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Awaited In Valhalla (Amon Amarth, Jomsviking review)

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Why are we so damn fascinated by Vikings? Their scandinavian hair cuts, combinations of metal, leather, and wood do depict a very specific aesthetic, don’t they dear readers?

Initially thought of as barbarians who dabbled in piracy, thuggery, and nomadic culture, we’ve slowly learned that they carried a unique culture and, though I cringe to write this, a viable counter-culture alternative to the Roman way of life that was spreading throughout the European climate of the time.

So what does that have to do with today’s Melodic Monday entry? Let’s take a look see.

Amon Amarth – Jomsviking
released March 25, 2016
******** 8/10

Amon Amarth is a Swedish melodic death metal band, which has been around for the almost 25 years. Composed of vocalist Johan Hegg, with Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg on guitar, and Ted Lundstrom as the bassist.

Jomsviking is their 10th studio album, and if you haven’t guessed it yet, the lyrics and tone of the album deals mostly with the mythology surrounding vikings and the full album plays out a viking story, which is why Amon Amarth is sometimes called viking metal.

I’ve said this before, but I’m not a huge metal enthusiast, well, at least not consciously. But I can appreciate a good story, and which focus their effort to produce something with meaning and real thought behind it. Which is why it’s really cool that the band takes its name from one of the mountain which houses Sauron, in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Yeah, Mount Doom.

Interestingly enough, Jomsviking is the first concept album that Amon Amarth have ever done.

It’ts a story about the Jomsvikings and their universe of violence and revenge. Essentially the story deals with a young man who has lost his love to an arranged marriage and the consequences of his decisions to take revenge and get her back.

Having never listened to any of their other work, but knowing a decent amount about metal, storytelling, and music in general, I can tell you very assuredly that this is an excellent listen. This band has a deep love for Nordic culture and they are arranging the elements to produce an epic that portrays the world that the Jomsvikings live in. It’s incredibly easy to follow, and once you get lost in the style of music, you begin to appreciate the subtle emotions that naturally attach to the genre.

It feels genuinely authentic. Which is so refreshing and well placed.

Opening rather courageously with the track First Kill, the record is well placed to get you chanting and rooting for it’s characters. I read one reviewer say that this kind of album can increase your deadlift strength, and he just might be right.

One of my personal favourites is Raise Your Horns, which perfectly encapsulates the myth of the viking – featuring warbling vocals by Hegg, chanting in the background, and the war drums of new drummer Tobias Gustafsson. It’s quickly followed by The Way of Vikingsm, which amps up the story one more notch.

Vengeance is my name has a classic sounding death metal ring to it, and of course A Dream That Cannot Be is just so sad, and I can’t really ruin it at this point, but the tragedy captured by featuring Doro Pesch on vocals alongside Hegg is quite apt and fits well.

If you are looking for a way to ease yourself into death metal, or you are sick of substitutes, you should give Jomsviking a listen, you won’t be disappointed. I personally was so happy I bought this album, especially after a couple of listens.

Amon Amarth are in a unique position. After almost 25 years of producing the same style of music, they have become the face of viking metal, a proud and noble group which has not modified their sound to keep up with trends and tastes, if anything this concept album proves they are going to dig their heels in deeper if necessary.

What’s interesting to me though, is that they get most of their success from touring, as is often the case with most long-standing rock groups. People are willing to spend a little bit more money to support a band which stands for an ideal or a belief system, and that’s why Amon Amarth are so interesting. They celebrate a culture and an obsession of it in their music, while simultaneously providing a legacy for it.

And that’s something we should all strive for. But maybe that’s just my theory. See you tomorrow for something theatrical friends.

Tim!

Better To Burn Out? (Iggy Pop, Post Pop Depression, review)

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

I didn’t want to leave him behind, but I knew it was time. It was for the best.

Sometimes that’s what happens though. You lose a friend, you say goodbye in your head, and you walk away. But that doesn’t mean your feelings won’t betray you and leaving you hurting, sometimes aching like a bad knee in-between seasons.

That deep ache is how this week’s album comes out.

Iggy Pop – Post Pop Depression
released March 18, 2016
******* 7/10

Iggy Newell Osterber, Jr., better known by his stage name, Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is the vocalist of the infamous and incredibly influential band The Stooges, and is a bit of a wildcard.

