Album Review: Elvis Costello - Hey Clockface

To be an Elvis Costello fan is a trying experience. Elvis has long been an artist looking for the next interesting thing to experiment with, which means he is on a lifelong journey not all of us want to go on. While I count him among the handful of musicians who have had the most impact on me, I can also say he among them has the lowest percentage of his music I actually enjoy. In recent years, I was not that fond of his forays into early 20th century Americana, nor did I find his odds-and-ends collection "Look Now" to be more than a passing curiosity. The only recent album I've really liked is "Momofuku", which was the most straight-forward and bare-bones record he's made since "Blood & Chocolate".

The one experiment of his I can't complain about is "When I Was Cruel", his heavily production-oriented record that saw more samples, rhythms, and electronics than he had ever used before. For reasons I can't entirely explain, I have always loved that record, even though it defied the things I normally liked about Elvis' music. I used to annoy my colleague here, because I actually enjoyed the song "Spooky Girlfriend".

This new record is the closest in spirit Elvis has come to "When I Was Cruel", and you might think that means I am primed to like this effort.

You would be wrong.

Elvis hasn't been writing great songs, even in his normal style, for quite a while. Give him a sound that takes away much of the trappings, and focuses everything on his weaker melodies and less interesting lyrics, and you wind up with a record that becomes a bit of a black hole. 'Songs' are built from blips of sound stitched together coldly, like the pieces of Frankenstein's monster. Elvis' lyrics lack the bite and clever wordplay of his past, sounding as out-of-place as a record recycling his own sound from twenty years ago. Rather than sounding experimental, it's a recycling reminding us there is nothing new under the sun, and going back to the past only accentuates how long the through-line of time has been.

The problem with experimentation is that not every experiment can work, or will work. The best artists know this, and they only show us the successes, while keeping the failures locked away. When an artist reaches Elvis' age, and has done as much as he has, there isn't anyone who can tell him when a bad idea is a bad idea. Hearing a sixty-something Elvis rapping a noir story isn't daring, it would sound like a mid-life crisis, if he was twenty years younger.

"When I Was Cruel" was sort of that crisis, a reinvention of who Elvis Costello was at the midpoint of life. He dove into his own talents and psyche to come up with a record that blended the past and present, a lo-fi computerized record that paved a new path forward. He never took that route, and now is too late to go back in that direction, because the powers he needs to summon to climb that hill are waning. Elvis now loves telling stories in his songs, but those aren't as powerful as when he let us believe we were hearing something more of himself. Being comfortable and stable in his personal life has dulled the edges of his writing.

In science, a key aspect of the process is replication. If neither you, nor your peers, can replicate the results of an experiment, it has to be treated as a fluke. This record is Elvis' attempt to replicate the results he achieved those years ago, and if nothing else, he has proven "When I Was Cruel" was a happy accident. I'm glad for that fortuitous collapse of a world into a record that never should have worked, but I know now what I always believed; it can never be duplicated, and trying is one of the saddest things I could have heard.

Album Review: The Flower Kings - Islands

I should have known this was coming. The Flower Kings have always been a band that cannot edit themselves, that cannot stop from putting out every musical idea they have. Their career is littered with double albums that stretch and rip the limits of my patience. Their last album was not long ago, but the reality of quarantine left them with too much time on their hands, and a year later a new double album is upon us. Does anyone really think they came up with ninety minutes of great, important new material they just had to release all at once? Before ever hitting play, I knew the answer to that was 'no'.

This might be controversial to say, but I'm going to say it anyway; there has never been a double album in music history that wouldn't have been better as a single album. Whether that's due to the length being intolerable to sit through, or having so many songs making it obvious some are far better than others, every double album would benefit from being shorter. This album is no exception to that rule.

If you're putting out ninety minutes of music, you'd damn well better make sure every minute of it is necessary. People don't have the patience to spend that much time listening to mediocrity, and yet that's what The Flower Kings are asking of us. It's not that they are a bad band, or that the songs here are terrible, but there are few that stand out as great music. And since the good bits are swamped by long stretches of tedium, it makes for an album that is a complete chore to try to sit through.

The good news is the band doesn't ask us to endure any more twenty-minute epics, instead giving us a collection of twenty-one shorter tracks, which isn't really a better alternative. That's too many different ideas to present us at once for them not to blend together into a mush of similar fuzzy memories. And within each of those tracks, there are long instrumental introductions, long guitar and keyboard solos, and few melodies that bring everything back to a core song we can remember.

I can't help but contrast their recent work with "Desolation Rose", which was a brief (by their standards) single album that was more focused, and had better and more identifiable songwriting than everything they have done since. When they forced themselves to adhere to some constraints, the results were great. Now that they are indulging their every whim again, I find myself wanting to scream, "WHY?!"

