Wow, it’s been a while- lots of music to catch y’all up on. I’m going to start reviewing albums rather than just picking out the ones I recommend listening to. There have been a few pretty bad albums out recently and I’d like to start recommending what not to listen to as well.
I started listening to City and Color, Dallas Green’s acoustic folk solo project which deserves kudos for the name alone. While Dallas Green plays guitar and sings in the post-hardcore group Alexisonfire, City and Color really showcases his abilities as a singer and a songwriter and shows an impressive contrast between the styles of music he is capable of producing.
City and Color - The Girl
Alexisonfire - This Could Be Anywhere In The World
B.o.B’s newest album, while horribly mainstream, isn’t that bad. His lyrics are fairly terrible but I find his songs a lot more tolerable than most of the stuff on the radio these days so here are a few begrudging recommendations.
Papa Roach released a live album along with 5 new songs on a CD called Time For Annihilation. The new songs are the usual Papa Roach style but are actually a step up from their last album Metamorphosis which left a lot to be desired. The live part of the album is fine. They’re not bad live but they’re not outstanding. Since they no longer release new songs in their old rap-rock style its nice to hear a few of their classics live like “Last Resort” and “Between Angels and Insects”. If you’re in the mood of some hard-hitting punk rock and/or want to hear Papa Roach play live check it out.
(I can’t find any good links for the new songs so just listen to any of them- they’re all about the caliber none of them really stand out)
Disturbed has a new album out called Asylum which is a huge step down from their previous releases. Indestructible (their last album) was absolutely amazing and you should go get it right now along with their first album The Sickness which has recently been remastered and re-released and is nothing short of legendary. The singles off of Asylum sound like something you’d find as filler on any of their other albums. The melodies are uninspired and the guitar solos are expected. This album brings nothing new to the table and almost every song could have been B-sides off of any previous Disturbed album. The album starts off strong with a nice intro song Remnants which makes the album seem like It’ll take off in a new direction. Alas, it does not. The first track after the intro, Asylum, is probably the best track on the album and also has a pretty cool video so check it out. Disturbed also whips out a cover of U2’s Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For which isn’t as bad as one would think. They manage to pull it off while adding a bit of their own signature sound. The rest of the album is horribly generic and can be missed.
Kele from Bloc Party released a solo album called The Boxer which essentially sounds like Bloc Party with electronics replacing all the instruments. The first single off the album, Tenderoni is great and extremely catchy. If you like Bloc Party, check it out.
That’s plenty for now. In the next few days I’ll try to write about Osheaga, a music festival in Montreal which I went to this summer and Linkin Park’s new album which is just a huge mess, I can’t even get started on it here. I’m also seeing a bunch of concerts in October so I’ll review all of those too.
It feels good to be back.
