rock musika

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Alternative Metal
Industial
Industrial Metal

Album Review:

Hard to believe that at one point Trent Reznor was seen as the quintessential perfectionist, squirreled away in a decaying Victorian house, sweating over each individual track he created, spending upwards of six years between albums. He's shattered that image in the new millennium, especially after his 2007 divorce from Interscope, a parting of the ways that left him free to release albums when and how he chose. Reznor immediately embraced that opportunity, releasing the instrumental double-album Ghosts I-IV without announcement in March 2008, then quickly following it two months later with The Slip, a full-fledged vocal album. Such rapid succession served notice that Reznor intended to take full advantage of his freedom, and its availability as a free lossless download prior to its physical release couldn't help but be seen as a veiled stab at Radiohead's variable pricing for In Rainbows, a move Trent called a "marketing gimmick," a charge that can't quite be leveled against Nine Inch Nails as Reznor encouraged fans to post The Slip elsewhere, to give it away to friends, to remix their tracks if they wished. Unlike Ghosts, which seemed designed with remixing and sampling in mind, The Slip doesn't cry out for recontextualization in order to make sense: it's riveting on its own terms.

Mercilessly tight and efficient where Year Zero was majestic and sprawling, The Slip is the most user-friendly Nine Inch Nails album ever. At only ten tracks, there is no fat on its bones. It does not offer a slow build, it leaps into action with the lacerating "1,000,000," maintaining a blistering intensity for half the record before eventually winding its way to softer moments for the album's conclusion. There is no learning curve to The Slip, it does not require effort to decode a narrative, it does not slowly unfold its own internal logic, it comes on with a tightly controlled force that's present even in the quietest moments, as they pulsate with coiled tension. The Slip is so easy to digest because Trent Reznor is in consolidation mode, relying on his strengths instead of punishingly pushing himself forward. Such obsession with progress weighed down The Fragile and With Teeth, turning them into intricate puzzle boxes for devotees, but Reznor began to break free with the quite magnificent Year Zero, whose dense narrative likely alienated many fans. Here on The Slip, he retains the sense of urgency that flowed through Year Zero, but as it's a lean album, it's easier to appreciate his mastery of darkness and light or his ability to construct throbbing melodic hooks out of noise. Here, he's no longer a stylized, self-conscious innovator, he's a working musician enraptured by making music, and he's so invigorated by creation it's hard not to get sucked in as well.

Tracklist:
01. 999,999
02. 1,000,000
03. Letting You
04. Discipline
05. Echoplex
06. Head Down
07. Lights in the Sky
08. Corona Radiata
09. The Four of Us Are Dying
10. Demon Seed

DOWNLOAD : nin - the_slip

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Rap-Rock
Rap-Metal
Funk-Metal

Album Review:

311 are the grizzled graybeards of alternative music. For nearly ten years their funkified, left-field take on the rap-metal zeitgeist has been soundtracking dormitory keg parties -- that's a thousand lifetimes for some of these fly-by-night alt combos. In that stretch they've had their ups (1994's Grassroots) and their relative downs (the clunky Transistor), but they've always stayed creative, quietly building a reputation for consistency. In keeping with the band's creational verve and veteran status, Evolver at first seems to be their Statement Album, complete with a hilariously overwrought cover painting, and that snarky referential title. But it's a bit misleading because musically, the album turns out to be built from the usual 311 components. It's not their best work, but fans will enjoy it and there's little of the filler that's plagued the past few offerings. "Creatures [For a While]" is Evolver's "Come Original," its inescapable riff wrapped around stinging snare hits and S.A.'s endearing/annoying drop-ins. "Crack the Code" and "Sometimes Jacks Rule the Realm" account for the stylistic departure portion of the album, the former drifting lightly between dubby electronica and an S.A.-sung rasta rock lilt, the latter weaving acoustic guitar and echo around co-vocalist Nick Hexum's earnest lyricisms. Feel free to get a refill during these songs. However, with "Same Mistake Twice," an explosive standout, Evolver hits its best stretch, followed by "Still Dreaming" and "Give Me a Call." The tracks embody each tenet of 311's sound, from synth-based atmospherics through thick guitar chording, unique vocal phrasing, and bleary eyed reggae interpretation. Though it looks like a statement album, the prog masterpiece that the fizzling Transistor never was, Evolver is actually a rephrasing of what 311's always been saying. In a word, it's reliable. And isn't that what veterans are for?

