Radiohead

Mister Sinister (alt-J, Relaxer review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

A short poem.

Lifeless he crept upon her,
Daytime was not his friend,

Melancholy was her only friend,
What if the taste lingered for a time,

It is eerie outside at this time,
Too many sounds, too many noises,
It’s all rather eccentric.

We all need to own our weirdness, and alt-J could go in a million different directions at any given time, and they’ve proven that on their previous two albums, but what do I think of their third release? Let’s find out!

 

alt-J – After Laughter

released Jun 2, 2017
****** 6/10

alt-J are an English indie rock group featuring the talents of vocalist and guitar player Joe Newman, Cameron Knight on lead guitar and bass, Gus Unger-Hamilton on keyboards and backing vocals, and Thom Sonny Green on drums. Formed a decade ago, back in 2007, alt-J have now released three studio-length albums, An Awesome Wave, This Is All Yours, and today’s special, Relaxer.

alt-J are the kind of music for Millenials like what pop punk and 90’s r&b were for Generation Y. The voice of a generation – oft confused by physical albums and the thought of saving for a rainy day, but still a voice. Wicked generalization timotheories. Dick.

The thing is, alt-J have been compared to Radiohead a lot, and that is such a tired comparison to make, especially given that while their albums don’t come out with as much regularity anymore, Radiohead are still relevant. This is interesting music, for sure, but it’s not as courageous as those first two albums that alt-J put out.

I could spend a lot of time dissecting this album and pointing out all the places to you where it sounds amazing (read: In Cold Blood, Dead Crush, and Last Year), like the band that created Breeze Blocks and Left Hand Free, but someway and somehow we’ve been treated to a snoozefest for the most part and so many people are singing it’s praising without any reservation. It doesn’t make much sense to me, with a spectacularly weird and awful track in Hit Me Like That Snare. What a flaming pile of garbage that song feels like every time I listen to it.

And as much as I hate that song. This is actually a good thing.

Because it means that alt-J aren’t settling into a pattern of record making. They are willing to explore, to try new things and take some risks when it comes to their sound. Building a unique identity is difficult after all, and all of the comparisons to greats like Arcade Fire, Bastille and Arctic Monkeys would start to get on my nerves too.

This isn’t your mom and dad’s album, and it’s not mine either. But damn it if it doesn’t have the makings of something wonderful for alt-J to grow into in their middle age. They are working on making the content more meaningful, where they already set the standard in pared down simplicity.

Pros: As far as audio engineering and labour goes, nobody has alt-J beat. These gentlemen are more than capable of making arrangements interesting, and using ambience to tell narratives.

Cons: When they add in nuanced lyrics or play with formats, they struggle. It doesn’t always sound good, and Hit Me Like That Snare feels completely out of place with the rest of this record. I wish the experimentation didn’t feature throughout the entire album.

Runtime: 39 minutes

Points of Interest: In case you didn’t already know this, the band’s symbol is the capital letter delta (∆), a triangle. This can be accessed on an Apple Mac computer with the shortcut of alt+J. The first single is 3WW, the second is In Cold Blood, which features lyrics that state 00110011 01110111 01110111, which in binary translates to 3WW.

Adding poetry to covers of songs like House of the Rising Sun is a little bit odd, and a bit too clever, but it’s that sinister sound behind that curtain that has us coming back for seconds. Or should I say 01110011 01100101 01100011 01101111 01101110 01100100 01110011?

theories Summarized

We need to give artists like alt-J the space and time to grow, because we got two really excellent debut and sophomore efforts from them. That doesn’t mean that this album automatically gets a pass, but it does have some high points, and some points you can relax to.

Tim!

A Return To Reform (Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

We all have a point in our life when we do terrible things, and everyone around us, including ourselves suffers, but I truly believe that out of tragedy greatness can be achieved… And that’s what this week’s music review is all about.

 

 

 

Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
released June 17, 2016
********* 9/10

xlda790-radiohead

This is the 9th studio album by Radiohead. Radiohead are an English experimental rock and electronica band that formed up in 1985, which as a personal anecdote, is the year I was born. Made up of Thom Yorke (mostly lead vocals), Jonny Greenwood (mostly lead guitarist), Ed O’Brien (guitar), Colin Greenwood (bass), and Phil Selway (drums), they have all worked together since the band’s formation.

Two more fun facts before we move into the review. First, their breakout single, Creep, was released in 1992, the year my youngest brother was born which demonstrates the 7 year gap between their formation and “breakout” succes. Second, Radiohead has used the same visual artist (Stanley Donwood) to design their album art, Thom Yorke’s solo ablums, and Yorke’s part-time gig, Atoms for Peace.

A Moon Shaped Pool has a really high score on Metacritic and has received high praise in all of the album reviews I’ve read thus far. As a long-time fan of the band and despite really really enjoying this new album, I am at something of a loss though as I don’t own nor have I really listened to their previous record, The King of Limbs. I mention this because at it’s time of release I had heard bad things about TKOL and couldn’t be bothered with it.

And now I read statements about how much of a hot mess King of Limbs was, and while I personally see why this is an excellent Radiohead album, I can’t make that comparison.

But fuck that, it shouldn’t even matter. If we all operated in a vacuum this review would be incredibly different, so you got my backstory, my perspective and I suspect the review is all the richer for it.

I remember when I was a bright young university student. Full of angst, rebellion, and a thirst for melancholy. It only made sense that one of my professors thought I was a huge fan of Radiohead, a joke not lost on me at this stage of my life.

But Radiohead have traded in their mopey sad songs for dreams and the eternal – This is best showcased on the tracks Daydreaming and Decks Dark which are early enough in the record to solidify this new position.

Opener Burn The Witch is typical of Radiohead and well constructed like a much needed timepiece for our generations arm. Especially since it’s an older song finally realized in studio format. The story about lynch mobs can be applied to any number of current pop culture and political hysteria too.

And in case you were wondering, the electronics that made Radiohead synonymous with alienation and genius, and consequently the root of numerous imitations, is alive and well. If you listen to Identikit, The Numbers or Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor […] in isolation, you’ll get  that old familar feeling.

On Present Tense, I’m reminded of the entire vibe of the amazingly good album In Rainbows, which is cool because that album came out in 2007 and Radiohead have been honing this song since that time period. But the best is definitely last and will pay service to true fans. True Love Waits has been part of their archives since the mid 1990s.

I can’t say enough good things about this album, because the band fused two things. They took what we love about Radiohead and simultaneously helped themselves push forward, which is the reason why they keep making records. Would I say this is their best album ever? I don’t know, but would I say it’s one of the best albums of this year or even of this decade. Yeah, yeah I would.

 

 

 

Sometimes you have to hit your lowest low to realized what the hell you were doing there in the first place and why you care about what you care about, The King of Limbs was definitely a low point for Radiohead, A Moon Shaped Pool is a demonstration of a return to their power to reform. And yes I am using multiple definitions there. I’m theoried out friends, I’ll see you tomorrow with a movie review.

Tim!