Something for Granted...

Something Old...

After a standout set at T in the park last weekend following a cracking Glasto performance earlier this month alt rock legends Jimmy Eat World are in the form of there lives ready for Reading and Leeds later at the end of August.

 

Formed in 93 as a punk band by front man Jim Adkins and his school friends, they released an EP and then their self titled debut in 94, followed by ‘Static Prevails’ in 96 which features there 1^st single ‘Rockstar’.

The crittically acclaimed ‘Clairty’ followed in 99 which features the cult smash ‘Lucky Denver Mint’ and built them a large fanbase before the breakthru 4^th album ‘Bleed American’ in 2001. Bleed American contains many an anthem including the singles ‘Salt, Sweat, Sugar’, ‘Sweetness’, ‘Get it Faster’ and the bands first No.1 hit ‘the Middle’ . In 2004 they followed up with ‘Futures’ that was produced by Pixies and Foo Fighters producer Gill Norton and then the fantatsic ‘Chase the Light’ in 2007 which contains the brilliant ‘Big Casino’, ‘Electable (give it up)’ and ‘Always Be’ and is there highest charting album to date, bringing us full circle to the bands last album ‘Invented’ from 2010.

To choose a track from any of these albums is pretty tough, but I couldn’t ignore mine and the mrs’ favourite sing-a-long in the car tune, taken from ‘Bleed American’, the awesome ‘Authority song’...

*Random fact of the week*

Contrary to popular belief, the acronym ‘JEW’ is not a reference to religious beliefs its based on a revenge drawing by Jim’s brother referencing his weight were he is, in fact eating the earth, bearing the capturing ‘Jimmy Eat World’.

 

Something New...

This year has seen many established bands such as Beastie Boys, Arctic Monkeys and the Strokes release, not classic, but nonetheless great albums. This week saw my favorite band of the modern era release there seventh album ‘If not now, when?’. My love for Incubus is never in any doubt, I pretty much word for word know every lyric, own every album and bootleg, have seen them live numerous time and even have a similar tat to front man Brandon Boyd - to read my bromance with the band you can find it here: are you in(cubus).

 

However, having looked forward to this new album so much, its...well...a MASSIVE disappointment to say the least! I get the band have been changing and evolving their style as they get older and I love the riff driven ‘Crow...’ and experimental ‘Light Grenades’ as much as I love the hard hitting funk metal of ‘Fungus’ and ‘SCIENCE’, the classically chilled ‘Morning view’ and probably my favourite album of all time ‘Make Yourself’.

 

‘If not now,When?’ however...its just REALLY poor, 5 listens in, I’ve tried my best to find any positives in it as I have and always will love the band. Its like someone sucked the passion from them and they went dad rock (obvs not my dad cos he’s cool and listens to blues and soul!). Replacing hard riffs and tight bass lines for some kind of coldplay-esque melodic nothingness and worst of all for me the lyrics seem not only meaningless but also unhumourous on the whole.

The lead single, ‘Adolescents’ which is a throw back to the Morning View era had me so overjoyed for the album and the next single ‘Promises, Promises’ to a lesser extent with its 80’s throwback...but the rest of the album simply merges into pointlessness!  To pick my favourite track from the album is pretty simple, the only tracks that stands out to me with any passion are the melodic 'Company of Wolves' and the upbeat ‘Switchblade’ as it doesnt take itself too seriously, please try to enjoy...

 

Something Borrowed...

 

After that disappointment of the above review; I hope this cover brings a smile to your face, a clever but witty take on Nelly's 'Hot in herre' by Jenny Owen Young's from her 2007 EP which name is inspired by the chorus 'Take off all your clothes EP'... 

 

Something Blue...

Now were over half way in, this year may have produced some cracking albums by established artits as mentioned above (Something New...) but 2011 has also brought with it casualties. New York based electro genius’ LCD Soundsystem have officially played there last beat and announced a split back in April this year.... This will leave a hole in the soul of many a true music fan so in homage a very brief selection of some of there epicly brilliant work from there 3 critically acclaimed albums, much like Faulty Towers and Jeff Buckley they left in there wake nothing but perfection.

 

The multi-intrumental genius that is James Murphy performs live with his band Nancy Wang, Dave Stone, Tyler Pope and Pat Mahoney aswell as occasionally Hot Chip’s Al Doyle. From the very first work back in 2002 ‘Losing my edge’, ‘Give it up’ and ‘Yeah’ theys et the bar high with a blend of effortlessly cool vocals delivered on a on a dirty beat before the release of 2005’s self-titled breakthru album, containing the smash ‘Daft Punk...’.

 

LCD’s second album, the epic ‘Sound of Silver’ was then released in 2007, containing the brilliant singles ‘Someone Great’, ‘Time to get away’, ‘Get Innocuous!’, ‘North American Scum’ and the genius ‘All my friends’, the later being a repetition of the same instrumental lick blended with lyrics about a life without regret, utter brilliance.

 

Their final masterpiece ‘This Is Happening’ came in 2010, with the first single ‘Drunk Girls’ that has awesome co-produced vid by Murphy and the legendry Spike Jonze. The next single was  ‘Pow Pow’ released as hard copy only for record store day, followed by the next single ‘Can Change’. The album also contains, not only my favourite LCD track but possibly my favorite electronic song of all time, up there with New Order's 'Blue Monday', the awesomely epic ‘Dance yourself Clean’. Its so good you even split the song in half, the former being as laid back euphoria and the later being a hard heating electronic anthem *WARNING* the video, filmed in Brighton, may contain Muppets!...