The album is basically 45 minutes of the classic Grinspoon sound (even Phil Jamieson, known in the USA for writing two Unwritten Law songs that received radio play, implements his raspy scream a bit on this album) along with stuff that was discovered in the later period post-New Detention. For example, in “Dogs”, Phil combines both the old sound with the new vocals while retaining the still-nonsensical-yet-worthy-of-Faulkner lyrics. That song, due to an early leak, made me think that it was going to be another “Black Tattoo” (lead single from Alibis and Other Lies); another good song found within the rubbish of forgettable pastiche. However, tracks following it, including the single “Comeback” and the deep cut “Tonight”, retain that sound; the mix between the old and the new. The album, with that mixture in place, makes it seem as if a war is happening in my headphones: a war between pop vocals and metal hooks without the shady transitions of Maximum The Hormone. It is definitely a far cry from “Minute by Minute”.

As many fans have stated, this album is basically that same sound for twelve tracks, which makes it a bit bland. However, that sound reminds me a bit of Easy, where every song had distortion and drop-D tuning. The fans were probably comparing the album to the “variety” found on Alibis And Other Lies, which was mediocre at best, and seeing that there wasn’t much of it to be found here. Well, fans who want to hear another “Minute by Minute”: you’re not going to discover it. You will discover another “Find Your Own Way” (“Give You More”, a very impressive alt-blues song reminiscent of Thrills’ “Enemy”) and another “Chemical Heart” (“Summer”, but without the depressing drug abuse undertones), but no catchy pop songs with memorable hooks. Instead, Pat Davern has concocted alt-metal songs with catchy hooks (“Premonitions”, “Dogs”, “Run”, “Tonight”) – he’s probably tired of all the pop music as I am. As for the lyrics, some songs are a little more blunt in nature (“Comeback” is basically about the pressures of fame and “Premonitions” is about what fame can do to one’s stress) while some are still on that line between silly and genius due to Phil’s writing style (“Dogs”, “Tonight”, “Summer”). They have not really changed a bit since 1997’s Guide to Better Living (and, to me, Phil’s best song lyrically was “Railrider” from that same album, itself a scathing view of religious hypocrisy in the modern era).

If I were to choose songs that I would want you to check out before downloading or purchasing the album, I would say that you would check out “Dogs”, “Comeback”, and “Summer”. Those songs, with Pat’s quality control and Phil’s pop-worthy vocals, are probably the catchiest Grinspoon songs I have heard since the New Detention era. There’s no doubt that I approve of this album. Even when I compare this to a benchmark album (i.e. Trout Mask Replica or The Chicago Transit Authority), it still makes high scores. Grinspoon not only have outdone themselves on their comeback; they did twice that and even kept traces of their experimental albums for those pop fans.

No More Stories starts off with a very strange, interesting, and confusing piece of production fun. A song which sounds as if it were composed backwards. Turns out this song has another hidden song called “Nervous”, layered over it in reverse. This effect gives this track an interesting (albeit difficult to listen to) effect, but the fact that there is a hidden track layered over it fascinates me. Some amazing band work and production went into making this/these track(s), so it’s a shame that this track is such a difficult listen in it’s entirety. A bad idea for an opener if you ask me, but clever enough to make it on the album. I believe it should have been one of those hidden tracks that you have to rewind from track one to hear, but it is still an amazing piece of engineering that deserves to make the record, there was apparently just no real comfortable place to put it.

The second track “Introducing Place Players” is the first “real” song on the album, and it is indeed amazing, with off beat guitar and drums channeling the memories Fugazi, or Shudder To Think. When the vocals kick in the song pushes you into the deepest depths of beauty, begging you to drown (and you’ll want to, it’s lovely). This song left me with much excitement, “Mew DID do something different for this record…” I thought, “…and it’s great!”. However, as the album played on, I felt most of the songs were just filler. Though they are all lovely in their own right, most of the tracks are easily ignorable until you come to the final actual song on the album, “Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy” which is a great closer, and wonderful song in it’s own right, calling back the feel of their third album Frengers. It really stands out on it’s own, with an interesting clap track in the background that is so unpredictable, I couldn’t possibly see a crowd clapping along to it properly during a concert. Since most of the songs on the record don’t have poppy hooks, and lots of the tracks tend to sound the same, this is one of the few songs on the album that I could see becoming a single.

