FUNERAL-Arcade Fire

Funeral-
Arcade Fire
Label-Merge Records
Status-Out as of 2004, 1st Studio Album
Rating-5 Feathers

Forming in Montreal, husband and wife team Win Butler and Régine Chassagne started out as a meek duo in 2003 called Arcade Fire. Now comprised of several multi-instrumentalists, Arcade Fire draws upon everything from ethnic roots and indie to form their debut album, ‘Funeral’. Launching off the album, ‘Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)’ is a tad depressing, but the piano keeps it from becoming the mood of a man going off to war. He sounds like he’s crying out in desperation, which is very effective. ‘Neighborhood #2 (Laika)’ is a little creepy and the combination of the accordion and high-pitched violins make it seem like they’ve lost their minds eerily. You can see a slight connection to the other Neighborhood in that they effectively got their message across and it sounds like a clear group effort. It’s a very awkwardly infectious song. ‘Une Année Sans Lumière’ (translating to a year without light) is such a cutesy song. It’s so light, and the French part makes it even cuter! The build to the end is very subtle, and it was just right; not overbearing. ‘Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)’ is my favorite song on the album. Next to ‘Arpan’ from the Concert for George, this is possibly the best arrangement of such diverse instruments I’ve ever heard. The xylophone is beyond catchy, and the part where they go “Is it a dream? Is it a lie?” truly sends shivers down your spine. ‘Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)’ is the lightest and most easy going of the Neighborhoods. It’s a little anticlimactic, but still very pleasant. The use of teakettles gives it a nice home-y effect, as in I can easily imagine sitting in a cottage listening to this song. ‘Crown of Love’ starts out a little on the boring side, but the use of strings gives me an image of what I’d imagine Italy to feel like. The end of the song is by far the best. You can hear the strings slowly building up and then all of a sudden they make the most awkward transition I’ve ever heard in any song, but that transition is to a very upbeat, very infectious section of joy. I can’t stop listening to that segue. ‘Wake Up’ is not your typical sad song. It’s just so freaken beautiful. They say “Someone told me not to cry”, but I did anyway. It’s so trodden with weeping strings, and group vocals that give it a sense of ‘we’re going through this, but as long as we’re together, we can pull through’. It’s so empowering that when they all shout ‘I guess we’ll just have to adjust!’, it unconditionally affects you. ‘Haiti’ is also a little said, but it has a bright tone and a more reflective quality about it. Régine sings so lovely and perfectly about her home Haiti. It affects you, but not quite the same way that ‘Wake Up’ does. ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ too builds up so beautifully. It’s has a similar empowerment, even though the message that the song is giving is that even sleeping is a lie. They all pour their souls into this song, and boy does it translate! The combination of a perfect string arrangement accompanied by shear heart and soul leaves you completely awestruck. ‘In The Backseat’ a really great ending to such an awe-inspiring album. You can really tell Owen Pallett did the strings for this because only in this song do they not sound eerie or creepy. Régine’s voice is haunting, and if it doesn’t strike a chord with you, you are heartless. As a whole, this song sums up perfectly all that the album was. I decided to review this album to see what all the fuss was about, and I had no idea that it hit me like a brick. It’s one of the most empowering albums I’ve heard in a while, and every song is clearly completely unique. It’s so unique that I cannot think of any clear outside influences. From the first chord, to the last note, they put the fun back in funeral.

"I felt like I discovered Montreal... obviously I didn't, but I came and went, holy shit, I never even looked at this place on the fucking map, and there's this great weird city, and it's full of arts and culture, and I was so shocked. A year in Boston, nothing. I come to Montreal, and I had a performing band straight away. It's hard not to think of it as fate that I found myself there."-Win Butler

Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

Recommendations: Neighborhood #3 (Power Out), Wake Up, Haiti, Rebellion (Lies)
Arcade Fire's Official Website
Note: Yes, I know, this one of the best reviewed, most highly praised albums of the decade, but I wanted to see for myself why everyone, even pitchfork, liked it so much, and I wanted to open the door up for discussion about it. I hope you enjoy my review as much as I enjoyed writing it and my next review will probably be Midnight Boom as I promised long ago.

The Friday Thing: Mucky Fingers by Oasis

I was watching a one hour special of an airing of 'Oasis Live in Manchester'. This was sincerely the only song I never heard before I watched it that stuck out to me. I caught myself singing 'It's all mine!' days later. This performance destroys the studio recording, it's so lively and just overly fantastic performed here. I hope you enjoy!