Post Pop Depression is Iggy’s 17th solo album. That’s right, he’s made 17 albums on his own, and it’s his 23rd studio album altogether, if you include 1977’s Kill City which he partnered with James Williamson on, and the 5 Stooges albums he’s been a part of.

Interestingly enough, Iggy has been doing his own thing longer than he’s been partying with the boys, which says a lot about his own rock n’ roll journey. Iggy Pop has been involved with lots of different acts, and not unlike a recently deceased pop idol, he has been part of pop culture for decades, participating in film, television and radio too.

I think that’s important to keep in mind while listening to this record.

The album title says it all, Iggy Pop knows that his time has been significant, but he isn’t a young buck anymore, and this album feels like a nod to years gone by. He’s looking backwards on his life and sharing with us some anecdotes and utter honesty about what he sees happening, but he’s not lamenting entirely, he’s still having fun and making an influence.

Apparently the real reason the album is called Post Pop Depression is because the album collaborators Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal), Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys), and Dean Fertita (multi-instrumentalist that’s played with literally everyone, think Dave Grohl), were sad for weeks after recording the tracks, and experience real depression.

But what is the album like you ask?

Gardenia is probably the standout track at the moment for me, with it’s jumpy lyrics and whisky tinted vocals. This is followed shortly by American Valhalla, a track that explores death and likely ties into David Bowie’s own death. And that’s the way the album goes the whole time, back and forth between sex and death. Not a terribly detailed account, but Iggy Pop manages to make it interesting for us anyway.

The closer, Paraguay is probably the most interesting though. Because it doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the album, but it’s message is very much an Iggy thought, one that demonstrates he isn’t exactly your classic and measured guy, he is an explorer and an innovator.

These tracks are raw especially so in Chocolate Drops, Vulture, and Break Into Your Heart. In short, if you are expecting heavy rock, you’ll be disappointed. But that doesn’t mean this doesn’t pop.

I’ve been there, I’ve lost my share of well-worn friends to circumstance and also to decisions, both of my volition and theirs. But that doesn’t mean that a friend for a season should never have been. Iggy Pop may miss his friend and his season may be fading away, but the memories and feels will remain. That’s one of the benefits of a legacy.

Check back tomorrow for a film review! Comments! Leave ’em! Subscribe! Please! No more theories today.

Tim!

Security Blanket (Wintersleep, The Great Detachment review)

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Winter is a weird season, it manages to be both comforting and stifling. You bundle up, enjoy creature comforts and hang out with only the necessary people for short periods of time; daylight is precious after all. But with that lack of freedom and sunlight, people have a legitimate reason to be afraid of seasonal affective disorder.

Which is why having a security blanket can be a good thing. It’s a transitional object that gives your brain rest and ease, especially in those months when it feels like the sun has left forever. But what if your security blanket was also an electric one? Would the risk of starting a fire qualify it’s status or eliminate it?

Wintersleep – The Great Detachment
released March 4, 2016
******* 7/10

Wintersleep are a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They have won one Juno for New Group of the Year, and a MMVA for their song Weighty Ghost.

Before we get started, please go watch the video I just linked to, and if you don’t know who they are from their name alone, I’m sure you’ll recognize that track, which it will help give the rest of the review context.

What a cool song, eh?

Well unfortunately, it seems like Weighty Ghost has haunted Wintersleep ever since they released it back in 2007 (pun intended). Because almost a decade later and here we are with The Great Detachment, Wintersleep’s 6th studio album, anticipating something similar to that beautiful little number.

I’d be hard pressed not to describe this as a fitting album title, given what we already know about the band and their awesome single Weighty Ghost, from my hundred or so words of exposition above. They are attempting to separate themselves from the two albums between Welcome to the Night Sky and this one, realizing that they need to be invigorated to remain relevant. But it turns out the group has also made some other decisions that factor into the title. They parted ways with their manager recently and also went on a one year hiatus, so there are literal elements at play as well as symbolic ones.

Equal parts anthem and apathetic (listen to Spirit in particular), this record has some punch to it.

