The Album Review Club - Christmas Break Until 8th January

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I like that comparison, and since the songs all merge together, if you get lost in the music, you sometimes forget how you got from A to page 68. That's intentional here. I'm just glad you are here reviewing my 2nd nomination. ;-)


That is a good analogy I had not considered with Paul Simon prior, but I DO hear it too. The Sunshine now reminds me of "The Boxer" to cue in our SongCup Thread. Not sure @bennyboy was hearing THAT when he reviewed this. ;-)


As I've said prior, it's brutally honest and written for his wife. As much as I'd like to have something like that to leave someday to my better half, there's no way I could touch that lyrically.


The interesting Part is that there are melodies copied and variances in each of the songs, and with the flow of one to the other, it makes it hard to determine Where I End And You Begin.

Maybe you should have been listening to this from Rome to Lawrenceville?

Or 40 hours out of Homestake? ;-)


There's more than one story in this. There's the SURF motif of isolation and lonliness of Lead, SD, the story of becoming a father, and the story of life and faith, and there are variations of each in the songs. It isn't an A to Z of those songs you mention below, so there is that deliberate difference.

Great point that Coatigan explained better than I could after this.

I can't wait to see this live in a little over a month from now...

One of my favourites. Don't ever let 'em tell you that I never found... you and me and nothing in-between. A big song about Faith.


Give it some time, hopefully you'll come back to it. I DO think this is a "frame of mind" album, and even I have to tread lightly when playing this on a road trip with my better half, and she has even seen them live (albeit humouring me and ABC wasn't exactly coming to town!).

Wonderful comments. Thank you for taking the time and the nomination. I would be interested in others of their records too — there is something special in “The Maze” I’d like to find more of.

Now though — it’s onto LCD Soundsystem live!! A few ciders in me, a gorgeous night in central Oregon and hopefully many selections from my favo(u)rite post-2000 record “Sound of Silver”!

Edit: there were four, plus Losing My Edge, Dance Yrself Clean, and — of course — Daft Punk Is Playing At My House. What a band. Best dance band this millennium IMO.

 

[threespires]

Pushed for time but it's pretty much been said by others.Think @Coatigan makes the most pertinent point that this album doesn't lend itself to our format that well. I'm surprised by some of the reviews suggesting not enough going on, arguably the opposite at times. Carrying off melodrama well musically and lyrically without descending into cliche and twatty bombast is easier said than done and in the wrong hands some of this, especially the lyrics, could crash and burn. I think to pull off an album like this you have to mean it but there's are fine line to walk to avoid coming off as a bit of a tool. Andy Hull stays the right side of the line for me.

For me this is an 8 but part of me wants to give it an extra point for the way MO have tried different things throughout their career, but that would be a bit naughty. So I'll compromise with 8.5/10.

 

[RobMCFC]

A Black Mile To The Surface – Manchester Orchestra

The overall sound of this album reminded me very much of two albums we’ve listened to on this thread – both nominated by Coatigan. A long time ago there was Painting of a Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit and more recently Clarity: Phoenix Sessions by Jimmy Eat World. I knew he’d like this, and I’m not surprised to see his score. People will no doubt be unsurprised to see my score.

In my review of both of those records, I made the same comment: the guitars don’t ring or buzz. There’s something about the overall sound that is softened and perhaps unnatural. There’s no groovy bass or Hammond swells or guitar solos. It does indeed sound a bit like Coldplay. However, reading journolud’s thoughtful review reminds me that what I might want from an album doesn’t necessarily fit every circumstance where you might want to listen to music.

There are elements to enjoy here. What the album does do well is achieve that nice balance of sounds and the space between them. Looking at the lyrics on paper (well, the screen), they do seem to be thought out, but I find a lot of the words pass me by as I listen on the bus.

In various reviews, I’ve seen this pigeonholed as Americana and folk. Well, if you take the intended story that lies behind the lyrics I agree, but musically it’s definitely not. Other than occasional mentions such as “That gold mine changed you” and the vague description of a journey from “Rome to Lawrenceville”, the lyrics represent a narrative that is so obfuscated that it could only have been a story set in somebody’s head that they didn’t translate too well to the lyric sheet. I’m totally with Foggy in that it’s not the listener’s fault if they don’t get it.

“The Maze” is a good start – I can hear the piano here and similarly on “The Gold”, I can hear the guitar but it feels too restrained, and to borrow a phrase from GoatersLeftShin, templated. I think the best section of the album is the change of tack represented by “The Moth” and then “Lead, SD”, the melodic softness and gentle shuffle of “The Alien” leading directly into “The Sunshine”. “The Grocery” has a stronger narrative than the other songs here, assuming I’ve understood it right and that it’s about a frustrated guy gunning people down in a grocery store. But again, I had to pour over the lyrics on that one because it’s not obvious from the vocal delivery. I enjoyed the closer, “The Silence” for it’s feeling of space between the notes.

The bottom line is that this is an album where I can appreciate the craft, and there are some moments I enjoy, but on the whole, it’s not for me. It’s one of those albums where despite the good intentions, it comes off sounding a little like a 1000 other bands with not much to differentiate it from the crowd. 6/10.

 

[RobMCFC]

As we wait for the last few votes of this week to play out, get ready for what’s coming ……

 

[BlueHammer85]

Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile To The Surface

Unfortunately this Indie/Rock genre doesn't tend to fair well on here - which is a shame.
Having known 'I Know How To Speak' very well- I had high hopes and it did not disappoint.
so many beautiful tracks - 'The Maze', 'The Gold, The Alien' and 'The Silence' all just lovely well crafted tracks.
It's a shame this doesn't touch the soul for some and whilst many would consider these songs 'depressing' or 'boring' I find them uplifting and stirring at such a deeper level.
Certainly one of the best bands/Albums i've heard from in recent years.

