Week of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Garbage, and Gojira.

     I took way too long on the last blog so I thought it would help things along to put out another blog really quickly. So this week I am jumping right in and reviewing Red Hot chili Peppers The Getaway, Garbage's Strange Little Birds and Gojira's Magma.

Red Hot Chili Peppers- The Getaway Review-

     Red Hot Chili Peppers, also sometimes shortened to "The Chili Peppers" or abbreviated as "RHCP", are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk rock and psychedelic rock. When played live, their music incorporates elements of jam band due to the improvised nature of much of their performances. Currently, the band consists of founding members Anthony Kiedis (vocals) and Flea (bass), longtime drummer Chad Smith; and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who joined in late-2009, replacing John Frusciante. Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the best-selling bands of all time with over 80 million records sold worldwide, have been nominated for sixteen Grammy Awards, of which they have won six and are the most successful band in alternative rock radio history currently holding the records for most number one singles, most cumulative weeks at number one (85) and most top-ten songs (25) on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.  In 2012, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band's original line-up featured guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons, alongside Kiedis and Flea. Because of commitments to other bands, Slovak and Irons did not play on the band's self-titled debut album (1984). Cliff Martinez was the drummer for the first two records (Irons played on the third), and guitarist Jack Sherman played on the first. Slovak performed on the second and third albums by the band, Freaky Styley (1985) and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987), but he died from a heroin overdose in 1988. As a result of his friend's death, Irons chose to depart from the group. Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist DeWayne McKnight was brought in to replace Slovak, though his tenure was short, which forced Frusciante to replace him in 1988. Former Dead Kennedys drummer D. H. Peligro was brought in to replace Irons. His tenure was also short, so he was replaced by Chad Smith that same year. The line-up of Flea, Kiedis, Frusciante, and Smith was the longest-lasting and recorded five studio albums beginning with Mother's Milk (1989). In 1990, the group signed with Warner Bros. Records and recorded the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) under producer Rick Rubin. This album became the band's first commercial success. Frusciante grew uncomfortable with the success of the band and left abruptly in 1992, in the middle of the Blood Sugar Sex Magik Tour. After two temporary guitarists, Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction joined for the group's subsequent album, One Hot Minute (1995). Although commercially successful, the album failed to match the critical or popular acclaim of Blood Sugar Sex Magik, selling less than half as much as its predecessor. Navarro was fired from the band in 1998. Frusciante, fresh out of drug rehabilitation, rejoined the band that same year at Flea's request. The reunited quartet returned to the studio to record Californication (1999), which became the band's biggest commercial success with 16 million copies worldwide. That album was followed three years later by By the Way (2002), and then four years later by the double album Stadium Arcadium (2006), their first number-one album in America. After a world tour, the group went on an extended hiatus. Frusciante announced he was amicably leaving the band in 2009 to focus on his solo career. Klinghoffer who had worked both as a sideman for the band on their Stadium Arcadium tour and on Frusciante's solo projects, replaced him as lead guitarist. The band's tenth studio album, I'm with You, was released in 2011 and topped the charts in 18 different countries. The group toured into 2014 and performed with Bruno Mars as a part of the halftime performance at Super Bowl XLVIII. The band released their eleventh studio album, The Getaway on June 17, 2016. The album was produced by Danger Mouse marking the first time since 1989's Mother's Milk that someone other than Rick Rubin has produced one of their albums. Whew... lots of history to get through.

^{The is the second album with Josh Klinghoffer as lead guitarist and on the last album I’m with you he was just starting but still John Frusciante was gravely missed. The biggest criticism of the last album was that the guitar was too much in the background which makes sense considering josh was the backup guitarist. Now he has had some time to get used to his role let’s see if more fun catchy guitar solos find there was through. This is also the first album since flea broke his arm and sadly not the first album since Anthony Kiedis decided to grow his mustache. My first hint we were in for a very different Chili Peppers Album should have been Dangermouse Producing and Nigel Godrich (Radiohead’s Producer) mixing the album.}

Radiohead performing Dani California.

