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  1. Im still interested, just went on vacation to Cadiz carnivals and didn't listen to anything but the glasses and laughs Will listen and review the Heavy album today or tomorrow, promised.
  2. I'm in
  3. bump... ?
  4. Damnit Reviewing The Heavy's and Archive's albums today, while at work. Sorry Alvin and thanks for the bump!
  5. We should rename it as "Album of 2-3 weeks"
  6. i m starting to listen to The Heavy i m a bit late
  7. First listen, review on the go as usual

    The Heavy - The House That Dirt Built

    DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE!!! It reminds me of What Is He Building too, as Alvin said. Good, scary intro for what's to come.
    Oh No! Not You Again!! is a speedy, frenzy start to the album. I don't know what to make out of it really, although I like the almost punk energy.
    How You Like Me Now? is definitely about an ex, as Tim says. I knew this one, maybe from a TV ad, maybe from the "Listening" topic here (I remember talking to Tim about this guys and telling him I would dig deeper into their works - something I obviously never did). Modern and funky Tom Jones/James Brown kind of song, which is great. It gets a little heavier by the end with all the horns and the guitars. This one must be a good kick played live!
    Sixteen sounds similar but also a little more 70s. The "like a tape in a casette" line (including a proper casette-inserting sound) is truly brilliant indeed, Tim. She's already therrrrrreeeee. I like this one a lot, and I also have a soft spot for 3/4 time, so there's nothing to be disliked here.
    I knew Short Change Hero as well, but can't recall where I heard it. I love the intro, but I'm not very fond on the doubled vocals on the verses. Also, it's hard to believe that this falsetto-like voice is the same singer as in the first two tracks... Wow. That is some vocal versatility.
    Tick tack tick tack tick tack... No Time comes back to rock after the western/funky approaches of previous songs. Catchy guitar riff is always good. I like it!
    Long Way From Home didn't catch me as much as you both, Tim and Alvin. It sounded like Crowded House on drugs, or something. Not unpleasant but not as nice as the previous tracks.
    Cause For Alarm is somewhat of a curve ball .The organ on the left channel, the reggae-like guitars, the Jamaican accent... Wow, I surely didn't expect this. I love it. And there's that western-like drums in the slower part that contrast nicely with the rest of the music. Wow.
    Love Like That = nothing special, a filler.
    What You Want Me To Do? - now this is something!!! Powerful bluesy guitar, heavy vocals... This is something The Black Keys could put out - which is something I obviously like. Lovely rocker towards the end of the album!!
    And here comes the ballad... Stuck In A Moment is the slowest song in the album, indeed. I can hear The Beatles/Crowded House here again, and some slower Rolling Stones (Wild Horses, Angie), which is finer than fine with me Good lyrics and great instrumentation. Great way to finish the album!

    Top tracks (in no order):
    How You Like Me Now
    What You Want Me To Do?
    Sixteen
    (special mentions for Cause For Alarm and Stuck, they almost made it!)

    Overall: as someone who only new the hits from this guys, I've been surprised by the amount of different genres they can hit in a complete album. Rock, punk, reggae, ballad, pop, western and... Well. (the) Heavy too I have to confess that I expected a somehow darker album, and also with more concept album feel. There are lyrical links between songs, of course, but the change in style helps to dillute that concept album feel - which is a good and bad thing at the same time for me.
    Nice discovery, I will definitely keep an eye on them and I will join you on the 2015 Music topic, Tim!
  8. This is the 500th post in this thread and it's my review of Archive's album


    Archive - You All Look The Same To Me

    Again, and Again, and Again, and once Again. What a first track, seriously What a way to open the album. The album could end here and still it would rate high among this thread's selections. Wow. I swear Pink Floyd would proudly present this as one of their better songs - and that is saying a lot as a Pink Floyd fan. Beautiful guitar, gorgeous atmosphere, organ, violin, amazing vocals, space sounds, and then when it gets heavier at 5:40... It blows your head. I'm not surprised the Poland poll places it as the 3rd best song of all times (what a great list by the way). I don't know what to expect from the rest of the album, this has set the bar incredibly high and I doubt they can reach it by any means
    I'm still a bit Numb after the opening track to properly appreciate this one. I think it's good, but good lord, how awesome was the previous one. This is a great crescendo driven by the "Numb, numb" mantra
    Meon is a good song. Starting out quiet and electronic, it soon grows and becomes a dynamic bluesy ballad. I think it would get better if listened while high - but I'm not that kind. I'm starting to be a bit drunk though
    Goodbye is a total change in style. It starts almost as a lullaby... Which is nice for a change, but somehow disconcerting. And then that Zooropa-like drums kick in and blow your head. Like that. You're my sweetheart, you're my sweetest goodbye... Goodbye... Ah! The break-up sadness...
    Now And Then - wait, a female singer alone? Now that's another change! Short song though, it serves as little more than an interlude before...
    Seamless, which goes back to the atmospheric-industrial sound of the first songs. It reminds me to Pink Floyd again, and then again it's nothing but an intro to...
    Finding It So Hard. I could close my eyes and think it's simply Radiohead playing this song. Piano, industrial drums and a very very Thom Yorke-ish vocal style. I mean, this is fucking Radiohead here dude. And it's another absurdly long song!! Which I love. If I were the band's drummer, I would find it so hard to play like that for 15 minutes hahaha. The ending is... different. Almost disturbing.
    Fool is another Radioheadesque long song that feels much shorter than what it actually is. It's lineal until the 6th minute when it swifts to major chords and becomes a gorgeous psychedelic harmonica&violin-driven piece of music.
    Hate is a disturbing song about, well, hate. Happy music with the saddest of lyrics (I thought you were a friend, but you've ruined my tale again... So please, go away)... That eventually redeems itself with the Don't believe a word I said line. This is life, man. When you WANT to hate someone and you ACT like you hate that person but you deeply know that it's a lie and you can't hate him/her... It happens to everyone. It happens to me. Now.
    Need is a beautiful acoustic guitar and piano, a wonderful ending to the album.


