The Great Annihilator

Voler by Niki Berger has quickly become one of my favorite folk-punk albums I’ve ever heard (thus far). Not only is it uncommon for a female to do vocals on a folk-punk album, but the fact that one of the most used instruments is an accordion is different too.

The banjo and accordion are the most prominent instruments in the album, and they always give me a sort of feeling of being in some European town I don’t know. It sounds a little strange at first, but I’ve grown to really like the sound. Her voice is quite raw, and she really does have to voice to do folk, punk, or, well, folk-punk. It’s a versatile sort of voice, and it goes really well with the sort of instrumentation she’s done. To me, all of the songs on Voler have a different sort of meaning to them. There are elements of anarchy, feminism, and friendships, among other things. She said the album is about “stealing and flying.” I’m still not positive what that means.

I’d really recommend listening to this. It’s a very unique sound, and it’s also very well done. It’s not very long at 36 minutes, so why don’t you? Her album is here on bandcamp. You can listen to the whole thing (though only in 128) right there on the site, and buy a digital copy for only $2. Or more, if you’d like.

Carissa’s Wierd’s final LP from 2002, Songs About Leaving is a masterpiece to those of us that like our slow and sad music. Guitar, drums, violin, and piano and blend to a seamless, emotional sound. The vocals, done both by Mat Brooke and Jenn Ghetto (went on to the solo project “S” which I recommend) fit perfectly with the instrumentation.

This album is 100% sadcore, and even when you don’t even know the lyrics yet, the instrumentals perfectly convey the emotions that are being put out towards the listener. The album isn’t too loud or quiet, too fast or slow, too long or short. They’re the perfect blend to make you feel the emotion without feeling overwhelmed by what’s going on in the music. At about 45 minutes, it’s at the length that an LP like this should be. Mat does most of the vocals, but Jenn still has enough parts to notice and appreciate her.

Being sad or wanting to feel sad and listening to this album is not a mistake. It gets across the intended feelings perfectly and I cannot think of another sadcore album like this to recommend, may you be a beginner or not. This is extremely recommended. As is the rest of Carissa’s Wierd and S’s discographies. Sample here.

Obligatory album to post; no write-up needed. If you haven’t listened, your should get on it. If you don’t like it, listen to it until you like it.

Sweet Heart, Sweet Light. The new album from Spiritualized. I’m going to be honest and say flat out: The only other Spiritualized album I’ve listened to is Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating in Space and I didn’t like it at all, so I was really hesitant to listen to this one. But oh man, am I glad I ended up listening.

Sweet Heart, Sweet Light is a lot more straight up rock than LAGWAFIS is. It’s really streamlined, with a lot of basic guitar melodies, drum beats, and keyboard/orchestra/occasional horns. Jason Pierce’s vocals meld wonderfully with the tunes being played. The album’s a pretty good length, almost exactly an hour long at 11 tracks. Almost every minute is masterfully crafted.

Lyrically, I don’t know if this is supposed to be a sort of concept album or not, but thematically the album seems to be about love and death. Not exactly a new concept, but those are always strong forces that plenty of people can relate to. Later in the album, there are a lot of religious mentions. As far as I know, J. Spaceman isn’t really religious but likes to put the imagery in. There’s not enough to be overwhelming, and I feel like they help with the death theme near the album’s closing moments.

I wasn’t expecting much from this. Hell, I was expecting to hate it. But this is a high contender for my album of the year, thus far. We’ll see what the rest of the year brings, with many artists I liked confirmed or rumored to have new material this year. For the time being, however, this is a great album to give a spin. Sample track here.

Strand of Oaks’ (Tim Showalter) 2009 debut album, Leave Ruin. Sad, folky singer-songwriter music. This album is great. He really gets his feelings through after a wave of bad luck in 2003, including his house burning down and his fiancée leaving him. Leave Ruin is soft, raw, and filled with real emotion. He also released another album, Pope Killdragon, a year or two back, trying to leave his reputation as the sad guy who lost everything behind. I don’t like it as much as Leave Ruin, but it’s not bad at all.

The guitar is pretty standard americana folk, but the album also features banjo and has a few tracks with other instruments as well, namely piano and light drumming. As with most other folk, the lyrics are the selling point, and he’s got some great stuff to sing. His voice isn’t anything groundbreaking or really much different, but the lyrics are nearing brilliance, and every word from his mouth is from his heart.

It’s really difficult for me to write much about folk albums because most are instrumentally simple but vocally complex for me to explain. I really like this album, and I hope some of you give it a listen. Sample song here.

First off, sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I need to find albums I want to talk about before I can talk about them.

Anyway, this is Crywank’s 2009 debut album James Is Going To Die Soon. Crywank is James Clayton, I think from somewhere in the UK. This album is a breakup album, so obviously there’s quite a bit of feeling in it. It’s folk-punk/anti-folk, and as a solo project, the instrumentation’s pretty simple. It’s a nice sort of simple, however.

In music like this, the lyricism is a big part of the whole piece. When his voice gets a bit rougher I find it a little annoying, but the rest of the vocals are quite nice. His voice isn’t a pain to listen to and it’s not too bland. Lyrically, it’s emotionally charged (as he just got out of a relationship) and, to many of us, extremely easy to relate to. I’m not sure if I’d say it’s worthy to cry over, but anyone who has gotten out of a major relationship should have some lines that will bring some things back to them.

