The Repo Zone: 1999

[Repo]

'99:c Throwback Thursdays

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Euphoria Morning by Chris Cornell

At it’s core, Euphoria Morning is a classic throwback to those feel good singer-songwriter albums of the seventies. <Not that far off from what another '90s Alt Nation icon Beck would achieve, with admittedly more startlingly results, on Sea Change.> But it's wrapped in so many layers – hard rock, Beatlesque psychedelia - you may not get that at first. The thickest layer is hard rock, and although I'm kind of late to discovering this total gem, it's easily one of the best Hard Rock albums of the nineties as well.

The songs are catchy earworms that are meant to be sung as your driving down I-95 blocking out, at least mentally, all the maniacs driving all around you. If you’re looking for angst, go back to Soundgarden, who delivered that in spades. No. this is a chance for Chris Cornell to show a slightly different side, but honestly if you loved mid-nineties Soundgarden a la Superunkown andDown On The Upside you’re probably going to love this too. The two sets of songs would be more than comfortable rubbing elbows together on some AOR ‘90s Alt Rock dial.

Before I depart, let’s get to the reason why we showed up in the first place. That voice. One thing that's really not talked about enough is that grunge provided a cornucopia of vocal riches. Layne Stanley. Kurdt Cobain. Mark Lanegan. A total treasure trove that could match any era of hard rock as far as I'm concerned. But my personal favorite was Chris Cornell. <By a hair. Get it? He had great hair. No? Oh well, nevermind. > And if you’re a fanboy like me, this albums delivers on that front as well.

All in all a very solid album, and I'd easily give it 4 stars.

[Repo]

'99:d "Can u Even do That?! Is THAT even allowed?"

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Pale Folklore by Agalloch

"I didn't think it was possible. Permissible, even." That sentiment comes up A LOT in interviews with the members of Agalloch on the bands that influenced them. Bands like GS!BE, Carcass, Morbid Angel, Bathory, Fields Of Nephilm, and Rush. The members of Agalloch always seem most impressed <like me! > when bands such as these BREAK the rules. Defy genres. And paint outside the lines of genre convention. So many times bands just want to play nice and fit in. Well the guys in Agalloch also had the guts it takes to step outside of those lines and not fit in, BUT in the most tasteful, seamlessly possible. Because what makes Agalloch unique to me is that they bend genres so seamlessly, so unjarringly & tactfully that u might not even realize that they're doing it. Which is perhaps even more impressive, no?

Anyways, it's impossible for me to really review this until exploring Ulver since they are the base that Agalloch would impressively build on. So to Ulver's demo, entitled Vargnatt, I go.

to be continued...

[LedZep]

The early Agalloch releases are certainly indebted to Bergtatt. That being said, they already had big parts of their sound established even on the earliest demos. Pale Folklore is not a perfect debut, but it's a damn great one. I'm looking forward to your review Repo!
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