Muse - Origin Of Symmetry

YOURZ

I bought Origin Of Symmetry because of one song: Plug In Baby.  I'd heard the song numerous times on radio and I saw the accompanying video and I really liked what I heard. 

We saw them at a Big Day Out a couple of years later, after they had released the Absolution, the follow up to this album and the one that saw the band move from clubs to stadiums around the world.  And they put on a great live show and make a whole heck of a lot of noise for a three piece.  Since then, they've risen to become one of the biggest acts in the world. 

The problem for me, however, is that I very quickly grow tired and a little bit annoyed with the pervasive use of Bellamy's histrionic falsetto.  And then I end up wishing Bellamy would just grow some balls and sing like a man.  I know this is probably a poor critique but there you have it.  Muse have a lot of fans and good on them for doing so.  However, I'm not one of 'em.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

MINE

These are the things I think about Origin of Symmetry:

Matt Bellamy has obviously never taken singing lessons.  Yes, he's got a great voice, but it's very painful listening to him gasp his way through songs.  Dear Matt, breathe from the diaphragm, relax your shoulders and open your throat.

All the songs on the CD sound the same.  Grumpy and whiny.  Oh, except for the one track I vaguely recognised (Feeling Good) which is actually a cover.  Of a Nina Simone song.  Oh, the horror.

They just pack too much into each track.  Too much vocal flightiness, too many bells and whistles, too many twinkly piano lines.  Enough, already!

Rock?  They sound like an indie version of Coldplay. Bleurgh.  (YourZ sez: not really indie, anymore, though)

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://muse.mu/

The Eels - Meet the Eels

YOURZ

Despite the title of this collection, I met the Eels way back when they released their first album, Beautiful Freak.  The Eels, aka Mark 'E' Everett, are another of those artists whose CDs have disappeared out of my collection over the years, damn it all.  I bought Meet The Eels as I missed tracks from the first three albums like Flyswatter, Susan's House and Mr. E's Beautiful Blues.  Then there's I Like Birds, which includes one of my favourite couplets:


If you're small and on a search, 
I've got a feeder for you to perch on

But it's the tracks from Eels fourth album, Souljacker, that really rock my boat, despite it being in the collection.  First up is the very Stooges-inspired Souljacker Part 1, followed by That's Not Really Funny and another desert island mixed tape song, Fresh Feeling - there is something about it that makes me smile every time I hear it.

What follows is his cover of Missy Elliott's Get Ur Freak On, both relevant and inspired.  I really don't know if he's taking the piss or what, but I don't care.  He has a history of fucking with audiences who request 'the hits', so I wouldn't be surprised.  If you haven't seen or heard about when he invited Afroman to sing his hit song Because I Got High, on stage at a show in Vienna, check it out here.  Afroman never sounded better.

The rest of the collection (it's a long one too, at 24 tracks) are from albums I'm not familiar with but have resolved, having fallen for the latter tracks like Dirty Girl, Hey Man (Now You're Really Living) and the tragically beautiful I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart.  This is pure genius and we have to add another few more discs to our collection.  In this case, I'm sure we won't ever be disappointed.  

VERDICT: TURN IT UP and put it on repeat

MINE

For some reason when YourZ added his CD collection to mine, I came in with a preconceived notion that The Eels were some sort of prog/jazz/instrumental/ambient outfit.  No, seriously.  I didn't even try to listen to Souljacker, which was the only album of theirs that originally made it into Chez YourZenMine.  For - oh, about three or four years, if you can believe that.  How wrong was I.

This collection (and it's a long one, let me tell you) is full of some of the most beautiful indie-pop I've ever heard.  YourZ has gushed enough about it that I don't really need to, but I want to anyway!  I mean he does do a fair bit of button-pushing in the studio - but not on every track.  He doesn't cloud his songs with effects, he just adds the merest dash here and there - like a delicate seasoning bringing out the real flavour of each song.

