The Sun God Shines Above The Fray on This Day

History

Hello and welcome to Rock D3C0D3D where today we are going to take a look at latest effort by the Colorado-native band The Fray entitled Helios.

Forming in the yester-year of 2002 the band was formed by reformed Teen Titans villain/part-time singer 'Slade,' guitarist Joe King, and Ben Wysocki. They would find a fair amount of success in their native state, though it was not until the release of How to Save a Life that the band catapulted to superstar with it's hit singles "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and "How to Save a Life." The band itself then followed that up with their self-titled release in 2009 solidifying they were staying in the spotlight with the lead single "You Found Me (though in this reviewers open "Never Say Never" was the much better song)." After only two years since their last effort, the hit-or-miss Scars and Stories, can The Fray bring back that alternative pop-infused spark? Let's find out

The Review

 Singles:

 Love Don't Die:

So, remember The Fray right? The guys who mostly sing very downtrodden songs about love lost, missed, or still had? Yea, this song is nothing like that and is probably hands down my favorite pop song in the past 2 years. It seriously has everything from the chanting choir, to the big booming drums, and that guitar/bass line is just amazing on the ears. I wish more pop music took a page from these guys about diversity as the song starts very calm and jazzy but turns into this hugely epic/intense romp about the eternalness of love. 100% BUY.
 

The Rest of the Album...

Honestly the album itself is very well put together and escalates through a multitude of genres. One minute it's your normal romp through alternative rock, the next is a jazzy adrenaline pumper, then to funkiest pop songs imaginable. Seriously this album is quite good from a musical standpoint, sadly from a lyrical standpoint it starts to waiver.

Now Isaac Slade has never been one for deep philosophical lyrics juxtapositioning a common man's existence in a tyrannical 'live-fast-die-quick" world, but that's not always a bad thing. In pop music it is good to be general even in one's specifics and it's here that 'Slade' has it nearly perfect. Take a good listen to the songs "Break Your Plans," "Hurricane," "Shadow and a Dancer," and "Hold My Hand." All of these songs are amazing at causing an emotional resonance in the listener but upon further inspection it is not due to the words that are being said as they are the ideas being presented and the music filling in the story-scape for the listener. This is by no means a terrible thing but after eleven songs and countless singles before-hand, one starts to wonder why 'Slade' seems to be so afraid to put himself in the story.

 There is a lot praise that can be put on this album as I was not expecting much after their last effort which resonated a very underwhelming 'meh.' In the end though The Fray deserves to be commended for the amount of risks placed on Helios as the mixture of real instrumentation and electronic is phenomenal which is in a huge part by producers 'Stuart Price' and OneRepublic's lead man 'Ryan Tedder.' I say if you are a fan of their older stuff a majority of this album, "Love Don't Die," "Closer To Me," "Our Last Days," and "Break Your Plans" will be a few for sure listen picks though I cannot stress enough this whole album is quite good. While it may not push-the-envelope on what pop music can do it does stretch the door pretty open for a promising future for this once behemoth of a band.

DECODED: 8.5 out of 10

As always please like, share, and comment below!

All the music covered above is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify for your listening pleasure.

BUY IT: Love Don't Die, Keep On Wanting, Our Last Days, Break Your Plans, Shadow and a Dancer

 

HEAR IT:  Hold My Hand, Give It Away, Hurricane, Same as You

TRASH IT:  Wherever This Goes

 

*As with all things, the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such. ** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment/review purposes. No copyright infringement intended.

Fading West Never Sounded So Heartless...

History

Welcome back to the first 2014 album review here on Rock D3C0D3D. Today we will be taking look an Alternative Rock band that have their roots soiled in Christian Rock. That band of course is the "hit or miss" Switchfoot and their newest venture Fading West.


