Archive for February, 2009

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Lamb of God: Wrath

Posted in Music, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on February 26, 2009 by jnagle4

wrath

Lamb of God has finally made it. After years of being touted as the next Great American Metal Band, they have finally achieved their goal. Wrath is one of the most brutal albums of the decade. It’s a relentless attack on the senses. When the album ends, your heart will pound, your ears will ring and your neck might be broken. It’s that good.

Wrath maintains the speed and aggression of Lamb of God’s earlier albums, but there is a complexity that wasn’t there before. The riffs are complicated labyrinths of sludge and distortion. The speed riffing is great, but the beauty is in the break down. When guitarists Mark Morton and Willie Adler slow the tempo, the savage power of their riffing is revealed. “In Your Words” is especially intense, combining two riffs at once. The first riff is intricate and complex, the second is quick and simple. When the two combine, the effect is devastating.

Drummer Chris Adler is Wrath’s most valuable player. The percussion on this record is some of the best metal drumming ever put to tape. It’s so complicated that it’s hard to believe that he only has two arms. The fills are wild, but never feel sloppy. He stays on the beat with lockstep precision. The best moments on the album are when Adler and the guitars are in sync. They are heavy, but more importantly, they groove. A great example of this is “Set to Fail.” It starts out like a typical thrash tune, but then they slow it down and everything swings. Like Pantera, they understand that it’s not about being the fastest band in the world. It’s about combining elements of speed metal with traditional metal to create the heaviest music possible.

If the album has a weakness, it’s lead singer Randy Blythe. Blythe has an incredible set of pipes. His screams seem to come from the darkest depths of hell. His vocals are the perfect fit for the band’s mechanized tank assault. It’s just a matter of personal taste. I prefer the more melodic, operatic vocals to guttural screams. No other vocalist would fit on this album.

The album’s lyrics are often unintelligible. Most of them deal with pointlessness of war. However, does anyone really listen to Lamb of God for the lyrics? It’s all about the riffing and the aggression. Lyrical content is a moot point when you are being bludgeoned with guitars and drums.

Wrath is the real deal. Lamb of God is not a jock rock band with a heavy metal affectation. This is heavy fucking metal. The best thing about it is that you hear a new layer with every listen. You pick up a bass line or a smaller riff. It’s a very dense, challenging record. As complex as it is, it never loses sight of the mosh pit. It rewards both passive listening and aggressive headbanging. Wrath is one of the best metal records of the decade. No self-respecting headbanger should be without it.

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M. Ward- Hold Time

Posted in Music, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2009 by jnagle4

m-ward

The story has been told a million times. A singer-songwriter is critically acclaimed in indie circles, but is largely unknown by the mainstream. They finally hit paydirt with a side project or in a band. When the band goes on break, they release another solo record, but it doesn’t really have the same impact. This is the crux of M. Ward’s new album, Hold Time.

Hold Time isn’t a bad record by any means. Ward is a decent songwriter and a very talented guitarist. Unfortunately he’s not very charismatic, so his songs tend to bleed into each other. The reviews are fawning over this record, and it’s understandable. It’s very well made, with lots of attention to little details. There are shuffling Tennessee Three-style backbeats and morose pianos. The guitars twang and slide, accentuated by an organ or two. This is designed to make Hold Time sound older than it really is. Unfortunately there are a million indie bands going for the same exact sound. Acoustic guitars are cool and all, but it’s getting old.

The reason She and Him were able to transcend the indie bubble is because of Zooey Deschanel and her Wall of Sound Style vocals. Not many people were making girl group pop, so She and Him were unique. Ward’s quiet, slightly raspy vocals fit the music perfectly He sounds like a mixture of Chris Isakk, Jeff Buckley and Roy Orbison. However, unlike those three, Ward does not know how to change his vocal style. There are no peaks and valleys; he delivers each song the exact same way.

The cover songs were the best part of the She and Him album. Ward doesn’t fare as well. To be fair to Ward, he knows how to interpret a cover. Unfortunately, he chose Buddy Holly’s “Rave On” and sucks the rock right out of it. Buddy’s jittery hiccup is replaced by Ward’s monotone. Holly’s breezes by and Ward meanders. Some things are meant to be left alone. The highlight of the album is the outro, a somber instrumental. It would fit well with a lonely night alone at the bar. Ward isn’t a virtuoso guitarist, but he knows the right note to play at exactly the right time. He has a wonderful sense of feel, which is more important than technique. He’s a student of the genre that he is trying to recreate.

Again, there is nothing specifically wrong with Hold Time. It’s just so profoundly pleasant that it leaves no effect. A lot of the appeal of indie music lies in the mellow nature of the music, but there’s a point where you ask yourself, “Where’s the grit?” That’s the problem, there’s not really any grit here. To be a successful male singer-songwriter, you need heart-wrenching passion. It’s just not here. He is a very pleasant singer/songwriter, and that’s fine. Hopefully the new She and Him record comes sooner rather than later.