Anyone who has been following these guys for sometime know that their first three records were very poppy and brilliant, and their fourth And The Glass Handed Kites was an epic masterpiece. This album takes the epic style they found with And The Glass Handed Kites but dismantles it and rebuilds it into something a little uglier. The songs don’t bleed together like the last album and while this one seems to try and have a concept to it, (there are two interludes on the record, a closing instrumental reprise, and the song “Hawaii” has an intro track called “Hawaii Dream”, the lyrics of which gave birth to the album’s title) the concept seems to fall short by lack of any real story telling, or musical theme. There is still plenty of experimentation with interesting time signatures, something Mew has always done, but they all seem to muddle themselves together on this record, with most tracks lacking in power and effectiveness, and focusing more on ambiance and beauty.

It is really hard to say everything about this record that needs to be said. I am probably making this album out to sound worse than it really is. IT IS NOT A BAD RECORD, IT IS A GOOD RECORD! I guess I had convinced myself it would be something even more powerful and amazing than their last album, and in all honesty that is an impossible attempt. A good example of this would be when Smashing Pumpkins followed Mellon Collie with Adore. Many fans were confused and disappointed, but that didn’t mean Adore was a bad record, it’s just not possible to top a masterpiece.

All in all it is still a wonderful record, with really good songs vaguely hidden between beautiful filler, and even though it is an enjoyable listen, as a Mew fan I found it to be a bit disappointing. Other fans of the band are sure to enjoy it, but not to many will consider it there favorite, and it will probably take quite a few listens to appreciate if you are new to their style. If you are a fan of dreamy bands like Jeniferever, Ride, or Mazzy Star, then give it a spin. I don’t see why anyone couldn’t enjoy this record, but it is still not Mew’s best. If you have never heard this guys before, I’d recommend listening to the Frengers album or And The Glass Handed Kites before this one.

In addition to that improvement, we hope to provide you with more variety here. It will all be about music, of course, but the year 2009 is about to come to an end, and you know what that means! Time to list the best albums of the year. Me, Mac, Shane, and Sean will write our own takes on the matter, in addition to our usual reviews.

Hopefully you’ll enjoy the upcoming articles and continue reading. We hope you’ve already found some new music and continue to do so. Tell your friends about us! We’d appreciate it if you do (no one likes to have something to say and have no one to say it to, after all). Thanks again,

Steve

Uprising

Mac: I don’t know if we could say anything about it that hasn’t been already said. Probably most discussed track. It’s cool and poppy. A lot of people can chant it and feel good. It has nice synth-bass goin’ on.
Steve: It’s a good choice for a single. There are some backing vocals during the guitar wail sometimes that sounds like “so come on” that I didn’t really like.
Mac: I was surprised that he could sing it the way it was on the album. When I watched it on the VMAs it was exactly the same. Pretty simple song.
Austin: I believe that the entire intro was very catchy. Dr. Who synths, thumping bass, good ryththm. It sounds like it’ll be a good song for live performances. I think every song on here would be. Muse just does them so well

Resistance

Austin: The only thing that bothered me about the song was the pre-chorus. I eventually came to like it, though.
Mac: “Resistance” kinda feels like the real beginning of the album, with “Uprising” only fitting lyrically, as you put it. Resistance feels like the beginning of a Muse album. I really liked the piano riff.
Steve: I really liked the drumming at the beginning. The catchy element of the drums leaves for most of the song, though.
Austin: If they kept the song at the same tempo as the verses. This would be my absolute favorite. The pre-chorus is just a bit too much of a leap
Mac: How’s that go? “It could be wrong, could be wrong”?
Austin: yea
Mac: Oh, I always hate when bands do stuff like that. I would have been much more satisfied if that was completely removed and there was just more emptiness. Also, there’s a backing vocal atmospheric track during that pre-chorus I don’t like so much either.

