WEEZER / Weezer (Red; 2008)

Keep it on the up!

 

I do still agree with a once-upon-a-time friend of mine that some of the best tracks recorded for this album were held back as b-sides (and promotional downloads, if my horrible, schizophrenic memory serves). Two of them are S-tier heart puncturing in the same manner as the most personal tracks on Katy’s masterwork. One is a second missive with Scott Shriner at the helm, and you already know how I feel about that guy~<3

HOWEVER, this slightly unfortunate turn of events doesn’t mean that the regular release isn’t worthwhile in its own right. It’s a bit ramshackle and raucous in places, but that’s honestly the (intermittent) charm of latter-day Weezer, in a nutshell. The rest is both brilliantly emotional and audacious, acting as the origins of Rivers having the balls to get away with things that would easily see lesser mortals trampled under society’s pitchforks and torches.

There’s a song for Patrick, Scott, and Brian, each, with Brian’s being especially pleasing to my ear, perfectly emulating Fastball, as it does. I would love to live in a world where the four of them traded vocals, consistently.

This world ain’t so bad, though~

Just (legally) download and burn Miss Sweeney, Pig, The Spider, and King, since the Deluxe version is a bit pricey and slightly troublesome to come by.

Songs of Note: The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn); The Spider


Vanilla: 3 Rightfully Resplendent Renegades out of 5
Deluxe Edition: 4 Ruinously Raw and Regretful Tales of Love and Death out of 5

THE KILLERS / Day & Age (2008)

This is a well-executed album that assuredly means something to plenty of people. People who aren’t me. I personally find that this treads the exact same ground as Sam’s Town, to the point of having the same types of songs dutifully accounted for. When someone comes to this album, or the small nuances and lyrical variations, can make all the difference. Brandon et al. are as funky, creative, and acutely poignant as ever and I’m happy for those who found this outing first, or simply find it preferable to its predecessor.

Song of Note: Spaceman

3 Infectiously Charming Greys out of 5

COUNTING CROWS / Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings (2008)

This is the Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back of the Crows’ proper discography. It rests on musical cues, hooks, and lyrical refrains from a multitude of songs that came before, but it still has something unique to say much like Blood and Chocolate compared to its spiritual predecessor, This Years’ Model, as stated by Costello himself. That message is often a fair bit more brusque than what the Duritz et al. mustered on their two previous efforts, making for an almost—but not quite—return to the depths of Satellites. If you’re a long time Crows fan, this is required listening, unlike the ever growing glut of live albums. If you're a newbie...you've got four albums worth of homework. Enjoy~

Songs of Note: Cowboys; You Can't Count on Me

4 Long Dead Loves out of 5

KATY PERRY / One of the Boys (2008)

I would love to say that this is simply an endlessly hypnotic pop album, but the fact is the majority of these songs have poignant, forceful, or (if nothing else) deliciously emo lyrics. Shit, even the surface novelty of I Kissed A Girl and Ur So Gay can’t bring this down. Katy is entirely adept at both exploring morose depths and soaring as high as her intermittent self-confidence and worth will allow. She’s not shy about cutting down chauvinistic and soulless men, either.

I can’t personally comment on her later, more popular work, but this is the truest definition of a gem completely hidden in plain sight.

Songs of Note: Thinking of You; Fingerprints

4½ Fucks Not Given out of 5

NINE INCH NAILS / Ghosts I – IV (2008)

The sixth NIN studio album is almost entirely instrumental. It's a work that needs abstract analogies to define it. I'm not going to attempt to provide any such thing because they'll likely be different for everyone who hears it. The music is like a soundtrack to whatever fleeting thought your mind conjures when it's given free rein to do so, so as you listen you'll create the meaning yourself.
It's split into four parts with nine tracks apiece. There's a specific mood to each of the four parts but they're malleable and can be made to fit the listener's own ideals and anxieties. With thirty-six tracks on offer (or thirty-eight if you get the expensive edition and reconstruct the extra two from the multi-track files provided) it's hard to pick just two as examples, but try these on for size:

Songs of Note: 08 Ghosts I; 13 Ghosts II

4 macro lenses out of 5

DAVID GILMOUR / Live In Gdańsk [2008]

Widely recognized as one of the final full-length album releases featuring Pink Floyd members together (David Gilmour and keyboardsist Richard Wright), Gilmour's 2008 solo album Live In Gdańsk was recorded in Poland in support of On An Island in 2006 and the end of communist movement.
Supported by the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, Gilmour runs through the entirety of On An Island and a generous handful of Floyd classics, including "Astronomy Domine" (from Piper At The Gates Of Dawn- which curiously he had nothing to do with).  As wonderful as the Floyd songs are to hear again, surprisingly it's the newer solo-Gilmour songs that seem to have the most inspiration, enthusiasm and love tossed into them (and that's loving the fact that "Echoes" from Floyd's 1971 Meddle is played in it's entirey with chilling perfection).