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Interview: Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers

Posted in Interviews, Music with tags , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2009 by jnagle4

patterson-ii

For over a decade Patterson Hood has been fronting The Drive-By Truckers, one of the hardest working bands in rock n’ roll. The band’s latest release, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, was one of the most critically acclaimed records of last year, exploring the darker underbelly of The South. The Truckers have performed 1500 shows in their career and never stop working. They are currently in the studio working a new album and also performing occasional gigs. Patterson took time out of his vacation to discuss his songwriting process, the DBT catalog on vinyl and his obsession with duality.

You guys are on tour right now.  How’s it going?

Patterson Hood: I’m off this weekend. I’m in Alabama visiting my family. We leave for a short tour next week. We’re only playing sporadically for awhile, as we’re working on a new album.

The Drive-By Truckers have a very rich catalog, how do you decide what goes on the setlist every night?  Are there songs that are a permanent part of your show?

PH: We don’t use a set list, ever. We decide the first song as we’re walking up to the stage and then it just goes from there. That keeps it exciting and fresh. There are certainly songs we gravitate towards more than others, but there’s no rhyme or reason in particular. When we have a new album, we tend to play a lot of songs from that and the older songs tend to be songs that go well with those, but again, anything can happen.

You are also in the studio.  Are you at liberty to tell what you have been working on?

PH: The next album, possibly the next two albums. There seems to be a lot of songs this time, again. I think if it keeps growing, instead of making a very long album, like last year, we’ll divide it into two albums. The songs seem to be of two different personalities anyway, so it should all happen naturally.  It’s still early, so anything could happen.

Has your songwriting process changed at all since the first record?

PH: The writing process hasn’t really changed that much. We’re a much better band, having played close to 1500 shows and all, but the songwriting is similar. Hopefully we’re all still growing and improving. I probably don’t write as many songs a year as I used to, as I’m really busy doing so many other things, plus having a family makes it hard, but my hit / miss ratio is a good bit better than it used to be.

A good deal of Brighter Than Creation’s Dark deals with addiction.  On “You and Your Crystal Meth”, you discuss the meth epidemic that is sweeping the country.  There have been a million songs about drugs, but meth still seems to be a taboo.  Why do you think that is?  What inspired you to write
the song?

PH: The crystal meth epidemic hit my hometown really hard. We personally knew some people who got really fucked up. Some of them didn’t live to tell the tale. It’s weird, when the album came out, there were some critics who thought it was a novelty song and that we were being funny or something, but it was deadly serious to us. Those people obviously didn’t live in rural America. I kinda viewed that song as John Cougar meets David Lynch.

The dichotomy between the sacred and profane is a major theme in your music. Was that dichotomy part of your Southern upbringing?

PH: That and my life long obsession with dualities. I don¹t know which came first or what inspired what. It’s a classic chicken / egg thing for me.

Recently you announced that the entire Drive-By Truckers catalogue would be released on vinyl, what prompted this decision?  Why do you think vinyl has made such a comeback?

PH: It was something we fought for for years. We made a vinyl release part of the negotiation when we signed our first record deal and it was supposed to be part of the deal that our last four albums were on, but sometimes things don’t turn out like their supposed to. Vinyl just sounds better, looks better and now that most vinyl releases come on 180gm pressings with mp3 downloads, it¹s by far the finest way to buy music. Of course ours didn’t have the mp3 download, but I’m still pissed off about that. The next ones will be, By God!

Gangstabilly was released a decade ago.  Was it hard to find an audience when most rock fans were listening to Korn and Limp Bizkit?

PH: I wasn’t really listening to any of that shit at the time, so I was happily ignorant of what all was supposedly happening when we started. For about 6 or so years, all I listened to was old soul and R&B records, old timey country albums and rap. Gangstabilly came from that era, hence the name, which wasn’t really meant as a joke, even though people assumed it was. I was deadly serious about that shit.

How do you feel about that record today?

PH: It is what it is. I have always thought “The Living Bubba” was possibly my best song and it might still be. Likewise, I’ve always kinda considered “Demonic Possession” as one of my lesser songs and still do. We had two days of studio time and went in and made the best record we could with what we had to work with. In that light it still holds up. It’s kinda endearing to me. I thought Pizza Deliverance was much better and still do. It’s still one of my
favorite albums we’ve done.


Southern Rock Opera is considered your breakthrough.    Do you ever feel like you are in the shadow of that record?

PH: Not to me. I don’t really judge our work by other people’s opinions of them. I’m very proud of that album and Lord knows I’m thrilled with how it changed our lives, but it’s probably my 4th or 5th favorite of our albums. Brighter Than Creation’s Dark is by far my favorite. I’m pretty fond of Decoration Day and Pizza Deliverance too. I have a new solo album called Murdering Oscar (and other love songs) coming out this summer that ranks pretty high with me also.

What’s next for DBT?

PH: We have an album we made backing up Booker T. Jones that is coming out in April. It¹s his album, but we back him up, as does Neil Young. It’s all instrumental and pretty kickass!

