The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 326

Great review! I’m really glad you enjoyed it!

 

Glad you enjoyed the listen!

I still owe like four reviews in here, things have been absolutely insane the past few months and I am preparing to move across the world in mid-August, but I promise I will get around to it sooner rather than later :)

 

I can't dedicate the time right now since I've just started a new job but give it a couple of weeks and i'll be here :)

 

The second album that was recommended to me by @Bad Frequencies was the 2012 album Bones by English alternative rock band Young Guns. This is a band I had not heard of before but apparently they are pretty big, with previous opening spots on tours with Bon Jovi and Guns 'n Roses. The band started in 2008 and have released a few albums and EP's. This particular album had five singles released with the song Bones being the most popular. I enjoyed this album and will definitely check out their other stuff as well. If you like just good rock music you will dig these guys. One of the other cool things is that the song Bones was used as a theme song for WWE's WrestleMania 29, so 2 out of the 3 albums recommended to me have some ties to wrestling, and I cant ask for more than that!

RIYL: We Are The Ocean, Fightstar, Funeral For A Friend
Fave Tracks: Bones, Learn My Lesson, Headlights

 

We highly anticipate your time, and congrats on the new job

 

Alright everyone!! It’s that time again! Here’s a peak at who you will be paired with NEXT WEEK! It’s a bit light this time, had a bunch of people needing next week off for personal stuff

CMCS SESSION
06/25-07/02

@Bad Frequencies // @Micool1

@anonimito // @Patterns in Traffic

@bachna84 // @edisnfg

@cshadows2887 // @Kiana

@Nate_Johnson // @Chase Tremaine

@jorbjorb // @disambigujason

@highfidelity203 // @CSWAPPO

@Anthony Brooks // @ugman_2000

@teebs41 // @JRGComedy

@ejsz // @circasurviver


If I forgot you or you want to be on next week’s session let me know!

 

Omg I forgot about last (I guess this?) week's! Listened but still need to write it up!

 

Still haven't gotten my review written for last week!
I'll get it done for tomorrow!

 

I’m still on holiday in Greece atm (its bloody lovely here) so only checking in every couple of days.

There’s been some awesome reviews in here in the last page or two, it’s been great reading through catching up on them. Love the fact that both Lights and Carly got rec’d, Emotion is definitely my fav pop album from the last 5 years.

 

Do you need out of next week or will you be back by then

 

It’s cool to leave me in, I’m back Tuesday so at the very least I can squeeze one album in next week.

 

Ill take @Anthony Brooks if @ugman_2000 can't do it

 

As you’ve probably seen I’m good to do it this week but thanks anyway Nate

 

No worries! I'm still waiting to get paired with you again. I think @Bad Frequencies is holding out on us.

 

Blame the RNG

 

It’s pretty impressive we’ve not been paired up yet. I think a side trade might have to happen soon once I’m back home haha.

 

The Republic of Wolves - Varuna



This marks another band that I had heard of but never heard a single song they have done, which I kind of like because I have no idea what I’m in for until I press play.

This album was a very chill experience that I enjoyed quite a bit. There wasn’t a ton of variety in the songs but at the same time the instrumentation on the songs were really well done. Most tracks have a very haunting vibe to it with nice music build up. I don’t want to bring up he who shall not be named, but I got major Brand New vibes from a lot of these tracks and the singer’s voice reminded me of Jesse’s as well, which wasn’t a bad thing for me since it kind of scratched an itch I’ve had.

This is a pretty long album (one song is over 7 mins long) but it never felt like it was dragging. The track listing mixed it up enough between the more faster paced songs like Green Fire and the lighter Pitch and Resin and The Attic. The final track Tashbish brings everything home nicely with a slow burner, featuring a lot of distorted vocals and instruments mixing in with ambient noises. This album is definitely the type that requires a full listen through as opposed to pulling tracks from it on their own.

This was a great listen all week and I was noticing new things about each song on each listen. I saw this album was released in 2010 and they have had a lot of releases since then, so I have some catching up to do. Thanks @highfidelity203 !!!

Hightlights: Greek Fire, Oarsman, You Missed the Point



I know I am behind as this was from two weeks ago. I have yours coming next week @disambigujason, I have a wedding to shoot tomorrow and then Sunday, probably sleeping all day Sunday and will listen to yours at work throughout the week and do my write up!

