GF music review club

[Skidfingers McGonical]

I have no idea who these lot are, bit skeptical looking at the album cover as to whether I’ll enjoy it.

 

But let’s see where it takes me.

 

Immersion - Pendulum

 

Genesis - Opens with the vibe of playing something like Gears of War or some other first person shoot em up. Then it pops up with some old school sounds that sound like it’s from A game from those legends Ocean. Bits & Bytes also springs to mind. That’s as good as it’s getting for me. I’m not feeling this at all. Sounds a bit Eurovision. Nil points.

 

Salt In The Wounds- Prodigy rip off. Reminds of that tune from FIFA years ago that made it in to the charts. The one that goes “Rock tha microphone” Swedish guys I think. Would have been alright back in 98? Not digging this one.

 

Watercolour - I’m struggling to find anything positive about this album so far. Irritating vocal effect, that 128k type synth. “Feed The Fire, Break Your Vision, Throw Your Fists Up, Come

with Me.” This sounds nothing like a watercolour. Bob Ross wouldn’t be chatting this shit when painting one of his masterpieces. And don’t forget his amazing hair.

 

Set Me On Fire - Please do.

 

Crush - There’s a boss riff hiding away under all this noise. I liked the start where it had no EDM shite over it. Other than the verse riff, I’m again, not feeling anything towards this.

 

Under The Waves - Shite.

 

Immunize (feat. Liam Howlett) Prodigy ‘B’Side.

 

The Island Pt 1 (Dawn) - Something has piqued my interest here, the start of this is actually ok. For about 35 seconds. Then it’s back to the Eurovision entries.

 

The Island Pt 2 (Dusk) - A concoction of noise and samples/synths that make my ears bleed. Still feeling Eurovision, and the gaming vibe. It’s a weird mix that when listened to out of context (no mad costumes or Boss graphics) is really irritating.

 

Comprachicos - Starts a bit NIN, which is promising and giving me a little hope. Then is descends into a crescendo of buzz saw. I do like the vocal melody on this that kicks in just over half way.

 

The Vulture - Look, I’ll be honest now I’m wishing a vulture would come and peck my eyes out and chew my ear drum. It’s getting difficult to resist the urge not to skip through tracks now. It’s all getting a bit samey.

 

Witchcraft - Poppy shite opening. Shit lyrics.

 

Self vs Self (feat In Flames) well it all makes sense now. I was trying to work out the direction they have been trying throughout this album and I get it. Those Emo fuckers are the target market. I’ve seen enough bands over the years in small venues around Liverpool do this stuff and better. Carcer City was one local band that springs to mind. And I didn’t like them either. Just a bit too old for it back then, and more so now.

 

The Fountain (feat Steven Wilson) Now, I’ve got fucking high hopes for this one seeing as Steven Wilson has attached his name to it. Start reminds me of Going For Gold or some other quiz/mid morning show from the 80’s. It’s more palatable than the rest of the album. It has grown on me with each listen. Not hard when I’ve struggled to take to the other tracks.

 

Encoder - And there it is. The Gamer vibe. Halo/Gears Of War advert soundtrack. And drenched in Eurovision again.

 

Now, I’ve listened to this at least 6 times. And each time 99% of it has irked and ground my gears. Bar that Steven Wilson track, I found this to be a dog turd of an album.

 

That’s down to me not feeling the EDM genre at all. It all being done with class and skill before by The Prodigy as far back as “Music For The Jilted Generation”

 

If his had been on a computer game, and it had visuals I reckon my experience would have been better.

 

And I’ve just realised who they are. I knew there was another reason for the dislike. I was working with my mate when we were trying to set up our own tiling business. We where working on this bathroom and the lad who’s house it was had picked testy tiles to work with. My mate liked Radio 1 so he had that bastard channel on the radio. It was Fearne “I’m

The new kiss arsing every bastard band that comes out” Cotton. And she declared how amazing they were. She played one of their tracks, which then prompted me to lash my mates radio out the window.

 

I don’t like Fearne Cotton and I don’t like Pendulum either.

 

4 fuck off flaring nostrils out 10.

 

If it had visuals and I was in control of character, and was involved in a story line, I’d pr bay be giving this a 6.5/10.

