Japandroids - "Near To The Wild Heart Of Life"

(Gotta get warmed up for this one!)

The album starts off with it’s title track, “Near To The Wild Heart of Life”.  To be honest from this super hazy start, honestly it sounds like we may be dealing with the same old Japandroids we left off with.  When that first verse hits, everything is just as triumphant and enthusiastic as you would hope, joyous too due to the addition of those keyboards floating in the background.  As far as vocals go however, man is this ever different.  I wouldn’t say this is a bad performance, but it’s been years since we’ve heard from Japandroids.  But when Brian King was younger his voice had a little more of a rasp to it, not too much, but just enough to give this track some edge.   The vocals here are much more inviting, this new sound Japandroids are going for sounds almost like a band you would hear at a bar or something.  While we’re talking about this new sound Japandroids has, overall this is very different even outside the vocals.  Going into this recording of this, I knew two things:  1. Japandroids were going to be using more synths and 2. they were going to be going for a slightly more Americana sound.  Both of those elements are present on this title track.  Surprisingly, even with all of these bizarre new elements to the once pretty simplistic Japandroids formula, it comes off well.  The reason most of this track comes off so darn well, is because of just how anthemic it is.  Japandroids for years have made a career out of crafting explosive noise rock anthems, and with a few tweaks this is exactly that.  “Near To The Wild Heart Of Life” is certainly a different Japandroids track, but it’s heart pounding and it absolutely gets you going.  Up next is “North East South West”, and right from this intro it’s clear that they’re seriously going hard on this fuzzy acoustic sound.  As these verses roll by however, they honestly do almost nothing for me.  The verse here isn’t anthemic at all, as a matter of fact it’s sort of cheesy.  Obviously going into this I knew they were going for more of an Americana/Heartland Rock sort of sound, but all around this is just a little much.  The biggest shame here is just how good some of the elements are.  That chorus as simple as it is totally sticks with you and comes off as one of the most anthemic choruses here.  But when it comes to these verses, would anyone hate me if I said this was borderline “Dad Rock”?   Japandroids here don’t sound nearly as explosive or rejuvenated, they sound exhausted.  They literally sound like that first gigantic performance on the album just drained them completely.  I seriously wish the verses here were better, because that chorus is just so damn toe-tapping.  So here we see Japandroids still clearly able to write an Anthem in parts, they just seriously need a little help putting it back together.  Then for the last minute or so of “North East South West” Japandroids switch things over to an even slower verse that’s even more depressing, I’m just gonna move on.  Remember when I said Japandroids wanted to do more with synths?  Well look no further than “True Love and a Free Life of Free Will”, which at the very least has some oomph to it, even some heaviness.  I’m actually seriously digging David Prowse’s drum performance on this one A LOT, I just wish Brian King’s guitars were brought up a little more.  A lot of these tracks still have a big ANTHEM feel to all of this, complete with explosive sing along choruses that I’m sure would be amazing to be at a Japandroids show singing.  While “True Love and a Free Life of Free Will” has a BIG sound to it, you have to realize this is a completely different animal.  This is NOT the Japandroids that you’ve been waiting 4 years to hear from, this is practically a completely different band.  But for every alright track like “True Love and a Free Life of Free Will”, there’s a sloppy one like “I’m Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner)”.  To me, right from these opening notes this is just a desperate attempt to make themselves sound like who they used to be.  I can literally hear every huge Japandroids fan listening to the first few tracks here asking “Where the hell is the distortion? Where’s the noise?  Where’s the energy?”.  Well it’s right here on “I’m Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner)”, but man is it all ever underwhelming and a little ugly.  There’s literally almost no energy here whatsoever, and the rest of the track just slugs along trying to be some youthful anthem that it’s certainly not.  To me, “I’m Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner)” sounds like the parents of Japandroids attempting to make their sons music.  I think the lyrics here are solid, but the rest of the Japandroids sound is gone.  

“Arc Of Bar” once again shows Japandroids focusing heavily on synths.  Not so shockingly, once again this doesn’t even come off as “different’ though, it just comes off as seriously boring and sluggish.  The fact that twice in this review now I’ve used the word “Boring” to describe Japandroids is seriously awful, I’ve ever had to use that word talking about them.  As far as their performances go, it wouldn’t be nearly as bad if they put in just a little bit more effort.  Overall a lot of these tracks are just coming off as so tame.  Lyrically, there are a few moments that get me going, but why the hell did this track need to be over 7 minutes long?!  Things literally got repetitive after the first minute, so by minute 4 and 5 I’m literally desperate for a change or a switch-up.  The synths that eventually come in for the chorus however are actually really solid and make for a nice touch.  “Arc Of Bar” overall though is just so unbelievably boring.  Sure, that little shift in chorus towards the end is nice but that certainly doesn’t give it the right to be over 7 minutes.  “Midnight To Morning” is up next with another sort of folky intro, I seriously feel like I don’t even know this band anymore.  When things speed up at the very least this riff has a little bite to it.  While the instrumentals are certainly picking up a bit, lyrically this is a huge lull for me.  While earlier I feel like the lyrics were holding this album together, here i feel like Japandroids are recycling everything they’ve used already here.  Not to mention, Brian King’s performance here is a little yelps for my liking.  As far as I’m concerned, if Japandroids are intent on going down this road, that’s fine, but it’s going to need some work.  They do pull together a solid sounding garage tune on “No Known Drink Or Drug”.  While this sounds a little similar to other tracks on here, this one certainly has that fire that Japandroids have been missing for most of this album.  In the best way, this track really doesn’t sound like it belongs here at all, it’s a thunderous exciting anthem that I’ve come to know from Japandroids.  The only slight issue is that I wish that the vocals were a little more intense, but that’s really all.  When the rest of the instrumentals come crashing in in the last minute or so, things end up getting more epic than any other track on here.  If they’re going to bring in more synths and more of a Heartland feel, THIS is the sound they need to focus on, it almost brings a little tear to my eye.  This album ends off with “In A Body Like A Grave”.  This one has one of the more bizarre starts here, it’s broken up nicely though with these opening vocals from King. Here, he doesn’t sound the least bit aged, he sounds rejuvenated and filled with passion to be honest.  As a whole, this track does it’s job and reminds us that Japandroids can write one HELL of an anthem when they’re on their A Game.  This may not be the classic Japandroids sound, but if they’re going for a newer sound they should absolutely look to tracks like this one for reference.  

Rating: 7.2/10

Give A Listen To: “Near to the Wild Heart of Life”, “True Love and a Free Life of Free Will”, “No Known Drink of Drug”, “In A Body Like A Grave”

Overall Thoughts:  I wish I could have enjoyed this album more, I seriously do.  Japandroids have taken years figuring out this new sound, and it's a alright start.  But there's still so much work that needs to be done if they want to get back to the Indie Juggernaut that they once were.  However, they CAN still write an anthem, and at their best they can still bring in fiery, passionate performances.  If they can get their genre all settled, they can easily be massive again.  

Shy Girls - "Salt"

Dan Vidmar, aka Shy Girls, is an alternative R&B act whose been around a few years now, gaining a whole lot of buzz around the internet without technically releasing a full length album.  As far as Shy Girls first EP "Timeshare" goes, it's alright.  It reminded me of How To Dress Well if it was produced by James Blake.  While I loved that combo and sound though, there was nothing that seriously stuck with me for the most part, and some of these lyrics were just way too cheesy for their own good.  Not to mention, I feel like there were just way too many artists that did this sound so much more justice. In 2015, Shy Girls released the "4WZ" Mixtape.  What's funny is, I actually REALLY ended up liking that mixtape a lot.  Shy Girls dropped the gimmicky production for much more of a "mainstream" sound.  He basically ended up sounding like a less hazy, less tortured version of The Weeknd.  It wasn't the perfect Mixtape, but it certainly got my attention.  As far as a full length album goes, we havent gotten one yet from Shy Girls.  The singles leading up to "Salt" have been pretty fantastic to be honest, showing Shy Girls sounding less like a carbon copy of other Alternative R&B acts, and really coming into his own.  As far as the singles go leading up to this album "Salt", man I gotta be honest though I wasn't feeling them AT ALL.  Let's check in with Shy Girls shall we?

The intro for “Salt” is, well “Intro”.  It’s actually pretty gorgeous with some super sad sounding pianos thrown in here and there, as well as some really nice vocals from Dan himself.  Dan’s vocals have gotten a whole lot more distinct over the years, he’s come a long way from sounding like just another face in the overpopulated crowd that is “Alternative R&B”.  As far as this intro goes, there’s not that much going on, there are some cliches here and there such as the rain falling in the background, so sad.  But the atmosphere is heavy and Dan sounds solid, and it ushers in the sound of Shy Girls nicely.  Up next is one of my favorite tracks here, “You Like The Pain Too”.  First off, a whole lot of the elements from the intro have crossed over into this one, the biggest edition being Dan’s more commanding vocals.  Lyrically, Shy Girls is far from a miracle maker, some may say this for sure is a little too run of the mill.  However, as cheesy as some of this is I actually like it a lot, and that hook is absolutely solid man.  Not to mention, I would certainly rather listen to this than mainstream R&B.  About halfway through though, Shy Girls really pick up the pace on “You Like The Pain Too”.  All of a sudden we have all of these grand, epic instrumentals that come crashing in and are actually pretty epic.  It’s a slow burner for sure, but a super hip one.  Dan’s stepped up his production game here as well, but all of this being said, I still would totally get it if someone wasn’t into this.  “Watercolor Dreams” is up next, and to be honest I wasn’t expecting it to be nearly as upbeat and oddly funky, ESPECIALLY after how dreary Shy Girls’ music usually is.  Honestly, “Watercolor Dreams” is like nothing Shy Girls has touched for his entire short career.  I love the almost psychedelic feel to everything here, and Dan’s vocal performance is commendable.  There’s a very creeping feeling to the instrumental the way everything is just flowing so smoothly behind these bouncy bass rhythms.  To be honest, it’s probably the last thing I expected to hear out of Shy Girls, but it’s a pleasant surprise.  Plus, all of this live instrumentation adds just plenty to Shy Girls’ sound.  “Watercolor Dreams” is Shy Girls pushing out into brave new territory for the most part.  Up next is one of the earliest tracks I’ve heard here, “Trivial Motion”.  Right off the bat we’re dealing with a much hazier sound here, much like Shy Girls’ early material. However, this is all just a little much for me to be honest, as far as lyrics here go, this sounds like it could have been any R&B song of the last 10 years.  As far as the instrumental goes, it’s certainly not that much better, this honestly sounds like the safest beat they could have gone with. To be honest, when I heard this single when I was preparing for this review, all I could say is UGH.  Alternative R&B is a tough genre, one that you constantly have to stay on your feet and continue to be innovative.  None of that happens here.  “Trivial Motion” is just so safe sounding, not to mention incredibly repetitive.  In a time where people are mostly criticizing Alternative R&B for being just so damn boring, this is the pinnacle of all of that.  “Trivial Motion” almost put me to sleep.

