The Album Review Club - Week #141 - (page 1860) - JPEG Raw - Gary Clark Jr.

[threespires]

Well, I don’t understand what “Editor’s Choice” means for the record today, but based on your, errr, subtle clues, no doubt it will be one that stirs controversy and seething invectives from some. As such, it seems this can only be one of two artists: a certain lanky Mancunian’s solo effort or some miserable dronings from five black-clad, pasty-faced English school chums.

Think it'll be a cold day in hell before Rob nominates mozzer !

I'm not sure how long ago I downloaded this whole album but it's fair to say that up to now it hasn't caught my imagination in the same way that the two tracks that brought me here in there first place did, those being the Silence and I Know How to Speak, not on the album.

I can't remember how I came to those two tracks either but the likelihood is that they were "suggested" to me by YouTube while passing time doing night shifts as a nurse in a care home. Those nights imbued in me a feeling of comfortable melancholy, the combination of the ungodly hour, the sense of being at the dog end of a nursing career that had been spent at the sharp end and having under my care residents seeing out their final days in various stages of, well you know...

So those two tracks got heavy play along with a select few from others as sometimes I like to settle into a mood rather than fight against it. The rest of the album I listened to a few times but was left underwhelmed.

It often happens though with albums that are now favourites that what sounds uninspiring initially can sound very different when revisited some time later. And that is certainly the case with this. I mentioned in the initial comments when this album was introduced that the Silence and I Know How to Speak both edged towards overwrought territory. There is though subtlety on this album too in the shape of the Maze and the Alien/ Sunshine which act as a nice counterpoint.

The album opens strongly with the Maze right through to the Sunshine. Hopefully I'm not missing any ironic intent with the lyrics of the Gold but as an ode to a relationship that has run its course without sentimentality it's great. And I do think I prefer the original to Phoebe Bridgers version.

I wouldn't say the album sags but it doesn't quite maintain the standard on what would be the second side of a vinyl album (presumably). It's good enough though with the only really low point being The Parts, deliberately low key before the grand ending I expect. It's a great climax but really I Know How to Speak should be tagged on there.

I've explored a little bit of their other stuff through the lazy medium of Spotify top tracks but I don't know if going backwards through their catalogue will offer me much. I've had a few good listens to their most recent though, The Million Masks of God, which with its exploration of themes around death would no doubt see me through a few more night shifts. On that though, a couple of weeks ago I went in for one (I was on the bank so very much employed on a casual basis) with the usual feeling of gloom to be met with new procedures, end of life care and the usual smorgasbord of the issues that usually present themselves with that client group. I knew I couldn't do it anymore and wrote my notice with immediate effect so that I knew that when I left in the morning I wouldn't be back.

@Black&White&BlueMoon Town mentioned the lyrics. This is one of those albums (which I probably will get on vinyl) where I would like to have the lyrics in front of me while listening to it. Snippets though stick in my head and Andy Hull's delivery is generally good. It's fair to say that the themes aren't your run of the mill stuff.

Great pick this week, I'm glad I've been "forced" to give it an extended listen. Makes me wonder what else I've previously downloaded that I need to revisit. Scoring wise the first half had it on course for a 9 or 10, for the slight drop off it's down to an 8.

That's a very evocative review and I can see where you are coming from. I do like it when we get glimpses into people's worlds (call me Arsene the voyeur!)

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

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

We've been through this -- if one cottons more to music that makes you get up and move vs. music you sit down and listen to, what you describe as "Indie/Rock" (which is waaaaaaaay too broad a characterization -- how would you classify The Strokes, e.g.??) isn't gonna resonate, or it's gonna have to be better than this record to resonate.

I think it's okay that I don't usually need music that touches my soul -- my family and my dog and the view from atop Mount Tamalpais do that, and as an ex-Catholic, Gregorian chants accomplish that musically. I need music that gets me off my fat ass via either bopping around like a pogo stick or windmill air-guitaring ala Pete Townsend.

That's not to say I don't appreciate well-crafted beautiful music (I agree about "The Maze" for instance). But I'd absolutely argue with the notion that not appreciating this is some kind of aural flaw at best or a character flaw at worst.

Now that said -- I do think artists that work hard at trying to touch my soul can veer into pretentiousness or self-indulgence more easily than bands who are just trying to get me to dance.

But even so I love many "sit and listen" records, and records with songs I can either sit or dance to. And I like many "sound not song" records too. Just not this one so much.