 

Sorry Shooter, it felt dated, samey and those song titles seemed to generated by a song name generator. None of the lyrics made any connection with the title for me.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Oof.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

Okay fellas, how would you all feel if we added a couple more people to the club ? Notably mgw100 and Clarence ?

 

If you're okay with it then I'd propose that they'd follow on behind Redtalisker in the rotation ?

 

It's been noticeable that a few of veteran club members have been posting in the thread a bit less in recent weeks, and although that's completely fine, some fresh reviews of our AOWs would definitely be welcome.

 

Would you all be okay with this or should we tell these interlopers to fuck off ?

 

When the books get opened up again, I wouldn't mind throwing my hat into the ring too. Just got Spotify premium and looking to expand my musical horizons.

[Carvalho Diablo]

When the books get opened up again, I wouldn't mind throwing my hat into the ring too. Just got Spotify premium and looking to expand my musical horizons.

Welcome aboard mate. You'll follow, Redtalisker, mgw100, and then Clarence in the rotation.

 

If you haven't already then please have a skim through the thread to get an idea of how it all works, and feel free to drop in your own reviews of whatever albums of the week AOWs that tickle your fancy.

[ZonkoVille77]

Immersion- Pendulum

 

Struggled big time with this.

Ok so, Prodigy lite and not in a good way. Sounds like they've tried to get every genre possible onto the album, and failed miserably.

 

Here we go:

 

Genesis- sounds like an intro to Sonic the Hedgehog: The Mars Missions

 

Salt in the Wounds - Immediately, I hear the Prodigy. But more Drum and bass sounding than the Prodigy admittedly. Real kicking track. I like the breakdown over halfway through which then leads to it all kicking off again. Bit repetitive to be honest and too long.

 

Watercolour- is this trying to be Blink 182 or something, with Dubstep? Confused. It's shite.

 

Set Me on Fire - love that old school beat at the start. Catchy sing along vocal. Turns more Dubstep then. Devent ragga vocal. Nope.

 

Crush - screams Prodigy this one, again with D&B beat. Bit linkin park in places. Not a fan of this dudes vocals. It's trying to be 50 different things and failing at them all. Goes acoustic at the end for reasons only the writer knows. Shite.

 

Under the Waves - really not sure how to describe this. Kinda gets good around the 1.30 mark. The lyrics and vocals aren't great. Trying to be spiritual but sounding contrived.

 

Immunize - well there's the Prodigy link solidified. This sounds like Prodigy b-side. Could easily be a track on the last 2 of their albums. Decent track. Proper length too not overstaying it's welcome.

 

The Island pt1 - more pop sounding, this track. Could picture this being used to sell exercise equipment. Shite lyrics.

 

The Island pt2 - did it need a 2nd part? Prob just to get a more Dubstep version of it. Bit grating to be honest. I'm happy when it ends.

 

Comprachicos- I like this track. Fairly rocks. I'd love to blast this at full whack in the office and wake the fuckers up.

 

The Vulture - what.

 

Witchcraft- this is so emotional I want to give up living. Fuck me. Absolute rubbish.

 

Self vs Self - sounds like In Flames. And for that reason it works. Decent track.

 

The Fountain - I never heard of Steven Wilson until this thread came along. Anything I've heard that has involved him has been very good. This however is only just decent. Probably the best track on the album but it hasn't much competition.

 

Encoder - outro music. Pure crap.

 

Overall not a good listen. Some decent spots at times but very much a mix of whatever the fuck came into their heads when they were sleeping.

4.5/10. Really won't listen to this again.

[Guest]

Back heeled in the bollocks!

[Skidfingers McGonical]

Soz mate. I just couldn’t take to it.

[Guest]

Soz mate. I just couldn’t take to it.

That's OK, I knew it was a risky choice as I wanted to choose between a safer rock album and this. For the record I would have put up an Eagles of Death Metal album if it wasn't that but I thought perhaps most people would have already heard them. Maybe not the case with this one.

[ZonkoVille77]

That's OK, I knew it was a risky choice as I wanted to choose between a safer rock album and this. For the record I would have put up an Eagles of Death Metal album if it wasn't that but I thought perhaps most people would have already heard them. Maybe not the case with this one.

