I'm With You by Red Hot Chili Peppers

I’m With You. (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Is it the right time for them to call it a day? 

Album Rating: **1/2 (2.5/5)

Red Hot Chili Peppers never had it easy. From drug addiction, death of a guitarist to numerous band line-up changes, they always managed to prove the masses wrong by staging comebacks time after time. On the outside, it might seem that after a torrid time things have finally returned to normalcy in the Peppers camp but it’s far from that, musically. They have hit an all-time low in their career and this time around (thankfully) it’s not something that is bringing them closer to their physical death, just could spell doom to their band relevance.

“Stadium Arcadium”, the last official release by the Chilis (6 years back) was a worldwide hit with the album and the singles topping the charts all around the world. It had propelled them into a higher strata of commercial and critical success, and rightfully so. The major driving force for such a global expansion was their star guitarist, John Frusciante. Many songs were built around his guitar patches or melody and when you have a person of that stature leave the band, expect the record to be filled with gaping differences and incompetency a.k.a. “I’m With You” 

Frusciante’s departure was rather amicable and not based on anger and personal differences which were the reasons he left last time around.  Enter, Josh Klinghoffer.  A session musician who has toured with several artists ranging from PJ Harvey to Gnarls Barkley. It wasn’t tough for him to fit in the scheme of things as he performed additional guitars and keyboards for the band on their last tour. It was an easy and rather the only choice for them if they wanted to record another album. A decision that they should have pondered more upon.

Unlike the record, the album opens with an impressive track called “Monarchy of Roses”, a chaotic yet vibrant song with random drum fills and great guitar feedback in patches. It also features sleek disco-rock bass riffs by none other than Flea, who has recently worked with Thom Yorke in Atoms for Peace and is a constant architecture of rhythm section for majority of the songs, more so for the next one, “Factory of Faith”. This one is completely dominated by him with some muscular input from Chad although except the catchy bass, the entire song seems forgetful with minimal efforts from Kiedis or Josh.

What follows next is the most beautiful moment of this album, perhaps one of the most brilliant songs they have ever recorded, “Brendan’s Death Song”. Penned for a late friend, Brendan Muller, this song also features Anthony Kiedis excellent song writing, not something he is known for, (“Like I said, you know I'm almost dead/ you know I'm almost gone/ when drummer drums, he's gonna play my song/ you I'm almost gone”). Starting off with an acoustic and a general built up, it reaches a crescendo with an uplifting bass over a heart-aching voice of Anthony and gently fades away. Moments like these are few and in rarity on this album.

Next song, “Ethopia” showcases the major drawback of the Peppers right from their starting days, the lyrics and song writing. Rhyming “Eei-eei-oh-eei-eei-ee-aay” with “away”, it goes downhill from there with double-stop guitar solo from Klinghoffer. He and Kiedis are the major culprits for making this song completely blunt, if not unbearable. Equally unimpressive is “Annie Wants A Baby” with abysmal rhythm and sloppy work from all, the less said about the composition, the better.

The misery ceases to stop with “Look Around” whose last minute is a shameless rip-off of their own song “By The Way”. If you come to think of it, that portion of the song is relatively better than the rest so it is easy to imagine how it would sound. Relief comes in the form of “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”, the lead single from the album and a wise decision none the less. This track has a funky, groovy and infectious bass line which forms the basis with fills from Josh which is highly infectious. They play off each other quite well with rather remarkable vocals and drums, a chapter taken from one of their successful jams it seems. With “Did I Let You Know”, it starts with a catchy riff from Josh (that’s a first) on a repeated loop and a saxophone breakout, which was a completely unnecessary addition as the song consequentially fails to leave any mark on the listener.  

The record reaches an appalling state with “Goodbye Hooray” and “Happiness Loves Company”, the former being nothing of a song with sudden outburst of instruments before diving into a relaxing interval and the rubbish starts all over again. This term can also be used for the latter as Anthony becomes highly irritating to the point that listening to the rest of the album seems like a brave decision. 

The only saving grace comes in the form of “Police Station”, another highlight of the record with the reminiscence of some of their previous works with sublime and echo guitars, an atmospheric work highly similar to Pink Floyd.  The ballad features crackling drums from Smith and majestic keyboard breaks from Josh (surprise, surprise!). "What happened to the funny papers/ smiling was your money maker", declares Kiedis as this song seems to be ideal cut-out as the next single.

