The Album Review Club - Week #145 - (page 1923) - Tellin' Stories - The Charlatans

[youngbob]

Still don't think this album gets better than the last 2 minutes of 'Bullet in the Head'.

Just an outrageous riff that comes from nowhere and the half-time groove makes me hip thrust whenever I'm in earshot.

 

[RobMCFC]

My overall impression of this is that it’s very shouty. Some of the music sounds good, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Tom Morello is playing the same riff every time. Still, The Edge has made a good career out of that. He does a good version of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” on “Wake Up” though.

Despite the good that’s on offer here – some of the guitar work and the bass – there are two main problems I have with this album that, unfortunately, means that it goes on the “instant dismissal” pile. (Sorry @Onholiday(somemightsay)).

The first is the aforementioned shoutiness. I just don’t like this style of “singing” (and I use that term in the very loosest sense). I don’t like crooners like Frank Sinatra or singers like Whitney Houston who stretch every note until you are looking at your watch and wondering how long it is until teatime. But I like singers who shout all the time even less.

But the bigger crime for me is all the fucking profanity. I mean, I swear when I stub my toe, and I swear when my computer doesn’t do what it should (and that has happened a LOT this week). But this type of music is about communication, and if they are trying to get their point across, they ain’t selling it to me by singing “Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me” and then repeating it about 47 times.

Swearing has its place, but when you are an artist and you are laying it down on record where it may be played for years or decades or centuries to come, then you should think about how you use your profanity. I don’t think these boys have necessarily thought that far, but they probably don’t care because the critics seemed to love this. All I can think is that they haven’t heard a decent protest band.

Funnily enough, when this album finished on Spotify, it ran straight into The Presidents of the United States of America with “Lump”, which was an absolute joy after what had come before.

I’ll give it 5/10 because on the grand scale of our musical measurements, the music is much better than Madonna, Sigur Ros and Pantera. But those lyrics and that delivery, ugh.

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

My overall impression of this is that it’s very shouty. Some of the music sounds good, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Tom Morello is playing the same riff every time. Still, The Edge has made a good career out of that. He does a good version of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” on “Wake Up” though.

Despite the good that’s on offer here – some of the guitar work and the bass – there are two main problems I have with this album that, unfortunately, means that it goes on the “instant dismissal” pile. (Sorry @Onholiday(somemightsay)).

The first is the aforementioned shoutiness. I just don’t like this style of “singing” (and I use that term in the very loosest sense). I don’t like crooners like Frank Sinatra or singers like Whitney Houston who stretch every note until you are looking at your watch and wondering how long it is until teatime. But I like singers who shout all the time even less.

But the bigger crime for me is all the fucking profanity. I mean, I swear when I stub my toe, and I swear when my computer doesn’t do what it should (and that has happened a LOT this week). But this type of music is about communication, and if they are trying to get their point across, they ain’t selling it to me by singing “Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me” and then repeating it about 47 times.

Swearing has its place, but when you are an artist and you are laying it down on record where it may be played for years or decades or centuries to come, then you should think about how you use your profanity. I don’t think these boys have necessarily thought that far, but they probably don’t care because the critics seemed to love this. All I can think is that they haven’t heard a decent protest band.

Funnily enough, when this album finished on Spotify, it ran straight into The Presidents of the United States of America with “Lump”, which was an absolute joy after what had come before.

I’ll give it 5/10 because on the grand scale of our musical measurements, the music is much better than Madonna, Sigur Ros and Pantera. But those lyrics and that delivery, ugh.

That is a more than fair critique Rob.........

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

My overall impression of this is that it’s very shouty. Some of the music sounds good, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Tom Morello is playing the same riff every time. Still, The Edge has made a good career out of that. He does a good version of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” on “Wake Up” though.

Despite the good that’s on offer here – some of the guitar work and the bass – there are two main problems I have with this album that, unfortunately, means that it goes on the “instant dismissal” pile. (Sorry @Onholiday(somemightsay)).

The first is the aforementioned shoutiness. I just don’t like this style of “singing” (and I use that term in the very loosest sense). I don’t like crooners like Frank Sinatra or singers like Whitney Houston who stretch every note until you are looking at your watch and wondering how long it is until teatime. But I like singers who shout all the time even less.

But the bigger crime for me is all the fucking profanity. I mean, I swear when I stub my toe, and I swear when my computer doesn’t do what it should (and that has happened a LOT this week). But this type of music is about communication, and if they are trying to get their point across, they ain’t selling it to me by singing “Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me” and then repeating it about 47 times.

Swearing has its place, but when you are an artist and you are laying it down on record where it may be played for years or decades or centuries to come, then you should think about how you use your profanity. I don’t think these boys have necessarily thought that far, but they probably don’t care because the critics seemed to love this. All I can think is that they haven’t heard a decent protest band.

Funnily enough, when this album finished on Spotify, it ran straight into The Presidents of the United States of America with “Lump”, which was an absolute joy after what had come before.

I’ll give it 5/10 because on the grand scale of our musical measurements, the music is much better than Madonna, Sigur Ros and Pantera. But those lyrics and that delivery, ugh.

The swearing must be a generational thing. We all do it but when it's done to excess it gets annoying. In the TV thread earlier someone posted a clip from Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is brilliant, but if there's one character that annoys me it's Leon because it's f-this, f-that every other word, it's not even being used in conjunction with another word for effect, it just seems to replace what would be normal spaces between spoken words. And yet people seem to love it but it detracts from what he's saying to me. And it's the same in music. That said I notice my kids and their mates are always dropping the f-word in randomly, they don't even realise.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I have a sneaky suspicion that Tom Morello is playing the same riff every time. Still, The Edge has made a good career out of that.

LOL brilliant.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

this is an unexpected pick when you look at the review and bashing @Onholiday(somemightsay) gave to Pantera

Ooooooooo, I may take some umbrage at this comparison but I will save it for my review.

Edit: No I won't. The backbeat here is FUNK and RAP, not fucking sludge. HUGE difference.

 

[RobMCFC]

That is a more than fair critique Rob.........

I'm guessing that based on your intro, this is how you felt when you first heard it.
I'd love to know what your brother-in-law said to change your mind.

 

[BlueHammer85]

Ooooooooo, I may take some umbrage at this comparison but I will save it for my review.

not saying it's anywhere near as good as this... but I reckon I would be hard pressed to find many Rage fans give Pantera a 2/10

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

not saying it's anywhere near as good as this... but I reckon I would be hard pressed to find many Rage fans give Pantera a 2/10

Here I am.......... :-)

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

not saying it's anywhere near as good as this... but I reckon I would be hard pressed to find many Rage fans give Pantera a 2/10

IMO They aren't remotely close to the same kind of music. And this is key: only one band has something important to say. I edited this because I didn't want to sound dogmatic but I see massive differences here in how each sounds, the content and the musical approach and I think even a cursory listen demonstrates that.