4 great days for freedom out of 5

Songs Of Note:  You're a Floyd fan if you've been following my Floyd posts....they're all good.

NINE INCH NAILS / The Slip (2008)

The Slip does what the majority of NIN albums do: it mixes the angry and the serene, and after repeated listens it's the serene tracks that prove to have the most depth musically and emotionally. It adheres to a mostly paint-by-numbers formula, but at least none of those numbers are (Year) Zero.
It should satisfy fans temporarily, but there are a few stand-out tracks that make owning it very worthwhile. Get it for FREE at the official site.

Songs of note: Echoplex; Lights in the Sky

3 that got away out of 5

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS / Distortion [2008]

2008's Distortion, the 2nd album in The Magnetic Fields' No Synth trilogy, is like Stephin Merritt's distorted love letter to The Jesus And Mary Chain's Psychocandy.
Buried underneath a gentle yet powerful distortion, is Merritt's taste for 60's pop meshed with sunny goth syrup complimented with absolutely twisted lyrics which all makes for an interesting and oddly pleasant listen.  As strong a presence as Merritt has, it's Shirley Simm's voice that steals the show when she's allowed to come to the forefront.  Now a little more confident without their trademark synths, Distortion makes for even more of a solid listen than their previous effort.

4 sober prisons out of 5

Songs Of Note:  California Girls; The Nun's Litany

AC/DC / Black Ice (2008)

Black Ice managed to recapture the sound of the early AC/DC albums and at the same time add a clarity that was unavailable to them back in those glory days. It has the warmth of an analogue recording but is mixed on a digital device; it sounds like an old album remastered.
Structurally it has power chords, rehashed blues riffs, Brian Johnson's raspy vocals, sing-a-long choruses and drum patterns that are predictable but solid. It's AC/DC through and through. That's a win.

Songs of Note: War Machine; Spoilin' For A Fight

3 smash and grabs out of 5

GOLDFRAPP / Seventh Tree (2008)

The in-your-face Glam/Electro-pop of the previous two albums was dropped on this release, in favour of a calm and dreamy synthesizer Folk sound that drifts along nicely. Happily, the dramatic change of pace didn't mean a similarly dramatic drop in quality. The music is a good fit to Alison's vocal tones, including her indecipherable pastoral mumblings, and even when it seems forced she's confident enough to convince us that it doesn't. Some things haven't changed, though, there's still theft (aka homage) on many tracks from artists of a bygone era, most notably from The Beatles at their most psychedelic.

Songs of Note: Little Bird; A & E

4 roads to somewhere lush out of 5

HEADLESS HEROES / The Silence of Love (2008)

An album of covers that, I'm ashamed to say, I picked up because I fell in love with the art. I know… but it turned out to be half-interesting. It features songs by The Jesus & Mary Chain, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, I Am Kloot, and several others.
It has a delicate, dreamy, non-threatening, mid-sixties folksy sound that reminds me of Nancy Sinatra at times. Vocalist Alela Diane has the potential to shine if she finds the right collection of songs and backing musicians.

Songs of Note: True Love Will Find You in the End; Blues Run the Game

3 wild gambles out of 5

PANTALEIMON / Heart of the Sun (2008)

Pantaleimon blend simple, acoustic Folk melodies with a fragile, dreamlike, Lynchian drone. It's the sound dew makes as it drips from graveyard flower petals. Or, if you don't like this kind of thing, you can call it boring hippy music.
It's slightly haunting in places, but Andria Degens' voice, the warm harp, piano, and cello keep it from becoming too dark.
Heart of the Sun is a "remixed and realised" version of the Mercy Oceans (2007) album, by a number of guest artists. It also adds four new tracks (5, 8, 10 and 14).

Songs of Note: At Dawn (Vogel); All the Birds (Melting Canvas)

3 remixed Idyls out of 5

WOVEN HAND / Ten Stones [2008]

2008's Ten Stones marks the first album in which Woven Hand wrote and recorded as a proper functioning group rather than Dave Edwards doing it all himself.

There is a noticeable change in style but it works for the better.  Edwards' furiously menacing vocals and deeply woven textures are still there but with a lighter touch to it that breathes new life into the fabric the band uses to spin it's musical tales of prophetic doom.

It's almost like starting over again, which makes for a few bumps but is a strong indication of great things to come.

3½ curious Jobim's out of 5

Songs Of Note: Not One Stone; Cohawkin Road

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM / The '59 Sound [2008]

In their tribute to The Day The Music Died, The Gaslight Anthem scale back the punk sound of their previous record and really lay down the good ol' Springsteen rock n' roll with passionate enthusiasm and nostalgia. 