Always good to put up something a bit different. Would get boring if it was always the same stuff.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Updated list of club members and rotation :

 

 

Shooter In The Motor (current AOW)

Moof

Skidfingers McGonical

Boss

The Howie Lama

Winston Wolf

Carvalho Diablo

Zonkoville 77

Red Talisker

mgw100

Clarence

BabbsBurstNad

 

So welcome to our three newest member, registration fees, subscriptions and blood oaths are to be paid in full on the first full moon of each month.

 

Here's a link to our Youtube channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmD81dOULR2dlVx03buDBQ/playlists

where you can find all* of the albums of the week (AOWs) selected by members thus far.

 

Here too is a link to our Spotify club playlist, where you can also find the AOWs (usually in better quality) .

https://open.spotify.com/user/carvalho666/playlist/3k64dON6XvCI1W9GFNH8Gr?si=4W9C1RvWQMGpAc-6Sw-IZw

 

Hope you new members give those channels a follow, makes it easier.

 

*Note : the only AOW not included on our Spotify playlist is Winston Wolf's selection, Never Been Caught by The Mummies. For that you will need to listen via YouTube.

 

Thanks lads.

[Mook]

It’s better than his adulation of Prog drummers wearing dungarees.

 

That's Mook you're thinking of, the Scottish cunt with the rugged good looks.

 

Although I reckon Moof is probably a Bill Bruford fan too.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

Bastard.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Review : Immersion by Pendulum

 

Once again, heard of Pendulum but never actually heard them (afaik), and given Shooter's history of left-field selections this could prove interesting. Here goes...

 

[presses play]

 

Genesis - Nice cinematic opening, gets a touch artificial and saccharine, nice strings, straight into...

 

Salt In The Wound - Initial comparison is with The Prodigy. SITW is hard and dancey, a nice opening. Are there any vocals to this ? Canny dancey beats and riffs, not bad at all, if (far) too long.

 

Watercolour - Slows things down (initially) before giving way to vocals ! Very glad to hear that's this isn't completely instrumental. I find myself liking this, especially when the beat drops. "Dig me out of there..."

Light, dancey, fun. Like this tune, best one so far.

 

Set Me On Fire - Licks off with a female vocal and a pennywhistle synth, I really like the 1/4 beat drop and the big phat bass. Not really my cup of tea but I'm definitely enjoying this.

Perhaps a bit too busy and the voicings a bit dated but Pendulum do try to inject some catchy hooks and melody. Fair play to them.

 

Crush - A touch Ministry, a touch pop / NIN lite. I'd love to hear some real analog guitars to lift this to another level. Best song yet, nice vocal.

 

Under The Waves - Takes ages to get going, worst song yet. Cheesy synth when it drops, weakest song yet. Far too long, goes nowhere, pure filler.

 

Immunize - Synths are nice, inoffensive, but they lack menace, lacking in doom. A bit soft for my tastes. More of the same EDM. Not bad but a touch too samey.

 

The Island pt 1 - Nice start, especially when all the music drops out, fades back in, replete with a very Euro dancey vocal. Can easily imagine getting down with some filthy Prague girls down at that club on the corner of The Charles Bridge. Thumbs up from this fanny magnet, best song yet.

 

The Island pt 2 - Initially this sounds exactly like part 1 but then the beat goes all erratic, interrupting the flow. Not for me, unwelcome change up.

 

Comprachicos - The intro wants to be NIN but lacks heaviness and urgency. Buzzy guitars come in and the beat goes scatty. This track seems cobbled together, the chorus especially seems out of place.

 

The Vulture - The intro sounds more like a budgerigar. Takes too long to get going, once the beat drops though this is very Prodigy like. I like the guitars, but once again feel the song would benefit if they were analog and far heavier.

 

Witchcraft - The opening vocal sounds very like Breaking Benjamin, a bit too safe. Some more industrial drums carry a big melody and tight synths. I like Witchcraft (I think).

 

Self vs Self - Heavier opening with (finally) some metallic guitars. Much better, the album has been crying out for some grunt.

