Citizen Cope: "Citizen Cope"

If you’re looking for an artist who doesn’t care how terrible he sounds, Citizen Cope is for you.

I had heard a few Citizen Cope songs before reviewing this album, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for what awaited me. This is definitely a step away from my normal musical tastes, but unfortunately it seems I have taken a step in the wrong direction. When it comes to uninspired and poorly performed music, I think Mr. Cope might take the cake; he sounds like he simply doesn’t care about how he sounds, which is the beginning to a disastrous attempt at an album.

Before you send me hate-mail about that last paragraph, let me explain myself a little bit here. I stand by those last claims 100%, and I think if you were to really go back and listen to this album again, you’d definitely hear what I am saying. Seriously, go listen to it again with what I’ve said in mind and you’ll hear it. “But wait!” you say, “This was his first album! Everyone improves with later albums!” Yes, it is his first album. And quite frankly, you’re right that nearly everyone improves with their next few albums; that is just the simple fact of being an artist. But after hearing what Mr. Cope brought to the table for his first album, I am amazed that he got signed in the first place.

Yeah, you heard me. Listening to this album
is like getting your wisdom teeth pulled.

Let me put it simply and frankly for those of you who don’t feel like reading further: this album SUCKS. I’ve listened to my fair share of music over the years, and I cannot say that I’ve ever heard an artist that cares less about how he sounds than this guy. No, that’s not to say that he is trying to be independent and all that crap by not listening to critics and just making his music the way he wants. What I am saying is that he doesn’t care enough to put the effort in to make himself sound anywhere close to reasonably decent, and then somehow goes above and beyond the call to make all of his songs sound the same and simultaneously terrible as well.

For those of you still with me, I am going to spend the rest of this review trying to find something I actually like about this album.

I guess I’ll start off with the production, where I’ll have to begrudgingly say that it’s reasonably good. I listened to this album on Grooveshark and from there it sounded decent. However, how hard is it to EQ four different sounds? I would say even the most beginning studio amateurs could properly make this music sound good since there is so little going on with regards to instrumentation. It makes me wonder, with all of the “don’t-give-a-crap” mindset going on here, how much of the sound is just advanced MIDI work anyways. My next complaint is that every song is as dull and simple as a cheese sandwich. Now, let me clarify: simplicity can be and is a good thing in the right situations. There are plenty of examples where simplicity can make the other parts of the song sound great due to the contrast that occurs. But there is no contrast when every single freaking song is boringly simple. It just makes everything sound boring. But I guess I should give credit to Mr. Cope for somehow managing to make every song sound boring because quite frankly, I’ve never heard it done before.

Along those lines, I have one red-flag, enormous, offensively blatant problem with this album as a whole. And I guarantee that many people will agree with me here. The problem is this:

Every. Song. Sounds. The. EXACT. Same. 

I kid you not—every song is so ridiculously formulaic that I actually have trouble determining one from the other. I don’t mean that in the sense that I don’t know where one ends and the other begins. I mean that if you were to ask me which song was which on this album, I could probably listen to this album ten times and still not be able to tell you. I can actually break it down for you right here and now. This is how every damn song in this album works:

1. Start with abstract-sounding vocals and/or electronic synth.

      2. Listen as Mr. Cope hesitatingly comes in with his half-attempt at singing by crooning in the same tone for the entire song.

      3. At same time as Mr. Cope, also bring in drums with this pattern: kick, hi-hat, snare, hi-hat. Repeat pattern for entire song. (Note: for added variety, try including drums right away at the beginning; they’ll never see it coming!)

      4. Include bass simply so that there is some sort of actual music going on.

      5. Make a guitar play weird stuff behind everything else; don’t worry, it won’t be important anyways.

      6. At chorus, be sure to maybe include some extra synth behind everything. After all, we need some way to define this part from the rest of it, I guess. 

      7. Repeat Steps 2-6. You now have a 14 track album!

 

…Did he even try?

"I wonder what it's like.... to make good music...."
He'll never know.

Next we have the lyrics, probably the next most blatant assault against music. Here’s the thing: if you’re going to talk about heavy issues, like in the song “Salvation”, or about politics, like in the song “Contact”, then you better have more than just one or two verses written that just get repeated because you stopped trying and decided that repeating the same crap over again to make the song longer was better than actually writing something worth substance. I feel as though he tried to be deep here in his lyrics, but instead of coming out and reaching my soul they just sort of ooze out with his voice, creating a sticky residue that I’d rather wallow through with a mop than with my soul. And then there are the songs that just don’t seem to mean anything, such as the song “Let The Drummer Kick”. Seriously, what is even trying to be said there? I looked through the lyrics to that song and never found a point to them, which is almost worse than the others that repeat themselves over and over. If you’re going to write a song, have it mean something, for crying out loud!

