The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 257

@Bad Frequencies put me on the bench for next week please, I still have 6 albums I need to review. It will be easier now since my new car has Carplay so I can actually see what track I'm listening to. It's the place where I listen to music the most.

 

@Bad Frequencies why are you ignoring my question?

 

Glad you enjoyed this album! I actually got into it through the song Deadly Dull, and it's still my album highlight personally. What I find most exciting is this band only had one EP before this, so this band is really young and has a LOT of room to grow.

Very good review, and I'm glad you enjoyed it, I mainly went for this one because of your enjoyment of Boston Manor but it was an album I was less familiar with.

Also, I would like to be benched next week, I have two reviews to write and hopefully this will let me catch up!

 

You asked him 2 hours ago...

 

Sorry. Lol I have not yet!

 

2 hours to Colin is like two lifetimes

 

Alright, lets see how many of these I can get done in one night.

@Kiana

Car Seat Headrest- Twin Fantasy

From what I have been hearing, this band is kind of out there. Fronted by Will Toledo, this alternative band is one something of a compilation artist, or so I read. Going in completely blind when I first listened to this album, it wasn't until after listening did I do my research and discover this is actually a revisiting and a revising of a 2011 album that he did. I have not heard that one, so I will not be comparing this album to that one. Instead, I will be going off this album as its own work of art. One thing I noticed was that this ten song album spanned over an hour and 11 minutes, which is kind of impressive for that many songs. What came forth in them was a collection of songs unified throughout, and with no regard for the common song structure. Some of these songs range under two minutes, while some are over 10 minutes long. The second song of the album, for example, is 12:10!

Each of these songs stand as their own little narratives, and have a sound that is very laid back and is very indie rock with a touch of pop. The lyrics on these songs are very well done, with compelling narratives and plenty of call backs to previous choruses. For example, in 'Stop Smoking (We Love You)' the song begins, 'Stop Smoking, We Love You. Stop Smoking, We Love You, and we don't want you to die.' This makes up the majority of the song, and is a simple message to his partner. Then suddenly in the 8th track of the album, 'High To Death' they come back but the lyrics change flawlessly to 'Keep smoking, we still love you, but I don't want to die'. This recounting of past lyrics is something that pops up a couple times on this album. 'Sober To Death' is also a stand out track for me, and one I would reference people to when showing them this band. A smooth, slightly more upbeat song with great strummed guitars, the song keeps the indie sound the album has while making some breakouts such as a more upbeat sound with dark lyrics and the breakdowns in the second half of the song where the guitar just does this rapid breaking distorted shred every other line is pretty intense. This is a very impression album, the emotions and stories of the lyrics aren't painted out in your face. After a few listens though, you will pickup on an album dealing with heartbreak, loss, and the misfortune and uncertainty of life. You can feel the depression in these songs, with the music painting a sort of picture about what this character is going through. Musically its pretty laid back, though there are some cool effects used in certain songs such as synths in 'Nervous Young Humans'.

Overall though, I can respect this album. It wasn't one that had me necessarily jonesing for more plays, but once I did play it I kind of melted into the music with how smooth and laid back it is. I would like to note the very, very upbeat song and faster pace of 'Bodys'. This one stands out like a sore thumb on the album but in the best ways, I would love a whole album with this kind of sound from them. As it stands now, I can admire this album but I am unsure how often I will return to it. Its a good driving album though, it works well on a summer day in the car. Stand out songs are: Beach Life-In-Death, Stop Smoking, Sober To Death, Nervous Young Inhumans, Bodys, High To Death.

6.5/10

The Cure- Wish

Now this was right up my alley. I love me some Cure. I actually have listened to most of their albums, and own a few of them. This however was one that kind of flew under my radar, which is weird considering its a 1992 release, and that its big radio single is one of those songs you hear constantly on store radios and that most people know even if they don't know The Cure. Something I needed to correct sooner, but here we are. Instantly when I heard the opening track 'Open', I knew I was going to like this one just as much as I do their other works. Robert Smith never disappoints, and this album is no different. A mix of gothic rock and pop, these guys know what they are doing. You can hear it in the first track, where the instrumentally haunting guitars in the background of Smith's vocals just kind of take over your senses and get you buckled in for the journey you are about to take for the rest of the album. Melancholy, poppy, and straight out moody rock is what you will receive here, and it delivers all of these in spades. The tones are everything from melodic to dark, but there is a sense of catchy purpose in the songs.

