Archive for the ‘ Album Review ’ Category

The Dear Hunter: Migrant

I haven’t done an album review in a very long time, but The Dear Hunter’s newest album Migrant is so fantastic that I needed to share it.

The one main difference with Migrant to the rest of The Dear Hunter’s albums is that this one does not have a theme, but is simply just a regular album. However, Casey has not lost any of his theatrical and powerful vocals, which is nice because even though Migrant is not themed I still think his passion helps drag the listener in and tries to get them to figure out what he’s belting about.

I personally think that the album has a music feel of Act III: Life and Death in it, which I really enjoyed because, until Migrant, Act III was my favorite album. A few songs still include trumpets, which I think fits their music style very well. Even Girl, which I thought was a little different for them, ended up being one of my favorites because it’s a song that gets me dancing from the first chords.

Favorite song: Whisper. There’s just something about the lyrics that immediately drew me into the son, which is a big accomplishment since usually it takes several listens before I really start to hear the lyrics. Specifically the chorus:

“I think that we’ve all made our gravest mistakes

On the greatest intentions that we’re too stubborn to let go

And with this little time before I go

I’ll open up my mouth, and scream it out

To cast my voice into the crowd”

There’s just something about the words that ring true to the human condition. They’re words that I’m sure anyone can relate to.

 

Also, whenever I listen to it the opening makes me feel like I’m in a scene of a movie where I would be in a car, driving away, and the camera would pan across my face before panning across the car driving on a desert highway into the sunset. Yea, imagination. It just gets me pumped and helps me feel like I can do anything: “Don’t let the world beat you down”.

Least favorite song: Although I wouldn’t say I have a least favorite song on this album, there were a couple songs (once I finally stopped listening to Whisper on repeat) that I had to get used to before I really enjoyed. If I had to choose a song that took the longest to get used to it would be Sweet Naivete because it just doesn’t do much for me. Now I like it more and it’s a great slow song to just relax and unwind to.

Overall, amazing album! If you’re a fan of The Dear Hunter you need to pick it up, and if you’ve never heard of them before, what are you waiting for?

Grade: A

2013
05/10
CATEGORY
Album Review
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Ed Sheeran: +

I’m usually not the type of person that finds my own music. When I was younger I listened to what I heard on the radio. As I grew older, I listened to what was recommended, picking and choosing to stick with the music I liked best. I am also very tough when it comes to music. In fact, I often categorize myself as a music snob. Just ask my friends, because, while I do have a tendency to listen to a little bit of every music genre, there are a few bands/singers/rappers I’ve heard once and refused to listen to ever again. But that is not always the case because, more often than not, I find something to like about the music I’m introduced to. Which is where Ed Sheeran comes in.

Two of my friends really like Ed Sheeran’s music and, feeling that I would also enjoy his music, have shared several of his songs with me. And they were right. I did enjoy it. They ended up inviting me to his concert in Philly coming up and since I do like his music I figured why not? So, not wanting to look like a total poser, I borrowed his album “+” to listen to in the upcoming days to the concert. With one listen I must admit that the British boy has talent. Since I haven’t had the chance to listen to it a lot yet, I will list my top three songs so far.

The first song I heard of his, “Lego House” still remains my favorite song on the album (and not just because Rupert Grint was in the music video for it). However, “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” comes in at a very close second because of its creative lyrics. I also thought the chorus for “U.N.I.” was clever, but that song hasn’t made it into my top 3 favorite, yet. The last in the top three has been won by “Small Bump” because of the subject matter and the way that Ed Sheeran ends it out with the surprise, heart breaking ending.

If anyone asked, I would not be ashamed to admit that I listen to Ed Sheeran’s music. It will take me a few more listens to fully appreciate his talent, which is why Ed Sheeran’s “+” will remain on my Zune for those days when I just need some British boy tunes in my life.

Grade: A

2012
09/13
CATEGORY
Album Review
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A Mix CD Review

I have always been a lover of mix tapes. When cassettes started to become obsolete, I still enjoyed creating CDs with different songs that I loved all mixed together. I even received mix CDs from my fiancé when we started going out, which is how I was introduced to the majority of the music I listen to now. So when one of my friends had a status on facebook about making mix CDs for his friends I had to jump on the chance, and although his status said friends close by (which we are a good hour and a half away from each other) I was happy when he said he would mail me something. Receiving it in the mail a few days later, he requested that I write a review of what I thought about it. So here it is.

