Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Release Date: June 21, 2011 
Label: Jagjaguwar

It's been a few weeks since this was released, and I've given it a solid three or four listens.  As such, I feel like I have had ample time to digest it.  Seeing as it is one of the most hyped albums of the year so far (at least in certain circles), I figured I'd give it the business.

A decade or so ago, a musical movement started gaining steam.  It wasn't as much a genre, as it was an idea.  This movement was known as post-rock, and was described as music that is not rock music, but uses rock instruments.  A few of these bands were Sigur Ros, Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Kayo Dot (more post-metal), Explosions in the Sky, et al.  To me, this type of music is characterized by a general lack of any coherent structure, atmospheric sounds, and the most unappealing melodies imaginable.  I have been known to enjoy some pretty challenging music (even the most brazen King Crimson, Yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer, etc.), but I have never been able to find post-rock enjoyable.

Bon Iver is, to my knowledge, not considered post-rock, but the reason I bring this up is that Bon Iver seems to have some of the above qualities.  It is heavy on ambience, the songs are atypically structured, and the melodies are completely forgettable.

This is an album that has me torn between passive respect and brooding disdain.  On the one hand, I admire bands that try to push boundaries, and do things that aren't typically done.  I generally enjoy music that takes a lot of work to become acclimated to.  But at the same time, I find this album a chore to listen to.  It's not just, "Whatever, at least it's good background music."  It's actually difficult for me to listen to this.  I hate the way the keyboards sound.  I hate the flagrant overuse of the falsetto voice.  Even more, I hate the cringe-worthy passages with two falsettos harmonizing.  And after four listens, there is not a single melody that I remember.

In short, this album may be admirable in some respects, but it is not good.

That's not to say there aren't great songs.  "Towers," for example, shines.  More often, though–and this is another one of those post-rock qualities–there are simply good passages strewn about a field of tedium.

Inevitably this album will be considered by indie music journals and, by extension, hipsters everywhere to be one of the best of the year.  And it will certainly be more deserving than that new Fleet Foxes album.  But there are already at least a dozen other albums this year that I'd rather listen to.

★★☆☆

dredg - Chuckles And Mr. Squeezy

Release Date: May 3, 2011
Label: Superball Music 

Every once in awhile, an artist you once thought quite credible, maybe even accomplished, goes out and makes an album so head-scratchingly terrible that it becomes even more memorable than had he made a reasonably respectable record.  The best example is Chris Cornell's solo album, Scream, which featured a very bizarre collaboration with Timbaland, and signature Timbaland electric pop.  This was quite the surprise, considering Cornell's background (even Audioslave was tolerable, even if it wasn't great).

So you can imagine my glee when I read up on the new dredg album.  If you haven't heard of them, dredg is an art rock/prog rock outfit from California, with a moderately sized following, and four albums under their belt, each of them fairly unique.  The reviews I read were some of the most unfavorable I've seen in awhile; it was far more poorly received, for example, than the latest Muse album, which I considered to be credibility-destroying.  The biggest complaint, of course, was the new electronic soundscapes, this time due to an awkward collaboration with producer Dan the Automator.  Based on what I heard, this transcended "band musically evolved and the fans just couldn't handle the change," and reached "band just went batsh*t crazy."

Can you see why I was so excited to listen to this?  I thought Chris Cornell was going to have some competition.  This was going to be a truly memorable collapse by a band that at one point was making great records, and might have even been close to being in my top ten (back in my college days).

Imagine my dismay, even horror, when I listened to this, and found that it is...good?  No, I'm not prepared to say it is good just yet.  But it's not anywhere near as bad as Scream, and it might even be better than that new Arctic Monkeys album I for some reason put on afterwards.  Despite the fact that I hate electronic music, and the fact that hiring an awkward producer never works, this is not terrible.

Yes, the album title sucks.  The cover looks like the artist who made the cover of the latest Ke$ha album picked up one of his rejected album covers, did a bunch of angel dust, and went to town on the singer's face.  Most of the songs are at best pedestrian.  But it is listenable!  A couple of tracks ("The Ornament," a piece of which superbly closed their third album, Catch Without Arms; "Where I'll End Up") are actually decent.

Chuckles And Mr. Squeezy is a somewhat forgettable album from a unique band that used to write pretty good albums.  I'm at once relieved and disappointed to say that Scream is still in a league of its own.