Other than the most devoted of fans, I can't tell you a reason why you should spend an hour and a half of your day listening to this record. Wasting time is a sin in music, and The Flower Kings waste plenty of it here. Even with so much other music here, they still feel the need to include a few two-minute segue tracks. Why? If those guitar solos were so great, why not build a full song around them? What purpose does ninety seconds of noodling really serve?

If you gave me a red pen and let me hack away at this record, I could make a pretty good forty-five minute old-school prog album out of it. But let's face facts; ninety minutes of indulgent prog is simply too much. There isn't enough momentum generated by these songs to justify why all this music needs to be given to us at the same time. There is so much fat to be trimmed, I want to say I hate the album just for the fact it doesn't realize any of its own self-inflicted injuries. There's that old saying, 'brevity is the soul of wit'. It doesn't exactly translate to music, but the idea is the same; get to the point. You need more good ideas the longer you expect us to pay attention.

The Flower Kings have good ideas, but not nearly enough for ninety minutes of my time. Their slow, soft prog is a nap waiting to happen when it's stretched out this long.

And we'll probably get another double album next year, because that's how they operate. Oh joy.

Album Review: Lykantropi - Tales To Be Told

There are various varieties of occult/folk/mystical rock floating around out there. What they have in common is an organic sound, and less reliance on the need to be heavy, or that is to say, the need to 'rock'. They bring more intimate settings, they ask bigger questions. I find it a very interesting approach, even if many of the bands have yet to do anything that wows me. Lykantropi caught my ear with their last album, showing a lot of promise. The teasers for this record have spoken to fulfilling that promise, so now is the time to see if they have done just that.

The album leads off with "Coming Your Way", where we get classic under-gained guitars of the vintage variety, a flute melody, and some truly lovely harmony vocals when the main hook comes in. Now, you could say the song is too soft, perhaps too subtle. You wouldn't be wrong in saying that, but it misses the point. This is music for a late night sitting by a fire-pit, or a grey day walking through the woods. You don't need power riffs and searing solos for that. You need atmosphere and calm, which is what Lykantropi is delivering.

If we need a comparison, I would point to Lucifer. There is a similar vintage aesthetic, and a similar vocal timbre, connecting the two bands. However, Lykantropi is a more laid-back, relaxed band. The cascading harmonies are unique among a lot of the bands treading this road, and they are the very best thing about Lykantropi. The songwriting is solid, but admittedly the nature of the music means the hooks are not the biggest and boldest. With those layers of vocals, they have an ethereal weight that is both charming and haunting. That simple choice elevates these tracks to another level.

As the album unfolds, we can call the vibe the autumn that followed the summer of love. There's a very 60s feeling, but it's filtered through a cloudier, darker lens. Lykantropi's music is more the soundtrack to the inevitable crash after the high, a comforting arm around your shoulder welcoming you back to reality. I used the word 'charming' earlier, and I find that the best description. There's something about the record that gives me a wry smile, as if the familiarity of nostalgia is a disguise only we know is being worn.

So let's circle back to the question I was pondering at the start. Does this record live up to the promise I heard in Lykantropi? The answer to that is yes, they more than live up to it. This record consistently offers up tracks shining like gems in the midnight moonlight. The feeling of the record is remarkable, and even if the songs take more time than usual to work their way into our minds, the effort is worth it because of the senses the evoke. Some records are subtle, and I know I'm never going to spend the time getting to know them properly because of that. This record, on the other hand, has an appeal that invites that extra time. It isn't a burden to give this record several chances.

I was pleased to hear a new album was coming, and I was satisfied with the singles as they were released, but hearing the record in full, I'm quite thrilled to see Lykantropi growing into the band I thought they could be. This won't be for everyone, or for every mood, but it's a beautiful sound when the time is right.

Album Review: Sevendust - Blood & Stone

 

It's not too often I find myself talking about a band that has wide mainstream appeal. I don't happen to have a lot of those band's albums find their way to me, nor do I tend to listen to a lot of what is currently popular. I don't say that as a slight against the mainstream (although that might indeed be the case), but rather to say I really don't care what is or isn't popular. I feel no need to listen to what is on the charts simply because it's on the charts. I'm not going to like something more simply because a lot of other people have decided the same. So I've come rather unmoored from what the radio plays, but despite that, I do know Sevendust is a staple.

Sevendust comes out of the gates with a deep, rumbling riff that sounds like an eight-string guitar, which would have been unheard of when I was still listening to mainstream rock. It sets an ominous tone, but I also can't help but feel that rock, in general, would be better served by getting closer to standard tunings. The lower sounds have more of a bass focus, and the productions can't recapture the brightness lost in the frequencies. It makes records sound dark, even when they aren't.

