The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 286

Glad you enjoyed it! The best part of listening to something in a different language is when the music sort of transcends everything else. It was not only ambitious because of the subject matter but it was also their first album with a new vocalist which can be a risk so it was a cool effort all around

 

Alright I have seven reviews to knock out from last week. I'll get a handful of them done tonight. Forgive me if they aren't up to my normal snuff; sinuses are being a hassle right now. Anyways, here we go. Tonight I will be doing two from @CSWAPPO and two from @anonimito .

First up, good ol' @CSWAPPO

Hopesfall- Magnetic North


Why does that album art remind me of The Legend Of Zelda- Majora's Mask? Anyway, I have heard many...many people tell me to check out this album and this band recently for some reason, but it was one of those ones that I added to my list to check out but never quite got around to it. What I got when I dove into this album was not what I expected; a ferocious bite of energy mixed with ambient sounds and melodic guitars and singing. There is a hefty mix of these huge screamed vocals, along with a large portion of clean vocals too, and they work well together. I admit it took me a listen or two for this album to really click with me, but when I began to pick up on certain things it did.

The opening track 'Rx Contender And Pretender' is a great introduction to this album, giving you all of Hopesfall strengths on this one right up front. Melodic verses, with these insanely aggressive and crunching choruses and bridges. These are the type of songs that just scream to be in a live setting; look no further than their second track 'Swamp Kittens', despite the name, is something that would sound amazing in a small venue setting; with clean sung verses and these immensely explosive choruses and shredding guitars that demand your attention. There are some softer moments, such as the beginning of the third track 'Cubic Zirkonias Are Forever' and fourth track 'I Can Do This On An Island', but honestly to me these were the weaker moments of the album, which is surprising coming from me. Where this band shines is when they let all out loose and explode with rage and ferocity. While the softer moments such as Island aren't bad, they are not the ones that really stood out to me on this. Songs like 'Secondhand Surgery' are where the two sides of the sound meet and work, with this dramatic flair in the guitars, and a some great and haunting clean vocals. This is again seen in 'East of 1989, Battle Of The Bay', which sees these same strengths returning. These songs just scream melodic metalcore with a dash of alternative, and they work really well. The album can run a little long at close to an hour, but when songs like 'Devil's Concubine' are overwhelmingly filled with ambient sounds, shredding guitars, and melodic vocals that are both catchy and also show their teeth, the longer run time is well worth it.

There are some great songs on this album, and if you like bands such as Thursday, A Static Lullaby, and Poison The Well, you will like these guys. This is a good album, and I'd be curious to check out some of their other work. I know that I read they shift their sound quite a bit, so I am interested to see what their sound has changed from and where it went. As for this album, its a good one, and if you are a fan of any of the bands I mentioned a bit ago, you should check this album out if you haven't already. Stand out tracks are: Rx Contender And The Pretender, Swamp Kittens, Cubic Zirkonias Are Forever, East Of 1989, Devil's Concubine, Head General Hospital
7.5/10

Paper Rival-Dialog

This is a completely different sound than the other album that I was given, and that caught me off guard quite a bit when I started with Hopesfall and then moved over to this one. From the moment I hit play, I was instantly reminded on the opening track of 'Are We Brothers?' of another band I like; Northstar. Not identical, but this opening track definitely sounds like something that band would have made. This had my attention, and I was ready to dive into the album full attention.
In looking into the band's history, I also found out that these guys were from Nashville, so that was instantly some points from me. If an indie band like this can come out of a country central city like Nashville, I find that impressive.

