At the drive-in - in ter a li a

17 years. That is the gap between in ter a li a and their breakthrough album "Relationship of Command" which came out in 2000.  Since they split up in 2001, you could say it has been absolutely crazy what has happened. I am not even going to count how many albums Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has been on or been involved in. I am not exaggerating, it must be at least 100. The main bands members of At the drive-in were in at that time though were the Mars Volta and Sparta.

After all that time you do begin to wonder if they were capable of another album which was to the standard of "Relationship of Command". And I have to say they  done it. in ter a li a is another absolute beast of a record.  Its along the same lines as "One armed scissor" and "Rolodex Propaganda" in terms of its guitar bashing, hardcore punk. If you are wondering if there are any lighter moments on the album like "Non zero possiblity" or "Invalid litter department". You have to wait till track 10 "Ghost-tape No 9" for a refreshing change of pace. But that's it, album closer "Hostage Stamps" kicks it back up to 11 to finish things off.

One thing which is constant across all At the drive-in's music, is that I still have absolutely no idea what the lyrics are about. Sometimes I think its a secret language. Or (and more likely) that they are just more intelligent and are just way better at English than I am. I even followed lead singer Cedric's twitter for a while and had to unfollow as I didn't understand what he was saying.  But this does not detract from the music. Cedric's voice is so good it doesn't actually matter what he is saying. It fits to the music and for me that is the most important thing.

Overall this is a cracking album and yes it is up to the same standard as "Relationship of Command".  Its just pure hardcore punk at its best. Back in 2000 when they last came to the UK, I was too young to see them live. Now I am grateful I finally get the chance to see them in their upcoming tour. With the amount of shows and albums these guys have down now I can't wait to see what they have in store.

Taylor Swift - Reputation

For the last decade, Taylor Swift has managed to constantly stay in the limelight.  Her first self titled album put her on the map. Then her second album "Fearless" propelled her into stardom. Then "Speak now", "Red" and then "1989" just saw her getting bigger and bigger as she became a house hold name and ultimately one of the biggest stars on the planet.  Even when she was supposedly taking a break she delivered a hit single with One Direction's Zayn. However good her 6th album would be, as long as she didn't bring out a CD of just silence or even a hoover on for 60 minutes. It was going to sell and it was almost guaranteed to sell big. But is it actually any good?

As the singles started to trickle out in the build up to the release I wasn't so sure. "Look what you made me do" is possibly the most irritating song of the year especially the chorus. But when I first heard "Never getting back together" off "Red" I thought the same about that song. But "Red" itself I thought was excellent, even though I still hate that song. So I thought it could just be another situation where I hate the lead single but like the rest. So with an open mind I listened to the next single "Ready for it". This is a slightly better song with the positive being that this time she nails the chorus singing, "In the middle of the night, in my dreams....".  But the rest of the song she is basically rapping which I don't like at all.

So when the album came out I wasn't exactly as excited about it compared to I how I have been for her other albums. And to be honest after 4-5 listens I am still not excited about it. I have tried to get into it but it just is not happening. Normally when a Swift album comes out, and I am not exaggerating, I could listen to it for 100 plus times and that's going by play count on my mp3 software. She is easily one of my most played artists of the last 10 years. 

The singles may suggest that the album is full of her attempting to rap kind of R & B feel. Which it is to an extent with the likes of "End Game" (Featureing Ed Sheeran and Future) and "I did something bad".  But there are many lighter moments on the album such as "Delicate" and "Gorgeous" but for me they are just not very good songs. Even the songs which you could say are more from what she used to do such as "Getaway car" are just not up to the same standard as past records. One positive from the album is album closer "New year's day" which has a country feel to it and would fit perfectly onto one of her earlier albums.

Overall as you can guess, I would rank this as Taylor's worse release to date. You could argue that one of the reasons is that I'm not really into R & B/hiphop genre generally so maybe it's obvious I wouldn't like it. But there are songs which do fit the mould of what she used to do which I didn't particularly like either. As I say I have been a big Swift fan in the past but this album is disappointing. I do give her kudos though for trying something new even though for me it didn't really work.  But she has that big a fanbase now she is in the position where she can just do what she wants. Which is exactly what she is doing.

