Silent Uproar Album Reviews

Review: Midlake - The Courage of Others

Silent Uproar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:56:41 -0500

Expectations are a real bitch. I loved Van Occupanther. A lot. A whole lot. So my anticipation for the follow-up was quite high. Surely, they'd bust out some new jams like "Young Bride" or "Roscoe," right? Right?! No. No, they will not. They will focus on their more somber, self-reflecting side and love of the M.A.S.H. theme song for their follow-up. Is this album disappointing? On the first few listens, you bet it is. However, I believe my expectations will fade away and I'll come around to this... but it's no Van Occupanther 2, which is really all I wanted. - Rating: 3.0/5, Released: February 1, 2010

Review: Future of the Left - Travels With Myself And Another

Silent Uproar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:56:35 -0500

I was never a huge Mclusky fan, but was curious to hear the new project and it sounds much the same -- aggressive, snarky, strained rock songs. Check that, Rawk songs. And I don't say that with a bit of negativity. There's an anxious energy mixed with a respect for the pop song structure that makes it work extremely well. - Rating: 3.0/5, Released: June 22, 2009

Review: Spoon - Transference

Silent Uproar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:56:00 -0500

I totally went into this record thinking this was it, this was going to be the first Spoon record I was legitimately disappointed in. I figured their track record has been so good for so long now (with me, at least) that they had to trip up at some point and this was likely it. Turns out this is probably my favorite record from them in years. On the whole, it sounds like Spoon demos -- dirtier production than normal, abrupt song stops and an unpolished side to it that works extremely well. - Rating: 4.0/5, Released: January 19, 2010

Review: Yeasayer - Odd Blood

Silent Uproar — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:06:45 -0500

As most anyone knows that has downloaded the leak, the album takes the band in a much fuller zone of production and dancier, accessible songs. Fortunately they've also mixed in a hefty dash of extremely weird and dark overtones to it all as well; a combination you wouldn't think would work this well. But it does! - Rating: 4.0/5, Released: February 8, 2010

Review: Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures

Silent Uproar — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:05:18 -0500

The supergroup rarely works well - as there are typically so many clashing egos that nothing really ever shines. Fortunately that's not so much the case here. Each player does their thing incredibly well but never tries to steal the show. The songs are a bit jam-tastic at times (as they should be with John Paul Jones involved, forefather of Jam Bands) but on the whole, pretty darn enjoyable. I'd still prefer a badass QOTSA record but this will hold me over. - Rating: 4.0/5, Released: November 17, 2009

Review: Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer

Silent Uproar — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:02:56 -0500

A solid EP is always a treat as it rarely has time to mess things up. Such is the case with this single from Furr mixed with a bunch of tracks previously only available on CD-R's from the bands show. The majority of tracks are the more quiet, storytelling Blitzen Trapper style but enjoyable from top to bottom. 'Black Rock' has my favorite quiet BT style all over it - recommended just for that. - Rating: 4.5/5, Released: August 25, 2009

Review: Girls - Album

Silent Uproar — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:00:49 -0500

I wanted to love this, I really did. I think Lust for Life is one of the finer gems to come out this year.. it's familiar and enjoyable and destined for commercial licensing. However, the rest of the record feels like some slow jams from Elvis Costello - not a bad thing but not what I was expecting. I think I'll come back around to it eventually but, if we're being honest, I wanted 12 tracks that sounded very much like Lust for Life. - Rating: 2.5/5, Released: September 20, 2009

Review: Flaming Lips - Embryonic

Silent Uproar — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:58:27 -0500

While I heavily enjoy the pop styles that Flaming Lips are capable of deploying I do love it when they get a bit weirder. Embryonic is more than just a bit weirder - it's a lot weirder. It's their finest stab at an epic prog rock album in my opinion. A blend of the two would be musical bliss. - Rating: 3.5/5, Released: October 13, 2009

Review: Atlas Sounds - Logos

Silent Uproar — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:57:03 -0500

Obviously the collab track with Panda Bear is the main highlight here but the ambient, languid pop style present on the whole is a welcome addition to my ears. This is pretty much perfect for putting on repeat while you hang out with friends, enjoy a brisk night or slumber off to sleep. I'm creeped out by the cover art but really enjoying the contents within. - Rating: 4.0/5, Released: October 13, 2009

Review: Port O Brien - Threadbare

Silent Uproar — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:53:23 -0500

Takes the sound of their first record and properly expands upon it. Overall a very laid back, quiet vibe - perfect for winter listenings. There's a sad, dark and somewhat ominous vibe that shows itself every so often that is very appreciated. Previous album was okay, this one will be revisited much I am sure. - Rating: 4.0/5, Released: October 6, 2009