Undisclosed Desires

Steve: I’m finding myself liking this more and more with every listen. The lyrics feel a bit corny at times, though.
Austin: It’s the anti-muse song. Chris playing slap, Dom using a drum machine, and Matt NOT playing an instrument. The song is a bit too “R’n'B” for my tastes but it’s a good change of pace.
Mac: When it started, I was thinking “holy shit, it’s R’n'B”.
Steve: I wonder if they change this song up a lot when they play it live, or if they even intend to play it live at all.
Austin: I think Matt plays a keytar for this live.

United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)

Austin: Queen, Highlander, Lawrence of Arabia.
Mac: I love the intro. The piano on this track is my favorite on the album
Steve: I’m stuck between this one and “Guiding Light” as my favorite from this album.
Austin: The “sia”s took a bit of getting used to.
Mac: I really liked the Arabic influence on the piano and drums in the lead up to the midsection, and then again. Whatever that’s called… Interchorus?
Steve: Oh, yeah, those high notes were a bit goofy at first. It was one of those things done for musical purproses, rather than bringing out a certain part in the vocals.
Austin: Yeah… They just sounded a bit alien at first. All of the background noise in the piano solo was a nice touch.
Mac: Yes, expertly done.
Steve: Yeah, the flyover was a nice way to end it.
Austin: And a nice transition.

Guiding Light

Austin: I think Dom’s drumming on “Guiding Light” was very good.
Mac: The guitar solo in “Guiding Light” was probably the best on the album. Sounded like it was out of an 80s arena rock song.
Austin: But it was one of like, what, 3? The solo sounded very reminiscent of a Queen solo.
Mac: Ah, quite so.
Steve: There were a lot of elements in this album that seemed Queen-inspired.
Austin: I think I saw somewhere where someone had called this song the “Invincible” of The Resistance, and alot of things were 1984 inspired, too.
Mac: I enjoy this song because it gives me some kind of color. This song is very gold.
Austin: it’s one of those songs where you feel good after hearing it.

Unnatural Selection

Austin: Best live performance potential.
Steve: I think it had the weakest lyrics on the album. Musically fantastic song, but the lyrics weren’t as complicated or descriptive as the other songs.
Austin: I think that this song will end up being a massive fan favorite.
Mac: “Unnatural Selection” is going to be great if they put out a second HAARP. All these songs are.

MK Ultra

Steve: Another great Muse song intro. The guitar tone is great.
Austin: The lyrics are almost like calling out an oppressive leader.
Steve: The “They’re breaking through” section of the song seemed to be dragged out too far. It would have worked had they written more than just “They’re breaking through” for that part.
Austin: The fast part after that seemed a bit thrown in, too. This song seems more like an “Assassin” sequel than anything.
Mac: What? “MK Ultra”? I don’t get that at all.
Austin: I mean in terms of riffs and stuff like that.
Mac: “Assassin” was really hard and in your face. I don’t get that at all from “MK Ultra”. Even the parts that are supposed to be like that.
Steve: Yeah, I don’t see how it sounds like “Assassin”, either…
Austin: Maybe it’s just me then.

I Belong To You (+Mon Cœur S’ouvre à ta Voix)

Mac: “I Belong to You” DOES sound like a past song though, and it’s probably on there for the same reason. Well, maybe it doesn’t so much, but “Feeling Good” was put on the album for his girlfriend. Special version, yo, and dedicated.
Austin: “I Belong To You” was the weakest in my opinion
Mac: I thought it was about equal. It’s just a different style.
Austin: His French wasn’t bad though. I actually wish they’d put in “Glorious” instead of this. It would fit in a lot more.
Steve: It was an interesting addition, but it made it feel even more like a collection of songs, rather than an album.
Mac: Yep, yet another one. First we go from a pop synth-based and a song with an awesome audience chant to “Resistance”, and then we got the R’n'B thing going on. Then romantic piano, and some Queen thing. And there’s “I Belong to You”, then the awesome symphony.

