5 comments about Disco Volante.

1. This is an okay cut of the Bungle page, but far from their other brilliant works. Do not buy this for your first Bungle experience, save it for later.



2. More performance art or satirical commentary than the kind of album you would listen to around other people at a party (unless you happen to be throwing a very, very weird party), this release from perpetual fly in the ointment Mike Patton and his extremely talented cast and crew of musical misanthropes is a must-have completely unique example of artistic vision and good-old-fashioned smart-assery.
   
   The lengthy song "Carry Stress In The Jaw" is as good an example as any of the tracks on this huge, outrageously weird album to illustrate the abberrant strangeness and anticommercialist streak evident here. Meandering it's way through nearly any and every style of music (showtunes, jazz, film scores, thrash metal, polka, children's nursery songs, spoken word beat poetry, carnival/horror show theme music, funk, pop, psychadelia and god knows what else to call it) and clocking in at over ten minutes in length, Patton serves as surrealist ringmaster to the circus-like proceedings, introducing auditory acrobats, clowns, lion-tamers, and a sideshow freak or two before firing himself out of a cannon. Truly odd, and completely original and compelling in some undefinable way. It's almost worth buying just to have around to play when you want to freak someone out....crazy.



3. How does one define experimental? Well, I'm not sure if it can be summed up in a few words, but if I wanted to choose one word that best describes this album, that would be it.
   'Disco Volante' is the second full length major release by Mr. Bungle and arguably their best work, spanning many different styles all in a single song, let alone an entire album. How's that for experimental? That is a word that gets tossed around a lot.
   This album contains free jazz at times sped up as if it was put through a blender, thrash metal, psychadelia, twitchy keyboard sounds...-When all of these elements are combined it can leave one in a panic, like a mad circus is marching through the brain. An album that leaves you on the edge of your seat that doesn't stop 'til the end. Kind of like a cryptic and creepy film in black and white, the scariest of all. I had no idea what to expect next, all I knew was, that I wanted to hear more! Just like an addiction it can creep up on you at the worst, or in this case the Best of times. So, repeated listens may be needed.
   Fast, but smooth jazz can be heard on the standout, track 3- "Carry Stress In the Jaw" and then it quickly switches to thunderous metal, then on to screams of ache and pain and haunting ghostly howls.
   Dark and fantastically Nuts! 'Disco Volante' can leave the listener, happy, sad, feeling bizarre and speechless all at the same time. Not many albums that I know of can make you feel dozens of emotions all at once. This one by Mr. Bungle does.
   I would say this would appeal to fans of Tom Waits crazier side and fans of the Butth*le Surfers, Frank Zappa and The Residents. Right up there with some of the creepiest and weirdest Music around.
   I can picture Gibby Haynes smiling a devilish smile while listening to this, the master-mind that is Mike Patton and Mr. Bungle.
   Remember: Keep sharp objects away from your eyes!



4. A few years ago, a friend of mine popped a cd in the car that blew my mind away. It was Disco Volante. Ever since then, I've been completely obsessed with Mr. Bungle.
   
   Disco Volante is the second of three studio albums, and the most experimental
   and jazzy. Every single track contains a clean blend of so many different genres that a song is a dichotomy in itself. Not to mention Mike Patton, Mr. Bungle's vocalist, who probably has one of the widest voice ranges I have ever heard, spices up the album with the usual vocal chord contortions that blow your mind.
   
   If you like this album, I would recommend listening to their first, self titled album.



5. There is no accurate description for this CD. However, I will attempt to make an analogy with movie styles. I can describe this CD as a mix between Quentin Tarantino and David Lynch. If you are fan of any of those two writers/directors then you won't have any problem digesting this CD. You'll need a big esophagus, stomach, and you know what else.
   
   I am writing this as I listen to Merry Go Bye Bye. OMG how this song throws every music rule out the window! This particular song starts as a quasi-rock & roll happy song (talking about suicide) and then all of the sudden BANG!!! Thrash metal!! "BYAAARRRGHHH!!!" - as the great philosopher of this century once said Howard Dean said once. From there on, the song is brilliantly destroyed with laser guns and video game sound effects from the 80's to then recompose itself at the end with a nicely done soft reprise. Finally there are over 5 minutes of weirdness with several F-Bombs.

5 comments about Daydream Nation.

1. A beautiful breed of melody and dissonance. Give it a few listens before casting judgment: their note patterns are anything but traditional, and one must forget the usual Western constructs of music theory before appreciating the brilliance of this album. My favorite tracks are Silver Rocket, The Sprawl, Cross the Breeze, Candle, and Kissability. I am a huge Sonic Youth fan, and this is my favorite. If you're new to SY, a good album to try afterward is Sonic Nurse or Goo. Once you appreciate their sound-- the discordance as well as the beauty-- you can get into their earlier gems such as EVOL or Sister.



