Track Roundup: March
This time of year is always exciting for music, many artists gearing up for summer. Specifically Hip-Hop artists and Pop artists, the annual unspoken race for "song of the summer" is a pointless one, but fun and welcome nonetheless. Last year we had the relentless barrage of DJ Khaled tracks, Havana, Slide, and Shape of You. These were all great songs, and still are, but these were all clearly released strategically in anticipation for most people's favourite season. So I anticipate much more music to look at over the next few months.
It is no secret that if I had to pick my desert island genre, it would be Metal. It is and always will be my favourite genre, but my palette has been softening over the last little while and a lot of these posts after this one will reflect that change. So here are the new tracks that caught my attention this month!
Amorphis - The Bee
(Advance Track from Queen of Time: May 18th on Nuclear Blast Records)
I am not at all familiar with Amorphis, and this track is my first exposure to them. I know they are a Melodic Death Metal band who have been around for a very long time within their genre, and that was enough to deter me. I usually find that specific sub-genre pretty boring and cookie cutter. I decided to check this out on a whim and it was better than I was expecting. While it is still quite repetitive and very sanitized, it is interesting and quite unique for a song within this genre.
Standout aspect is the guitar work, with a lead guitar line that sounds more like it belongs in a Maserati track, it is a breath of fresh air for a metal song. Also unique is a backup punjab singer, which again is quite a change and an adventurous move. This song impressed me quite a bit and I will be sure to check the album out.
Leon Bridges - Bet Ain't Worth the Hand & Bad Bad News
(Advance Tracks from Good Thing: May 4th on Columbia Records)
Another artist in which this was my first exposure, Leon Bridges is a young gospel and soul singer, each of these tracks are in anticipation of his second album Good Thing and both tracks highlight an impressive versatility.
"Bet Ain't Worth the Hand" hearkens back to 60's Rhythm and Blues, and reminds one of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke. High praise for my first listen to Bridges but it is the most accurate comparison I can muster. Alternatively, Bridges voice has some semblance to Frank Ocean, but I already appreciate the former's musical styling more. Bridges purportedly performs in vintage clothing and coifs his hair, clearly selling the image of a classic crooner.
"Bad Bad News" on the other hand has a poppier 70's funk sound to it, and is complemented by an impressive Jazz guitar performance from Bridges. The rhythm and pace of this song actually reminds me quite a bit of Kendrick Lamar's "King Kunta" if it were performed 40 years ago.
Leon Bridges was my most pleasant surprise this month in terms of new music, and I look forward to hearing Good Thing in full.
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Life, Life (Anenon Dream Remix)
(Leftover Track from async Remodels: Released March 1st on Milan Records USA)
2017's async was included on my Best Albums of 2017 list, but none of this years remixes stood out to me but this one, the one which was not included on the official track listing. While many of the remixes simply didn't have the same effect on me that the originals did, Anenon Dream's remix of "Life, Life" actually enhanced the track for me. everything about the original is accentuated here, rather than being altered completely. David Sylvian's reading of a Arseny Tarkovsky poem is included on the remix as well, which I felt is the most important part of the original.
Taphos - Impending Peril
(Advance Track from Come Ethereal Somberness: June 8th on Blood Harvest Records)
Metal coming out of Sweden is truly a dime a dozen. Don't get me wrong, most of said dozen are still worth listening to, but you're likely not going to hear the most unique of offerings from Sweden (exception being my favourite band). Taphos do not set out here to provide the most unique of listening experiences, with the fare on "Impending Peril" being a relatively typical Black/Death Metal song. Death Metal riffs with BM rasps isn't unheard of today, and it does work!
I may not have sounded too keen in that first paragraph, but it is quite nice to hear Metal of this production calibre that is new. In Metal production and mixing, oftentimes less is more. The bare but echoey production helps build the necessary atmosphere for this song, and the tension built with the extra-dissonant guitars could give the impression that you are a part of painter John Martin's "Deluge" as seen on the front cover.
Underoath - Rapture
(Advance track from Erase Me: April 6th on Fearless Records)
I tried about as hard to find a high quality album cover for this one as Underoath tried on this song.
I may still listen to Erase Me when it releases, but I now stand behind those who say Underoath are only doing this to get a buck in the pockets of their skinnies. This song is very basic, and painfully boring. We will see how fast this album erases itself from my library once it is out, I mean the title is literally asking for it.
Again, I hope to be wrong about this album but it's not looking good.
Tesseract - King
(Advance Track from Sonder: April 20th on Kscope)
I was a big fan of Tesseract a few years ago, and loved their first album One. Unfortunately, vocalist Daniel Tompkins left and was replaced by a couple different guys over the years, neither were even close to being as talented as Tompkins for this style of music, so they flew under my radar for a good couple albums. "King" brings back Tompkins as the vocalist for this band, and its a welcome return.
Despite being very talented musicians, you really do need a good singer to hold up the band. While I enjoy Tesseract, listening to them instrumentally or for even longer than an hour would be a drag to put it lightly. This kind of music never lends itself to surprises, with Tesseract and other bands of similar ilk you always sort of know what to expect. "King" mixes it up with quite a bit of a darker tone than we are used to with this band, with added angst provided by Tompkins thanks to some very sparse harsh vocals. Ok-good song.
Ripped to Shreds - Yellow River Incident, 1938
(Selected Track from 埋葬: Released independently on March 27th)
I feel like a broken record reviewing two Death Metal tracks here, but this one deserved it. Independently released on their debut album, this track does, in fact, rip. The vocals echo the late Chuck Schuldiner on the first few Death albums, which is a very pleasant surprise.
The drumming on this song is quite technical and interesting for a Death Metal song as well. Hard to tell if it is a human drummer or programmed drum triggers, which again could be considered a compliment. This song is just fun to listen to, and definitely turned me on to this album. For a debut release, this is a very promising start for Ripped to Shreds.
Homewrecker - Fade to Oblivion
(Advance track from Hell is Here Now: April 27th on Good Fight Records)
I have never been a fan of Punk music in any iteration, and that is an anomaly I will admit because much of modern and classic Metal draws on Punk. After becoming a fan of Power Trip and Crowbar, that changed a bit and Homewrecker was recommended to me on Spotify.
I'm led to believe this song, from an upcoming album, marks a change in their sound; there is a clean guitar interlude within the first 30 seconds of the song, and I have a hard time believing this kind of band could do much with that kind of instrumentation. I haven't heard any of Homewrecker's back catalogue, but this definitely sounds a bit more adventurous than the simple Crossover/Hardcore Punk band I thought they were. This song itself has elements of Crowbar rhythm, and is a promising first look at this album. I don't love it, but I like it.
Comments
Post a Comment