Exogenesis (as a whole)

Austin: fantastic. not nearly the same effect when you listen to them out of order though
Steve: Yeah, and they could have been made one track to avoid that. It’s odd how they put two sets of songs together and then split up this one.
Mac: I thought it was pretty good, but only the first song blows my mind continually.
Austin: Matt’s vocals are almost a callback to “Microcuts” on that part.
Mac: Yeah, I love “Microcuts”. I’d quite enjoy the song if much more of the lyrics were not really words, but I listen to Sigur Rós all day.
Austin: At least this track leads to a similar end to the album. It’s epic.
Steve: I can see them playing these live with songs in between the parts as a medley. I’d love to hear that.
Mac: I’d like to see a lot of improvising too.
Austin: This whole track will be mind-blowing at stadiums.
Steve: Bellamy is a great improviser, I doubt he’d pass up the opportunity.

Final thoughts on the album as a whole:

Mac:  Technically, it’s quite good, but I don’t really “feel” any of it… Except that one song, like I said.
Austin: Just a very strange order to the tracks.
Steve: How do think this album as a whole stacks up to their previous releases?
Mac: Horrible, but you know I already said that.
Austin: It sounds good. It has elements from all the other albums and combines them.
Mac: Only thing worse were all the Muse demos that never got on any albums. I wanted more of “Space Dementia” and “Hoodoo”.
Steve: I think Black Holes blows this album away any day, but it’s a decent release.
Mac: Definitely.
Austin: You have to remember, this was their first venture into self-producing.
Mac: I don’t think that has anything to do with at all.
Austin: Of course it’ll have it’s hiccups.
Mac: Do you think the production itself had faults? It was probably the best I’ve seen from them.
Austin: It’s just that they didn’t have a professional producer. It lets them put exactly what they want without someone mucking it up. But no, I don’t think the production was bad at all. It was good for being self-produced.
Steve: When there’s a professional producer in the studio, there’s always someone around to give a second opinion, I assume. A producer may have suggested more piano on a track, or a longer intro/outtro. The band only has so many critics before the album is finalized and released.
Austin: I’m just sad there won’t be any B-sides for this album. Those tend to be some their better tracks.
Steve: B-sides would have been nice, yes.
Austin: Matt straight up said something along the lines of “We only recorded what’s on the album. nothing else.”
Steve: Hopefully they’ll have a small recording session for an EP in the near future.
Austin: I doubt that. they usually wait about a year and a half to get back in the studio.
Mac: This album may have sold moderately well on the Muse name, but it was a flop.

On September 29th, Jimmy Eat World announced on Twitter that they would be working with Mark Trombino once again for their next batch of songs. Mark had worked with the band since 1995, helping them put out some of their most successful works such as Static Prevails, Clarity, and Bleed American. However, during the production of Futures, the band decided to go with a different approach and hired Gil Norton. While the the Stay On My Side Tonight EP was produced by Trombino, the relationship between the band and Mark had become strained, and they did not get together to produce Chase This Light.
There’s no guarantee that Mark Trombino will be on board for the entire production, the fans were happy to hear that they were back together, since the band’s most creative music was produced by him. If all goes well, the upcoming album will be the band’s fifth album with Trombino, and their second produced in their Tempe, Arizona studio.

In addition to this announcement, Jim Adkins played one of the new songs on September 17th, at the Modified Art Center in Arizona. “Walk Away” sounded like a slower Clarity-era song with a few modern touch-ups. Although the song sounded great, it was played without the rest of the band, and it will probably have a different instrument arrangement for the new record. This is potentially the third new song for the album, “Stop” being the first, originating from the Chase This Light demos, and a currently untitled track that was played for the first time at the KROQ Weenie Roast in may.

Oh great, another indie rock supergroup, with a self titled album, no less. The band consists of Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes/Desaparecidos/Mystic Valley Band), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), M. Ward (M. Ward/She And Him) and Mike Mogis (Bright Byes, and lots of production work, including The Gloria Record, and most Saddle-Creek bands). From the name of the band and it’s infamous members, you’re bound to assume the obvious basics; lots of acoustic instruments and sad songs, but this album really isn’t anything like that.

The music isn’t exactly folk, either. Most of the songs are up beat and played with electric guitars, invoking lots of mellow energy and optimism. Hell, the opening track uses a dance beat instead of a rhythm section! The song structures are great, and it’s a great listen, but i don’t see myself picking this album up very often. It feels more of a novelty project that is designed to be nice little appetizer for fans waiting for other records by the core members “real” projects, though it is interesting to hear all these guys working together as a team.