2. This is it, as far as I'm concerned; the ultimate justification for the existence of Sonic Youth as a band.
   
   I was mildly precocious as an Irish teenager because I was buying import copies of 'Sister' and 'Confusion Is Sex' when my peers were digging the rad new sounds of U2's 'The Joshua Tree'. I remember going to see REM in Dublin in 1989, when they were just about to become absolutely huge, and the pre-show music was this album, which I already owned. I wore a Sonic Youth t-shirt to that gig. It didn't survive the amount of sweat I generated that night.
   
   Yes, part of me was being a pretentious git. Truth be told, I was at least as baffled by Sonic Youth as I was entranced. I honestly loved songs like 'Making the Nature Scene' and 'Schizophrenia' and 'Pipeline/Kill Time', but then there would be half an album's worth of stuff that I couldn't figure out at all. Then, bless them, they made 'Daydream Nation'.
   
   A few years after this album came out, I would go to parties as an unenthusiastic cub journalist and overhear conversations in which older journalists would have perfectly serious discussions (really!) about how Nirvana's 'Nevermind' was 'the defining album of our generation'. The hell with all that, I thought; I knew that there were two recordings that spoke to and for me as somebody who came of age around the time the Berlin wall came down. One of them was Dinosaur Jr's 'Freak Scene'. The other one was 'Daydream Nation'.
   
   For me, this is like the White Album and Sgt Pepper combined - not so much a rock album as a huge, sprawling environment, a city unto itself, which I can only take in a bit at a time. There's the gorgeous, high-energy nostalgia of 'Teenage Riot'; the mysterious 'Providence'; the scary 'Hey Joni'; the fabulous trash of 'Silver Rocket' and 'Eliminator Jr'; the enigmatic call to arms of 'Cross The Breeze'...I could go on. And on. And on. Most importantly to me, there's Lee Ranaldo's stunning finest four minutes ever, 'Eric's Trip', one of the most dizzying marriages of songwriting craftsmanship, toneless half-singing and guitar mayhem ever recorded.
   
   'Daydream Nation' was so good that it actually killed Sonic Youth for me. I never bought another album by them again until years later, when I got 'Experimental Jet Set' on the strength of its dreamy and menacing non-hit, 'Bull in the Heather'. Hardly the behaviour of a true fan, I admit it.
   
   They finally played Dublin, at midnight in the scuzzy Olympia Theatre, some years ago. I was there. They rocked, but I was in my late twenties by then and I was just boggling at all the teenagers for whom this was clearly one of their bands. I stood there drinking beer out of a plastic cup and marvelling that Ireland had become a place where Sonic Youth might actually play a gig. Too late for me, though.
   
   This is still one of the great American rock albums. It's certainly in my top ten.



3. Sonic Youth-Daydream Nation ****1/2
   
   
   Before my first listen to Daydream Nation was over I was wondering what they hell is going on here? This was somewhere around the song 'Candle' that I began to ask myself that. I was thinking this is one of the most intellegent and revolutionary albums I have ever heard, but I was also thinking this is one of the strangest albums of all time, which I guess is why they call a band like Sonic Youth alternative. You see I always liked Sonic Youth, well most of their songs anyway, but I couldn't totally appreciate them at first, which to some may seem frustraiting knowing a band is great and not being able to understand why, while for me I loved that and found it highly rewarding when I finally did get it.
   
   Songs like that almost hit single, and album opener 'Teen Age Riot' leave no wonder as to what it is that is so amazing about Sonic Youth. This is perhaps the most commercially exceptable song that I have ever heard Sonic Youth record and yet there is still nothing commercially exceptable about it. 'The Sprawl' and 'Kissability' pure Kim Gorden songs done in that almost spoken word form that she would later become known for. 'Erics Trip' might be the best song on the album as it offers everything presented in all the other songs on the album just wrapped into one. 'Total Crash' follows 'Erics Trip' as that hardest rocker on the album full of great sound collages and guitar work from Thursten as well as some of his most impressive lyrics. 'Candle' still to this day blows me away at how amazing it is. A song that must be heard to appreciate. While it is not the best song on the album it may be the most inspired. Closing the album is 'Trilogy' a three part song starting with 'a) The Wonder' is a rocking soud collage of feeling while 'b)Hyperstation' is a socially commited-melow-dramatic cinama of a song with 'c)Eliminator Jr.' as conclusion to an essay recycling everything in the album already into one final closing statement by Kim Gorden.
   
   Every noise, every word, basically everything heard on Daydream Nation is ment to symbolize something in America during the time of this albums release in 1988 when the country was still Reagan Nation. This genius piece of music deserves only the highest of praise. Daydream Nation was the first album to really put Sonic Youth on the map and earn them the massive cult following that they now have. Worth every bit of hype it ever was given.



