The Syndicate

I'm only a few songs into the album, but I am hearing some resemblance to the Kaiser Chiefs. Cool beans.

I'll write my thoughts on Echolyn at lunch. As for the current album, it sounds like a fusion of The Strokes and all the production flourishes of The Killers. Pretty good but a tad overproduced.

Alrighty, so Echolyn, belonging to the prog-rock family, isn't the kind of music I normally gravitate to (tired of hearing me say that yet?) but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. The vocalist that I initially didn't care for on the opening track grew on me with subsequent listens. I still feel that, outside of the first and last track, nothing really grabbed me, leaving me to appreciate the album for what I could- pretty, intricate music.

Going through the old three-track guideline I have, my general principle stands true. Track 1 ("Island") is a strong opener. It's a long track, which is what I anticipated from prog, but it had a good edge and a catchy bassline. There was even a little grandiosity, which reminded me of the one Muse album I own. Perhaps my enjoyment of this track contributed to my relative disappointment in the second track ("Headright"). It's shorter and mellower. Perhaps if there had been another edgy track before it, I would have been okay with it. I guess it's too much of a cool-down too quickly. Pretty song but also the opposite I was anticipating after the solid opener. Track 3 ("Locust to Bethlehem") continued the softer sound but it was a slight step up with the brooding tone and orchestration.

Perhaps it was that sharp cool-down that took me out of the album or lowered my expectations and interest the first few times I listened. That's a bias I can't work around at this point in my music appreciation outings. After listening to the second half of the album a few times, I found it was better than I originally thought.

I was indifferent to the first track on the second half of the album but tracks 6 and 7 were pretty decent. The closer perked the album score up again. I like albums that close well. This one does. There's just a lot of lull and a smidgen of lag in between those high points. If it's not about the destination but the journey, Echolyn is not a journey worth revisiting often for me. The 'here' and 'there' are solid and the only two tracks I would really snip to take with me.

It was said that this was initially intended to be the band's last album. Perhaps that explains the somber tones running throughout. It's not an elegy nor a eulogy but there seems to be a kind of catharsis evident enough to me that I can believe the band thought this was it, setting the stage for this album's contents. Maybe someday I will explore their back catalogue and see how this fits in as an almost swan song. Until then, it gets a 'pretty good' out of me.

G-Man Scale: 3.20 out of 5
Rico Scale: 3 out of 5

Ha ha, I had pretty much the opposite reaction to you so far, G Man. I am on Track 3 of Echolyn so far, Locust to Bethlehem.

I did not like the first tract at all. I found it derivative and unoriginal. The instrumentation reminded me of every Yes album I have ever heard, and the vocals made me think of "If Queen Were Prog". It was over arranged. I like prog, but there was nothing in that song that I could not get from a hundred other prog albums.

Now the next two tracks, though, I like a whole lot. They are more organic and more original, listening to them did not feel like I was listening to an over pretentious cover band. So if the rest of the tracks are more on this line (excepting the last track, which other reviews lead me to think is more like the first track), I will probably give it a four. So far "In Memorial" is a mixed bag for me (about a minute in right now)~ I like the lyrics and the vocal delivery, and the music while the singing is going on. But the bridges are (and the da da DA da in the background at times) are a bit too Yes fanboy for my taste.

I will finish listening to it hopefully today, but I wanted to get this up while it was still fresh in my mind.

OK, onto the rest of the album.

Some Memorial evened out for me. The little bits of high proggery did not detract from the rest of the song for me. Like I said, I do like prog, but Yes is my least favorite prog sound, and the parts of this album I did not care for had a very Yes-like sound to them, and this song did not. So overall, I liked this song, it was a bit peppier than the other songs in the middle of the album without being too over arranged.

Past Gravity and When Sunday Spills were both solid, and I liked them. They were original sounding and not over produced at all. The middle of this album put me in mind of Procol Harums Shine on Brightly, which is favorite of mine, Desert Island Album for sure. Lampblack was a bit meh, not bad, but not particularly memorable.

The Cardinal & I was better than I expected it to be based on other reviews, but I still kept expecting them to break out into “Close to the Edge” at points, although nowhere near as often as I did while listening to the opening track. There is a fine line IMO between being derivative and being a solid representative of your genre. The first track was clearly derivative to my ears, the last crossed the line a few times, but mostly stayed on the solid side for me.

I give it a solid 4. It is a really good album for listening to at work, for sure. I would just start it with the second track. I might go to 4.5 if the first track were not on the album, but it is, so 4.

S~V~S wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2017 9:49 am Ha ha, I had pretty much the opposite reaction to you so far, G Man. I am on Track 3 of Echolyn so far, Locust to Bethlehem.

