Angel Theory – ‘Fatal Condition’
(Ground Under Productions)
Being
a music reviewer, some damned strange things can happen to you. Like recently
when a friend gave me a CD with no cover, no liner notes, nothing but a plain
white CD with the words "Angel Theory" and "Fatal Condition" on it. They said
"here, review this one". Maybe the reason they said no more was because Angel
Theory is an Australian electronic/synth "band" (actually one person: Charles
French), and I almost never listen to techno. Actually, I'd rather gnaw off a
finger than listen to techno. Perhaps the strangest thing of all, after saying
all that, is that I actually liked this album. ‘Fatal Condition’ has a spacey,
ethereal quality that appeals to me. The trance-like keyboard lines mixed with
strong but unobtrusive percussion serve as a perfect backdrop to the chant-like
quality of the vocals. I can hear the better qualities of bands like Nine Inch
Nails, Skinny Puppy, and Depeche Mode in here, and yet the overall sound is
unique. No one track stands out, but that's the nature of this kind of music:
it blends together to create something almost subliminal. This was a pleasant
surprise. The Heathen Hippy gives it three and a half plastic slip-covers.
(Taliesin Govannon)
Leonard Cohen is
one of those guys who, while not a great singer, possesses a voice so
interesting you could probably enjoy hearing him read a phone book. The album
opens with “Go No More A-Roving”, the lyrics taken from a poem by Lord Byron.
It sets the tone for the album, which seems to be about adapting to and looking
back from old age. But Cohen’s own lyrics are just as poetic. At times, almost
too much for my tastes. “Because Of” and “Dear Heather” are more like
recitations of short verses with musical backing than songs, minimalist even by
Cohen’s standards. Far more satisfying for me are “The Letters”, a mournful
duet with Sharon Robinson, and Cohen’s response to 9/11, “On That Day”. And
those looking for another dark pop masterpiece like “Everbody Knows” should
check out “There For You”. While I can’t deny I’m more partial to Cohen’s more
song oriented work, it’s refreshing to see an artist with such a lengthy career
still making adventurous music. (Bob Ignizio)
The Cure – ‘Join the Dots: B-Sides &
Rarities 1978-2001’ (Elektra)
As a
rule, I tend not to review "greatest hits" compilations. Really, a selection of
cherry-picked hits is one of those things you either like or don't, and it all
depends on past releases. And yet this is something different...WAY different.
In fact, this kind of release is the best thing about CD's since the advent of
the medium, and that's the "rare treasure" collection. Really, before CD's, you
never saw that many compilations of rarities and b-sides (except for
exploitative dead legend "let's soak this dead hippie for all they're worth" a
la Jimi Hendrix type things). ‘Join the Dots’ is the Cure's foray into this
field, and it is thoroughly satisfying. Most of the band's b-sides are covered
here, relieving us of the need to hunt down all those bloody singles. The
re-mixes are my favorites, though. The "Psychedelic Version" of "Hello I Love
You" is delightfully spacey, and the "10 Second Version" of the same song is a
howler! The "Chuck" remix of "Just Like Heaven" is a mid-tempo groove-a-thon of
my personal favorite Cure song, and the acoustic version of "Signal To Noise" is
a real treasure. Over all, this set is great, and the song selection makes this
a great holiday gift for every Cure fan on your shopping list. The Heathen
Hippy gives it four tubes of lipstick. (Taliesin Govannon)
‘Casting
the Stones’, the latest release from power metal elder statesmen Jag Panzer,
starts out strong with the one/two punch of “Feast or Famine” and “The Mission
(1941)”. Just as strong are “Achilles”, “Cold”, and album closer “Precipice”.
These songs strike a nice balance between power metal bombast, amazing
musicianship, and good songwriting. Of the remaining six tracks, a few veer
into the territory of “musician music” (in other words, only for guys who are
impressed with odd time signatures and passages of music that are really hard to
play but not especially memorable), and a few are just sort of bland. Still,
the impressive lead guitar work of Mark Briody and Chris Broderick meshes
perfectly with the strong theatrical vocals of Harry “The Tyrant” throughout,
and the rhythm section does a good job keeping things dynamically interesting.
None of that full speed double bass through the whole song, every song, crap
that so many newer power metal bands do. These guys have done better albums,
but five really good songs and none that are outright awful isn’t too shabby.
