Category Archives: alternative

INCUBUS – If Not Now, When?

Posted on by

Incubus’s fifth full length release ‘Light Grenades’ is often considered sub-par compared to the band’s previous releases.  True, it doesn’t always have the all-round sophistication of which Incubus are often capable, but it has a sense of energy within the songs.  That’s more than can be said for 2011’s ‘If Not Now, When?’, an album so underwhelming it may as well be audio wallpaper.  Its radio friendly sounds are as flat as the monochrome sleeve art.  As for the title, it almost sums up the feeling of actually waiting for Incubus to do something interesting.   Brandon Boyd puts in heartfelt (but ultimately very samey) vocal performances throughout, but the rest of the band do so little with the musical arrangements, half the time you have to ask if there’s a real band present here at all.  The album is approximately halfway through before a guitar puts in a proper appearance.  75% of the material sounds like Boyd has given some studio engineers a bunch of vocal tracks and asked them to create some musical backdrops.  Most of the songs are completely one-paced with no real peaks, and as a result, nothing here maintains interest for very long.

The sense of doubt regarding this album creeps in quickly, since the disc begins with a pedestrian tune which sounds like it ought to be the mellow number closing the first half.  With a rigid drum pattern, the title cut opens the disc with something more akin to Coldplay or Snow Patrol than Incubus.  The lyrics appear to have a religious bent (which doesn’t help the enjoyment especially); and after a minute or so, nothing’s different: the drum maintains its original click-track style, some bass and keyboards flesh out the sound and the song strolls along never really hitting anything resembling a climax.  ‘Promises, Promises’ is slightly better thanks to the presence of a piano, but is still best described as middling alt-pop music.

‘Friends and Lovers’ may boast the sound of a kettle drum, but it’s punctuating an arrangement which is incredibly bland.  Once again, Boyd’s vocal is fine, but the rest of the band kind of tinker sheepishly with their instruments barely making the smallest of rumbles.  By the time Ben Kinney’s bass even becomes audible, he’s just hitting the odd note to help accompany Boyd on the quietest of moments.  ‘Tomorrow’s Food’ doesn’t really rise above new-age plinky-plunkiness.  It could be said that Mike Einzinger’s finger-picked guitar is well played, but after a couple of minutes it gets boring – all style and no substance.  The instrumental jam which makes up the second half of ‘Company of Wolves’ provides a little light at the end of the tunnel, but even then Incubus sound relatively unenthused.  With its acoustic roots, ‘Isadore’ is okay as far as it goes, in as much that Boyd is vocally strong and the band are tight enough, but it’s still half a world away from more traditional Incubus.  Due to it’s general lack of anything resembling a chorus, though, this is just another number which can be forgotten almost as soon as it’s finished.  The band takes the full acoustic route with the short ‘Defiance’, which has an intro which calls to mind a couple of Led Zeppelin’s gentler numbers.  Like most of ‘If Not Now, When?’, it never quite reaches its full potential, but at least it’s short…

It’s only really with ‘Switchblade’s funk edge things improve noticeably, since here, Incubus actually sound like a real band again.  The drumming has a nice offbeat style, the bass lines actually have a presence and the guitar riffs bring a slightly edgy tone.  Despite a huge step in the right direction, it’s still far from classic Incubus, since in truth, a few years earlier, this would have been considered filler.  Despite a reasonable riff a which hits relatively hard coupled with a great vocal, the single release ‘Adolescents’ still a sense of “could try harder”.  There’s the feeling of a ‘Make Yourself’ leftover surrounding this track, but at least the band sound like a band pulling together once again, and not just a bunch of guys backing Boyd’s vocals and lyrics.  Even Einzinger gets an opportunity to play a fairly upfront guitar solo.  It’s a shame they couldn’t have found a better chorus, but at least they sound like they’re actually interested in what they’re doing.

