The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 363

Great review and I will check them out! (Wild Party as well!) I see you are fully embracing the sharing of lyrics!

 

Thanks! Wild Party only has one album, unfortunately, but it is probably my favorite pop/rock album of the past five years (maybe more). I recommended it once here but I think it's time to share it some more

I think I've decided if a lyrical passage sticks out to me I'm gonna throw it in there from now on. Seems appropriate!

 

Dave Hause
Bury Me In Philly
2017



I was paired with @Mister Lyrical a couple sessions back and they assigned me Dave Hause's 2017 release Bury Me In Philly. I had heard of Dave Hause before, but I had never listened to any of his music prior to this assignment. As I often do, I did a bit of background research prior to listening and I discovered that Dave Hause is a singer-songwriter who has played in multiple Philadelphia (no surprise there!) area punk and hardcore bands. Currently he sings and plays guitar in The Loved Ones (2006 and 2008 full-length releases) and the supergroup The Falcon (2006 and 2016 full-length releases, although Dave Hause joined the band in 2015 thus only appears on the 2016 release). A quick aside here - The Falcon features Lawrence Arms members Brendan Kelly (guitar and vocals) and Neil Hennessy (drums) in addition to Alkaline Trio's Dan Andriano (bass and vocals) and now Dave Hause (guitar and vocals). It appears that Brendan Kelly is the primary vocalist, but Dan Andriano and Dave Hause perform lead vocal duties from time to time. This is definitely a band that I'll be checking out!

Anyway, back to Dave Hause. Bury Me In Philly is his third solo album, following 2011's Resolutions and 2013's Devour. In early 2013, Hause was signed to Rise Records who re-released his 2011 album and released his two latest albums. Wikipedia gives Dave Hause's genres as punk rock, alternative rock, folk rock, and Americana which I think sums it up quite nicely. It also says that Dave Hause has cited Hot Water Music, Social Distortion, The Ramones, The Clash, and Pearl Jam as influences, among others. While listening to Bury Me In Philly, some of those influences are very apparent.

The album kicks off with the song With You, which is probably my favorite track on it. It's a very catchy song and it has a very authentic feel to it. The chorus is great and it reminds me a bit of artists such as The Menzingers and The Gaslight Anthem. The vocals are very well done and I can absolutely see that the Wikipedia genre descriptions are accurate. The Flinch is next and it's a bit slower paced, but it's still great. It's only two songs in at this point, but the lyrics are already a strong point. This track, like many others on the album, definitely gives off an authentic Americana vibe. My Mistake is another one of my favorites and it has another really catchy chorus. The song gives off lots of 80s vibes to me. The Mermaid is another track that's a bit slower paced. It has strong lyrics and vocals, but this song didn't really do much for me. It's certainly not a bad song (there are no songs on this album that I'd skip) and it's very possible that I connect to this after future listens.

Shaky Jesus and Divine Lorraine are two of my favorite tracks on the album and come at the album's midpoint. Shaky Jesus unsurprisingly has lyrics that touch on religion and it's a very catchy song that contains backing vocals that give the song some nice depth. Divine Lorraine reminds me a lot of The Gaslight Anthem. It's another song that's a bit slower paced, but the chorus is yet again a very catchy one. Up to this point, there have been a few tracks that are a bit slower, but I would not consider them to be ballads. Also, I'd like to say that I found this album to be perfectly sequenced as there isn't a section of the album that had 3 or 4 slower ones in a row.

Dirty Fucker is a catchy song that's fun to sing along to. This is a song that musically and lyrically wouldn't feel out of place on an album by The Darkness. It gives off a lot of older rock and roll vibes. It's a bit tough to put my finger on it, but it's just something that you know it when you hear it. The Ride is next and it features a riff that reminds me a lot of George Michael's Faith. It's not a bad song by any means, but it's one that didn't stand out quite as much to me as most other songs on this album did. Helluva Home is a very catchy song, but possibly a bit over-repetitive. The harmonica at the beginning is a nice touch as well as the backing vocals in this song.

The penultimate track Wild Love is absolutely the slowest track on the album and is its one true ballad. It's strong vocally and lyrically and it leads into the album's closing track (and title track) Bury Me In Philly. Bury Me In Philly is a catchy and uptempo track and it's the perfect sendoff. It also features some interesting lyrics I enjoyed that touch on social media.

All in all, this was a very fun and enjoyable album to listen to! It's a short one at only 11 tracks and 36 minutes in length, so I encourage anyone who likes what they've read to give the whole thing a listen! If you don't want to invest 36 minutes of your time, I recommend checking out the following songs: With You, My Mistake, Shaky Jesus, Divine Lorraine, and Bury Me In Philly.

It's quite a generalization, but I think that most people who frequent this website would enjoy this album or at least find parts of this album that they find enjoyable. Fans of bands such as The Gaslight Anthem, The Menzingers, Hot Water Music, and Social Distortion should eat this up.

