Feist - Metals

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 28/10/11

I've been rather torn on this album, which is why I'm reviewing it late. I knew Feist was retreating from the more pop-oriented approach she took on her last album The Reminder, but I didn't realise the leap back would be so... well, backwards. Gone are the immediately catchy and satisfying hooks of previous work; instead, Metals is more along the lines of being minimalistic, subtle and reserved.

If you go in expecting the usual Feist you may be disappointed - I know I was. I just couldn't for the life of me get into the album, it just didn't grab me... until one day I realised, this album isn't meant to grab. Unlike previous releases which have their frequent moments of instant gratification, Metals demands your undivided attention to it in order to appreciate it fully.

Whereas Feist's music used to be good for a sort of quick, mindless pick-me-up, Metals follows the style not many of her previous songs took - where a little quiet downtime to yourself is the perfect sort of time to enjoy the music, away from distraction. And once you allow yourself to become fully immersed in the album and appreciate just how much is going on beyond the surface, Metals is an incredibly beautiful and often moving release. Though I'm still not totally sold on it, and I'm not sure I like her change in direction, there's no denying Feist is a talented musician in all that she does.

Metals
Released: 2011
Country: Canada
Genre: Folk/Indie Pop
"The Bad In Each Other"
"Get It Wrong, Get It Right"

Born of Osiris - The Discovery

> CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 25/10/11

Yeah, I know... more prog deathcore. I can't help it, it's become an addiction. I try to get into big boy death metal, but I just cannot for the life of me find any progressive or melodic death bands that match the sheer layered melodic complexity and epicness that their deathcore counterparts provide so readily.

Born of Osiris are no exception. The soaring shred and crushing chug of the guitars is only intensified by the plentiful use of keys/synths that add a layer of chimey spaciness... an array of entrancing bleeps & bloops and soundscapes, to contrast and accompany the riffing. At last a core band that uses heavy electronics maturely, without turning it into some sort of cheesy techno gimmick.

The Discovery
Released: 2011
Country: USA
Genre: Progressive/Melodic Deathcore
"Recreate" music video
"Singularity"

FFO: Circle of Contempt, After The Burial, The Contorionist

Windmill - Epcot Starfields

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 19/10/11

Windmill was one of the artists that helped me during period of my life of developing open-mindedness and musical discovery, to hear and appreciate the poppier, more minimal and simply happy side of music. Though despite having listened to his previous album Puddle City Racing Lights for some couple years, it wasn't until around halfway through this year that I took the time to hear his latest offering, Epcot Starfields.

This album is quite a leap from his previous, but still manages to sound like more of the same... which if you're like me, is more of the same that you love. It seems more mature, described as combining "star-gazing and shoe-gazing", a clear lyrical focus on stars, planets, space, science and philosophy in general, and the music sounds more minimal, atmospheric and reserved. At the end of the day though, it's still the quirky piano-driven pop that Mathew Thomas Dillon (the pivotal member of the project) showed us he excelled at with Puddle City.

Epcot feels a lot shorter as an album, being 4 songs and 13 minutes shorter than its predecessor, and also feels less varied, but I put it down simply to Thomas managing to refine the sound of Windmill. Previous material was irregular and almost erratic, but this album comes across as a cohesive whole, each song playing an important role in the story and theme of the album.

Epcot Starfields
Released: 2009
Country: UK
Genre: Indie/Dream Pop
"Big Boom" music video
"Airsuit"

Circle of Contempt - Artifacts In Motion

> CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 17/10/11

The Finnish are renown for being masters of black metal and folk... and apparently they can also ace deathcore like none other, too. Though a bit more breakdown-laden than some would be comfortable with, it's balanced out with some nice shred and technicality, and the guitar melodies are some of the most intense and haunting I've ever heard.

Add a light pinch of brooding soundscapes and subtle orchestration into the mixture, and you've got a recipe for great success that puts them among the cream of the crop of the genre.