It’s hard to believe we waited almost five years for Incubus to return and this is all we get.  Two half decent songs?  Representing the sound of “alternative” music which sounds like it was written with the shopping mall in mind, ‘If Not Now, When?’ is a seriously dull record.  The idea of a band wanting to record something more commercial is fine, but this release is severely lacking in anything which grabs the attention.  ‘Switchblade’ aside, there’s barely a hint of ‘Nice To Know You’ or ‘Anna Molly’ here, let alone the crunchiness ‘Privilege’ or the brilliant funkiness of ‘The Warmth’.  It has far more in common with Brandon Boyd’s alt-pop solo release ‘The Wild Trapeze’ than anything released under the Incubus name previously.  If you want the Brandon Boyd show, then fine, but there’s so more to Incubus than that…or at least there used to be.

According to Boyd, the band “recorded these songs at the same time as writing them…a process [they]’ve never done before”.  In which case, maybe it’s a process they shouldn’t try again in the future.  Maybe spending some time actually analysing the material after it was written could have given the band a bit more perspective; perhaps they could have looked at these songs and realised how lacking most of them are.

July 2011

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE – Sky Full Of Holes

Posted on by

I first encountered Fountains of Wayne back in the late 90s, since I had a friend who was a fan of their 1996 self-titled debut.  In the summer of 1997 I saw the band at the Reading Festival, though I must confess, they didn’t make a lasting impression.  I all but forgot about them over the following years, until sometime in 2003 when ‘Stacy’s Mom’ became a hit in the UK.  As a piece of fairly throwaway power pop, it was a fantastic single. It’s parent album ‘Welcome Interstate Managers’ featured some other great tunes too, and 2007’s ‘Traffic and Weather’ was potentially even better.  I just wish I could remember more about seeing Fountains of Wayne live a decade earlier…

If you approach Fountains of Wayne’s 2011 release ‘Sky Full of Holes’ expecting to hear lots of similarly structured power pop as featured on those earlier discs you may be in for a surprise, since huge chunks of the album are devoted to the band’s more downbeat, less immediate qualities.

The acoustic rhythm which provides the base for ‘A Summer Place’ is complimented by a decent bassline from Adam Schelsinger. While the tune is pleasant enough, the vocal has a nasal quality which can be slightly irritating, especially on a few of the longer notes.  It’s not the best of opening tracks… ‘Richie and Ruben’ follows with a mid-paced pop/rock outing, which again has a heavy bias towards acoustic work.  A piano accompaniment rounds out the sound, but despite the presence of a kitschy keyboard and handclaps, there’s something very much missing here…there’s no memorable hook. The chorus – if you could call it that – sounds like a pre-chorus; just as you’re expecting things to break into something bigger, you get left hanging.  Two songs in and ‘Sky Full of Holes’ sounds like it could be a massive disappointment…

And then the bouncy piano line which cuts through the heart of ‘Acela’ appears.  Coupled with a very Beatles styled vocal, it would be tempting to call this McCartney-esque, but there’s something more to it than that.  As the track progresses with some great interplay between the piano and a solid drum arrangement (courtesy of Brian Young), that other element soon becomes apparent:  this has a feel which isn’t too far removed from Crowded House’s rockier moments – and that’s something which is often welcome.  Everything’s nice and tight and although the song still doesn’t quite hit that “instant gratification” button, the band certainly sound more energized here.  And when ‘Someone’s Gonna Break Your Heart’ follows, brimming with harmony vocals, a decent chorus and an occasional stabbing piano, there’s a feeling of a band hitting their stride.  ‘A Dip In The Ocean’ is another upbeat piece of brilliance, allowing Young to showcase his hi-hat work which keeps things buoyant throughout.  The guitars chime in a classic Big Star fashion and the gang vocals really give things a full sound.  In short, this track is a piece of power pop genius.  These three songs definitely make up for any shortcomings on those earlier numbers.

