The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 201

Thanks man. Yeah, I know. We already try to settle this session's records

 

@highfidelity203 and I traded and they gave me:

Dessa: Chime (2018) Doomtree Records

I had never heard of Dessa or Doomtree but I might dive down that rabbit hole after listening to this and hearing @bachna84 review another Doomtree members solo outing. Dessa is a rapper, singer and spoken word poet, among many other things but those three are the focus on her recent solo record.

Like many others, hip hop is not my strong suit and I won't pretend that it is. Dessa does a great job of transitioning seamlessly between the three above mentioned styles. I personally like it when she sings (and she is a great singer) and more of the spoken word poetry mixed with pop beats behind her as opposed to her rap style. When she raps, it seems to come easily and you can clearly understand everything she is saying and it makes sense and there is purpose behind it. The music on the album is great and is a mix of trip hop, classic pop and other pop styles. My favorite song is Fire Drills and has this almost bollywood beat behind it.

As I mentioned before, her vocal delivery is impeccable. Lyrically, she is just as impressive. The choir like vocals on Good Grief are used so well with her transitiong between singing/rapping. This album as a whole is a very empowering one for women and the song I mentioned before, Fire Drills, showcases this:

"I'm here to file my report as the vixen of the wolf pack,
Tell patient zero he can have his rib back,
A woman's worth,
I think that she deserves a better line of work than mother***ing vigilance,
That can't be what a woman is
That gives her nothing to aspire to
What that is
Is just a life of running fire drills."

There are other tracks that reference this theme as well. While, another song that really speaks to me is about looking back at your youth is Jumprope. She also knows how to have fun and has to include a stereotypical pop song on the album and we find that on the aptly titled Boy Crazy.

This is a great record for someone like myself to find that perfect balance between pop and rap music that may not be that comfortable diving head first into true rap territory. I will definitely have this album on repeat a lot and I feel really lucky to be able to have heard it.

8/10

Favorite Tracks:
Fire Drills
Jump Rope
Half of You

 

Nice review (as always!)

 

Nice review! That Vinyl Theatre album is fuuuuuuuun

 

Whenever I see that album mentioned I am required to revisit this song, which is probably my favorite soft-song-into-big-cathartic-climax track of the past few years. Can't listen to the part at 3 minutes without wanting to burst into a smoldering soft rock rage.

 

Its time to knock out some write ups! I am a bit ahead of the game this week, having gotten a head start on some of the listening with a few of theses. First up, two reviews from the likes of one @ugman_2000 !!

Motion City Soundtrack- My Dinosaur Life

Motion City Soundtrack is a band that I shouldn't have to give too much introduction to. They were around for a long while, and they were a staple of the scene of the early to mid 2000s. I was a fan of these guys, especially their album 'Commit This To Memory'. There was one album of theirs I never got around to checking though for one reason or another, and that was 2010's My Dinosaur Life. So when @ugman_2000 gave me a list of albums to pick from and this was one of them, I jumped at the chance to finally have a reason to finish listening to their discography. This way I could also avoid the wrath of @mattfreaksmeout who has long since used the album cover as his avatar. As soon as I hit play, I knew I was in for some good old MCS goodness, as the intro song instantly reminded me why I like these guys. Bright, up beat melodic pop punk rock music; and that's what this album delivers as soon as you dive in.

'Worker Bee' is a great intro song to get you into the mood of this album, which is someone who has a lot going in their life just letting it all go and having some fun. Something that the lyrics of the track deal with. Musically it sounds like what I would expect from MCS, but vocally his voice is at the top of its game and this is probably the best he has sounded on an album in my opinion. Fast paced and fun guitars roar through this song, and this carries in to the second track A Lifeless Ordinary (Need A Little Help). This song is a catchy, relentless and fun singalong song; it will be in your head for a day or two and you won't even realize it until you are singing along. This is even more so with one of my favorite songs on the album, 'Her Words Destroyed My Planet', a song about a destroyed relationship with an insanely beat that I swear features on top of the catchy guitars a friggin kazoo that has a beat that will be stuck in your head. So far though this has been the course sound of MCS, just a bit fleshed out. Then you get to 'Disappear', another stand out track. I was surprised how heavy this song is, for Motion City Soundtrack anyway. Its infectious with its beat, but both vocally and sonically this song is a lot harder than their past work; and it works so well. This album glows throughout the entire album, whether its the insanely catchy 'Delirium', or the slower and more emotional 'Stand Too Close'. There is a charm to every one of these songs, with lyrical themes of earnest about love, addiction, lost on the path of life, and everything else you would expect from MCS. There are moments like 'Pulp Fiction' where they do things that sound different from their norm, and I like to see MCS stepping outside their box a bit; even if its perhaps just one foot out. This is a good thing, as even the songs that they work different with have that MCS feel to it. Also, I have to at least mention I love the Ocarina of Time reference in '@!#?@!'. Although the whole song is a groovy beated heap of awesome.

