David Bowie - The Next Day

David Bowie - The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

Runs for 3:57

I don't even know what to say. The vocal build-up just seals it.

I got my mits on this album expecting it to be a Dad-pop dagfest. In some ways it is. In some, more accurate ways, this turns out to be a showcase of well to brilliantly written songs. The critics love it. Newspapers hail it as the biggest comeback in EVER - this being Bowie's first number 1 in 20 years. I hail it as a damn solid record and if anything the way each song is structured is the reason for this.

Running through it track by track, the album holds a range of styles. The musical style on each track is impressive - not only is it jam packed with bass hooks, guitar licks, horns, percussion, piano, drum rolls that each encompass a different style, Bowie's wicked vocal range commands the already impressive music.

The variety of song structure on the album is awe-inspiring and a real tribute to music. No two tracks sound the same on the album, and some of the subtleties that add to the music such as low tone on an electric guitar or an acoustic strumming underneath a louder track, really gives the listener something to keep an ear out for. You'll find that the best tracks on the album will have a real climactic feel to them - they'll start relatively simple but by the end of it there'll be a shit tonne of extra noise involved, practically like a pop/rock orchestra. The best part about every song with this build-up is really, stupidly flawless in the delivery. I want to pull it apart, but I can't.

It's a bit hard to say anything more than that. I'd say that it gets a wee bit monotonous at points - namely after the first couple of tracks it goes into a dip of weaker songs. However, I haven't listened to the album enough to say that these won't warm on me in the same way other bands have. Even then the final four songs are all very good and wrap up the album, leaving the feeling that the wait was worth it. Welcome back Bowie.

Boris - Boris At Last : Feedbacker

Boris: Feedbacker (full album)

Runs for: 43:48

I understand that maybe you won't have enough time to check out the whole thing in one sitting, so i recommend checking out parts two and three on youtube. If my maths is correct, which it undoubtedly ISN'T - skipping forward to  24:32 or 30:24 on this should take you there.

I’ve been spinning this non-stop since I got my hands on it, only taking breaks to kick myself for missing Boris when they came to Sydney last year. Effectively a 43 minute song separated into 5 tracks, Japanese Doom-Drone-Stoner-Prog Metal band Boris’ Feedbacker is a solid mix of many of those elements to create a incredible, loud and diverse power-ballad riddled with atmospheric, sometimes bluesy riff work, rhythmic drums and climatic song structure.

Part 1 is the slow, drawn out introduction. Staying true to the drone genre, the guitars opt to make more of a humming noise for atmospheric effect rather than using a standard melody. it succeeds with this effect and prepares the listener for the rest of the song (or album, depending on how you want to look at it).
Part 2 is the build-up to the rock part of the album. Starting off slow, the instruments progressively get busier and busier until howling guitars and dark, heavy riffs create climactic moments spun between calm vocals that progress to a rock music yell.
Part 3 would be the hard rock/metal track on the album. The drums are thunderous and the harmony between the booming guitars and shouted vocals create an atmospheric hard rock feel, effectively creating the true climax of the song/album.
Part 4 is where the drone/ambience kicks in after the fury of the previous track, effectively winding down the listener for the quieter finish. Plenty of fuzz, screeching guitars and noise to pick up on.
Part 5 is the finale. A short track, it rolls back with the familiar, calm riff from part 2 with some crossover ambient guitar screeching trailing over from the previous track, effectively closing the 5 part song that is Feedbacker.

All and all it’s a very solid track(s) for anyone who appreciates progressive music. The vocals are conventional enough for rock listeners to enjoy, while the combination of both blues rock riffs with the careful song structure of progressive metal draws in anyone who likes music that radiates passion. The drone and ambient parts stay true to the genre and make for a well placed bridge to the end of the song too without fiercely alienating the listener or breaking the feel of the song. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

Andy Stott - We Stay Together EP

Andy Stott - Cracked

Runs for: 5:36

The song is warped. The hooks are fantastic and the overall bassiness puts me out of my own brain. 

