I was really expecting some serious disappointment on this album. Wolfmother will always have a special place in my heart (their debut is in my overall, and I loved Cosmic Egg too), but they (and by they I mean Andrew Stockdale) have become increasingly uninteresting. We had Stockdale's solo album, which was about as bland as it could be (with one or two decent songs), and then we got Wolfmother's "New Crown", which was somehow even blander. Like Stockdale was on complete autopilot, just pumping out whatever. So, naturally, I expected "Victorious" to be something similar, and while it certainly has its moments of mediocrity and lacks the originality (yes yes I know they basically copied Zeppelin and Sabbath on their debut, but they did it in their own way) of their debut, or "Cosmic Egg", it still is actually not too bad. There are some pretty good songs here, the title track is right up there with just about anything they put on "Cosmic Egg", and the closing track is pretty close too. It's like a higher-energy version of "Cosmic Egg", with a little less variety. But still, it's a pleasant surprise without a doubt, it's nice to see that Stockdale hasn't totally lost his step. It's not a great album or anything, there's definitely a bit of filler, but it's probably the best Stockdale has released since "Cosmic Egg". _________________ Progressive Rock
This is way different from what Steve Miller Band has come to be known for. First off, Boz Scaggs was the co-lead singer, and they were doing blues-oriented psych rock. It actually works really well too, they do psych blues pretty well. Instrumentally it's really solid, Tim Davis' drumming is great, and the composition is great, it's very spacey and shimmery, showing a transition between the West Coast psychedelia of the day and the British. There's slow and pretty ("Dear Mary") and there are rockers ("Living In The U.S.A."), and a little bit of everything in between. It's a really nice, underrated album. _________________ Progressive Rock
Really interesting and virtually impossible to describe album. It's metal, I can tell you that, and it's black metal (sort of). Perhaps psychedelic black metal would work best? Whatever you want to call it, it's good. Oranssi Pazuzu build their songs around repetition, and that repetition (usually present in their riffs) serves to draw you in, and then slight variations happen. Buildups of harsh vocals, synths, more guitars, strange sounds, are all slowly added in so that by the time you get to the end of a song, you're not quite sure how you got there, you just know you're there. The album is full of trippy jams, warm synths, great buildups, and it makes for a very unique and engaging listen. _________________ Progressive Rock
It's impressive to me how Pinkshinyultrablast make everything sound so simple on this album when it really isn't. They take their own version of dream pop, which they've coined "thunder pop", and make this languid, ethereal sound with some traditional pop hooks. There's even a dash of prog here and there, especially with some of the riffs they thrown in, like on "Glow Vastly" and "Comet Marbles". There's lots and lots of fuzzy guitar, as you would expect, that creates this base layer of sound that never leaves. I will say that, while Pinkshinyultrablast are good at what they do, some of the songs on the album do tend to bleed into each other, making them difficult to tell apart, though that's only the case on a few songs. Overall, this is a solid dream pop album. _________________ Progressive Rock
This album is raw, powerful, and honest. It's got elements of punk and a bit of grunge to it, while sounding like the reincarnation of Sonic Youth. Everything about this is visceral and raw, whether it's the screaming of "YOU'RE A PRODUCT OF THE HUMAN ZOO/THIS ISN'T YOU/YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THE HUMAN ZOO" or just the fast-paced, thick, heavy guitars, rage and frustration are all over this album. There's hope too, "Brain Food" hopes that being so poor that your friends are "picking up your coffee bills" won't last forever. That it's just a rut. But that doesn't stop her from being frustrated and angry, and that comes out in the music. The stark honesty in the lyrics and the raw power in the music makes this a really solid album. _________________ Progressive Rock
Kendrick is a master of what he does. His ability to use any sound, any musical reference, to achieve whatever message or goal he's attempting is unparalleled in music right now. This surprise album just furthers that even more. These songs sound like tracks that just didn't make To Pimp A Butterfly, and if you liked that album, you'll love this. We get the same sound layering, the same jazz feel as TPAB, along with Kendrick's fantastic lyrics, full of biblical allegories, political cynicism, everything that we've come to expect from him. The first track feels a little unnecessary, which keeps this album from being completely perfect, but this is pretty close. The seventh track is the biggest highlight for me, a three-movement piece on Kendrick's origins in Compton. This is a nearly perfect 34 minutes that blows by too fast and just makes you want more and more from one of the greatest artists in the game today. _________________ Progressive Rock
I think the strongest message about this album is the potential that Mothers have. This is a really good album, Kristine Leschper shows off her songwriting talent and her beautiful voice on what is a fairly minimalist, electric-guitar driven folk album, but there is one particular weakness: Much of the music blends into each other, it's hard to tell different songs apart on occasion, it becomes a little indistinguishable. However, that's not a major knock on the album, because the successes well outweigh the failures. Leschper's voice is fantastic, so soft and gentle, yet simultaneously powerful, depending on what register she's in. The music is well done, the strings that come in here and there are very well-placed, and everything is very well composed. Leschper's lyrics are great too, her honesty and melancholy are communicated beautifully through her voice and through the music. It all comes together to be a really enjoyable album, and one that I think shows just how good Mothers has the potential to be. Ironing out a few flaws could lead to them releasing a really fantastic album in the future. _________________ Progressive Rock
I think the strongest message about this album is the potential that Mothers have...
Agreed. Listening to it, there were a couple moments where I felt there was something really special happening and then there'd be other tracks that fell flat. _________________ http://jonnyleather.com
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