Preporuke

Dobar i zanimljiv, mada ne i spektakularan, new prog rock album.

It would be fair to say that Shrine of New Generation Slaves is the “return to roots” album of Riverside’s discography. After Second Life Syndrome the band had been pushing a heavier direction with each album, and this unfortunately produced rather hit and miss results. They never made any serious missteps and both follow-up albums were still enjoyable, but the decline in quality was evident due to the downplaying of the melancholic atmosphere that made the band so great in the first place in favor of a more up-tempo and aggressive sound.

With Shrine of New Generation Slaves, Riverside has returned to what they do best. The band’s heavier moments were always the strongest when they were a compliment to the immersive atmosphere rather than on ADHD where they were the focus, and thankfully they’ve returned to the former style of songwriting here. The melancholy has returned in full force on The Depth of Self-Delusion and Deprived, and they’re two of the strongest tracks of the band’s career. Both tracks are reminiscent of Opeth’s Damnation in the best possible way, with Duda’s vocals at their all-time best as he delivers memorable, haunting melodies alongside active basslines and melodic riffs. Deprived shows that the band’s chemistry is as strong as ever, with a well-played instrumental interlude that builds to a striking saxophone solo.

The up-tempo tracks can’t match these tracks in terms of composition but they provide a great compliment to the serious, subdued nature of the ballads. Feel Like Falling and Celebrity Touch show the band finding the right balance between rocking out and maintaining the atmosphere. Although the latter has received mixed reaction since its release as the lead single, its punchy riffs and overall catchier sound are still effective, particularly in context to the rest of the album.

The key difference between Shrine of New Generation Slaves and the band’s previous work is that there’s more emphasis on the melodies this time around. While the instrumentation is as great as ever (particularly the guitar/bass interplay), the driving force of the album is Duda’s vocals, with less emphasis on lengthy instrumental sections. The only moment where the band ventures into progressive metal occurs part-way into Escalator Shrine, the album’s epic. Although the 13-minute centerpiece isn’t as immediate as most of the band’s previous epics due to its more understated second half, it ultimately reveals itself to be another strong composition, with engaging riffs, effective transitions, and well-thought-out melodies. It transitions seamlessly into Coda, a short but brilliant acoustic reprise of Feel Like Falling that concludes the album.

While Shrine of New Generation Slaves may not be Riverside’s most ambitious album musically, the maturation of their sound and varied and engaging songwriting make it a success. They managed to hold onto the elements of their sound that made them stand out in the first place while still adding a few new tricks that reassure listeners that they won’t remain stagnant. The band may not ever put out another Second Life Syndrome, but this album shows that they still have the goods to deliver quality progressive rock for years to come.

 
Teško je odrediti kom žanru pripada ovaj album jer je mešavina svega. Ja bih ga najpre uvrstio u new alt/indie rock kategoriju, mada ćete ovde čuti i elemente bluza pa pomalo i džezza. Kad je dobra muzika u pitanju klasifikacija je najmanje važna. Od danas vam je ceo album na raspolaganju.:whistling:

http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Fourth+Corner/8756477

Review: Trixie Whitley – Fourth Corner (2013)

Who is Trixie Whitley? The best five-minute introduction to the 25-year-old singer-songwriter is the studio video of her recording the Black Dub rendition of the Etta James’ blues classic “I’d Rather Go Blind.” Shot in November of 2008 at the Berklee School of Music, the video is a one-take of Whitley singing and playing guitar; much-respected session musician, Brian Blade, on drums; and legendary producer, Daniel Lanois, enthusiastically orchestrating the updated take of the classic. Through body language, cracked smiles, and the unmistakable attractiveness of the sound being created, the group knew they were making something special, and Whitley’s voice was at front and center of the magic. The chemistry was so evident that Lanois brought the group together, along with bassist Daryl Johnson, to create Black Dub, and a 2010 self-titled debut was released.