"Why I Love" to be frank has quite the ugly start.  The drums and all are fine, but the beat on top of it which is trying pretty desperately to be edgy just comes off ugly as hell.  "Why I Love" unlike some other tracks here at the very least does have a nice atmosphere I can get into.  Sam's vocals are on point as well, but as far as the total package goes man does this ever come up ridiculously short.  As a whole, this track comes off more goofy than anything, so unbearably cheesy, and that 80's throwback chorus is certainly doing him no favors.  This was another early track that I heard on here and almost didn't review the album in general.  This album so far has been inconsistent as hell, especially after the first few tracks just seemed so adventurous.  "Say You Will" on the other hand comes off a little bit edgier and certainly different.  As far as the instrumental goes, this feels much more like a wildcard, and overall this is just so much more enjoyable.  Dan here actually sounds pretty steamy, and these upbeat and eclectic instrumentals do wonders.  "Say You Will" has a much more frantic feel to everything, a whole lot of this track is fantastic. The one thing I'm not necessarily sold on is that acoustic guitar floating throughout the background during the verses.  That alone just comes off as a shallow appeal to seem so much more diverse and left field.  "Say You Will" is far from perfect, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.  "What If I Can" on the other hand starts off with a glitchy beat. So far, I feel like the production on this album has either been really solid or very questionable.  The longer "Salt" goes on, the more and more Shy Girls gets more and more back to their old biggest fault of sounding too much like their contemporaries.  I mean come on, this literally almost sounds entirely like a How To Dress Well track.  "What If I Can" DOES pick up a little for the chorus and all, and yes it still comes off steamy.  Lyrically this is bit of a tossaway, but I feel like so many of these tracks are just too simple.  They're far from terrible, and you may have to shut your mind off to really enjoy a lot of this.  Shy Girls music continues to be just alright.  However, "What If I Can" thankfully does pick up a little towards the end when all of those instrumentals come in, I just wish overall it was a little more well written.  "Time *Hell Won't Wait For Us" has a super slow start, to be honest I think the piano's are awfully powerful though.  While this may be the most laid back sounding track we've heard here yet, I actually seriously dig Shy Girls performance here quite a bit.  To be honest though, I think I would have liked this track even more if it wasn't for all of that extra instrumentation.  While there isn't a lot of backing instrumentation, those guitars and bass are seriously cheesy and anything.  I would have totally been fine here if we were left with just Dan and his piano.  Outside of that, It's alright, once again I seriously have an issue with a lot of the lyrics but what are ya gonna do.  

 When it comes to “I Am Only A Man”, Dan saved his corniest for last let me tell you.  First of all, this beat is barely there, it sounds like a mushed up mess of what could have been something interesting.  Here, I’m just pleading that Shy Girls bring in more of a beat to just make this track a little freakin’ lively.  To be honest, most of the more beat-centered tracks here have actually stuck with me a lot more.  This on the other hand is just so awkward and cheesy, Shy Girls for the majority of this album has tried his hardest to sound different, but here sound anything but different.  About a minute or so in however, things do pick up with these powerful blasts of synth coming in behind Dan’s ascending vocals.  No, it’s not perfect and I could have used more powerful moments like the blasts of synths here, but Dan is slowly showing a little promise.  Shy Girls may not be completely there yet, but this act is certainly starting to show potential.  But just when I think I’m going to leave this album on a high note, “Collecting” comes in and is honestly a huge let down of a finale.  This track is completely empty, desperate for anything to come in and save it.  There’s a nice harmony here and there, but that’s literally it.  Shy Girls is beginning to show some promise, but this album is messy as hell.

Rating: 6.9/10

Give A Listen To:  “Watercolor Dreams”, “You Like The Pain Too”, “Say You Will”.

Overall Thoughts:  While a lot of the material on here wasn't necessarily the worst thing I've heard this year, I have barely anything to even talk about which speaks volumes for this album.  Shy Girls are slowly getting a distinct sound that I can point out and recognize, but they still have quite the ways to go.

Austra - Future Politics

Very rarely would I say a band just sort of "Clicks" with me from first listen.  Austra though, while I'm fairly new to their stuff, instantly clicked with me.  Their debut album "Feel It Break" won me over on first listen.  I'm a sucker for dark, atmospheric stuff, and that's just the kind of Synth-Pop that Austra brought to the table.  The performances were moody and dreary, the synths were heavy, I just couldn't say no.  Yes, I saw the comparisons to groups like Bat For Lashes and Zola Jesus, but I honestly thought Austra had their own distinct sound that set them apart.  I'm not really sure what happened with "Olympia" though.  Strangely enough, all of the pieces to the puzzle were all there, but the tracks on here just seriously flew over my head without leaving any imprint whatsoever.  On the other hand, the mostly instrumental "Habitat" EP quickly got me back interested in Austra.  This EP showed Austra bringing in even more synths and almost a dance vibe.  But there was still plenty of dark undertones that really set them apart.  It's a pretty short EP, but it showed Austra really pushing their sound to the next level.  That's about it though, it's been a few years since we've heard from Austra, so let's check out their new album.

This one starts out with "We Were Alive".  We're dealing with some synth pop here, so the nice spacey intro we get welcomed with is going to get pretty familiar sounding fast.  There's actually almost a nice ambient feel to this, come to think of it I would love to hear these guys go down a more ambient route in the future.  Quickly though, Austra get a whole lot heavier.  I think the most stunning element to Austra's music is just the contrast between this airy atmosphere, the heavy and almost industrial synths, and these angelic vocal performances of Katie Stelmanis.  Katie's vocal performances have been top notch for years, and here is no different.  While this is a synth-pop record at heart, I'm honestly not too used to these slower paced tracks for the genre, it's actually quite powerful.  The piano's that come in behind Katie alongside her passionate performance make "We Were Alive quite the eye-opening intro.  It's also just wild to hear how confident she has gotten with her vocals as well.  They've always been solid and all, but the performances here are next level and often explosive.  It's a fantastic intro, but it may be hard to swallow for synth-pop enthusiasts.  Up next is the title track, and one of the earlier singles dropped from the album, "Future Politics".  Right off the bat it's much more upbeat and more or less what you would expect to hear from synth pop these days.  There's a real nice groove to this though, not to mention this may just be the most haunting dance track I've heard in a while.  While it remains far from a dance-floor "anthem", this is still pretty darn groovy.  There are a few disco influences thrown in there, and some seriously heavy synths that won't give up.  But at the same time, there's enough great performances here to keep it from feeling TOO synthetic.  There's certainly some dark undertones here as well for those who dig their synth-pop with a little darkness intertwined.  Katie's performances here are overwhelming and huge, but it doesn't drown out any of the grooves.  Overall, "Future Politics" is just a great pop tune, it's not nearly as epic as the album's opening track. but it's much easier on the ears and is easier to enjoy on your first listen.  "Utopia" remains solid in this fantastic opening block of synth-pop tunes.  While you're going through this you're going to start hearing a ton of different influences, everything from the obvious Ladytron to the less obvious Marina & The Diamonds.  Katie takes a bit of a backseat here as far as her performance goes.  I'm not saying it's a slouched performance at all, but this is certainly less overpowering.  "Utopia" is all about the beat and the grooves, which are certainly solid enough to stand on their own.  So far, this has been Austra's most consistent work by far.  "Utopia" may not be as memorable, and I could have used a little more of Katie's performance, but still this gets a big ol' check in my book.  The first track that really trips up Austra here is "I'm A Monster".   The intro here is the airiest, most ethereal yet, and to be honest I'm not feeling it one bit.  If I do have to make one harsh criticism on Austra, it's that they seriously have to learn to be more consistent between their instrumentals and their vocals.   Here, I'm getting WAY too much of Katie's vocals and quite frankly not nearly enough of everything else.  Like, when the beat does hit, it's exciting for a few seconds, until it goes right back to taking the back seat to everything.  Even that pulsating beat behind Katie's performance is barely audible, and when it DOES pop in and take center stage, it seems a little too simplistic.  "I'm A Monster" certainly could have been nice, but I have way too many issues with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fiacjVTorc