The throaty metal vocal suits the song well, and the interplay later on between the 2 vocal styles is good. I feel like this is the direction Pendulum should take, it suits them.

 

The Fountain - A noticeably softer intro, but then I find the piano keys too intrusive and Wilson's vocals too low in the mix.

Inoffensive, decent, but ultimately The Fountain doesn't go anywhere.

 

Encoder - Eye Of The Tiger ? A slower track, wishy washy Breaking Benjamin vocals but with a nice key change for the chorus. Not feeling this one, it feels like a Eurovision entrant, although I do like the token solo at the death.

 

So, thoughts ? Ultimately I felt that Immersion was a decent, solid record. Plenty of energy and verve, plenty of melody, hooks and good moments. Perhaps however there's just too much going on here ? Maybe if they'd trimmed the tracks down and mixed it up with some slower counter-points then it would have been better as a whole ?

 

I found dating Immersion to be difficult. My guess would be in the late 2000's, due primarily to the synth sounds and voicings.

 

Shooter has definitely got an eclectic taste in music; I give Immersion a 6.5.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Still got around a week until Moof's next AOW is due (Tues 10th July), so come on fellas, let's see those reviews coming in.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

Pendulum: Immersion
 
Genesis - The opening is pleasingly cinematic, building nicely, like a sonic foreshadowing of a grand discovery scene in a sci-fi film, then it condenses into something you’d more likely hear on a Commodore 64 (that’s not a criticism, mind, I like that kind of thing). A solid first track to whet the appetite.
 
Salt in the wounds - The videogame vibe continues, it instinctively makes me think of a 2D boss battle in a shmup, the beats striking like laser fire. Enjoyably kitsch, though outstays its welcome a tad at over 6 minutes; the slow down midway through is interesting, but not so much as to allow it to be a contrived means to replay the tune again once it gets back up to speed.
 
Watercolour - The intro borders on synth-wave, which raises my expectations. Then the vocals hit, and it’s all a bit Nickelback in depth, too literal and obvious. I felt suitably invigorated when the beats kick in and it hits tempo, but then the vocals come back to the fore and mar proceedings. Once again, uses a slowing down around halfway through, in order to bring us back up to speed for greater impact. It's a neat trick, but by using it twice in quick succession it raises suspicions of the content being formulaic. I do however like the ending, going back to the videogame vibe.

 
Set Me On Fire - Truncated vocals repeating a key phrase fits the music far better than complete sentences. I don’t particularly feel engrossed by what's being expressed, but it’s more in keeping with the genre, no matter how experimental. Interesting mash-up, with the reggae tones, sadly never persisting with one idea long enough to see it through to fruition. There's a decent tune in there somewhere, overlaid with too much noise. 
 
Crush - Initially underwhelming, but after a couple of listens it started to worm its way in. Lyrically it's still goes for the easy road when it comes to symbolism and literal meanings, however the underlying tune and structure make it likeable. Perhaps the most accessible and traditionally musical track on the album. 
 
Under The Waves - A strange one, there's a sense of a build up for a pay-off that never really arrives. Having said that, the retro videogame synth jumps in to save it from being instantly forgettable. The problem is it's being held back by a plinky-plonky xylophone-like accompaniment at times that draws you back out again.
 
Immunize - The Liam Howlett connection raises my expectations, and early impressions are good. That’s the kind of repetition that suits the music; could’ve been hidden away on a Prodigy album. Something's missing though, it never delves into the depths, either sonically or with lyrics spat at the listener. I'd like to hear it taken a couple of octaves lower with the key beat.
 
The Island Part I - I like the intro, puts me in mind a little of Kavinsky and synth-wave riffs, then the vocals hit. No point repeating myself here...
 
The Island Part II - Sounds similar to Part I, but the producer went nuts on the remix. As is now a pattern, they hide the most interesting segue for halfway through, as things slow slightly, but again it’s never expanded upon, and is merely used to bridge back to what came before and elongate the track.
 
Comprachicos - Breathy opening vocals hint at something heavy to come, more industrial, but it never arrives. Probably the most middle-of-the-road beats on the whole album. 
 
The Vulture - The light notes accompanying the chorus sound like they were lifted from a Europop track. Very jarring.
 
