U2 Will Believe It's Just Not That Great

U2

No Line On The Horizon

Mercury

Action Rating: 5/10

The album starts strong with the title track. The melody of the song really hooks you in, as all the instruments are layered and feel as if they are hovering over the horizon.

When “Magnificent” starts, it is hard to guess that this is U2. Then nearly a minute into the song you hear the Edge’s familiar guitar style and U2 have arrived. This feels like a typical U2 song. It even has synthesizers that give the song an eighties vibe. “At the moment of surrender/ A vision over visibility/ I did not notice the passers by/ And they did not notice me” Bono sings in “Moment of Surrender.” Bono belts the song over piano and an electronic drum beat as Adam Clayton’s bass line follows close. Clocking in at over seven minutes long, “Moment of Surrender” is the heart of the album. On “Unknown Caller,” Edge treats himself to an extended guitar solo and that’s the only time he does it. “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” is generic U2. It is very poppy but fun.

“Get on Your Boots” is the first single from the album. The song starts with a guitar riff soaked in fuzz that is actually, pretty heavy riff for U2. It’s a good choice for a single as it is a very addicting song. It drifts between pop and psychedelic. “Get on Your Boots” is just out of place and doesn’t fit the album’s sound. As the first single, it teased a new direction but the band doesn’t go in this direction; it is merely a pit-stop. “Stand Up Comedy” is a rock song as Bono sings, “Stand up to rock stars/ Napoleon is in high heels/ Josephine, be careful of small men with big ideas”, possibly taking a shot at himself.

From here the album starts to go downhill. “Fez-Being Born” is an experimental song but fails to really go anywhere. “White As Snow” just goes by unnoticed. These are by no means bad songs they are just not as strong as some of the others. “Breathe” is an excellent song that would have sufficed as the closing song. Instead the very introspective, “Cedars of Lebanon” ends the album. Bono talks the lyrics, “Choose your enemies carefully ‘cos they will define you/ Make them interesting ‘cos in some ways they will mind you/ They’re not there in the beginning but when your story ends/ Gonna last with you longer than your friend.” With that, the album comes to an sudden end.

Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite all taking part in the production of the album could be one of the reasons why No Line on the Horizon feels very inconsistent. More than half the songs are very good but the others fall into mediocre. Some songs feel new, some feel predictable. Still this album is better than anything U2 has put out in recent years.

Standout tracks: Magnificent, Moment of Surrender, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight,
Get On Your Boots, Stand Up Comedy

The Main Event

Concert Review

The Airborne Toxic Event are a must see act!

In 2008, The Airborne Toxic Event put out their self-titled debut album. Definitely a solid album, the songs are exceptionally catchy. As the band got more hype so did their live show.The band had two shows at Schuba’s on February 28th. Earlier in the day they played a free acoustic show at the Hard Rock Café.

The Airborne Toxic Event is an indie rock band from Los Angeles consisting of Mikel Jollett (vocals and guitar,) Steven Chen (guitar and keys,) Noah Harmon (bass,) Daren Taylor (drums,) and Anna Bulbrook (violin and keyboard.)

Opening with the poppy bass line of “Gasoline,” the band launched into its set. Next was “Papillion,” and the crowd began to sing along. Jollett noted by saying, “You guys know the words!”

From there the band started “Happiness is Overrated,” which was stopped abruptly after Jollett sang only a few notes of the intro. He talked about how he had been sick and his voice is still recovering “but we’re gonna do it until we get it right.” In the second attempt Jollett hit the right notes and his voice seemed to hold up. Although throughout the night he did seem to be nursing his voice, not quite going all out.

They played “The Girls in Summer Dresses,” which is a song based on the short story of the same title by Irwin Shaw. “Echo Park” was a new song that they played and it was less than impressive. When the band played “This is Nowhere” the show was about half way over but at this point the band seemed to get more into the songs. Then they went into full stride with their hit “Sometime Around Midnight.”

As the band started “Wishing Well,” the crowd roared even louder, which was quite the surprise, and this song and next were the shows highlights. Nearing the end, the band played “Innocence,” the closing track to their album, it was high energy and perfect. They quickly exited off stage and went outside into the freezing weather. The crowd continued to cheer and it was not long before they came back for the encore.

Jollett thanked the crowd saying how nice it is to play to a full room. The riff for “Does This Mean You’re Moving On?” started and he said “Jump around like monkeys with us.” He went into the crowd to sing the song as everyone danced around. The microphone went out for about ten seconds and Jollett looked very panicked, but recovered.

