First album (#34) is Owls by Owls. So basically another Cap'n Jazz album. I really like Cap'n Jazz so I'm excited for this one (Algernon Calladweller is also in this post so a lot of Cap'n Jazz). So the first song ("What Whorse You Wrote Id On") could maybe be a bit more energetic but on the other hand I like the chill, almost islandy feel at the beginning. Really liking the start of "I Want the Quiet Moments of a Party Girl." The guitar is doing cool things (almost reminds me of Big Black or Shellac but less abrasive), there's a nice driving bass. Let's drive to Alaska indeed. Favorite song of the album so far, it's driving in a way that almost reminds me of something like Neu!'s "Hero" (but only sort of) and I like songs like that. Plus the weird ending. "Everyone Is My Friend" is even better. Tim Kinsella is finally putting some energy in his singing and the instrumentation is fun. Despite the big mood in the title "I Want the Blindingly Cute to Confide In Me" didn't really grab me at first. But it does start building up, which is cool. Are those bongos? The switch between the first and second halves of "Holy Fucking Ghost" was weird at first but I think it works well. Really liking the weird, offbeat (?) claps and the back vocals. "Later" (which is cheating because it's a Japan only bonus track) is pretty fun, all the parts of it except maybe the vocals (not that the vocals are bad, they're just the weakest part of this song).
Overall, this album is pretty good but I miss the energy of Cap'n Jazz. And I get it. Cap' Jazz encapsulates that late teens spirit and now the members are young adults and so they are different. Still miss it though. The album feels a bit incoherent at times, like the different instruments aren't really communicating with each other but like not in a fun anarchic way. Vocals could be a bit more yelly or at least not so lethargic. Not my favorite Kinsella project, that's for sure. But like I said, still good and is probably the sort of thing that would grow on me with repeat listens.
The next album is The Medicine by The Jazz June, the video of which I was going to use apparently disappeared between when I loaded it up a couple days ago now. But I found a backup playlist. So let's go! The Jazz June is a band I had never heard of before starting this list, so that's going to be interesting.
The first song is "Viva La Speed Metal". It's interesting enough, there's some cool rhythms and changes going on."The Scars to Prove it" is such an emo title. I like the musical shifts in different parts of the song (as people following this series certainly know). I like how "Except" starts. And its riffs, especially near the end. "The Phone Works Both Ways" has a really fun bass line and the guitar starts doing some crazy stuff in the last third or so. The title track builds up well and I quite like the chorus (?) both lyrically and musically. "So I fucked up but I'm getting on with my life/it feels like there's a point to everything" so true homie, so true. The shift after that (well the first iteration of the chorus) to a different style is weird but I really like it. It builds up so well and the guitars just sound cool.
"At the Artist's Leisure, Pt. 2" also has a really good building start and just gets better when the bass comes in. The high pitched guitars in the middle are cool. The beginning is definitely the best part of this song. "Motorhead's Roadie" has a bass solo, or at least a cool bass. Nice and driving. The bridge (? the quite part in the middle) does the loud to quiet to loud nicely. This song does go on too long though, it just doesn't build up right to justify the length. There's a lot going on musically in "Get on the Bus" but I'm not sure it works. And now for a 10 minute song. Will it build right? "Balance" starts good. The riffs work together, are driving and it seems to be getting larger quite nicely. It gets a little lamer about of a third of the way in but quickly catches itself. The reverby and echoy vocals actually work well and I like the random piano and squealy guitars (synths?) in the middle. What is this bizarre sample? I'd say overall this is pretty good for a long song. Gets a bit self indulgent at parts but it stays mostly coherent (at least the first 8 minutes at least, the last two minutes feel more disconnected with the rest of the song though it's a fun crescendo in its own right) and there's some really cool sounds going over the driving bass which keeps everything together.
Verdict: This album is fine but not my favorite. It has a problem with too much happening in any given song, and not in a fun way like The Brave Little Abacus. This distracts from both the songs themselves and their build-up crescendo that a lot of emo songs like these ones try to do. And I have no idea what's going on the lyrics, but again they aren't delivered in a way that makes that not matter like say Cap'n Jazz (or The Brave Little Abacus, but those lyrics are amazing. Then again, so are some of Cap'n Jazz's). It's not bad by any means and it certainly is emo, so credit due where credit is due. My favorite songs are probably "The Medicine" and "Balance".