I just don’t understand what happened with this album. I would say that it got forced out too fast, but since it was his first work that isn’t an option. I would say that it’s just a different kind of music, but even I know that there are other artists who are far superior in the same genre. It all comes down to the fact that it sounds like Mr. Cope simply does not care how terrible he sounds. I have never heard any other artist be so sloppy in vocal delivery or be so uncreative in melodic synthesis. This album was painful to get through, honestly speaking, and I can’t really say that I enjoyed it in any way. I’d almost rather go smack my head with a brick than listen to this again, because at least the sound of my cracking skull would have more sonic value than the entirety of this album. Citizen Cope's self-titled album barely scrapes by with a:

1 out of 7. I'm being generous, Mr. Cope.

Demon Hunter: "Summer of Darkness"

Summer of Darkness enlightens us all with the true meaning of great thrash metal.

These guys hold a special place in my heart, and with much reason beyond nostalgia. Granted, I did basically grow up listening to them after hearing another album—The Triptych—earlier on in middle school. But their legacy lives on with me because they really are an excellent band. And so I’m going to review one of their greatest works: Summer of Darkness.

Now, if you’re not into metal, well then too bad. You’re really missing out here. This album is fantastic. There—I’ll get it out of the way at the beginning of the second paragraph. This. Album. Rocks. There’s no other way to put it. Anything less would be giving Demon Hunter less credit than they deserve, and this masterpiece of an album rakes in more bonus points than any other album. It is somewhat surprising that their sophomore album is probably their best; there are plenty of bands that don’t “find their sound” until album #3 or even later (I’m looking at you, Between The Buried And Me). But Demon Hunter managed to tweak their music to the point of mastery for this album, and you’ll hear the same formula in every other album that follows. Well, except for their latest effort, The World Is A Thorn. But frankly—with the exception of a song or two—I try to pretend that album doesn’t exist sometimes.

Listen to our music or I will eat you.

Oh garbage, I’m digressing. Back to what we were saying here, where do I begin with Summer of Darkness? Well, let’s start from the bottom and go up, beginning with overall sound quality. As the producer, Aaron Sprinkle (who also did work for Anberlin and Emery) outdid himself with this album: everything hits like a sack of potato-shaped bricks. If you were to crank the volume with this record, you’d find yourself being hit with a wall of sound, as everything is very evenly blended together to make one sonic impact. My usual complaint is that the bass in metal albums takes a back seat (read: non-existent), but it’s definitely prevalent here on the low side of things. It’s more along the lines of something that you feel when you listen to the album rather than something you specifically hear, but with Demon Hunter, it works. Because the guitars maintain a very heavy, chunky sound throughout the album, the bass gives them a foundation to stand on. Another common problem with metal (depending on the intent of the album/artist, of course) is that the drums usually overpower everyone else. However, Summer of Darkness nicely sidesteps that problem and sews the drums in very well while still maintaining that heavy, jabby, thick sound we all love. Overall, it carries an amazing sound, which can only add to the music as a whole.

Speaking of the music—the composing, musicianship, and song list all work together to make this album step out above the others. Remember that formula I was talking about earlier? It definitely takes hold here in Summer of Darkness, and most certainly in a GOOD way. Demon Hunter has a certain style compared to other bands: there is little to zero soloing amongst the rolling riffs, and the vocals vary from rap-like screaming to clean, soaring tenors (usually within the same song, too). We don’t need to discuss the actual instrumentation very much; it’s a tried-and-true, low-end, rattle-your-teeth riff work pattern. I will make one special mention here, though, and that is about the electronic portions on this album. I will say this now and stand next to it: every band that wants to use electronics in their music needs to model them after this album. The only exception is if the music itself is indeed electronic, or if there is a dedicated keys player without an inferiority complex that causes him/her to inject every second of music with obnoxious, unnecessary electronica. Other than that, bands need to look at Demon Hunter for inspiration. Here’s why: the synths and electronic riffs that they use are tactful and well-placed, and actually add to the music rather than distract. Too often do bands try and shove as many synth parts as they can into their music, causing a distraction from what’s actually good. Notable tracks that do this are “Less Than Nothing” and “My Heartstrings Come Undone”. Listen to the highlights of synth. They’re good! They add to the song! It’s just plain well-done.

