The Album Review Club - Week #128 - (page 1587) - Pretty Vicious - The Struts

threespires said:
I am too thick to work out which Joseph I'm being compared to but most of them are wrong un's Barton, Stalin, Goebbels etc so I can't see it's a good thing!

To your main point I think when older folks play their original material it is often either hugely enjoyable in a "rage rage against the dying of the light" kind of way or basically a bit dispiriting . It's a minority of the time where one of those two things don't come into it at all and the age of either music and performer are irrelevant, especially in rock or pop. I don't know the dynamics of the original performances of these songs but in this case i don't get a sense of either of those two extremes - just a relatable band in terms of age (to me) playing their songs.
Click to expand...

The carpenter one?

Guess it depends on how 'young' the music is at the time.
 
Coatigan said:
The carpenter one?

Guess it depends on how 'young' the music is at the time.
Click to expand...


Doh. The problem with spouting stream of consciousness bollocks as I do is I can't remember what I've said more than two posts back! I'd already forgotten about my belt sander ramble :-(

Yeah, there's bands from that era and style of music where theres just no way band and song can age well together.
 
Of all the musical genres, this album is pretty much slap bang in the middle of the one I like least. I'd heard a couple of their songs before and was expecting more of the same and I wasn't disappointed.

I am not sure why I don't like this genre, I think that partly the guitar playing feels a bit predictable with the angst or it ends up being a slow-ish ballad-type with a feeling of "you don't understand me'. I can't help but feel I've heard it before. It sounds very 'template-y' to my ears. It could be Green Day or a million other similar bands playing it and I just don't really like this genre. Sorry! :(

All that grumpiness and negativity, I didn't dislike it and could hear some decent songs on it. I did like the off riff/hook and it's clearly one of the better examples of this genre and I can certainly appreciate it. However, I don't think I will come back to it.

I'm glad I've listened to it though, it's always good to hear albums from other genres even if it's one you're not keen on.

I can't give it a high mark, but it also doesn't deserve a low mark.

6 from me.
 
With the exception of the Budos band, to date Coatigan’s nominations tend to be quite ‘contained’ by which I mean there is very little excess in them in any particular aspect. This presents a challenge because I think music with more obvious excess whether it’s melodic, rhythmic, lyrical or in the instrumentation used it is much easier to get a reaction (good or bad) in 3 listens whereas something like this often lacks immediacy. So, I understand why some people consider it bland and some of them may continue to think that after repeated listening, however I personally think it has grower quality.

Ignoring the lyrics for a moment, rightly or wrongly this has the type of guitar and vocal sound I often associate with the kind of bands that annoying American college kids listen to whilst chugging away (beer chugging not amp chugging). It all ends up sounding a bit juvenile and I'm including some quite big bands in that category. As such it’s not a type of sound I listen to that much, but credit to Jimmy EW as any similarities to stuff I can’t normally be bothered with is more than offset by lots of other good qualities and as I've already said I think this has aged well.

As already mentioned, I like how it starts with it’s just waking up type vibe and then springs into the most well-known of the songs. There are several pretty well-crafted songs on this album sufficiently distributed around that whenever it starts to get a bit formulaic (for me something like Crush) something more interesting comes to the rescue. My experience was the more I listened to it, the more I noticed enjoyable little elements be it an aspect of the harmonics or something about the bass tone. I do think it begins to flag in the second half but then picks up and finishes strongly particularly with Clarity and the closer which I think comes nicely full circle to the tone of the opening track.

The addition of the video and the whole lockdown context made me further predisposed to it including the whole unpretentious likeability of the performance. I didn't even mind that when Jim Adkins chats he sounds like he's trying to sell you the best value used Chevrolets in the Greater Phoenix area :-)

I was going to give this 7.5 but then I found out that you can get a very reasonably priced (by Fender standards) Signature version of that lovely Telecaster Thinline he plays. I can’t justify buying one myself because I’m bobbins but that, and the video likeability factor and the fact I'll be happy to revisit this, means I can give it an extra half point.

8/10

I'm halfway through the Futures: Phoenix session and that's good too.
 
Coatigan said:
Other choices included a dutch jazz album (but Rob bloody went and ruined that one on the day), and I just don't think you guys are ready for Crawler yet, although one day that Will happen.
Click to expand...