He knows well enough to employ some great musicians.  He'll do stripped-back when he wants to.  And his lyrics are a complete delight.  I mean, I guess I can understand why he's not better-known - I mean the world thinks Coldplay and Celine Dion are pretty cool - but this stuff is, as my dear husband has said, pure genius.  As much as we can have in our collection will never be too much.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information http://www.eelstheband.com/

In our collection, we also have: Souljacker

Athlete - Vehicles & Animals

MINE

Oooh, ooh Athlete!  Such a good album and we don't play it enough (YourZ sez: although we played it lots and lots when we first got it).  The rollicking opener, El Salvador, is such a sing-a-long number it's now surfacing on my lips at odd moments - in the lift, making a cuppa...

In that way they're pretty typical of a good British pop band, because they tend to demand a bit of sing-a-long-ness in the UK.  Something to do with pubs and jukeboxes, I gather.  And just to share with you my recipe for a sure-fire pop hit - make sure you include some la-la-las and at least one Baby.  You're welcome.

Vehicles & Animals earned the band a Mercury prize nomination (they lost to Dizzee Rascal) and their next album, Tourist, was the one that shot them to fame. But not in THIS house, because it was this CD that got some serious heavy play when it first came home, and continues to jump out of the set of drawers we use as storage on a regular basis.  Although not so much recently.  Let's change that. 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Oh, what a wonderful album this is, full of smart, well-humoured songs, great musicianship and bright production.  This is British pop elevated to another level, beyond those of the usual suspects (Coldplay, for instance).  I still don't understand that phenomenon when bands such as this are streets ahead, as far as I'm concerned.

Admittedly, we haven't heard anything beyond Vehicles & Animals, their debut.  But as Mine points out, their follow up Tourist won them high critical praise and commercial success, so it must be at least as good as this.  As she also points out, these songs have a way of staying with you well after listening to them, which is only a good thing.

These tracks aren't just put together.  There has been a lot of thought gone into the arrangements, which included bits of electronica, scratches, blips and other noises, all adding to the overall listening pleasure.  At the same time, they know when to strict back instrumentation and let the vocals carry the song.  It really is a well-rounded listeners delight and does make me wonder why it's languished in our collection for so long without a listen.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP oh, this is beautiful - I've got to soak it up, got to soak it up

For more information: http://www.athlete.mu/

Snow Patrol - Final Straw

MINE

YourZ tells me I bought this.  Which frankly amazes me.  And as I don't actually recall handing over cash for the CD, I'm more inclined to believe he means that I brought it home - maybe from a radio station I was working at?  Because I really can't imagine I ever actually liked this.

When I confronted YourZ about it, he commented that they sounded like a "B-grade Coldplay" which was exactly what I was thinking.  And wherever the pointy stick lands, my friends, it aint gonna land on Coldplay, because we don't own any.  And nor should we own any Snow Patrol.

Did I really buy it?  This is gonna keep me awake nights....

VERDICT:THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

Well, I certainly didn't mean to cause Mine to lose sleep.  There is nothing much worse than a tired Mine, let me tell ya (if you don't believe me, I can even show you the scars).

I am a little annoyed she stole my line too.  While Coldplay generally and Chris Martin specifically give me the shits, Snow Patrol don't even interest me enough to annoy me. Having said this, it must be noted that we both like The Reindeer Section, the 30 odd strong Scottish indie super group formed by Snow Patrol leader, Gary Lightbody, and made up from members of Teenage Fanclub, Mogwai, The Vaselines, Belle & Sebastian and Idlewild, to name but a few.  From the outside, it might all appear to be the same but trust me, it is a very different listening experience altogether.

I can't even be bothered arguing with Mine about who added it to our collection.  But I'll be happy to see it go. My final words are ones of caution - misquoting Mr Frank Zappa - don't eat the yellow Snow Patrol.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.snowpatrol.com/