As many of you may know this San Diego originating band broke into the mainstream with their first full-length album The Beautiful Letdown in 2003 which included the megalithic hits "Dare You To Move," "Meant to Live," and "This is Your Life." While resulting in huge success for the band it also became a bit of their Achilles heel since a majority of their best known work is from that album alone, which with a band that is on their ninth major outing, can be seen as a tad sad. But lest we fret for a band that has been touring and re-engineering their craft for the better part of a decade. So there is something to be said for a band that has withstood the test of fame and has not lost a single original member or call a hiatus. With all that being said is the newest venture by the band an amazing reinvigoration, or is it becoming obvious they are simply spinning their wheels? Let's dive in and find out

The Review

 Singles:

  As of 2013 the band has released two singles for the album. The obligatory second track track, call to arms anthem, "Who We Are" and the lead off track "Love Alone Is Worth The Fight." Out of these two songs the only one I find any resemblance of heart and drive is the latter. 
"Who We Are" may leave a few with the theme of being yourself and knowing that yourself will pull you through any experience you come into. but dear lord is there no soul in it.I don't know if it's the monotone vocal stylings of Jon Foreman or the incredible amount of electronics in this song, it just feels like any call to arms message has been muddied out.

"Love Alone Is Worth The Fight" is a tad bit better as the vocal dynamics are very well established showcasing the range of emotion we are used to by Mr. Foreman. Sadly it never reaches the depth of vocal emotionality of their most well known songs, but it's a step in the right direction for the lead-off song on the album.

  Originally thought they were on a mountain but the surfboard would make no sense

The Rest of the Album...

Now, I don't want to dislike the rest of this album as it incorporates a lot of what I love in music. The unwavering ability to mix electronics instruments with live instrumentation, crowd chants, and in the rare song, an inane sense of what the song means to the writer. In this album though I feel it is the worst example of how to do an album, it is no means a good album but it is also not bad enough to create any sense of rage inside someone (unless you are a huge Switchfoot fan then you may feel yourself in either camp). The album itself is truly just an "okay" album, the worst part of it is when it ends one just sits there thinking, "Well I was a tad bored but at least I didn't hate it." One may be able to boil down the boring-ness of the album to the fact that what it is trying to be is already on the market and done SO MUCH better by those artists. The singles sound like they are channeling the likes of OneRepublic and The Script which is not a bad thing since Switchfoot has always been in that same genre as the two, though they do come off as the poor mans attempt to emulate.

Of course with all albums there are always going to be the good songs with the bad songs so we'll just quickly run through them as this album sadly is not warranting the energy to be ripped apart or put on a pedestal.



"Say Like You Mean It:" Brings the energy missing in the first few entries full force allowing the band to have fun at a higher tempo. The electronics are well used here to chop up the sound and keep the entertainment value high enough for a 3 minute song. The vocal mixing is quite superb as it creates a garage rock sound before bellowing down to a Beatlesque acoustic instrumentation ending.

"The electronics are well used here to chop up the sound and keep the entertainment value high"

"The World You Want:" A great song showcasing the emotional depth missing from the majority of the album and switches the sound to a Third Eye Blind send up. While a majority of the song has Mr. Foreman stay in his solemn singing tone, it allows for his backing vocals (as well as groups of chanting) to fully illustrate and dance in the background gaining momentum until the final chorus where he goes full force in classic Switchfoot style.

A majority of the rest of the album stays within the same tempo and dynamic range presenting one with a song that starts out its build from heavily compressed electronic drum sets to the full band entrance around the second verse/chorus. I am not stating that this is a bad album by any means but sadly in 2014 Switchfoot is not adding anything to the musical formula that we have not seen already. Maybe back in 2007-2010 this would have been thought of as a much more inventive/stylized album, but in today's world of ever-evolving genre bases, Switchfoot's Fading West falls short of the mark in every regard, not reinventing the wheel. Which is not a bad thing as Switchfoot fans may love the direction of the sound I was just expecting a little bit more from a band on their ninth album outing.

DECODED: 5.0 out of 10

As always please like, share, and comment below!

All the music covered above is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify for your listening pleasure.

BUY IT: Love Alone Is Worth The Fight, The World You Want, Saltwater Heart

 

HEAR IT:  When We Come Alive, Say It Like You Mean It, Slipping Away, Let It Out, Back To The Beginning Again

TRASH IT:  Who We Are, BA55, All Or Nothing At All

 

*As with all things, the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such. ** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment/review purposes. No copyright infringement intended.

My Top 5 Albums of 2013...

