The Album Review Club - Week #194 (page 1303) - Ants From Up There - Black Country, New Road

threespires said:
Ouch. The Sleep Token comparison is one I'd never have thought of but I suppose I can see what you mean, sort of. In reality I think they're much more concise and restrained than ST. I think Hannah Reid can be a little bit one dimensional at times but a wailing wifey I'd not say.

LG as a band are the musical equivalent of the women I used to be unhealthy attracted to in my younger years. Low key, beautiful but with a level of emotional detachment to them that at times went beyond simple restraint into a kind of darker desolation.

Edit: that second paragraph sounds a bit Swiss Tony but I remember the first I heard this album my immediate thought was this sounds like X. Not that she would have liked it but that it sounded 'like' her.

I should probably put the shovel down now.
Click to expand...
I shall forever think of Swiss Tony when you post from now on ;-)
 
If You Wait – London Grammar

I’m going to take the unusual step of dismissing this after one listen because life’s too short to give it a second spin. I was worried when I looked at the album credits and there are three musicians credited with “additional programming”.

There’s nothing really wrong with this as background music, but it doesn’t stand up to serious listening. Hannah Reid’s voice is pleasant enough, but the palette of the music is insipid. The odd bit of piano aside, there’s very little real instruments to listen to which makes the whole exercise a pointless from my perspective. As BimboBob might say, it’s dinner party music (if you want your guests to drift off to sleep). Because it’s inoffensive enough, 5/10.

After the last five weeks, somebody needs to bring the guitars back.
 
RobMCFC said:
If You Wait – London Grammar

I’m going to take the unusual step of dismissing this after one listen because life’s too short to give it a second spin. I was worried when I looked at the album credits and there are three musicians credited with “additional programming”.

There’s nothing really wrong with this as background music, but it doesn’t stand up to serious listening. Hannah Reid’s voice is pleasant enough, but the palette of the music is insipid. The odd bit of piano aside, there’s very little real instruments to listen to which makes the whole exercise a pointless from my perspective. As BimboBob might say, it’s dinner party music (if you want your guests to drift off to sleep). Because it’s inoffensive enough, 5/10.

After the last five weeks, somebody needs to bring the guitars back.
Click to expand...
Local Natives had guitars!
 
You know what, I'll piggy-back the early dismissal here. Tried this myself some time ago, so it is familiar enough to test my previous convictions.

It is with total self-awareness I acknowledge my hypocrisy, that this has some of the qualities I previously praised with local natives. I.e a gentle touch, subtlety, intricate layering, and clarity of mood. But overall it doesn't sit with me, it fades into nothing, and the dominant impressions are the electronics and the somewhat annoying (over longer stretches) vocals. It is a bit more forced Dido with some synth. I'd go beyond it being fine as background music, because it does actually grate when strung together. Good intent, decent delivery, but not for me, a 3 is only fair.
 
Yeah Mozart, Bach, Puccini, Bruckner, Richter, Liszt, Sakamoto...no bloody guitars at all let alone proper ones. Wankers.
;-)

One man's insipid is another mans plaintive. One man's boring is another mans restrained. I shall try and organise my thoughts on why, in this instance, I fall on the positive side of those maxims.
 
Got that done early.
I am not a fan of Jess Glynn, Florence & The Machine, nor (I have just found) am I fan of Hannah.
Thought a lot of the music and backing sounded really interesting...and then that bloody woman starts getting involved and ruins it all.
Not for me at all. It's a 4 from the Derry jury
 
BlueHammer85 said:
Bit disappointing to read some dismiss this only after 1 listen, we have a week! any album is worthy of a few spins before judgment imo.
Click to expand...
One and a half, I'll have you know!

But as I mentioned, I have given this album a right go previously based on thinking it would be up my street. So it was more if a refresh than a first listen.
 
BlueHammer85 said:
Bit disappointing to read some dismiss this only after 1 listen, we have a week! any album is worthy of a few spins before judgment imo.
Click to expand...
Busy week and off to Spain next week. If it had some promise, I'd give it a second spin but this will do nothing for me. No proper instruments = zero interest. If you want to waste time with a 2nd and 3rd listen, knock yourself out :)
 
Coatigan said:
One and a half, I'll have you know!

But as I mentioned, I have given this album a right go previously based on thinking it would be up my street. So it was more if a refresh than a first listen.
Click to expand...
Slacker, I at least gave it the 3 spins. On the last one, the wife walked in to the dining room where I was listening on the laptop and immediately commented. "Who is that woman wailing? I assume you have to listen to that as it's your club thing?".
 
I’m with Rob and Coatigan - life is too short to quote a famous review phrase!! One positive, she doesn’t seem to have that affected talk style to her singing.

I’ll give it one more than English Teacher so I think that’s a 4/10 for me
 
BlueHammer85 said:
Bit disappointing to read some dismiss this only after 1 listen, we have a week! any album is worthy of a few spins before judgment imo.
Click to expand...

The end of a long (meaningful) football-less summer and the hot weather has made this entire forum quite grumpy!

Might have to nominate Lisa Gerrard next to further enrage the anti 'wailers'.
 
LGWIO said:
Got that done early.
I am not a fan of Jess Glynn, Florence & The Machine, nor (I have just found) am I fan of Hannah.
Thought a lot of the music and backing sounded really interesting...and then that bloody woman starts getting involved and ruins it all.
Not for me at all. It's a 4 from the Derry jury
Click to expand...

Jess Glynn. Florence Welch and Hannah Reid don't sound anything like each other. It's a bit like if I dismissed large amounts of stuff because I'm not a fan of male tenor rock voices. Oh hang on...

:-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top