Haven't stopped listening to it since I found it.

I wouldn’t usually plug an artist in two reviews so close to each-other, but this is an EP that has to be listened to for any house/techno enthusiasts. I don’t even bother with electronic music generally, but I’ve been spinning this non-stop for days since I got it and it gets more amazing every listen.

With deep bass hits strong enough to wrack your bones, Andy Stott’s We Stay Together EP is a fantastic mixture of dub beats, odd synths and pulsing rhythmic tracks which creates one of the most powerful electronic releases I’ve heard to date.

As I said in the previous review, Andy Stott seems to have a mastery of a very strange, almost otherworldly synth sound with a kind of ringing metal percussion sound to it without it being ‘nails on a chalkboard’ tinny. The variety of music he creates is relatively vast on the EP as well, showcasing a lighter and nearly ambient song with the opener: ‘Submission’. The rest of the album is a vast breeding ground for interesting electronic sounds, with all sorts of subtleties in the songs that will make every listen have something new to pick up on. The sound itself almost demands movement. I find it impossible to sit and listen to Cracked or Posers without bobbing my head, and even then the general depth of the bass and drums on the rest of the tracks seem to draw some movement out of me. In most cases I’ll be motionless or zombefied in my work cubicle or lying in bed and as soon as the EP comes on I’ll be shaking my extremities above my personage as if I have no issues in general (yeah that was a ‘hands in the air like you just don’t care reference. Points to you if you got it).

But yes – listen to it. It’s very involving house music. The best of what’s on the EP almost leaves you hypnotised, every beat hitting you like a hammer to a nail. Should Andy Stott ever come down under, I’ll be there to witness what I’d believe to be one of the most fantastic house artists of our time.

  

Andy Stott - Posers

Runs for: 5:07

Really solid build-up in the track and the droning sound running throughout it is beastly.

Atoms For Peace - Amok

Atoms For Peace - Default

Runs for: 5:15

Really nice groove to this track. Besides that, there's a lot going on beat-wise which makes it an interesting listen.

Atoms For Peace is the product of the collaborative efforts of several heavyweights from the modern alternative rock industry. With members coming from bands with differing styles such as Radiohead, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Beck/R.E.M., an electro act wouldn't necessarily be the first thing that a listener would expect - save for this band being driven by Thom Yorke's apparent desire to release another electro CD. The release of the band's first album 'Amok' presses the question: will each musician accentuate their strengths, or limit themselves for the sake of a less chaotic album?

From the word go, the listener is going to be hit by two things, the synth and the drum beats. The beats are pushing forward this powerful and unique rhythm and the synth work is impressive, with every note creating electronic eargasms due to unknown new sounds and clever volume control being used at every note. The other instruments are dwarfed by this unfortunately.

The guitar parts are very soft and find themselves overwhelmed by the beats and the synth. Honestly, a lot of the song structure would benefit by giving some of the guitar parts more of the limelight. The same goes with the bass – it’s subtle and pleasing to the ear (they have Flea from the chilli peppers on bass for Christ’s sake) but subtle to a point where it nearly goes unnoticed. It’s apparent that what they are trying to do here is create and perfect a certain electro sound. Sure, they do this, and it’s a pretty decent sound, but one that needs to be less drum and synth oriented and let the other instruments do something. On top of all this, Thom Yorke’s voice doesn’t change much, opting to go for an airy howl over the top of the music. There are definitely parts in songs that could have been improved by vocal variation, a deeper voice close to a hum for the bassier moments, but it almost never changes.

There’s definitely something of interest here. The synth parts are really impressive, and the drum beats are active, snappy and drive the songs harder than the other conventional instruments. However I’m going to forever be dreaming about what 'Amok' could have been if it didn't rely so fiercely on drum and synth - and had let the bass, guitar and vocals shine.