For the last song of the night, “Missy”, Jollett invited a young girl named Thomasina on stage to join the band. The girl hesitated to go on stage and seemed very nervous, as she just stood there and stared. Halfway through the song Jollett invited the rest of the crowd on stage. A handful of people ran up there as the band extended the song. Jollett ended the show saying, “that’s all the songs we have, we don’t have anymore to play.”

Overall it was a very good show. Jollett had been sick and they had to cancel a few shows going into these, so I was impressed and thankful for the performance. As the band is only a little over a year old, there were some minor rookie mistakes but regardless it was entertaining throughout, it was rock and roll. Check The Airborne Toxic Event out, it is worth it. The Henry Clay People opened.

Great With Animals, Even Better On Animals in the Dark

William Elliott Whitmore

Animals In The Dark

Anti

Action Rating: 7/10

The first thing that hits you is the voice. It’s an unmistakable voice. Surprisingly you probably wouldn’t guess it’s the voice of a white guy in his thirties. Then the songwriting hits you, telling a story of truth or suffering, very similar to the style of Johnny Cash.

This is William Elliott Whitmore, a bluesy folk singer, from Lee County, Iowa. With his unique gravelly voice, as his preferred instrument, accompanied by either banjo or guitar, Whitmore creates stunningly powerful songs. He has created three albums of stripped down blues. On his latest release, Animals in the Dark, Whitmore changes it up a bit. Adding strings, organ, and pedal steel and in some songs, even a full band.

A drum roll starts the politically charged opener “Mutiny”. This song sets the tone for the album. Whitmore’s pissed off vocals are the driving force of the song. Traveling over the drums, his voice is the lone instrument aside from the call and response chorus.

Whitmore continues the political theme in “Old Devils”. “When I say devils you know who I mean/those animals in the dark. Malicious politicians with their various schemes, charlatans and crooked cops”. It is clear to see who Whitmore is singing about. Yet Whitmore keeps his own view to himself.

“Who Stole the Soul” is beautiful, it’s just Whitmore singing and strumming acoustic guitar but it is the added strings that really convey the emotion. This track showcases Whitmore’s true songwriting talent.

“Oh Johnny Law, Johnny Law/He’s the littlest man you ever saw/With his badge and his gun he’ll just hassle everyone.” That’s the idea behind “Johnny Law”, a country song telling a story of Whitmore feelings on law enforcement. The song seems to have a Johnny Cash influence and it is one of the albums highlights.

“There’s Hope for you,” is the pinnacle of the album. The ringing tones of an organ catch the ear, adding a new element to Whitmore’s sound. Eventually drums kick in and it’s a full band playing while Whitmore sings, “You will overcome/ I promise you”, giving a sense of comfort and hope.

On the album’s closing song, “A Good Day to Die”, Whitmore shares his reflections of the good things in life. It is a very optimistic view in comparison to how dark some songs are from his previous work.

Animals in the Dark shows a change for William Elliott Whitmore. Adding the full band and more instruments created a lush sound, even though it is exclusive on about half the songs. Overall it is a solid album. The lyrics are very personal yet they can apply to everyone. If you’re a fan of Bon Iver, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, blues or folk music, check out William Elliott Whitmore. As far a folk singers go it doesn’t get much better than this. As Whitmore says in “Hell or High Water”, "Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em/ drink your glasses to the bottom." Animals in the Dark is worth the listen.

Standout tracks: Mutiny, Who Stole the Soul, Johnny Law, Old Devils, There's Hope For You

Master Of All Trades

Dan Auerbach

Keep It Hid

Nonesuch

Action Rating: 8/10

The debut solo album from Dan Auerbach, one half of the Black Keys (vocalist, guitarist). As you may have guessed, Dan carries most of the Black Keys’ sound over to this record. The absence of Black Keys’ drummer Pat Carney, who provides a ferocious rhythm, is apparent. Dan plays all the instruments with the exception to a couple of guests, such as his uncle James Quine, who provides vocal harmonies and rhythm guitar on a couple of tracks. Dan’s influences are very obvious on this record.

The album has a very vintage sound; it feels like an album from the 60s. It was recorded with an analog recorder. Keep It Hid was made for vinyl. The CD is even divided into Side A and Side B. The album flows as a record should, and incorporates a variety of genres. Songs range from the blues, gospel, soul, and rock and roll.

If you heard the song “Whispered Words” on the radio you might mistake it for an early 60’s rock song.

The song, “I Want Some More” is one of the standouts. Dan sings, “I’m just a kid in your walking candy store/Oh oh oh I want some more.” Complete with a fuzzed-out guitar riff, it is very reminiscent of the Black Keys.

“The Prowl” is a funky rock song that would make ZZ Top proud. It is another standout with it's super catchy riff.