4. The original grunge album, only even more abrasive and cathartic - "Silver Rocket", for instance, has an instrumental break entirely devoted to feedback, and I don't know what to call those noises on "Eric's Trip", but they sure sound cool. And, of course, it's at least as good as it's made out to be. See, the thing about Sonic Youth is that they're one of those bands you've definitely heard of, but might not know a thing about. Okay, there's a good chance you know "Teenage Riot", a big hit and justly so, making excellent use of a tension-building intro. After the intro it gets even better, launching into a slightly disorienting but very worthwhile rocker. It's as focused and taut as a seven-minute song can get, and that's to its credit, since a couple songs, such as "The Sprawl", which starts as a solid Kim Gordon rant, gallop off into the sunset of feedback and totally lose me. For me, the guitar jamming sounds a lot better on the punkish "'Cross the Breeze", which transitions from a beautiful, VU-influenced introduction into a suspenseful guitar jam into a pump-the-gas rocker, complete with fantastic angry vocals from Gordon. Or "Total Trash", which has one of the catchiest and most distorted riffs I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Nice bassline, too, if you can pick it out. And guitar buildup. I like guitar buildups. There's also some nice, if slightly bruising, near-pop on "Hey Joni". After that ends, the record's lone low point begins: the sound collage "Providence", a piano part with a bunch of tape loops played over it. Not my idea of a good time. But that's okay, because right after it is another solid rocker with a beautiful introduction and great vocals from Thurston Moore, "Candle". Near the end comes the bizarre but enjoyable "Kissability". After that co9mes the "trilogy". I don't know what to make of "The Wonder", which is packed with grungy, raw distortion. It sure is unique, though. The second part of this little suite is "Hyperstation", which uses feedback in a very creative, ominous way and contains the title phrase, for whatever that's worth. Both suite and album close with a jokey ZZ Top sendup, "Eliminator Jr.", one of the many examples of quirky humor on this disc. This really stands out when compared to the hair-metal and synth-pop that was dominating the charts in the '80s, and it's really held up well. It's not all that listenable, but it's plenty rewarding.



5. I already knew the album, as I had listened it it in the past in MP3 format. This was the ideal moment to purchase a physical copy and as a consequence it was as expected. Great service, though.

No comments about Ben Folds Live.

5 comments about Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace.

1. The Foo Fighters have shown who and what they are in the last ten years. And they have had success. Their song "My Hero" has been used in the 2008 Presidential election. Interestingly, in 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton earned more Votes than any other Presidential Primary candidate in American history (hillaryclintonforum, the denver group)



2. Foo Fighters made their big break in the 90's and disappeared for a while. The band resurfaced with some albums but now it seems to have matured a bit. Their songs have been polished and their tunes seem different and better. Some great songs are "Let It Die", "Long Run to Ruin", and "Stranger Things Have Happened" which have been played on the radio. All other songs will take some time to appreciate and later will be favorites.



3. I was not super impressed with ESPG being a long time FF fan. The fighters showcase a wide range of styles ranging from slow ballads to faster paced rock/grunge sounds but as a whole, the album does not flow well and is difficult to listen to from start to finish. The first single 'The Pretender' is my least favorite after hearing the complete album and listeners may be mislead after listening to that track.
   
   Its worthwhile to long time FF fans, but if this is your first fighters album, look to the early 90's albums instead. This one is just mediocre.



4. I ordered this CD with Pepsi points. It arrived in exactly seven days. I have ordered CD's through the mail from other compaies like BMG and Columbia House and they usually have cracked jewewl cases on arrival, but this one did not. I plan to order more CD's through Amazon. And ya gotta love the Foo Fighters!



5. I have to listen to E,S,P&C at least once a day, from start to finish. Love it from beginning to end, loud to soft, fast-paced to slow. It's amazing. The melodies grab you, and the harmonies and Dave's voice don't let you go.

5 comments about ST. ELSEWHERE.

1. Great service and quality of CD; only wanted 1 song on the album so was happy to be able to get it!



2. Another good album by the duo artists of alternative hip-hop with an soulful tune in all of their songs.



3. This is an amazing album, plain and simple. It's low points are still far better than 90% of the music being produced commercially today. Frankly, I find it to be a perfect album and would recommend it to anyone.



4. It's a refreshing, fun album, with no really weak songs and quite a few that are really catchy. It's not for everyone, granted, but I enjoy it a lot.



5. i bought this based on the reviews, thinking that i was going to like it. maybe i need to give it a good listen, but i've tried twice and i just can't get into it.

5 comments about Sailing the Seas of Cheese.

1. Chronicling this fascinating trio's synergistic hell-funk fury really gets moving with this release. The sound, while still as alternate backwoods as ever, had been further fleshed out and refined, allowing the Other two players to compliment Claypool's distinctive brand of peculiarity in ways seldom to be reached again.



