Category: New Album Review

The newest albums, EPs and singles on the air at WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2

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New Album Review

Album Review: Spooky Two (Spooky Tooth)

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The song repetition on some Classic Rock stations may lead you to believe that there were only a handful of songs ever produced in the sixties and seventies. But just like modern music, for every top hit song that becomes subject to radio overplay, there are hundreds of undiscovered songs that are arguably just as good in quality. Today, we’ll be looking at one of the more obscure albums of the sixties: Spooky Two by the band Spooky Tooth.

Released in 1969, almost fifty years ago, the second album by the British band Spooky Tooth probably seems like a dinosaur of the past in comparison to contemporary music when judged by age alone. When judged by the listening experience, perhaps the hums of now-vintage keyboards in the background of several of the songs and British blues-rock feel characteristic of the sixties can admittedly make it feel dated on a surface-level. However, “dated” is by no means bad, as this album still provides a unique take on the sounds of the late-sixties.

Tracks:

Waitin’ for the Wind – The drum build-up is an interesting choice for the first song, though the organ-like keyboard soon takes the center stage with a droning riff to back up the vocals. Though not one of the more explicitly dark songs on the album, the opening does an excellent job at setting the darker mood for the rest of the album.

Feelin’ Bad – The first song where the guitar gets a chance to shine as both a solo instrument (though not for long stretches of time) and a backup to the vocal harmonies.

I’ve Got Enough Heartaches – The Soul-esque opening of this track is certainly a surprise compared to the first two tracks. It primarily features piano and vocal harmony, which provides a nice musical contrast to the darker mood of several of the other tracks. Although, the lyrics are not exactly “light”.

Evil Woman – A huge jump back into the darker atmosphere into the album. One of the more popular tracks, it spans an impressive nine minutes. A good portion of the song is based on a standard guitar riff, though being a nine-minute song, it features a two-minute long guitar solo in the middle that does not disappoint.

Lost in My Dream – A quiet beginning with a gradual build-up. The vocals shine here and do a fantastic job of conveying the desperation of the song’s narrator, and the instruments accompany the lyrical chorus using an effective gradual buildup. Perhaps the addition of an actual chorus could be seen as a tad overdramatic to some, but even that does its job at accentuating the bleaker mood of the track.

The Was Only Yesterday – A quintessential blues-rock track.

Better By You, Better Than Me – Possibly their most accessible track and one that’s known for its cover by Judas Priest. It begins with a catchy yet simple solo guitar riff that gradually builds up to the dramatic level of some of their other tracks. The lyrics are certainly grim, though the discreteness of the lyrics and the catchiness of the tune don’t make the lyrical content as obvious on the first listen. Though, this song works extremely well as a whole.

Hangman Hang My Shell on a Tree – Another song where the grim lyrics aren’t obvious from the tone of the song. The vocal style is similar to “I’ve Got Enough Heartaches”, and it could be somewhat easy to forget about the subject matter if not for the dark title.

Overall, despite the age of the album, it still offers a fresh experience with innovative lyrics and song structures. Some of the songs need a couple of listens to truly grow on the listener, but it leaves a satisfaction at the end.

Rating: 7/10

(Double Ten-Thousand)

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New Album Review

A Review of the Soundtrack of Loving Vincent

The artistically experimental movie Loving Vincent is about two months old now, and I, unfortunately, still have not gotten the chance to see it yet. I have been scavenging the website to see if I can find any news of when it may come near me, but alas, there is no avail. However, my journey on its website did allow me to see a few other interesting tidbits about the film. When I saw that the score was written by Clint Mansell, the same man who blessed humanity with the score for Requiem for a Dream, I immediately decided that I needed to check out the score of Loving Vincent even though I have not seen the movie yet. Yet, is the key word here, but until then, let’s look at the soundtrack as a stand-alone (perhaps in the future I will add in some words about how the soundtrack complements the movie).

