The Syndicate

As someone who's heard the album probably hundreds of times, I don't consider Ab Interim a separate track, and I would personally feel treating it as such is missing the point. "Leucocyte" is a song/track on its own, as is "Premonition". It's no different to me than Fishmans' "Long Season", which is a 35-minute long song, despite the fact that my album version splits it up into Long Season Pt. 1-5 as separate tracks.

As for my rating, I relistened to it again today, and I'm going to give it a strong 4.5. I love this album.

G-Man wrote: ↑Mon Oct 09, 2017 6:20 pm For me, a soundless track does not a movement make. It doesn't take any skill to add a minute of dead air to a recording. At least field recordings involve effort.

And yet, to point out the obvious reference again, 4'33'' has three movements. It doesn't take any skill to sit at the piano and open / close the lid, either.

When I listen to music, I want to hear the fruits of the musician(s)'s labors. I want to hear their skill with sound. Silence may not technically exist but what you hear when a performer is silent is not something they can take credit for. They didn't create any of the sounds the environment or the people in that environment made during that pause.

If an actor has (or chooses interpretatively) to sit in silence for a minute during a play, both he and the playwright will have created something (out of nothing). They don't create any sounds, movements or words in that environment, either. Don't understand why that wouldn't apply to how a band inserted a minute of silence in their concept. The bigger question, especially in this album's case, is whether they had it in the blueprint all along or was manufactured posthumously. I have always partially mused on this, but that, of course, is a topic for the review.

To ascribe meaning to a soundless track or to sit silently as your performance is an act of performance art, not musical ability (my interpretation). It is just not in my nature to interpret international silence as meaningful. I will judge this track as any other track we've listened to, which means it will get a zero and pull down the album's overall score.

If you are rating tracks / music merely by how they sound, then yes, you have nothing to rate here, because nothing is sounding. You could technically leave it blank, but it's your rating system, no doubt.

You don't consider it part of the band's creation, yet you'll rate it and thus downgrade the band's creation all the same. Huh.

I'll submit Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water.

I'm merely interpreting what the musicians present as their finished product. I'd rate the individual movements of a symphony, so why not the individual movements and an arty jazz record? It just so happens that I interpret this one part as unnecessary.

That's already different - interpreting what it's for and how you feel about it, as opposed to claiming it's empty space of no creative placement - and it's up to you.

I've made a determination on this album of the week. I think part of my problem yesterday was I was trying to listen to it at work, which can be a noisy place at times and I try to keep my music low enough that it's not a distraction to anyone else in the office. For this reason, I could not hear some of the softer elements. When I thought all I was hearing was bass and drums, I was missing some ethereal guitar/electronic stuff.

Another problem was the pace at which I was working yesterday. When I need to get work done, I need music conducive to getting work done. I need energy, pep, and a driving beat. This album had none of those qualities for the state of mind I was in at the time.

I listened to some of the album last night with my headphones on and it was a better experience. I think I'm going to leave this one alone until Friday and Saturday night. My wife will be away at a women's retreat, so I can throw the headphones on and hear the album in full. Still annoyed by the fat that they gave track space to dead air though, if it even was air that they recorded.

Ricochet wrote: ↑Mon Oct 09, 2017 8:12 am

Savage.

I knew your intense dislike of Kraftwerk and anything similar would come out at some point, Rico.

G-Man, your perspective is understandable, and I hope you don't feel like I was joining in on chastising you for it or anything. I just have learned to treat the minute of silence as a reprieve in the middle of a long song. And even though I can personally listen to the album pretty much anywhere these days, it definitely is ideal to sit back and give it attention in a calm environment I think.

Mugur de fluier isn't doing much for me. The best I can say is that a few isolated moments the rhythm has grabbed me enough to incite a foot tap, but otherwise I have no emotional or thoughtful response to this thing. It seems to meander for an hour to nowhere in particular, like something without purpose. I'm sure it has a purpose, but it's not reaching my ears. Perhaps the lyrics would shed some light if I could comprehend them, but that's not usually an issue for me with non-English music. 2.5.

A Flock of Seagulls started strong, but dragged later. It maintained a decent, if perhaps limited formula throughout and I have no real complaints other than it lasting longer than I think it needed to last. That could be called a significant accusation since the album isn't that long, but whatever. I enjoyed the early portion enough to remember the whole product fondly. 3.0.