Tracklist:
01. Creatures (For a While)
02. Reconsider Everything
03. Crack the Code
04. Same Mistake Twice
05. Beyond the Gray Sky
06. Seems Uncertain
07. Still Dreaming
08. Give Me a Call
09. Don't Dwell
10. Other Side of Things
11. Sometimes Jacks Rule the Realm

DOWNLOAD : 311 - evolver. rar
PASSWORD : makemebad

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Indie Pop
Brit Pop
Punk-Pop

Tracklist:
01. I Started a Fire
02. You Can't Have It All
03. Blacklisted
04. Polaris
05. Palace of Excess
06. End of the World
07. Ritual
08. Shadows
09. Princess Six
10. Dark and Stormy
11. Shattered Glass
12. Twilight of the Innocents

DOWNLOAD : ash - twilight_of_the_innocents. rar
PASSWORD : makemebad

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Alternative Singer/Songwriter

Album Review:

Fiona Apple demonstrates considerable talent on her debut album, Tidal, but it is unformed, unfocused talent. Her voice is surprisingly rich and supple for a teenager, and her jazzy, sophisticated piano playing also belies her age. Given the right material, such talents could have flourished, but she has concentrated on her own compositions, which are nowhere near as impressive as her musicianship. Most of Tidal is comprised of confessional singer/songwriter material, and while they strive to say something deep and important, much of the lyrics settle for clichés. Apple does have a handful of impressive songs on Tidal, like the haunting "Shadowboxer" and "Sullen Girl," but the gap between her performing talents and songwriting skills is too large to make the album anything more than a promising, and very intriguing, debut.

Tracklist:
01. Sleep to Dream
02. Sullen Girl
03. Shadowboxer
04. Criminal
05. Slow Like Honey
06 The First Taste
07. Never Is a Promise
08. The Child Is Gone
09. Pale September
10. Carrion

DOWNLOAD : fiona_apple - tidal. rar
PASSWORD : makemebad

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Altenative Singer/Songwriter
Pop/Rock

Album Review:

To say that the released version of Extraordinary Machine is a marked improvement over the bootlegged version is not to say that it sounds more complete -- after all, the Brion productions sounded finished, as evidenced by the two cuts that were retained; the intricate chamber pop of the opening title track and the closing "Waltz (Better Than Fine)" are the only time Brion's productions not only suited but enhanced Fiona's songs -- but to say that they're not only more accessible, but more fully realized, letting Apple's songs breathe in a way they didn't on the original sessions. While Brion's productions were interesting, they stretched his carnivalesque aesthetic to the limit, ultimately obscuring Apple's songs, which were already fussier, artier, and more oblique than her previous work. When matched to Brion's elaborately detailed productions, her music became an impenetrable wall of sound, but Elizondo's productions open these songs up, making it easier to hear Apple's songs while retaining most of her eccentricities. Now, Extraordinary Machine sounds like a brighter, streamlined version of When the Pawn, lacking the idiosyncratic arrangement and instrumentation of that record, yet retaining the artiness of the songs themselves. Like her second record, this album is not immediate; it takes time for the songs to sink in, to let the melodies unfold and decode her laborious words (she still has the unfortunate tendency to overwrite: "A voice once stentorian is now again/Meek and muffled"). Unlike the Brion-produced sessions, peeling away the layers on Extraordinary Machine is not hard work, since it not only has a welcoming veneer, but there are plenty of things that capture the imagination upon the first listen -- the pulsating piano on "Get Him Back," the moodiness of "O' Sailor," the coiled bluesy "Better Version of Me," the quiet intensity of the breakup saga "Window," insistent chorus on "Please Please Please" -- which gives listeners a reason to return and invest time in the album. And once they do go back for repeated listens, Extraordinary Machine becomes as rewarding, if not quite as distinctive, as When the Pawn. Nevertheless, this is neither a return to the sultry, searching balladeering of Tidal, nor a record that will bring her closer to tasteful, classy Norah Jones territory, thereby making her a more commercial artist again. Extraordinary Machine may be more accessible, but it remains an art-pop album in its attitude, intent, and presentation -- it's just that the presentation is cleaner, making her attitude appealing and her intent easier to ascertain, and that's what makes this final, finished Extraordinary Machine something pretty close to extraordinary.