The Great Detachment opens on an extreme high, reminiscent of that curse-like song, and follows just as well with Santa Fe. By all accounts these two songs are worth the price of admission alone. Paul Murphy has amazing vocals and these two songs showcase them well. Santa Fe teases us with some synthpop elements too, which is ALWAYS fun to hear, especially from indie-rockers.

This is the kind of music that both casual listeners and genuine fans of the band can enjoy and not feel guilty about singing along to on a roadtrip or while jamming out at home on a weeknight.

More Than is sweet and sentimental, Shadowless is somber and serious, and Metropolis conjures up images of The Tragically Hip and Pearl Jam simultaneously. I’m also a big fan of Freak Out, which I bet will be fun to dance to at a live show.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find any music videos for this album to share with you, but you can listen to the official audio of Amerika and Santa Fe if you’re up for it. As I mentioned already, it’s a one-two punch that can’t really be beat.

So I guess we are left with a final question. Does The Great Detachment win album of the year or any other accolades? No, but it’s damn good indie-rock and nothing to be ashamed of, plus it’s a positive change of direction for Wintersleep which should be encouraged.

Like a security blanket, Wintersleep make us feel at ease and comforted. But sometimes they turn up the heat and also provide us with some heat too, but I don’t think you have to worry about them ever short-circuiting and starting on fire. They aren’t that kind of blanket, I mean band.

That’s all folks, come back tomorrow for something theatrical and also seasonal.

Tim!

A Room With A View (Room review)

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

Perspective is everything when it comes to communication. One person’s experience is unique compared to another, but factor in variables like age, gender, ethnicity, and education, and things become that much more nuanced.

Today’s film review features a story that addresses exactly that idea. Shall we?

Room (2015)

Cast: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Sean Bridgers, Joan Allen, Tom McCamus, William H. Macy
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
released on blu-ray March 1, 2016
********** 10/10

IMDB: 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%, Audience Score 94%
The Guardian: *****/*****

Leonad “Lenny” Abrahamson is an Irish film and television director. He has 5 feature films under his belt and now one Academy Award nomination for Best Director. And I’ll be the first to admit I knew absolutely nothing about him before looking into this review of Room. Which I only decided to watch after sitting down for the 88th Annual Academy Awards.

But I’m sure glad I did, because this movie packs an incredible emotional punch and hits you right in the ethics too. But let’s take a quick peek at the plot (I’ll refrain from spoiling the end).

Taken from Wikipedia and edited,

In Akron, Ohio, 24-year-old Joy (Brie Larson) and her five-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) live in a shed they call Room. They share a bed, toilet, bathtub, television, and kitchen; the only window is a skylight. They are captives of Old Nick (Sean Bridgers), Jack’s biological father, who abducted Joy seven years prior, and routinely rapes her while Jack sleeps in the wardrobe. Joy deals with depression and malnutrition. She allows Jack to believe that only Room is “real,” that the world on television is dreams.

Old Nick tells Joy he’s lost his job and cannot afford supplies. When Joy reacts badly, he cuts their heat and power. Joy tells Jack about the outside world; which he rejects initially. She has Jack fake a fever, hoping that Old Nick will take him to a hospital where he can escape, but Old Nick decides to return the next day with antibiotics.

Joy wraps Jack in the carpet and has him play dead so Old Nick will remove him from Room. Falling for the ruse, Old Nick places Jack in the back of his pickup and drives through the neighborhood. Awed at first, Jack then jumps from the truck and attracts the attention of a passer-by. Police arrive and rescue Jack. Based on his recollections of Room and what Joy told him, the police find Joy and rescue her. Old Nick is arrested, and Joy and Jack are taken to a hospital.

Reunited with family, Joy learns her parents (Joan Allen, William H. Macy) have divorced and her mother has a new partner, Leo (Tom McCamus). They stay at her childhood home where her mother and Leo reside. Her father cannot accept Jack and leaves. Jack struggles to adjust to life in the larger world, speaking only to his mother and expressing a desire to return to Room. Joy struggles with anger and depression, lashing out at her mother and ignoring doctor’s appointments. She agrees to a television interview, but becomes angry when the interviewer questions her decision to keep Jack with her in the room after his birth, rather than asking Old Nick to leave Jack some place that he could be found.

It is an intimate and emotional story that continues an incredible arc.

