Oh, the Lovely Sounds...

What can I say? I love music! Here, I will discuss what I feel is good music and worth listening to.




Emery
The Question




About a year ago, I picked up Linkin Park’s “Meteora” album. It literally blew me away. I had heard LP’s stuff on the radio before; however, the structure and confluence of the diverse songs created a whole new appreciation within my mind for this band.

In many ways, Emery is quite similar to Linkin Park. They fuse melody-driven progressive grunge with occasional outbursts of down-and-out screaming. While this feature is quite shocking at first glance, a deeper listening opens up dimensions to the band’s message which is not immediately clear to the casual listener. Every one of Emery’s songs on The Question project is built upon entrancing melodies set on top of driving, incessant rhythms and guitars. Yet when the song is nearing apex, the enchantment is shattered by a nearly guttural screeching that commands the attention of the listener and fully grounds the song in the medium.

I love this album and band because they have captured the essence of the human existential crisis. At times, the music and melody is beautiful and inspiring. Yet within the very same moment the entire atmosphere can be shattered by a longing, desperate scream that seems to encapsulate the panic of the human condition.

As the lyrics are concerned, I will leave the verdict to other listeners. In my mind, the very nature of this album has spoken to me as a human being without even saying a word.

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Waking Ashland
Composure




I bought this CD off of walmart.com just a couple of nights ago. I first came across this band from seeing them listed on my little brother's blog. I previewed a few of their songs, and decided to go ahead and get it.

This project, Composure, is a very emo-esque offering that smacks heavily of 3EB, Foo Fighters, Dear Ephesus, etc. It is also very Keane-ish with the intentional colusion of electric guitars and keyboards, but not nearly as well-executed.

I'm not terribly impressed with Waking Ashland. They have some good songs, and the melodies are definitely above-average. I guess I am mostly disappointed with the production. The lead singer utilizes the falsetto obnoxiously often. Moreover, there are some quite poor vocal performances that could have been easily resolved with better studio work.

On the whole, I would say that Waking Ashland's Compusure is worth picking up if you're into emo, and if you can get it for under $9.

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Duncan Sheik
Self-Titled

Yes, yes, I know. Not the most recent cd possible. However, this album was one that I lost in the now infamous summer of '99. I only recently re-purchased it through walmart.com's music download service.

As most know, this is the album that bears Sheik most well-known song (by far, the best well-known...), "Barely Breathing." However, I have to say, this is not my favourite song on this project at all. In fact, I think there are at least 3 songs that far outshine this song.

I especially enjoy track 5, "Days Go By." While it not Sheik's most impressive vocal performance (there are parts where he sounds absolutely dreadful, in fact), the production of the song is incredible. It is quite simple--only an acoustic guitar and a couple of strings. Nonetheless, they blend magically to create a hypnotic, ethereal mood that is difficult to not appreciate.

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Mute Math
Reset EP




I had heard this band on the radio for about 6 months before I found out who they were. Although their single, "Control," is interesting (and probably their most played song), it is the rest of the album that truly impresses. Mute Math combines several eclectic styles of alternative rock into a delicious fusion of sound. At times jazzy, at others electric, Mute Math pulls off a sound reminiscent of Earthsuit (almost too reminiscent, such as on "Peculiar People"). Nonetheless, their sound is quite innovative and refreshing amidst the tired and repetitive sounds often found in the alt genre. It will be interesting to see what future work comes from this up-and-coming group.

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The Afters
I Wish We All Could Win




This has to be one of the most refreshing discs that I have heard in a while. The Afters pull off an extremely tight project, filled with driving guitars and addictive melodic hooks. The production is involved enough to create a sufficient diversity across the 10 tracks, yet avoids the monotonal ubiquity of Nickelback fare.

The most compelling feature of this album, however, is the dynamic that is created between the lyrics, production, and desperation of the vocals. Every song is suffused with a clearly expressed existential longing, seeking to ground itself in a final resolution of meaning.

Consider, for example, these lines from "Until the World":

I can't see outside myself
How can I love for someone else
It's hard to say I'm sorry
It's hard to say forgive me
I can't believe you're here with me
Into the future I can't see
It's hard to say forever
It's hard to say I'll never ever go

Clearly a Christian band, The Afters, nonetheless, wrestle with the inevitable struggle of the exclusivity of Christian faith and the reality of a world unreconciled to the Creator:

I wish we all could win
I wish we all could smile
I wish we all could make our mothers proud

Someday, Someday, Someday
You'll come around
Someday, Someday, Someday
Your time will come
There's nothing more that I can do
I know we all can make throught
I hope that someday you will see

Overall, the lyrics are laced with a thoughtfulness not normally expected or realized in the Christian music scene. I Wish We All Could Win does not disappoint, and is definitely my favorite album so far this year.

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Slick Shoes
Rusty





Slick Shoes
Burn Out




For the last five years, I have been in a musical holding pattern. For these many months, the standard fare of my musical decisions has been the folky melancholy of such as Duncan Shiek (the good, early stuff), Denison Witmer (the before-the-River-Bends stuff), Damien Rice, etc. As I allowed their droning, monotonal vocals and predictable 4-chord arrangements to dominate my auditory functions, a great existential yearning welled up inside of me. I craved aggression in the face of Shiek's buddhistic passivity; I longed for moxy to counter Witmer's whine; I desired the superfluous to expunge Rice's schizo-emotivation.

Enter Slick Shoes. Nothing but Punk, straight up. No whining. No poetic, lyrically hypnotizing verses. They say what they mean.

I bought both of these cd's years ago and subsequently lost them. I cried. For several months, I have once again craved the sound, so the other day I buckled down and bought them. I am not disappointed. Thank you Wal-Mart online music store for solving my existential crisis of being.