The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Lonely Road

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Lonely Road

Release date: February 3, 2009

What does a band do to follow up on a debut album that unexpectedly yields two chart-topping hits and sells hundreds of thousands of copies?  Usually one of two things: they either stick religiously to the formula that brought them success and create a carbon-copy of their debut, or they take advantage of the expanded resources their success affords them and throw as many new ideas into the mix as possible.  These two approaches both have their risks, and every band is slightly better suited to one than the other.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’s sophomore album, Lonely Road, is an excellent illustration of this principle, and serves as a great example of what not to do with your follow-up record.  The pop-screamo act saw a great deal of success with their energetic, youthful, and really quite good debut, 2006‘s Don’t You Fake It.  They’ve clearly opted for the second approach to making a follow-up album on Lonely Road; unfortunately, RJA would have been much wiser to stick with the first.  Whenever the band strays from their signature sound, a sprightly mix of down-tuned, metallic guitars and pop-punk melodies, they sound awkward and unsure of themselves.  The band experiments with slower groove-rock riffs on “Pull Me Back” and opener “You Better Pray,” lightens their approach in a clear attempt to score another crossover hit on songs like “Believe” and “Step Right Up,” and further complicates matters by throwing in an orchestra on the pandering military ballad “Godspeed” and even a gospel choir on the Southern-rock-flavored title track.  None of these explorations seem remotely natural to the band, and it’s clear that they were reaching pretty hard to come up with as may new ideas as possible, rather than making sure the experiments actually worked.

It’s when the band sticks to its strengths that the material improves.  When RJA focuses on the same style that clicked on their debut album, they sound much more self-assured, as on a pair of songs toward the album’s beginning, “No Spell” and “Pen & Paper.”  Their songwriting is much more solid when they do what they do best instead of focusing on expanding their sonic palette.  RJA is a young band, with most of their members barely out of high school, and odds are they have a long career ahead of them.  They do deserve some credit for being willing to try new things and change their sound up from song to song.  But unless their sonic experimentation yields good results, it can’t be considered anything but a failure.

2/5

Standout Tracks:

• “Pen & Paper”
• “No Spell”
• “Pleads And Postcards”

Thursday - Common Existence

Thursday - Common Existence

Release date: February 17, 2009

Early in their career, Thursday were champions of their genre.  In the early 2000s, the up-and-coming post-hardcore scene found one of their first mascots in the New Jersey-based band (a quintet at its inception, now expanded to six members with the addition of a keyboardist), and Thursday played no small part in bringing the genre to fame - and, yes, infamy.  Now, the better part of a decade after their big break, 2001’s Full Collapse, Thursday may have passed their genre-leading torch on to other bands, but they continue to put out music in the tradition of their heyday.

Unfortunately, it seems their age might be starting to show.  2009’s Common Existence sounds, in a word, tired.  The new material lacks the urgency that characterized their earlier output.  Not that they’ve softened, necessarily; many tracks here are just as heavy and furious in intent as anything they’ve done in the past.  But nothing really sticks with you.  Geoff Rickly’s trademark wailing voice sounds thinner than ever, which doesn’t help matters, but more important than his tone quality are his melodic hooks, and those are few and far between.  The band is also hindered by unusually low-fidelity production, which leaves them sounding muddy and poorly defined.  This sonic aesthetic works for some groups, but Thursday’s brand of melodic post-hardcore could benefit from much more clarity and precision.  As it is, the blaring mass of drums, guitar, and bass, with Rickly’s piercing vocals on top of everything (yes, that keyboardist is still there, though he’s practically inaudible for most of the album), thunders by in under 45 minutes, leaving you with a vague impression of having listened to something but providing little memorable substance.  Instead of exhilarating, it’s simply exhausting.

There are a few tracks that seem to click, though.  When the band is truly firing on all cylinders, the material stands out, as on the over-far-too-quickly “Unintended Long Term Effects.”  That song in particular suggests that there may still be some of the old Thursday left, and that if they can harness that immediacy again, they might release another great album.  But Common Existence, whether the band was reaching too hard for new songwriting ideas or whether they simply ran out of them, fails to live up to its creator’s own legacy.

