5 Quick Album Reviews

I've recently joined the family over at Ripple Music. They've been nice enough to send me some music for review (as well as connect me with the JPT Scare Band, who sent me a shirt and their entire discography, way to go there guys!), and a new outlet to gain some readers. If you haven't had a chance to check them out, I strongly suggest you do so, they review pretty much anything, from old to new, and any range of rock/metal. It's a lot more varied then The Guide is, so if you have eclectic tastes like me, there is bound to be something interesting there for you to enjoy.

Thinning The Herd - Oceans Rise
As a group that describes themselves as a "soulful brew of grunge-fueled, blues-driven, stoner-infused rock," their self-description hits the nail on the head pretty solidly. The songs off of Thinning The Herd initially strike me as a mix of early-era Clutch and the alternative/post-grunge of Alice In Chains. Even though Oceans Rise drift away from that original analysis, it is this thought that continuously pops up throughout the album. Overall the album is tuned-down, making it all sound very dark and oppressive, probably more so then the lyrics would normally have come across as, but I have to think that this is the purpose. Songs that do pop-up ahead of the group, do so because of their more melodic tendencies. An underlying theme to the music (at least to me) is a semi-garage and/or noise rock fuzz and overexposure of the instruments and vocals. Songs like the title track, "Defiler," "Binge," and "My Wake," all have more in the whole 'musical' department, a little more groove, a little more tune. If you find yourself forlorn at the end of the 90s grunge/alt-metal era then definitely check out Thinning The Herd, you will not be disappointed.

Retrospective: Frank Zappa - 1966-1969

If you count all of the studio albums, soundtracks, live albums and posthumous releases, Frank Zappa, and his affiliated projects, has over one hundred albums to his name. That is one of the most proficient composers/writers/musicians I have ever heard of. It's going to take me weeks to even make a dent in his impressive catalog - and I only have forty-seven of them! I kept my collection to only the albums that were released during his lifetime, and only a handful of live albums (mostly his 'You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore' series). Just because of the sheer number of albums, I'm not going to be writing a large amount on each, just a couple of lines, and also for this one I'm going to give each album a rating (something I normally don't do), which will be based on the listenability, when compared to his other works (some of his stuff is waaaay out there). If you haven't ever heard any of Zappa's stuff, use this as a loose guide on where to begin.

Some of these albums are attributed to (originally) The Mothers Of Invention, then Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention, some are just as Frank Zappa & The Mothers, while most are Frank Zappa solo. It's all Frank Zappa to me.

Freak Out! - 1966 (4/5)
The first album, and really quite a good start. It's a bit split on song quality, with some being some great compositions of verse and music, with others being a progressive oddity. Unlike the following few albums (and mostly until we get into the solo years of Frank Zappa) Freak Out! actually was almost entirely made up of what could be called 'songs.' While some were winners and some were losers, they were songs nonetheless. I enjoyed it overall, finding it a great launching point for a long career.

Weekly Dose of Prog: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (')/Over-Nite Sensation

So I haven't been keeping up with my progressive music and writings. This week has been hectic with doubles at work, dealing with the government and being sick, so instead of writing a Weekly Dose of Prog about some new artist I found, I'm going into the classic range, with Frank Zappa's double album (complied such in the era of CDs anyway), Apostrophe (')/Over-Nite Sensation.

Keeping with the usual eclectic Zappa theme, Apostrophe (')/Over-Nite Sensation, is an experimental/avant-garde/progressive mess - in all the right ways. The songs vary wildly in style, composition, tempo, and thought pattern, and truly the only thing keeping the album together is the complete disharmony within the tracks themselves; they are so uncollected, that they fit together perfectly. What intrigues me most about the album is the title. You see Over-Nite Sensation was released a year prior to Apostrophe (') so I don't know why on the re-issue they would reverse not only the titles but the song numbering as well. Maybe it sounded better this way, as The Saga of Nanook of The North is a great opener, but truly I don't know, and probably never will.

Awesome Websites: Tooting Bizarre

Found this one through my blog connections, TootingBizarre.org is a British record label's website, but this is no ordinary record label. You see this one gives all of the music they have away... for free! They have fourteen acts and thirty one albums/EPs for you to enjoy. The groups span a bunch of genres, from doom and post-metal, to folk and hip-hop. There is a little for everyone, so why not give it a look?

Now, I did scoop some artists up, but I haven't had a chance to listen to them at all yet, but the artists available include:

50ft Panda - Stoner/sludge/prog (3 Albums)

Diefenbaker - Folk/neofolk duo (4 Albums)

Mayors of Miyazaki -Math rock/hardcore (2 Albums)

Montana Pete -Punk/funk (3 Albums)

Olid - Prog/Doom supergroup from members of 50ft Panda, Mayors of Miyazaki, and Thumpermonkey Lives! (1 Album)

Part Rocket -Instrumental post-rock - I tried downloading this one but for some reason it wouldn't work for me, but give it a try (4 Albums)

Shinju - Pop or something, didn't give this one too much attention (1 Album)

Stonasaurus - Underground Hip-Hop (1 Album)

The Device - Techno/electronica (3 Albums)

The Doghouse Riley Band - Garage rock with humor (1 Album)

Thumpermonkey -Prog/experimental. Solo act before Thumpermonkey Lives! (2 Albums)

Thumpermonkey Lives! -Post-metal, prog, sludge, etc (2 Albums)

Todger -  Prog-stoner (3 Albums)

Tooting Bizarre - A live album of acts that are apart of TootingBizarre.org (1 Album)

 

Just sharing the love.

Top 20 of 2010: 1 - 5

Well this list began at 10, and then quickly grew to over 30 as I chose the best albums from 2010 in my vast collection. I've spent some time in whittling away at the list, trying to scrape it down to 10, and after i realized that was going to be impossible (too many categories to think about), I split the difference and decided on 20 - perfectly doable, without leaving too many great albums out of the cold. While this listy was still supposed to be only 10 albums, I was going to post one a day, from the 21st to the 31st, with a full-length article about each one. Because I upped it to 20, and because I didn't get a proper jump on this project, and also because I haven't even finished all the albums I wanted too before compiling the beginnings of this list, I am going to release it in four segments, five albums within each. Each album will have a short synopsis but that is all.
These lists aren't in a real order, it was too much effort just to get the list to 20, let alone order it in some fashion. It's all in alphabetic order; that's how I like it, that's how I'm keeping it.

1. Airbourne - No Guts. No Glory.
Airbourne does it again. Another balls-to-the-wall 80s throwback rock and roll classic. While not as groundbreaking as their first, Runnin' Wild, No Guts. No Glory. was a great release; following the mantra 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' I really need to hear this one again, the last time being over six months ago, but don't worry the sound still carries. If you have heard their first album, then you will like this one. If you're a fan of the late 70s/early 80s simplistic rock (AC/DC, KISS to some extent) the you have found your replacement band for those times of fond memories. Rock n' roll at its finest. 

New Band: Poweraxe

Also seen on Heavy Planet:

I was sent Poweraxe's debut EP to review from my new partnership with Heavy Planet, and from the bit I was sent they call their type of music 'goom metal.' Now originally I thought it was a typeo for gloom, but it appears not to be. Having not heard any of their music yet (I plan to write as I listen), I don't know what 'goom' is or supposed to be, I'm equally intrigued and off-put by this description. The band is made up of the Brothers Axe (which is an awesome last name) who play a seemingly (from their bio) instrumental doom/experimental sound. It sounds kind of a cool mix. Let us begin.