 

Should hopefully be next week so I'll give the rules a look over at the weekend and see what they are and let you know. Got a good few that can be recommended that I feel this group would have a good review/stance on.

 

And finally the third album the @Bad Frequencies recommended me was the self titled album by super group Saint Asonia. This band consists of ex-members of some pretty heavy hitters. We have the ex-singer of Three Days Grace, the ex-guitarist of Staind, the ex-bassist of Dark New Day and the ex-drummer of Finger Eleven. Unfortunately, a bunch of ex-members failed to make an impression on this album to me, and I prefer their ex-bands to this one. It all sounded lke one long song to me and nothing really stood out to be honest. I think that this music just isn't my cup of tea to be honest. But that being said, I did enjoy the other 2 recommendations by @Bad Frequencies, and look forward to trying some more music out in the future. Not everyone is going to like every band/album recommended to the I think, and that's ok.

RIYL: Three Days Grace, Staind, Finger Eleven
Fave Tracks: didn't really have one :(

 

Niiiice! I think you’ll fit right in!!

2/3 ain’t bad lol. You are right not everyone will like every album. And I know the Saint Asonia album is a mixed reaction around here. I’ve met people who love it (like @skurt and I) some who just like it (@bachna84 ) and some who didn’t. It’s all over reaction wise lol

 

Hey I’d like to start participating in this. What do I gotta do?

 

First, you must head out into the wilderness and camp there surviving off only the land and music listening. Then, you must climb into the Colorado Rockies and look for an ancient artifact known as the Golden Vinyl, in which you will take to the silver turn table in South Africa. Then....



I’m kidding, saying you want In is alll you gotta do. @Nate_Johnson want another partner next week??

 

Hey, you can send me a DM to get started and we will chat!

 

My education is almost complete! I was paired with @Bad Frequencies this week and he recommended The Silence in Black and White, the 2004 debut album by Hawthorne Heights and one of the final two HH albums that I haven't experienced as a direct result of Kevo in my life. Follow me back in time and let's see where it all began, shall we?



"Life on Standby" opens the album and it actually draws very heavily from emo with guitar picking in the verses, JT Woodruff's delivery, which seems more delicate than in the band's later work, and some of the melodies. We get a good amount of Casey Calvert's unclean vocals on this track, and they are heavily featured in the bridge/outro. Something that surprised me was I assumed the band was at their heaviest on their first album, but despite a higher concentration of screamed vocals I didn't find this album particularly heavy, musically speaking.

"Dissolve and Decay" brings in even more screaming vocals, and may in fact have more screamed than clean vocals. The song shifts from loud and abrasive to soft and contemplative in the bridge, and then back again for the last minute or so. Kind of cool to see them reverse the more common template of a heavy breakdown in the bridge.

"Niki FM" is up next, and I recognize this song as a single from back in the day. It's got a pretty nice anthemic hook, and it's easy to see why it was a single, but at the same time it feels a bit lacking knowing the kind of hooks the band would progress to writing later in their career. "The Transition" actually reminded me of early Finch in parts, though as a whole this song didn't grab me as much as some of the others on the album.

"Silver Bullet" is a solid high-energy track in the middle of the album with a good mix of clean and unclean vocals. Sitting at track eight is the well-known "Ohio Is for Lovers," which is a clear standout in the context of the album. Even the production on this song somehow sounds sharper than a lot of the other tracks, and I wonder how it didn't end up earlier in the tracklist when it is so obviously tailor-made to be a single. The refrain of "Cut my wrists and black my eyes" has become somewhat of a punchline among those who don't care for the band, but damn if it isn't catchy in the context of this song.

At the end of the album, "Sandpaper and Silk" executes the quiet-loud dynamic well, alternating between crunchy electric guitars and softly-picked twinkly parts. Closer "Speeding Up the Octaves" also has some excellent guitar work and a chorus that hints at what the band would write in the future.

This is a really interesting album that shows the potential of a band who would eventually stretch themselves in many different musical directions over the course of their career to date. While there are some songs on here that don't stand out too much, particularly in the middle of the album, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this on its own merits. When making this album, Hawthorne Heights had not yet developed into what they would eventually become, but this is by no means an embarrassing or underdeveloped debut album. It is clear that the band had pretty strong musical chops and a good ear for melody from the very beginning.