1. The Getaway-Starts much more subtly than any other Chili Peppers album. I glad to see that Josh Klinghoffer is no longer trying to imitate John Frusciante, because it doesn’t work. It’s a lot more modern and sleek guitar lines with a wavy sound to them. Flea contains himself only casually bringing the funk and keeps the subtle low up keep and the song gets into a pretty good groove. The work from Dangermouse and Nigel is immediately noticed in the least funky and opening ever. The modern groove works and I think this is an album highlight.
2. Dark Necessities-is the lead single and again starts causally with piano and bass, but then it brings the funk on a pretty great bass line. However the other main driving instrument is the piano. Anthony does what he’s always done and sings a fun grooving singalong. Again the song does go full funk but goes for a radio rock modern groove and it really works well. The all piano bridge is especially surprising and works. This is really more of a R and B groove but they pull it off and it is another album highlight. The song ends with a pretty great guitar solo that is also very unique.
3. We Turn Red-is one of my favorites as it trades off from a slow Rand B grove in the catchy chorus to the way more funky and bouncy verses. They deal with the transitions well never getting to far out of the new found subtlety that they have worked so well on the album with. I personally think this is another album highlight.
4. The Longest Wave-Is a more straightforward modern groove R&B Song that leads in with a great guitar solo. The best aspect of this song is just how great the chorus sounds in the very new sounds they have brought in this time. It’s a very mellow song ever for R&B standards.
5. Goodbye Angels-is the closest they come to sounding like the old chili peppers as it builds past the groove and into rock territory. The guitar line on this song is the best one on the whole album, and it’s great to see how much different than the usual Chili Peppers line. I think Josh really comes into his own here with the big wavy guitar line and great ending solo. The end of the song alone makes it one of my favorites on here. The bass jams, the guitar rocks and they sounds like something that they have never sounded like before.
6. Sick Love-This song was Co-written for them by none other than Elton John. It’s a full on Reggae groove ballad and I love it. Some people don’t like it because it sounds so different form everything that they have ever done, but I love it for that.  You can hear the piano lines that inspired it from Elton. This song is just great, a definite highlight.
7. Go Robot-is one of the most straight up funk intro on the album before adding some synths to bring it back down to a casual groove. This song has some of the weirdest lyrics on the album with Anthony talking about having sex with a robot. I think Anthony needs to stop listening to R Kelly not everything needs to be sexy. The end of the song comes out of nowhere with a futuristic synth wave almost a disco vibe.
8. Feasting on the Flowers-Starting as a more reggae groove and escalates from there to a more rock reggae mix. Again instead of lead with guitar and bass the piano finds its way leading the charge for a while.
9. Detroit-They jump back into a more straight forward rock sound on this one and we even see Anthony rapping a bit as it picks up the pace. The song seems to be fighting the general direction of the album and the style of production Dangemouse has been using on the album. It’s the kind of track that could have been filer on any chili peppers album in the past 20 years.
10. This Ticonderoga-has the loudest start on anything on the album like a guitar explosion, but it is not funky at all. This might be the most straight forward rock song they have ever written, that is until it slows down for an R&B verse.
11. Encore-By sharp contrast to the last album this is the most mellow opening on the album and maybe ever for them. They have had ballads before but this way more Reggae than anything previously written. This ballad is not even close to as good as the ballad Elton wrote here. It seems to just float along almost Radiohead style float. I see you Nigel Goodrich.
12. The Hunter-It I didn’t know this was a Red Hot Chili Peppers song I would never guess that it was. If you replaced Anthony on vocals and added James Mercer this could be a Shins song. It’s a floating ethereal ballad that even has trumpet. It’s about as unchili peppers as you can get.
13. Dreams of a Samurai-The closing song starts with a piano solo lead in before going into an almost free form jazz sounding instrument section. This song is a very odd one for the chili peppers. It almost sounds like they were channeling Pink Floyd when writing this. The lyrics from Anthony are some of the best on the album and Chad Smith is let loose to play straight up jazz. It’s so different and its great. I love this song, an album highlight.

Red Hot Chili Peppers perform Under the Bridge.

A lot of people are very unhappy with the severe lack of funk on the album and I get that. You buy a Chili Peppers album, you want funk, but after the loss of Fruscante and the failed attempt to continue that style of play with Josh on I’m With You, I think it was a great choice. They are a different band now and should embrace that instead of trying to be something they can’t be. Bringing Dangermouse and Nigel Godrich to help helm the album was pure genius. They were able to create and maintain a sound so different than anything they have made before. It wasn’t all great and they fall back into some old habits here and that cause a few filler songs like Detroit, Feasting on the Flowers, Go Robot and Encore. This could have been a full new start and a huge breakout come back, a few wrinkles keep it from that, but it is leaps and bounds above the last album I’m With You. They sound the freshest they have since By the Way or Californication. I think one of the most commendable things is how well Josh Klinghoffer has come into his own on this album, he couldn’t break out of the background on the last one, and now he has his own style that works perfectly with the new Chili Peppers Sound. It’s not perfect or amazing, but it’s way better than expected and show a ton of promise for the future.

Here is my video review of Red Hot Chili Peppers The Getaway.

Recommended Songs: The Getaway, Dark Necessities, Sick Love, and Dreams of a Samurai

3.5/5 Stars

Garbage- Strange Little Birds Review-

    

     Garbage is an American-Scottish alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1993. The group consists of Scottish musician Shirley Manson (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and American musicians Duke Erikson (bass, guitar, keyboards), Steve Marker (guitar, keyboards), and Butch Vig (drums, percussion). All four members are involved in songwriting and production. The band have counted worldwide album sales of over 17 million units. Their debut album, Garbage, was critically acclaimed, sold over 4 million copies, and was certified double platinum in the UK, US, and Australia while accompanied by a string of increasingly successful singles in 1995–1996, including "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When It Rains". Follow-up Version 2.0, released in 1998 after a year of production, had an equal commercial success, topping the UK Albums Chart and getting nominations for two Grammy Awards. Garbage followed this up by performing and co-producing the theme song to the nineteenth James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough. Despite critical acclaim, Garbage's 2001 third album Beautiful Garbage failed to match the commercial success achieved by its predecessors. Garbage quietly disbanded amidst the troubled production of fourth album Bleed Like Me, but regrouped to complete the album, which was released in 2005 and peaked at a career-high No. 4 in the US. The band cut short their concert tour in support of Bleed Like Me announcing an "indefinite hiatus",  emphasizing that they had not broken up, but wished to pursue personal interests.  The hiatus was briefly interrupted in 2007, as Garbage recorded new tracks for greatest hits retrospective Absolute Garbage. Garbage ultimately regrouped in 2011,  releasing Not Your Kind of People in 2012 and Strange Little Birds in 2016, via the band's own independent label, Stunvolume.

