The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 371

Thanks Kev, I really loved OOS. It’s between that and the Conditions album for my favourite rec’s you’ve given me so far.

 

Hear that @teebs41 youre in competition with Conditions

 

Alright so this week I was paired with @Davjs and we traded 2 albums. First I was given Sing Me A Fiction - Hole In The Sail


First off this album cover is awesome! Secondly, the bands name is their deal! Each album they put our is a fictitious story told through the songs on the album. The band is from St. Louis and they kinda sound like Envy On The Coast to me a bit. The singer, Adam Smith has got some pipes on him! I'm kinda amazed that I had never heard of them because this album is right up my alley. Soaring vocals, awesome instrumentation, and a story. The story follows a dude who drunkenly falls asleep at a house party and is nautically themed. His dream takes you on a ride through songs about pirates, sirens, love and overcoming self loathing according to the bio of the album. If you like bands like Envy On The Coast, or Circa Survive, or Boys Night Out's album Trainwreck then you need to check this album out. It was an awesome album! Thanks @Davjs for giving me this one, it was worth it!

Fave Song: My Mistress The Sea Pt. 1, The Storm, How Did You Get So Good
RIYL: Envy on the Coast, Circa Survive, Boys Night Out

 

The second album I was given by @Davjs was Bayonet - Self Titled EP


This album features Buddy Nielsen, of Senses Fail and features members from other bands like The Banner, Fit For An Autopsy and Suburban Scum. This EP only has 5 songs and is pretty short but to me this is an excellent hardcore EP. The songs are fast and loud. There is not a whole lot to say about this album except if you like Senses Fail or hardcore bands then you should check it out. It's short so you've got the time! Thanks @Davjs for the trade, I hope you like the albums I gave you.

Fave Songs: Who's Gonna Want Me Now?, New York Minute
RIYL: Senses Fail, Hardcore bands!

 

Glad you liked both of them! I listened to Grade all day today, I'll have my write up soon I got a chance to listen to a little bit of Evny as well!

 

So this week @Davjs and I will be trading.

I will listen to: Matchbox 20 - Yourself or Someone Like You

They will listen to: I Am The Avalanche - Wolverines

 

That Matchbox 20 album is an alt rock classic, looking forward to that review

 

I didn’t realize the last day was yesterday. I’ll post my review tonight.

 

No worries! It’s not a “DO IT NOW OR YOURE OUT” deadline type of thing

 

Yeah if it was that I'd have been gone ages ago. I think the last 3 reviews I've done have been at least a few days late.

 

Raleigh Ritchie
You're A Man Now, Boy
2016



This past session I was paired with @GBlades and he assigned me Raleigh Ritchie's album You're A Man Now, Boy. I was completely unfamiliar with the name Raleigh Ritchie prior to this assignment. @GBlades asked me if I was a Game of Thrones fan (I am) and told me that Raleigh Ritchie is the musical endeavor of Game of Thrones' Grey Worm (portrayed by Jacob Anderson). I was completely unaware that he was involved with music, but at least at that point I was a bit more familiar with this artist.

You're A Man Now, Boy is Raleigh Ritchie's first and only full-length album to date and it was released in February of 2016. I listened to the deluxe version which is quite lengthy at 18 tracks and 72 minutes. There isn't any filler either - each one of the 18 tracks is a full song. There are no intros, interludes, etc. Even though it's a bit long, it doesn't feel like it overstays its welcome. The regular version is 12 tracks. I also didn't notice a drop in quality from the regular version tracks to the deluxe edition bonus tracks.

Wikipedia classifies this album as Alternative R&B which seems like an accurate genre descriptor to me. While this album wasn't out of my "comfort zone", it typically isn't the type of album that I'd seek out as the majority of my listening is music in the rock spectrum - rock, alternative, metal, etc. Having said that, this album is very good and it's something that I can see myself returning to when I'm in the mood for this style of music.

