Moving

Hi folks,

I will be moving to a different site. No reason in particular.

The new site is here. Please update your bookmarks to http://roadtripradio.wordpress.com.

Regards,
Hoople

Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record

Artist: Broken Social Scene
Album: Forgiveness Rock Record
Label: Arts & Crafts
Genre: Indie Rock
Released: May 2010
Rating: 3 of 5


It has been a long five-year wait for many Broken Social Scene fans but the day has finally arrived. They have returned in good form.

If there was one thing I remember about seeing Broken Social Scene live it was how ridiculous the whole thing looked to have 7 or so guitars up on stage all playing at the same time. I understand having a large band but why would you have so many of the same instrument. Now that I got that off my chest, I must say that in the studio the layering that takes place is rather majestic. They also do a great job of bringing in all sorts of textures without making it confusing or chaotic. A quick listen to "Ungrateful Little Father" reveals a little drum beat supporting guitar, toy piano and an almost citar-like riff.

If I had to draw some comparisons I would have to group a few songs up. I found the there was a little bit of a Paul Simon does Graceland feeling in songs like "World Sick" and "Highway Slipper Jam". Some other songs, such as "Texico Bitches", reminded me somewhat of Wilco. Don't get me wrong though, Broken Social Scene have shown themselves to have a unique sound.

Fans of the band will surely be pleased and the ranks might even increase with this album. Don't be fooled by the very few examples because there are many other surprises.

The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever

Artist: The Hold Steady
Album: Heaven Is Whenever
Label: Vagrant
Genre: Indie Rock
Released: May 2010
Rating: 2.5 of 5


The Hold Steady return with another straight forward rock album. They have shown a few improvements over the last album that I would like to go over.

The monotonous vocals were my nemesis before. Although not much has changed in the lead vocals, they have tried a bit of fancy studio work to lessen the damage. I found that there were some nice background vocals in many spots that drowned out the lead at points. They also turned up the level on many of the instruments (mostly the guitars). Some songs had brass and keyboards and "Barely Breathing" was particularly good on that front.

There were a few tracks with particularly nice guitars. The opening song, "The Sweet Part of the City", had some really nice deep south guitars, complete with slide. I also found that a few songs had a nice Matt Mays feel to them such as "The Smidge". I suppose a better comparison would be the Stone's "Honky Tonk Woman", well almost.

Despite some good steps forward for the Hold Steady, I still had a hard time feeling engaged. Their music just doesn't have that punk edge that I truly enjoy in rock music.

The Futureheads - The Chaos

Artist: The Futureheads
Album: The Chaos
Label: Nul Records
Genre: Post-Punk Revival
Released: April 2010
Rating: 4 of 5


The Futureheads have shown themselves to be a highly consistent group. They've put out a number of good albums and this one is no different.

So what can you expect out of this album? As per usual, they bring some quick drum beats, pumping bass lines and muted guitars backing up some great vocal harmonies. The Chaos is another step forward in defining a sound all their own. I use to love comparing The Cars to this group but I must say that this album has evolved more than any others. "The Chaos" and "This is the Life" are good punk tunes that are very reminiscent of their past.

Something quite different has happened in this album though. It sounds to me like they've started to play with the guitar tones more than before. "The Connector" had some octave effects on the guitar that brought back some different 80s sounds. "I Can Do That" has a guitar solo which brings out some longer notes. They even used some different effects on the vocal tracks. "Sun Goes Down" had an almost spooky feel to it and finished with a cacophony of phased voices. "The Baron" had a cute little guitar riff between the verses and chorus and some almost Queen sounding background vocals throughout.

The Futureheads have managed to take yet another step forward in their musical careers with this one. I was quite pleased with the album.

Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (2010)

Artist: Crystal Castles
Album: Crystal Castles (2010)
Label: Fiction
Genre: Electronic
Released: April 2010
Rating: 3.5 of 5


Crystal Castles return with their second self-titled album. There were both some improvements and new styles in this album.

The biggest issue I had with the last album was the high gain, high volume tunes. This hasn't gone away but it is not nearly as prevalent; "Doe Deer" is the most obvious of these tunes and about the only one that features the style exclusively. There are also more of those great jittery synth melodies that gave them so much power in the first album; "Baptism" is a great example.

A major theme of the album was brand new from the last. They seem to have done some great space exploring ethereal music. "Celestica" not only takes it name from this style but also provides the listener with a wonderful example. This is not the only vision-trip with the outro to "Year of Silence" and "Pap Smear" bringing the listener back.

Altough some of the better parts of the last album are lacking, I must say the album is a good cover-cover adventure.