>ornamental folk rock made with a poetic vision is meandering, 2.5
>tin pop rock with one-two-one-two drumming and lyrics in which only one line gets changed, no complaints except one song too many, 3.0

world_eject.exe

E.S.T. played in my hometown in 2006. The concert was recorded by the national television and is available on YouTube. I was there.



Some local fans are proud enough to speak of this concert as better than even the Live at Hamburg live recording, though I was never in the mood to make such comparisons (both this "bootleg" and that official live album kick ass, anyway, so big deal).

Until then, I hadn't really picked them up, but needless to say, with a month or so of preparation, then this concert, then digging into their entire discography, I was hooked ever since. They mostly toured here their 2006 release Tuesday Wonderland, which I'll just say is overall a different beast than Leucocyte - more accessible, even - though still with some of the same elements that's at the core of their language.

I am beyond jealous. Would have loved to see them live. So cool.

Listening to A Flock of Seagulls again myself, I think I'm going to downgrade it to a strong 3.0. I do agree it can be a bit patchy, though "I Ran" is still my least favorite -- don't care much for it. Still an enjoyable listen for what it is though, but I feel it as mood-dependent and flawed enough to bump it down a bit.

MovingPictures07 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2017 11:21 am Listening to A Flock of Seagulls again myself, I think I'm going to downgrade it to a strong 3.0. I do agree it can be a bit patchy, though "I Ran" is still my least favorite -- don't care much for it. Still an enjoyable listen for what it is though, but I feel it as mood-dependent and flawed enough to bump it down a bit.

Lol, I assure you my reassessment is my own; I've known that I feel very differently from Rico on synthpop for years.

A Flock of Seagulls

"The 70s and the 80s? You're not missing anything, believe me. I've looked into it. There's a gas shortage and A Flock of Seagulls. That's about it."
-Austin Powers

For me, much of this album is ear candy. The older I get, the more nostalgic I become for the unadulterated fun inherent to a lot of 80s pop. This album falls lovingly into that category. A Flock of Seagulls may be a lyrically-flawed band but their music is engrossing and enveloping. It doesn't just sound big (a la U2).

This album also sounds deep, three-dimensional if you will. It surrounds you like an environment. It's a lot of studio trickery that couldn't be replicated in a live show (though nowadays you probably could add all the atmospherics) and some people take issue with that. I don't mind it. I like getting lost in the textures this album lays out on the table.

I listened to the UK version via the YouTube link I provided. It begins with "Modern Love is Automatic," a song that sounds out of place anywhere but the beginning of an album. From the very start, you know you are listening to something very rich and dense. The driving beat gets your feet tapping and the ending of this track segues perfectly into the next. "Messages" sounds like a companion piece to "Modern Love is Automatic," so much so that it borders on samey but that beat cannot be denied.

"Messages" concludes with a drop and fade to silence, which segues perfectly into the almost sinister intro to "I Ran," a staple of 80s pop lists and a song that has all but become a caricature of what 80s synth-based New Wave looked and sounded like. I have a personal attachment to this song, so I love it, even if it isn't the strongest song on the album. This creates a near-perfect opening trio of songs that makes me want more.

Unfortunately, the UK release of this album is very front-loaded. "Telecommunication" is corny, "Standing in the Doorway" has a bizarre intro that chews up half the track, "Tokyo" feels out of place with the rest of the album (funny, seeing as I insist on people listening to the UK version of the album), and "Man Made" is all Matrix-like in lyrical content but not a toe-tapper. They're all adequate tracks but nothing that makes my ears perk up and say "yeah!"

My favorite track on the album is "Space Age Love Song." The high and low synths soar and swirl around inside my head. The lyrics may not be deep and they're certainly repetitive but the vocals melt in with the music. This is 80s pop perfection for me- the kind of song that you fall in love to at the roller rink. I also scoop up "Modern Love is Automatic" for being a great opening track and "I Ran" for the aforementioned personal attachment. I also would take "D.N.A." with me because it's another roller rink pop confection and a terrific instrumental.

A Flock of Seagulls involves a fair amount of unconventional song structure- long intros that hog up almost half the track space and an absence of strict verse-chorus-verse formula on a few tracks. As a fan of Meat Loaf, I'm not scared off by unconventional song structure.

It's far from perfect but I think it's a great example of early 80s poppy new wave. The band may be lyrically stunted but, to my ears, they are strong musicians. They aimed high and scored big with a sound that was adopted by many bands that followed. The strength of the first half of the album resulted in a higher score that I predicted. The bar is now set high for my SAW Top 10 albums.

