Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Tom Waits - Bad As Me

For forty years there has been one man constantly reinventing himself. Like an immortal chameleon he has changed his colors and stripes with every album that he has made. From the smokey nightclubs of the 70's to the amphitheaters of today, the setting in which the music is played, not only compliments the music, but seems to be intertwined within it. He is little known outside his cult following and goes by his given name, Tom Waits. His work has been covered by what seems like everyone in music, from The Eagles to Alex Chilton. Scarlett Johansson even made a cover album that consisted of almost entirely Tom Waits. The life story of Waits will take years to be told (he said it won't be until he's at the end of his rope), and he rarely gives interviews. So the closest to an inside look lies in his music, which should be good enough for just about everybody.

Starting out his career with Closing Time, Waits was a 23-year old youth with a passion for lounges and jazz. Just a year later he released the fitting follow-up Heart Of Saturday Night, bringing a sense of folk and blues to the jazz clubs and small rooms in which he routinely played. It was at this moment that his music took a turn onto the path that we hear today. 1975's Nighthawks At The Diner starts out like the smooth jazz we were used to, but Waits' smooth and sultry voice had been transformed into something comparable to gargling Johnnie Walker, thumbtacks, and hair spray whilst smoking four packs of cigarettes. Since that moment his music has evolved from the back alley jazz to the blues, to the experimental, to the point where no genre could ever really comprehend it. Tom Waits transcends genres and his music raises beyond any sort of label. If someone were to ask you "What does he sound like?", you would have to put on one of his records and say "This". Nearly forty years has passed, and he's still pushing music.

Tom Waits - Bad As Me



As soon as the record begins to play, the insanity begins. A great horn riff layered on top of different instruments, Tom Waits is the conductor on the train leading us in "Chicago". The song stays in the same mood and tone until the ending where the train begins to leave the station and Waits is screaming "All aboard!". The follow-up is "Raised Right Man" which, broken down to its core, is a song comprised of just Waits' voice and the percussion keeping rhythm; just like a brush drum beat to the songs he used to sing off of Small Change (i.e. "Step Right Up"). The production gives a deep and gritty feel while other instruments join in later on. In a nutshell, this song exemplifies the career of Tom Waits over the last decade. A rough production, harsh vocals, and the pinpoint-accurate accompaniment.

Representing the early years of his career is "Talking At The Same Time". The vocals shy away from the snarl and become a higher ranged sound. In the chorus when Waits sings "...and every body's talking at the same time", it's as if the music is playing on an old Depression-era silent movie and the vocals are the cold breeze brushing up against exposed skin. The subject matter tackles some more current issues as Waits sings "We bail out all of the millionaires, they got my fruit and my dime". In a more upbeat track, "Get Lost" comes to us like a playful bounce of a song. The vocal melody sounds like a roller coaster, going up and down and changing inflection, a prolific tactic that Tom Waits has used over the years. Next up is "Face To The Highway". The song comes in a very decrepit tone, playing very slowly throughout and relying mostly on very enchanting guitars. A very pretty song, but it takes a backseat to me compared to some of the other songs like it on the album.


"Pay Me" comes at you in a very accordion-heavy duet with piano, sounding a lot like a late night in Italy. The song, while maybe not intending to be, is as if Tom is reflecting on his life. When Tom starts singing "They pay me not to go home..." there is a genuine sense of sadness and self-empathy. All of this continues to the fantastic ending where Waits' tone has matches the mood of forfeit. Another slow paced song, "Back In The Crowd", follows. With just a guitar and vocals, this song relies on Waits' crooning abilities. It may not sound like Sinatra, but Tom Waits has an uncanny ability to make his voice fit in any song and for it to sound near perfect. This somber-toned is the direct sequel to "Pay Me", advancing the sadness and self-reflection that came before it.