★★☆☆

498: ZZ Top - Tres Hombres

Well, I didn't have anything to do tonight (for some reason, my Friday evenings tend to be the most boring), so I decided to listen to another one of the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums.  MOG didn't have Albert King's Born Under A Bad Sign, so I had to skip it and move to the next (I'll get back to Mr. King eventually; I ordered the album on vinyl).  That would be ZZ Top's third album, Tres Hombres.

Release Date: July 26, 1973
Label: London


I'm not real familiar with ZZ Top, but I have heard a couple of their hits on classic rock radio over the years.  They also made an appearance on The Simpsons, when Bart runs into them and says, "Hey, you're ZZ Top! You guys rock!" One of the band members replies, "Eh, maybe a little."

Three songs in, I agree with them.  They do rock...a little.  They have a bit of a hard rock sound, with strong rhythm, and somewhat of a blues influence.  The first four tracks are all upbeat blues rock songs, with what I would call a typical ZZ Top sound.  There were no surprises there.  "Master of Sparks" was the first I really liked.

"Hot, Blue and Righteous," the last track on the front side, is the first ballad.  It is a typical, pedestrian ballad, and at just over three minutes, is not given nearly enough to develop like a ballad properly should.

The back side starts well, with "Move Me On Down The Line."  This is a driving rock song, with an excellent lead guitar part and the type of riffs you would expect from a good 70s hard rock song.  Again, at two and a half minutes, this song could have been so much more.

The overall sound of this album is a bit too muddy for my tastes.  The vocals are fairly low in the mix, and the rhythm guitar has a very low tone, muddled tone.  This seems to be fairly common in this type of music.

The middle track on the back, "La Grange," is an excellent track, and one of the aforementioned hits.  This song never had much of a melody, but it does have excellent drumming, and, in my opinion, one of the greatest riffs in rock music.  You know the one: bahda da da da da d daah daah....

The album ends with "Sheik," a lighter song with a fairly loose feel and a little bit of jamming, and a straight-up blues song, "Have You Heard?"

This is a record that I consider very listenable, but unessential.  They are a very typical blues rock band, without any major innovation or creative genius.  The singing is nothing to write home about, but they have proven that they can come up with some great riffs.  The back side is far superior to the front, so if you check it out, focus your energy on that.

Tracklist:

1	Waitin' for the Bus	2:59
2	Jesus Just Left Chicago	3:29
3	Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers	3:23
4	Master of Sparks	3:33
5	Hot, Blue and Righteous	3:14
6	Move Me on Down the Line	2:30
7	Precious and Grace	3:09
8	La Grange	3:51
9	Sheik	4:04
10	Have You Heard?	3:14

Two stars.  I am really temped to give them an extra star or two, just because of those awesome beards.



★★☆☆

New Release: Dharohar Project, Laura Marling, and Mumford & Sons

Release Date (US): December 7, 2010
Release Date (UK): July 5, 2010
Label: Glassnote

Here is an interesting little collection I just stumbled across on Amazon while looking at the <$5 mp3 downloads. Unless you've been living in a cave, you've probably at least of heard of Mumford & Sons by now.  If not, they're an arena folk band from London, and it's really hard not to like them.  Laura Marling is a folk singer from that same London scene, and in fact, Mumford & Sons were her backing band at some of her live performances.  I am totally unfamiliar with Dharohar Project, but they're from India.

Apparently this EP was recorded in India, which is well reflected in the music.  I would call this a mix between the type of folk music you would expect from Laura Marling, with a heavy dose of traditional Indian music thrown in... Then replace the sitar with a banjo, and this is what you get.  It's definitely mellow, so don't expect the intensity of Mumford & Sons.

The vocal duties are more or less split.  I believe two of the songs feature Marcus Mumford, and two feature Laura Marling; and all four feature traditional Indian singing from Dharohar Project.

I'd recommend picking this up for a few bucks if you're interested in something different.  If Indian music annoys you, however, this might not be your cup of tea.

Tracklist:

1	Devil's Spoke/Sneh Ko Marg	6:30
2	To Darkness/Kripa	4:23
3	Anmol Rishtey	3:55
4	Mehendi Rachi	4:57

★★☆☆

New Release: Black Country Communion - Black Country

Release Date: September 20, 2010
Label: J&R Adventures

I discovered this album last week while perusing the new releases for the week.  I had no clue this supergroup existed, but based on the participating musicians, it sounded interesting.

