Środa 18 Cze 2008, 13:53

So while I wasn't looking, a bunch of decent bands released new albums. What the hell!

I got the new Augustana (Can't Love, Can't Hurt) last month and it turned out to be pretty good. A three star album with a four star or two, and just a few that got two. I was surprised, as sophomore albums… you know, tend to suck, and that's not so bad. But hey, whiney west coast Americans who kinda do it right, for once! That so rarely happens for me! And just think, if I hadn't gone to see the Stereophonics with Keli in Columbus, I'd have no idea who the fuck they are. I like Dust and I think the last single, Sweet and Low is a good tune. Catchy and pretty at once, that's kinda original these days. But that's pretty representative of the album as a whole.

The new Coldplay is… I think I really like it, and I didn't expect to. It has the most four stars of anything new this month, so far, but nothing with five yet. I do think there is potential, however, once I get to know it better. There are only only one or two I could really do without. It's kind of weird and darker than usual (I suppose for an album called Viva la Vida or Death and all His Friends, that's to be expected. Well, for the second half of the title, anyhow), but it also has moments of humor I hadn't looked for. And the strings… I don't know, but I think someone shoved some good Romantic composers down Chris Martin's throat in the space between albums. This cannot help but be a good thing. So maybe the songs suck, but I just expected them to suck more and am therefore content? Anyhow, I like the unexpected groove in Lost!, 42 will make for a good writing song when it comes to certain subjects, seeing as it's whiny and dwelling on death, and Viva la Vida is pretty catchy. Also, the first single, Violet Hill… I wasn't impressed when I bought it. But in context with the rest of the album, it seems to make more sense. Which indicates that this is one of those things meant to be an album, and won't have the same impact when pieces of it are heard separately. A little like taking chapters out of a book and reading them randomly.

Kind of like listening to the Mars Volta, but without your brain exploding. I finally listened to Bedlam in Goliath for the first time this week, too, but hell if I can make heads or tails of it yet. That's going to take some serious time and effort.

John gifted me the new Fratellis and Supergrass, bless him. Here We Stand is probably the more solid of the two– a three star with a good helping of fours. Some pretty flat out awesome tracks too– My Friend John, Acid Jazz Singer, and Babydoll caught my ear right off. They can't really fail to be fun, apparently– but they're pretty freaking strange. Or maybe it's just the cover giving me that manic panic circus vibe. Yeah. Or maybe it's just the Fratellis.

Diamond Hoo Ha is oddly interesting, for Supergrass. I mean I expect a certain level of fun from them, no matter what, just because they're fucking strange and I've counted on them for it since I was fifteen. But this one is pretty cool and has some original stuff going on for them. Apart from the fact that 345 sounds like Funniest Thing. I'm just saying. Whiskey & Green Tea is rad though, and the whole album has a similar unfamiliar feel to it I'm digging.

So yeah… nothing loses yet. I've kinda filled the space between here and the earlier boom of Awesome Music this year and last with beefing up my classical (mostly romantic… but yeah fuck it) selection, so I was kind of caught unawares by all this. Good stuff. So time to pony up, Oasis and Kasabian. I know you're sitting on albums for us! Also, I'm looking at you, The Verve. That was a lot of new material at that show, and it was damn good. Pony up, I say.