The Chorus Music Club Society • Page 57

A+ this is fun.

 

@ChaseTx if you liked the singer of American gospel check out the cartographer ep by republic of wolves; he does vocals on that record

 

Haha glad you like. Welcome to the club. You as well @elemenohpe

 

Welcome to the family @AelNire & @elemenohpe

 

Cool, I'll check it out

 

Carrytheweird recommended Alex I, Sonfire - Watch Out!!!

It took me a few listens to get through this album. Not because it is bad, but because it does not fall into my usual genres. It's also incredibly dense and heavy. That said, I did find some parts about it to latch onto that I enjoyed!

First, the production is very, very good. There's a certain spacey quality to a lot of the songs and heavier music that also has room to breathe is underutilized within the genre. The vocalist is good; the screams make my throat hurt. I also liked the subjects of the songs themselves. Once I found out that "Hey, It's Your Funeral Mama," was about go-kart racing, I enjoyed it that much more!

 

I’ve never seen their name typed out like that...

 

I apologise for posting my thoughts on session 3's albums so late. I'll try to be much more timely this week! For session 3, @Larry David recommended these two totally different, but great, albums:

Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions (2009)
Biffy Clyro is one of those bands I've known of for a long time and never spent enough time with. I heard their 2016 album "Ellipsis" when it was released, and wasn't overly impressed. I'm happy to say that "Only Revolutions" is a much more enjoyable listen for me! I'm such a sucker for keyboards in rock music, so they had me hooked throughout the whole album. I was also happy to hear horns, and electronic flourishes. The songs themselves are anthemic and Only Revolutions is a coherent, fun listen. Had me bopping in my seat while listening.
Standout tracks: "The Captain", "God & Satan", "Know Your Quarry"

Posture & The Grizzly - I Am Satan (2016)
Uhhh, why didn't I know about this band last year?! The guitar melodies are warm and pretty, the vocals are awesome - extremely emotional and strong. Packing the music itself, vocals and lyrics together, this album invokes all your adolescent anger and anxiety, and then some. The production also allows every element here to shine. Very reminiscent of early 2000s emo. I can't wait to dig into the rest of their music.
Standout tracks: "I Am Not A Real Doctor", "Shooting Sparks", "Acid Bomb"

 

@ComedownMachine and I are paired this week! He will listen to:

Angel Olsen - My Woman
Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool

I'll listen to:

Julian Casablancas + The Voidz- Tyranny
Comeback EP - No Hope Kids

 

So me and @Colin Your Enthusiasm have agreed on our albums.

I will be listening to Paper Rival - Dialog

He will be listening to The Almost - Fear Inside Our Bones

 

@angrycandy recommended to me:

Liars - Mess
So this was out of my usual wheelhouse which was awesome because that's part of the appeal of this club for me. It's an electronic pop album, sort of what I thought I was gonna get the one time I listened to Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective not too long ago. Most of the electronic stuff I'm familiar with (which is admittedly not a ton) eschews song structures in favor of more ambient or droney songs. It was very cool to see this be focused on textures but still be actual songs, most of which were very danceable. The songs themselves straddled this line between being aggressive (!) and a bit anxiety driven, which I didn't expect at all. The vocals were utilized pretty sparingly but constituted cool hooks whenever they were dropped in. Vox Detuned D.e.d, pro anti anti, and mess on a mission were probably my favorite tracks. I think I'll probably be coming back to this, both because I liked it and because it felt like there were layers that I didn't necessarily completely uncover.

Young Thug - Jeffrey
This was very much the more accessible album of the two. Like the previous album, I was completely unfamiliar with the artist, though I would say I'm more acquainted with the genre than I am with electronic stuff. In diving into hip hop I took a sort of backwards forward approach, so I'm much more used to older styles of hip hop/classics than modern. With that being said, the very first thing that struck me were the vocals. I don't know if there were a ton of people in each song, but if there weren't then Young Thug has the most elastic voice I've heard in rap so far; dude can literally sound like anything it seemed like, and it was very impressive. The second defining characteristic is how much fun it was. It felt like every single line was a hook, every song catchy but not annoyingly so. I think this works as a double edged sword though. It was so easy to just play this straight through and enjoy it all that I didn't necessarily get acquainted with each song individually. One thing I appreciated is that despite rap seeming from an outside perspective to be a singles genre, the album was devoid of bloat or filler songs, very lean. I'll check out what he does next for sure, and I'm interested in finding out how he fits into the current rap culture.

Thanks a lot for the recs dude, you're 2/2.

Bonus:
I also listened to the Mars Volta's Deloused in the Comatorium on someone's general recommendation (sry I forgot who). Knowing these dudes primarily from atdi, I was surprised to see that the energy and rawness of that band was still intact on this album, and the Prog elements that were hinted at by their previous band were a stepping stone to some real experimental stuff. The modal melodies that I was used to from them are still here and even more jagged and strange, but just as compelling. Cedric actually sings on this album and he sounds completely different. This was very cool, I'll check out more of tmv for sure.

 

I didn't get to wolves @WolvesAreCircling182 but I will this week most likely

 

You’ll be glad you did

 

@Raditz and myself are paired up for this next round.