Black Country Communion consists of the following personnel:
Glenn Hughes (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple) - vocals, bass
Joe Bonamassa - guitars, vocals
Jason Bonham (son of Led Zeppelin's John Bonham) - drums
Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Planet X) - keyboards

If I had to describe this band in one short phrase, it would be "updated 70s metal."  Think Black Sabbath with cleaner production.  The guitar sound is heavy, the bass is in your face, and the drums are awesome.  One of my biggest criticisms is that the keyboards seem to get lost in the mix; poor Derek must feel pretty useless.  It's not a bad sound...for a few tracks.  This album is definitely loud; it feels to me like it could use a lot more texture.

Here is the track list:

1	Black Country	3:15
2	One Last Soul	3:52
3	The Great Divide	4:45
4	Down Again	5:45
5	Beggarman	4:51
6	Song of Yesterday	8:33
7	No Time	4:18
8	Medusa	6:56
9	The Revolution In Me	4:59
10	Stand (At the Burning Tree)	7:01
11	Sista Jane	6:54
12	Too Late For the Sun	11:21

I have to say, I have mixed feelings about this band.  There are musical passages that are brilliant (it seems those passages are mostly the slower ones).   There are also long stretches that feel like rehashed 70s metal that was dead and buried 30 years ago.  At any rate, it might be worth a listen, if you're into heavy, more technical music.  It's obvious these guys can play; there are some excellent guitar solos, and sick drum fills (although I am by no means an expert on drum fill quality).

The album does end on a very good note; "Too Late For The Sun" is an excellent track, and probably the best of the album.  At some points in the album, I wanted it to end, but at the end, I wanted to hear more.

This probably could've made an excellent EP.



★★☆☆

New Release: Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues

Release Date: September 14, 2010
Label: Bloodshot

  

This is one I hadn't heard of until it was on sale at Amazon as a $2.99 MP3 download.  I previewed a few tracks, and thought it sounded promising.

Justin Townes Earle is the son of country/rock singer Steve Earle, and like his father, who was often on the road, he became addicted to drugs at an early age.  He spent most of the 90s letting drugs wreck his life, but eventually sobered up, after what was evidently his fifth major drug overdose.  After sobering up, he began his music career. [1]

Harlem River Blues is Justin's fourth album in as many years, and can best be described as country folk.  I would place this more on the mellow end of the spectrum, with only one or two upbeat tracks to be found.

Track list:

1	Harlem River Blues	2:48
2	One More Night in Brooklyn	3:04
3	Move Over Mama	2:00
4	Workin' for the MTA	3:48
5	Wanderin'	2:38
6	Slippin' and Slidin'	2:58
7	Christchurch Woman	4:11
8	Learning to Cry	2:41
9	Ain't Waitin'	2:16
10	Rogers Park	4:27
11	Harlem River Blues Reprise	:31

This album starts out very promising.  Earle doesn't have a bad style; it's not country pop, it's country folk.  Earle has a relatively twang-free baritone voice, and really, his singing is not too bad, although his range seems limited.

The lyrics give this album an interesting touch, with several of the songs alluding to New York City.  My favorite is Workin' For The MTA:

I run the six line train,
Clear from Brooklyn Bridge to Pelham Bay

About half way through the album, he starts to slip.  It's not that the quality goes down, per se.  It's more that he seems to run out of ideas, and the music starts getting repetitive.  Most of the punches are pulled during the first half of the album, and it just kind of coasts to the end.

Which brings up my final complaint: the end comes just 31 minutes from the start.  Half the tracks are under three minutes, leaving you with the feeling that he really left lots of territory unexplored.  I felt like some of the tracks (Move Over Mama, for one) were great ideas that were cut short; there was more they could have offered had Earle taken them to their logical conclusions.

The whole album gives me the feeling that Earle could be a much better artist if, instead of cranking out a new album every year, he would spend more time developing the material he comes up with.  Harlem River Blues is perhaps the foundation of a great album, but falls way short.







Addendum: Looks like J.T.E. may still have some sobering up to do.

★★☆☆