Category: Music Reviews

Foo Fighters released their eighth album, their first in three years, to accompany the band’s HBO series commemorating their twentieth anniversary on Oct. 10.

Since the band formed in 1994, they have been praised for being one of the most iconic in rock history. What could you expect when you have the drummer of Nirvana as the lead vocalist?

Dave Grohl wrote songs while the famous ‘90s band went on tour and kept them for himself. After the death of Kurt Cobain, Grohl returned to the studio to record his songs and play every instrument necessary for the recordings. The recordings were released under the name “Foo Fighters” and generated an incredible amount of buzz in the music industry. After recruiting some band members, the Foo Fighters were an official band and released their first album in 1997. Over the course of their extensive musical career, the band has been awarded four Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and sold millions of copies of their albums.

Some of the negative reviews the band has received include comments noting the inability to distinguish one album from another. It’s true there are some songs that stick out, but overall the theme of the band has been consistent since they formed in the ‘90s, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The band spent the beginning of their career creating a name for themselves, which clearly has paid off as they have become a household name. Now, the attempt to rebrand themselves proves challenging. Remaining relevant after decades of creating music is difficult for any artist. That’s where the creation of the Sonic Highways HBO television series came into play. The series documents the making of the album, which may not sound incredibly interesting besides the fact that each song was recorded in a different city.

Good news for exhausted Foo Fighters fans – this album is different from its predecessors. The band’s current single, “Something from Nothing” – possibly the most notable song on the album – launches with a steady progress that builds up to the traditional Grohl style that makes the band what it is. The title of the song refers to Grohl as he chants, “I’m something from nothing.”

Following this are two songs that resort back to classic Foo Fighters style and don’t set themselves apart much. Then comes “What Did I Do?/God as My Witness,” which sticks out in a great way. “Outside” shows off the band’s bluesy side, which they don’t display too often. The album concludes on a rather ostentatious note with “I Am a River.” The album only contains eight songs, but when each song is recorded in a different city, you can’t expect an extensive album.

While the effort put into this album was immense, the actual sound isn’t nearly as powerful given the build-up to it. It is the band’s most adventurous album, but it’s still way too familiar to bring back their relevance in the way the television series has done. Sonic Highways has a great hard rock sound, and it’s clear the band put their all into it. There isn’t a bad song on the album, but there are very few notable tracks. Overall, the Foo Fighters can still make great music, just as long as you don’t mind it sounding incredibly similar to their previous work.

3/5

After various albums and singles, Deerhoof drops their newest album, La Isla Bonita, tomorrow, November 11^th. The Spanish title – translated to “the beautiful island” – does in fact emulate the energy of an island, complete with parties and quiet nights at the bonfire.  The album is an experimental compilation of tracks that are beachy and bubbly as well as slow and soothing.

Appropriately, “Paradise Girls” opens the album with techno, upbeat lyrics to set a dance party atmosphere.  A quick, electric beat combined with a distorted pop guitar brings an eccentricity and alternative vibe to the album.  Immediately, Deerhoof recedes with “Mirror Monster,” which embodies the ambient mood and relaxation that comes with island time.  Echo effects on the guitar and airy vocals give the track and ethereal mood. Interestingly, the track takes on a different sound three quarters of the way through with a simple, somewhat ominous guitar, but then quickly returns to its original ambient style.

The eccentric sounds return with “Doom,” a track with beachy guitar riffs and lyrics representing the east coast, west coast, and everything in between. La Isla Bonita takes a turn towards punk with disconnected guitars in “Last Fad,” but keeps it soft and feminine with airy lyrics. Again, the uncommon combinations and shifts of sounds is what make this album so unique.

“Last Fad” may not have many layers – rather, it has various phases. The soft lyrics move from distinct punk guitars to quick riffs, to simple beats, to synthesizers and finally back to the soft lyrics that glue the track together.

“Tiny Bubbles” follows with a fittingly “bubbly” sound and flowing guitar loops, as well as the signature ethereal vocals to generate the relaxing aspect of the album. Deerhoof keeps their listeners awake with “Exit Only,” which features a more prominent punk style with rock guitar sounds and rebel calls.

In my experience, I’ve come across many instrumental tracks in contemporary music, sometimes as an intermission or just randomly. “God 2” appears close to the end of the album. As a great appreciator of classical music, I love to see how artists preserve and modernize the genre. “God 2” brings a fun, surfer vibe to the classical form and continues the albums techno sound.

From “God 2,” the album starts to simmer down and come to an end with “Black Pitch” and “Oh Bummer.” “Oh Bummer” opens with ambient, male vocals, different from the rest of the album, which is prominently feminine. The track also seems to stray from the past techno beats with mostly raw guitar sounds that range from deep, western riffs and high pitched strums.

Like the ocean tides, La Isla Bonita is ever changing and refreshing, constantly going from high to low, rough to calm. Deerhoof keeps listeners engaged and surprised with each track, compiled into one unique and eccentric album.

Be sure to check out Deerhoof‘s La Isla Bonita tomorrow.  You won’t regret it.

3/5

Following last year’s release of There Is No Balance, Wieuca is back at the end of 2014 with a new self-titled EP. They abandoned some of the country vibe that was found on the debut album, trading in the pedal steel for heavier fuzz and snarling feedback. The result of this brings out a certain space-like listening experience that transported me from my couch into a psychedelia-tinged trance for the EP’s 21-minute duration.