Everyone knows, as I mentioned, the big glistening radio single of 'Friday, I'm In Love'. Of course I gravitated to this song because I already knew and liked the song. It is far from the best song on the album though. 'A Letter To Elise' is an emotional and sentimental song filled with a gloriously soft tones, 'Wendy Time' is funky and makes you want to get up and dance with its almost borderline annoyingly catchy 'Doo Doo Doos' in the background of a funk toned guitar before kicking into a pretty dang groovy song. 'Trust' starts off beautifully with a charming piano that carries through the song while it erupts into a gorgeous ballad. The Cure always has a way of setting the bar higher with each passing song on the album, and making a consistent album that flows well for its entirety. The songs glisten with a touch of 80s rock, and manage to hook your ear in for the whole ride. There is an earnest exploration of sound in these songs you just cannot help but appreciate. It also helps that Smith has a great voice that carries the lyrics in these songs perfectly, working with his instrumentation to enhance the songs rather than detract from them. There are influences of the other Cure albums I have heard throughout this album, and its beautifully eclectic and well blended together.

This is a must listen to, but I am sure most of you knew that. Its The Cure for crying out loud, if you hadn't listened to them already you knew who they were at least with many of the pop punk bands of the genre referencing them as influences. There is something for every one on this glamorous album, and its pop rock at its finest. I returned to this album quite a bit outside of my listening for this write up throughout the week, and I will continue to do so. Stand out tracks: Open, Apart, Wendy Time, Friday I'm In Love, Trust, A Letter To Elise, To Wish Impossible Things.
8.5/10

@SaveTheEarth

Turnstile- Time And Space

This was not what I expected when I hit play on this album. The moment you hit play, you are treated to a ferocious and in your face sound, something akin to Deftones or 311. Hailing from Baltimore, Turnstile seems to be blending lines between a lot of different genres, but keeping their feet within the hardcore/ alternative/ punk genre. This album shreds the moment you dive in, and by the second track 'Big Smile', you know what you are in for. Big, shredding guitars. Fast paced, rolling drums, and a tone that makes you want to bang your head. The songs are quick, to the point, and aggressive as can be. Ranging at only 25 minutes long, its a quick and ferocious listen, and its over in the blink of an eye. There are moments on this album where things get shaken up a bit as well, such as in 'Bomb' which is this weird 20 minute soft spoken Segway from one heavy hitting song to another that almost seems like an r&b or pop intro. This album aggressively switches gears from hardcore to punk, with moments of lighter hearted touches as well. Vocally, there is a lot of aggressive screaming vocals, but it isn't so violent that you cannot understand the lyrics or enjoy them; it actually works really well with these songs. Instrumentally the guitars do a lot of power shredding, and accelerating into fast chords or chugging break downs, with drums that make you feel like you are getting your face pounded.

Songs like 'Moon' demonstrate when this band is at its best, in my opinion. Dialing back the screams, this one is a much more catchy and melodic punk song, with a verse and chorus that is going to get stuck in your head; along with its shredding fast beat. However a song like '(Lost Another) Piece Of My World' shows you more of what you are going to get on this album, heavy punk that makes you want to get into a mosh pit as soon as possible. These guys shred when they go all out, its actually kind of fantastic how relentless and aggressive they can get while still managing to remain catchy and in your head. Bands of this kind can often over step their lines from aggressive hardcore/punk into what sounds just like explosion of noises played on instrument; and that is not the case with this band. Turnstile goes insane on numerous song, but they manage to keep your attention. Ending on the aggressive and passionate title track, the album demonstrates a ferocity yet experimental side to this genre, often incorporating effects or nuances that you wouldn't find in this type of music, such as dropped tones to focus on the vocals, distorted vocals with chugging guitar crunches, soft and atmospheric sounds that eventually dissipate into in your face punk. Its all on here. Some songs such as 'High Pressure' and 'I Don't Wanna Be Blind' head more into the alternative spectrum, where songs like 'Come Back For More/HOY' and 'Right To Be' are just down right relentless in nature.

This is a pretty dang good album that Ill most likely return to. Its a bit outside of my comfort zone, but it manages to keep you engaged and singing along once you know the words to be a jam of an album. Bringing out my inner punk, this album had me wanting to be square in the middle of a mosh pit or tearing down the walls at certain points. This is only their second album, and I will be curious to see where Turnstile goes from here. Stand out songs are: Moon, Big Smile, I Don't Wanna Be Blind, High Pressure, (Lost Another) Piece Of My World, Come Back For More, Right To Be, Time + Space.