Title of album: Casey’s Awesome Mix of Awesome Stuff

Tracks:

1. Beats Antique – Skeleton Dance (remix)

2. Miike Snow – Devil’s Work

3. The National – Fake Empire

4. Frank Turner – Glory Hallelujah

5. The Wombats – Kill the Director

6. Hollerado – Reno Chunk

7. Hollerado – Americanaram

8. The Front Bottoms – Maps

9. System of a Down – Bounce

10. The Pixies – Debaser

11. Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts IV

12. Stabbing Westward – Save Yourself

13. Yeasayer – Wait for the Wintertime

14. Kidneythieves – Before I’m Dead

15. Everclear – Santa Monica (Watch the World Die)

16. Guided By Voices – Teenage FBI

17. Portugal the Man – People Say

18. An Horse – Dressed Sharply

19. Ben Folds Five – Army

20. Passion Pit – Take a Walk

21. The XX – Crystallized

22. Vitamin String Quartet – Take it Easy (Love Nothing) [Bright Eyes cover]

Listening through the first time I immediately was reminded about how much in common we have with music. We already knew we liked some of the same bands (such as dredg), and he had already introduced me to some other bands that I grew to love, for example, TV on the Radio. On the album, I already knew “Santa Monica” by Everclear and “Army” by Ben Folds Five. Although I’ve never heard the version of LAST TRACK before, I do have the Bright Eyes album that the song is on, so I was thinking of the words to it as I listened to the beautiful instrumental. System of a Down and Nine Inch Nails were also bands that weren’t foreign to my ears, but I had never heard those particular songs before.

Then, looking at the songs and bands I never heard of before, I immediately fell in love with The Wombats “Kill the Director”, Hollerado “Americanarama” and Passion Pit “Take a Walk”. All three songs have amazing music that makes me want to get up and dance (or at least jump around).

Beats Antique’s “Skeleton Dance (remix)” makes me think of background music you would hear in old Mickey Mouse or Tom and Jerry cartoons. Frank Turner is singing my anthem in his “Glory Hallelujah” when he says:

“I know you’re scared of dying man and I am too,
But just pretending it’s not happening isn’t gonna see us through,
If we accept that there’s an end game and we haven’t got much time,
Then in the here and now then we can try and do things right.
We’d be our own Salvation Army and together we’d believe
In all the wondrous things mere mortals can achieve”

Overall, I have only listened to the album a hand full of times so far, but I can guarantee that it will receive a lot more listening time in the upcoming days.

Grade: A+

2012
09/13
CATEGORY
Album Review
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Holy Musical B@man! — Team Starkid has done it again!

If you have never heard of Team Starkid before, I suggest you go google them right now (or you could just click the link I embedded).

Started at the University of Michigan, Starkid Productions (aka Team Starkid) is a group of actors, writers, designers, directors, and producers all here to make us some totally awesome musicals that we will quote and mimic for the rest of our lives. Or some of us anyway.

Although this post has the title of their latest release, Holy Musical B@man, I will actually be talking about each individual show since I hadn’t done so before, putting them in the order that I enjoy them best.

#5: Me and My Dick

Yes, sadly, Me and My Dick has made it in last place. The reason behind this may seem trivial to some, but for me it’s a pretty big downside: it’s too long.

Yes, yes, boo me if you must, but seriously, the beginning of the show was phenomenal. The writers definitely have a talent for comedy because it is always a main feature in their shows. But by time the second act came around I was becoming… well… slightly bored.

Me and My Dick is a coming of age musical about teenagers and, you guessed it, their genitals and all the trouble teenagers can get into with them. It has hilarious moments and great characters, two of my favorites which happen to be Flopsy and Old Snatch, some dirty vajayjay’s that belong to the popular girls.

Where the show went wrong was it tried to tie in a lot of characters and plots all at once. I haven’t re-watched it, but from what I can remember the story got complicated and I just felt that there was a lot that they had in there that could’ve been removed. Honestly, if it was shorter it might’ve made it higher on the list.

