Thursday, November 17, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Tom Waits - Bad As Me - Album review
Having just recently been introduced to Mr Tom Waits by a friend who seen him live in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on his Glitter & Doom tour back in 2008 & was just blown away by his performance. Said it was the best concert he ever attended. Having subscribed to a stream of this brand new album “Bad as me” through www.tomwaits.com - I just can’t stop listening to it. This is the first album of his that I’ve listened to & I can’t help wondering what have I being doing all these years? It is incredible. Every song is so different, every song is an absolute treat.
This is his 17th studio album & the 1st he has released in 7 years, since 2004’s “Real Gone”. There is a good mix of subjects throughout, from the recession fable of “Talking At The Same Time” - “your gotta build your nest high enough to ride out the flood” to the war trenches of “Hell Broke Luce” - “Kelly Presutto got his thumb blown off, Sergio’s developing a real bad cough”. “Get Lost” is a bluesy jangle that makes you want to dance where “Pay Me” & “New Years Eve” are emotional masterpieces.
Guest appearances include long time collaborator Keith Richards on which he plays guitar but also compliments Waits’ gravelly growl sharing vocals on the outstanding “Last Leaf”. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea lends his bass lines to “Hell Broke Luce”.
This is the first album in many a year that I have really connected with. It’s time to visit some more of his back catalogue. So, as Tom shouts & snarls on opener “Chicago” – “All aboard”.
Rating: 90/100
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years album review
Cold Cave is the solo project by New York’s Wesley Eisold. “Cherish the Light Years” is the second releases after 2009’s debut “Loves Comes Close”. This album opens with the immediate burst of heavy synthesizers & distorted wall of noise of lead single “The Great Pan is Dead”. This really sets the tone for the album. It is possibly one of the darkest released in recent years. The 80’s keyboard sound is prominent in all songs, very reminiscent of New Order, early Depeche Mode & The Cure with simple guitar riffs in the Interpol/Joy Division ilk.
These influences are continued with the drum intro on “Catacombs” identical to The Cure’s “Close to me”. One of the better tracks here is “Underworld USA”. It has the same heavy laden synth intro as Nine Inch Nails’ brilliant “Happiness in Slavery” from their “Broken” EP. The creepy female whisper of “underworld” throughout intro is haunting. “Burning Sage” has that eerie bleakness that could fit comfortably into any Nine Inch Nails album. Wesley’s almost echoed vocals of “I’ve been staring at the sun, black sun – I’ve been breathing with my lung, black lung” over flicks of keyboard & a haunting synth beat.
The best song is definitely left to last with the more upbeat “Villians of the Moon”. This has an excellent riff & a great mix of male/female vocals on the chorus despite its gloomy lyric - “Angel , we may have celebrated too soon, the villains of the moon are doomed”.
All-in-all the album is just too dark. The loud synthesizers are quite overwhelming. As Ronnie Wood once said “the creative atmosphere was somewhat stifled by undesirables”.
Rating: 62/100
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