2. In the late 80's and early 90's some bands of my generation were missing the experimental sounds of yore(sixties/early seventies) and this is what came of it, the best use of a bass gitar is as a medolic instrument, not just a backstander to the other "main" instrumentalist. Ignore "Search for the Stars" or "Rock Idel" or whatever show and don't take Paula Abdule's ill-begotten "advice" about "loosing the gitar" and be a slap/vocalist god intended. The other members are far from weak though, particularly the drummer who has the gusto of his clearly stated influence by Bill Bruford of the "Bill Bruford Band" and "Yes" as well as "Genisis" and many other efforts.
   Primus once opened for Rush.



3. The title of my review says it all. This is my favorite Primus album. Even Frizzle Fry in my opinion is a distant second. The best part of this is the songs. Primus was at the height of their creativity and songwriting and humor on this one. The quirky songs and lyrics still feel fresh, and its really a fun album to listen to. All the songs are good and SSC should be listened to all the way through if possible, but my personal favorites are:
   
   "Here Come the Bastards"
   "Sgt. Baker"
   "American Life"
   "Is it Luck?"
   "Tommy the Cat"
   "Those Damned Blue Collar Tweakers"
   "Fish On"
   
   If you can only buy two Primus albums, make them Sailing on Seas of Cheese and Frizzle Fry. If you can only own one, make it this one. Of course if you're more a fan of the standard 3 minute top 40 rock song like something from Nickleback, Avril Levine or (gulp) Creed, then you'll probably not know what to do with this.



4. THIS EARLY 90`S PRIMUS IS GREAT,PRIMUS IS PRIMUS IS PRIMUS,YOU KNOW YOUR GOING TO GET SOME GOOD FUNKY ROCK WHEN YOU BUY A PRIMUS CD,I GUESS YOU COULD CALL THIS KINDA CHILLI PEPPERISH BUT HEAVIER AND BETTER AND MORE DIVERSE WITH MORE SKILL ON THE INSTUMENTS,THE MUSICIANSHIP ON ALL PRIMUS DISCS IS SUPERB AND THIS IS NO DIFFERENT.GET YOUR CHEESE!



5. Though there's no real way to describe Primus, it's best to know that they're sort of like the funk-rock of modern alt bands such as RHCP and Jane's Addiction mixed with the hardcore/punk of Meat Puppets and Fugazi by way of Frank Zappa. In other words, they're very weird, but even when they fail, they fail marvelously. Luckily they fail far less here than they would on upcoming albums.
   
   One of the only minor crossover hits they had is one here ("Jerry Was a Race Car Driver"), but if you're attuned to music like this (they're consistently labeled under metal, after all), almost all of them will be worth hearing. Les Claypool remains one of the most dexterous musicians ever to slap the bass and this is one of their more song-oriented albums (likely as a result of just being signed to a major label), but I imagine equal numbers will love it and hate it. It's a mood thing for me, but it's always worth the attention.
   
   Best cuts: "Sgt. Baker," "Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers," "Is It Luck?" "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver," "American Life," "Tommy the Cat," "Eleven"

5 comments about October [Vinyl].

1. I wouldn't talk about the contents of it
   I had LP, Polygram (now Universal) release CD, and this one
   this one is the best sounding, remastering was supervised by Edge
   the previous CD version is too cramped on high, that makes sound pretty muffled, that I still play digitized LP
   if you like this CD, this one you'll love more due to better sound



2. From what I'd heard in their "Joshua Tree" days, I thought U2's "October" album would sound the same. But although this album has numerous religious references, the band still sounds like the old U2.
   
   That's not to say that this is a bad album, because the old U2 songs sound really great. However, if anyone really loved U2's spiritual songs, such as "With or Without You," that person may be somewhat disappointed with the October song "Gloria," which sounds more like a religious version of "New Year's Day."
   
   However, there are times in which religious sensibilities take U2 to a whole new level. The song "Tomorrow" really brings many religious lyrics to the forefront. Bono sings about "open up/to the lamb of God/to the love of he who made/the light to see you." He even sings that Jesus is coming.
   
   At the same time, this is still a young U2 band, so their sound doesn't change too much. Despite the addition of a soft piano song and moments of high volume contrast, the Edge plays his guitar in the same fashion as in the album "Boy." In other words, he plays good old punk chords with the occasional high-pitched solo. This is definitely not a sophomore slump album--this still features fast-paced rock.
   
   I didn't get a complete spiritual awakening with this album, because this still sounds like the same old U2 from their early days. However, I did like this album, because it what a consistently excellent band U2 is.