Tracklist:
01. Extraordinary Machine
02. Get Him Back
03. O' Sailor Apple
04. Better Version of Me
05. Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song) Apple 4:05
06. Parting Gift
07. Window
08. Oh Well
09. Please Please Please
10. Red Red Red
11. Not About Love
12. Waltz (Better Than Fine)

DOWNLOAD : fiona_apple - extraordinary_machine. rar
PASSWORD : makemebad

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Alternative Metal
Heavy Metal
Grunge
Post-grunge
Rap-metal

Album Review:

Adrenaline is an appropriate title for this, the Deftones' debut album, as all ten tracks explode with repressed energy. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the Deftones are very controlled even in the midst of chaos. The musical attack is precise and well organized without sounding mechanical or soulless. Simply put, this music is the product of a good old-fashioned band, with every element of the music fitting together nicely. One of the practical ways in which this expresses itself is the way that the Deftones groove, a skill that most nu-metal bands have somehow managed to lose along the way. Throw Abe Cunningham's surprisingly sophisticated drumming into the mix, and you have a band that possesses a far greater degree of nuance than most others that work in the genre. If there is a weakness to Adrenaline, it is that there is a bit of sameness in Chino Moreno's whispered vocal melodies, which drags the record down a bit. On later albums, the band's progressive tendencies become more developed, but the more straight-ahead material on Adrenaline does not disappoint. A promising debut.

Tracklist:
01. Bored
02. Minus Blindfold
03. One Weak
04. Nosebleed
05. Lifter
06. Root
07. 7 Words
08. Birthmark
09. Engine No. 9
10. Fireal
11. Bonus Track- (hidden track)

DOWNLOAD : deftones - adrenaline. rar
PASSWORD : makemebad

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Alternative Metal
Heavy Metal
Grunge
Post-grunge
Rap-metal

Album Review:

While the Deftones still rely more on form than content, they have noticeably improved on their second album, Around the Fur. Their sound has hardened into a blunt, aggressive slab of metallic guitars and hammering drums, giving the album a visceral force. The Deftones tap into the same alternative metal vibe as Korn and L7, and while they don't have catchy riffs or a fully developed sound, Around the Fur suggests they're about to come into their own.

Tracklist:
01. My Own Summer (Shove It)
02. Ihabia
03. Mascara
04. Around the Fur
05. Rickets
06. Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
07. Lotion
08. Dai the Flu
09. Headup
10. MX

DOWNLOAD : deftones - around the fur. rar
PASSWORD : makemebad

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Alternative Metal
Heavy Metal
Post-grunge
Rap-metal

Album Review:

Hard rockers Deftones take their heavy post-grunge ways to another level on their third album White Pony. Sensing painful frustrations and personal rediscovery with its allusive microcosm of an album title, the Californian alt-rock five piece were periodically stifled while making White Pony. Their 1997 sophomore effort Around the Fur was hailed to blast out commercially, but such pressure crippled the band musically and personally. The band struggled with leading its direction, trudging through weighed emotion, but White Pony was the tantalizing outcome. The Deftones went soft, but in an impressive way, to twist around its signature punk thrash sound. Frontman Chino Moreno is still intense, and his sour vocals throughout the entire record growl and stomp all over mainstream movements. He is bored with it all. "Feiticeira" calls out against authority with textured guitars and gnarling percussive throws. "Elite" is sonically industrial and embryonic, as Moreno's beer-soaked vocals scream like Ministry's Al Jourgensen and Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre. Lyrically, Moreno is exquisitely mind-blowing, but his fear is also evident. Check out the fierce ballad-esque "Teenager" -- the innocent days when life seemed easy can only be dreams now. Moreno's duet with Tool's Maynard James Keenan on "Passenger" is as equally tender. The first single, "Change (In the House of Flies)," is hardening in the way that punk can be sultry and not just pogo-skanking nonsense. It is honest, stripped, and exposed with it's flowing guitar riffs and haunting orchestral back drops. There aren't any lackluster similarities to Limp Bizkit and Korn. The Deftones have forged ahead, unafraid to delve into the influences of The Smiths and The Cure.

