So I have to admit that I wasn't 100% confident about this week's releases. I spent a few minutes going through my normal reference sites and was coming up with nothing (at least from an AFGM perspective). It seems as if I was reaching for alum I would never listen to only to add some flair to the article. However, I stopped myself in advance and did a little more digging through some different sources. I was quite happy with the outcome.
Between some new Lifehouse, A$AP Rocky, and Anti-Flag, I thought this was a well rounded release week. That and the fact I came across four new albums that I am eager to listen to such as The Vaccines, Worldview, Pyramaze, and the Bloodborne Soundtrack.
(Artwork by AFGM. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
So be a doll like usual and go to your local record store, online retailer, or trusted digital source to grab a few copies of these albums. Cheers and enjoy discovering music!
(Lifehouse - Out of the Wasteland)
The music features upbeat melodies and they certainly know how to pen an instant song like lead single ‘Hurricane’. ‘Runaways’ sounds like Snow Patrol at their best, whilst ‘Fight’ has a hint of the Goo Goo Dolls (Lifehouse’s drummer toured with that band during the band’s hiatus).
Lifehouse know their way around a good tune and this album should certainly further help their music get wider recognition in the UK. A lot of these songs would sit easily on BBC Radio 2′s playlist and digital stations like Planet Rock. -Get Ready To Rock!
(The Vaccines - English Graffiti)
English Graffiti has multiple personalities—a contemporary characteristic of a single-based rather than album-driven music world. And for an album meant to be of today, it jumps around decades, musical styles, and delivers mixed messages. English Graffiti kicks off like a revving motorcycle with singer Justin Hayward-Young’s taunting cry, which sounds like he could be yelling “batter batter batter” on repeat, but he’s really prepping listeners for the declaration that he is “Handsome.” This is the warm-up for “Dream Lover,” a track that swaggers like Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ version of “I Love Rock ’N’ Roll” but with a slower roll and sonar twinkles. The Ramones are channeled on “Radio Bikini” with its punk-y bounce and bizarrely, Foreigner’s emotive synthesizer arena rock is what comes to mind when listening to “Give Me A Sign.” -AV Club
(A$AP Rocky - At. Long. Last. ASAP)
It is indicative of a blurring of musical lines currently going on in hip hop, and a new wave of rappers who have arisen in the wake of Kanye West, who see melody as just another tool to lubricate their lyrical flow. Following on from Drake’s moodily introspective If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late and Kendrick Lamar’s funky higher consciousness masterpiece To Pimp a Butterfly, A$AP Rocky’s sprawling, psychedelic 18 track epic is the third musically dense, stylistically progressive and technically audacious hip hop album this year.
There is a lot to take in on this big, bold, madly ambitious album, but Rocky has made a frequently dazzling spectacle, another reminder that hip hop is currently setting the bar very high indeed. -Telegraph
(Anti-Flag - American Spring)
Twenty years into their career, it’s incredible a band can make something so relevant. “Set Yourself on Fire” seems to be their battle cry. A song that encompasses plenty of their beliefs but also encourages individuality and never settling for less. Well, these guys sound as vital as always. A band like Anti-Flag already has a loyal following. They are old enough to be a band you “haven’t listened to since high school,” but American Spring is reason to catch up. This isn’t a throwback record or something to be overlooked. It’s a record made by a band who just got an injection of adrenaline. Who are still making the music they want to make. Who aren’t getting less relevant as we head into another election season. American Spring is a great record. Do yourself a favor and give this a chance, and I’ll see you in the pit screaming along. -Punk News
(Pyramaze - Disciples of the Sun)
Disciples of the Sun has very little in common with their past, aside from still falling into the prog-power genre generally. Gone is the heavy crunch of Immortal and the Euro-power frills of Legends, and in their place is something akin to recent Anubis Gate and Pagan’s Mind mixed with traces of indie rock.
All the songs are written to stick in the mental crawlspaces you can never fully clear out, and stick they do. This is an album that gets better every time it’s played and soon enough it has you in its clutches. There’s the perfect mix of heavy, technical and melodic running through all the songs and there isn’t a sour note to be found over the album’s 52 minute runtime. That’s quite a rare feat. -Angry Metal Guy
(Worldview - The Chosen Few)
True to the roots of traditional melodic metal, Worldview often brings in a nice rock groove at times. This is particulaly strong within The Last Cry, but more so in the very catchy Walk Through Fire. Mentioned earlier, Back In Time shows the band's flair for the dramatic with violin at the start, then yielding to the moderate paced melodic power metal number with soaring vocals. Also of note is the opener Mortality where Worldview gives you this nice Middle East vibe starting a the start but really evovling after the midpoint. For something different, in his vocal performance within Illusions of Love, Parra takes on the voice of lead but also the sneering demonic growls of the antagonist. More could be said of the songs, with even great detail, but it's probably better to pique your interest than bore you with more of my rambling. Worldview's The Chosen Few is simply a strong effort: creative, enjoyable, and entertaining melodic heavy metal from some quite talented musicians. Easily recommended. -Danger Dog
(Bloodborne - Official Game Soundtrack)
There are many more cues that I could mention like ‘Soothing Hymn’ by Ryan Amon which is a creepy vocal track, but the point I’m trying to make is that this is an excellent dark, gothic and sometimes nightmare-ish score in a very good way. I enjoyed this world immensely even though I haven’t really been in it except musically. There’s so much to discover here and listening to it just once isn’t enough. I can just imagine what the music does to me inside the game, because outside of it, it truly wows me, scares me and sometimes shocks me. I wish the score was available outside of the Playstation store. It really needs a bigger audience, not just those who has a Playstation, but everyone who loves this kind of music (and I know there’s quite a few). -Soundtrack Geek
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