Revisited: Louder Now

This morning, like on most weekdays, I got up from bed at ungodly 6:20 a.m., I rolled up the window shade, looked at the street covered in freshly fallen snow (seriously, at easter? at these latitudes?), and started humming Twenty-Twenty Surgery by Taking Back Sunday. It actually took me a while to figure out what song it was because I haven't listened to this band in quite some time.

A few minutes later, even though the process of waking up still wasn't fully underway, it finally struck me why I was humming this particular song. The brain sometimes works in mysterious ways and the associations do not always make much sense. People who understand this, work in advertising. However, in hindsight, this one was kinda obvious...

Justin Timberlake is everywhere right now. His newest record sold almost one milion copies in the first week in the US alone, and the universal praise makes it impossible to avoid. Needless to say, 20/20 Experience already peacefully dwells on my hard drive, and as hard as it may be to admit, it has me curious. It must wait, though, because now, after all these years, it's time to give Louder Now a spin or two.

I used to be a lot into TBS. And by "a lot", I mean A LOT. Along with Green Day, Linkin Park or My Chemical Romance, they used to shape my music taste in the formative years. Louder Now was the record that got me into them and by far my most favourite. There wasn't one weak track, and every anthem, from Liar to Error: Operator hit me just as hard. The album delivered exactly what the title promised, and I would play it at maximum volume more often than it would've been healthy. However, what I didn't know back then, the band's career curve had already started going downhill...

But that's a whole another story. Louder Now is great for what it is, uncompromising and accomplished straightforward rock album. Right now, I'm enjoying it just as much as I used to.

Some new music videos

First up, we have "There Will Come A Time" by Noah and the Whale.  Their fourth studio album, Heart of Nowhere, will be released May 6.

Frank Turner will be releasing his fifth studio album, Tape Deck Heart, on April 23.  Below is the video for, "Recovery."  I am very excited for this album.

A couple of weeks ago, The Vaccines released the video for, "Bad Mood," and it's entertaining.  Can't say it's one of my favorite songs from the album, but decent.

Kid Cudi's "official" video for "Immortal" has yet to be released.  However, the single has been released and am quite enjoying it.  His album, Indicud, will be released on April 23.

Stornoway released their second studio album, Tales from Terra Firma, earlier this month. "Knock Me On the Head" is the first single from the album and I hope you enjoy it.  My favorite track from the album is "The Bigger Picture." 

Conventional break-up

It's always sad to see a band go, but it's all the more saddening when it happens to one of your all time favourite acts. My Chemical Romance were never really the "cool" band to listen to, but I did nonetheless, because besides their emo tag and the Kerrang-band stigma, which never did them justice, there was a huge amount of talent and passion to back up the crazy outfits and layers of make-up. My Chem were always the take-it-or-leave-it type of band, and I'm glad I stumbled upon them at the perfect time, after the release of The Black Parade, which then went on to become one of the most influential albums in my life.

I wasn't that much into them the whole time, though. During the long gap that preceded the release of Danger Days, there was a period of time when I thought I had outgrown that kind of music. Thankfully, their Fabulous Killjoys persona and the post-apocalyptic concept completely reinvigorated my enthusiasm. Two years later, My Chem released what had been supposed to fill that gap, and everything fell into place. Most importantly, fans finally had their Conventional Weapons. But what they didn't know at the time, the "new" album was to become a swan song for the band...

According to one of the interviews I vaguely recall from the pre-Danger Days era, Gerard Way & Co. wanted to become a proper rock band. Their uncompromising take on Dylan's classic, Desolation Row, from The Watchmen soundtrack offered a good glimpse at what they had in mind. And really, the first two electrifying tracks of Weapons were very much in the vein of the aforementioned cover. Because above all, the album is pure rock'n'roll. Intense, raging anthems, powerful ballads and black leather jackets. This would have been a fantastic record.

Nevertheless, when compared to Danger Days, it becomes obvious this wasn't the band's true self. They always had to go all Freddie Mercury on everything. The hyperbole and theatrics were an essential part of their catalogue, but never a cheap gimmick. Within the scene and beyond, only they had the guts to go all the way, and enough drive and vision not to stumble in the middle. When all is said and done, this is reason why they'll be missed.

During their twelve-year-long career, they didn't make a bad record. Sure, Bullets was a bit rushed and immature, but still managed to become a landmark album for the genre and a personal favourite of numerous people. That said, My Chemical Romance were only getting better and more interesting with everything they released ever since.

