Another great year is finishing up for Rock The Body Electric and we wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so without further verbiage RtBE Presents it's third part of the Best of 2013 Top Ten Albums (5-1):
In the instance that RtBE has reviewed
the album either on the site or
somewhere else we will link to that review and just give a quick
summation, just click on the name and title and you can read it. RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on the their Top 20 so expect some overlap. Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but
full releases you can slap on and listen to the all the way through.
This year was a bit of a down year for us, but we got a few that we feel we will still be reaching for many years down the road. While not as bountiful as 2012 these are all great albums and worth your time, energy and hard earned ducets, capped by a trio of animal's:
It is of the Arctic Monkeys newest record Tranquility Base: Hotel + Casino.
We love the Monkeys. We have seen them every tour they have played NYC since they broke out way back in 2006 with the fantastic Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Partied after shows with them, enjoyed their oddball albums and their last release, 2013's AM is one of our favorite records of the decade. Their most recent release is an odd album in the vein of art project, clearly inspired by the chameleon David Bowie.
It completely drops all of the rock and roll from the group and the difference between the Monkeys and Bowie is quite clearly the times. Between The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Station to Station only 4 years elapsed but he released 7 albums total in that time!!
7 albums in 4 years! Bowie reinvented himself multiple times and fans could sift through Diamond Dogs, Aladdin Sane and Young Americans, all vastly different as Bowie experimented with sound and style. The Monkeys put out 2 albums in 5 years. When expectations ran high after AM this experiment is kind of cool, but not really satisfying.
I am curious, I feel it is probably 7 stars worthy, but I also personally really like Alex Turner and would give him the benefit of the doubt. Glide's editors went 6 which is fine by me. I have a feeling at the end of 2018 I will have either really come around on this album or place it in the let down's category. We shall see often it gets played.
The fantastic Arctic Monkeys will be back on the road this summer playing to some festival dates and other one off stops on a North American tour.
They will be playing July 24th out in Forest Hills for their New York City date and RtBE will be there as we love this band and have seen them play each time they have been in town. Rumor has it that a new album is almost done so there could be new tunes popping up at these shows as well.
To get in the mood here are some live clips from the band with the full tour dates below:
Arctic Monkeys North American Tour Dates
May 5 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Forever Cemetery
I can make a strong argument that the Monkeys put out one of the best rock and roll 'first release' in decades when they debuted with Whatever People Say I am That's What I Am Not. Forget the hype and blogosphere love/hate affairs; that album kicks ass in all the right ways. I had it ranked 22nd on my list of the decades best albums, musically powerful and lyrically excellent. Their last two albums varied in style and quality and the newest threw me for a loop when I first heard it.
Gone are the real rockers, or the late night dancey numbers, and in their place are pop rock nuggets. I dig it. They are legit song writers and Alex Turner always puts a unique spin on things. The primal drumming of Matt Helders has toned down some which is a let down but as the group grows and flourishes it is nice to have this structured (dare I say it) Beatlesque album to mess around with. Keep on Growin'...some tunes for you to check out:
Curious where they go this time, but from the sound of it they are staying in the same vein as Tranquility Base: Hotel + Casino so we shall see. Until then, here are some live tunes from the band:
This was more of a split bill then an opener closer situation as the Arctic Monkeys went on right at the ticketed showtime to a half full "World's Most Famous Arena". Looking like 50's greasers the 4 piece blasted out a tight, aggressive, arena ready set that was well coordinated and active even if most in attendance did not seem to be into the group. The strobe light filled "Brianstorm" opened things up, leaving the innovators in the dust before the punk double bill of "Still Take You Home" and "Library Pictures" thundered.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kennyysun
"The View From The Afternoon" was a classic example of the Sheffield spastic fun that the band can produce; messing with genres and still keeping the beat flowing. "Crying Lightning" had snake like riffs and drums for days, marching and pounding with venom. Alex Turner seemed a bit bored with the crowd but the group still produced the disco nightmare of "Fluorescent Adolescent" with precision.
