Subrosa - No Help for the Mighty Ones

While listening to this album, every riff, every minute, every single note the vocalist sings hits me with such velocity that I actually stagger backward a couple steps and require a moment to recollect myself. Subrosa is just supposed to be some stoner metal, right? Then why is it that under the hazy guitar and pedals I can hear what seems to be a horn? Why is there emotion popping out of the notes, this overwhelming feeling trying to explode from my chest - one which I usually only feel while watching a particularly gripping episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit?

I still don't understand it. But one listen of "Stonecarver" and I knew I had to have this album. "No Help for the Mighty Ones" isn't just a stoner metal album. I'm not going to lay in my bed after a quick toke and space out. In fact, I might consider it anything but stoner metal, because during the course, Subrosa demands your attention. "No time for tripping," they tell me, "we have to show you how technical we can get without actually playing technically advanced music."

I don't know a lot about this beasts background, however. They've got three vocalists, and I wish I could tell you definitively which is the female if not all, but as far as I've found using reliable sources, they've all got stage names, which sort of sucks. I did pick up one little funny tidbit though: the members of Subrosa seem to think they sound somewhat - at all - like PJ Harvey. With "Let England Shake" in mind, I can say with confidence that they do not.

Akin to any other album, "No Help for the Mighty Ones" has it's shortcomings. Out of eight tracks, I think I could have done without three minutes of just talking. Granted, these chicks are doing their best to take me back to Salem during the witch trials with all of the themes, crazy manipulations and vocals on all of these songs, but I didn't press play so I could hear them cast spells.

I wish there was more to say about this album. I think it's necessary to note that I was done posting for the day when I listened to this again and thought it so good I should write this post right now and post it as soon as possible, because another second wasted without this up on my blog would have made me cringe. Subrosa's "No Help for the Mighty Ones" is easily my favorite metal release of the year. With harmonies, riffs, violin tacks and - probably horns but maybe synths - sneaking around in the very back of this organized mess, I couldn't ignore a single track here. Whatever you do, though, reader, do not, I repeat: DO NOT miss out on "Stonecarver". It is not a song you trip out to, because if you don't pay attention, it's a song you'll trip on, and miss.

9.4

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EDIT: they are all girls. hot.

The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum

The Dear Hunter are, according to wikipedia, an indie rock group. I'd just like to note that. Wikipedia thinks The Dear Hunter are indie rock. I'm smart enough to know that they are actually modern progressive rock - and a project that came out of the ashes of Casey Creszenzo's previous band, post hardcore act, The Receiving End of Sirens. Though, with "The Color Spectrum", I'm not so sure of their genre tags anymore. This collection of nine EP's characterized by colors (and two shades!) ranges emotions in accordance to their themes based on corresponding color.

For instance, Red is angry (or rather maximal and larger than life), Yellow and, to a lesser extent, Green are happy, and both folky, while Blue and White are sad and et cetera. The well informed music-goer is most likely painfully aware of the existence and background of the genre-bending release, as fans have been going crazy over it. In fact, because I'm about four months late to the party, I no longer have the option to buy "The Color Spectrum" on vinyl.

And that hurts.

I just don't really know what to say. Thirty-six tracks featuring some amazing performances, and I'll never physically own it, be able to spin it. At the height, songs like "This Body", "Trapdoor", "Misplaced Devotion", and most importantly, "Crow and Cackle" get me at my most emotional state, whether it be angry, sad, or - is the word - nostalgic? They range various places, and yet remain at a consistent pace that I can keep up with.

Sometimes, I might run a bit ahead. Most notably, the songs on Orange, which feel less an emotion and more an episode of Rawhide, seemed to be the lowest point across the whole two hours and twenty minutes.

And each EP, even those that stand well by themselves, have some low points. Aside from Orange, White and Red almost feel like they're filler. Almost. The songs don't seem to be doing anything too different or risky, but they also aren't actively trying to bring you out of the atmosphere.