Thankfully, Austra get back on track pretty quickly with “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself”.  The beats here aren’t exactly genre-defining, but they’re certainly confident enough to work just fine.  What makes “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself” such a solid tune is that HERE they find the perfect balance of beats to performance. Here, Katie is really taking her performance to the next level with these ridiculous high notes that seem almost impossible to hit.  I absolutely love the synth breakdowns after each verse, to be honest I wish I heard more little details like that here and there.  The break here is unexpectedly really heavy, I for one didn’t expect to hear all of that bass.  When the verses come back into play, Austra pick up nicely and transition smoothly for a solid Synth Pop moment.  My only slight issue with “I Love You More Than You Love Yourself”, is that it’s a bit long, but that’s really all.  Up next is “Angel In Your Eye”, and I HATE saying this but man is that beat ever ugly.  Up until this point, the album has been pristinely produced, all of a sudden this beat seriously sticks out like a real sore thumb.  Katie here is about two notes away from rapping, which I am 100% NOT a fan of.  Some of her more straightforward vocal notes here are solid, but overall this track just doesn’t do much for me at all.  On earlier tracks the subtle dark moments came off as a cool edge, here all of these dark lyrical moments come off as cringe-worthy.  And on top of all of that, “Angel In Your Eye” is just sooooooo sluggish.  It’s not even a slow-burner, it’s just SLOW.  No, it’s not good.  “Freepower” which is up next, has a nice ambient sounding intro like some of the earlier tracks on here.  There are actually some really cool wind chimes thrown in there that work wonders for Austra, sometimes it’s the little details that do the most.  When the beat comes in, this may just be the most adventurous sounding beat we’ve heard here yet, and easily the most technical.  There are some serious grooves here, and Katie’s performance doesn’t leave anything out.  There are TONS of little details on this one that make “Freepower” one of the most memorable tracks here.  There’s also some world music influences here that work really nicely for Austra, to be honest I wouldn’t mind hearing more of that.  Meanwhile, this is one of the longest tracks here, but it BARELY feels like it.  “Gaia” on the other hand is way too much of a throwback for my taste.  Obviously there are a ton of “throwback to the 80’s” feels all throughout this album, everything ranging from some Synth Pop influence to some New Wave too.  But c’mon, this literally sounds like a Eurhythmics rip off through and through.  Katie barely even sounds like herself here, this performance is just so bland and breathless.  Even this beat is just so boring, this whole track sounds like it couldn’t have taken more than 5 minutes to put together.  All I can say is thankfully this is one of the shorter tracks here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_hVmpevWnY

This album overall is certainly Austra’s most interesting work yet, and while the middle of the album get’s inconsistent thankfully they end everything off on a high note.  “Beyond A Mortal” starts off with another spacey ambient passage that actually works very nicely with the sound of the album.  The beat here to be honest, is just what I want to hear from Austra.  It’s simple, but at the same time it seems adventurous.  The atmosphere on this track is commendable as well, this spacey atmosphere has been with us almost the whole album but never this thick or interesting.  “Beyond A Mortal” comes across as so mechanical and cold, but it still remains inviting and quite beautiful thanks to Katie’s performance.  It does go on a bit long, but the progressive feel to this track keeps everything interesting and fresh for the whole track.  Up next, “Deep Thought” was an interlude I certainly wasn’t expecting.  It’s more or less just a whole minute of harp chords and sweet sounds.  It’s certainly not bad, and it’s only around for a minute so if this ain’t your style it’s certainly not going to overstay it’s welcome.  As far as the finale goes, “43” is another slow burner.  The atmosphere on this one is super strong again, and we once again see Austra toying with a slight industrial sound (Think “PrettyHateMachine” era Nine Inch Nails).  On “43” things have clearly gotten a whole lot colder, the only thing about this that IS inviting is Katie’s performance.  It’s not as exciting as earlier dark tracks here, but it still comes off as a solid outro.  My only real issue with this is that it gets a little bit repetitive, only a little though.  Solid work overall!

Rating: 7.6/10

Give A Listen To: “We Were Alive”, “Future Politics”, “Beyond A Mortal”, "Freepower"


Overall Thoughts:  As far as I'm concerned, this is Austra's most consistent effort.  No, there's not much here truly groundbreaking for Synth Pop, but Austra just put together some great, catchy, cool synth pop.  The spacey, dystopian atmosphere comes off smooth, and Katie Stelmanis's vocal deliveries are pretty stunning.  It's far from perfect, but if you're looking for some solid Synth Pop, check it out.

Foxygen - "Hang"

Man, let me tell you, I have been absolutely DYING for a new Foxygen album for a long time.  In the early days of Foxygen, there really wasn't anybody like these guys.  Sure, there are tons of modern bands in the indie field doing major throwbacks to the 60's and 70's psychedelic rock revolution, but not nearly as excitingly and as interesting as Foxygen.  Their first full length album, "Take The Kids Off Broadway" was absolutely fantastic from start to finish.  Foxygen took these psychedelic revival sounds that were so popular around the time this came out, and polished them into these quirky, extravagant, exciting pieces that demanded numerous listens.  Foxygen not only were taking these sounds and making them fantastic, but I felt in the presence of true rock eccentrics, guys that would throw it all at me.  And THAT my friends, was exciting.  Then, Foxygen took it upon themselves to go bigger and better in every way with their second album, "We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic".  Everything about this album was on a much grander stage.  The psychedelic quirks remained, but Foxygen were no longer a few young men who decided to experiment with a classic sound.  No, on this album they BECAME that sound.  Tracks like "San Francisco" and "On Blue Mountain" were near perfect, elegant yet eccentric Psych Rock gems.  The production was better, the songwriting had grown, "We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic" was pretty much a modern masterpiece.  However, one thing that DID stay was the unpredictability, I never knew where Foxygen would take their influence from next, and that seriously made being a Foxygen fan so exciting.  But all of this great stuff to say about Foxygen quickly got thrown out the window when it came to their next album, "...And Star Power".  I don't think this album is a complete throwaway, "How Can You Really" and "Coulda Been My Love" are great tunes, but the other HOUR AND 15 MINUTES are shallow attempts to harness the same sound they had become so comfortable with.  Everything about this album was just so un-exciting, to the point where I was VERY worried about the future of Foxygen.  However, all of those worries got washed away as soon as I heard the first few singles from this album.  Did Foxygen make the triumphant comeback that I was hoping they would?  Let's find out!

(God I love these guys)

Starting off “Hang” is “Follow The Leader”, which when it was released last year instantly became one of my favorite singles of last year.  It’s just such a cool, soulful sound to start off the album.  Foxygen have always been a couple of dudes living in the past.  But here they switch it up just a little bit.  Their sound has almost always stuck strongly to a psych rock, Rolling Stones worship sound, but here they’re almost going for a old school funk/R&B sound.  To be honest, they pick it up quickly and sound fantastic on this new sound.  Only 10-15 seconds in, and it’s clear that Foxygen are already sounding rejuvenated.  The orchestrations are overpowering and quite stunning, Sam France’s vocals are sleazy and sexy, and while this may be the most pristinely produced Foxygen track it’s still one hell of a journey.  The backing vocals actually do a TON for this sexy atmosphere, and overall I just have to commend Foxygen for really taking on this sound.  Time after time, I’ve always loved how Foxygen don’t just take on a sound, they literally dive headfirst into it and completely let in encapsulate everything about them, and here is no different.  This is just a fantastic opening track, once again I feel like i’m in the presence of an indie rock duo that is willing to throw everything they possibly have my way.  Up next is “Avalon”, which starts out with some upbeat ragtime piano which is certainly hard to pull off.  Foxygen do it justice however, and it comes off wonderfully.  The music on “Hang” has so much depth to it, it makes you feel like you’re sitting front row for the grandest indie stage show in history.  The backing orchestrations are a gigantic part of this album, and they really start coming into their own light on “Avalon”.  This is by far the biggest sounding and biggest produced album Foxygen have ever touched, but God does it ever work for them.  There are moments here that are borderline so freakin’ goofy, if you’re into musicals even slightly this is absolutely a project you want to check out.  It’s upbeat, it’s explosive, and I find myself fighting the urge to burst out singing at the end of each verse with these gigantic choruses.  Obviously “Hang” is a huge change in direction for Foxygen, but there are plenty of their old eccentricities floating around, between Sam France’s over the top performances and these quirky instrumental breaks.  On the other hand, Foxygen have certainly grown up and gotten more mature in the years since their breakthrough, not just lyrically, but stylistically.  As fantastic as their first few records were, you can tell they were just letting loose and making what THEY wanted to make, which is fantastic.  The music on “Hang” however seems like they are so much more focused on making truly great music.  But once again, if you’re not into super over the top performances, you may not be into this at all.  “Mrs. Adams” up next is even more peppy and even more jolly, and I can’t say no to any of it.  Sam France’s vocal delivery has gotten more theatrical and even more distinct over the years.  I don’t know how long it took to craft some of these tunes, but this is just such a gigantic production that it literally comes off like Foxygen have taken years meticulously crafting every last details of this.  Some moments remain cheesy, but the bulk of this has an elegance to it that I just find fascinating.  I mean, I have no idea how they plan on recreating all of this for live shows, but I can’t wait to see them try.  There’s just so much emotion packed into all of this, and Foxygen seriously sound confident in all of this.  I would swear that as these tracks go on and on, they keep getting more and more elaborate and epic sounding, these drum fills and climaxes are absolutely ridiculous.  And as grandiose and over-the-top as this is, it’s bizarrely not full of itself.  “America” is up next, and these performances just keep getting bigger and bigger.   Sam France’s performance here sounds like a bizarre cross between Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes and IceAge’s Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, but in the best way possible.  France’s performance here is absolutely stunning and memorable.  I literally feel like listening to this album is like stumbling across some long forgotten musical, this seriously has some old-time beauty to it.  When it comes to tracks like “America”, the way everything builds up behind these gigantic instrumentals is honestly overwhelming.  I love the progressive pop elements here as well, as the tempo and even the genre seems to be constantly changing.  Once again though, if you’re not into super over-the-top performances you may be iffy on this, however, some of these instrumentals will blow your mind no matter what you’re into.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-tZ1gbc2pQ

