The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 392

To Plant a Seed is an amazing album!

 

Yeah I remember REALLY enjoying it back in like 2010 when they were one of the main up and coming metalcore bands.

 

@SamLevi11 I was hoping to have your review up today as well mate but it's looking like it'll be tomorrow now. My landlord text me about coming round tomorrow so I've been blitzing my flat most of the day, which took longer than I anticipated.

 

That's okay, absolutely no rush. Just do when you have the time spare, it's not homework :)

 

So @xapplexpiex and I have traded.

They will listen to Remo Drive - Greatest Hits

I will listen to Rise Against - Sufferer and the Witness

 

Oh man, you haven’t heard Sufferer. That albums incredible.

 

Also really looking forward to hearing @Patterns in Traffic review of Dirt. That albums one of my all time favs.

I’ve not heard the other two bands rec’d today so I’ll have to check them out this week.

 

Yeah I know singles from Rise Against, and I've heard the album Siren Song of the Counter Culture, but no other albums. This should be fun.

 

I’m going to make a list of some of the better Risecore bands.

Off hand I can think of We Came As Romans, The Devil Wears Prada and later Attack Attack which turned into Beartooth.

 

I’ve traded with @anonimito this week

They’ve given me Thrice’s new album Palms

I’ve given them The Black Queen’s debut album Fever Daydream.

 

Damn I guess I should do my reviews faster to come back because that really isn't much people...

 

Numbers have definitely been on the decline, but I don’t really know how to change that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I’m not really sure if the “catch up week” was worthwhile since there were only a handful of people that used the week to catch up.

I guess we can try to have another one in a few sessions.

 

Are you coming back next week?

 

If we have an odd number of people, I’m benching myself going forward

 

I may need to do the same. It isn't fair for me to be sitting on all these reviews. I had every intention of catching up this weekend but a certain hurricane decided to ruin all that plus we are finalizing everything on our new house which closes next month.

Yeah, this will be my last week for a while until my life settles out a bit. I love this club but I need to be fair to myself and the people I am partnered with. I have every intention of writing all my reviews of course.

Maybe we need to shelve the club in general for a bit?

 

I’ll leave that ultimate decision to @Bad Frequencies but that may be something to consider.

I’m not done writing reviews...it just didn’t make sense this week with 7 people - it would’ve meant someone taking on multiple partners which is a bit counterintuitive when we’re trying to catch up!

 

RIP

 

I don't think it's done. I think the club just needs a well deserved break. This year has been insane with new releases and fantastic ones at that and people deserve a chance to catch up on those as well. I know for me personally, that is the case along with things in life that are my own doing (looks at my 3 month old) and out of my control (looks out the window at the river in my backyard).

 

ATTENTION CMCS MEMBERS


After much discussion with the staff, it appears that many of our members are very behind and unable to keep up. Because of this, we are suspending the CMCS until the second week of November.

THIS IS NOT THE END OF CMCS. We will come back in time for the club’s one year anniversary, and in the interim the staff and myself will be brainstorming on ways to improve the CMCS experience and make it more enjoyable and manageable for the members. Keep your eyes peeled here for news. We will return better, stronger, and more fun.

In the meantime feel free to catch up on your reviews if you wish, and simply use this thread to chat and keep in touch with one another. Just remember WE WILL BE BACK in November!

 

@Patterns in Traffic and I traded and they gave me:
The Working Title: Bone Island (2014) Shrimp Records




The Working Title is a band from Charleston, South Carolina and is the moniker of Joel Hamilton, who is also essentially the sole writer for the band during this albums' creation. The last album by a full band was 2006's About-Face. After that album, most of the band members went off to pursue other careers, etc.

The first thing you will notice about this album upon your first listen is how diverse it is. It was a little difficult to truly grasp what sound he was going for initially but upon repeat listens the album flushes out rather nicely. You can see what bands influenced Joel but at the same time he is confident and skilled enough to give his "band" it's own identity. I did not listen to the previous record but was told it falls more in line with pop rock and is far more polished production wise than this album. One of this albums high's is how honest and open it is, showcasing his true talent. Sound wise this album sits somewhere in the realm of indie rock and folk rock for the most part reminding me of bands such as Bright Eyes, Death Cab for Cutie and Ben Folds. Then he throws us a curve ball and brings out a song that reminds me so much of MUSE (Physical Love), which is actually the opener so that really threw me off. Then on a song like Wolf, he goes into AWOLNATION territory with an almost shouting vocally delivery and a mix of folk and electronics. He can also go all shoegaze on us with jangly and glistening guitars (Sugar for my Sugar).

In my personal opinion, he truly shines when he sits in that sweet spot nestled between indie and folk rock with a slight country feel to it. These are where all my favorite songs from the record fall and I love how honest his vocals delivery is at times in that it quivers like that of Conor Oberst. As I have gotten older my musical tastes have definitely shifted and I see how powerful and important country music is. I love the storytelling aspect of it and how it elicits certain memories. Sure, any style of music can do that, but for me personally I think country music is just so great at taking us along for the ride, like a good book.

I didn't find a lot of information on this album online so I couldn't figure out who the rest of the members of the band were or if Joel played all the instruments but it is fantastic. I especially loved the rhythm section with the drum and bass being the highlight of many songs. Also, many of the songs would translate so well live and could turn into these all out jam sessions. What I did find out though was that this band has toured with so many bands that this site adores: Circa Survive, Mae, Mutemath, Counting Crows, Copeland, mewithoutYou, Our Lady Peace and Goo Goo Dolls to name a few.

I think any fan of indie or folk rock would love this record and believe there is definitely enough diversity mixed in to keep it fresh. I will be listening to this quite a bit and can't wait to check out the previous album. Thanks @Patterns in Traffic for this great recommendation!

RIYL:
Bright Eyes
Ben Folds
Death Cab for Cutie

Favorite Songs:
Followed
Arms and Thighs (Beautiful duet/ballad with a great country feel to it and the inclusion of female vocals)
Someone Else
Listen Read Decide ​

 

Great great review! As we discussed this is one of my favorite albums of all time as it hit me when I was spending a month in South Carolina in the summer of '09. It has this eerie mood and just feels like the summer heat of the South, not just because of my personal experience but also because Hamilton wrote and recorded it in Charleston. The influence of the city is all over the sound. This album is so unique, varied, quirky, and hooky, and the songwriting is really awesome especially as you get to know the songs better. There are some tracks that I really didn't care for at first, but each one quickly grew on me. Every year I listen to this album during the first drive where I can really feel the summer sun. It takes me right back to that summer and is a perfect ritual to kick off the season.

This "solo" album is such a big departure from the Dashboard-esque pop sheen of their first album (also very good for different reasons) that most existing fans of the band really hated it. Unfortunately it didn't have the kind of promotion to bring in the new fans that this record deserves. There was actually once a very positive review of this album on AP but now it is probably lost in cyberspace.

Also The Republic of Wolves did an acoustic cover of "Someone Else" on a covers comp from January of this year. This totally validated my love for this album that I thought no one else knew existed.

 

After a bit of thought, I've decided to formally step away from CMCS.

I've had a good run in here with nearly 60 reviews written and I feel like I've given my all to the group. However, there's a large backlog of albums that I would like to get to moving forward and with a busy family and professional life I don't feel that I'd be able to devote myself here as I've done in the past.

I wish you all the best moving forward!

 

End of an era. Bye bye mr vice president.