So with the new year passing by and re-solutions starting to falter in the minds of, well everyone, I felt in only fitting to now assemble my top 5 list of albums from 2013. Now I know you be thinking, "But Decoder, you already did a top 5 last month! Were you lying to us? Why play with our emotions?" To that I say, hold on. My last top 5 was to congratulate albums that were lesser known or that I personally "missed" in my year of listening. This list is in fact my opinion of those albums that went above and beyond the normalcy we saw this year, crafting songs that were not only awe-inspiring, but also non-traditional in their execution. Now, before we get started there are a few ground rules we should cover

1. Albums must have been released between January '13 to December '13

Sadly, this means that we will not be seeing any nominations for bands like Fun or The Killers as their albums were released the year before the time frame.

2. I shall only be choosing from albums I have listened to completely.

This means that albums such as Common Courtesy by  A Day To Remember, Yeezus by Kanye West, and Random Access Memories by Daft Punk will not be appearing as I have not listen to them in their entirety.

3. This is MY PERSONAL OPINION

If you disagree (which I'm sure a few of you may), please leave a comment stating what ones I may have list since this is a top 5 list of my own personal selection the amount of "axing off" albums has been tremendous.
With all of those out of the way let's begin with....

NUMBER 5: THE AFTERMAN: ASCENSION/DESCENSION  by COHEED AND CAMBRIA

Now, I may be cheating just a little on this first entry as yes, Ascension was released in September of 2012 but, the main reason for it appearing is purely semantics. The first half of this two-part album is a necessary listen to fully grasp the amazing pay off in the second. I would have put this higher on the list had this not been the case as the tale of Sirius Amory is as tragic as it is mesmerizing, showing Coheed and Cam




bria show no signs of slowing down after "finishing" their long-running storyline between albums. For the curious, you can find the full in-depth review available here:
Ascension
Descension
Notable Songs Include: Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant, The Hard Sell, Away We Go, Iron Fist, and Dark Side of Me

NUMBER 4: SWAY by BLUE OCTOBER

My 1st pick for the top albums missed only ranks 4th on the list sadly, which should tell you how wondrous the rest of the albums on this list are. It's always great to hear from Blue October, it's like that friend you never really noticed you missed until they walk back in the door and start telling stories of their amazing adventures. That is if these amazing adventures took you an emotional roller coaster take you from solemnly calm, to sad, then happy, and everything in between. When Blue October takes the time to write an album they nearly every time release something of wonder and this album is no exception.
Notable Song Include: Sway, Bleed Out, Fear, Hard Candy, Things We Do At night, and Not Broken Anymore.

NUMBER 3: NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND by HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD

This band and I have a rocky history. To be honest I was incredibly hesitant to listen to their work in the first place as Swan Songs did not resonant with me in the slightest and while I found American Tragedy to be a step in the right direction, it did not convince me they were worth a round three. But, do to some pestering from a friend I gave the album a listen, and then another, and another, and... Dear god have I not been album to set this album down. While I did not cover this album on the website I do feel it is worth mentioning that the direction taken in the album is miles better that what I had come to expect from these guys. Yes, they still have their silly songs where they talk about "getting fucked up, put on your helmet and knee pads" but after listening to the heart-wrenching slower songs, it just blows my mind it took me this long to listen to it. I humbly apologize to Hollywood Undead for doubting their ability to craft well written songs and writing them off as immature wannabe-gangsters as the maturity in the lyrics of this album know no bounds.
Notable Songs Include: From The Ground, Lion, Rain, Believe, Up In Smoke, Outside, Medicine

NUMBER 2: BECAUSE THE INTERNET by CHILDISH GAMBINO

Ah yes, this was the album we just covered a week ago by the "rich kid asshole" we should all "paint as a villian." Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) had a lot to prove after his first major release Camp back in 2011. Now for those fans that thoroughly enjoyed the sound of Camp I can sympathize that Because The Internet took you through a jumbled mess of emotions as it is not what a lot of people were expecting from full-time comedian Donald Glover. This though is what works in its favor as the album itself starts out quite arrogant in its sound, painting the picture of a person who would be cool to hang out with but really not too deep of a human being. That is until the midway point when Gambino spins not only the album, but his whole style on its head, delivering an album that is both deeply philosophical and experimental in its story telling. You can check out the full review here
Because The Internet
Notable Songs Include: The Worst Guys, Telegraph ave, 3005, No Exit, Flight of the Navigator, Zealots of Stockholm, Pink Toes, Earth: the Oldest Computer, and Life: The Biggest Troll