"On Lankershim" may just be the most straightforward rock track here, but it's also a major standout.  It actually has a very old school Foxygen feel to it, this easily could have landed on their "We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic" album.  When Foxygen go for some of these vocal harmonies, most of the time they come off pretty remarkable.  The vocals here on "On Lankershim" might just be the nicest and warmest on the entire album.  Hell, there's even a slight country flair to this one, which I can totally understand if you're not into but man do I ever love it.  There's a whole lot of simplicity to this one, but after the extravagant, over-the-top first half of the album they deserve it.  "on Lankershim" is just so peppy and blissful that I can't say no, it may be one of the shortest tracks here, but it certainly feels complete.  "Upon A Hill" is one of the very few tracks on the album that I feel is a bit much.  While I certainly do still enjoy it, I feel like more than anything it's just an attempt to show off Sam France's vocal work.  Once again, there's certainly nothing wrong with that, but if you're not into him being the star this one is gonna pass right by you.  His performance however, is certainly commendable, he's always been able to hit these low notes and here is no different.  I think my biggest problem with this track is just how short it is, this comes off practically as an interlude.  While the backing vocals and the overall drama are nice, everything else comes off as an incomplete thought.  It's still far from bad though, and to be honest I rather love when the track dissolves basically into a polka for the last 30 seconds or so.  On "Trauma", clearly these orchestral arrangements aren't giving up a single bit, and Sam France isn't getting any less into these performances either.  While he can certainly hit the lower notes, I dunno I've always enjoyed his more energetic and wild performances.  This one's a slow burner for sure, and it's certainly powerful, but it's also a bit more gimmicky I feel like.  The performances are commendable certainly. and the backup singers seriously add quite a bit.  So yea, it's not terrible, but personally I would have much rather this have been the closing track.  The finale here is "Rise Up", which doesn't waste a single second of anyone's time.  France's vocals right off the bat are super over the top, but not to the point where they come off as too much.  Overall though what a ridiculous track this is.  Lyrically this has gotten just as passionate and over-the-top as everything else here, but I seriously can't help myself from eating it all up.  I feel like overall "Hang" has some gigantic narrative to it, but I can't follow it to save my life.  "Rise Up" though is wonderful, it shows Foxygen really getting back on track just in time to finish the album strongly.  It's so elegant and explosive, while also being oddly inspirational.  After the disaster that was their last album, "Hang" overall is a fantastic return to form, ushering back Foxygen as one of indie's most exciting groups.


Rating: 8.5/10

Give A Listen To: "Follow The Leader", "Mrs. Adams", On Lankershim", "Rise Up"

Overall Thoughts:  Foxygen with their last album were going down an awful path.  It showed Foxygen overblowing everything that was great about their sound and making it this awful muddled mess with no direction.  "Hang" is just the opposite.  It shows that Foxygen still have plenty of creative juices, as they've concocted some of their most elaborate, exciting tracks yet.  "Hang" comes off almost as an indie rock musical, often with explosive choruses and toe-tapping verses.  It's not going to be for everyone, but if you like Foxygen's glory days, this is absolutely something you want to check out.  

The Flaming Lips - Oczy Mlody

Flaming Lips are a band that for the most part I've always been a little confused on just how big of a fan base they have.  Sure I've enjoyed albums from them here and there, and their live shows are pretty extraordinary, but people practically worship The Flaming Lips.  Not only that, I has absolutely no Idea they've been around as long as they have! Flaming Lips made their debut all the way back in 1986 with "Hear It Is".  The music on Flaming Lips early records was much noisier and much more "alternative" sounding.  This was kinda hit and miss for the Flaming Lips, there were some great tracks and all like "Trans Brains and Rain", but at the same time, God did Flaming Lips ever sound like every other college band in 86/87.  The material here wasn't necessarily terrible, but it certainly didn't grab me.  "Oh My Gawd!!!...The Flaming Lips" wasn't that much more interesting.  Here, The Flaming Lips started to get some better production going.  From the cover art, to the extended jams, to the Beatles samples, Flaming Lips were slowly starting to craft their Neo-Psychedelic sound, I just seriously don't think it sounded that nice still, and Flaming Lips STILL to me sounded like a total rip off of so much else going on at the time.  "Telepathic Surgery" did show a little improvement for Flaming Lips however.  While the band still was heavily basing their sound on every other noise rock band, they were at least making some broader instrumentals and becoming more fearless.  There were plenty of moments on there that I seriously enjoyed, like "Chrome Plated Suicide", but there were also PLENTY of tracks that were a serious waste of time like "U.F.O Story".  When it comes to 1990's "In A Priest Driven Ambulance" however, really started to change my thoughts on the band.  Wayne Coyne's performance on there started to get much wilder and more explosive, and the instrumentals continued to get bigger and bigger, stranger too.   The 90's saw Flaming Lips getting bigger by the second, much noisier too.  "Hit To Death in The Future Head" saw The Flaming Lips sounding bigger and bolder than ever, which worked as a huge plus and minus for them.  We saw HUGE sounding tracks like "The Sun" work out wonderfully, with other moments like "Hit Me Like You Did The First Time" just become noisy messes right in front of us.  But this album was HUGE for The Flaming Lips, as it saw them slowly but surely begin leaning towards a much more psychedelic sound, one that they would originally nail perfectly for "The Soft Bulletin".  "Transmissions from the Satellite Heart" on the other hand, and this may be a highly unpopular opinion, was a HUGE step back for The Flaming Lips.  Here, they resorted back to their more bland Post-Punk/Noise Rock days in the worst way, everything felt so less colorful and interesting.  On "Clouds Taste Metallic" at least, Flaming Lips got more psychedelic then ever, and were going for more of a Psych-Pop sound that they would eventually define.  Speaking of definitive Psych Pop, up next The Flaming Lips would release "The Soft Bulletin", a breathtaking, ambitious neo-psychedelic masterpiece.  The production of "The Soft Bulletin" is stunning, and the band seem to be at their most unified.  It's an album that anyone can enjoy, Flaming Lips fan or not.  After that though, The Flaming Lips for my taste went right back to being on the inconsitant side.  I understand what people LOVED about "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots".  Tracks on there like "Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell" and "It's Summertime" were fantastic, but too many of the other tracks to me just didn't stick with me at all.  And can we all just forget about "At War With The Mystics", that album is seriously one of the most cringeworthy album's I've ever heard.  "Embryonic" I can take or leave, I certainly don't mind it, but I also have trouble really singling out tracks that I go crazy for.  Then, in true Flaming Lips fashion, they came out of nowhere and blew my mind with "The Terror".  This was certainly the polar opposite of other Flaming Lips records, but that's what I loved about it.  They used their gigantic wall of sound to go for a much darker, drone focused, ambient piece that was absolutely stunning.  I loved every minute of it to be honest.  What's that?  My thoughts on their collaborative album with Miley Cyrus?  Please don't make me think about that.  So all of that being said, I really never know when I'm seriously going to enjoy a Flaming Lips project.  The singles leading up to this album have been just OK, while I really dig some of the production they're going with, Wayne Coyne's vocals are just passable.  So let's talk about this new album shall we!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtd2ceS_l1o

One of my favorite tracks here, “Nigdy Nie (Never No)” actually has a little oomph to it, and it’s on the lighter side of the mood here.  On their last album, “The Terror”, The Flaming Lips took a headfirst dive into darkness and it worked, but for a lot of “Oczy Mlody” it really just sounds like they’re lost.  There’s an unexpected groove to “Nigdy Nie (Never No)”, and for once here the synths are being completely jammed down our throats.  This also may just be the most psychedelic thing here for all you old school fans of The Flaming Lips.  There are barely any vocals throughout this one, but to be honest I don’t think thats a bad thing at all.  It’s actually a really nice break from everything else thats been going on.  Not to mention, when things do end up picking up here, there’s a nice funky little section that I can’t get enough of.  See, “Oczy Mlody” isn’t a TOTAL train wreck.  Up next is “Galaxy I Sink”, and let me just say while I have an issue with a lot of this album I do certainly enjoy a lot of the production here.  Now that that’s out in the open, “Galaxy I Sink” takes a gigantic turn for the weird.  Wayne Coyne’s dreary delivery is back, which I usually don’t mind THAT much.  Ugh, but everything here is just so damn boring and uneventful.  The instrumentals don’t help this track either, even when more live instrumentation comes in it’s all so bland.  I’ve literally heard more energetic lullabies.  Sure, the last minute or so is actually quite beautiful with it’s string arrangements, but it’s far too late to save this one.  On the next track, “One Night While Hunting for Faeries and Witches and Wizards to Kill”, everything that they’ve been desperately clambering for as far as an atmosphere goes works well.  This is easily the murkiest sounding track yet, with bizarre jungle-like sound effects that actually really come off rather nicely.  Far from a snoozefest, this track actually has a really great groove that dominates throughout, not to mention this track is ominous as hell.  The synths here don’t come off awkward, they end up adding very nicely to the atmosphere, even Wayne Coyne sounds like himself.  There’s also this fantastic sense of paranoia here, as if something just went horribly wrong on whatever planet this is supposed to be taking place on.  Wayne Coyne’s imagery matched up with the absolutely sinister synths that come in later in the track make for a pretty ridiculous sound, why couldn’t there have been more of this?  But for every track like “One Night While Hunting for Faeries and Witches and Wizards to Kill”, there’s a track like “Do Glowy”.  Instantly, I feel like The Flaming Lips literally take everything they just did and threw it right out the window.  The atmosphere here is much more gimmicky and much harder to swallow.  Wayne Coyne actually sounds pretty amazing here, but lyrically this has to be a joke.  I honestly have no idea how anybody thought this was even semi-passable.  The synths that gurgle through most of the track are ugly as sin and a poor attempt at creating an atmosphere.  And that’s really it, this is the furthest thing from a “good” song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv1ORPEj544

