The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 388

I’m up for it!

 

Painting the ceiling jams

 

@anonimito and I have figured out our exchange:

They’ll be listening to Years & Years - Palo Santo

I’ll be listening to Ryan Star - 11:59

 

Night Verses - From The Gallery Of Sleep (2018)



So @bachna84 gave me this album the other week. I was familiar with Night Verses prior to this rec but I'd not got round to checking out this album (that came out in June). For those that don't know Night Verses are a post rock band from Long Island that was formed from the band members of post rock band The Sound Archives along with Doug Robinson, the vocalist of the Sleeping. This is their first album as a 3 piece after Doug left the band in 2017, after he left they decided not to get a new front man and carry on as an instrumental act.

So I liked their previous efforts with Doug (I'm a big fan of Doug in general as I love The Sleeping) and I knew that the band had decided to carry on as an instrumental act, which I initially thought was a bold move. When I got the chance to review this I grabbed it as I'd been meaning to get round to giving this a listen.

As I expected this album is a bit different from their sound with Doug, as now they don't have a vocalist to fit in around their music and it frees them to take themselves into a much more varied musical journey. It's still mainly based in the post-rock genre but now they don't have any restraints they stray into more prog-metal genres too. This album really showcases just how incredible all 3 band members are, they just play along together so well creating such beautiful landscapes with lots of technical guitar playing interspersed between a superb rhythm section. They know how to pace tracks really well, knowing when to let them breath before their crunching metal sound comes back in, which In turn creates a really interesting listen. The guitarist Nick DePirro really shines on this for me, his technical playing is so good and some of the effects his uses are really interesting. Whenever he's showy it's not in a Steve Vai or Joe Satriani kinda way, it's there for a reason and to help progress the song on, plus he has some killer riffs on this album too which is always a big plus for me.

As it's an instrumental album, it all kind of flows together for me, so on the couple of listens I've given it I haven't paid too much attention to the individual track names to point out my favourites. They only one that properly stood out (and mainly because of the name) was the almost 10 minute long track Phoenix IV: Levitation which carry's on the bands tradition of naming tracks Phoenix. This track is incredible and if you want a taste of what this album is like this would be a perfect intro to showcase what the band does throughout this album.

So I really enjoyed this album, it's full of really great post-rock/metal that ventures of into more proggy territories from time to time. The band members are all on fire here and now they don't have a vocalist it really shows just how incredibly talented the 3 individuals are. This is definitely something I'll be going back to so thanks for the great rec @bachna84

RIYL: And So I Watch You From Afar, 65DaysOfStatic, really impressive instrumental music

 

Sweet, both of these albums are great

 

Well done! I thought this was a really good album and it’s my favorite instrumental album I’ve heard this year so far.

 

This new Foxing album has finally clicked for me. It took a few listens but my god I am loving it now.

 

@teebs41 and I listened to Bon Iver’s self titled album and it makes Foxing’s album make so much more sense. They both make use of space and atmosphere so well.

 

Yeah I can def hear some Bon Iver influence in that album. Also the vocalist reminds me of Caleb from Kings of Leon a little bit too, you know just more indie and less rock influenced.

This album is stunning though, definitely filling that void left by the band we should not speak of. Are their older albums worth going back to?

 

Yes, their first two albums are very good.

 

Yes, they all are very “out of the box” indie rock and the band have sort of created their own genre.

 

That sounds awesome, I’ll have to go give the older ones a try.

 

Me and @SamLevi11 have traded this week

Sam gave me Chamomile by Slowly Slowly

and I gave Sam The Beauty Between by RVIVR

 

The Forecast – In the Shadow of Two Gunmen

The Forecast a mid 2000’s alternative rock band from Illinois. Despite being from up north, they have a Southern American influence and this appears in various country and Southern Rock passages and instrumentals throughout the album.

The album opens with its most radio friendly songs. “Everything We Want to Be” is a Foo Fighters style radio rock song that kicks things off with the male vocalist (I believe Dustin Addis?) singing in quite a Dave Grohl fashion. Following this, “And We All Return to Our Roots” is perhaps the most obvious single on the album, with some pensive verses and loud singalong choruses courtesy of bassist and co-vocalist Marsha Shatterfield that remind me of some of the mid-2000’s pop punk bands like Hey Monday and VerseEmerge. The lyrics talk of only wanting “somewhere to lay my head” and it’s a very homely American Dream style of lyricism that continues in various guises throughout the record. “Some Things Never Change” was also a nice song, more acoustic based, it reminded me of Deaf Havana’s song “Happiness”, only with more of a Southern tinge, which isn’t normally something I am into, but it worked relatively well here.

Later on in the record, the band up the pace with a run of tracks showing their more punk leaning influences. “A Fist Fight for Our Fathers” is a fast track with noodle guitar work and Shatterfield again taking lead vocals. Following this is “Every Gun Makes Its Own Tomb” which sounded like something from the poppier end of Funeral For A Friend’s fantastic second album, Hours. Later, the song “West Coast” is a great song, with a cool Death Cab For Cutie reference in there too.

