This particular Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album seems more reserved and pure than its predecessors. Piano-based as it is, it seems as though Cave is humbly singing these ballads from an empty church, belting out his confessions and declarations of love. This album is a revelation. It is Cave opening his eyes and realizing that love is his religion, and he is breaking free of an oppressive God and embracing love as his savior.
Cave's disillusionment with the church is made apparent throughout The Boatman's Call. Cave makes it abundantly clear that his lover is the one who gets him though, not God. In Cave's documentary, "20,000 Days On Earth", Cave says his addiction was his main reason for going to church: to justify his drug abuse. Since getting clean, Cave has not been to church to worship.
In "There Is A Kingdom", Cave sings about being independent from God. The words "kingdom" and "king" are often used to describe God and his dominion over the Earth, but Cave uses these words to show how the "king" is himself, with his "kingdom" being his own independence and self-reliance.
Marriage is a theme which Cave interestingly entertwined with the theme of freedom. While some songs portray marriage as a restricting experience, Cave sings about marriage as though it will bring him freedom, surrounding him in the love that he praises so highly. The "sun would stream on the sheets / Awoken by the morning bird / We'd buy the Sunday newspapers / And never read a single word". Isn't that a nice picture? (Even though, in typical Nick Cave-style, it ends sadly.)
In "Into My Arms", Cave sings, "I don't believe in an interventionist God...I don't believe in the existence of angels...But I believe in love / And I know that you do too". It's all about the importance of love when compared to organized religion. The instruments used in this array of songs also convey this message. Even though Cave is an atheist, Boatman's Call is Jimmy Swaggart-like in its spiritual sound. Ironically, Cave uses the organ and piano (typical church choir instruments) to show the holiness and reverence he has in his love, while at the same time denouncing his belief in God.
That being said, listening to this album is a definite religious experience.
RELEASE DATE: March 2, 1997
LABEL: Mute/ BMG
RUN TIME: 52 min
TOP TWO TRACKS: "Into My Arms", "Idiot Prayer"
GRADE: A+
FINAL COMMENTS: This album is like sex in a church.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Athlete -- Vehicles And Animals
Athlete is the quintessential British alt-rock band from the early 2000's. This album captures exactly the feel of this time: a kind of uneasiness about the future, and a grasping in the dark for one's own identity. It's almost as if the members of Athlete looked at each other and said, "We're survived the '90's. Now what?"
It's things like the shouted "CHORUS!" in "Westside" before the actual chorus: intentional jabs at their own formula which take away from the atmosphere and instead add to their aesthetic. It's postmodern, and it works.
The lyrics are often vague: The phrase "It was just one of those things" in "One Million" left me kind of cold, especially since it was repeated so many times. Some tracks verge on boring. "Shake Those Windows" takes no risks, and is probably the most uninteresting track on this album.
To me, the album started out promising with the boppy "El Salvador" and then transitioned into more of already-done alt-music tropes (like the ending feedback in "Beautiful" and the theremin, which seems to pop up randomly). It then picked up speed with the happy "You Got The Style", which seems to carry the rest of the album on its back. The band really found its own sound with "Vehicles And Animals", the title track. From then on, Athlete sounds less like an Arctic Monkeys garage copy and more like their own project.
RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2003
LABEL: Parlophone
RUN TIME: 46 min
TOP TWO TRACKS: "El Salvador", "You Got The Style"
GRADE: B-
FINAL COMMENTS: Dream-like British tunes which verge on same-y sounds. This is good background music. The album really finds itself after "You Got The Style".
It's things like the shouted "CHORUS!" in "Westside" before the actual chorus: intentional jabs at their own formula which take away from the atmosphere and instead add to their aesthetic. It's postmodern, and it works.
The lyrics are often vague: The phrase "It was just one of those things" in "One Million" left me kind of cold, especially since it was repeated so many times. Some tracks verge on boring. "Shake Those Windows" takes no risks, and is probably the most uninteresting track on this album.
To me, the album started out promising with the boppy "El Salvador" and then transitioned into more of already-done alt-music tropes (like the ending feedback in "Beautiful" and the theremin, which seems to pop up randomly). It then picked up speed with the happy "You Got The Style", which seems to carry the rest of the album on its back. The band really found its own sound with "Vehicles And Animals", the title track. From then on, Athlete sounds less like an Arctic Monkeys garage copy and more like their own project.
RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2003
LABEL: Parlophone
RUN TIME: 46 min
TOP TWO TRACKS: "El Salvador", "You Got The Style"
GRADE: B-
FINAL COMMENTS: Dream-like British tunes which verge on same-y sounds. This is good background music. The album really finds itself after "You Got The Style".
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Father John Misty -- I Love You, Honeybear
Father John Misty is like a pretentious on-again-off-again boyfriend you can't stop thinking about. Sure, he says some douchey stuff, but he makes you feel really good. Also, he's kinda hot. So you decide to keep coming back to him over and over again.
This has got to be one of the best albums of 2015. The emotion, the wordplay, the relatable funny-sadness and the gorgeous lyrics are all components of this incredible album. Even though his pseudonym sounds like a cult leader, Josh Tillman can really work it.