Review: Ramona Falls - Intuit

Silent Uproar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:13:00 -0500

I love Menomena side projects because they inevitably sound like Menomena in some fashion. This is no different, as it sounds like elements of Menomena... similar production style, familiar vocals and instrumentation. If Menomena never existed, I think it is safe to say I would still enjoy this record from top to bottom but the familiarity makes it that much sweeter. - Rating: 4.0/5, Released: August 18, 2009

Review: Yonlu - A Society in Which No Tear Is Shed Is Inconceivably Mediocre

Silent Uproar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:12:00 -0500

For me, this record can not be appreciated without knowing the back story. As a work independent of context it is an indie pop record inspired by the likes of Tropicalia, Elliott Smith and bedroom pop everywhere. Knowing the backstory of sixteen year old Vinicius Gageiro Marques and his suicide puts the record in a different light; one that adds emphasis to the forlorn bits found throughout. - Rating: 3.0/5, Released: April 14, 2009

Review: Jeepster - What If All the Rebels Died?

Silent Uproar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:05:00 -0500

Sort of dancey, sort of dark, sort of slow, sort of constant rising tension. It's a lot of different things and it's sort of hard to pin down. Feels like a record I might not ever think to conciously put on but whenever it comes around it's pleasing, enjoyed and appreciated. - Rating: 3.0/5, Released: June 23, 2009

Review: Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara

Silent Uproar — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:45:34 -0500

Great Lake Swimmers, along with the likes Band of Horses or Iron & Wine, are successfully reviving a traditional folky sound made popular by Neil Young and a bunch of other bands my Dad used to listen to. It's a softer, more personal sound than the screamo and pop music the kids are hooked on, which means it automatically stands out. It's made for fans of dual male/female vocals on top of well-crafted, earthy instrumentation. - Rating: 2.8/5, Released: November 23, 2007

Review: Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II

Silent Uproar — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:48:17 -0400

Neil Young has kept his career relevant and fresh for forty years by one simple trick. He maintains his guitar skills at the second year level. The ragged and dirty soloing on the 18 minute "Ordinary People" is as amateurishly exuberant as that on "Down by the River." This is the kind of guitar playing that a kid with a few lessons under the belt can easily emulate. While other guitarists have techniqued themselves out of the ballpark, Young remains at the adolescent level, assuring his continued place of honor among young rockers everywhere, Neither has his songwriting moved beyond the most fundamental of adolescent concerns. He is as politically and romantically naive as he was in the early seventies, and some of the songs on his new album might have just as well been written then as now. The first cut starts off sounding just like "Out on the Weekend," and the metaphor of the bird coming through the lights of heaven's window are as meaninglessly strange as any of his early rhymes. While contemporaries like Bob Dylan are praised for reinventing themselves every decade or so, Young is lauded for his ability to remain the same through the years. The closer his new recordings are to his classic output, the happier are his fans. So Chrome Dreams II, sounding as it does like a cross between Everybody Knows this is Nowhere and Harvest, is making everybody happy. Although, it represents an artist in a state of arrested development and sounds pretty damn good to me as well. - Rating: 3.3/5, Released: October 23, 2007

Review: The Mohawk Lodge - Wildfires

Silent Uproar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:24:31 -0400

They say the hardest thing about singing in a band when you're trying to make it is finding your own voice. Even Scott Weiland, who now seems like he was born to be a rock star, spent much of his early days in Stone Temple Pilots trying a little too hard to sound like Eddie Vedder and the other kings of the alternative rock scene. But over the years, he grew into himself. Maybe in a few albums we'll be able to say the same of Ryder Havdale of The Mohawk Lodge. Havdale spends much of his band's latest album, Wildfires, doing his best impression of Coldplay's Chris Martin. The good news for him is that his voice, and his album, really isn't that bad. The bad news is that a lot his material sounds like it stuff that ended up in the garbage bin of a Coldplay studio session. The Mohawk Lodge clearly has a knack for melody. This album is surprisingly accessible. The somber-but-steady "Wear 'Em Out" has enough pop to lift the album up and keep it moving. But the band would benefit if moved more in its own direction rather than follow those taken by folks -- and by folks, I mean certain British bands with lead singers who are married to Gwyneth Paltrow -- who already are wildly popular. - Rating: 3.1/5, Released: August 9, 2007

Review: June - Make It Blur

Silent Uproar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:59:11 -0400

The members of June play melodic rock music that, despite landing them a record deal with Victory, is more akin to the music currently being released by the Fueled By Ramen roster. Like many of those bands, June's mainstream appeal and notoriously ad-happy record label all but guarantees massive popularity. Unfortunately, for my taste, a few of their songs get a little too close to sounding like something The Backstreet Boys might put out. But, if you're a fan of any of the Ramen bands, you'll most definitely relate to Make It Blur. - Rating: 2.8/5, Released: November 23, 2007

