Posts from What bands/albums have you listened to recently? Auto-translated

Radical Face
I thought it was a band, but it turns out it's a solo project by a guy from the duo Electric President (I haven't listened to them). He has released only one album so far, called Ghost, and his music can be categorized as indie-electronic. The best song is, of course, Welcome Home; some of you have probably heard it in commercials. Overall, the album is good, so I won't highlight anything else.

Stanfour
A band from Germany, playing soft alternative rock. They have two albums (Wild Life and Rise and Fall). The second one has more keyboards, and the music has changed slightly. The guys have many good songs: Take Me Or Leave Me, Face To Face, Wishing You Well, In Your Arms, Heart Skipped A Beat, For All Lovers

Rialto
They played Britpop/Indie and released two albums (Rialto and Night on Earth). The music is in the style of the 90s, and I might have heard them before because when I heard the song Monday Morning 5.19 on TV, it immediately seemed familiar to me. Maybe some of you have heard it too. I also liked: Anything Could Happen, Catherine`s Wheel, Quarantine, Shatterproof, Summer's Over

Louis Eliot
After the band broke up, the vocalist of Rialto started working solo and released the album The Long Way Round. I'll highlight Heaven's In Your Eyes, Everybody Loves You When You're Dead, and Heart Shaped Bruise. Last year, a new album was released under the name Louis Eliot & The Embers; perhaps this is a one-time collaboration, or maybe it's a new band. Their album is called Kittow's Moor, and the music balances between Britpop and folk. All the songs are good; it's hard to highlight anything in particular.

Saosin
They play post-hardcore/emocore. Their music is mostly loud, with little melody, but a lot of sounds mixed together, which are sometimes hard to make out. They have released two albums and several EPs. I liked the song You're Not Alone, or rather the piano version, although the regular version is also good.

Escape The Fate
Again, post-hardcore and emocore. But I like this band more than the previous one. Besides, it reminds me a little of Usernames, especially the second album. They have a total of three albums and a couple of EPs. I liked the songs: Harder Than You Know (a long time ago), Let It Go (I like the chorus), Make Up (I like the verses in this one), World Around Me, You Are So Beautiful (I also like this one, although I have not very good memories associated with it)

From First to Last
And again, post-hardcore/screamo/emocore. I only liked one song by them, We All Turn Back To Dust, or rather the beginning, and I went ahead and downloaded everything (four albums and an EP). Oh well, it's a bit too harsh for me, I'll probably have to delete some of it later.

Hawthorne Heights
I wanted to download a band similar to the previous three in terms of tags, but I decided not to, as I'm waiting for their new album in good quality. So, I decided to listen to these for now. It's hard to define the genre, but overall, it's probably alternative with elements of punk and screamo, although the last two albums don't have screamo, as the screamer passed away. They have five albums in total, but the first was released under a different band name, and it's not particularly good. I liked the songs Rescue Me (I've liked it for a long time, it was on my player when I bought it), Boy, Picket Fences, Decembers (three ballads), Here I Am.

Arcade Fire
The band's core consists of a married couple, and there are seven members in total. They are from Canada and have released three albums (Funeral, Neon Bible, The Suburbs) and one EP. One critic described their music as alternative/indie rock, while the band itself is described as experimental alternative rock with elements of art rock and post-punk, although that's almost the same thing. Their songs are a bit strange, yes. This one, The Suburbs, is pretty good; it feels like I've heard it somewhere before. You need to get used to the rest of their songs, and it takes a while).

Fools Garden
The band was formed in the early 90s. They are from Germany and play soft rock/pop-rock/Britpop, and they have six albums. Their most famous song is probably Lemon Tree; many people have probably heard it (in the style of The Beatles, in my opinion). I decided to listen to them after Pandora shared the song Dreaming with me on VKontakte, and I immediately liked it. I also like Cook It A While, Comedy Song, and all their other songs.

Hmm, it's been a while since I last posted here; I've listened to a lot of music, and I should diversify the topic. :)

Isis

Country: USA
Genre: sludge metal / post-metal / artcore
In fact, the band's style is a combination of sludge and post-rock influences, and the rather fitting term "artcore" was coined by a Russian music critic.

Panopticon (2004)

1. So Did We
2. Backlit
3. In Fiction
4. Wills Dissolve
5. Syndic Calls
6. Altered Course
7. Grinning Mouths

Perhaps this album has firmly established itself in my list of favorites over the past six months, despite many other amazing things.

The Panopticon is a type of prison building designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in 1785. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the incarcerated being able to tell whether they are being watched.

