BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) WEEZER
(“Hurley” – 2010)So they’re on a new label and people are saying this is one of the better recent albums. Also, I hear it’s very poppy. The album kicks off with “Memories”. It’s a pop-rock Killers sounding song where Rivers rants off a lot of random memories. The album is fun. It’s poppy, rock, and well written. It’s hard not to nod your head along to this album as it’s as catchy as it’s cool. The single “Where’s My Sex?” is fun, but possibly one of the worst tracks on the album. It doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the album and took me out of the moment. It wasn’t hard to get back into it. I really can’t pick out the key tracks. The album just flows together sans the one road bump. In my book Weezer has been hit or miss over the past few forevers. This album is stripped down and doesn’t feel overly produced.
(THREE) LINKIN PARK
(“A Thousand Suns” – 2010) This album tries really hard at start to be something “out there” and then it’s revealed for the crap it is. I’ve never gotten the Linkin Park hype. I’ve enjoyed maybe one or two of their songs ever. I’m not their dwindling fan base and this album isn’t for me. “Burning In The Skies” sounds like a whiney U2 cover to 80’s montage music. There are a few points on the album where the track is basically a bridge or ambiance. It’s not art. It’s random noise they heard other and better people do before them. “When They Come For Me” is a passable hip hop song, but the chorus and everything not a verse is crap. I don’t know what the hell is going on with “Robot Boy”. It’s like Trent Reznor produced a Seal song. It’s not good, but I’m willing to bet it ends up a single and a lot of people are going to eat it up. “Waiting For The End” is another song. It sounds like Linkin Park is attempting to channel influences and failing. I get what they want to do. They want to put out an album of many styles, and they do accomplish that but it feels very fake. This album has no identity and feels void of legitimate substance. I’m not trying to be harsh. I never liked their older albums and sadly this album sounds exactly like those musical mockeries. This was a waste of my time. Don’t waste yours.
(TWO) BRANDON FLOWERS
(“Flamingo” – 2010) I’ve always enjoyed The Killers. They are one of the best rock bands out there right now and continue to evolve and put out some great albums. When I read that Brandon Flowers was doing his own solo album, I was a bit bummed. The Stokes did the same thing and it ended up messy and sadly a waste of time. I just think that if you blow up with a band then you owe it to the fans to make music with that band and not make us wait while your ego deflates from low sales. Luck for us, Brandon Flowers delivers. The two singles “Crossfire” and “Only the Young” are solid, but when you put them in a grouping with the rest of the songs it’s hard to pick a winner. I was a bit annoyed with the Jenny Lewis vocal appearance on “Hard Enough”. I can see myself skipping that song often in the future, but it’s worth it because the next track “Jilted Lovers And Broken Hearts” is great. I won’t lie. If someone played this for me and said “Hey, it’s the new Killers CD” I’d believe them full heartedly. This is a Killers album without the Killers. I’m not complaining, but I did kind of expect something at least a little different.
(ONE) THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE
(“Pins And Needles” – 2010)My problem with The Birthday Massacre is that their music always sounds the same to me. I’ve heard all their albums and have seen them live. I like them for a while and then get bored pretty quickly. I end up mocking them and telling friends about me that I enjoy their “song”. By “song” I mean the one that last the 40 minutes to an hour they’re on stage. It’s just the same thing over and over. Like I said, it’s good… but then it’s redundant before I know it. There aren’t really any exceptions on this album. It all sounds like one big song. It’s a disappointment because I was hoping THIS would be the album they changed up their tired formula. No luck with that, but the Hot Topic crowd is going to looooove this.
|