The break-up came out of nowhere. Sessions for the next album were reportedly going great and it was supposed to see the light of day later this year. However, when you read Gerard Way's perspective, it all actually makes perfect sense. One can only admire a band able to step out of the bussiness while they're still at the top. For me, the only possible news worse than this would be if Jimmy Eat World called it quits. Sure, there's always hope. Perhaps, it is all just one big elaborate hoax with the sole purpose of getting out of a label contract, but honestly, I think it sounds too good to be true. I only know one thing. I'll be spinning their albums all week and then maybe some more. And because I could never write something that good myself, I'll leave you with this one last article.

The Airborne Toxic Event "Timeless"

There are only a handful of albums that I am really looking forward to this year.  The Airborne Toxic Event's third studio album is at the top of that list.  With each album they release, whether it's new material or live music, they are continuously exceeding themselves.  A couple weeks ago, they released "The Secret EP" and if that gave any clue to their upcoming album, they are keeping us on our toes.  Below is the music video for their first single, "Timeless", which is taken off their upcoming album, "Such Hot Blood".

"Such Hot Blood" is their third album and it will be released later this spring.

If you're unfamiliar with them, here are a couple of favorites to check out:

"Changing"

"Gasoline"

Biffy Clyro: Opposites

Biffy Clyro first came into my attention with their fourth studio album, Puzzle, which turned out to be a huge critical and commercial success and deprived the band of its indie status. At that time, though, it was no more than a random okay rock record for me. I didn't really got into Biffy until I listened to their subsequent effort, even more successfull, Mercury Prize nominated, Only Revolutions. That was the moment when they finally won me over. I spinned Revolutions to death and it eventually came in second in my AOTY list of 2009 and also made me appreciate their back catalague, especially Puzzle.

However, things were never that simple for the Scottish trio. Step by step, over the course of the past three albums, Biffy Clyro were slowly turning into a more and more mainstream act. Whether this was a natural growth in musical terms or they were in it just for the money, only they know. I'm inclined to believe the first, since the same thing has been happening to almost every other band, ever. Nevertheless, it didn't stop their former diehard fans from uncompromisingly branding the band sell-outs and triggerring a major shitstorm all over the interwebs in such a way, that was unparalleled to any other artist. It's a shame, really, because their albums aren't nowhere near as bad by any measures.

Fortunately though, the general public doesn't seem to care, and the critics are generally much more welcoming too. With the release of Opposites, we finally saw the Biff topping the UK albums chart and the continuous rise of popularity will culminate later this year when the band will be headlining Reading and Leeds festivals. But despite being huge on their native ground, Biffy have yet to reach a similar level of stardom outside the UK borders. And that's something the new album should do. So far, it seems like all odds are in its favour.

First off, Opposites is, of course, a double album. But it's shorter than most of its kind. With only twenty songs (twenty two, if you count the instrumental bonus tracks) and running time just under 80 minutes, it could actually fit onto one CD. It also isn't a concept record per se, as the early reports made it look like, although each disc is loosely thematic.

"One's about putting things in the worst possible way and thinking you're getting yourself into a hole. The other looks at things more positively" (Simon Neil)

Experimentation was another important topic during interviews prior to the release; and both the band and the double album format promised no small things. While the first disc, titled The Land at the End of Our Toes, takes a rather traditional approach to songwriting, the second one, The Sand at the Core of Our Bones, is where most of the fresh and invigorating stuff takes place. Still, it wouldn't be accurate to label Opposites as an experimental record, rather, it is something of a missed opportunity. Despite introducing many unusual elements, bagpipes, organ, or even a mariachi band, the band never really strays away from its comfort zone, which is, frankly, one of the biggest drawbacks of the new album. Considering this fact, I can see why some people might find it a bit disappointing. Nevertheless, it deserves your attention.

Opposites is the sort of an album that is best fit for big stadiums and major festivals. The songs are built around huge choruses that are meant to be played in front of as many people as possible and that no small club could contain. Never before have Biffy Clyro sounded so big. The ballads, which the band always does so well, play a minor role this time around, although songs such as The Fog or The Thaw definitely count among the highlights of the album.

My personal favourites, though, come at the end of the second disc. Accident Without Emergency, Woo Woo and Picture a Knife Fight form the monumental and satisfying pinnacle of the album, ending the whole of Opposites on a definite high note.

It takes big cojones to make a double album, "the dreaded D", two discs of worthy material, and few bands did ever really pull it off. In all honesty, I think Biffy Clyro are now among them. They are fearlessly going down the road paved by the likes of Muse and Foo Fighters to become one of the biggest live bands in the world. It's yet unclear whether they'll ever succeed, but Opposites has the potential to get them at least much closer to their destination.