    Garbage is one of those bands from the 90s that even if you don’t know who they are like the Cranberries with Zombie, you probably know some of their songs. They are just ingrained in our brains from this or that. Garbage are back with their first new album since 2011’s disappointing Not Your Kind of People. The band had time to get back to their roots before this with a 20th anniversary tour of their debut album in 2014. What makes Garbage unique is their perfect blend of pop hooks and choruses with a rock sound. On top of that they have always been adopters to the current newer sounds and styles around them blending them with their sound like a 90 music chameleon.

Garbage performs Only Happy When it Rains.

1.Sometimes-Opens ominously and vastly with huge dark synths that come in waves before becoming much sharper and droning in the background while Shirley Manson sings about love and hate and attempting to forgive others and find peace in herself. It’s a dark jagged song about the insecurity inside all of us.
2. Empty-the lead single and stand out album highlight is quick to bring back the sound of Garbage we are all used to. The chorus is huge and what Garbage does best in the pop singalong side of things. The rest of the song is an insanely catchy electro rock tune that soars above the topic of feeling nothing inside after a huge breakup.
3. Blackout-is another personal highlight as Shirley channels her inner witch coven and casts us in a spell with powerful vocal range. The bass here grinds along on a fuzz line and the guitar just floats until the chorus and gets to explode outward as Shirley charms in another huge singalong sections. This is the perfect example of what Garbage do best, the perfect blend of huge pop singalong choruses with grinding dark rock and electronic sounds.
4. If I Lost You- Is a straightforward 90’s electro pop love song. It is not my favorite song on the album but it keeps interest with unique Nine Inch Nails style weird float in sounds an overall great mix. You can thank drummer and producer extraordinaire Butch Vig for that. Again though it does a great job jumping back and forth from floating dream pop chorus lines to ambient elctro verses.
5. Night Drive Loneliness-starts with a great guitar line and moves into a smooth oozing dark regretful love loss. It’s a quiet sensual song about having time to yourself to lament about your past mistakes. Shirley does a great job channeling the painful regrets in her vocals.
6. Even Though Our Love Is Doomed-starts with a great dark bass line and ambient electronic sounds before reaching its full grinding peak when Shirley finds her most intimate feelings of self-hate as the bass just grinds to peak. The chorus reaches pop levels but is much less over the top with the pain of the topic and lets the synths lead the song without going too pop.
7. Magnetized-keeps the grinding bass and guitar sounds but loses the dark feel as it puts the electro rock sound into overdrive and soars. The overall mix of sounds on this song is perfect, never overreaching and still finding new levels of power in new sounds.
8. We Never Tell-starts with a great drum beat from Butch and then lets the electro pop back in. This is one of the more pop sounding songs on the album. It’s the most straight forward elctro pop song on the album. It booms in the chorus but loses the dark grinding guitar and bass that kept the album so grounded and the balance of Garbage’s pop/rock switch off in check. It is probably my least favorite track because of that.
9. So We Can Stay Alive-Forgoes all pop sensibilities and goes full soaring electro rocker and I love it. This song is one of my favorites on the album. They show what can do with full force electronics and loud guitar force. This song is not sad or self-loathing but full on hatred of anyone getting in your way. This could be a muse song if it was Matt Bellamy and not Shirley Manson. This is an definite album highlight for me.
10. Teaching Little Fingers to Play-And now for something completely different, they decide to fully embrace the synth pop ballad on this song. It’s one of the most pop sounding songs on the album and I feel like they lose the rock/pop balance a bit here. It maintains the Garbage sinister pop sound a little better that We Never Tell, but again this track is not my favorite.
11. Amends-is hands down my favorite song on the album and a highlight for anyone who likes Garbage. This song starts slow but powerful as Shirley tries to forgive herself and move past her past transgressions with others and you can hear the emotions build in her voice as the music does. The choruses grow and until they go full force into the loudest most rock section on the whole album.

Garbage performing I Think I'm Paranoid.

There are a few missteps as they follow two strongly into straight up pop sections but the missteps are few and the writing so strong that they are easy to forgive. This album shines through the powerful and emotional maturity of Shirley Manson’s vocals and lyrics. The overall reinvention is only slight but they adapt well to the 21st century with the great additions of electronic synths and sounds. The album is was more subtle and varied than Not Your Kind of People. Shirley Manson is given great freedom to write the most intimate and personal songs she has written in years. The real reason this might be the best Garbage album since Version 2 is that they stopped trying to adapt and change to find new fans and just created the 21st century version of what the old fans would love. It’s a darker sleeker more mature Garbage that still has no trouble rocking and crafting singalong choruses. 