The album as a whole is driven by pulsing violins, which seems to be a staple of Mansell’s style, that guide the listener on through the soundscape. There is never a strict emotion forced into the listener, though there are a few passages where the music feels as though it has formulaic chord sequences. Overall, there is a subtle feeling of tension and brooding that oversees the music (fitting, since I was working on chemistry while listening), which is appropriate for a movie about Van Gogh’s life, and there is never a true break from this ominous presence until the end.

  1. The Night Café – Interesting track that does not hesitate to suck the listener into the album.
  2. The Yellow House – Continues the trend of pulsing violin and serves as the first track where the underlying tension stands out. The fairly simple three-note motif stands out the most, but it is the layering of all of the individual parts, none too complicated on their own, that establishes the mood.
  3. At Eternity’s Gate – A calmer piece that has more of a brooding feel to it.
  4. Portrait of Armand Roulin – More tension led by two three-note motifs that echo in a call and response fashion. A beautifully done build in intensity, though it is all kept fairly contained.
  5. Marguerite Gachet at the Piano – Another calmer piece led mainly by violins. It is a bit less droning and more melodic than some of the other tracks.
  6. Still Life with Glass of Absinthe & A Carafe – This piece begins as something one would expect as the background for a small café, but it quickly transitions into what may be the most intense piece of the ones seen so far. The transition, however, does not feel forced and works well. The ending is reminiscent of the opening track. A personal favorite track of mine.
  7. The Painter on his Way to Work – Initially a calmer piece led mainly by piano that leads to something subtlety darker.
  8. Five Sunflowers in a Vase – Though certainly not cheerful and bright, this piece seems to have a faint flicker of hope embedded into it. It still retains the same atmosphere as the other, darker pieces, but there is something about the flute that makes me feel that maybe things are getting a little better.
  9. Wheatfield with Crows – Another piece that surprises halfway through. What begins as a nice piano solo gradually builds up to what almost feels like a wall of beautifully organized chaotic sound. The piece briefly backs down at the end, but one can still feel the weighted emotions from the earlier build. Another favorite of mine.
  10. Thatched Roofs in Chaponval – Keeps the tension from the previous track throughout. It breaks into ominous territory with a fair amount of soft yet high-pitched strings overlaying a deeper drone.
  11. Blossoming Chestnut Trees – Returns to the sound of the first few tracks as far as style and instrumentation, but it is much, much darker. Things are definitely not going well here.
  12. The Sower with the Setting Sun – A bit of a resolution piece. The beginning has a sense of closing and reconciliation, but as the piece goes on, it drifts into the same menacing sound from earlier pieces, almost as if there is a “last straw” of some sort. The chorus at the end is similar to that found in the title track.
  13. Starry Night over the Rhone – A short conclusion track that builds up to a chorus and then quickly dies down.
  14. Starry Starry Night – The end credits song sung by Lianne La Havas. At first, the gentle crooning of La Havas’ voice seems to be a bit dissonant compared to the mood established by the rest of the soundtrack, but listening on proves it to still maintain the same brooding feeling with darker lyrics and instrumentation.

 

Final verdict: Overall, I would say that this is a well-done soundtrack. I’m looking forward to seeing it paired with the movie itself, but it definitely stands well on its own as art.

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New Album Review

Album Review: Arch Enemy – Will To Power

Will to power is the second album with Alissa White-Glutz as their singer. She replaced Angela Gossow in 2014. Like the other records by Arch Enemy, their sound (instrumentally), is constant. This record has the classic Arch Enemy sound while Alissa adds her own personal style throughout the entire album. Only the vocals have changed throughout each album. This record came out back in September. The sound in this record has a very 80’s-ish during some of the chorus’ and the melodies of the instruments. For instance, the songs “A Fight I Must Win” and “The Race” are good examples. In every song, there are amazing melodies, and chants that will get stuck in your head all day. If you like the old Arch Enemy sound, the song “The Race” has the components that is very similar to their older sound. And if you like metal ballads, the song “Reason to Believe” is for you. This song shows the diversity and range in Alissa’s voice. She does some clean vocals but also has her signature growls. Now, I am a history buff, so in the song “Blood in the Water” when Alissa says, “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…” I got really excited because Hammurabi’s Law Code is legendary (I literally just took a test on it). Alissa has developed her voice and she is now doing different styles and tones throughout this record. This record show how Arch Enemy is evolving and is demonstrating how talented this band really is.

