Weezer Beach Boys- Single of The Week

Beach Boys by Weezer is a track with an interesting concept behind it. The main idea seems to be Rivers Cuomo pining for the sweet and timeless music of one of his favorite bands to break through the dark and aggressive world of modern music. While this Alt rock critique of modern pop and rock isn’t necessarily wrong, the issue is they make this statement on a boring and melancholy sounding track. While this song has more of the nostalgic ache that you would expect from Weezer rather than the empty and dark atmosphere of someone like Missio, the track still falls flat.

The lyrics are actually well composed and convey the story perfectly; but the delivery and music behind the lyrics rob this song of any power. Rather than something remotely close to the fun and slightly off kilter rock sound Weezer have been known for, we get a very low key and melancholy track. The ultimate irony, that may be purposeful, is that Cuomo sings about the need for gorgeous four part harmonies and singing from the heart on a track where he sounds half asleep.

Along with the drowsy vocals, Rivers’ guitar playing is boring, uninspired and sparse. While the intent is to leave room for the bass guitars riffing, the bass isn’t high enough in the mix to put the funky power that it’s trying to convey. If they wanted to do this right they would have done like Charlie Puth’s Attention and cranked the hell out of the bassline to make the emptiness of the rest of the arrangement work better. But because of how limited the guitar playing is and how low the bass is the song just sounds like an empty digital void.

Honestly at this point I prefer EDM Weezer with Feels Like Summer to this boring track; at least that track felt like Weezer. While they have always mixed sunny and depressing to get their sound, Weezer just feel so boring and drowsy that I literally almost fell asleep listening to the song on repeat while writing this. And the worst part is that the lyrics and message of the song are really good, it’s the arrangement, mix and music that ruins the song. I think this song can be summed up by the one review it has on Amazon as of writing this, "Filler".

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QOTSA Villains: New Album of The Week

  

  So I meant to write this Friday when the album officially released, but being one of the few people

who did not listen to it when it leaked I was caught rather flat footed. Now I've done quick

turnarounds before, particularly with the How Did We Get So Dark review; the difference there was

that I knew exactly what my thoughts were after two listens. With Villains however, it's taken me a

little longer to get a grasp on this thing. This album features some of my favorite QOTSA songs of

all time as well as some that I can't stand.

  Starting off we get a slow Stranger Things synth filled buildup that quickly turns into funk and

fuzzy masterpiece Feet Don't Fail Me. Mark Ronson's style is all over this track, with the heavy

compression and retro styling he is known for blending with QOTSA's Stoner Rock filth. This is

precisely what I was expecting after hearing The Way You Used To Do as the lead single. This song

also features a really slick solo and a dynamic end that fades out before turning into aforementioned

The Way You Used To Do (review here).

  After a strong start we go into a somewhat darker track called Domesticated Animals. This track is

filled to the brim with the snark and wit that Josh Homme is known for, featuring cynical lines that

explore themes of dominance and power. The chorus seems to be commentary on the cyclical nature

of power and freedom; every revolution just leads to another leader to revolt against

(as illustrated below)

The songs' mysterious feeling is aided by it's 7/8 time signature adding an off kilter rhythm to it.

Homme appears to be using the metaphor of domesticated animals to allude to the way people

are essentially tamed by their leaders and governments.

 The next track Fortress is one of my favorite songs on the album and is by far the most touching

thing I have ever heard from QOTSA. The song uses the metaphor of the heart as a fortress at first,

describing how people hide away their true feelings by locking their heart away. The metaphor can

then be linked to the first chorus with the line "every fortress falls" relating to a broken heart. At the

same time the rest of the song seems to be talking in terms of more general hardship and darkness,

likely referencing Homme's own depression.

Where the song takes a really touching turn is when you realize that at least part of the song is

written to Homme's children, with the lines,"...I pray you won't feel as alone as I have felt...I tell you

the awful truth, Everyone faces darkness on their own, As I have done, so will you" being particularly

heartbreaking. Homme then wraps it up by simply letting them know that even if their Fortress falls

they are always safe in his.

 Following that emotional strong point is the track that only QOTSA could record, a slightly insane

track called Head Like A Haunted House. This song features Homme doing his best Elvis / Michael

Poulsen from Volbeat impersonation over the rest of the bands take on  Psychobilly. I've heard some

people say the track feels out of place on this album, but I think it works perfectly as a call back to

the more typical QOTSA sound. While this song is fun and pretty solid, the same can't be said for

most of this album's second half.

