Carrying on February's Music Writer's Exercise (#MWE), each day I listen to a new album and tweet a brief review of it. Then every two weeks compile those tweets here with some extra thoughts.
Why? 2015 release.
Additional Thoughts: Multiple reviews
compared a couple of the tracks to the Killers and I can certainly get behind that
idea with the stipulation that the Mynabirds do so with actual sincerity. I
mentioned it in the tweet as well, of course, but “Omaha” got some real chills
out of me. It’s one of the most beautiful tracks I’ve heard so far this year.
8/14: New Politics' Vikings: Energetic and fun, though full of clichés... until the
baffling and terrible final track.
Why? New release. I saw them open for Paramore
and Fall Out Boy last year, but I had yet to check out any of their work.
Additional Thoughts: I remember liking
New Politics well enough when I saw them. Evidently not enough to check them
out immediately and perhaps I should’ve taken that as a sign. The album is
energetic and fun, but any enjoyment is impeded by just how Fueled By Ramen
they are. Take opener “Everywhere I Go (Kings and Queens),” which tries so hard
to be like fun.’s “Some Nights” and fails utterly because, try as he might, vocalist
David Boyd being no Nate Ruess. There’s also “Loyalties Among Thieves” that
some lyric sites have credited to Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, and Joe Trohman of
Fall Out Boy. The album’s Wikipedia page, meanwhile, claims every track has
been written by New Politics, which frankly, you could be forgiven for not
believing considering how much it sounds like Fall Out Boy. New Politics’
inability to set themselves apart isn’t a new criticism, either. I found
reviews of their debut that pointed out how much they seem to want to be the
Killers and Franz Ferdinand. And funnily enough, the final track “Strings
Attached” nearly turned out my opinion on the album until it turned on me. The
track starts off as a blistering ska, sort of hardcore number and then after
about three minutes of silence there’s a rap verse about having a “gold dick”
and what sounds like folks high on helium. Then after another three minutes
there’s a dance synthpop interlude calling a girl an STD. Delightful. Yick. I’ll
give their other records a shot just to be sure, but as of now I just don’t
know who these guys are for. I mean, if you don’t dig any Fueled By Ramen
related artists, it’s doubtful they’ll convert you and if you do like FBR (as I do) they’re redundant.
8/15: Backstreet Boys' This Is Us: A marked improvement on previous work in terms of
vitality. Highlight: "Undone"
Why? I have a list of discographies I want to get
through. This time I decided to a walk down memory lane with the Backstreet
Boys.
Additional Thoughts: I hesitate to call
it a return to form, but I suppose if any BSB record could be called such it
would be this one as it has more in common with the upbeat dance music of their
international debut than adult contemporary/ballad focus of much of their
output since then. I should also mention that while I find it an improvement on
Unbreakable that doesn’t mean I
necessarily find it good on its own. The music has much more life to it, which
is great, in a way, but it’s not enough for me to ignore a lot of the lyrical
faux pas, like “PDA.” Though the worst offender is probably “She’s a Dream”;
the full lyric being, “She’s a dream, cause she knows me.” And it gets worse.
The basic point of the song is that this girl is such an awesome wonderful
person for the narrator, because she doesn’t have a TV or radio and she’s
completely ignorant of his celebrity status which everyone (including him) actively keeps from her. It’s. Just.
Baffling. Plus, personal gripe, I guess, I know it was co-written by T-Pain,
but I don’t need to hear the Backstreet say shorty. Maybe A.J. McLean could’ve
carried that off in 2000, but the rest of the group in 2009? No. It’s like a
dad desperately trying to sound with it. I really like “Undone,” though, so
there’s that at least.
8/16: The Rolling Stones' The Rolling Stones, Now!: Maybe it's me, but the cover of
"Down Home Girl" is... uncomfortable.
Why? I actually wasn’t going to include this
album, but didn’t have enough time to listen to another instead. Whoops.
Additional Thoughts: I’ve probably
touched on this before, but the early Stones records are difficult to talk
about. The abundance of covers is one reason; another is differences and
overlaps in the UK and U.S. versions. There’s often so much overlap that for
the most part I’ve decided to forgo most of them altogether as daily albums. But,
as I said, I run low on time on this particular day, so I decided to bend the
rules. Plus, I’m not sure if “Down Home Girl” was on an album I’d already
discussed, but it’s a song that I didn’t want to pass without any comment. The
song basically sings the praises of a Southern country girl with all these
stereotypical things like “turnip greens,” but then there’s a line about
working in cotton fields and the line, “Every time you monkey child.” And I
just… no. Again, maybe it’s me, maybe I’m being overly sensitive or something,
but it doesn’t sit well with me.
8/17: Backstreet Boys' In A World Like This: If only their ostensible maturity yielded
more like the sweet "Madeleine."
Why? Finishing up the Backstreet Boys’
discography.
Additional Thoughts: The title track
says, “In time like this when nothing comes from the heart” and much of this
album proves that. The big exception to that, of course, is “Madeleine” which
is genuinely touching. It’s perhaps the most touching thing they’ve done since “Shape
of My Heart.” It’s just a shame that their idea of maturity manifests as empty platitudes
and attempts to sound like OneRepublic as shown in “Show ‘Em (What You’re Made
Of)”. (Ironic, considering the only song I like off This Is Us was
actually co-written by OR’s Ryan Tedder.) That or metaphors comparing love to
prison or war, which sound way more melodramatic than they are in practice. In
fact, they could probably stand to use more melodrama in such cases. I mean, if
you’re going to compare a break up to prison you might as well go all out.
8/18: Thee Tsunamis' Saturday Night Sweetheart: Feels like it's from an alt-universe 1950s
full of rough girl bands.
Why? 2015 release that Spotify recommended.
Additional Thoughts: The second I heard
tracks like “I Know” I immediately regretted not saving the “punk rock Pipettes”
descriptor. It does sound like it’s from an alternate timeline or that it’s a
live recording recently unearthed from someone’s attic, which might be due in
part to the fact that it was apparently recorded onto tape. It’s great fun. I
don’t know what I did to have my Spotify recommendations filled with so many
awesome chick bands recently, but I’m really glad it happened.
8/19: Cloud Nothings' Attack On Memory: Such blunt lyrics are admirable when others get
so caught up in arch metaphors.
Why? A review on the Needle Drop made me curious.
Additional Thoughts: Granted I do have a
not-so-secret affinity for metaphors, arch or not. Still, there is value in
getting straight to the point and saying what you mean. If I had any issue with
the album, it wouldn’t be the lyrics, but Dylan Baldi’s vocals. The gritty,
growly thing he does (most prominently on songs like “No Future/No Past” and “Wasted
Days”) seems a bit affected. I know other complimented such things, but it didn’t
really work for me. Even so, I like the album and “Stay Useless” in particular.
8/22: Green Day's Dookie: A bit juvenile at times, sure, but damn, if it isn't
cathartic and fun.
Why? Maintaining motivation has been difficult
lately, which means a “Longview” loop can’t be too far behind.
Additional Thoughts: I nearly didn’t
choose this album as I’ve probably heard it in full while driving around with
friends, but I figured since I made an exception for Backstreet Boys’ first two
records I could make another one here. And while I would love to crack into
this album more, it’s part of the RS500, so that must wait. However, unlike the
other daily albums that overlap with the RS500, I’ve decided to bump this up in
the queue, so a full Dookie post
might come sooner than you think.
All albums available to stream on Spotify.
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