All along, the anchor to Black Dub’s sound has been Whitley and her soulful and commanding voice. As a contralto, Whitley has the raw-talent range to rival some of the best female singers in music today. With Black Dub, Lanois was at the helm for most of the songs’ compositions, so now with her debut, Fourth Corner, Whitley sets out to tell her story as a singer-songwriter.

Fourth Corner is packed with weighty lyrical content and deeply powerful arrangements. Many of the songs take on a darker tone but things are diversified through fresh melodies. And obviously, Whitley’s vocals are at the forefront throughout the album. She has the voice, why hide it? The raw beauty of her singing is strikingly present in the stirring anthem “Breath You In My Dreams” and yearning ballad “Pieces.” Both songs are backed with fuller, lush arrangements and the result is uplifting tunes that are both moving and catchy.

Built around distorted guitar, “Hotel No Name” deliberately delivers more attitude. Whitley breaks down a shout/rap for the bridge of the track and it’s very much reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha. “Morelia” and album closer, “Oh Joy,” offer stripped-down moments on Fourth Corner in which Whitley settles behind an acoustic guitar. On “Morelia” Whitley serenades the pleading chorus “Let it be meaningful/ Let it be enough/ Harbor this comfort/ Don’t let the river go dry.” Both songs are beautifully sparse and offer a nice change of pace from the grand and arching pattern that performers with powerful voices usually settle into.

There really isn’t anything on Fourth Corner that’s in the vein of a pop hit, but the rousing tempo on “Gradual Return” is an upbeat moment on the album. Of all the songs on the debut, “Need Your Love” and album opener, “Irene,” are those which most closely channel the desperation-fueled, panicked harmonies of Black Dub’s “I’d Rather Go Blind.” Those last-straw, enough-is-enough moments are when Whitley is at her best.

On Fourth Corner, Trixie Whitley shows she is very much capable of shining outside the realm of Lanois’ Black Dub. Whitley’s debut album beautifully unveils her musical talent, ambition and heart. Her songs may not yet have the brilliant accessibility of those of a Beyonce or Adele, but with her drive and talent in place, anything is possible.

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Nisam primetio da ovde ima fanova grupe The Cat Empire pa ću ih ukratko predstaviti iako je njihov poslednji album izašao još 2010. g. Radi se o bendu iz Australije koji okuplja vrhunske muzičare. Njihova muzika je mix žanrova koji obuhvata rok, alt rok, latino, funk, R&B sa elementima džezza u rađim naletima džezz kreativnosti i pretežno u živim nastupima. Inače njihovi živi nastupi su spektakularni u zvučnom smislu. Izdali su više albuma. Poslednji album nije onaj najbolji ali je veoma dobar i izašao je 2010. g.

The Cat Empire
Album: Cinema

The Cat Empire is one of the workhorse bands in Australian music at the moment. All band members seem to never stop writing, playing music or releasing varying types of albums; be it as The Cat Empire or as a side project. This is shown via an enormity of Cat Empire tinged releases appearing in the past 7 or 8 years, with band members popping up in many different places, playing as a session musician or being part of collaborative effort like Harry Angus’s side project Jackson Jackson. So, all this workload must be huge a benefit for the band, as they find new and more creative styles of playing, right? Unfortunately, in this case it most definitely is not a benefit. The Cat Empire’s 4th LP Cinema comes across seeming to lack creativity or effort and sounds like that the band have been there and done it before.

Harry Angus recently spoke out, stating that Cinema was to be a album with the majority of the cuts to be written collaboratively for the first time as a band. Upon hearing this, I was immensely excited, as the musicianship in The Cat Empire is phenomenal, and this definitely showed as tracks such as “Feeling’s Gone” flows easily with fantastic instrumental work from the horn section, while the vocals presented by Harry and Felix are as tight as ever. Harry plays the back up/alternate singer to perfection with his individualistic falsetto approach, while Felix promotes his velvety vocals as always, as they sway in between the chaos of trumpets and heavy guitar and percussion, but as soon as “Feeling’s Gone” arrives it disappears with a playing time of only 2 and half minutes, which makes you feel extremely cheated.

