Album Audits

Just in case anyone is playing attention, I wanted to say that I’m officially suspending the Album Audit posts. I’m doing this mostly because I simply don’t have the time to listen to and comment on all my music. I have plenty of time to listen now while I’m at work, but to then post a write up about it later on isn’t always going to work. For instance, I’ve listened to a few of my other Aesop Rock albums since my last post and were I to write about them now the result would be less interesting for me and anyone reading than if I were writing it at the time I were listening.

I may jump in from time to time with a live album review … and I’d like to get into the habit of reviewing anything new I get, but at this point reviewing the nearly 1000 albums on my iPod is going to prove difficuly at best. The point for me in the end is to list to stuff I probably haven’t touched in a long time and that needs to be my first concern; that’s where the enjoyment really is for me at the moment and when I find myself not listening to something simply because I don’t have time to write about it, I need to sit back and take notice.

Album Audit 005 – “Float” by Aesop Rock

While not technically his debut, this is probably the earliest Aesop Rock album that most people (including myself) will ever have possession of. This album lays the groundwork for everything that Aesop Rock would end up creating. From his thoughtful, complex, nearly tongue-twisting rhymes, to the almost minimalist beats and samples that back them up, Float is pratically a manifesto for the underground hip hop of the early 21st century. While I can’t say much about this album by itself aside from the fact that it’s entirely listenable and incredibly solid, I will say that this is what hip hop should sound like. Much like his indie brethren making guitar rock in their spare time, Aesop presents a type of hip hop just left of mainstream where soul beats, strings, and jazz co-exist easily and where the goal isn’t the make the most money, to be the most “real”, or to prove how much better you are than your contemporaries. There’s no bragging going here, it’s just music and if you’re the kind of person who says they hate hip hop because of all the hype and baggage that comes along with it, Aesop Rock is what you need to be listening to.

Album Audit 004 – “Elf Titled” by The Advantage

When all is said and done this simply isn’t as good an album as The Advantage’s 2004 debut. Granted the style and quality of the playing is still good, but the selection of songs is largely weak and when dealing with a cover album, song selection is everything. The overall selection is more obscure than the first album and this works both for an against them with utterly forgettable tunes (from forgettable games) like “Double Dragon 3 – Egypt” while at the same time working in their favor in case like “Ducktales – Moon”. There are some tried and tested favorites on the album including 2 Megaman tracks, a couple Castlevanias, and one of Metroid’s more haunting melodies. In the end Elf Titled comes up short for me however and fails to elicit the nostalgia or musical appreciation that made the first album stand out.

Ducktales, Kraid,

Album Audit 003 – “The Advantage” by The Advantage

In the tradition of the Minibosses, The Advantage play 8-bit video game music using stadard rock instruments. The result is like nostalgic math rock for those of us who grew up with Nintendo Entertainment Systems in our homes. instead of the looser more interpretive sound of their contemporaries, The Advantage lean towards fairly tight and accurate recreations of the songs they cover, beep for beep. Their debut is quite simply excellent not only because of their attention to precision in their playing, but also due to the tracks they’ve chosen to cover. Contained on this first album are 26 memorable tunes from well known classics such as Super Mario Brothers 2, Megaman 2, Ninja Gaiden, and Contra, as well as less iconic titles like Wizards and Warriors, Bubble Bobble, and Batman 2. Overall it’s a great listen for any fan of classic gaming and a walk down memory lane for those of us who first heard these tunes on the family TV in 8 glorious bits.

Album Audit 002 – “The Slow Wonder” by A.C. Newman

There’s nothing wrong with this album, it’s just that there’s nothing really special about it either. Identity-wise this album goes back and forth between wanting to be the Beatles, Elton John, and Simon & Garfunkel presented in a very late 90’s early 2000’s indie pop wrapper. The lyrics at times are interesting, but not inredibly catchy and the musicianship is pedestrian at best. The overall goal musically of this album seems to be designed around layering a lot of very simple arrangements on top of each other in the hopes of creating something that sounds complex while not actually being complex.

In the end, The Slow Wonder is entirely listenable, but with very few stand out tracks and a sound that fails to differentiate itself from one song to the next, it’s not something I find myself coming back to very often and never in its entirety.

Album Audit 001 – “Summercamp Nightmare” by 3

I’m only going to be reviewing one of the albums I own by 3 simply because there is a good deal of crossover between the two with several shared tracks.

I don’t remember whether I bought this album before or after seeing the show where they opened for Coheed & Cambria back in 2005 I think. In either case, I didn’t even get to the show in time to see them open, but upon hearing that they were fronted by the brother of Co&Ca’s drummer Josh Eppard and knowing the quality of opening acts that Coheed and Cambria usually toured with, I instantly became interested.

Their sound can probably be best described as “gothic progressive”; dark, almost sci-fi, but with a definite pop sensibility. They have a very atmospheric, clean/uncomplicated sound, with a lot of minor chord progressions, accomplished noodling, and vocals that wander from whispers to full on R&B style belting. Overall it’s a fairly solid album that keeps an even pace and mood, but a few stand out track such as the bluesy “Bedroom in Hell” and anthemically prog. “Amazedisgrace” are definite highlights and worthy of multiple listens.

This is a great album in the fall and winter, but it’s not the kind of thing I find myself reaching for in spring and summer. It’s solid though and has earned more than a few plays in recent years.