Keep meaning to say, I now disagree about Crawler and it should be a pick sooner rather than later. This is a bit rich from someone who took a few listens to get it, but the way I look at it is that you're never going to stop the one listen and 'it's crap' situation occurring but I think there's enough people on here who will find something in that first listen to play it again and then we're away. It's an album that imo (a) will generate some really good discussion about it's style, musicianship and themes and (b) is too good not to be heard. If someone sacks it off after a single listen then it's their loss.
 
threespires said:
With the exception of the Budos band, to date Coatigan’s nominations tend to be quite ‘contained’ by which I mean there is very little excess in them in any particular aspect. This presents a challenge because I think music with more obvious excess whether it’s melodic, rhythmic, lyrical or in the instrumentation used it is much easier to get a reaction (good or bad) in 3 listens whereas something like this often lacks immediacy. So, I understand why some people consider it bland and some of them may continue to think that after repeated listening, however I personally think it has grower quality.

Ignoring the lyrics for a moment, rightly or wrongly this has the type of guitar and vocal sound I often associate with the kind of bands that annoying American college kids listen to whilst chugging away (beer chugging not amp chugging). It all ends up sounding a bit juvenile and I'm including some quite big bands in that category. As such it’s not a type of sound I listen to that much, but credit to Jimmy EW as any similarities to stuff I can’t normally be bothered with is more than offset by lots of other good qualities and as I've already said I think this has aged well.

As already mentioned, I like how it starts with it’s just waking up type vibe and then springs into the most well-known of the songs. There are several pretty well-crafted songs on this album sufficiently distributed around that whenever it starts to get a bit formulaic (for me something like Crush) something more interesting comes to the rescue. My experience was the more I listened to it, the more I noticed enjoyable little elements be it an aspect of the harmonics or something about the bass tone. I do think it begins to flag in the second half but then picks up and finishes strongly particularly with Clarity and the closer which I think comes nicely full circle to the tone of the opening track.

The addition of the video and the whole lockdown context made me further predisposed to it including the whole unpretentious likeability of the performance. I didn't even mind that when Jim Adkins chats he sounds like he's trying to sell you the best value used Chevrolets in the Greater Phoenix area :-)

I was going to give this 7.5 but then I found out that you can get a very reasonably priced (by Fender standards) Signature version of that lovely Telecaster Thinline he plays. I can’t justify buying one myself because I’m bobbins but that, and the video likeability factor and the fact I'll be happy to revisit this, means I can give it an extra half point.

8/10

I'm halfway through the Futures: Phoenix session and that's good too.
Click to expand...

Not entirely sure I know what you mean by 'excess', but think I get your point overall. And mostly agree. Most of the albums I tend to like, have been growers, there wasn't an immediacy to any even for me. Recently saw Fog's tv alter-ego Loudermilk say, you are not Supposed to like an album the first time you listen to it, and I found myself concurring.

The budos nomination was as safe as they get imo. What do people here like? Zeppelin, and bluesey rock. It has both. What can't people here ever agree on? Vocals. It has none. Couldn't have been any safer, right!

Interesting that you've gone for Futures. It is both a better and worse album than this one imo. Better in the sense it has better songs. Worse in the sense, it has a core of four excellent songs (work, pain, polaris, 23), and the rest is quite ok filler. Unlike this one, I prefer the studio recording to the seasion, myself.
 
Last edited:
Coatigan said:
Not entirely sure I know what you mean by 'excess', but think I get your point overall. And mostly agree. Most of the albums I tend to like, have been gowers, there wasn't an immediacy to any even for me. Recently saw Fog's tv alter-ego Loudermilk say, you are not Supposed to like an album the first time you listen to it, and I found myself concurring.

The budos nomination was as safe as they get imo. What do people here like? Zeppelin, and bluesey rock. It has both. What can't people here ever agree on? Vocals. It has none. Couldn't have been any safer, right!

Interesting that you've gone for Futures. It is both a better and worse album than this one imo. Better in the sense it has better songs. Worse in the sense, it has a core of four excellent songs (work, pain, polaris, 23), and the rest is quite ok filler. Unloke this one, I prefer the studio recording to the seasion, myself.
Click to expand...

Excess is probably the wrong word, I used it to indicate lack of restraint but that probably doesn't help either! I suppose I'm saying it's not trying to dial in up to 11 (or even 10) in any particular aspect. I think it's quite a restrained record, almost polite, and whilst that would normally be considered an insult, it isn't meant to be in this case.

No real reason for Future specifically was simply the next one that was offered up. Am watching the lockdown recording session but might have a listen to the studio recordings at some point; think you might be being a bit overly harsh on the other tracks but then have only listened to it once.
 
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
✖
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.