TV on the Radio - Dear Science
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Free Music Notes for Dear Science
Free Music Review: Not worth the hype
Hit: 2 Stars
Sorry, I know there are a lot of die hard fans out there... and it was because of said fans that i made this purchase... but, in my view, it fell far short of the hype. 1 or 2 great songs, but I had high hopes that were not met!Free Music Review: Hardly experimental, a cluttered mess
Hit: 2 Stars
of sounds they've been taking from Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes), and Beck. Not danceable, not original, and incredibly inconsistent.Free Music Review: outkast meets coldplay and does most of the talking
Hit: 1 Stars
unbelievable. i dont remember the last time i was this disappointed. i can deal with, and would even welcome, the change in musical style, but the severe decline in artistic quality is unacceptable. what stood out on return to cookie mountain was the bands unique sound, which they pulled off without being overshadowed by their musical influences. when listening to dear science, however, i made a very strong, very immediate association with another band FIRST. it sounds like the idea was to emulate someone elses sound, then try (and fail) to make it their own by using additional instruments and cool sound effects. i cant deny that the production really is first rate, with meticulous attention to detail, but i still prefer the raw-sounding production used on cookie mountain, and theres no comparison between the two releases in terms of originality. sadly, i found more to be in common with extremely derivative, corporate-sponsored products like coldplay and outkast... dont be surprised if you hear a lot more of dear science in car and computer commercials, your local target store, and the latest meaningless teenage/college drama movie of the month.
HALFWAY HOME instantly reminded me of coldplay, with some bloc party thrown in for good measure. i will admit, the vocal range on display in this track is impressive and gets my vote for best moment on the cd. unfortunately, the lyrics fail to inspire and the half-hearted, basic, all-purpose stadium dance/rock ending ruins an otherwise decent song.
CRYING, DANCING CHOOSE, STORK & OWL, and GOLDEN AGE could all conceivably be on an outkast album. stage-forward drums, music-box melodies and hand claps galore. the problem is, outkast does it better, and at least makes me want to dance before i forget about them for the rest of my life.
golden age in particular has utterly embarrassing lyrics that exemplify the content on most of the cd:
"oh here it comes, like a natural disaster
all blown up like a, ghettoblaster
oh here it comes, bring it faster
oh here it comes, bring it faster"
im not kidding, those are the lyrics (as accurately as i can hear them, anyway.) hey, decide for yourself, but that shouldnt satisfy anyone with high artistic standards.
FAMILY TREE sounds like coldplay performing a ballad, and features equally poor, sophomoric lyrics that force the listener to endure verses that rhyme the words, "be, sea, tree, me, and three." seriously, that type of drivel makes me feel nauseous. add to that the generic, overexposed and unemotional strings recklessly tacked onto the end (a la mellon collie & the infinite sadness) and my skin is crawling with discomfort.
RED DRESS revisits outkast once again.... blah, blah, blah...
LOVE DOG treats us to a postal service styled intro, followed by some more boredom, then concludes with an amber-era autechre-like reverberating drum pattern, accompanied by more generic strings.
the last three tracks are just so bad, too nondescript for description and almost not even worth mentioning... although i will comment on LOVERS DAY, which features a two-minute coda that most closely resembles a high school marching band practice session... the junior varsity squad.
ive been eagerly anticipating the release of massive attacks new cd, even more so because sitek was producing it. now im nervous.
Free Music Review: piccolo death star
Hit: 1 Stars
Here's some solid evidence that we've nearly reached the end of the wagon trail. Before long, music will be pumped straight into our veins calibrated to our particular mood, taste or ambition -- and still, we will gravitate toward the dizzying spectacle, the flab of the gab.
Question: Are we living in such excessive and/or inattentive times that our rock musicians have to clutter all their tunes with mixers, pedals, effects, filters, trinkets, various other whoop-de-doos, and then truck in the whole fricken high school band room? "Golden Age" is particularly unsettling, mixing Thomas Magnum's theme bassline with a sickly attempt at a "Thriller" medley. Dear lord, I thought-gasped as my earhairs recoiled at the audible tragedy that is "Family Tree," a tune that I figure would get regular airplay on an FM radio version of the Hallmark Channel.
There's this point at the end of "The Last Waltz" (a film I obviously intend to trash at a later date) where all the guest musicians gather for the last hurrah. Everyone is playing along and singing, some four-wide at the mikes. And it sounds absolutely horrible. All these beautiful, distinctive voices just battering, blistering the air -- and formless clatter lathered by too many instruments vying for attention.
Free Music Review: Terrible compression = terrible album.
Hit: 1 Stars
I bought this album, like its (far superior) predecessor, as soon as it came out. Unlike Cookie Mountain, I have since returned it to the place where I bought it from. The songs could have been good, but the terrible mixing (done by the same guy who ruined The Strokes' Room on Fire) made it virtually unlistenable, so the songs may as well be bad because I simply cannot listen to them. The mixing makes the band sound bored and half-asleep - all the excitement has been sucked out of the music.
Artists like Merzbow over-compress their music because they want their listeners to feel uncomfortable; is this really the effect TVOTR were aiming for here? If so, job well done boys. I will not be buying any more of their albums unless I receive proof that the mixing was not ruined by the idiot record company (Interscope, in this case).