I like this, and for a reason. There's something difficult to describe about an album, but I like to call it highs and lows. Basically, the best albums I've ever heard have high points, and then low dips, and when all is over and done with they keep you interested through unpredictability and/or frustration, while managing to make your perspective more bright than it might be if the stronger tracks were next to eachother instead of being spaced across the album evenly.

The Dear Hunter pull this off brilliantly. Which is why this release is most definitely one of my favorites of the year. There are a million other things I could say about "The Color Spectrum" still, but I feel this review is already getting a bit long. Just one last thing: Casey's voice is better than it's ever been, and that by itself is worth the score.

9.6

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Patrick Stump - Soul Punk

Disclaimer: I recited all dates from memory. Let it be noted that they are unreliable. For instance, Sump did not announce his album until 2010, and Fall Out Boy did not go on hiatus until 2009.

Some people might frown upon me, a serious listener, even trying this album out, let alone reviewing it. However, I grew up with Fall Out Boy in my life, and sure, there were good and bad parts of their career, but I still think "20 Dollar Nosebleed" is a good god damn song. In fact, Folie A Deux was a good god damn album...except for maybe America's Suitehearts. In any case, my point is that I like Patrick Stump and most of what Fall Out Boy was/is, and sometimes it's important to let go and just indulge in some purely shallow music, so on with it:

In 2008 Fall Out Boy officially went on hiatus, and almost immediately Patrick Stump made promise of his own solo album with a snazzy video of him playing some instruments and looking cool. This, I think, brought plenty of surprise for plenty of reasons: for one, sure, he might have been wearing the same old sailor shirt, but Stump suddenly had more hair and less fat. I was worried, of course, because he was suddenly not only attractive in talent (multi-intrsumentalist with the best voice a fourteen year old girl has ever heard plus production skills that made all of her favorite bands happen? An itch downstairs she might feel.) but also in physical being, which meant that his label - which he pretty much owns anyways - could sell him the same way they had sold Wentz in 2007.

For two, after about half a year had passed and we hadn't seen a solo album (which had been set to release that summer, supposedly) videos started popping up on youtube. Videos of Stump playing new songs. They weren't what I expected, especially after prior mentioned snazzfest preview circa summer '08. We could find him up on a stage picking at his guitar, making little sound, and singing along to it, while someone played a very quiet and basic drum pattern. This isn't to say I was disappointed with what would eventually become the "Truant Wave EP", just surprised, and more or less curious. I am, and always have been, confident in Stump's ability to create accessible pop music, so I was definitely interested in what direction these live performances would go.

The real surprise, and subsequent disappointment, came when a solo album didn't. 2010 passed, Stumpless, without any real set in stone word of a release. My suspicion is that Stump dropped the album, took the scraps, formed "Truant Wave" and began work on a new project, which would eventually become "Soul Punk".

Which brings us to now, more than three years since the album was announced, and it's finally released. Am I disappointed? Not in the slightest. Underwhelmed? Not at all. "Soul Punk" is exactly what I expected, except in a different package. A better package actually. Patrick Stump's solo debut is, and most likely always has been, meant for night life. Tracks such as "Allie" and "The 'I' in Lie" have me thinking back to Kanye West's "Graduation" - "Flashing Lights" and most definitely "Big Brother", for instance.

Musically, this album is a solid pop release. I can see almost any of these songs on the radio, or at the club, or even on my late night playlist. I'm actually pretty sure I'll find myself listening to "Run Dry (X Heart X Fingers)" quite often.

The problems with this album are just as apparent as the best parts, however: Stump can't write lyrics to save his life, and the theme/style/whatever of the packaging and promotion is clown shoes. Besides that, the first two tracks might set any listener off of the rest of the release: mostly because they suck.

The pros do outweigh the cons, I think. Just getting to listen to Stump show off his voice like he really never has is, in itself, worth listening to "Soul Punk". And besides that, there are a couple basslines ("Run Dry", looking at you) that might throw Daft Punk fans back to their "Discovery" days. There's also a heavy amount of synths floating around the whole endeavor, and without them, there wouldn't really be that night life atmosphere. There are even a couple good riffs hidden, and when you fall into them, if you're anything like me, you might blink twice. Stump said when he had first announced the album that he was mostly doing all of this so he could play the drums again - and I can see why. If that's him across this whole album, he's got amazing swagger.

