& I Kinda Like Music.: August 2007

Monday, August 27, 2007

Give Me Chroma, or Give Me Nothing.


Cartel + MTV Band in a Bubble = Bad Idea. Cartel’s new self-titled album is different, and not in a good way. After I heard Lose It (the new single) for the first time I was disappointed. It sounds like they’re trying too hard. And the sad part is that Lose It is one of the best songs on the disc.

Out of the 13 tracks, only 4 or 5 are any good. I Will Hide Myself Away has an annoying drum machine in the background. Wasted has trumpets and other horns, and a drum line instead of a drum set. Long story short: I was bored before I got halfway through. I hope that next time they put out a record it’s more like Chroma, because their new sound doesn’t work. 2/5

Good songs: Tonight, Lose It, This Is Who We Are, The Fortunate

posted by bpfau at 2:54 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Singularity


Mae has done it again. Not a bad song on it.

After thinking about it, that one line does not do much to describe how much I like the cd, or tell anything about it at all. So here's an elaboration:

Mae's overall sound has changed a bit if you compare The Everglow and Singularity, but it's not a bad change. If you can imagine mixing their sound with hints of Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Soundgarden and Motion City Soundtrack (they sound a bit like MCS, but mostly because of the addition of a Moog Synthesizer) you get the general idea of their new sound. Overall the song writing is as good as on The Everglow, personally I think the only songs that fall at all short of greatness are Release Me and Reflections. 4/5

Favorite tracks: Brink Of Disaster, Sometimes I Can't Make It Alone, Sic Semper Tyrannis, Rocket

posted by bpfau at 9:07 PM 0 comments