Review: The Asteroid #4 - An Amazing Dream

Silent Uproar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:16:22 -0400

If nothing else, the fourth release from Philidelphia-based outfit The Asteroid #4 offers enough oceans of static to more than satisfy any fancy for psychedelic pop. It's too bad that this same ocean then overwhelms the album. It eliminates any immediacy in the ballad "Ask Me About Pittsburgh" and fails to enliven the visions of "Outside." For all its pretensions, it's more likely to leave you in an apathetic malaise than gift you with an enigma of wonder. - Rating: 2.5/5, Released: March 1, 2008

Review: Fats Domino - Greatest Hits: Walking To New Orleans

Silent Uproar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:16:17 -0400

Before the levees broke and Fats Domino was counted among the missing of New Orleans, his career wasn't exclusive to the music of that city. That's changed now, he being among the survivors and his music has been given a historic authenticity. In my view, Fats Domino doesn't need New Orleans any more than Elvis Presley needed Tupelo, Mississippi or Bob Dylan needs Hibbing, Minnesota. Fats belongs alongside Jerry Lee Lewis and Louis Jordan, not Jelly Roll Morton and Professor Longhair. To be sure, his success as a hitmaker sent the flock of A&R buzzards to New Orleans in search of an R&B sound specific to that city, but Little Richard was the only artist they found who was in the same league as Fats. One of the best things about this compilation is that the songs haven't been re-mastered into sterility. Although the 30 tracks, recorded in varying frequencies from 1950-1961, have been tweaked to make the listening experience less jolting, the sound is still rough and raw. - Rating: 3.8/5, Released: August 14, 2007

Review: The October - Bye Bye Beautiful

Silent Uproar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:16:15 -0400

If there's one thing The October can do, it's create a mood. Their second album, ...Bye Bye Beautiful is an endeavor as crisp as the month their name invokes. Unlike their seasonal namesake, however, they have yet to create something terribly different or unique. Stuck somewhere between modern indie rock and new wave, ...Beautiful is not a terribly memorable or unique album, but what they lack there they make up for with toe-tapping melodies and a cool, heady mood that permeates the piece through and through. Dustin Burnett's voice pierces song after song with a rich and powerful tone. The musicality of the album, however, has very little left to offer, as nearly every song plods along at the same safe, moderate speed: never slowing and rarely speeding up. - Rating: 3.2/5, Released: November 23, 2007

Review: Dax Riggs - We Sing of Only Blood or Love

Silent Uproar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:42:17 -0400

Dax Riggs isn't kidding with the title of the first record released under his own name. Darkness permeates and Riggs succumbs to the demons on his trail as the former Deadboy and the Elephantmen frontman (Blood or Love was originally intended to be a D+E album) seems to be preparing for an imminent demise. Musically, the record is all over the place, a virtual stylistic retrospective drawing from the goth-blues, punk, industrial and metal of his past. With no songs over three minutes, it's a matter of preference as to which phase of Riggs' career you prefer most, but he's at his strongest and most emotional when illuminating Junior Kimbrough riffs with menacing rhythm and polishing them off with the morbid gore of his metal roots. He may sing of only blood or love, but he plays whatever he wants — as longs as its gloomy. - Rating: 3.0/5, Released: August 20, 2007

Review: The Flesh - Firetower

Silent Uproar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:42:14 -0400

With their latest release, The Flesh proves themselves as a force to be reckoned with, putting a dark, moody spin on glam. From start to finish, Firetower offers a train of steady, stylish music that roars and keeps on track. Songs like "The Truant" and the album's title track sound like songs that could be playing in a smoke-filled noir nightclub in an unknown town. There's a mystery to The Flesh that is hard to describe: like they're building to a sinister twist ending that never shows up. - Rating: 4.2/5, Released: November 23, 2007

Review: Iron & Wine - The Sheperd's Dog

Silent Uproar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:42:08 -0400

Perhaps as a testament to their recording with Calexico, the addition of a full roster of musicians to the Iron and Wine fold shouldn't be all that surprising. On their third full-length, Sam Beam and company stick to percussive, groove-based arrangements that don't lose the emotion or spookiness of Beam's earlier lo-fi output. Swirling, jazzy fills are well placed, but the swollen band's growth truly shines during tribal moments like "Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)," when they lock in as tight as The Wailers. For Beam, Shepherd's Dog is slightly optimistic in tonality, yet the frequent use of biblical symbolism and the fact it was born from his self-described "political confusion" hold together the haunting overtones expected of him. His trademark prose still stands out; it only seems he's added color when there was once black and white. - Rating: 4.3/5, Released: September 25, 2007

