Saturday, January 15, 2011
Labels: music
Holy Fuck - "Latin"
Holy Fuck's third album is without a doubt their best. I think there was some lineup changes. And they also took a more simplistic approach to their songs for this one. But it works extremely well. They can write amazing melodies and they know how to arrange instruments well. What I like about them is that they actually play all the instruments in their music, using a real drum set, real organ, etc. They get a little funky on this one, and they even expand to making some epic buildups. All in all, it's some good electronic music that gives you a very cool feeling when you listen to it. Best song: "Silva & Grimes"
Birthmark - "Shaking Hands"
Birthmark is really just Nate Kinsella, playing a bunch of instruments and writing amazing songs. This is only his second album, but I wish he would release more! Acoustic guitar is the main instrument here, as are some heavy drum beats. Nate likes to write atmospheric music, and it works well with his intense talent to play almost any instrument. Most of these songs are pretty long, averaging 5 minutes. They all seem to have layers and unfold as the song goes on. At first listen, it seems like Shaking Hands is all over the place, but when you really get into it, you notice how Nate knows how to make use of space between sounds just as effectively as he can make the sounds. Best song: "Separation"
Medications - "Completely Removed"
For Completely Removed, Medications lost one of their three members. They also changed up their sound a bit. It has the awesome math-rock guitars that you'd expect from a 2000's Dischord album. Even though there's only one guitarist, they layer his parts effectively, and made it work with sharing the drumming duties. This is the first album on which the bassist gets to sing, and his parts work well with the main vocalist's singing. The band also makes use of many more instruments than in their past work, like a horn section and keyboard parts. There's a good selection of rock songs and softer songs which evens it all out. Best song: "Long Day"
Hammock - "Chasing After Shadows... Living With the Ghosts"For their new album, Hammock used a lot more instruments in their music. Past albums were mostly guitar tones and string instruments layered on top of each other. But in Chasing After Shadows, they actually played their electric guitars, and also used acoustic guitars, more strings and even some percussion. Vocals are even added on a couple songs, very beautifully. This album is definitely best listened to with earbud headphones to get the full ambient effect. The only downside to this album is the length, more than an hour long. It's pretty substantial but worth it for the amazing sounds and the dreamy feeling it gives you. Best song: "Breathturn"
What's up with the font, it looks different halfway through.