Paramore - After Laughter

Somehow After Laughter is Paramore's 5th album which is pretty impressive since lead singer Haley Williams just turned 29. But things haven't been easy for the band, especially after thier self titled 4th album where for a while it didn't look like the band would ever make an album again. You could say they were going through some hard times.

And that is exactly how the album kicks off - with the hit single "Hard Times". This is what I call my "Entry to Paramore song". Which bascially means this first song I heard which really made me want to discover Paramore's music. I did like "Misery Business" when it came out all those years back but for some reason I never got into their stuff more.  Anyway back to "Hard Times".  This really is a change of direction for the band who are known for their emo, punk rock, ballady songs. Although the lyrics are still associated with the emo scene. For example, the opening lyric on HT really does set this out with "All that I want, is to wake up fine, tell me that I'm alright and I ain't gonna die". The actual music is more pop music that you can dance to. It is a brave move for Paramore but with this album they have pulled it off.

Another song where the underlying music is so uplifting but the lyrics feel so sad is "Fake Happy". When I first heard this, I just thought that it was screaming out to be a single and now it is. The chorus is so catchy and really powerful which is kind of the opposite to what the lyrics are actually portraying. "Pool" and "Grudges" are some more highlights from this gem of an album. So upbeat.  "Grudges" actually feels like Williams is singing like the ladies in Abba. Not a bad thing at all.

I say that AL is a move away from their emo/punk rock roots. And on the whole it is, as their sound is more upbeat pop on this album. But one thing they have done on most of their albums and have done on this album is their famous ballady type songs. On "Riot" it was "When it rains". On "Brand new eyes" it was "Only Exception" and on "Paramore" it was "Last hope". In fact the only one I would need to hire a detective to find a ballad on was their debut.  On "After Laughter", they keep this tradtition going with a couple of ballads "26" and album closer "Tell me how".  The 2 songs have different approaches though with "26" being accousitc number while "Tell me how" is piano driven.  Both are really good songs which add diversity and a nice change of pace to the album.

Overall you have to hand it to Paramore. They have been through the wars, channelled it into their music and produced an album which is different to their older stuff which is quite refreshing for a band these days.  While I don't think this is quite as good as "Riot" or "Brand new eyes", I still rank this album very highly and definietly in my top albums of 2017.

The Charlatans - Different Days

"Different Days" is the 13th album by Manchester/West Midlands outfit The Charlatans. You could say that these guys really are the last remaining surviors of the brit pop era in the 90s. Well in terms of success anyway as impressivly they are still managing to release hit albums.  But also a lot of the acts around that time have either split up or doing reunion tours. I have to admit I lost touch with what they were doing after 2006's Simpatico. But this year I rediscovered them and I'm glad I did after listening to this, thier latest effort.

"Hey Sunrise" is such a nice opening to the album, with the acousitc guitar coming in first, then Tim Burgees singing "Bath in, the sunlight". It starts off so easy just gently upping the tempo, until the chorus kicks in and the album goes into full flow and sets the tone for the rest of the record.  As well as this track, I think title track "Different days" and "Plastic Machinery" which are the singles, are the highlights of the album.  I can see both tracks being a main stay in their live set such is the standard of them. Which just shows highly I think of them with the volume of tracks they have to choose from now!

This record sticks to the tried and tested for the band rather than venturing off into brand new terioritories which is something they have never really done. In saying that while keeping their trademark indie sounds, there is a certain freshness and warmness about the record which for me brings about one of their best records in quite a while. That's the thing about The Charlatans though, they are consistent. Maybe not becoming a global success but maintaining a relatively loyal, reasonable sized fanbase. However like any band you will have records you like more than others. And I would go back as far as 1999's Us and Us only to find a Charlatans record I like better than this.  But I think that says a lot about this album as there are many albums they have done between 1999 and now but I have listened to this album far more than any of them.

One slight downside to the album is the use of voice overs or basically talking over the music, for example on the "The Forgotton one".  This is something more and more artists are using on albums this year. Some use it quite effectively. But sometimes I really just want people to just sing! It just gets annoying after a while. Luckily the track only lasts 41 seconds and other small bits throughout the album.