Elsewhere, the album is understated and rather more mature in sound. ‘A Road Song’ reinstates those acoustics, but brings in a new element – in this case, a subtly used steel guitar.  This acoustic sound, harmony vocals and a slight country air push Fountains of Wayne into a musical world somewhere between Jackson Browne, The Thorns and early Wilco.  While it’s not especially likely you’ve bought a FOW album to experience Americana styles, the band sound relaxed and natural in this particular musical vein.  So much so, they follow this up with the similar-ish sounding ‘Workingman’s Hands’ which keeps in the harmonies and acoustics, but eschews some of that steel guitar for a gently played slide and occasional piano flourish.  ‘Hate to See You Like This’ makes no attempt at breaking any relatively downbeat vibes.  A steady backbeat on the drums gives the number a brooding atmosphere, while acoustic and electric rhythm guitars punctuated by clanging piano chords provide the main tune.  Vocally, the harmonies give things a lift, and eventually, this well-constructed number sounds not unlike something which could have been written by Scott Janovitz and his Boston outfit The Russians.

Naturally, some of you will be approaching this album looking for a sing-along opportunity a la ‘Stacy’s Mom’ and if it’s only with ‘Radio Bar’ (track 11 of 13) that ‘Sky Full of Holes’ comes close to that.  With the addition of a trumpet and glockenspiel, Fountains of Wayne launch into a tune that’s brazenly poppy.  The verses are catchy enough, with the whole band sounding really tight, but it’s the chorus which hits.  And it hits like brick.  Combining a simple refrain of ‘whoah-oh-oh-oh!’ with a trumpet which recalls The Boo Radleys’ ‘Wake Up Boo!’, this song will stick in your head for weeks…and that’s a promise.  The album winds down in a downbeat way with a semi-acoustic waltz (‘Firelight Waltz’) and ‘Cemetery Guns’, a number which combines acoustic guitars, strings and military drum-rolls. Neither track is as good as either ‘Road Song’ or ‘Workingman’s Hands’ – and as such isn’t likely to get you too excited – but even so the arranging is spot-on.

‘Sky Full of Holes’ isn’t as easy to get into as ‘Traffic and Weather’, but that’s not to say it’s inferior in the main; it’s just a bit…different.  Fountains of Wayne’s fifth studio album often has more of a singer-songwriter style than the full-on power pop which filled more of their previous outings.  No matter what the style, though, it’s hard to find fault with most of the arrangements.  Hopefully, this slight shift in musical approach will go some way to shaking off those Weezer comparisons Fountains of Wayne often get lumbered with.  And quite frankly, even during its weaker moments, this album features material that is far better written (and arranged) than almost anything Rivers Cuomo is likely to commit to plastic ever again.  Ever.

July 2011

PALE AUTUMN – Final Act EP

Posted on by

On first viewing, the cover of this Philadelphia trio’s EP is more than reminiscent of the 1999 Counting Crows release ‘This Desert Life’, although it’s likely both bands’ sleeve art was influenced by René Magritte.   Just as it’s quite obvious who influenced their choice of art, a few bars into their debut, there’s little doubt about which rock subgenre Pale Autumn’s music falls into.

The combination of Nick Santone’s vocal style and the clean-ish guitar which begins the opening number (and title cut) brings more than a hint of a post-grunge style; although to begin with, the band favour a lightness of touch in places that various similar bands lack. The track has a slow burning first half, with Santone’s vocal taking a leading role.  Behind him, though, Bobby Hall’s drum patterns help maintain listening interest.  For the second part of the number, things fall into a rather more predictable pattern, as the guitars are cranked and its mid-paced nature doesn’t offer the listener anything they won’t have already gleaned from Staind’s more reflective moments, or indeed, any number of similar alternative bands of the naughties.  It’s a strong number, although it’s rather mid-paced nature doesn’t necessarily make it the best opening statement.  Chosen as the EP’s single release, perhaps ‘Marionette’ would have been more suited to that position; it certainly has a far more upbeat feel.  With slightly funky chords, it’s a song which sounds more positive all round.  Pale Autumn occupy a musical space which allows Pat McGraw to lay down a solid bassline,  while Santone delivers a few sharp chords here and there.  In terms of sound, it’s too heavy to have an obvious persuasion from Collective Soul or Matchbox Twenty, even though the overall mood occasionally hints at such influences.  Vocally, Santone appears a little more ragged than before, but it’s a vocal style which is very much in keeping with the up and down nature of the arrangement.

