Wilco-Star Wars Album Review

He Wants More.....

 Wilco-Star Wars (8.4/10)

One thing needs to be said before I start this review. This is the worst titled album of 2015, and it is not even close. Alright lets begin. Wilco seemingly went missing in recent years after their great 2011 record: The Whole Love. Frontman Jeff Tweedy did a side project with his son, and other members took the time to continue with other side projects as well. Tweedy's side project was pretty decent, but I was starting to get worried about this band. After 20 years together at it, you have to know that any day a band could just go out and quit. Perhaps this is why I was so happy when I saw Star Wars pop up on Facebook page. The album seemed so silly, so fresh, and it really just seemed like they made a record to have fun. I was really excited to listen to it with all these thoughts rushing through my head. To me Wilco has not missed a beat in their career, but things haven't really felt loosey goosey since pretty much Summerteeth. Perhaps I only say this because I am aware of the tension that was going on in the band, but I really feel like some of that intensity and awkwardness is still really present in the band's tunes. Anyways, before I get off on a complete tangent, I'll just end it here: I was really hyped. Amazingly, Listening to this album only made more excited too. I think it's truly brilliant, and few bands this old could pull something this well made off. Although Star Wars may not be anything particularly new, it certainly still pulls the listener in with extremely odd and interesting instrumentals. These songs breathe new air into a band that has been called a "dad rock" band, or a fedora haven. This album really shows that this band has a lot of different aspects to them, and that is truly beautiful to me. Perhaps what makes Star Wars stick out so much is its individuality, and to think that a band that is 20 years old is still building on their name is truly incredible. Star Wars is certainly not perfect, but sometimes the sweetest surprise is a lolipop rather than a chocolate cake anyway. 

From the get go we hear EKG which very much mimics Yankee Hotel Foxtrot/ Ghost Is Born era Wilco. This track features many meter changes and just super insane glitchy guitar parts. The song is definitely one of the coolest pieces of music the group has made in some time. It truly does feel chaotic, and its probably the band's weirdest track in the last 5 years. More.. is a pretty classic Wilco song with an extremely polished and catchy chorus. This song kind of feels anthemic, and you can't really help but sing along. Random Name Generator follows a simple guitar riff and the vocal delivery from Tweedy can get annoying, but the layering in this track is magnificent. The instruments all coming in together towards the end sounds really powerful, and it is totally refreshing. Joke Explained is too hokey for me, but You Satellite is absolutely mind blowing. This song feels pretty atmospheric with a droneish sounding guitar part, and sloshy drums. The song goes through many changes musically, and it enhances the song tremendously, and it really needs to be heard to be explained. This track is brilliant. Taste The Ceiling is pretty beautiful and relaxed like something off Sky Blue Sky, but it feels a little more friendly with the extra instrumentation. Pickled Ginger is a driving song that really sticks out on the album. It's energy is unrivaled on here, and a lot of these songs don't really move you the way this one does. Where Do I Begin feels like the most sentimental song on here, and I just love how the drums and guitar kind of just solo over the end of the track. The whole thing is gorgeous. Cold Slope and King Of You are definitely my least two favorite songs on here though. These songs really blend into each other, and their low tempo speed really makes these songs a real bummer. There are not bad hooks here, but considering everything I've heard from Wilco before, these tracks are not good in any way. Thankfully, the album closes out with Magnetized. The track is pretty Abbey Road sounding. It's made up of a demonic keyboard part and a great guitar solo. The track seems to tell a love story in an unconventional way too which I certainly appreciate. Overall, The whole thing is pretty entertaining. It's short sweet and that's all that really needs to happen. It makes me excited so I'll always love it, but I cannot forget that there are certainly some misfires here. Overall Wilco stepped up big here, and perhaps it's actually because they are having fun again. I gotta say, whatever happened, I want more. 

BEST SONGS: EKG, More, Random Name Generator, You Satellite, Where Do I Begin, Pickled Ginger, Magnetized, Taste The Celing

WORST SONGS: Joke Explained, Cold Slope, King Of You 

Titus Andronicus-The Most Lamentable Tragedy Album Review

Fatal Flaws

 Titus Andronicus: TMLT (7/10)