7.5/10

Turnover- Good Nature

Could these two recs have been any more polar opposite of each other? Talk about whiplash the first time I stopped to listen to them back to back. Turnover is a band I am familiar with now, having reviewed their album 'Peripheral Vision' a session or two ago. And this is the cover art I recognize from users around here such as @FTank . While I found Peripheral Vision sort of mellow, perhaps a bit too much so, this 2017 release seems to be a bit more along the lines of that sound with some juiced up injection of pop punk. By the melodic and catchy 'Sunshine Type', I found myself liking this one a lot more than I did Peripheral. This album takes that dreamscape induced sound of that album but injects it with a pop punk catchiness and hooks, melody, and infectious tones that almost make you feel like you are in a sedated dream world. The last album did that too, but this one is more lively.

This album is also, lyrically, a lot more upbeat and positive than my experience to them. While Peripheral Vision had lyrics of self loathing, depression, and angst into a cathartic melody, this one seems a lot more positive in its out look on life. That could lend to the more up beat sound of the music; the instruments stand out a bit more on this one, the guitars in their soft plucked beauty are magnificently noticeable behind the soft and crooning vocals. Songs like 'Curiosity' just have this beauty to them when they kick in with this 'oomf' to it, a harmonized beauty with lyrics and soft melodies that make you feel like you are kind of floating off. The weather around here is just starting to warm up, and this album works great for cruising on the interstate with the windows all the way down in 70 degree temperatures. 'Breeze' is a jam and a half, with a catchy drum line along the dreamstate guitars, and 'I cant stop you running through my head, it just makes me wanna go away. Drop out of everything, let you keep eating my heart out with your silver spoon' is a great chorus, and when mixed with the verses just really works to paint a picture of a foolish summer love that isn't real; it was something I couldn't get out of my head for quite a few days. Its a great 1-2 punch with 'All That I Ever Was' too, the songs work well together and both have this melodic hook to them. The lyrical themes of our own misfortunes, but also at the same time the new explored romanticism of life and relationships are prominent on this album, but when woven with the crooning plucked guitars and melodic atmosphere this album paints, it just works.

This is a good album. While I liked Peripheral enough, this one was the one that sold me on listening to Turnover more often. With the weather warming up, this will be an album I play more often; especially if I get a chance to drive by some long stretch of road surrounded by shore lines or fields; because that is the mental image this music gives to me. Just a soft tranquility that is sweet, but not too sweet. I recommend this one, and I am on board to check out more of their work now. Stand out tracks are: Sunshine Type, Butterfly Dream, Pure Devotion, Nightlight Girl, Breeze, All That It Ever Was, Living Small.
8/10


@Davjs
The Used-Artwork

I have a troubled past with this band. I loved their first album, a lot. They were on my 'I have to see this band live' list. But then as they kept going, I fell more and more out of their music, not liking each release a bit more until I eventually stopped paying attention to them. There were just other bands that were doing much better work than The Used. Then here in the last year, they released another album and I decided to check it out. I often hype how bad of an album it is; and while I may be exaggerating a bit, the album is still pretty bad and did not reignite my interest in the band at all. So, in order to try and give them another chance, Davjs and I worked out a trade where I will check out his favorite Used album in return for him checking out the new Hawthorne Heights album Bad Frequencies. He liked that album. So did I like his traded album?

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard 'Blood On My Hands'. This was actually a catchy and good song, which had my interest piqued to hear what the rest of the album had to offer. What really sold me on listening though, was the following song; 'Empty With You'. I was actually really impressed with this track; it was catchy, it had grit, and was an anthemic song with lyrics that I was singing along with in no time. This track was great! I actually loved it, really. The rest of the album? Well, first off, one thing I would like to say is that there aren't really any filler songs on this. One thing that had started to push me away from this band was the amount of fluff on the prior album, Lies For The Liars, and the major reason I quit listening. Nothing memorable, just tracks holding places. This album seems to be a return to form for the band, because the rip roaring 'Born To Quit' made the first three tracks a solid 1-2-3 punch. The amazing power ballad of 'Kissing You Goodbye' made for a four point grand slam. I liked how different, how passionate this song was. It was packed with emotion, and subtlety. There are a lot of layers through out this album, each of the songs well crafted to contain vocal and instrumental workings that are hidden beneath layers of other elements. Its quite impressive and shows a band coming into their own (And makes me wonder wtf happened with The Canyon). Some of the songs seem to show a softer side to the band, such as the aforementioned song as well as 'Watered Down'. Songs like 'Come Undone' have the aggression the band is known for still, so they haven't lost their touch there. By the time I got to the end of the album, I actually found myself really liking this album. I will admit that maybe not all The Used albums were terrible after their first one, as this one is a very strong album.