Here is my video review of Garbage's Strange Little Birds.

 

Recommended Songs: Empty, Blackout, So We Can Stay Alive, and Amends

4/5 Stars

Gojira- Magma Review-

    

    Gojira is a French heavy metal band from Bayonne. The band was known as Godzilla until 2001. Gojira is composed of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Duplantier, his brother Mario Duplantier on drums, lead guitarist Christian Andreu, and Jean-Michel Labadie on bass. They have released six studio albums and three live DVDs. They are known for their environmentally-themed lyrics and have gone from "utmost obscurity" to being mentioned regularly "amongst the genre's leading new millennium upstarts". Gojira was formed in 1996 by Joe and Mario Duplantier, Christian Andreu, and Alexandre Cornillon in their hometown of Ondres. Gojira's music combines elements of death metal, groove metal, thrash metal and progressive metal. The band started touring and recording under the name Godzilla and released their demos Victim, Possessed, Saturate and Wisdom Comes in 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000, respectively. After touring, supporting Cannibal Corpse, Edge of Sanity, Impaled Nazarene and supporting Immortal in September 1999, legal problems forced Godzilla to change their name. They changed their name to Gojira, the rōmaji spelling of the fictional monster Godzilla. Their debut album Terra Incognita was released under the new name in 2001. The band released their second studio album in 2003, The Link (reissued in 2007 with remastered audio and new booklet artwork).  After the success of the first two albums and their live performances they made a DVD in Bordeaux produced by Gabriel Editions. Since 19 May 2004, The Link Alive has been on sale in France. In 2005, Gojira decided to sign with French-based Listenable Records to help give them exposure outside France with the album From Mars to Sirius. Gojira was featured on Children of Bodom's US tour in late 2006, joining Amon Amarth and Sanctity as the openers.  Furthermore, Gojira supported Trivium on the UK dates of their European tour in 2007 with Sanctity and Annihilator.  Later they supported Lamb of God on their 2007 American tour along with Trivium and Machine Head. In late 2007 they took part in the Radio Rebellion Tour, featuring co-headliners Behemoth and Job for a Cowboy, as well as Beneath the Massacre. In October 2007, Listenable Records re-released Gojira's 1997 demo Possessed as a limited edition.

Through the years French metal band Gojira have become one of the greatest metal bands of this generation by creating constantly amazing albums that seem to exceed expectations and each other. Along whit that they put on epic live performances. This is one of those bands that really is all it’s cracked up to be. Most bands release new material and they want you to believe it is the best they have written, and mostly that is false. For Gojira every album makes a case for it being the best they have ever created. They have created a sound and style that is truly all their own. We all have our favorites for them but their discography is one of the few that is truly spotless. It’s been four years since the the last album and the Duplantier brothers have been through a lot with the loss of their mother weighing heavily on their minds when recording this album.

Gojira Live.

1. The Shooting Star-Its clear from the first lyrics that this is a very different album opening than usual from Gojira. The usual explosion and screams are not where they be seen replaced with grinding progressive riffs and a great clean lyric chorus. This song is very hypnotic as they look into themselves at their lives and pain. The clean vocals are not a first, but much more a focal point here as this proves to be the driving point of the albums more emotional, personal, and calm direction. Calm for Gojira is still metal as hell and this song is a great trance like hypnotic progressive song to open the album with. It might be the most accessible song to date for metal nubes.
2. Silvera-Drops the clean lyrics for now with a crunchy line and sweeping guitars lines. The clean vocal chorus is one of most musical catchy lines they have written and becomes a great line to sing along to. The guitar solo mid song is a great driving force. They continue the heavily progressive style from the opener and kick it up a notch. This I a personal favorite and an album highlight.
3. The Cell-The opening line screams with the pain of lose, and drives straight into a huge chugging guitar and drum sections. This song shows off their musical ability as it jumps around in pace, style, and sound in true progressing leaning.
4. Stranded-is the most straightforward metal song I have ever heard from them. It also sounds like newer Mastodon, more chorus heavy progressive style. This song is the most accessible they have ever been for all metal fans, but with a great enough riff and explosive chorus for more seasoned metal and Gojira fans to enjoy. Try as you might this song will get stuck in your head it’s insanely catchy. They only use clean vocals at the end, but even the more scream sections never come close to past albums heaviness. The basic riff makes the song. I think this is an album highlight.
5. Yellow Stone-slows down with an almost doom riff opening. The songs is fun to listen to but really just serves as an intermission point on the album.
6. Magma-is the title track is the meat and potatoes of the album clocking in a more than seven minutes. It starts with clean vocals and very chugging progressive guitar riff. This song sounds the most different from everything else on the album becoming an atmospheric sounding track as they chug along and touch on spirituality in the clean vocals. Don’t worry metal fans in seven minutes it doesn’t forget to bring the metal as the huge riffs drift in and out. This is a masterpiece of a song in every way and a highlight if there ever was one.
7. Pray-If you were worried the forgot bring the heavy riffs they are known for this song should clear that right up. Starting again with a more atmospheric sound before quickly bringing in a grinding guitar line that builds and gets added to through the whole song until it comes to a huge climax when the drums are added in. They stick to mostly clean vocals on this track but approach it in a very dark and heavy way that is complimented the by the huge riffs and pounding drums.
8. Only Pain-a background ghost drum leads into the huge progressive riff on only pain. They make use of a damper distortion sound to let the vocals shine and they unleashing the full guitar sounds. This is another song that you can hear some of the most personal and emotional lyrics they have ever written about the loss of their mom.
9. Low Lands-Is a much slower song like magma before it, but unlike magma this song is more of a groove feel to it than an atmospheric feel. Starting with a quiet distant drumming and then adding the guitar subtlety. The vocals shine here in the most intimate and clean I have ever heard Gojira, almost channeling a Ghost vibe. This sounds so unlike anything Gojira have ever made before and I love the atmospheric groove of it. This is an album highlight to me.
10. Liberation-The album closes things on a much more somber note in a feeling of acceptance of pain and loss with an acoustic guitar lead in. The guitar is joined by a slow quiet bongo. This song sounds like it could be kids around a camp fire instead of one of the world more prominent metal bands. I think that was the point and it adds a lot of power to healing acceptance of the pain on this song. It’s almost like a last send off to their mother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxhm2a1fvI4