 

[journolud]

Appreciate the feedback and other than the guest posts coming in, if it reaches someone who hadn't yet had the time to listen, then that's a win for me and all that matters. And besides, I owed you one for Endless Summer! :-)

Well said.

There's plenty of intensity in this album, "even in the quietest of moments" as a band I'm fond of would say. For those note hearing the release or feeling too restrained, I'd argue it is there in many of the songs, including "The Moth", "Lead, SD", "The Mistake", and even in the first song off of this that I heard that allowed me to dive in - "The Gold".

I don't see how you go full on release when setting up the initial structure of the song and where it is going.

"You don't open your eyes for a while, you just breathe that moment down".

Wise words when listening to this entire piece. And it was the music that let me in before I was able to get the entirety of what was being presented here. I suppose it either does or it doesn't.

"I want to feel the way our fathers felt when it swept them off their feet. I want to know about that higher love you saw that can't be seen. The only obvious equation, you believe it or you don't."

I had the first opportuntiy to listen to this on headphones today, albeit that they are cheap ones without noise cancelling and I only wear them at the gym but it did reveal a bit more of the richness of this album. The lyrics are seeping in and meaning more although I do get that some of them are a bit obscure. Not all though and there are some quietly unsettling phrases that I'm picking up. I'm really going to have to look them up properly.

I don't usually watch many of the videos people post but I did watch the guitar tutor one that @AlexWilliamsGloves put up and found it a facinating watch and nice to see the song appreciated.

And just to return to something and acknwledge the closing of a circle, whatever else the lyrics imply the Maze's "Let me learn how to speak" surely deserves I Know How to Speak as the album closer. Great climax as the Silence is it would be a suitable encore...

 

[Mancitydoogle]

A Black Mile to The Surface



As soon as I stared to listen to ‘The Maze’ I was hooked, it helped that his vocals are very similar to of TBOH and there’s a slight musical familiarity to TBOH , I’m also getting a Family of the Year vibe too, Wilco and Radiohead not so much.As @Coatigan has said it’s an album that needs more listens than the requisite three and intact.love my melancholy so the lyrics were of importance.Interesting that Rob mentions FR as this did invoke memories of first hearing them ,as it’s another band I’ve never heard of before this and the other thread.I will definitely be investigating their other output having already listened to ‘I know how to speak’ which is great.

I enjoyed the album as a whole but ‘The Maze’ ‘The Alien’ The Sunshine’ and ‘The Silence’ particularly stood out.



Thanks BWBMT for introducing me to another band i think I’m going to love.

9/10



.

 

[BlueHammer85]

We've been through this -- if one cottons more to music that makes you get up and move vs. music you sit down and listen to, what you describe as "Indie/Rock" (which is waaaaaaaay too broad a characterization -- how would you classify The Strokes, e.g.??) isn't gonna resonate, or it's gonna have to be better than this record to resonate.

I think it's okay that I don't usually need music that touches my soul -- my family and my dog and the view from atop Mount Tamalpais do that, and as an ex-Catholic, Gregorian chants accomplish that musically. I need music that gets me off my fat ass via either bopping around like a pogo stick or windmill air-guitaring ala Pete Townsend.

That's not to say I don't appreciate well-crafted beautiful music (I agree about "The Maze" for instance). But I'd absolutely argue with the notion that not appreciating this is some kind of aural flaw at best or a character flaw at worst.

Now that said -- I do think artists that work hard at trying to touch my soul can veer into pretentiousness or self-indulgence more easily than bands who are just trying to get me to dance.

But even so I love many "sit and listen" records, and records with songs I can either sit or dance to. And I like many "sound not song" records too. Just not this one so much.

Absolutely, not arguing against any of that - what I meant was this type of music melancholy/indie ? It’s a shame some don’t get the same pleasure out of it that I and others do but that is the beauty of music.

I guess it would be like someone who really loves classical/opera music and can’t understand why it doesn’t resonate the same way with others.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Absolutely, not arguing against any of that - what I meant was this type of music melancholy/indie ? It’s a shame some don’t get the same pleasure out of it that I and others do but that is the beauty of music.

I guess it would be like someone who really loves classical/opera music and can’t understand why it doesn’t resonate the same way with others.

I guess I'm not really an especially melancholy person -- in fact, I think anyone who knows me would say that's the literal opposite of me. I don't often find beauty in darkness or sadness. I prefer the excitement of escapism, or defiance, which are both more rousing, or detachment or irony (especially when presented self-referentially and/or with wit).