Fortunately, Sevendust are able to keep the ship from taking on water by writing songs with plenty of melodic hooks. Every song here you could imagine being on the radio. Heck, they might all end up there by the time the album cycle is done. But when every song is written with that same focus, they do tend to blend together. It's hard for riffs to stand apart when the tuning reduces them to chugging rhythms, so all of the up-tempo numbers are taking from the same limited playbook. It's all done very well, but a little bit of diversity would go a long way.

There are moments, like on "Kill Me", where what I'm hearing is almost indistinguishable from Light The Torch's fantastic album a couple years ago. There is an uncanny similarity both in vocal tone as well as the melodic writing that had me doing a double take, in a good way. That song is great, and for that reason perhaps the very best on the record, although it's not alone.

Listening to this album, I can absolutely here why Sevendust has been as successful as they have. They have the sound, the vocals, and the songs. The mainstream isn't my domain, but Sevendust is damn good enough to win me over. There are tons of bands who are plying this same trade, swimming in these same waters, but Sevendust floats above most of them because they know what they're doing, and they have the experience to do it well. "Blood & Stone" is a great mainstream rock record. Appealing to everyone isn't an easy thing to do, and Sevendust makes it sound easy here.

Album Review: Armored Saint - Punching The Sky

Those of us here at Bloody Good Music share an uncommon opinion; we prefer the John Bush era of Anthrax to the 'classic' period. I don't say that to be provocative, but to preface everything that will come with a explanation that I do like John Bush. While those Anthrax records are interesting, I have never once found Armored Saint to fit that description. I've come across several of their records over the years, and every time I come away asking what it is that makes certain segments of the metal population consider them underground heroes. They have always been a perfectly average band, but with their recent records trying to modernize, they haven't worn well.

What's weird about Armored Saint is that they have in a sense morphed into Anthrax of the 90s, shedding their classic metal roots for a more groove-heavy sound, replete with the swaggering bravado of flase machismo. They aren't as bad as the 'Monster energy drinks' crew of bands in that regard, but I can't listen to them without hearing some unnecessary posturing.

What's interesting is that they have in a sense morphed into Anthrax of the 90s. For those of us who preferred that era to Joey Belladonna's, this is the first record in many years that fits the bill, that reminds me of that rather unique period of music. There's a bit more groove, and a bit less thrash, but the basics of the sound are there. It's rather refreshing to hear, especially when compared to the last Anthrax record. Bush still has that mixture of metal and punk to his vocals that stands apart from most singers, and these songs find the spot where he's most comfortable.

Maybe it's odd to say, since it is his first band, but Armored Saint never sounded quite right for Bush's voice. Until now, that is. They have shifted their personality enough to finally lock everything into place. That comfort extends to the songwriting, where the band is able to blend their chugging rhythms with stronger melodies, which results in more direct, and more memorable, songs for us. Some of their more progressive and experimental tendencies have been stripped away, which is all for the best. With more focus, the band sounds more engaged with the songs. It comes through on the record.

Needless to say, all of that makes this the most I have ever enjoyed an Armored Saint record. I don't recall if there's ever been a case where I enjoyed a band more once they started to sound like someone else, but I suppose it's natural for a band that's been around this long to soak up influence from the other bands the members have played in. I just find it odd they are a throwback to twenty-plus years ago, updating from their original thirty-plus year old sound. The cycle of nostalgia is moving forward, finally, perhaps.

It's no suprise the worst song in the album is "Bark No Bite", where Bush can't help himself and lowers his register into almost a bark. It's that tough-guy persona that plays well with once crowd, and utterly loses me. The song is nothing but a pulsing rhythm and Bush's monosyllabic gruffness. It doesn't play well, and sounds even worse among the rest of what is a pretty good album.

Look, I've never thought Armored Saint was a great band. This record is a definite improvement for them, in my eyes, but they still have enough flaws to hold them back. "Punching The Sky" is a nice reminder of a sound and time we don't get to experience anymore, but I think that's the fair level of praise. After being a band for almosrt forty years, I'm not sure that's enough.

Album Review: Phil Cooper - These Revelation Games

Many have spent these odd days of the pandemic using the extra time at home to make new music (myself included). Without live shows to play, and traveling to partake in, there hasn't been much else to do besides pour ourselves into making something positive of the situation. The fear is that the anxiety of the times will overwhelm everything, and the music will be a time capsule we will never want to think about once we have passed by the worst of this, but it does mean we are going to be hearing a lot of music coming up, and a lot of music made in new and interesting ways.

Singer-songwriter Phil Cooper is one of those who have taken advantage of the downtime by making this new solo album, which comes unexpectedly in a time that was supposed to be spent touring with his other band. But we adapt to reality, and we get new music instead of live recitations of already released songs.