Tracklist:
01. Feiticeira
02. Digital Bath
03. Elite
04. Rx Queen
05. Street Carp
06. Teenager
07. Knife Party
08. Korea
09. Passenger
10. Change (In the House of Flies)
11. Pink Maggit

DOWNLOAD : deftones - white_pony. rar
PASSWORD : makemebad

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Metal
Heavy Metal

Album Review:

The Deftones didn't really have a hard time with their third album, White Pony, since it received generally positive reviews and entered the Billboard charts at number three. However, the class of 2000/2001 nu-metalurgists overshadowed the group in terms of sales, even if they retained greater critical respect and a hardcore fan base, who nevertheless still registered some reluctance in regard to the artier, atmospheric, post-punk edges on White Pony. At first, their simply titled eponymous fourth album seems like a retreat from that territory, since as it opens with "Hexagram" it hits hard -- harder than they ever have, revealing how mushy Staind is, or how toothless Linkin Park is, even if it's a bit of a shame that Chino Moreno has resorted to guttural barking for singing. Deftones continue in that vein through much of the first half of the record, gradually working in more atmospheric numbers as the record draws to a close. That shift in mood has the strange effect of seeming confident at first, and then a retreat, even if the music they're retreating to is, by and large, more adventurous and reminiscent of White Pony. It feels as if Deftones feel compelled to strengthen their metallic roots and will sacrifice the very things that make them better and more interesting than the rest -- namely, their love of art rock, whether it's via the Cure or My Bloody Valentine. They don't abandon this impulse completely -- and when they marry it to their harder inclinations, the results are smashing, as on the lead single, "Minerva" -- which is welcome, since even if the harder stuff is done well (again, better than their peers), it doesn't carry nearly as much promise as when the Deftones don't play by the nu-metal reviews. When they do play by the rules, they're good, but they're great when they don't follow a map. Deftones sticks a little too close to familiar territory this time around -- the sound is still good, but knowing that they have done a record like White Pony, this feels like a disappointment, especially because in its unevenness, it sounds like it is the album that should have come before this one.

Tracklist:
01. Hexagram
02. Needles and Pins
03. Minerva
04. Good Morning Beautiful
05. Deathblow
06. When Girls Telephone Boys
07. Battle-Axe
08. Lucky You
09. Bloody Cape
10. Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event
11. Moana

DOWNLOAD : deftones - deftones. rar

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Alternative Metal
Hard Rock

Album Review:

Three long years after the Deftones issued their self-titled album to puzzling reviews, the Sacramento quintet is back with Saturday Night Wrist, a recording that will further muddy the waters about who they are and what they're trying to do. After the breakthrough metallic-sounding Around the Fur, the band confounded critics and fans alike with the much softer and atmospherically adventurous White Pony. In 2003 they further transgressed the borderlines of all things boxed and tied with their self-titled album, which seemed to walk the line between rockist and "sensitive." But it's Saturday Night Wrist that fills out the portrait, bleeding though textures from one rock & roll type to another and coming up with something else altogether yet definitively "Deftones." The album began with a question and a small conflict in deciding on a producer. Already working with the hip Dan the Automator, after some internal drama the band decided on veteran Bob Ezrin. Ezrin pays off in a number of ways: these songs, as diverse as they are, are utterly disciplined sonically. They have all the tension and dynamic, all the immediacy of yore, but the mix is spacious, and Chino Moreno's vocals soar above it. That said, the vocals were produced by Far's Shaun Lopez. The wall of guitar sound walks a high wire between harder, more metallic rock and angular indie rock, winding them together. Check the opener -- and single -- "Hole in the Earth." It begins with a wall of feedback and thunderously distorted guitars accented by rim shots and cymbal fire before giving way to a skeletal six-string figure that seems barely able to support Moreno's singing, which combines the euphoria of a young, less pretentious Bono with the attack of, well, the Deftones. Guitars echo and whisper all along the backdrop while Moreno hovers there, until they crackle and spit to bring him back.

