No.10: A Band To Remeber

Versatility is a key feature for any musician, sportsman or in any other kind of skilled occupation. No one wants to see a one trick pony since, while it may be a fair spectacle, I doubt it would play guitar with any degree of competence... no fingers you see. The most successful artists to date are able to perform with high versatility while remaining true to a specific genre throughout a career. Unless you're One Direction or 50 Seconds Of Summer that is, in which case you can churn out the same old bollocks again and again while your prepubescent female fan base let out high pitched squeals of almost orgasmic yet naive joy. But then again Harry Styles sits on a pile of money basking in his destruction of the music industry while I often have to sacrifice my lunch money to afford a return bus ticket from town...but you don't here me complaining. 

You wouldn't necessarily expect such versatility from an emo, post-hardcore rock band like the band in question here: A Day To Remember or to use the cringey yet time-saving acronym ADTR used by their several million fans. This band are perhaps unique in their ability to blend hardcore screamo with calm acoustic guitar and, at times, soft vocals in one record. Common Courtesy, their most recent release is a prime example of this. The ability to hear the ear-splitting screams of 'The whole world is against me so I'm gonna shout down a microphone and punch your nan' sort of emotion in Violence followed by a calming acoustic love song in I'm already gone is testament to that word versatility again. In addition to this, Common Coutesy features more of the traditional elements of rock and punk within songs including City Of Ocala and Life @ 11 with a sound vaguely reminiscent of the band's 90's teenage influences of Nirvana, Blink 182 and No Use For A Name. This puts A Day To Remember above the other similar bands who they rose to fame alongside including We Came As Romans and Silverstein since there is genuine vocal talent as well as musical and lyrical skill/originality. While the screamo sections of their songs often sound very similar and often need sifting through, the band are still at the top of their game with this independently released album; a staggering feature in itself.

So there you have it, for those of you who are after more easy listening songs, or who prefer your nans unthreatened, this band may not be for you but I strongly urge you to give them a try, at least with an acoustic version of one of their songs: http://youtu.be/9cHIi3h8aAo. Playing at Reading festival this August, they will hopefully live up to this album on the stage.

To hear these songs, albums from the other posts and other music which I find, follow my blog on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/user/w-avery/playlist/4CAps4jqmlBK7LPOPFgi3T

No.9 B.O.B: OK Fine, I'll Do A Rap Album

The aim of this blog is to publish a list on the everlasting infinity of the internet featuring what I believe to be the essential artists, albums and songs for any respected music collection. Obviously, there are various criteria that require assessment before selection for this list, one of them being relatablity (which is clearly not a recognised word but it fits here so don't start). This is a factor, therefore, which has prevented me from focusing on a hip-hop and/or rap artist. The stereotypical ideas and slang relating to the ghetto, getting 'stacks' and more notably getting b*****s proves too much for my British faintly middle-class mind to comprehend. It seems to me that rap, the most patriarchal of genres, and its many artists seem to obsess over getting things. What do they do once they have all of them? I presume they lock them all away in a room somewhere and just look at them. Maybe that's where Dr. Dre has been all this time between endorsing products and smoking cannabis.

Perhaps, this is why I deemed B.O.B (a pseudonym by Bobby Ray)'s  Strange Clouds fit for my list since his lyrics and subject matter of the album deviate from the generic concepts of the rap genre. Overall, the album is not entirely meaningful let alone insightful with songs dedicated to sunglasses and holidays but he expresses his awareness of the stereotypical nature of many rap songs as well as the shallowness of the music industry in songs such as So Hard To Breathe; this is certainly admirable. These lyrics are delivered fantastically and I would even go as far as to say Ray has 'good flow' if I use that term correctly. Obviously there is plenty of reference to 'riding the beat'  (which I deduce after much research is the skill and confidence of delivery) and some such but it wouldn't be a true rap album without it.
     Potentially more impressive is the music itself with a range of different instruments and styles from calm piano and guitar to more traditional drum and bass employed to affect the tempo and atmosphere created by each song. To further this, Ray is accompanied by a range of artists from Taylor Swift and Ryan Tedder of One Republic to Lil' Wayne and TI. This allows a wide variation in styles commonly missing from rap albums which is commendable.

So there we have it, maybe not the best for easy listening but certainly the talent is obvious despite the generic comments of it being 'talking with music' from bigoted old English blokes. Listen to this excellent remix of Bombs Away among others, until next time.

To hear these songs, albums from the other posts and other music which I find, follow my blog on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/user/w-avery/playlist/4CAps4jqmlBK7LPOPFgi3T