album of the week - 7.3

つしまみれ

あっ、海だ。

Victor Entertainment (2009)

why you'll love it - Unfiltered and carefree punk rock

why you'll hate it - high pitched vocals and a whole lot of noise

I can't bring myself to review... that album.... one that is so terrible, I haven't even made it halfway through. And with every passing week, it becomes less and less relevant to waste time on a blog post for it... so... fuck it. Here is a good album instead!

Well... not exactly. You will most likely hate it. If you are a normal human being, this is not for you. For everyone else, enjoy this reckless abrasive punk catastrophe! つしまみれ plays loud music, is always singing out of tune; and even undermines the tough guy crowd with constant fits of over the top cutesy pop, like a square peg hammered into a round hole.

Despite being around for a good five years, this is technically the trio's first full length album. They've been strictly dealing out EPs their whole career. A smart move, since their corrosive sound can wear down any listener after a while. Luckily, this LP is their finest and most consistent material yet. "まつり" has already became by favorite つしまみれ song, and "Time Lag" is a quality pice of madness, as well as a wise choice for a single.

Unlike the last two releases, the group lets their pop side only emerge in moments, not consume entire tracks. The closest thing to pure pop is "Stop & Go!", which is offset by a lo-fi skate punk pace. "Mic Smellくんくん" is a bit too gimmicky for my taste, but still a worthy track for the way they handle the content. You can even hear the singer laugh and mess up in the middle of it.

So... that shitty album that will not be mentioned may be recognized, sell, and be loved more, but あっ、海だ。 is for me. Even its shortcomings represent what I love about punk music.

iTunes dishes out downgrade updates

iTunes made the news this week with its 8.2.1 update that cuts off access to Palm Pre users. Sucks for them, but I've found an even worse problem. Any update above 8.0.2 has a big issue with songs that are encoded with software iTunes does not recognize. If you try to play one of these songs, the app will straight up freeze for a good 45 seconds.

I've experimented, and converted one of these songs (yes i know that makes quality drop) to ACC. ITunes suddenly plays well with the song. I'm not going to re-encode half my library! I've got bit.trips to core. Downgrading to 8.0.2 did the trick for now.

So tread lightly, oblivious mac users. iTunes has been dealing out Trojan Horse updates that force assimilation. It could get a bit bumpy from here on out....

album of the week - 7.2

The Mars Volta

Octahedron

Warner Bros. (2009)

why you'll love it: You've always wanted The Mars Volta to be a "normal" band

why you'll hate it: boring as all hell

I've been a Mars Volta fan since day one. To me, the band has always meant "At The Drive-In with more guitar solos" and never pretentious wankery. I love Cedric's insane ramblings just as much as I had in ATDI. The concept of TMV being a bunch of artsy hotheads has never occurred to me, therefore I've never been frustrated by any of their albums.

This is a bad album.

Surprisingly, it's for different reasons than what you'd expect from their detractors. This is a boring album with very little of what makes TMV special. The melodies are very slow and predictable. Cedric's lyrics have no cryptic mystery to them at all. They're, at best, slightly macabre, but not inspiring at all. This album sounds like TMV tried to be a band to appease those who think they are too crazy and artsy. Now they sound like every other boring band.

Huge disappointment. Though I don't think this album is a sign of things to come. Every TMV album has sounded different thus far. They just picked a dud of a style this time.

Concerning that album I can't find...

I just found it.

Should I keep doing crappy albums? hmmm,

i think.....

album of the week: 7-1

The Aggrolites

IV

Hellcat Records (2009)

Why you'll love it: It's reggae

Why you'll hate it: It's reggae

I'm a bit annoyed I still haven't found the latest release by TsuShiMaMiRe; so out of spite, I'm going to be reviewing some less than stellar 2009 albums this month. Consider it summer cleaning.

For our first castaway album, I'll go easy on you. This is simply just mediocre. It's reggae. Nothing more. If you're having a 4th of July BBQ this weekend, this would make for some alright background music, but there is nothing here to really sit down and listen to. In past albums, The Aggrolites have messed with the format in the past to create some fun interesting songs, but this album is nothing but textbook.

Keep in mind that this, and the next few weeks of reviews are all of my own opinion. You might actually like the music. And hey, once July is up, we'll have certainly good albums by The Fiery Furnaces and the telephones. The future is bright!