As the album starts drawing closer after the long, wearing and tearing listen there is a little respite but with “Even You Brutus?” the rap kicks in which seems uncalled for with the rhythm section potentially making the song listenable and to some extent likeable.  Somewhat notable and intense is “Meet Me At The Corner” with Jazzy influences and inventive drumming from Chad.  Josh is at his very best on this song with some vital country references as well.  It all ends with “Dance, Dance, Dance” a song that shouldn’t have made it due to the sheer inadequacy barring a playful drum pattern and effective chorus.

Red Hot Chili Peppers have survived for a massive time and entered fourth decade with their fans, “I’m With You” will be a hard pill to swallow for the loyals who have been accustomed to hooky guitar riffs, if not the most meaningful lyrics.  Failing to thrive at this point of their carrier may prove fatal and being in a similar situation before, they will fight it out to come out of this.

Will they succeed?  Only time will tell.  But as the dawn approaches, you cannot help but wonder, Has the time come for them to hang up their boots?

 
Key Songs: Brendan's Death Song, Police Station, The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie. 

Track Listing:

1. Monarchy Of Roses (4:11)
2. Factory Of Faith (4:20)
3. Brendan's Death Song (5:38)
4. Ethopia (3:50)
5. Annie Wants A Baby (3:40)
6. Look Around (3:20)
7. The Adventure Of Rain Dance Maggie (4:42)
8. Did I Let You Know (4:21)
9. Goodbye Hooray (3:52)
10. Happiness Loves Company (3:33)
11. Police Station (5:35)
12. Even You Brutus (4:01)
13. Meet Me At The Corner (4:21)
14. Dance, Dance, Dance (3:45)

Do leave in your comments and review.

Ten Albums That You May Have Missed This Year.

As 2011 turns out to be the year for Rock Music to finally dominate its hold with the return of major artists and commercially and critically successful records, we look back upon those albums which remain refrained from becoming a popular hit but are equally good (if not better). 

Presenting, the Top 10 (yet released albums) that you may have skipped this year which demands a listen.  

#1. "Let England Shake" by PJ Harvey.
 

Must Have Tracks: The Last Living Rose, The Glorious Land, The Color of The Earth.

#2. "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" by Bon Iver.

Must Have Tracks: Holocene, Calgary, Beth/Rest.

 #3. "Nine Types of Light" by TV On The Radio.

  

Must Have Tracks: New Cannonball Blues, Keep Your Heart, Forgotten.

# 4. "Kiss Each Other Clean" by Iron & Wine.

Must Have Tracks: Walking Far From Home, Half Moon, Glad Man Singing.

#5. "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will" by Mogwai.

Must Have Tracks: Death Rays, San Pedro, You're Lionel Richie.

#6. "The Big Roar" by The Joy Formidable.

 
Must Have Tracks: Austere, Cradle, Chapter 2.

#7. "Thank You, Happy Birthday" by Cage The Elephant.

Must Have Tracks: Around My Head, Shake Me Down, Always Something.

#8. "Last Night on Earth" by Noah And The Whale.

 Must Have Tracks: Old Joy, L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N., Give It All Back.

 

#9. "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care" by Explosions In The Sky.

Must Have Tracks: Human Qualities, Last Known Surroundings, Let Me Back In.

 

#10. "What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?" by The Vaccines.

Must Have Tracks: Blow It Up, If You Wanna, Family Friend.

Post in your top records that you think we may have missed this year and comment about the above specified list below.

Glastonbury 2011

The highly awaited weekend is finally here.

Barely a day remains for the “Biggest Music Festival on Earth” to commence when I pen down this blog. And this time around it’s more massive than it has been in recent years. With headliners like U2, Coldplay and Beyonce, Glastonbury is bound to generate more news, views and spite than any other festival.

Last time around Gorillaz were the surprising headliners after U2 had cancelled due to Bono’s injury. Damon Albarn and the company lacked one important aspect in their arsenal, rock anthems. Despite their efforts, it’s safe to say that 2010 was a disappointment. Except Muse, of course.

Festivals are places where the relatively unknown bands and artists get a chance to show their worth and the big headliners casually play their greatest hits. Not Glastonbury. Not this year.