Probably because you've listened to ample amounts of prog and I have not.

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2017 12:35 pm

S~V~S wrote: ↑Tue Jun 13, 2017 9:49 am Ha ha, I had pretty much the opposite reaction to you so far, G Man. I am on Track 3 of Echolyn so far, Locust to Bethlehem.

Probably because you've listened to ample amounts of prog and I have not.

Possibly, but my opinion may be different to many proggers. I hate Yes, and parts of this sound too Yes-like for my taste. I liked the less proggy bits more than the proggier ones.

3 stars for Echolyn

I'm out of town for a week starting tomorrow and I have not, nor will have time to deliver in regular format - not that I have to feel too bad about honoring stuff, considering this was submitted by Quin. Last Dinosaurs' album was a nice 50-minute distraction, but overall they play quite the whitest bread of indie rock in the market. It's the easiest thing to pick on when there's almost no sense of variety and contrast from track to track, both in how the songs are formally shaped and how nuanced the instrumentation is. Although you might as well choose this album over their sophomore record, Wellness, which in turn is just exhausting - making you think it was made at the Florence & The Machine Academy of turned to the max, beefed up, shouty music. The best thing I felt was that some songs struck a fine balance between the instrumentation and the singing, the former being moreoever toned down. A few songs (such as the aptly-titled "Honolulu") went for the some of the same "caribbeana" playful vibes that you'd hear from Vampire Weekend (Contra) or for some echoey ambiances that struck similarities with The War on Drugs. But even such cues are suspect of being derivative, sort of. Decent 5.

I think I feel a little of what Rico is saying. It's nice music, good music even. There's maybe only one or two songs that have stuck with me though. Tomorrow I will start nailing down what I think of each track. The overall album feel is light, breezy, and nice. But it also makes me want to go listen to Is This It. It's been a while since listening to one artist gives me cravings for another. Is that a bad thing or am I over-analyzing?

I already know Echolyn and it's never really been my thing (too polished I think) but it's alright

Last Dinosaurs is kinda interesting but I wish their singer didn't have the same slightly autotuned sexually ambiguous voice that every modern pop singer has. Sunday Night, Weekend, and Honolulu are the best songs on the album.

2.5 to both

I forgot to rate deadmau5 I'll give it a 2 (must not be feeling charitable today, I blame squats)

I'm giving it a second spin tonight, and it is enjoyable enough. I think it starts well and is generally fair throughout, though it could stand to break its own formula more frequently. Eventually the songs blend together for their samey momentum-driven construction, a gripe I have with a number of other indie rock acts. I don't think it's a bad product though. 3 stars

A little behind. Finally listened again to Echolyn, this time following along with lyrics and found them quite poetic and emotional at times. Solid album, I get the complaints that it's kind of generic as prog goes (as are the vocalists) and it drags on a bit in some places but overall I enjoyed the instrumentation, melodies, themes, and particularly some lines/verses that were really striking. 3.5 I guess.

Will get around to Last Dinosaurs soon.

tfw trice's reviews are more br00tal than mine, yet I'm the one being remembered as the boogie man

ture

And now that the next album has been posted I finally listened to Last Dinosaurs. I agree with the assessments that it's pretty average sounding for its genre. Wasn't crazy about the guy's voice, but the songs were alright, some pretty good guitar bits, but nothing really too special. Fun enough to listen to but not something I would seek out. 3.

ETA As I recall my favorite tracks were Zoom and Used To Be Mine. Idk I'll give it another more attentive listen.

Alright, I hate everything about Original Sin. It's hard to put my finger on exactly what's so bad about it, but it sounds like a caricature of music to me. Cheesy melodies, overwrought instrumentation, simultaneously shallow and incomprehensible lyrics, bad 80s overproduction with too much reverb... it's literally the soundtrack to a nightmare. Sorry.

It sounds almost exactly like what Jim Steinman used to look like, in the worst possible way

Haha, I just started listening and my initial response is the same. I'll give it a chance.

This album is hilarious. I'm not certain yet whether it's meant to be.

I've decided that hilarity is the clear intent. I haven't stopped laughing the whole time.

Some exclusive shots of my reactions to this album:
Seriously though, it's really funny and I think it's meant to be that kind of fun experience more than something taken entirely seriously. Based upon that perspective, I'll give it 3 stars. It achieves what it sets out to achieve (I think -- I could still be wrong).

Alright, let's do this! For me, In a Million Years feels like a summer album- it's light, doesn't overstay its welcome, and has a very chill vibe. It's the kind of music you hear playing over road trip segments in a movie or on a TV show, or it's music you'd hear playing in the car or at a backyard party of twentysomethings. However, it's also an album that doesn't make much of a lasting impression.