Third album (#32) is Some Kind of Cadwallader by Algernon Cadwallader. Weirdly enough, I actually haven't listened to them (partially because of this but mostly because they just haven't shown up in my playlists for some reason...so this must not be true because I've apparently listened to all of Parrot Flies but I have no idea when and a youtube history search reveals nothing) so I'm fairly excited. Just gotta say that I love the album cover (and all their album covers really, though their self titled album/compilation is clearly a rip off of Fishing for Birds concept art). I kinda want to buy their vinyl just for that, but first I want to see if I like the album.
I like the way this one starts. Good twinkly guitars and screams/yells. No idea what he's saying though (looking at the lyrics, they're really aping the Cap'n Jazz nonesense). Great build up into a scream and then the end of the song. So yeah, "Casual Discussion in a Dome between Two Temples" is a banger. Great bass in the title track. The vocals in "The Stars" are really channeling Cap'n Jazz. Another good bass in "Horror" while the guitar goes off and does whatever it does. Also great opening line, being about a toilet and all. Wait is that a harmonica? Interesting. And it builds really well with the "ooohs" and everything, before coming back down nicely. "Motivational Song" definitely hits its stride when it's just actual nonsense before the real quiet bridge (?), not that point isn't nice too. Love the feedback at the end.
...I just got the pun of "Yo Soy Milk". It's not just saying I am milk in bad Spanish, it's also soy milk. Anyway fun song but not much to say. Once again, a good bass. "On Up" is an exercise in stretching out words. Love the congas (?) and after the first line or two the instrumentation in general gets better...and weirder post slide whistle (?). "Katie's Conscience" feels a lot like Cap'n Jazz in its energy and just in general (hilariously, I read a Pitchfork review after listening to this album which pointed to this exact song as acing the Cap'n Jazz exam and getting extra credit). Great screams near the end. Awesome driving bass in "Serial Killer Status" even if it is simple. And now is time for a 13 minute closer in "In Response to Irresponsibility". It starts out good but lets see if it can justify itself. Three minutes in (just before the vocals) and the build up receded but there's like maracas and shakers so all is good. Plus the way the guitars come back in is great. I like the feedback that starts like halfway through the song. Okay like 8-9 minutes in gets really weird in a good way, with what sounds like tape loops or some other sort of manipulation. There's still a lot of song left so I wonder where it goes from here. Doesn't quite build back up but there's some good noise. Song still probably overstays its welcome.
Anyway this is probably my favorite album of this review (so far?). I saw the one comment on youtube that was like "Cap'n Jazz vocals with American Football guitars" and that's fairly accurate. The whole album has an energy level that I like. Is Cap'n Jazz better? Well none of the songs are as good as "Little League" and there's nothing quite like that amazing three song opener of Shmap'n Shmazz but Algernon Cadwallader is definitely more competent and the instrumentation is probably a bit better. So yeah I like Cap'n Jazz more, but this is a better Cap'n Jazz clone than Owls, which is literally just Cap'n Jazz.
Imma buy that vinyl now.
The last album for this post is Kill Them with Kindness by the Jealous Sound. What an emo name. I don't think I'd ever heard of them before starting this activity.
First song sounds fine. Definitely more on the poppy side, but not in a bad way. Reminds me a lot of Jimmy Eat World, but a bit slower and with more phaser (?). All these songs have very pop-punky guitars (lots of power chords or whatever). Again fine, it's just quite different from all the midwest emo I've been listening to. Liking the intro synth on "The Fold Out". I'm vibing with "Does That Make Sense" for some reason. Liking "Abandon, Abandon"'s guitars for some reason and once again, loving the synth on "Troublesome". So much glissando and just that good kinda sharp vibe. Ugh "Recovery Room" is a ballad. Ballads are hit or miss on a good day and this one is definitely a miss (today at least). It's six minutes long too. Closer ("Above the Waves") is a pretty traditional closer. There's some build up (in a pop way, not a midwest emo way) but it's still like the rest of the album overall. Last rendition of the chorus (with the backing vocals) is pretty great.
Vocals are very samey across all the songs and not in a fun yelly way (so much reverb). I know that's how this style of emo is (there's two! Brand New albums on this list. Tied with Jimmy Eat World. Only Mike Kinsella has more) and the main focus really is the lyrics, not the delivery, but more variety would be nice. Or at least more energy.
As a side note, I love how with each release the album cover gets higher and higher quality.
And with that, another set of albums done. Almost a quarter of the way through the list. Everything was actually emo this time and it sure revealed my preferences for fast, very energetic music. And cool album covers. I keep going back and forth about buying the Owls album. I think I will because the local record shop apparently has a special, indie record store only edition and I love colored vinyls. But there's another, slightly more expensive special edition on Bandcamp, so we'll see (I guess quite a bit more expensive with shipping).
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