A Short And Even Number Of Albums I Exceptionally Enjoyed in 2009

Just a short list of albums I really enjoyed in 2009. Please note that these are not in order of significance, but rather tried to keep them in the general order of months released. I thought that a lot of new music came out in ‘09, at least for the bands I listen to, as opposed to the year before. And for me, since I’m still finding a lot of new music and my library is growing gradually, my music listening spectrum is wide, but still not wide enough.

Wrath
Lamb of God

This has to be one of the top metal albums of the year. You won’t find any other metal band quite like Lamb of God. Their sound is distinct and really can’t be compared to other typical hardcore band out there. Their arrangements are very technically elaborate and fast. So to me, this is the latest and greatest album from Lamb of God. The overall sound is raw and powerful, focusing less on the heavy production of the sound, and keeping it natural. This album is awesome, to new Lamb of God listeners, and to the old ones. Pure American metal!

Armistice
Mute Math

I loved Mute Math ever since I heard their first album. However, I wished their sound was more tight and less arena like. And I know that’s one of the great aspects of their music, but I’m really glad this album is “together” in that sense. Although I truly only really enjoy 4 songs thoroughly on this record. The reasons being some songs seem to not have been thought through enough, and come across as random. Especially something like “Burden”. But for example “Goodbye” and “Backfire” are completely awesome!

Ellipse
Imogen Heap

Great album from Imogen! I really enjoyed it. This album is more mellow, but still very intricate. There are a few faster songs, but overall it’s got a great mixture of exotic instruments and excellent vocal melodies. The cool thing is, she does everything on her own: production, recording and mixing. Although she did bring some guest artists along too. Was fun to watch the Youtube Vblogs she put out while making it, even though I watched them after the release.

We Should Have Gone to University
Reuben

It’s REUBEN! Definitely my favorite band. It’s the band that I’ve always been looking for, the low, thick guitars, the complex song structure, the screaming, the lyrics, and the sheer awesome uniqueness they bring. I’m disappointed they’re gone. But nonetheless, I’m really glad they released this B-Sides compilation. Has some remastered/redone songs from their old EP’s, alternate recordings, unreleased songs, and many more gems. What’s not to like about Reuben? Pure rock n’ roll. With 47 tracks, this thing can take 2 and half hours to listen to in one go. But hey, it’s all great fun. And it’s not a new album from Reuben, but it’s a really nice gift from the band. I especially liked some of the (single) release versions that were more aggressive than from the album releases. A lot of the acoustic songs are quite good as well, and of course, Christmas Is Awesome!

…In Shallow Seas We Sail
Emery

I know, I know. You’re probably thinking, “Emery? Aren’t they somewhat of a whiny band?” Well, I’d have to agree, they are pretty whiny and emo. But Emery brings a few good things to the table, mostly musically. This album could perhaps be called a fusion between The Question and I’m Only a Man. Combining their early post-hardcore, aggressive sound with more melodies and catchy choruses. Their instrumentation is pretty intricate and contains unique lines. The first time I listened to it in the summer, I had trouble not focusing on the music alone. This album was enjoyable at that time period.

Them Crooked Vulture
Them Crooked Vultures

Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones? Yeah man! Them Crooked Vultures is a ‘supergroup’ that brings the best of all three of its members. I, quite frankly was surprised to hear of this awesome trio. The self titled Album is excellent. Combining Dave’s hard-hitting drums, Josh’s crazy guitar parts with vocal melodies, and John’s groovy bass lines. It’s really one of the best rock n’ roll things that’s happened in a while. All the songs spur such creativity and surprise you with unpredicted parts. A few favorites include, “Mind Eraser, No Chaser”, “New Fang”… forget it, they’re all awesome!

Late 2009 Facebook design?

I seem to be the only one that I know of (in my circle of friends) to have this new facebook layout. I’ve read from a few different sites that so far, apparently only 5% of users have this, as a test run.

Notifications, messages, and requests are on top, while the chat is still on bottom.

I’m not a big fan of facebook, mainly because it’s boring these days, but regrettably I use it. Just like the rest of  the masses

Pretty good update though, interesting how I’ve not seen anyone talk or post anything about it.

Hit The Image To Get A Higher Resolution

Rage Against The Machine

I’ve been re-listening to the Rage Against The Machine discography (for I haven’t heard man songs either), including Self-Titled, Evil Empire, and The Battle Of Los Angeles. I consider Renegades to be an album too, definitely, but It consists mainly of covers, so I’m not entirely including it. But Rage Against The Machine bring this very natural, funky, “soul rock” incorporated with very political and social oriented lyrics. Their lyrics can sometimes be taken as near Marxist or even Anarchist. But nonetheless they won’t listen to anyone, which is what makes Rage so awesome.

Rage Against The Machine - The self-titled “debut” album that spawned so many great songs. The first song that pops in my head is “Wake Up”, which I first heard in The Matrix, and was actually the first time I heard Rage. The use of rock with such feelings bring this album to life, and separate it from other rigid artists and albums out there, especially in 1992. Of course, “Killing In The Name Of” is another famous one.