Grade: B-

 

#4: Starship

This one and my number 3 choice had a battle for a while.

The plot of Starship follows a bug named Bug and his dreams on becoming a Starship Ranger, which is, in fact, a human fleet. But he doesn’t care. It’s all he’s ever wanted to be. But all the other bugs on his planet make fun of him. However, when a Starship Ranger spaceship crashes onto their planet and Bug saves one of the women, February, is this his one chance to become a Starship Ranger? Or will evil plans and the human’s fear of the bugs stand in his way?

I thought this musical had a very interesting plot. It didn’t go off in too many directions and the music that accompanied it was amazing. Every now and then I will suddenly start singing “I Wanna Be”, even though I only remember a line from it, as well as “Kick it up a Notch (Reprise)” (sung by one of my favorite actors of all time, Brian Holden). I also feel that the music was enhanced because this was the first time they had microphones. In the three previous plays it was hard to hear some of the lines because they had no microphone system, so I was really happy they were finally able to afford it because it only helped them. Not to mention the actors they cast are just stunning. I can see a lot of them going far!

Grade: B+

 

#3:A Very Potter Sequel

If you know me at all you’re probably very shocked that A Very Potter Sequel was ranked in the #3 spot. Yes, I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and yes this show was amazing with very memorable quotes, but it goes back to what I was saying about Me and My Dick.

Yes, here it is again, the length issue, but this time it doesn’t stop there. This one I wasn’t too bothered by how long it was, although I did catch myself wondering where they were going with it. I also felt that the music wasn’t as good in this one as it was in other shows.

So you’re probably wondering: how did this beat Starship? Because of the actors/characters.

Having Joe Walker play Umbridge was just genius! He is HILARIOUS and an amazing actor. Then you have Lauren Lopez who is the BEST Draco Malfoy on Earth. I don’t think the character would be as enjoyable if someone else played him. And, of course, there’s Brian Holden as Remus Lupin (the only character I ever see him as anymore) and Joe Moses as Severus Snape. I could keep going on, but it’d be easier to say that this show was casted very well.

Also there are lines I will always remember. In fact, me and my friend made it a point to memorize Seamus Finnigin’s Sirius Black story, cockney accent and all. I plan to quote it one day when the opportunity comes up.

Grade: A

 

#2: Holy Musical B@man!

Yes, somehow Team Starkid’s newest production has wiggled it’s way into the #2 spot. I’m not a big fan of superheroes. I enjoy seeing the movies and I think the concept of superheroes is interesting, but I never read any of the comics and I really only see the movies when my friends want to or if it looks exceptionally good.

But Holy Musical B@man made its way in because of the comedy (and because of it’s brevity). Joe Walker, again, is amazing. His portrayal of Batman, and that deep voice that almost everyone makes fun of, was awesome. The music was also pure gold. I felt that it really had an 80′s vibe to it, and since I’m a fan of 80′s music, it really won me over. My top two favorite songs, though, would have to be “Rogues are We” and “To Be a Man”.

But I think what made me really love the show were the villains. I loved their movements, the way they talked, acted, just everything! I especially loved Sweet Tooth and his similarities to The Joker (who died in the very beginning of the musical… oops.. spoiler!). I also thought that Jeff Blim acted a lot like Jim Carey, making me actually have to do double takes several times.

However, this is not a kids show. There is a lot of cursing, so be warned before you let your children watch this one!

Grade: A

 

#1: A Very Potter Musical

By process of elimination you should have already known this one. Yes, although A Very Potter Sequel is in the #3 spot, the original will always be #1 for me. It was Team Starkid’s first production, and, in my opinion, their best (obviously). I know the entire soundtrack by heart and I wouldn’t be surprised if I know almost all the words either (I do quote this show a lot). I’ve watched it numerous times to relax when I’ve felt stressed because it makes me laugh every time. It was our first taste of what Team Starkid could do and they obviously did a totally awesome job with it since they’re still around, helping keep theater alive!

Grade: A+

2012
04/21
CATEGORY
Album Review
Movie Review
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Review of Steven Wilson’s “Grace for Drowning”

Released September 26,Steven Wilson’s “Grace for Drowning” has quickly become one of the constantly played albums on my Zune.

