(Words by Burra, who recently gave back Wednesday)
I really like this album. Overall, it feels so much more alive with energy than any of the more recent releases; maybe with a slight return to their classic sound at times. Although nothing they do will ever be as good as Tell All Your Friends or Where You Want To Be, unfortunately thats just how it is! So anything they do always lives in the shadow of those albums, I guess (feel free to disagree, mind).
However, that is not to say they don't come close at times on this record at re-capturing some of that magic. It stands its ground well. That aside, here is a band that has obviously aged and grown up into a more mature sound over the years, and why would they want to just keep releasing the same record over and over again?
I haven't caught the band playing anything off this album live yet, but some tracks on here I can imagine go down really well in a live setting, especially the opening track "Death Wolf"; one of my favourites off the album, and a cracking introduction and welcome return.
If you're already a fan and have followed the bands rise since the mic swinging "emo" pioneers they were, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this just as much as anything else they've done. Lots of energy as well as the odd slow moment. A great record!
(words by Burra; eater of worlds, rustler of Jimmies)
Here we have the band's latest 11 track release: Integrity Blues; a beautiful sounding record from start to finish, and one that definitely shows off the slower, softer side to the band (which I love) with lots of atmosphere and lots of emotion. Haunting, soothing and yet, at times, harder hitting.
It's very difficult to pick any stand-out tracks from this album, simply as this is a band that when I choose to listen to them, I can listen to the album in its entirety, rather than single out any specific tracks. I feel that is the type of band that Jimmy Eat World are. For arguments sake however, I do really enjoy "Get Right", with it's dark, driving riff and big chorus; one of the somewhat heavier tracks actually from this little bunch. "Sure and Certain" too, for that big, happy-sounding chorus alone. I also enjoy the soft yet moody "Pretty Grids", as well as "Pass The Baby", which builds and builds slowly until out of nowhere in comes those surprising riffs to lead the song out. But, as the entire thing all flows so well I won't delve any further into picking the tracks apart!
In a nutshell, this is just a really nice sounding record, and there's always something about Jimmy Eat World's music that gets me lost inside it. I'll admit that Clarity, their 1999 release, is one of my favourite albums ever, so it was of no surprise to me that I really enjoyed this release. Haven't really got a bad word to say about this, if you're a fan no doubt you'll enjoy, and if your new to them I still recommend a listen.
I guess this is probably one thing you wouldn't have expected me to cover, but I was chatting recently with LIW regular contributor Burra on many things musical, and somehow, somewhere along the highway HIM came up. Burra raised the quite valid point that Razorblade Romance was a solid album in any respect, and I had to agree with him, regardless of the band that released it, or what they would become. It is eternally bizarre to think that HIM started out as a Black Sabbath tribute band (I for one cannot image them playing any Sabbath tracks), as that would be far cry from the pop-dressed-as-metal that we have here.
But, if you're gonna do something, do it right. You have to understand here that this thing came out before HIM had any real international recognition; before Bam Margera forced this band into the playlist of every male with a beanie hat and a Jackass DVD; and most definitely before Ville Valo was wetting up goth teen panties on the other side of the pond. On top that, this thing isn't going to win any awards for originality. The same lame-ass fucking drum beat carries every song, as does the muted chugging of the guitar riffs, which is used so often in verse structure that Mushroomhead started to draft up a cease and desist order. It's almost offensive to musicians worldwide how simple this shit is.
But it works. Throw in some lazy but effective keyboard playing to fill out the middle-ground and you've got the perfect backdrop for the man himself; His Infernal Majesty, Ville Valo. You gotta admit this guy has some pipes on him, and without a doubt helped carried this band to it's success. This thing is loaded with hits that could easily top charts if backed with sickly electronica instead of distorted guitars; "Poison Girl", "Right Here In These Arms", and the, I gotta be honest, absolutely fucking fantastic cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game".
This is one of the closest instances where metal almost became pop music (anyone who raises me that fucking farce Babymetal loses 9000 internet points - that shit is a product, nothing more).
HIM Trivia: The song "Join Me In Death" was blamed for a fan suicide and was re-titled "Join Me" for a while to avoid any further controversy. It now seems to be back as the original title, even on the band's Vevo. Also, the band are supposed to go by the name HER in America, kinda like how Ghost is supposed to go as Ghost B.C. but never do.
Sad Strange Beautiful Dream is a solo album from Taking Back Sunday guitarist/backing vocalist John Nolan. I've been meaning to give this a listen for a while, after being a fan of Taking Back Sunday since the beginning as well as enjoying the Straylight Run project, so I thought I'd actually sit down and give it a good listen.
