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Album Review Time
By TG | May 8, 2009
Hello-Charlie here. Since it seems I can’t think of anything to write most days, I’m going to start simple and do a couple of album reviews. Sound good? Cool. Here we go.
Woods- Songs of Shame
I’ve been into Woods for a couple of years, I like most of their stuff, and the other bands they’re all in are usually good too( Meneguar mostly). So listening to Songs of Shame is a bit like re-visiting a record I had not heard in a long time, but I have heard this before. SoS is a faithful and basic extension of the last few Woods albums. Not much new here, except for the seemingly out of place guitar freakouts and female back up vocals.
I was surprised when opening track, “To Clean”, started off with a Pavement esque rock out and the falsettos were kind of in tune. As the album progresses, the boys of Woods pull back a little to give us standard lo-fi gloominess and despair. Waiting for the summer and going insane thematically make up SoS’s moods, with the occasional rainy day, let’s-hang-out-at-the-lake sentiments thrown in to round out the titular Shame. Kind of depressing guys, but, hey, I get it. I know how these albums go. If you like Woods or maybe a band like Pygmylush, check it out. If you like drums that sound like five gallon jugs and analog organs and acoustic rustiness, definitely check it out. Not too shabby, given all the shabbiness strived for.
Vaselines- The Way of the Vaselines
The Vaselines were a couple of kids from Scotland in the early 90’s who just wanted to make silly, sexually frustrated music. Then fucking Kurt Cobain had to stick his big fat head into it and start talking about how good they were and covering their songs on MTV. Thanks Kurt, now a bunch of hipster fucks have decided that this band influenced you and therefore must be the greatest thing on Earth.
Well, this re-issue of sorts collects those early tracks originally released by Sub Pop, which itself was a collection of previously released EP’s and other junk. And it’s being called indie gold. Nice. It sounds like the slacker’s late 80’s that is so the shit lately, so I guess that counts as gold. And Guess what? Like the Pixies before them, the Vaselines are back! Ready to cash in on a whole new generation of Nirvana freaks who just heard that this band, like, totally influenced their God.
Sorry, this review is coming off too negative. I kind of like this stuff. The vocals are all “we don’t sing and we’re just fine with it.” The guitars are simple, the beats interesting enough and the stuff gets better as it goes along. The songs are pretty funny, lyrically and musically. I can dig this. It’s cool. They encompass a lot of the reasons we liked this music 20 years ago. You remember (even if I don’t): a complete lack of giving a shit and a total fuck you too attitude that lead the way for the gloriously apathetic 90’s.
Bob Dylan- Together Through Life
So you think the Vaselines are old school? Well, this here is some days of the dinosaurs shit right here. I love me some Bob Dylan, and so do a lot of people. This guy is universally recognized as a great and powerful smith of songs, a provocative personality who’s lost none of his punch in his golden years. The last few Dylan albums have certainly reinforced that notion, but this one, well this one is something new-again. Here we get a collection of songs that sound loungy and nostalgic. There are dirges, honest to God dirges, capable of soaking more than a few hankies. Dylan sounds wistful and rowdy at certain moments, and I can actually understand most of the lyrics.
Proving that he’s nowhere near the twilight of his career, Dylan has reclaimed his crown with a steady flux of the blues and soul music. Not genres I usually find myself attracted to, but I think that’s the magic that ol’ Bobby brings with him. That universal appeal I mentioned earlier. Even if it’s not your cup of tea, it still commands your attention, and your resepect. So show some respect, dammit! It’s Bob Dylan we’re talking about here. Would it kill ya to just listen to the album? Of course not! And you might learn something along the way.
-Charlie
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