Album Reviews

So, I got a bunch of CDs for Christmas, and I'm bored, so I'm going to review them in this post:

THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH LOVE - BUILT TO SPILL - 9.5/10
This album is absolutely brilliant.  I've had Perfect from Now On for about a year now, so I was no stranger to Martsch's writing ability, but I'm still shocked with how amazing TNWWL is.  Perfect from Now On is one of the best albums of all time, artistically speaking, and plays off a philosophical depth and serious musical experimentation that is nearly unequaled outside of Slint, Rodan, et al.  There's Nothing Wrong with Love, however, is, in my mind, even better.  Where Perfect from Now On (the follow up to TNWWL) is deep and, at times, cold, TNWWL is just a fun and warm album that also strikes at deep thought in a sort of roundabout way.  "Reasons", "The Source", and "Big Dipper" are my favorite tracks, and the hidden track "Preview" is hilarious.

FOREVER AGAIN - ERIC'S TRIP - 7/10
Much like the Built to Spill albums, Forever Again is a very different album from its predecessor Love, Tara, which I already had.  Both employ the same Lo-Fi, Garage Rock type sound, but the focus seems different.  The strength of Love, Tara was its tremendously subtle songwriting, most effective in "Stove" and "To Know Them", and this makes it a very enjoyable album.  Forever Again is equally enjoyable when one listens through it, but has very different strengths.  Subtlety is largely cast aside here, as can be seen in "December '93" and "Run Away", which have somewhat clunky lyrics.  On the other hand, the musical experimentation of Forever Again, although Eric's Trip always sounds somewhat avante-garde, makes up for this, and tracks like "View Master" and "Waiting All Day" are fun and different bits of songwriting.

GUITAR ROMANTIC - THE EXPLODING HEARTS - 8/10
Numerous critics have pointed out the contrast between one's expectations of musical revivalism - that is, of cliché and often poor songwriting - and the results in Guitar Romantic, which are, in short, fantastic. With a similar whit and energy to early Clash at their less brash moments ("Stay Free" or "Capital Radio One") but with an apolitical stance, The Exploding Hearts made a fun and at times touching punk rock album; kind of a throwback Is This It.  "Throwaway Style" and "I'm a Pretender" are highlights, and the rest is solid if un-groundbreaking.