album of the week: 11.4

HORSE The Band

Desperate Living

Vagrant Records (2009)

why you'll love it - 8bit synth!

why you'll hate it - it's metal screamo music

As the year draws to a close, here is something a bit different than the usual fare. HORSE The Band is very loud, and not in the noisy lo-fi style I normally dish out. This is a straight up "scream like cookie monster" metal kind of thing. Usually I just roll my eyes at this kind of stuff, but HTB has an ace up their sleeve - an 8bit synth.

I fully admit the only reason I listen to this band is for the synthesizer, although their humor and guitar riffs can win me over at times. Before 2007, HTB was much more versatile in their songwriting. They would cleverly work NES references into their synth lines and lyrics without sounding like they were pandering to geeks. With time, their melodies and songwriting content got more crazy and culminated in 2006, with an EP of songs about pizza.

Soon after that, they decided they wanted to be a serious band, with honest lyrics and nerfing the synth. The resulting album (A Natural Death) was an absolute disaster. HORSE The Band, you are content to play music that is of a ridiculous genre; thus can never be taken seriously! With Desperate Living, HTB is still holding on to their self-destrucive vision from the last album, but have worked a little bit of self-parody into it.

Singer, Nathan Winneke, is still screaming with a bit too much conviction; but at least this time out when he growls out an eye-roll inducing line like "sorry that you're dead", it's followed once again by a kickass synth line that sounds like something out of The Legend of Zelda. Erik Engstrom has been given more liberty to bash away with the bleep-blorps here, so the nectar I crave is back; and that is nearly all I need to justify this album's existence.

Despite still taking a good chunk of this album too seriously, tracks like the narcissistic "HORSE The Song" are a promising wink to let us know they've stepped back from the edge of pretentiousness. "Science Police" is a genuinely good song with a pace that doesn't try to ram metalcore down your throat. They need more songs like that. Droning moments of ambience ruin a few songs, such as "Shapeshifter" and "Lord Gold Wand of Unyielding". Thankfully they are met with an equal amount of insanity in other songs, which I chose not to spoil with examples.

After you cut out the embarrassing A Natural Death era holdovers, there are about eight good songs and 30 minutes of music on this album worth enjoying; which just scrapes by to let me hope that the band is back on the right track. It's no The Mechanical Hand though, that's for sure. I'd much prefer that Eric would pack up his synthesizer and start a new band at this point.

how awesome is Bit.Trip:Void?

So awesome.

That probably doesn't mean much coming from me, since I've been calling the downloadable wii Bit.Trip games the best thing to come out this year. However, this is installment addresses a few problems from the last two games, without compromising the wild visuals and adrenaline rush feeling.

This may be the easiest Bit.Trip game yet. The basics are still the same, collect bits to survive. This time, you control a free roaming void bit with the wii-nunchuck analog stick. As you collect black bits, you increase in size, like a balloon. You can "bank" the points earned so bar and decrese back to normal size. You'll want to do that because white bits will enter the fray and can pop you. Needless to say, the game will erupt a rush of black and white bits at you to avoid and fish for.

Looks tough? It wouldn't be a Bit.Trip game is there wasn't a challenge. Luckily, Gaijin Games has granted mercy on us. There are now three checkpoints in each song. You start with only one continue (you need to get a crazy amount of points to earn more), but the checkpoints are a big deal for tackling that one tricky part 8 minutes into the 10 minute stage without having to start over from the start if you blow it. Now removed (with great applause) is the stipulation that you have to earn a high score in order to save the unlock of the next song.

The music is a minimalist drum & bass heavy beat this time out. It fits well with all the abundance of black & white, but isn't the best soundtrack they've done. The background visuals don't have as much wacky stuff in them, but the points and level indicators are cleverly merged in with the background. Also of note, there are no visible meters to tell you how close you are to leveling up or down. I guess depending on the type of mind you are, this could be a good or bad thing.

Forget your Modern Warfare, Assasin's Creed, or whatever killin' dudes flavor of the month game the media is hyping. Play Bit.Trip:Void!

album of the week: 11.3

Tegan And Sara

Sainthood

Sire (2009)

why you'll like it: Intelligent fast paced pop tunes

why you'll hate it: repetitive, disposable

It's really easy to get wrapped up in the superficial side of Tegan And Sara, and write them off entirely. They do appear to be the darling of empty headed hipsters and do-nothing activists. Well, scenes are all cesspools I checked out of years ago, and I've become content with Tegan And Sara. They're clever and know how to make a really exciting and catchy two-minute song.