G-Man Scale: 3.98 out of 5
Rico Scale: 4 out of 5

Ricochet wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2017 1:56 am >ornamental folk rock made with a poetic vision is meandering, 2.5
>tin pop rock with one-two-one-two drumming and lyrics in which only one line gets changed, no complaints except one song too many, 3.0

world_eject.exe

A lyrical comparison is impossible when I can't understand them. The former album just didn't strike any chords in one listen. Maybe it would with repetition. Maybe it'd get worse. Music tastes are random.org.

Submitting:

Joanna Newsom - Ys / 2006 / Folk / 5 tracks / 55:41 / Available on YouTube

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Wed Oct 11, 2017 1:45 pm Submitting:

Joanna Newsom - Ys / 2006 / Folk / 5 tracks / 55:41 / Available on YouTube

Ayy.

We can has new poll?

No need. There are only five new submissions.

Shouldn't we still be allowed to vote on the order?

There's doing that or just following the order in which they were submitted. Idk, it was my understanding that we could just roll with it, when we don't have to decide on five from a bigger pool.

I'm cool with whatever you guys think is best.

Two views on my AFOS vid lol.

Really an incredible review, Rico. You did it more justice than I could have. The album has served a similar purpose for me over the years, but I couldn't ever quite articulate my love for it in the way you did here. It's really hard to believe now that it's been nearly 10 years since Svensson's death.

I think I'll be spinning it again starting right now, in fact.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Prom (or homecoming ball, whatever) scene.

Background music.

I saaaaawwwww yoooour eyyyyyes...

I'll be at work till late tomorrow, so gonna change to our next submission tonight.




Also, for those who submitted the five new albums, if there are Spotify links available, please provide them (now or when those albums will come up).

whoa, didn't realize spotify links automatically embed. well there it is

Leucocyte - 3ish? I definitely appreciate what it is but I enjoy some parts of it a lot more than others and some of it just drags on/doesn't hold my interest much.

Good news! It looks like I'll be changing jobs in the next month or so. And I'll be able to stream music at my new job!

dew eet

Leucocyte

I am not, nor have I ever claimed to be, a jazz person. I have such a limited background with jazz (A Charlie Brown Christmas and having listened to every Miles Davis album for another musical project) that you might as well call me a jazz outsider. That keeps me consistent with a lot of the albums we've listened to. I'm an outsider to a lot of the stuff you folks like, it seems, so please bear with me once more.

Track 1, "Decade," gets this album off on the wrong foot for me. It's sounds nice but it's slow and directionless to me (perhaps that's a thing with jazz that I will understand with time). It's also very short. Is it an intro or a stand-alone piece? I considered it a stand-alone, as it shared nothing with the track that followed. Track 2, "Premonition I. Earth," was both interesting and frustrating at the same time. The entire piece is a slow build, so much that I (with my boorish rock and roll sensibilities) didn't feel like there was a true climax. In my notes, I likened it to boiling a frog- it adds and builds inch by inch but with all the additions and subtle changes, there wasn't a clear and distinct energy transfer- no kicking it up a notch to bring it all home if you will. I liked it but I wish I could have loved it. Track 3, "Premonition 2. Contorted," sucked the energy back out. Perhaps this was a comedown track after "Earth." It was just slow-jam meandering with not my kind of energy. Adequate and pleasant but not engaging for me.

That was the story of much of the album for me. A lot of arty or meandering music that's better than anything I could ever hope to write myself but also not much that appeals to me. "Jazz" struck me as the most conventional piece on the album but it had zip and a few flourishes that kept it from feeling generic. It wasn't until the "Leucocyte" cycle that I perked up in a big way.

"Ab Initio" pounds at your brain. Is it electric guitar I hear? I'm genuinely curious since I don't see guitar listed on any album credits I dig up. It evokes a sense of danger and desperation but also builds in a way that satisfies for me. Believe it or not, I did not give the faux-track "Ab Interim" a zero like I said I would. I gave it a score just below indifference for reasons already stated. I think it disrupts the flow of "Initio" into "Mortem" too much. There's enough of a fade out to just roll into the next track.

"Ab Mortem" and "Ab Infinitum" are certainly companion pieces because of their similar sound and they way they blend together. This one-two punch was very beautiful. There's a little bit of distortion and a large expansive quality that suggests a vast and lonely landscape. Call me a nerd, but the first thing that popped into my head was the cosmos. With the droning elements and the reverberant echo at times, these two pieces sound as if they could be a sonata for the Voyager space probes. It's calming and yet sad at the same time.

