Review: Good Old War Good Old War
When acts like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha are the main players on the radio and music television with all of their synth and voice effects, it’s refreshing to listen to a group like Good Old War, whose simplistic instrumentation and vocals allows listeners to hear something grounded. The band’s sophomore self-titled album centers on natural and beautiful vocals instead of relying on over-abused technology. Keith Goodwin, Tim Arnold and Dan Schwartz make up the indie folk trio that rocks keys, drums and acoustic guitars while focusing on melodies sweeter than Simon and Garfunkel.
The album starts off “Good,” gets a little “Old” half way through and ends in “War.” These three (mainly instrumental) tracks are each named after a word from their moniker, but the purpose isn’t clear from just listening. “Good” is good. “Old” is a slightly more experimental song sounding more tribal or ethnic than the folk that the band usually creates. “War” closes the album very peacefully — quite the opposite of what you would expect from a song with that title.
Many of the other songs on Good Old War are about girls. Keith Goodwin sings on “Making My Life” that “Everybody’s got something… keeping them together, don’t they? For me it’s you, and we both know that it’s true.” A few songs later on “While I’m Away,” he sings about missing a girl while on the road: “All night I thought of you, I always do.” “Thinking of You” also follows suit.
The best song on Good Old War isn’t as obvious with its love connection, even though it is a theme on the track. “That’s Some Dream” is about a person who is starting over and dealing with being alone. He sings, “I know that everyone would want me to say that I’m not afraid to be alone,” but the fact is that the character is just getting by. “I’m gonna live. I’m all right. I’m gonna die. It’s all right. I’m okay” — lyrics insinuating the character is just coping. Content aside, the chorus is catchy and the harmonies are striking.
Every song reiterates the fact that Good Old War is a band with melodic and harmonic genius. Their voices all complement one another, but they are also strong enough to stand alone (though that isn’t evident on this album). That is the only major thing missing from Good Old War. There isn’t a bad song on the album; a few aren’t as good (“Sneaky Louise,”), but overall the album deserves a listen in its entirety. Luckily, the absence of the trio’s stand-alone vocals isn’t enough to give the album a negative wrap.
Originally posted on StereoSubversion.
Badu was bad ass
On Friday, May 28, I went to DAR Constitution hall with my friend Kate. We had been anticipating Erykah Badu’s performance for close to two months. We arrive late and didn’t see the first opener and we caught the tail end of N.E.R.D. (who we didn’t even know was performing). The crowd was energetic with people standing in their seats dancing to the beats, which Pharrell brings so well.
Badu had two sign language interpreters changing back and forth throughout the set. The highlight of the evening might have been when the interpreter was signing to the DJ spinning “My neck… my back…” (you know that inappropriate song) and seeing her face glare at him for playing such a song. Priceless.
Badu took the stage with a tan trench coat, ankle boot stilettos and big hair. After a few songs she shed the jacket to reveal a strange but comfortable-looking outfit. A sparkly t-shirt with pants pushed up to right below her knees. From where we were sitting the pants looked like sweat pants. And she had big earrings in that glimmered with every reflection of light and that covered her entire ear down to her chin.
I wasn’t familiar with her newest album, New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t still enjoy the show. She also played classics from Baduizm such as “On & On,” “Next Lifetime” and “Apple Tree.”
Since DC was the first stop on her tour, she experimented with us a little, which I didn’t mind. Her voice is so intense and can float easily across many octaves. Her live band (including a flautist) and four back up singers did an excellent job of supporting Badu, but never shining over her. We all wanted a encore with “Tyrone,” but she left the stage and never looked back.
Review: Motion City Soundtrack My Dinosaur Life
Welcome to the dark side of Motion City Soundtrack. The band’s latest pop-punk tinged affair, My Dinosaur Life, delves into a deeper, experimental frame of mind than past releases like Commit This to Memory or Even If It Kills Me. For Justin Pierre and company, it’s a sign of maturity that still places an emphasis on the sound that got MCS here in the first place.
My Dinosaur Life leads off with two decent tracks, but it’s not until track four that the band really grabs listeners’ ears. “Disappear” begins the descent into the darkness, yet its chorus is the catchiest on the album. “A Lifeless Ordinary” sounds like Weezer and “Pulp Fiction” has a chorus that could be mistaken as Eve 6, but don’t worry, the majority of the album is still Motion City Soundtrack, just a little more produced. Lead singer Pierre’s voice is still colorful and animated, just a little cleaner. The synths are still there, but they’re reduced from such a forefront approach
Unfortunately, there are some real missteps on Dinosaur, with “Her Words Destroyed My Planet” sitting as one of the worse tracks on the album. Even though the song tells a story, the lyrics are lame. For example, Pierre sings, “Sold my Xbox to Jimmy down the street. I even stopped smoking weed.” Lyrics aside, the chorus is catchy but the melody is irritating. The guitar riffs layered over whistling sounds like a different take on kids teasing in a chant.
My Dinoasaur Life is a middling release, not horrible and actually holding some decent moments. Perhaps the album doesn’t meet the high standards set by previous albums because the band only includes two members from the original lineup, or maybe it is because Motion City Soundtrack is now on a major label (Columbia) and lost a little control over the outcome of My Dinosaur Life? At any rate, the album has catchy, head-bobbing choruses that will get stuck in your head for hours on end. It also has a few disappointments, but it is really easy to fast forward on a music player.
Originally posted on StereoSubversion.com.
I’m busy
While struggling to be a professional journalist, I have managed to juggle several part-time to full-time non-journalism related jobs to pay the bills. This, while helping me survive, is hindering my writing process, creativity and brain function. Though I am still freelancing as much as possible, I find it difficult to keep this site updated as much as I would like.
If there is anyone out there who reads my site, I apologize for the lack of posts (which is definitely the cause of the lack of readership). I am going to make an honest effort to update much more often.