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GF music review club


Carvalho Diablo
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3 hours ago, Toxteth O'Grady said:

LiR Magico Magico.

Listening on you tube, so if there is any discrepancy in the order of tracks, blame @Carvalho Diablo, who is also a massive cunt.

 

Track 1

Traveller

Starts slowly but picks up, like this. The vocals could be roughed be the tune is good.

As an opening track, that's not too bad.

7.

 

Track 2

Dog Ryhtms

Upbeat track, I like the general feel of it, slightly funky, but I'm waiting to for it to take off.

It reminds me of a late 80's early 90's band so far but can't put my finger on who.

6

 

Track 3

Not to be overlooked

This is OK, but like a one paced Foreigner tribute band. The opening was protracted and while it's OK, it needs revving up. Musically it's fine, but too many instruments for my tastes.

6

 

Track 4

New Song

Good opening. This has a feel of Smashing Pumpkins Adore album.

The music is OK, it's a decent track but the same pace.

I don't like this vocalist much.

5

 

Track 5

Some folks are truly evil

I agree with the song title.

Again this had an 80's feel about it. 

The lyrics are well meaning, has a Simon and Garfunkel feel about it.

Quite liked this song.

6

 

Track 6

3 legged guy

Better, much better. Good feel about it, more upbeat, sounds abut like Then Jericho.

Not bad, best song so far.

7

 

Track 7

The house of song

That's better. I still can't put my finger on who this reminds me of, but this is the best track so far. Takes off more, still that 80's feel, of an upbeat LotusEaters, China Crisis.

Enjoyed that song best.

7.5

 

Track 8

In a day

They've gone plinky plonky and atmospheric again. And twiddly on the guitars.

Listenable, not bad, but too 'musical' for my tastes.

6

 

Track 9

Good cake Bad cake

I'm not sure what to make of this. Homage to 60's psychedelic pop?

2 minutes of twanging and niceness. 

Not bad mind.

6

 

Track 10

Two Worlds

Another 80's feel song. Atmospheric in sound. Drifts and takes you along with the melody.

Almost has the feel of a Sting solo song about it, from The Blue Turtles era.

Yeah, not bad.

6

 

Track 11

In the Parlour

Funky Chili Peppers opening.

Not a bad song, probably the 2nd best on the album. Quite enjoyed this. Sounds abit like The Adventures but funked up. Got better as it went along. 

Quite enjoyed this song.

7

 

I have to say that this wasn't quite my things, but nonetheless it wasn't bad at all, in fact it was OK.

There was of a part of In the parlour that I really enjoyed.

Overall I'd give it 6.5/10 on the basis that while it was OK, it never really took off. There were times where it was ripe to rip roar, but it stayed at just above normal pace.

I can't say that I'd listen to it again by choice, but if somebody played it and I was off my head, I'd probably drift along to it.

 

 

 

 

Some way to open up a music review, I'll read the rest later but holy shit.

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BlackBerry Smoke: Leave A Scar - Live In North Carolina. 

 

Well fuck me that’s one long album. 

 

I’m not going to do a track by track analysis as I’ll be competing with War & Peace in terms of longevity. Plus I can’t be arsed doing it track by track

 

Overall I am still undecided what to feel about this album. There is some absolutely belting playing and riffing. Yet I can’t help but feel I need to wash the redneck out of my ears. A bit like when Ace Ventura in Pet Detective 2.

 

I enjoyed the first 5 tunes, then I found it began to get tedious with the majority of the lyrical content being about girls and booze. While I have enjoyed both a lot over the years, hearing grown men constantly sing about it does grate. Music wise, I can’t fault them as a band at all. 

 

This was a long slog to listen to (almost as long as it has taken me to review it) 

 

I’m going to give it a 6.87/10. 

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Review : LiR - Magico Magico

 

Never heard of them.

 

[presses play]

 

First track is Traveller, it opens with a Radiohead style riff and some phase before launching into a rocky chorus. The singer sounds a bit thin but he is adding some melody here.