This is the concept that underlies the album. I only recently read about it – it has political subtext and much more... In fact, there is very little text in the album, just a few lines in each composition (and these are compositions, not songs), and music is the central element.
The music of Isis is a separate topic. There are no standard verses, choruses, solos, or riffs. Only themes, motifs, developing and smoothly transitioning into one another. The music sometimes "overwhelms" the listener with a solid "wall of sound," and then suddenly transitions into calm, unhurried melodies. And all this is accompanied by a unique, signature "Isis" rhythm section: mesmerizing, broken rhythms of drums and "unobtrusive" bass. It's hard to describe this in words; you have to hear it...
The compositions seem to be different from each other (there's the more aggressive "So Did We," the calmer – or rather, seemingly calmer – "Wills Dissolve," and the measured instrumental "Altered Course"), but they are all connected by some common musical idea. I can't single out anything in particular; I liked everything. I recommend it to metal fans and others, although the music is quite specific and won't appeal to everyone. In my opinion, you can listen to it almost endlessly.

Oceanic (2002)

1. The Beginning and the End
2. The Other
3. False Light
4. Carry
5. -
6. Maritime
7. Weight
8. From Sinking
9. Hym

The second album in my listening order. It's no less good than Panopticon, but for some reason, it didn't grab me as much. Maybe I just haven't "gotten into" it yet. There is also a certain conceptuality here; all the compositions are connected, and the album is perceived as a whole, but you can already clearly identify your favorite tracks that you listen to the most. In general, there is still a lot to listen to and think about here. :)

Celestial (2001)

1. SGNL>01
2. Celestial (The Tower)
3. Glisten
4. Swarm Reigns (Down)
5. SGNL>02
6. Deconstructing Towers
7. SGNL>03
8. Collapse and Crush
9. C.F.T. (New Circuitry And Continued Evolution)
10. Gentle Time
11. SGNL>04

The band's first full-length album represents a stage where their unique style was just beginning to take shape. To be honest, I didn't like it very much. From the name "artcore," there's more "core" than "art" here. There are quite a few overly intrusive repetitions, although I've become more tolerant of this lately. In the "signals," you can feel an echo/development of the idea of some Pink Floyd albums, where songs are divided by a characteristic sound. As, in fact, the influence of PF can also be felt in "C.F.T.," the only track that really grabbed me. For its sake, I even retune my guitar to a few half-steps. (the tuning that Isis uses in many songs)

The band has two more full-length albums: In the Absence of Truth from 2006 – I listened to it, and I liked it less than Oceanic, but I clearly didn't listen to it enough; the album has great potential, although it is criticized as "self-plagiarism"; Wavering Radiant from 2010 – I haven't gotten around to it yet, but the reviews from fans of Oceanic and Panopticon are not very flattering... I don't feel like listening to the early EPs "Mosquito Control" and "Red Sea" yet, but maybe I'll get to them.

to be continued...

Bush
Genre: grunge/alternative rock
It's a bit surprising to see an English band playing grunge, but these guys did just that. Yes, the band seems to have disbanded, as their last album was released in 2001. There are four of them, and the first three are truly grunge, while the fourth is more alternative. I learned about the band through "The Simpsons," specifically one episode about music or the 80s-90s, I don't remember exactly, but the gist was that Homer was playing Kurt Cobain and performing various grunge songs. One of them belongs to this band and is called Glycerine (in the cartoon, it's called Margarine), a fantastic track. Although I don't particularly like this kind of guitar sound, there are artists who know how to make it appealing (Travis also has a similar guitar sound in some of their songs, and I like it, even though they aren't grunge at all). I also liked the song Headful of Ghosts, and I'm still listening to the others.
They sound a bit like Nirvana

Sick Puppies
An Australian band consisting of three members (a girl on bass guitar! In some songs, her parts resemble funk, for example, in Master Of The Universe). They play hard rock/alternative rock and have released three albums. The first is called Welcome To The Real World and is probably the heaviest, which is likely why I like it the least. Then comes the album Dressed Up As Life, which brought the band fame. The third album is Tri-Polar, and it's probably even better than the previous one. I learned about the band through television (!). I was once watching TV late at night, switching channels, and was about to turn it off and go to sleep when, around 4 a.m., they played the music video for the song All The Same. I immediately liked it, although I think I had heard it a long time ago, but I forgot about it and the band, and then I got a second chance, and I definitely didn't miss it. I recently saw a new music video for the song Maybe. They're not that great, you can just watch the band, but the songs are great. I also like Asshole Father (the chorus is amazing, what a voice, mm), So What I Lied, Don't Walk Away, White Balloons (they sing together with the bassist!), That Time Of Year
A beautiful band, good music, and pleasant vocals.