Up next is the 8 minute long “Listening to the Frogs With Demon Eyes “.  It actually starts off really nicely here as far as the atmosphere goes.  I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily what I’m looking for, but it’s certainly pleasant, and we see them going back to these nature sort of sound effects which worked for them earlier.  Outside of that though, there’s virtually nothing going on.  For the rest of “Listening to the Frogs With Demon Eyes” I’m sitting there begging for things to pick up a little.  Wayne Coyne’s performance here isn’t that bad, thankfully there’s some layering on his vocals that spice things up a bit.  However, I feel like for the rest of the track whenever I think something is GOING to happen, nothing happens and I’m forced to sit there and just enjoy the sort of atmosphere. This ends up being a toss-away, 8 minutes of one at that.  I think what’s most frustrating about this album is how nice SOME of the material is here.   But in a case like “Listening to the Frogs With Demon Eyes”, I had to sit through 6 minutes of bland instrumentals just to get to 2 minutes of nice orchestrations.  And that’s just frustrating.  Thankfully, on “The Castle” The Flaming Lips at the very least sound like themselves.  This doesn’t sound like anything is forced, or that they’re going for a certain sound, they literally just sound like The Flaming Lips.  That's great and all, but did it really take 10 tracks to get to this point?  This is easily the most blissful track here, hell it sounds like it could have easily landed on one of their early 2000’s or late 90’s albums.  I mean obviously this doesn’t sound as groundbreaking, but I certainly think this is an alright single.  Up until now, this album has sort of come off like a Wayne Coyne solo project, with the rest of The Flaming Lips falling back a little.  On “The Castle” though, The Flaming Lips actually sound like a unit.  As far as a “classic” Flaming Lips sound, you’re not going to get anything close than this.  "Almost Home (Blisko Domu)” is also pretty promising right from the start.  I didn’t think the Flaming Lips could pull off such an upbeat electronic sound and make it sound this good, it almost sounds like a watered down track from Radiohead’s “Kid A”.   Wayne Coyne’s vocals here sound so distant and pained, this is by far the most emotion we’ve heard here from anything.  Even the instrumentals to this one are absolutely stunning.  The last two minutes turn a little sour to be honest, but overall this is simply just a fantastic tune.  Oh God do I have to talk about the finale?  The one with Miley Cyrus who just HAD to show up?  Fine.  “We A Family” is the finale we’re dealt with here.  The intro to this one quite frankly is one of the uglier tracks on here.  The problem with the instrumental here is once again the electronic passages.  When The Flaming Lips throughout “Oczy Mlody” go for a more subtle electronic sound, it works.  But here, ugh they’re literally stuffing it down our throats.   As far as the backing vocals go, man are they ever obnoxious.  Coyne’s performance is alright, if you’re a fan of his usual delivery you’ll be fine with this.  But probably my biggest issue with this track is the production.  Everything here is just so heavy, but I honestly feel like that wasn’t done on purpose.  All of a sudden, everything on “We A Family” goes from passable to downright obnoxious.  Miley can obviously perform and sing and all, but she and The Flaming Lips have absolutely no chemistry and I’d be shocked if they ever did.  Overall, there are some good tracks on “Oczy Mlody”, but overall it’s not one of The Flaming Lips shining moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiGk8NXC_d8

Rating 6.4/10

Give A Listen To: “How??”, "Nigdy Nie (Never No)", "Almost Home (Blisko Domu)", "The Castle"

Overall Thoughts: Ugh.  I've been picky with Flaming Lips albums in the past and I'm just as picky with this one here.  I like a lot of elements to "Oczy mlody", like the production and a lot of the atmosphere when it isn't being crammed into our brains.  Outside of that, there's a lot of messy moments here.  A lot of the performances are bland, and the rest of the Flaming Lips outside of Wayne Coyne most of the time don't really even come across as present.  It's more or less a boring, dystopian Wayne Coyne solo album.  If that's something you're into, give it a shot.

Code Orange - Forever

Code Orange (FKA Code Orange Kids) are a Pittsburgh based Punk band whose style of music often goes plenty back and forth between Metal and Punk.  With their debut album, "Love Is Love/Return To Dust", Code Orange brought in plenty of wretched hardcore punk vocals with some more metal riffs and solos.  These were some seriously off the wall tracks that were totally wild, instantly throwing me into their world.  I was impressed with the way Code Orange could flawlessly blast through more metal passages, but also play the patient game with more creeping passages that built up tension.  Some of the more ambient passages were actually done quite beautifully as well, but stuck around a little too long for my liking.  "Love Is Love/Return To Dust" wasn't perfect, but it was a solid start.  On 2014's "I Am King" album though, whoa nelly, Code Orange REALLY came into their own.  The music here was much more powerful, blasting in with some industrial and more metalcore influence.  As a whole, overall "I Am King" was much more of a metal album, but man did this seriously ever hit me the right way.  Sometimes a metal band like Trash Talk, or Nails just comes along and makes me want to break everything in sight, that's how I felt listening to "I Am King".  Tracks like the title track were sluggish and massive, tracks like "Dreams In Inertia" were downright chilling in their massive depressive atmosphere, while other tracks like "Alone In A Room" and "Starve" showed Code Orange at their most confident.  There was some seriously heavy stuff going on here.  So up until this point, I've enjoyed Code Orange casually, they haven't really blown me away with anything completely.  So here we are, Code Orange have a brand new album, let's chat about "Forever".

First up to bat is the title track, and the first single released from the album.  “Forever” starts off with a huge bang with this very commanding sounding demonic voice, leave it to Code Orange to not waste a single second plummeting us into hell.  What follows this voiceover quite frankly is just pure brutality.   The chugging guitar and hulking atmosphere may start slow, but very quickly get completely out of control.  The vocal performances on “Forever” is absolutely gigantic, while the chorus (if you want to call that a chorus) packs even more of a punch and has more metalcore influence.  All of a sudden, everything kinda stops and we get an actually gorgeous ambient passage complete with these angelic vocals that actually come off working fantastically.  The slower passages here are intense, the more upbeat passages are absolutely ball-busting, and the return of that demonic voice over towards the end is absolutely chilling.  And while most of this track has a hardcore edge to it, those instrumentals towards the end are all metal.  All I have to say about this brilliant track, is “YES”! “Kill The Creator” is up next, another early track released from he album.  To be honest though, this track doesn’t do nearly as much for me.  The intro of “Kill The Creator” is basically the equivalent of opening up a furnace, throwing yourself in, and shutting the door behind you.  Quickly, this one is absolutely animalistic, Code Orange often give you the feeling that your in a “No Rules” atmosphere.  Like I said though, this track really bugs me a little, and people were talking about this track A LOT.  It’s ok and all, but Code Orange on this track constantly shift the tempo and change styles whenever the hell they feel like it in an attempt to sound progressive.  Now don’t get me wrong, each of these passages are actually seriously well done.  The hardcore passages are absolutely ruthless, with absolutely barbaric screams and intense breakdowns.  While the slower, more ambient portions bring in an unbelievable atmosphere that make this album a whole lot darker.  For me though, I feel like there’s just a little too much going on here.  Code Orange are trying to sound so far ahead of the ball that I feel like they’ve lost sight of it completely.  I do have to say though, if these were split into a couple of separate tracks, we’d be dealing with some seriously special moments, I really wish I could like this track.  Code Orange though bounce back quickly with “Real”, which when I first listened to this I had to question even what the hell I was listening to anymore.  “Real” is absolutely inhuman sounding.  The drums here are pummeling, and overall this is much more on the metal side of the Code Orange spectrum.  As far as the vocals go, the performances here are terribly agonizing. Put that all together with these bone-shattering instrumentals and a dungeon like atmosphere, yea “Real” may be one of the heaviest tracks I’ve ever heard from Code Orange.  Now I’ll be perfectly honest, there are absolutely gimmicky elements here and there.  Hell, there are elements here that I would honestly roll my eyes at if this was just about any other band, mainly those whispers of “Where do you draw the line?”.  Honestly though, Code Orange pulls it off really well, and I end up feeling like I’m watching a really solid horror movie.  There are some industrial elements (those show up again later), there are some groove metal influences too (which I’m not wild about but it doesn’t stick around long enough to lessen my thoughts).  If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is actually quite the undertaking for Code Orange, and this is certainly their most instrumentally diverse album.  Yea, there are some cheesy moments here and there, but I can’t complain, this track freakin’ rules.  “Bleeding In The Blur” is up next, and while I’ve been on the fence with Code Orange’s instrumentals in the past, this actually ups the atmosphere big time.  In the past I haven’t totally hated their ambient passages, but I feel like they needed work.  It’s clear that they have indeed worked on them, and on “Bleeding In The Blur” ambient intro does a really fantastic job of ushering in the sheer brutality of everything else.  While this track is another slow burner, Code Orange do a fine job of working with these chugging rhythms.  The big shocker here comes from the vocals.  Here, Code Orange incorporate some more melodic, clean vocals compared to yells and screams.  To be honest, it works absolutely fantastically.  The use of more catchy hooks changes their music completely, but they roll with it very nicely.  So far, this isn’t perfect, but it’s a quality metal album.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ9JVxQVQy4