(Bob Ignizio)
Being
a music reviewer, some damned strange things can happen to you. Like recently
when a friend gave me a CD with no cover, no liner notes, nothing but a plain
white CD with the words "Angel Theory" and "Fatal Condition" on it. They said
"here, review this one". Maybe the reason they said no more was because Angel
Theory is an Australian electronic/synth "band" (actually one person: Charles
French), and I almost never listen to techno. Actually, I'd rather gnaw off a
finger than listen to techno. Perhaps the strangest thing of all, after saying
all that, is that I actually liked this album. ‘Fatal Condition’ has a spacey,
ethereal quality that appeals to me. The trance-like keyboard lines mixed with
strong but unobtrusive percussion serve as a perfect backdrop to the chant-like
quality of the vocals. I can hear the better qualities of bands like Nine Inch
Nails, Skinny Puppy, and Depeche Mode in here, and yet the overall sound is
unique. No one track stands out, but that's the nature of this kind of music:
it blends together to create something almost subliminal. This was a pleasant
surprise. The Heathen Hippy gives it three and a half plastic slip-covers.
(Taliesin Govannon)
Leonard Cohen is
one of those guys who, while not a great singer, possesses a voice so
interesting you could probably enjoy hearing him read a phone book. The album
opens with “Go No More A-Roving”, the lyrics taken from a poem by Lord Byron.
It sets the tone for the album, which seems to be about adapting to and looking
back from old age. But Cohen’s own lyrics are just as poetic. At times, almost
too much for my tastes. “Because Of” and “Dear Heather” are more like
recitations of short verses with musical backing than songs, minimalist even by
Cohen’s standards. Far more satisfying for me are “The Letters”, a mournful
duet with Sharon Robinson, and Cohen’s response to 9/11, “On That Day”. And
those looking for another dark pop masterpiece like “Everbody Knows” should
check out “There For You”. While I can’t deny I’m more partial to Cohen’s more
song oriented work, it’s refreshing to see an artist with such a lengthy career
still making adventurous music. (Bob Ignizio)
As a
rule, I tend not to review "greatest hits" compilations. Really, a selection of
cherry-picked hits is one of those things you either like or don't, and it all
depends on past releases. And yet this is something different...WAY different.
In fact, this kind of release is the best thing about CD's since the advent of
the medium, and that's the "rare treasure" collection. Really, before CD's, you
never saw that many compilations of rarities and b-sides (except for
exploitative dead legend "let's soak this dead hippie for all they're worth" a
la Jimi Hendrix type things). ‘Join the Dots’ is the Cure's foray into this
field, and it is thoroughly satisfying. Most of the band's b-sides are covered
here, relieving us of the need to hunt down all those bloody singles. The
re-mixes are my favorites, though. The "Psychedelic Version" of "Hello I Love
You" is delightfully spacey, and the "10 Second Version" of the same song is a
howler! The "Chuck" remix of "Just Like Heaven" is a mid-tempo groove-a-thon of
my personal favorite Cure song, and the acoustic version of "Signal To Noise" is
a real treasure. Over all, this set is great, and the song selection makes this
a great holiday gift for every Cure fan on your shopping list. The Heathen
Hippy gives it four tubes of lipstick. (Taliesin Govannon)
‘Casting
the Stones’, the latest release from power metal elder statesmen Jag Panzer,
starts out strong with the one/two punch of “Feast or Famine” and “The Mission
(1941)”. Just as strong are “Achilles”, “Cold”, and album closer “Precipice”.
These songs strike a nice balance between power metal bombast, amazing
musicianship, and good songwriting. Of the remaining six tracks, a few veer
into the territory of “musician music” (in other words, only for guys who are
impressed with odd time signatures and passages of music that are really hard to
play but not especially memorable), and a few are just sort of bland. Still,
the impressive lead guitar work of Mark Briody and Chris Broderick meshes
perfectly with the strong theatrical vocals of Harry “The Tyrant” throughout,
and the rhythm section does a good job keeping things dynamically interesting.
None of that full speed double bass through the whole song, every song, crap
that so many newer power metal bands do. These guys have done better albums,
but five really good songs and none that are outright awful isn’t too shabby.
(Bob Ignizio)