If I had to take three tracks with me, I'd snatch up the "Leucocyte" cycle (minus that wasted minute of course). "Premonition I. Earth" comes close but something still feels incomplete. "Jazz" was also a strong contender but it lacks the distinctive personality of the "Leucocyte" cycle.

If you cut out "Ab Interim" and its dead air, the album would have hit 3.6 out of 5 (a B+ for me) on the strength of the "Leucocyte" cycle alone. But alas, that artsy fartsy bit of triviality holds it back. As an amusing consequence, this album came in just a notch or two below Original Sin, which ought to just thrill Rico.

G-Man Scale: 3.44 out of 5
Rico Scale: 3.5 out of 5

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 12:58 pm As an amusing consequence, this album came in just a notch or two below Original Sin, which ought to just thrill Rico.

oh you

To be pedantic, I think 'Decade' is stand-alone, in that it is not related or of the same fabric as 'Premonition', yet is an introduction (to the next epic track and to the album by default), since it's too short and form-less to count as either "a composition with its clear structure and message" or "a fully developed/improvised jazz composition".

Dan Berglund plays solely an amplified/electric double bass - unless I am sorely mistaken, but he has never changed his instrumental role within the trio, throughout their career and discography. So what you're hearing on 'Ab initio' is the bass sound played and distorted in such a way, that it comes off like ragged guitar slashes.

Ricochet wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 1:21 pm

G-Man wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 12:58 pm As an amusing consequence, this album came in just a notch or two below Original Sin, which ought to just thrill Rico.

oh you

To be pedantic, I think 'Decade' is stand-alone, in that it is not related or of the same fabric as 'Premonition', yet is an introduction (to the next epic track and to the album by default), since it's too short and form-less to count as either "a composition with its clear structure and message" or "a fully developed/improvised jazz composition".

Dan Berglund plays solely an amplified/electric double bass - unless I am sorely mistaken, but he has never changed his instrumental role within the trio, throughout their career and discography. So what you're hearing on 'Ab initio' is the bass sound played and distorted in such a way, that it comes off like ragged guitar slashes.

I was always under that impression as well.

First impressions of Woodkid:

-Sounds like a dude version of Adele but with less vocal range and passion
-Vocals seemed overpowered by the music at times
-The big orchestral sound gets a little samey by 2/3 of the way through
-Nod of approval for the artist being one of the composers for all the orchestral music and not just writing the vocal parts

I've listened only once so far this week. Lots of things going on at the office plus planning for the girls' birthday party this weekend will result in me falling behind with this.

So... I was not a fan of Woodkid, to put it lightly. G-Man hit the nail on the head for me by saying 'dude version of Adele'. That was very similar to the impression I had. And I really don't like Adele. This just isn't my thing. I can at least say I liked it better than Adele, but that doesn't mean much. The album shifted between being tedious and actively irritating me, more so the latter unfortunately. I'd give it a 1.5. I won't say more because I don't like being negative about albums. Sorry.

Unlikely I'll contribute in regular fashion this week - haven't written anything yet, only listened once and I have twelve hours of moviewatching ahead during the next two days. Just the way my week is panning out.

But the important thing is for more peeps to listen to and share impressions, anyway, it's not only about G's or R's reviews.

I don't understand (/am surprised/rather baffled by) the Adele comparison. Can you guys explain what you mean by that? Where's the similarity, other than that they're both very talented singers with unique voices? Does it have to do with the orchestral/"epic" sound of many of the tracks?

I find Woodkid's music to be quite unique and really beautiful, and I'm curious what you guys found boring or irritating about it.

I think there is an element of the whole orchestration style that can strike as casual pop artists who get a backup orchestra for extra oomph or surround. I pay close to little attention to Adele's output as to comment on whether the comparison is meritous, but I'll admit at times the picture in my head was that of a pop big shot playing at Royal Albert Hall with a philharmonic orchestra besides him.

If anything, the voice itself gave me an Antony & the Johnsons impression, sans Antony's emotional, voice-crumbling and -dwindling range.

I am listening to SAW things.

