MUS
Active topics
  1. I'm curious for this last album chosen by Andrew as well to see Drew' and Pato's choices. I have revisited The Afghan Whigs and Nick Cave albums by myself in the past days, as well as selected tracks from all the other albums. You guys have strange&great tastes in music - what a great run it's been so far!!

    Spitting Venom really struck me, Tim. I've done a Facebook post and all! (something not really usual, a song has to strike me real bad for me to dedicate a FB post...). You might find a familiar quote at the end, a quote that ressembles Spitting Venom's final mantra in a way for me: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204206428418191&set=a.1722293294438.2096963.1151507990&type=1&permPage=1 There's also the Stay photo of course
  2. You say we have strange tastes in music, but we haven't seen Drew's choice yet

    I'm glad you took something from the Modest Mouse album. You know where I am if you want to delve deeper
  3. ^ I've yet to listen - I'm busy until Thursday so I'll review it then.

    My choice...haha. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.
  4. Review: Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank



    March Into The Sea
    Soon as I hit play on this song, I was thinking 'what an interesting start'. Kind of a little bit psychedelic and very dynamic. The vocals before they get louder I just don't like in this song.


    Dashboard
    Ah. Now this I like. Very dance-y little beat going - and the keyboard sound in the background (or are those guitars) just makes this one uber-catchy. Everything in this song I just love.


    Fire It Up
    This is the first time I can actually understand what's being said. Even if I can understand, this isn't a song I really care for and actually was bored of it about a minute in. Thankfully it's not too long so I don't have to hear it any more.


    Florida
    I did not expect this right after a shit-tacular song. As Aidan said in his review, this is a great driving song - almost garage-like. Just hits beautifully and it keeps up the pace. Probably a favourite so far.


    Parting Of The Sensory
    One of the most interesting things of this album is how there's so many styles and unexpected turns, and this one is no exception to that. An almost dark, creepy-sounding song with my favourite line of the album:

    'Any shithead who had ever walked
    Could take the ship and do a much finer job'

    Absolutely perfect. Heavy, dark, angry - and the speed-up that comes about half-way in gives this something most of the other songs lack.


    Missed The Boat
    Continuing where the album is starting to pick up, Missed The Boat is almost a camp-fire sing along tune. Bluesy guitar and a little beat is one I could see myself actually remembering and listening to on the odd occasion.


    We've Got Everything
    Guitar and lots of it! And the little falsetto additions. Funky and catchy. Not bad indeed.


    Fly Trapped In A Jar
    There's something fascinating about the sound of a fly. At least for a few seconds anyway; and that's exactly what's here. Bit of speeding up and lyrics that make little to no sense; but hey, at least they're unique.


    Education
    Reminds me of the 'style' Missed The Boat had. A steady beat and obvious guitar, catchy and that's about it.


    Little Motel
    A slow song that I could see myself going back to. Just as it gets slower and slower and sloooo-wer, comes this heavier bit after the more lighter parts. And so, I can't help but enjoy it.


    Steam Engenius
    Seriously can't say I care for this one. Nothing here holds my attention, not even when it gets loud.


    Spitting Venom
    Starts off quite ordinary....but long songs tend to take a while to get good - and even a minute in, I'm hearing this distant guitar sound that I'm intrigued by. Then...WOW. The guitar REALLY starts and we're on our way. After about four minutes, it's time to 'let it all drop' to this quiet violin bit - and you know something's about to happen. And that something is a heavier bit where the delayed guitar just takes over. A highlight of this album.


    People As Places As People
    Odd title there, but that doesn't matter because the song is anything but odd. This is like one of those songs that just seems to have a 'we're nearly at the end' sound to it. I like everything of this one, very simple yet sounds complicated.


    And finally, comes Invisible. The funny thing is, this is anything but invisible - you'll hear it. Starts heavy and changes gear numerous times. Not so big on the vocal style for this one but everything else I'm on to. Those heavy pounding drums, the guitar in and out and everywhere - and then I hear this very deep vocal in the background at the end. That did it for me. Delayed guitar ends the song and that's it...an hour of a good album.



