Album Review: Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien

I have been criticised for reviewing too many obscure indie albums on here, thats not really my intention as I usually don't know the genre of albums until just before I listen as I've usually never heard of the band. Hell if more non obscure bands released albums for me every week I probably wouldn't bother reviewing these obscure ones at all. Anyway this is the second album from the indie band Cymbals Eat Guitars, the band is from New York.

To start the album its something I don't usually expect from an indie band, that might be because its not your usual hipster faggot indie rock but more of an emo rock sound (tr00 emo rock, not that faggot fad shit). The track (Rifle Eyesight) is the longest on the album and while it starts as something pretty standard it evolves later in the track with more exploring guitar sounds, it sounds much more reckless and off the cuff but at the same time keeps with the track but fading out. All that happens in the first 3 minutes of the track and the song again picks up to some much more standard stuff, its like a new song has started. This song is like or 4 songs in one, weird idea but still solid stuff.


After something something so over the top the rest of the album is a bit of a let down in comparison. Obviously they haven't chosen to continue this formula have instead gone and resorted to some much simpler emo pop rock stuff which is pretty nice sounding. The guitar work is very refined and carries songs Shore Points, Definite Darkness and Secret Family. The guitar is very simple on these tracks, while we get the track Keep Me Waiting with the really cool, sloppy riff through the song that makes it really fun toi listen to. There are also darker sounds coming from this particularly from Plainclothes and The Current which had its metal sounding screeches to start the song and the eerie background throughout. To me while its more or less a simple song, Secret Family is my favourite song, the lyrics are so well thought out and sung, you can hear the emotion coming from the words even more when it all slows down at the end, a really nice effort.

As the rest of the album is much less spectacular and different as the album opener I have said much less sa its much less memorable. All the songs are actually quite nice and sound cool and all, but the album lacks any real punch that could make this a really strong album. The strained vocals at times are quite cool and the guitar does such a good job on this album at leading you through songs. At 39 minutes this isn't too long and before you get bored of what they're doing its over, solid album just not at all spectacular.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Album Review: Girls Names - Dead To Me

This is the second album by Indie rock act Girls Names, I never did listen to this bands first or hear about this album until recently but decided to give it a go. Why you might ask? well its because I had nothing better to review and it was at the top of my new albums I had downloaded and the results of the listens changed as it went on.

During the first listen I found this album to be pretty standard retro indie rock sounding, I don't mind the retro sound but thought this was a little too retro sounding. I also felt it had nothing different to what had been done to give it a "Girls Names" difference. However after further listens I notices more and more influences in this album, you can hear similarities to those of the Black Lips new album Arabia Mountain (which I love), but it the retro sound is also influence by surfer rock which I thought was a cool touch.

I really like the monotonish vocals in the album, the vocalist tries to sound a little bored at times and the sound thats produced is pretty nice. The instrumentation on this album is very minimal and simple sounding, its good, not great but gives the album a solid backbone to work off. I found myself bobbin my head to many of these tracks, they seem very pleasant and this had the makings of a solid summer album and you definitely get a summery feel from the songs.

There is however problems I have with this album, I found it just a little too repetitive, to the point where I was bored. Singular songs or a group of songs in small doses are great but listening to this album as a whole isn't so fun, even if it isn't exactly long. Another massive problem is this album sounds exactly like the Crystal Stilts album from earlier this year, but a watered down one, shame really I did like that album. There is however songs worth checking out many times like the sadder and slower Kiss Goodbye and album opener Lawrence.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

Song Battle, Songs Of The Same Name

So I am going to attempt to do a few of these cause obviously theres a lot of songs out there by different artists witht the same name. I'll give my opinion on what one I prefer and if you wish comment below on the songs you prefer and ownership of the song name.

Song battle one: Come Together

The Beatles

Vs.

Primal Scream
Verdict: Both tracks are from classic albums and arguably the best album each band made (Beatles - Abbey Road, Primal Scream - Screamadelica). The Beatles track is one of the most famous and a truly strong song from the discography and the bass guitar is really nice sounding to go with the vocal performance , while Primals track just flows so nicely for sucha a long period. Its hard to decide because both are great tracks but for me its The Beatles.

Song battle two: Ice Cream

Battles

Vs.

 Raekwon
Verdict: Battles track is the best from the new album and the intro is cool/hilarious (seriously it sounds like gay sex) and the overall song is fun. While the Raekwon track has a chill beat and the rapping is really tight on this one. Again tough, this one to Raekwon.

Song battle three: Family Tree

The Black Lips

Vs.

TV On The Radio
Verdict: One track has some great energy in the Black Lips one and Coles vocals are really great to go with the psych/retro indie guitar sound. While TV On The Radio have a slow beautiful song that shows off emotion and to me this is the difference, TV On The Radio win.
Song battle four: Honey

Best Coast - Honey

Vs.