A couple of B-Sides closed out the set with "Evil Twin" warming things up before the band rocked out awesomely to "R U Mine?" exiting the arena on a high note after a completely killer set of tunes.
Next up were The Black Keys with Patrick Carney's drum set moved to the front of the stage so he and guitarist Dan Auerbach could be in the spotlight. Strolling out to a "Liquid Swords" intro the duo soaked in the adulation but they weren't alone. The Keys expanded to a four piece for certain songs with bassist Gus Seyffert and keyboardist/second guitarist John Wood who helped out with the opener "Howlin' For You" which was fast paced (a common theme on this night) but exhilarating as the crowd exploded. It took until then to realize that The Black Keys may be the biggest American band going today, one look around saw fans of all ages singing along and shaking their hips, air guitar and drumming along with the Akron, OH band.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kennyysun
On "Run Right Back" the background players actually shined the brightest as Wood took the lead on the slide guitar parts freeing Auerbach to croon to the crowd about the worst thing that he is addicted too. Gus and John stuck around also for an older tune "Same Old Thing" which benefited from the new live arraignment before they left the stage to allow Dan and Patrick to get old school for bit.
"Girl Is On My Mind" had a spacey edge to it as the riffs range around the Garden, even producing a sweet/lazy feeling and "I'll Be Your Man" strutted with confidence as if the song itself knew that it could fill up the venue with only a duo playing it. When Gus and John returned the group focused on their newest release El Camino by playing the "Stairway To Heaven" inspired "Little Black Submarines" and "Money Maker". The latter was raced through so fast however it lost all the swagger they infused into the studio version making it a much weaker song and that seemed to be a recurring problem on a lot of the newer numbers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kennyysun
"Nove Baby" had some killer riffs and a mean ass solo, but never reveled in the shimmy and shake that makes it such a tasty song. Instead the band seemed to be banging out beats as quick as possible...who knows perhaps they were simply excited to be back playing MSG or maybe they took the intro hip/hop tune a bit too literally and indulged in vices. Any-which-way, "Lonely Boy" got the biggest ovation of the night and showed off some of the biggest riffs as it closed the bands main set.
Easily the musical highlight of the night was the first song of the encore and the first song off of their best album Brothers, "Everlasting Light". The band finally slowed down and eased into the soul that makes them a must listen to, using a giant disco ball to light up the Garden was a pretty cool move too. The brutal "I Got Mine" was fierce and for most in attendance an apt summation of the night as the band closed out a milestone show.
Overall the four piece aspect of the group seems to be a bit of an issue for the Keys. The song writing on the last two albums has obviously benefited from the expanded sound they are producing but they still have a bit of trouble catching the groove live.
The band aggressively and speedily bangs their glam rock tinged blues, but can't seem to dig into the deep rhythms and laid back nuances that elevate the recent albums; it is as if Auerbach and Carney are so used to primal 4-on-the-floor style that they can't let it go. If they do the band will certainly benefit by letting the songs (and the audience) catch their breath, get their groove on, and enjoy some of the best rock and roll produced in recent years. Maybe next tour it will all come together.
The New York based four piece Loose Buttons just released their latest EP Sundays and it is instantly ear catching for numerous reasons.
The group (Eric Nizgretsky, Zack Kantor, Manny Silverstein, Adam Holtzberg) take a sunny indie pop vibe and give it twists of 80's new wave, shoegaze power, and hip swinging radio friendly English soul. The four tracks presented here all run fairly long for indie rock, pushing the five minute mark and usually run through a variety of those genres.
Opening with "Tales Of What I'm Used To" there is a bass led march that rumbles around shimmering guitars. The group has an instant touch point; they sound like a less punk/softer version of the Arctic Monkeys. While that musicality/song-writing is a good thing, lead singer Nizgretsky sounds so much like Alex Turner it oddly throws some songs out of context. "Between Brick Walls" is a clear example of this, sounding like an outtake from the Monkeys circa Suck It And See or a Last Shadows Puppet number.
