphere and glimmers of melodic genius, the productions is

just about perfect, the album sounds soft and well thought out and well mixed, nothing

uneccisarily stands out but it's not been done to death leaving the emotion from

the original songs in-tact. This is not one of those albums with false emotion with

radio friendly polish thrown in (ala James Blunt) no, this is serious emotion with a nice

gleem to it. This is Iron & Wines most approachable album to date & anyone interested

in checking him out should start with this, but the is still lavishes of depth, the songs

grow on you and just keep on getting better and better and better and better and

better on every listen. As each song unravels is beauty and identity the diversity

and impact these songs have is shown in greater detail & it's for this I'm more then

happy to declare it one of the best albums of the year.

 

Reccomended: Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car, Carousel, House By The Sea, Wolves (Song Of The Shpeherds Dog), Boy With A Coin

 

Rating: 9.4/10

[HaziLPTonz]

i said i thought you'd give this review a good run for Fri's TBS review, FYI i love both albums, cash cow? i dont buy albums, i go to concerts to support the artist. and so if the bands msic is simple? not everyone is gonna go making "complex" music for just YOU to listen to,sometimes its the SIMPLE parts of the music that draw on the fans,teeny bopper they maybe, its all about their owns tyle of music, and if its too simple for you, then hey, it sells, and thats all an artist can ask for,fans and money,and for me, something easy to listen to and enjoy. Critics dont reflect what the MAJORITY like/listen to sadly, but in this case, i spose it is a good thing

[Stenners]

The is simple music that is really good, the is simple music which is paint by numbers stuff where it follows a pre-deffined formular and structure. The reasson most of these BIG BANDS are big is because of culture and in a culture where look and acceptability plays a big part in life these bands tend to thrive.

 

You may like this band but you haven't provided a single reasson for why they deserve a higher score, it's still generic crap which any band that has been around for a month or 2 could play or write. A cashcow is a product that gets milked for all it's worth to support the business, it's not the BEST product nor is it the most Darring product, it's the equivelent of a Mars bar for Mars and is the safe option which gets fallen on just in case things go wrong. They repackage it all the time & slap its name on the product and people will be more then happy to buy it.... even if it's shit.

 

And no, an artist shouldnt compansate anything for fans and money, a true artist uses music as a form of expression where as this is clearly manufactured (hey it did come from a reality show) an thus has no artistic relevance what so ever and you like a band which is fraudulent. The equivlent of liking someone that does the artwork on cereal boxes

 

PS. This is considering I gave the debut a fair and respectable 6

[Stenners]

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Kid Rock

Rock 'N' Roll Jesus

Rap Rock

 

Kid Rock....... it's just too hard to take this musician seriously, he seems like charecture...

a parody of himself. His music has never been something to admire, though in my opinion

he has never been terrible. This pretty much stays standard on this, his latest effort.. he

gets his typical Rock N Roll approach on Rap Rock on and he does get all the basics in

the sound right but the is just no soul or imagination, yet alone charm, to grab onto. The

album has it's fair share of hooks but they are mostly mediocre, the opening 3 tracks are

of decent standard but by the time 'Roll On' kicks in it begins to drag and thats by track 4

and it begins to blur..... the are a few highlights amongst the later half but it's between

then when the overly precise and over calculated and polished sound begins the grate

and thus making Kid Rock churn out another totally forgetable album.

 

Rating: 4.5/10

[Friðbjörn]

I guess it's down to taste but why can't a guy who can play all those instruments do something other than rap rock occasionally...

no imagination? dunno

[Stenners]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Nz5QIZHEL._AA240_.jpg

Serj Tankian

Elect The Dead

Industrial Metal/Hard Rock

 

System Of A Down have got a bit of a legacy about them, they are one of the better

mainstream Metal & Hard Rock acts around and the is no lie there at all, I think it might

be because they were an example of a band that actually wasn't manufactured and was

a band that toughed it out and spread threw word of mouth.... where as you have these

new hardcore & political bands being errrrm well MCR or 30Seconds To Mars like which

have gotten by on manufactured image and existing reputation... then of course they

are going to suck. But luckily this band always had a degree of something something

about them... even if their last 2 albums sounded identical to each other.

So the main question on ask here is whether or not this album will actually sound different

from well Hypnotize and Mesmerize & the awnser is yes or no, whilst the is enough here

to differentiate it from the series of Ize albums the isn't quite enough to really consider

this a creative departure of Serj, sure the guitar riffs and drumming is pounding and the

piano melodic breakdowns are nice & the total lack of guitar wank that SOAD provide in

recent years is pleasent.... no one wants shitty 30second no nothing guitar solos every

song right? For the devote fanbases this is a very nice little album and lends it's self to

the genre very well, with the piano breaks and string arrangments on offer here the is

also something for those perhaps getting into this genre & it will please more then those

who like this sort of thing, though the political nature of this album is quite frankly...

cheesey and the are moments where you just think... hmmmm this sounds familiar, a

bit too familiar & that is the main reason why this album ultimetly falls short.

 

Reccomended: Empty Walls, The Unthinking Majority, Sky Is Over, Honking Antelope

 

Rating: 7/10

[Stenners]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518WdYXUGWL._AA240_.jpg

Black Dice

Load Blown

Experimenta/Electronic/Noise

 

If your one of these people that just felt 'Strawberry Jam' by Animal Collective was far far

too out there for your liking then you should probably fuck off right now as this is an example

of a band that takes that idea and pushes it that little bit further.... to the extent where

the majority of the album is made up of dis-orientating noise and effects. The search for new

and decent drug albums is a pretty hard one but with this I found a pretty good one, best

experianced on Magic Mushrooms this albums noise can enduce thought and dis-orientation

lifting you out of reality and pushing you to a place of woobles, snake like movements &

shuffeling colour differentation & when your sobre.... well it can have a similar effect only

if your immagination as I am now, it's an album for headphones & one for those who like to

live life dangerously.....