I will probably check out the releases I missed, and maybe future releases, because this one showcases the strengths of this band greatly. This is The Used I wanted to hear after In Love And Death. Lies For Liars and The Canyon are terrible in my opinion, but this album gave me hope that maybe I will like their other stuff. Probably not as much as I like other bands that were around when The Used began, such as Story of The Year, but I may have to give them a bit more credit.
Stand out tracks: Blood on My Hands, Empty With You, Born To Quit, Kissing You Goodbye, Watered Down, On The Cross, Come Undone, Meant To Die.
7.5/10

 

Good work, buddy!

 

CMCS Concert Review

Hawthorne Heights- Bad Frequencies tour

04/30/2018

I wanted to write this one sooner, but I have been pretty busy this week and had some album reviews to catch up on. As many of you know I was excited for the release of this album, and this show in particular because I had VIP meet and greet for it. They have always been one of my favorite bands, so getting to meet them and see them play the new album live was a dream come true.


THE VIP
My fiancée and I got to the arena at about 5:35, with the VIP set to begin at 6. The Cowan @ Topgolf is actually a really neat and less than a year old venue, it’s the same place I saw Starset last month.

When we got there, there were about 8 other VIPs in line waiting. About ten minutes after we got in line, their drummer Poppy came out to do VIP check in. There was only one VIP who hadn’t shown up yet, so he decided to just bring us in. As soon as we entered, we were greeted by JT, Mark McMillon(guitar) and Matt Ridenour(bass). The first thing they did was let us have first crack at the merch table, where I picked up two limited edition shirts (one has the logo on the front and tour dates on the back, the other a crossed out skull on the front with the line “I’ve got some bad frequencies buried in my skull” on the back). We also were given our VIP bundles, which included a copy of the new album, a laminate, a silk screen poster, a Bad Frequencies notebook, a patch, and a HH tote bag to carry them all in. Next we got to hang out and talk with the band members one on one, as they came around to all of us and talked to each of us individually for 5-10 minutes a piece. All of them were so exceptionally nice, and told us all about their process, the valentines packages they did, and basically any other conversation topics you wanted (I mentioned my fiancée and I were playing ‘Somewhere In Between’ at our wedding and JT and Poppy loved it; JT also spent about five minutes giving us some cool marital advice and telling us how he once had The Offspring’s private jet on standby incase his wife went into labor while they were on tour). They were really nice and you could tell they appreciate their fans, and that they see their fans as friends of the band. We then got to take pictures with them, and they signed my preorders vinyl and a cd for my fiancée. After about 40 minutes or so they began letting people into the venue, and the band took their leave.

The Openers
This show has FOUR openers. Heavy Things, which @Nate_Johnson has been promoting a bit and rightfully so; their new album slaps and they killed it as the first opener. I actually found them to be the best act and very similar to HH in sound. Next up was Sienna Skies, who are a hardcore band from Australia; and they were great. They sounded great musically, vocally their frontman can definitely hold his screams, and he was funny. He also did this cool thing where he came out into the middle of the crowd and brought the mic stand with him, singing the whole song there. After that was Hotel Books, which are more like a slightly heavier mewithoutYou, doing a singing/speaking type style with methodical messages on the lyrics. I wasn’t too big on them to be honest, but they weren’t terrible. After them was Listener, which was probably the best ‘musically’, though I was not a fan of his hardcore singing style. They had some cool effects though, and their songs were sound instrumentally.

Finally at 9:40, it was time.

Hawthorne Heights
This show started exactly how I had told @bachna84 and @Larry David how I hoped it would; The lights down in the dark, they opened with the new album’s title track, which sounded great; the lights kicking on just as the song explodes in the second half( with the vocalist of Sienna Skies assisting in unclean vocals). Musically and vocally, the band was awesome, sounding the best out of the now 7 times I have seen them live. They put on a great performance, playing a very nice balance of songs with 2-4 songs from each album; including 3 from the new one (push me away was on the setlist but they had to cut it because Listener ran longer than they hoped). The new songs sounded great; Just Another Ghost And the title track were GREAT, and Pink Hearts sounded better live than it does on the album imo. The band has a great energy on stage, and they played fantastically. They threw in some surprises, such as covering Glycerin, and some songs they haven’t played in years. JT talked about how thankful he is for the fans at many points, and how diversity and equality are important at another point. They are a band I highly recommend seeing live (and supporting by checking out the new album!). After they closed the set, the whole band ran over to the merch table, giving people a chance to get things signed. I also was given a copy of the setlist signed at this point, (as it was part of the VIP).

Overall an excellent show and one of my favorite concerts in recent years. If they are coming near you on this tour I highly recommend it! 10/10 show

 

I look forward to reading this when I get my daughter back down to sleep!!!