Mucky Fingers

RULES-The Whitest Boy Alive

Rules-
The Whitest Boy Alive
Label-Bubbles
Status-Out as of 2009
Rating-2.5 Feathers

Formed in Berlin as an electronic dance group in Germany, The Whitest Boy alive are now classified by their simplistic combination of a minimalist guitars and drums, with a thick bassline. Since their creation, they have released the very well received ‘Dreams’, and are now back with the follow up entitled ‘Rules’. Starting with ‘Keep a Secret’, you can tell just how basic they are. It’s a nice opening, and the ambient feel gives it a nice flair. The way he pronounces ‘can you keep a secret?’ is pretty interesting also. ‘Intentions’ is a little more subdued than the last song, but I’m not saying that the last song was upbeat or anything. The synthesizer is very, very reminiscent of ‘Fly Like an Eagle’, which is ok, just not really my taste. ‘Courage’ is a pleasant song, but it is more powerful than the previous song. The bass line is so clear which really helps the song a lot. ‘Timebomb’ immediately sucks you in with a combination of random chord bursts and a thick bass line. It really creates a nice groove. Though he says ‘it’s a rollercoaster ride of emotion’, ‘Rollercoaster Ride’ fails to bring you to the emotional state that he promised. It’s actually pretty bland. Though very simple, ‘High on the Heels’ has a weirdly danceable vibe, and I quite like it. The vocals are paced a little quicker than the others, and it really helped. ‘1517’ is simply refreshing. It’s not refreshing like ‘they are sooo innovative’, it just gives you a refreshed feel, similar to how you feel after drinking a cold iced tea. The song has a very nice feel and the structure very well done. ‘Gravity’ is pretty boring. I must admit, it kind of just drags on. The only good part of it is when he goes ‘How long can a cool cat keep its calm?’ It made me laugh. As expected by this point, the chorus in ‘Promise Less or Do More’ sounds way too much like the majority of the album. The verses and the solo, however, are very well done and give you a little hope for the rest the album. ‘Dead End’ fulfills that hope. It’s my favorite, and possibly the best song on the album. The bass is absolutely brilliant, and the song just goes so nicely. ‘Island’ sounds, again, like the rest of everything previously heard. The little dings sound very out of place. The bit at 3:45 sounds very much like ‘Burning’ from Dreams, which was a great little touch, but a little surprising. As you can see, this album was a little disappointing. I like them a lot, but this had an extreme amount of repetitive redundancy and it was really very boring. They are pretty cool cats with a lot of potential, but they need to add a little something that keep you from forgetting you are listening to something. The bassline throughout is honestly the only thing that kept me motivated to listen. I really believe that there is better to come from The Whitest Boy Alive.

“In case your record dealer doesn't know what you are talking about when you ask for "Rules," just tell him it's out now and that he can order it.”-Marcin Öz

Recommendations: High on the Heels, 1517, Dead End
The Whitest Boy Alive's Official Website
Note: I'm very sorry for my lack of reviews, and I'm trying. Three Friday Things in a row is not good. Atleast this album album came out last month, let alone this year. Thank you Ian France over at Danish Poet for the review idea. I hope you enjoy and I accept any comments and requests!

The Friday Thing: A Lady of a Certain Age by The Divine Comedy

While watching the 'From The Basement' with The Shins and White Stripes, this guy Neil Hannon came on and did two songs that episode, 'A Lady of a Certain Age' and 'Our Mutual Friend'. He was quite possibly the dullest thing I've ever heard. His appearance, his voice, the way he played the instruments were so beyond dull. However, I watched the episode a couple of times, and I absolutely love him now. I hope you enjoy The Divine Comedy, and note, Neil Hannon is the singer.

A Lady of a Certain Age

NOTE: I WILL HAVE 'RULES' BY THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE OUT TOMORROW! AND SORRY FOR LACK OF REVIEWS.

The Friday Thing: Sing For Absolution by Muse

While watching the glastonbury special for 2004, I was shocked that they played Muse in the hour of it. This performance single handedly made me re-fall in love with Muse. It's beautiful and powerful in it's own way. It also helps that it's performed brilliantly and with perfection. Enjoy!