Best tracks, disc 1: The Joke's On Us, Biblical, The Fog

Best tracks, disc 2: Spanish Radio, Modern Magic Formula, Accident Without Emergency

Five Star Songs: Carrie Anne

Well, the start of my obsession with The Hollies dates back to the last summer. Since then, they have never left my playlist for more than several days, and many of their tracks make up a significant portion of my soundtrack of the sixties. Whenever I feel like listening to them, my song of choice is usually Carrie Anne. It was written by Allan Clarke, Graham Nash and Tony Hicks, recorded  by The Hollies on 1 May 1967 and released as a single in the same month. It became a hit in 1967, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a hit in the US, peaking at #9 on the pop charts. (citation)

I just came across this amazing video. Needless to say, this live version is sligthly different from the studio recording, but is equally flawless and powerful. Every single time I listen to it, I have persistent urging to sing along to the chorus. At least in my mind, when there's people around.

Christopher Owens: Lysandre

First of all, I have to confess that I didn't know Christopher Owens nor was I familiar with his band Girls before the release of his debut solo album. I had little to no idea what to expect and the only thing that made me listen to it was the reviews on pretty much every musical website I follow. It appeared to me that the man must be quite an important and interesting figure to the indie scene.

Well, I soon learned that Girls had released two well-regarded full-lengths and one extended play which gained them considerable fan following. Thus, it was obvious that it would be rather difficult for Owens to step out of his former band's shadow. I'll leave up the question, whether he did or not, to more eligible people, but I certainly won't try to hide my enthusiasm for this particular record...

With its running time of meagre 29 minutes, Lysandre might be the shortest concept album I've ever encountered. And it's a fun ride from start to finish. Consisting of eleven tracks, it is rather fast-paced, deeply emotional, uplifting, quite refreshing and also heavy on flute. It is, surprisingly, about a girl, and, as Owens himself put it, "a coming of age story, a road trip story, a love story", which pretty much says it all.

The record is tied together by the beautiful Lysandre's theme, which appears in various arrangements in most of the songs, and gets me every single time. With his newly acquired freedom, Owens is keen to experiment with all kinds of instruments, although he never really wanders outside the indie pop/folk territory. And it's also immediately clear, that, like with Girls, Owens stays true to the aesthetics of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

Lysandre is, without a doubt, one of the pleasant highlights of the beginning of the year and it shouldn't go unnoticed by any avid indie pop listener.

Best tracks: Here We Go, Love is in the Ear of the Listener, Part of Me

A bunch of new music videos...

First, let's kick off with the French indie pop band Phoenix, who reached international fame with their latest record, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The band will continue its quest for world domination with their next album, Bankrupt, that comes out on April 22nd.

Then, we have The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Yeah, I completely forgot they were still a band too. But I recall quite well how much I enjoyed their song Face Down back in the day when I used to be into post-hardcore. Well, it's actually not heavy at all, but it's still pretty good. They will be releasing a new EP that will be produced by David Bendeth (producer of Don't You Fake It) which is due out March 15th.

And finally, some new She and Him. Volume 3 comes out on May 7th.

StarWaves

Joe Kosinski's first feature film Tron: Legacy was released in 2010. I went to see it in theatre immediately and it blew me away. Even till this day, I immensely enjoy the stunning visuals blended with perfectly fitting score by the French electronic duo Daft Punk, which has gone gold since then, and practically redefined movie music.

While Tron wasn't a huge hit at the box office, it still made enough money to allow Kosinski to direct his dream project and another big budget sci-fi movie, Oblivion, that will star Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman and Olga Kurylenko, among others. The film hits theatres on April 19 and the trailers look rather fantastic so far, once again promising lectures on design and architecture. I am stoked.

More interestingly, though, Kosinski recruited yet another high profile and well-respected act for work on the film's soundtrack. Just like Daft Punk, M83, fronted by Anthony Gonzales, seems like a logical choice, and an excellent one, too. M83's last album was a huge critical and commercial success, almost topping my AOTY list of 2011 and spawning the hit single Midnight City. I honestly have no doubts this will turn out great.

Anthony Gonzales (left) and Joe Kosinski

Just yesterday, Rolling Stone premiered a new song from the soundtrack, called StarWaves, and you can stream it on their website. Seriously, studios and directors need to hire more people like Gonzales to show the way for others and stir the still waters of blockbuster music, largely dominated by Hans Zimmer and his crew of sound-alikes. (I still sort of can't get over the fact, that Jack White backed off from Verbinski's The Lone Ranger and was replaced by, shockingly, Zimmer. With White on board, it might have been my most anticipated movie of the summer.)

Anyway, I expect no small things from the soundtrack. Your thoughts?

Surrogate: Post-Heroic

Another indie band I almost forgot I ever knew, what a shame... Surrogate just released a brand new song via absolutepunk.net and you can download it for free directly from this link. It's rather brilliant. Their new album, Post-Heroic, hits the shelves on April 5th. I hope I'm not the only one who's looking forward to it.