I think overall, if you are a Charlatans fan already, you won't be disappointed in this album. However even though I think this is the best album they have done in a while, I don't think there is anything on this album to bring in people who had listened to the band before and for them to get into them now.  I say this but people have had long enough now to make up their minds about this band. I think its a testamont to bring out 13 records and still producing great music.

Steven Wilson - To the bone

Having spent 50 years on this planet, it is quite amazing that Wilson is still on an upward projectory in terms of his popularity.  It's not as if the early days when he was in Porcupine Tree were bad. It's just in those days he created music that generally didn't appeal to the masses. Although there were some hints in the likes of "Stupid Dream" and "Deadwing", that maybe someday he would make albums that are more commercial and appeal more to the wider music public.  He did this with his 4th solo album "Hand. Cannot. Erase" back in 2015. But even more so with "To the bone" which is his most successful album to date including side projects and Porcupine Tree, reaching No 2 in the UK charts in its first week on sale.

As the singles started being released before the album came out, it was easy to see why this album would be more successful. For the first single "Pariah", Wilson brought in Ninet Yaheb to share the vocals with. This is a nice build up song and Yahebs vocals are incredible and compliment Steven's vocals well. Wilson did an interview on the BBC at the time of releasing this album and they played this song off the album just as a clip. The presenter commented that there was no singing, only for Steven to correct her as the bit they picked out was the only bit that didn't have singing!  It was funny and is probably still on You tube. But I don't think it was that song that really pushed this album to the fore. I think it was "Permanating" which Steven describes as his Abba moment. It is a piano driven song and really is so joyous and uplifting. Something which is not often associated with Wilson's music. I do wonder given the success of this album he would be more geared to do more songs like this in the future.

Although the album is littered with more rock singles, there are still quite a few songs on the album which would fit quite easily onto one of his earlier more proggy solo efforts. Notably "Song of I" and 9 minute track "Detonation". But the problem is while I liked quite a bit of the prog stuff he did with Porcupine Tree. I didn't really enjoy Wilson's earlier albums and thought they were patchy. These songs are in my opinion the weakest on the album. "Song of I" is a slow moving track. I don't mind slow moving tracks but if its going to be slow moving it needs to have impact. And I don't feel this song has that. Detonation for me shouldn't really be on the album and I think it was more put on to please the older fans of his music rather than it was actually suited to the album.

But the album is saved by the quality of those shorter songs. I say shorter but most are still in the 5 minute region. Particular highlights for me are "Same Asylum as Before" and album closer "Song of Unborn". "Same Asylum" has this great riff in it and I would say this is best rock out song on the album. And "Song of Unborn" is just a gentle mesmerising masterpiece of song. I definitively have not listened to a Steven Wilson solo track as much as I have this one. If you included Porcupine Tree as well there are probably are a few of their songs which I have listened to more. But I think you get the picture.  Its a very laid back song and although slow moving this one does have then impact. A perfect way to finish an album.

Overall, although this is a really good album, I wouldn't say its great. There are more sing along songs than ever which I like and "Song of Unborn" for me is one of the best things he has ever done. In terms of his solo stuff I would also rank this as this best album he is ever done. But compared to some of the stuff he did with Porcupine Tree I would say this is just a wee bit lower down. Not by much though.

Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage

Avenged Sevenfold formed in 1999 and are an American heavy metal band from California. Now how have I managed to go all this time and never heard a single song by them?  Probably because they are not too radio friendly and up until this year I haven't really been into heavier music.  The first time I came across them was this year when  M.Shadows and Synestor Gates played a few songs with Linkin Park at Chester Benningtons Memorial concert. Shadow's vocals on "Burn it down" were truly phenomenal and I had to check them out. At first I just listened to any of their biggest tracks on You Tube without listening to a full album. But it wasn't long before I bought the back catalog and I am gradually getting into the albums. I think I have enough knowledge about them now to write a review on their latest album "The Stage" and put it into context of their other albums.