Favorite songs: First Day in Hell, The World is Yours, and Reason to Believe  

Rating: 8/10 

The Saw 

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New Album Review

Justin’s Favorite Album of 2017

Colin Stetson’s All This I Do For Glory

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Odd, chilling, and trance-like, this album gives additional height to the distinguished instrumentalist Colin Stetson. I like this album because its theme is clear, yet riddled with questions. Each track has a looped melody, but the listener gets to hear all of the intricacies and imperfections of a wind player in what would normally be pre-programmed. The heavily distorted, slow sounds of the baritone saxophone are integrated with melodic jumps, making the slightest change hardly noticeable.

Stetson tries to answer where the saxophone belongs in the age of electronic music. The saxophone, for the most part, has struggled to coexist with the synthesizer, electric guitar, and keyboard, and has yet to find a solidified part amongst the biggest players. Though electronic ensembles such as Syrinx, GRiZ, and Moon Hooch have made their contributions to incorporating the saxophone into electronic music, Colin Stetson seems to bridge the sonic barrier between the fundamental differences between the synthesizer and the saxophone. With his creative use of extended technique, he transforms his sound into something that could be played alongside the computer musicians of today.

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: The World Is… – Harmlessness

I could use this space to describe what this album sounds like and drop a bunch of band names, but I think it’s more apt to describe how the music of TWIABP and their contemporaries has had an effect on me. I don’t think I’ve listened to any one side of a record more than I’ve listened to TWIABP’s side of the “Are Here to Help You” full-length split. From the first few seconds of “I Will Be Okay Everything,” when the synthesizer swells, you know that you are about to experience something big. Their music has always had the sense that it’s reaching for something. Their lyrics tend towards introspection and a sense of wonder induced by the physical world, much like writers from the Romantic period of literature. When I first encountered this quality in their lyrics, it caught me off-guard. With the song “Wait… What?” I don’t think I have ever heard anyone speak so fondly about touring life. The lyrics tend to the abstract: “Missing exits, missing people, recognizing geometric shapes.” In those few words, a sense of community is present that the band carries so well.

My first exposure to TWIABP was hearing “Formlessness” back in late 2010. I was at a very instable point in my life, and for that reason the very-much-present music of the “emo revival” affected me in a huge way. Bands like Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) and Snowing, along with more classic emo bands like Jimmy Eat World and Saves the Day, hit home.

When it comes to “Harmlessness,” more is more. The World Is use maximalist ideas to battle states of depression and idleness. The music is immediate, but unconventional in structure. The band doesn’t tend to a singular sound, but displays a wide array of influences and inspirations. Aptly, the album begins with a response to one of the bands earliest songs, “Walnut Street Is Dead,” and even throughout the album there are references to the band’s past (and more than one instance of grabbing an old chorus and reworking it). With the last three tracks, The World Is come into their own more than they ever have. The songs flow seamlessly from one to the next, and with “Mount Hum” it all ends on a calming and uplifting note reminiscent of “Wait… What?”

What The World Is have created here is surely memorable. I’ve yet to figure out if the vice grip that this brand of overbearing music can put you in has changed my life for the better or for the worse, but one thing’s for certain: it makes me feel more, and that has to be worth something, right?