This is a very mellow and minimalist album. I actually find it quite refreshing and laid back to listen to; it's quite nice to get an album like that, so this is definitely an album I would turn to if I'm looking for something to put on and just chill out too. There's quite a bluesy, maybe folkier-style sound here than what the masses would know John Nolan for and a break away from the emo/post hardcore sound those would maybe associate him with.
There is definitely a few stand out moments here, especially with the quiet ballad-like number "Drinking Your Way To Confidence"; one of the album's finest moments, and one that really showcases John as a songwriter and his comfort-ability in this style of music.
Overall a great album, and one that could easily hold it's own without the Taking Back Sunday association, if such is the case. Well worth a listen.
This is a strange one: I’ve never really considered myself a fan of Coheed and Cambria – in fact, growing up alongside the “emo” trend in high school, hearing Coheed’s high-pitch croons would send shivers up my spine. But then, with Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness came a maturity that took a while to sink in, although it added a progressive element to Coheed’s already unusual sound, and made me see the band in an entirely different light. Nowadays, early Coheed stuff doesn’t make me want to vomit – I still don’t like it, don’t get me wrong – but now at least I understand it.
What I don’t understand however is what the actual fuck is going on here, on this record. There is a puzzling mystery in Coheed’s approach to music. On the surface, to the casual listener, it appears poppy and catchy, but underneath that, if you dig further, there is an intense technical edge to these well-crafted tunes.
Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness is an ambitious concept album that continues to unfurl the Coheed and Cambria story (I won’t go into it). You know an album is big when it doesn’t actually begin properly until the third track (the gloriously pompous “Welcome Home”). There is a smattering of Coheed classics here, from the big singles as “Ten Speed (of God's Blood & Burial)”, “The Suffering” and “Wake Up”, through to the lesser known album tracks such as the hat trick of bangers: “Crossing the Frame”, “Apollo I: The Writing Writer” and “Once Upon Your Dead Body”.
My favourite part of this monstrosity has to be the final four tracks, which should really be an EP on its own, The Willing Well Parts I-IV. This is where shit gets real; no more poppy four minuters, it’s like Rush somehow got on board for the latter half of the recording process for this album. At over seven minutes a piece, these tracks are long, meandering yet still catchy, but just plain weird. The drums are absolutely everywhere; buzzing, ticking, fluttering, hissing, with fills galore and hi-hats spasmodic. "The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth" is a reprise of “Apollo I: The Writing Writer” and is the best song on the record, with the closing track "The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut" tumbling in a close second. “The Final Cut” is a Pink Floyd inspired dreamer drenched in wavering organs and jagged guitar leads, underpinned by a venomous lyrical climax. Yikes.
The production on this thing as well, is just perfect. Every instrument pushes through with expert clarity so big up to David Botrill who mixed this thing.
Get proggy and give the entire Willing Well suite a goosey (medicinal cigarette recommended).
Since I began listing not only my vinyl but my entire music collection on Lines in Wax, I knew the day would come where I would have to touch upon the questionable purchases I made when I was younger. Today that day has finally come. Scorn at nu-metal all you like, but I actually like this CD. I actually prefer it to say, I dunno, Deathcrush by Mayhem. Well, maybe not prefer. Wrong choices of words. But I find it more listenable.
I bought this when I was 11 or 12 years old. The live version of "Outside" was the most played video on Kerrang! TV and that's probably what made me buy Break The Cycle. Staind were quite lovey-dovey so I remember being pretty suprised at how heavy some of the songs were. What Staind have become or what they did with their career is not what I am discussing here, only what I am experienced with here on this album. A good half of this stadium-filling nu-metal record actually contains pretty good songwriting. Despite the chart success, both "Outside" and "It's Been A While" are extremely well crafted and catchy songs. Opener "Open Your Eyes" is a fairly grim affair, and "Pressure" is geniously heavy for something of this nature.
Other songs on the record don't really amount to much, but even the terribly angsty "For You" has one hell of a riff, and the uninspiring "Fade" is actually pretty thoughtfull under the boring fuzz. Staind as a group used baritone guitars and five-string basses before it was particularly well-known in mainstream metal, and this definitely contributed to the heavier-than-usual sound here. Sometimes it feels like the music is too heavy for the words. I read that somewhere before in an article about the band Kroh, but I definitely think it applies here better.
Hate me for writing about this if you will, but I don't particularly care. There's a lot worse to come! Ha Ha!