‘The Tides Return’ offers a slightly different side to the Pale Autumn’s sound, with the previous chunky guitar riffs replaced in the main by a brilliant rolling piano.  Since 90% of piano based rock is very cool, this presents the band in a much more interesting light. Here, they adopt a sound that’s not unlike The Fray, only much harder.  The piano really compliments Santone’s vocal and the lack of guitars throughout the song’s first half means bassist McGraw has more time in the spotlight.  Against the piano lines, his playing is unwavering.  By the time the guitars crash in near the end, things are more ordinary, but by then, ‘The Tides Return’ has already proved itself to be the EPs essential track.  The guitars, naturally, start to dominate once they arrive, but thankfully the piano hangs in there, still delivering a great melody underneath the riffs.

‘Postcards’ showcases the acoustic side of the band.  Naturally with Pale Autumn’s alt-rock/post grunge chops, the track doesn’t go the full-on acoustic route.  Those acoustics are blended with subtle electric leads, over which Santone’s vocal is decent enough.  The track builds gradually to a big rock climax where the band settles for a very safe musical territory.  You may have heard it all before, but listeners who enjoyed stuff by Tonic et al back in the early 00’s are likely to find enjoyment here.  The closing number, ‘Cemetery Leaves’ begins softly with a clean toned guitar and a suitably hushed vocal.  Live sounding drums and a warm bass provide great accompaniment.  At the moment where the big rock part would normally make an appearance, the band shows a great restraint. Those guitars are turned up ever so slightly and Santone’s vocal finds a little more muscle, eventually culminating in his strongest performance.  While it doesn’t quite have the all-round magic of ‘The Tides Return’, it’s certainly a fitting way to finish things off.

On this EP, Pale Autumn never break out of tried and tested musical ideas, resulting in a sound which isn’t especially original. Despite that, the song writing is strong throughout and musical input from each of the three musicians is solid.  A few more pianos would certainly have lifted the bar even higher, but even so ‘Final Act’ is a great debut.   Even if the whole thing doesn’t grab you after a couple of listens, downloading ‘The Tides Return’ is strongly advised.

July 2011

LIMP BIZKIT – Gold Cobra

Posted on by

During the first half of 1997, nu-metal had really started to make an impact in the UK. KoЯn had a couple of albums under their belt which had gained them a sizable cult audience, some of the cooler folks had the Coal Chamber album (which they’d likely bought for extortionate import prices) and nu-metal/rap-metal crew Limp Bizkit made waves with their cover of George Michael’s ‘Faith’ and their debut album ‘Three Dollar Bill, Yall$’ – an album which would go on to sell several million copies. The band saw increased popularity with their next couple of albums, reaching their commercial peak in 2000, when ‘Rollin’ scored a number one hit in the UK and its parent album ‘Chocolate Starfish & The Hotdog Flavored Water’ hit the number one spot in seven different countries. Between 1999 and 2001, Limp Bizkit was one of the world’s most popular alternative bands with their genre-mixing sounds seemingly appealing to so many music fans.

By the time of their last album, 2005’s ‘The Unquestionable Truth, Part 1’, the truth was, the tide was turning. Limp Bizkit’s popularity had plummeted, with many viewing Fred Durst and co’s arrogance and swagger as an embarrassment. Whereas only a short time earlier, they gathered awards for their million selling records, ‘TUQP1’ failed to chart in various countries, including the UK. The album is now all but forgotten by many. At the height of the band’s fame, Q Magazine praised ‘Chocolate Starfish’ for “great knockaround songs” and “gonzo bluster”, yet after the band’s demise, that same magazine claimed it to be one of the 50 worst albums of all time, placing it at #11.

