Three-Sentence Review: At one moment I am associating sound and song to goth-rock/darkcore, at next moment I feel a Sonic Youth noise vibe (those guitars!), and then I am flushed with a PJ Harvey, Florence Welch and Patrick Wolf connection, as well. There is raw rock here, there is pop here, there is darkness, too, but for me the vocals, though strong, get lost in all the sound. On initial listen I find myself disconnecting from most of the songs due to sound over vocals; this may need multiple listens to take completely in (I do love the first track, though).
Initial Favorite Track(s): Suddenly and Sing To Me
Rating (1-5 Stars): 2
Suddenly
Sing To Me
Melophobia :: Cage The Elephant
Three-Sentence Review: Blues-infused, rollicking rock that I want to turn up loud and listen to repeatedly. This is one fo those albums that I both instantly love and instantly want to see performed live. Amazing “duet” with Alison Mosshart, everything she touches I seem to love.
Initial Favorite Track(s): Come a Little Closer, It’s Just Forever and Cigarette Daydreams
Rating (1-5 Stars): 4.5
Come a Little Closer
Three-Sentence Review: If you can, remove yourself from the hype, from the uproar, from the “twerking“, the “marketing”, the licking, the slut shaming (please!), the MTV VMA appearance, as well as from “Hannah Montana” and take a real listen to this album, I challenge you. This is a great pop album, which channels its albums namesake (“Bangerz” an often used UK slang term to describe dancable/dub-step/electronic music), as well as 80’s pop sensibilities (#GETITRIGHT sounds like Michael Jackson could have recorded it), and the modern hip hop/dance sounds that Pharrell seems to be putting his touch on, as of late. Really, honestly, this is a fun album.
Initial Favorite Track(s): Wrecking Ball, #GETITRIGHT and 4×4
Rating (1-5 Stars): 4
Wrecking Ball
#GETITRIGHT
4×4
The Speed of Things :: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Jr.
Three-Sentence Review: There is a certain sound of some indie pop bands/artists that always remind me of the TV series The OC, which boasted such indie pop bands/artists as Death Cab For Cutie, Rooney, Phantom Planet and Alexi Murdoch. The Speed of Things recalls that series’ soundtrack, on first listen. At times a little too dreamy to me, fading too much into the background, but at other times there’s something enjoyable there (maybe a grower of an album?)
Initial Favorite Track(s): Beautiful Dream and I Can’t Help It
Rating (1-5 Stars): 2
Three-Sentence Review: Wow, this album is hot, rocking, rollicking, ridiculously fantastic wow. By far my favorite listen of the week. Reminds me of what The Runaways would have sounded like if they’d been transported, and gone on tour with Hole and Alison Mosshart.
Initial Favorite Track(s): End of the World, Walk Of Shame and Six Feet Under (and really, the entire album)
Rating (1-5 Stars): 5
End of the World
Walk of Shame
Three-Sentence Review: This is an album that I want to drive around a big city at night listening to, as I am off to somewhere that will be both exciting and exhausting. This is music to move to, to take action to, to do something to. I have not loved their previous albums, I liked them, but never did love them – I may just end up loving this one.
Initial Favorite Track(s): Bitter Rivals and Sing Like a Wire
Rating (1-5 Stars): 4
Bitter Rivals
Sing Like a Wire (live)
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