 

Nice write-up! Sounds like a really fun night all around! I’m going to check out Hotel Books based on what you told me

 

I saw Hawthorne for the first time over the summer at a small festival and they really do seem like the most grateful dudes. And bad frequencies gets better with each listen, thought it’d be boring based on the singles but I’m a happy returning fan.

 

Really interesting that you thought this album was a bit more pop punk, I personally find the exact opposite. Anyway, a ton of good writing here and some fantastic albums.

 

They really are the nicest guys. They don't act like rock stars. JT was sitting right at the booth for show I went to.

 

Musically they are great but the vocals are a hard pill to swallow.

 

@Bad Frequencies described them to me as a heavier mewithoutYou which had me intrigued!

 

Great reviews! That Turnstile album is up there in my top 10 for 2018.

 

I can definitely see the comparison for sure.

 

I agree 100% with what I quoted out of your review. Glad you liked it! I remember when I popped it in my player for the first time being so blown away the songs had these quality after the let down that was Lies for the Liars.

If you replace Watered Down with Sold My Soul, your highlights are my favorites too!

 

I love this album cover.

 

No Best of Me? That song rules!

 

One of my two favorites on the album! (along with Born To Quit)

 

Best of Me does rule, you guys are correct. On the co headline with TBS, I was surprised they played any Artwork songs, but was so stoked that they played Blood on My Hands and Best of Me. That intro jam killed live.

The whole album is so good though, I would say it's not in my top 5 from the album (Blood On My Hand, Meant to Die, Sold My Soul, Born To Quit, Kissing You Goodbye). Shout out to Men are All The Same because its the only song not mentioned and it rules too haha.

 

Palm Reader
Braille
2018



I was paired up with @ugman_2000 yet again this session and was assigned Palm Reader's 2018 album Braille. I was unfamiliar with this band and I did a little research on them prior to listening to the album. They are a hardcore/metalcore band out of Nottingham, UK (about 100 miles north of London) and this is their third full-length album. Their debut album Bad Weather was released in 2013 followed by 2015's Besides The Ones We Love.

The album begins with Swarm and immediately I'm reminded of The Dillinger Escape Plan from a vocal standpoint. The music is fantastic and at that point I already knew that I'd enjoy the rest of the album. Internal Winter keeps it going and again the vocals are definitely reminiscent of The Dillinger Escape Plan. Swarm and Internal Winter are a very solid 1-2 punch to start the album with. There's a bit more singing in the next track Like A Wave, as opposed to the fierce delivery of the prior two songs. After a couple of listens to this album I think that the singing most reminds me of the band The Black Maria. Inertia was quite a change of pace as the song's intro was slow and about a minute and a half long before building throughout the remainder of the song. The following track Breach is a chill, atmospheric instrumental which I also enjoyed.

After the album's slowest song to that point (Inertia) followed by a subdued instrumental track, I expected (and hoped) that the next track would be a loud one. I was not disappointed as Coalesce is probably my favorite track on the album. It's a touch over 6 minutes long and it sounds absolutely massive. The Turn is another solid song but not much stood out to me on that one...until the final 15 or so seconds of that song. The outro to that track is one of the album's highlights for me. Dorothy is another chill, atmospheric instrumental much like the other instrumental track Breach. That led into the album's penultimate track Clockwork. Roughly the first 2/3 of this song was slow and almost entirely sung. The remainder of the song picked up the pace, but it wasn't one of my favorites. It reminded me of the song Inertia from the standpoint that it had a slow intro that built into a more intense end. I expected the closing track A Lover, A Shadow to end this album on an aggressive high note following the slower two songs before it and again I was not disappointed! This was the longest song at the album at about 6 and a half minutes long and it's a great ending to the album. I would compare this song to Coalesce in that it's a long song that just feels epic and massive at points.

All in all, this was a very good album! I would recommend this album to fans of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Gallows, Converge, Norma Jean, and Underoath. I kind of think of the music on this album as a less chaotic The Dillinger Escape Plan and that's not meant to be an insult by any means.

I'd recommend that anyone interested in checking them out listen to the following songs: Swarm, Internal Winter, Coalesce, The Turn, and A Lover A Shadow. That's half of the songs on the album and 5 of the 8 non-instrumental tracks so if you enjoy those there's absolutely no doubt that you'll enjoy the album!

Nice being paired with you again @ugman_2000 !

 

Awesome review mate, I’m glad you dug it. Braille’s been one of my fav metal releases so far this year.

Their album before this one is really good too and we’ll worth your time. It’s a lot more intense though and sits more in the converge sound than the DEP sound on Braille.

I haven’t had a chance to listen to War On Women yet but it’s a long weekend here this weekend so hopefully I’ll have a few chances to fix that.