Artist Name: The Gaslight Anthem
Album Name: American Slang
Year: 2010
Genre: Folk Punk

American Slang has divided many fans. Revivalist junkies have criticised the lack of 50s sound, which they believe cemented The ’59 Sound as a top release of 2008. Others have said American Slang is an evolution and the most mature sounding record to date.

Personally, I like it. It’s still got the classic rock vibe – albeit with bigger choruses, stronger melodies, more personal lyrics and better structure than before, as is evident in the extremely emotive ‘Orphans’ and nostalgic ‘We Did It When We Were Young’ – but it’s also a full-fledged step forward.

Nine out of ten people will love The Gaslight Anthem immediately just because of their “older” sound, free from Auto-Tune and computerised distortion – the other person will hate them because of the constant reminder of Bruce Springsteen (but don’t forget, he’s a national institution to America as The Hoff is to Germany!). To the haters of TGA, four simple words: ‘The Spirit of Jazz’. It’s a powerful reminder of how the combination of simplicity with carefully thought out melodies and lyrics can still create a phenomenal song – plus it’s got a discreet Tiger Army vibe, which instantly made me a fan. If you picked up the subtle psychobilly influences on this record, you’re a champ!

I don’t know about you, but I’m growing increasingly bored of the punk scene at the moment – it seems like everyone who has a Mohawk, hates the government, can play power chords, and wears a Ramones shirt is becoming a “punk”. Basically, it lacks balls or diversity, which initially set it apart – and it’s also just becoming a sub-division of fashioncore. Essentially, punk isn’t about playing at 200mph, spitting on your peers or lyrics about burning down the White House; it’s about doing things your own way, ignoring the conformist values and, most importantly, playing what you want to play. It’s in this way that The Gaslight Anthem are the quintessential punk band – they tip their hats to their Jersey Shore influence (not those douchebags on the reality TV show), play an unexpected brand of music in a unsympathetic era and deliver a product that many listeners can identify with. American Slang is a superb release.

Best Tracks: ‘Bring It On’, ‘Old Haunts’, ‘The Spirit of Jazz’ and ‘We Did It When We Were Young’

92/100

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/MusicReviewZA
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Artist: Disturbed
Album: Asylum
Genre: Hard Rock
Year: 2010

Asylum… Hmm… I’ve heard this album before somewhere. Oh yeah, I remember – it’s every single Disturbed album that’s come out since their debut, The Sickness, back in 2000. There’s no originality to be found here. In fact, there are tracks off the album that sound entirely ripped from other hits that they’ve had. For instance: the second track, ‘Asylum’, sounds an awful lot like a combination of ‘Stricken’ and ‘Indestructible’. There are plenty of other examples of this blatant plagiarism of their own material scattered throughout the album and it’s a shame really, because this is one of the few hard rock bands that I actually like – well, at least at one point I did like.

Aside from the fact that Disturbed is cooking up the same meat and potatoes that they’ve been serving us for the past decade, the album isn’t entirely bad, it’s boring and stale, but hey – some people want a band to keep recycling the same shit over and over again. I will say, that if there’s a band on the face of the earth that recycles their material well, it’s Disturbed. Their hard rock anthems continue to keep my feet tapping and I made it through the whole album without too much of a problem.

I’m sure the singles off this album will receive tons of radio play and be part of action movie trailers featuring lots of explosions and testosterone, but is this really what commercial rock has become: blatantly rehashed material? I’m not trying to use this album as an excuse to go off on a rant about how mainstream music is destroying artist’s potential creativity, but, god dammit, I’m going to. People need to stop buying into an artist that creates the same crap over and over again and markets it as something NEW.

Yes, I understand that all bands, in one way or another, maintain a similar sound throughout their career, but look at bands like Thrice, or Brand New, that have viciously redefined their sound with their latest albums despite the consequences. While both of their albums took time to grow on me, grow on me they did, and I consider them some of the best entries in their respective libraries. That’s part of the artistic process – creating, shocking, keeping the listener on their toes and guessing. Yes, it involves taking a chance, branching out in new and unexplored directions – who knows, it could be something that goes and f*cks up their careers, but what would we do without people who took chances? I know I would appreciate it a hell of a lot more then listening to the same song with different arrangements over and over again for twelve tracks. Disturbed’s fan base is more than established enough for them to branch out and try something new, if it doesn’t work then go ahead and head back to your old formula. Metallica did it, and people still love them.

