.Rai Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 [center][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/epkwe8.jpg[/img] [img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i47.tinypic.com/2isp61.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2uh1hg5.jpg[/img][/center] [b]Requests:[/b] [color=#ff0000]Closed[/color] [b]Writer Applications:[/b] [color=#00ff00]Open[/color] [center][quote]I'll start to accept other reviewers, if wanted. Fill in the form in a post, and if I OK it, then replace the form post with your reviews. [b]Username:[/b] [b]Expertise of Reviewing:[/b] [b]How Regular are your Reviews?:[/b][/quote][/center] [b][u]Other Reviewers[/u][/b] [url=http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/290429-sonar-music-review-station/page__st__20#entry6080420]MoogSauceVermona - Post 38[/url] [url=http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/290429-sonar-music-review-station/page__st__20#entry6080731]Phantom Strange - Post 39[/url] [url=http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/290429-sonar-music-review-station/page__st__20#entry6080736]clairedestroyer - Post 40[/url] [right][b][u]Waiting List[/u][/b] Gotye, [i]Making Mirrors[/i] John Legend and the Roots, [i]Wake Up![/i] Monarchy, [i]Around the Sun[/i] Dan Wilson, [i]Free Life[/i][/right] [spoiler=Album Review 1: Carly Rae Jepsen, Kiss] [center][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/62/Carly_Rae_Jepsen_-_Kiss.jpg[/img] [img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i47.tinypic.com/2isp61.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2uh1hg5.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2uh1hg5.jpg[/img][/center] I'll start here. The rest of the album isn't as insanely catchy as [i]Call Me Maybe[/i], and neither will it ride on its viral success. The entire album's rather...quaint. Very safe for a girl with such big sudden fame that she could have exploited. She isn't 'Lady Gaga weird', or 'Rihanna seductive', and that's definitely the one thing that even means she has fans. Somehow. Quaint isn't necessarily awful though. It's a bright and light album. It's innocent. It's cute. It's the pure definition of 'tween' pop. How does anyone even manage to make this much pop that could, if done wrong, cause people to throw up from what is essentially a sweetness overload? I can listen to the entire album without feeling too weird. It's still weird though. She opens the album with [i]Tiny Little Bows[/i], an obnoxiously happy song about first encounters with a boyfriend, I assume. I can't really tell. Afterwards, she goes into various songs about who knows what: kisses, songs that One Direction could have easily sang, songs shamelessly called [i]My Heart is a Muscle[/i]. There are good moments by her standards though. The Toby Gad-penned [i]Beautiful[/i], a duet with teen sweetheart-gone-badboy, Justin Bieber, is a strangely cute song. Amongst unhidden ripping off of every single cliché and phrase available to pop, you kinda have fun with the conversation-style vocals and the minimalist guitar background. Then there's [i]I Know You Have a Girlfriend[/i] which sounds like it has come out of an insanely camp Broadway musical. Only problem is she defaults between two moods: dance pop, and guitar ballads. You could take that as a good or bad thing. She has no need to break out into random dubstep refrains or anything else, but it explains why the album is so listenable. You are essentially listening to about 2 songs several times over with just enough variation so you don't get sick. It's a fun album. But essentially absolutely nothing more. [b]Song Picks:[/b] Tiny Little Bows, Beautiful, I Know You Have a Girlfriend[/spoiler] [spoiler=Album Review 2: Passion Pit, Gossamer] [center][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/38/GossamerPP.png[/img] [img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2uh1hg5.jpg[/img][/center] For an album that sounds like pure dreamy pop, it's surprisingly deep. [i]Gossamer[/i] comes from the mind of Michael Angelakos, and a distressed mind at that. His troubles are clearly heard all over the album. The music itself is eclectic. The genre, wonky pop, comes to mind. He obviously comes from the same gene pool as people like Yeasayer, MGMT and even possibly Daft Punk. So particularly strange, and so perfect. His beats, samples and synths shimmer all over the place like the album title suggests (gossamer being a type of fine spider silk). It goes from sheer disturbing on [i]Cry like a Ghost[/i] to insanely optimistic and dreamy on [i]I'll be Alright[/i] to the pulsating chugging of [i]Hideaway[/i]. Under all that beat-perfect computer coding is the human emotion that is heavily imprinted all over the album. Don't be fooled by the pink album cover: it springs from issue to issue like suicide, drugs and lost love. It's the sound of a desperately depressed man covering up the sorrow with optimistic perfection. Drunken ballad [i]Constant Conversations[/i] is possibly the highlight of the album. It slides on slickly as the alcohol in question, accompanied by faultless choral backing. The overall feel of the album is lyrically haunting. The first verse of [i]I'll Be Alright[/i] proves it: [i]Can you remember ever having any fun /’cause when it’s all said and done / I always believed we were / But now I’m not so sure, oh oh oh oh oh oh / I drink a gin and take a couple of my pills.