Album Review: My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

I became a fan of My Morning Jacket after listening to "Z" on a long car ride. There were so many different layers of sounds and catchy melodies on the album. It kept me thoroughly entertained the whole 45+ minutes.

With great expectations I looked forward to their release of "Evil Urges" in June. To sum it up I was disappointed. After the first listen I hoped that I had missed something. I listened to it several times but always with the same result - a desire to go back to "Z."

It's not a bad album. But it simply isn't up to par with previous albums. The band continues to be skilled at layering ambient/spacey effects with a rock/country sound. But where are the catchy melodies? Where is the emotion?

With the exception of the opening to the title track "Evil Urges" I was never hooked. That is not to say there is just something there I'm missing that longtime fans of the band get.

Album Review: Hawthorne Heights - Fragile Future

Hawthorne Heights had to overcome tremendous amounts of adversity to release this album. It's hard not to tip your hat to them. After spending months in legal battles with their record label, Victory Records, the band was devastated by the death of guitarist Casey Calvert. While there is some controversy surrounding his death, the band insists that the death resulted from a combination of legally prescribed medications, including Vicodin given for a recent root canal.

In spite of all this they were able to resolve their differences with Victory Records and move past Calvert's death with the decision of not replacing him - a symbolic gesture that he will always be with the group in spirit. Despite my admiration when hearing the opening track "The Business of Paper Stars" I was very disappointed. I prepared myself for the very boring, overdone sound of punk guitars with a whiny voice.

This track was followed up by their first single "Rescue Me" and I was hooked. The first verse with catchy guitar stops as JT Woodruff's firmly sings "You're hollow, You're shallow, All the Cowards sat in silence" won me over. This beauty was followed up by "Until Judgement Day" a great song with a superb pre-chorus "I just fell in love for the first time." I may have fell in love with Hawthorne Heights for the first time.

Well...let's not get too carried away. The album has its boring moments. I could easily skip over "Sugar in the Engine" and "Desperation." And while the album has a pinch of ingenuity its overtones are that of your typical punk/alternative band that has been done, redone and done again. And I'm the only one that thinks that "Disaster" sounds like a complete rip-off of Jimmy Eat World's "Get It Faster"???

I do recommend this album.

Album Review: The Slip by Nine Inch Nails

Don't we all love free stuff? For this reason alone "The Slip" by Nine Inch Nails gets five stars. The album was available for digital download on Nine Inch Nail's official website in early May.

“This one’s on me,” Nine Inch Nails guru Trent Reznor stated on the site.

Recently, (July 22, 2008 to be exact) the physical album was released accomodating anti-ipod fans who like to sit and stare at album covers for hours.

After escaping "The Man" (aka Interscope Records) frontman Trent Reznor has been busy releasing 2 albums in 2008. His album "Ghosts I–IV" was released just 2 months prior to "The Slip" in March. According to Reznor "The Slip" was recorded in only three weeks.

Reviews of the album have ranged from pure genius to a bore. My first listen had me leaning more towards boredom. We've all heard Reznor's "sound" before, typically consisting of a dark bass, light drum machine and quirky sounds. Could you even tell the difference if someone switched out "The Slip" with another one of his latest albums (especially Ghosts I-IV)?

But after a few listens I found a special creativity and dark beauty hiding beneath that familiar sound. There are a few catchy songs that are constructed more solid than some of Reznor's latest creations, specifically "Discipline" and "Echoplex." My favorite are the haunting instrumentals "Corona Radiata" and "The Four of Us are Dying."

I imagine this ablum will do little for Reznor's commercial appeal. It is not radio friendly. But I never sensed that Nine Inch Nails strove for commerical appeal. Reznor is a true artist and the Captain looks forward to his creations free from the limits of a record label.