I look forward to checking out Dave Hause's two previous solo albums along with albums by The Falcon.

Thank you for the terrific recommendation @Mister Lyrical ! I apologize for being a bit tardy, but I wanted to give this album the time that it deserved!

Listen to this song right now!

 

The lineup of that The Falcoln band is maaaaad.

 

Yes, it is! I can't believe I had never heard of them until recently.

 

I was just recommended this album a couple of days ago and thanks to a slow second half of this week at work (hallelujah) I've had time to listen to it a few times already. I actually have been listening on YouTube since this album doesn't appear to be on streaming services in the US. I anticipate next week picking up quite a bit, so I'm getting ahead of the game and writing this review now. @xapplexpiex has taken me all the way out of my comfort zone by recommending Dir en Grey's 2006 album Withering to Death. Dir en Grey is a Japanese metal band that is actually pretty popular overseas. I've never heard this band, I don't know Japanese, and I don't really listen to metal. What could go wrong? This is why I love this club.



Since I can't really analyze the lyrics and I have no idea how to speak intelligently about metal, please bear with me as I attempt to review this album. In truth, it ended up being very different from what I expected.

This album has a lot of the elements you would expect from metal. Pounding drums with crashing cymbals, heavy riffing and chugging electric guitars, and vocals that vacillate between singing and screaming. Vocalist Kyo has a very versatile voice and several different types of screams. In the first track "Merciless Cult" he enters with almost a whispered and foreboding singing voice that seems to be tremoring. He then transitions into a more full-bodied singing voice and then breaks out a deep and guttural growling scream. On top of this, he mixes in high-pitched screaming like what can be heard in early The Used and similar acts. Despite this music being unmistakably primarily heavy metal, it is obvious that there is pop sensibility here as well. These songs aren't all unrelenting riffs and screamed vocals. There are many sections where the instrumentation is more straightforward rock in nature, and there are choruses that repeat melodies that will get stuck in your head after a few listens (though obviously the language barrier makes it a bit harder for the vocals to fully captivate).

Second track "C" has some great riffs that wouldn't be a out of place if performed by a post-hardcore act like Hawthorne Heights. This song has more singing than screaming and has a nice vocal hook. "Saku" is a brutal, punishing track with double bass and continuously pounding instrumentation. Most of the vocals here are growled or screamed until the chorus, where we finally get some respite and actually hear some falsetto vocals from Kyo. It is obvious that he is a really gifted vocalist.

The next track "Kodokuni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku" marks somewhat of a transition between very metal-influenced stuff and more straight up rock. It has lots of good melody mixed in with the heavier elements. "Jesus Christ R'n R" is a straight up rock track. It has these high backup vocals with riffs that remind me of super early (like self-titled era) Blindside. "Garbage" returns to a more metal sound with lots of screaming and some animalistic noises near the end of the song. "Machiavellism" has a nice anthemic vocal hook in the chorus.

"Dead Tree" is just crazy as it starts out with the most unrelenting and ruthless screaming on the album before moving into a pretty falsetto part. We then get some clean vocals before going back into the screaming and repeating the cycle. "Beautiful Dirt" has this electronic intro that Dir en Grey employ on several of the tracks on the album. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't utilized electronics more in the songs themselves, as they seemed to be relegated to the first few seconds of each song in which they appeared. "Beautiful Dirt" has a few moments of these very hair-metal sounding yells, which are quite entertaining.

"Spilled Milk" is another straightforward rock track that is really enjoyable, and "Higeki wa Mabuta o Oroshita Yasashiki Utsu" is probably the softest song on the album with light instrumentation (acoustic guitars!) and a delicate vocal performance from the always-changing Kyo. Final track "Kodou" has a catchy, clean hook and some really cool instrumental touches with wah-pedal guitars and processed drums. There is some signature screaming in the last minute in a nice climax that leads into a final chorus to close out the record.

I will admit that during the first three songs of my first listen I had a few "OMG what did I sign up for" moments. But after hearing the variety on this album and knowing that there is a lot of well-executed melodic rock, I started to even enjoy the more aggressive elements, knowing that they weren't the only thing I would hear for the 51 minutes of the album. This is most definitely not what I normally gravitate to, and due in part to the language barrier I don't know how often I'll revisit Dir en Grey. However, I can honestly say that I enjoyed my time with this album and had a fun experience being pleasantly surprised by all of the different sounds it brought to the table. I very much appreciate you exposing me to this unique and memorable album, @xapplexpiex!

 

Awesome review! I like how you analyzed it. But you covered almost every track except The Final, which is epic and the one most people not fans of the genre love. They’re also in the genre called visual kei, which are Japanese bands (pop, rock, and all genres) dress up in costumes and use theatrical elements in performances and music videos. I like acts like Manson, Lady Gaga, and MCR partially for this reason, so that’s cool.
I’m glad you liked it! I plan on listening to yours after I finish @Bad Frequencies bonus review.