The other notable part of Demon Hunter is the vocals. I do indeed love Demon Hunter vocals because they are heavy and unique; Ryan Clark is a ferocious, talented singer. The extensive layering of his screamed voice makes him sound three times bigger than he is (in real life, he’s like 5’4” or something short like that), and his amazing clean vocals highlight so many Demon Hunter choruses. But what makes the vocals so different is that during a lot of the clean vocal intrusions there will be a subtle background of screamed vocals underneath. This also adds more girth to the clean parts, helping them maintain their heavy sound throughout 100% of the song if needed. It’s brilliant, really—a simple addition of a quieter distorted layer adds miles of sound to the vocals. On Summer of Darkness, we also hear the addition of guest vocals from bands such as 36 Crazy Fists and Thousand Foot Krutch. Like the electronic parts, these guest vocals are tactfully used and well placed; they only add a nice variety to the sound of the music. Probably the best example of this is the song “Coffin Builder”: the addition of TFK’s Trevor McNevan during the bridge is a great change-up and brings a whole new sound to the song.

And the lyrics—while gloomy most of the time—have a rather positive message in them (although that comes out more in later albums). Did I mention that these guys are strong Christians? Yeah, there’s that too. They live, rock, and headbang for Christ: how cool is that?

Go ahead. Bash the album.

What to complain about, what to complain about… Honestly, I’m going to have to try to find things to complain about. I guess there is one thing that I could mention: repetitiveness. While Demon Hunter’s formula is great, some songs can sound very similar to each other. There are times where you may ask, “Hey, haven’t I heard this riff before?”; but to be honest, I have a hard time hearing that most of the time. I believe that those tactful additions of synth and guest vocals keep the album from becoming stale. The line-up of the songs also alleviates this sonic similarity: there are plenty of songs that hop back from mood to mood. While they all might be “dark” sounding (whatever that means), there’s still a distinct difference. Another complaint I can foresee is that there isn’t any soloing on the album. Period. None at all. So if you’re into 5 minute exerts of guitar scales/sweeps/general guitar wank, you’ll be disappointed. However, I would say that a lack of solos does not detract from the experience at all; if anything, it adds to that wall-o’-sound effect I mentioned earlier. These guys know what they’re doing, and they do it really well.

Addressing those people who are not fans of metal, I say this: give this album an honest listen. And you might not like it—at all. It’s heavy, it’s aggressive—it’s the other side of spectrum from your typical alternative, I-think-my-voice-and-acoustic-guitar-should-dominate-the-music rock (*cough* John Mayer *cough*). Rather, it’s the combined effort of amazing musicians that produced an amazing album. And I think that intense incredibility of this album can be heard by anyone and everyone. So do give it a listen; you are missing out if you don’t.

Here we are at last: the verdict. I must preface with this statement—I did try to review this album as unbiased as possible. There might be a little favor (VERY little) simply because I grew up listening to these guys, but I honestly tried to be neutral. Despite that fact, I firmly hold to my promise to be fair, and also to my final verdict. Demon Hunter’s Summer of Darkness gets a:

6 bullet holes in demon skulls out of 7.

Santana: "Supernatural"

Delivering good—albeit repetitive—Latin vibes, one shroom-induced solo at a time.

There’s no doubt about it: Carlos Santana is probably one of the more talented and widely known great guitarists of all time. Unless you have lived under a rock with cotton in your ears for the past 60 years, then chances are you’ve heard something with the Mexican artist playing his guitar. He has a knack for throwing solo-like melodies over the top of every song he’s in and blending them nicely into the music. Of course, he also gets his spotlight with true solos here and there—where he can really show off his talent. He is certainly the best Latin guitarist that I’ve ever heard in my time.

The juggernaut album Supernatural is probably also his best known, having won nine Grammies (no, seriously—NINE) in the year 2000, one year after it was made. And I’d say I have to agree with the committee that issues Grammies… for the most part. This album is certainly spectacular in its own way, and that’s not simply from the seemingly substance abuse-inspired solos that Santana cranks out throughout the album. The music is just well written, and the sound engineering is also masterfully done. There are so many different sounds and facets of music going on at once that every song sounds grand in its own way. The layering is exceptionally well done; hearing ten different instruments at the same time clearly is a feat in and of itself. The whole damn thing just sounds really good.

You're darn right I won 8
grammies for this album.

By no means is this a perfect album, however. There are a couple major flaws here, but those might even be debatable in and of themselves with a little explanation. The first is that I couldn’t get over the marring fact that a lot of this album sounds exactly the same. It’s not as glaringly bad as some metal bands out there that shamelessly create an entire album by recycling the same “chuggity-chug-chug, garbled vocals” riff over and over for an hour, but it is very noticeable. And it all comes down to the fact that the majority of the songs are written in the key of A minor. Seriously, I think that over half of the album is written in A minor. Does this degrade the quality of the songs? No, but it can become rather bland if one were to listen to the album all the way through (which is exactly what I am doing). Maybe this comes from the fact that we are talking about Latin music here, since I’ve noticed that Latin music is commonly in that key, but still—there is more to life than A minor. However, one could argue that it gives the album more of a “jam” feel, given that Santana seems to do just that in a lot of the songs. And that might be a valid point, but the fact of the matter is that it does get a touch bit old.