So, in the end, I guess maybe this album isn't going to be one of those I recommend to all of my friends, but I am going to be listening to it quite often. I mean, there isn't anything wrong with indulgent pop music every now and then, and Pat seems to be the king of our bubblegum stations sometime between 9 and 1 p.m..

8.3

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Pianos Become the Teeth - The Lack Long After

I am a fan of post hardcore. I have been a fan of post hardcore ever since I first heard "Crimes". I'm actually listening to "Yes! Yes! Yes!" by Foxy Shazam while I write this review.

Aside from this, though, I have never been terribly impressed by Pianos Become the Teeth's releases. I felt sort of let down after hearing how good Old Pride was and being just plainly let down when I first listened to it. And that's a normal feeling - I was also let down all this year by my first listening of both of La Disputes albums. The only reason I've ever found for me to dislike a post hardcore album, really, is that nothing is different, or changing. They remain at a constant pace, no change, and the exact thing I'm hearing is always some same chord progression, or gimmick that I heard on the very last album I put on.

This is why I initially thought I would be pretty disappointed with Pianos newest album, "The Lack Long After". I wasn't hearing a lot of difference in the songs - neither lyrics or performance were really strikingly well played, which is normal for bands of this genre, and they seemed to be playing at constant, angry, numbing pieces.

The difference, however, is in the little things. In each track I can hear layer of playing - especially prevalent on songs such as "I'll Be Damned" and "Spine". Pianos Become the Teeth have learned to do a lot with a little. They make you appreciate every note, every change. The best part is that it's a consistent release, with every song playing at the same level, making you revel in the whole thirty-eight minutes that you listen, and when you've finished, take a big breath of air and nod to yourself - and possibly to them - in acceptance. Or maybe even say, "Wow."

I can't really call any track weaker than another, but a big problem this album has actually comes from it's consistency: deciding on only eight tracks. I'm sure this meant the album was more of a serious endeavor, and that there was less room to disappoint, but it also means the songs are all very long strung, which is okay, except for when I'm looking for something to listen to and enjoy on the go, like I can Touche Amore's "Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me", another release from just earlier this year.

But I'd take a consistent album that's good for sitting down and just listening to over something quick any day. With strong riffs, real emotive vocals (though they may have risked diction getting there) and enough variation to make eight long tracks seem like nine short ones, Pianos Become the Teeth's "The Lack Long After" has given me a few good reasons to order it.

9.1

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Thomas Giles - Pulse

Thomas Giles is the frontman for progressive metal group Between the Buried and Me. I say "progressive metal" because I've yet to actually hear them, and don't know what they sound like, or else I'd be throwing in some larger words that might give them justice. Probably.

In any case, "Pulse" is Thomas Giles solo debut. It mixes his affinity for clean and not clean vocals with his knack for melodramatic dubstep-like synthesizers. Upon hearing this album the first time, I had not known of Giles' background. I actually had been very much dreading listening to this album. It might have been that all I knew about the album was that it was defined as "singer-songwriter", a tag I very much dislike, but for whatever reason, I had put this album off for about a month and a half.

It was immediately that the album caught me off guard of course. I had expected poppy, accessible songs lacking real content, or that didn't really mesh with me. That's what it's been like for the other singer-songwriter albums I've heard this year - PJ Harvey, Feist, St. Vincent. I blinked, though, when the opening track, "Sleep Shake", started up. It was maximal and dramatic and I could swear I heard screams in the background at one point.

Through the course of the album I was surprised and let down plenty. "Reverb Island", the second track, ended up being my favorite - there's just something about the tense acoustic strumming mixed with vocoders, something that I heard first in "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" by Porcupine Tree, that really hits me where it's most catchy most immediately.