[/i] Everything is so strangely matched. The Scissor Sisters are notable users of this trick, matching disturbing lyrics with more upbeat songs. Yet, it's quite obvious that Passion Pit have done this less consciously. It's just as a result of mental choices. The MIKA-esque musical number, [i]On My Way[/i], where he proclaims love and tells his lover 'let's get married' over engulfing chord progressions and crazy falsettos. The lead single, [i]Take a Walk[/i], is the tale of economic troubles. A strangely out-of-place motto on an album based on personal troubles, but the sound of the song makes you forget any troubles of meaning on it anyway. It's beautiful in its own way. You've got things like the disorientating and erratic [i]Hideaway[/i] that opens with clicking, jittering synths before swelling into a chorus of epic anthemic proportions. It's a fairly out-there sound for pop. Layers all over the place, with ambitious and creative measures done to the music. On another level, it sounds like a big social study and the life records of the average person, then ramped up to 11. It's euphoric and nostalgic. It's also got its dips and its pains. The last two tracks of the album don't provide a summary. They keep you up on this rollercoaster of unstoppable fear and sugar rush. [i]It's Not My Fault, I'm Happy[/i] is a particularly pessimistic track on the album. Pleas of 'It's not fair' and 'What are we? Who are they?' have a particularly frosty feeling. It's invoking all sorts of stuff into you that you don't here in pop anymore. Yes, you find the faux-motivational stuff like Katy Perry's [i]Firework[/i] but that's irrelevant. Real life experiences doesn't find its way into the genre anymore. Yet, this album manages to end itself in the suicidal wailing that is [i]Where We Belong[/i]. It's horrendously depressing, but that's obviously what's making it powerful. [i]How's this the easier way? / It's far from giving up / Cowards never say enough is enough[/i] he cries on the track. I'm finding it hard not to purge tears from my eyes at this moment. It's utterly heart-wrenching, really. Overall, the album is a great sophomore effort from the band. Amongst all of the darkness of the album, there's a certain hope and buoyancy to it. It's reassuring in humanity, and I'm sure humanity could do with a bit of reassuring itself. [b]Song Picks:[/b] I'll Be Alright, Constant Conversations, Where We Belong[/spoiler] [spoiler=Album Review 3: deadmau5, > album title goes here <] [center][img]http://i45.tinypic.com/b6zn1g.jpg[/img] [img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2uh1hg5.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2uh1hg5.jpg[/img][/center] In between casually insulting the entirety of DJ culture, and criticising Madonna on drug issues, the Canadian is actually making albums. Problem is that it feels like he hates his own music more than his hate of DJ culture. You can't help but think that the entire album is satirical. "Dance music itself is "just 120bpm with a f***ing kick drum on every quarter note," Zimmerman once said in a Rolling Stone interview. From the cover of a cat emerging from his iconic mouse helmet, to the rather imaginative album title, the start doesn't seem promising. Or meaningful in the least, for that matter. Emotion is mostly devoid on this album, apart from the rather conclusive and gentle collaboration with songstress Imogen Heap, [i]Telemiscommuniations[/i]. The rest of it is a variety of carefully formulated, carefully selected beats, samples, hooks and instrumentations. It's almost mathematical. Quite fitting considering previous album titles. What sounds like emotion is too artificial, and the illusion is subsequently broken. The song themselves are undeniably ridiculous though. It opens up with the gritty, military, wavering [i]Superliminal[/i]. It's pretty loud, in terms of the impression it makes. [i]The Veldt[/i] is definitely outclassed by Imogen Heap's effort, and is mostly ignorable. There's the stupidly glitchy [i]Maths[/i]. Two tracks later, is [i]Take Care of the Proper Paperwork[/i] which is pure disorientating industrial and atmospheric noise for the first two minutes. He, for some reason or another, decides to sandwich between the two the cute elevator music that is [i]There Might Be Coffee[/i].The ridiculously angst and hormone-driven [i]Professional Griefers[/i] with My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way is verging on silly. [i]Morning Sickness, XYZ / Teenage Girls with ESP[/i], Gerard casually screams over bouncing, gritty synths. [i]Closer[/i] is an alien Close Encounters of the Third Kind-style song. Really quite random. [i]Failbait[/i] is make-do hiphop, with