Key Tracks: “January 10th, 2014”, “Mental Health”, “Haircuts for Everybody”, “I Can Be Afraid of Anything”

-DJ Nasty Nate

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New Album Review

Lonnie Walker Drops New Album Leading up to Future Islands’ 1000th Show

FINALLY! The album is called Earth Canals and the cover sports a vibrant quilted circular design, with pops of red, green and blue. With a 6-year gap between their first album and Earth Canals, the quality indicates that the wait was well worth it. Earth Canals takes you on a ride through some catchy, up-beat tunes like “Only Alright” and “Baby Man”, slows things down with achy, lyric-centered songs like “No Pure Light” and “Seasons”, and keeps things interesting with the instrumental, synth-y and eclectic “Heart and Soul”. The final song on the album shares a name with the album, and perfectly encompasses the album as a whole by coursing through all the styles already present before the final track in a way that feels natural. It is quickly evident how much effort went into the creation of Earth Canals; the live performances will absolutely impress. Be sure to catch Lonnie Walker play their next show at Carrboro Town Commons this coming Sunday on the 26th with headliner Future Islands! 

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: DESAPARECIDOS

This review can also be seen in the latest issue of The Technician.

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Conor Oberst got his big break as singer-songwriter and guitarist of Bright Eyes and has since moved on to other musical projects, including Desaparecidos. Formed in 2000, Desaparecidos demonstrates a subtle maturation in Oberst’s lyrics, transitioning from teenage melancholy to focused, politically charged angst. Payola is the first album from Desaparecidos released in more than a decade, but the band definitely hasn’t lost any of their edge since 2002′s Read Music/Speak Spanish. 

Pounding drums and rapid guitar drive Payola, along with Oberst’s familiar melodic vocals. And with his philosophical musings, Oberst presents his anger in the form of criticisms of government. In the album’s first song “The Left Is Right,” he sings “If one must die to save the 99/ Maybe it’s justified/ The left is right/ We’re doomed,” which is a direct reference to the Occupy Wall Street political slogan “We are the 99 Percent.” With the band name chosen in remembrance of those of lower financial status who disappeared after being arrested at the hand of military dictatorships, it’s no surprise that the 2013 single “Anonymous” closes the album with a hate message of unrest about control and the wealth gap: “Can’t live today off that minimum wage unless you sleep on the factory floor.” Oberst screams his explicit disgust toward the economy, comparing the United States government to George Orwell’s Big Brother. Payola finishes as a punk rock album with Oberst targeting government, shouting “We’re the Tattletale/ We’ll see your All-Seeing-Eye in hell.”

Favorite Tracks: “Golden Parachutes”, “Backsell”, “Marikkkopa”, “Te Amo Camila Vallejo”

– Julie Smitka, WKNC Blog Editor

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: TRIPTIDES

This review can also be seen in the latest issue of The Technician.

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Favorite Tracks: “Wake”, “Hideout”, “Too Far Gone”, “Translucent”, “Over”

Remember when you held your breath in a swimming pool long enough to become weightless and float to the surface? Triptides’ latest release brings back that feeling above the water.

The surf psychedelic pop band Triptides released their new LP Azur on French indie label RPUT, with a sound that fits an evening on the Riviera as much as a stroll on the boardwalk. The album opens with the single “Wake”, the jumping into the pool where the mood is hazy and youthful. The bittersweet twinge of the reverbed guitars pull you closer into the deep end on “Dark Side”. These pangs stay with you during the course of the album and develop into a hankering for ice cream on a blistering summer day. Vocalist Glenn Brigman provides the sweet, sugary, cavity-causing melodies from a summer long ago; nostalgic and distant, like the bottom of a swimming pool. The shimmery sounds apparent in the slower songs “Too Far Gone” and “Over” are much like the refraction of light into water. The four-piece from Bloomington, Indiana know their sound and the scene that come with it, which is why they have relocated to LA.

The album cover drum up images of swim caps and the modest bathing suits of the midcentury. In a way, this album and band have continually drawn attention to the end of this fashion, and the end of summer-obsessed culture. The 50s and 60s are long gone with the surf pop greats of the day; the Beach Boys, Dick Dale, Jan & Dean, and countless others who are no longer the unique prize of American culture. But Triptides does their finest to echo the days of muscle cars and the open coastline. The appropriately named closing track “Over” leaves the listener with the somber sting of the past, like chlorine in your eyes from the neighbor’s swimming pool.