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Morrissey: Years of Refusal

Posted in Music, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2009 by jnagle4

years-of-refusal

Morrissey’s latest album begins not with a whisper, but with a scream. There are loud guitars, crashing drums and a thumping bass. These are not sounds that people equate with Morrissey. Morrissey’s guitars jangle, not crunch. The backbeat is simple and precise, not loud and abrasive. This is a major departure from his last album, 2006’s Ringleader of the Tormentors, and it works really well.

The most remarkable thing about Morrissey is his voice, which shows no signs of age. On “Something is Squeezing My Skull” he hits the high notes in the chorus seemingly without effort. Even more impressive, the high notes are never overwrought. He lingers for two seconds at most before dropping into his normal cadence. Morrissey’s usually overdramatic vocals work surprisingly well against the heavier backdrop.

Guitarist Boz Boorer is a student of glitter rock. His guitar swings with the same swagger former Bowie axe-man Mick Ronson brought to Moz’s 1992 classic Your Arsenal. Another welcome addition is former Jellyfish frontman Roger Joseph Manning Jr., whose keyboard flourishes perfectly compliment the music. This is the best backing band Moz has had in ages. Producer Jerry Finn, who passed away last year, also deserves a large amount of credit. His experience producing pop punk bands gives Years of Refusal a sharp, immediate production. You are able to isolate every instrument and actively hear the part they are playing. It really makes the music pop out of the speakers.

Lyrically, Morrissey’s pen is as sharp as it ever was. The title is a sly nod to Morrissey’s celebrated celibacy, which supposedly ended around the release of Ringleader of the Tormentors. As usual, Morrissey’s lyrics are both verbose and ambiguous. It’s never exactly clear who he is talking about, which is what makes him such a compelling writer. For example, on “I’m OK By Myself,” he mentions that he “doesn’t need you or your morality.” It seems like a straightforward line, but what is the deeper meaning? Is Morrissey finally admitting his long rumored sexuality? On “That’s How People Grow Up,” he is even more melodramatic than usual, mentioning that breaking your spine is worse than not falling in love. At his core, Morrissey is still the romantic that we first met in The Smiths.

It’s pretty amazing that Morrissey’s act remains fresh, especially now that he’s pushing 50. I think the key is his ambiguousness. He’s never revealed all of his secrets to us, so he’s still compelling. This is not the usual “girls won’t date me” fare that emo bands have been shoving down our throats. His music has continued to be complex, so Years of Refusal becomes better with each listen. Morrissey just gets better with each release. As usual, it’s impossible to tell where he is going to go with the next record. My one nagging question: Who is the baby on the album cover?

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The Fray- s/t

Posted in Music, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , , on February 13, 2009 by jnagle4

the-fray

The basic definition of the word ‘fray’ is struggle. It implies disorder, defiance and dispute. This is the fundamental issue with The Fray. There is no disorder, no anarchy, no struggling. This record is safe, inoffensive and completely innocuous. The Fray’s sophomore release is the kind of record that you listen to all the way through, and then immediately forget about.

The best thing about The Fray is that now they seem like an actual band. On their first record, it seemed like the sole brainchild of lead singer Isaac Slade. The whole record revolved around his voice and his piano playing. On The Fray, the guitars and drums have become more prominent. This is a step in the right direction, but they don’t do anything with the guitar. It’s there to provide shading for Slade’s piano playing, which is fine, except his piano playing isn’t very interesting.

Slade’s voice isn’t very interesting either. It’s an amalgam of every mainstream white rock singer of the past decade. Chris Martin? He’s here. Rob Thomas? You bet. Stephen Jenkins? Yup. Johnny Rezeznik? In spades. Amazingly, Eddie Vedder’s baritone is nowhere to be found. Maybe Slade misplaced his copy of Ten.

Every song on the record follows the same basic structure. There is a dramatic piano intro, the band comes in and then slows down for the verse. Slade sings something vaguely inspirational like: “Don’t know what you’re made of/till the one thing you want is coming with the dawn,” or “I found God on the corner of First and Amistad.” Then it’s time for the chorus. The band softly roars back in, and Slade’s voice hits the upper register in all the right places. Does this sound familiar? It should, because Coldplay has been doing the exact same thing for almost a decade.

However, Coldplay have one thing that The Fray does not have, and that is Chris Martin. His charisma carries the band. Isaac Slade has no charisma, so his songs come off like bad eighth grade poetry. The problems are even more pronounced because every song on The Fray uses the same mid-tempo template. They occasionally change it up by using a synthesizer (*gasp!*), but that’s about it. The earnest singing of Slade is also a problem. Playing the piano and weaving thick tapestries of clichés does not equal depth son.

Every couple of years a band like The Fray becomes popular. They become popular because they seem like an antidote to prefabricated pop music. Pianos, earnest singing and soaring choruses signal reality for a lot of people. Their first record blows up because they seem so different, and then the second record flops because it’s exactly the same. This is exactly what has happened to the Fray, except this time around they don’t even have a halfway decent single to sustain them. It’s so boring that it can’t even be called bad. Beige is a better term for it. If you like piano based pop music, invest in the first Elton John record instead. He can actually write songs.

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