The title track brings the tempo back up with its gritty atmosphere. "Bad As Me" sounds like some of the more recent work Waits has done, but features something seldom heard on any of his catalog. While most of the album sounds as if it is being played through a tin can and string, there's a moment where the vocals shift to a crystal clear tone and Waits' voice becomes a low address to the listener. "Kiss Me" is a piano-bass-vocal structured song that embraces the "gritty jazz-revival" that Waits has been nearly the sole member of for the past decade. It's in this song that the lyrics get somewhat personal again, hearing Waits slowly speak out "kiss me like a stranger once again".

One of my favorites on the album and possibly Tom Waits song in general is "Satisfied". The vocals sound like a Waits-take on a Jim Morrison vocal track, and there's a distinct feel that the song could have fit perfectly on the 1999 release Mule Variations (my personal favorite Waits album). The horns and keyboards take over during the vocal break near the end and push the song to its fitting ending. Then "Last Leaf" starts to play and immediately it sounds like something off of 1992's Bone Machine. Vocally the album is really soft, not a lot of singing and when there is it sounds like whispering. The guitar plays a sort of lullaby and creates quite the lovely tone.

The gates to hell open up on "Hell Broke Luce", Waits' take on the war and military. The rhythm is moving and it creates a sort of fun atmosphere with Waits' vocals reciting like an army captain. The powerful chorus comes in after you get to hear the line "how many ways can you polish up a turd". In the ending there's gunfire and more commands, until it dwindles down into silence. The closer "New Year's Eve" is a stripped down, romantic song with a soft melody. This song is a very easy-listen and is quite the fitting ending to the album. In what may be a note to his lovely wife; Waits keeps a lot bottled up, but exercises a few of his demons and puts them to bed with this beautiful closing track.

After hearing the album a few times and letting it all sink in, a lot can change from your first impressions. Just like every other album Tom Waits has done, you discover new things with each listen. Some tracks get better, some tracks start to fade, but there is no instance of a "bad song". Blending together the influences and sounds of the past twenty years, Tom Waits has released what sounds like a mix of Mule Variations and Bone Machine, with an eclectic paprika on top. All of the ingredients used in the recipe has baked his best work in 12 years.

Recommended Listens: "Chicago", "Talking At The Same Time", "Satisfied", "Hell Broke Luce"

Recommended If You Like: Tom Waits, alternative-jazz-revival-grit, songwriting

Verdict: 9 / 10

Monday, October 17, 2011

Transit - Listen & Forgive

There comes a time when an artist makes an album that is a perfect time capsule for when it was made. Some records have that sense of hope and beginning, which works well in the spring. Some records are happy-go-lucky with upbeat tones and work perfectly in summer (i.e. Yellowcard). Then there's the albums that have a mystique to them in a more somber tone that seem to work well in autumn. Other records have that powerful push to them and sense of discontent, which is how most of us feel in winter. This is one of those autumn albums. It's difficult to describe but you know it when you hear it, and that's what having a great attatchment to music is like. You can't quite put together why an album makes things feel the way it does, but you know it once you hear it.

Set among their peers, Transit is always talked about in the same pop-punk discussion as bands like Man Overboard, This Time Next Year, The Wonder Years, The Flatliners, etc., but on this album you can tell that they aren't happy with just being a part of the scene and that is clearly evident on their new album, Listen & Forgive. The songs you would hear on their previous album, Keep This To Yourself, were ones in the same vein as a pop-punk album, but the lines were clear; they were not to be lumped into any category. There isn't constant double-beat melodies or driving locomotive rhythms, the album plays out like an indie album made by a punk band. Transit takes that to the next level on their release.

Transit - Listen & Forgive



The record starts out with the track "You Can't Miss It (It's Everywhere)", setting the mood early for the album. Very upbeat intro with beautiful guitar work in the verse that transitions smoothly to the chorus melody and weaves as such throughout the song. Prime example of where Transit seperate themselves from their peers is on this track in the chorus. When other bands would build up to a sing-a-long friendly upbeat chorus, Transit instead works in a melodic lull that isn't immediatly catchy or uplifting, but is easy croon along with. The song features extensive backing vocals, which can be also said for the entire album.