Pros: Though an incredibly dark topic, the narrative never feels without hope or promise. Brie Larson does a fantastic turn as the mother and breakout young actor Jacob Tremblay is amazing as well.

Cons: The second half is quite difficult to digest and as a result it feels like it could have been given more of same treatment, looking through Jack’s eyes as the first half.

Runtime: 118 minutes

Points of Interest: Brie Larson spent a month in isolation without phone or internet and maintained a strict diet to prepare for the role, it caused her to become depressed in the last week. Old Nick is another name for the Devil in Christianity.

This is an incredibly powerful film depicting a very intimate and traumatic mother-and-child story. It is handled in such a way that you get to experience it from two perspectives simultaneously, with many of the objects, people and events often being fun or scary for Jack whereas they are painful and torturous for Joy.

I highly recommend you go see this film, because whether you’ve read the book or not, the story is unique and the characters are well acted.

And that’s all I’ve got for today, dear readers! Come back tomorrow for some wisdom, and please leave some comments as well as subscribing to the blog if you want to see more!

Tim!

Soundtrack (The 1975, I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It review)

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Tim Kuefler

It blows me away how easily sounds can pull us back into our memories. We don’t think about this a lot, but I bet if you turn on your favourite song, you’ll have very specific memories associated with it and you’ll be pulled back in time to when that song came out or to an event you didn’t know matter so much to you.

That’s what this week’s album review feels like, a familiar sound but a new experience.

The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It
released February 26, 2016
******** 10/10

The 1975 are an English alternative band right out out of Manchester – A classic 4-piece group that have been playing together since 2002. Did you know that they released 4 EPs before they were comfortable enough with their sound to put out their self-titled debut in 2013? 2016’s I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It is their second outing, and frankly, a stronger sounding record because of this initial strategy, which is a good thing for all of us.

In case you were wondering about their genre, The 1975 take elements of pop (electropop, indie pop, pop rock) and rock (alternative, funk rock, indie rock) to form their unique sound.

They remind me of a whole whack of different musical acts (Depeche Mode, Marianas Trench, Arkells, The Smiths, Joy Division, The Cure, Purity Ring, Savage Garden, and David Bowie, for starters), which is interesting because despite that, or if you’re a half glass full type, because of that – Their music is really quite fun to listen to.

And yes, we need to address what will be the obvious for those who have already listened to the record, and for those of you who will listen to in the near future. Yes, a lot of the songs on this album have a very 1980’s sound to them. But you know what, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Apparently the 80’s are in vogue these days, because I’ve heard my share of albums that pull from that era already this year.

Hell, Matthew Healy, the lead singer and rhythm guitarist, admits that his greatest influence is the filmmaker John Hughes.

My original plan was to break down the tracks and tell you why each one is good or bad, what they sound like, etc. You know, in typical review fashion, and what I’ve done in the past before? But that isn’t really beneficial for you OR I, dear readers.

I really like this album, and I think you should listen to it, because this is innovative music, straight up. It’s apparent from the outset that you are in for something different with a long-ass album title ILIWYS,FYASBYSUOT.

Yeah, I got tired of typing it out.

It’s interesting because I’ve heard some people are immediately drawn to it, and other take some time, while still others think this record is a bit of a slog. But I’m willing to bet that the delayed response is the most accurate, and counts for the outliers. This album takes a bit of time to warm up to, not because the songs are dry, but because there is a lot going on. After that though, it’s amazing to see how much range and experimentation is within the walls of the The 1975’s house.

Similar to how music from the 1980’s felt.

But I won’t leave you hanging dear readers, check out the music videos for Love Me, UGH! and The Sound. Also previews for She’s American, If I Believe You, Paris, and A Change of Heart.

I bet you won’t be disappointed, and much like the theme song behind the documentary about the search for John Hughes, I bet you won’t be forgetting about The 1975 any time soon. In fact, this might be one of your new favourites albums to emote to.

As much as I want to have a soundtrack to my life, I don’t think I’ll ever get there. I have too many interests and too broad of tastes at this point for my life to fit so easily into a specific sound or space. But dammit if I won’t try. But what if you didn’t have a choice, and you were confined for a time to one song, how would you cope?

Check back tomorrow for a film review that looks at those kinds of questions!

Tim!