First off, the album isn’t too far from Steven Wilson’s usual albums, but at the same time it does differ greatly from Porcupine Tree and Blackfield, something I’ve always appreciated about his music. Even if some songs from each project sound similar, they all have their own feel to them.

What I especially loved about this album is that it’s not too crazy. It does have it’s odd music segments (which sound amazing), but it’s also chill enough that it’s an album that’s easy to relax to. Personally, I find it an album that’s good to listen to while writing (but that’s a trend I find with pretty much everything Steven Wilson comes up with).

I feel like the album is an even mixture of music and lyrics. I’ve stated plenty of times in other posts how I’m really not an instrumental fan, but while “Grace for Drowning” does have a lot of instrumental, it also has a good amount of amazing lyrics to counter it. Even when it’s mostly music, the music on this album is just so inspiring that I could listen to it over and over again without it bothering me. See, I do like instrumentals, it just takes some good instrumentals to win me over.

Then, besides the music and lyrics, you have the album booklet, which is phenomenal. That’s another thing I appreciate about Steve Wilson: that he’ll go through the effort to put together a booklet that probably a good amount of people won’t even look at. If you’ve ever watched “Insurgents” (or even if you haven’t), you’ll know about Steven Wilson’s loathing for iPod’s and mp3 players. In fact, he destroys several iPod’s in the film. The reason: it creates a portal for instant downloads instead of buying the album and getting it for better quality. Now, while I like his thoughts on the topic, I love my Zune. It’s way convenient for me. But, it’s also very rare when I download an album online. Sure, I’ve done it before, but I do like actually owning the album because it’s a safety measure. If my Zune and computer decided to blow up on the same day, well I’d still have all my albums cause I bought them. Then, you also have people like Steven Wilson who put together amazing photographs in a hard cased booklet that just astound you and speak to you along with the music.

So, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Steven Wilson is a genius.

Overall grade: A+

Favorite song: Raider II (although Index is a close second): I first fell in love with Raider II because of it’s lyrics. The first verse drew me in instantly where the other songs, although they did draw me in, took a few more listens. I didn’t even realize the song was 20 minutes long until about the third listen when I was like, “Hey I thought this song ended already?” Surprise! I still had a whole 10 minutes left. Raider II has a mixture of everything: amazing lyrics, catchy music, slow music, and crazy music. A little bit of everything that any Steven Wilson fan can appreciate.

2011
10/07
CATEGORY
Album Review
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Review of “Night of Hunters” by Tori Amos

Check out my review of Tori Amos’s album “Night of Hunters” now over at Ask Miss A!

2011
09/25
CATEGORY
Album Review
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Review of The Clash’s “London Calling”

This is only the second time in my life where I’ve bought an album from the 70s/80s that wasn’t a greatest hits album. I mostly did this because I know the popular songs from The Clash very well since they’re still played in commercials and on the radio all the time. Since I had a little knowledge on The Clash music (and by a little I mean a very little, not more than a handful of songs) I decided to go for the album that had the least songs that I knew. “London Calling” was that album.

While I wouldn’t say The Clash has won a top 5 space in 80s music that I’m crazy about, it really wasn’t that disappointing. It could always be that the album I bought wasn’t really one that had the type of The Clash songs I would really appreciate, or maybe I just have to listen to them a little longer before I can fully appreciate them.

I do like the music a lot. The beats are catchy, and more than once I have found myself bobbing my head to it as I listen. But besides the music, the vocals aren’t really anything that special. I personally thought that Joe Strummer’s vocals were very similar to Bob Dylan’s, although I bet a lot of people could argue otherwise with me about that. It wasn’t something I noticed in every song, only one or two.

Then there are the lyrics, which I had a little tough time getting into. I didn’t really find anything that stuck out in particular, but this could also be another case of me just having to listen to the album a few more times before I finally find something.

My favorite song on the entire album would probably have to be “London Calling”. “Hateful” and “Lost in the Supermarket” were both close seconds. Both these songs have music that I got into right away, and whose tune I found constantly playing throughout my head during the week.

Overall, I did enjoy the album, although this review may not seem like I did that much. It wasn’t my super favorite, but it’s definitely something I could find myself looking to listen to on random days. So, although they haven’t won a top 5 spot on my 80s list, The Clash definitely won a permanent place on my Zune.