    Top tracks
    Again (obviously)
    Again (again)
    Goodbye
    Fool
    (special mentions to Hate and Meon)

    Summary
    Originally posted by me
    The album could end after the opening song and still it would rate high among this thread's selections.
    But hey, it resulted to be much more than that. Amazing collection of great and different music that I will be revisiting and probably buying at some point. Thanks Alvin for another great discovery
  9. I'm really glad you like it. Archive are totally underrated. Try albums Noise or Lights. Also this year's album Restriction is great (even if it's different). I'm seeing them live in two weeks and really can't wait. I'll post my review during weekend or on monday and I hope there will be more reviews...
  10. I have been ridiculously busy these past few weeks with work and university. I'll make time to listen to Archive on Sunday. Even more interest from me after reading Sergio's review.
  11. Archive - You All Look The Same To Me (2002)

    Really great coice!... wait... it was my choice Then it's okay lol.
    I started to listen Archive about 5 years ago, when I missed them on festival and after that I found how big fault it was... Now if they are around I'll never miss them again (just two weeks to go!!). They are great live and all of them are very talented artists. This is the first album with lead singer Craig Walker who left in 2005.

    so...
    Again - One word: Masterpiece! 16 mins long progressive opus.Starts with acoustic guitar riff and calm first verses joined with synths, then starts build up followed with harmonica and more emergent voice, then it goes down... is it end? Nope... synths are continuing with another calm verse which explodes into musical noise climax and everything ends where it starts: the mainn acoustic guitar riff. 16 minutes of pure beauty and bliss and every second is worth it... As Sergio said, you could have end here and you'll be satisfied, but you would miss a lot...
    Numb - totally different from previous track. Trip hop beat, heavier guitars, more electronics... also great track.
    Meon - Beautiful sad song, organ is the main instrument here, very nice addition with female vocal in the middle section.
    Goodbye - Slow song about loosing loved person (break up, death?)
    Now And Then - Very short song. Just female vocal with piano - a nice little intermission
    Seamless - another very short song - instrumental, sounds like sonar. It's intro to next song:
    Finding It So Hard - second long track and another great one. More electronic,keyboards... It took me some time to get into that,but eventually I did and love it now. Starts with industrial beats and continuing as athmospheric track and in last part it turns into wall of sounds, which is finished with calm part with synths and female vocal.
    Fool - another song with harmonica,a little bluesy/psychedelic with nice touch of female vocal
    Hate - and we're getting to end with two short,but regular songs. Hate is about mixed emotions hate/love after bitter end
    Need - acoustic finish fits perfectly at the end of the album.

    Summary:
    Great album which is not just about first track but, of course, it is the main pillar of the album, but album is full of strong songs. Some deifferent genres here: Progressive rock, trip hop, post-rock, psychedelic, electronic are put together and it keeps together very well. Great songwriting and compositions and one of hidden (because not well known) gems. Pure art.
    9,5/10

    top tracks:
    Again
    Finding It So Hard
    Meon
    (+Pulse, Fool)

    Btw If you love long songs, they have some more in catalogue (Lights, Waste, Controlling Crowds, Collapse/Collide)
  12. Archive - You All Look The Same To Me

    Ok, commenting as I listen for the first time.

    I have high expectations for Again after reading those previous reviews. Opening with a 16 minute long track is certainly brave. It progresses nicely enough, but the section in the middle isn't quite as strong as the first 6 minutes (brilliant) or the last 5 minutes. Still, it's a very interesting start to the album. I like the gradual increase in presence and volume that Numb starts with. Ninety seconds in and the volume is still increasing! Already you can tell that this band knows how to be patient with their music. It's a stark contrast to the opening song, very good. Meon is reminiscent of the opener, starting out with a simple melody underneath the vocals. Again, a very good track. I welcome the introduction of the female vocals here. Goodbye starts out slow, with a childlike innocence sound about it, but it soon changes up to more industrial sounding instrumentation. Not so sure about this one. Female only vocals for Now and Then, it's very short which is unlike anything we've heard so far (the first track under five minutes...). Short, sweet, but not much to take away from it. Seamless is another short track, sounds like a submarine travelling through the depths of the sea. Again, doesn't really add much.

    Finding It So Hard starts off with headache inducing sounds. Without the vocals, it's the perfect track for a seventeen year old to be pumping out of the stereo system that fills the rear of his Vauxhall Corsa. Really not my cup of tea and I hope it doesn't last for the full fifteen minutes. Nope, there is a brief break for the ears around five minutes in before introducing something else. Nowhere near as manic as the opening five minutes though. There's something quite atmospheric about it actually. Then the ear pounding returns for another five minutes before again returning to something less manic as it closes out. Fool is an enjoyable track. Eight minutes long, but fillled with plenty to keep your attention. Hate is a calm, refreshing track to hear at the end of the album. I liked this one a lot. Need continues the calmness in closing the album out. Simple acoustic guitar number.

    Overall, I don't know. It's something I'd have to listen to again to start appreciating. I didn't really take anything out of the album lyrically, I felt it was primarily a musical journey. All about the sounds, the progression of tracks etc. I have a feeling that it's something that I may come around to after a few more listens. Similar in ways to Bart's choice early on (dEUS), I wasn't completely drawn in early on, but there were tracks that really helped with the experience. I really need to take this away from Spotify to really appreciate it though. The super long tracks often were followed with four or five adverts, which is nobody's fault, but it didn't help in joining the album together.

    Top tracks
    1. Again
    2. Meon
    3. Hate
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