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User
Reviews 2
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Album Ratings 773
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Last Active 10-25-11 8:18 pm
Joined 10-12-07
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| Call Me Fishmael Friend
Caught Between A Lampshade And A Toothpick 101 | | 7 |  | Sondre Lerche
Phantom Punch
"Phantom Punch" invades with poppy hooks from the very start. "Airport Taxi
Reception" is written seemingly as a message on the answering machine of all the
things you've wanted to say to someone you love but were afraid to. The glitchy
guitar stylings here conjure up an attitude of carefree honesty-something Sondre
Lerche excels at. And while setting up what is a more experimental approach for
the singer-songwriter, we still get a nice dose of simplistic acoustic on "Tragic
Mirror", a gorgeous song that serves as a nice volta into the the vicious "Face The
Blood". "Faces Down" may be the best known work of Sondre (and for good
reason) but it would be a shame for anyone to miss out on "Phantom Punch" as it is
easily his most exciting release to date. | | 6 |  | Mr. Bungle
Disco Volante
I have very fond memories of caffeine-fueled ping pong matches in my basement
with "Disco Volante" blasting just to speed up the insanity. I was introduced to Mr.
Bungle and Fantomas at about the same time. And while the love i found for "The
Director's Cut" by Fantomas was uncanny; I remember listening to Disco and
finding it even more complex and difficult to interpret. Each listen yields different
results; this is what i love about Mike Patton. As soon as you think you know what
he's on about he'll shoot a laser beam through your skull and have you lost in
another psychotic world. Try and navigate through this absurd wilderness and you'll
find that making to the end will only leave you with more questions than answers. | | 5 | | Neon Blonde
Chandeliers In The Savanna
Any good Blood Brothers fan will tell you about Jaguar Love, whether out of dismay
or approval, yet as much as I enjoy Jaguar's first LP nothing can touch the
songwriting of Neon Blonde's first and only release. Its abrasive, catchy, and
bombastic as Johnny Whitney has ever been. If you hear nothing else from this CD,
at least check out "Chandeliers And Vines". That song has found its way into so
many playlists of mine and has a balladry that you probably won't find in the Blood
Brother's catalogue. | | 4 |  | of Montreal
Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies
A gem among the prolific of Montreal catalogue; "Coquelicot" is as good a concept
album as you could ever hope for in the psych-pop genre. Filled with elaborate
story-telling and driven by a madman careening from song to song, Barnes invites
us to story time. "Penelope" alone will command anyone into giving this album a
try. Yet this is not the only standout. Among others, "Good Morning Mr. Edmington"
provides a great vignette of modern man's desperate attempt at cracking it in the
real world. A young man imploring a "Mr. Edmington" for an honest job in his
factory. For some reason this always reminds me of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil"; a
motion picture that so adamantly focuses on the balance of desire and
complacency. | | 3 |  | Girls
Album
The immediate quake of good feelings one might experience from Girls, in the right
setting, can be cataclysmic. From the very first line "Oh I wish i had a boyfriend..."
sung in a slightly whiney tone, you know you're in for an interesting yet somehow
familiar ride. I can understand the comparisons between Girls and, say, the Beach
Boys or maybe for a newer reference someone along the lines of Surfer Blood. But
what sets them apart from some of the more well-known "beach/surfer" vibe is the
raw emotion. The listener is plunged into a space somewhere between tired anxiety
and tears of bliss; something that "Album" taps into effortlessly. Lose yourself in
this life-affirming debut the first time; then let the melodies wash over you time
and time again-as a receding tide might on the shores of your heart-strings. | | 2 |  | The Beatles
Rubber Soul
Finding something to say about a band whose career has been extremely
documented and profusely commented upon isn't necessarily easy or useful. Yet I
feel the need to highlight Rubber Soul's pure brilliance for the hell of it. Never will
you hear such a collage of pop, transcendental, and rock n roll pulled off so nicely.
I think "Nowhere Man" stands out as one of the most introspective tracks ever
created; a dichotomy of alienation and "non-being" if you will. On one hand the
nowhere man is just like us, obscure and unknown to the world. We are absurd
creations floating about with very little recognition. And on the other hand the
nowhere man in us strives to reach a consciousness bereft of all tangible and
worldly things. Perhaps this tone permeates a record full of left turns and
unexpected tracking. "Rubber Soul" maintains the eloquence of the early, drug
induced stage of The Beatles while sounding like a shorter, more refined "White
Album". | | 1 |  | Pavement
Wowee Zowee
On certain days, nothing fits the ear drums quite like some good old Pavement.
Wowee Zowee showcases a band at the height of the powers doing whatever the
hell they want; and pulling it off with stellar results. "We Dance" is such a cool intro
to an even cooler album. Then you get hit with "Rattled By The Rush"-a radio
friendly tune with some great slide guitar as well as some of the least whimsical
Malkmus lyrics out there. "Brave Architecture" has such a nice, relaxed jammy feel
to it, and gives you this great bouncing around feeling that could be likened to
strolling around a store you have no interest in buying anything from. Just admire
the building and move on; nothing strikes you besides the fact that its there. And,
of course, i have to mention the sultry "Grounded". One of the greatest tracks of
the 90s; this will send you in to an absolute trance. | |
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