Popping muddy drums and distorted guitars introduce "Rapture," as Moreno gobs and screams the lyrics. Even here, the attack is straightforward as it turns and twists, all on sharp corners and rhythmic shifts. There are killer digital dub effects put into play on "Cherry Waves," giving the tune a bit of a blessed-out psychedelic effect as the band marries together the hookery of the vintage Smashing Pumpkins, the big chord riffs of Jane's Addiction, and U2's best shimmer while tossing in a bridge of eight bars from the Who's "Overture" from Tommy! It might have been a terrible mess, but it works beautifully. System of a Down's Serj Tankian helps out with additional vocals on "Mein," and Giant Drag's Annie Hardy helps out on "Pink Cellphone" (what a dumb title). The drippy space pop that is "Xerces" finds Moreno breathing a little too close to Billy Corgan for comfort on the verses. The gear-grinding guitars on "Rats!Rats!Rats!" are a welcome textural change, and the crunchy verse and refrain are downright nasty. The most straight-ahead rock attack comes on "KimDracula," with its bass throb and whiteout guitar riff; it pushes Moreno a little further outside the tune to come to terms with it. Ultimately, Saturday Night Wrist is satisfying, though it may take a few listens given all the changes in individual cuts that tend to blur together the first time or two through. To the faithful, the Deftones once again offer up their own brand of blast and croon. As for everyone else, there's plenty here to like, to argue with, and to be puzzled by .

Tracklist:
01. Hole in the Earth
02. Rapture
03. Beware
04. Cherry Waves
05. Mein
06. U, U, D, D, L, R, L, E, A, B, Select Start
07. Xerces
08. Rats! Rats! Rats!
09. Pink Cellphone
10. Combat
11. Kimdracula
12. Riviere

DOWNLOAD : deftones - saturday_night_wrist. rar

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Indie Rock

Album Review:

Team Sleep's debut was in the works for a long time -- something like ten years. Head Deftone Chino Moreno used to do four-track stuff with high-school pal Todd Wilkinson, and those casual recordings essentially were the genesis for this self-titled set of modernized mood music. The indie rock and dream pop influences drifting throughout Team Sleep appear in Moreno's day job, too, but barring a few stretches here and there ("Blvd. Nights," the end of "Live from the Stage"), hardness and volume are left largely to the Deftones. In fact, besides Moreno's distinctive vocals, there's little connectivity to his other band. There doesn't need to be. Team Sleep is its own thing, a drifting fog of electronic and analog texture with a pool of interesting collaborators and the distinct feel of late-'80s/early-'90s alternative rock. (Team Sleep could probably do an awesome cover version of Catherine Wheel's "Black Metallic.") So, while "Your Skull Is Red" channels Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine underneath Moreno's plaintive wail, "Delorian" and "Staring at the Queen'" are instrumentals built from Wilkinson's spiny guitar leads and the ultramodern programming/turntablism of Crook. Pinback's Rob Crow contributes vocals on four songs, and while he's not as fervent as Moreno, he does give "Princeton Review" and "Ever Since WWI" an indie rock quality that works with their tense guitars. Mary Timony also guests, co-writing "Tomb of Liegia" with Wilkinson and Crook and matching her famously austere vocal to its chilly electronics and lingering piano figure. Her duet of sorts with Moreno on the beat-damaged "King Diamond" isn't as successful, but it's still a noble experiment on an album full of them. And though Team Sleep occasionally becomes too much of a mood album when its layering gets out of hand, it's a consistently interesting listen.

Tracklist:
01. Ataraxia
02. Ever
03. Your Skull Is Red
04. Princeton Review
05. Blvd. Nights
06. Delorian
07. Our Ride To The Rectory
08. Tomb Of Liegia
09. Elizabeth
10. Staring At The Queen
11. Ever Since WWI
12. King Diamond
13. Live From The Stage
14. Paris Arm
15. 11-11

DOWNLOAD : team sleep - team_sleep. rar

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Alternative Metal
Post-Grunge

Album Review:

A Perfect Circle is one of those bands that nobody realized was needed until it happened. A grand claim, perhaps, but there's little question that the addicting combination of Keenan's aching voice and Howerdel's accomplished songs and production skills made for one of 2000's best splashes in whatever was left of "modern rock." That the band had in its initial pre-debut album tours performed an audacious, entertaining medley of Ozzy Osbourne's "Diary of a Madman" and the Cure's "Lovesong" -- regularly matching one's words with the other's music and vice versa -- indicates where Mer de Noms ended up. Howerdel's earlier work with Billy Corgan makes perfect sense as a result, since the Pumpkins regularly fused the extreme theatricality of metal and goth just so, but Howerdel's work is no clone. His guitar work operates on setting the mood rather than driving everything before it, balancing sheer power with a textured approach that's quite beautiful. Nine Inch Nails-inspired touches crop up in the distorted percussion of many songs, such as "Rose," but for all the derivations everything becomes its own smart fusion, with Keenan's vocals the killer touch. His abilities in delivering on-the-edge emotional collapse had long been clear thanks to Tool -- here, with a slightly different musical bed to carry things, he often holds back from complete explosiveness, but it's still clearly him, just about to crack. His astonishing call-and-response exchange on the single "Judith" makes another high point in his career. The choice of who else to make up the band was a smart one -- Lenchantin's violin and string arrangements add even further to the air of dark, moody mystery, while Josh Freese's abilities on drums once again come to the fore. Alan Moulder adds in some fine help on mixing, polishing the glowering sheen of Mer de Noms to a hard, sharp edge.

Tracklist:
01. The Hollow
02. Magdalena
03. Rose
04. Judith
05. Orestes
06. 3 Libras
07. Sleeping Beauty
08. Thomas
09. Renholdër
10. Thinking Of You
11. Breña
12. Over

DOWNLOAD

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Alternative Metal

Album Review:

Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Alternative Metal
Post-Grunge

Album Review:

When Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan covered Wings' "Silly Love Songs" as a guest vocalist for the Replicants, it was amusing and well thought out. When Tool covered "No Quarter" in concert it was intense, appropriate, and staggeringly good. And when Maynard continued the tradition with the beautiful recording of Failure's "The Nurse Who Loved Me," it became apparent that Maynard had a penchant for re-recording songs that were of high quality but not necessarily anthems. But then there's the notion of recording a whole album of covers, which immediately sends off red flags that the water may be running dry and the record label is thirsty for a new release. A Perfect Circle's album of covers, eMOTIVe, falls flat and fails to raise the bar set so high by the quality of their previous two releases. Turning some of popular music's most potent songs into a soundtrack ideal for background music at your local teen-angst mall-chain clothing store, A Perfect Circle work their way through 12 songs that would almost be unrecognizable in their current arrangement if one weren't familiar with the original versions of each song. John Lennon's somber, optimistic anthem for peace, "Imagine," is changed from its original major key to a funereal minor key dirge. Marvin Gaye's perfect "What's Going On" is turned into a horrible industrial track that would be permissible on a budget-line compilation but is simply unforgivable in its inclusion here. The same could apply to the butchering of Black Flag's "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie" and a few other numbers. However, the album's sole moment of tranquility and its most effective moments lie in the band's treatment of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks," and the disturbing a cappella of Joni Mitchell's "Fiddle and the Drum." eMOTIVe is a slight dent in the armor of Maynard's nearly flawless career as a frontman, and it's (hopefully) a mere detour for A Perfect Circle.

Tracklist:
01. Annihilation
02. Imagine
03. Peace Love and Understanding
04. What's Going On
05. Passive
06. Gimme Gimme Gimme
07. People Are People
08. Freedom of Choice
09. Let's Have A War
10. Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums
11. When The Levee Breaks
12. Fiddle And The Drum

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Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Indie Rock

Album Review:

Head Automatica is the somewhat unlikely pairing of Glassjaw screamer Daryl Palumbo with gonzo beatmaker Dan the Automator. The collaboration rocks a brazenly superficial sound on Decadence, drawing freely from furiously en vogue dance-punk, assemblist modern rock, and bits and pieces of the Def Jux crew's underground aesthetic. The result is not 100 percent consistent, and occasionally skates right past irony and straight into empty-headed pomposity. But in its best moments, Decadence is a dizzy paint shaker, as garish and morally bankrupt as you want your art sleaze to be. (Pink Grease fans, take note.) For Head Automatica, Palumbo's plastic man Mike Patton yowl has been tuned down, doused in cheapie cologne, and sent out on to the mirrored dancefloor in search of coquettish dance-punk groupies. His wingman is Automator, who enjoys punching up Automatica's live instrument complement (including organ, guitar, and drums) with big beat sequences and processed back-alley pigments. "Brooklyn Is Burning" cuts bumpy dollar store disco under a crackling sample suggestive of "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," while "Please Please Please [Young Hollywood]" channels Duran Duran straight west to the steamy pavement of L.A. and fluorescent fabric reflecting in Silverlake swimming pools. For whatever reason, Rancid's Tim Armstrong contributes vocals to the frenetically distorted "Dance Party Plus"; the cut aims for that Hullabaloo in Hell, satyr-sock-hop-feel popularized by Queens of the Stone Age. Elsewhere, Automator's spooky processing guides the deconstructed verses of "King Caesar." But its chorus is too calculated, offering catchy gibberish over a loping drum track and simplistic instrumentation. The song ends up as filler, since unlike Decadence's stronger moments, it never challenges the inherent emptiness of this non-genre. It doesn't revel in the ribald and XXX; it stops unwisely at Shifty territory. "I Shot William H. Macy," too, makes a two-tiered titular reference but forgets to make the song more than an overdriven guitar riff. Decadence works when it forgets about everything but effectively filling up the next five minutes of your house party. The rest of time it's as vacant as last year's cool club.

Tracklist:
01. At the Speed of a Yellow Bullet
02. Brooklyn Is Burning
03. Beating Heart Baby
04. Please Please Please (Young Hollywood)
05. King Caesar
06. The Razor
07. Dance Party Plus
08. Disco Hades II
09. Solid Gold Telephone
10. Head Automatica Soundsystem
11. I Shot William H. Macy

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Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Alternative Pop/Rock
Indie Rock

Album Review:

If the stylish realms of Decadence were perfect for late nights full of dancing and questionable other activities, Popaganda is Head Automatica's appropriately titled answer to those subsequent afternoons spent hanging out in the warm sun. Head Automatica still has that post-punk dance attitude consuming each track, but it's filtered this time through late-'70s pop influences like Squeeze and Elvis Costello & the Attractions instead of Dan the Automator's back-alley beats and electro-rock fuzz. While only two songs ("Nowhere Fast," "Egyptian Musk") fall closer to Decadence's sound, this isn't to Popaganda's detriment. Even with the occasional sticky moment, the band's transition never seems forced or contrived. The overall result is just a lighter, brighter, crunchier album of tight riffing, playful keys, punchy rhythms, and of course, Daryl Palumbo's distinctive elastic voice. "Scandalous" has a legitimate '50s vibe going on; "Cannibal Girl" owns seriously bouncy riffs; "Graduation Day" opens with crisp piano and guitar that build into an instantly catchy pop song sure to get overplayed on many an end-of-school mix (good timing with the album coming out in June, eh?). Catching a cheating significant other never sounded as fun as it does on "Lying Through Your Teeth" (with its subtly glam rock-esque chorus), and it's Palumbo's ongoing battle with Crohn's disease presumably addressed in songs like the pop-drenched "God." Toward the middle of the album, some songs don't initially hit that hard, but the rest of the record keeps things moving along for later listens. It's true that the neon strobe lights of Head Automatica's previous electronic-rock-punk concoction are all but completely replaced on Popaganda by the pure sun of sparkling guitar-driven pop songs. And moreover, it's probably safe to assume that some form of viable reinvention will continue to happen on subsequent albums. Trashy nightclubs are fun for a time, but really, who wants to be trapped in one for all eternity?

Tracklist:
01. Graduation Day
02. Laughing at You
03. Lying Through Your Teeth
04. Nowhere Fast
05. Scandalous
06.Curious
07. God
08. Shot in the Back (The Platypus)
09. Million Dollar Decision
10. She's Not It
11. Egyptian Musk
12. Cannibal Girl
13. K Horse
14. Beating Heart Baby - (Chris Lord-Alge remix)

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Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Altenative Pop/Rock
Grunge
Post-Grunge
Aussie Rock

Album Review:

Silverchair were slaves to their influences on their debut Frogstomp, but on their second album Freak Show, they're beginning to show signs of developing their own style. While they may still concentrate too heavily on Pearl Jam and Nirvana, they're beginning to fuse the elements together in a more interesting way and are writing stronger hooks. Freak Show still has its share of mediocre moments, and Daniel Johns should try to sing instead of scream, but the album shows potential that Frogstomp never did.