As previously mentioned "The Stage" is AX7's seventh album. They are a band which have truly evolved over time and are not afraid to put out music that they want rather than what maybe appeals to the wider public. By doing this it does seem like they have attracted a lot of hardcore fans. This is the longest album AX7 have done coming in at 73 minutes. Although Avenged are no strangers to long albums with "Nightmare" coming in at 66 minutes and "City of Evil" coming in at 72 minutes. But in terms of the listener I think this is their most challenging album. It is very diverse in terms of the types of songs and I wouldn't really say there are any hit singles on here like "So Far Away" and "Afterlife". Title track "The Stage" was given the music video treatment and that song is 8 minutes, 32 seconds. So great song but radio stations are not exactly going to play it!  In saying that it is a great song which is backed up by the Grammy committee who decided this song is in contention for a Grammy in the best rock song category.

"The Stage" is a concept album about artificial intelligence. Now I would go into the lyrics but to be honest with this kind of album, it is not really about the lyrics for me. It is about the music and how the vocals fit to the music. What is actually said is irrelevant to me. It is more important to me that the M.Shadows vocals fit to the music. And they certainly do.  As previously said this is a challenging album and I found that it took many listens to really get into it. At the same time I wouldn't say those early listens were bad. I would be listening to it going - "Yeah this is a good bit", "Yeah I like this" etc. But the songs would blend into each other and I wouldn't really be dividing up the tracks and truly appreciating it due to its length and complexity.

One of the things that helped was listening to an acoustic album AX7 released recently of their live performance at the Grammy museum accompanied by a string section. In particular they played "Roman Sky" and part of "Exist".  In "Roman Sky" you can see the complexity of the song. The guitar work is simply amazing. M.Shadows vocals are absolutely awesome and delivered with such passion. This is a track which maybe you wouldn't associate with AX7 before as it is a softer more mellow track for them. When I went back to the album and listened to this track again I instantly liked it more.  "Exist" is the album closer and having listened to many of their albums now it does appear to be their most progressive and adventurous song to date.  As they said before playing part of it at the acoustic gig. The first 7 minutes is like the build up, then you have the main part. Then you have the five minute outro which has a voice over from astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson which is such an effective end to the album.

The album does benefit from the string section featuring throughout especially on songs like my personal favourtie "Angels" which also has a killer guitar solo on it. But although the songs haven't got screaming vocals on them like in their earlier days of "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet" and "Waking the Fallen"; They are still firmly in the hard rock/metal genre. Some have said that they are going into the progressive metal genre but it could be argued they have been their quite a while looking at the length of previous albums. But in terms of their sound they are definitely in the progressive rock/metal category now.

I wouldn't normally review deluxe editions of albums but at time of writing AX7 re-released this album with extra tracks. I'm not normally a fan of deluxe albums as usually bands (and I believe AX7 have done this before) just add on a few b-sides that didn't quite make the album and the consumer is sucked into buying it again.  But I think in this case it is worth a go, especially if you use streaming services anyway. 6 of the new tracks are covers of huge bands like Pink Floyd, Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. To be honest I think the "Wish you were here" cover is awesome but the rest of the songs I don't recognise which is probably more down to my lack of knowledge of pre 90's music. Either that or the other songs are not as well known songs by the big bands.  I still think its genius though as they know they have released a not as commercial album and are now giving fans some accessible songs to go with it.  The 4 other songs are live songs from the Stage tour in London. Another good move as it shows how good they are live!!  They are on my list now anyway.

Overall this is a classic album which needs a lot of patience to get into. But it just keeps getting better with every listen. I don't think I'm fully there yet but I am in a good place with it. I do think the deluxe edition is worth it and I look forward to what AX7 do next, although with 2018 involving more touring it will be a bit of a wait yet for the next album.

Linkin Park - One more light

Brought out in May 2017, One more light is the 7th album by US rock band Linkin Park. I have followed this band right from the outset since Hybrid Theory came out way back in 2000. I loved seeing this band develop over time and really grow as musicians. Some have said this album was a step too far and disliked the direction they have now gone in. Still hanging on to the hope that they will go back to their heavier side especially the nu-metal sounds of their first few albums.

This is a lot more pop-rock and electronic than previous albums but still has that hip hop element on some of the tracks as Mike Shinoda puts his trademark rapping on them.  Also on "Good, Goodbye", Pusha T and Stormzy put their mark on the album. Another song which Linkin brought someone else in to sing was lead single "Heavy" where Kiiera shares vocals with Chester. I like how these guys just don't get a wee snippet in a song to sing but are given a fair chunk.

