The Future Now - Hazy Orange Sunday

Hazy Orange Sunday is the debut LP from the Gainesville, FL trio The Future Now. Simple, understated, fun homegrown rock and roll music. The term homegrown is brutally apt, as the album was recorded in the comforts of a Gainesville living room. I have to say outright that for a living room debut record this is fantastic.

The Future Now produces a sound seeking to hearken back to a simpler era of rock, devoid of the overly technical riffs and blistering screams that come a dime a dozen today. Paradoxically, the throwback sound is actually like carving a new path in contemporary music. The sonic simplicity is a breath of fresh air, which should prove open to a wide variety of listeners. While not tremendously impressive in terms of instrumentation, Hazy Orange Sunday is full of entertaining, well written songs with pacing that makes the album spin freely over and over.

The album doesn't sound retro in the popular classic-rock revival way, The Future Now instead veers toward the more recent alternative music wave, drawing heavy comparisons to the surge of 1990s grunge bands. Don't let that invoke a Seattle plaid-laden image though, in between the lines these guys have as much Danzig or James Iha as Mark Arm. Suprisingly or not, little to no Peter Hammill influence can be found.

What doesn't work well for The Future Now is unimpressive production quality. Yes, it's great for a small band's album recorded at home, but it's not as deep or sonically impressive as it could be. As well, there is a simplicity to the instrumentation of the guitars that will be easily passed off by many as a lack of talent. While it doesn't hurt the music, it forces the band to rely on strong song writing and presence to captivate audiences. While the album is entertaining, bands like The Future Now usually rely heavily on live shows to bring their music to life for fans. Unfortunately, they seem to have day jobs, so they can't constantly tour. Though, it looks like they are playing shows throughout the Southeast US right now, with a schedule up on their Myspace page.

The best moments of the record emerge when the band gets heavier and more aggressive, as in the songs Ghost Cousins and Terrorarium. Working well also is the slower, more heartfelt sound of the floor tom driven A Necessary Fiction. The entire album passes the mark, with no instant-skip songs. More than listenable, the album is fun and easy to get into.
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The skinny:

• Pros: simple, fun, fuzzy rock and roll, easily accessible
• Cons: still green, no constant touring schedule

Make an Assessment:

• I like it. Check out the Myspace, go see them live, have a brew and chat them up (really nice guys). Pick up the LP at the SoundStudy Recordings shop.

Overall Review Score:

• Grade: B
• Score: 84%
• If it were a movie: ★★★★
• My Feelings: "What a sight to see, what a sound to hear!"

Minus the Bear - Omni

I've been dreading writing up a review of the new Minus the Bear album, Omni. I'll explain.

I've given the album a lot of spins since it leaked a few months ago, and when it officially hit shelves I proudly shelled out some hard earned salad so the band that I've grown to love can live another day. I make the point that I bought it as a huge Minus the Bear fan because had I not been familiar with them there is little chance I would have bought it at all. I gave Minus the Bear my money because I want them to go back into the studio and come out with a better album next time. I've been dreading reviewing Omni because I'm torn between praising them for another good hour of listening pleasure or panning them as a band I feel should have made a better record.

The entirety of Omni takes a step backwards stylistically. There is a resemblance to their 2005 LP, Menos el Oso, but almost no hint of what was presented via the follow up in 2007, Planet of Ice. The progression to a grittier, more progressive rock sound on PoI has been completely polished off by their move to Dangerbird Records, and Omni producer Joe Chiccarelli. There is a distinct return to pop-laden tunes. At times here synths flow ethereally across Jake Snyder's overt sexual couplets, contrasting with moments of pop-funk grooves and electronic drums boom-chick boom-chicking their way through. The overall sound coming out of the speakers is distinctly Minus the Bear, but it seems to be wrapped up in a more widely accessible (read: mainstream) package. One can speculate endlessly about whether the shift is intentional for the sake of radio spins and album sales, or if they might have felt a backlash from fans about the departure PoI took into more serious and dark themes. Whatever the reasoning, Omni is certainly lighter, sexier, and more widely listener friendly than it's predecessor.

The pre-release single My Time has turned heads with it's catchy sing-along chorus. Secret Country is a standout effort, heavier and more befitting to the Minus the Bear catalog. Excuses provides a nice Act II/III mellow jam to pace the album. The final track, Fooled by the Night, provides a meditative drone for a smooth finish.

The problem is that Minus the Bear have failed to raise the bar. The entire album, barring a few passages, feels watered down. Like a Cliffs Notes' Minus the Bear, the premise is present, but the colorful originality has been abridged. There is a lack of the lyrical wit and intrigue of Highly Refined Pirates, the raw intensity of Planet of Ice, and the subtle sophistication of the Acoustics EP.

I find it necessary now to point out that despite my beef with this album, it's good. It's certainly worth listening to, and if funky indie synth pop rock is your preferred genre you'll definitely love it. This album has tremendous potential to inspire dancing, singing, smiling, and especially love making. I will continue to spin it regularly, although probably less than Minus the Bear's previous albums. In a vast sea of crap contemporary music, even a mediocre effort from Minus the Bear is far above average.
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The skinny:

• Pros: catchy, hooky, poppy, sexy, jammy, punani
• Cons: meh

Make an Assessment:

• The best recommendation I can make is to say download it, listen to it, and judge for yourself on this one. My opinion of Minus the Bear is too biased to bring an objective view. I like this album, even though I find it somewhat disappointing.

