Tag: Review

Soft Animal

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Photo by Chloe Muro

I hadn’t been to the Che Cafe in almost 3 years or so. The venue survived a near shutdown from the University of California San Diego and stayed opened just of campus. Coming back refreshed my memories as a concert goer as a teenager and young adult. It doesn’t feel tarnished by times past with my ex or old friends. The Che, after all this time, still stands and hosts bands I want to see in a tight space. I went with some good friends to see The Hotelier last night. I wasn’t too familiar with them other than their Home, Like Noplace is There and briefly browsing them on YouTube. They’re on tour promoting their new record Goodness which the press has praised thoroughly.

The band didn’t seem too energized but performed a great setlist of new and old songs. They ran through a strong portion of Home playing “Your Deep Rest”, “Among The Wildflowers”, and “Life in Drag” early. I had hoped for these listening to their discography and got my wish. It’s pretty rare for bands, in my experience, to play songs off their records in order, unless they’re playing a full record. I felt myself falling into the Wildflowers singing the words I knew. The mixed crowd of kids and adults murmured as well. After they quieted down, Hotelier broke into “Life in Drag” inciting their ferocity into the front stage crowd. Finally some motion, some energy, some connect from band to audience, fans to artists. I knew this was what I missed about going to shows.

Hotelier’s best moments came during a new song “Soft Animal” in middle of the set. It’s a beautiful song and to experience it live validates my affection for the lyrics and pulse. Going through all my tragedies over the past year, especially recently, “Soft Animal” helps me put myself into perspective. Life is beautiful when you look outside of yourself. There’s more to existence than our own. The lyrics speak about encountering fawn in the winter, probably in Massachusetts where Hotelier is from. When I think about the wonder of earth, and all it homes, the words “make me believe that I don’t have to die” heals the wound in my chest. Like two hands rubbing warm water on my body. It was therapeutic. The Hotelier had a solid performance. As a new fan I can see they’re building on a connection with their scene. Goodness will serve well them well for the next two years or so on tours. This is a group I will look to see again on bigger stages with bigger crowds.

Old Vibrations

It’s good timing for A Day To Remember’s next record. Summer has started and there’s space for someone to make an everlasting impression. Each summer there’s always a record we can look back on years later and define that summer by. Dr. Dre and The Chronic in 1992. Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories in 2013. Name your own summer records. ADTR have an opportunity to forever etch their names into summer. The album title track “Bad Vibrations” opens the new album and brings the intensity fans of old can reminisce in. Early breakdowns and catchy angry verses to feast on. It’s a smart move to announce a new album with a uniquely ADTR song to get everyone excited. Vocalist Jeremy McKinnon utilizes more screaming and half singing than cleaning singing. ADTR’s last few albums have slowly moved away from that style and focused on poppier verses and chorus. It’s not a sign a this new record will return an overwhelming restoration of hardcore centric vocals however “Bad Vibrations” feeds the dogs. New record drops August 19th.

True Love Waits

AMSP

New Radiohead music has sailed on the horizon for the last few years. I’ve anticipated some release but felt skeptical to its quality. King of Limbs felt tried and honestly lazy. Maybe their tank finally ran empty. I found the level of effort offensive at the time. Limbs sounded like a bunch of shitty leftover demos idly dumped on the world yet the general gage at the time was high. I saw them at Coachella that year perform mostly hits and some popular Limbs tracks. They looked pretty old then and I found it hard to imagine a new album would be out anytime coming soon.

A Moon Shaped Pool arrived with little time for hype to build, which I like. Initially I’m underwhelmed by it but it’s far better than King of Limbs. If Radiohead released this under another name my opinion would be much higher of it but unfortunately, at this stage, their competition is only themselves. They have to live up to The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, Hail to The Thief, and in my opinion In Rainbows. Moon Pool doesn’t live up to those and we shouldn’t expect it to. It feels dry in perspective to their career. Many of the songs like “Daydreaming” and “Decks Dark” build up nicely at the end but never payoff. Much of the album doesn’t take me anywhere like “Burn the Witch” which had a great video and I’m sure fans will call for it live. It’s still three and half minutes of loops and Thom Yorke mumbling, kinda like Limbs.

I find with each track I enjoy the following one dims any grove or vibe built up. “Identikit” and “The Numbers” however run well together and layer an equal amount of live instrumentation versus synths and drum machines. Radiohead gets a lot of credit making those elements mainstream in rock but sometimes it’s nice to hear some rock from them. One of my favorite tracks “Desert Island Disk” starts climbing half way through, not at the end, and pays off. It’s one of the few I can zone into more than once.

The crowning jewel of this experience and what makes it worth listening at all comes at the end with “True Love Waits” the big foot of Radiohead lore. It’s been played live since 1995 but never seen a studio release. In a way it’s another way to criticize the album. They went back in time brought back a piece of greatness from their prime. Maybe that speaks to their lack of ability now or maybe like their producer said they were finally satisfied with a recording. I could see either way but I’m currently a pessimist. I’m not downing them for including this however. “True Love Waits” is a masterpiece and for perhaps the last time Radiohead birthed a classic that will endure them. We should all be grateful they went to the time machine or got the last cup from the well. I’m in deep with this song. How couldn’t I? Those lyrics are eleven years old yet they haven’t felt more important or real. Maybe Thom and I are just in the same place. It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad it’s there.