First Up: Devo "Something For Everybody":
Well, Devo Is Back Huh? Awesome... You May Not Know This But, I Am A Huge Devo Fan. Even After "Dev 2.0" And Some Of Thier Other Disasterous Outings I Remain A Loyal Listener And Devotee, However: The Anticipation I Felt For Their New Album Was Dwarfed By The Fear And Anxiety I Felt That This Would Be A Dying Gasp, A Death Rattle For The Aging Punk Pioneers. After Seeing Them Perform "Freedom Of Choice" From Front To Back In San Francisco Last Year And Ruin 1/3 Of The Experience By Not Being The Tight Robots I Have Come To Expect From Watching Devo Live Videos In The Past, I Feared That My Love Of Devo Was Unreasonable And Waning. However Upon Several Listenings To Their New Release "Something For Everybody" And A Performance Of The Second Single "Fresh" On The Colbert Report My Fears Proved To Be Unjust. Devo Is Just As Capable Today Of Making A Good Album As They Were 30 Years Ago... While The Subject Matter Is A Little Tame For A Devo Album (I Think Attempting To Truly Provide Something For Everybody.) And There Are A Few Songs That, Were I On The Focus Group Panel They Used To Create This Album, I Would Have Rejected I Am Impressed By Any 30 Year Old Act That Creates A New Album With New Material And Manages To Keep It Fresh! While Maintaining The Devo Sound We Have All Come To Adore, Devo Experiments With New Less Robotic Synth Sounds And Even Brings Out The Talkbox (Autotune)! The Standout Tracks On The Album Include: Track#6 "Human Rocket" A Catchy Rock Tune With A Rippin' Bobby Mothersbaugh Guitar Solo That Even References "Duty Now" (So Exciting!!!) Track#3 "Please Baby Please" A Doo Woppy Track With Some Of The Most Interesting Synth Generated Melodies Ive Heard On A Recent Release. Track#11 "No Place Like Home" Which Starts With A Fucking Piano, So Very Un Devo You Could Call It Evo? And Down Tempo Verses That Make You Almost Want To Cry. I Even Love Their New Colors And Outfits!!! The Blue Is Very Becoming Of An Energy Dome, And The Album Cover Is A Gorgeous Woman Taking An Energy Dome Like A Valium!!! I Am Thoroughly Impressed By Devo's Leap Back Onto The Scene, And I Hope This Is Merely The Start Of The Revitilization Of Their Well Deserved Career! Thumbs Up!!!!!
Next Up:Deftones "Diamond Eyes":
Once Again, Another Band Trying To Make A Comeback, And The Verdict Is Out... Once Upon A Time I Used To Think The Sacramento California Hard Rock Band Deftones Was The Top Of The Pops. "Adrenaline" Is Still To This Day One Of My Favorite Rock Albums And Anything Up To "White Pony" I Was Ravenous For. But Something Happened With Me And Rock Music That I Just Cant Explain. My Passion For Deftones Fell By The Wayside Like Every Other Rock Band (Except For Tool And Melvins) That I Adored In High School. I Just Couldnt Keep Up... Deftones Subsequently Released Two Albums That I Ignored Completely, And I Was About To Ignore "Diamond Eyes" Just As I Had "Saturday Night Wrist" And "Deftones". But Then I Discovered Albums Could Be Magically Delivered To Your Ipod Via The Pirate Bay And Since This Discovery A "Torrential" Downpour Of Music Has Flooded My Desktop!!! So I Gave "Diamond Eyes" A Chance. And It Is Not As Much Of A Dissapointment As I Was Expecting. (I Know, Rave Reviews) I Genuinely Like It, Almost As Much As White Pony (Thats A Hell Of A Recommendation Folks). My Favorite Tracks (Although 9 Of The 11 Are Incredibly Good) Are As Follows: Track#4 "You've Seen The Butcher" Which Has A Very Interesting Compound Meter Metal Melody, And A Hulking Swinging Rythm To It That Is Very Un-Deftones. Although I Cant Understand Word 1 that Chino Moreno Is Singing, The Vocal Melodies Are Very Haunting In A Traditional Deftones Fashion. The Guitar Tone Is Gritty And Has A Blues Feel That Is An Interesting Addition To Their Dynamic. Track#7 "Rocket Skates" Is Probably My Favorite Song(And Has An Awesome Re-mix In The Version I "Purchased") Its Tempo Changes Show That While They Are Trying To Remain What Made Them Deftones In The First Place, They Are Maturing As Any Good Band (Metal or Not) Should. And This Is The Only Song Where Chino Eludes To What His Voice Was Once Capable Of. While Not The Screaming We Have Come To Expect From "Around The Fur" Or "Adrenaline" He Sure Does Screech Out Some High Notes, And He Has The Courtesy To Add In A "WHOOO" At The End Of Every Chorus. Just Awesome!!! Track# 9 "Risk" Is A Lil' More Down Tempo, But Not Quite Ballad. These Are Some Of The Only Words I Can Understand On the Album " I WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE, ILL DIE FOR YOU" Not Because He Is Screaming So Much, But Because His Beautiful Vocals Are Mixed So Completely Into The Music (A LA TOOL & MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN)But Because Its Downtempo And Beautiful Doesnt Mean "Risk" Doesnt Have A Metal Edge. The Drum Beat Is Menacing At Times, And Restrained At Others... It Doesnt Stop There, I Feel Like A Dick Giving Out All Of These Thumbs Up, But Jesus Both Of These Albums Scream "Comeback" To Me. And I Love The Cover Of This One Too! A White Owl Mid Flight With A Black Background With White Outline Block Letters. (Did They Have A Focus Group Too?) "Diamond Eyes" Really Has Caused Me To Rethink My Ignorance Of Deftones Last Two Albums. So I "Purchased" Their Entire Catalogue! IM Going To Give All Of Their Music A Relistening, And Im Not Ashamed To Admit That Deftones Have Reclaimed Their Place As One Of My Favorite Rock Bands. "Diamond Eyes" Gets Another THUMBS UP!!!!!!!! (I Dont Know If Ill Ever Give An Album A Thumbs Down, Oh Wait, Im Gonna Review Ke$ha's "Animal" Next Week, Get Prepared For A Thumbs Down Bitch.) Thanks For Listening And For Reading!!!!
Love, Tone:E (T1) 6/29/2010
No comments:
Post a Comment