3. I am not a die hard U2 fan. I enjoy "Boy" and "War" albums, think the "Unforgettable Fire" was above average, and once they released the "Joshua Tree" they pretty much lost me, even though I give a thumbs up to the outstanding "Pop" which had them resort back to a more alt rock style with some electronica thrown in. "October," the bands second album, is my favorite U2 album and I feel it is their best. I feel that is just so different, that any fan of rock music would appricate the album as it pretty introduced us to alternitive rock. Sure "Boy" had some decent songs,and most think "The Joshua Tree" was their groundbreaking album but I believe "October" was really what introduced us to U2's "different and alt sound". Take it for what it is worth, there is a certain edge here (no pun intended) that other U2 albums seem to lack, and the musicanship here is top notch. Since Bono's ego has grown to the size of a US State, you can see why the band lacks the charisma and charm they used to have, as his he stupidly said something along the lines that they were lucky to have not been dropped from the record company after releasing "October" and he seems to hate it. I highly doubt he and the band thought that way when they recorded it in 1981, as I highly doubt it was as rushed into production, as they made it seem, after releasing the debut in 1980. Maybe since he thinks the bands older masterpieces stink, is why they released the stinkbomb and clearly their worse album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" or should have been labeled "How to Dismantle your fanbase of old with a bunch of Middle Aged Egomanics" Even if you feel like I do about the band, please dont hesitate to add this to your collection. U2 was once a good band, and this release shows why. ENJOY



4. Half this record sounds like good outtakes from Boy; half of it is overambitious. The experimental tracks like "Fire"; "I Threw a Brick Through a Window"; "Tomorrow"; "Stranger in a Strange Land"; and "Scarlet" would've sounded great on The Unforgettable Fire or The Joshua Tree or even War, but here it seems they're just trying to impress you by hitting you with as many studio effects as they can, whether or not they actually fit with the song. "Scarlet" in particular sounds like it would've benefited from the Eno treatment, because it's ambient and all, but without Eno it's just a vapid mess. The best songs are the more straightforward rock tracks - the best is, of course, the anthemic religious rocker "Gloria", with a soaring refrain; songs like the echoey "I Fall Down", the exciting rockers "Rejoice" and "With a Shout" and the sketchy, haunting, piano-and-vocals title track go over quite well also. There's plenty of strong material on October, but so much weak crap that it's advisable you don't get it until after you have the surrounding '80s albums.



5. U2's early albums help you forget all about the average, disappointing sound and style U2 is famous for today. It takes you back to a time in the early 80's when mainstream rock was really something special and the quality of the songwriting and the amount of talented musicians was overwhelming. October is a great rock album from beginning to end. I think "Rejoice" is a brilliant song lyrically and musically. "Gloria" is as well. U2 was a really talented band back in the 80's with their own sound and style. I remember those days, having grown up during that time. I remember that version of U2 as the ultimate, memorable one. No offense to the new U2 sound, but it's not the same thing. I like the old days.

4 comments about Chemical Chords.

1. something has been off for me with stereolab since marys death. i dont know why. i didnt know her, so it wasnt anything on a personal level. it was a certain charm, maybe?
   after listening to this album multiple times, i do believe that the charm is back, there are still cerebral, challenging songs here, yes, but they are crisp, tight, short and amazing. yes, amazing. this is by FAR the most enjoyable stereolab release in years.
   the strings, the hooks (all songs have at least one), the amazing sound, its all here. its all sterolab. this is a great album. i have been a fan for over a decade, and i do believe that this is the cd that i would recommend to beginners, and in time, might fall into my top choice myself. thanks, guys. love the cd.



2. I have been eagerly anticipating the new Stereolab album for some time, intrigued by Tim Gane's tantalising account of the creative process that led to 'Chemical Chords'- of a batch of his own musical doodles from which the groop developed the final, fleshed out tracks in the studio. So yes, as one would expect from Stereolab, 'Chemical Chords' is a lushly orchestrated album (Sean O'Hagan's arrangements add wonderful texture, especially the strings on 'Cellulose Sinshine' and 'Self Portrait With Electric Brain'), but each track bears the succinct imprint of a singular idea perfectly realised, unlike previous albums where some tracks feel like two or three condensed into one. The synergy between the musical elements makes this another Stereolab album that will continue to reward repeated listens. It's really only just beginning to sink in for me, and so far 'Daisy Click Clack','Self Portrait With Electric Brain' and 'Cellulose Sunshine' have particularly infected my musical consciousness.
   
   The Stereolab formula is evident, but sufficiently tweaked to engage the fans- I can't imagine they will be disappointed. This is a great album, and it's certainly not bereft of candidates to add to your selection of favourite Stereolab songs. It also has an infectiously cheerful quality that might just dispel some mental rainclouds- even those with that mood of restless yearning don't stray too far towards melancholy.
   
   N.B I highly recommend getting the version with extra tracks- 'The Nth Degree' and 'Magne-Music' are both awesome, the former with its insistent bass and crackling electronic inflections, the latter with its rhythmic electronic bubble sounds. The US version provides 17 tracks with 'Spool of Confusion' whereas the UK extended version only has 16 (but isn't much more expensive)



3. As a fan of "the Groop" for, oh, eleven years now, I firmly believe now, after listening to "Chemical Chords" multiple times, that it's time for the gang to hang it up. ..or at least do SOMETHING different.
   