Tracklist:
01. Slave
02. Freak
03. Abuse Me
04. Lie to Me
05. No Association
06. Cemetery
07. The Door
08. Pop Song For Us Rejects
09. Learn to Hate
10. Petrol & Chlorine
11. Roses
12. Nobody Came
13. The Closing

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Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Altenative Pop/Rock
Grunge
Post-Grunge
Aussie Rock

Album Review:

Silverchair's third full-length release is a confusing affair that reveals a band more talented than their critics realized and more confused than their fans could tolerate. The Australian trio never made any secret of their respect for Nirvana, and on Neon Ballroom Silverchair does one of the best impersonations of their Seattle counterparts on record. It would be easy to convince any Kurt Cobain fan that "Spawn Again" and "Dearest Helpless" are actually In Utero outtakes, and quite good ones at that! When the weepy ballads, like the Goo Goo Dolls-esque "Miss You Love," pull Neon Ballroom into an overtly radio-friendly direction, all the promise of a gritty grunge tribute fades, and Silverchair appears to be serving two masters. The resultingly incongruent musical textures stifled Neon Ballroom and assured a certain amount of fan disenchantment despite the minor airplay success of "Ana's Song (Open Fire)." There are still enough nice moments on this CD to recommend it to even casual fans of the Aussie outfit. Those who had enough of Silverchair when modern rock radio played their mid-'90s hits to death need not concern themselves with this mixed effort.

Tracklist:
01. Emotion Sickness
02. Anthem For the Year 2000
03. Ana's Song (Open Fire)
04. Spawn Again
05. Miss You Love
06. Dearest Helpless
07. Do You Feel the Same
08. Black Tangled Heart
09. Point of View
10. Satin Sheets
11. Paint Pastel Princess
12. Steam Will Rise

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Genre:
Rock
Styles:
Altenative Pop/Rock
Post Grunge

Album Review:

One of the few true shocks in life is when a young band with a seemingly short shelf life manages to somehow keep it together and continually improve. Take Silverchair, whose plodding angst anthems were the subject of much ridicule during their initial splash. But they somehow kept going and kept improving, and Diorama is the sound of a band finally growing into their own skin. The songs have a sense of space and tunefulness that was always missing from their previous efforts, and the production (by David Bottrill) brings to mind everything from the charging anthems of Big Country to U2's first experiments with Brian Eno. Singer Daniel Johns steps into the forefront here, showcasing his rich voice and shockingly catchy tunes with a gusto missing from their earlier albums. His efforts recall deceased singer/songwriter Josh Clayton-Felt, utilizing a similar vocal approach and writing the same sort of psychedelic soul on tracks like "Tuna in the Brine." A song like "World Upon Your Shoulders" could have never been possible before, but in one song they take the washed-out symphonies of Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips and the delicate falsetto pop of Jeff Buckley and combine them into a digestible pop nugget. Although the song may not be as brilliant as the artists they reference, their simple willingness to even attempt that sort of song shows a remarkable maturity. The awesome guitar work from Johns also shows growth, as the songs often drift into Edge-like noodling that compliments his voice much more than the chugging riffs of their first few albums. "Without You"'s Goo Goo Dolls-lite is an unwelcome twist, taking their newfound sense of melody and giving it a blustery chorus that robs the track of its power. The thick "One Way Mule" is another minor disappointment, reverting back to their grunge sound for a song that has little of the intelligence and beauty of the rest of the album. But mostly this is a wonderful surprise from a band thought to have been finished in the late '90s. Being hesitant to give this a chance is perfectly understandable, but Silverchair has grown up and put together a fine mix of pop and rock on Diorama.

Tracklist:
01. Across the Night
02. The Greatest View
03. Without You
04. World Upon Your Shoulders
05. One Way Mule
06. Tuna in the Brine
07. Too Much of Not Enough
08. Luv Your Life
09. The Lever
10. My Favourite Thing
11. After All These Years

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