[kj] NEW ALBUM - lengthy longnessness

[Alex Smith]

Fair enough, Peter....er...Flight Bringer. I am a bit under the gun these days, so perhaps my impressions are being clouded by personal circumstances. I apologize if my commentary has affected anyone else's perceptions and/or enjoyment of the record -- if so, please bear in mind that my opinions are no more or less valid than anyone else's. Moreover, like I said before, the amount of disparity in perspectives on the band's best work here is striking. For example, the album I consider their finest work some consider their worst. So, it's all relative.

In any case, I don't mean to be a party pooper (or any other variety of pooper, for that matter). BUY THE ALBUM -- SUPPORT THE CAUSE!

Cheers,
Alex in NYC




-----Original Message-----
>From: FLIGHT BRINGER <flightbringer at hotmail.co.uk>
>Sent: Apr 4, 2006 4:30 PM
>To: gathering at misera.net
>Subject: Re: [kj] NEW ALBUM - lengthy longnessness
>
>I'm not accepting garbage like that Alex. I suggest you listen to it again 
>when you are in a better frame of mind. The review below reflects you recent 
>ratty attitude rather than a true reflection of the album.
>  So chill out, cheer up and listen to the album again , and  hopefully you 
>will write a review that reflects the album and not your state of mind
>
>
>>From: Alex Smith <vassifer at earthlink.net>
>>Reply-To: Alex Smith <vassifer at earthlink.net>,"A list about all things 
>>Killing Joke (the band!)"<gathering at misera.net>
>>To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)" 
>><gathering at misera.net>, The Gathering <gathering at misera.net>
>>Subject: Re: [kj] NEW ALBUM - lengthy longnessness
>>Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 09:28:00 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
>>
>>
>>  "and one of the things that's wrong with it is that the tracks are too 
>>long"
>>
>>I've had the album on my iPod for the past several days, trying -- somewhat 
>>unsuccessfully -- to warm to it. On my way home from work last night, I was 
>>stopped by a friend coming out of a local coffee shop. I didn't have time 
>>to take out my ipod and put it on pause (this was right in the middle of 
>>"Implosion"). I stopped and chatted with my friend for two or three minutes 
>>and then walked on. When I put my headphones back on, "Implosion" was still 
>>trudging along -- almost as if I had paused it and then resumed. There was 
>>no indication of progress. My problem with too many of the tracks here is 
>>that they simply plod along endlessly, often without any semblance of 
>>fruition. Middle-eights -- when they finally arrive -- are bittersweet, as 
>>they signal that there's still another half song to go.
>>
>>With the lone exception of "Majestic," there is no real definition to the 
>>bass Outside of this track, you'd never know the bass parts were provided 
>>by a four-stringed instrument. Poor Benny's drums take a backseat 
>>throughout the proceedings, with the possible exception of "Walking with 
>>Gods" -- elsewhere it's just a dull, incidental rattle (contrast that with 
>>Big Paul's tribal battery on FIRE DANCES and/or What's THIS for..!)
>>
>>The weakest link overall, though, is Jaz. His vocals are completely shot 
>>and his lyrics this time around make "Loose Cannon" read like Homer's 
>>"Iliad."
>>
>>Like the font that blights the cover, Jaz's contributions here have a 
>>"that'll do" sort've feel. Speaking of the font, I'd love to have been a 
>>fly on the wall in the Russian surrealist artist's studio when he saw what 
>>Jaz had scribbled on his painting.
>>
>>Geordie brings his A-Game to the table (especially on "Universe B," -- a 
>>fuckin' B-SIDE!). I will say that, though the album overall suffers from a 
>>bit of a tune famine. Not a lot of memorable hooks here. While "hooks" 
>>might be the staple of the pop corps, Killing Joke -- for all their scary 
>>bluster -- have always found a way to find melody in the madness, and itt's 
>>a bit harder to find this time.  There might indeed be tunes here, but 
>>they're largely lost in blurry compresion to my ears. There isn't any space 
>>for the individual players, and the sum suffers as a result (as far as I'm 
>>concerned).
>>
>>It's not all complaints: I quite like "Tribal Antidote," "Majestic," 
>>"Walking with Gods" and the groove of "LightBringer" (otherwise sullied by 
>>Jaz's vocals and adamant disregard for singing with any semblance of 
>>meter).
>>
>>If I sound like I'm being unduly harsh, it's because I *KNOW* this band is 
>>capable of better, and we've all heard it.
>>
>>
>>Alex in NYC
>>
>
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