Clever, catchy, and fast paced. Tegan And Sara do what they do best on this album. While I found their experimental side in The Con to be more satisfying, this is probably the album old school If It Was You fans have been waiting for - a much more impulsive sound. This is also a great album for newbies, as it briefly touches on all of the duo's strengths.

This album shares a lot in common with Absolute Polysics. The album has a collection of strong songs, but they don't quite come together like an album should. In this case, the songs feel a bit incomplete, as if you're only given the middle of them. There are no real build ups or big changes in the melody. It's a simple straightforward number to give you that catchy buzz, then bam, on to the next... The songs are also a bit overproduced for my taste.

There is one bad song on this album - "On Directing" It has terrible lyrics and is too repetitive. Throw that track out. Aside from that, get that stupid image out of your head that this is music for airhead feminists in Starbucks. It's good stuff.

a face you can trust

Oh internet, how convenient of you. I don't even have to go to a gamestop or high school cafeteria to take in the totally legitimate opinions of a stereotypical hardcore gamer douchebag.

album of the week: 11.2

Kings of Convenience

Declaration of Dependance

EMI (2009)

why you'll love it: somber and honest pop songs

why you'll hate it: too quiet, singles steal the show

"So we meet again, after several years. Several years, of separation."

It's been half of a decade since the last Kings of Connivence album. It's great to have them back! Sure, Erlend Øye has given us a fantastic Whitest Boy Alive album earlier this year; but his collaboration with Eirik Glambek Bøe is something special. Their songs are charming without being gimmicky, and romantic without being hammy.

So here is your update: they haven't changed a bit. It's still two dudes with acoustic guitars with a minimalist backing band mellowing out. If you're still not into that, this won't win you over. If you are, you should love this album just like the rest. It may be partly due to the absence, but their songs are still fresh today, and haven't slipped in quality. There are a few songs in the second half of the album that don't live up to the first, but there is still a good half hour of solid tunes on this album.

Just a fair warning to those with ADD - Don't be fooled by the two singles on youtube "Mrs. Cold" and "Boat Behind". Those are the two most exciting (if that word can even be used here) songs on the album. They're fantastic songs, but don't represent the levels of sobriety the rest of the album reaches. Just play it nice and loud so you can soak in all those amazing quiet moments.

meanwhile...

in the world of legal downloading, the superfantasticamazing soundtrack to the Game of The Year 2009 wiiware title, Bit.Trip:Beat, has been made available on iTunes. It doesn't look worth ten bucks though.

Most of the tracks are the 10 second innterludes before levels (so short, you can listen to the whole thing in preview on iTunes), and they expect you to pay a dollar for each one! The credits song by Bit Shifter is also charged, despite being available free from the artist on the web. Finally, and worst of all, the three main songs of the game are only 3-4 minutes long, instead of being the epic 10 minute versions as they are in the game. Huge disappointment. Please give us a better soundtrack for core, Gaijin!

album of the week: 11.1

Do Make Say Think

Other Truths

Constellation (2009)

why you'll love it: Exciting instrumental songs

why you'll hate it: songs are very long, no lyrics

What a great album this is. Do Make Say Think is one of those bands where it does them a disservice to tag them with a genre, especially one as stubborn as post-rock. Earlier this year, we took at look at the latest Mono release. Great band - solid effort, but quite one dimensional. The only adjective I that springs to mind is "epic", which is a quite good one, but that's all. With only four songs, DMST explores far beyond the typical post-rock tropes.

The opening track, "Do", has a very stripped down almost typical indie-emo guitar foundation. It's a very refreshing format and uplifting emotion for the genre. Most bands of this genre make me feel small, but the appropriately titled "Do" makes me feel motivated. Unfortunately, there is a needless three minute feedback outro to the track, which is the only weak point of the entire album.

The next track, "Make" has a mysterious and catchy ~at sea fighting the waves~ feeling. It's a dark tune, but a captivating one, especially when the creepy chants make their presence felt. There isn't a typical build up here. The tension comes in, cascades a bit, lulls, then comes back even stronger. It's a brilliant composition.

"Say" (are we sensing a theme here?) is another adventurous tune. The main reprise is slightly Ennio Morricone inspired. Again, the track has a more determined and encouraging feeling to it, not a lost and lonely one.

"Think" is predictably a cool down for the album. It is quite groovy in its own subtle way though. Worth turning up loud to soak in all the lounge ambience.

I had already put Do Make Say Think on a higher level than other post-rock acts, and this album only justifies it. They've managed to capture the essence of what they truly are here. If you've never heard this band before, this is the perfect place to start.

found on the back of the NJ ballot

lol politics (click for full size)