Disturbed’s new album Asylum is more of the same. When a band allows itself to get comfortable in its element, things become bland. They’ve obviously gotten pretty damn comfy. I’m sure there are people out there who will eat this up, but there’s only so much more of this I can take. As a fan, I challenge them to create something drastic and new that will recapture my attention – f*ck the consequences. Until they do that, I’m done.

Verdict:

+ My body absentmindedly bobbed its head a couple times
+ I would still much rather listen to Disturbed then 95% of the rest of the modern hard rock scene
-  Their sound is getting very, VERY, stale
-  They’ve blatantly robbed riffs, structure, even instrumental and vocal arrangements from their past hits

66/100

- Palmer Sturman
palmer@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/despitefulminat

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Artist Name: Before Their Eyes
Album Name: Untouchable
Year: 2010
Genre: Post-Hardcore/Pop Punk

Much like A Day To Remember, Before Their Eyes focus on amalgamating metalcore influences with a pop punk sound. That being said, I do find Untouchable to be a tad more pop punk than anything else, as there are only really a few songs (most notably: ‘Hey Dude!’, ‘Bulletproof, ‘Rick vs. Nick’, ‘Hell or High Water’) that feature any form of harsh vocals or stereotypical metalcore conventions. Even so, if you’re a fan of catchy tunes, you’ll fall in love with this album’s residing quality immediately.

It’s actually refreshing to see a “harder” band embrace such melodies as found on Untouchable. Tracks like ‘Sing To Me’ or ‘Start Today’ could easily find regular rotation on commercial radio stations just on their hooks alone – and they’re a million times better than anything Dustbin Weener has ever put out! I’m not going to lie and say this is the most technically adept album I’ve ever heard, but the artistry lies in the ability to recognise and utilise melodies to spellbind the listener – listen to ‘Finding A Way’ and tell me it doesn’t bounce around in your mind for at least an hour.

I was actually disappointed to hear that vocalist Nick Moore and guitarist/backing vocalist Landon Tewers left the band after the release of Untouchable, as I found their dual vocal attack to be one of the biggest draws on this release. Oh well…Untouchable is still worth a listen or two or three.

Best Tracks: ‘Hey Dude!’, ‘Sing To Me’, ‘Finding A Way’ and ‘Start Today’

73/100

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/MusicReviewZA
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Artist: The Roots
Album: How I Got Over
Genre: Hip-Hop
Year: 2010

There’s something mesmerizing about a group like The Roots. They’re such talented artists that pretty much everything they touch exceeds expectations – even by their own standards. In a lot of my reviews, I tend to talk about how an artist’s current album can’t compare to their past material – it’s refreshing to finally hear an album that does. The Roots are consistent and they take time to perfect their craft. How I Got Over is no exception – this album is truly phenomenal.

How I Got Over has a distinct, jazz quality sound to it. It’s smooth, and it’s easy to be disarmed by its charm. Each time I turned the album on, I discovered a new groove to wander in. Soulful lyrics and jazzy piano lines blended like sweet scents in the air. When I closed my eyes, I could imagine the notes flowing out of my speakers, swirling around my ears, and gently kissing my senses as the trail wisps around, combined with brilliant colors flashing with each beat of the rhythm. It was almost like listening to a natural high.

The drums are always on point – never simple, never complicated – always the perfect device to continue the songs on. The easygoing piano and acoustic guitar that’s found in the album is never abrasive, always complimentary, and it continues to be one of the best examples of live instrumentation used for hip-hop beats. The contributions from featured artists on this album are solid. Each artist brings his or her on flavor to the individual tracks, but they never sound forced, instead they sound natural, as if they’re part of the band rather than a featured artist.

This is easily The Roots most ambitious project since Illadelph Halflife (1996). I daresay it’s on par, possibly better. I’m very happy to say this is one of the most outstanding hip-hop albums I’ve heard in a long, long time. When albums like this come out, I can’t help but think, maybe Nas and everyone else is wrong then they say, “Hip-hop is dead”. Modern rap needs to listen to this album and take A LOT of notes.

Verdict:

+ It’s an alarmingly disarming album for your senses – trust me, that’s a good thing.
+ It’s a perfect blend of jazz and soul music that creates a very smooth album that’s easy to listen and take in.
+The lyrics are deep, meaningful, and identifiable.
- I would have liked to see more variation on the featured artists.

96/100

Best Tracks: ‘Walk Alone’, ‘Radio Daze’, ‘Right on’, ‘Doin’ It Again’, and ‘The Fire’ – you really just need to hear this whole album.