Gojira Live at Resurrection Fest.

This album is one of the most powerfully emotional albums you will hear this or any year, and it does so by creating the most intimate, accessible, and raw album Gojira have ever made. This album is shorter than the usual, cut down to around 40 minutes as opposed to the last one clocking in over an hour. It was made to be that way, a progressive and sonic journey through many sights and sounds of loss. They have created an album that serves as both a eulogy to their mother and an insight into steps of grief. You could take that much farther and examine where you think each song fits in the 5 steps, but why bother the music speaks for itself.  Not all metal fans may love the quieter and cleaner vocal version of Gojira, but skipping it as a fan would do yourself a major disservice. You will never get a better insight into the hearts and minds of a truly great metal band. They evolved here in ways I never expected, and like magma itself create a slower moving but explosively powerful masterpiece.

Here is my video review of Gojira's Magma.

 

Recommended Songs: Honestly this will be different to everyone.

5/5 Stars

Week of Radiohead, Deftones, and Goo Goo Dolls

     I am back from the dead. I took a bit of a hiatus and we can discuss this and how it was good for me to find the fun in blogging again, or we can jump right in. It truth it took a really important album to make me really want to write again and I got a couple to work with. This week I am going to review the long awaited new albums from Radiohead and the Deftones. As well as a new album from the Goo Goo Dolls. 

Radiohead- A Moon Shaped Pool Review-

     

     Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals), Colin Greenwood (bass), and Phil Selway (drums, percussion, backing vocals). They have worked with producer Nigel Godrich and cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992. It became a worldwide hit after the release of the band's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Their popularity and critical standing rose in the United Kingdom with the release of their second album, The Bends (1995). Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), propelled them to international fame; with an expansive sound and themes of modern alienation, it is often acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s and one of the best albums of all time. The group's next album Kid A (2000) marked a dramatic evolution in their style, as they incorporated influences from experimental electronic music, 20th-century classical music, krautrock, and jazz. Despite initially dividing fans and critics, Kid A was later named the best album of the decade by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and the Times. Amnesiac, recorded during the same sessions as Kid A, was released the following year. Radiohead's sixth album, Hail to the Thief (2003), mixed rock and electronic music with lyrics inspired by the War on Terror, and was the band's final album for their record label, EMI. Their subsequent releases have pioneered alternative release platforms such as pay-what-you-want and BitTorrent. Radiohead released their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007), as a download for which customers could set their own price, to critical and chart success. Their eighth album, The King of Limbs (2011), an exploration of rhythm, was developed using extensive looping and sampling. Their ninth album, A Moon Shaped Pool (2016), prominently featured Jonny Greenwood's orchestral arrangements.

      The forces that be dropped this album on us suddenly just like the last two times and it was one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Just like every album they put out. I personally really liked King on Limbs, but not everyone did. A lot of people consider that the one bad album in this Alt Rock titans career. I think the Kings of Limbs live from the basement album really helped me, but with album nine we have no idea what to expect and it’s just the way it should be. I waited almost a month to review this because a Radiohead album needs time to grow on me. All of those next day reviews of this, were all way to soon. Every time I listen to a Radiohead album I get something new out of it. Which is why I love them and why this needed more time. This album comes hot on the heels of Thom Yorke separating from his partner of 25 years and really dives into the pain of loss and the passing of time.

Radiohead performing Paranoid Android Live.