   Those like myself who have been growing increasingly tired of the formula that used to be interesting may have been having trouble completely accepting "Margarine Eclipse" and "Fab Four Suture" as true Stereolab albums. Yes, they're just like anything else they've done, but at one time, this was a band of seemingly endless possibilities. "Emperor..." was considered a modern classic and "Dots..." improved on the sound. They took chances, they wanted us to be impressed. I don't feel that anymore.
   
   Popping "...Chords" into the CD player initially, it took exactly seven seconds for me to yawn and think maybe it's "Margarine Eclipse" all over again. ..and really, I wasn't far off. It took four tracks for me to really become interested, as the title track is gorgeous.
   
   "Chemical Chords," the song, is gentle, free of any discerning beat, yet is a glimmer of hope that was desperately needed. The strings are simply beautiful and flashes of old-time sophistication return, but only temporarily. Immediately afterwards comes "The Ecstatic Static," apparently the prior track's little sister.
   
   The rest of the tracks have very small factors that make them unique, but any long-time fan of the group should be able to tell that they're neither improving their sound nor being adventurous with it. In fact, even Amazon's description mentions thirty-some-odd tracks being made with half of them or so being placed on this album. If it had read that these were leftovers from the "Margarine Eclipse" sessions, it would have made more sense. At least "Fab Four Suture" was downright weird in places, though still typical Mary-less Stereolab.
   
   The album is a solid three, though maybe a half star should be granted further because it's hard not to like this group, even when they're being lazy.
   
   Oh, 4AD is involved with Stereolab now. Just mentioning because it's true, though it probably would mean more if the album were released fifteen years ago.



4. "Chemical Chords" is not too far removed from the Stereolab we all fell for oh so many a year ago and what's really highlighted by this offering is the reassuring fact that their focus and somewhat obsessive work ethic is as true and alive today as it ever was.
   They have plowed their particular furrow for many years, constantly tweaking their particular mixture of dreamy french pop, soaring vocal lines, squelching moog synths and xylophone.
   The trademark 'Stereolab sound' is predictably and thankfully present.
   The London-based band have delved back into their Gallic pop roots for their most recent album 2004's acclaimed Margerine Eclipse.
   Augmented by former guitarist Sean O'Hagan, they provide more of the tried and tested formula that has seen them not quite crossover to the bigger audience that perhaps, at one time, they deserved.
   Aided by O'Hagan's soaring brass and swooning strings, the simple melodic themes build into pleasant enough meanderings, taking in various instruments along the way: a harpsichord arpeggio here, a flute part there, a squelchy and insistent beat and melancholic guitars and vocal musings very much in evidence on the beautiful opener "Neon beanbag".
   O'Hagan's work is very much in evidence again on the title track, which is full of melancholy cinematic sweeps and the occasional Curtis Mayfield-esque string runs.
   Kicking off with "Neon Beanbag", the ninth album from London-based post-rock pioneers Stereolab, gets off to a flying start.
   Chic and quirky in equal measure, and much more pop-oriented than recent EPs, the delicate vocal and jaunty trumpet gel to create a whimsical four-or-so minutes indicative of the rest of the album.
   Laetitia Sadier's Gallic are typically splendid, and, aside from the delicious opener, other standouts include the harpsichord-heavy "Cellulose Sunshine" and "Three Women".
   "Chemical Chords" is subtle and contains an easy charm throughout that, like a lot of previous Stereolab material, can lead one to miss things the first time through.
   Importantly, they haven't lost any ability in nailing the toe-tappers, the ones that light up their now incredibly impressive live sets.
   It's not the easiest album to get to grips with, but as autumn approaches and the nights draw in, it's well worth persevering with.
   "Neon Beanbag", "Cellulose Sunshine", "Daisy Click Clack" and "Vortical Phonotheque'"are just a few from the many quirky song names presented in order to intrigue and attract.
   Have a pleasant listening experience.

5 comments about Alice in Chains.

1. Me and my buddies used to hang out on these train tracks. At the time they were abandoned, and were an excellent place to hide out and chill, when we were in high school. There were a few interesting stops along these abandoned train tracks, but one spot was the one where we were frequently visited by the Tripod dog. Yep. Tripod dog, would take off from his owners yard and visit us often. And since most of the time, we were all somewhat off our tree's, alot of the time we would sing round offs to him, of Alice in Chains songs.
   While most people don't seem to regard the Tripod Dog album as highly as other AIC titles, I can't understand all of the one and two star reviews. I think this album has tons of great music on it, which showcases a few different facets of this band. The album is however, defined by three tracks. The first being HEAVEN BESIDE YOU, which in my opinion is THE best metal ballad of the nineties. It's slow and doomy, with great lyrics, and is presented in a way that instantly sounds like a classic. No one could ever nail the harmonizing vocals so perfectly, and it adds a sense of beauty to this dark ballad.
   The next, takes the two's harmonizing into a different gear, with the thunderous AGAIN. That track is creepy, but makes you want to pump fists, and really sort of dances on your brain at the same time. The first time I heard this was on the radio somewhere between being asleep and awake in the middle of the night. Never left my head. A total first class rocker. Tripod Dog totally dug it.
   And then theres OVER NOW. This tune is quiet and nice, a mellow groove, which sounds alot more positive in retrospect to the rest of the album. "It's over now, but I can see somehow..." The harmonies don't go to waste here either.
   Now unfortunately the rest of the album doesn't qualify on masterpiece terms like the rest of AIC discs did, but I don't think much of it is throw away. Some songs come off a little to abrasive in the mix, where this would otherwise be a really sublime kinda late night spin- but those three tracks alone are definitive nineties rock staples. And also I really always liked the artwork in the liner. I have this bit on vinyl, and the artwork is bigger and more defined, making this album a definite keeper for my collection.
   God bless Tripod Dog, wherever he is.