What the album lacks is really the punch that previous albums So Many Nights or The Cat Empire had. Cinema doesn’t have that ‘jazzy’, Latin or funky feel that made The Cat Empire so desirable in the past. Cuts like “Waiting” and “All Hell” sound like they are just an extension of the last albums, as the horn work is uninspiring and Felix’s vocals are bland adding nothing except more irritation to the sound. Thankfully, The Cat Empire has one saving grace-- They know how to write a catchy hook or two – and that is found on one of the last tracks, “Call Me Home”. Whilst starting out quite simple with Felix producing an enticing vocal performance, the horn section’s chorus line is the real calling of the cut, with a very upbeat Latin that would put anyone in a good mood.

Cinema is really a massive disappointment from a band that is heavily enjoyed and respected in their country of origin. The album sounds uninspired and lacklustre. The instrumentation has become boring, and the production is dull and sounds extremely rushed – which is a shame, as Cinema had the potential for greatness with the collaborative writing yet, instead The Cat Empire have produced their weakest effort as a band to date. Let’s hope this is not a sign of things to come, as the amount of talent in this group of musicians is too great to go to waste.

 
Must have epic album. Ovo je najbolji opis ovog albuma u 4 reči.

Audiomachine has given the world a must-have album. Released in March of this year, Chronicles contains 28 tracks that exemplify epic production music. This is the first album released to the public by one of the kings of trailer music. The songs have been chosen from previously released compilations and many of those songs have been featured in blockbuster trailers. “Guardians at the Gate” was featured in the Avatar trailer and “Sands of Time” played in Harry Potter Deathly Hollows: Part 1, just to name a few. You can click here to view Audiomachine’s full credits.

The thematic elements of production music carry the listener on a journey. Great production music companies use those elements to enhance the journey with emotion. Though a compilation album, Chronicles is a master storybook of sound that evokes emotion from the very first note to the last. The frequent use of swelling choral arrangement throughout the album lift the listener to a higher plane as the pounding percussion and dancing strings act as a guide for the listener’s journey.

The title of the album gives reference to its nature: a chronicle of Audiomachine’s most popular work to date. However, the overarching theme of the album is what makes it so great: “epicness”. Simple, this theme is used to define the genre as Audiomachine continues to march at the head of the pack. From the inspiring and light hearted ballad “Reaching” to the dark and war march “Legions of Doom” this album is epic.

In chiasmic fashion Chronicles starts strong, ends strong, and is absolutely phenomenal in the middle. It seems that the natural pinnacle point of the album is “Black Caldron”. This song begins with soft racing strings that build to the sound mechanical percussion. This creates emotional tension, a forte of Audiomachine, as the song continues to build. The proud strings carry the tempo as the brass sets a resounding punch to accentuate the resolution of the composition. A soaring choir enters and evokes strong sense of excitement mixed with fear from the listener. Ending with a series of quick orchestrational hits, this song leaves the listener breathless and exhausted. The lingering emotion is one of awe and inspiration.

Another great composition on the album is the last track. “The Messenger” is a fitting end the album as it is a farewell song. The strings follow a solemn, but moving melody. The drums pound out a march, much like that of an army leaving to defend their homes, families, and freedom. However, there is a sense of joy that victory has already been achieved and that all will be well no matter what happens. The choir sings a hymn of resolution and triumph over a majestic ballad. “The Messenger” is definitely a personal favorite.

When all is said and done, Chronicles is a collection of Audiomachine’s finest work and exemplifies their ability evoke strong emotion and carry the listener on an epic journey of sound. It contains a sense of “epicness” throughout. The listener is guided on a journey from ordinary to extraordinary in a heroic and hopeful quest of sound. This album is a must for any music lover.

By Andrew Giles



 
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