Witchcraft - The vocals set my teeth on edge to begin with and I never really recovered from that. At least the lyrical structure is more staccato, in keeping with the music, but that’s about the best I can say about it.
 
Self vs. Self - Decent heavy opening, shouty and guitar-lead. Yep, this is more like it. Should’ve been placed earlier in the album to break up the monotony and create a juxtaposition for the other tracks. If you're being harsh you could say it's somewhat uninspiring, but it's certainly more accessible than other tracks.
 
The Fountain - Steve Wilson’s name piqued my interest. Not sure what I expected, but I'm afraid I didn't find it here.
 
Encoder - I like the intro, retro vibes washing over me, setting up the mood for something to kick in; heavy moog-like synth maybe? What emerges are those vocals again. The slow down at approximately halfway is now routine, but the solo at least means it goes out with something recognisably decent, as the final strains ebb away. Bizarrely, to the sound of splashing (and wheezing?), like someone's plunging a sink.
 

-------------

Sorry Shooter, I liked aspects of it, but the sense I came away with was one of confusion and disappointment at the unfulfilled potential. It put me in mind of a programme I once watched where they tried to get a computer to create the perfect pop tune. It proved that it could analyse beats, hooks, riffs and overall structures, but never find the soul of a track that's captured in an undefinable quality that simply can't be imagined through ones and zeroes. This felt like an album of ones and zeroes to me, lacking a human spark to gel it all together and make it into something I could connect with.

 

I applaud the choice for introducing me to something I otherwise wouldn't have listened to though. Really made me want to go listen to Power Glove too.

 

5/10 (for reminding me of Commodore 64 soundtracks and use of synth).

[Carvalho Diablo]

Cracking debut review there mate.

[Guest]

Some good views on this album, I chose it as I quite enjoy Pendulum's music (also The Freestyler's earlier music too) and specifically I chose this album as it does cross so many different genres. It's not their strongest album by any stretch - my personal favourite album of theirs is Hold Your Colour (2005) although In Silico (2008) does have some really strong dance tracks although both albums are quite narrow in their styles compared to Immersion (2010). I wanted to select something unusual following RedTalisker's selection. 

 

I have really enjoyed listening to everyone's selections and I look forward to the new selections to come and respect that not everyone is going to enjoy every album. Absolutely no need for anyone to offer any apologies for their honest views. As CD says, I personally have a hugely eclectic taste in music and it is ultimately a personal entity but good to see other people's takes on it.

 

Looking forward to moof's next selection and where it leads us...

[REDTALISKER]

Immersion- Pendulum

 

The problem with being a lazy arse and not getting a review in early means when you finally get round to it all those pertinent references you have made a mental record of quite often they have already been pointed out. So not wanting to repeat what others have probably expressed better than I would have anyway I will jump straight to my overall feeling for the album.

 

For all the bombast and genre hopping (which by the way made it sound way too much like a collection of songs rather than an album with flow and shape) beneath it all there's not too much else going on. Despite tackling every sub genre of the electronic scene they could think of it wasn't particularly adventurous and the songs for me lacked any real depth. Listening to it I couldn't help but think this was a cartoon of an album - frivolous with large dollops of cheese. Nothing wrong with that, but ultimately it feels a little run of mill.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Any more reviews incoming then lads ? Moof ? Boss ? Anymore for anymore ? Or are we ready for some new music already ?

 

Moof, let's have it mate, new AOW asap...

 

Following Moof in the rotation is Skids. Let's fucking have it.

[TheHowieLama]

I've not done Pendulum -- will get that up with Moofs choice

[Carvalho Diablo]

Any sign of Moof with his AOW ?

 

Oway mate, let's have it already...

 

Skids, can you get your pads on just in case mate ?

[Skidfingers McGonical]

If Mook was in it like I thought he was, none of this shit would be happening. Scandalous.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Well the clock iis ticking...

 

If Moof hasn't posted his AOW by midday tomorrrow, Skids, are you ready and able to step in and do the business?

[Skidfingers McGonical]

I was born ready.

 

Might be tea time.

[TheHowieLama]

Moof has been on - send him a pm