Which leads me to my next nitpick: most of the actual Latin songs on Supernatural sound like you could take them and string them all into one giant song. Here again, we run into the gray area of “Is this a flaw or just the nature and style of the genre?”, and I would have to lean slightly more towards the latter of that question. It’s not too bad… it’s just noticeable. But quite frankly, I would definitely file this statement into severe nitpicking and more or less disregard it since 99.9% of people will not notice such a minor detail.

Santana does do something pretty cool on this album by bringing in a large array of guest artists to contribute to the music, and I would say that the majority of his selection is a good addition. Eric Clapton jams with Santana on the final track, and Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 leads the vocals in the smash hit “Smooth”. Both of those songs—and others—create a diverse yet fluid and enjoyable sound for the listener to enjoy.

Oh, c'mon! I know they're not that good
but I'm too busy being awesome to sing...

However, there are a couple songs that made me raise my eyebrow at the vocal contributions. Some of the worst on the album are the hip-hop/rap/R&B artists that he brings into the mix; they honestly just take away from the experience of the album as a whole. This is not bias against those genres: this is pointing out that those specific artists are just not that good on their respective songs. One example that I will actually point out here is the song “Do You Like The Way” featuring Lauryn Hill and—no kidding—our good buddy Cee-Lo. Frankly, the song is terrible—not only because these two clowns take their loosely rhythmic styles and try to fuse them with a very solidly rhythmic genre but also because Santana takes a back seat for most of the song. Excuse me? What happened to the lovely, shroom-induced solos and melodic riffing we heard earlier? Now all we’ve got are two mediocre R&B artists trying to force Latin music to have no rhythm. Not a good plan.

You may have gotten to this point and are thinking, “Man, he really doesn’t like this album at all.” On the contrary, dear reader: the reason I can go into such detail about the flaws is because there are so FEW of them. This is why they stick out to me so much—the overwhelming majority of the album is so good that these little nitpicks are accidentally emphasized. Honestly, after going through the album a couple times I found myself really getting into the music. There are a couple songs that I have to point out for being my favorites. The first is the opener “(Da Le) Yaleo”; it’s delightful, fun, and an excellent mood setter for the album. Instead of carrying the song as it might do at times, Santana’s guitar squealing is just along for the ride and provides a great accompaniment to the energy in the track. But my favorite song has to be “Migra”, a track nestled in the middle of the album. It’s energetic, it’s funky, it’s tribal—it’s downright enjoyable. It’s tracks like these two that just add to the overall greatness that is Supernatural.

So what's the verdict, then? Well, it was a tough choice but, after a few listens and some thought, Santana's Supernatural deserves a solid:

5 out of 7. Not bad at all, Santana.

Let's Begin!

So here it is-- a blog that I have planned for a while now. I have always wanted to do this sort of thing, and while I know it'll never be as much of a juggernaut as UG or Sputnik Music simply because keeping up with them would be impossible, it'll be a fun side project for me to work on when I am in need of scratching the writing itch.

The whole point of creating this site is to not only share my honest, unbiased (as close to unbiased as possible, that is), and hopefully entertaining opinion on music; but also to expand my musical horizons in all directions so I can maybe find some more tunes and artists to enjoy. I have come to the conclusion that I prejudge a lot of music due to its genre, one song that I heard, or even its album artwork. This, in turn, causes me to possibly miss out on music that I might fall in love with because my prejudice will make me overlook it. Who knows what awesome stuff is out there that I have already passed by!

Now, I have given it much thought, and I am going to base each review off of a seven-point rating system. Why? Because I can. And seven is a cool number to use because it gives me enough numbers for more thorough reviewing without excess. So there. Deal with it.

Screw multiples of 5.

Also, I am going to include pictures of stuff (often terribly edited by Microsoft Paint), plus my own nerdy and odd sense of humor. After all, this is supposed to fun, too. So be prepared for that as well.

However, I strongly suggest that you take my rating with a couple grains of salt. So give it a little weight, but not too much. Here's why:

#1. I will have a little bias, no matter what.

#2. You and I may have different opinions of the album, which is okay.

#3. The above statement means that you will love something that I hate, and you will hate something that I love. There is no way in the world that everyone will have the same consensus all the time. Which leads me to...

#4. Listen to the album yourself, too. Just because I form an opinion of it does not mean that we will agree. You may find something that you love that you never knew existed before just by trying it out.

I also must mention that, while I will try, I can't promise that I will be able to review EVERY suggestion that I get (assuming I even get any). There may be times where I am busy with school or out battling rogue polar bears, so reviewing music will be put on the backburner. But I'll get to is as soon as I can.

Here we go, then-- the beginning of my music review blog. Hopefully you'll enjoy what you read and find some music to fall in love with too.