Overall grade: B+

2011
09/25
CATEGORY
Album Review
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A Two Album Review: The Smiths

If you’ve never heard of them, The Smiths are a band from the ’80s who lived in England. You may know the lead singer, though: Morrissey is a pretty popular guy.

I originally had my first taste of The Smiths without knowing I had. I used to be a big fan of the TV series “Charmed”, and if you were too you may or may not know that the theme song, “How Soon is Now?”, was originally written and performed by The Smiths, and then covered by Love Spit Love. It was also in the movie “The Craft”.

My next encounter with The Smiths wouldn’t happen until years later when I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The Smiths song “Asleep” is mentioned as the main characters favorite song off a mix tape he received, but I wasn’t interested in looking it up until the second time I read through the book. That’s when I fell in love, although the song itself is about someone dying in their sleep.

A friend of mine recommended a few songs to me, which led me to buy two The Smiths albums: “The World Won’t Listen” and “Louder Than Bombs”. Yes, I did what I tend to do when getting into music my parents probably listened to. I bought “best of” albums. So a lot of the songs overlap with one another, but it’s okay, because those songs are pretty darn good.

I first purchased “The World Won’t Listen” because it had a lot of the songs I really liked on it, in particular “Asleep” and “There is a Light that Never Goes Out”. And for some reason I could only find “Asleep” listed on that album. But then I went to Tunes in Turnersville and found “Louder Than Bombs” which also had “Asleep”. I hesitated a bit on buying that album since it did have a lot of songs the other album already had, but then the need to hear the other songs got the better of me, so I bought it anyway.

Recently, I read Record Collecting for Girls by Courtney E. Smith, and was excited when I saw one of the chapters was titled “The Smiths Syndrome”. It housed a history of The Smiths that I didn’t know, and the advice that you never want to date a guy who likes The Smiths too much. I’ll let you read the book, though, instead of telling you about it. But it did shed some light on who The Smiths as a band were. And why their lyrics are so… interesting.

On my first listen of “Louder Than Bombs” I couldn’t help notice the chorus for “Is It Really So Strange”:

Oh yes you can kick me

And you can punch me

And you can break my face

But you won’t change the way I feel

‘Cause I love you

A little abusive there, eh Morrissey? Although the lyrics have the tendency to be abusive, needy, obsessive, depressing, and, overall, strange, I can’t get enough of this band. Their music is pretty simple, as it really was in the early ’80s, but I find myself swaying to “Panic” as it starts (whether for the first or second time since it’s on both albums) or “Bigmouth Strikes Again” (“Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking/when I said by rights you should be/bludgeoned in your bed”). I also find myself humming the songs like “You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby” and “Ask” either after a long listen or when I wake up in the morning. Whatever it is, The Smiths have won as my favorite band of the ’80s, no matter how strange they seem.

Grades:

“Louder Than Bombs”: A

“The World Won’t Listen”: A

2011
09/20
CATEGORY
Album Review
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Review of “Yawnin’ in the Dawnin’” by The Barry Brother’s Band

If you’ve never heard of The Barry Brother’s Band, don’t feel bad. I never heard of them either until about a month ago when I received a request for a review of their new album “Yawnin’ in the Dawnin’”. If you have heard of them, then you’ve already experienced the uniqueness that is The Barry Brother’s Band.

But, for those of you who don’t know who The Barry Brother’s Band is, here’s a little background:

The Barry Brother’s Band is made up of 3 brothers (so the name isn’t just for show): Patrick, Benjamin, and Bradford Barry. The folk rock band is located in Hume, New York, and their music consists of a mixture of outlaw country, pop melodies, bluesy folk, old-timey vocal harmonies, and rock and roll, making for some of the most interesting and catchy music I have ever heard.

I spent the week listening to their new album “Yawnin’ in the Dawnin’” and would immediately recommend them to anyone who is fond of Folk music. Especially if they are a Bob Dylan fan, because I did feel traces of Dylan in their music, although it could have been because of the harmonica. Harmonicas just make me automatically think of Bob Dylan, for obvious reasons. And Dylan isn’t where similarities stop. I mean, it could just be the hair, but the brothers remind me of the hippie guidance counselor, Mr. Rosso, from Freaks and Geeks who, if you’ve ever seen the show, had a rock band of his own that Lindsey and her friends get fake IDs to see, not knowing at the time that Mr. Rosso is the lead singer. I know, that bit of information was probably irrelevant, but not if you’re a fan of the show. It really gives you another incentive to check them out!