2008's The '59 Sound joins the dirty rock sounds that Social Distortion and Alkaline Trio have perfected, only The Gaslights add in an airy lead guitar that sounds closer to The Cure.  It's pretty much straight up quiet-to-loud rock but there's so much soul and love in the songwriting I can't help but love it.

5 Mighty Mighty Bosstones out of 5

Songs Of Note: Old White Lincoln; Here's Looking At You, Kid

THE PINE BOX BOYS / Child Of Calamity [2008]

Everybody dies a horrible agonizing death in the world of the bluegrass horror group known as The Pine Box Boys.  

Following in the footsteps of their first two albums, 2008's Child Of Calamity follows the misadventures of hillbilly Willie, a troubled fellow with a taste for cannibalism, disembowelment, torture and other other lovely recreational activities.  The Boys don't change much from album to album, but they're so much damned good foot stompin' fun it doesn't really matter.  

Grab your banjo, a bottle of moonshine & a machete and get ready to yee-haw all the way to the grave.

4 Fraticidal maniacs out of 5

Songs Of Note: Child Of Calamity; The Maiden's Eye

FALL OUT BOY/ Folie à Deux (2008)

"You can only blame your problems on the world for so long,
before it all becomes the same old song."

I have a dirty little secret. I always skip about half of the songs on this album. To be frank, there isn’t a 100% perfect Fall Out Boy album (There's a couple, now, dumbass --2023 Neg). I said it. Now, deal with it. Patrick used to rummage through Pete’s bile diaries and pull out bits and pieces that were sharp enough to slice your wrists and your ex-girlfriends' hearts. He shot them like arrows to heaven with his soaring voice and (as their career went on) glistening production. Here, a slight majority of the time, he manages to make Pete’s best musings about adultery, rampant dark-pride, smug drug use, and even regret into gloriously funky anthems and self-reflective ballads. The best we could expect from them came at the end, in their usual slap-dash manner. Come back, guys, we need your messy imperfection to keep us sane.

Songs of Note: Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes; 20 Dollar Nose Bleed

3 Falsely Confident Electric Preachers out of 5

Nutted by NEG

THOSE POOR BASTARDS / Satan is Watching (2008)

I'm on an Alt-Country trip this week. Those Poor Bastards fit snugly into that odd sock. They play fuzzy tongue-in-cheek experimentation hillbilly hymns. If Hank Williams had sold his soul for a bottle of JD and a packet of cheap smokes and then hit the studio drunk, with a hooker at his side, he'd probably have churned out something like this. It's brooding and apocalyptic songs for everyone.

Songs of Note: Crooked Man; Swallowed by Sin

3½ tambourines, washboards and hoedowns out of 5

JARBOE / Mahakali (2008)

Jarboe's voice is an instrument that's both terrifying and comforting, instilling both fear and primal reassurance in the listener. Here she plays the role of Mother and Destroyer: Mahakali the Indian goddess associated with Time and Death. Piano and orchestral moments sit alongside guitars, heavy percussion, and deeply symbolic ambience. Throw in some powerful, often aggressive sonic assaults from Jarboe herself and you have a great album. It could give nightmares to horses and scare the demons from beneath your bed.

Songs of Note: Mahakali, of Terrifying Countenance; The Soul Continues

4½ seas of blood out of 5

FOXBORO HOT TUBS / Stop, Drop And Roll!!! [2008]

With the pressure of their follw-up album living up to American Idiot, Green Day decided to take some time off from their day job and create the Foxboro Hot Tubs. Their own version of a good times garage rock band recorded on an 8-track, the Foxboro's debut (and possibly only) album Stop, Drop And Roll!!! is pure mindless fun.
Musically and lyrically heavily flavored with a '60's party rock vibe and several throwbacks to The Kinks, The Yardbirds and The Beatles. The jangly guitars, bouncy basslines, thumping drumming and guilt-free hooks make for a novelty record that's nothing more than good old rock n' roll.

3½ Where's Highway 1's out of 5

Songs Of Note: Mother Mary; The Pedestrian

THEATRES DES VAMPIRES / Anima Noir (2008)

It's that Electro-Goth stuff that I know nothing about, other than to say that it sounds kind of like Inkubus Sukkubus with a dance beat, and the pagan references are replaced with vamps and a love of the red nectar. Who knew Goths had a subculture that liked to hang out in dark rooms and listen to dance music? I bet they have their own dating site. If Sea Captains can have one, then anyone can.
It has some catchy moments but mostly it's safe and repetitive. The Cult cover (Rain) is the highlight for me.

Songs of Note: Rain; Two Seconds

2 chipped nails out of 5