Okay, one more review to clean up the old J2 inventory (along with one newer one not from him.) But before I launch into that.. here comes an NCAA weekend! Yay! Should be fun. And a concert weekend! Yaay! Should be even more fun. And a study weekend! Yaa..
Oh. Well, two out of three...
Charlotte Gainsbourg - "5:55": Breathy, smooth, acoustic, gentle, French accent.. mmmm. :) I like this girl. Simple piano and guitar most of the time, with a vocal delivery that reminds one of a poet reading her material and then gently breaking into song. Her songs sound a bit like those of Marketa Irglova from the movie Once, when she occasionally solos. Favorites: the title track, Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping, Jamais, Little Monsters, Beauty Mark, The Songs that We Sing, Tel Que Tu Es, The Operation. Two thumbs up. :)
And now the last of the Christmas uploads from J2. Now I can head out to iTunes again. In moderation, of course, thanks to Lent's recalibrating of my appetites. ;)
Mae - "Singularity": Hey! These guys are really good! :) What a solid rock sound, with fine vocals, good songs, great playing. Not one bad track on this CD. They have been a favorite of J2's for a while, and I can see why. I like them, too. The songs I like best are Brink of Disaster, Crazy 8s, Just Let Go, Last Transmission II, Release Me, Waiting. Two thumbs up - good CD.
Relient K - "Five Score and Seven Years Ago": These guys are at the top of their game now. The sound has matured, the gimmicks are few and far between, the vocals and playing are solid, songwriting strong & unapologetic, same great harmonies and positive outlook on things. What a good CD this is. :) Deathbed is a really interesting track - an 11 minute tale of a 74 year old about to die, reviewing his life. Two thumbs up for this CD. I like all tracks, especially Up and Up, Plead the Fifth (very BeachBoysian and not nearly long enough, but the bonus track Sloop John B makes up for it), Must Have Done Something Right, Give Until There's Nothing Left, I'm Taking You With Me, Devastation and Reform.
Motion City Soundtrack - "Even if it Kills Me": Hmmm, let's see... Relient K but less positive? Matchbook Romance with better vocals? :) And with songs maybe not quite as catchy. Pretty good, though, for these MPLS natives. It wouldn't hurt for them to move the language from R to PG-13, though; they could still get their point across. Despite that, I liked This is for Real, It Had to be You, Last Night, Calling All Cops, Point of Extinction, Antonia. But still, only one thumb up.
Straylight Run - self-titled CD, and "The Needles The Space": Kinda nice. :) A little emo, but maybe with more variety and depth than that. Mostly laid-back stuff, with the occasional hard-driving rock song. The bulk of the songs are very accessible and either acoustic guitar- or piano-driven. The vocals are shared male and female, and it's a nice change from some of the mono-gender bands of this variety.
iTunes says they toured with Motion City Soundtrack and Taking Back Sunday, and I can see that they offered to the gigs a softer side. Very pleasant to listen to, but still a young sound. Favorites (from TNTS, the more uneven of the two CDs): The Words We Say, How Do I FIx My Head, Cover Your Eyes, This is the End, The First of the Century. From their first self-titled CD (the better of the two, I think): The Perfect Ending, The Tension and the Terror, Another Word For Desperate, Existentialism on Prom Night, Tool Sheds and Hot Tubs, Now It's Done, Sympathy for the Martyr.
So.. On Wisconsin! :) (with apologies to you badger-haters out there.)
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