A mixture of Bob Dylan and Mr. Rosso, The Barry Brother's Band will have you hooked the minute you listen! (Photo credit: The Barry Brother's Band)

A kind of short album, “Yawnin’ in the Dawnin’” is only 7 songs long, but still worth the listen. The album opens with the song “Yawnin’ in the Dawnin’”, a short song expressing what many people in the world probably express every day: the want for more sleep, even after a long sleep. How often have you woken up after a nice ten hour sleep only to want to go back to bed? Yea, me too. The song has very little music, showing off the band’s vocal abilities, which I must say hold a lot of talent.

“Carnival(e)” and “Drink One More” are definitely two songs that I could listen to all day. “Carnival(e)” caught my attention when I watched their music video, which, unlike most music videos, gives you a little insight into the actual band: who they are and what they’re all about.The music is pretty slow, until the chorus, and keeps a steady, hypnotizing beat. The vocals are also hypnotizing, and when the chorus comes in I would be surprised if there was a person in the room who didn’t want to get up and jump around.

“Drink One More” expresses a sense of love for life, a theme that can be relatable to anyone. The lyrics:

“Drink one more beer with me

Who knows when I’ll see you again

Let’s take one more shot of whiskey

Tell me your story, my friend”

Also expresses the feeling of having time to sit and enjoy company, rather than being busy with everything else in your life. The song is, overall, a feel good song, a piece to listen to on the last few summer evenings as the sun is going down and your hanging out with a group of good friends.

“Love Something Too Much” was a song that I didn’t immediately get into. The music wasn’t inviting, really, a little too country for my liking, but it was the lyrics that caught my attention in the end. It’s a song that anyone who’s ever loved someone with their whole heart can relate to, and how the loss of that person can mean more than you may think at the time.

Overall, the entire album was very well written, performed and produced. These guys really know what they love and express it through their music, something any average Joe can appreciate. I only went through a few of their songs on here, but must say that every song has a deep meaning behind it that can be found and enjoyed by anyone who is interested in rock and roll, country, or both!

I said in the beginning of this review not to feel bad if you’ve never heard of this band. But after hearing about them, you should feel bad if you don’t immediately go check them out!

Grade: A-

If you like The Barry Brother’s Band, be sure to check out: Bob Dylan

2011
09/11
CATEGORY
Album Review
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Porcupine Tree: an 8 Album Review

You might have noticed that there have been plenty of book reviews going up throughout August, but no album reviews. That’s because in August I decided to try listening to a band the entire month and then doing a review on all the albums at the end of the month, naming my number 1. This, my friends, was super tough because the first band I decided to try this with was: Porcupine Tree.

It wasn’t tough because I didn’t have enough to listen to for the entire month. In total I have 8 Porcupine Tree albums. This was super tough to do because every Porcupine Tree album is just… utterly amazing! And you all know how hard it is to pick your favorite album when every album has such beautiful and thought provoking music and lyrics that you can’t get enough. Seriously, every time I listened to one of these albums I would find something new about each of them to like. So I did my best.

This is how my thought process worked. I went through each album after a month of listening and tallied up how many songs I loved with a passion from each album. I couldn’t go completely by this method, though, because there would obviously be ties, first off, and then some of the albums were way longer than other ones so it wouldn’t be really fair to do it that way. So I compared them to each other, chose which songs I would listen to over others and this is what I came up with:

#8 Signify (2 disc bonus)

Songs loved: 11/22

I feel kind of bad opening this count down with “Signify”. It’s an awesome album, and I love the opening and closing recordings. Totally shows the creative side of Steven Wilson (although you could definitely say that about every album in one way or another). I think this album mostly came in at number 8 because of the large amount of instrumental songs on it. Don’t get me wrong, the instrumentals are beautifully done, but (as I will mention several times) if the music doesn’t catch me enough, instrumentals do nothing for me. Tell me a story and I’ll be captivated for hours listening over and over, trying to decode it. With instrumentals there’s nothing to decode. Sure, in a way music could tell a story, but I want to hear the story told, not interpret what the story is from chords. (As a writer, you have no idea how odd it was for me to type that sentence…)

Favorite song: “Wake as Gun I” I’m a fan of the obscure, and nothing gets more obscure than “Man wakes up as a gun, and doesn’t get the joke”.