– Jake Davis, WKNC Operations Manager

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New Album Review

WKNC ALBUM REVIEWS: Bobby Capri, mewithoutYou

These reviews can also be seen in the latest issue of The Technician.

BOBBY CAPRI – REMOTE VIEWING

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Hip-Hop / Rap / Pop / R&B

Charles Morse, WKNC underground hiphop/urban music director

Bobby Capri’s second EP of 2015, “Remote Viewing,” is an entertaining romp through boom bap nostalgia. The Richmond, Virginia rapper has made a lane for himself with his “street-bred white boy” story, backed by fundamental beats and a no-frills flow. However, there isn’t anything very original about this piece of work to make it more than a one-listen novelty.  Nineties-esque rap music will probably never die in the underground, but in order to make it sound good, a high level of lyrical ability is needed. Capri does not have that, and a guest appearance from underground rap’s current boss, Freddie Gibbs, couldn’t even make him sound better. In the beginning of the song “Room Full of Strangers,” Bobby says, “I was never mediocre; greatness was immediate.” This is a bold-faced lie. “Remote Viewing” is good for mindless listening as background music, but don’t look for any profound insights from the Richmond rapper.

 Recommended Tracks: “Make Moves” featuring Freddie Gibbs, “God,” “Gucci Loafers,” and “Never Fall Short” featuring Michael Christmas

Sounds like: Machine Gun Kelly, Action Bronson

MEWITHOUTYOU – PALE HORSES

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Indie / Experimental

Nathan Forbes, WKNC assistant daytime music director

There’s a lyric in a song that goes, “Now it’s just Rival Schools and mewithoutYou on our car rides.” The song is one of my favorites from the band The World Is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die. That line kindled a spark of interest in me to dig further into mewithoutYou’s catalog. Since then, I’ve found certain songs by the band really worth clinging to. Similarly to TWIABP, mewithoutYou is a band that I find difficult to categorize. In the band’s earliest days they were making music that was far closer to hardcore punk and screamo than indie rock. Slowly, they became more and more experimental, adding elements of spoken word and post-hardcore. They maintained that punk energy on their most renowned albums Catch for Us the Foxes and Brother, Sister, but on their 2009 album, It’s All Crazy!, mewithoutYou became far more folksy. Only recently has the band returned to the post-hardcore style that they are known for and that has influenced the likes of La Dispute and Brand New.

Their newest album, Pale Horses, dropped just this week, and it’s a conceptual labyrinth. It actually reminds me of Brand New’s highly acclaimed album, The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. However, if the albums are akin, I would describe Pale Horses as a more mature older brother. Both albums have themes of religion and death, and they even have a similar post-hardcore/indie rock sound. The wordiness of mewithoutYou on Pale Horses is much more complicated though and may be a turnoff for some. The lyrics are loaded with references to classic literature and the Book of Revelation. Reading through the lyric booklet that comes with the album is like reading a James Joyce novel with its stream of conscious writing style and wealth of obscure references. Annotations within the lyric booklet might have been beneficial! However, if you really feel the need to look into the lyrics more, then rock.genius.com is a good place for that. In fact, this album’s lyrics are so dense that many lines in the booklet were appended from the actual recordings. 

One of my favorite tracks from the album is “Red Cow,” and non-coincidentally, it is one of the most hard-hitting songs on the album. It’s a blood-boiler that reminds me a lot of their album Catch for Us the Foxes, specifically the inspiring first track from that album, “Torches Together.” “Blue Hen” is another energetic cut from Pale Horses about death’s approach and features a chorus that’s especially memorable.

The album closes with “Rainbow Signs,” a song that evokes images of nuclear war and massive armies. It reaches for the apocalyptic bleakness one might find in a Godspeed You! Black Emperor song. In the lyrics, Aaron Weiss connects personal catastrophe with the downfall that’s predicted to occur in the Bible through the seven seals of Armageddon. The song starts off subtly, but around the halfway point there’s a sudden burst, and a guitar riff comes in that just sounds mean. Then, the heaviness cuts out, and the song and the album end on a personal note for Weiss.

