alternative rock

Better Be Starting Something (Our Lady Peace, Somethingness review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Fifteen years ago, I had an opportunity to see Our Lady Peace live at a festival and while I took it upon myself to watch them, I never really appreciated it. They were alternative rockers in an open sea of rock and roll, and their music was good, but not great, in my limited opinion.

mp3s hadn’t completely overtaken the musical landscape just yet, but it was becoming more common for smaller musicians to get attention, and more and more Canadian musicians were cropping up. 

Now, after twenty-six years of activity, are they still relevant?

 

Our Lady Peace – Somethingness

released February 23, 2018
****** 6/10

Our Lady Peace, sometimes known as OLP, are a Canadian rock group that have their roots firmly planted in Toronto. Headed by founding member Raine Maida (vocals, guitar), and longstanding members Steve Mazur (guitar) and Duncan Coutts (vocals, bass), Somethingness is their ninth studio album, and the first since the departure of twenty year drummer Jeremy Taggart, and new comer Jason Pierce.

As I mentioned previously, I’ve seen this group live before, but I have not been much of a fan in their lifetime. This might have stemmed from defiance on my part, refusing to vote with my money simply because a rock group was Canadian, but as I look back on their catalogue, it occurs to me, that these guys really have contributed to the current rock landscape. Maybe not as influencers, necessarily, but by association with with major acts – Foo Fighters, Goo Goo Dolls, Stone Temple Pilots, and Big Wreck all come to mind.

It’s not a particularly innovative album, but as Maida states on opening track Head Down, “I’ll find my place in the sun,” which a mid-tempo song, and a good indicator of the pace to expect for the majority of the record.

Embracing their skill with guitars and penchant for coded lyrics, songs like Ball Of A Poet and Hiding Place for Hearts demonstrate that sound well, and are welcome additions to the album. What I found most surprising of all was how great of a job Drop Me In The Water does of demonstrating the groups strengths, and showing a new generation why their sound was beloved in the 1990s and as a great alternative to the dance-rock and indie folk of the day. Nice To Meet You‘s lyrics are uplifting and topical.

When we get to the last two songs, Let Me Live Again and Last Train, it takes a bit of effort to become reinvested, but Last Train is the most experimental of any of the songs on the record, and a strong point to end on.

 

Pros: As stated already, singles Nice To Meet You and Drop Me in the Water are excellent, as they raise the emotional bar enough to resonate with a broader audience, and they are technically sound too. But best of all is

Cons: Towards the back half of the record, we listen to some even more subdued tracks – Missing Pieces and Falling into Place. These songs feel at odds with the emotional tone set up in the first half of the record.

Runtime: 33 minutes

Points of Interest: OLP initially decided to split the album up into two volumes, releasing the first EP back in August 2017, but after some consideration a full-length album dropped February 23, 2018 which is the subject of this review.

I wish Last Train would have been an opening track, and influenced more of the record. To be considered as a final thought, is frustrating, to be perfectly honest. I would’ve probably written this album off with out it, Drop Me In The Water, and Nice To Meet You in the mix. I hope this is the start of something, rather then a middling effort at the end of a career.

theories Summarized

At the end of the day, I’m not sure I can fully endorse this album for the average music fan. It’s great if you already know about Our Lady Peace, but if you are looking to try them out, I would direct you to Naveed or one of the other first four albums in a heartbeat upon personal reflection.

That said, I do have a Canadian album that I can easily and happily support. The sophomore effort from k-os, an artist who should be considered a national treasure at this point. And if you don’t believe me, I brought Brendon along to show you the finer points of the record.

What a gem he is. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if I’m referring to my co-host or the artist in question! For now, I’ll listen to The Love Song on repeat. 

And remember, if you liked what you saw, and/or enjoyed what you read, please click on the like button, and even better, subscribe to the channel and my mailing list! I’ll be back tomorrow with a film review on Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. A film which deserved more then it got at the Academy Awards. I have a few theories on what happened…

Tim!

A Mild Case Of Flashback (54.40, Keep On Walking review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Every time I look at you, I go blind. In the mornin’ I get up, and I try to
Feel alive, but I can’t.

Maybe it’s because I’m lovesick, and maybe it’s that you’re so intense. Most likely it’s because you are making music inspired by the 1990s in the 2010s and no one seems to have noticed.

 

 

54.40 – Keep On Walking

released February 2, 2018
****** 6/10

54-40 are a Canadian alternative rock group from British Columbia (BC) that have been playing together for over thirty five years. Their name is taken from the slogan 54-40 or fight! which was originally spoken during the Oregon boundary dispute between the US and Canada in the early nineteenth century.

