What I've been listening to: 2/26/2012

I haven't been variating my music very much over the last couple of weeks. I downloaded a pair of free mixtapes by Christian rap artist PLAYDOUGH and have had then on repeat basically all week. Bible Bus Mixtape and Writer's Dye, to be exact. I've been enjoying the tasty beats of this album a ton, very creative sample-based fare. I've really been enjoying "Gentle Giant", "My Turn", "Pearls of a PigJam", "Modest Mouseketeer", "Nirvanding" and "Arrowsmitherines".

If I've listened to anything else (I haven't, really), I listened to a bit of Listener's Return to Struggleville, especially the wicked sick "Ozark Empire, or a snake oil salesman comes to your town". That album and his Wooden Heart album are both genius. I listened to (and reviewed) TheGuitahHeroe's Step Back, and a little bit of nerdy emcee Milo's new mixtape EP Milo Takes Baths.

Also, a little bit of La Dispute's Wildlife album, one of my favorites from last year. The storytelling on that album is dazzling. "The Broken Jar" has been holding my ear the last few days.

Also, new Sleigh Bells album out, Reign of Terror. I'll try and review it. I'm also downloading (the bloody gigantic) V For Vinter mixtape by Savant.

And Showbread just announced a new album to release this summer, entitled Cancer. I love these guys and can't wait to hear it.

LINKS

Listener, Return to Struggleville
Playdough, Writer's Dye
Playdough, The Bible Bus Mixtape
TheGuitahHeroe, Step Back
La Dispute, "A Broken Jar"

Quick Thoughts on: "Throwdown" and "Friend Like That"

A friend of mine challenged me to review these two old tracks, after some discussions we've had about our musical tastes. So I thought, "why not review it on my blog?". So I am.

"Throwdown", Pillar, For The Love Of The Game
Pillar. One of the cornerstones of Christian Hard Rock music, one of their founding fathers. A plethora of modern Christian bands can have their style traced to this band. While they were never one of my favorite bands, I do respect their skill as musicians. "Throwdown" is exemplary of their style, fairly fast rock music similar to that of bands like Linkin Park and Skillet. It's decently heavy with a lot of chugging guitars and a really powerful drumbeat over the standard yelled/screamed vocals of the genre. It's not something I would listen to very often, but I can't deny that hummed along a little bit. It's not a hard song to get into. 6/10

"Friend Like That", Hawk Nelson, Hawk Nelson Is My Friend
I'll say this first. Hawk Nelson has never been a band I've liked very much. They're one of a multitude of rather bland pop/punk bands that kind of permeate Christian rock. While the trend towards that is starting to fade, Hawk Nelson is really the band that still stands fairly strong, even though some of the other bands have faded into oblivion (Does Stellar Kart do anything anymore?). Unfortunately, "Friend Like That" is one of my most unfavorite songs from Hawk's library, because it really embraces everything I don't really like about their music. It's way too sugary for my tastes (though I really can't fault them for that, since that what this genre's all about), it overuses gang vocals to a fault, and I've never been a fan of Jason Dunn's singing style. The guitars are rather basic and simple, and the solos have a tendency to feel off-key. But I do have to say one thing they do really, really well. It's catchy as heck, I even found myself singing along to it. But I still don't really like it that much. 3/10

This is just my opinion, if you like these songs, I do see why, and I don't fault you for it. Thanks a ton for reading, if you enjoyed it, be sure to subscribe to this and my other blog, Musing of the Master, where I'll post my fuller reviews of songs and albums, in the "subscribe" box in the upper right corner! And if you have a song or album you want me to review, feel free to comment and tell me!

~Zero

New Music reviews and such

And with another year comes another purpose for this blog. It's now my spot for opinions and announcements of albums that are coming out.

So, I just heard that the indie rock band Sleigh Bells is coming out with their sophomore record, Reign of Terror. The band mixes hardcore-esque guitars over machine gun beats and the sultry shouts of the female lead singer. I really liked the sound of their first album, Treats, and look forward to this new LP.

Besides that, Shlohmo, one of my favorite garage artists, dropped the EP Vacation on Alpha Pup/FoF earlier this month. I can't wait to give that one a listen.

Currently, I've been hooked on listening to Jonwayne's Bowser and the new EP from Japanese DJ Conflict, Yellow Beat.

Also, Heath Mcnease, one of my favorite rappers, is dropping his newest LP, Thrift Store Jesus, soon. Can't wait.

New Sleigh Bells track, "Comeback Kid"
New Heath McNease track, "Natural Disaster Baptism"
New Conflict track, "Space Suit"
New Shlohmo track, "wen uuu"


~Zero