Death Cab For Cutie
An indie rock band with 8 albums and several EPs, as well as 122 million listens on Last.fm. This surprised me a bit, as the band was formed only in 1997, and it doesn't seem particularly remarkable, in my opinion (although Coldplay was formed a year earlier and has almost 191 million listens), perhaps it's all due to the vocalist, who played somewhere before. The songs are mostly calm, slow, lyrical, and have a pleasant vocal. I especially liked I Will Follow You into the Dark and Transatlanticism. They also have a cover of the old song Earth Angel, which I also like.

Warpaint
I've known this female band for a long time, but only through demo recordings, and now I've listened to their first album, The Fool, which features new songs. The old ones are on the EP Exquisite Corpse. They play art rock/psychedelia. I especially like the song Stars (including the demo version), and from the new album, I liked Baby. Perhaps the songs are best listened to in a certain mood or state of mind; at least, the effect of some of them is enhanced.

The Rentals
An old indie band, but for some reason, they only have two albums and two EPs. Although the latest EP is the first part of their 3rd album, which I don't have; rather, I don't have the 2nd and 3rd parts, because no one uploads them! So, the first album is called Return of The Rentals, and I don't particularly like it, although the song Sweetness and Tenderness is good. The second album is called Seven More Minutes, and I like it much more than the first. I'll highlight the song My Head Is in the Sun in particular. Now, the EPs, which were released after the albums. (EP - mini-album). The first is called The Last Little Life, and it has four songs, two of which, Last Romantic Day and Little Bit of You in Everything, are very good. The third song is also decent, and the fourth is a song from the first album that I liked, but in a new version. The new version is actually better and lasts 6:27. The second EP (the first part of the 3rd album) is called The Story of a Thousand Past, and I'm still listening to it. They also have a single called Colorado, which is also not bad. By the way, there are six people in the band, and three of them are female, judging by the photo on Last.fm, so the band has two vocalists - male and female. It is also known that the band was formed by the first bassist of Weezer, whom I also listen to. Although, externally, he looks like a vocalist... I don't know)

Basta (currently NoGGano)
A well-known Russian rapper. I used to hear his music separately (Basta - My Game) or together with other rappers (Guf, NoGGano, AK47 - respect to those who are with us), so I decided to listen to Basta's separate work besides "My Game." Not bad, even though I've only listened to his music from 2006 so far.

P.S. I clarified and realized that my suspicions were justified. Basta is NoGGano...

The Coral
Genre: indie rock, Britpop
The band isn't as old as I initially thought. Their first album was released in 2002 and had the same name as the band. One of the songs from it was featured in the series Scrubs, where I heard it, loved it, and then decided to listen to the band's discography. The song is called Dreaming Of You, and the scene in the series is great, in my opinion. The second album was released the following year and was called Magic And Medicine. I liked the song Pass It On. Then came the album Nightfreak And The Sons Of Becker, which was released in 2004. The fourth album was no exception and continued the annual chain of album releases. It was titled The Invisible Invasion. Then came the fifth album, Roots & Echoes, but it was released in 2007. The band's sixth album was released last year and is called Butterfly House Acoustic, and it is entirely acoustic. I don't know if there are normal versions of these songs, but I couldn't find them. They have beautiful songs, and most of them have a cheerful vibe.

The Strokes
And here's another indie rock band with four albums under their belt. The first, Is This It, and the second, Room On Fire, sound very similar, but from the second, I liked a couple of songs: I Can't Win and Reptilia, although the latter might not be theirs. At least it's also on Lostprophets' album, but they definitely covered it, while I'm not sure about The Strokes. The third album, First Impressions Of Earth, is already a bit different from the previous ones, and first of all, it pleases us with the song Heart In A Cage. I also liked Vision Of Division, although it's more specific. The fourth album was released this year and is called Angles. In my opinion, it's calmer than the previous ones. The vocalist's voice reminds me of a couple of voices from other bands, and the music too, but it's different.

So, it's time to remember the old bands as well. Some of them have released new albums.

Kaiser Chiefs
The new album is called The Future is Medieval, and it has twenty songs, which is great. It's worth mentioning that the album is sold in a rather original way. On a special website, a person chooses songs for themselves (a certain number, like 14, I don't remember) and creates a cover (the process is similar to assembling a puzzle), and then orders it. Their songs are a bit strange; you need to get used to them. For now, I'll highlight If You Will Have Me.

Simple Plan
Their new album is called Get Your Heart On!, and unfortunately, it hasn't caught my attention yet. Although the songs are generally good. I can only mention that four songs are sung as a duet (or almost a duet) with other artists.