The Pyramid Stage has seen general perception of a band in public eye change for better or for worse. Ask Matt, frontman of the band Muse, who were previously just known for releasing few good records. Come 2004 and now they are cited as one of the best live acts with over the top arrangement of everything. The lights, the sounds, the stage, every single aspect was made larger than life and soon they were hailed for such spectacular attention to details.

Fortune worked in opposite direction for Kings of Leon as they were tagged as a “sell out band” in contrary to their last outing here as the most acclaimed group to adore the other stage. Fame is a funny thing, and no one knows it better than Bono himself. Branded as a hypocrite and facing the criticism of being bigger and money minded than any other vocalist, this could be one chance of erasing all that from the audiences mind with a clever set list and a spectacular performance. And as the news is emerging they seem to be planning exactly the same with their own stage and major tweaks in the final song listing to please the audience. The magnitude of this can be realized with them announcing a new song titled “Glastonbury” which is all set to be performed there.

As Paul glances through the pyramid, he would know that this might be one of the most important performances U2 would put in recent times.  For aeons, these guys have played in front of a devoted crowd with fans supporting their each and every move but this time it’s different. People are ready to become hostile and are planning to afloat an inflatable banner saying “Bono Pay Up” in protest at their moving the business affair to Netherland to avoid taxes.
 

U2’s Friday headline can prove a turning point for them and for us viewers it will be interesting to see what they have in store for us.

Coldplay have their own set of concerns (overshadowing U2’s performance can be one). Although they have been to the farm several times, the nerves must be running high. The last time they headlined it, their album “X&Y” was a month old. Now, they enter the stage without even the name of their new record announced. Uncertainty looms large both for the audience as well as the band themselves.  In 2002, before which the “bedwetters” joke had reached its peak, they were able to silence everyone with an explosive start of “Politik”. They had introduced several songs which received overwhelming popular reviews both from the audience and critics alike.

Repeating the same this time around seems difficult, the focus and attention towards them have increased many folds and the new song “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” has received mixed reviews from fans. However, the other new tracks that they have tried in follow up to Glastonbury seems to be receiving better audience reactions and “Charlie Brown” in particular cries for massive participation from the crowd. Coldplay have a massive job ahead of themselves to strike a right chord before the highly anticipated LP5 drops. Cometh this Saturday and all our queries will be answered. 

Happy Glastonbury viewing everyone. Oh! And just one thing, the rain can spoil all the fun.  

Poll Results.

The results of the poll conducted for the previously reviewed albums:


The King of Limbs by Radiohead




Votes: 19

Average Reader Score: 3.8




Wasting by Foo Fighters

Votes: 30

Average Reader Score: 4.3



Suck It and See by Arctic Monkeys:





















Votes: 28

Average Reader Score: 4.2



Thanks everyone for voting.

Suck It and See by Arctic Monkeys

Suck It and See. (Arctic Monkeys)

Well, suck it and see.

Album Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5)

Arctic Monkeys, of all bands, know how difficult it is to create a follow up to a record of epic proportions. After their fastest selling debut album in UK, they refused to get carried away and their next releases were even more impressive. Their last record, “Humbug”, was perceived by many fans as a step in the wrong direction calling them americanized but they couldn’t be farther away from the truth. In reality, Josh Homme had succeeded in bringing out the best from these boys and helped them in attaining a zenith in their career which is very difficult to repeat, making that record a “Classic”. Once an album impresses you to that extent, the hopes from the next one are quite insanely high. This is exactly the case with their new release “Suck It and See”.

Produced by James Ford (who is quite a family figure in the Monkeys camp with his presence in all the previous records), “Suck It an See” has Alex Turner going for more spontaneous recording in the studio with rehearsal takes deliberately added to the beginning of few songs.  As promised, it’s definitely more “Poppy” than anything they have done before. Gone are the urgency of “Brianstorm” and “The View from the Afternoon”, this record sees them going further mature with their sound and finding a remarkable mid-career groove that most bands their age fail to see. Barring few songs, it’s safe to say that this album is not a punk record, rather it’s Indie Rock. Talk about a change in direction, huh?

The album begins with a riff which continues to the majority stretch of the song “She’s Thunderstorms”, probably one of the weakest songs on this record. Matt enters a few seconds later with groovy mid-tempo drums, something he has done quite brilliantly previously and routine bass from Nick before the compulsory explosions at the end. No sweat, nothing new. “Black Treacle” features Alex Turner binding a story of sorts with his majestic lyrics and Jamie providing hooks and delays to make the guitar talk midway through the song. 