Once the second track comes on, 'Foreign Film Collection', my liking of this band was cemented. Some very simple, but cool sounding guitars laden these songs along with some nice sound effects such as xylophones and carefully placed drums. Later in the album I came to realize that they are a lot more like Death Cab For Cutie than Northstar; but the influence similarities are still there. Despite the simple guitars, what makes this album great is the sonic textures that are skillfully used through each song. There is always something interesting going on in these songs, not just the vocals and lyrics, and its enough to make you get lost in listening to these tracks. There were a couple times I threw this album on with headphones while sitting on my couch late at night, and by the time track 4 'Cassandra' came around, I was zoned out into the album. This song in particular is great, and probably one of my favorites on the album. It has a mandolin bring in the intro of the song; a little bit of their Nashville roots perhaps, and it reappears within the choruses behind the gently plucked guitars and drums. The lyrics of the song are a lot to do with self reflection and looking inwards, and it invokes some dark and sad imagery in your head despite the softer sounds. Its not all laid back though; songs like 'The Family Ghost' are very upbeat and fast, with a haunting chorus saying "You and me were not so different, we both can't feel a thing" and some great guitar work showcasing some of the more energetic sides of this band yet maintaining their rich textured sound and sounding right at home. The song also contains some yelling vocals from the lead singer, which is a departure from the more laid back and rhythmic songs, but still blends well with them as to not feel out of place.

There is a lot of minor key tonalities to this album, but Paper Rival displays such skill in them that they work extremely well. Songs like 'Keep Us In' are catchy and will get stuck in your head, and the songs eventually suck you in and take you on a ride of immersion into their sonically sweet sounds. It seems sadly that this is their only album and they broke up after its release, which is a shame and I hope that they release more in the future. I like this album a lot and would recommend it, and would love to see what a follow up to this sounds like. The closing track 'Weak Sisters' is especially nice, and sends the album off with such a bang that you find yourself wanting more. The album runs for only 43 minutes, making it just the right length of an album this size. If you like Northstar and Death Cab For Cutie, I recommend this one.
Stand out songs are: Are We Brothers?, Foreign Film Collection, Cassandra, An Easy Belief, The Family Ghost, Keep Us In, Weak Sister
9/10

And now some from my friend @anonimito
Conditions- Fluorescent Youth

I was more than happy to dive into Conditions again. Last time I was paired with Anon, I was treated to 'Full Of War' which got a lot of praise from me. I have been slowly digging more into their discography, so I was happy to take on this one. This was their debut album from 2010, and with them announcing after a long hiatus that they were in the studio back on April 27th, what better time to look into their first album. Something I said about this Virginia based band in my last review was that I loved their melody. This post hardcore band has insanely good melodic works, and if you are a fan of bands like Saosin you are going to love these guys if you aren't already into them. Strong melodic vocals, shredding guitars, skilled drums that explode on occasions, a sprinkle of pop punk and insanely great hooks; this band is a force to be reckoned with. From the moment you hear the insanely epic chorus of 'The End Of Progression' on the opening track, I knew this was going to be an album that I loved.

The opening track is a grand way to kick things off, and is an insanely strong start to the album. The guitar in this song is beautiful, the vocals are insanely catchy and get you wanting to sing along as soon as you hear it; and as soon as you hear that grand chorus you are. The chorus is insanely relatable, and it pulls at the heart strings as it deals with the resistance to moving forward in life due to fear of the new and unknown saying " If we already knew who to be. Time is something
That we wouldn't need. One by one, You will lose yourself. As you keep on following, Following footsteps
That lead the wrong direction. One by one, You are fading out, As you're slowly settling. Settling for the same. You play it safe, You end progression". Its truly epic and a song I found myself relating to and coming back to a lot. The following track, 'Better Life', is a 1-2 punch coupled with the opening track; containing lyrics with a lot of passion and heart, and guitars that equally have as much passion to them. Each of these songs has some shine to them, and the album in itself is structured very well. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this album, as each song has something I could highly praise. 'Natural Competition' as a huge over the top banger of a song, for example, with insane soaring vocals. 'Make Them Remember' is a sweet powerful song with so emotion in the lyrics that you cannot help but sing along with "How will you make them remember your name, when everyone here seems exactly the same. But there's so much to give up, don't just throw it away; so go on and make them remember your name" sung in such a powerful grand tone that it makes you pump your fists into the air. '...Made Ghosts' is another powerful song, and that is one thing I am going to say about each of these tracks. All of these songs have such a grand passion to them, you can tell this band gave it their all and put their passion into these songs. There are bangers, there are slower and softer moments, songs about love and loss. There is the heavy such as 'Miss America', and there's the light such as 'Comfort Away'. This album will have you reflecting on life, the paths we take, and the trials we go through; and expresses them in a catchy and melodic manner. 'Illuminati' is a very, very emotional and powerful closing track, and I could not have asked for a better closer to this.