The group was established back in 1981 and was a three piece for their first couple of years, and has been a four man band ever since that time, seeing a few lineup changes in their drummer over the years and second guitarist Phil Comparelli was replaced by Dave Genn in 2005. But Neil Osborne (vocals, guitar) and Brad Merrit (bass) are founding members who have stuck it out.

I’ll admit that I haven’t listened to a lot of their music over the years, but I am familiar with their more popular singles Ocean Pearl and I Go Blind.

Keep on Walking is their fourteenth studio album, and was prefaced by the band touring with the single of the same name for about a year. They sprinkled in other tracks as they toured, but I have to wonder if that process is a good measuring stick. A lot of the time, older bands will play night after night, maintaining a crowd of fans, but failing to realize the reason those fans are there in the first place – to hear the songs that charted and established the groups reputation.

I’ve seen Trooper live at least three times in my life, and every time I saw them, they would “share” a new song they had been working on, except that it had been new for over three years at that point.

Pros: I liked that Sublime Like Me, Hold My Kiss, and She Calls Us One are exploring a broader range of musical sounds, but each track is distinct in instrumental choices and nuanced with arrangements.

Cons: Despite all of the growth we witness at key points, as the album reaches it’s final two tracks (Sometimes It’s Not OK, Life Goes On) there is a regression, and in a few short minutes, it’s back to the safety net.

Runtime: 38 minutes

Points of Interest: The band will be touring throughout 2018 and into 2019 to promote Keep On Walking and their 2016 greatest hits album LA Difference. It’s been seven years since their last studio album, Lost in the City.

When it’s all said an done, Keep On Walking was enjoyable at times and definitely makes me nostalgic for a different time in my life, when things seemed simpler and music was more clearly defined. The problem of course, is that it’s not 1995, it’s 2018, and musical tastes should reflect the era, not the other way around.

theories Summarized

The challenge with making music (or any art form) for several decades is that you will invariably be asked to make what you know, and some artists rise to the occasion, while others continue to evolve over time. There isn’t necessarily a right path to take, but in the case of 54.40 I don’t think that their musical sound is appealing enough to justify playing a distinctive kind of music at this stage in their career. This album seems to be best suited for diehard fans, and lovers of 90’s alternative rock music – and that’s my theory.

That said, I have a great piece of 1990s alternative rock that you absolutely should listen to. Rage Against the Machine’s Battle of Los Angeles is a timeless rap rock record that deserves a listen if you haven’t heard it before. And if you have, I think it might be time to dust off your CD player and give it a whirl, it’s guerilla radio at it’s finest.

Thanks for taking the time to read the review, watch the video and hopefully you’ve left a comment or two. If you liked what you saw, click on the like button, and even better, subscribe to the channel! Come back tomorrow for a film review from Richard Linklater.

Tim!

Fly Like An Eagle (Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Who Built the Moon review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

If you love something, you should let it go, and if it returns it was meant to be.

A fitting line for this new album by the infamous Noel Gallagher, and his High Flying Birds, and consequently my return to the high-paced world of popular culture and social media. What have I been up to, you ask?Well dear readers, it wouldn’t be right to derail this album review with tales of my personal life, thusly we’ll just have to save that for a later post this week, perhaps something in the realm of a Timely Thursday?

 

 

 

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Who Built the Moon?

released November 24, 2017
******* 7/10

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (NGHFB) are an English alt rock band comprised of… surprise, surprise, Noel Gallagher, and… a bunch of other people. It’s actually kind of confusing to list off the members of NGHFB. After reading the liner notes of this album and then looking into the history of the group, it seems the dominant figures of the recording sessions were Noel Gallagher on vocals and guitar, Jason Falkner on bass, Jeremy Stacey on drums, and Keefus Cianda on keyboards.

But it turns out that NGHFB is mostly about Noel Gallagher and a response to the breakup of legendary britpop supergroup Oasis. So while Who Built The Moon is the fourth studio album for Noel and his birds, if we are being perfectly honest with ourselves, then it’s mostly a Noel show, featuring guests.

Like Jesus!

And Santa! 

Just kidding folks. But that Christmas pun was so perfectly placed, I couldn’t help myself.

Much like the timing of this album release and brother Liam’s As You Were – I can’t believe it was just over a month ago. Though it remains to be seen which record is better (Liam has gone to number one on the UK charts), I’m putting my money on Noel, as he has taken his sound further and built off of the success of Oasis post- (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? Who Built The Moon is a test to see if we can remember how great the 90s were for pop music, and remarkably it gets a passing grade.