Up next is “The Mud”, which honestly couldn’t be a more fitting title.  Right from this intro I am 100% not feeling this track, not even close.  The last thing I want to hear from Code Orange is an electronic sort of intro.  No thank you.  Sure, this still has some heaviness to it as well as some nice industrial undertones.  But like I said, this couldn't have a more fitting title, this track is muddy as hell.  But it doesn’t even come off in a good way.  Trust me, I love sludgy, messy metal.  But “The Mud” is just plan ugly.  The vocals barely play any factor here because everything else sort of drowns them out, and the production here just sounds sloppy.  Despite being literally the longest track on this album, I barely have anything else to say about it.  Things do get better in the last minute or so when the instrumental picks up, but c’mon guys I think you can do better.  Thankfully this slump doesn't last too long.  Up next, “The New Reality” gives us one of the most straightforward sounding tracks here.  That’s far from a bad thing though, after that jumbled mess I can use a more straightforward track.  The instrumentals here are solid, and the vocals don’t really even pop in for most of the track.  Hell, i would even go as far as to say that I wouldn’t have minded this track to be a full length instrumental.  As far as the vocals go however, they are interesting here, as we get a small sampling of each of the vocalists.  It’s the shortest track here, and no it’s far from perfect, but “The New Reality is just solid.  Now I said earlier that Code Orange can really pull off some of these slower paced tracks.  They usually seriously can, “Spy” however is the exception.  While these chugging rhythms usually work really well for Code Orange, here they come off as practically Nu Metal.  And just when I thought I was starting to really get into this track, the verses hit and the guitar melodies are absolutely horrendous.  Sure, the vocal performance is solid and all, but as a whole I’m seriously not feeling “Spy”.  It’s just so damn gimmicky all the way through, but with no real character.  Hell, even that blast of energy in the last 30 seconds comes off completely flat.  Gah.  Thankfully, tracks like “Ugly” save this album big time.  These more atmospheric tracks I tell ya are really something that Code Orange are going to want to hold on to.  They take their time ushering in “Ugly”, and the result is absolutely fantastic.  It all comes off so effortlessly here I can’t help but absolutely love everything.  The guitars are murky, the vocals are genuinely unsettling, and the chorus is just the brilliant burst of energy you would hope it to be.  All I can say is, I would seriously love for them to go down this road for a full length album, THAT may be the album that totally sells me for Code Orange.  I need more tracks like “Ugly”, pronto.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtKaGF4qPqU

“No One Is Untouchable” starts off just as crunchy and just as chugging as would expect, but sound undeniably focused as well.  “No One Is Untouchable” is nothing fancy at all, as far as metalcore tracks go, it’s pretty standard actually.  But in this case, I don’t mind it at all, let them have a safe track or two, I’d rather see that then have them go for another track like “The Mud”.  While the performance is pretty run of the mill, it’s far from boring.  Plus, the production here is surprisingly brilliant, with plenty of tricks here and there as well as random blast of energy that make for some really nice touches.  As far as “Hurt Goes On” goes, man this atmosphere is absolutely crushing.  This track does get a little gimmicky from time to time, once again I feel like I’m watching a horror movie, but in this case a much cheesier one.  The whispered vocals are back and once again they are a bit cheesy, but sometimes metal has to be over the top for it to come off right.  “Hurt Goes On” is far from bad, honestly I feel like it fits the feel of the album really nicely.  This would have been a real highlight for me if it was just a little shorter and the heavier instrumentals came in earlier.  While we’re on the subject of instrumentals, they’re a little on the bizarre side here, mixing elements of industrial metal and dark ambient.  Code Orange surprisingly pull it off really nicely though, and that gigantic blast of energy that ends up ending the track off though makes everything worth it.  The finale here is “dream2”.  Right off the bat were dealing with another more atmospheric track, which continue to be Code Orange’s strength on this album.  Not to mention once again we have Code Orange working with some cleaner vocals, to be honest when they’re used sporadically it’s actually a nice change of pace.  Code Orange on “dream2” use a ton of buildup, which makes this already dark track even darker.  It’s not the most exciting ending, buy it leaves plenty of room open for the future of Code Orange.  

Rating: 7.5/10

Give A Listen To: "Forever", "Real", "Bleeding In The Blur", "Ugly"

Overall Thoughts: I wouldn't say this is an absolutely stunning metalcore album.  But I think this is probably my favorite Code Orange project from start to finish.  Code Orange have seriously been working hard on creating darker atmosphere's while not giving up any ounce of their brutal, violent instrumentals.  It opens up plenty of doors for an even greater future release from Code Orange.  

Of Montreal - Rune Husk EP

Hell, I guess in the age of "surprise releases" even Psych Pop/Indie Pop legend's Of Montreal are even allowed to take part in the fun.  Of Montreal when I was younger blew my mind, album's like "Cherry Peel" and "The Gay Parade" are Indie Pop standards.  But when we get to the 2000's, Of Montreal's output has been inconsistent to say the least.  Album's like "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?" and "Lousy With Sylvianbriar" are fantastic and genre-defying.  But the rest of Of Montreal's recent work has been questionably bad.  "Aureate Gloom" was supposed to be an unhinged and outlandish Of Montreal, but it just came off messy, and "Innocence Reaches" was more or less EDM, eww.  So yea, I was a little skeptical going into this EP.   Have Of Montreal updated their sound once again? Lets find out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_7E-kQJbJA

(Classic Of Montreal)

This short EP starts with “Internecine Larks”, gotta love Kevin Barnes for once again not going easy on us with song titles.  Anyway! “Internecine Larks” starts out with some warm piano melodies, which if you’ve been following the last year or so of Of Montreal’s career, you’ll know that’s a hard U-Turn for them.  With everything they’ve been dabbling in recently, “Internecine Larks” honestly sounds more up their alley.  While at first Of Montreal sound a little less unhinged, the moment the first verse hits things get really twisted, really fast.  Barnes is always a fiery performer, but here the dude sounds actually disturbed, the psychotic sounding keyboards surrounding him don’t exactly help either.  Bizarrely enough though, underneath all of these bizarre elements, the same old Of Montreal is there.  We have tons of vocal layering as well as theatrical performances, hell in a way I feel like more times than not that I’ve stumbled upon some twisted B-Side to one of their classic albums.  While the drums that come in make things a whole lot more inviting, not even that can take away from all of this strange tension.  Eventually a solid groove comes in that makes things a whole lot easier to access.  We’re one track into this 18 minute EP, and this is easily the best thing Of Montreal have done in the past two years.  After their last two albums, I really didn’t know where Of Montreal were headed.  But this is a totally different direction for them, and the last thing I really expected.  Up next is “Stag To The Stable”.  Like I mentioned earlier, if you’ve been following Of Montreal the last year or so, they’ve been seriously branching towards a more electronic sound.  So to hear a nice solid guitar riff at the beginning of “Stag To The Stable”, man it’s borderline exotic.  Barnes’ performances are usually absolutely stunning, and this is no different.  I mean, you still may need a dictionary or two to figure out what the hell he’s talking about, but he sings it all with such passion and great performances that you can’t help but marvel at it.  To be honest, this sounds like a track that would have landed on Of Montreal’s “Lousy With Sylvianbriar” album.  Meanwhile we once again are dealing with some seriously fantastic vocal harmonies.  When it comes to Of Montreal, when they do harmonies right they do it wonderful, and the harmonies here have me smiling from ear to ear.  While “Stag To The Stable” still has a seriously twisted undertone, it’s also strangely sunny and psychedelic in feel.  This is quickly becoming my favorite thing they’ve done in a WHILE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebiweHu7Ems

“Widowsucking” is up next, and to be perfectly honest it may be the most twisted sounding track yet.  Everything about the rhythm here is so off kilter, it sounds like the soundtrack to a snuff film or an acid movie of sorts.  It’s all based around these constantly winding pianos, even the harmonies which are usually cheery sound melted and dreary.  All of these sounds are just such a hard U-Turn from what Of Montreal have been doing the past year or so, it’s fascinating really.  While Barnes’ performance remains fiery and is still the star of the show, this atmosphere certainly gives it a run for it’s money.  Then about halfway through were just kinda thrown into this abyss where everything drowns out and we’re stuck with almost a droning synth.  This track overall may be a low point on this EP, but it’s still pretty fantastic.  Finally we have the finale, “Island Life”.   Once again, man is this ever freakin’ dark.  This track sounds absolutely hellish, like something out of the deepest darkest corner of Silent Hill.  Honestly, I can’t freakin’ wait to see how this effects their next album.  Barnes’ vocals here are at a much lower pitch, but his vocals sound so calculating and seriously disturbing.  His imagery that he’s become known for makes everything that much creepier.  Even the angelic vocals that come in behind Barnes end up coming off more cultish than anything.  “Island Life” is sort of sexual, sluggish, and completely over the top, but I can’t say no.  At the end of the day, this EP is heavier and darker than half of the metal I’ve heard this past year, and it’s certainly reignited my interest in Of Montreal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHlXp88sebc

Rating : 7.8/10

Overall Thoughts:  Of Montreal here took just about the hardest U-Turn they could have.  For the past few years, they've been trying all of these new sounds from experimental rock to borderline EDM.  So when I hear them going for their classic Psych-Pop sound, and mixing in truly twisted, dark, truly terrifying atmospheres and song topics, man am I ever excited.  This time 3 months ago, I wanted Kevin Barnes to take a step back and refresh himself, but hearing this EP makes me want him to hurry the hell up with Of Montreal's next full length album

The XX - I See You

It's been quite a while since we've heard from The XX.  Back in 2009, this indie pop trio was absolutely everywhere due to the success of their debut album "XX".  Honestly, you can't blame it for being everywhere, the dreamy, hazy electronic pop feel of that album was just so hip at the time.  Not to mention, there were a handful of some of the most definitive dream pop songs of the last few years on there such as "Crystalised", "Islands" and "Heart Skipped a Beat".  It would be three years until we heard from The XX again.  But during that time, Jamie Smith aka Jamie XX seriously got some big production credits under his belt, namely on Drake's "Take Care".  Jamie's seriously huge production skills were getting bigger by the day, and it was something I really wanted to stand out on their follow up album.  All of these great things to say about the early days of The XX's early career really made their second album "Coexist" so disappointing.  The production was great, but along the way there was a serious disconnect.  While the feeling of the first album was certainly still there, The XX I feel weren't capitalizing on their strengths.  There were solid tracks here and there like "Try", but most of "Coexist" put me right to sleep.  In the years since, Jamie has gotten bigger and better, releasing his first solo album "In Colour".  "In Colour" was a massive success, many heralding it as one of the best dance albums of this generation, and it certainly is up there.  Ever since though, The XX have been quiet.  When I first started hearing the first few singles from this album my mind went wild.  The XX were sounding better than ever, and Jamie's production was getting more use than ever.  So yea, I was VERY excited to see where this album was going to go, let's dive in shall we!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pib8eYDSFEI

(Classic XX, still one of the cooler singles of this generation).  