9/10

Pick of the bunch : The Maze

Bonus Point: The

 

[BlueHammer85]

The Maze & The Silence

 

[journolud]

Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile To The Surface

Unfortunately this Indie/Rock genre doesn't tend to fair well on here - which is a shame.
Having known 'I Know How To Speak' very well- I had high hopes and it did not disappoint.
so many beautiful tracks - 'The Maze', 'The Gold, The Alien' and 'The Silence' all just lovely well crafted tracks.
It's a shame this doesn't touch the soul for some and whilst many would consider these songs 'depressing' or 'boring' I find them uplifting and stirring at such a deeper level.
Certainly one of the best bands/Albums i've heard from in recent years.

9/10

Pick of the bunch : The Maze

Bonus Point: The

Bonus point The Mystery? Goes back to check.

Agree with your sentiments about the album and the type of music generally.

 

[Coatigan]

A Black Mile To The Surface – Manchester Orchestra

The overall sound of this album reminded me very much of two albums we’ve listened to on this thread – both nominated by Coatigan. A long time ago there was Painting of a Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit and more recently Clarity: Phoenix Sessions by Jimmy Eat World. I knew he’d like this, and I’m not surprised to see his score. People will no doubt be unsurprised to see my score.

In my review of both of those records, I made the same comment: the guitars don’t ring or buzz. There’s something about the overall sound that is softened and perhaps unnatural. There’s no groovy bass or Hammond swells or guitar solos. It does indeed sound a bit like Coldplay. However, reading journolud’s thoughtful review reminds me that what I might want from an album doesn’t necessarily fit every circumstance where you might want to listen to music.

There are elements to enjoy here. What the album does do well is achieve that nice balance of sounds and the space between them. Looking at the lyrics on paper (well, the screen), they do seem to be thought out, but I find a lot of the words pass me by as I listen on the bus.

In various reviews, I’ve seen this pigeonholed as Americana and folk. Well, if you take the intended story that lies behind the lyrics I agree, but musically it’s definitely not. Other than occasional mentions such as “That gold mine changed you” and the vague description of a journey from “Rome to Lawrenceville”, the lyrics represent a narrative that is so obfuscated that it could only have been a story set in somebody’s head that they didn’t translate too well to the lyric sheet. I’m totally with Foggy in that it’s not the listener’s fault if they don’t get it.

“The Maze” is a good start – I can hear the piano here and similarly on “The Gold”, I can hear the guitar but it feels too restrained, and to borrow a phrase from GoatersLeftShin, templated. I think the best section of the album is the change of tack represented by “The Moth” and then “Lead, SD”, the melodic softness and gentle shuffle of “The Alien” leading directly into “The Sunshine”. “The Grocery” has a stronger narrative than the other songs here, assuming I’ve understood it right and that it’s about a frustrated guy gunning people down in a grocery store. But again, I had to pour over the lyrics on that one because it’s not obvious from the vocal delivery. I enjoyed the closer, “The Silence” for it’s feeling of space between the notes.

The bottom line is that this is an album where I can appreciate the craft, and there are some moments I enjoy, but on the whole, it’s not for me. It’s one of those albums where despite the good intentions, it comes off sounding a little like a 1000 other bands with not much to differentiate it from the crowd. 6/10.

10/10 for consistency mate ;).

 

[RobMCFC]

Unfortunately this Indie/Rock genre doesn't tend to fair well on here - which is a shame.

10/10 for consistency mate ;).

We all like different things, that's accepted.

It just seems to me that music as exhibited by these albums is music with the handbrake and straightjacket on.
I generally prefer music with the handbrake off and the artist at least struggling to get the straightjacket off.

There are albums that feature dreamy soundscapes and ponderous moods that I love, but what such albums have that these albums don't are moments of sublime musicianship and hair-raising shifts of tone. I know I always use this as a yardstick, but Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and "Comfortably Numb" are great examples of generally moody and broody tracks (with the benefit of warm analog synths/keyboards rather than cold, modern Casios) that are electrified by those guitar parts.

Whilst this album is certainly not bad, it's too flat for me. If you don't need this kind of musicianship, that's why you like it. If you do need this kind of musicianship, like me, you are probably less impressed.

 

[Coatigan]

We all like different things, that's accepted.

It just seems to me that music as exhibited by these albums is music with the handbrake and straightjacket on.
I generally prefer music with the handbrake off and the artist at least struggling to get the straightjacket off.

There are albums that feature dreamy soundscapes and ponderous moods that I love, but what such albums have that these albums don't are moments of sublime musicianship and hair-raising shifts of tone. I know I always use this as a yardstick, but Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and "Comfortably Numb" are great examples of generally moody and broody tracks (with the benefit of warm analog synths/keyboards rather than cold, modern Casios) that are electrified by those guitar parts.

Whilst this album is certainly not bad, it's too flat for me. If you don't need this kind of musicianship, that's why you like it. If you do need this kind of musicianship, like me, you are probably less impressed.

Both straightjackets and handbrakes have significant parts in society.

I think it is completely fair not to find anything interesting in one or the or the other. But to describe one as having something the other doesn't is not imo. Myself included. There is a different kind of intensity, emotion, and excitement to it, but it IS there. I've been fortunate enough to be able to get carried away and invested in both the obvious with full pn energy, and the subtle with a different kind of energy.