Your favorite band sucks! – My favorite Onionism. Record reviews!!!
4 Records + 1 listen all the way through+ 1 initial reaction= #1 cool music blog in the whole world!
1 vacation day on a sunny island – Not really worth the effort.
2 vacation days on a sunny island – Ok, but what else you got?
3 vacation days on a sunny island – This is more like it. But you know I still want more.
4 vacation days on a sunny island – Party time!
5 vacation days on a sunny island – YES! Instant classic!
Bobby Long “A Winter Tale” 3 vacation days on a sunny island. A good listen but it won’t be your favorite.
This guy is classic rock without the waiting to become a classic. His voice sounds like a combination of Cat Stevens and the lead singer of 3 Doors Down. Considering I really don't like either of those two singers I’m a little surprised that I like this record. There is plenty of acoustic guitar and not many clichés at all. Just some good Americana style rock which is another surprise since Bobby is British. Highlights: “In the Frost” and “Two Years Old”.
David Lowery “The Palace Guards” 4.5 vacation days on a sunny island. Almost perfect and so relaxing.
I’ve been a Cracker fan since the beginning of the band. This is the first solo album from the singer of the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven. I was surprised to hear of it today on Paste.com for the first time and then see it streaming on Spinner too! Score! In the interview with Paste David states that the songs on “The Palace Guards” didn’t seem to fit with either Camper or Cracker. He also says that he had a feeling of freedom with the recording of a solo album. Freedom is a great way to describe the feeling of listening to this record. It’s fun and playful. I’m always amazed at what he can do with the same four chords, some witty lyrics, and a melody. This is David Lowery at his best which he should be really. He’s been doing this for years and this is the first album he is putting his name on the cover so…yeah. It’s really good and you will want to buy it after you illegally download it just to show how much you love it. Highlights: “The Palace Guards”, “All Those Girls Meant Nothing to Me”, and “Big Life”.
Hotel of the Laughing Tree “Terror and Everything After” 1.5 vacation days on a sunny island. False.
Something about his just doesn’t seem right to me. Everything just seems kind of fake with this band. Kind of like they know what it takes to become a “successful indie band” and they are just filling in the blanks of the formula. Now I might be way off on this…there might be those out there that really like this band but to me they seem like a combination of Plain White Tees and Radiohead which for me is not a good pairing. There are a lot of different styles showing up as well as different instruments and sounds but nothing is really grabbing me. Not enough hooks maybe? I’m not sure but something is just not ringing true to me. Good luck to Hotel of the Laughing Tree but for now you are not on my radar. Highlights: None.
The Civil Wars “Barton Hollow” 1 vacation day on a sunny island. Beautiful voices. Hollow record.
The Civil Wars is an acoustic husband/wife duo based out of Nashville. Their voices blend together like they were born to be one. Beautiful textures all throughout the record. (Here’s the but!) But there is nothing here. Nothing to take home. Nothing to hold on to. Nothing to (insert cliché here). This reminds me of the type of cd you would find in the “please take home” bin at your local NPR station. Hollow. However I hesitate to give this a zero rating because the voices are so nice together and because of this useful highlight: Buy if you have trouble sleeping. Do not operate heavy equipment under the influence of this record.
1 vacation day on a sunny island – Not really worth the effort.
2 vacation days on a sunny island – Ok, but what else you got?
3 vacation days on a sunny island – This is more like it. But you know I still want more.
4 vacation days on a sunny island – Party time!
5 vacation days on a sunny island – YES! Instant classic!
Bobby Long “A Winter Tale” 3 vacation days on a sunny island. A good listen but it won’t be your favorite.
This guy is classic rock without the waiting to become a classic. His voice sounds like a combination of Cat Stevens and the lead singer of 3 Doors Down. Considering I really don't like either of those two singers I’m a little surprised that I like this record. There is plenty of acoustic guitar and not many clichés at all. Just some good Americana style rock which is another surprise since Bobby is British. Highlights: “In the Frost” and “Two Years Old”.
David Lowery “The Palace Guards” 4.5 vacation days on a sunny island. Almost perfect and so relaxing.
I’ve been a Cracker fan since the beginning of the band. This is the first solo album from the singer of the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven. I was surprised to hear of it today on Paste.com for the first time and then see it streaming on Spinner too! Score! In the interview with Paste David states that the songs on “The Palace Guards” didn’t seem to fit with either Camper or Cracker. He also says that he had a feeling of freedom with the recording of a solo album. Freedom is a great way to describe the feeling of listening to this record. It’s fun and playful. I’m always amazed at what he can do with the same four chords, some witty lyrics, and a melody. This is David Lowery at his best which he should be really. He’s been doing this for years and this is the first album he is putting his name on the cover so…yeah. It’s really good and you will want to buy it after you illegally download it just to show how much you love it. Highlights: “The Palace Guards”, “All Those Girls Meant Nothing to Me”, and “Big Life”.
Hotel of the Laughing Tree “Terror and Everything After” 1.5 vacation days on a sunny island. False.
The Civil Wars “Barton Hollow” 1 vacation day on a sunny island. Beautiful voices. Hollow record.
The Civil Wars is an acoustic husband/wife duo based out of Nashville. Their voices blend together like they were born to be one. Beautiful textures all throughout the record. (Here’s the but!) But there is nothing here. Nothing to take home. Nothing to hold on to. Nothing to (insert cliché here). This reminds me of the type of cd you would find in the “please take home” bin at your local NPR station. Hollow. However I hesitate to give this a zero rating because the voices are so nice together and because of this useful highlight: Buy if you have trouble sleeping. Do not operate heavy equipment under the influence of this record.
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