Quick Review: Attitude City

[Disclaimer: This album is NSFW, and as such, this review might be slightly NSFW as well.]

Released on July 17, 2015, Attitude City is the third album from the band Ninja Sex Party. The band, made up of the fictional characters Danny Sexbang (Daniel Avidan) and Ninja Brian (Brian Wecht), describes their music as '80s-style comedy jams'. I would describe Ninja Sex Party's style as 80's rock with heavy emphasis on synths and harmonies. Of course, the lyrical content of their music is always comedic, and usually concerning sex in some manner. For example, some song titles from previous albums include "No Reason Boner", "FYI I Wanna F Your A", and "Three Minutes of Ecstasy". However, not all of their songs are about sex, such as "Unicorn Wizard" (in which Danny fantasizes about being, well, the Unicorn Wizard), "Best Friends Forever!" (in which Ninja Brian murders all of Danny's other friends), and "Dinosaur Laser Fight", which is about what you'd imagine from a song with such a title.

Attitude City is, without a doubt, the best album Ninja Sex Party has put out to date. Listening to their older albums in order, from NSFW to Strawberries and Cream and finally Attitude City, it is easy to hear the development of Danny and Brian's musical talent. The drastic contrast between the auto-drum and single-keyboard-part style of "The Decision" from NSFW and the booming arena rock anthem-styled "Dragon Slayer" from Attitude City is staggering. Some of the best songs from Attitude City include "Attitude City", "Peppermint Creams", and the aforementioned "Dragon Slayer". These songs in particular highlight the booming chord progressions and especially Danny's magnificent vocals, both melodies and harmonies. Ninja Sex Party also bring it down a notch with the 'ballad' "Why I Cry" and the softer "Party of Three", showing that they are capable of making great music without relying on loud, booming chords. The album ends with the progressive epic "6969", an homage to Rush's "2112" done as only Ninja Sex Party can. "6969" demonstrates phenomenal songwriting ability, as like "2112", the song frequently changes style and tempo while still sounding like a concise package. If I had one complaint about the album, I'd say that the mixing still doesn't sound 100%; some of Danny's vocals are a bit too echo-ey, and not everything sounds as tight as it could be. Also, the album is a little on the short side; although it has 13 tracks, five are short interludes or skits.

The Verdict: Attitude City is Ninja Sex Party's best album to date. They have improved tremendously over the years, and their latest album perfectly demonstrates their style of booming chords and soaring vocals.

Best Songs: "Dragon Slayer", "Attitude City", "6969"

Listen If You Like: Starbomb, Strawberries and Cream (Ninja Sex Party), humorous, synth-driven 80's-style jams

Final Rating: 9.5/10

Album Review: Adventure

Introduction

Adventure is the first full-length album from French house artist Hugo Pierre Leclercq, better known by his stage name Madeon. The album was released on March 31, 2015 and was preceded by singles "Imperium", "You're On", "Pay No Mind", and "Home".

Album Review: Smoke + Mirrors

Introduction

Smoke + Mirrors is the second full-length album from Imagine Dragons, released on February 17, 2015. "I Bet My Life" was the album's lead single, with "Gold" and "Shots" also being released as singles.

Quick Review: American Beauty/American Psycho

[What is this? This is an idea I just had: instead of taking the time to review every single track on an album I really wanted to review, I could do a "quick" review of a moderate-interest album. That means I won't review every track, but I'll go into a little bit more detail. Think of it as an extended conclusion section from one of my other reviews. I'll still do full track-by-track reviews for certain albums, but maybe this'll give me a bit more motivation do put more stuff on this blog. Without further ado, here's my review.]

