This is an album that fades away while I’m doing other things, but as soon as I actually start to pay attention to the music, it starts to annoy me. I found it very easy to potter about and do other things while this album was on, but none of the tracks lured me back to the computer to find out the name of the specific track that was playing.
The music is pleasant enough, and is energetic enough to carry me though my daily tasks, and I’m glad I have plenty to do today. Usually I’m walking while listening to music, and I can tell that I would have very quickly turned this over had I been walking to work while listening to ‘Ode to J.Smith’.
‘The man who’ was the only Travis album I’d heard at any length before this one, and thus it was the only one that I liked. I did very much like that album, with it’s slightly ridiculous fun and optimistic sounding songs, where even songs like ‘Why does it always rain on me’ which has some very melancholy lyrics, still had enough bounce and singalongability. I don’t know what happened between now and then, maybe the Record Label cut of one off their toes every time they smiled, because this album doesn’t have a single smile in the whole thing. It’s sullen and moody and grown up. If someone can tell me what’s happened to this band in the last eight and a half years to explain such a change in tone, let me know.
Maybe they just hit puberty.
It’s said that each song on the album is “written about nameless characters or to nameless characters” but they seem to be about and to people I know nothing about, and the songs don’t tell me and I don’t really care about. It’s like watching a documentary where they never once tell you who they’re talking about.
Listen to this album: While doing something more interesting than picking your nose.
Rating: 61%
Extracts from ‘J.Smith’, ‘Long way down’, ‘Quite Free’ and ‘Song to self’
“Screech, Screech…” sings lead singer Caleb Followill, as the soft rock guitar chugs behind him.
This album is not only whiny and high pitched, it’s also whiny and high pitched. Is there anything you need to know about the album? Has this description not already caused you to throw up your arms in disgust and vow never to buy this album?
Well, other than that, it’s pretty solid as an album, the quite mild tempered nature of the music causes me to be quite forgiving of the self-obsessed and pompous singer. Like a big floppy dog, that’s just done a poo in the middle of your floor, but looks really sorry about it, the music seems to apologise for the over the top nature of the lyrics. It’s like when your friend is far too drunk and is making a fool of himself in public, and you spend your whole time apologising to everyone and trying to usher your friend into the nearest taxi and tell the driver to dump him on his doorstep.
I really want the singer to have a soft raspy voice, telling me about the harsh times he’s faced and how he struggled through adversity. Instead I have some stupid-faced kid screaming at me that my sex is on fire. That’s not what I want from any album.
Throughout the album, it doesn’t get any better and I continue to be slapped with a barrage of trivial nonsense that sounds less preferable to nails on a blackboard. At least with nails on a blackboard, I can punch the person who’s doing it.
The short periods that are enjoyable are quickly doused with another helping from the Screechasaurus. Crawl is one of the only songs which shows what this album should have been like, with the deep sound, the meandering rhythm and the singing that isn’t very annoying.
Listen to this album: With your head in a bucket of ice water.
Rating: 43%
Extracts from ‘Crawl’, ‘Manhattan’, ‘Notion’ and ‘I want you’
You can tell by listening to this album that it would be so much better if you were experiencing it live. It has an energy and entertainment potentiality that is mainly lost on the recording.
I really fell like I’m missing out while I’m listening to the album, not to say that it isn’t a really fantastic album, but the feeling that I’m not getting everything I can, from a band that I know is great, leaves me feeling cheated. I don;t remember their previous albums having this same sense of live expectancy, and maybe it’s because they were more complete albums and this has something missing, or what.
I do feel myself wanting to dance while waiting for my train, while I listen to this album. The beats are really good, the lyrics are not the most profound of intellegent, but it’s all filled wiith fun, and you can tell that NERD really wanted to do this, and loved every minute of it.
The bass is heavy, the drums are big and the energy is fantastic. Go see them live and tell me if they are better live.
Listen to this album: While they perform it live.
Rating: 84%
Extracts from ‘Anti-Matter’, ‘Spaz’. ‘Kill Joy’ and ‘You know what’
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Green Day, under another name, attempt to play 60s American garage rock music, and in points succeed with their mission and at other points they fail. At points they sound like Green Day, at other points you can’t tell it’s them at all. At points it’s good, at points it’s rubs.
The thing is, I don’t know if I want them to sound like Green Day doing this style of music, or if I want them to sound completely different. It’s just a bit confusing.
The best songs, I think, are the ones where they succeed to put an image of 60s America in my brain, and I just see them all stood about in black and white.
The songs which succeed in this are songs like ‘Ruby Room’ and She’s a Saint not a Celebrity’.
Overall, I think they have a winning album with this, and it’s an interesting concept. They even split the album into 2 sides to keep in with their 60s ideology which is an interesting touch, but seems a bit pointless when listening to the album on CD or on your mp3 player. Maybe putting it on 2 CDs would give it the authentic vinyl feel as you have to make that extra effort to change CDs.
It’s exciting, it’s interesting and it makes me want to boogie.
Listen to this album: In 60’s black and white with your mum’s old clothes on.
Rating 81%
Extracts from ‘Ruby Room’, ‘Red Tide’ and ‘27th Ave Shuffle’
It’s quite hard to listen to this album and not feel optimistic. If you’re in the depths of autumn, you know that winter is coming but this album reminds you that spring is just getting it’s wellies on. The only exception to this is the song ‘My name is despair’, which, as you can probably tell, is less about the optimism and more about despair but don’t let this worry you, there’s still a pinch of optimism in there.
It’s a nice, safe album that wraps you up in a familiar blanket and puts you to bed with a drink of hot milk.
The tidy guitars and the soothing vocals surround you and give you a cuddle and a kiss on the forehead. The drums tuck you in at night and the bass keeps guard outside the door to protect you from anything scary and unfamiliar.
The album is very well presented and should be a good companion for you.
Listen to this album: Tucked up in bed.
Rating: 82%
Extracts from ‘Mis-takes’, ‘A day for letting go’, ‘My name is despair’ and ‘This is the end’