Its also interesting that Linkin Park brought in other people to help write the songs, with Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels, IIsey Jubar, JR Rotem, Ros Goslen, Frances White, Justin Parker and Jesse Shatkin. In fact well over half the songs on the album. I know many people critisise bands for not writing all their own songs but I actually don't mind at all. If they want help moving into a new direction and use people whose job it is to write songs to make themselves better. Then what is the problem?

When I look down the track list for this album now it is very difficult to spot a weak link. It is just 10 tracks, so really a bare minimum for a pop album but the quality is sky high.  Personal highlights include "Talking to myself" which is such an energetic and jumpy about kinda song. "Battle Symphony" is another classic and as the title suggests is a classic rivalry song. I have heard it being used during the NBA playoff final trailers this year and it is so fitting.

There is one song however which now stands head over heals above any other track now and I think it is the song that stands out for a lot of Linkin Park fans and that is title track "One more light". Sadly lead singer Chester took his own life earlier this year and this track is what a lot of tribute videos used to commemorate his life with standout lyric "Who cares if one more light goes out in a sky of a million stars, it flickers, flickers..............well I do".  It was difficult to even listen to this album after his death, I really can't even imagine what the band and their families were going through.

Overall the band should be proud of this album. The thing is about this band is that they are perfectionists and the quality they have maintained across their albums is so high.  And to keep evolving the way they were doing while still being one of the biggest rock acts in the world says it all. But now Chester is gone, if they choose to continue as a band, this will be their biggest challenge yet. But I certainly wish them all the best.

Mutemath - Play Dead

Before I go into reviewing this album, I feel the need to give a bit of background about Mutemath.  The reason being they are not really that well known in the UK.  I have done a bit of investigation and since their formation in 2002 it looks like they have played a maximum of 10 gigs in the UK and have done one European tour which was this year. This is going by the past shows on Bands in town website. I'm not complaining they haven't done more in the UK, I respect their decisions, but more emphasising the reason why many people in the UK probably haven't heard of them. They do however seem to play in the US a lot. Also on Amazon.co.uk at time of writing there has only been 3 reviews on this album compared to Amazon's US site where it has 28 reviews.

So to introduce Mutemath, they are a 4 piece alternative rock band from New Orleans and "Play Dead" is their 5th full length outing. I got into them this year after finding them in the recommended because you like Paramore corner on Apple Music. For the record they do not sound like Paramore (as much as I like both bands!). I listened to their debut and was hooked and proceeded to buy their back catalog.  Even though their last album "Vitals" was released in 2015. The band had been working on "Play Dead" since 2012.

The outcome?  This is a blissfully magical record which will keep you captivated from the opening keyboards and vocals on "Hit Parade" to the closing moments on "Marching to End". I go on a lot about vocals in my reviews. But I really do feel that it is a big differentiater between bands and can make a good band great. This is what I feel Paul Meany does for Mutemath as he has some vocal range. They also tend to alter between keyboard orientated tracks and guitar driven tracks giving a fresh dimension to their sound and making the possibilities with their music more expansive.

I think the biggest sounding track on the album and probably best single material is "Break the Fever". Its got quite a dancy rock feel about it with a big chorus. For me though the stand out track on this album is "Placed on hold" and I seriously hope if I ever get to see this band live they play this because it is outstanding. It starts off with quite mellow with a few nice chilled out verses for the first few minutes before exploding into a great guitar riff and Meany's heavenly, energetic vocals. This song which is track 6 on the album sees a turning point in the album as a whole as the first half I would say is more poppy rock. But the second half of the album sees songs averaging about 5 minutes in length as they let those songs naturally expand into fruition.

Overall this is an absolute belter of an album. I love they way they are always trying to create new sounds to make their music unique.  This is definitely one of my albums of 2017. Is it one of the best albums they have done? In my opinion its between this and their last album "Vitals". It is a close call!

Stone Sour - Hydrograd

2017 saw Stone Sour bring out their sixth album “Hydrograd”. Its hard to believe this band have been around since 1992, although they didn’t release their first self-titled album till 2002. Stone Sour are a pretty big band having achieved top selling albums right from the offset.  In saying that it was only until a friend at work introduced me to them this year when I finally got around to listening to them.

