Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding

Possible Headlines:

"Oasis' lead singer leaves, band sticks together and makes a new (but blander) Oasis record."
"Former Oasis members make a record that is twice as long as it should be."
"You may have hated Noel Gallagher, but he brought some excitment to what has now become Beady Eye."
"Do you really need a song called 'Beatles and Stones'? I mean, we know you like them."


C-

Radiohead - The King Of Limbs

Only Radiohead can finish an record on Sunday, announce that they will release it the next Saturday, then actually release it via download on Friday. They don't need you, music press, and they're gonna make you scramble to keep up with them.

On their eighth album, the band has managed to keep up their trend of sounding like Radiohead while making a cycle of songs that sound unlike any that they've made before. That's not to say that The King Of Limbs is groundbreaking - its no "Ok Computer" - but it takes their signature sound and softens it up a bit. The staccato guitar/bass/drums are still combined with fitting ambiance from the digital era - blips, bleeps, beats, and old recycled textures are layered often and appropriately. Only this time, the whole combination adds up to something much more subtle that washes over you. It feels deeper in its subtlety - the instrumentation is less fragmented, and the mood is more singular. Many times during the record I feel as though I'm listening under water... or that state of half-awake and half-asleep. This is what makes this record stand out from their others.

The first half of the record has a singular mood, with the slightly dancy "Morning Mr. Magpie" and (the only song that sounds like it belongs on another Radiohead album) "Little By Little". There is a dynamic shift after the excellent first single "Lotus Flower" (video below): we dip into the depths with what seems to be many listeners' favorite track, "Codex". To me, its a bit too spacey, but it leads nicely into the slightly folky "Give Up The Ghost". The closer ties us back nicely to the slightly more uptempo beginning of the record with "Separator". Thom Yorke urges the listener to wake him up. We awake from this dream with a positive outlook...

Maybe this is a new Radiohead after all.

A+

Glassjaw - Our Color Green

In 1997, I heard about a band that were self proclaimed "jewish metal." Being just a year out of high school from a town that had maybe two jewish students, this was obviosly intriging.
The Sons of Abraham, were all 18-19 year old kids who could seriously shred. Double bass gallops, wild leads. Eventally, they retired their dradels and broke up.
The phoenix that rose from the ashes of their yamicas was a band called Glassjaw.
Glassjaw had the technical proficiency of "the sons" but added the element of melody. They also had the swagger of a wild frontman who had a unique voice, taking cues from Mike Patton and Chino Moreno.
After a few 7"s and eps, they released two solid full lengths. Then took a long break. That is obviously a majorly abriviated career summary.
A recently reunited Glassjaw, minus one guitarist, bringing them to a four piece, has recenly released an ep. This release has all the elements you would expect from glassjaw. The ep seems a little less serious and more about having fun and jamming than blowing minds. The songs are less catchy vocally, and based more on jams.
The ep also has an interesting audio mix. The bass is equal if not louder than the guitar, creating a fuzzier, more experimental sound. This seems like a good progression for the band. An element I appreciate from a new release.
Overall the songs are a nice breath of fresh air from the long haitus from one of the founders of the disgustungly misnamed emocore genre. Worth checking out. Not a groundbreaking release but worth a few listens.

B

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The Damned Things - Ironiclast

I glance over and this kid is taking huge strides while oddly holding his hands in the air. He is moshing in slow motion. Really slow motion, even making a slow motion-y type deep voice sound. "Who is this kid?" I ask to my friend who dragged me along to this hardcore show freshman year of college. "That's keith buckley" he responded.
Keith buckley, the frontman of The Dammed Things, started as a member of buffalo's madmen, Every Time I Die. After years of touring, he slow moshed his way into the attention of Joe Troghman from falloutboy and Scott Ian from Anthrax. With the addition of a few additional members, The Dammed Things have created an album far beyond my expectations.
With equal parts falloutboy bubble gum melody, Anthrax's power, and Every Time I Die's irony, they have created one of the best hard rock records of 2010.
After a year of let downs in the music industry, Ironiclast was a suprising finale to an otherwise weak music year.
On this record, if you are looking for a standout track, just hit random or shuffle and you'll find one.
Keith has come a long way from that hardcore show, and has slow moshed his way into a permanent spot in my cd player.

grade: A

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