The Album Review Club - Week #122 - (page 1438) A Black Mile To The Surface – Manchester Orchestra

[BlueHammer85]

The intro to 'Let's Go Down to the Woods' sounds well like Bowies 'Let's Dance'

 

[threespires]

The great live clips that others have found demonstrate the energy these guys brought to their musicianship. I do agree with others that, at least in the one
experience I had, a recording can't quite encompass all they were live -- and that's absolutely the case with one of my other favo(u)rite bands of all time -- Gang of Four -- as well.

Just been reading that when they had their back catalogue released as a box set in 2016 they reflected/lamented that the albums never really captured them fully in their view. Given they were recorded by someone who was known for being able to capture big sounds not sure what more could be done. I suppose it's a tacit recognition that their greatest strength was live performance. There's definitely a visual element especially to Carter's performance and the way he rather manically batters that tele that you're not going to get the benefit of on record. Nowt wrong with being remembered for being a fantastic live act arguably the most artistically 'pure' aspect of the music industry (or at least before the era of real time re-processing).

 

[Coatigan]

It is an odd one, this. It kinda has everything I'd need, and isn't particularly missing anything. Yet, it isn't doing it for me as much as I would like to think it would. Only two things kind of mildly bother me. The 80s 'hollow' sound. And by that I don't mean the music is hollow, I mean the actual sound itself, the echoey somewhat tinney recording. And then his vocals just edge on the line to annoying. The two together, probably put me off enough to really meaningfully take it in.

Otherwise, good beat, good bit of at times bluesy at times funky rock. An energy to it. A band I haven't heard of before and as a discovery am quite glad about. I don't really have anything to criticise, as such. Just feel that I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as the last couple, for that I feel a 6 is about right. That could be a timing thing too. Will return to this in my own time and see if a different week brings something more out in it.

 

[mancity111]

Gun-Shy – The Screaming Blue Messiahs

If you don’t tap your foot along to this one, you must have a wooden leg that’s nailed to the floor.

Foggy did me the honour of saying that he picked this because he thought I might like it, so there’s a bit of pressure there. He needn’t have worried because he was right, I absolutely loved it. So, I’m going to heap the pressure back on myself by confidently predicting that this will be sitting inside the top 10 this time next week, and I suspect that JJ Cale will be looking nervously over his shoulder.

I wouldn’t say that there’s much country on offer here, plenty of blues and rockabilly shot through with punk, but importantly for me, just the right amount of punk. The bass and drums on offer here are superb, not so much giving the album it’s trademark boom-chick-a-boom sound, more like boom-chick-a-BOOM!!! I must admit I nearly fell of my chair when Goater described it as tinny!

I’ve said before that I don’t like straight-up blues or country albums, even though I like both genres. I like it more when somebody defies the conventions of those genres and approaches them from a different angle. Even though there’s a Hank Williams cover on this album, you’d do well to point at any song on here and dismiss it as “just another country song”.

Listening to this album, I’m surprised that Foggy didn’t enjoy my Yawpers selection more, because there are similarities although some of The Yawpers songs raised their roots rock and country flag a lot higher.

On “Wild Blue Yonder”, Bill Carter sounds a lot like Mike Peters of The Alarm, which is a compliment as far as I’m concerned. Pretty simple lyrics but “Dance to the moonshine / Dance to the gun” and “Country air is the only air that’s fit to breathe” set the tone nicely.

The bass and buzzing rhythm guitar combination that propels “Holiday Head” is fantastic.

“Smash the Market” is the weakest track because nothing much happens and the chorus is too repetitive.

"Let's Go Down To The Woods" – One of the best tracks on the album, that slinky bass and guitar combination is superb throughout this one, I love the chorus and the fast-fingered guitar just before the outro is mesmeric.

The bass and drums that introduce "Twin Cadillac Valentine" are electric, and the rockabilly feel is strong on "President Kennedy's Mile". I agree with some others who have picked out "Clear View" as one of the standouts - fabulous guitar to start off this adrenaline-fuelled shuffle.

The thing I love about this album is that even on the tracks that don’t jump out at you, there’s always something going on with the dynamics of the drums, bass or guitar, or even just the lyrics, that makes each song highly listenable. “Just For Fun” could have been a bit tedious but I just love the lyrics: “Looking down the barrel of a gun just to see where the bullets come from,” and although he’s getting a bit too shouty on "Someone To Talk To", the booming rhythm makes it a good listen.

“You’re Gonna Change” is a country cover, but apart from the occasional yodel, you wouldn’t know it. Bill Carter definitely sounds like Mike Peters here.

A lot of members on this thread talk enthusiastically about bass on a lot of the music we review. I’m generally more focused on the guitars (and mandolins and banjos) and organs (and accordions) but I think the bass and drums on this album are fantastic. They give the album a bottom end that’s really chunky and satisfying.

Now for that ZZ Top comparison I mentioned in a comment earlier. After years of standard Texas boogie (nothing wrong with that), ZZ Top got a shot in the arm with their synth and guitar fusion that propelled them into the stratosphere with their 1980s albums Eliminator and Afterburner. I don’t think there’s any synth on Gun-Shy, but the overall effect they’ve achieved on some of these tracks is similar to that of ZZ Top’s 80s sound – it’ slick without loosing the earthiness of the overall sound. A neat trick if you can pull it off and on this album they certainly do.

This is a fantastic pick, @FogBlueInSanFran, so thanks for the nomination. It gets a little too shouty here and there, there’s a cover version, but it’s not short of being the perfect album – 9/10.

I have Clear View on my playlist now , I have listened to it over 20 times it gets better with every listen , this album song for song and how they intertwine is for me not quite at the level where Fog's pick Let it Be takes me but I agree it is likely it will be in the top ten if not close to it. Energy personified.