a rapper no-one's heard of because they're a no-name now in the industry. Probably. I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering what Gerard Way and Imogen Heap are doing on the same album. Yet, deamau5 manages to do it: neither via thematic similarities nor by anything else relevant apart from his skill. His skill is heard a lot though. From breakdowns, drops, a range of gorgeous synths that do their job well, he's well-versed in the form of electronic dance music. But he lacks a certain finesse. Daft Punk were extensive in their exploration of Chicago house, and Justice followed in their footsteps, and many other artists just had passion. I don't think deadmau5 shares that. The entire album relies on big pompous features and the sheer skill of Joel Zimmerman. One does wish it would rely on other stuff too though. It gets boring fast, despite all the fanfare. It's strange, considering the entire genre seems to appeal most to various people who would be impossible to associate with this heartless music. I just can help but feel bored by the album. Because, frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if deadmau5 is bored himself. [b]Song Picks:[/b] Professional Griefers, Closer, Telemiscommunications[/spoiler] [spoiler=Album Review 4: Ellie Goulding, Halcyon] [center][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bc/Ellie_halcyon.jpg[/img] [img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2uh1hg5.jpg[/img][/center] The name of Ellie Goulding's sophomore album, [i]Halcyon[/i], comes from the Greek myth of Alcyone. The daughter of the god of the winds, she committed suicide when her husband was killed in a sea storm. The gods took pity on them and turned them into kingfishers (or halcyon birds, where they get their name from). For seven days each year in the winter, the god of the winds would calm the sea in order for the kingfisher to lay her eggs. This meaning is often used to represent calm in the middle of adversity. And this is very much what the album is about. In Goulding's words, "This album for me is a journey from dark into light from confusion to understanding [...] I didn't set out to write a break-up record but I think it became one." This entire album is much more sophisticated than her debut, [i]Lights[/i]. Her songs have developed, her lyrics have become more mature, she's been delving into whole new genres. Yet it feels so fundamentally 'Ellie'. Maybe it's because of her unique voice, delicate yet raw. A gift indeed. The songs are a world away from the electro-fizzle of [i]Starry Eyed[/i]. Even [i]Lights[/i] doesn't come anywhere near these songs. Strangely, she begins to sound like Florence + The Machine at times, or Lana Del Ray, or even Björk at times. She opens with the oriental, minimalist, reverb-guzzling [i]Don't Say a Word[/i]. It's theatrical and a great song to open with. It shows just how much she's developed. I think development is an important theme here. She had often been classed as rather normal and unambitious as a singer. [i]Lights[/i] was a confused album: good, but lacking true identity. Didn't help when she did a cover of Elton John's [i]Your Song[/i]. Made her look all the more boring. [i]My Blood[/i] is possibly one of the most ambitious songs I've heard from Ellie. Accompanied by arpeggiated piano, Greek choruses and a beat dragging it forwards, Ellie's voice manages to live in a whole new way here, and it becomes highly apparent when you get to that gorgeous swelling chorus of twinkling and truly anthemic grandeur. I'd like to note that great effort has been made by the producers on this album. Ellie's voice stands out everywhere in the mix, despite the incredible instrumentation. Lead single, [i]Anything Could Happen[/i], is a sunshine disco hit, with chopped up and sampled vocals dominating it. It's a far cry from anything she's done, and is faultless as a song. It still manages to be as catchy as [i]Lights[/i] though. You have [i]Only You[/i] which has the urge to bring vocals already higher than Ellie's soprano range. It once again features these chopped-up vocals in order to provide a beat for the song. You get other big massive songs like [i]Figure 8[/i] that takes the Lana del Ray route, as Ellie slowly croaks out [i] Breathe your smoke into my lungs / In the back of the car with you I stare into the sun[/i], followed out by [i]Still not old to die young[/i]. It wouldn't be out of place with del Ray's baroque arrangements, but such illusions are broke once a near-dubstep chorus starts booming out accompanied by jittering synths and keyboards. One of the only problems I've got with the album is how heavily contrasted it is. On one hand, you have overly-heavily produced anthems, and then you have these subtle ballads. If she could find a middle point; somewhere to compromise, then she might finally feel happy with her own music. It's eclectic and overloaded, and while Ellie has plenty of identity, you can't help but think she has even more. The ballads themselves are highlights of the album. Title track, [i]Halcyon[/i], sums