Colour Coded Album Reviews

BLUE
NOWHERE RIDE

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Nowhere constantly makes it into any Top Shoegaze Albums list, and with good reason. In what is arguably a very limited genre wherein banRAB have no choice but to copy each other, Nowhere​
 
Is it really all that inaccessible for prog? I've cooled on it a little and definitely agree that it's too long, but I feel that even if the instrumentation is quite eclectic, most of the melodies are quite catchy in their own way.
 
the day an eight year old asks me to give him/her music advice is the day i can die happy

also, i agree with the innocence of the album. the production does it all. it's such a shy sounding album, but underneath there's so much attitude.

also, i've updated the list of upcoming albums for YEllOW, GREEN and BLUE. there are some real gems there.
 
I tend to switch off listening to the other stuff, even though it's not bad at all, but i find there's a lot more hooks in the first two albums and the music really suits Bryne's jerky sort of style.
 
It's a nice track.

My favourite is I'm So Green. It seems so out of place in the album because it's so much poppier than all the other tracks.
 
VIOLET
YOU’RE A WOMAN, I’M A MACHINE DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979

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What we have here is a balls-out party album; if you have any illusions of it being anything else, you already don’t get the point. This duo plays heavy party punk music loud, and then louder, and only with a bass guitar and drums.

Comparisons to The White Stripes are inevitable, so let’s get this out of the way right away: The White Stripe’s single “Blue Orchid” does sound a bit like DFA’s “Romantic Rights,” and they do play radio friendly, densely stacked, arena sized music despite their relative lack of band members. They can better be compared with No Age in terms of influence, DIY approach and crunchy, powerful sound. Except, No Age’s sound is smothering, whereas DFA’s is rhythmic. The point is that there are comparisons, but DFA is always something else.

As a party album, it definitely does not fail. From “Turn it Out” all the way to “Sexy Results,” you’ll probably be jumping around, certainly be banging your head, and possibly winded by the thick, no bull****, Thrash-sounding bass guitar. There are slightly more subdued moments in the album, namely the end segment of “Blood on our HanRAB” and the relatively slower “Black History Month,” but being smack in the middle, these moments work great as breaks between the first half and latter half of the album.

“Serious listens” will depend entirely on how great an achievement you believe the bass guitar as Thrash guitar is, or if you need a dose of unfiltered musical power. In any case, if you can get your hanRAB on the album, do listen to it. This is the last album by DFA, as the duo have since split to create two completely different kinRAB of music.

ROMANTIC RIGHTS

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

7.8 ​
 
I loved the review of Emperor Tomato Ketchup! I realized I hadn't checked in here recently and wanted to see what you'd done lately, and happened to find your second to last review is not only one of my favorite albums, but also what I happen to be listening to right now. One of the great things about Stereolab is what you mentioned in your review; their most accessible album is easily their best. I have managed to find Abductions and Reconstructions, Dots and Loops, Fab Four Suture, and Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements, and none of these can compare with ETK. The diversity of this for an electronic album simply amazes me. Dots and Loops comes in at a close second, but does not have the same feeling of genre hopping that I get when I listen to ETK. And PMO, my personal opinion is that it does not have the same popularity as something like In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, which is, of course, widely regarded as a classic indie rock album, because the genre is just not quite as popular. I feel that they still did something very unique here.

I also liked your review of NMH. While I wouldn't give it a 10 personally, I understand what you're saying about it (and it is certainly up there in my favorites, I'm just very very strict with my ratings). The range of opinions on this album is insane (although here on mb, the concensus seems to be that it's one of the best. Keep up the good reviews! I'm really enjoying this!
 
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