AnarchoNinaWrites
So, today's SotD was recommended to me by a friend I made in my replies (see it DOES happen; it's just rare!) I think it was @CosmickTrigger
It's called "Movie" by a Canadian band named The Birthday Massacre. With a name like that I wasn't really sure what to expect, probably hardcore Gothic Rock which really isn't my scene - but I finally sat down and listened to it, multiple times, and man is this some ridiculously good Dream Pop/Gothic Pop hybrid shit.
AnarchoNinaWrites
So now I'm either about to embark on an awesome quest because this band does a whole bunch of songs that sound like this, or going to be super disappointed because this is a one off and the rest of their catalogue is "Bauhaus but with a woman lead singer."
I'll keep you updated.
AnarchoNinaWrites
@PetterOfCats She's In Parties is excellent, but I can't say I'm a huge fan otherwise.
PetterOfCats
@AnarchoNinaWrites you had me at Bauhaus
AnarchoNinaWrites
So, Kill the Lights is a completely different kind of song; trying to figure out if I like it. I think I do, but I was expecting something different. Might take me a while to get used to her voice without effects. But musically this is quite good.
(No idea if we're doing this whole album song by song here; but I've got time so I decided to start at Walking With Strangers, the album Movie is on...)
AnarchoNinaWrites
Okay, Kill the Lights sold me; but I definitely think "Goodnight" is a miss. I mean I'm sure there's someone out there who this song is made for, but the things I liked about the first two tracks I heard are minimized and this feels a bit more like a song latter era Depeche Mode would put out.
AnarchoNinaWrites
Falling Down was a first listen "yes." It's a little bit unsophisticated but the correct elements are all present and I'm absolutely in love with the noisy keyboards. Again, not entirely what I expected after hearing Movie, but in the same wheelhouse as Kill the Lights. Didn't even need to spin it a second time to say "yeah, dis gud..."
AnarchoNinaWrites
Oooo, I really like Unfamiliar. Once again not what I was expecting (I was legit wondering if this was a Ride cover; real ones know what I mean here) but this is something totally different - synth pop with a harder more romantic edge. Absolutely a winner. We're two tracks away from me having to buy this album just to somehow give these folks money.
AnarchoNinaWrites
Lol, I'm so torn on Red Stars; I really like the verses, and the echoing "recorded in another room" effect on the sung chorus, like REALLY like that shit.
But the Ministry-esque industrial guitar riffs that run intermittently through the track do absolutely nothing for me at all and are a major turnoff.
Gonna have to spin it a few times before I decide...
AnarchoNinaWrites
Gonna have to go with "almost." If you yanked the industrial riffs, this might be the best track I've heard from them so far, even the noise pop/gaze bit in the chorus is fine, but holy shit is the riff just out of place. Bummer, I really liked the rest of it.
AnarchoNinaWrites
I can definitely see why Looking Glass was a single; the sound is a little bit dated (album is from 2007 or so I think?) but honestly I think it's a winner. The harder elements work really well with the Pet Shop Boys/New Order esque keyboards and while the singer's delivery is pure pop it really does just "work" together in an interesting and fun way. I'm not sure it'd be the first song I'd skip to after putting the CD on, but there's no way I'd skip it either. Definitely a legit win.
AnarchoNinaWrites
Lol, Science is a weird track. I mean it would be hard for a track to be more "pop" - there's almost an element of Stacey Q here even. But the distorted riffs underneath and the shattering keyboards also make it something entirely different than mainstream radio pop. I dunno that I'd be willing to admit to my friends that I really like it, but I think I do. This band is full of surprises - this is at least the fourth different "genre" of music I've heard on this album so far.
AnarchoNinaWrites
Also, I must say the two folks in this band who write the lyrics are RIDICULOUSLY good. I mean even on the tracks that aren't necessarily my cup of tea, the lyrics are complex, interesting, and poetic.
AnarchoNinaWrites
Okay Remember Me is fire; I mean it's definitely synth pop but it's extremely high quality synth pop. The way the keyboard break notes rise up over the vocals is a nice touch, I prefer this lyrical delivery from the singer to almost everything else on the album and the slightly jagged guitar work is nice; the closing bit where the rhythm section takes over just to fade out was surprising but delicious. Absolute banger.
AnarchoNinaWrites
To Die For is also an absolute banger; kinda reminds me of the first time I heard Time Baby by Medicine, although obviously the vocal delivery is entirely different. The fat/foggy synth underpinning the track is a really nice contrast with the icy keyboards in the foreground, and the switch from quiet to loud is really well done. I think we're at six now, even if I don't count Looking Glass and Science. Killer album.
AnarchoNinaWrites
Not sure how I feel about the title track, Walking With Strangers. It's certainly not bad, and there are parts of it that are very interesting. But it's also a very "of it's time" sound (again, album is from 2007) and I'm old enough to have heard a ton of music just like it. I bet it's a really fun song to dance to live, but I doubt I'd ever skip to it on the CD on purpose. I realize this sounds like I'm dissing it, but I'm really not, it just doesn't stand on out such a great album.
AnarchoNinaWrites
"Weekend" is definitely an odd track. There are parts of it that are absolutely sublime, most notably the noisy chorus and the waves of dream pop synth that run underneath certain portions of the song. I'm not sure how into the looping drum sample and very 80's synth beats that underpin the song however. I feel like there's a reasonable chance it would grow on me over time, but right now it's more in the "decent" than "good" category for me. It's not bad, it's just not excellent either afaict.
AnarchoNinaWrites
Which brings us back to "Movie" - the song that made me curious enough to check out the album in the first place.
This was quite a journey; absolutely nothing on the album sounds like the song that made me fall in love, but also there's just so much ridiculously good music here that I don't even mind. There's really only one "skip this immediately" track on here, and one of the two singles is both amazing and "not for me" at the same time. The rest is pretty stellar. Hard recommend.
AnarchoNinaWrites
Okay, so those of you who know this band well (and I most certainly do not) where, which album, do I go to next? Most of this thread is about what parts I liked and didn't like from Walking With Strangers, and while I don't have much more time to explore today, I'm interested in any band that puts out at least eight must hear tracks on a 12 track album.
Is anything else in their catalogue "like this?" I'll put it on my to do list if you've got another recommendation.
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