The album’s very short at just 22 minutes and it’s pretty easy to swallow. If this sounds like your kind of album, listen to it. I’ve listened to it several times over the last few weeks because it really is a very good album, simple as it may be. Sample track here.

Progressive metalcore band Protest the Hero’s first full length album, Kezia. Released in 2005, this is my favorite release from PtH and a great concept album. Ten tracks long, separated into three three-part sections, and ending with a sort of conclusion track.

Each of those three parts is from a different person’s viewpoint and about the execution of a captive named Kezia. The first person, the priest presiding over the execution, wonders if killing her is the right thing to do. It keeps him up at nights and the idea sort of haunts him. The next character is one of the men in the execution squad who starts out seeming ruthless. As his section moves on, he begins wondering wondering if he should really go through with it and pull the trigger on her and if she really deserves it for whatever she’s done. Kezia’s section is just her final thoughts before she dies, thinking of herself and others who had been in her life. The final track on the album just sort of wraps up the album and helps solidify themes.

Musically it’s a bit complicated, which makes sense as a prog band. It never gets too abstract though and sticks to some of the tropes in the metalcore genre. The occasional piano is a nice touch and a pleasure to listen to. There are plenty of both clean and more harsh vocals. Clean vocals have a little more time being shown off, but there is enough of the harsh vocals to make a good mix of each. Rody’s voice never gets too harsh in this album though, so don’t let them scare you out of listening to this if you’re considering.

If you’re into metalcore and want something a little fresh, this is a great album that I wholly recommend. You may also like Protest the Hero if you’re a fan of Between the Buried and Me. They’re not exactly in the same styles, but people who like one often seem to like the other. If you enjoy Kezia and want to explore their material more, their newest album Scurrilous is styled more like Kezia and is pretty easy to absorb. If you want something a little heavier, Fortress definitely has that both musically and vocally (though it’s my least favorite full-length from them, but that’s me). Their EPs are a little weird and more on the hardcore side, I’d call them optional, really. Preview from Kezia here.

The Men have been getting a lot of attention recently, and for good reason. They’re making some excellent music. My friend introduced me to them a few months ago, not long after Leave Home came out (hi Cory). Open Your Heart, the new 2012 album, changes their sound up quite a bit. However, it’s still noisy, still punk, and still great.

One of the first things I’d like to bring up is how varied the album is throughout. The first two tracks are fast and have some harsher vocals compared to the rest of the album. Then Country Song comes around and a relatively slow instrumental that’s probably catchier than it should be. From here on out, the album takes a turn for the slower and uses more clean vocals. Not to say that it turns really slow, but compared to what the album starts like it’s slow. It hits it’s slowest mark on the ninth track before picking back up for the finale.

The album clocks in at about 45 minutes long, which feels just about perfect for me. Not long enough to turn tiring and not short enough to be craving more from it aside from listening to it again. Some of the tracks are really catchy, and the album has some good lasting appeal. This is one of those rare albums that keeps getting better the more I listen to it.

This album’s pretty unique, so it’s hard for me to recommend it to specific audiences. The noise is fuzzy, but it’s not too harsh. The vocals never get too harsh for the average listener. Tracks are catchy enough to share with others, I’d say. It has a wide appeal, but a relatively small (though growing quickly) fan base. I’m recommending this one for pretty much everyone who’s going to be reading this. One of my favorite albums so far this year.

Preview

Last year’s Daughter (Elena Tonra) EP His Young Heart. I only learned about the project over this last month from a last.fm recommendation, and I’ve fallen in love. His Your Heart is pretty short even for a lot of EPs at only four tracks and 17 minutes long. Those 17 minutes are absolutely worth listening to over and over, though.

The songwriting is pretty basic, but it all sounds so clean and warm that however basic it may be it’s still a pleasure to listen to. Her singing is spot on with her guitar. Hearing his singing is a pleasure. The lyricism isn’t the best I’ve heard, but it’s definitely not bad. The third track, Candles, stands out to me as a sign that she has a lot of potential for the future. It features what I’m assuming is some sort of drum machine (I’m not good at instrument identification) during the chorus that really seems to help bringing her voice out.

Like I said, this is a short listen. It is one of my favorite recent finds however. If you like female vocalists and/or singer/songwriter projects, I highly recommend listening to this. Sample here.

Captain Ahab’s 2006 release, After The Rain My Heart Still Dreams.

In one word, I could say “why.”

But I don’t do one-word reviews. In essence, Captain Ahab is dance pop/ravesploitation. I have no idea what’s going on in any of their songs. It’s fun, energetic, and feels plain dirty to listen to. The lyrics are ridiculous at many points and include being the unicorn queen and being a teenage girl who hates her mother. This album is something you’d play at a party where everyone’s already drunk and/or everyone’s weird in the first place.

Don’t listen to the album if you can’t have fun with an album. That’s all this strives for, and it works. I get pumped up and want to get on my feet and do something when I listen to it. So if you want something fun to listen to, give Captain Ahab a listen. You’ll have a good time.