Least favorite song: “Pagan”

Grade: B

#7 Recordings

Songs loved: 5/9

This is an album I got earlier in the summer, and I do not regret it, even though it is in the number 7 spot. It’s more of a compilation album of extended songs from different albums, which is pretty awesome. The one I know the best is “Even Less [#]” because I own “Stupid Dream”, and I love the extended version. I wish that the entire thing wasn’t broken into two parts on two different CDs because together it is amazing. “Access Denied [#]” and “Buying New Soul [#]” are two other songs that are just amazing. Completely different, “Buying New Soul” is slow and peaceful, while the music in “Access Denied [#]” always has be bobbing my head. But the contrast of the two songs shows that the entire album has a little bit for every mood.

Favorite song: “Even Less [#]” I loved the song on “Stupid Dream” and love the extended version even more.

Least favorite song: “Cure for Optimism”

Grade: B

#6 The Incident

Songs loved: 10/18

When I started this project I immediately thought this album was going to be number 8. I don’t know why I didn’t like it, I just didn’t. Since my Zune puts every album inorder by the year released, this album would always come on first if I decided to listen right through everything. “Occam’s Razor” was like the bane of my existence every time I put the albums on shuffle because it would be the first song that played. Yea, it’s like 2 minutes long, and very simple, but I just didn’t like it.

Then I made myself sit down and really listen to it. And that’s when I realized, “Hey I really do like this album.” After I got passed “Occam’s Razor” (and finally came to term’s with it), the overall album is very well done. It’s two discs, which is pretty cool, and the music really isn’t that different from all the other albums, which isn’t a bad thing. Most people would think that would get monotonous, but every song has it’s own piece of something that sets it apart from everything else. It’s something you’ll have to experience through listening yourself!

Favorite song: There are so many catchy songs on this album, which made it very hard to choose my number 1 favorite. But in the end I chose: “I Drive the Hearse” A slow piece, I think, artistically, it is very well done. I love the lyrics, depressing as they may be, and although the music is a little simple compared to other songs, simplicity wins in this battle. It’s a nice song to just lay and let this song wash over you and to decode.

Least favorite song: As many songs as there are that I like, there were almost as many that I didn’t like as much. The song I like least from this album, though, is: “The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train”

Grade: B+

#5 In Absentia

Songs loved: 7/12

This album was definitely a flip-flop with me for this decision. It fought for a while with “The Incident” but only won out in the end because it has “Heartattack in a Lay By” and “Trains” on it (two of my all time favorite Porcupine Tree songs). It has a lot more songs on it that I like than I would expect, especially since I only just recently received the entire album. When me and my boyfriend first started dating, he would make me a bunch of mix cds, which is how I got half of the album originally. I didn’t know I didn’t have the entire album because I didn’t listen to it that often. But earlier in the summer we listened to it in the car and I realized there were a bunch of songs I didn’t know and I never heard. I acquired the rest of the album and immediately fell in love with “Blackest Eyes” “The sound of Muzak” and “The Creator Has a Mastertape” first for the music, and then for the lyrics. I didn’t even know how many songs there actually were on this album that I loved until I went through each song individually.

Favorite song: Hands down: “Heartattack in a Lay By” This song has always been one of my favorites, but it won extra points when I read an interview with Steven Wilson where he talks about this song and what it’s about, and it just blew my mind. It’s obvious what it’s about when you read the lyrics, but just the way he explained it just gave it so much more meaning for me. Just one of the reasons why I think Steven Wilson is a music genius.

Least favorite song: “Wedding Nails” Could be because it’s instrumental, could be something else. I don’t really know. This song just doesn’t feed my eardrums the way the other songs do. (And trust me, I have no idea why I’m not usually partial to instrumentals. I think it’s because I love to analyze lyrics and I love it when songs tell stories, so with lack of lyrics it takes something away.)

