Jonathan Hill

A Soapbox for Uninformed Opinions

Apr
16

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Free the Robots Free the Robots Review

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Free the Robots Free the Robots Review

Artist: Free the Robots
Album: Free the Robots
Genre(s): Electronic
Subgenres(s): Trip Hop
Released: 2007
Length: 23 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Elsewhere Studios

Track List:

01. Listen to the Future
02. Diary
03. Jazzhole
04. Yoga Fire
05. Lonely Traveller
06. Session Two

Free the Robots Cover

Free the Robots is the first EP by Chris Alfaro to be released under his pseudonym Free the Robots. The self-titled EP shows elements of ambient, jazz and hip hop being brought together to create a short yet highly imaginative collection of songs under the trip hop banner.

While largely an instrumental effort, there are some sparse vocal arrangements delivered in a variety of ways over the course of the 6 songs. A delicate balance with the music is struck that allows for the vocals to be listened to actively or as a background part to the music. Yoga Fire is the only song to features female singing and is an upbeat, psychedelic song. It is just shy of the 3 minute marker and is the shortest song on Free the Robots.

Some sampled instruments including a saxophone and a piano can be heard on the 2 jazz inspired songs, Jazzhole and Session Two. Listen to the Future, Diary and Lonely Traveller take on a different sound altogether and instead show off the ambient themes of the EP while featuring a strong percussive backing.

There are a lot of ideas that have been put into practice for the first Free the Robots release, but nothing on it sounds overbearing or forced given its short duration. Instead it is a celebration of diverse genres being reassembled to create something original and exciting.

Apr
9

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Porcupine Tree Deadwing Review

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Porcupine Tree Deadwing Review

Artist: Porcupine Tree
Album: Deadwing
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Progressive Rock
Released: 2005
Length: 60 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Lava

Track List:

01. Deadwing
02. Shallow
03. Lazarus
04. Halo
05. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
06. Mellotron Scratch
07. Open Car
08. The Start of Something Beautiful
09. Glass Arm Shattering

Porcupine Tree Deadwing Cover

Deadwing makes for another impressive foray into progressive rock by Porcupine Tree, who used their previous effort, In Absentia, as a blueprint to build off for this album. The brooding soundscapes have been replaced with a dreamlike ambiance created through the heavy presence of keyboards, synthesisers and pianos. The metal-esque guitar tones now resemble a driven, rock-orientated sound, while Steven Wilson’s singing remains firmly in their established passive and unstrained style.

The rock-centric portion of the album is often mid-paced, while the ambient portion is restrained with steady percussion and subtle bass playing that stops it from drifting into formless soundscape territory. The soft sounding moments are easily recognised on Mellotron Scratch and Glass Arm Shattering as the ambient textures lead them. Many of the songs switch between these styles and because of this, the album rarely stays static. Instead, they opted to create sprawling and imaginative passages with plenty of dynamic changes.

The different styles are brought together seamlessly over the course of Deadwing and never feel out of place with one another, which is exemplified with Arriving Somewhere But Not Here. This is Deadwings centrepiece and epitomises the albums sound over its 12 minute duration. The length of the song could seem daunting to some, but it builds up and flows into new passages effortlessly to keep the listener interested and comes to an end before you know it.

Deadwing is an excellent introductory album to the current progressive rock scene. It is also a worthy addition to the already lengthy Porcupine Tree catalogue and easily ranks amongst their strongest and most rounded efforts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug8CWIasWi8

Apr
2

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Andrew WK Close Calls With Brick Walls Review

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Artist: Andrew WK
Album: Close Calls With Brick Walls
Genre(s): Rock
Subgenres(s): Art Rock, Noise Rock
Released: 2006 (Japan), 2010 (international release)
Length: 48 minutes
Language(s): English
Label(s): Universal Music

Track List:

01. I Came for You
02. Close Calls With Bal Harbour
03. Not Going to Bed
04. You Will Remember Tonight
05. Pushing Drugs
06. Hand on the Place
07. One Brother
08. Las Vegas, Nevada
09. Dr. Dumont
10. I Want to See You Go Wild
11. When I’m High
12. Golden Eyed Dog
13. Into the Clear
14. Mark My Grace
15. Don’t Call Me Andy
16. The Background
17. Slam John Against a Brick Wall
18. The Moving Room

Close Calls With Brick Walls Cover

Andrew WK Close Calls With Brick Walls Review

Close Calls With Brick Walls shows Andrew WK stepping down from the wall of sound approach of I Get Wet and The Wolf entirely. Instead, he allows for his creative spirit to run wild and takes his sound in a direction that no one could have predicted.

The throaty shouts are just a memory at this point as more conventional singing techniques have taken the helm, but perhaps the biggest change of all is the lack of adrenaline pumping guitars that were a staple of his sound up to this point. While the guitars still have an important role on Close Calls With Brick Walls, equal focus has also been put on writing more memorable moments for the bass, piano and drums that let them share the spotlight.

Calls With Brick Walls should solidify the artistic integrity of Andrew WK and dispel any notions of him as a gimmick act. The new direction will also probably alienate some hardcore fans who were expecting him to follow up in a similar fashion as before, but Close Calls With Brick Walls will reach out to new listeners and long-time fans alike. Andrew WK’s new sound is unique and just as engaging as his previous efforts but in an entirely different way.

External Links:

Andrew WK Homepage
Andrew WK on Wikipedia | Close Calls With Brick Walls on Wikipedia
Andrew WK on Discogs | Close Calls With Brick Walls on Discogs

Mar
26

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Atari Teenage Riot Is This Hyperreal Review

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Artist: Atari Teenage Riot
Album: Is This Hyperreal?
Genre(s): Electronic, Rock
Subgenres(s): Digital Hardcore
Released: 2011
Length: 43 minutes
Language(s): English, German
Label(s): Digital Hardcore Recordings, Dim Mak Records

Track List:

01. Activate
02. Blood in My Eyes
03. Black Flags
04. Is This Hyperreal?
05. Codebreaker (feat. Steve Aoki)
06. Shadow Identity
07. Rearrange Your Synapses
08. Digital Decay
09. The Only Slight Glimmer of Hope
10. Collapse of History

Atari Teenage Riot Is This Hyperreal Cover

Atari Teenage Riot Is This Hyperreal Review

Is This Hyperreal is Atari Teenage Riot’s first album after a decade long hiatus and continues in the exact same fashion as they left off; setting out to create a furious wall of oppressive noise that is achieved by melding hardcore punk, techno and breakcore while covering it in a blanket of distortion just in case there was a chance that some part of the album could be considered an easy listening experience.

Male and female vocal duties are shared between digital hardcore pioneer Alec Empire and newcomer Nic Endo respectively, although Endo does become the primary voice on the album as it progresses. Not surprisingly, the vocals are also drenched in distortion whereas the lyrics are unfortunately reduced to blathering repetitive, half-baked pseudo-political rhetoric and social commentaries without any deep meaning or discernible thought process behind them.

Shadow Identity features one of the few relaxed moments on the album and has softly sung passage performed by Endo towards the end. It breaks up the pace nicely before Rearrange Your Synapses interjects itself with Alec Empire spouting out angry ramblings in the style of a street protester bellowing into a megaphone. This happens just before the song turns into something at could only be described as the soundtrack to a panic attack. It features a few illeisms that are present in Black Flags and the title track as well.

Atari Teenage Riot manages to mix several genres together in a cohesive and exciting manner but let themselves down with poorly thought out lyrics that are often pushed to the front of each song. They do not offer any real insight or solutions to the problems addressed which become tiresome quickly. If this was an instrumental album then it would most likely be viewed in a completely different light.

Atari Teenage Riot Homepage (contains flashing lights)
Atari Teenage Riot on Wikipedia | Is This Hyperreal? on Wikipedia
Atari Teenage Riot on Discogs | Is This Hyperreal? on Discogs

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