“Morning Light” starts the album off with a solid basis, providing a killer groove that made me think of the Alabama Shakes in the verse and REM in the chorus. Not bad things, not at all. The song transitions into the second track, “Geisler,” with ease. This is something that the band does nicely all throughout the album. “Geisler” and “Mind Control” are both huge musical soundscapes, using atmospheric guitar tones and copious amounts of sweet distortion to create multiple layers within each song. “Planet” has a nice slow build that moves from a guitar and vocal driven melody to a sharp and heavy breakdown to finish out the song. “Shining Black” brings a fitting close to the album, soaring high with echo driven guitar solos. Wieuca does a great job controlling the flow of this last song, dropping into slow guitar driven lines and slowly building back to absolute sonic chaos.

Wieuca’s second offering is an excellent example of a band that is doing things right. The EP sounds well polished and shows that the boys of Wieuca are starting to hit their stride. This EP does a great job of showcasing some of the musical evolution that the band has become known for. It showcases elements from their live performances, something that comes from just simply playing in front of people. As the band continues to grow, so does their music. Though in the same vein as the first album, Wieuca shows maturity and growth. These really are some excellent tunes.

Producer and engineer Jesse Gimbel recently released his solo album, Decathect, with Wissahickon Records, and by solo I do mean this is literally a one-man band. Gimbel plays guitar and drums, and even records, produces, and shoots some of his own stuff. After researching further, I found various covers by Gimbel. In his “Wrecking Ball” video, Gimbel gives insight into his curious process, using various tools and instruments to create his own rendition.

Decathect opens with “Intro,” an instrumental piece that is the intro to the soft and emotional songs to come. “Move or Move On” picks up the pace and really taps into Gimbel’s signature rock style with strong drums coming in at 1:04. There is no lack of angst and underlying heartbreak here. “Stir Crazy” and “Decathect” keep up the passion while transitioning into “To Another,” which shows a softer side with a harmonizing chant, “When has a heart steered wrong,” followed by a 15-second pause to strengthen the emotion of the piece.

“Don’t Get Comfortable” is Gimbel’s first single to be released, accompanied with a rather abstract music video. It opens with a sleeping brunette in a bright apartment, which contrasts to scenes of her walking through the woods on a dark morning looking rather dapper for an early hike. The video seems to be from Gimbel’s – or her admirer’s – point of view. The abstract aspect comes with the multiple white dots that grow in random places, as if spotlighting certain locations within the video. My first thought was that they resembled the white markers found in the woods to keep track of where you’ve been when hiking, and the video refers to such markers.

The album closes with “Outtro.” As an English major, I love a good play on words. “Outtro” isn’t instrumental like its opposite, “Intro,” rather it ends the album on a hopeful and complete note.  Although the album can get slow and maybe a little sad at times, Gimbel lays his heart out, and that takes serious confidence. The album is honest and whole, and we certainly appreciate that.

With the pull of her Spotify catalog, an enticing sweepstakes, and the projected first platinum album of 2014, it’s no surprise that Taylor Swift’s new record, 1989, has been the center of Internet controversy for weeks.

As it is Swift’s fifth studio album and first “fully pop” record, fans are more pumped than ever to see what the singer-songwriter has created. The album was made with the help of 12 producers, including Swift herself, and has greatly surpassed its predicted sales of 750K copies (600K were sold on the first day alone).

The album, which includes hit singles like “Shake It Off”, “Out of The Woods,” and “Welcome to New York”, emulates a mature, pop queen version of Swift that hasn’t been directly seen on her previous albums.

While 1989 is Swift’s first self-proclaimed “pure pop” venture, it’s obvious that this album is the final stage of her metamorphosis away from country, into the genre in which her voice truly belongs.

The album includes a standard 13-tracks, while the deluxe edition contains three additional tracks and three voice memos explaining Swift’s songwriting techniques.

The genre is a perfect fit for Swift’s voice, but it seems as though her songwriting abilities have taken the back burner in exchange for her pop sensibilities. Even though each song has an apparent 80’s pop theme pulled from influences such as Madonna and Annie Lennox, the wording seems to fall somewhere between catchy and force-fed repetitiveness, as heard in “Bad Blood” and “Out Of The Woods.”

However, Swift captivates her fans purely through her matured vocals. This album makes one thing very apparent: Taylor Swift is a talented and powerful young woman.

Something else that is clear from 1989? Swift clearly knows how to rule a market, arguably better than any other artist has done in a long time.

Swift establishes herself as a person and as a voice with this LP, with the help of producers Jack Antonoff of Fun., Imogen Heap, and significant others.

The highlights of the album are well-defined, including first hit single, “Shake It Off,” “All You Had To Do Was Stay,” and the typical T-Swift ex-boyfriend ballad, “Style” (reportedly written about ex-boyfriend Harry Styles).

However, one part missing from the new release for long-time Swift fans may be her softer, previously acoustic heartbreak anthems. While “Clean” and “This Love” might be slow, “Wildest Dreams” is the only relatable song of the album that resembles Swift’s pop-country footsteps.

After the first 16 songs, the rawest part of the album is revealed: the voice memos. Although deluxe versions are typically only buys for die-hard fans, the last three tracks perfectly close what Swift considers the album she’s “most proud of” and are a must-hear for a multitude of fans.

The voice memos, which are titled after tracks “I Know Places,” “I Wish You Would,” and “Blank Space,” give meaningful insight into Swift as an artist and songwriter. Swift explains the various ways she writes and how the melodies and production come together. In addition to getting personal tips from the superstar, this is a chance for the fans to hear Swift’s unaltered voice in the initial stages of a song.

Overall, Swift’s shift in genre has resulted in one of the most hyped albums in recent memory. Based on record sales alone, this may be her greatest album and career move yet. Regardless of the lyrical superficiality, 1989 is an upbeat album that is definitely worth a listen – and there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself singing along.