On this record, Phil is embracing a sound that is old-school indie rock. There are moments in the way the guitars blend on "Without A Sound" that sound like something The Smiths could have done. Thankfully, there's none of Morrissey's asshole bitching, but rather a less morose take on a familiar old sound. There's also a DIY aesthetic to the record that fits the sound, as something more polished might undercut the intention. Sometimes the most important decision with a production is knowing when not to clean things up any further.

Through the guitar tones, there is an undercurrent of our head-scratching uncertainty. It's a sad sounding record, even if the songs themselves aren't trying to be that way. Note the difference; sad is not the same thing as miserable. When I talked about Pain Of Salvation's record not too long ago, I said it sounded miserable, which is an assessment I stand by. There can be flashes of beauty in sadness, but not in misery.

The record spend most of its time as a blend of indie rock and power pop, giving us guitar textures and hooky melodies. That blend is very appealing, and the best songs on the record are quite good indeed. I'm not keen on "I Am A Radio", which comes across as a bit of a dirge, but it's an exception to the norm of the album. By and large, we're getting a pleasant record that isn't trying to do anything more than entertain us for a stretch. By those standards, it succeeds. Phil has produced a nice album that gives us something to nod along to.

This record might not be how he anticipated spending the year, but sometimes things work out how they're supposed to. These songs, and this album, are a nice addition for him.

Album Review: Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown - Pressure

We're deep enough into the Coronavirus pandemic that we are finding ourselves facing what we call 'quarantine albums' with regularity now. It was inevitable that artists were going to find themselves making new music once the world shut down, and they didn't have the option of being out on tour. I suppose this does lead us to questions about how bands were able to tour back in the old days and still record new albums every year, if not even faster. Yes, I know the financial environment changed, but anecdotally there seems to be more division between touring and creating, with far less writing being completed on the road. That's what interests me as a question, although it is not the subject for right now.

Tyler Bryant found himself writing new songs during the time off, and that led him to the creation of this record, sooner than a new album would have been expected. The reality of the world led him to new songs, and those songs fell into place as a record. It was written in a pandemic, and recorded more raw and organic than normal. The album art is supposed to reflect this, with the needle pressed into the red, but I find that rather worrying. A recording of such would be a terrible thing to listen to (I'm looking at you, Baroness).

That worry is there when the first sounds we hear are Bryant's distorted vocals indeed sounding like a red-lined recording, which then segues into guitars that are also just fuzzy enough to give the same aesthetic. I'm not sure how it came to be that people think fuzz is how to make guitars sound heavy. The opposite has always been true to me, with fuzz taking away all the percussive force a guitar can muster, which leaves us with only a soft wash of noise. I guess I'm in the minority on that one.

This album is full of short, and to-the-point songs that don't overstay their welcome. That's a good thing when we're talking about songs like "Hitchhiker", which is a simple blues number with a distorted slide guitar driving the action, and very little of a hook. It's the sort of song that makes me ask myself what it is in the composition that made the band decide it was a song they just had to record and put on an album. I'm not hearing the key idea they were so in love with.

Compare that to "Crazy Days", which is a Friday night bar sing-along type of song, with some searing lead guitar, and a big hook. That song's appeal is apparent right from the start, and the charm doesn't wear off. What becomes clear to me as the album unfolds is that the shorter, more aggressive numbers are not as appealing as the songs that have more room to breathe. More laid-back material like "Holdin' My Breath" and "Wildside" are fantastic, with both great melodies and interesting guitar parts. Everything shines through better when there isn't a need to push harder than the band should be going. Their sound isn't that naturally heavy, so trying to be more than they are comes across as effort, and effort ruins songs.

This album comes sooner than the usual album cycle, and I hate to say it, but it sounds like it. We've got a handful of great songs, but there's also the dirty blues that holds no appeal to me whatsoever, and a few ballads that never stir up much emotion. There's a really good EP to be found in here, but "Pressure" succumbs as an entire album.

My Top Twenty Favorite Albums Ever (2020 Version)

A truth about me is that my brain is not wired in a way to remember dates easily. Ask me what year most any album came out, and I won't be able to tell you. Not only that, but I seldom remember what year major life events happened. I simply never trained myself to add that detail to every memory, so time is able to slip through my fingers, because often I miss the signals that we are once again at the same point in our cosmic journey.

That is a preface for an occasion that isn't temporal, but is still important. This post is the 1,000th on our humble little site, and is something I didn't see coming until the number was staring me in the face. I put my head down and go about writing without thinking much about the bigger picture, and I hadn't realized we had accomplished so much. In all honesty, I should have stretched things (and myself) out more, but we're here.

To mark the occasion, I am presenting an updated list of my twenty favorite albums of all time. It has been a few years since the last time I posted such a list, and it seems far more appropriate than a review of some album I will soon forget.