I highly recommend this album. I liked Full Of War, but I think this is my favorite Conditions album. Not only that, this has me fully hyped at the possibility of a return with that post they made back at the end of April. These guys take the best parts of bands like Saosin and Cartel, mix it all together, and produced something extremely beautiful. This may be one of my favorite CMCS recs that I have received, and I will definitely be sharing this album with people I am paired with when I get the chance. If you haven't heard this album and anything I said caught your eye, do yourself a favor and go listen. Stand out tracks: Literally all of them. But if I have to pick favorites, it would be: The End Of Progression, Better Life, Natural Competiton, Make Them Remember, ...Made Ghosts, Comfort Away, Miss America, Illuminati

10/10

Emerson Heart- Beauty In Despair

"If you're reading this then I'm long gone, wish I'd had the strength to prove you wrong. Instead I broke your heart of glass." With these powerful lyrics, the very first lines within the very first track of this album 'The Best That I Can Give', I was exposed to Emerson Heart for the first time. Well, that's not true. He is also the lead singer of the alternative rock band Tonic, but this album is something much different than Tonic. What this album does is take the themes of love, loss, and starting over in the wake of your biggest fall, and turns them into ballads and powerful songs. This is pop rock at its finest, and Emerson uses all the tools in his arsenal to create something delicate and powerful. This actually is not something I normally would have listened to on my own, but that is the beauty of this club, isn't it? Because while its something I wouldn't have listened to on my own, its something I enjoyed listening to multiple times while leading up to writing this review. What you get from here is a powerful pop rock album with emotional themes laced through delicate guitars, emotional vocals, and soft touches throughout each song.

The first two tracks, 'The Best That I Can Give' and 'Who Am I' set the mood nicely for what you are going to hear, with gently plucked guitar chords along with energetic, emotional choruses. There is a sense of serious emotion in these songs, with the fifth track on the album 'Mostly Grey' being one of the major crowning moments of this. These songs are soft, but contain such passion in their lyrics and structure that you cannot help but respect the raw feelings that are coming out from these tracks. Some of these songs seem to have a folk influence to them, while some of them are straight up acoustic rock ballads. There is a warmth to the album in its sincerity and its earnest, and it shines through on each of these songs. There is a polish to each song as well, and songs like 'You Know Who I Am' have this shining brightness to them that work well within the context of the album. The aforementioned song is a powerful song about love, and the lyrics to it are so honest and simplistic; and yet they work so well for what Emerson was going for in this album. There are a lot of songs like that on this album. The songs are made up of acoustic gently plucked guitars, some soft underlying effects such as violins and mandolins, but the true strength is his voice and the power of his lyrics. There are energetic moments, such as 'Another Life', as well; and when they show up they are a breath of fresh air. However that isn't to say that the soft tones that are the majority of this album do not work as well, they really do. Honestly its hard to knock this album with how raw and emotional it is.

As I said before, this isn't something I would have listened to on my own accord normally. I don't know how much I will return to it as well, just because this is such an emotional album that I feel you have to be in a certain mood to listen to it. That being said, I will return to it when the time is right, because the themes of the album are so real that its hard not to relate to them. Its a powerfully raw, mellow, earnest album and a great output. I recommend this to fans of acoustic melodic artists like John Mayer (Whom I do not like, and Emerson bests by miles). Stand out tracks for this album are: The Best That I Can Give, Who Am I, You Know Who I Am, Another Life, Don't Forget Yourself, The Lines

8/10

 

Awesome reviews, @Bad Frequencies! You picked up some of my favorite parts of these albums, which both mean a lot to me.