“Dangerous” starts this album off, and right from the start I seriously have to say what is this!? Nowhere in the rest of The XX’s discography or any of Jamie’s solo stuff have I heard anything this triumphant and thunderous.  Jamie’s odd sampling has always been a HUGE strength of his, whoever he sampled for that opening trumpet fanfare is a stroke of genius.  What we see here and what you’re going to see about “I See You” as a whole is just how much this was influenced by Jamie’s solo work.  The XX on this album almost completely leave their dream pop and indie pop elements behind and go for slightly more dance oriented stuff.  The only thing really holding this back from being more mainstream sounding are Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft’s super distinct vocal performances.  While early XX recordings dealt with first time experiences and being comfortable in sexuality, tracks like “Dangerous” come off dare I say suave, and much more adult to say the least.  The hook here is absolutely to die for, overall this is one HELL Of a new direction for The XX.  It’s about two bass drops away from being a banger, similarly to Jamie’s solo stuff, but interestingly enough this is still The XX at the end of the day.  What an intro man, what an intro.  But if “Dangerous” doesn’t sound like Jamie’s solo work enough, up next is “Say Something Loving”.  The first time I heard this one, I thought I was listening to a B-Side from Jamie’s solo album “In Colour”.  Jamie’s strength’s continue to be the same, from these bizarre samples that you probably wouldn’t hear anywhere else to those guitar licks that you can tell are his from a mile away.  While were on the topic of strengths, I’ve always felt that Romy and Oliver are at their best when they’re playing off one another, which they certainly do wonderfully on “Say Something Loving”.  This one is much less of a club banger, with Romy and Oliver sounding so much more isolated, like two lovers who have been longing to spend time alone together and they finally have it.  As far as their performances go, they both sound fantastic, and they both continue to sound much more confident and fearless.  “Say Something Loving” to me is the epitome of everything The XX should be going for, and I honestly feel like this is going to go down as one of their shining moments.  Up next on the track list is “Lips”, which starts off with some more sampling from Jamie.  If there’s one thing we know about Jamie, it’s that he loves to throw curveballs at us and show us things that we haven’t heard before.  While this all remains very different in comparison to early XX stuff, there’s still plenty of elements left over like those plinking synths and the recurring themes of passion and romance.  The XX pull it off wonderfully though, and some of those instrumentals that pop in and out occasionally are simply chilling.  And let me just say, that slide guitar that Jamie has become synonymous with is never NOT going to be cool.  The XX as a whole are just such masters at creating these hulking, dreamy, smokey atmospheres that you can’t say no to.  Romy and Oliver here both sound so demanding, which is something that’s just so different for them.  Overall, this is just another really fantastic track.  The XX really took their time with this record, and even more importantly took the time to really get to know themselves inside and out as well as honing their crafts as musicians.  I really couldn’t be much happier for them to be honest.  Up next is “A Violent Noise”, and if you’re listening to this album from start to finish by this point you seriously have to be completely encapsulated by this atmosphere.  “A Violent Noise” is much more on the subtle side, one that focuses much more on the performances of Romy and Oliver.  In this case though, it works out perfectly.  While the atmosphere here comes off so subtle, all of the calamity going on in the background makes for some seriously cool back and forth effects.  The overwhelming sense of “cool” is key on this track, as well as the contrast between Romy and Oliver’s almost innocent sounding performances combined with the “slow motion rave” atmosphere of Jamie’s production.  It’s actually quite stunning, and while this is a softer song, there’s enough constantly changing to keep you awake and interested.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl9tcrIeJ48

While overall I seriously love a lot of the material, The XX do throw a few more boring tracks our way in the second half of the album.  “Performance” starts off with another other worldly, inhuman sounding sample from Jamie.  Romy is the star of this one though, and her performance here is sweet and absolutely personal feeling.  Lyrically, this sounds like something FKA Twisge would have tackled, but Romy pulls it off pretty well.  Her performance and everything else about “Performance” is super deep, almost to a heartbreaking level, and those weeping guitars floating through the background make things even more teary eyed.  As far as Romy’s performance goes, this is certainly a standout, but that doesn’t go with out having a few downsides.  Obviously, instrumentally this is a bit of a back-step, and overall this literally might be EVERYTHING I didn’t enjoy about their last album “Coexist”.  Romy’s performance DOES save eveything, but I can see people losing their interest in tracks like these.  “Replica” up next and right off the bat is a little more diverse.  While the sample here is on the quieter side, it at least picks up the mood.  It’s also clear that a little bit of background noise was 100% what the last track was missing.  “Replica” while it isn’t terrible, feels a little recycled to me.  While Romy and Oliver have great chemistry and play off each other so damn well, everything else about this one is a little uninteresting.  Lyrically I feel like this is something we’ve heard from them so many times, and while I really love Oliver and Romy’s dreamy vocals, they just seem a little bored here.   However, there is still plenty to enjoy about “Replica”, mainly those backing guitars and synths.  “Brave For You” has a more whimsical, almost spacey feel.  That’s cool and all, but after all of these slow track’s I’m DYING for a more upbeat track, which once again was my big issue with “Coexist”.  Romy’s performance once again is certainly heartfelt to a commendable level, and the backing instrumentals once again are seriously really fantastic.  But at this point, I need a little oomph.  Where is that triumphant sound they started this album with?  I still think this is an improvement from “Coexist”, but tracks like this would have been so much better with a little extra rhythm and instrumental.  Once again though, I don’t think this is a complete throwaway, those instrumentals that come in behind Romy towards the end takes things from hazy and dreamy to thunderous and epic in seconds.  Thankfully, things really start picking back up again with “On Hold”.  This was the first big single dropped from this album, and honestly I still absolutely love it even though it was dropped months ago.  At the end of the day, man this is just such a great single.  Similarly to a whole lot of other tracks here, this one is centered around Jamie’s production and goes right back to mirroring his solo work.  Romy and Oliver’s performances here are both sweet and heartfelt, and there’s actually some really solid buildup during the verses leading up to the chorus.  Say what you will about the Hall & Oates sample during the chorus, personally I think it works really well for them.  It’s still hip enough to get on every indie playlist, but it’s also enjoyable enough all around to maybe even get some radio airplay.  It’s sort of spacey and a little smokey, but these are elements that work great with The XX, and this is just a fantastic track all around.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blJKoXWlqJk

To be honest, I was worrying about the finale to this record, with all of the slower tracks towards the center I thought The XX may just lose focus.  However, they actually stick to what’s worked for them so far.  On “I Dare You”, The XX continue to slowly drift away from their dream pop roots and go for a more confident Indie-tronica feel, which personally I feel like works great.  Jamie’s production remains fierce, and Oliver’s singled out vocals are perfect for the darker atmosphere of the track.  When Romy’s vocals do eventually come in, she sounds actually really rejuvenated and powerful.  This more upbeat electronica and dance sound continues to be a really great direction for The XX.  As far as the finale goes, “Test Me” is actually pretty stunning.  After all of these much more upbeat dance anthems here, “Test Me” is much slower and prettier, but doesn’t put you to sleep like some other tracks here.  Romy’s vocals here are absolutely stunning, and when Oliver pops in they have just as good of chemistry as you would expect.  Even lyrically, The XX continue to show just how much they’ve come into their own and grown up.  It’s a solid ending.  

Rating: 8.1/10

Give A Listen To: “Dangerous”, “Say Something Loving”.  “On Hold”, “A Violent Noise”

Overall Thoughts:  The last time The XX came out with an album I struggled to even get through it.  That was years ago though, and since then the trio have really grown up in quite a few ways.  Lyrically, The XX are much more confident with their emotions and able to present them wonderfully.  The band also play to their strengths masterfully, with Oliver and Romy playing off each others steamy vocals with Jamie nailing the production.  This is far from The XX that we were introduced to years ago, but it's the fresh reboot that they needed and I'm excited to hear more.   

Gone Is Gone - "Echolocation"

Oh god have I ever been fearing this review, hell this album in general.  Gone Is Gone is a metal supergroup consisting of some big names from Mastodon, Queens of the Stone Age, and At The Drive in.  Now with HUGE names like that, you would expect a gigantic sound.  This is Gone Is Gone's debut full length album, only releasing a short EP last year which quite frankly I hated.  There was little to no chemistry between any of the members, and often vocalist Troy Sanders didn't even sound like he was completely into what he was singing.  So here we are less than a year later with Gone Is Gone's first real album, "Echolocation".  Have the metal supergroup banded together at all since the release of their EP? Let's find out.