2. After the perfection of Dirt, this disc is somewhat of a let down.
   Was the groups inner turmoil finally starting to affect the group?
   It shows.
   The songs seem to lack direction and a general lack of interest from the band.
   There are a some good songs on the disc.
   Not what I would call a must have.



3. AiC's final studio release fittingly projects a sense of finality and closure...songs like So Close, Over Now, and Head Creeps echo a sort of haunting acceptance of a cruel fate that perhaps Layne Staley was anticipating in the near future. Nonetheless the grit and existential nature of much of the album comes with crunchy guitar and wailing riffs to spare...a culmination of the "dirt" that had been AiC's signature until then. A good listen in accompaniment of some cynical circumspection of today's society and those who are left behind.
   
   
   Great acoustic sounds in Over Now and Heaven Beside You, sludginess in Head Creeps and, yes, Sludge Factory, and introspection in Shame in You and God Am.



4. This contains one of the most boring songs ever, that I'll say right now. That song is called "Sludge Factory". Dear god, that song is awful! I shudder when I hear the high-pitched singing at the start, the lyrics are pure uninteresting crap, and musically it's just generic AIC. It's a bad song! Oh, and seven minutes of it? Um, no. Wikipedia called it "One of the more popular songs on the album" or something like that, but whoever wrote it must've been the kind of hardcore AIC fan who'd give this mess of an album a 10. And that's not its only problem: there are a bunch of "generic AIC" songs on here: "Shame in You"; "Brush Away"; "Head Creeps"; "Nothin' Song"; "So Close" and "Frogs" are all uninteresting melodically, don't have anything new to say, run out of steam way before they end, and in fact make up 7/10th of my "bottom 10 AIC songs" list. You can also find "Hate to Feel", "Whale & Wasp" and "Love, Hate, Love" on that list, if you were wondering, which I'm sure you weren't. A couple songs do have some cathartic force ("Over Now"; "Again"; "Grind"), "Heaven Beside You" makes for a great "light-and-shade" song, similar to Led Zeppelin's "Over the Hills and Far Away", but in a minor key, and "God Am" makes excellent use of synthesizers. But as a whole, this is one sad album. Kind of like that dog on the cover.



5. A lot of this is going to sound negative but it really isn't. This album does not give me the same feeling as any other Alice in Chains album. I find myself skipping through several tracks which is something I can't say about "Facelift" or "Dirt". I would even go so far as to rate their EPs "Sap" and "Jar of Flies" as better endeavors. Mainly it has to do with my preference for the collabrative efforts between Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell in their previous works. This album is almost all Cantrell due to Staley's ongoing drug problems. It's not that I don't like Jerry's efforts, I think he is a wonderful songwriter/vocalist/guitarist, but I prefer the variety of material and emotion that Staley brought to the table in his songwriting. Again, this isn't a bad album, it just isn't their best.

5 comments about WINCING THE NIGHT AWAY.

1. I loved their first two records and I've gone to one of their shows (they were awesome), so I made sure to give this record a long time to warm up on me. Of course, I loved the single, I had very high hopes for this record. I didn't like it so much when I first listened through the record, but I thought that I would grow to love it over time. I've listened through it several times since then, and I still can't see why this would be considered a better record than Oh, Inverted World or Chutes Too Narrow. When compared to a lot of other bands out there, Wincing... is far better than anything most current bands have ever done. Of course, they have to let their music evolve over time, I wasn't expecting Wincing... to sound exactly like their previous work. Every time I listened to it (with an open mind), I was left unsatisfied. I sinceirly feel that there was something special about their first two records that Wincing The Night Away lacks. I believe that anyone who is interested in or is a fan of The Shins should buy Oh, Inverted World or Chutes Too Narrow first. It's quite good, but clearly not their best.



2. Or at least that's what Natalie Portman told me in the film "Garden State". I respected that film enough to trust that line of dialogue and give this Shins CD a try. Natlie (actually Zac Braff, who wrote the script) was right -- I am forever altered into a Shins fan.
   
