Album August Music Reviews - Week 1 Recap
The first album featured for Album August is Glasvegas, Euphoric/// Heartbreak\\\ by Glasvegas. The second release from the Glaswegian quartet was extremely impressive and altogether avoids the "Sophomore Jinx" stereotype. In truth, I found myself enjoying this album even more than their first one in many ways. While their debut features their signature hit-song, "Geraldine", the Flood-produced Euphoric/// Heartbreak\\\ for me was a stronger recording and a fantastic album-length listening experience.
The second listen of Album August was recommended to me by a friend who's opinion of music I hold in great respect. The band was Cosmic Rough Riders (also hailing from Glasgow) and the album was Enjoy The Melodic Sunshine, their third album, released in 2000. My instant thoughts on Cosmic Rough Riders were how did I not know about this band, but man am I glad I do now! In fact, the album was so strong, I plan on doing a more in depth review of it at some point, but for the purposes of Album August, this was the tweet review of it: Sounds inspired by the 60's, but not mired in the mud of Woodstock. Essentially, the band wears their sonic inspirations proudly on their sleeves, but they deliver in a very original fashion.
Night three of Album August took a turn into Metal territory, more specifically "Battle Metal". Turisas are among the explosion of talented metal bands to emerge from Finland over the last decade. I first experienced Turisas when I saw them open for DragonForce a few years ago. I had no idea what I was in store for but by the end of their set, I was a believer in their sound. Their new album, Stand Up And Fight is a worthy addition to their "Battle Metal" oeuvre. Wearing leather and fur armor will enhance your listening experience. Among the stand out tracks on the album, including the above title cut, was a song easily classifiable as "Pirate Metal", but that is a topic for another day.
From Finnish heavy metal, we take another genre-turn into the world of steampunk. I recently saw Unextraordinary Gentlemen live, which my first exposure to them. Their sound was a bit different than some other steampunk acts I follow, sounding a little more like a Neo-Victorian take on Post-Punk. The great thing about Steampunk and Neo-Victorian music is most artists take on elaborate back-stories and personae to enhance their sound and Unextraordinary Gentlemen are no exception. This four-piece features vox, bass/keys, violin and a drum machine disguised as a Victrola, which you can see in the video I filmed of them above. "5 Tales From God-Only-Knows" by Unextraordinary Gentlemen is an utterly unique listen, ideal for the adventurous ear. And yes, while it is more of an EP than a full album, the care and craftsmanship that went into creating this disc qualifies it as much more than an extended play.
Day 5 of Album August was another recommendation, this time from a friend who happened across the album accidentally and shared it with me. And I am so glad he did! The ladies of Swedish trio Liechtenstein create some deliciously sweet indie pop on their album Survival Strategies In A Modern World. Among the stand out tracks on the album, the overall sound of "Roses In The Park" reminds me quite a bit of Japanese pop-punkers, Shonen Knife (who are also a trio of women musicians!).
The next Album August listen was one I'd never heard it in its entirety before last night. Considering it was released in 1988, I am so very glad to have finally experienced it. For whatever reason, I'd never been properly exposed to The Pogues, apart from annual listens to "Fairy Tale of New York", which is one of the only Christmas songs I can listen to outside the window of Black Friday to December 26th. The great thing about missing out on album as good as If I Should Fall From Grace With God by The Pogues, is a deeper appreciation of it now. It is a wonderful example of the magic one can find in music heretofore unheard. The expanse of two-plus decades passed from its release shows how incredible a group of 8 real musicians can sound when playing together.
Today's Album August is something I happened across completely by accident the other day. Released in October of last year, Metallic Spheres is a collaboration of The Orb and guitarist David Gilmour. Yes, THAT David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd. I was just as surprised when I saw the sticker on the album cover. This was an absolute no-brainer to hear. Comprising only two, very long tracks, Metallic Spheres is a 49 minute feast of ambient sound. The Orb puts down the electronics and the beat and Gilmour does what a guitarist of his world renowned caliber does best, while also adding in a dash of vocals. This is definitely not for everybody, but if you like The Orb, Pink Floyd, ambient music in general or have a desire for a very different and immensely enjoyable listen, then by all means check this one out. The above video features very short snippets from Metallic Spheres, and doesn't begin to scratch the surface of the expansive sound contained on this album.
This is the first installment of Album August recaps, and hopefully you are enjoying discovering some new sounds as much as I am. I received a ton of recommendations of artists to check out for this little project, (over two dozen of which were new to my ears!) when I first started tweeting about it on Monday. I am going to try and feature as many of those as possible over the rest of the month. You can follow along with the nightly Twitter review updates as well by following the hashtag #AlbumAugust.
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