Sing For Absolution

The Friday Thing: Song of Our So-called Friend by Okkervil River

Recently, I cannot get enough of this song. On the album recording, it has such a simple/subtle beauty that when quietly listening to it can (and will) leave you in tears. This song is absolutely lovely, and although it's just Will Sheff singing this without the aid of a female harmony, you can still see why the flowers are dancing! Enjoy!

Song of Our So-called Friend

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF EARTH-The Strokes

First Impressions of Earth-
The Strokes
Label-RCA Records
Status-Out as of 2006
Rating-2 Feathers

With other legendary bands of this decade edging up to there third albums like Interpol or The Shins, The Strokes are no exception. After the release of their massive debut album (Is This It) and the ever successful ‘Room On Fire’, they have been known as one of the biggest and best New York City bands of this decade. However, keeping up to par with their legacy may prove impossible with their third release, First Impressions of Earth. ‘You Only Live Once’ starts out the album with a funkier groove than what they have previously offered. It has almost a summery vibe, and Julian’s vocals fit the song very well. It’s kind of a strange, yet great dive in. ‘Juicebox’ is possibly the heaviest song they’ve done so far. The weird breath vocal pattern sets the mood perfectly. I feel bad for Nikolai because the bass is the lead part (and makes the song), and it never lets up. ‘Heart in a Cage’ is pretty dark, and the lead guitar riff is flippin’ annoying. It’s just not that much of an ear-pleasing song. ‘Razorblade’ is a very positive sounding song that’s very, very catchy. The retro-beachy guitar sound and the part where he sings ‘Oh no, my feeling are more important than yours’ just set you in an awkwardly good mood. The only problem with the song is that he compares a razorblade to a girl. ‘On The Otherside’ has a decent groove to it, but it sounds not fully Strokes, which is mildly intriguing. The lyrics however just make him seem like a whine who’s tired of everyone/thing. That’s a turn off. ‘Vision of Division’ is really not a very good song. It seems like they never alerted Julian on how he was supposed to sing it because it seems like he’s just winging the whole thing. On the surface, ‘Ask Me Anything’ seems simple, almost too simple, but the constantly changing mellotron and the lower register vocals keep your ear through. The mellotron is really a great addition. ‘Electricityscape’ has a nice semi-airy tune. It could have been very easily used in a film trailer for the fact that it has a somewhat reflective quality. ‘Killing Lies’ is more pleasing than many of the other songs, but the bass is very annoying. It sounds like he’s playing in morse code. The vocals are an improvement, but the song just sorta comes and goes. ‘Fear of Sleep’ is also a pretty bad song. The backing instruments just sorta meld together as a wall of noice. The only decent part are the vocals, but not when he sings ‘fear of sleep’ because they sound very creepy. ‘15 Minutes’ has a nice tune, and he really pours into the vocals. It’s a very good song, but it’s not a classic. ‘Ize of The World’ is very grandiose and dramatic, in a bizarre way. The lyrics are pretty clever being that by ‘ize’ they mean it as the suffix. They use it to make odd social observations like ‘movie stars to idolize, leaders to scandalize’. ‘Evening Sun’ is very bland. Bland doesn’t even properly describe it. The vocals don’t even help; they are beyond a bore. The song needs a little something and the drum breakdown they threw in isn’t it. ‘Red Light’ is one of the more annoying ends to album I’ve heard. They failed at the guitar arpeggios and the general dissonance of everything really sends a searing pain through your head. The only thing you can cling onto is that it sounds a bit like ‘Room On Fire’. As you can see, this album was not what you’d expect. It’s not that is was out right terrible, it was just a huge bore and a let down. Boring doesn’t even explain. Except for about 3 songs, nothing really stands out and most of it just comes and goes. A generally portion too just sounds improvised on the spot, which really didn’t work to their benefit. They say third times a charm, but that blatantly doesn’t apply to The Strokes. This unfortunately leaves me question, is this it?

"A tour is the most intense, stimulating way to hear music; it's the best form to receive it. There's genuine excitement from people. I feel like we've stepped up a level."-Julian Casablancas

Video for Heart in a Cage

Recommendations: You Only Live Once, Juicebox, Razorblade
The Strokes Official Website
Note: I know, basically 3 Friday Things in a row. I am re-getting into reviewing and posting, so I really hope to exceed the last two months turn outs review wise. I finally finished with The Strokes, and I'm in the midst of reviewing The Kills and will do something like Spoon after. So please keep posted because I'll keep posting!