up the overall feel of the album. Much better than the spectacular swagger of other songs, really. You have the Active child cover, [i]Hanging On[/i], is surprisingly subtle. Others such as [i]Joy[/i] and [i]Explosions[/i] are generally gorgeous and luscious, both vocally and production-wise. [i]I Know You Care[/i], now part of a movie soundtrack is nice to listen to. Nothing more though, since it doesn't progress as much as you'd hope. Strangely, it's one of the only songs on the album that Ellie Goulding didn't write as the lead songwriter. [i]Dead in the Water[/i] is one of my highlights of the album - it concludes the album well (excluding the Calvin Harris collab) and is the most haunting songs on the album. On that note, the Calvin Harris collab is surprisingly good for Ellie's vocals, despite being swathed in Harris' synths. It's when her voice isn't multitracked to every end of the mix that she shines the best. It's a power second album. It's more mature than [i]Lights[/i]. It's more polished than [i]Lights[/i]. It has more of an identity than [i]Lights[/i]. Yet, somehow, she's gone past and beyond what anyone has expected of her. Yet, she's gone so far that it's almost too much. A great album overall, providing that you're not scared off by how distant Ellie is. It should be no surprise though; it is the nature of her voice. It's a matter of opinion how much you like the opinion, because musically, it's distinguished. [b]Song Picks:[/b] My Blood, Dead in the Water, I Need Your Love[/spoiler] [spoiler=Album Review 5: Taylor Swift, Red] [center][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e8/Taylor_Swift_-_Red.png[/img] [img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2uh1hg5.jpg[/img][/center] She's a big name in music. She was in Time's list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2010 and various Rolling Stone lists of things like 'Queens of Pop' or 'Hot 100 Songwriters'. She soundtracked a movie, collaborated with B.o.B and appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show who knows how many times. All of this at the age of 22, six years after the release of her debut album (which topped at number 5 in the US Billboard 200). So, when she releases her fourth EP, you can't help but think there are big expectations. Yet, 'big' is a vague word. For Lady Gaga, for example, 'big' means 'what's crazier than a meat dress'. For Beyoncé, I'm sure 'big' means falling into some gorgeous, luscious perfect album - the product of much hard work (as seen on her amazing album, 4). But, for Taylor Swift, 'big' isn't anything like that. It's just doing what she's done before, but generally better. For Red, Taylor's gone and brought in a bunch of big producers. It's a big change from a lot of the stuff she's done before. Everything is sleeker, things are bigger. Looking at the production credits gives me a headache. Instrumentation is going over the top. There are swelling strings, harps, mandolins and, yes, even a bouzouki. Go search it up. Background vocals have gone all over the place this album. The constant play of red lipstick. Ed Sheeran and Gary Lightbody. Say what? Listening to an interview she did with a popular YouTuber recently, she summed up the album in five words: "adventurous, daring, emotional, eclectic, tragic". I can go with that. For all of the fanfare, it's really quite a down-to-earth album. Taylor Swift herself is a very down-to-earth person. The entire album is based off the pleasingly predictable. Taylor's bottomless well of Greek tragedy seems to bathe red, quite literally. Her emotions have been ramped up to 11, and she knows it. The connection she has with her audience is unmistakable. The endless grief teenage girls have from some sort of relationship. I'm sure there are plenty of other guys who can relate too. To be honest, when you look at the bombast, it's just to ramp all the earthy stuff up. It's a good move. What better way to carry emotion than to just put things in overdrive? The album's got funny bits, sad bits and generally happy bits - well executed, I think. Even when you look at her collaborations with Ed and Gary, distant lovers sound like siblings. There's something rather nice about that. Like any normal human, it sounds 'eclectic'. Her words, not mine. She's gone on a personal mission to cover as many genres as she can think of. The rock suggestions of [i]State of Grace[/i] and the indie Snow Patrol plod of [i]The Last Time[/i]. The dustup drop of [i]I Knew You Were Trouble.