@Raditz will be listening to:
Polar Bear Club - Clash Battle Guilt Pride
A Wilhelm Scream - Partycrasher


I will be listening to:
Dead By Sunrise- Out Of Ashes
A Static Lullaby- And Dont Forget To Breathe

 

okay for this week I'll be doing Ledges by Noah Gundersen and @dadbolt will be do Ballad Of The Broken Seas by Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell

 

PBC! I saw them open for TBS once. Always meant to check them out they impressed me

 

I wish they were still around. Still sad thinking about what happened to Jimmy's vocals. He had such a strong voice.

 

Wanna give my recc’s from @JoshShulkin another play or two each before I give my thoughts.

 

It was me!

Glad you liked it. You should check out Frances the mute too as that's my 2nd favorite TMV album. Both of those were so good. Favorite track on Frances is L' Via l'Viaquez just perfect, the production value is amazing too. I listen to these 2 albums all the time.

 

I actually own Frances the Mute on CD (I bought it and the three Sparta albums at the same time in a thrift store) and I wanted to wait til I listened to Deloused before I put it on, so I have no excuse now. I'll check that one out asap bc I'm all about Deloused haha

 

I was recommended 3 albums for week 3 by @navidson. Had an enjoyable time with all three.

Elliott - False Cathedrals (2000)
I had never heard of Elliott, but my brief research before listening told me they were a late-'90s/early-'00s post-hardcore band. I was immediately surprised during my first listen at the absence of loud guitars or aggressive vocals. This is much more in the vein of '90s emo like The Promise Ring, Texas Is the Reason, or early JEW. It has that familiar production that is common in records from that genre at the time - warm and a bit subdued. The band incorporates piano into their sound really beautifully on a few tracks, notably the first song (after the intro track) "Calm Americans," which reminded me a bit of Copeland. There is undoubtedly a lot to like on this record if you enjoy this style of music, but I had a few criticisms as well. It's a long listen at 51 minutes, and most of the 12 tracks are between 4:30 and 5:30 in length. The songs started to run together for me as I progressed through my listens, as there isn't a ton of variation in style or energy and the hooks aren't very immediate. However, I do think it's a grower. On my second and third listens, I was picking up on rewarding moments and the songs were separating themselves a bit more. I can definitely see this record blossoming with repeat listens and finding an audience in this scene. I'm surprised I hadn't heard about this band earlier!

Standout Tracks: Calm Americans, Blessed by Your Own Ghost, Lipstick Stigmata

Sense Field - Building (1996)
Sound and genre-wise, this album is very similar to Elliott. I could reference the same artists and production style that I mentioned above. However, I thought there was a bit more identity to this record. The individual songs stood out more, and there were some catchy choruses to latch onto from the first or second listen. I can see why this band is often mentioned as an underrated peer to some of the most influential emo bands of the '90s. My main criticism here is the opposite of one that I had with the Elliott record. The songs are pretty short, with 8 of 13 tracks under 3 minutes long. There were a few songs that seemed to be just hitting their stride when they abruptly ended, too soon in my opinion. However, I think I'd rather have this problem than have the songs overstay their welcome. My only exposure to Sense Field before this was a few of the singles off of their final album Living Outside, which seems to have a more straightforward pop/alt-rock sound. It was really cool to experience this album and gain a better understanding of the band and why they are recognized as such an influential band in the scene.

Standout Tracks: Overstand, Different Times, Building

Civilian - You Wouldn't Believe What Privilege Costs (2016)
This was definitely the odd album out of the three I was recommended this week. It is much more recent than the other two, and it is more of an alternative rock record. This is a Tooth & Nail band, and I was surprised that I had never seen this album mentioned here since it seems like the kind of music that would find a fanbase on this site. They are not too different from other recent Tooth & Nail acts, pretty accessible with some vaguely Christian lyrical themes. Most of the time, the songs stay midtempo and don't have as much dynamic range as I expected. The band does find some interesting grooves, however, working within those parameters. Death Cab and Pedro the Lion are decent comparisons, and the storytelling nature of the lyrics reminds me of Tim Kasher at times (especially in the song "Michael"). Overall, I thought this was a very enjoyable listen, and the band has a lot of potential as artists and songwriters. I'm not sure if I will be going back to this record often, but it definitely piqued my interest enough for me to want to follow their career. I can see this band putting together a really great record in the future if they continue to develop their sound and songwriting chops.

Standout Tracks: Cut & Run, Topography, The Real Thing/The Feeling

I'm not sure if I'll be revisiting any of these three records often if I'm being honest, but I did really enjoy the experiences of listening to all three. Despite any of the criticisms I had, these are all undoubtedly good records and worth checking out. I'm glad that Civilian is on my radar now and I'll be looking out for their next album as I am eager to see where they go from here.

 

Happy to hear that, all 3 Sparta cds are pretty solid. Wiretap scars being the best I think, but porcelain and threes are both really good too. They just released a new song a month ago so new music next year probably.

 

I have fond memories of being at the coast and being an angsty lil jerk and spending the entire weekend locked in my room listening to frances the mute on my discman

 

I have sad memories of that album going over my head and being really bummed about it because I enjoyed both Tremulant and De-Loused so much. :(