All those similarities can be a plus or a minus depending on your point of view (we love the Monkeys/L.S.P's) but also can feel derivative. Loose Buttons stretch out their sound on the best song here, "Am I The Only Reason?". The track starts with ethereal vocals that swirl before melting into a pretty breakup number, however that is just the start as they musically turn up the aggression with a sonic assault and blistering closing rave up; a real winner of a track.
The final number is another powerful one with a focus on strong drumming as the band pushes onward and upward for "Milk & Roses". Sundays is a very intriguing release from these talented New Yorker's and certainly a group to keep an eye on.
______________________________________________________________
Support the band, buy the album and peep some video below:
On 2018's Tranquility Base: Hotel + Casino the Artic Monkeys went out on a limb, experimenting by eliminating rock and roll from their sound, going with a focus on strings and lounge music banality. Front man Alex Turner pushed the band to record it while the group originally envisioned it as a side project for the lead Monkey. Fans seemed to be split on the successfulness, but Turner has only dug deeper into the piano, strings and David Bowie like transformation with this follow up The Car.
Pretty cool that these guys are now headlining arenas in the US. Their new album is one of the best of the year and it is great that America is catching on and selling out places like The Garden (we saw them open up there before). We were surprised at how young and female the crowd was, proof the Monkeys are doing something right with their sexy new sound.
Go read the review, you can peep some video below, but the one word we kept writing down was restraint...the band knows the new tunes are good, they never rush them and all of us in attendance are better off for it. Hell of a show.
Way back in 2009 we were lucky enough to help contribute to Glide Magazine's list of Best Albums of the 2000's. Hard to believe it has been ten years since we worked on that list, but it is that time again to look back at the previous decade and put together some arbitrary rankings. Since this site has been going strong the full decade we have a lot to pull from.
Here comes RtBE's picks for the top albums from the last decade, 2010-2019.
If we reviewed the album we will provide a link to that review in the title, a brief reflection on the record and a tune from it. A lot can change in ten years and a lot stays the same. Some albums were just right for their time and place and haven't aged particularly well and others were perhaps misunderstood or even prophetic as to where the world was headed.
Just our two cents, but this decade will not be looked back at fondly when it comes to remembering music in general. Things (for the most part) are being programmed and mushed together into mellow, white bread, digestible tunes with a hip hop foundation around pop hooks, synth vibes, a few strings and nothing the least bit exciting or offensive for the majority of music out there. In an era that should be considerably be ripe for protest, outrage, and individual expressionism, very little of actual substance has escaped to the masses.
Also from a practical standpoint, never before has the concept of "album" been so meaningless in our streaming/playlist curated society. While RtBE isn't completely old fashion, we still haven't bought into those ways of consuming music and the album is still our only way of listening to things, whether on vinyl or downloaded; no shuffling of singles here. This list focuses on full lengths that are played from beginning to end and deliver the goods.
We will break this down over five parts, doing ten albums a day. There were a ton of good records released over the last ten years, much more than fifty, but these are our choices. We kept our personal musical releases off the list, but feel free to listen and critique those.
As a note, Glide Magazine, the main site we contribute to, changed it's rating system in the middle of the decade from 5 Stars to 10 stars, then removed it all together so if you see say #49 on our list with only 4 stars, consider it doubled to 8.
Like all of the lists RtBE have done, this is meant to start conversations, not end them. So let's kick it off...
It is a review of one of our favorite bands newest disk, the Arctic Monkey'sAM.
This band continues to impress as they reach beyond their "normal" sound, experimenting and keeping things unexpectedly fresh.
We rated their last one high, but this year they have topped themselves with AM. I am curious to see how they play these live next to some of their more aggressive numbers, but it should be fun none the less.
So we have been in love with AM the newest Arctic Monkey disk and we got an email today about a new video from the album. We wanted to share it ASAP. Here is the newest vid for the next single "One For The Road":
Black and White stylized cool, Funny Car Tractors, Fireworks, pretty Boosh.
This tune isn't even one of our favorites but it is still a killer song with EPL terminology via that dangerous regulation zone, and a fuzzed up guitar. Just goes to prove this is a deep album with great jams all throughout. Grab it today if you haven't already, here's hoping they stop in NYC early next year.