    Overall: at first I hated the album. Almost was going to just skip through half of each song to get it through with but it got better and better. One of the albums you just can't skip because something good is going to happen. And it did - at least three-quarters of the album.

    Top three:

    Spitting Venom
    Missed The Boat
    Dashboard
  5. Nice one, Drew Your thoughts for some songs are probably more in line with how mine were when I first heard the album. So, I can see where you're coming from. Great to see that Spitting Venom has united us all so far though.

    Andrew, I have listened to Puddinghead. I'm planning on posting my thoughts tomorrow
  6. I would just like to pop in and say thank you to Tim for following through on his commitment to run this when I inevitably fall behind - I've loved this thread so far, but I've taken on a few extra projects at work that keep me working very late hours without much time to be on here.

    Keep it up everyone! I should be seeing a much lighter workload very soon, and will be around to re-draw names for the lottery in our second round of selections, which I believe is coming somewhat soon. Could be wrong.
  7. No worries Matt

    It's just Pato and Drew to choose after this current selection. I did propose a two week break to catch-up and have a generalised discussion (hopefully) about the albums we've heard so far.
  8. That's a wonderful idea! A grab bag discussion full of things we liked and have stuck with us from these albums, and also suggestions for improvements as we continue.
  9. Ball Park Music - Puddinghead

    Immediately reminds me of Kodaline at the start of She Only Loves Me..., no bad thing (for me). Really enjoying the rhythm once the main body starts. Slight hint of Jamie Cullum in the vocals when he counts "two, three, four...". Outro reminiscent of the intro, good start to the album. Next Life Already follows on with another catchy rhythm. A short little up-tempo number, pretty good. A Good Life Is The Best Revenge reminds me of something/someone, vocally, in the chorus, but I haven't placed it yet (though I think I really should have). A good song, and although I enjoy that little outro, I'm not sure it is needed in this case. Teenager Pie is the first real slow track. I'm a sucker for slow songs, as I've probably shown over the course of these album selections, so it's a good song for me. Trippin' The Light Fantastic is one that really stood out to me on my first listen and the one I wanted to revisit the most. I get a little bit of Thom Yorke in this one during "All I want is for my friends and I...".

    Cocaine Lion doesn't do so much for me. On my first listen to the album in full, I felt that it started and ended well, whilst losing my interest in the middle and it might start here. Everything Is Shit Except My Friendship With You is clearly inspired by U2 in terms of daft long titles. Again, I'm not really feeling this one. Quite forgettable. Struggle Street has quite a familiar sound. It actually seems a bit better than I first recall. Error Playin' is one of the better songs from the album. I'm not massively keen on the instrumentation in Polly Screw My Head Back On. It's very hit and miss with me, at times I think I might like it and other times I want to skip it. Girls From High School is a good closer. I like the vocals during the chorus in this one.

    Overall, it's a decent album. I can't compare to their previous efforts because I haven't heard those (yet). The album is let down by the lyrics in places and the addition of some instrumental elements in certain songs are not to my taste. Sometimes it sounds like they had the basis of a good song down, then threw something poppy on top just for the sake of it. It's an easy album to get into though for the most part.

    Top Three Tracks:
    1. Trippin' The Light Fantastic
    2. Error Playin'
    3. Teenager Pie

    Rating: 6.5 out of 10
  10. Had a listen through the Modest Mouse album again today. Missed the Boat still stands out as my obvious favorite, but Spitting Venom is really an interesting song. It's very oddly folky and strange through the verses, but the build at the end is very interesting and reminds me of another favorite song from an album near and dear to me.....that I may not mention since I might choose it for my next selection
  11. Any more thoughts on Andrew's choice?
  12. I'm really lagging behind at the moment... Been in Lyon, France the last days and just didn't have time before that either. I should hopefully have time to give this some proper attention in the coming days though.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.