Oh, I know a whole load of you are going to be peeved with this review... but look, there was nothing all that distinctive or interesting about the writing, themes, compositions, or production on this record. When we've got Avantasia and Tarja dropping far stronger and more interesting projects, this is just forgettable and all the more cements Delain as a b-list act. Sorry. In any case, I'll be expanding on these thoughts soon as I'll be heading home from vacation! Vlog talking about more will probably go up either tomorrow or Sunday, but we'll see. Stay tuned!
I know I shouldn't really be all that surprised this was a letdown... but I really am. Florida Georgia Line try so desperately hard for maturity and yet fall so short it's damn near tragic. Of course, a major factor of that is some godawful, overdone production that's way too slick and sterile for its own damn good, but hey, it happens. And on the topic of records that have their fair share of warning signs, Delain! Stay tuned!
Man, this was one that took a lot to unpack. Weird record... and yet for as voyeuristic as it can feel, it relies a little too much on the freak show rather than actually saying something about the humanity it tries to mirror. And when you strip away the distinctive production of their debut... man, I dunno about this. But it still has more texture than the next album I'm covering... brace yourselves, folks, it's Florida Georgia Line. Stay tuned!
This is the first video I've ever shot that's entirely handheld... not sure it entirely works, but I'm overall pretty happy with it, especially in terms of the picture quality. And plus, Barcelona! Next up... ah, okay, Glass Animals soon, so stay tuned!
Yeah, it's not pure 'country', but it gets under your skin in a way that so few albums like this truly do. It's one of those albums that hits you in the gut so well you can barely remember how you were without it - absolutely stellar, deserves so much more acclaim in a year where women in country/country-adjacent are doing incredible things. But more on this later - next up, Glass Animals, Delain and (sigh) Florida Georgia Line, but also a new Billboard BREAKDOWN, so stay tuned!
Well, this was mostly lousy. I don't know how anyone can defend some of the godawful vocal production here, but hey, what do I know, somehow her career keeps on going... although I really don't see the single longevity to push out with this. So let's switch to something just as interesting with the Glass Animals and Lydia Loveless, so stay tuned!
Well, this was incredibly frustrating. Look, I know Slug and Ant have a diehard fanbase and I get that this album will connect with others more than me... but man, this was a hard listen. And on that note, Britney Spears next - stay tuned!
You know, this is one of those cases where I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or just kind of frustrated that I didn't like this more. I get the odd feeling that Lindsey Stirling just isn't evolving enough as an artist, and as a fan, that really does frustrate me - I think she's got the potential for real greatness, but it's not materializing yet... GAH. Anyway, on the topic of disappointments, next up is Atmosphere - stay tuned!
Believe it or not, I suspect this review might be one of my more controversial ones - mostly because I'm no big fan of Cody Johnson, especially a lot of his songwriting in recent years. This at least steps away from the political ranting I've hated about his material, but still, this guy should never be writing sex songs, he's just way too clumsy to pull it off. Okay, next up... I think I'm nearly ready to talk about Atmosphere... either that or Lindsey Stirling, so stay tuned!
Whew, this was an interesting little thing to film/edit on vacation. Overall, pretty damn pleased how it turned out, especially with how many takes we got to put it all together. Next up, let's knock off that Cody Johnson review before we get into the rest of the week, shall we...
And here's the controversial review... look, it's a good record, it's got some fantastic high points, but there are some really rough points as well, and the lack of stronger, more cohesive ideas means that I'm not even sure it holds together as well as Endless. I'll have more to say when I get back from vacation (and this godawful sunburn I've got), but until then, Billboard BREAKDOWN is up next, so stay tuned!
Well, this happened... and of course, it happened right as I went on vacation. Look, ultimately I appreciate what this visual album is and it's got some fascinating ideas, but separate any piece from it (with the exception of some really sharp production from Arca), and I'm not sure how well it holds together. Next up, the actual album, so stay tuned!
Well, this was pretty damn solid. Don't worry folks, I'll have more time to dig into everything when I get back from vacation. And on that note, I've got two sides of a Frank Ocean record coming, so stay tuned!
I'm still kind of on the fence about whether this is a truly great record or not. I get the feeling certain tracks will really give it some longevity, but it'll be interesting to see how long it sticks around. For the mean time, pretty damn great, I liked it! Next up... well, I'm posting this from Madrid's airport... let's see if I can get something filmed here. A little shorter, a little more... let's call it succinct, shall we? Stay tuned!
Ah, this was a pleasant surprise. Seriously, I did not expect this to be remotely good, and look what we got! Nice to see Young The Giant start to put together a distinct sound, it's comforting. Next up, the Cody Jinks video and then my vacation series begins - stay tuned!
