Posts Tagged ‘Album’

Jake Bugg – Jake Bugg

Posted: April 20, 2013 by Tuned In, Turned Up in Album Reviews, Jake Bugg
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Jake Bugg

I hear people say how badly they would have loved to be alive for the music revolution of the 60s almost every day, and I suppose I’m victim to this statement as well. There’s a lot of great music in the modern age, but classic rock ‘n’ roll and folk music seem to have taken a hiatus the past decade or so. After hearing Jake Bugg’s debut album, I’m happy to say that the hiatus is over.

Jake Bugg channels his inner Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan vocally, Johnny Cash musically, Simon & Garfunkel harmonically, and even pulls in influence from bands like The Beatles and Nirvana as well as artists like Buddy Holly and Hank Williams. In other words, all the great music we listen to when we want to be transported to another time is back, and stronger than ever.

At only 18 years old the time of recording, Jake Bugg’s debut album instantly makes you feel as though you’re in the 1950s listening to your record player, while the Ed Sullivan show plays in the background.

The record starts off with the biggest single from the album, “Lightening Bolt”, which inhabits the “scratchiness” of an old vinyl record and even portrays a hint of skiffle music, popular in England during 1956-57. The upbeat tune is then followed by “Two Fingers”, which was not only recorded in Liverpool (home of The Beatles), but even has a drum beat noticeably influenced by Ringo. “Country Song” reminds me especially of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”, with its simplistic yet meaningful lyrics, and heart-wrenching guitar.

“Ballad of Mr. Jones” is a song full of storytelling and incredible imagery, similar to early pieces by Bob Dylan (which is ironic considering Dylan uses the name “Mr. Jones” in one of his songs as well). It feels like Bugg took one of Bob Dylan’s stories and put them to Nirvana music.  The album closes with the song “Fire”; a song so reminiscent of classic country-folk music, I had to go back and check to see if it was a cover.

Overall, I was extremely impressed by Jake Bugg’s debut album, and at such a young age, I’m hoping to see a lot more great things to come from him. So turn off the lights, press play, and be transported back to a much simpler time; you won’t regret it.

♫ SBTRKT – “Hold On”

Posted: December 26, 2012 by Tuned In, Turned Up in Electronic, Music Recommendations
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SBTRKT

Artist: SBTRKT (feat. Sampha)
Album: SBTRKT
Song: Hold On
Genre: Electronic

 

The Killers – “Human”

Posted: November 19, 2012 by Tuned In, Turned Up in Quotes
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“Pay my respects to grace and virtue, send my condolences to good. Give my regards to soul and romance, they always did the best they could.”

Simon & Garfunkel – “The Sound of Silence”

Posted: October 22, 2012 by Tuned In, Turned Up in Quotes
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“In restless dreams I walked alone; narrow streets of cobblestone. ‘Neath the halo of a street lamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp.”

Grizzly Bear – Shields

Posted: October 21, 2012 by Tuned In, Turned Up in Album Reviews, Grizzly Bear
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With the release of their fourth studio album, the Brooklyn quartet, Grizzly Bear, has once again expanded the realm of the indie-rock genre. Shields is their most experimental album yet, weaving in and out of the emotional confusion that comes with the need for both solitude and companionship.  Fans of the band will not be disappointed, as band members, Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen, Chris Taylor and Chris Bear have definitely stepped up their game.

Beginning with the cover of the album, designed by Richard Diebenkorn, the depiction of a club guarded by a larger spade could be interpreted as the role of relationships and people acting as a shield in our lives. We desire to be alone, yet simultaneously need that barrier around us.

The first track on the album, “Sleeping Ute” gives the sense that you are both physically and metaphorically waking up from a dream. “Those countless empty days left me dizzy when I woke” portrays a self-realization, or seeing something for the very first time. Possibly realizing an emptiness in a relationship you’d been ignoring, and feeling there is no other option but to walk away from it. The first song makes it extremely apparent how much growth has developed within the band. In comparison with their first albums, Shields is more daring with sound and more intimate with the lyrics. This album is the first, in my opinion, to really use the words as a narration and depict one core theme throughout the record.

By the time the album reaches the track “Yet Again”, you have already begun what feels like a journey of sorrow and confusion. This song serves as a release from these feelings, and the harmonies on the “oh, oh, oh” are like an emotional outlet giving us a sense of relief. The album then moves into the song “The Hunt”, where rough guitar chords and cymbals echo the message of lost love and finding One’s self beautifully.

The album ends with the epic tune “Sun In Your Eyes”. Shields opened with a sense of doubt and an uncertainty towards society, and by the time we get to this final song, we expect some sort of forgiveness and return. Instead, we are faced with the line, “I’m never coming back”, leaving us submerged in an uncomfortable yet necessary reality that sometimes walking away is the answer.

Shields offers an incredible emotional journey and is an album you can get lost in. Peaking at #7 on the Billboard 200 in America, this record is sure to be a great addition to your collection.