NUMBER 1: VESSEL by TWENTY ONE PILOTS 

Now the list is coming to an end (hoo-ooo-ooo-oo oh oh ooo). In all seriousness though, this album blew my mind upon first listen. From the dark atmospheric tones, to the real-world storytelling lyrics Tyler Joseph paints across every song he rights, this album is a masterpiece upon masterpieces. If you have not had the great pleasure of listening to this album in its entirety I urge you take a good long car ride and just listen to how every song builds off of another, never truly repeating itself in what it is offering to the listener. I knew this would be my number 1 album of the year off the of the first listen and I'm glad to say that was the truth as nothing has been on the same scale this year. This album has something for everyone from the pop music listeners all the way to the EDM scensters, there is not a single bad song on this whole album running time. Pick it up in stores or load it up on Spotify yourself to experience the wonder that has become Twenty One Pilots.
For those interested the full review is located in the link below
Vessel
Notable Songs Include: Ode To Sleep, Migraine, House Of Gold, Car Radio, Screen, Fake You Out, Guns for Hands, Trees, and Truce


Alright for now that will be the end of the 2013 talk as a new year is upon us and is promising quite the eclectic taste of amazing music. I hope you enjoyed the list and as stated if I missed any please inform me in the comments section below. Next time we'll be back-to-basics with a ROCK D3C0D3D review. Till next time, stay beautiful and have a wonderful time!

As always please like, share, and comment below!

All the music covered above is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify for your listening pleasure.

*As with all things, the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such. ** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment/review purposes. No copyright infringement intended.

Because the Internet...

 History

So, let's talk about comedy for a second. For those of you that have not seen the fantastic TV series "Community" I highly recommend picking it up as it is not your typical TV sitcom and has fun using its own brand of referential humor. I bring up this show as the character Troy is played by none other than Donald Glover or as it relates to this review his "alter-ego" Childish Gambino. Now after watching Donald play in Community and noting his other comedic works writing for "30 Rock" and his own sketch comedy group "Derrick Comedy." It is very important to note that going into this I did not expect much other than a few parody songs in the vein of Weird Al or maybe a few songs that were so overtly serious that one could tell it was poking fun at the whole hip-hop genre itself. While half of this ended up being true I must say that the album Because the Internet took my by complete surprise with its contemplative lyrics, catchy instrumentation, and dark undertones.

Now as a side-note this may be a tad different from a majority of my review as:
1. I do not usually cover rap
2.  I will delving in a little deeper into the context of the song more-so then often
It is because of these two factor that if you would like to know my quick opinion on Because the Internet I would say it one of the best albums  have listened to since Vessels by Twenty One Pilots and highly recommend this to anyone who can appreciate music as there is something for everyone to enjoy. For further song recommendation please check the Buy It, Hear It, and Trash It sections below. Now without further ado

The Review

 Singles:

Sadly another album on this site that only has one single at the time of review. The ninth track on the album entitled "V. 3005" is the lead of single for Because the Internet and it is a pretty solid "party" song. The song starts as a seemingly pretty generic love song about having a fun/partying but slowly devolves into Gambino's feelings on life from fake friends, master plans, and even sanity. The production design is quite great and my only problem with the song is that it was not released earlier in the year as it screams "summer anthem."

Seriously though... would it kill you to attempt a smile?

The Rest of the Album...

Now the album itself is broken down into introductions and chapters with a majority of the songs being proceeded with extensions such as I, II, or V. The beginning of the album "Crawl" and "WORLDSTAR" are juxtapositions of what to expect from the album. They show both the deep existential thought process and party boy repertoire that weave together throughout the whole album. It is here we should talk about the production work through the album as it is superb. The low bass notes do not blast too hard in the musical landscape as to wash out other more interesting effects and instrumentation, which has become a common complaint in a variety of hip-hop/rap.

While the album can be incredibly serious to a point of exhaustion, it does allow for a few moments of pure hilarity. The funniest/most tongue-in-cheek song on the album is "IV. sweatpants" as Gambino plays up his status as a rapper who has money based on his talents though a majority of people would awesome that all rich people are assholes. At first listen one could confuse the song for another anthem of how awesome his life compared to yours but its during the second verse that he actually stops the music to explain "Fiskers don't make noise when they start up... just so you know," that one can tell he's purely playing up the stereotype for laughs. It is a much needed song as after this and the first verse of "V. 3005" things turn the darkness up to eleven as Gambino lets us deeper into his psyche. 