Here we go:

20. Alyson Avenue - Presence Of Mind (Previous Rank: N/A)

My favorite album in the melodic/AOR realm, easily. Anette Olzon has gotten far more attention for what came later, but this is the best album she's been on. She would become a more polished vocalist, but her tone was always there, and this album is chock full of bright, cheesy, infectious melodies. It's a smile put on record.

19. Weezer - Weezer (The Green Album) (Previous Rank: N/A)

What I love about this album is precisely that it is Rivers Cuomo completely divorcing himself from his music. He can write stupidly good pop songs, but he is a weird, disturbing, highly questionable human being. Without having to hear any of his personality in the lyrics, Weezer is at their best. There has never been a more tightly written record.

18. Edguy - Tinnitus Sanctus (Previous Rank: 19)

This album is a disappointment to most fans, but is adored by me. Edguy blended their power metal bombast with darker, more modern metal guitars, and the result is an album that eschews any hint of the 'flower metal' insult. Even a song about God talking with an aardvark sounds menacing. It's the perfect amount of darkness for metal.

17. Graveyard - Hisingen Blues (Previous Rank: N/A)

If I'm asked for the best band of the last fifteen or so years, only two names come to mind. One of them is Graveyard, and this record is the best distillation of who they are. I don't get most classic rock, but I get Graveyard, even though they are a modern version of it. It's pure, organic, and so much more than the sum of its parts.

16. Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell (Previous Rank: 10)

The only Black Sabbath I care about is the Dio era, and it's not even a question which album to pick. The only real question is whether this is the best album Dio ever appeared on. Obviously, I'm saying it is, but that's not a runaway decision. Rainbow's "Long Live Rock N Roll" puts up a strong fight. For it's time, "Heaven & Hell" was the best metal album in existence.

15. Elton John - Peachtree Road (Previous Rank: N/A)

I have changed my mind. I used to pick "The Captain & The Kid", but the more I listen, the more "Peachtree Road" has higher highs. Either way, this era of Elton John is my favorite. If I am an old soul at heart, liking this is an illustration of just that. The facade isn't there, but the songs are. Just beautiful.

14. Bob Catley - Immortal (Previous Rank: 13)

Half the appeal to this album is Bob's voice, which is one of those wondrous sounds that is unique to him. Unfortunately, most of his career has been spent singing songs I don't particularly care for, so when this album came along and gave him a set of splendid melodic metal, I was overjoyed. I have been ever since.

13. Bloodbound - Tabula Rasa (Previous Rank: 12)

When I first heard this album, I thought it's blend of Soilwork-esque guitars and power metal vocals was the future of the genre. Well, it took a long time to get there, but we might have. This still sounds cutting-edge, and is still a fantastic blend of rhythmic guitar chunks and soaring vocal hooks. Modern power metal started here, and has never eclipsed this album.

12. Graham Colton Band - Drive (Previous Rank: N/A)

I ran across Graham Colton in the file-sharing days, when one of his songs was mis-labeled as my favorite band. It was fortuitous, as when he and his band released an album, it was everything I could have wanted. At least, I came to realize that down the line. It's an album that has been growing on me all these years, and every time I listen to it, I wonder how I didn't hear it this way the first time.

11. Matchbox 20 - Yourself Or Someone Like You (Previous Rank: N/A)

I used to say "Mad Season" was the better album, and in all honesty it probably is, but there's something to be said for which album makes you listen. That is still this one, which despite being as blatantly late-90s as possible, continues to resonate with me. I played it as a teenager so much I actually wore out the CD, and I still find myself singing every time one of the songs comes on.

10. Avantasia - The Metal Opera Pt II (Previous Rank: 8)

I have never come up with a reason why this album, and not any of the myriad other similar power metal albums, is the one that stands out most to me. It simply does, as the blend of power metal and Meat Loaf hits at many of the things I love so much about music. Perhaps inexplicable, but for me undeniable.

9. Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding (Previous Rank: 7)

I like Iron Maiden too, but Bruce's crowning achievement is this solo album, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Using the poetry of William Blake as a backdrop, and bass strings on the guitars to add even more heaviness, this album is an epic, intellectual examination of what metal can be. It's stirring, rousing, and the sort of album that makes me stand back and applaud something I could never do.

8. Dilana - InsideOut (Previous Rank: N/A)

I'll say more a few slots later, but this album was my introduction to my favorite voice (on record, that is), and a moment in time I will never forget. I could hardly believe what I heard that first time, and I feel the same way today. It's a wild ride of influences, anchored by that voice. "Dirty Little Secret" is heart-breaking, while "Falling Apart" has since usurped the throne as my favorite song of all time. Where would I be without this one?