[/i] The acoustic faux-ukelele, almost antifolk, sound of [i]Stay Stay Stay[/i]. Pop 'drink all night' song, [i]22[/i] rears its head. It's pretty all over the place. Its cohesiveness is what surprises me. I can easily give it an identity, even without catch-all genre definition. Maybe it's Taylor just claiming all songwriting credits on the album. She opens the album in spectacular fashion with [i]State of Grace[/i]. Guitars dipped in reverb, and pulsing drums, manage to give it a rare anthemic quality rarely seen in Taylor's music. It climaxes into this strange vocoder thing, which is fairly awesome. It's certainly the easiest shift for Swift: her country/singer-songwriter leans easily into rock-pop, but the difference is enough to make the album feel unique. She sandwiches classic Swift-esque songs between though. [i]Treacherous[/i] follows soon afterwords and is a familiar sound. The hook is definitely interesting though. [i]And I'd be smart to walk away, but you're quicksand[/i], she muses, even though her tone makes her seem so vulnerable, it seems she's already in the trap. She goes in a similar vein with [i]All Too Well[/i] and [i]I Almost Do[/i]. She sings [i]Photo album on my counter / Your cheeks were turning red[/i] capturing a snapshot memory in her normal style, re-using the red imagery. Even though these moments rarely overwhelm or define the album, they are pages in a diary Taylor Swift has shamelessly shared to the world. On the other side of the spectrum, you have [i]Red[/i], using metaphors like 'driving a new Maserati down a dead end street'. And while the song completely revolves around colour comparisons, she bravely uses a little flourish of an electronic [i]R-r-r-red[/i] in the chorus. [i]We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together[/i] follows similarly. She herself summed up the song with the line in it, [i]And you, will hide away and find your piece of mind with some indie record that's much cooler than mine[/i]. I think that's fitting, and the sheer satire going on in this song is making everyone think the song's about her ex, Jake Gyllenhaal (who features many times as a theme in this album). [i]"I want to believe in pretty lies but unfortunately that can lead you to write songs like the ones on my new record."[/i], Taylor Swift said in an interview for the Guardian. There's something rather interesting about the strange clashing of reality and fantasy tinted throughout. She's always hopping; indecisive and fundamentally quite happy to bathe in her thoughts. It gives the album a strange quality. [i]22[/i] is by far the most poppy song she's tried out and fares well as a 'stay up all night' party anthem, but is it no surprise that it's flanked by songs further in her comfort zone? She manages to capture emotion horrendously well in the album. And I think she's managed to do it even better simply because she's happy to soak every element of her music in all sorts of adventurous stuff. The escapist nature of a few songs is refreshing. [i]Stay Stay Stay[/i] doesn't even bother to rhyme in the chorus. It's light-hearted, and finishing it off with extra giggles from Swift is a great touch. Her self-deprecation comes across in [i]22[/i], as she includes a little [i]"Who's Taylor Swift anyway?"[/i]. I'd like to compliment her glorious use of harmony in this album. Her duets with Gary Lightbody and Ed Sheeran provide much needed depth to her music. Snow Patrol + U2 ooze out of [i]The Last Time[/i] and, clearly, Lightbody's had a lot of influence during songwriting. Same goes for Ed's collab too. And she concludes the album well. The fairytale sparkle of [i]Starlight[/i] is captivating, and she places starry synths and 60s-70s 'ooh-ooh-oohs' all over the place. The stark realism of [i]Begin Again[/i] settles it. I hope I'm not the only one who hears the sneaky use of [i]State of Grace[/i]'s motif, as well as the shameless return to her roots. She's saved the most comfortable with her audience till last, and happily so. After the rest of Red that's generally been a massive whirlwind, it's pretty soothing. The hook is practically [i]I've been spending the last 8 months / Thinking all love ever does / Is break and burn and end / But on a Wednesday in a cafe / I watched it begin again[/i]. So, overall, it's new directions for Taylor Swift. Even when she clings on her roots, she still has a more mature sound. I think it's a pop masterpiece really. She knows what she's doing, and I think a lot of people can relate to her. If she's going to express her emotions, I think she does deserve to express them the best she can, even if it means rubbing up against herself as she decides on her view of love. Oh, and, boy, has she accomplished all of her aims. [b]Song Picks:[/b] I Knew You Were Trouble., The Last Time, Begin Again[/spoiler] [spoiler=Album Review 6: House of Heroes, The End is Not the End][center][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/HouseofheroesTEINTE.jpg[/img] [img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/i3du80.jpg[/img][img]http://i48.tinypic.com/2uh1hg5.jpg[/img][/center] Christian rock band, House of Heroes, ended up with a vaguely more pop-oriented sound on their 2008 album, The End is Not the End. It's intelligent rock. In their own way, they make it as dramatic as other bands like Muse or Queen make their albums. And the powerful theatricality of the album is a great plus for it. It starts with a 30 second string intro, leading into the strange rock bounce of [i]If[/i]. The song lends itself well to pop, but is littered with powerful bass, a variety of strange instrument