As I said earlier, this album kind of sounds like The Strokes, had they borrowed all of the Hot Fuss overproduction from The Killers. In the end, Last Dinosaurs sound like a very good, generic indie rock band. Having been 17 when The Strokes debut album landed, I lived the indie rock/post-punk revival/garage rock revival tsunami through my senior year of college. As my musical tastes broadened backward in rock history, I had less time for current artists, who were quickly starting to sound the same. In a Million Years reminds me mostly of the good times of that era, though that sameness of sound does cause several tracks to blur into obscurity in my head.

The first three tracks were enough to keep me interested. I thought that "Zoom" was a terrific opener and set the tone for an easy-going listen. The guitars and snappy drums were delightful. The second track, "I Can't Help You," was adequate but fairly indie rock generic and showed that the band really likes to harmonize their vocals. Track three, "Sunday Night," was enough of a step up that I didn't feel like the album was losing momentum already. It didn't grip me like "Zoom" did but they can't all be winners, right? Track 4 was solid and evoked a poppy Strokes vibe, which I think kept me going.

The second half of the album largely ran together until the final two songs. "Repair" turned out to be my favorite song off the album (doesn't hurt to have a strong closer!) and "Honolulu" was a close second. I would pick "Zoom" as my third track to take with me, though I also really liked "Satellites." If I could arrange a samples for someone, I'd have "Zoom" play first, then "Honolulu," and then use "Satellites" as a pseudo-intro to "Repair." There's a beautiful, whimsical quality to "Repair" that made it memorable to me. The guitar (or is it bass?) that plays those descending notes throughout the song hearkens back to something I can't quite place. Maybe it's another song or a movie score. Either way, it's pretty and it stopped me dead in my tracks the first time I heard it.

Overall, I think the music tops the vocals. The music has a lot of promise but the vocals, to me, were very indie rock generic. These guys won't be able to sing that high forever, and you can only play this idealistic-sounding music for so long before it gets redundant or you're too old and it just sounds awkward. I'd be curious to find out if the band aspired for more on subsequent albums or if they are just the kind of young band that plays their young music for a few years and hangs it up as trends change. For a debut record in the current decade, it's pretty darn good. It may not be remembered but it could be the kind of album you re-discover years later and nod in nostalgic approval.

G-Man Scale: 3.41 out of 5

Rico Scale: 3.5 out of 5

Alright, listening to Original Sin. It sure is over the top, lol. Can't say it's not entertaining though. I liked the title track actually, and the dream about the mirrors Not a big fan of the few tracks in between those though. Right now I'm on "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and it's... yeah, over the top. But yeah JJJ was right, this is... an experience. Not my kind of thing really, I definitely agree with Trice that it's the pinnacle of bad 80s cheese, but a few bits of it have been enjoyable in a particular way.

Alright, done. I'm giving it a... 1.5 or 2? I enjoyed the instrumental tracks and like two others, but for the most part this was too.... too.

For those unaware, the mastermind behind this album, Jim Steinman, was also the creative force behind Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album (and the first sequel). Steinman actually wrote several hit songs in the 80's and some in the 90's. That's how I approached this album- basically like an 80's quasi-chick rock version of Meat Loaf. It's tongue-in-cheek and unadulterated kitsch.

Meat Loaf actually covered a number of these songs in the 90's and "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" was a huge hit for Celine Dion when she covered it. I prefer her version, though the original is good. This is going to be a fun week.

That makes sense. One of my immediate thoughts was "this guy is Meat Loaf caliber cheesy. It has to be on purpose".

As much fun as parts of this album are, I really don't like the cover of The Door's "Twentieth Century Fox." The original is a classic and the Pandora's Box version sounds like a fusion of Oingo Boingo's "Weird Science" and Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" in all the wrong ways.

The meatloaf versions are considerably less awful

Also Safe Sex is probably the worst song ever written

I give it a 0.5, would rather listen to the field recordings album any day of the week

I actually regret awarding 3 stars for cheese novelty. I'll reduce that to 2.5.

My 19-month old daughter was rocking out in the tub last night to "Good Girls Go to Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)." Does this make me a bad father?

Better that than "Safe Sex"

Haha. Yeah, I told my wife about that song. She doesn't see how the line "there's no such thing as safe sex when it comes to loving you" can work in any context.

Here's the video for "It's All Coming Back To Me Now." Jim Steinman wrote the script for the video. It's been spoiler tagged because it's pretty

I wish to hear more reactions to this album.