Here is Part 2 of RtBE's Year in Review of 2011. (Part 1 was here if you missed it) Today we venture into our Top Ten List of Best Albums for 2011.
In the instance that RtBE have reviewed the album either on the site or
somewhere else we will link to that review, just click on the Band name and title to get there. RTBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on the their Top 20 so expect some overlap,
but not a ton. Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles,
but full releases you can slap on and listen to the full way through.
After the jump you will see our list for numbers 10-6, this year there seemed to be a lot of great albums but not a ton of GREAT!!!!! ones, either way these are all excellent and worth your hard earned money and hard drive space, so without further ado Click that read more link.
The second full length release from the English trio Yak is a mashed up mix of experimental rockers which collide in angular fashions. The group, singer-guitarist Oliver Henry Burslem, bassist Vincent Davies and drummer Elliot Rawson, have crafted an engaging mix of heavy oddball rock as sounds and stories whirl around the speakers.
The band can get delicate or slam clumsily, and this is not your typical power trio rock and roll, the album incorporates layers of sounds, from huge horns to digital keyboards; everything is in play for this future looking studio release. This is an album whose cover art, a painting of mixing strong line colors, running over each other perfectly captures the tunes contained within.
Opening with a stomp/flute combo, the hip swaying retro funky rock of "Bellyache" delivers vocals which don't fit in stanza's proving things will not digested easily while "Fried" begins as acoustic strum session before a full tilt glam rock influenced effort takes root. The title track finds band leader Burslem passionately pleading "I'm tired/I just wanna feel good", after declaring:
Do you remember when we said it would be easier if Nobody felt a thing No love, no loss, nothing If nobody felt any pain But that just ain't livin'
There is a poetic sense to Burslem's madness but the pieces don't always fit snugly together as an overall album. The screeching feedback laden "Blinded By The Lies" is heavy metallic blast, literally screaming "kick him in the face", before unceremoniously jarringly seguing into "Interlude" a peaceful instrumental number.
The album ends with two spaced numbers, the excellently grooving languid "Layin' It On The Line" and the freak folk of "This House Has No Living Room", both of which are cool rides, but would have worked better sequenced earlier on the album.
The closest comparison for those new to Yak would be the Arctic Monkeys especially as that band continues to evolve and experiment. The song "Pay Off Vs The Struggle" begins with a dance laden electro beat and instantly recalls the Monkeys during their Favourite Worst Nightmare era, while the already mentioned title track, the smooth "Encore" or "Words Fail Me" is more reminiscent of their recent offerings; warped modern day power ballads, aggression mixing with lounge tendencies.
Yak is definitely living in the moment though as the first single "White Male Carnivore" takes on the current cultural climate. It is growling and scratching with beefy guitars all the time a never ending over driven bass pulse pushes the track into almost annoying territory before a hardcore slamming ending over the refrain "He's got the whole world in his hands/he has us in his hands".
The overall effects of Pursuit of Momentary Happiness is scattered messy affair, but one that somehow winds up successful after it's ride is over. It is a neat trick on an album that doesn't flow as an overall effort but hits varied targets with bulls-eye precision. Hard to pin down, Yak wants it that way as the careen into forward with their first Third Man Records release.
____________________________________________
Support the artists, buy the album and peep some video below:
It was during the third song of The Rolling Stones performance when it clicked as to why it is still worth checking the band out at their advanced age in mega-stadiums with hundreds of thousands of fans buying every tongue logo-ed thing in site. The first two tunes, “Street Fighting Man” and “Let’s Spend the Night Together” were both passable, if slightly sluggish, but then “Tumbling Dice” magically coalesced and kicked everything into gear with dazzling rock and roll clarity. It was a reminder that this is still a real band, pushing and pulling like so many others, searching for those right notes and sound; they just happen to be the biggest band in the world.