I said a few days ago that women in country music really are having a great year, but let's get brutally honest here: if you look outside most of the mainstream, country as a whole really is having a great year, and there are definitely promising signs that the radio is primed for a shift. And what I find bizarre is how little it's being covered outside of certain critical outlets dedicated to country - sure, this year we've seen a few more critics here on YouTube who are dipping their toes into the genre, but go over to certain indie-leaning outlets and they always seem a tad tentative to even touch the genre. Is it a fear of not looking cool, or do they just not know where to start? Because if it's the latter... well, I definitely get that, it's hard to break into any unfamiliar genre, but here's where you're mostly in luck: if you're looking for the two hotbeds of country quality right now, it's the acts affiliated with Dave Cobb and the Texas country scene. And while my appreciation for Dave Cobb's stellar production is starting to be well-known on this channel, it's been a while since I've given the rough-edged red dirt honky tonk sound out of Texas some appreciation, one of the few scenes where regional radio has survived and cultivated a distinctive sound. Sure, if you go back through my top records of any given year, you'll find plenty of Texas names like Jason Eady, James McMurtry, Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen, and Kacey Musgraves, so let's add another name to that list: Cody Jinks. He actually got his start in thrash metal before cutting towards country and broke onto the scene with the excellent Less Wise in 2010. He then followed it with the slightly more experimental and melancholic 30 in 2012, and it seem liked everything was on path. And hell, he dropped a record called Adobe Sessions in the middle of summer last year... which for some reason, I didn't cover, even despite being a pretty damn good listen - a little smoother than his last two outside of a few darker exceptions like 'Loud And Heavy', but still solid. Well, here's as good of a time as any to make up for some lost time, so on the back of some promising critical acclaim, I dug into I'm Not The Devil - how was it?
So let's go back to the beginning of 2014. I was still getting the handle on my reviews and I started getting requests to cover the newest album from Young the Giant. Now I wasn't hugely familiar with the band - the most I knew from them came from Glee and even that was just 'Cough Syrup', but going through their discography, I was mostly indifferent. There was a term I adopted around that time called 'silent majority' acts, bands that critics might not care about or even bother to review, but somehow do just enough to end up on every middlebrow playlist, and at least for their self-titled debut album, Young The Giant seemed to fit into that niche. A lot of colourless liquid guitars, blurry production, mostly empty lyrics, and a frontman that just did not stand out for me. But with the introduction of Justin Mendel-Johnson to the production team for their sophomore follow-up, I had hoped things might develop a little more cohesion... And that didn't happen. I went back to relisten to Mind Over Matter to see if I had indeed been too hard on that record, and...look, I get the appeal of a good U2-esque guitar flutter and arena rock swell, and I even thought their lyrics actually took a step in the right direction. But the production was so muddy, messy, indistinct and did absolutely nothing to flatter Sameer Gadhia vocals - which, admittedly, aren't always my thing but it could have come together better than this. But worse still were compositional problems at the roots: wild transitions in tempo and sound that almost wanted to lean towards progressive metal but didn't stick the landing, or flatter the group's knack for some decent melodic hooks. And what was most exasperating is that none of this made the record precisely bad, just overmixed and forgettable, all the more evidence that Justin Mendel-Johnson might be a far better musician than producer. So until I started getting requests to cover this, I had no idea where the band was going to go next. It seemed like they had pivoted to making shorter records, as Home Of The Strange was easily their most succinct release to date, and they had brought in producers Alex Salibian and Jeff Bhasker to add more of a boost. And truth be told, if I hadn't heard some interesting critical buzz or if I didn't need more time to work my way through discographies from Cody Jinks, Atmosphere, and Ka, i probably wouldn't have covered this. But what the hell - I've got no ill will towards Young The Giant beyond indifference, so how did the record turn out?
So let me tell you a bit about my previous weekend. Had a party with friends on Friday, went to a bachelor party on Saturday, and most of Sunday recovering and working my way through a bunch of records in my backlog to cover my schedule this week... all of which meant that I have not yet had a chance to see Suicide Squad. Which, if you're judging by its second week numbers, if you didn't see it opening weekend you likely didn't see it at all - and yet it doesn't mean I'm not talking about the movie, because it was the biggest impact to the charts, with considerable gains, a few new arrivals, one returning entry, and even a new top five track! Frankly, I'm a little bewildered the soundtrack has had so much staying power, but popular phenomenon pop up all the time - I just wished I liked more of it.
This review has already gotten more hits than the past three reviews I've posted combined - and will probably go on to get even more, because apparently people like it when I get pissed. Well, except the comments section which have devolved into something of a shit-show, but that was to be expected. And to continue that streak, Young The Giant is coming up next, so stay tuned!