Artifacts In Motion
Released: 2009
Country: Finland
Genre: Progressive Deathcore
"Concealed" music video
"Nothing Imminent"

FFO: After The Burial, Born of Osiris, Veil of Maya

Kimbra - Vows

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 16/10/11

Any other kiwis who in any way follow the musical happenings around the country will probably have heard of Kimbra, a young artist who found fair success as a teenager (well, for an NZ teen artist at least) and who seems to have been groomed ever since... and has emerged an incredible vocalist with an incredible debut full-length.

From simple acoustic sets here and there around the country to earning international adoration, her fresh approach to pop (that seems to frequent the realms of indie & alternative, with strong overtones of jazz/soul) is a testament to my firm belief that popular music isn't all attention-grabbing and watered-down, it can be interesting when used in the right hands.

Vows
Released: 2011
Country: New Zealand
Genre: Alternative/Indie Pop
"Settle Down" music video
"Cameo Lover" music video

It Prevails - Stroma

> CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 15/10/11

It Prevails add their latest effort to the epic plethora of melodic hardcore/metalcore albums being released the latter half of this year with Stroma, an album that's been out for some time but I've put off reviewing because, well, really it's a slow grower. I wasn't impressed at first... not that I thought it was bad, I just simply thought it was good. It didn't have any instant "wow" moments like the previous album Capture & Embrace ("Brothers to the Flames" and "Defences Down" to name a couple).

Unlike the last album though, Stroma is incredibly solid. The last album was up & down, with songs varying between the totally epic and the somewhat forgettable. Though it may not give the moments of instant gratification Capture & Embrace gave, it certainly provides more quantity, which as many agree has a quality in itself. I've become quite fond of the album and I'm positive it out-does their previous material, and is a step in the right direction. Less melody in chords and more of the chimey, plinky picking and guitar-work makes for a spacier, more instrumentally beautiful listen.

Stroma
Released: 2011
Country: USA
Genre: Melodic/Progressive Hardcore
"Holes"
"Something More"

FFO: Hundredth, Taken, Beloved

Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 09/10/11

I saw these guys live just over a week ago, and they were absolutely incredible. They re-kindled my love for their music, even if listening to it now feels lackluster after being put to shame by such a passionate and moving live performance.

Whilst what earlier material of theirs I've heard just seems to consist atmospheric drawn-out post rock that jumps between being minimalistic and sometimes noisy, they lean a lot more closely to the contemporary classical side of things with Hymn to the Immortal Wind, true to their influences... well, having a near-full orchestra perform on the recordings didn't hurt either.

An incredible album that is both intense and serene, beautiful and sombre, and the only album of theirs so far that's been capable of filling me with such strong senses of heart-wrenching longing, and also peace and hope to such an impressive degree. The story in the insert and album art to follow is a nice touch too.

Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Released: 2009
Country: Japan
Genre: Post-Rock/Contemporary Classical
"Follow the Map" music video
"Ashes in the Snow"

Hundredth - Let Go

> CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 06/10/11

Hundredth's latest album dropped a mere week ago, and having had my pre-order in for months I was pretty damn stoked when it managed to arrive here all the way from USA on release day. I've managed to let the initial fanboy excitement level out, so here goes.

The album starts off incredibly right off the bat with "Let Go" & " Weathered Town", and ends the same way with a powerful cover of Johnny Cash's rendition of "Hurt" (originally by Nine Inch Nails). The stuff in-between is, well, somewhat up & down... half seems to be an onslaught of moving, melodic epic... and the other half is a blur of fairly run-of-the-mill angsty hardcore/punk. The album definitely has a respectable helping of memorable moments, but they seem to be held together by simpler passages that become overshadowed or forgotten. The good bits are just TOO good.

Don't get me wrong, it's a masterpiece of a release and certainly a highlight of the year. It's just a week on and about 10 plays through, I find myself chanting or bopping along to some moments, and reacting to others as though I haven't heard them at all yet. It's definitely a release that feels more refined than the last, and maybe with time as I start to remember the entire album I'll come to appreciate it more.

Not a perfect release, but it's still a hell of a release nonetheless... and if the band continue this momentum and fulfill their potential there'll be even greater things to come.

Let Go
Released: 2011
Country: USA
Genre: Melodic Hardcore
"Remain & Sustain" music video
"Live Today"

FFO: Counterparts, Your Demise, The Ghost Inside