I like the keys and the drum sound is really nice.

 

Dog Rythms. Hmm, the opening riff jars and grates tbh, I do like the mix on this record though, the drums and bass locked in tight. Try as I might I just don't like this song.

 

The pace slows down for Not To Be Overlooked. Again the guitars are laden with heavy effects but they do sound really good. Really liking the space here, allowing bass, drums and keys a chance to each come to the fore.

Best song yet.

 

New Song bounces along, a happy sounding little number, a jolly chorus augmented with some subtle yet colourful strings. The singer carries this with his upbeat meoldies, again the mix is lovely, drums crisp, guitars really nice.

Thumbs up.

 

The next song could be a dedication to those slimeballs at The S*n, Some Folks Are Truly Evil, "...the bastards want to see you cry". A lonely, poignant song, keys are lovely in this.

 

The jagged 3 Legged Guy is next. More nice wah'd guitar and sharp, crisp drumming, shake that tambourine lad.

The singer really is a trier, I'll give him that. A nice solo hits the spot, a nice riff change about 2 minutes in.

 

The House Of Song is a mid paced number with some jangly bridges and bass runs, but I feel that the singer's limitations are getting exposed again. Aware of this, the lad soldiers on unperturbed, always endeavouring to hit the right notes at the right time.

A really tasty riff with an eastern flavour shuts up shop.

 

In A Day's opening reminds me of Lovage's Book Of The Month. The snare drum is a bit too prominent for me here I'm afraid and the singer is again sounding a bit thin, but I like the music here. That sounds like a fretless bass to me, lush keys over the chorus. "If there was a way, there is another way". Good track.

 

Acoustic guitars strum in Good Cake, Bad Cake, with more echoes of Thom Yorke.

As I write this the sun is streaming into my living room, feels good and strangely echoes my sentiments of this song, and of this album in general; warming, relaxing, enjoyable and fun.

 

Rim shots and keys say hello to Two Worlds. I really like the vocal melody here, a nice ride cymbal is full of character.

Synths prop up the chorus and the vocal really tastefully.

Probably my favourite song yet.

 

In The Parlour has a convincing 70's groove and grunt, going all Starsky and Hutch on us.

The verse is strong but the chorus sadly isn't, the singer struggling and failing to to pull it off. Shame. A guitar solo is welcome, the song going a bit Audioslave at the end.

Let the track run and it breaks cover again at 3:20 with a peculiar keyboard led outro.

 

Magico Magico didn't rock my world, I listened to it 5 times but wasn't blown away by anything here, but that's not tosay I didn't enjoy it, I did.

Solid playing and a game vocalist and half a dozen worthy songs. Enjoyed this album, thumbs up.

Rating ? 6.5/10. A good debut pick from @Red Dawn

 

 

 

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LIR - Traveller.

 

Here we go then, the next album on the merry go round that is the GF Music Review Club.

 

Traveller...

 

The opening track here is quite a pleasant Charlatans/Mondays-type indie track. I was quite impressed with the musicianship here but the vocal delivery isn't quite a match-up. It's a decent track though so worth a 7/10.

 

Dog Ryhtms...

 

Not quite up to the same standard as the opening track and the vocal delivery here is a bit of a mismatch. I did lose interest in this track and skipped it on the second listen. Musicianship is quite good though so no arguments from me they are quite tight. 5/10.

 

Not To Be Overlooked...

 

A slower track here and I'm still not sure about the vocals here. I don't think this style of music either suits the singer or the band. Another track that was skipped on the second listen. 4/10.

 

New Song...

 

OK so this is more upbeat and this is where the band seem to deliver in spades. Nice guitar licks, good drumming beats and even the vocals suit here. Best track so far, 8/10.

 

Some Folks Are Truly Evil...

 

Shortest track so far, the title and the song don't seem to match. I was expecting a death-metal type track and got more like Dodgy. 5/10.

