I recently picked up a few new albums via iTunes and have been listening to them a good bit in the car whilst I have been traveling. As always, I like to let people know when I find some good music, so I thought I would review and perhaps recommend a couple to you.
The first record I picked up was The Statler Brothers greatest hits. Just kidding!
Really though, the first one is Leeland's sophomore release entitle Opposite Way. Leeland's first record Sound of Melodies was a solid first-record, with hardly a bad song on it. It was one of those records that I could put in and listen all the way through without having to skip any songs. Now a year or so older and a bit more experienced, Leeland has put out another solid record. The first song on the record (which was also their first single from the album) called "Count Me In" seems to pick up where they left off in the first album. These guys must have a degree in Catchy, Melodic choruses. Not to mention the lead singer Leeland Mooring has such great lyrics. He writes unapologetic words of praise and worship, but crafts songs that more-often-than-not avoid tired, overused cliches that praise and worship music is shamefully famous for.
The first half of the album stays strong. However, there are a few songs in the middle that seem to drag a bit for my taste. I am keyed in until about song 4, and then my attention starts to wane. But then the end of the record picks back up by song 8 or so.
All in all, I think it is a good record. I would agree with other reviews that Leeland didn't fall into the dreaded sophomore slump. However, I will say that with such a strong first album, the bar was set really high. While I don't think Opposite Way is quite as strong of an effort, I do believe Leeland has shown that they know how to crank out catchy and meaningful worship songs that not only allow the listener to be encouraged, but also threatens to sweep said listener in a frenzy of soaring praise to God....and I'd say worse things could definitely happen. Scale of 1-10, 10 being the best album ever made in the history of time and 1 being only a mere step up from the disaster that was The Crash Test Dummies debut that you know you bought cause you couldn't get that MMMMMMMMMM song out of your head, I give Leeland a 7......a breath of fresh air.
Ok, I'll try not to dissect so much on the next two albums. The second of my recently acquired tune-age is a band called Edison Glass. Chances are if you've hung around me at all recently you've heard me talk about this band. They are from New York, and they are really really good. This record called Time is Fiction (definitely a post-indie title if ever there was one)and is also their sophomore release. Some of you will find Edison Glass strange and unenjoyable. You other, more intelligent, sophisticated and well-rounded readers (HA!) will find them delightfull quirky, immensely talented, and surprisingly thought-provoking. I really like their lyrical stylings. Full of hope and grace, yet not to the detriment of their well-thought-out and artful packaging! I give this album an 8.
The final record is by a new group called Secret and Whisper. I think this record entitled Great White Whale will win the award for guilty pleasure for me this year. Don't get me wrong, they are a good band. However, the sheer overuse of double-base drum licks and obviously solid state-which-can-only-mean-one-thing....-artificial-harmonics-galore distortions should be the first things that turn me off. Add that with the eerie fact that the lead singer sounds like Sebastian Bach (oh come on....Skid Row...you knew that....you just didn't want to admit it!) and you have all the ingredients for a wannabe post-1980s-hair-band disaster. But alas, they pull it off, and I can't stop playing the record! Don't get me wrong, their are no silly long guitar solos, and no spandex pants (I hope), but there is an obvious nod to a day thankfully gone by. In any case, I think half of my fascination with Secret and Whisper is my attempts to reach the previously-only-attained-by-a-dog-whistle vocal notes that the lead singer belts out. That in-and-of-itself makes the album worth having. All in all I give this album a 6.5.....the .5 is for having a big white friendly looking Whale for the cover art.
Ok, so for those of you who are still reading (because I have a feeling that many stopped after review/recommendation #2) let me know if you've pick up anything new that is worth checking out (and NO Taylor Swift, Barry Manilow, nor Ludacris is worth checking out....so just keep those to yourself). And do yourself a favor and at least try one of those albums. You'll be glad you did......or maybe not.....if not then it's your own fault for going and getting music you've never heard....but if you do get it and are glad that you did...then.....you're welcome!
Labels: Entertainment, Music
I’m in Birmingham for the night, staying over for a conference tomorrow. For those who don’t know, I go to Birmingham every Monday for Seminary (all day long I might add). So instead of driving all the way back home and then all the way back to B-ham, I just booked a room at the Sheraton for the evening. So now I am blogging….however the only internet connection I could get without spending the entire evening in the lobby would cost me $12 (which, by-the-way it is to be noted that the Hampton Inn gives its patrons free wireless internet access in every room!). So this post, though I am writing it on Monday, will probably not be posted until Wednesday. That aside, I did want to share my experience from tonight.
I had some time after class to wander around Birmingham. So after a pointless twenty minute trip to the mall, I found my way to the nearest Best Buy. While there, I realized something that really bothered me. Allow myself to explain…..myself.
I was walking up and down the music isles at Best Buy as I have done countless times before. You have to understand the obvious fact that I really really enjoy all things music. My preference would be to make/play music, however I also take great pleasure in listening to music, especially something new. I am always trying to find new music with the sole stipulation that it be…well…… good. In the past, I have even gone to a music retailer with a list of 5 or 6 records that I have wanted to purchase. It was always a treat to be able to mark one by one each record off of my list. However, as I walked down the aisles tonight, I realized that I didn’t have a list. I’ll admit I was a bit unprepared, as I had not originally planned this trip to Best Buy, but again, my past experience has proven that even without my trusty music-to-buy list, I’ve been able to find at least one record on the shelves that would catch my attention. Not so tonight, and as that realization dawned, and even deeper and more troubling realization followed. Not only do I not have a list, and not only could I not find a record worth buying at Best Buy, I am not sure that at this very moment there is a single record that has proven to be worthy of my attention.
Well, ok, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch (and I might add that the previous statement read much more arrogant than I intended). There are good artists still around, and upon further examination, there are a few bands that are still putting out a good product. And I would further have to admit that a good bit of what I am basing this entire blog off of is totally subjective. However, the fact still remains that the current temperature of the music industry is tepid at best. In fact I would dare say that it is near hypothermic! Radio has become irrelevant and utterly annoying. Labels pour loads of money into only those acts that will return loads of money for them, completely disregarding the quality or integrity of the artistic product. And don’t get me started again on the fact that there is such a genre as “Christian” music.
But this blog isn’t just about the pitiful state of the music industry. It is much more about the fact of how deflated I was when I walked away from the music store empty handed yet again (though my wife and I will both be glad to leave that $9.99 plus tax in our bank account!). It is about the fact that not only was I empty handed, but the last few times I did actually by an album, I was disappointed. The last really great record I bought was at least a year ago (by a band called The Edison Glass…be sure to check them out, you’ll be glad you did). It’s about the fact that either the music industry is failing to put out music for a connoisseur like me, or maybe, just maybe, I’ve lost an edge on what is really good music. Maybe the problem lies more in my auditory taste than it does in artistic temperature. I’ll be honest, those bands that normally get rave reviews by critics usually are either to out-their-weird for me, or it is too Americana-boring, or it is Celtic (which isn’t necessarily a problem, I just have a hard time riding down the road with Celtic Women as my driving music). Perhaps as I get a little older my taste is supposed to change, but I still would just prefer good old fashioned catchy pop-rock and roll with artistic integrity and thought-provoking and even only somewhat original lyrics. Is that really too much to ask?
Maybe that is what my role will be one day. Maybe I’ll be the one to fill the void of the oh-so-needed rock-n-roll. Maybe I’ll be the heating pad that warms up ever-so-slightly the sub-zero radio waves. Or maybe you could just tell me a good band that is already doing that so I can get me some new music!
Labels: Music