samples, and interesting harmonies. Songs such as [i]Lose Control[/i] and [i]Sooner or Later[/i] stay closer to the conventions of the typical sound of American rock, but subtly differentiate themselves with unorthodox chord progressions and phrasings. They move into close Muse territory at times when listening to songs like [i]Drown[/i] or [i]Journey into Space (Part One)[/i]. Both are characterised by introductory deep riffs, but the band manage to keep their identity well. [i]Journey into Space (Part One)[/i] features a dreamy, reverb-rich guitar instrumental. The vocals of lead vocalist, Tim Skipper, straddle the album's songs with artistry and melodic intelligence. It's on songs like [i]By Your Side[/i] or [i]New Moon[/i] where it really shines. You notice some subtle genre hopping too on the album: [i]New Moon[/i] falls into a southern twang rock, [i]Code Name: Raven[/i] features one of the most ambitiously fast intros on the album and proceeds into a surprisingly European bounce and probably my favourite melodic line of the album. [i]In The Valley of the Dying Sun[/i] goes a little electro operatic, and brings back allusions back to Queen's [i]Bohemian Rhapsody[/i]. [i]Dangerous[/i] has a rockabilly feel. Country and folk influences move in and out with ease, but never overtake the rock feeling of it. The album really is very intelligent. That's the best way to describe it. It's practically devoid of filler, it has been composed with many a powerful tempo change and well-judged chord. It's certainly subtly different to a quick glance at what they've done previously: there's a new-found wisdom in composing the music there, but it importantly stays very close to its rocky roots. You notice punk-pop hooks, military beats, and some of the strangest yet most satisfying hooks ever heard on a rock album. But notice its subtlety. It's one of the best features of the album. [b]Song Picks:[/b] Code Name: Raven, Journey Into Space (Part One), Field of Daggers[/spoiler] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Well isn't this interesting. As of now, that's all it is though, for me at least. I'd like to see how you'd progress from here though. Oh god, I'm trying to give you cnc outside of showcase, that just proves I need to get out of showcase more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Rai Posted September 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 [quote name=''Night' timestamp='1349027998' post='6035208'] Well isn't this interesting. As of now, that's all it is though, for me at least. I'd like to see how you'd progress from here though. Oh god, I'm trying to give you cnc outside of showcase, that just proves I need to get out of showcase more often. [/quote] lol. I was wondering why it sounded like a random CnC. That does remind me to get that request I did posted up. In other news, requests are open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Question: How recently must the album have come out for you to review it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Rai Posted September 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 [quote name='Agro' timestamp='1349035952' post='6035279'] Question: How recently must the album have come out for you to review it? [/quote] I have a feeling I'll be reviewing a lot of old albums too, so go wild on any time. If I'm feeling ambitious, I might go back to the 60s and 70s for some Nina Simone. But feel free to do any album really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisa Kirisame-ze Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Requesting a review for Bombay Bicycle Club's I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose, please! I'm currently listening to Passion Pit because of your review on their newest album and I'm really loving it. So keep up the quality work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Well if that's the case... Wake Up! by John Legend and the Roots - not often you get protest albums anymore Konk by The Kooks - Not sure how well known they are. Free Life by Dan Wilson - Extremely underrated writer and singer. He won a grammy for best album with the Dixie Chicks and was the lead singer for Semisonic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Rai Posted September 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 I'll add all three to the waiting list, and review them at appropriate times. The Kooks are definitely well-known in the UK at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 Yeah, I thought they would be. They're big in certain groups in the US, but they're not that famous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makο Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 So, why not request. The End is Not the End by House of Heroes - Because I very much like them and Aggro's format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Rai Posted October 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 Sure, added to the Requests List. I'm not sure how well I'll cope with Christian rock, but let's give it