Overall Review Score:

• Grade: In general: B, as a MtB album: D
• Score: 82%
• If it were a movie: ★★★½
• My Feelings: "Falling down and splashing up, I'm clapping for a second cut."

Coheed and Cambria - Year of the Black Rainbow

A new Coheed and Cambria album came out earlier this week. Year of the Black Rainbow is the band's fifth studio effort as part of their sci-fi cycle, The Armory Wars, an entire concept discography (giant leaps beyond a mere concept album). The band brings an intriguing and entertaining record this time.
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**The next paragraph is for Coheed fans, or people interested in a small band history lesson. Skip to the next paragraph for more review of the album.**
The album serves as a story prequel to their other albums, and as such sparked my curiosity about what direction their sound has taken. The style of music, production, feeling, and attitude of their music has evolved significantly from their debut (Second Stage Turbine Blade, the second chapter in the series) to their second most recent release (No World For Tomorrow, the final chapter). I expected their sound to be much more reminiscent of SSTB because of the story proximity. I have long suspected that the end product of The Armory Wars would be an epic, sprawling box set to be listened to start to finish. If this were the band's intent you would expect the music to make a sensible arc. Black Rainbow throws that idea right out the window. The sound of the album is a logical (and predictable) progression of their sound, expanding upon sonic and stylistic themes they've built over the previous four albums. It in no particular way resembles any precursor to SSTB. I would say that it actually least resembles SSTB of all of their albums.
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Black Rainbow is a deeply layered and sonically vast album. The sound sprawls underneath heavy guitar riffs and Claudio Sanchez's characteristic high, pleasingly harmonic vocals. Coheed and Cambria return to their idiosyncratic musical style, but with twists and turns slightly different from previous albums. There is a more apparent blend of hard and soft, metal and pop through this album. To be more exact, there is a seemingly deliberate ebb and flow throughout. It took me a number of listens to pinpoint, but the balance adds a lot to this record.

Upon first listening to Black Rainbow I found myself tremendously unimpressed. Initially it sounds like the previous couple albums cut and pasted into a new environment. There aren't any stand out gems that had me headbanging in my car. There were passages through the middle and end of the album that even made me want to skip back and listen to the extremely catchy second act again (including "Guns of Summer" and the lead single "Here We Are Juggernaut").

However, I've had the album spinning non-stop at home, in the car, and on my mp3 player since Tuesday and it's growing on me with every go around. After the second listen I began humming along with some standout phrases. Immediately I identified "Guns of Summer" and "World of Lines" as great tracks. The former bringing a more progressive metal sound, the latter a more straight-forward pop influenced hard rock song complete with a sing-along chorus.

As I kept listening I realized that there are a handful of sing-along choruses here. There's enough power and energy to give rise to anthemic moments which are more catchy every time I hear them. The fun and poppy "When Skeleton's Live" and the heavier single "Here We Are Juggernaut" are the notable choruses. Coheed also returns to their unconventional take on ballads with "Pearl of the Stars" which is a listenable song, but aside from a great melodic-bluesy solo, not particularly impressive.

The most impressive feature of the album for me is Chris Pennie's drumming. I love the range of sound and tight, technical grooves that he put down here, his debut record with Coheed. The overall instrumentation of the album is impressive, and the production is great. My biggest beef with the overall sound is that it is somewhat inaccessible. I had to listen through the album before the music started to unfold for me. I appreciate the album now that I've gotten into it, but a lot of listeners will never give this album the time it needs to develop.

Another problem that I have with the album is that while it is a good album, and possibly the first Coheed album that doesn't have a lackluster track that I regularly skip through, it doesn't have any mindblowing songs. No individual track can hold a candle to tracks from their previous efforts. There's an abscence of an accessible radio/MTV-friendly hit, i.e. "A Favor House Atlantic". There's no epic on the level of "In Keeping Secrets of  Silent Earth:3" or "Welcome Home". Only time and a dozen more listens will tell if it can stand up as an entire album despite missing a standout single.
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The skinny:
* Pros: Technically impressive, excellent balance, well produced, growing on me slowly
* Cons: No amazing individual moments, moving farther from Second Stage Turbine Blade

Make an Assessment:
For me, being a Coheed fan, this is a great album with some flaws. I don't know how long this album took to write, but I wish they would have put more time into this record overall. Knowing how talented this band is, and listening to their sound mature for the past four albums, I expected to be more impressed. If you don't like previous Coheed albums this one won't change your mind. However, if you are a fan this is definitely worth buying. At the rate that I'm catching on to it in six months it might even be my favorite Coheed album.

Overall Review Score:
* Grade: B
* Score: 83% (and rising)
* If it were a movie: ★★★★
* My Feelings: "The truth is relevant, but not for looooooooong."