DAVE MATTHEWS BAND / Crash (1996)

While a few of these songs are too abrasive to be pleasing to my ear, or are disagreeable to me lyrically, a healthy majority find them switching effortlessly between languid, beautiful exhalations and their patently infectious ADHD-hiccuping. The cover art is, consequently, particularly apropos. It’s also worth noting that although many of these tracks are on the lengthy side they never fall entirely into self-indulgent noodle-ing for its own sake. Here, DMB are quite adept at being concise while still not overtly limiting themselves.

Songs of Note: Two Step; #41

3 Voraciously Satiated Appetites out of 5

The Animatrix: The Album (2003)

There are a few extremely nice, balmy hits of diversity present here, which is fitting given the source material. Though, a number of tracks would have benefited from a more strict editorial hand, sticking around long past their welcome as they do. This is ironic considering the appalling brevity of some of the cues elsewhere on these soundtracks. The elephants in the room are Red Pill, Blue Pill and The Real. Were they serious with these? I’m aware of the technique of sampling audio but when EVERY Game Grumps remix I’ve ever heard is better than these, something is horribly wrong.

Songs of Note: Blind Tiger; Under the Gun

2 Sultry Shuffle-beats out of 5

The Matrix: Music From the Motion Picture (1999)

This is the antithesis of the film's score (as initially released at retail). Hard rock, electronic music (don't ask me to split hairs on genre terminology; I'm not equipped), metal, and nu-metal mingle to create a really listenable and exhilarating album. Alright, the nu-metal sucks, but it's the Deftones song I can tolerate the most, so I'll allow it. Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Rob Dougan, and Rage Against the Machine. Check, check, check, and motherfucking check.

Everything I need from a licensed Matrix release and a lot more, to be honest, as it captures—no, CREATES—the feel and atmosphere of much of the first movie.

Songs of Note: Mindfields; Wake Up

4 Windows All of Us Have Yet To Look Through out of 5

The Matrix: Original Motion Picture Score (1999)

Straight up, I own this for completion's sake. Nothing here is particularly meaty and in some places it's alternately Looney Tunes-esque and on-the-nose hokey, out of context as it is. I'm fishing for positive things to say, but I do like the subtle bongos/timpani drums at the outset of 'The Hotel Ambush,' before the usual clash, bombast, and drone set in. I'm willing to bet a longer version of this exists, but this release just isn't a pleasing listen, for me. I'd rather watch the movie.

Songs of Note: Main Title/Trinity Infinity; The Hotel Ambush

1½ Disapproving Glares Over Being Forced to List the Main Theme As a Song of Note out of 5

COUNTING CROWS / Hard Candy (2002)

For me, the Crows have two absolute spires amongst the multitude of peaks comprising their discography. Hard Candy is every bit as beautiful as ...Satellites is dark and coarse. It isn’t delicate, however. There’s a genuine strength behind even the most exposed and gentile tracks herein. It’s a perfectly balanced effort that brings tears to my eyes but never once feels defeatist, even when addressing that mindset directly.

Lyrically, it’s their most stand-alone effort, so I’d recommend it the most for new listeners. If I was otherwise monikered, I’d probably consider this their masterwork.

Oh yeah, it's even got the version of Big Yellow Taxi where Vanessa Carlton ISN’T getting paid for singing 'Bop Bop Bop Bop!'

Songs of Note: Hard Candy; Miami

5 Resplendent Alcohol-blurred Reveries out of 5

SKIN CHAMBER / Wound (1991)

Ugly, abrasive Industrial music that takes absolutely no prisoners as it overcomes your senses. It's the work of Chris Moriaty and Paul Lemos, who you may know from the more prolific and better-known Controlled Bleeding. They draw influences from a number of extreme genres, including Doom and Grindcore, and mesh them together into one gritty, poisonous whole. It's the kind of thing that'll appeal to fans of early Godflesh or the more unforgiving side of Swans.

Songs of Note: The Nails of Faith; Healing Time

4 flayed minds out of 5

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE / I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love (2002)

Astoundingly competent burnished brass tones sell this entire effort as the soundtrack to a Silent Hill game that sadly never was. If you know the history of the band well enough you’ll be aware of the concrete origins of some of these songs. This can result in three-fold meanings dancing before your eyes as you settle in for a listen. Some long-form song-craft is dabbled in and the best delivers a slowly decaying lament whose bitter-sweet beauty grows in equal measure to its desperate raggedness. Being pre-Revenge and out of print makes it a hidden gem by default, but the quality really does justify that label, handily.

Songs of Note: Skylines and Turnstiles; Early Sunsets Over Monroeville

4 Foolish (But Entirely Necessary) Escapes out of 5

VENETIAN SNARES / Rossz Csillag Alatt Született [2005]

2005's Rossz Csillag Alatt Született was my introduction to drill 'n bass artist Venetian Snares (aka Aaron Funk) and is still my favorite of his vast library of offbeat offerings.
Drenched in heavy melancholy, Funk does his best to break your brain with intensely abrasive electronic shifting and sonic manipulations over mostly string samples from a variety of Hungarian classical pieces.  Usually all over the map, here Funk follows a basic theme and mood to make for his most coherent listen to date which still doesn't make it particularly friendly to everyone's ear.  The meshing of classical music and the attack of skittish breakbeats sound like a potential disaster but somehow it works beautifully and even if it does overpower with despair one can't deny the dizzying brilliance of this album.