Patrick Stickles is a madman. The guy has sounded pretty enraged throughout his career, and many people have written him off because of it. While this passion and insanity has drew some away from the punk band's efforts, it has also been perhaps the band's biggest strength in many peoples' opinion. The Monitor showed Stickles calling America on its shit, and his commanding, powerful voice was the perfect voice to have everybody truly listening. These "rants" were topped off with hard hitting guitar and drum riffs that really made for an anthemic album. This album was extremely ambitious because of its concept, but also because of its length. The album clocked in over an hour, and it featured only ten tracks. Punk albums can be long, but sometimes Titus Andronicus just really runs with it, and I guess that can just feel stale after a while. Anyway, this ambition seems to have returned on their newest album. Local Business was a solid effort, but it was shorter and less gritty than its predecessor. The Most Lamentable Tragedy, however, is longer than both of these records. Clocking in around 93 minutes long, this album really does feel like a story. There are a lot of layers to it, and it is honestly pretty hard to interpret. The basic concept revolves around a main character who has a mental disorder, and the album kind of just takes you through this person's various states of mind. This is a pretty hard thing to capture, but I believe, for better or for worse, Titus Andronicus did it very well. This album is wild, unpredictable, and at times pretty cringeworthy much like the life of a mental health patient. What I'm saying is: Yes, this album is very cool and conceptual, but sometimes that honestly can hurt it. 

This album has 29 tracks. 29. That's a lot, or so I thought. The amount of tracks that are either interludes or under 2 minutes amounts to 13. If take those 13 tracks away this album does not lose much, and it is honestly way easier to digest. I guess it is cool that these great 2 minute punk songs exist, but honestly if 13 songs on your album are not vital, then something is just not quite right. Also, I understand Stickles is portraying a character that many would consider insane, but he literally sounds cringeworthy at moments during this album. Sometimes it really detracts from the tunes on here. I feel like it was probably intentional that he sounded extra screamy and angsty, but a lot of the time his vocals simply sound bad. Despite his sometimes average voice, Stickles still packs a ton of punch on these tracks and I certainly appreciate that. At times he felt soulless on Local Business, so it was really refreshing to hear him more fired up (pun intended) and passionate on this baby. These instrumentals really shred too! The energy is just palpable on tracks like Dimed Out and Fired Up. These tracks have really catchy hooks, and they just feel extremely true to the band's roots to me. Dimed Out especially reminds me of The Airing of Grievances. Also this album has two centerpieces that are both just insanely good. More Perfect Union shares the same title as the opener to The Monitor, and honestly this track might rival that one. The song just sounds so immense. It channels arena rock, punk, and hokey rock and it does so in such a natural and organic way. (S)he Said/(S)he Said feels a little less substantial instrumentally, but this song is oozing with emotion. Stickles lyrically just sounds out of his own body on this song. He really feels as if he is struggling with temptation in so many different ways, and you can just feel the struggle in his voice. This song is pretty epic as well, and to me it's the best track on here. But for every one of these tracks there is a I Lost My Mind (both versions aren't good), Lonely Boy, or Come On Siobhan. These tracks just feel like generic, dad Bruce Springsteen piano rock. While that is not necessarily bad, on an album full of ambitious punk tunes, it is the last thing I want to hear. I Lost My Mind really is just unremarkable and Come On Siobhan just doesn't even sound like the band. Lonely Boy is extremely strong lyrically, but sonically I just cannot get behind it. There were other bad moments too. I'm Going Insane is just a rehash of a Local Business tune in a different key, Stable Boy just tries way too hard to be emotional, and Please is just non coherent. Still, the weak moments are nothing compared to the good stuff here. As a whole the album is pretty mediocre, but if you think this band lost their edge, I would debate you on that. I think this album's concept was amazing, but it may have actually hurt the record, so I am left kind of in between here. They did the concept well, but perhaps sometimes this madman was just too real for me. 

Nothing describes this album better than Fatal Flaw. During the chorus Stickles proudly chants, "Let me show you my fatal flaw", and that's pretty much what he's doing to us on this record. He is bearing his heart out for all of us, so we really get to see everything about him/his character he is playing. Honestly although it can get tiresome, it certainly is pretty unique to see, and for this reason, I can at least respect this record. I'd recommend you at least give this baby a try. 

BEST TRACKS: NO FUTURE PT. IV, Look Alive, Lookalike, Dimed Out, Fired Up, More Perfect Union, She Said/She said, Pair of Brown Eyes, Intro To The Void, NO FUTURE PT. V

WORST TRACKS: All Those Random Soundclip Interludes, Lonely Boy, I Lost My Mind X2,  Mr. E Mann, Sun Salutation, Intermission, Come On Siobhan, Stable Boy, I'm Going Insane