 

3 Legged Guy...

 

Like this, sort of a cross between Gomez and Happy Mondays. Groovy. Best track so far, 8.5/10.

 

The House of Song...

 

Similar sound to the previous track although not as groovy, still a good example of a band who know how to play together. 7.5/10.

 

In A Day...

 

This band's slower songs don't really have much effect on me sadly and this is a good example of it. Skipped on the second play...4/10.

 

Good Cake Bad Cake...

 

Acoustics are good here, not a slow track not a groovy one either. This is pretty good and the vocals work better here. 7/10.

 

Two Worlds...

 

Unfortunately a little bland this track, not really enjoyable and skipped on the second listen...4/10.

 

In The Parlour...

 

Funk and groove. Quite liked the last track and very enjoyable outro. 8.5/10.

 

Overall a good listen with ups and downs, a good 7/10 for me.

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LiR - Magico Magico:

 

Another one I've struggled to motivate myself to review but this time for a different reason. I'm very familiar with this band and album, having seen them live more times than I can remember. I have it on cassette buried at home somewhere. Hearing it again after so long felt a bit weird to be honest. If I heard this anew without any previous exposure to the band then I'd probably not like it if I'm honest. I always felt lead singer Dave McGuinness' vocals to be a bit weak at times and listening to this album again more or less cemented that opinion for me. Dave's vocals have never really transferred well to record IMO, but really suit the tracks when played live when he just floats them airily over the music. Just listen to LiR Live album on Spotify for comparison to this to see what I mean. Musically though, they are a great band and I enjoyed many a night grooving along to their output.

 

Onto the album. This suffers from trying to do too much at times. Sometimes there are guitar or bass parts or keyboard parts just chucked in for little or no reason that can just smoother the track. I've always liked this approach with live music as it tends to add something different to the recorded version of tracks so you don't get the "same old" vibe, but I'm not a fan of it on albums. Stick on point please - expand and experiment when live thank you very much. No issues with the production. It's not brilliant, but it ain't terrible either.

As I type this I tried to remember how many times I'd actually listen to this at home in the past. The answer is not many. They were always a "live" band for me and I'd prefer to remember them that way. I realise I'm rambling here so I'll move swiftly on.

 

I won't go track by track but the highlights for me are:

Traveller, New Song, 3 Legged Guy, The House of Song, In a Day.

 

(Am I alone in thinking "In a Day" bassline in the verse is very much ripping "Ike's Rap II"  bassline?)

 

Overall a 6.5/10 for me. Live it would be 9/10 as they are amazing live.

 

Coincidentally they just played this album in its entirety in Whelans 3 days ago which was also streamed live on the internet for a fee. I would have liked to have gone to that for old times sake.

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I have had a few choices to pick from including 'Wolfmother' by Wolfmother, 'We Rock Hard' by The Freestylers, 'Once' by Nightwish, 'Very Mercenary' by The Herbaliser, 'The Dark Side of The Moon' by Pink Floyd and 'The Defamation of Strickland Banks' by Plan B.

 

No doubt a classic album, 'The Dark Side of The Moon' was hard to not pick but I suspect lots of people have heard this so I wanted to pick one that may not have been heard by too many people. I also was really tempted to choose Wolfmother's album for the pure rock edge to it, but I have chosen...

 

'The Defamation of Strickland Banks' by Plan B.

 

A rapper by reputation, he wanted to release a concept album of a character who called  Strickland Banks, a sharp-suited British soul singer who finds fame with bitter-sweet love songs like the album's opener "Love Goes Down", only to have it slip through his fingers when sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. 

 

Carvalho, hopefully this is listed on Spotify for people to listen to if they would like to...

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So happy listening fellas. Once again old Shooter shows that his taste is all over the shop and he pulls a rabbit out of the hat with his latest selection, which promises to be quite different from any other album selected thus far.

 

Next person to choose in our club's rotation is Skids, whose next AOW is due anywhere between 7th to 14th March.

 

COYMR

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