Bell Orchestre - Recording a Tape the Colours of the Light

ian says:

while doing a little reading, i came across this album. it was a rather pleasant surprise to find out that this canadian instrumental five-piece contains several members of arcade fire (who just happen to be amazing). i thought it was bangin' that the band's instruments of choice are: upright bass, violin, french horn, trumpet, and drums/percussion. however when the album starts out with their first "recording a tunnel..." track i had a bad feeling that that song's sleepy tones would be the feeling of the entire album. . . i was wrong.
things really get moving on the third song, "les lumières pt. 2". from there it's mostly strings, horns, and good times. things take an unexpected turn with the song "recording a tape... (typewriter duet)". as the title suggests, there are actual typewriters being pounded away on. it's pretty slick, you'll just have to hear it for yourself.

the upside: even though it is becoming commonplace for classical instruments to be used in indie music, it's still really neat-o to hear them played right. who knew that a good old violin and some hand claps could still get people going. it was also nice to have a purely instrumental band that's not the typical cliche post-rock. i imagine that this is a group that would be a joy to watch live. for those who are used to music that is a little out of the norm, i would definitely suggest bell orchestre

the downside: ah, what can i say? some parts of the album are a little pretentious. for example the last track "recording a tunnel (invisible bells)" is 13 minutes of ambient horn sounds played over what sounds like an ocean tide accompanied by the occasional clang on an old bell. it's a little taxing to listen to. there are several tracks that tend to drudge along with no real clear focus ("the bells play the band"). if you can just skip over a useless track here or there you'll be tickled by this album.

rating: 3/5

:)

El Ten Eleven - El Ten Eleven

Joe Says:

El Ten Eleven is an instrumental duet consisting of bassist Kristian Dunn and percussionist (note "percussionist," not "drummer") Tim Fogarty. They released their self-titled debut in 2004.
The album itself is filled with insane amounts of bass-creative leads and out-of the-box drumbeats. There is no doubt that these two musicians understand their craft and what they are trying to accomplish. One listen to the first track "My Only Swerving" and you can tell that this band has it goin' on.
Don't, of course, get the wrong idea of ETE. They're not some jam-band centric "drum 'n bass" group thrown together in a Seattle garage. While the skilled Dunn does maintain a lot of leads in the bass area, there are a vast amount of guitars which carry the songs and create the moods and emotions One would hardly realize that the members covered but the rhythm section unless told otherwise.
The only downside to the album is the amount of tapping. It seems that in most (if not all) of the songs there are whole sections involving a bass-lead and guitar tapping. It sounds great at first glance, but listening to the album completely through proves a bit boring and repetitive.
As for the drum part of the arsenal: wonderful. Fogarty knows exactly what to play to make the songs not sound completely spacey and unorganized, while not inappropriately stuffing 16th-note fills in every heartfelt emotional climax that the tracks produce. The use of sporadic loops also greatly enhances the songs, and I give him an ample dosage of Joe-prop. As a whole, this album definitely has my seal of approval.

My Rating: 7/10

Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster...

Ian says:

i don't know about you, but "collective" bands can sometimes get a little old. ever since broken social scene became the biggest thing since sliced bread, it seems there has been an increasing number of bands with and increasing number of members. now don't get me wrong, there are some really good ones out there (i.e. arcade fire, the most serene republic). it just seems like it has become the "it" thing to have a big band. i just wish someone would shake it up a little bit...

enter los campesinos!...

THE UPSIDE: from the title of the first song ("death to los campesinos!") off of their full-length debut, hold on now youngster you know that this is a band that will not get caught up in taking itself too seriously. they are fast. they are loud. and they are twee? it's definitely a refreshing mix to be sure. you can tell that the welsh band is just in this to have fun... and that's always a good thing.

DOWNSIDE: i would recommend them as a fun listen (a very fun listen), but that's really all. they won't really challenge your thought process at all. also, the album tends to drag a little bit towards the end. the songs become a little formulaic and forgettable.

rating: 3.5 / 5

the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

so joe, jared, and i (ian) decided that we would start a collective blog about music... basically we all love music and we all love sharing music so if you have spare time and have nothing better to do, you can come on here and find out about new music, old music, or just whatever music we want to talk about. all three of us will be contributing so hopefully our individual tastes will start to become evident to the readers (if we get any readers). we hope you enjoy reading. blah.

p-p-p-peace!