  Despite the strength of the album up to now, I just can't get in to any of the last 4 tracks except for

The Evil Has Landed (review here.)  Un-Reborn Again and Hideaway are forgettable and Villains of

Circumstance is just kind of okay. So yeah, in total this album is pretty awesome; even though I don't

like most of the the second half of the album, the first half is so good I'm still recommending it. Plus

I understand my opinion on those 3 songs might not be in the majority here, so give it a listen for

yourself.

Album on Google Play

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QOTSA The Evil Has Landed-Single of The Week

Single of The Week is posted every Tuesday

    Today we are looking at the newest single by Queens Of The Stone Age in anticipation of their new album Villains, due for release this Friday. This track called The Evil Has Landed is a bit different from the previously released The Way You Used To Do, feeling much more like a blend of classic QOTSA and Them Crooked Vultures. Unlike the majority of Villains (according to those who have heard the leaked version) this track doesn’t feature many funk elements, instead being mildly bluesy with a straightforward rock sound overall. The one similarity this song does have to The Way You Used To Do is that at least parts of it have the same signature Mark Ronson production.

    The only real issue I have with this track is that the first 2:30 or so is extremely thin sounding with the drums and bass being barely audible and the guitar being compressed to hell. On further listens I realized that it works as a bit of a buildup as the subsequent sections get progressively nastier and thicker. Even though the sterile production on the first section of the song is a bit much for me, I still find this track to be a great effort from QOTSA. I think this is a nice middle ground between their usual sound and the more polished and funky sound of Villains overall.

    I’m curious to hear how Mark Ronson’s clean cut and compression heavy production style works on the full album as QOTSA are generally a pretty dynamic and lo-fi band. The combination could certainly work as previous artists like Jack White and Muse have taken very raw and nasty sounding music and converted to clear and sharp production similar to Ronson’s. From the clips I’ve heard of other tracks, Feet Don’t Fail in particular this album appears to have a really nasty funk vibe to it, similarly to The Way You Used To Do. While funky QOTSA might not sound appealing to everyone, I really dig what I’ve heard so far.

    Overall I think this track is good, it’s a bit of a struggle for me to get past the first section because the drums and bass being so low in the mix and all of the empty space bugs me. Once I get past that section though this song absolutely rocks. I get the effect they’re going for, and they do accomplish it by starting small and then ramping up, but I just don’t like the beginning that much. So yeah, I’d quantify that as like a 6 or 7 out of 10 if I did ratings.

Single on Google Play

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5. 2010s Music That Doesn't Suck Part 2

Part 2 of 2. Justin and Noah discuss more of the music that made the 2010s not suck, focusing on more obscure acts this time.







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Panic! At The Disco Death of A Bachelor: An Album a Day

An Album a Day is posted 5 days a week, Monday-Friday

    Today we are looking at an album that really skirts around the borders of Pop and Rock music. While this band is traditionally considered a rock band, this album in particular has more of a Power Pop sound. Nonetheless, today we are looking at Death of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco, which could be more appropriately called Brendon At The Disco as lead singer Brendon Urie is the only remaining member of the band. Everything on this album is Urie except for the brass section and the drums on Hallelujah.

    Given that this entire album was written and performed by one guy and a brass section it should be no surprise that the album is very consistent with each song fitting in with the rest. From the contemporary radio rock tracks Victorious and Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time to the pseudo Gospel Hallelujah and modern Big Band title track, everything flows together perfectly. Urie mixes old and new throughout, with elements from everything from Big Band, Power Pop, Classic Rock and Hip Hop.

    The mix of genres and eras lends most of the album a timeless feel, with the only thing betraying it’s modernity being the use of hip hop drum machines at various points. The only real weak track is Victorious, which is a good song it's just not as good as the rest of the album. The standouts for me include Emperor’s New Clothes, Death of A Bachelor and The Good, The Bad and The Dirty.

    Emperor's New Clothes is a powerful if a bit darker sounding track that shows off Urie's range incredibly, having him go from restrained low end vocals on the verses to belting at the top of his range on the chorus. This is an example of how to blend a brass section into a rock song perfectly, as they mix effortlessly with the guitars and synths. The drums, while simple, hit so hard that they drive the power of this song home brilliantly.