1. Burn the Witch-Is actually one of the previously released songs from 2000 that has been reworked here beautifully. They have extra help on this song from Portishead drummer Geoff Barrow who plays on the whole album like he did on King of Limbs and Orchestral sections from the London Contemporary Orchestra. The backbone and driving force of the song is the bombastic strings arrangement. Thom delivers the vocals in usual floating beauty about a very personal subject his subtle panic attack as he deals with loss and the rest of the world moving on without him. This album is a definite highlight and one of my favorites.
2. Daydreaming-is the most beautiful and emotional song on the album. It deals heavily with the loss of love, “Dreamers they never learn, but it’s too late the damage is done”. He sings at the top of his floating falsetto and the smooth and minimal orchestrations and arrangement of synths just float behind him. This is a much more stripped back song that flows and builds over time to make a very wave of time feel. This is an album highlight and is the best description of what it feels like the to just float as time moves around you. The strings come back in at the end to add an extra punch.
3. Decks Dark-Starts very simply with Thom on vocals and a quiet synth line that feels like a song that could have fit on Kid A or Ok Computer. This song has a very atmospheric feel to it and as synths and pianos swirl around and Thom sings about space. The latter half of the song shows some intricate guitar lines from Jonny Greenwood.
4. Desert Island Disk-Starts with a beautiful finger picking acoustic guitar line. The song is very quiet and simple. It has a very staring up at the stars and mass of space feel to it.
5. Full Stop-This is my personal favorite song on the album. It starts with a droning bass line and fluttering chaotic synths. From the more relaxed feel of the album, this track is one of the few that feels like it has a bit of urgency as panic sets in on past mistakes. This songs finally gives other members of Radiohead some time to come off of the leash with great guitar lines, precise percussion, and droning bass. Thom delivers a very quirky vocal here. This is an album highlight.
6. Glass Eyes-slows things down for another beautiful floating synth and string ballad. This song has a very stuck in a moment of time feel like if Doctor Who’s Tardis broke and a single moment was captured as a still image.
7. Identikit-is another previously released song that I actually heard live on the Kings of Limbs tour. This song has one of the best musical arrangements on the albums with a catchy bass line and driving synths. Johhny Greenwood also shines here on guitar as he jumps around like a mad man. The style of a songs is very progressive as it shifts in pace, style, and sound constantly throughout. This is an album highlight.
8. The Numbers-starts with swirling piano and synths before acoustic guitar joins over top. This is a very simple sparse and beautiful song that slowly builds and adds on more layers as it goes along. The strings at the very end really pull the song together nicely.
9. Present Tense-Sees Thom start the song with flowing falsetto over a simple guitar line. Guitar lines get added and layered over each other as well as synths to create a very complicated and dreamy sound for Thom to croon over. Layering dense and complicated parts over each other has always been a Radiohead staple and shows here.
10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man-is a very spacy and minimalistic song that again features the London Contemporary Orchestra as the backdrop and highlight of the song as the play eerie lines over the vast nothingness and quiet.
11. True Love Waits-The Beautiful and emotional album closer has been an existing Radiohead song for a very long time first seen in 1995 and just now recorded for release. The style is the closing style we have seen from Radiohead many time almost Amnesiac in its atmospheric sound. A very stripped down and painful song. It’s about the moment when your lover leaves to never come back and all you can do is call out to them as they walk away. “I’ll Drown my beliefs to have your babies”, Thom sings in the flowing chorus. Musically it’s just a simple piano over quiet vocals but it’s delivery is powerful and beautiful. You can hear the pain in his voice as the track slowly fades out.

Radiohead performing 15 Step Live.

This is by far the most personal and humanizing album Radiohead have ever written. They weren’t trying to change or evolve their sound into something else here, but simply create a poignant and beautiful of the feeling in the moment. It was an album with the anxiety of time an pain of love lost. It is written with the modern day in mind instead of a metaphor for something else. It could almost be described as a beautiful, painful album about a fixed moment or moments in time that are forever frozen in his mind as he has to move on and face the passing days of the future. They were somehow able to kind of mend the sounds of Kid A and In Rainbows with the vast percussion sounds of King of Limbs into a beast all its own, and a masterpiece of an album.

Here is my video review of Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool.

Recommended songs: Burn the Witch, Daydreaming, Full Stop, Identikit, and True Love Waits.

5/5 Stars

Deftones- Gore Review-

Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California. The band, which was founded in 1988, consists of Chino Moreno (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Stephen Carpenter (lead guitar), Frank Delgado (keyboards and turntables), Abe Cunningham (drums and percussion) and Sergio Vega (bass). Deftones have released eight albums since their inception. Their debut album. Adrenaline, was released in 1995 after numerous lineup changes. Success was found with their second and third albums, Around the Fur and White Pony, including a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for the song "Elite". Their mainstream success continued with their self-titled album in 2003; however, sales were lackluster compared to White Pony. The follow-up, Saturday Night Wrist, was released in 2006 after a temporary falling out within the band due to creative tensions. Its completion was also delayed by Moreno's drug addictions and the dissolution of his marriage.
In 2008, while Deftones were working on an album tentatively titled Eros, bassist Chi Cheng was involved in a traffic collision, leaving him in a minimally conscious state which ultimately led to his death in 2013. During that time, Deftones halted production on Eros and released Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan in 2010 and 2012, respectively, with current bassist Vega. In 2016, the band released a followup, titled Gore.

      The Deftones are one of the last modern bands who truly have never had a bad album. I would go as far as to say that they always put out great albums. The Deftones were one of those bands labeled with that toxic phrase nu metal in the early days, but are so much more than that. When creating this album is was apparent that singer Chino Moreno and Guitarist Steven Carpenter were budding heads over the direction of the album. We will have to see if that effects the album but this is not the first time the two have budded heads creatively, it also happened on a little album called White Pony.

