Robert Smith « AZLTRON

November 25, 2008

All ‘Killer’ No Filler on Day & Age

Filed under: David Bowie,David Byrne,oingo boingo,Pet Shop Boys,Robert Smith,Stuart Price,The Cure,The Killers,The Talking Heads,U2 — AZLTRON @ 10:36 am

The Killers’ new album “Day & Age” marks their return to the sublime dreamy pop that got the kids excited in the first place. With “Sam’s Town” they tried to please the guy in the crowd that made fun of their make-up and suits, what they didn’t realize though, was that he paid to get in. They already had the backwards hat frat crowd. I remember when I opened my door for a doofy R.A. my freshman year and he saw my Killers shirt and couldn’t stop talking about how great the album was.

That said, this time around The Killers do push their style in ways that do succeed wildly. From the slow burning opener “Losing Touch” that makes excellent use of left over “Bones” horns, to the dance ’till you drop beats and synths of “Human”, to the most complete return to Hot Fuss Form “Spaceman”. The Killers set the tone early, they are back, and then they give you a tour of Vegas with reckless abandon. Like on the cowboy steel drum funk that is “Joy Ride”, the song is unabashedly fun, but Brandon Flowers’ earnest vocals ground the debauchery with the wide eyed wonder of a designated driver caught in the spotlight.

On “Sam’s Town” it felt like The Killers were spinning their creative compass, on “Day and Age” it feels as if they’ve thrown it out and just headed towards a star. Brandon Flowers still uses his more “salt of the earth” lyrical approach but this time around the music itself towers as tall as his words. Where as on “Sam’s Town” there was no monolith of sound to sweep up those hometown ambitions. That means, yes, they use the power ballad more than once, “A Dustland Fairy Tale”, “This is Your Life”, and “The World We Live In”, where they sound more like Duran Duran than they ever have before, and strangely enough it’s a good thing. “Day & Age” offers up a smorgasbord of obvious influences of the band in each song like the decidedly Talking Heads-esque “I Can’t Stay” to the Curish “Goodnight Travel, Travel Well” that uses circular synth patterns that sound an awful lot like “Pictures of You”, but they also imprint their unique stamp on each song and even make songs that have great potential to seem gaudy or redundant, “Neon Tiger”, and made it sound somewhat fresh and new. Even the album art fits perfectly with the warm glow that the album leaves you with. A glow warm and good enough to let me finish this review with the phrase; “All killer, no filler” and mean it.

The Killers – Human (Ocelot Remix)

The Killers – The World We Live In

The Killers – Forget About What I said (Bonus Track)

The Killers Myspace

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November 6, 2008

The Cure’s “4:13 Dream” is a True Return to Form

Filed under: 80's,alternative,gothic rock,Indie Rock,Porl Thompson,Robert Smith,The Cure — AZLTRON @ 8:23 am

The legendary band fronted by Britain’s mopiest musician, Robert Smith, returns again. Four years after their last release, The Cure have released “4:13 Dream”, which draws on nostalgia from their 80’s heyday while still pushing their work in a new direction. The name of the album itself is a reference to the band’s longevity, after 30 years the band have released their 13^th studio album, and after the departure of keyboardist Roger O’Donnell this marks the first time in a while that The Cure have been paired down to a fighting foursome including Simon Gallup on bass, Jason Cooper on drums, and Porl Thompson on guitar.

On “4:13 Dream”, this time working with producer Keith Uddin who has worked with No Doubt, Bjork, Oasis and many others, The Cure experiment with some new effects and approaches while sounding distinctly like themselves. This can largely be attributed to guitar virtuoso Porl Thompson rejoining the band after leaving in 1993 to play with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. “4:13 Dream” marks the first studio album since 1992’s “Wish” that Thompson Contributed to. His trademarked chorused guitars and wah-wah solos are stamped all over the place. His musical presence is also a huge factor in the renewed vigor of Robert Smith’s vocals and lyrics. On their previous release, “The Cure”, there were some moments that felt like the classic Robert Smith coming through (“Alt. End”, “Taking Off”) but I couldn’t shake the feeling that for all of their effort and Smith’s desire to make a signature ‘Cure’ album that it was still just going through the motions. On 4:13, Robert Smith sounds invested in the music. It is because Thompson has returned to provide a rich tapestry of melody and style that gives Smith’s vocals real traction.