a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Might as well throw in [i]Around the Sun[/i] by Monarchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Totally gonna be a double post, but you should cut Konk. It's older and, as you said, the Kooks are well known in Britain and other areas. Only reason I chose [i]Free Life [/i]and [i]Wake Up! [/i]were because they didn't seem to get enough attention when they came out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Rai Posted October 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2012 Sure, I'll swap it with Monarchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 So... when's the next review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Rai Posted October 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 [quote name='Agro' timestamp='1350182679' post='6043965'] So... when's the next review. [/quote] I've been a bit lazy; don't worry, I'll get one or two up by the end of today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie Posted October 14, 2012 Report Share Posted October 14, 2012 Wow, I never even noticed this when I posted my reviews on all of Deadmau5's albums XD But anyways, I as a big time mau5 fan, will have to admit that he's been recently learning over to more bass type stuff and I was a little bit dissapointed with his last album 4x4=12. But I feel as if his newest album is an improvement, though there still are tracks that sort of kill the album, it definitely has it's strong points. Oh and just to let you know the cat on the front cover is actually his cat named Meowingtons in case you didn't know. I will admit that the does seem bored with doing EDM stuff because he did say that it was refreshing to get out of all of it, as well as keep some of it in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 [quote name='.Rai' timestamp='1350208474' post='6044145'] I've been a bit lazy; don't worry, I'll get one or two up by the end of today. [/quote][img]http://imagemacros.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/you_lied.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Rai Posted October 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 [quote name='Agro' timestamp='1350268264' post='6044673'] [img]http://imagemacros.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/you_lied.jpg[/img] [/quote] I GOT ONE UP DIDN'T I. PFFFFFFT. I'm half-way through my Monarchy review anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agro Posted October 15, 2012 Report Share Posted October 15, 2012 [quote name='.Rai' timestamp='1350324830' post='6045013'] I GOT ONE UP DIDN'T I. PFFFFFFT. I'm half-way through my Monarchy review anyway. [/quote]I'm sorry. The puppy just needed to be posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie Posted October 16, 2012 Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 So I'm guessing that you'll be taking requests once you're finished writing all of the reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 (On topic with your new review) I've never liked Taylor Swift at all, your review is actually convincing me to give a few of her newer songs a try. Even though I still am dissapointed about you giving Deadmau5 a 3-star rating. Guess that's just me thuogh, being a really big fan of his music since Random Album title was released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Rai Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='MoogSourceVermona' timestamp='1351462537' post='6055952'] (On topic with your new review) I've never liked Taylor Swift at all, your review is actually convincing me to give a few of her newer songs a try. Even though I still am dissapointed about you giving Deadmau5 a 3-star rating. Guess that's just me thuogh, being a really big fan of his music since Random Album title was released. [/quote] I think he's definitely a great musician. I love his music, and I give most of his albums a listen every so often. It's just that he's a little one-dimensional, not massively, but, still, a little. He's said it himself while describing himself as a 'button-pusher'. He's just generally better than most. In his words, 'but with more buttons.' His production itself is practically faultless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='.Rai' timestamp='1351462683' post='6055954'] I think he's definitely a great musician. I love his music, and I give most of his albums a listen every so often. It's just that he's a little one-dimensional, not massively, but, still, a little. He's said it himself while describing himself as a 'button-pusher'. He's just generally better than most. In his words, 'but with more buttons.' His production itself is practically faultless. [/quote] Ah, I see it was just the way that you had described some of the tracks that had kinda mislead me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makο Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 What's the next one you're working on? I'm curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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