 

Rating: 8.75/10

 

http://pitchforkmedia.imeem.com/video/Nq17gMIA/black_dice_kokomo_music_video/

-> This is my main contender for video of the year

[Friðbjörn]

any chance lpf playlists will make a comeback? I could use recommendations

and if you need input I think us four here can submit something...as well as others of course

[Stenners]

They will be back when I have the internet in my house, which should be from this tuesday!

 

Right now I have limited access to the net

[Friðbjörn]

sounds good, I'll be waiting

[Stenners]

The Singggggggggggggggggggggggggles review!

 

http://www.monitorrecords.com/images/battles-jan-news.jpg

Battles <-> Tonto

 

Polyrhythems a plenty, that's what this band basically is, with lots of off note

touches with interesting time signatures, this the bands latest epic 7minute +

single is just as interesting if not slightly less catchy then the predeceasing

single 'Battles' the outro is a bit too long though and does damage the song

quite significantly but put that aside the latest offering from one of the best

new bands around is nothing short of their high standards. 8/10

 

http://www.artistdirect.com/Images/artd/amg/music/bio/2818265_keane_200x200.jpg

Keane <> The Night Sky

 

It's funny this, a release from one of Britain's biggest bands & I didn't

know about it for a little while! The fact it's had so little airplay speaks

volumes for the band, this is a charity release by the way for children

that have grown up in war torn countries. Anyways the actual song

is what you expect from Keane, a guitar-less song with ploddy soppy

melodies that not so subtletly tries to project an emotion onto you

in a manor that quite frankly offends me. But yes it's M.O.R political

fodder that will probably find it's home on Radio 2 and in your mums

car. 3.5/10

 

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The Cribs <> Don't You Wanna Be Relevant?

 

The Cribs have been putting out hooky sing-along rock for a fair

while now and have done a pretty decent job of it. They are the

type of band that sound fairly common & aren't in anyway a step

into the unknown or the indeed the dangerous but what they do

is good enough for what they do. This latest offering See's a slight

change of sound to probably, as the title suggests, stay relevant

with the ever fickle disposable British radio crowd. It's a tasty

hooky song with decent and witty lyrics as well as some nice

and intricate guitar work. 7/10

 

http://www.artistdirect.com/Images/artd/amg/music/bio/2915597_bumblebeez81_200x200.jpg

Bumblebeez <> DR.Love

 

Could you seriously take this duo seriously, would you want to?

But does it matter, of course it doesn't this is good fun anyway

you look at it and is sure to be a potential floor filler in the same

way 'Ladyflash' by the Go! Team or 'We Are Your Friends' by

Simian & Justice was. It's relentless funky electronic beats will

have many a neon clad club hopper happy & it samples mario. 8/10

[Friðbjörn]

business as usual for keane...

[Stenners]

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The National <> Apartment Story

 

Yet another radio friendly slice of 'The National' this is one of the weaker

moments off of their recent album 'Boxer' it sounds okay but really is a

massive step down for the band. It does reflect their sound... sort of

but it just seems very bland and flat, the U2-esc chorus doesn't really

help matters too much but it's still got some quirks to it but will it win

them any new fans? No, not really. 5/10

 

http://www.offtopic.forum/data/MetaMirrorCache/333705bd3ceb205d5114b382a2cd42b6.jpg

Kylie Minouge <> 2 Hearts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JziO21iwcxk

 

Kylies big come back! It's finnaly here, the gay population are rejoicing!

Well, the problem here is this song already sounds dated, sure it's not

bad by any means, the are far worse slices of pop on offer nowa days

but this just sounds like 2002! Think Goldfrapp in terms of.... sound &

look and you got it. This is just a complete rip-off of Goldfrapp and

that sound got a bit boring a year or 2 ago.... so if you like Goldfrapp

then this one is for you, if not then it's mearly an okay song which

will probably end up in your head. 5.5/10

 

http://img.citypages.com/imagebank/articles/27_1316/27_1316a14142_p.jpg

Animal Collective <> Fireworks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6KPDWNAPBU

 

With it's beautifully produced and arranged soundscope to the throbbing

bass and the melodic vocals this song is just a pure diamond. A faviroute

among AC fans and a song which actually appeals to people that don't like

AC this is pretty much the perfect song for both sets on the divide. The

undisputed highlight of 'Strawberry Jam' this melodic beast of a song starts

off sounding good but on each listen growns on you like a tumour, the

bridge of yelling seems entirley neccisary as well and adds another dimension

to the song. 10/10

 

http://indieblogheaven.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/06/11/brock_beaning.jpg

Modest Mouse <> Little Motel

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zqQTODR3kR8

 

Whether or not this is actually going to be released as a CD single

I have no idea, but it got a video and therefor it shall be coverd. As

a song this is a beautiful melodic one with a steady buildup to an

epic ending. It's all in the buildup with this one, the song does get

to the climax it promises (as it does in the video too) and Isaacs

vocals are suprisingly sedated and melodic making it a bar different

from the other more upbeat and spastic singles. 8.5/10