Opening were The Wombats from Liverpool who used their upbeat pop rock in the vein of Fun or a more mainstream Arctic Monkeys, to start the night. Their big drum hits and huge choruses certainly perked up a few ears to the early arriving crowd as tracks like “Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)” and “Techno Fan” rang out; the latter was the song Mick Jagger recently danced to, proving he was back in fighting shape. The big marching combo of “Turn” and “Greek Tragedy” brought out costumed Wombats to close their set with overloaded production and flair.
Their polished, produced sound stood in contrast to the aging Stones hit laden set. Even with their oversized stage, massive HD video screens and musically aided by backup singers (Sasha Allen, Bernard Fowler), a horn section (Tim Reis, Karl Denson) and piano players (Chuck Leavell, Matt Clifford), the Stones still seem to wing it in the moment. At this point in their career they could lip-synch to backing tracks and most fans wouldn’t care, but there they are, up there still trying to work their way through the riffs and runs, getting sloppy and tight from tune to tune.
Ronnie Wood’s killer solo and the brass work in “Tumbling Dice” electrified things before the fan requested “She’s A Rainbow” was met with Mick’s wry comment, “Probably because it is in a lot of commercials these days”. Jagger himself was singing with power, commanding the stage extraordinarily for someone who just turned 76 and recently survived a health scare.
An early dramatic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, with another excellent Wood solo, was surprising before the core outfit of Wood, Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts walked down to the center of the playing field for acoustical renditions of “Sweet Virginia” and “Dead Flowers”.
Richards ringing riffs dominated a loud and heavy “Sympathy for the Devil” after all of the musicians were back on stage, even if Richards himself may have forgotten to rip into the solo for that song. The slower mid set clanging of “Honkey Tonk Woman” and an ill placed and dragging “Paint It Black” never truly hit their strides but a Richards focused “Before They Make Me Run” with snaking guitar work caught a 70’s glam rock groove with ease and sped out into the night. Speaking of groove, Darryl Jones bass took center stage as the group morphed in a funk dynamo for an extended “Miss You”, one of the many highlights while Watts’s snare (along with Jagger’s harmonica) gave motor to “Midnight Rambler”.
The group nailed the finish as an energetic “Jumping Jack Flash” displayed dynamic interplay before the set closing “Brown Sugar” found everyone locking in again with power and joy as Denson led the charge on saxophone. Richards contributed his strongest guitar work during the encore of “Gimme Shelter” and his most famous riffs during “Satisfaction”, ending the night via fireworks and screams from the sold out crowd. It is amazing that the Stones can still pull off a tour of this caliber in 2019 as No Filter is proving these old rockers are still rolling strong.
Wolf's Law announces The Joy Formidable intention that the Welsh 3 piece are ready to be heard everywhere in 2013. The group's second effort (after the successful The Big Roar) is packed to the gills with bombastic pop epics that just seem to keep rising to super symphonic heights.
Don't think classic power rock trio (although they can pack a punch) the group has blasted far beyond the sounds of guitar (Ritzy Bryan) bass (Rhydian Dafydd) and drums (Matt Thomas). There are strings, electronica, acoustic guitars, synths and pianos adding to the layers of sound throughout.
Things begin via a Sci-Fi string/organ intro of "This Ladder Is Ours" before the catchy riffs and high register, pretty vocals from Bryan take over the track. Banging and soaring at the same time the band moves things brightly along the airwaves. The majority of these songs run long here as things seem to take one or two turns as they roll out adding to the overall bombastic feel of the disk, but also playing a touch long winded.
The shorter efforts work best like "Little Blimp" with its disco infused hard rock in the vein of the Arctic Monkeys around their Favourite Worst Nightmare days; this track can be slammed at high volumes in a packed dance club impressing and getting the body moving. "Bats" is another successful electro flavored punk number with a double kick up at the end that spruces things up.
An acoustic breather via "The Silent Treatment" proves the band can tone it down before their most arena ready jam "Maw Maw Song". This beast has a massive chorus that reverberates everywhere while the verses contain a current of energy pulsing underneath before a slicing laser filled breakdown.
While it is a certain highlight the track that stuck in the brain the most is the "The Hurdle". Beginning with what sounds like footsteps in the snow the song builds up first with an acoustic guitar then the masses join in leading to a full on symphonic backing. Things go back and fourth between tender and huge before the full on electric guitar lead explosion that closes out the exhilarating tune.