This would be the moment that this album completely turned around for me as I was ready to give up on it from the first listen. This is mainly because I was not understanding the lyrical content Gambino was laying on the tracks and decided to give it two songs to change my mind. The next chapter starts with "playing around before the party starts" which is just a calm piano line with people talking in the background but it slowly mesmerizes as "I.the party" starts playing. This song shows Gambino still talking about how amazing life is but has a more ominous tone to it, eventually ending with him screaming, "Get the fuck out of my house," establishing that he is sick of the facade and the mask is coming off.

"II. No Exit" probably the song most repeated in my car as it is such a left turn from the rest of the album. It has this deep synth phasing lead, techno drums, and washy piano that just beautifully paints the picture of Gambino's look on life. The hook from Miguel is just amazing and fit perfectly within the rap verses Gambino throws up on the walls regarding his feelings at night time and inability to truly rest. "I. Flight of the Navigator" along with the a majority of the ending tracks scream a Kanye West influence without the feeling that Gambino is just ripping off his idol. The brilliance in "I. Flight of the Navigator" lies in the strangeness of its progression starting within a spoken word verse (auto-tuned to helium heights) before allowing Gambino to show off the vocals chop he's merely teased at this point. The song has a semblance of loneliness and helplessness as he croons out, "Just hold me close my darling," a sentiment that has been touched upon throughout the rest of the album but not truly delved into until now.

Actually I take it back... Let's go back to that other thing...

"II. Zealots of Stockholm" first, can you a cooler sounding name for a song? Second, this song is an amazing example of starting a song in one direction and ending in a complete other since it starts as Gambino spots a beautiful young girl in a club (in the most ominous sounding verse yet). It slowly transforms into a telling of his feelings on the world now-a-days mentioning topics including god, same-sex marriage, love, and 3D printed guns. This huge song culminates in a line about missing "heaven by two inches," the two inches referencing greed and lust.

The ending chapter of the album still holds itself in the deep thought of the previous two but instead of the darkened, eerie musical score, we are presented more pulse pounding songs such as "I. pink toes" and "II. earth the oldest computer." These songs are majorly rapped and sang by Gambino himself relying very little on vocal samples and allowing one to see his true merit in both lyrical and hook engineering. If one is looking for an intense club sounding ballad about living forever be sure to check out "II. earth the oldest computer" but, it's the finale that Gambino truly solidifies the album as amazing.

Where most artists may drop the momentum made throughout the past two songs Gambino takes a literal "breather" before launching into his thought process for walking away from the comedy he's been safe in. The song, "III. life the biggest troll" itself can feel quite monotonous at moments compared to the majority of the soundscapes found on the album but, once Gambino opens his mouth the emotion that he draws upon makes this song abundantly engrossing. He details his lack of understanding where the line is between himself (Donald Glover) and his alter-ego he's created Childish Gambino and does something that was sorely missing in "My Evil Twin" by Eminem. He contemplates why he made the choice to create the alter-ego within the content and even takes us what the music itself has done for him and is a song that definitely succeeds in providing a fitting finale for the roller coaster of an album that proceeded it.

In all, Childish Gambino's Because the Internet is an intense, thought provoking, and well crafted album that deserves to be heard. The retelling of  his stories of loneliness, self-doubt, and "putting up a front" are all something that every one has either been through or is dealing with. While I know rap is not usually the forte here at "D3C0D3D" with a new year comes new change and we're hoping to expand our horizons going forward. We hope you enjoy the first article of 2014 and look forward to seeing you next time!

**Quick Note: The transition songs such as "the library" will not be judged as they are considered party of the song they proceed.

DECODED: 9.0 out of 10

As always please like, share, and comment below!

All the music covered above is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify for your listening pleasure.

BUY IT: The Worst Guys, Telegraph ave, 3005, No Exit, Flight of the Navigator, Zealots of Stockholm, Pink Toes, Earth: the Oldest Computer, and Life: The Biggest Troll

 

HEAR IT:  Crawl, WORLDSTAR, Shadows, The Party, and Urn

TRASH IT:  NONE 

 

*As with all things, the opinions expressed our purely that of the author and should be taken as such. ** All images, music, and information used are for entertainment/review purposes. No copyright infringement intended.