Starting out with a drum machine beat, the title track, “Keep It Hid” is excellent.Dan Auerbach can play the blues as good as anyone, and that is exactly what he does here. He takes his best blues guitar skills, and with distorted vocals sings, “They’re coming for me girl and I ain’t got time/If they ask you darlin’ oh about what I did/baby you gotta keep it hid.” Eventually making it clear what he did, it’s a classic blues song.

“My Last Mistake” is straight up classic rock, very reminiscent of the Eagles. The chorus melody sticks in your head.

“Street Walkin” sounds like a Black Keys B-side; it is a good song but not great and stretches on a little longer than may have been necessary.

Dan’s songwriting truly shines in the acoustic songs. “Trouble Weighs a Ton” opens the album and it is rather cool because it does not have a time signature; it just rides upon Dan’s vocals. “When the Night Comes” is a beautiful song that ends the first half of the album. The second half ends with “Goin’ Home;” it is the most beautiful song Dan has ever written, making it seem that hope is on the way. With “Goin’ Home,” Dan Auerbach has arrived at song writing perfection.

On his first solo album, Dan Auerbach does not really leave his comfort zone, but rather embraces everything he is good at (including a variety of instruments). Nothing feels forced, and the album is “warm,” like you are right there when he is playing. Overall, Keep It Hid is a solid album. The album does not offer anything new; it has all been done before, but it has not been done this well in a long time!

Standout tracks: Trouble Weighs A Ton, I Want Some More, Heartbroken In Disrepair, The Prowl, Keep It Hid, My Last Mistake, Goin Home

Merriweather Post Pavilion Pushes Modern Music

Animal Collective

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Domino

Action Rating: 8/10

Animal Collective are not what you would call “radio friendly”. Considered “freak folk,” yet it is impossible to pin a genre on Animal Collective as they change from album to album.

Animal Collective consists of four members but they come and go as they please. Only three members ,Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), and Geologist (Brian Weitz) contribute to this album. The band members do go by their nicknames, which is strange, but strange is not saying enough.

On their ninth full-length release, Merriweather Post Pavillion, Animal Collective take the weirdness down a notch, but remain psychedelic to say the least. The album is very electronic, as in they use samples and it is beat driven, in a way it is like Radiohead’s Kid A.
The opening song “In the Flowers” starts with an electronic sample and a guitar line which sounds similar to Pink Floyd but it quickly drifts away. It is “out there”. With the delivery of the line “If I could just leave my body for the night” the song explodes with epic proportion until it winds down near the end.

“My Girls,” is brilliant, and by far the standout song. The way they’ve layered all the several digital sounds just absorb you. Not only is the music entrancing, but the lyrics carry a very interesting message as well. “I don't mean to seem like I care about material things like a social status/I just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls” They put emphasis on that line and repeat it several times, interpret that as you wish.

“Summertime Clothes” is the catchiest song on the album, it is very beat driven, and has an eighties vibe to it. “Summertime Clothes” is an excellent song and another of the albums highlights.

“Bluish” could be considered the album’s dividing point. It is a slower but it is dream-like song. As Avey Tare sings, "I'm getting lost in your curls”, you get lost in the song. The closing song “Brother Sport” is another fantastic song. Drawing influences from several genres including African music, keeping with the album’s upbeat feel it was clearly the best choice to end the album upon.

Each song on the album flows together beautifully. The album as a whole is great and it clocks in around an hour. The only downside is that some songs blend together, yet there are no weak songs or fillers. Merriweather Post Pavillion is a great introduction to the band. If I were to compare this album to other artists, I would call it a mix of The Beach Boys, which are obvious in the harmonies, The Shins, and Of Montreal. Generally speaking, popular music today could use more artists like Animal Collective. We need more artists to experiment and take chances, it is very refreshing. Avant-garde artists like Animal Collective push the envelope with new sounds. With Merriweather Post Pavillion they decided to be a little less strange and it made for a better record all around.

Standout Tracks: In the Flowers, My Girls, Summertime Clothes, Daily Routine, Bluish

My TOP 5 of 2008 (In No Order)

Coldplay
Viva La Vida
I know what your thinking, Coldplay is lame. The truth of the matter is Coldplay tried something different. Working with Producer Brian Eno, Coldplay went into the studio to follow up X&Y. This took guts and the best thing about it is that it worked. From their first two singles “Violet Hill” and “Viva La Vida” you could tell this wasn’t the same old Coldplay. Ranging from the instrumental “Life In Technicolor” to the progressive rock of “42”, the album offers a variety of different sounds. Overall this is an album that flows smoothly, and from start to finish, it feels like one.



Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes
Refreshing is a good word to use when describing the Fleet Foxes album. The album draws influences from Crosby, Stills, and Nash to monastery chant. The vocals are often compared to My Morning Jacket yet they take lush harmonies that the Beach Boys would be proud of and wonderful instrumental arrangements that fit perfectly. "White Winter Hymnal" is the perfect example of their sound and an excellent track, on a flawless album.