Most of the upbeat stuff comes from Jim James. He brings along a Grateful Dead type feel of guitar playing and melody. Conor Oberst seems to get most of the spot light, 4 songs all to himself during the first half of the album, but only one during the second half. Conor’s songs are a lot like the stuff he did with Mystic Valley Band, very country-ish, with a “Travelin’ Prophet” type lyrical theme. His song writing is full of southern-desert-Americana type lyrics, like a story you’d hear in a 1920s saloon. There’s also a few songs on this album where band members all share vocal parts, like “Baby Boomer”, which has a really catchy down beat that I caught myself tapping my foot to while driving to work yesterday.

The only thing that really bugged me about this record is that it’s obviously a fan pleaser, none of the members are really doing anything outside of their norm, aside from the people they are working with (and conor/m. ward/ and Mike Mogus all worked together on the last Bright Eyes album anyway, so…) there really should have been more genre experimentation, but that wouldn’t have fit their name very well, would it? All in all it really is a fun album full of music that isn’t bad, but isn’t great, and even though they are going on tour for this record, i don’t see them making a second one.

My final feelings on this album… It’s good, but it’s nothing you’ll nerd out on or obsess over.

The second the band started playing their opening song “Badlands”, I was drawn in immediately. Although Bruce’s voice wasn’t in the greatest shape that night, he could still hit every note almost flawlessly. That number was followed by “Out In The Street” and “My Lucky Day”, two more songs that beckon to be sung along to. The E Street Band was on top of their game as usual, complete with extended improvisational endings and vocals from just about every member.

The concert slowed down a bit with their fourth song, “Spirit In The Night”, and took a more emotional path with the songs “Outlaw Pete” and “She’s The One”. “Working On A Dream”, one of Bruce’s newest songs followed, and the crowd sang along louder than any previous part of the show. This was followed up by three ’80s folk rock ballads, “Seeds”, “Johnny 99″, and “Point Blank”.
During this tour, Bruce’s fans that are right next to the stage hold up signs with the name of the songs they want to hear, and at some point in the middle of the show during the intro to a song, Bruce collects as many as he can and plays some of them. After a long intro, “Raise Your Hand” was played, followed by the three fan chosen songs. “All Or Nothing At All” was the first of those songs, followed by the quite popular “Growin’ Up”. The last of the requested songs was “Jole Blon”, a song that Bruce said he hadn’t played since 1981.

“Waiting On A Sunny Day” and “The Promised Land” brought the feeling of hope and prosperity back into the performance. During “Waiting On A Sunny Day”, Bruce held the microphone up to a member in the audience so they could sing a line. However, the second person that was given the opportunity to sing didn’t have the timing down, and brought the song to a stop for only a second or two. The E Street band is incredibly flexible, and can work around just about every unusual situation, and that was a save I doubt any other band that size could pull off. The rest of the set included “Racing In The Streets”, “Lonesome Day”, “The Rising”, and ended with “Born To Run”.

The encore started out with an amazingly well performed version of a song from 1854 by Stephen C. Foster titled “Hard Times Come Again No More”. That was followed by “Rosalita”, a longer song always loved by the crowd. Next up was “American Land”, a song Bruce originally played with the Seeger Sessions band, sounded just as good with the E Street Band if not better, and that was followed up with “Bobby Jean”. “Dancing In The Dark” sounded very different than the original, but the electric violin worked very well with this tune. Bruce said “This is our last song” when “Hungry Heart” started playing, but he ended up closing the show with a slow but still enjoyable rendition of “Thunder Road”.

Overall, it was the best show that I have ever attended. I haven’t been to many shows, but I doubt there are many bands out there that can top that sort of performance. The venue was pretty bad due to poor parking conditions, no signs anywhere, and the staff being generally unhelpful, but I guess if you’re hosting the only Bruce Springsteen show in the area, you don’t have to do anything nice for anyone. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band put on an amazing show, and no amount of venue incompetence could have prevented this from being the best show I had ever witnessed.