Six years after their flop swansong, Limp Bizkit returned with ‘Gold Cobra’. On the opening track ‘Bring It Back’, once the DJ loops and handclaps mixed with hefty guitar chug hit their stride there’s an instant familiarity. And once Durst steps up to the mic and claims he’s “gonna turn this place into a muthafuckin’ danger zone”, it feels like their six year vacation could have been a mere six months. In fact, the best tracks on could have been released a decade earlier and sounded exactly the same. ‘Shark Attack’ reinforces these feelings, being an equal match for the most memorable numbers from ‘Starfish’. The track features one of the album’s funkiest grooves, and while there’s still a bottom-end metallic riff, it’s not overdone. Each of the musicians has a solid role to play here – and even Durst manages to reign in his arrogance and sound like he’s advocating fun.

With a hard mix of drop D riffing, funky grooves and solid rap performance, the amusing ‘Autotunage’ offers another stand out. The heavy riffs and catchy chorus are joined by a humorous streak (most obvious on an intro slagging off autotune abuse). These elements combined present Limp Bizkit at their best; these five minutes are a sharp reminder why you used to love the band (even though you may have spent years denying that). Likewise, ‘Why Try’, features great performances from all concerned. Durst’s rap comes with a solid delivery and lyrics which aren’t too cringe worthy, while Borland’s riff offers a decent level of funkiness as well as the required amount of bottom end.

On a couple of softer numbers where Durst pushes aside rap for actual singing, the band manage to sound professional and self-assured without the accompanying bucket of arrogance. ‘Walking Away’, in particular, is surprisingly mature. It shouldn’t be forgotten that for all of Bizkit’s childish shouting, musically they have a lot of experience – and here, that really shows. With reverbed, clean guitars and a reasonable vocal, this number (heavily inspired by Incubus, it has to be said), presents a side of Limp Bizkit which doesn’t surface nearly often enough. Even a more metallic climax with Durst screaming doesn’t spoil the mood – at least he’s not being threatening. ‘Loser’ manages to meld Limp Bizkit’s rap stylings with those softer alternative rock elements incredibly well. The vocal features understated rapping (almost a spoken word) and a strong (sung) chorus, while the music itself has just the right balance between atmospheres and hard rock riffing. Borland’s heavily treated guitar solo should have sounded out of place with its sharper edges, but somehow it works.

Obviously, there are plenty of tracks featured where the heavy-handed anger and tough talk actually gets in the way of anything decent. ‘Get A Life’ is structured around a juggernaut-sized riff, over which Durst shouts “get a life, get a mothafuckin’ life / You don’t wanna see what I can do when I’m nice / You don’t wanna be my enemy, I promise you / If you do, muthafucka bring it on!”. After a few listens, it’s the kind of thing which gets tiresome. Even worse, ‘Douchebag’ is little more than rap metal by numbers with “harder than you/better than you” themed lyrics which reach their zenith on a chorus with Durst repeatedly shouting “douchbag, I’m gonna fuck you up”. While ‘Shotgun’ has a decent tune and even better fuzzy guitar solo, the message contained within (regarding the US’s lack of gun control) is hampered by too much repetition. While somewhat better than both ‘Get A Life’ and ‘Douchebag’, any good work is undone by the end, when a looped sample of a shotgun being cocked and loaded provides “entertainment” for a bit too long.

