I always enjoy good compilation albums. It really says something when artists come together to create an album that really connects with a number of different fan bases. Sort of like a “Now That’s What I Call Music!” CD except without all of the, you know, suck. And sometimes, you get an album that surpasses the occasional “Various Artists” Christmas Album or the “We Are The World” compilation that rocked the ripe year of 1985. Maybe Dark Night of the Soul isn’t the earth-shattering compilation to overtake “We Are the World”, but it’s pretty damn good.
The album is written by Danger Mouse, of The Grey Album fame that mixed Jay-Z’s The Black Album with The Beatles’ The White Album. He also formed Gnarls Barkley with Cee-Lo producing both albums as well as producing other projects for the likes of Beck and Gorillaz. Dark Night of the Soul is also written by the band Sparklehorse.
The whole project is a compilation of different artists that lend their talents to the album including Iggy Pop, James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes and Nina Persson of The Cardigans. Of course there are more, but you’ll just have to check out the album for the whole scoop. Will there be someone else? Is your favorite artist on the album? Listen and find out! That’s what we call a cliff hanger.
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So you’ll start to notice (if you haven’t already) that most of my Throwback Thursday artists are from the 90’s. I can’t help it. In fact, I have a whole list of artists just waiting to be remembered from the 90’s that belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At least in my personal Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The “Tank Memorial Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”. Not sure why it’s a memorial. I guess it just sounds better.
So who better to go into my personal Memorial Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than Fuel. These guys produced a slew of hits (mostly in 1998) with the release of their first album Sunburn. Most notably, their singles “Shimmer”, “Sunburn” and “Jesus or a Gun”. And how could one forget their first single of the new millennium, “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” which appeared at #30 on the Billboard Top 100 chart.
Since then, the band has gone through multiple personnel changes and has shown little to no activity for an official re-uniting. In fact, the odds of them getting back together are about as good as the odds that led me to lose $300 at the casino last weekend. But if you’re looking for a Fuel-like show with Fuel-like qualities, a reformed band is still touring around playing Fuel-like songs. If you’re a purist, you can still re-live the golden Fuel days via compact disc. Toss on your ripped jeans and flannel shirt for the best overall experience.
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Neon Trees – “Animal”
Neon Trees did a great job putting together the video for their new single “Animal”. You will thoroughly enjoy it if you hate boring art galleries and if you love people walking around with animal heads. On top of all of that goodness you have a track that is catchy and sure to dominate the airwaves. Make sure you catch the Neon Trees this summer as they headline the Bang the Gong Tour with Civil Twilight and Paper Tongues.
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The Spill Canvas – “Our Song”
The Spill Canvas has been on my musical radar for the past six years or so. These South Dakota boys have something special cooking with “Our Song”. The track is a fun little ditty about youthful romancing and all of that sappy stuff. Expect a great deal of radio play for this track as is supports the guys as they continue to play an insane about of live shows this summer.
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Nikki & Rich – “Next Best Thing”
It comes down to this. Are you with Team Nikki or with Team Rich? Me? I am Team Nikki all of the way. You will have to decide for yourself. While you ponder over which one of the duo to get airbrushed on to a t-shirt you can enjoy their track “Next Best Thing”. Would it be too cliché to say they are the next best thing? Hey, I made a reference to Twilight in the first sentence so it is obvious I don’t have a problem with being cliché. Let’s just say that you will enjoy this song a lot. Now, where do you suppose I can find a Team Nikki lunchbox?
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I’ve been a huge fan of Silverchair ever since their debut album Frogstomp in 1995. I have always been a purveyor of 90’s music, so the garage alternative hard rock sound of Silverchair was right up my alley. But (admittedly to my own surprise) this is one of those bands that has refused to conform to the space of one genre. They have constantly evolved their sound to produce music they want to produce without having to stick to any type of formula. Case in point, their fourth studio album, Diorama.
Now don’t get me wrong, the three albums previous to Diorama (including Frogstomp) were all staples of Silverchair’s sound and evolution to new types of music. But Diorama is really the point at which I said to myself, “Self, they are really taking a chance with this album, and I like it.” The first time I heard it, I had to be convinced it was actually Silverchair. Granted, lead singer Daniel Johns’ signature vocals were hard to miss, but the whole rest of their sound flew miles away from where they started off with Frogstomp.
If you enjoyed the gritty rock sound of their first album, this album is a complete 180 to what you’d be expecting, but in a good way. After you get used to the lack of grunge, the addition of a complete horn and string section and the focus on the melody (even though it spans a number of different scales and is seemingly completely sporadic), you get used to the completely new sound and accept it as the next generation of Silverchair.
Songs like “Across the Night”, “World Upon Your Shoulders” and “My Favourite Thing” are all melody driven whereas songs like “The Greatest View”, “One Way Mule” and “Without You” have hints of that old school Silverchair sound. Regardless of the new additions to the sound, Silverchair still has hints of that old school, nostalgic 90’s sound we all came to know and love.
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Even though Ryan Seacrest wasn’t blaring it all over Top 40 radio, The Rocket Summer’s “So Much Love” was one of my favorite songs of 2007. At the time I had no idea it was just one guy—a long-haired whippersnapper named Stephen Bryce Avary—handling all the all instruments, but it was catchy as hell, really energetic, and overwhelmingly positive. I thought to myself, “This is great stuff,” and the track got an exclusive spot on my Shuffle for pretty much the rest of the year.
But then I forgot about it. You know how it is—songs that aren’t force-fed to you via repetitive radio play can sometimes get lost in the shuffle (so to speak), and with the amount of music I personally listen to, it was just sorta bound to happen. It won’t be the last time I forget about a group, but it also won’t be the last time a new album reminds me that I really, really like them.
So it goes with The Rocket Summer, whose new album, “Of Men and Angels,” brings a lot of the same things to the table I enjoyed so fervently with “So Much Love.” Avary’s grown up quite a bit in the last few years though (evidenced by cutting off several inches of his blonde mop and adding a Jack-from-“Lost” five o’clock shadow to his previously clean-shaven mug), and the new music shows how solid a grasp he’s gotten on writing tunes that’ are going to relate with fans.
The video for “You Gotta Believe,” for example, draws on fans’ webcam videos, used throughout the video. FS’s favorite cuts from the album include the slow-then-fast “Hills and Valleys,” as well as “I Need a Break” and “Hey!” The whole record, however, is very upbeat and playful, both musically and lyrically. Avary’s voice is one of those powerful, high-toned wails that comes off really strong despite not being anything even remotely close to classically trained, and the fact that he plays every single instrument you hear on the album just adds that much credibility to the guy.
As it turns out, I love The Rocket Summer, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to forget about him this time. I’ve also gone back and re-added “So Much Love” to the ol’ playlist. It’s a damn fine song, as are the fifteen new ones on “Of Men and Angels.” So screw Ryan Seacrest. You don’t need him to tell you what good music is.
That’s what Fresh Scouts is for.
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