Matthew Dear - Honey
Verdict: A battle of 2010 songs in this matchup. While this song by Best Coast doesn't differ much from the others on Crazy For You, its still a strong track and Beths vocal tone goes really well with the slow booming drums and the sadness that drips from the song. Matthew Dear too has some sadness in his song, but in a much different way, an incredibly slow intro to this song, the minimal beat that backs Dear is really cool and Dears vocal effects work well. Matthew Dear for this one.

Aight so heres what I thought of these songs being matched up, now obviously some come from different genres so simply what song do you prefer? If you have any songs with the same name by aoll means comment below on them and I might put them in the next one.

Chaotic Life = Creative Genius?

With the death of Amy Winehouse, it marks the end of the life of another creative musician one that many saw potential to be truly great. Of course you could say that she was a great artist anyway, with an album as strong as Back To Black boosting her to such a heightened status is the music industry but unfortunately we never did get to see if she could be a great.

But really this blog post isn't actually about Winehouse per se but about those reckless souls that die early but produce some incredible music or even those that are fucked up and have lived on somehow. Now my question is if they ever curbed their addictions would it mess with them creatively? now obviously I don't know this answer but from a music listeners point of view I think the mad scientist attitude that may or may not be helped due to drug/alcohol abuse is pretty damn interesting. A dude that died early from drug abuse that I thought was a little bit crazy was Jay Reatard, the man had talent and wrote some deep and interesting songs that made people listen (myself included). The craziness that came with his personality transferred to his music and to try tame him would ultimately lead to him making tamer music.

So really what I'm trying to say is as a listener (remember this) I don't want crazy creative musicians with large amounts of problems to try get help. I'd prefer they keep making music that means a lot to them and stuff that can continue to be personal to the musician. Whether it be Winehouse, Reatard or even someone like a favourite musician of mine Anton Newcombe, cause dude hes fucked up. The man is shown for what he is in the documentary Dig! an absolute lost, confused and strange man, one though that could make an album. The best albums hes ever made are during this documentary which shows him heavily under the influence at many points, is it pure coincidence that now he seems to have gotten somewhat clean and their latest album Who Killed Sargeant Pepper? is one of the weakest to date?

Obviously not all creative genius' are completely fucked up, that's not really what this is about nor is it about one endorsing this lifestyle cause having them die young isn't great. 

Of course I never want anyone to continue to spiral out of control like those mentioned in this blog or anyone that is loved as a musician but is destroying their health. But from a music point of view it does make for some incredibly interesting music that has no boundaries and a mindset that isn't known by the average human. So in closing whether the reckless to their health lifestyle is actually a factor in ones ability to make better music than a clean lifestyle. I always like to think that a crazy fucker making crazy music shouldn't be tamed and instead live as hard as possible to the unfortunate death.

RIP Amy Winehouse

I feel compelled to write a post on her, cause she definitely deserves more recognition for the music she produced (particularly Back To Black). Now I'm going to admit I wasn't an early fan of Winehouse it took me a while after Back To Black released to even bother listening to her music. But Back To Black is just an incredible piece of music that got to so many people and turned them to instant fans that thrust her suddenly into the public eye.

I still remember when I first heard Rehab I immediately wanted to find out who it was and what more there was to listen to. The voice is ridiculous the lyrics are so personal and real you can hear the soulfulness just ooze from at every point in her singing. Her ability shone through the most and was able to produce something that was praised by not only the casual radio listener, but also the critical music listeners, something that I don't think happens very often but that's how good she was. The epicness of moments in her music, Back To Black (the song) is just so powerful in every way, the orchestral backing takes the song to heightened depths and Amy merely tops it off with singing from her soul.

Enough of this, I don't want to go over the top with this, Amy Winehouse had an incredible voice one that probably changed lives (not mine). But she also found a way to be appreciated by all with just using her voice such a powerful tool and one absolutely classic album that doesn't have a bad song on it.

Now before I end I don't really want to get involved in things such as its her fault she died cause I didn't do this post to state my opinion on those subjects. This blog is about a musician that had an incredible voice that should be remembered for that and not for ruining her life with drugs whether you agree with the actions she took on the way is merely unimportant now, shes gone so celebrate whats left of her.

Her personal life didn't have anything to do with me, I didn't care about it then I sure don't now whether what she did then was right I don't give a fuck.

Live Review: Doomriders San Francisco Bath House Wellington

I have to admit before the gig announcement I'd never heard of the band Doomriders. I was curious though after finding out the kind of music they were and the price of the show, seemed like it could be a cheapish chance to catch a band from a genre I'm not a huge listener of. With this band being a stoner rock/stoner metal/hard rock sounding band I was quite interested. Now once reading further about this band I noticed guitarist/vocalist was none other than the bassist from Converge Nate Newton I was again further encouraged to check them out. Now obviously I checked out the bands albums before I made a final decision on going, after checking out both studio albums Black Thunder and Come Alive it was definite that I liked the band and this could be a lot of fun.