7. Graveyard - Lights Out (Previous Rank: 14)

I mentioned classic rock the first time Graveyard appeared on this list, and let me go further. "Lights Out" is an album that is a time machine, not because it brings the sound of the 70s to my ears, but because it allows me to experience what fans back then felt as the classic albums were coming out. This record is timeless, and in it I hear the threads of history being tied together, anchoring me to a past I would otherwise not be firmly moored to. It's the best rock album of the last decade.

6. Tonic - Head On Straight (Previous Rank: N/A)

I realized recently I listen to this album constantly, and not my previous pick for the second best Tonic album ("Sugar"). While this album is the outlier of their short catalog, that's exactly why I love it so much. The tone is different, even if the songs aren't. This album is Tonic at their most 'rock', and Emerson's voice and melodies atop heavier guitars is something I have never gotten tired of.

5. Jimmy Eat World - Futures (Previous Rank: 11)

When I was younger, "Pinkerton" by Weezer was one of our cultural touchstones. I have written much about the shame I feel in that, but thankfully it has been replaced by "Futures", which somehow continues to grow in my esteem. It is a dark album of bitterness and longing, a statement of nerdy awkwardness, and much more the album I would use to define my era, even if it technically is a few years too late. Call this the remake that is better than the original, in every way. Sadly, I seem to be one of the very few, the band included, who feel as such.

4. Dilana - Beautiful Monster (Previous Rank: 4)

I wrote an entire novel fictionalizing my belief I don't feel things the way most people do. This album, at least for forty minutes, proved me wrong. In Dilana's voice and songs I could feel her soul pouring through, and something about her resonates at the same frequency as my own. My reaction is visceral, wrenching, and belonging solely to this album. She taught me something about myself with these songs, and there isn't much greater than that.

3. The Wallflowers - (Breach) (Previous Rank: 3)

I love "Bringing Down The Horse" like everyone else, but that isn't the album that means the most to me. This one not only has a bigger, bolder sound to it, but as I have written about before, it also taught me about the intersection of music and poetry. Jakob Dylan's lyrics are as much at the forefront as the songs themselves, and he wrote on this album imagery that has stuck with me now for two decades. Older listeners have their relationship with his father, but this is my Dylan.

2. Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II (Previous Rank: 2)

I still have the cassette tape sitting on the back of a shelf somewhere, the very first album I ever owned. Jim Steinman was my first music teacher, and everything people perceive as terrible about my taste derives from that fact. I was an impressionable child, and the drama and humor of Jim Steinman wrote the first words on my blank slate. Even today, the outlines of the jigsaw pieces fit perfectly in me. I know I'm in the minority picking the sequel, but I'm not apologizing for that.

1. Tonic - Lemon Parade (Previous Rank: 1)

This has been my favorite album since it overtook the previous entrant, and has kept that spot even as "If You Can Only See" was overtaken as my favorite song. So why do I love this album so much? There are the songs of course, which are fantastic, and rather interesting as well. There are sly details and some unusual voicings that make it sound unique to everything else coming out of the mid 90s, even if the production was the typical post-grunge dirt. But beyond all of that, "Lemon Parade" is the album that made me want to become a musician and songwriter. This record is the reason I picked up a guitar and a pen, it's responsible for me thinking of music as more than a diversion. It's hard to find a deeper connection than that.

Singles Roundup: Elvis Costello, Theresa Jeane, Rise Against, & A Light Divided

 Elvis Costello – Phonographic Memory/Hey Clockface

After the last fifteen years of Elvis Costello's career, I knew better than to expect much from the first tastes of his upcoming album. And in fact, I was wise to be so wary, as these tracks continue Elvis' explorations of sounds that don't have much song behind them. One of these is a song heavy on a rhythm, with lyrics that pale in comparison to anything he used to be known for, while the other is a spoken word bit that is a complete time suck. I don't want to say only Elvis' rock albums are good, but "Momofuku" is the only one in many a year I've been the least bit entertained by. This doesn't sound like it will change things.

Theresa Jeane – Take Me To The Stars

I really enjoyed the recent run of singles The Nearly Deads had put out, so when they hit pause and Theresa Jeane said a solo single was coming, it raised an eyebrow or two. Now that the song has arrived, those worries were mostly for naught. This song has the same ear for melody, just wrapped in a shinier, more pop-oriented veneer. I won't say I enjoy it as much as I did "Freakshow", but I did find myself enjoying it more than I thought I might. If this is her solo sound, it's a solid stand-in for the band.

Rise Against – Broken Dreams, Inc

I loved Rise Against's last album, "Wolves", which made a high showing on my year-end list when it came out. The first song they've released since then..... isn't doing much for me. Maybe it's because it was written for a comic book I don't read, and maybe it's just a culture clash where I don't get the inspiration they found in the source material, but this song doesn't have the bite, aggression, or hooks of anything off "Wolves". It sounds tame, and if anything, a bit recycled. It's an ominous sign that the first song in several years isn't making a stronger impact.