Deftones Performing Diamond Eyes.

1. Prayers/Triangles-The album Opens with a beautiful and melodic guitar line over a dark and soothing vocal line form Chino. It builds up to a much bigger guitar part for the soaring chorus. This song is beyond beautiful musically. I wouldn’t exactly call it a ballad but more of a signal of the sound of the album a great mix of grindingly heavy and dark smooth beauty. Chico lays it on smooth and Steven Carpenter never lets him get too comfortable with that and as strives for heavier sounds. This song is an album highlight.
2. Acid Hologram-Starts even slower with an almost doom guitar line behind the vocals. It is one of the lightest Deftones songs but it never loses its intensity. It’s a like a moment of intimacy that never loses its spark or fire. Chino grinds vocally along with the guitar in the bridge and finds that smooth but intense tension.
3. Doomed User-is my favorite song on the album and the song that caused the most tension between Steven and Chino. The Guitar line on this song is my favorite line on the whole album. Vocally Chino is forced to come out more even in his attempts to keeps it calmer and lighter. His vocals shift form almost shouting to smooth sailing, all while the guitar never lets up. This song is an absolute highlight and proof that the tension here adds something great in the bands overall sound.
4. Geometric Headdress-takes the pace up a couple notches right from the start and finds a balance between calm tension and barely contained fury. The choruses are sung and pretty while the verses are shouted and screamed along with the grinding guitar line.
5. Hearts/Wires-starts with a dark and wavy synth line while guitar lines noodle quietly underneath. Finally a more solid melodic guitar line leads slowly into the vocals. Over all this is a much quieter and darker song. It slowly ticks along and Chino sings his pain away.
6. Pittura Infamante-The songs starts with a melodic dueling guitar line before a powerful vocal line  breaks the line up. This a much lighter and happier sing along song. This song is a great song and a highlight. This song will be fun to sing along with at live shows. In the bridge sonically changed, the song comes back with much more intensity and a guitar solo.
7. Xenon-The song is led into and driven by a very unique and edgy guitar line that is very unique Steven Carpenter is great at this type of the line. The guitar is the backbone of this song as Chico sings soaring choruses over top. The song really comes together with the variation of the two parts coming together. The grinding guitar lines build and get louder into the end.
8.(L)MIRL-quiet strums begin the song before slowly finds grooving pace. This is another song example of dangerous and intimate. Chino has one of the best vocal lines as he shows huge range over a flowing guitar line. Beautiful dangerous, intimate best describes this song. It ends at the edge of almost heavy as chino screams “Right Now”.
9. Gore-the title track starts with a quick and driving guitar line, before exploding into the one of the heaviest moments on the album. It switches between melodic driving and a grinding heavy. This song is everything about this album that I love so much. Its huge melodic beautiful, heavy, and dark. This is an album highlight. This guitar line is again the backbone.
10. Phantom Bride-Calm and quiet and beautiful. This song floats along a melodic guitar line and the huge chorus soars. This is my favorite quiet song on the album. It perfectly captured by the name as a haunted failed love not willing to try anymore. You can hear the emotion in the vocals as he sings, “You waste your life trapped in emotion you will waste away”. The guitar solo in the middle is absolutely beautiful. This in an album highlight to me.
11. Rubicon-the album closer starts slowly with a grinding guitar line and soaring vocals bringing home the overall feel the album has had since the beginning. It’s beautifully composed and perfect as an ending a dark beautiful album.

Deftones performing My Own Summer.

Sometimes the thing that makes an album so great is the amount of dysfunction and disharmony that comes tighter to push everyone involved to new heights. It’s a rarity but here and on White Pony Chino Moreno and Steven Carpenter disagree about the overall album sound and refuse to compromise on their visions and they make each other so much better for that. Chino comes in on a lighter side after crosses wanting to fuse that here, and Steven wanted to bring out the heavier side of Deftones heard on albums like Diamond Eyes. It just comes together so beautifully as a dark, emotive, beautiful, and grinding album that soars by refusing to compromise.

Here is my video review of Deftones Gore.

Recommended songs: Prayers/Triangles, Doomed User, Gore, and Phantom Bride.

5/5 Stars

Goo Goo Dolls- Boxes Review-

      The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, vocalist and bassist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. Mike Malinin was the band's drummer from January 1995 until December 27, 2013 (but not made an official member until 1998). Although renowned for their commercially successful 1998 single "Iris", they have had several other notable and popular singles including "Name" and "Naked" from 1995's A Boy Named Goo. "Slide", "Black Balloon", "Dizzy", and "Broadway" from 1998's Dizzy Up the Girl, "Here Is Gone" from 2002's Gutterflower, "Better Days", "Give a Little Bit", and "Stay with You" from 2006's Let Love In (although "Give A Little Bit" was originally released on the 2004 live CD/DVD album Live in Buffalo: July 4th, 2004), and "Home" from 2010's Something for the Rest of Us. The Goo Goo Dolls have had 19 top ten singles on various charts, and have sold more than 12 million albums worldwide. In October 2012, "Iris" was ranked #1 on Billboard's "Top 100 Pop Songs 1992–2012" chart, which also featured Goo Goo Dolls hits "Slide", ranking at #9, and "Name" at #24. Their biggest hit, "Iris", from the City of Angels soundtrack (and later Dizzy Up the Girl), spent nearly 12 straight months on the Billboard charts and held the number one position on the Hot 100 Airplay chart for 18 weeks. The first single from their 2010 album, Something for the Rest of Us, "Home", extended the band's record to 14 top ten hits at the hot AC radio format (more than any other artist in the history of that format). The band's tenth album, Magnetic, was released on June 11, 2013. On May 6, 2016, their eleventh studio album, Boxes, was released.