Now love songs -- I can find beauty in sadness there. We've all been there. But not on most other topics. Like, for example, child abuse.

 

[RobMCFC]

Manchester Orchestra's A Black Mile To The Surface scored an average of 6.58 from 13 votes. This selection kept the indie crowd happy and also scored 3 9s in the process. A very respectable 52nd in the table considering some of the low early scores. Thanks to @Black&White&BlueMoon Town for the nomination.

 

[BlueHammer85]

I guess I'm not really an especially melancholy person -- in fact, I think anyone who knows me would say that's the literal opposite of me. I don't often find beauty in darkness or sadness. I prefer the excitement of escapism, or defiance, which are both more rousing, or detachment or irony (especially when presented self-referentially and/or with wit).

Now love songs -- I can find beauty in sadness there. We've all been there. But not on most other topics. Like, for example, child abuse.

Melancholy Indie was definately my teen years music so it will always resonate with me personally and I do find it uplifting where as I get for others it can be considered boring or depressing- although some bands get it terribly wrong.

Then I suppose I got into Rock more, old stuff (Beatles and Dylan) then dance/electro and always been a fan of Pop in general. Always tried to be a broad as possible.

Do struggle with Rap, Hip Hop and Garage etc.

 

[RobMCFC]

The Album Review Club

The moment that many have dreamed of.

The current round of albums is due to conclude with a couple of new nominators. The person scheduled for this week’s nomination has asked for another week to put a write-up together. I then put out a call to the last nominator on the list but have so far not received a reply.

This creates a problem because I don’t want to have an end-of-round playlist with just two weeks of the current round to go. Neither do I want to kick off a new round (because I’m not quite ready!)

But then the perfect solution occurred to me. What would be a good way to make a great thread even better? Here are some relevant comments from a few of the music threads:-

“I'm sorry if I inadvertently helped derail the thread but if it does get nominated by someone I look forward to discussing it.” – threespires

"Man, if this thread has a "norm" I'm not sure what it is! And that's what makes it great. And if you choose to select the hands-down most overrated record ever made, that would be fine :)." – FogBlueInSanFran

“I cannot think of another group that I have liked and then went downhill so fast.” – bennyboy

“It’s all subjective anyway but the ultimate arbiter will be the Bluemoon vote.” – journolud

"Radiohead for me as a young teen was just a great rock/indie band that stood outside the mix of Britpop" – BlueHammer85

Middle-aged gentlemen and slightly older gentlemen, without further ado, I give you:-

OK Computer by Radiohead.


Editor’s Note

Please note that this is a bonus selection, and not my selection. I look forward to listening and reviewing because I’ve never heard it.

In some ways, this subverts the normal process: we take it in turns to put forward a record that means a lot to us, we bare our souls and try to explain how our lives are intertwined with the songs, and we wait for our fellow forumites to agree with us or point out how we have been wrong all these years.

However, Radiohead, and OK Computer in particular, have come up so often in the various discussions that it somehow feels wrong not to listen to this album as a collective. A little sluggishness on the part of some new nominators, plus some intense discussion ahead of the eagerly awaited return of the Bluemoon Cup, have conspired to produce a glorious window of opportunity.

I was too good an opportunity to turn down, like a beautifully arcing Kevin De Bruyne pass that lands invitingly at the feet of a certain goal-hungry Viking.

OK Computer may have regularly featured in the Champions League places of many a post-year-2000 poll, but how will it fare in the harsh crucible of the Album Review Club league table? As @journolud says, “It’s all subjective anyway but the ultimate arbiter will be the Bluemoon vote.”

So, I look forward to applying a bit of science and cool, calm perspective to prove or disprove @FogBlueInSanFran ’s assertion that this is the most overrated album ever made.

I trust that everybody will take their duty seriously and play nice. Having said that, let battle commence.

 

[RobMCFC]

Melancholy Indie was definately my teen years music so it will always resonate with me personally and I do find it uplifting where as I get for others it can be considered boring or depressing- although some bands get it terribly wrong.

Then I suppose I got into Rock more, old stuff (Beatles and Dylan) then dance/electro and always been a fan of Pop in general. Always tried to be a broad as possible.

Do struggle with Rap, Hip Hop and Garage etc.

This will get lost in the Radiohead frenzy, but it's not the melancholy I have an issue with.

It's the mumbling into mics and the lack of chops and hooks.