Although Pale Horses may never reach the musical heights of Catch for Us the Foxes or Brother, Sister, the album shows that mewithoutYou is a band still capable of creating lively music, albeit by the use of a slightly outdated formula. Above all, Pale Horses shows that the band is still progressing and exploring new territory, especially through their mystical and imaginative lyrics that extend from their songs like poems. 

Favorite Tracks: “Mexicanwar Streets,” “Red Cow,” “Blue Hen,” “Rainbow Signs”

Sounds like: Touche Amore, La Dispute, Brand New, The World Is…

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New Album Review

ALBUM REVIEW: Hop Along – Painted Shut

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The draw of Hop Along (and the band’s most distinguishing
characteristic) is clearly Frances Quinlan’s unique vocal style. At times it’s
yelly and scratchy; then at others it’s soothing and wispy. Maybe it’s this
dynamic that makes their music intriguing and powerful for so many people. Hop
Along’s last album, Get Disowned, was
released in 2012 and had a sort of cult following. Missing from Painted Shut are the classical strings
that pervaded Get Disowned. Despite
this, the albums have similar characteristics. These similarities include minimal
guitar and vocal effects, and lyrics that contain strange, yet interesting, subject
matter (see “The Knock”). Maybe the most notable difference between the albums
is the added production from John Agnello. In the past, he has produced albums
for Dinosaur Jr, The Hold Steady, and Kurt Vile. Even with the increased
production quality, the band still manages to sound raw on Painted Shut. The songs are still heartfelt and sometimes even
ultra-personal.

Hop Along’s new record displays a variety of different
influences, which is often characteristic of something innovative. Sure,
comparisons to bands like Waxahatchee and Lemuria are notable, but Hop Along
achieves a different sound that no one does quite as well these days. The music
is somewhat representative of where the band currently calls home,
Philadelphia, picking up on a few emo and punk influences that the city is
known for. In fact, in 2013 the band added guitarist Joe Reinhart from the Philadelphia
emo band Algernon Cadwallader to their lineup. Algernon Cadwallader was one of
the very first bands that began reviving the sound of Cap’n Jazz and its 90’s
emo contemporaries circa 2006. Joe’s exulting guitar playing that was present
in Algernon makes itself known on Painted
Shut. Even more, the child-like energy that Algernon Cadwallader possessed
is not lost on Hop Along. Often Frances even recalls experiences from her
formative years, like on one of the album’s bests, “Powerful Man” where she
cites the memory of watching a father physically abuse their child.

Though the music on Painted
Shut is not strictly punk, Hop Along brings punk attitudes to the mix. For
example, on the yearnful “Texas Funeral” Quinlan sings in rejection of the
overt coolness of the west coast: “I’m
going out flipping the bird to California. Keep your melting stars! I followed
all the rules.” Or through the suppressed rebellion expressed on
“Well-Dressed” with its stark imagery: “It’s
built a freeway all around my bed. I
saw it once open its great mouth wide, but it was so full of afflicted houses
and buildings I can’t remember what it was saying.” It seems laws and rules
have been a consistent theme in Hop Along’s music, recalling one of the
highlight tracks of Get Disowned,
“Tibetan Pop Stars.” It ends with the refrain: “My love is average. I obey an average law.” Almost as if Frances
expresses some sorrowful acceptance of authority.

Painted Shut
serves as an example that traditional rock instrumentation is still a relevant
and visceral mode of musical expression, and overall, the album is the band’s
most solid effort yet. While it displays clear influences, Painted Shut should be described as anything but derivative, and
honestly… I’m surprised at just how many songs from this album I enjoy.

Favorite tracks: “Horseshoe Crabs”, “Texas Funeral”, “Powerful
Man”, “Well-dressed”

Look out for more WKNC album reviews featured weekly in the Technician!