I'm not going to do a track-by-track review since this album is so lengthy, but I'd like to touch on some of its highlights. The first two songs on the album are two of my favorites and I could tell right off the bat that this was an album that I'd enjoy. Werld Is Mine (the typo is intentional!) is really catchy and it has great instrumentation/music/beats. It has a mix of sung and rapped vocals. I like how his accent shows (he's from England) but it's not too distracting that it takes away from the song. The second track Stronger Than Ever is an awesome song with more mixed vocals between sung and rapped. The music is epic sounding and it seems like this is a song that should be in the closing credits of an action movie. I think that this is the song that should have made Raleigh Ritchie blow up worldwide.

The song I Can Change is another highlight for me. He has a really good singing voice that is highlighted by this song's chorus. This is another extremely catchy track that I found myself singing along to the first time I heard it. A couple songs later is The Greatest which is another really catchy, fun song. Some of the songs did tend to blend together for me, but there's really not a bad song in the bunch. Overall, I'd say that there's more singing than rapping on this album - probably something like a 70/30 split if I'm guessing. It definitely works though!

As I said above, this isn't the type of music that I typically listen to, so I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to discussing the music and beats here, but I can say that it's a very catchy album. Probably my favorite song on the album from a musical standpoint was Cowards.

The last two songs on the regular version of the album are the title track and The Last Romance. You're A Man Now, Boy was another of my favorites on the album. I really enjoyed the lyrical theme on this one. Basically it's about growing up and the idea that even though some things are changing , there are things that will stay the same:

Still got the same feet and the same hands
That I did when they made me, little man
But now I wear a suit and tie and Ray Bans
And I've swapped the fizzy drinks out for beer cans
I was a Small Soldier and I still am
Can't say what has changed apart from days and
I loved Jurassic Park, well, I still do
Actually, I'm the same except that now I take a pill or two

The Last Romance is entirely sung and it's a fitting end to the regular version of the record. It has a bit of a gospel feel - like he's singing a hymn. It's again very apparent that Raleigh Ritchie is an immensely talented artist.

The six bonus tracks are tacked on at the end of the regular version and as stated above, there is no noticeable drop in quality (at least not to these ears!). The song Never Say Die was my favorite of the bunch.

I'd highly recommend this to fans of Alternative R&B and hip hop. I'd say that it definitely leans toward the former, but fans of hip hop will likely find something here that they can latch onto. I recommend giving these songs a listen: Werld Is Mine, Stronger Than Ever, Cowards, You're A Man Now Boy, and Never Say Die.

Thank you for this recommendation @GBlades ! I think that I can safely say that I would not have discovered this artist on my own!

If you have 4 minutes to spare, please give this a listen!

 

PSA: The Makari album that came out on Friday is pretty sweet. I think anyone here who digs DGD, Icarus the Owl, Emarosa, etc would enjoy it. Apparently it's the same vocalist from WVNDER.

 

Fantastic review! I thought i'd through something a little "out of the box" into the mix but i'm glad you liked it. It's such a soothing album and Stronger Than Ever is a pretty powerful song. I didn't realise it was the guy from GoT until I heard the previous EP's and looked him up!

 

Listening to the new Snow Patrol. It sounds like an album that was overanalyzed for seven years, but it's growing on me a lot. I always think it's super interesting listening to albums that took a long time to make due to internal turmoil or trying to meticulously craft something to make a big statement. I think I listen to these albums a little more closely and give them a longer leash because I admire the effort that was put forth and it's cool to hear the final product that the artist deemed worthy of release after such a long time.

This is far from a perfect album but I'm excited to keep diving into it.

 

I've really enjoyed the new album, too. I gave it 15 or so listens a few weeks back, and I'm really glad I did.

 

This week I'm trading with @SamLevi11

They'll listen to: The Forecast-In the Shadow of Two Gunmen
I'll listen to: Milk Teeth- Vile Child

 

That Forecast album is pretty good!

 

That forecast album is a good one!

 

I'm looking forward to it to. It's one of my all time favorite albums and have loved it since I was a kid, but I don't even know what I would say about it in a write up haha. "The songs are just good" is where I would land.

 

Way to add the pressure.

 

I'll review whichever album someone suggests first! BE NICE! (oh, and it needs to be less than 40 minutes because i'm going home soon)

 

Do my album

 

ok. link me!

 

Funeral For a Friend - Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation

Edit: god dammit too late haha but yeah it’d be cool to the hear @ComedownMachine album. I’ll check it out too when you post the link