And boy what have I missed! The first album of theirs I listened to was this album, their latest, “Hydrograd”. This definitely falls into the rock and roll category with larger than life rock songs with great choruses. The two biggest and probably most popular songs on the album are singles “Song 3” and “Fabuless” and I have differing opinions on them both. “Song 3” is such a good song. It has a great upbeat rhythm to it and when I was talking about great choruses on the album this is one of them.

 “Fabuless” on the other hand is a strange one. It feels like it has a lot of ideas but not quite sure what direction it is going in leading to a very disjointed song. It uses very famous Led Zepplin and then Rolling Stones lyrics at one point, but delivered in a metal like way. Its just weird doing that on an album track never mind a single.  Fair enough doing this kind of thing live gets a big reaction as an ad-hoc thing but to me just ruins the song a bit. The song does get good though once you get into the part where it goes “It’s all downhill from here….”. But in terms of the album, it certainly does not go downhill from here….

The highlight for me on this album is one of the lighter moments of the album in the shape of “St Marie”.  An acoustic number which shows off Corey Taylor’s voice in its full splendor. Another more tender moment on the album is album closer “When the fever broke” which has some great wee guitar parts in it. The album maybe could have done with a few more moments like this as it is predominantly heavier rock. But at the same time the quality of these heavier moments is generally high, so you can’t really complain. Some of the songs on the album like “Whiplash pants” and “Somebody stole my eyes” see Taylor almost in Slipknot territory such is the ferocity of his singing in parts, but the chorus brings it back to Stone Sour.

Overall, if like me you had never heard Stone Sour before. This is a great entry point to decide whether you like them or not. Since then I have delved further into their older stuff and there really is some absolute gems in their back catalogue. This album though stands on its own two feet and shows a band that really do know how to do rock music.

Paramore - Brand new eyes

Brand new eyes came out in 2009 and this review is being done in 2017. Why? Although I have always been aware of Paramore since their second album “Riot” came out in 2007.  I had only listened to “Misery Business” and that was it. I liked it, but I never looked in to their stuff further. That was until this year when their fifth album “After Laughter” came out. I was hooked and bought their back catalogue.

That of course included this album, “Brand new eyes”. It starts off with “Careful” which really does lay it down and shows off singer Haley Williams fantastic vocal range. If there is ever a song to test your own singing and see how good a singer Haley is, just try singing along to this song!  “Careful” is such a ferocious, hard hitting opener and is certainly my favourite track off the album.

This is an album full of singles “Ignorance”, “Brick by boring brick”, “Only Exception” “Playing God” and the previously mentioned “Careful”. All great tracks, but in terms of guitar work “Playing God” is hard to beat, lead guitarist Josh Farro produces one of the best intros on the album.  Most of the album, Paramore deliver their pop-punk sing along goodness which will have had many bobbing up and down at their gigs and singing along to what are their anthems now. “Only Exception” throws a bit of a curve ball here as it’s a more laid-back acoustic track but at the same time still shows off William’s incredible vocals and adds a different dimension to the album. Another track “Misguided ghosts” which appears later in the album is also an acoustic track which again works well.

Three of my favourite tracks off the album which are not singles are “Turn it off”, then then tracks number 7 and 8 double punch of “Feeling Sorry” and “Looking up”.  “Feeling Sorry” has in my opinion the best lyric off the album “but I don’t see you around anymore…………your days are numbered at 24”. But that’s the thing with Paramore, they have the great lyrics and the amazing music to go with it. “Looking up” has such a positive vibe to it as it is just so upbeat. Another lyric I love from this one is “Honestly can you believe, we crossed the world while its asleep”.

Having listened to all Paramore’s last five albums, I can firmly say this one comes out on top for me. It is a complete album with not a bad track on it. This album at the time certainly acted as a stepping stone for them and they just seem to be getting bigger and bigger while keeping things fresh by keeping on pushing the boundaries of their music. They themselves must look back on this and realise that “Riot” was no fluke. These guys are the real deal which can be seen now (in 2017) more than ever.