The downside here is that things may be a touch too overdone as tracks seem to go on and on, the closing track "The Turnaround" is a good example of this, basically 2 songs in one that seems forced. However, the overall result of Wolf's Law finds a band extremely confident in their sound producing a texture, layered and successful full length release. If this is the vein that pop music flows through for 2013 then things are looking fairly bright.
__________________________________________________________________
These are always intriguing albums to review. There is no doubting that Wolf's Law from The Joy Formidable is a Very Good to Great release with lots to sort through after multiple listens, that said their style isn't our favorite. Quality needs to be recognized and appreciated though and Wolf's Law is chock full of it. It will be interesting in 12 months time if we come back to this album when we review 2013, but as things stand it is a solid contender, our personal preferences be damned.
Buy the album here, Catch the band live here, and peep some samples below:
"This Ladder Is Ours"
We kick off our Year in Review section of 2013 with a new feature in the Best of... area. Like in years past we will be choosing our Best Albums of the Year, a few we were underwhelmed with and our favorite show. Today we are starting out by judging books (records) by their covers (vinyl sleeves, jackets, digital pics, etc). We are going
to support the creative minds behind the Best Album Art Work of 2013
The biggest gripe RtBE has with
digital music is not the quality (that has been massively improved the
last few years) nor the disposal nature of it (still a problem, but
whatever), it is the lack of amazing album covers and art work. Sure
there may be great artists out there but seeing it on a screen, in
iTunes or elsewhere is nothing compared to holding an LP cover or even a
CD booklet with pages of lyrics, pictures etc. The hours we spent staring at covers while listening to music can not be adequately recorded, it added new dimensions to the sounds...Anyways...
That said there were a few covers/full on art that really jumped out at
us this year, click that read more button to find out which one's we
liked best in 2013
Hey there ramblers, so I recently had the pleasure of working with Shane over at Glide and we came up with the list that was posted this morning. I will be posting my personal list, but there will be a lot of crossover with this one as we spent a good amount of time on it and we both agreed on the majority of things.
Well "predicted" may be a bit strong, no research is really going into
this, perhaps wish list would be a more accurate title. The 2014 New Orleans Jazzfest will announce it's roster of artists tomorrow, which is pretty exciting as it confirms spring is just around the corner. Like we did last year we will put together who we think will/is/should be playing the best festival in America.
Heard the rumors that AF will be headlining Jazzfest this year. RtBE's guess is that it will be on the Saturday Second weekend, which seems to always be the big indie band slot. I wouldn't mind catching their theatrical rock and roll live, but I may also catch an act on the second stage depending on the lineup...(which won't be announced til much closer too)
There always has to be one old big name, he hasn't played the fest since 09...why not Uncle Neil and maybe you can throw the Horse in that pipe dream?
Really that's just a list of bands we love that are currently touring nationally. All the local bands are the real draw of the fest and acts that never leave the area, but we will give special love to one:
Gotta end with one of personal
favorite NOLA acts. Here's hoping they get back on the bill...or better
yet just throw down a late night get down!
We will end with, quite simply we don't care who plays. We
will love it and we will happily enjoy whoever is playing. The city has our heart, the people there are the greatest, the food/drink lives in our dreams all year and Jazzfest is the one trip we can't do without. See you, and hopefully some of those bands up there, in the racetrack and around the Quarter.
Another great year is finishing up for @RockBodElec and we wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE Presents the Best of 2018 Top Ten Albums Part One: The Just Misses & Let Downs:
In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album either on the site or somewhere else we will link to that review and just give a quick summation, just click on the name and title and you can read it. As always RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on the their Top 20, so expect some overlap.
Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but complete releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle or singles for RtBE.
Today we are going to focus on the "Just Misses" of our top ten and unfortunately the "Let Downs" released this year. Obviously these are just our personal preferences, feel free to voice your opinion in the comments. Expect installment 2 (#10-6) soon, but for now click on the green "Read More" below:
.JPG)