Evil Empire – This is a good one, and I especially enjoy “Bulls On Parade” and “Vietnow”. Once you hear these, it really shows the true Rage Against The Machine style, and brings some really funky riffs in. As the years go by, the sound quality obviously gets better due to better studios, and more popularity. I love seeing this in a discography, the progression of sound.

The Battle Of Los Angeles – Really cool, for some reason, the sound quality seems to glisten a bit more, and feel clearer. The best song is definitely “Testify”, which is a point out of the lazy, cheating, and corrupt officials that run nations. That chorus has got a really nice punch to it! I think I probably gravitate towards this album the most. Another good one is “Calm Like A Bomb”. Where I like the many riffs that are used. It’s just such simple arrangements that make it the more enjoyable, particularly in the verse, with that wah bass.

I’ll probably get a review going for Renegades, but I have yet to see. Otherwise, I had a good time listening through all these songs.

Hundred Reasons – Ideas Above Our Station

Again, this is a ‘similar’ band to Reuben, at least on last.fm. Interestingly enough, Reuben stated in an interview that they hung out with this band the most, around when their first album was released. Also, most of these album reviews are my first impressions and are very general. There might be a song I really like, and the rest I hate, but I still will probably give the album a decent rating according to those tracks.

This band hasn’t a whole lot to them .I mean they’ve got a style that’s more on the happier side of rock, at least how the music is layed out and what chords are used. It’s not really a genre I like that much. But I could listen to two or three songs from them, and that would be enough. The rest of the album sounds very similar.

Really, the tracks I remembered were “I’ll Find You”, and “If I Could”. That’s pretty much it.

Overall Album Rating 3/ 5 (mostly those songs)

Glassjaw – Worship And Tribute

I discovered these fellers while listening to the Reuben track “Crushed Under The Weight…” They’ve definitely got many elements from this so called post-hardcore genre. The style is a very near-messy one that contains various guitar parts that you wouldn’t expect, making it a bit more “interesting”. Although this can be cool, I think if it’s overused, it loses it’s effect fast and all the songs seems to mesh together, and they fly out of your head.  I’d compare these guys very closely to Every Time I Die, which also adheres to this type of fast rock.

The main concern I have with this band is their vocalist. His contortion of almost every single English vowel is quite obnoxious. I understand this can be a form of artistic expression, but again, it seems to lose effect when you hear these outstretched words over and over agin. I just find his voice much too shaky.
So I can see why some people love this band, they’ve got some nice and punchy stuff going. But If you’re looking for something solid in rock, this isn’t the most orthodox music you’ll get, in that sense.

Overall Album Rating:  2.5 / 4

Sorry I Don’t Update Too Often But…

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Frou Frou – Details

This is definitely not a new album, but I’d only heard about it recently.

I’ve been listening to Imogen Heap since around the time of her album “Speak For Yourself” and have been liking it, but to me, “Ellipse” is where it’s at.

Anyway, Frou Frou. I like the idea that it’s more of a side project and a duo, rather than Imogen on her own. With that, you get different ideas and influences thrown in. It’s still very electronic and upbeat, and contains that Imogen Heap sound that you’re used to hearing. I was reading a bit of the Wikipedia page for this before listening, and it mentioned that Imogen and Guy Sigsworth agreed to make almost every song contain the word “love”. And pretty much all the songs are about love, or simply revolving around it.

A few songs that I particularly like are “Must Be Dreaming” (contains that stuck-in-your-head synth note in the chorus), “Maddening Shroud” (with another catchy chorus) “Flicks”, which is a song that sounds a bit weirder, yet a little more organic.

A nice album with a few songs that stay up in your brain, while the rest are enjoyable to listen to on a relaxing evening, or day.

Them Crooked Vultures

I loved the 70s-film-grain look from the promo videos

Oh yeah! Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones? Yes! Them Crooked Vultures is a ‘supergroup’ that brings the best of all three of its members. I, quite frankly was surprised to hear of this amazing trio. The Album is excellent. Combining Dave’s hard-hitting drums, Josh’s crazy guitar parts with vocal melodies, and John’s groovy bass lines. It’s really one of the best rock n’ roll things that’s happened in a while. All the songs spur such creativity and surprise you with unexpected parts. A few favorites include, “Mind Eraser, No Chaser”, “New Fang”… forget it, they’re all awesome!

Them Crooked Vultures

This band simply looks great. Dave Grohl on drums, John Paul Jones on bass, and Josh Homme as frontman? There’s no way you can go wrong with these guys. I’ve heard only a few songs from the new upcoming self-titled album, but from those few tracks, this is seriously going to something to listen to many times over. Be on the lookout for Them Crooked Vultures!

I know this post is pretty useless, and almost no one is going to read it, but I’m excited about this music!

Reuben – We Should Have Gone To University

Reuben - We Should Have Gone To University

It’s REUBEN! Definitely one of my favorite bands. So sad they’re gone. But I’m really glad they released this B-Sides compilation nonetheless. Has some remastered/redone songs from their old EP’s, alternate recordings, unreleased song, and more gems. What’s not to like about Reuben? Pure rock. With 47 tracks, this thing can take 2 and a half hours to listen to. But hey, it’s fun. I especially liked some of the (single) release versions, more aggressive than from the first album. A lot of the acoustic songs are quite good, and of course, Christmas Is Awesome!