From the start, the opening track encapsulizes what the entire album is about to bring: an abnormal landscape of an album that is built on a post-punk handbook. This album more than their previous releases, blends their influences together into a sound that is all their own. Melting a mix of Death Cab For Cutie, Bayside, American Football, and Hot Water Music; the album seems very content with what it is and rightfully so, it is a great listen. When talking about the album I'd group a few songs together to let you know what the songs collectively sound like. On this album however, I simply cannot do that. Each song is different, builds upon the one before it, improves the songscape that the album creates piece by piece.

"Long Lost Friends" starts out the same: with an intriguing guitar riff that keeps the atmosphere. The vocals and drums on this song compliment each other and are the two stand-out points. How the beat matches the melody of the vocals with the atmospheric guitar below it creates the autumn tone and blends to the chorus where the song comes together, embracing all of its parts. Next up is the title track, "Listen And Forgive", that starts out slower and keeps the mellow tone throughout. Featuring more extensive gang vocals throughout, the song is extremely vocally driven and the raw emotional power given off by the entire band's vocals summerizes the labor of love that this album is. "All Your Heart" is the first song on the album with guitarist Tim Landers doing lead vocals instead of primary vocalist, Joe Boynton. That change works extremely well, giving the song a different, more somber tone. The guitar work is still very admirable, the chorus is still something you'd sing with your friends, and the song weaves through the verses, the choruses, and the breakdown; building up to the ending.

Just like the drum-vocal melody before it, "Asleep At The Wheel" features more guitar-vocal melodies that makes it feel like an acoustic song. The track stays very mellow and is perfect for the ambient feel of autumn on the album. Having said all of that for the album so far, now is when it gets better. "Cutting Corners" may be my favorite track, using a different kind of intro and taking the rhythm they had before and then turning it up a little bit. The chorus is as close to pop-punk as the album gets and the guitar theatrics throughout the chorus, pre-chorus, and verses works very well. It's a shame that it's the shortest song on the album, but it ends very fittingly with a group vocal. "Skipping Stone" is the albums lone acoustic song about moving on and analyzing life. The mix of guitars sounds phenomenal, even as they take a backseat to the vocals most of the song. For nearly the entire track the band sings along, giving the more intimate feel that fits in so well on the album.

"I Think I Know" brings the pace back up at the start but lulls into a very ambient verse, building a very atmospheric sound to the album. Easily the most adventurous song on the album, the vocals don't seem strained and when the band gets involved in them, the song really takes off. It is at this point that you see an intimate, almost nostalgic, theme begins to form on the album. This can also be heard on "Don't Make A Sound", which builds from the verses to the choruses but keeps the rhythm and tone to what comes across as almost a waltz. The song's breakdown could be one of the brightest points on the entire album, holding onto the mellow tone until the track ends. If there is any song on this record that seems the most personal, it would be "1978". Very vocally driven, the song picks up to an anthemic, yet mellow, chorus with dual-vocal harmonies. The guitars work as a complimentary piece and the drumming is very tight, allowing the vocals to soar throughout the song, even with all of the different movements. Upon hearing it, this track just feels like an extremely personal song of longing and life, twisting through different movements and experiences.

"Over Your Head" starts the same way. Working a waltz-esque tone to a slow-yet-steady chorus, the song stays very mellow until the breakdown, which builds until it is an emotionally driven shout. The song also ends very strong by holding out the last few notes, as if to say that the song personifies all they have. Finally, it is make or break time, the closing track. "The Answer Comes In Time", encapsulates every little intricacy that the album ever featured: the guitar introductions, the group vocals, the slow and powerful breakdown, this song just shouts out "CLOSER" to you. The tone of the track is like a triumphant stance of what it has gone through, despite not sounding like it accomplished complete victory.

Overall the album is one of the best I've heard in a long time. I didn't consider myself a huge fan going into listening to it, but coming out I am a complete convert. This is an album that is falling leaves and a brisk breeze in stereo. I never used the word "fun" to describe the album, but it is. This is a really fun album that will be fun to play and sing along to with friends in a mellow atmosphere. Capturing the spirit of the season, Listen & Forgive has established Transit as a band that doesn't deserve to be lumped into genres, because they have already transcended everyone people have put them in.