If Fog had picked Clear View as one of his songs in the singles head to head comp he won with S&G without being biased because our musical tastes are quite similar I would have chosen it as numero- uno , I can't find anything on that list including all the classics to top it.

 

[RobMCFC]

I have Clear View on my playlist now , I have listened to it over 20 times it gets better with every listen , this album song for song and how they intertwine is for me not quite at the level where Fog's pick Let it Be takes me but I agree it is likely it will be in the top ten if not close to it. Energy personified.

If Fog had picked Clear View as one of his songs in the singles head to head comp he won with S&G without being biased because our musical tastes are quite similar I would have chosen it as numero- uno , I can't find anything on that list including all the classics to top it.

Good point about the Blue Moon Song Cup. However, you have to remember that nothing that wasn't a known big song stood a chance :)

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Good point about the Blue Moon Song Cup. However, you have to remember that nothing that wasn't a known big song stood a chance :)

Was all about the draw. As I've said before -- I was completely shocked The Boxer won -- it was a total throwaway, last minute pick by me to fulfill one of the criteria (though I've always liked the song). I don't think I had another pick get past round 2!

 

[BimboBob]

Oh 'Clear View' how I love you. The guitar work, highs and lows, the beat driving the song along, the horrible voice not too intrusive and even trying to sing...it all adds up to a brilliantly repetitive song and I like it a lot.

I quite like the bass on 'Let's Go Down To The Woods' as well.

The rest of this album is a mishmash of themes that annoy the fuck out of me and it's mainly to do with his voice and 'singing' style. Rockabilly? Post Punk? New Wave? (whatever that is)

Offerings like 'Talking Doll' start of interesting enough, I like the chorus, but his pointless mutterings ruin it and then he goes into a mass of noise. Same could be said for 'Twin Cadillac', 'Holiday Head' and 'President Kennedy'. I can't talk about 'Killer Born Man' as it upsets me too much. Did they not have anything else better they could shoehorn in? Make the album one track lighter? An utter car crash of a song.

Most songs start promising and then collapse into a repetitive cauldron of noise with added shouty voice over the top talking about fuck all but somehow trying to sound meaningful. It's all very middle class pretend angry punk lite. It's dinner party music with Tarquin and Pippa. "Oh yah, I love punk, I wasn't old enough to witness it first hand but I can really feel it in this record. Pass the Tangiers aged brie would you."

Production wise it's ok. The bass is prominent but mixed well enough not to be over the top, wish I could say the same about the drums though. Very intrusive on some tracks. Not as much as his voice though. God how I hate his voice. It's ok on 'Clear View' and 'Wild Blue Yonder' but the rest? Annoying. It's like he's trying to channel Joe Strummer before he had passed.

And therein lies my problem. This is very much Clash lite. Every instrument, every note, every beat of the drum has been done before and much better. And much angrier. And not from a safe mid 80's vantage point.

Scores on the doors...

After all I've said there are a few bits on here that I genuinely like but it's just not the album for me. It's safe, generic and a little bit boring.

4/10

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Oh 'Clear View' how I love you. The guitar work, highs and lows, the beat driving the song along, the horrible voice not too intrusive and even trying to sing...it all adds up to a brilliantly repetitive song and I like it a lot.

I quite like the bass on 'Let's Go Down To The Woods' as well.

The rest of this album is a mishmash of themes that annoy the fuck out of me and it's mainly to do with his voice and 'singing' style. Rockabilly? Post Punk? New Wave? (whatever that is)

Offerings like 'Talking Doll' start of interesting enough, I like the chorus, but his pointless mutterings ruin it and then he goes into a mass of noise. Same could be said for 'Twin Cadillac', 'Holiday Head' and 'President Kennedy'. I can't talk about 'Killer Born Man' as it upsets me too much. Did they not have anything else better they could shoehorn in? Make the album one track lighter? An utter car crash of a song.

Most songs start promising and then collapse into a repetitive cauldron of noise with added shouty voice over the top talking about fuck all but somehow trying to sound meaningful. It's all very middle class pretend angry punk lite. It's dinner party music with Tarquin and Pippa. "Oh yah, I love punk, I wasn't old enough to witness it first hand but I can really feel it in this record. Pass the Tangiers aged brie would you."

Production wise it's ok. The bass is prominent but mixed well enough not to be over the top, wish I could say the same about the drums though. Very intrusive on some tracks. Not as much as his voice though. God how I hate his voice. It's ok on 'Clear View' and 'Wild Blue Yonder' but the rest? Annoying. It's like he's trying to channel Joe Strummer before he had passed.

And therein lies my problem. This is very much Clash lite. Every instrument, every note, every beat of the drum has been done before and much better. And much angrier. And not from a safe mid 80's vantage point.

Scores on the doors...

After all I've said there are a few bits on here that I genuinely like but it's just not the album for me. It's safe, generic and a little bit boring.

4/10

Kudos for a spirited review, with which I obviously disagree.

Still can't fathom how folks key in on how much they hate "voices".

I also think the sentence on "every note" being done before and better and angrier and safer is hyperbole that if true would render most music by any artist pointless.

 

[BlueHammer85]

Still can't fathom how folks key in on how much they hate "voices".

Same. rarely does a artist voice bother me, nearly all suit the music.

Guess i got into Dylan pretty early so that helps :)

 

[BimboBob]

Kudos for a spirited review, with which I obviously disagree.

Still can't fathom how folks key in on how much they hate "voices".

I also think the sentence on "every note" being done before and better and angrier and safer is hyperbole that if true would render most music by any artist pointless.

It was more aimed at this sounding like Clash lite rather than a general catch all.