The follow-up to their previous album, Save Rock and Roll (which I reviewed here), Fall Out Boy's sixth studio album, American Beauty/American Psycho, was released on January 20, 2015. I stated in my Save Rock and Roll review that, despite its title, the album was pretty poppy and heavily produced. With American Beauty/American Psycho, Fall Out Boy wished to create a more stylistically cohesive album, and the style chosen is, frankly, not really my style. The album is still more pop than it is rock, and the production is once again heavy. You've probably heard the lead single from the album, "Centuries", and if you have, you know that the song has an arena-rock style chorus with hip-hop influenced verses and beats. The hip-hop influence is felt in other songs as well, like "Irresistible" and "Jet Pack Blues", and many songs feature easily crowd-singable choruses, like "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "American Beauty/American Psycho". These choruses distinctly remind me of newer Maroon 5 songs, namely "Maps" and "Animals". I will state that I am not really a fan of this style; I subscribe to the Dave Grohl school of rock, where it's the human element of a song that makes a song great, not its production.

That being said, for what it is, American Beauty/American Psycho is not totally terrible. In fact, I found myself somewhat enjoying many of the songs on the album, and really liking a select few. One of my biggest problems with the album is the fact that it's so overly produced. Sometimes it's hard to even pay attention to the lyrics because of the overly-produced instrumentation. For example, I was reading the Wikipedia article for the lead track, "Irresistible", and read that it was about "deadly love", but I had barely been paying attention to the lyrics. Also, some of the choruses are so pop-infused that they don't sound genuine; this happens most notably on "American Beauty/American Psycho" and especially on "Fourth of July". However, I do enjoy "Centuries", and I really like "The Kids Aren't Alright" as well - it reminds me a lot of "Save Rock and Roll" (the song) from the previous album. And the album actually ends on a pretty good note with "Immortals" and the possibly-grammatically-incorrectly-named "Twin Skeleton's (Hotel in NYC)".

The Verdict: American Beauty/American Psycho is not necessarily a bad album for what it is, but I don't really like what it is. Its ultimate downfall for me is that it's too overly-produced, and the songs (especially chorus melodies) sound too much like they're written for pop radio. Select songs will make it into my playlist, but all in all this album won't get a whole lot of playtime from me in the future.
Best Songs: "Centuries", "The Kids Aren't Alright", "Immortals"
Listen If You Like: Save Rock and Roll (Fall Out Boy), V (Maroon 5), modern pop-punk with emphasis on the 'pop'

Final Score: 7/10

Album Review: Sonic Highways

Introduction

Sonic Highways is the eighth studio album by Foo Fighters. The recording process for the album is unique: the group visited eight different cities across the United States and wrote and recorded each song in a different city, with local legends sitting in on the recordings.

Album Review: The Wild Feathers

Introduction

The Wild Feathers is the debut album by alternative-southern rock band The Wild Feathers. Released on August 13, 2013, the album hasn't attained much radio play, although "The Ceiling" is turning out to be the album's most popular song.

Album Review: Save Rock and Roll

Introduction

Five years after the release of their previous album, Folie a Deux, Fall Out Boy is back with their fifth album, Save Rock and Roll. Previous to the release of the album, the song "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up)" was released as a single.

Introducing: Sapphonix

I've been meaning to do this a while back, but here goes:

Introducing my new electronic music project, Sapphonix!

Pretty much this is just a name for my music that I make. Not sure if I will feel more motivated to make music now, but we'll see. Also, I have a SoundCloud where I will be uploading music, follow me here. There's nothing there yet, but there will be stuff eventually. Also, I will eventually have a picture that I will use as my main profile pic.

Why Sapphonix? Well, my birthstone is Sapphire, first of all. Also, I have always liked onyx for some reason, so that's kind of where the -onix comes from. That, and I think it sounds kinda cool. So there's that.

Music Discovery: The Gracious Few's "Closer"

"Closer" was a free single on iTunes a couple years ago, and it comes from The Gracious Few's eponymous 2010 album. The Gracious Few are actually a supergroup consisting of guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer, and drummer Chad Gracey from Live, and vocalist Kevin Martin and guitarist Sean Hennesy from Candlebox. Their style is hard alternative rock, similar to Three Days Grace or Bush. Musically, the song starts quietly, but once the drums kick in, the song has a driving beat. The guitar then takes the lead, with hard chords leading through the chorus along with Martin's piercing vocals. The verses are more subdued, with the bass driving the song along here. Overall, "Closer" is a great hard rock tune.