A Light Divided – Radio Silence

Another band whose last album I really liked is A Light Divided, and unlike Rise Against, their first new song in a couple of years hits the bulls-eye. The heavy and modern riffs have power behind them, and the hook is absolutely killer. The vocals sound a bit less aggressive than they did before, but that's ok, because there's still plenty of spunk and grit to them to sell me on them. This song is simply great, catchy, modern hard rock done the right way. Hopefully, it's an indicator that more will be coming, because I'm definitely down for that.

Album Review: Stardust - Highway To Heartbreak

 

We grow as people as life moves forward, but genres of music do not always do the same thing. Take AOR, for an example. The bands playing the style now are doing the exact same things the bands twenty-plus years ago were doing. They write the same melodies, play with the same keyboard tones, and are proud of their lack of evolution. AOR fans are loyal, and will eat up anything that sounds just like the music they already love. For Stardust, that goes even further, as this album finds them writing songs with AOR stalwarts, which only cements their fanatical devotion to recreating the past.

Stardust's version of AOR is the kind that thinks it rocks, when it really doesn't. They have a bit more guitar in the mix, but it's not a heavy guitar. When they try to hit a bit chord, it sounds small, and the weakness of the entire effort is obvious. You don't have to rock hard, but if you don't there needs to be strong, sturdy hooks. Stardust doesn't deliver those either. These songs aren't big sing-along numbers either. They're the type of songs with simple, one-line refrains. I would offer a comparison from the past to the style of their writing, but I don't have to. They put a cover of Pat Benetar's "Heartbreaker" as the second track on the album.

Let me break down that decision for a second. On their debut album, the second song that expect you to hear is a cover. Not just a cover, but a cover that doesn't rock even a fraction as hard as a song recorded over thirty years ago. I'm not sure why they wanted to make clear they didn't think their own songs were good enough to put front-and-center, nor why they recorded a version that pales in comparison to the original, and still decided to put it on the album. That's a vote of no-confidence in this album, from band itself!

Or maybe they put the song on there just so there would be something to remember them for, because the rest of the album doesn't offer anything but AOR cliches, and not done especially well. Considering they brought in a couple of old hands in the style whose own work has been faltering in recent years, I should have expected this. Stardust are a young band, and maybe they can grow into something with time, but they aren't there yet. Their songs aren't sharp enough, their choices to help them write didn't work, and their decision regarding that cover song are fascinating in how wrong they are. There's a lot to learn, but not much time.

Album Review: Sinner's Blood - The Mirror Star

The new crop of bands Frontiers Records has been coming out with this year has been large, but rather underwhelming. While I appreciate the label's efforts to find and grow the next generation of rock and metal bands, I can't say that many of them have impressed me all that much. I don't want to write that off to inexperience, as plenty of bands have started their careers with their best work over the years. No, I think the reason lies more in the fact that so many bands now are coming up with sounds more stale and generic than ever. I've lost count of how many bands have been trying to sound like it's still 1985. It isn't fresh, there's too much competition, and it's hard to write in a style that existed before your birth.

Thankfully, Sinner's Blood is a new band that sounds completely modern and of this time. Their style of rock is heavy, thick, and full of big melodies. The saturated guitars fill the sonic space with plenty of weight, while the songwriting delivers radio-friendly hooks song after song. Sinner's Blood are a welcome antidote to what mainstream rock has to offer us, for the most part. They have a similar sound, but far stronger and more appealing writing.

I will disagree with the typical press release posturing about one thing. They say James Robledo is soon to be a household name. Yeah, that's not going to happen. I'm not denigrating him, by the way. He's a good singer, and puts in a good performance on the record. But let's be honest here; no rock singer right now is ever going to become a household name, let alone one in a new band no one has yet heard of. The same thing has been said about label-mate Ronnie Romero for a few years now, and even with a stint fronting the reincarnated Rainbow, he is still a fringe figure in music. That's just reality, and while I know press releases are supposed to do everything they can to hype the music, saying things that are patently absurd doesn't help anyone. By their words, they have set it up where if he doesn't become ubiquitous in music (and no, I'm not counting the five other Frontiers projects he will be included on over the next few years), he's failed. That doesn't help.

Back to the point, now. Sinner's Blood have delivered us an album of mainstream rock that does everything it's supposed to. It's not rocket science; big guitars and hummable melodies are all you need. A lot of bands, however, can't write well enough to work the easy formula. And it's not easy, to be honest. Writing melodies that are sticky, memorable, yet don't sound like something we've already heard a dozen times is hard. But it's the single most important thing a band needs to do, and Sinner's Blood does it better than a lot of new bands are able to.