‘Gold Cobra’ suffers the same major pitfall as all of Limp Bizkit’s releases, post ‘Three Dollar Bill, Yall$’: the formulaic grooves and OTT arrogance both wear a little thin if you attempt to get through the whole album in one sitting. In fairness, there’s about half an album’s worth of good tracks to be found on here, but you’ll have to be willing to wade through the trash to find them. With the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, ‘Gold Cobra’ is hugely unlikely to win Limp Bizkit any new fans just as it’s equally unlikely to gain any real respect from the press following years of backlash. In reality, despite plenty of inconsistencies, when it comes to the rap metal/nu metal sound, Limp Bizkit are still among the best when they get it right. It’s a shame they couldn’t get it right a bit more often here.

June 2011

TEAM ME – Team Me EP

Posted on by

PhotobucketWithin minutes of the opening number on Team Me’s debut EP, it’s obvious the release is something special. The Norwegian outfit’s brand of heavily orchestrated indie-pop may borrow influences from Arcade Fire and Mercury Rev, but they throw enough of their own style into the multi-layered arrangements to not sound like mere copyists.

‘Weathervanes and Chemicals’ opens the EP with one of Team Me’s strongest offerings. Beginning with a cymbal-less drum line and a barrage of strings, it has a pompy nature which is hard not to compare to Arcade Fire, especially so once a glockenspiel tops off the already busying arrangement. The track’s verses have a soft air, with touches of Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev before the chorus kicks in. While the chorus is wordless, it features a choir of voices which are very much reminiscent of those which dominate Red Box’s cult 80s album ‘The Circle and Square’. It is almost impossible not to get swept along with the hugeness and feel-good vibes Team Me put across here. By the song’s closing moments, the choir is overlaid by lots of electronic noise, drums and something which may well be a melodica. Sounds messy when described, but in reality, it’s a three minute burst of sunshine. Opening with a very 80s keyboard line, ‘Come Down’ has a slightly punchier atmosphere in places, it’s basic structure fitting neatly into the indie-rock pigeonhole; to keep things interesting, Team Me beef up the arrangement with almost as many layers as ‘Weathervanes’. The huge vocals and strings still provide the heart of Team Me’s sound, but it’s the addition of tinkling percussion (or keyboards approximating the sounds of bells) which provide one of the best elements on a number which was already fairly complex.

‘Dear Sister’ is quirky and full of gorgeous harmony vocals. Its main riff has a circular feel which barely stops throughout the track. Ringing string sounds lead into to something which sounds like it has about fifty layers, overlaid with a choir. While not as hugely appealing as ‘Weathervanes’, it’s still a number which captures Team Me’s multi-layered sound well. ‘Me and the Mountain’ begins with a stronger drum line, settling for a more basic pounding approach – which fills the instrumental breaks and chorus sections; for the verses, Team Me offer more of their heavily keyboard and string led atmospheres. The overall vibe has echoes of Mercury Rev once again, but the occasional harder edges make it sound like a Mercury Rev number that has been influenced by the grandiosity of Arcade Fire – which is not necessarily a bad thing. The closing number ‘Kennedy Street’ finds Team me in a far more laid back setting begins as an echoing guitar riff provides the basis of the number, over which the vocal finds a place for an equally unfussy melody. A harmony vocal joins for the chorus which rounds out the sound beautifully, lending everything an atmosphere which would make Mercury Rev proud they’d passed on so much influence. For the close of the track, a piano joins the arrangement and the drum which has been softly pulsing breaks into a rumble for the last few bars, overlaid by a different collection of vocal sounds – and just when you think we’re going in for a big climax, Team Me stop dead, naturally leaving you wanting so much more.

Team Me worked hard at making a name for themselves prior to this release, playing no fewer than eight Norwegian festivals in the summer of 2010, plus various other gigs along the way – including a couple of support slots with British Sea Power and The Wombats in London in February and March 2011. This EP sounds like the work of a band who’ve strived to get their sound – it’s seriously good, maybe even amazing. If you’ve ever had a passing fancy for The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev or Arcade Fire, you need this. It’s probably the most exciting record to come from the orchestrated indie-pop niche since ‘The Beginning Stages…’ by The Polyphonic Spree.

May 2011