- Palmer Sturman
palmer@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/despitefulminat

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Artist Name: Saving Abel
Album Name: Miss America
Year: 2010
Genre: Hard Rock

Miss America is Saving Abel’s second studio album and it pretty much follows the same format as any other hard rock album today – a couple of acoustic-driven tracks, mandatory picture of a hot girl on the cover, catchy choruses and lyrics about sex and finding yourself, blah, blah.

Musically, you’ve probably heard it all before; the same riffs, fills and vocal hooks. If you’ve bought the recent Hinder or Shinedown albums, you already own 90% of this album. It’s highly commercial and aimed at lovers of radio rock, who believe Breaking Benjamin is the heaviest band on the planet.

One major talking point of Miss America is the lyrics, which are highly contradictory. On ‘Stupid Girl (Only in Hollywood)’, Jared Weeks sings about a girl losing herself in the Hollywood scene – with the whole moral of the track being about her not to lose herself in Hollywood and become a casting-couch skank. Then two tracks later on ‘The Sex is Good’, he’s crooning about banging a chick only because the sex is good (hope he’s wrapping his tool), but he doesn’t love her – talk about self-righteous!

In conclusion, Miss America is like a watered down version of Shinedown’s Sound of Madness. If you’re a fan of commercial rock bands, such as Nickelback and Theory of a Deadman, you’ll probably love every second of it. However, if you own more than two contemporary hard rock albums, you’ll realise it sounds exactly the same as any other release from the past 10 years.

Best Tracks: ‘I’m Still Alive’ and ‘Contagious’

50/100

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/MusicReviewZA
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Artist Name: Arcade Fire
Album Name: The Suburbs
Year: 2010
Genre: Indie Rock

There’s been a lot of hype around Canadian indie rockers Arcade Fire since they dethroned Lady Gaga from the top of the Last.fm charts. Truth be told, they’ve been around for nearly 7 years and it’s actually a travesty that they’re only really getting mainstream attention now. If you aren’t familiar with Arcade Fire’s sound, it’s a distinguished brand of innovative indie rock flavoured by sullen lyrics and a lot of instrumentation (these guys often chop and change on stage as they conduct their mini orchestra).

Let’s be honest, indie rock has become pretty bland and it needed a rightful kick up the balloon knot to get back on track, which Arcade Fire have undoubtedly done with their latest release. The Suburbs has been critically praised for its variety and originality. It’s a masterful sonic record that picks and chooses all the right pieces from the different eras of music and combines it tremendously well to create a fluid and entertaining release. The tracks can be slightly playful (‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’), garage rock-powered (‘Month of May’) or downright epic (‘Half Light II (No Celebration)’); the diversity is where the major strength of The Suburbs lies and it’s transparently obvious that this was a well-thought out and planned collection of songs.

A few people might find the lyrics too angry and sulky, but it really does add to the atmosphere. C’mon, show me the one person who is entirely satisfied living in the suburbs! For example, I hate the jersey-wearing poodle who yaps up and down the road and my neighbour’s insistence of playing Wamdue Project’s ‘King of My Castle’ a decade after it was moderately cool – nothing  wrong with a little negativity to piss off all the happy chappies! Win Butler and Régine Chassagne do a marvellous job conveying the brutally honest lyrics.

In conclusion, I have only one final statement: believe the hype – The Suburbs is a terrific release!

Best Tracks: ‘The Suburbs’, ‘Empty Room’, ‘Deep Blue’, and ‘Month of May’

91/100

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/MusicReviewZA
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Artist Name: Murderdolls
Album Name: Women And Children Last
Year: 2010
Genre: Horror Rock

After 8 years since their first album, the Murderdolls (Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison) have finally returned with their much anticipated new record, Women and Children Last. Produced by Chris “Zeuss” Harris and Jordison, Women and Children Last is attempting to prove that rock ’n roll has always been about breaking the rules and going against the norm.

In reality, Joey and Wednesday have transformed the Murderdolls from the bullish punk sound of Beyond The Valley of the Murderdolls to more of a rock (featuring metal) approach – it’s safe to say that Women and Children Last draws more from Mötley Crüe than Misfits this time around. Speaking of which, there’s also a special guest appearance by Mötley Crüe’s Mick Mars on two tracks (‘Drug Me To Hell’ and ‘Blood-Stained Valentine’) – you’ll instantly recognise Mick’s whammy bar guitar parts!

Aside from the “new” sound, you can’t help but notice a lot more swagger and confidence, as tracks, such as ‘Drug Me To Hell’ and ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll is All I Got’, rely on the attitude conveyed as opposed to outstanding musicianship or technicality. That being said – and to their credit – the Murderdolls have also expanded on their power-chord, 200mph methods of before and written original material instead of just rehashing old Frankenstein Drag Queens songs.