There's still room for the riffs to get a little sharper, and they need to write a better ballad than the rather boring "Forever", but the core of this album is the kind of modern rock we need more of. In a year with a lot of new bands trying to find their place, Sinner's Blood is one of the better ones.

Album Review: Ascension Of The Watchers - Apocrypha

I think at the start of this review I have to mention that there is once again drama surrounding vocalist Burton C Bell's other band, Fear Factory. The album they turned into their label three years ago is now undergoing some 'renovations', which include a crowd-funding campaign to cover the costs. I say this because Bell has called that a scam, and pretty much says he has nothing to do with whatever is going on in Fear Factory at the moment, because he's focused on this band, and this album. Given the legacy of Fear Factory, and the easy attention that name can demand, that makes it quite a statement of what Bell thinks of this album. Is he right?

Ten years in the making, Ascension Of The Watchers newest album is a lighter take on the mechanical metal Bell is known for being the voice of. Between the tight drum rhythms, and the tone of his voice, the artificiality of Fear Factory exists in this music as well, but with a gothic tinge instead of the usual metallic rage. Bell's voice is deeper here, but retains that feeling of plasticity that at times sounds unnatural. Maybe it's over-processed to achieve the desired effect, but it does play into the coldness the album trades in.

Here's the rub; this album plays with atmospherics and moods, and that is one of the hardest things to achieve in music. When you are focused on creating a feeling, particularly a subdued one like on this record, keeping the songs moving is a tall order. Unfortunately, they aren't able to do that often enough. Many of these songs are moving slowly, and without much energy, which leads to them barely leaving a dent when they hit. There isn't enough weight behind the compositions to overcome the wait for the point to come. With lengthy verses of droning notes and barely melodic vocals, it's a test of patience I found myself losing.

Between the songs without much melodic appeal, and Bell's sullen vocals, the record is darkness piled atop darkness. As I listened, I simply could not find it in myself to want to go down that path. I have talked before about not wanting to listen to music that intentionally stirs negative emotions in the listener, even if they are helpful to the artist's psyche, and that's pretty much where I stand with this record. Repeated exposure to this record can only stir melancholy and depression, and introducing that into my mind isn't dangerous, per se, but it's stupid.

And with a solid hour of music here, it's too much of a sad thing for me. I'm not interested in holding myself down for that long, nor am i interested in spending so long trying desperately to see the bright side. I'm not sure if there is one, and even if there is, I don't see how it can pay off the effort.

So no, I did not enjoy "Apocrypha". What I heard was a flat, sad album. I have no interest in subjecting myself to that.

Album Review: Monsterworks - Malignment

The first time I heard Monsterworks, on their "Album Of Man", I found them to be incredibly interesting. Their blend of hard rock, metal, and extreme metal was something that caught my ear, and I heard some craft behind the experimentation that held real appeal. But what was interesting at first later become dull, what was subversive at first became haphazard. I grew more and more impatient as the band released albums at breakneck speed, and with less and less sinew tying the pieces together. I wasn't hearing enough to make me think they were compositions, rather than collections of ideas. The songwriting aspect was missing.

But with the band taking a year off, the extra time might mean more care went into the next batch of music, which is what we're looking at today. Is that what happened?

Let's get one thing out of the way first; this album is both a prequel and sequel to two albums that were released more than a decade ago, and before Monsterworks had whatever level of notoriety than currently do. I don't know how many people would have heard those records, so asking them to get into a story they would need to listen to two more albums in order to understand is not a smart business decision. I'll be honest and say despite knowing this fact, I did not go back and listen to those albums for more context. Enough of the lyrics are obscured by growling, howling, and shrieking that it didn't seem worth the effort, given how little of this record's story I could even decipher (yes, my promo came with the lyrics, but if I have to read them to understand what you're saying, you have already failed).

To get back to the question at hand, no, Monsterworks has not used the extended time between albums to make a better record. While I will admit the transitions are not as random as they have been in the past, which is a sign of growth, the actual songs built from all their wild ideas aren't strong enough. The riffs are too sludgy to have the kind of bite necessary to get our heads banging, and the vocals deliver almost no moments of melody. It's well managed noise, but it simply doesn't gel together into songs worth listening to repeatedly. That's what made "Album Of Man" work. There were songs with catchy hooks that made you want to follow the randomness. This album doesn't draw the dots dark enough to follow them with our pens.

I'm glad these guys enjoy the music they are making, but it has passed me by. I just don't understand the appeal of music that doesn't have memorable riffs and melodies. The impact of art is directly related to how many people who encounter it will remember they even did so. "Starry Night" would not be a treasured masterpiece of art if the image was a faint memory in our minds. We remember every color and swirl. Monsterworks' music is not "Starry Night". I will barely remember I heard this at all, which is a sad thing to have to say.