Also, it's time the prepare the queue for the next five album cycle. Get your submissions in unless you had one selected in the previous cycle. On Thursday I'll get a poll up so we can make our votes.

Submissions:

nutella - Bobby McFerrin - Circlesongs / 1997 / Vocal Jazz / 8 tracks / 42:42 / YouTube (nutella please verify) and Spotify

MovingPictures07 - Dead Can Dance - Within the Realm of a Dying Sun / 1987 / Neoclassical darkwave / 8 tracks / 38:43 / YouTube and Spotify

Golden - Corinne Bailey Rae - The Heart Speaks in Whispers (Deluxe) / 2016 / Neo-soul / 16 tracks / 75:32 / YouTube and Spotify

speedchuck - Toehider - What Kind of Creature Am I? / 2014 / Progressive rock/metal / 10 tracks / 51:45 / YouTube, Bandcamp, and Spotify

JaggedJimmyJay - CunninLynguists - A Piece of Strange / 2005 / Southern hip hop / 16 tracks / 54:19 / YouTube, Bandcamp, and Spotify

triceratopzeuhl - Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt / 1969 / Country/folk / 10 tracks / 34:33 / YouTube and Spotify

sprityo - Michael Guy Bowman - Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido / 2011 / Synthpop / 9 tracks / 39:21 / YouTube and Bandcamp

I've reverted to the prior-submitted albums for those who did not get selected last time. If you'd like to change your submission, just say so.

Oh it's the Mountain Goats this week! This album I'm quite familiar with, has quite a few special tracks though I don't think I'd say it's my favorite of theirs -- though it's hard to say what is, with tMG I tend to have a scattered bunch of particular songs that I like/are important to me that are picked out from various albums. I'll go more in depth later about the somewhat unique context of my familiarity/interaction with Mountain Goats music

Hey guys! Sorry I have gotten behind here, it's been hectic! I look forward to hearing Last Dinosaurs, Pandora's Box, and now The Mountain Goats, which are all new discoveries for me. Should be listening to them this week if not today.

Also, I think I will change mine. Not feeling like submitting hip hop again this time, though I think I will try again in the future with perhaps a different album.

I would like to submit:

Dead Can Dance - Within the Realm of a Dying Sun

YouTube playlist

RYM listing

I submit Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt (1969, folk/country)

HAIL SATAN

Aw man, I missed talking about my own submission. Bummer. I'm amused to see that it was roundly hated though.

I'm back from traveling for a while, by the way.

thellama73 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 25, 2017 6:06 pm Aw man, I missed talking about my own submission. Bummer. I'm amused to see that it was roundly hated though.

I'm back from traveling for a while, by the way.

I didn't hate it. I'll try to get my review up tonight.

Also, ALl Hail West Texas is a great album by a great band. I love the lo-fi approach. It makes me feel like anyone could write a song, even me.

Morning, folks!

I actually found time for all three yesterday while I was working, and assigned my ratings as follows:

Last Dinosaurs - In a Million Years - 2.5
Pandora's Box - Original Sin - 1.5
The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas - 2.5

Last Dinosaurs was an interesting listen, and I must say it was refreshing with this (and all three of these even) to hear an artist I've never heard of before. Awesome to hear new things. But anyway, this album started out sort of solid but then quickly started becoming monotonous and headed towards slumpland with every song trying too hard to imitate the same general sound. I also tend to have issues really becoming emotionally attached or intrigued by indie rock in general, not sure why, so there's nothing particularly noteworthy to say about the band being significantly worse than others like Arcade Fire or such in that regard. For whatever reason most well-acclaimed indie rock acts get the "this is good, but not great" reaction out of me or "this is great, but not amazing" reaction at best. There are a few notable exceptions (namely Guided by Voices), but yeah. The whole general umbrella of lo-fi/indie rock/etc. can be very hit or miss for me (more on this for Mountain Goats).

Pandora's Box, well... it was interesting and bombastic at least. Just not my thing. I had a really hard time making it through most sections of the album, but it had its OK moments. Like Rico, I have a hard time not hearing how any artist could create such a work while taking him or herself seriously, but it's too tough to tell in this case.

The Mountain Goats, this was a disappointment for me. I have heard good things about them in the past but just never checked them out. What I heard pretty much continuously inspired a response of indifference. I had a hard time caring about any of the songs and they all just kind of went in one ear and out the other. Unlike other lo-fi bands that have been more successful to my ears like Guided by Voices, I don't remember what any of these songs sound like. Obviously I need to listen to it again, but I wasn't really impressed or unimpressed; I just didn't really think much of anything about any of the songs. I didn't particularly think the songwriting was noteworthy in any way positive or negative.

I will at least be revisiting The Mountain Goats later this week.