Nonetheless, fans of Beyond The Valley need not fear as you’ll still have ‘Nowhere’ and ‘Hello, Goodbye, Die’ to keep you entertained as you blissfully recall the countless times you screeched along in euphoria to the Murderdolls’ 2002 debut. They’re not singing as much about zombies and horror characters as they used to, but I’m sure you’ll still find tracks about bloody chapels, mutilated lovers, drugs and hell interesting enough (Wednesday writes the best lyrics ever!).

The guitars drip more tone, the lyrics are angrier and the all-round attitude of the record snarls in your face like a bearded demon, as the campy – almost horror comedy – nature of before has nearly dissolved to make way for a serious rock ’n roll beast. Women and Children Last is certainly a more violent version of the Murderdolls. Highly recommended!

Best Tracks: ‘Drug Me To Hell’, ‘Nowhere’, ‘My Dark Place Alone’, and ‘Hello, Goodbye, Die’

88/100

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/MusicReviewZA
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Artist: Eminem
Album: Recovery
Year: 2010
Genre: Rap/Hip-Hop

Eminem is back! I have been waiting for so long to say that. This is a true glimpse of what Marshall Mathers used to be. His last album Relapse (2008) had favorable reception, but just didn’t have that venomous bite that Eminem based his career on. He started to play around too much, get too goofy, and lost his edge. I don’t know what person, place, or thing went and pissed him off this time, but I’d love thank it for bringing the fire back into his career.

Recovery is Eminem’s seventh studio effort and has been recorded with the intention of having it be a double-album with Relapse 2 scheduled to follow soon. Eminem is one of those rare artists that isn’t afraid to say what he has on his mind. He doesn’t censor himself and he seems to go against the grain as much as possible within his genre of music. His ability to mix humor and reality is a unique selling point, and it’s one that put Eminem on the map. It’s obvious he’s trying to use Recovery as a way of trying to rekindle the energy from Marshall Mathers LP (2000) and find the perfect balance between the two conflicting emotions.

The featured artists on this album are all welcome additions. He’s opted to go for female vocalists, Rihanna and Pink, as well as Lil’ Wayne – three heavy hitters. Rihanna and Lil‘ Wayne are both obvious choices because of their extreme popularity in the hip-hop world right now, but Pink? I never would have seen that coming. Whatever the reason, we should all be glad that they did because ‘Won’t Back Down’ is quite possibly the best track on the album. It’s a prime example of Eminem at his angriest and most energetic – a combination of emotions I haven’t heard coming from him in years. Though this album does have its clichéd tracks (‘W.T.P.’ and ‘Love The Way You Lie’) that feel out of place, there are selections on here that could get anyone’s head bobbing.

The beats on Recovery are different. Some of them feel as if they’re lacking on production values or were quickly thrown together, but the ones that work flow smoothly and contain strong traces of alternative/rock influence. The entire album contains a library of ideas and traces of real genius that truly impressed me. For the most part, the album is unbelievably honest. Tracks like ’25 To Life’, ‘Talkin’ 2 Myself’ and ‘Going Through Changes’ are all incredibly deep and Eminem truly opens up to his listeners and let’s everything out. These are the tracks where he really shines, when his honesty overpowers any issues with the beat and he becomes your average man, talking about his problems, and apologizing to everyone for putting up with him while he figures everything out.

Recovery isn’t a consistent album. It varies from track to track with Eminem struggling to find himself in the music, the beats, and the lyrics, but flashes of his greatness shine through most of the flaws. Eminem has not been this mature since Marshall Mathers LP and that alone is more than I could ask for.

And Marshall, if you read this, how was your day?

Verdict:

+ Overwhelmingly honest
+ Much more mature
- The album as a whole struggles to find itself
- Certain tracks are a bit cliché and feel tacked on

Best Tracks: ‘Wont Back Down’, ’25 To Life’, ‘Going Through Changes’, and ‘Talkin’ 2 Myself’

83/100

- Palmer Sturman
palmer@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/despitefulminat

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Artist: Broken Bells
Album: Broken Bells
Year: 2010
Genre: Electronica/Indie Rock

Every once in a while a band comes along that tries its damnedest to change everything about how we perceive music. Broken Bells is one of those bands. Their playful brand of electronic indie rock reminds me of a smooth blend of Gorillaz and Interpol. Their debut album, Broken Bells, is not truly amazing, but it’s got enough appeal to garner interest.