 

Wait. I’m pretty sure this is on Apple Music, that’s how I listen to it. If you use Spotify, idk if it’s on there though.

 

Thanks! Haha I try not to do a track-by-track for every song, so if there's one that doesn't offer an element that I haven't already touched on in the review I sometimes don't mention it. I did like The Final a lot though! Definitely one of the stronger songs on the album, I just didn't hear anything that I thought would add anything new to my analysis.

I use Google Play Music, and it's not on there. Usually the library is just as good as Apple/Spotify, but every once in a while I'll come across something that is on those services and not Google. Frustrating.

 

Did I miss a pairing for the next round?

 

@Mister Lyrical it looks like you were left off

 

If @Bad Frequencies hasn't exchanged albums with his second partner yet, maybe you could take them on instead?

 

Some great reviews on this page, awesome work everyone.

I’ll echo the Falcon love, both albums are really great. Same with The Loved Ones albums Dave did.

 

@Mister Lyrical you and I can trade.

 

Good album! This was the first album they gave in this club to me too! Lol

 

I apologize! I didn’t switch you from Benched list to Active. I have fixed it going forward.

This works

 

So that album can only be recommended 8 more times until it's retired!

;)

 

I'm only doing 1 album on the 30th and can do another if anyone else has any they wanna catch up on and I can trade with @Mister Lyrical , @Nate_Johnson ?

 

Sure! Let’s do it!

 

So i'll take @Mister Lyrical next round? If they are alright with it, too! I promise i'm not gonna be that bad.....

 

We just traded but you can also trade with him!

 

That's fine, i'l leave it as is and not overburden anyone for now :)

 

Here's another addition of "listening to an artist I've never heard of before". It's a late review, but this week I listened to:

Kate Nash - Girl Talk



Right off the bat I have to say that as a fan of bass, this album is full of some great and groovin bass lines. In most of the songs the bass is what drives the song with guitar coming in and out to just add to it. Since I had never heard of Kate before, I looked up details about the album and she actually plays the bass on these songs (as well as guitar and some drums), so my hat is off to her!

I got the wrong impression of Kate Nash off the bat though due to the album opener Part Heart, a song that starts slow paced with the most simple of instrumentation that had me thinking the whole album was going to be in the same style, but I was tricked! It was actually a slow building song with the guitar coming in with random high distorted strums a minute in, building until the full band kicks in.

The next track Fri-end? is a faster paced song that had kinda of a punk feel to it. This album had a lot of surprises like that for me, it was nice not know what was going to come next. Overall this album is a mix of Indie, Pop and Punk. One of my favorite tracks from the album OHMYGOD! has some really laid back verses with just heavy basslines that kick into some really poppy fast choruses. I did tend to learn more towards liking the faster paced songs more like 3AM, Cherry Pickin and Conventional Girl.

Lyrical wise this, this album seems really personally so most songs I can’t relate to, but everything is well done and she delivers everything nicely. The production of her vocals makes it seem really raw which fit the songs really well. For me it gave it more of a punk/garage band type of feel which I liked.

Thank you @summertimejesus it’s really nice to go outside my box sometimes and listen to something I never would have gotten around to on my own.

Highlights: Conventional Girl, OHMYGOD!, All Talk

EDIT: I gotta give a shout out to the final track Lullaby for an Insomniac, which is an all acapella track until the last minute in a half, where the vocals stop and an all string musical piece kicks in. Pretty cool and unique way to end an album if you ask me.

 

Awesome review! I'm glad you came around to it. It was a bit of a grower for me, but most of my favorite albums were too.

 

Last week I was paired with @Patterns in Traffic, who recommended DRMCTHR's debut album, Hold Your Love. This was my first exposure to the band.



Hold Your Love is a solid alt-pop record. I was initially drawn in by the instrumentation; The pulsing, driving rhythm section keeps the album rolling along while the busy guitar work adds an urgent atmosphere to each track. All this pairs very well with vocalist, Chelsea Tyler's melodic delivery and melancholic lyrics. Having dug into their previous efforts, I feel like this record is a big step in the right direction.

For better or worse, the band seems to stick to what works for them. The midsection of the record drug on a bit too long for my taste and I kept thinking that this may have worked better as an EP. I didn't dislike anything I heard throughout the album, I just felt as if it was a straight trip to the finish line with very little twists and turns to break up the pacing.

I'd recommend the record if you dig bands like Metric, Shiny Toy Guns, Tegan and Sara or the guitar work of Circa Survive.
The standout tracks for me were In My Head, Sunshine, and Believe .

I'm positive this record will grow on me with more time, and I'll definitely return to it. Thanks @Patterns in Traffic for the recommendation.