September: A Good Month for Music

September is turning out to be a pretty good month for new album releases. On September 4th, Imagine Dragons released their debut studio album Night Visions, and Matchbox Twenty released North, which was their first non-compilation album since 2002's More Than You Think You Are. On September 10th, The Avett Brothers released The Carpenter (which you can expect a review of soon [spoiler alert: it's good]), and the next day, The Dave Matthews Band released Away from the World. The end of the month holds promise, too: two albums of note will be released on September 21: deadmau5's Album Title Goes Here and Mumford & Sons's Babel. Rounding out the month will be ¡Uno!, the first album of the Green Day ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Trè! trilogy, on September 25th, and on September 28th in a few European countries (and October 2nd mostly everywhere else) will be the release of Muse's album The 2nd Law. Other releases include albums by Hoobastank, Mika, Pet Shop Boys, Pink, and The Killers, as well as the 25th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson's Bad. Expect a few reviews coming up, probably of The Carpenter, Babel, and ¡Uno!.

Music Discovery: An Endless Sporadic's "Impulse"

"Impulse" is the first track from Ameliorate by instrumental progressive-rock band An Endless Sporadic. You might recognize this song as being a bonus track on Guitar Hero III. The "progressive" label is not to be taken lightly. After a minute or two into the song, you will wonder if you are even listening to the same song. However, the beginning riff repeats itself later in the song to remind you what you're listening to. In the middle, there is the breakdown of all breakdowns. It might sound like absolute nonsense, but it's still relatively structured... I think. If you're into instrumental rock, give "Impulse" a listen, and if you like what you hear, also check out "Anything" from the same album.

VOTE: FL Studio Projects!

And I finally make my first post about MY music. Although it's not me on the piano, I decided to dump the several starts of FL Studio songs onto my blog for the world to see. Some are really short (like, seriously, really short) and others are longer, plus I have one completed song to show. In addition, YOU get to decide which unfinished project I finish first! To listen to each song, click on the song title and download the song. Then, you can play it in your music player of choice. So here goes:

Music Discovery: SoulEye's "Positive Force"

Retro video game fans will love this one. "Positive Force" is by Magnus Pålsson, better known as SoulEye. The song comes from PPPPPP, which is the soundtrack for the indie game VVVVVV. Like the enitre album, "Positive Force" is chiptune style, giving it an 8-bit retro sound. The syncopation in the drum rhythm along with the sine (I think) lead makes it feel right from a video game (and it is, so no surprise there). Of the songs from PPPPPP, "Positive Force" is one of the best. It's very upbeat and has a great chorus with a well placed key change in the chorus. If you're into retro games, have played VVVVVV, or in general like 8-bit music, I would recommend checking out this song as well as the album PPPPPP. Also, you can find "Positive Force" on the Rock Band Network, in addition to "Potential for Anything" and "Pressure Cooker" from the album.

EDIT: Howzabout I give you a link to the song? Here you go (after the break):

Ramblings About Choral Arrangements

At last year's LCWM choir concert, I arranged Uncle Kraker's "Follow Me" for my guys group, Legàcy (yes, the accent is necessary). This year, I've been a lot busier with arrangement for the pop concert, which is Disney themed. For Legàcy, I arranged a 4-song medley/mashup/whatever of "chill" music, including Travie McCoy's "Billionaire", Bruno Mars's "Count on Me", Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours", and Bill Withers's "Lean on Me". The song is written in TBB, which for those of you who aren't music-savvy, stands for Tenor-Baritone-Bass, meaning there are three harmony parts; I am the tenor, Isaac Schultz and Justin Hruby are the baritones, and Sam Vetch is the bass. Nearly everyone who I've shown the arrangement to is excited to see it performed. I also arranged "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King, also in TBB. That will be sung by all the guys in the choir. Also, for our Chamber Choir, I arranged "Circle of Life" a capella (without piano). It's technically SATB (Soprano-Alto-Tenor-Bass), but three of the parts split to really make it SSAATTB. I intended to get that done in one weekend, but it turns out writing seven parts is harder than three. Who knew?
So yeah, if you're planning on going to the concert in May, keep an ear out for those three songs. If this article seems random, it's because it is. I just felt like writing something, and this was the first thing that came to mind.