Fort Knox, Holy Mountain and Black & White Sunshine all call back to rock bands of history like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Of course, Noel has always been quite capable of channeling these voices, and while the group Metric once asked the eternal question of who was cooler, Noel has proven, it’s your decision on who you want to be.

This biting cynicism shows up in various places, Be Careful What You Wish For comes to mind, but we also get postive vibes on Keep On Reaching and The Man Who Built the Moon, the eponymous answer to the album’s question. Spoiler alert, it’s not what you think!

Pros: I cannot get over how much It’s A Beautiful World reminds me of a fleeting moment, albeit an anger-fueled one. And Dead in the Water will make an auditorium of 30-something males cry.

Cons: There are moments when it all feels like a spin cycle of rhyme; She Taught Me How To Fly embraces this wholeheartedly. And while some reviewers can’t seem to get enough of the instrumental tracks about Wednesday, I found them to be mostly fill.

Runtime: 48 minutes

Points of Interest: I found it really interesting that the standout track of the album, the acoustic number Dead in the Water, was a bonus track. A seeming after thought, but the intimacy of it and raw power is a delight to hear after the experimentations of earlier songs. The album really showcases how far this Gallagher has come from the good ol’ days of Oasis and Blur battles, and the heartbreaking never-ending story of Gallagher VS Gallagher. And bonus points to Noel for recruiting David Holmes as a producer on this record.

If the 90s are finally making a comeback, it only makes sense that britpop gets a taste of the limelight, and so we shall fly on the wings of these eagles. Hopefully no one gets burnt when we coast past the sun.

theories Summarized

We probably won’t see an Oasis reunion in the near future, but it is nice to see that both Gallagher brothers are churning out thoughtful albums, I only wonder if it’s all been a blur and we’ve already gotten the best we can from chaps like Noel. One of many theories.

Tim!

Holy Cross, Adam West (The Ongoing History of New Music)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

I live by a set of immalleable valuables

– Adam West, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

When you decide once and for all that you’re gonna be what you want to, and not let anybody stop you, the next step is pretty simple: have a little understanding, dig in and fully commit to it.

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Take for instance, the 1960s Batman live action television series, which is incredibly campy, has some pretty silly moralistic themes, and an ever present sense of humour. Over the course of three seasons and one film, Adam West and Burt Ward managed to seep their way into the lives of countless North Americans. They owned their terminology with the constant string of “holy …, Batman,” referring to every piece of tech as “bat (insert equipment name),” placing graphics over sound effects during fist fights, and the never-ending flirtations between Batman and Catwoman. There were other constistent tropes of the series, but Batman never broke ranks.

Except for last year, when DC finally decided to revisit those characters and create an animated film voiced by Adam West and Burt Ward. In the film, we see many of the characters playing off of the tropes which made the show ever-so popular and memorable.

Playing off what we loved about that TV show was a smart move on the part of DC, and as I finish off this introduction, I’ll tell you why. We know the stories are tongue-in-cheek, but that doesn’t stop them from being entertaining and expected. As audiences have evolved and humour has changed over the decades, it was necessary for DC to acknowledge that in their story, breaking some walls along the way but never knocking the foundation.

Syndicated For Your Listening Pleasure

And Adam West has owned his persona ever since – by always willing to demonstrate this campy quality which has made him much beloved.

Which brings me to another hero for the ages.

Someone who had humble beginnings as a radio disc jockey, but a personality much greater than the sum of his core job responsibilities. One of my personal heroes and someone who I can only hope to emulate in my much broader tastes of all art forms, fellow Canadian and downright cool guy, Alan Cross.

Alan Cross is the originator of The Ongoing History of New Music (TOHONM), Canada’s longest running radio show documentary.

The purpose of the show is to explore the alternative rock world, which is a vast thing, believe me. Cross profiles artists, explores genre changes, looks at themes of culture and politics, and always always provides a well researched show.

Over the course of it’s hundreds of shows some of my favourites have been about the definition of indie rock, the evolution of punk, and the history of Red Hot Chili Peppers, a band I never cared much for, at least until Alan Cross taught me different.

It all started with Cross hosting an afternoon show on CFNY-FM, better known as 102.1 the Edge, then a morning show, and eventually moving back to an afternoon show in 1993. This is when he took on the additional project of TOHONM. As his career evolved, Cross took on different roles and moved around, but he never quit the show, not until he officially left Corus Entertainment in 2011, TOHONM was cancelled as Corus owned the show.