The opening song “Underneath the Stars” starts off with some ragged guitar and reverb and the same tinkling effect that longtime fans will remember from their seminal song “Pictures of You”. Slow melodies sing and roar, bathed in waves of feedback as Robert Smith’s vocals soar above. Immediately following this is a sugary sweet pop number entitled “Only One”, fans of The Cure’s upbeat love numbers like “Friday I’m in Love” and “Inbetween Days” will love this one as Smith croons about all the things he loves about his significant other for as cyclical guitar and marimba melodies ensue. An exciting leap forward for the band on this release is the song “Freakshow” which rides on a staccato vocal delivery and epic wah-wah funk. Heck, there’s even a cowbell here. This is definitely the most fun on the album and on par with English Pop coming out these days. Immediately following this entertaining jaunt is the most beautiful ballad on the record. The slide guitar accented “Sirensong”. The song ebbs and flows along with gentle keyboard melodies and big waves of reverb and the most authentically intimate lyrics Robert Smith has imparted to us in some time.

The Cure is at a peculiar position in their career. It’s well after their mainstream takeover in the 80’s and 90’s, and yet they’ve returned again with their best and most vital release since 92’s “Wish”. It’s true that The Cure have somewhat mined older material for a few songs on the album, for example “This. Here and Now. With You” sounds an awful lot like “Six Different Ways” from their 1985 album “The Head on the Door”, but there’s nothing wrong with that, and I’ll tell you why. This is the first Cure album in a while that feels like its heart is in the right place. “4:13” gives me the same feelings of elation, loss, heartbreak, anger and determination that their best works do. Even the songs that aren’t poised to be released as singles feel like they’re there for a reason and aren’t just filler. The Cure haven’t really forged new ground here, but, boy, have they regrouped and created an album that maybe isn’t their most original, but it is the first one in a long time that feels necessary.

The Cure – The Only One

The Cure Myspace

If you even remotely like The Cure, you should really Buy 4:13 Dream.

It is quite good.

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June 10, 2008

The Only One for the Cure

Filed under: Porl Thompson,Robert Smith,The Cure — AZLTRON @ 7:10 am

It’s been 4 years since their last album and The Cure is slated to release their 13th studio album later this year tentatively titled “13″. This also marks the first contribution of famed guitarist Porl Thompson as a full time member of the band since his departure from the band in 1995. His mark can be heard clearly on the new single “The Only One”, which hearkens back to The Cure’s earlier halcyon days of hyper melodic and sickeningly sweet love songs like “In Between Days” and “Friday I’m in Love”. Not that I’m complaining, it’s a fun song. The b-side “NY trip” is a lower tempo number filled with swirling Wah-Wah guitars and Robert Smith’s trademarked warbling enhanced by minimal vocal effects. It’s remarkable that after all this time, even though the Cure themselves are getting old, their music is not.

The Cure – The Only One

The Cure – NY Trip

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July 28, 2007

Sophistication in Breakdowns, Junius

Filed under: Interpol,Joy Division,Robert Smith,The Cure — AZLTRON @ 10:15 am

It seems like a bunch of post-punk acts are coming in my direction lately. Among them, Junius, an acclaimed Post Punk band hailing from Boston Massachusetts. Like many bands these days they’ve been compared to Joy Division and the Cure, but there is something that is palpably dark and brooding about their music. I’m not talking about “Susie won’t go to the dance with me, time to listen to Linkin Park!” kind of brooding. There’s something intellectual and relevant about how the Robert Smith like wailing wraps around the chiming earnest guitars. People are going to make easy conclusions that they sound just like Interpol, Editors, or any other recent post-punk revivalist band, but Junius brings modern inspirations to the table and at times explode with raw radio ready chaos that at once could attract mainstream listeners without compromising their message and image as a band. “A Word Could Kill Her” features an interpol-esque melodic descent into an all out wall of guitars and wailing that could unite the indie kids and the hardcore kids. That is if the hardcore kids can tolerate the sophistication until the breakdown.