Music Discovery: Jonathan Coulton's "The Future Soon"

OMG AN ARTICLE!

Jonathan Coulton is a musician who focuses on pop/rock and folk rock. He is also probably a nerd because some of his song topics include Swedish furniture stores ("Ikea"), working at an IT job ("Code Monkey"), and, of course, zombies ("Re: Your Brains"). "The Future Soon" regards, well, the future and how the protagonist can't wait for it to come. He talks about how he'll "probably be some kind of scientist / Building inventions in my space lab in space" and eventually become one with his machines before going back to Earth to court a high school crush. Musically, "The Future Soon" is very cool, focusing on many different guitar chords while also having underlying keyboard. From the bridge on, the background is filled with mechanical beeps and other gizmo sounds. I would highly suggest checking out this song and Jonathan Coulton's other songs if you're into quirky lyrics or if you're a nerd like he is.

Laziness Update

So, if anyone has been paying attention, I haven't done anything here for a pretty long time now. I'm going to try and change this, but it might take a while. First off, I'm going to review a bunch of albums at once and then put them out over time. Second, I'm scrapping the Top 10 feature, and by that I mean that it won't be a weekly think anymore. I might do one every now and again, but don't expect one every week. Also, a tentative list of albums that I will review next is:
The King Is Dead - The Decemberists (by request)
Race You To The Bottom - New Medicine
Doo-Wops & Hooligans - Bruno Mars
Stunt - Barenaked Ladies
At Budokan - Cheap Trick
Wasting Light - Foo Fighters
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
Appeal To Reason - Rise Against
So yeah.

Music Discovery: Bloom's "Fight for Greatness"

So, this article will probably be pretty sporadic, as I will only post Music Discovery articles when I find a really good song by a virtually unknown artist. My first one is "Fight for Greatness" by Bloom, from their album Photosynthesis. This song is from the genre of indie rock, which is usually a pretty light genre, versus a heavier genre like grunge. I found this song through the Rock Band Network, which lets anyone with an Xbox 360 put their own music up for sale on Rock Band. "Fight for Greatness" drew the closer similarities to Coldplay in my mind, especially in the verses. The choruses have a very sweet falsetto with harmony, and the drum beats change relatively often between a half-time and double-time feel. It has piano in it, which is highlighted in the third chorus, which starts quietly with just piano and vocals. Indie rock is not usually where you find real shredding guitar, but the guitarist for Bloom can really play, as is shown by the intro and guitar solo. Overall, "Fight for Greatness" is a great song, and don't be surprised if I sometime post a video of me playing it on piano and singing. A music video is available after the jump.

Saturday Album Review: 2112

Introduction
This week's review is Rush's 1976 progressive epic 2112. The album is best known for its 20-minute, seven-part title track. From this, "2112 Overture/The Temples of Syrinx" was released as a single, and other popular tracks from the album include "A Passage to Bangkok" and "Something for Nothing".

Thursday Top 10: My Favorite Songs from 1993

No, Whoomp! (There It Is) is not in my Top 10.

Not only was 1993 a pretty good year for music, it was also the year I was born. So it's fitting that this is my first Top 10 feature. The early 90's was partially dominated by the grunge scene, and I have a good share of alternative and grunge on my list. So without further ado, here's my list of my favorite songs from my birth year:

Saturday Album Review: A Thousand Suns

(Pre-notes: Yes, I know it's not Friday; it's Saturday. I got working on this review late on Friday and decided to move the reviews to Saturday. Also, I realize this might not be the most professional review you'll see, but I honestly don't really care.)
Introduction
A Thousand Suns is nu-metal band Linkin Park's fourth studio album, released in 2010. It is a concept album (meaning the songs share a loose storyline or common idea) concerning human fears such as nuclear warfare. Although it is quite different from their previous album, 2007's Minutes to Midnight, it still stays true to Linkin Park's signature nu-metal sound. Four singles have been released from the album: "The Catalyst", "Waiting for the End", "Iridescent", and "Burning in the Skies".