Grade: A

#4 Stupid Dream

Songs loved: 8/12

I received this album from my boyfriend as a birthday present. I picked it out, and chose it out of all the other Porcupine Tree albums because of “A Smart Kid”. I just loved the calmness of the music, and as I listened to the rest of the album, found the same fondness for it all. “Stupid Dream” is definitely a nice relaxing album. Songs such as “Even Less” and “Pure Narcotic” are inspiring and thought provoking with their lyrics. It also has a few instrumental songs, and, although I’m not a super big fan of instrumentals, these are nice to listen to and transition really well into the next song you can barely tell where one ends and one begins.

Favorite song: “A Smart Kid” First song I ever heard from this album. “Even Less” is a close second!

Least favorite song: “Tinto Brass” Steven Wilson is known for his crazy, but totally awesome, music. This one, I think, is just a bit too much for me when compared to the rest of the feel of the album.

Grade: A

#3 Fear of a Blank Planet

Songs loved: 5/6

“Fear of a Blank Planet” kind of surprised me cause it’s an album that took me such a long time to get into. I think it’s because it has a lot more longer songs on it than the other albums.

I ended up getting into this album a lot because I acquired so many Porcupine Tree albums so fast that I would just throw them all on shuffle. “Anesthetize” was the first song that really caught my attention. It was long, but at the same time it has so many transitions that it really feels like 3-4 songs in one. In particular, the lines “We’re lost in the mall, shuffling through the stores like zombies. But what is the point? What can money buy?” caught my attention, dragging me into listening to the entire album straight through. The song “Fear of a Blank Planet” also caught my attention because the music is pretty similar (although not exact) to “Anesthetize” and from there on I just grew to love it more and more, giving it the number 3 spot!

Favorite song: This was almost a tie between “Fear of a Blank Planet” and “Anesthetize” but “Anesthetize” won because it was the first song I loved on this album and the music is just epic!

Least favorite song: “Way Out of Here” I just don’t feel like it has the same “oomph” as the other pieces, but it’s still a song I enjoy to listen to.

Grade: A+

#2 Lightbulb Sun

Songs loved: 9/10

As I was going through the songs for this, I thought, “Oh god, this is going to be a tough call!”

I seriously thought “Lightbulb Sun” was going to steal the number 1 spot, but it didn’t. And here’s why:

While I love all but one song on this album, and have spent hours with it on repeat, it doesn’t keep me as captivated as the number 1 song.

Don’t get me wrong. “Lightbulb Sun” opens perfectly with the song “Lightbulb Sun” and goes gracefully into “How Is Your Life Today?” (one of my favorites) and just keeps going on amazingly from there. The music is unique (which can be said about a lot of albums by Steven Wilson) and very catchy, along with the lyrics. But the other reason why it was sent to the number 2 spot is that halfway through I guess the songs stopped being as interesting to my ear as the first half. I still absolutely love the songs, but if I can’t tell what song it is and if I like it or not within the first chord, you know that my ears stopped paying attention at some point.

Favorite song: Hands down: “Feel So Low” Slow song, and kind of depressing, but amazing all the same.

Least favorite song: “Hatesong” I’m just not as into it as all the others.

Grade: A+

#1 Deadwing

Songs loved: 10/10

I knew from the beginning of the month that this album was going to be number 1, so, in a way, all the other albums never had a chance. I want to say Deadwing was the first Porcupine Tree album I ever had, but I don’t really remember because I got it so long ago. And at first, in the days before I knew just how awesome Porcupine Tree was, I barely listened to it. Then one day I decided I would. Then I asked myself what took me so long!

“Deadwing” has everything you that’s needed in an album. It’s a combination of fast and slow songs and even dancey songs. Yes, I said it. Dancey. You cannot tell me that you put on “Halo” and don’t want to jump up as soon as the chorus comes on. Overall, I think my favorite part about this album are the lyrics. Heck, I say that about EVERY Porcupine Tree album, because it’s the truth. In particular, it is the most true about this album.

Favorite song: Although I love every song on this album, I DO have a favorite. “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here” was the first song I liked on this album. The lyrics have always impressed me and left an impression. It’s a song that I listen to when I’m in a philosophical mood (which is a lot more than people would think).

Least favorite song: None.

Grade: A+++

2011
09/01
CATEGORY
Album Review
1 comment
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