2.5/5

Standout Tracks:

• “Unintended Long Term Effects”
  
• “Last Call”
  
• “Friends In The Armed Forces”
  

Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

Release date: February 26, 2009

Steven Wilson is a busy man.  Aside from his primary band Porcupine Tree, the British neo-prog hero has been involved with numerous side projects in the past decade or so, each having their own distinct sound - Blackfield, No-Man, and IEM are just a few of these.  So it’s no small feat that, in 2008, Wilson found the time between all his other commitments to create and release his first true solo album, Insurgentes.  Written and recorded over a nine-month period in locations all around the world, Insurgentes is a vastly diverse album.  This may be due to the variety of genres and sub-genres that Wilson had been working in prior to its creation, or it may simply be a byproduct of the exotic locales in which the material here was conceived.  Either way, Wilson shows staggering musical range here, jumping from progressive hard rock (familiar territory for any Porcupine Tree fan, best showcased here in the opening track and single “Harmony Korine”) to noisy industrial to mournful piano ballads without a second thought.

Remarkably, though, all these disparate sounds and genres end up flowing together almost perfectly.  Even though no two consecutive tracks sound quite the same, each song seems to prepare you for the next.  The gently swelling chords and lush harmony of “Veneno Para Las Hadas” serve as a perfect respite from the previous track, the droning and dissonant “Salvaging.”  And the following track, the epic, King Crimson-esque album centerpiece “No Twilight Within The Courts Of The Sun,” somehow makes perfect sense.  And so on, all the way through the gorgeous album closer and title track, featuring only delicate piano, Wilson’s layered vocal harmonies, and a Japanese 17-string bass koto.  As soon as it’s over, you’ll want to go back and soak in every detail again.

Of course, Wilson had help from numerous other musicians in the making of Insurgentes.  Bass-playing legend Tony Levin sits in on a few tracks, Dream Theater keyboard master Jordan Rudess contributes his piano skills, and long-time Wilson collaborator Gavin Harrison’s drumming shines throughout.  But some of the most beautiful moments here are those in which Wilson is performing nearly alone, exposed and vulnerable, as he is on the final track.  Insurgentes is a surprising album.  It’s incredibly varied in texture and musical approach, and it’s downright weird at times.  But it’s a rich and rewarding album, and any fan of forward-thinking music owes it to themselves to seek it out and listen.

4/5

Standout Tracks:

• “Insurgentes”
  
• “No Twilight Within The Courts Of The Sun”
  
• “Significant Other”
  
• “Harmony Korine”

Welcome!

Hello all, and welcome to Relative Pitch - my new outlet for all things music.  Those of you that know me know how obsessed I am with music in general, and my music collection in particular, so this new voicing ground for my opinions should come as no surprise to you.  For those that don't yet know me: welcome to my world.  I know there's not much to see here quite yet, but in the coming weeks, expect this space to be filled with album reviews - and maybe a little more.

The fun will begin soon, I promise, but first, let's lay down a few ground rules, shall we?  Here's how things will work around here.  I'll be rating albums on a scale of 1 to 5.  Here's the breakdown:

5 = Instant Classic

4 = Impressive

3 = Pretty Good

2 = Disappointing

1 = Total Crap

Simple enough.  But just what albums will be reviewed?  Mainly new or recent releases, to start off with, although I may dredge up some classic albums from my collection from time to time.  The only style or genre guidelines you'll find are: if I listen to it, you'll see it here.  I know, it's pretty vague, and maybe a little biased, but expect a fairly wide variety of music to be covered here.  Once I get into the swing of things here, I expect to be posting a new review roughly once every week or two.  Don't hold me to a rigid schedule, though - this isn't my day job, after all.  And one final caveat - nothing I post here is anything more than my own personal opinion.  So put stock in what I write at your own risk.  Not that I plan on offending anyone.

But enough of that.  Let's get on with it!  Have fun, and by all means, let me know what you think - feel free to post a comment or send me an email.  Feedback is appreciated.  Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy!

Musically,

Brandon Sparks