Next track, “Brick by Brick” was the first piece of audio made available to us through a surprise release accompanied by a video. Upon the time of its release, it seemed fairly out of place. But on the record, it fits perfectly with Alex Turner declaring “I want to steal your soul, Brick by Brick” and mentioning the word “Rock and Roll” thrice in the song! Cliché? Yes. But is excusable since it’s a fun laugh anyway. Keeping with the tradition of creative song names, “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala”, planned as the next single is extensively played live by them and begins on groovy bass (again) before an unsettling distortion arrives. This half is particularly upsetting for the listener but the last minute holds a Klaxons (also Ford produced) type chorus providing some respite.

“Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair”, the first single and rightly so, shows the inclination of the band from Punk into more Hard Rock with heavy distortions and a haunting riff. The chorus is particularly catchy and this is the closest they have gone to Humbug. Vintage Arctic Monkeys anyone? Enter “Library Pictures” with some sense of urgency in Alex’s vocal before an outburst and sudden fall in tempo. Clocking in at almost 2 minutes, this is most ‘punk’ they have gone. “Dog s**t, Rock and Roll”.
The classic case of tease and less show is “All My Own Stunts” which starts with an insanely catchy riff but becomes monotonous through the course of the song. Skip.

What follows next is the perhaps the best portion of the record with Monkeys getting Indie and finding better melodies, something that we got a glimpse in the previous records but confined in just one song or the other. Starting with “Reckless Serenade” which although seems like a filler, has a significant role in transforming the tone of the record to a more mellow side. “Piledriver Waltz”, sounds familiar? This song was released on Alex Turners solo efforts in “Submarine” soundtrack. The band re-recorded the entire song with sharper leads and the vocal seems hurried. Nonetheless, the outstanding song-writing are pretty evident. (“Been for breakfast at the heart break hotel/if you are gonna try walk on water, make sure you wear comfortable shoes”).Beautiful then, Beautiful now.

A lovely ballad in the form of “Love is a Laserquest” is a song which could have easily made it to Turner’s solo project and his soothing, relaxing voice shines through.  As the end draws nearer, the record starts to get more harmonic and the title track “Suck It and See” has the croons with multiple backing vocals at the chorus. This track is right synthesis of everything that they have tried before. Closing this album, we have “That’s Where You’re Wrong” which is a reminiscent of “505” with two chord progression throughout the song and an addictive tune to it. It’s bound to become one of the crowd favorites and a permanent place in live setlists.

“Suck It and See” has the mix of few songs from their back catalogue and their advent into more mainstream groovy-rock with a lack of ever sustaining riffs and hooks from Jamie. Another drawback is the absence of variations, as a guitar tone is followed thorough in many songs and the fact that the tracks seems to be arranged in a hay wire manner doesn’t help. Except the ending, the entire record seems to lack continuity which distorts the harmony and flow. The constant remains frontman Alex Turner’s smart mouth and his way with word, angst teenage mold lyrics and his continued form of excellent songwriting.  In the review for Humbug (Click Here) , being particularly excited about what Arctic Monkeys are going to do next, “Suck It and See” is a satisfactory answer. 

Key Songs: Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair, That's Where You're Wrong, Suck It and See, Love Is A Laserquest.

Track Listing:

1. She's Thunderstorm (3:55)
2. Black Treacle (3:35)
3. Brick By Brick (2:59)

4. The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala (3:00)

5. Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair (3:04)

6. Library Pictures (2:22)

7. All My Own Stunts (3:52)

8. Reckless Serenade (2:43)

9. Piledriver Waltz (3:24)

10. Love is a Laserquest (3:12)

11. Suck It and See (3:46)

12. That's Where You're Wrong (4:17)

Leave in your comments and reviews.

Wasting Light by Foo Fighters

Wasting Light. (Foo Fighters)

He is not the “drummer from Nirvana”. He is Dave Grohl, lead vocalist and guitarist of Foo Fighters.