This is a good album, and if you are a fan of Motion City Soundtrack in any sense of form, or if you are a fan of fast paced, fun pop punk/emo music, this album is really for you. I highly recommend checking this album out whether you are a fan of them or not. It has this glowing earnest of fun to it that you cannot help but get up and dance to when listening to it, and even the deluxe version that I listened to which contains several extra tracks and stretches the album to over an hour is such a fun listen that the time flies by! This album reminded me of days of hanging out with friends and drinking while listening to fun music. Stand Out Tracks: Worker Bee, Her Words Destroyed My Planet, Disappear, Delirium, Stand Too Close, Pulp Fiction, @!#?@!.
8/10

Creeper- Eternity In Your Arms

Is that Kilgrave on the cover?! Bad comic book joke aside, I had heard of Creeper before this session but I had never sat down and listened to a single song by them. When discussing our recommendations, ugmann said they were best compared to My Chemical Romance....and that was all I needed to hear to be interested. They are described as a UK horror rock band, and that added to piquing my interest. Then I saw while I was researching the group that they have a female second vocalist, which held the promise of female backing vocals; something I have on record in this club said I am a huge fan of. So eagerly, I decided to dig into this 2017 album that spanned only 36 minutes long. So I dove in, with very high hopes.

The album's opening track 'Black Rain', starts off with a haunting little speech from Hannah, their keyboardist and second vocalist. After this cool little intro, the song explodes into a song that I definitely hear the early My Chemical Romance comparison to; and it rips. The guitars are insane, the drums are heavy and thumping, and by word the chorus on this song is epic. "And In the rain I screamed your name.." the main vocalist chants with echoing gang vocals, while Hannah cuts in "So darling just you shut your pretty mouth." in a call and response chorus. I was sold and 100% on board for the rest of the album after this song; this is probably one of my favorite opening tracks of any of the CMCS reviews I have heard. This leads into the anthemic 'Poison Pens', and you begin to notice that this album is full of heavy shredding guitars and extremely well performed vocals. They are very theatric in their vocals, say for example the track 'Suzanne', which has everything from these cool guitars thumping drums of epic punk rock proportions to this weirdly odd call and response between the lead vocalist and a crowd chant. 'Hiding With The Boys' continues this epic sound they are crafting, and doesn't let up the pace one bit. Things slow down when you get to 'Misery', this slow and soft ballad of a long lost love and the mess the man has become since then; and its actually kind of play like. This song could be something in a musical or a stage play and it would work; the vocals are a huge focus on this song. The strength of this band is their heavy and fast paced guitars, and their ability to incorporate these odd instances of gang vocals and other odd effects into the songs. They almost come off like Alkaline Trio meeting My Chemical Romance with an occasional English accent; and theres definitely some amazing fast paced British punk influence too. There are songs you are going to absolutely sing along with, such as 'Down Below', which is hectic and frantic sounding until the bridge, which is a down played and creepy piano bit before exploding. 'Darling' is an emotional wreck of a song that is probably the fastest song on the album about being over your ex. 'Crickets' is a HUGE stand out, as they let Hannah take over lead vocals and she gets this extremely well done acoustic 'country campfire' type song with belting vocals that are a great performance. There is something good to find on every track of this album.

This is a damn good album, I was impressed. They do have similarities to bands such as MCR and Alkaline, but they definitely have a dramatic flare all their own that keeps them from coming off as some sort of rip off; their sound is their own and it sounds great. If you like hefty theatrical rock, emotionally dark driven lyrical themes and imagery, and very creative experimental influences on roaring rock songs; this album could very well be for you. If you are a fan of fast paced brit punk rock, this is also for you. This album is fun and intense, and there are some well crafted lyrics on this album too. If any of what I said clicks with you, check this album out. Its a fun ride through out. Another cool thing to note is that its a horror concept album with a narrative about a paranormal investigator, loosely anyway. It continues a narrative of their EPs. I would be interested in figuring out the narrative a bit more. Stand out Tracks: Black Rain, Suzanne, Hiding With Boys, Misery, Down Below, Crickets, Darling, I Choose To Live.
8/10

 

@highfidelity203 gave me:

Awolnation: Here Come the Runts (2018) Red Bull Records

To those unfamiliar with Awolnation, it is the product of front man Aaron Bruno & Co. and they are a highbred of rock mixed with a ton of electronic elements. The closest band I think they resemble would be The Killers just because at times Aaron sounds a lot like Brandon Flowers and they do have a lot of the same riffs and hooks. Most people have heard the song Sail off their first album. This will be the "bands" fourth studio album and I say that loosely because Aaron is the only original member.