A Different Tune

After that happened, Cross started another program called The Secret History of Rock, which was produced by Astral Media. It lasted for about 100 episodes and was pretty cool. Then in 2014 Cross decided to go back to Corus and TOHONM was revived once more. Unfortunately neither TOHONM nor The Secret History of Rock are widely available for download, the first because of music licensing issues and the second because Cross is looking for global syndication.

But that shouldn’t matter, because you can listen to recent episodes of TOHONM on the Edge’s website and Cross has a series of audio books on The History of Alternative Rock, which are pretty cool.

This guy seriously knows a ton about music. I’m recommending him to you because if you know nothing about music, he’s a fountain of knowledge, and if you know tons about music, I can assure you that you know nothing compared to Alan Cross.

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Just saying.

theories Summarized

Will listening to Alan Cross change your musical life? Maybe.

But I will commit this to you, if you listen to him, and I mean really listen to what he says, you’ll realize that he is a lot like Batman. A geek at heart, with an immalleable set of values when it comes to work ethic, and keen sense for information. Plus he’s pretty funny too. I think he could teach you a thing or two about the arts, for sure – and I’ll commit that theory to vinyl.

Tim!

It’s A Safety Net (Train, A Girl A Bottle A Boat review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

 

I wish I could catch a train out of town to get away from this review, but I already bought the ticket, and it’s non-transferable. I might as well enjoy the ride as best I can, right dear readers?

 

 

 

Train – A Girl, A Bottle, A Boat
released January 27, 2017
***** 5/10

train-a-girl-a-bottle-a-boat-2016-2480x2480

 

Train are an American rock band which formed in 1993 and continues to dabbles in roots rock, pop rock, and alternative music on occasion. They are what I would describe as “feel good” rock and roll OR if we’re relying on the opinions of those much older and wiser than I, easy listening. As the mothers and fathers that birthed my generation like to call it. Now before I say anything else, you’d be hard pressed not to at least enjoy their music on occasion.

They are hugely influenced by acts like Led Zeppelin and Journey, I mean they DID produce a cover album of Led Zeppelin II a while back, in fact. I mention this because Led Zeppelin are what many would call a GOOD band, while Journey are classified as a FUN band.

Lovers of catchy hooks, finely polished production and non-stop energy, Train is more than capable of getting a crowd of people grooving and moving to their music. I know this because I saw them perform the majority of Save Me, San Francisco back in 2010 when they were touring that sixth studio length album.

But that was quite a while ago – and now we’re looking at A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat.  Which happens to be the tenth album these chaps have put out.

Let’s get to it then.

Drink Up is the album opener and definitely a feel good anthem to spin at the bar or when out on a Friday night. The word catchy comes to mind yet again. Play That Song is track no. 2 and I can see how it would likely be considered as a single of the album, but it’s pretty boring to listen to – not one of the highlights in my opinion. The News is waaaaay more interesting and fun to listen to, and the auto-tune doesn’t feel out of place at all for this mix of sounds. Kinda reminds me of Maroon 5, if Maroon 5 needed to sub-in another band for a concert they were putting on.

Then we get to Lottery, which is yet another miss. Trying to marry two kinds of sounds together to no effect. It almost feels like we’re watching a sequence of Star Trek movies back to back, if they were songs.

Guess how Working Girl holds up? Pretty well. Surprise, surprise right? Inspired by more 1980s bands then I can count, they are taking some notes from Canadian act Arkells and doing well for it. This is should be the lead single, no questions. Followed by Silver Dollar, which is also sonically pleasing, and then doo wop stinker Valentine, Train is incredibly inconsistent on this record, instead choosing to play towards safety nets of sounds and comfortable themes.

What Good Is Saturday is an exercise in self gratification and Loverman is even worse.

Lost and Found should be the song I hate, but it’s an obvious self-reflective nostalgia trip and so it’s way less irritating to listen to, the horns also help. Which leads us to the album closer – You Better Believe. You better believe that I was getting sick of this album when this song rolled around, and then they took it down a notch. Why didn’t they do this in other places too? It would have made the album an enriched experience and showed some range on the part of lead singer Patrick Monahan. What a head scratcher.

I can’t even really be mad at them, because they’ve been struggling to find relevance for almost a decade.

 

 

 

Train is a band that hasn’t been all that interesting since Drops of Jupiter back in 2001, save a bit of a comeback with Save Me, San Francisco in 2009. Which says to me that they are due for a good album next year. Unfortunately this album wasn’t it. It might be a harsher review from me dear readers, but I know that this band has the capacity for good work. I just hope they don’t phone it in next time. Check back in tomorrow for a film review that is just fine.

Tim!