Album Rating: **** (4/5)

By now it’s quite safe to say, anyone who compares Foo Fighters to Nirvana has either never heard them or is too busy immortalizing Nirvana to hear them.  Foo Fighter’s latest venture called “Wasting Light” (taken from the song “Miss The Misery”) is their best album yet, and yes it’s better than “The Colour and The Shape”.

Produced by Butch Vig (responsible for Nirvana’s “Nevermind”), this record is a rare combination of great songwriting, melodic, anthemic guitar riffs, loud and explosive vocals. Recorded entirely in his garage, Dave called it their “heaviest album till date” and Boy! Was he right!

Foo Fighters had uploaded a 30 second snippet of “Burning Bridges” weeks before the release with Dave shouting “These are my famous last words” and that was enough to get everyone excited about the new record. This is exactly how “Wasting Light” commences. A catchy riff, exploding drums, Dave ‘growl’ and you know right from the start, You are in for one hell of a ride!

Following next is the first single “Rope” which starts with jangled guitars before crashing into mahogany-rich cymbals. Although it is lower than the usual Fighter’s anthem, it retains some characteristic feel of "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace".  There’s a duet as well with Bob Mould from Husker Du/Sugar in “Dear Rosemary”, (very similar to “Steady as She Goes” by Raconteurs) a song about restrain and restriction in a relationship. Welcome Guilty-Pleasure. Although Bob tries his best to match up with Dave, he just plays a catalyst in belting the choruses and its best kept that way.

Enter, The heaviest Foo Fighters song, ever. In “White Limo”, Dave Grohl’s screaming vocals have finally been allowed to shine through the whole of it. There are verses that are immensely distorted, the guitar is extremely heavy and it’s particularly evident that the band intentionally had it this way to add the “Garage-recording-thrash-metal” feel to it (They had released a “I am so wasted” type video for it too). It does go into overkill after a certain period and the screaming become tiresome, there is no change to it at any point; it is just a constant growl that becomes irritable by the end of the song.

But no need to fret, We have “Arlandria” and “These Days” which is a tough, moody power ballad in the melancholic spirit of 1997's ''Everlong''. One of the best songs on this record, it has rightly timed pauses and raises insecurity amongst hope (“The clocks will stop and time won't mean a thing”). I bet the same.  On “Back And Forth”, a pop frenzy of sorts, it becomes quite reminiscent of the alternative songs in the 90’s and “A Matter of Time” seems likely go into records as ‘another-good-Foos-song’ with no varied perception in songwriting still maintaining enough melody to make it to the record.

As the end of the album draws closer, excellent lyrics and artistically churned riffs becomes more apparent. “Miss The Misery”, which can act as a filler for some is generic and unique in its own way at the same time. But what follows next are the two very sublime songs of the record. “I Should Have Known” (ft. Nirvana’s bassist Krist Novoselic) almost seems a song dedicated to Kurt Cobain and how his absence seems to be looming still (“Didn't hear your warning/Damn my heart gone deaf”) and a pursuing unforgivable guilty rage that sets in for his mind to be consoled of the loss. (“No, I cannot forgive you yet/To leave my heart in debt”).

The final song of this record delivers the best Foo Fighters song yet (yes, better than “The Pretender”). As “Walk” commences, you can almost feel yourself ‘million miles away’ with Chris Shiflett’s ‘Edge-Chiming’ type guitar sounding more ambient than it ever has.  As it builds up, it acts as a source of faith and new beginnings amongst the dark, striving for freedom from the fear caught up in the mind.  Reaching its zenith, the climax ranges from extreme despair (“I'm on my knees, I'm waiting for a sign" ) to a near wish for immortality, Dave passionately screaming “I never wanna die”. This is clearly the best 4 minutes of music to come out this year. And yes, Welcome back Pat Smear to the Foo’s line up. He deserves a huge credit for shaping the mid-section of this song with insanely beautiful guitar playing. 

"Wasting Light" is a serious contender for 'Album of the Year' title and Foo Fighters have just raised the bar quite high for acts like Coldplay, U2 and Arctic Monkeys to beat. Until and unless, all the other artist put forth their absolute best, this one's an instant winner.

Key Songs: Walk, These Days, I Should Have Known.

Listen To The Album:

Wasting Light by Foo Fighters


Leave in your comments and reviews.

The King Of Limbs by Radiohead

The King of Limbs (Radiohead)

Let it slowly unfurl as lotus flowers.