Though, some of the tracks, like I said, didn't really catch on so quick, or at all. "Mr. Bird" has the potential to be really cool, seeing as though the first two tracks on "Pulse" prove that Giles has the potential to really put the rock drama into something with a piano, but I can't help it that the whole song sounds like something from Chiodos - specifically their "Bone Palace Ballet" era stuff - and it sometimes you might sigh when it comes on. Other times, you might be totally up for it.

"Mr. Bird" isn't the huge hump to climb, however. No, that would be songs such as "Catch and Release", which is just dancefloor synths mixed with Giles screaming. It lasts over three minutes when it could easily stop at one or even two without testing nerves. "Reject Falicon" is alike to this in that it's very little and last much too long. The difference, however, is that it's actually much quieter, though that doesn't make it any better. Both of these songs make me, personally, feel as if Giles is trying to appeal to a younger market more interested in scenecore and electronic or dare I say: dubstep.

"Medic" almost confirms these fears with a nice pile of chords slapped on top of screaming and little else. The album makes a bit of a comeback, though, with it's closer, "Hypoxia", which gives a real nice, dreamy atmosphere, and climaxes pretty perfectly, if not predictably, and it fades out at a great spot, leaving you to really reflect on the album as a whole. I'd say if you're a fan of progressive rock, of art rock, or of the sample I left below, definitely check this out, but I wouldn't expect "Pulse" to appear on any top ten or fifteen lists at the end of the year.

Maybe top thirty.

6.7

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Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On

Well, time's a-wastin' Guess I'll share and review everything new that I listen to here. My first share is Timber Timbre's fourth full length LP, "Creep On Creepin' On". I'm not going to lie and say that I've heard the previous three albums. I am, however, going to promise that they are moderately "high up there" on my current to do list.

Timber Timbre manage to sound creepy, southern, smooth, cool and filthy all while being accessible to the outgoing ear. Nothing ever becomes too technical, too rash, but it always remains in some way experimental and at the same time poppy. I know it sounds almost like a contradiction, but there are albums such as. The best part is how various the album can be.

The first track, "Bad Ritual", opens the album with an easy bass line, a couple easy clubroom piano keys, and the smooth voice of frontman Taylor Kirk, who, if you stick with, will show you through the roads of "Creep On Creepin' On" without difficulty, coming out of the opposite end with the voice of a cool suit worn only by the elite of the elite - lounge singers and kings with swagger. "Obelisk", the second track, however, Kirk will not be joining us on. I've always though of instrumentals as somewhat risque for more accessible bands, and having one as the second track for their album sends a message: Timber Timbre don't much worry about mainstream attention. Some might see that as admirable. The title track, following, might be something to gaze at if it weren't for what I can only hope is this albums lead single - "Black Water". It opens with Kirk letting the words "All I need is some sunshine" flow out of his mouth like a sauce, except he isn't spitting it because the taste is bad. The keys present on "Bad Ritual" have returned, and so has the swagger from the rest of the band. They're calling cards are easily noticed.

Timber Timbre have made it so that you know it's them when you hear their songs. And I'm sure the development towards such a feat was obvious throughout their previous albums. I feel, actually, sort of late for the party. Four albums in, and I feel like I've found the finished product to what could have been something magical to watch being built. Like I've walked in on Portugal. the Man at "Censored Colors" instead of at "Waiter: 'You Vultures!'" or "Church Mouth".

Not all of these tracks are all sunshine and swamps, though. Specifically, actually, "Swamp Magic" fails to impress me. It instead takes up it's three minutes as the second of three instrumentals on this album. Unalike "Obelisk" and, subsequently, "Souvenirs", however, it doesn't really hold anything in itself alike to the rest of the album. It gives off that atmosphere built over the rest of the endeavor - voodoo feeling, walking in swamps in the Southern Americas and who knows what's there or when I'll have to run - but it doesn't apply the atmosphere to anything. It would be a fine intermission, arriving at the middle of the album and right after a climax as it is, if it weren't for how long it goes. Shortened by half and "Swamp Magic" could fit into the album without disturbing.

It's a sick feeling to know I've missed out on so much, but I don't plan to waste anymore time without these smooth operators.

8.9

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