Broken Bells was introduced to me by a friend of mine. He was interested in finding out what I had to say about their debut album. So, eager to please, I shrugged and said, “Sure. Let’s find out what they’re all about.” Not really knowing what I was getting myself into I realized that, as I delved deeper into their atmospheric world, I had no idea how to really classify these guys. Their truly unique sense of rhythm, instrumentation, and their indie take on electronica threw me for a bit of a spin. I wasn’t sure I really liked it at first, but the more I listened the more it grew on me.

I started off by picking out little details of each song that kept me going. Things like their atmospheric bass lines or their clean acoustic guitar riffs that seemingly contradict the spacey, stoner feel of their digitized background sounds. There are parts of the album where Broken Bells seem almost confused, as if they’re struggling to decide whether or not they should try to push their music farther out into space or keep it a bit more grounded. Personally, I think that the push is what they need to get past this ‘good’ stage that they’re in and break through into the epic.

I will say from a vocal standpoint this album is fantastic. The singer, James Mercer (you might know him from his other project, The Shins), has a great falsetto voice that appears periodically throughout the album that reminds me a bit of The Temper Trap’s vocalist Dougy Mandagi. The lyrics are very open and honest, which is refreshing to say the least. Lines like, “‘Cause they know, and so do I, the high road is hard to find” leave quite the impression and they can be found all over the place in the album.

I really enjoyed this album. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great start. If we follow the formula at all then we know the first album will set the fan base, the second album will approach perfection, and the third will really start focusing on f*cking it all up. At least we can guess we’ll have another great album from these guys before it all goes down the tubes.

Verdict:

+ Varied, unique sound
+ Great debut
- It’s obvious they’re still struggling to define their sound
- There’s not a single track that really seems to hit its full potential

Best Tracks: ‘Mongrel Heart’, ‘Sailing To Nowhere’, and ‘The High Road’

76/100

- Palmer Sturman
www.twitter.com/despitefulminat
palmer@musicreview.co.za

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Artist: Apocalyptica
Album: 7th Symphony
Year: 2010
Genre: Symphonic Rock/Symphonic Metal

7th Symphony is quite a redemption from Apocalyptica’s last album, Worlds Collide (2007). In fact, I think 7th Symphony is a second attempt at what they tried to do in Worlds Collide. The pacing, the music, even the guest artist selections are so much better than their last album – but they still manage to get another strike.

7th Symphony is Apocalyptica’s seventh studio album – as if you couldn’t figure that out (this is the kind of vigorous research that makes me the hard-hitting journalist that I am) – and is quite possibly their second best album so far, but that’s not hard considering most of their material is weak. Apocalyptica are very unique and consist of a heavy neo-classical sound (just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 5 years, they play cellos instead of guitars).They’re impressive musicians who obviously know how to craft more than just your standard rock/metal songs (check out their album Reflections before you challenge me on this), but I felt their last album was, for lack of a better word, sh*t. It was way too modern hard rock – and let’s face it, modern hard rock needs to go and worship the biggest penis it can find and never EVER show its whorish face around here again.

For the most part, the featured artists on this album are awesome. You’ve got Gavin Rossdale (Bush – Vocals), Brent Smith (Shinedown – Vocals), Dave Lombardo (Slayer – Drums), Lacey Mosley (Flyleaf – Vocals), and Joe Duplantier (Gojira – Vocals). They all contribute unique elements to the songs they’re featured in, especially Gavin Rossdale and Lacey Mosley. Brent Smith’s featured track, ‘Not Strong Enough’, made me want to hurl myself off bridge by the end of it, but that’s probably because I think Shinedown sucks.

As usual, the instrumentals remained varied, heavy, and beautiful, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was lacking somehow. The melancholy depth that Apocolyptica once had just doesn’t seem to show its face much during the album. It peers out every once in a while, pauses and says, “Hi”, then runs off, full of unabashed insecurity, back to its hiding spot. It’s quite sad really. Apocalyptica has just gotten too mainstream for their own good. Stick to your roots, guys, and maybe you’ll be able to top Reflections one day.

Verdict:

+It’s much better than Worlds Collde
+7th Symphony has hints of the sound found in Reflections
- There are only hints
- I wish they would get the HELL out of the modern hard rock scene

Best Tracks: ‘End of Me’, ‘Broken Pieces’, ‘Bring Them to Light’, and ‘Rage of Poseidon’

55/100

- Palmer Sturman
palmer@musicreview.co.za
www.twitter.com/despitefulminat

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