Album Rating: **** (4/5)
 

Announcing your album a week before its release. And then releasing it a day before it is supposed to be out. Radiohead never play it simple. They try to make situations and their music as complex as possible, and their new release is no exception. Labeled as “The King of Limbs”, (possibly referring to an oak tree in Wiltshire's Savernake Forest, thought to be 1,000 years old) the physical release of this album is due March end and special “Newspaper” edition early May.
 

Radiohead are always considered to have a cult following of sorts generated by heavy experimentation with the advent of Kid A. They revolutionized the entire music scene and also the corporate world by exiting from a major record label and distributing their albums as “Pay-as-you-like” copies (read ‘In Rainbows’). Such “Out-of-the-box” thinking landed them at the top spot for the Best Artist in the last decade. So, How do they start the new decade? With a brilliant album, of course.

 

Few minutes into the album and it becomes quite clear that this record not only requires but demands your full attention.  Another thing quite apparent is that Radiohead are not reverting back to crowd pleasing era of OK Computer rather further dwelling into experimentation and modernization of tracks with complete use of resource at their disposal.  To judge this album on a few listens is nothing short of a crime, and patience in this regard is highly rewarded.  Clocking in at 37 minutes, this is the shortest Radiohead album and it has all the rhythmic upsets which Radiohead are best at.

‘Bloom’, the album opener, starts with a short but gorgeous piano part before a series off-beat rickety drum kicks. “Open your Mouth wide, The Universal Sigh” declares Thom. The resulting tension is reminiscent of ‘Reckoner’ and is simultaneously intriguing and off-putting. Following are a series of fast paced tracks with ‘Morning Mr Magpie’, a song with perfect bass and drum coordination. Colin (bassist) and Phil (drummer) are playing off each other with challenge from Mr. Yorke (“You got some nerve coming here”), this one has everything to please the fans.

Arabic melody anyone? Enter ‘Little By Little’.  A very unsettling song which is the closest the album gets to a pop moment. Mischievous, fun and very catchy, this song has the lightest set of lyrics (“I am such a tease, You are such a flirt!”). That we are. Next, We have ‘Feral’ in which heavily treated vocals appear in and out, while the different instruments (a bit of chainsaw bass here, a chime of keyboard there) sound like they exist in different universes entirely. Trippy stuff.

The latter half of the record gets gloomier, soothing and dark. By Now, You must already know how to dance to the next song ‘Lotus Flower’ (if you don’t, I highly recommend Thom Yorke’s dancing video for the same). Watch it, now.  Start losing your senses as several melodic layers of this song is uncovered. 

What follows next is perhaps the best track of the record, ’Codex’. Meditative, Sublime and Beautiful. A haunting vacuum grips you as this song constantly cleanses your mind like a hypnotic charm. It begets new life (“jump off the end”) and tries to restore humanity in its purest form (“You’ve done nothing wrong, the water’s clear and innocent”). This song (like One by U2) has a universal appeal in its own dark pessimistic way and Thom has provided one of his best heart felt vocals on this track.

As the album end draws near, bird chirping becomes more apparent in ‘Give Up The Ghost’,  a purposeful song that paints its relaxed desolation with a simple, frontier-esque acoustic guitar almost reminding us of Sigur Ros. As Radiohead start to bid adieu on the last track ‘Separator’, they continue to provide distinct reverb, echo and vague dreamlike setting with the departing lines “If you think this is over, then you are wrong”. We would love nothing more.

This record draws some influence from Thom Yorke’s solo album “The Eraser” and previous releases like “Amnesiac” and remains rather inaccessible to easy listening audience. It certainly establishes Phil Selway as One of the best Drummers in Rock history. The only thing missing from the entire equation is front role of Jonny and Ed but I am pretty sure they are playing heavy “behind the role” on several tracks. Does it bother that the entire record is stripped of distorted guitars? For Conventional fans, it might be, but for people who were happy with the outcome of Kid A, it shouldn’t be worrying at all.

On a Personal note, Jonny’s brilliance behind the guitars is missed at times and a few tracks featuring it might have just made it another ‘perfect’ record.  But then again, it might just disturb the continuity of the album. I guess, we will never know.

Key Songs: Codex, Giving Up The Ghost, Little by Little, Lotus Flowers.

Listen to the Album:



 Leave in your comments and reviews.