There are some missteps on the record though. “One Hundred Percent” opens with some vocal melodies that remind me of Mark Hoppus on the slower end of Blink 182’s early material, however the song was a bit too long and it bored me well before the halfway point. Perhaps the biggest issue on this record however is the closer. It starts well, sounding like a more poppy version of the country songs Against Me! often put on their records, however roughly halfway through it becomes a spoken word “poor me” diatribe about how much he doesn’t like being on tour. I dislike spoken word sections a lot, and with this over a harmonica, it was like my kryptonite.

The one song on this I really, really enjoyed more than any other is actually a short acoustic number called “You’re My Needle”, with some slightly cliché lyrics likening a relationship to a drug, however the slow guitar and the haunting vocals really made this a fantastic listen, and at under two minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Overall this album has some good tracks, however I would stay it particularly stands out. I may come back to the odd track but I imagine not the full album

7/10

Cheers to @Anarchivist for the rec, not usually my thing but it was pretty enjoyable

 

Spotted myself having a great time in this pic that The Xcerts tweeted today. It was from their awesome set at 2000 Trees back in July.

 

That’s awesome!!!

 

I was riiiiight at the back haha.

 

@figureitout and I got paired this week and I gave her

Houston Calls - A Collection of Short Stories

and she gave me

Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out

 

Hey guys, I know I haven't been active in this club for a while. Just wanted to say I'm still here and I haven't forgotten about the many reviews I owe since May. In fact, here's a review of an album I got recommended on May 24th by @highfidelity203. This album is A Gentle Reminder by The Jealous Sound.



This is The Jealous Sound's 2nd (and last) album before they broke up. It is an Indie Rock album. It is a style that I like, but I feel like this album could have used a little more diversity. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but it seems like all the songs used the same formula of slow verse, faster chorus, and back to slow verse. It could have used some totally slow or totally faster tracks or just change the formula a bit.

This is my biggest complaint because overall the tracks were good, with some catchy parts. The vocals were pretty good and instrumentally it was great with some fast drumming in some parts.

I enjoyed this album, but the lack of diversity kept me from saying "I want to listen to this again now."

7/10

Favorite tracks: Beautiful Morning, Equilibrium, A Gentle Reminder


I will post my remaining reviews in the coming days.

 

You’ll never love it as much as @teebs41

 

Listening to the Foxing album this morning. It's really damn good.

 

Live Review

Camp Cope @ The Dome, Tuffnell Park, London

Taking place at The Dome last night was the sold out show from Camp Cope, making their first show in England’s capital city a DIY sell out.

Opening the show was Fresh (8), from London itself. Reminding me of a slightly more pop punk leaning version of someone like Charly Bliss, the band rocketed through a set and quite visibly gained fans. Lots of pop melodies and soaring choruses, combined with some great musicianship elevated them far above most opening bands. Singer and guitarist Kathryn Woods was a fantastic front woman, who despite seeming a little shy in front of probably the biggest crowd of their career so far, interacted and told jokes greatly. Even bassist George Phillips’ bass strap breaking mid song couldn’t stop them, as he finished the song sitting down and then carried on with the set by taping it up and carrying on.

Next up, and in the main support role, was Caves (7). A more muscular outfit, this trio played slightly more riff-based and punky music, and were very instrumentally impressive. I did feel they lacked some of the songs of Fresh, but they still put on a good performance and I do think it may have just been the sound and the fact I watched this set from right at the back of the room due to needing a drink.

Camp Cope (9) emerged to a large applause and began with a cover of Green Day’s hit “Warning”. It was a fun start, but considering their short setlist, it was disappointing that this time could have been spent playing a song such as “Stove Lighter” or “Sagan Indiana” that didn’t get a play. After that, they launched into “Jet Fuel Can’t Melt Steel Beams” and “How to Socialise and Make Friends” and hit full steam quickly. The band played brilliantly, with bassist Kelly Hellmrich further proving why she is one of the scenes best bassists, weaving her way expertly throughout the set.

Alongside the music itself, the band had a lot to say too. Before playing the haunting “Face of God”, singer Georgia Maq asked every male in the room to “Go and have a conversation with another man in your life” to talk about sexual assault, stating “It starts with you guys.” It wasn’t all serious though, as she told a funny story before "Footscray Station" about Hellmrich “pissing herself” walking home, and dedicating the song to “anyone who has pissed themselves as an adult, and if you haven’t, you will one day.” It's this balancing act of the serious and the amusing that the band weave in plenty of their songs too and the crowd lapped it up.

"Done" was an obvious highlight, and closing with "Lost (Season One)" and "The Opener", Camp Cope ended with absolute fury, with people shouting the lyrics back. It was a short set, but they packed a lot in, and by curfew there were plenty of people already waiting for them to come back next time.

 

@summertimejesus and I have finalized our trades:

They will be listening to:
Real Friends: Composure

I will be listening to:
Watsky: Cardboard Castles

 

Ok...a quick update on this session's pairings:

@xapplexpiex your partner for this session will be @Patterns in Traffic

@Jim Morgan @Anarchivist Please let me know whether you'd like to be active or benched moving forward!

 

Yo bench me for one week pls, got three reviews to do