This album is about his relationship with his wife, Emma. In a way, he makes his the romance between him and his wife more universal, as if his love is with the Earth. It makes it seem like his wife is his world, which is sweet. "The future can't be real, I barely know how long a moment is / unless we're naked, getting high on the mattress / while the global market crashes" is a great example of this.
Even though all of this album's songs sound amazing, two tracks in particular carry a Banksy-esque, cynically white male pseudo-edginess which just tires me out at this point. Both "Bored In The USA" and "The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apt." feature his singing about how ignorant and arrogant the world is, while he is above it. Which is arrogant in itself. Even though the lyrics have me rolling my eyes (especially "The Night..." which is all about his hate-fucking a girl who says "literally", which makes him "want to fucking scream". Really.) there's something about his self-hatred, or maybe it's the unintentional irony, which keeps these songs from being total losses. They're still very good songs to listen to.
I think it's fair to compare his style to Sufjan Stevens. Both of them put out incredible albums this year, and both have the irresistible way of conveying -- dare I say it -- epic emotion. The sweeping instrumentals matched with Tillman's vocals can literally carry you away.
And, much like that boyfriend you can't seem to forget, Father John Misty knows just what buttons to push to make this experience an enjoyable one.
RELEASE DATE: February 10, 2015
LABEL: Sub Pop
RUN TIME: 45 min
TOP TWO TRACKS: "Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)", "Holy Shit"
GRADE: A
FINAL COMMENTS: The laughtrack in "Bored In The USA" sends shivers down my spine. Literally.
This has got to be one of the best albums of 2015. The emotion, the wordplay, the relatable funny-sadness and the gorgeous lyrics are all components of this incredible album. Even though his pseudonym sounds like a cult leader, Josh Tillman can really work it.
This album is about his relationship with his wife, Emma. In a way, he makes his the romance between him and his wife more universal, as if his love is with the Earth. It makes it seem like his wife is his world, which is sweet. "The future can't be real, I barely know how long a moment is / unless we're naked, getting high on the mattress / while the global market crashes" is a great example of this.
Even though all of this album's songs sound amazing, two tracks in particular carry a Banksy-esque, cynically white male pseudo-edginess which just tires me out at this point. Both "Bored In The USA" and "The Night Josh Tillman Came To Our Apt." feature his singing about how ignorant and arrogant the world is, while he is above it. Which is arrogant in itself. Even though the lyrics have me rolling my eyes (especially "The Night..." which is all about his hate-fucking a girl who says "literally", which makes him "want to fucking scream". Really.) there's something about his self-hatred, or maybe it's the unintentional irony, which keeps these songs from being total losses. They're still very good songs to listen to.
I think it's fair to compare his style to Sufjan Stevens. Both of them put out incredible albums this year, and both have the irresistible way of conveying -- dare I say it -- epic emotion. The sweeping instrumentals matched with Tillman's vocals can literally carry you away.
And, much like that boyfriend you can't seem to forget, Father John Misty knows just what buttons to push to make this experience an enjoyable one.
RELEASE DATE: February 10, 2015
LABEL: Sub Pop
RUN TIME: 45 min
TOP TWO TRACKS: "Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)", "Holy Shit"
GRADE: A
FINAL COMMENTS: The laughtrack in "Bored In The USA" sends shivers down my spine. Literally.
Monday, July 27, 2015
The Killers -- Battleborn
Battleborn is like a long, weird dream. The songs overlap and reference elements from previous albums, even borrowing a riff from a previous song to continue the storyline, much like a dream draws from personal experiences to make it more realistic. And neither of them make much sense. As much as they enjoy referencing themselves, The Killers can't quite seem to decide on a single meaning, instead just sprinkling their own song titles and recycling lines from previous songs to provide the illusion of a storyline. If all of this interconnected to have a final, meaningful conclusion, it would certainly feel much better to the listener than just randomly interspersed references to make the band seem clever. Although this tactic impressed Fourteen-Year-Old Me, Present Me is unimpressed.
Other than the inside references, a common theme with this album is romance. While the album could be interpreted as a follow-up to their biggest hit "Mr. Brightside", "Miss Atomic Bomb" is certainly a continuation of that storyline. It's anybody's guess if the rest of Battleborn is related or not.
"Flesh and Bone" is one of the weirdest songs about sex I've heard in a while, and the cliched joy of discovering another person's body for The First Time. There are plenty of cliches interwoven throughout the entire album. I'm starting to wonder if B-Flow writes any of these songs in over fifteen minutes.
I think what I love the most about The Killers is the way Brandon Flowers delivers these lyrics, sometimes with such power. I can't see much that makes The Killers unique musically, but I'll be damned if I don't mention how Mr. Flowers can belt 'em out. That and the admittedly overused outside-Vegas desert aesthetic the album carries on from, like, the entire Killers existence work together to sell the album. Some of the songs are sad, and some of them are catchy, but I can't say any of them are 100% original.
RELEASE DATE: 2012
LABEL: Island Records
RUN TIME: 66 mins (1 hr, 6 mins)
TOP TWO TRACKS: "From Here On Out". That song is a true gem amidst plastic ones. ("Miss Atomic Bomb" is actually pretty good, too.)