   On first listen, I liked the first few songs, and thought the rest were OK. With each successive listen, I quickly grew to love this CD, practically to the point of addiction. "Sleeping Lessons" was my early favorite, with "Red Rabbits" now elipsing that in the never-ending stream of Shins songs in my head.
   
   Fantastic CD. Easily within my top 20 favorites of all time.



3. I picked up this CD at my local Indie music shop in Vancouver without knowing anything about The Shins.
   This CD is original in it's sound, fun and really entertaining.
   The sound is that of British Pop (though the band is from Oregon).
   Best tracks are: "Australia", "Phantom Limb", "Red Rabbits" and "Turn on Me".
   I rate this as one of the best CD's of 2007. Very enjoyable!



4. It's been a good run for the Shins so far, a band that languished in typical indie-pop obscurity for seven years before exploding into popularity with their second album, Chutes Too Narrow (over 393,000 copies sold) and a Grammy nomination (for "Best Recording Package," true, but they take what they can get). Indeed, things were going good for New Mexico's prodigal sons.
   
   Rather than give us another copy of Chutes Too Narrow, the album that, along with everyone's favorite indie-romantic torch film Garden State, propelled the band into the limelight, the Shins present us with an album that at times retains the familiar sound listeners have come to associate with the band and at others stretches their sonic imaginations. Wincing the Night Away attempts to strike a fine balance between experimentation and `60s pop homage, but only halfway fails.
   
   Lead song "Sleeping Lessons," a look at Mercer's chronic insomnia, starts off as most Shins do, quietly and building up a sense of tension. However, where Chutes Too Narrow's "Kissing the Lipless" burst into a sugary electric burst within seconds, the synthesizer and gentle acoustic guitar strums on "Sleeping Lessons" go on for about two and a half minutes until exploding into a typical Shins song, all bouncing drums and Mercer's near falsetto illuminating the way.
   
   Listeners are once again reminded of the Shins' new music ideas with "Sea Legs," not only the longest track of the album at five and a half minutes but also one that radically reinvents what can be called a Shins song. The song is built around a funky bass riff and a drum machine (!), along with strings and synthesizer effects.
   
   While the song is at first relatively catchy and a novel sound for the band, it soon become repetitive and the typically obtuse lyrics turn grating, with Mercer singing non sequiturs like "when the dead moon rises again / we've no time to start a protocol." The song ends anti-climatically with a boring synthesized trip-hop jam.
   
   Wincing the Night Away is also fairly top-heavy. The second half tends to blur together, with songs that sound either too stereotypical Shins ("Girl Sailor") and leave no lasting mark, or are too self-consciously experimental. The most obvious is "Split Needles," which suffers from an annoying synthesizer line and drums mixed way too loudly.
   
   That being said, there are some fine efforts at creating a new sound on Wincing the Night Away, as well as some entertaining examples of the patented Shins "sound" that make for some of their best songs.
   
   "Red Rabbit" is the band's most successful foray into the experimental side of pop music, holding Mercer's strong vocals on a foundation of kitchen-sink sounds that sound like they were taken from an old-school Super Mario soundtrack. A melody from what sounds like an underwater piano accents Mercer's unusually dark lyrics, later accompanied by simple acoustic chords and mimicked applause.
   
   The album's first single, "Phantom Limb," is pop bliss, catchy and refreshing. A simple drum-and-tambourine beat anchor the song, built mostly around Mercer's enchanting vocals and a series of guitar licks, until the song climaxes at the chorus into a harmonized choir of voices.
   
   The best song on the album might also be the best one the Shins have ever recorded. "Australia" begins with a series of "la-la-la's," chiming guitar, and a cheery drumbeat before Mercer's multi-tracked vocals erupt into what may be the quintessential Shins pop tune.
   
   The song is a fusion of all of the Shins' most obvious influences and the band meld these influences into its own creation seamlessly. Much of the credit goes to Mercer, whose singing here is some of the strongest on the album. The lyrics are at first depressing but morph into optimism, with Mercer singing "so give me your hand / and let's jump out of the window" at the song's ending.
   
   All things considered, Wincing the Night Away is a bold step for a band many had come to think of as a one-trick pony. While a few of the songs are musically uninspiring and lacking a sense of direction, many show a heartening change of course that hopefully will be carried over to the next album. Songs like "Phantom Limb" and "Australia," meanwhile, prove that the Shins can still rock like it is 1968 and sound cool while doing it.



5. If you're unfamiliar with The Shins, or if you favor songs loaded with repetitive, predictable lyrics, then you might listen to this album once and walk away unsatisfied. However, dare to listen to it twice and you'll be hooked.
   
   These guys may appear regular and unassuming, but they'll blindside the unsuspecting with haunting guitar rifts, offbeat drums, and playful lyrics that roll out in a refreshingly unfamiliar pattern - terrific fuel for the creative mind.