Sound wise I will say this: forget all you know about music. Awolnation are a band that don't let things stay complacent for very long and are the only band that can take something so insignificant like molasses, turn in into a Beach Boys tune and make you like it! That is track 10 on the album by the way.

The album opens with the title track and has an almost stadium like yell Aaron is known for and then this EDM beat comes in and the races are off. In the same song we get horns, this galloping beat that makes you feeling like you are in a horse race and repetitive vocals. One thing is very clear in listening to this album, he finds a way to make the same verse sound interesting and he will beat you over the head with it until you sing along by the end of the song.

Lead single, Passion, is up next with an indie rock beat over clean vocals mixed with shouts and as you guessed it, the word Passion, stated a million different ways. I can't describe it but somehow it is fun as hell and makes you want to dance all over the room. The rest of the album sounds like this in some form or another but they always find a way to keep interesting. For some reason I always gravitated towards the songs that sounded like The Killers, like Tall, Tall Tale, Jealous Buffoon and Miracle Man (which sounds eerily like The Man off their recent record).

From what I can see, this is the first album to really tone things down a bit and bring us almost straight rock numbers like Handyman, Seven Sticks of Dynamite, Table For One and My Molasses. These bring to mind the likes of Bruce Springsteen and other Americana style bands.

I could go on for days about the things I hear in this record. It is not for everyone but it is a ton of fun but at the same time will not change the world. I will definitely keep it in my rotation and think anyone could find at least one song they enjoy. My one complaint is the album does seem lop-sided with the more upbeat tracks in the front half while the slower song are in the back half. Maybe he meant to do that so as to make sure people didn't think he totally changed directions?

8/10

RIYL: The Killers, EDM, pop music, (insert anything in here)

Favorite Tracks:
Miracle Man
Passion
Handyman
Tall, Tall Tale

Edit: After I posted this, I forgot how much I adore the song Handyman and I am so glad they made a video for it. It is just a great indie rock track and proves once again how diverse he truly is.

 

Huh this sounds like a really cool album. Nice job as usual

 

Thanks! I added two videos so you can check it out without listening to the whole album. It's a very unique record.

 

Nice review! I think I landed more on the negative side for this record, but I appreciate Aaron's songwriting range and unique vision. There are definitely some fun and strong songs on this. I've been following his career since 2002 and while I don't adore Awolnation like I do his previous projects, I'm glad he is finally having a successful career. Super talented dude.

 

I recommended his previous band, Under the Influence of Giants, in CMCS Week 1!

 

OG right here

 

Thank you! I totally get it and it's not for everyone but I think there is definitely something for everyone on the album. He really has a ton of talent.

 

I remember seeing Home Town Hero back in 2002. Very interesting to see where his career has gone!

 

False news, I fact-checked myself and it was Week 2

I was here Week 1 though!

 

Nice! I saw them in 2002 also, on a little side stage at a Weezer show. I was obsessed with that album and have been following him ever since.

 

Same!!!

That was the Weezer tour with Dashboard Confessional and The Strokes (who dropped off the Cleveland date, among others). I remember Sparta was there and so was Loudermilk (who actually had some awesome songs)

 

Eighteen (by Home Town Hero) is such a good song

 

Yep! Had no idea The Strokes were on that tour, they weren't on my date. It was Weezer, Dashboard and Sparta on the main stage and AM Radio, Home Town Hero and Rooney on the side stage. That was my first concert in this scene.

 

I think their lead singer had a bike accident and they had to drop off some dates, unfortunately

 

Eighteen is good stuff. I loved pretty much everything on that album.

The only Loudermilk song I know is "Estrogen Oxygen Aches in the Teeth Again" but I remember really liking it.

 

I don’t think Rooney was in Cleveland. We had the other 2 side stage bands plus Loudermilk (who went on to be Gosling). I kinda like shows with side stages!

 

I think the song The Twisting is my favorite. I haven’t listened to them in years though (maybe tomorrow now haha)

 

You might be aware of this already, but there's a kind of "lost album" called Bitch City between Home Town Hero and Under the Influence of Giants that was never released. I think it was recorded when the band was still HTH but it was more in the style of UTIOG and they played some of the songs from it live. It's frickin' great, probably one of my favorite albums. So groovy.

 

I saw that on their Wikipedia but I was unfamiliar with that! Will have to go check that one out.

As far as the new AWOLNATION goes, I think I like it more than their last album but not as much as the debut. Gotta give it some more listens though