The album starts off with “Sentient”, one of the first tracks I heard from this album, and to be honest it certainly gave me a lot of hope.  Or at least enough hope to make me not completely skip over this release.  Instantly, I hear something that I really needed to hear from Gone Is Gone, and that’s atmosphere.  One of the major issues I had with their self titled EP was just how unbelievably lacking the atmosphere was.  On “Sentient” though, at the very least it’s obvious that Gone Is Gone is seriously putting in an effort to get their atmosphere where it should be.  Now when it comes to Troy Sanders’ vocals here, I’m not completely into them.  In whatever act he’s in, I’ve never been a fan of Troy Sanders more softer performances,  I just feel like his voice translates better in rougher passages.  However, because the atmosphere is just that much more dark, I can for the most part forgive him on this.  As far as lyrics go, Gone Is Gone still have a ways to go, just like on their EP from last summer a lot of these tracks here are filled to the brim with every metal cliche in the book.  While there are cheesy moments on here, they do work a little bit better mostly because Troy Sanders sounds a little more sure of himself.  To bring the focus back to the atmosphere, no it’s not perfect, but it’s a gigantic improvement.  Those distant, desert rock influenced guitars are actually chilling, and with the inclusion of those backing vocals Troy Sanders vocals actually get more believable. “Sentient” is far from perfect, not even close.  But at the very least, it shows some unity between Gone Is Gone, and it’s easily the most recognizable thing I’ve heard from them.  Up next is “Gift”, which starts off with a much more funk driven riff.  Sadly though it doesn’t even come off well, more than anything it comes off very stiff sounding and and almost robotic.  However, there’s at least just enough oomph on this one to wake me up a little.   Troy’s vocals here are much harsher sounding, and I’ve always loved that.  The chorus here is pretty darn solid too, it’s certainly not the best metal chorus I’ve heard recently but it sticks with you.  While Gone Is Gone still have a ways to go, at the very least here I can say they’re coming into their own.  My only real issue on “Gift” is that pre-chorus which literally takes the steam out of everything.  The album though take a sharp turn for the ugly the moment “Resurge” begins though.  Here, Gone Is Gone go for a little bit more of a sludgy sound, and it just comes off so muddy and awful sounding that I can’t take it seriously.  When the verses start rolling on this one, man am I ever starting to get some nasty flashbacks to their self titled EP.  Between the drum performance, Troy’s vocals and that riff, nothing is connecting here.  I feel like nothing here was even discussed between the band, and everyone sort of just played their own part and slapped everything together.  Troy’s vocals here are a little more theatrical sounding, as if he was trying to do his best Ghost imitation.  All of this just comes off so messy to be anything memorable.  If you even want to consider the “chorus” here a chorus, it’s laughably bad.  Everything here is SUPPOSED to come off intense with tons of buildup, but the fact is that most of “Resurge” seems so forced.  The pacing is way too sluggish to be interesting, even the genre that Gone Is Gone are going for anymore is questionable.  This album got ugly fast.   Up next in the tracklist is "Dublin" and at the very least it’s good to hear that Mastodon are going back to going for a more atmospheric sound.  Troy’s vocal performance here is a little more gimmicky than usual, like I said I’m not usually a fan of his softer work.  The backing vocals once again save him here, and make things a bit more enjoyable.  The atmosphere on “Dublin” is good and all, but I seriously am in dire need of another heavy upbeat track.  Gone Is Gone on this track are going for a “slow burner”, but it doesn’t even come off that way.  There are some decent elements overall but at the end of the day, it’s just not good.  I like chugging, slow metal tracks that test your patience, but “Dublin” just made me want to get a cup of coffee, metal shouldn’t make me feel like that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5PyweqIDkA

After the sluggish and dare I say boring “Dublin”, “Ornament” at the very least sort of livens things up.  Troy Sanders’ opening vocals are far from pretty, but after “Dublin” I’ll literally take anything.  As this record goes on and on, I feel like Gone Is Gone get closer and closer to a *shudders* mainstream rock sound. Thankfully for Gone Is Gone, they keep just enough grit to keep them from that horrid label, but you better watch it boys it’s getting close.  While on earlier tracks the backing vocals complimented Sanders’ vocals really nicely, here they actually make his performance a whole lot more goofy.  In an attempt to make all of this come off as eerie, they actually end up just making everything sound really cheesy.  The chorus is solid though, and at the very least Troy Sanders sounds himself there.  “Ornament” IS an improvement, but it’s still deeply flawed, which seems to literally be the theme of this entire album.  But I think the most agitating flaw of this album is just how good this COULD be.  It’s obvious what Gone Is Gone are going for, but it continues to be just OK.  Up next, “Pawns” actually has a ton of potential. especially when it comes to those drums.  The drums here are easily some of the most intense drums here, but that riff man, there is no excuse for that.  I get it, Gone Is Gone are going for a little more of a muddy sound but that is just an UGLY riff.  But everything that’s promising about this track is quickly deflated as soon as the first verse hits.  Instantly, this is just more and more of the same garbage.  Once again, we’re dealing with these incredibly sluggish verses that leave me desperate for any shift in tone.  We’re slowly getting further and further away from what Gone Is Gone is trying to do.  The chorus here I actually don’t mind at all, as simple as it is, it works.  But that’s literally probably only because of just how desperate I am for a change of pace here.  I mean at this point we’re halfway through the album, you’d think Gone Is Gone would have their footing by now.  But it’s seriously been just a downward slippery slope since the halfway decent intro track to this album.  That being said though, I seriously do enjoy the guitar solo about halfway through this track.  No, it’s not reinventing anything, but it’s one of the only moments I’ve heard here so far that doesn’t feel forced.  Then Troy Sanders just has to come back in and finish “Pawns” off with a handful of cringe-worthy metal cliches.  Yuck.  “Colourfade” is up next, and I seriously wish I could enjoy these vocals by Troy Sanders.  But come on, his vocals in his youth were so wild and fresh, these are just safe in every sense of the word.  While there’s so much that I seriously hate about “Colourfade”, the instrumental IS still on point.  As a matter of fact, there are quite a few things about the instrumental on this track that are pretty fantastic.  Once again we see them embracing these guitars sounding right out of the desert, and to be honest they freakin’ nail it.  This is TOTALLY a road they should be going down.  The guitars here sounds so distant, and every other instrumental on this track make “Colourfade” actually pretty tragic.  The bass here though is a little frustrating, it’s not necessarily bad but c’mon it literally sounds like they’re ripping off Tool.  Once again, we have a track that’s a huge improvement but still VERY flawed.  Up next, “Roads” once again gives off so much of the same vibes.  We have another seriously unsettling start, but what genre are these guys even going for anymore?  This entire first minute here is borderline industrial, which is cool, but c’mon guys take a sound and stick to it.  As far as the instrumental goes, it’s alright, I guess?   Where Gone Is Gone really trip though here are the lyrics.  Here, I feel like Gone Is Gone have rolled up every awful metal cliche in the book and are presenting it in the worst way possible.  As far as the rest of the track goes, Gone Is Gone try their best to impersonate everyone from Nine Inch Nails to Deftones.  So many of these tracks have moments of sheer brilliance, but at the end of the day all of these tracks come off so safe.  

Ughhh this album is draining me.  “Slow Awakening” sees Gone Is Gone trying to be super scratchy and harsh sounding, but it just comes off completely laughable.  In the entire first minute, barely anything happens, and when Troy’s vocals come in finally things seriously don’t get much better.  The lyrics here I feel like have been recycled from every classic moody sounding metal track.  At least on other slow tracks here, we see Gone Is Gone go ham on the atmosphere, but I can’t even say that about “Slow Awakening”.  Instrumentally, everything here is supposed to be all artsy, constantly crashing into one another, but MAN does it ever fail.  Once again, this honestly sounds completely unrehearsed in the worst way.  Moving on!  “Fast Awakening” is certainly a wakeup, and it’s probably the heaviest track on the album.  Hell, it may be the heaviest track Gone Is Gone have recorded altogether.  You can seriously hear the QOTSA influence here, it actually comes off pretty darn well overall.  No, it’s still not perfect.  But  it’s VERY refreshing to hear Gone Is Gone on a balls-out metal track with no gimmicks in sight.  Hell, I wouldn’t mind hearing more tracks like this!  But wait!  What’s that! Right when I’m all pumped up Gone Is Gone is going to hit me with an acoustic track?  They can’t be that foolish.  Oh wait, they can.  “Resolve”, which starts off with the cheesiest acoustic intro you could imagine may be the most insufferable acoustic intro’s possible.  At this point in the album, I can assure you it’s the last thing I wanted to hear from Gone Is Gone, but here it is anyway.  Now if I couldn’t take some of Troy Sanders earlier softer vocals seriously, how the hell am I supposed to take these whisper quiet vocals seriously.  This one has a HUGE classic rock vibe to it, picture one of Sabbath’s softer tunes, but this fails in every way possible.  The acoustic plucking here sounds lie it was lifted kicking and screaming out of any “Unplugged” album from the grunge era, and the other instrumentals that float in to accompany it sound like they were recorded for another song altogether.  I’m gonna move on before I get frustrated any more.  The album finishes off with the title track, “Echolocation”.  And to be perfectly honest, it’s certainly not that bad.  Here, Gone Is Gone sound like they actually have a motive, that’s bizarre.  This doesn’t even sound like it should have been recorded on this album, it actually sounds like if down the line Gone Is Gone actually got focused.  Troy’s vocals are much more comfortable, and everything else just works.  It’s frustrating though to hear such a decent track after all the garbage we had to shift through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBz7_yWqVXo

Rating: 6.0/10

Give A Listen To:  “Sentient”, “Gift” (Kinda?), "Fast Awakening", "Echolocation"
You know what, just go listen to old Mastodon, you'll probably be happier

Overall Thoughts:  Gone Is Gone still haven't really got the ball rolling on their career.  Their EP was a mess, and this is certainly a mess too.  However, there are a few really great moments here that can potentially some day lead to something great, you just seriously have to go through a whole lot of garbage to find it.