Before Doomriders they had 3 support bands, I unfortunately missed the first Old Loaves I believe they were called and only saw the end of the second Entrails. Entrails stuff I wasn't big on, didn't really like the screams but my friend at the gig said the early stuff on their set was a lot different to the stuff I caught, lots more speed metal tracks as oppoed to the more core stuff I caught, A shame I missed it. Now the last support was I Exist, this is a band from Australia with a large amount of possible touring members depending on whose available. I have to say I thought they were a pretty solid live act and quite polished for an act that has different members at times. The hardcore music isn't my favourite of the metal genres but I felt they had a pretty solid set and a song about Unicorns (even if it was about how sick they are). During their set I got the chance to see some Hardcore dancing for the first time, I found it hilarious particularly the one that only knew one dance move and chose to do that the whole set.

Now Doomriders were finally up and without being a huge fan of theres I was blown away almost instantly with the energy they possessed on stage. Nate was really great as a frontman you could see how much passion he has on stage and even the fact hes for once the focal point of the band. The fast hard rock tunes being played were great, the anger and evilness in some of the songs really shone through well. The set consisted of songs mainly off Darkness Comes Alive and included some of the songs i enjoyed most in the few listen I gave them. Some of the tracks I really enjoyed them playing were Heavy Lies A Crown (one of my favourites from the band), Knife Wound, Jealous God and my most favourite of the set was The Equalizer. That song i wasn't so fond of when listening to the album, but live it explodes out with so much power and strength the song drags you in so quick, great head banging track. Instrumentally everything was really tight sounding, the lead guitarist Chris Pupecki had some strong sounding guitar work that allowed Nate to really get the crowd going and show off all his energy.

Overall this was a fun gig for me, not often I go see bands that play this type of music and at the price I paid for my ticket ($24) it was well worth the fun that was had. They certainly converted me into a bigger fan of the back of this and shall definitely give the next album (whenever that happens) a listen.

Overall Rating: 8/10

To end I shall give you a story from the night, pretty embarrassing considering who it was I was talking to. I decided to buy both Doomriders albums on Vinyl (a steal at $20 a piece), I had realised the guy was in the band but had no idea which member he was. I ask "which one of the band are you?" to which I got the reply "huh?" so I say "who are you?" and this stage he being very nice replies "I'm Nate" "from Converge?" Nate: "Yeah", "dude I love Converge". Nate "thanks man".

Seriously awkward shit, to compound this I went back a few minutes later to get him to sign them, seemed generally interested in talking to the fans while selling merchandise.

Sorbos Top Album(s) Of All Time: Pixies - Doolittle, The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Give It Back!

Sorbo Speaks hits 100 blog posts, never did I think I would get to 100 without at least skipping a few days but I haven't. I started this blog to put my opinion on all types of music out there, whether it be the good albums or the incredibly bad. Sometimes this blog has offended people like the Adele and Skrillex blogs, this merely proved that someone was willing to read this thing. As this is my 100th post I thought I should do something really cool for the post, I asked people on Facebook but got very little suggestions, that's either because people don't give a shit (fair enough) or I still have no fans (that's cool). In the end I decided to put the two albums that are far and away my favourite of all time into one blog, these albums are Pixies Doolittle and The Brian Jonestown Massacre's Give It Back!. I've been asked more than once before about which album is my favourite of all time and I usually just say Doolittle, then quickly say ah Give It Back! is my favourite as well.














So what I love about both albums is they both posses some of my favourite songs from each band. Pixies have so many great tracks, but the elite tracks from the band such as Debaser (my favourite track by the Pixies in general), Hey, Gouge Away, Monkey Gone To Heaven are all incorporated in this. TBJM have it similar as well with tracks like Servo (fo lyfe), Satellite, Super-Sonic and The Devil May Cry (Mom and Dad Don't).

Another part I love about both is how well the album is set up, the run of songs by both albums is really strong. The songs seem to flow effortlessly and at the same time bring something new to album whether it be the 5 song run to start Doolittle, while incorporating the loud quiet loud vocal style. On Give it back the tempo of the album changes from song to song, the psychedelic guitar sounds are magic and keep the album together and the last 4 songs on the album do such a great way of slowly phasing the album out.

I've always found it to pick one over the other, Doolittle has so many really amazing songs and a couple of below par ones (well really Silver, Dead is just borderline decent for me). While Give It Back flowed perfectly and has no a single bad song, only a few are fantastic with Servo's flowing guitar sounds and the general sadness that comes from The Devil May Cry.

As it stands I can't see one beating out the other, they'll both be at the same level for me and really only something remarkably great would be able to eclipse these albums as my favourite.I could probably go into more detail about these albums but I generally just like almost everything about these albums so theres very little reason to try go in depth.