Review: The Honorary Title - Scream and Light Up the Sky

Silent Uproar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:42:25 -0400

While both of The Honorary Title's full-lengths showcase indie pop songs and heart-on-sleeve lyrics, their newest effort, Scream & Light Up The Sky, is the weaker of the two. Jarrod Gorbel, the band's creator and vocalist, has a very unique voice—one that, when pushed to its limits, could be one of my favorite voices in the scene today. However, the raw emotion that pushed that voice on their debut is often lost and it is sorely missed. - Rating: 3.0/5, Released: August 27, 2007

Review: Various Artists - I'm Not There

Silent Uproar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:42:16 -0400

The film begins with the opening chords of "Memphis Blues Again." Having heard the soundtrack, I was expecting Cat Power to come yowling in with her intently humorous imitation, and was surprised to hear Bob Dylan in her place. With the exception of the instances in which singing was dubbed for the actors, such as John Doe's execrable version of "Pressin' On" and Mason Jenning's serviceable "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," little of the soundtrack material actually is used in the movie. It is mostly Dylan, and it makes sense that Sony did not want to release a soundtrack filled with Dylan originals at this time, as it would conflict with the current 3-disc retrospective. Despite it not really being a soundtrack to the film, I'm Not There is far and away the most interesting collection of Dylan covers currently in release. - Rating: 3.5/5, Released: October 30, 2007

Review: Blondie - Eat to the Beat (Remaster)

Silent Uproar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:42:12 -0400

Blondie's third album may be a rehash of their first two, but the videos made for it ushered in a new age in the promotion of rock music. Viewed now, some of the costumes and attitudes are embarrassing, but the band can't be faulted for their over-enthusiasm in breaking new ground. There are some great songs here, "Dreaming" and "Union City Blue," and even filler material such as "Die Young Stay Pretty" is engaging. At the time, Blondie seemed to me part of a corporate plot to destroy the threat of a punk British invasion by manufacturing a glamorous alternative that was christened new wave. Thirty years later, the music holds up while the cultural battles are long since forgotten. - Rating: 4.0/5, Released: June 26, 2007

Review: Pierce the Veil - A Flair For the Dramatic

Silent Uproar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:14:29 -0400

Pierce The Veil's A Flair For The Dramatic boasts incredible, sky-scraping vocals coupled with heavy, intricate instrumentation in the vein of in the vein of Circa Survive or The Receiving End of Sirens. It all comes together to make for an epic, energizing album. - Rating: 4.5/5, Released: June 26, 2007

Review: Various Artists - Goin' Home: Tribute to Fats Domino

Silent Uproar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:14:18 -0400

The only reason to buy this bland assemblage of Fats Domino covers is to support the community related charities that CD sales will help fund. Some of it will buy musical instruments for New Orleans schoolkids. Other dollars will help rebuild Fats Domino's home that was lost in the flooding. It's good that the money is going towards something worthwhile, because the music adds nothing to the legacy of Fats Domino. It is all over-processed and NPR friendly, nothing like the rough and hard rocking music that Fats himself recorded. - Rating: 2.0/5, Released: September 25, 2007

Review: Iron & Wine - Boy With a Coin

Silent Uproar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:14:00 -0400

Boy with a Coin from Iron & Wine includes three songs: "Carried Home," "Boy with a Coin," and "Kingdom of the Animals." The title track can also be found on the full-length release, The Shepherd's Dog, but the other two what's worth picking this up. Having three songs to evaluate, I will also use three words to sum them up: beautiful, haunting, and somber. - Rating: 4.0/5, Released: July 10, 2007

Review: Roisin Murphy - Overpowered

Silent Uproar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:44:18 -0400

Roisin Murphy's debut solo album, 2005's Ruby Blue, found the former Moloko vocalist paired with producer Matthew Herbert for an aural affair that was (all at once) sultry, poppy, jazzy, quirky, and, well, utterly mesmerizing. For Overpowered, Murphy has recruited several different producers for what she hopes to be her big breakout album. And if there is any justice in this world, Overpowered will be just that. Every track on this album (save, perhaps, "Scarlet Ribbons") is single material, each with an attractive melody and dancefloor-ready beat. Of course, Murphy's rich voice is at the center of the music, and it is Murphy's talent as a songwriter and vocalist that makes Overpowered stand out from the pack of female-fronted dance acts. Though not as initially distinctive or complex as Ruby Blue, Overpowered, like Goldfrapp's Supernature, succeeds beautifully as a glittering moment of electro-pop magic and manages, still, to showcase Murphy's unique style to what will hopefully be a huge audience. - Rating: 3.9/5, Released: October 15, 2007