Recommneded Tracks: "Cutting Corners", "I Think I Know", "1978"

Recommended If You Like: "The Big Deep" by The Sleeping, "The Glass Passenger" by Jack's Mannequin, "Suburbia..." by The Wonder Years

Verdict: 8.5 / 10

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

New Found Glory - Radiosurgery

It was under ten years ago that my oldest brother took me under his wing and took me to my first gig. He was a freshman in college here in Lincoln at the University and I was just 12 years-old, a bright eyed sixth grader. He came back for a weekend to pick me up in his 2001 Ford Focus that we called the "bumblebee" for its goldish-yellow color. The destination was Pershing Auditorium and the mission was to see New Found Glory. It was at this show that I believe my life changed. The pure energy and excitement that came erupting out off that band and the crowd got to me, and perhaps changed the way I look at life.

Return to present-day Lincoln, where I have now lived for three years. In the time since my first encounter with New Found Glory, I have seen them live five times. Which is a lot considering that sports in high school limited my engagement to shows. They have just released their seventh album and are on my schedule to see on their upcoming tour. So you can understand why I have a critical eye on this band. With their new album comes excitement, optimism, and a review.

New Found Glory - Radiosurgery


The album starts off with the first single/title track. This is the prime example of what the new album encompasses as a whole sound. Following the conventional formula of song structure, the track radiates a "Dookie"-vibe. At first listen, it didn't hit me, but after listening to it a few times you can see where the song could have fit on any early Green Day album. Still very fun and catchy, NFG put their stamp on every song they make, and give us a late-summer anthem.

The next few songs are my favorites on the album. "Anthem Of The Unwanted" and "Drill It In My Brain" are both vintage New Found Glory with an upbeat, charisma to the music and toned-down catchy chorus. "I'm Not The One" brings back the gang vocals with a hardcore breakdown and different movements with composition. "Dumped" is a very musical locomotive, vintage NFG song with a catchy upbeat chorus and a noteworthy ending.

It's at that point where the album takes a slight downturn. "Summer Fling, Don't Mean A Thing" is a somewhat forgettable, cookie-cutter song, that sounds like it could be a b-side off of Coming Home. "Caught In The Act" and "Trainwreck" share the same fate. It's not a complete knock on slower songs, or less musically driven songs, but in some cases the efforts just seem lazy. Such is the case here. The songs don't capture attention the first time and make it very easy to skip ahead to the next songs on the album that are a lot less forgetful.

The few bright points on the back half of the album, "Memories And Battle Scars" and "Map Of Your Body" don't do enough to resurrect the album from the doldrums. Coming out with strong riffs, very catchy choruses, and notably well executed breakdowns, the songs hold your attention and almost force you to sing along. In the case of the album closer, "Map Of Your Body", the breakdown takes the form of a sort of lullaby. As soon as the breakdown ends, the song shoots off like a rocket back to the catchy chorus for the ending.

Overall, the album features a few good songs, a few decent ones, and a few forgettable ones. I recognize that at some points I may sound like I want them to recreate their self-titled album or Sticks And Stones, but I know that what goes into making an album can't be reproduced and getting repeated success on albums is extremely difficult. NFG came back from a lackluster showing with Not Without A Fight, an album I very much enjoyed. Time will tell if I enjoy Radiosurgery as much as I did with NWAF that came before it, but it's not looking good. For fans of old-school Green Day who haven't gotten into New Found Glory (if those people exist) should give this album a listen. If you're a hardcore New Found Glory fan, you should listen to this album because it's the exact things you've come to like in them. But in the long run, the album hits the target a few times not enough and lets the lacking parts last too long.

Recommended Tracks: "Anthem Of The Unwanted", "I'm Not The One", "Dumped"

Recommended If You Like: New Found Glory, Dookie

Verdict: 5.5/10