Gym Impressions #1

This is going to be the first of what hopes to be a lengthy series of opinions and reviews towards some music that I have listened to, whilst gymming, to use a bastardisation.  As I have mentioned earlier (I hope), I got myself a little mp3 player which I would then load new albums onto, and then go enjoy them at the gym, and thus avoid having to experience any other noises that may be happening.  I also hope to start adding a few pics to the blog, brighten it up a bit with a few album covers by using Windows Live Writer, so here goes.  If it fucks up then I'll take the post down pretty sharpish and try again :s

EDIT: laptop was being incredibly unresponsive when adding the pix so apologies it looks a little crappy and in need of better presentation, but I ran out of hair to pull out arg!

 

 Mike Park - For The Love of Music

Ah, Mike Park, first experienced this guy when he supported Alkaline Trio when a group of us went to see them in wonderful Brum.  For those not in the know, Mike Park is the founder of Asian Man Records, a record label that Alkaline Trio released some of their first material, hence the connection.  Armed with a stool, guitar and a small projector, he put on one of the greatest, and without doubt most enjoyable support sets I have witnessed.

The standout track from the live performance was of course "From Korea" which he is probably the most well known for.  I acquired two albums through Soulseek - a great little App, a peer-to-peer program which I've found to be the best source for the more obscure and/or less known music.  Anyways, back to the review, and I opted to put on "For the Love of Music" onto the mp3 player because of the familiarity of the "From Korea" track.

Now, "From Korea" itself is a very simple song, in which Mike Park explores the misuse of politically incorrect terms like "gay" and "nigger" to quote the song.  Just like at the live show, the song is very immediate, has a wonderful sing-along quality and serves as an obvious entry point into Mike Park's material.

I admit, I was slightly skeptical at what just one guy with an acoustic guitar could do - could it be as good, if not better than From Korea?  The answer, is most definitely yes, and in fact as alluded to before, "From Korea" Is one of the simplest songs on the album, and that a high number of them contain other strings to add layers to help create a greater depth to the songs.  Park has a wonderful sense of melody and by the second chorus I was already armed with the skills to sing along to what are all at times throughout, simply charming lyrics - "You're grade today, an A for loving me".

Other standout tracks are "I'm Supposed to Be There Too" and the other protest (kinda) song "Hey You!".  Overall, a great little album, I can almost guarantee it will not blow you away in terms of stature or content, but if you feel like kicking back and enjoying some charming, acoustic based, and honest music, then look it up.

 

 AFI - decemberunderground

Not so much a new album, it's been knocking about for at least a year, but I felt it deserved at least a listen.  Now, my first exposure to AFI was the album "Sing the Sorrow" and because of this I'm not a fan of the much more raw and lesser produced material which predates that album (sorry).  Before experiencing decemberunderground, reviews I had read on Amazon had expressed generally negative thoughts due to the departure from the type of music which AFI started out with.  Not weighed down with this emotional baggage, I was ready to check it out.

The first song, or more of a short introduction, sets the scene for more to come, mainly the more orchestral-sounding element which first began on "Sing the Sorrow". Also the first vocals are very much of a "Sing the Sorrow" mould and definitely not the more harsh, ragged, more harsh vocals on previous albums.  The first song "Prelude 12/21" also features the lyric, "kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep", which I almost immediately found myself changing to "Kiss my arse and lay me to sleep" - old habits die hard...

After the quiet opener, the album properly kicks off and as is as explosive as ever, and does not let up much at all.  Something that is quite immediate is the high quality of production that this album has been subjected to.  The entire album simply wreeks of slick production, which some purists and hardcore AFI fans may hate, but it's something I am finding myself requiring as a prerequisite to a good album - solid production.

Moving onto the songs themselves, and I regret that there aren't many standout tracks on the album, although saying that the quality of all tracks is high, and there is a good flow to the album.  A flow which is helped very much by the pace of the songs, it's almost a barrage at times.  One reason perhaps why there aren't more standout tracks is the difficulty (i have at least) of understanding and recognising the lyrics which is a continuing element of AFI's music.

If you have never heard of AFI before, I would recommend "Sing the Sorrow" before this one.  The standard is very high on "decemberunderground" but it lacks the standout tracks, which luckily "Sing the Sorrow" posesses in high numbers.  Although that is my personal view, and perhaps a fairer assessment of this band would be to begin at the start of their discography, but again I have given it a try and not found anywhere near as many gyms as can be found on "Sing the Sorrow" and this, their latest albums.

More Gym Impressions later, I am still undecided whether to post the "mini-reviews" altogether or give them their own individual post listings, mmm..

Till then, here's hoping you will listen to something new today.