And...this is the first I'm hearing about Conditions possibly coming back! Whoa! I'm stoked at just the thought of it!

 

Holy shit, I never thought I'd see these guys get talked about. I got into them when they were called Keating before they changed their name. Nice review and glad you liked them!

 

Glad you liked it! Because of their new album I went back and played their other albums and this one struck me as it doesn't get enough credit. You are right, Gone does still jam acoustically!

I don't know if they are all concidered Nu Metal, but there are so many bands I love from that era: P.O.D., Papa Roach, KoRn, Taproot, Sevendust, SOAD, Adema, Linkin Park and Flaw. I feel no shame for spinning these all the time.

 

It's awesome to see them pop-up - I got into them when they were Keating as well. I saw them open for Envy on the Coast and Circa Survive back when Circa was touring their debut. I almost feel like they were ahead of the curve by 5-7 years.

 

Great reviews! That Hopesfall record is one of my favorites. I was never into them when they were more melodic hardcore on The Satellite Years and got into them on A-Types which a lot of people hated due to sound shift. When Magnetic North came out it blew me away with it's ambition and attention to detail. I've also always loved Jay Forrest's lyrics - he;'s always used phrases and wording in a unique way. The more you listen to that record I feel like the more it will really sink in and grab a hold of you. Fun Fact, Daniel Nigro (of As Tall As Lions) is a guest vocal on the last track "Paisley".

Can't wait to hear their new record Abiter when it's out this year.

 

Yeah I caught them opening up for 30 Seconds to Mars at a smaller venue right before they blew up with The Kill. They were awesome and I got them to sign their Thieves EP, the only thing they had out at the time.

 

Last week @Nate_Johnson and I traded. I received the following:

Heavy Things - Glimpse (2018, inVogue)

I started this record attempting to put together a track by track review while listening but it was an utter failure due to the fact that I found this record to be so blah. The intro/opener "Lately" and "Feeding Flowers" were the most exciting tracks and the remainder of the record felt incredibly by-the-numbers. Most of the choruses repeat too often and the songs feel very uninspired. "Feeding Flowers" is borderline upsetting because it's excellent and shows a potential the band doesn't capitalize on. There is certainly glimpses (I meant that) of potential but I feel like they have a lot of work ahead of them.

4/10

Stand Out Tracks: Lately and Feeding Flowers

 

high five to kev for finally diving into some hopesfall

 

He gave it a 7.5 though. That's as low as his rating scale goes

 

Yeah sorry @bradsonemanband but Kevo really hates Hopesfall

 

i tried to not focus on him giving hopesfall the lowest score out of four reviews...

 

Maybe if he ran a bracket for the band, he would find some inspiration!

 

That’s not true. My rating scale goes:
1-2: loathed
3-4: dislike
4-5: meh
6: liked
7-8: liked a lot
9-10: loved

Things that get a 7+ are added into rotation for listening usually.

 

Not true! I don't wanna brag but my recs were rated lower

 

Just for discussion, has anyone rated anything, and since changed their mind or would adjust the rating they gave it?

 

I can personally say that I have changed my mind on Bad Frequencies. I didn't write a review for it but I rated it on the album page.

 

That is precisely why I don’t rate albums!

 

So did your rating go up or down?

 

It went up. I believe I gave it a 7. It sits at about an 8.5 and I don't think it will go up much more but that is still really good and an album I listen to on a regular basis.

 

I did. I first reviewed Matt Skiba & The Sekrets- Kuts and gave it an 8. I bumped it up to a 9

 

I've never listened to Matt Skiba's non Alkaline Trio music and I feel I'm probably missing out. Then again I've also never listened to Alkaline Trio past the first four albums.

 

She’s right. Well the first time we were paired, I gave one a 5 and one a 2.

Second time we paired she faired much better. I’m convinced she did tht on purpose

 

Listen to Kuts, it’s basicaly a more catchy/melodic The Cure with alkaline influences