GRADE: C+
FINAL COMMENTS: Gosh, these guys rely heavily on cliche and their established fanbase. Brandon Flowers is a Mormon.
Other than the inside references, a common theme with this album is romance. While the album could be interpreted as a follow-up to their biggest hit "Mr. Brightside", "Miss Atomic Bomb" is certainly a continuation of that storyline. It's anybody's guess if the rest of Battleborn is related or not.
"Flesh and Bone" is one of the weirdest songs about sex I've heard in a while, and the cliched joy of discovering another person's body for The First Time. There are plenty of cliches interwoven throughout the entire album. I'm starting to wonder if B-Flow writes any of these songs in over fifteen minutes.
I think what I love the most about The Killers is the way Brandon Flowers delivers these lyrics, sometimes with such power. I can't see much that makes The Killers unique musically, but I'll be damned if I don't mention how Mr. Flowers can belt 'em out. That and the admittedly overused outside-Vegas desert aesthetic the album carries on from, like, the entire Killers existence work together to sell the album. Some of the songs are sad, and some of them are catchy, but I can't say any of them are 100% original.
RELEASE DATE: 2012
LABEL: Island Records
RUN TIME: 66 mins (1 hr, 6 mins)
TOP TWO TRACKS: "From Here On Out". That song is a true gem amidst plastic ones. ("Miss Atomic Bomb" is actually pretty good, too.)
GRADE: C+
FINAL COMMENTS: Gosh, these guys rely heavily on cliche and their established fanbase. Brandon Flowers is a Mormon.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Billy Pilgrim -- Billy Pilgrim
I picked this particular album up when I was hitting the town with friends a few months ago. Holding it in my hands, I noticed something: the name of the band (and the interesting font choice for that name) emblazoned on the album cover, which features two blurry men standing back-to-back and strumming guitars. Since I recognized the band's name from one of my favorite novels (Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. Go read it.) I decided to chance listening to the band. And boy, I'm glad I did.
"Get Me Out of Here", The first track is a peppy part-country, part-folk, all awesome tune about escaping the city and returning to nature. Don't let the "part-country" bit fool you, because Billy Pilgrim is full of surprises. This song is all about escape. Escape from the "crowded streets" and the "subway's steamy kiss" to the clarity of the countryside. The cheery guitar quickly transformed into a fevered strum, much like the singer's initial dissatisfaction evolves into passionate cry for escape. It's great.
The following track, "Insomniac", sounds very similar to the initial track, but with some gorgeous female vocals joining in to emphasize just how good it is to be loved. Or how good it is to just finally get some goddamned sleep.
By far the best track on the album is "Hula Hoop". It incorporates both the dramatic harmonica intro with the "ahh-ahh" reminiscent of doo-wop. It's a happy bop with cutesy lyrics. There's nothing kitschy about it, though. It's all genuine, which makes it irresistible to jam out to.
Billy Pilgrim's sound is happy, upbeat, and simple. It masks a poetic complexity which takes the listener by surprise. Sometimes, the sound can be a bit samey, but since it's a solid sound, I don't actually find myself caring too much. I'm disappointed that this band was so short-lived, because this album promises so much.
RELEASE DATE: 1994
LABEL: Atlantic Records
RUN TIME: 32 min
TOP TWO TRACKS: "Hula Hoop", "Lost and Found in Tinseltown"
GRADE: A-
FINAL COMMENTS: This is a really really REALLY good album. When I come back as a ghost, I'll possess people just to make them buy it. Maybe it'll revive the band. Who knows?
"Get Me Out of Here", The first track is a peppy part-country, part-folk, all awesome tune about escaping the city and returning to nature. Don't let the "part-country" bit fool you, because Billy Pilgrim is full of surprises. This song is all about escape. Escape from the "crowded streets" and the "subway's steamy kiss" to the clarity of the countryside. The cheery guitar quickly transformed into a fevered strum, much like the singer's initial dissatisfaction evolves into passionate cry for escape. It's great.
The following track, "Insomniac", sounds very similar to the initial track, but with some gorgeous female vocals joining in to emphasize just how good it is to be loved. Or how good it is to just finally get some goddamned sleep.
By far the best track on the album is "Hula Hoop". It incorporates both the dramatic harmonica intro with the "ahh-ahh" reminiscent of doo-wop. It's a happy bop with cutesy lyrics. There's nothing kitschy about it, though. It's all genuine, which makes it irresistible to jam out to.
Billy Pilgrim's sound is happy, upbeat, and simple. It masks a poetic complexity which takes the listener by surprise. Sometimes, the sound can be a bit samey, but since it's a solid sound, I don't actually find myself caring too much. I'm disappointed that this band was so short-lived, because this album promises so much.
RELEASE DATE: 1994
LABEL: Atlantic Records
RUN TIME: 32 min
TOP TWO TRACKS: "Hula Hoop", "Lost and Found in Tinseltown"
GRADE: A-
FINAL COMMENTS: This is a really really REALLY good album. When I come back as a ghost, I'll possess people just to make them buy it. Maybe it'll revive the band. Who knows?
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