    The title track Death of A Bachelor has Urie adopting a Sinatra esque croon on the verses and part of the chorus before building up to some incredible falsetto singing on the back end of the chorus. The music throughout is a blend of hip hop drum machines and a classic big band brass section. The bridge also features a pseudo drop where the brass section fights it out with a booming synth bass in a perfect mix of new and old.

    The Good, The Bad and The Dirty is another example of how this album blends modern Hip Hop and Big Band together perfectly. The mix of tuba and synth bass on the verses over the top of some backing synths splits the difference between a Trap beat and an old school marching band. On the chorus the guitar and heavier drums come in, adding a rock flavor on top of the other elements. As usual Urie’s vocals are on point throughout, as working solo seems to have given him even more freedom to let his voice run wild throughout this entire album.

    I love this album, as it shows how good Pop elements can sound when done right and with effort put into them. Rather than simply phoning it in with auto tuning and nothing but synths, Urie instead not only hired a brass section but recorded numerous layers of each of the other instruments himself. Looking back I have to wonder if Urie working inside a band might have only been limiting him as, in my opinion this is the most mature and excellent album Panic! At The Disco have ever done.

Album on Google Play

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4. 2010s Music That Doesn't Suck Part 1

Part 1 of 2 where Justin and Noah discuss some of the music of the 2010s that doesn't suck. Today we examine the mainstream side of the 2010s for good music.

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Nickelback Feed The Machine: An Album a Day

An Album a Day is posted 5 days a week, Monday-Friday

So I've never really had an issue with Nickelback, I mean photograph was terrible but they've had some good songs too. How You Remind Me, Next Contestant and even Lullaby from their newer albums are just a few of the genuinely good songs they've done. I think we were all spoiled when we thought that Nickelback was the worst music could get, I don't know about anyone else but I'd love more radio rock on top 40 stations. With that said I understand that Nickelback are a mediocre band, so when I saw some people saying their new album was pretty good I was intrigued.

I had heard the title track already from when they first put it up on YouTube and to say NickelDjent surprised me is putting it lightly. I got to imagine that someone realized they were playing low tunings through the same digital amps that every djent band uses and decided to make the most of it. The heavier modern metal guitar sound and huge drums are found throughout this album and they make some bad songs sound good.

A good example of the music saving a mediocre song is with For The River, a decent premise that is made so much better by the drums and the two shred solos. A lot of people say their last album was where they stopped trying, well if that's the case this is where they started again. Even when the lyrics aren't great the musicianship is actually pretty good on this album.

A track I rather enjoy is Must Be Nice, which uses various nursery rhymes and children's stories before the chorus proclaims that whoever is being attacked live in a fairy tale. The use of nursery rhymes reminds me of Shoots and Ladders by Korn which featured Jonathan Davis’ twisted singing of various nursery rhymes. Must Be Nice is also one of the vaguely political tracks on the album, along with Silent Majority and Feed The Machine.

That's right folks, in between the semi country songs and typical radio friendly songs we have political Nickelback. And they do politics exactly the way you would expect a commercial band like Nickelback to do it, by generalizing. There political tirades are general enough that you can insert whatever political affiliation you want.

Feed The Machine can just as easily be about the corporate machine of Donald Trump or the political one of Hillary Clinton. Perhaps it's against political parties in general and supports anarchy or it's referencing the evil health care companies and wants single payer health care. It can literally work for any political cause. The track Silent Majority is similarly vague, although the title lends itself to Trump voters who see themselves as marginalised it can also work for members of minorities or small political parties.

Overall though, like I said with Viva La Vida, I actually prefer these type of political songs in general. That way I don't have to really think about politics when I listen to music, it's just there like, yeah it is bad when people do bad things. Muse are also big on this, making protest songs that can be applied to most causes.

This album is pretty good for the most part, certainly better than a lot of Nickelback’s other music. The hard rock/ metal edge works well on this album, making them sound like a legitimate rock band, and the guitar solos are actually pretty good. Feed The Machine overall reminds me of a mediocre rock album from the 80s, with the huge drums and mild metal influences on top of a commercial album.

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