Tame Impala-Currents Album Review

Yes We're Changing

Tame Impala-Currents
7.5/10









What the hell is the big deal with Tame Impala? The band has been everywhere lately, especially on my facebook page. Everyday it seems like a see a new article detailing the inner workings of the mind of frontman Kevin Parker. While this can get annoying, I have nothing but respect for the band. Kevin is certainly an extremely hard worker, and their it really shows in their music. They've never really made something that has wowed me, but honestly I had plenty of reason to be excited for this album. Their work has been continually improving, and some of the singles for this album really clicked for me. Let It Happen is a musical journey which features irresistible synth lines and a nice bass groove as well. This song definitely goes through many cool changes throughout the song, but I really like how that synth motif really is present throughout pretty much the entire track. The song is long, but it goes through enough different sections/layers that it doesn't feel stale. Disciples was the extreme opposite of this song. That song was short and a little more basic in structure, but honestly Parker's bubble-gummy singing is no less charming on this track than it is on the former track. This comparison says a lot about this album as a whole. Throughout many of the different sounds and textures on this album, Tame Impala's sound remains close to their roots and relatively intact. While Currents certainly sees a shift away from the band's more psych-rock sound, it also really still feels like a Tame Impala record. Kevin Parker and company are still providing excellent basslines, hard hitting drums, and in my opinion even better hooks than usual. So to say this album is album is a change in current would be correct, but if it is a hard pill for you to swallow, I really don't quite understand.

I bet you guys think I'm about to kiss Kevin Parker's ass, and give this thing a 9, but honestly, even with my respect for Kevin, I still wasn't really blown away by this record or anything. To me Currents is just another improvement for the band, and if the band keeps this up, I will probably EVENTUALLY (song pun) love one of their projects. Before I get into the highlights, lets just get the real bad stuff out of the way. One thing this album really suffers from to me is its pretentiousness. To me Kevin always is trying to say something important, but honestly I feel like the way he says things is just pretty much the easy way out. Perhaps this is most evident on track 4: Yes I'm Changing. This track is kind of a middle finger to all the people who will hate the "new" Tame Impala synth driven sound, which is honestly a cool route to go down, but for every intelligent and witty lyric Kevin will write, he write another line that is just cliche and gross. "They say people never change, but that's bullshit, they do" has to be the most cliche lyric I've heard on an album all year. The lack of specific real life, personal lyrics on this track is really a bummer because honestly the message was cool, and the instrumental was ok, but Kevin simply is not interesting on this track. Past Life is also a warbled mess. Whoever thought that computer automated voice was a good idea needs to be smacked. The voice just gets annoying, and honestly that mundane voice combined with just a bland instrumental makes a pretty terrible track. This record also occasionally does feel a little too samey as well. While the end of this record is very strong, it is also extremely similar. Reality In Motion, Cause I'm a Man, Love/Paranoia all kind of use this airy synth and high pitched vocal formula that really is not a huge problem, but when you hear this on over 75% of the record, it does start to become annoying. This is why tracks such as Less I Know The Better and New Person, Same Old Mistakes feel so good. These tracks really are not the best on here, but within the scope of the album they feel a little more fresh after hearing a kind of formulaic sound repeated a lot. Despite the sound being somewhat formulaic, there is more than enough musical moments to make the tracklist interesting. Eventually really feels like a beautiful combination of both synth and rock sounds, and its hook is honestly so catchy, how could you not love it? Nangs is a really twisty-turny interlude that just feels really refreshing, especially after the barn-burner that is Let It Happen. The Moment features some really cool drums over an unbelievably funky bassline. Plus this song really feels passionate. Parker really digs in with his vocals on this one. Also I love the layering of extraneous vocals, synths, and guitar parts. This song is definitely the closest thing to a mind blower on here for me. Less I Know The Better turns a hard nosed bass riff into a sweet song which was a pretty deceptive trick, and Cause I'm a Man is just an absolutely crazy atmospheric tune. That tune really makes the listener just lose their head in the music. It is so hazy, but at the same time so involved. I think that actually the whole album is pretty atmospheric, which I will certainly give it props for. I guess my biggest qualm about this thing is that there is no "wow" moment on here. Sure it's a catchy synth-pop record, but honestly nothing on here actually makes me pumped up or amazed. I will certainly listen to these songs a lot because they are fun and catchy, but when a record like this is hyped so much, it is hard not to expect big things. While this thing is certainly great ear candy, it is in no way remarkable. I still think this band has it in them, and this record is certainly a step in the right direction, but until they blow me away, I will always think of Tame Impala as prospects. Now it's just up to them if they are going to the next Jordan or the next Sam Bowie.

Best Tracks: Let It Happen, Nangs, The Moment, Eventually, Less I Know The Better, Cause I'm a Man, New Person Same Old Mistakes
Worst Tracks: Yes I'm Changing, Gossip, Past Life, Love/Paranoia