The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 258

@bradsonemanband you should do these first impression track by track reviews more often. Super enjoyable to read.

 

glad you think so! i prefer writing as i'm listening to the album rather than waiting til the end to try to write all my thoughts in a more traditional way with paragraphs and shit. so yeah, i'm glad that it comes across as enjoyable to read rather than lazy, haha.

 

I think I'm gonna try doing track by track to make it faster to do my late reviews. Well, when I won't be listening in the car of course.

 

My reviews are almost like ramblings anyway, so I may try that style with my next one. I'm sure by the end of the album during my write up, I forget things even if I've given the album multiple listens.

 

I usually take notes as I listen, and then put the notes together when I write. Tends to flow in order when I do it that way.

 

I have always hated taking notes.

 

Hahah I did in school. But with these it makes me remember thoughts I had when listening

 

My reviews are me rambling about myself/random thoughts the album reminded me of and then I remember to tack on a few sentences about the music

 

Oh they’re not that bad

 

I had some things I had to buy today so I told myself I should take a note so I don't forget, but I didn't because I thought I'd remember, so I went to the store and couldn't remember why I had to go there.

 

Same here!

 

And it writes half your review for you just copying your notes lol

 

The way I do it:
First listen: Just spin the record and get an overall feel for it.
2nd Listen: Pick my favorite tracks and make some general notes.
3rd Listen: Confirm my previous choices, check out the lyrics and make the final the decision.

Some albums take far more listens to really absorb. Both of the Jack's Mannequin albums took me around 6.

 

I tend to make notes on each track as I listen for the first time, then wait a day so i forget and do the same exercise again and compare to see what was the same both times and what changed. Then I do a final listen and then make a proper piece of writing from it.

 

100%. Lyrics are a huge deal for me (this is a big part about my love of Better Than Ezra's music that I couldn't put my finger on earlier), and unfortunately I have a hard time picking them up in a week. (I really avoid reading the lyrics because it's not as..."genuine" to me. Part of the experience (for me) is picking them up myself.) There have been tracks that were very lackluster to me for the first few listens, but upon learning the lyrics after multiple listens? Top favorite track. It's crazy. I feel like my reviews are a first-impression "time capsule" that I may not agree with a few months later, lol.

 

This is how I generally do it too. I take notes on the first or second listen then write it up on the third (if I haven’t played it loads already that week).

 

Yeah, i am a huge lyric person, and I tend to read along on the third listen before I do the write up. If I don't connect lyrically, it's rare that I'll think an album is more than a 7.5 or so.

 

Hey pups. Sorry this is long overdue. @Bad Frequencies thank you for being chill. The Andrew McMahon record is coming up soon.

Yellowcard - Lights and Sounds (2006 - Capitol)



Ya know, the only Yellowcard I was really familiar with were the hits off of Ocean Avenue. They never really did it for me so I never really pursued the band, so this was an experience. A very neutral experience. The opening instrumental "Three Flights Up" is a great little sketch as to what is to come in the rest of the album and transitions very well into the title track. This track is up at the top for album highlights, with the hard hitting main riffs and the catchy chorus, it definitely does not leave the listener disappointed. However, the rest of the album did not live up to expectations after the intro and "Lights and Sounds". The three subsequent tracks "Down on My Head", "Sure Thing Falling", and "City of Devils" were very boring and all kind of blended together, not to mention the overwhelmingly generic structures and melodies. It's kind of what I would expect the suits at the label to dictate to the band.

Things took a pleasant turn with "Rough Landing, Holly" going back to that punch-in-the-gut rock and roll like the title track, and following that you have "Two Weeks From Twenty" which is probably the most unique track on the album. It's a very fun alt-country jam with some great lyrics from Ryan Key that fit the aesthetic of the song. It shows that the band is not afraid to step out of their comfort zone and to that, I raise my glass.

One unfortunate thing about this record is that some of the best songs on the album are after track 9 (of 14 tracks), so I can see how a listener would turn it off after getting about halfway through. "Martin Sheen or JFK" is a great and fun summertime pop-punk jam, "Space Travel" is reminiscent of Hot Rod Circuit so fuck yeah I'm on board with that, and then "Grey" and album closer "Holly Wood Died" are great songs that take the pop elements of Ocean Avenue but add an entirely new and mature artistic flare which I can see helping solidify their musical identity.

To put this record in a metaphor, it's like a getting to the beach to go surfing on a really calm day, but every once in a while a really perfect wave comes along. The highlight tracks of this record are just like perfect waves whereas the rest of them are fine, you're enjoying yourself enough, but you need more excitement. I'll revisit the tracks I liked for sure, but I can't say I'll give the album a spin from front to back again. I'd give it a 6.5/10.

 

Nice write up, glad some of it sat with you well, perhaps on Future listens the rest will grow but the title track and Rough Landing are my favorites as well

 

I'm a lyric person depending on what I want from the music but if I was a lyric person under every circumstance I'd miss out on a lot of good music from around the world. It seems limiting idk

 

I totally get this. I feel like I can enjoy an album without knowing the lyrics at all, for sure. The music is its own piece of art (I do enjoy instrumental albums/songs for this reason). But for me, connecting to the lyrics adds an extra layer that can make me cherish a song for life and connect to it in a way I didn't before.

 

I know for me personally, lyrics can make or break an album if I am on the fence and not connecting with it musically. Two albums that come to mind are:
The recent Animal Flag. I could not stand it musically but lyrically it’s great.
Senses Fail: If there is a light, it will find you. By far the strongest lyrics he has ever written.

 

I think it just depends what I'm in the mood for. If I am upset and want to connect to relatable lyrics I'll put on lyric-focused music. But if I want upbeat dance music I don't care as much about lyrics, or if I just wanna hear something gorgeous I care more about instrumentation in that moment. Just depends on ~vibes

 

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