Rather than giving up something negative for Lent, I decided to add something positive to my life for the next 40 days. So, I'm listening to one new (to me) album every day for the next 40 days. Here are the first five albums I listened to:
1: AFI "Decemberunderground" ★★★★
All around, this is a solid rock album. It's heavy enough to help you drive a little faster but not quite having the weight that would allow you to non-verbally end a dispute you have with the world via a random stranger's face and your fist. This record is flawlessly produced without being over-polished. Yes, the vocals are often in a higher register, which some may find off-putting. But all I have to say is Bruce Dickinson. Sometimes rock 'n' roll and higher vocals just works.
2: Temper Trap "Conditions" ★★
First impression: Fairly common method for today's hipster / indie rock. Constant strumming (most likely on a Telecaster) with a moderate - fast tempo coupled with a peppy snare drum ringing in frequently. No effort goes in to hiding the early and late U2 influences. Mix all that in with some brass, layered backing vocals, some "la la la" lyrics and the occasional falsetto, and you almost have a complete picture of this record.
3: Radiohead "King of Limbs" ★
Sigur Rós did this album already. Radiohead tried to copy the Icelandic band's style with their own melodic, hyper-droning soundscapes. A Bob Dylan-esque method of mumbled, unintelligibly sung lyrics is commonplace on "King of Limbs". As background music, it's a great album. But it's bland in the content and effort department.
4: Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced" ★★★★★
From the start, Jimi gets things rocking. Following the now classic opener, the listener goes on a blues trip then off to a rockin' tune or two. We get to hear the softer side of Jimi when he actually sings in a very atypical (for him), softer, melodic style. There could have been a spinoff band called "Hendrix and the Heartstrings" by the way he can sing on the slower songs. Typical of the time, there's plenty of trip-out guitar sounds, droning bass lines, chaotic drums, and echo chamber vox. Things come back to sanity and slow down toward the end with "The Wind Cries Mary". I didn't even have to finish listening to the entire album to five-star rate it. (But I did make sure to listen to the whole thing.)
5: Gary Jules "Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets" ★★1/2
Nothing about this album is groundbreaking, while at the same time, it isn't something that's been done a thousand times over. There's a little blues, some old-time western saloon tunes, some folk, and Eagles influences. An interesting hodgepodge of sorts. The record is easy to consume but it's also easily forgotten. Most people actually know one track, "Mad World", from this album. While it's easily the best song on the record, it's completely out of place.