The Gutter Twins
Saturnalia
Self-described as the “satanic Everly Brothers”, you might not know how to feel about that. Former Afghan Whigs singer Greg Dulli and former Screaming Trees singer and solo artist Mark Lanegan create a raw and dark work of art. Their voices play nicely off one another while Lanegan shows his vocal range across the album. From the dirge of “Idle Hands”, to the bluesy “Seven Stories Underground”, to the electronic “Each to Each” the album never ceases to offer something interesting. In all of its darkness, there is a light and this album shines.




The Airborne Toxic Event
The Airborne Toxic Event
The moment the violin sounds you are overrun with emotions. In "Sometime Around Midnight" those emotions build until the song ends and you realize that you have just been on an emotional rollercoaster. Their self titled debut album is full of memorable hooks that will get stuck in your head. It is only a matter of time before your singing along to the catchy “Does This Mean Your Moving On”. Each song is unique in its own but it all fits together perfectly as a whole. This album offers something for everyone, as it is very diverse, yet does it well enough to keep you sucked in for the whole ride.



The Black Keys
Attack & Release
The riff rock the Black Keys are known for wasn’t as prominent on Attack and Release with the exception of “I Got Mine”. Instead they create a perfect album with the help of Danger Mouse as producer. The songwriting is really solid and every song holds up on its own. The diversity shows in the bluegrass hip-hop of“Psychotic Girl,” the danceable “Strange Times,” and the soulful “Lies”. It is good to see that this Black Keys experiment wasn’t one gone wrong. Instead it resulted in one of their best albums.

If All Goes Wrong: A Concert That Provides Example

Concert Review

Billy Corgan brings the Smashing Pumpkins Back to Life. What Could Go Wrong?

The electronic beat of “Ave Adore” starts. Slowly the members of the Smashing Pumpkins file onstage. Billy Corgan is the last one to reach the stage as he slowly lurks with a plastic pumpkin in hand. Notably, this isn’t the same Smashing Pumpkins. Even though this is their 20th Anniversary tour they are celebrating without two of their original members: James Iha and D’Arcy Wretzky. To my surprise the Smashing Pumpkins now consist of nine members, including Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin.

The 20th Anniversary tour shows are divided up into two set lists, Black Sunshine and White Crosses. This was a White Crosses show. About one-third of the show was made up of new songs. I didn’t expect anything new from an Anniversary tour. (The new material is featured on their new DVD, If All Goes Wrong.) It seemed that the new songs did not transition well into the old. Yet there were exceptions, like the hard-rocking, “As Rome Burns,” a fantastic song with vintage Smashing Pumpkins written all over it.

The first half of the show felt like 1996 and by no means is this a bad thing. The sold out crowd erupted when the intro to “1979” started. The highlight of the show came with the triple threat of “Cherub Rock,” “Zero,” and “Bodies.” These songs were played with such energy and emotion. Soon after, Billy Corgan went on a rant about his love of the Chicago Cubs, sounding very jealous as he cut down Eddie Vedder’s Cubs song. Corgan unnecessarily mentioned that he was sick, apparently asking for sympathy from the crowd. This was followed by incredible versions of “Disarm” and “Galapagos.” From this point the show took a turn for the worst and it plunged into the unknown.

The Pumpkins busted out several new songs that were near or longer than ten minutes. Corgan then decided it would be a good time to play with his guitar effects. The Smashing Pumpkins soon transitioned from rock, to shoe-gaze, to completely boring in just minutes. The atrocious cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s, “The Sound of Silence”, was a perfect example.

The true low point came during the encore when Billy exclaimed, “I’m tired, I want to go home.” He asked, “Who wants me to go home?” Few people raised their hands. He said, “Well if you didn’t want me to go home now, you will after this song.” Billy Corgan was right about this in two ways. One was that I did want to go home after that song, which was fifteen minutes of jamming. While others just left during this song. He was also right because whether or not you liked it the song, it was the last one, so you pretty much had to go home.

The first half of the show was great, and the second half fell right off the Sears tower and plunged to its death. There was no energy during the encore and if there was any from the crowd it was sucked dry, not to mention the encore was only two songs. The show seemed to severely lack the passion I always thought Billy and the Pumpkins had for their music. There wasn’t much interaction with the fans, and being a Chicago show, one might expect more. Billy never even introduced the band. But as many bad points there were in the show, there were also flashes of greatness.

To put it simply Billy Corgan should just focus on the music and drop the immature antics because the live show suffers greatly from this. When the music speaks it speaks clearly.