Finished listening to all my recs this week from @JoshShulkin and @bachna84 Will be writing up and posting my thoughts this evening.
I've also finished listening to all @skurt's recs. I wanna give them each a few more listens before I do a write up, but I can say that Half Moon Run's album was my personal favorite of the two.
I'm off to a music festival this weekend so I'm going to get my rambled thoughts for round 2 of the Music Club down now. I was paired with @Matthewconte who recommended I check out; Old 97's - Too Far to Care (1997) - This is a band I'd never even heard off before (even though they have been around 20 odd years, country isn't my normal wheelhouse) so I wasn't really sure what to expect but it's a damn fine alt-country record. It's start's with a bang with the song Timebomb (not a Rancid cover), a fast, foot-stomping number driven along by the singers Southern howl. This is a cracking track which will probably find it's way onto a few of my Spotify playlist's and while the rest of the album doesn't quite hit the same heights there's a lot enjoy here. Other standout tracks include the songs Big Brown Eyes, W. TX. Teardrops and Salome which is one of the slower tracks on the album. This isn't really a pure country record, there's shade's of folk, rockabilly and even some punk thrown in there (the last song even features Exene Crevenka from X). It's also helluva catchy and you find yourself singing along after only a few listens. Overall, this isn't something I'd normally check out but I'm glad I did and it's something I'll definitely listen to again, I'll probably even check out some of the bands other albums. Cheers Matthew!
@skurt assigned me 2 albums this week and here are my thoughts for one of them! Half Moon Run Sun Leads Me On 2015 I have seen this band mentioned on the site before, but hadn't heard anything by them prior to this so I didn't really know what to expect. This is the second (and most recent) studio album from the Canadian band. I would classify them as alternative or indie rock. Some of their songs have a bit of folk sprinkled in. This is a really nice sounding record - I thought the vocals were great. Some of the vocals in certain parts reminded me a bit of Muse and Radiohead. The harmonies and the melodies were spot on. Musically, the album was really good as well. For the most part, it is a relatively quiet album. The standout tracks to me (so far) are Consider Yourself and Everybody Wants. Overall, a very pleasant listening experience. I could see putting this on when I want something calm and relaxing to listen to. I will have to check out their debut album too!
Awesome man! Glad you enjoyed it, it is a fairly quiet record. Your standouts are the same as mine but I would add Hands in the Garden.
Week 2 Thoughts:Partner 1 @JoshShulkin @JoshShulkin recommended me 2 albums to check out this week, here are my thoughts on them. Path Metheny- Bright Sized Life This is a jazz record and outside of my general comfort zone/realm of what I listen to, but in the spirit of the club I was willing to give it a shot and went in open-minded. This record didn’t really grip me or really ever pull me in fully, it was just something playing. He is clearly an extremely talented musician, there’s lots of cool instrumentals, and the scale work is impressive. It just wasn’t overall my thing, and probably not something I’ll return to. My favourite track was Bright Sized Life. Speedy Ortiz- Foil Deer Now this record had me fully engrossed from the first note, it was definitely right up my alley and I knew instantly I was going to have a great time. The lead singer Sadie has an absolutely beautiful voice that is just so perfectly suited to the instrumentation it’s hard not to smile and dance in your seat. This is a total jam album for me, every song is just a pure jam and it’s such a fun enjoyable listen. I’ve listened to it 6 times in full so far, and every time feels like the first, I also checked out their other releases and loved them. I told @JoshShulkin in a DM earlier that yesterday I was having a rough/moody day and this album cheered me up. Standout Tracks: Raising The Skate, Swell Content & My Dead Girl
Week 2 Thoughts: Partner 2 @bachna84 @bachna84 recommended me 2 albums as well this week, while I had never heard either of these albums before listening to them was more of a nostalgic listen. It brought back those memories of high school when I jammed this type of stuff non-stop go to local metal/hardcore shows every weekend and just act silly with “the crew”. It wasn’t all sunshine and roses however, it also brought back the gross memory of seeing Emmure live and being excited about it. Dead Poetic - Four Wall Blackmail (2002) This album didn’t start out the way I had imagined it starting out based on the band/album, it starts off with the track Burgundy and starts with immediate melodic vocals. I feel this was a fantastic way to open the album. I really did enjoy the listen and thought the whole record was solid front-to-back, I would definitely listen again and look forward to check out the rest of their records. Standout Tracks: Burgundy, Bliss Tearing Eyes & Four Wall Blackmail As Cities Burn “Come Now Sleep” This record was definitely my favourite of bachna’s recommendations by far, I love the vocal delivery on this album so much. The highly relatable lyrical content really gripped me in and the lyrics seem so honest. I loved every song instantaneously and I have listened to it a bunch of times since. The instrumentation is just top notch and the vocals fit so well in it. Standout Tracks: Empire, New Sun, Wrong Body
@JoshShulkin Here is a photo of me listening to that Pat Metheny album, just thought you'd like to see.
The harmonies on this Half Moon Run record are stunning. And I swear he channels Bends-era Thom Yorke with some of these vocals