Esbjörn Svensson Trio - Leucocyte

For me, listening to this was a decently rewarding chore. I mean that as both a positive and a negative statement. Throughout the first half or so of the album, I had one continuous impression: everything happening here which isn't a piano is annoying and pointless. This is generic "cool noises, bro" arbitrary aimlessness that I can never stand. The piano held it up enough though that I didn't fall asleep or go make lunch to escape it.

Enduring that was worthwhile though, because the product improved significantly throughout the title suite. Finally in those tracks did the music seem to find a discernible purpose and structure. The relative complexity was sustained without the typical sacrifice of aesthetics. The clear highlight for me was Leudcocyte III. Ad Mortem. I find myself wondering whether I'll just cut the fat next time and get straight to the suite.

3 stars

Woodkid - The Golden Age

The general aesthetic here seems to parallel The Family Crest; it's easy to understand why nutella appreciates it. There's a unique vocalist working over a very dramatic, if sometimes cheesy, orchestral set. As with TFC, I think Woodkid walks the tightrope of cheesiness dangerously, and probably less successfully, but it still has its merits. I found it decent enough listen for the most part, and it seemed to go by quickly. It's a consistent thing, perhaps too much so sonically speaking.

3 stars

*snaps fingers*

It seems to be on Spotify, but I don't have an account there.

I can't listen to music right now, but I can totally introduce this album.

That Handsome Devil was introduced to me through the games Guitar Hero 2 and Rock Band 2, way back when that was how I got into music. Those games are solely responsible for my somewhat diverse tastes. And in the middle of those games, I found some goofy, irreverent tunes that couldn't help but tap my foot to.

Elephant Bones (not on this album, but worth a listen) and Rob the Prez-O-Dent.

I only fell further in from there.

That Handsome Devil creates booze-soaked bops that imitate anything from elevator music to rockabilly funk (as if I know what that is), selling it all with the distinct vocal drawl of Godforbid and lyrics that barge into inappropriateness with all the grace of a ballet hippo. This fusion spawn tunes that I, at least, can't help but sing along with, and this album has some of my favorites on it: Wintergreen, Rob the Prez-O-Dent, Pills for Everything, Viva Discordia, and Mexico.

I don't know what else to say. Start the playlist, kick down the Damn Door, and (hopefully) enjoy the bumpy ride. I look forward to your comments.

Side note: If you wish to listen to any other Handsome Devil songs from other albums, I recommend Elephant Bones, U and I in Suicide, Charlies Inferno (my personal favorite), and Savages from their newest EP.

That Handsome Devil - A City Dressed in Dynamite

It's certainly a unique thing. I always appreciate when musicians make their best effort to blend a whole tossed salad of genres into a cohesive album. I'm not sure how much I enjoyed the actual product itself, but it wasn't a bad listen. I really like the idea of it and it may warrant further exploration of their catalog as time permits, even if I wouldn't call the album essential. Positive marks, to the tune of... [drum roll please for this extremely surprising grade]

3 stars

nutella wrote: ↑Sat Oct 21, 2017 3:29 am I don't understand (/am surprised/rather baffled by) the Adele comparison. Can you guys explain what you mean by that? Where's the similarity, other than that they're both very talented singers with unique voices? Does it have to do with the orchestral/"epic" sound of many of the tracks?

I find Woodkid's music to be quite unique and really beautiful, and I'm curious what you guys found boring or irritating about it.

I wouldn't even say that Adele is untalented; I just don't like her. I certainly wasn't trying to imply that about Woodkid either, just so it's clear.

The comparison doesn't arise necessarily due to the music itself or anything, just more so having a vocalist singing with somewhat similar delivery with "huge" sounding orchestration. Adele and Woodkid both have the same problem, at least in my mind -- the contrast between their vocals and the orchestration and the attempt to sound majestic sounds over the top for the sake of sounding over the top, yet comes off as incredibly contrived and substance-less.

The songs all blended together to me, and it all felt ridiculously disengaging to the point of being actively distracting. And unfortunately I really don't like his voice or delivery at all. His delivery sounded like he was trying to come across as passionate but I heard the opposite. I've found that some chamber pop and indie pop are more likely to come across to me like this than some other genres, uninteresting at best and with irritating unconvincing faux-passion at its worst. At times it was almost cringe-worthy, but not quite that irritating throughout thankfully.

That's all just me though. I only elaborate because you were curious. None of this is meant at all as a slight on anyone else enjoying it. I don't even like when I take negatively to any music; I wish I liked it. But certainly there's music out there I don't like. Hell, maybe I'm just an elitist.