I have a been a fan on this band from the first time I started buying albums and I think that makes me one of their biggest and most dedicated fans. I bought like every album up until I bought the last one Magnetic and I hated it. They changed their entire sound to a more modern synth pop sound and I hated it. They changed everything I loved about them. I was so angry that I skipped them on tour last year because they played so many new songs on that tour. I was very apprehensive about this new album but I picked it up anyway, I still like these guys a lot. So here’s hoping they went back to their old sound. 

Goo Goo Dolls performing Iris.

1. Over and Over-Any hope of a return to the old school guitar driven 90’s sound is violently killed with the first sounds of the opening synths. It moves and waves just like every other modern syth pop song of the past few years. Even the sing along chorus is so simple and lazy, not that they were wordsmiths but they always had heart before. This song is the sound of a band who’s sound and heart have been ripped out and strained through a synth cheese grading producer to stay relevant.
2. Souls in the Machine-Starting with a guitar could be promising and a real vocal intro. This song actually sounds really promising with a  bit of a folk county twinge until the chorus comes in and washes away that with over bearing synths and forced and bad sing along lines. Over all the song fares much better than the one before it.
3. Flood-A Coldplay sounding syth leads the song before it takes an even worse spin with lyrics that would choke hallmark. This is a duet song that vocally sounds great, but it’s hard to pay attention to that when they keep beating you over the head with the huge and horrible synth walls. “You’re the flood, You’re the flood, you’re the flood that opened my heart”. That is an actual line from the song.
4. The Pin-Another promising guitar start crushed by sythns and horrible lyric and chorus cliches. It continues the same simple start and builds to the huge wall of synths sound that the album has been doing so far.
5. Boxes-This is actually the strongest opening of the album with all the pomp and fanfare and a beautiful vocal line form John. Even with a more simple and beautiful ballad they can’t help but to try and sneak a few weird over sythns and high fake vocals sounds. Overall this song has more good than bad and that is more than can be said for most. It is a bit repetitive but that’s pop at its least annoying.
6. Free of Me-We finally hear the first lead vocal from co-goo man Robbie. He has a much different sounding voice but I actually works a little better with this over the top synth style because he sticks out more. He’s not trying the sound the exact same as every other pop vocalist, and that grounds the song a little. Musically still hugely over the top synths and bad choruses, more of the same.
7. Reverse-John is back at lead vocals with a cool little piano intro… and its gone. This is the worst over the top synth beating on the album. I practically choke on it. Hey the piano line is back…and its gone.
8. Lucky One-No cool intros, no fake outs, straight into the overbearing Christian rock meets modern synth producer form hell sound.
9. So Alive-This is my favorite into on the album but with a piano line dueling with a guitar and a catchy and fun vocal line from John. I don’t even mind the background chorus here. The synths bother me, but even still the music here stands far above the rest of the album and becomes the first real album highlight. The song works so much better because the synths take a more background here and John seems like he is actually trying with the lyrics for once.
10. Prayer in my Pocket-Remember all the compliments I gave Robbie when he took lead vocals from John, I take them all back. He leads to most over the top nauseating song on the album. Here not only are the synths being shoved forcibly at you but so are the really bad bible chorus sections. Not bad because it’s pro Jesus, just bad because its bad. REALLY REALLY BAD.
11. Long Way Home-The album closer starts with piano and John stripped back before guess what comes next. If you guessed this was the best song on the album with genuine great lyrics, get out your wrong. They do the exact same thing again, horrible sing a long choruses with a huge synth wave carrying it.

 Goo Goo Dolls performing Over and Over.

This album cements a fear I had after that last album Magnetic in that the Goo Goo Dolls are no longer for me and my time actively following the band is over. The one bad album rule applies, but this is two horrible misfires attempting to gain footing the modern day pop audiences hearts. I honestly don’t get it, they have a huge following they haven’t been modern or really relevant to new fans since Dizzy up the Girl or maybe arguably 2006’s Let Love In. That didn’t stop them from making good new music for the fans they already had and playing fairly large crowds at their concerts. They won’t get new fans form this over produced stynth ball of trash, they will just alienate the core fans they had.  It might be time for a greatest hits tour and no new albums like this ever again. Trust me a lot of 90s fans won’t want to see these songs live.

Here is my Video Review of Goo Goo Dolls Boxes.

Recommended songs: So Alive and that’s a stretch.

1/5 Stars