5 lonely pigeons out of 5

Songs of Note: Öngyilkos Vasárnap; Hajnal

RICHARD WRIGHT / Broken China [1996]

Richard Wright's second solo studio album, 1996's Broken China, has Pink Floyd stamped all over it, beginning with it's textural mood then leading into it's structure and conceptual narratives.
 The keyboardist's final full-length studio outing, before his death in 2008, is drenched in a deep depression that makes for an unusual and disjointed listen compared to Wright's previous efforts.  Where, someone like Roger Waters who's sadness came out in anger, Wright's sadness mirrors his persona, gentle, dreary and somewhat mysterious.  It's a conceptual album stuck in it's era but still manages to conjure up some pretty interesting musical ideas complimented by some fascinating lyrics.  For the average listener it'll probably be lost but for a Floyd fan this is one of the better solo efforts.

3½ tributes to Mildred out of 5

Songs of Note: Night of a Thousand Furry Toys; Breakthrough (feat. Sinéad O'Connor)

OLIVIER DERIVIÉRE / Remember Me (Original Soundtrack) [2013]

Capcom's 2013 sci-fi-action game Remember Me suffers from a really great concept with a less-than-stellar execution but composer Olivier Derivière graces it with one of the best scores of the year.
It's a tale about a memory hunter who's ironically had all her memories wiped clean and Derivière paints the perfect sound for such a concept.  The main theme makes use of the London Philharmonia Orchestra with it's brass bombast and urgent string ostinatos that immediately reminded me of Don Davis' ominous main theme for The Matrix.  Here's where things get interesting: the orchestra was then digitally manipulated with an assault of glitches & skips that shouldn't work but with some time and care it's simply amazing.  The first few listens will cause the brain to hurt but once you get used to it, it feels nothing short of organic.  It's a seamless blend of old school orchestral work and digital synthesized scoring that many well-established composers don't have an easy time perfecting.

5 beautiful glitches out of 5

Songs of Note: Nilin The Memory Hunter; Rise To The Light

THE LONE BELLOW / The Lone Bellow [2013]

Alt-folk gospel act The Lone Bellow's 2013 debut album makes it easy to draw comparisons to other acts but unlike their peers these guy's sound are fully established right from the get-go.
Through seamless male-to-female vocal harmonies and finely detailed country instrumentations, the trio make the best of their quiet verses and louder choruses with a sound that is perfect for a wide variety of genre radio stations.  The sound is big, bold and boiling over with passion that never goes overboard with melodrama.  My only real qualm with the act is that it's way too finely polished for my tastes, considering I like this sound to be a bit rough around the edges.  I can enjoy it but I'm willing to bet Mom and Dad will enjoy it more.

3½ hearts & duties out of 5

Songs of Note: Tree to Grow; You Can Be All Kinds of Emotional

SAY ANYTHING / Hebrews (2014)

Max has a few things on his mind. Mostly, his new daughter and gaining weight. He also chastises those who want him to suffer in the service of writing better songs. Max, I’m not upset because you’re happy. I’m upset because for a decent chunk of this album I have NO. FUCKING. IDEA. what you’re even talking about.

Song of Note: …I thought there was a good one, but upon second thought, nah.

0 Tom DeLonge Appearances Next Time, Please out of 5

NIGHTWISH / Endless Forms Most Beautiful [2015]

Finnish symphonic metal act Nightwish's 8th LP, 2015's Endless Forms Most Beautiful is their first studio outing with ReVamp vocalist Floor Jansen.
With their previous album, Imaginaerum, being a full-blown concept album (and film), this most recent one still follows a loose theme, based on Charles Darwin's optimistic look on the evolution of life, existence and it's often-puzzling reasoning.  I loved former vocalist Anette Olzon's operatic pipes, so when I heard Jansen wouldn't be exploring that sound so much, I was a little apprehensive at first.  Fortunately Tuomas Holopainen's more intimate songwriting on this album doesn't call for a lot of that style and Jansen fits in like a glove.  Instead of going with a smug all-out guns a blazing powerhouse of an album, Nightwish wisely opts for more of a standard symphonic, rather than metal sound which might deter fans of their earlier works but if you're in for the imaginative worlds they transport you to then this will suit you just fine.

3 origins of species out of 5

Songs of Note: Élan; Edema Ruh

MÖNGÖL HÖRDE / Möngöl Hörde [2014]

Known best for his folky-punk songs, nice guy Frank Turner takes some time off from his busy schedule to have a laugh while returning to his harsher punk-rock roots with the 2014 self-titled album, Möngöl Hörde.
The three-piece act are as loud and aggressive as The Refused but never once do they sound like they're taking themselves too seriously.  Yes, it sounds pissed off (and probably is) but it's more of shit-eating grin "fuck you" than an overly mundane "you're all mindless sheep" fuck you.  The lyrical subject matter for the most part is pretty light on substance but when it does make a clever point, it sneaks up on you and smacks you square in the face.  It might just be a one-off album but the song-writing is solid and the playing it tight enough to make one hopeful for more material in the future.

3½ tapeworms in Natalie Portman out of 5

Songs of Note: Make Way; Staff to the Refund Counter

ZEE / Identity [1984]

Kudos to Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright for trying out something different while away from his prog-rock outfit and dip into the new wave sound with synth-duo Zee's first and thankfully only album, 1984's Identity.
Synth-pop act Fashion's Dee Harris on vocals makes this is very much a product of the early '80's with it's clunky drum-machines, tired keyboards and overly dry Fairlight synthesizers.  As a Floyd enthusiast, this is like finding out your favorite great uncle, as a wee lad, used to make late night visits to the local petting zoo and fondle the livestock for sexual pleasure.  With a thorough search, one might find some mildly interesting moments hidden beneath the coked-up shit you're fed but it really isn't worth the trying work.

1½  light things out of 5

Songs of Note: Strange Rhythm; By Touching