Innocents – Moby
Released 1st October on Little Idiot/ Mute
Electronic/ Alternative
The eleventh album from electronic artist Moby is echoingly sparse, luxuriously cold, and deeply hollow. There’s so much room for movement and texture in between these minimalist compositions that listener’s can have quite a lot of fun playing around in this playground of sound.
I will say, however, that many of the tracks run on for much too long and begin to outstay their welcome. Also, a number of cuts don’t really seem to hit the emotional peaks that they intend. I mean, hollowness is all well and good when it’s used to effect, but at points during this record it started to come across as shallow pandering rather than deep expansiveness.
Overall it’s worth a listen, but it’s not overly exciting or original.
RATING: C+
NOTABLE CUTS: Going Wrong/ The Perfect/ Don’t Love Me
TRASH: Everything That Rises/ The Last Day/ The Dogs
The Paradigm Shift – Korn
Released 4th October on Caroline, Prospect Park
Nu-Metal/ Rock/ Alternative
Poster boys for the nineties nu-metal scene Korn are back with a new album for the twenty-teens, and really it’s pretty much like all of their earlier work, but just not as exciting. The riffs are all pretty solid, the bass is heavier than a really, really heavy thing, and the vocals are still spot-on for pathos, but none of this really changes the fact that this music hasn’t been fresh since 2002’s Untouchables.
I guess it might be a bit of fun for all the fan who are always desperately hanging out for a Korn album in these days where nu-metal has become a dirty word, but I think even they will be a bit disappointed by this one. There’s a lot of going through the motions non this release and not quite enough raw anger.
It’s also a shame that the hip-hop bass lines and surreal silliness which made their early stuff so much fun has been lost in favour of a more serious tone. Still though, you’ve just can help but get into these bone-crushing riffs.
RATING: C-
NOTABLE CUTS: What We Do/ Never Never
TRASH: Mass Hysteria/ Paranoid And Aroused/ Punishment Time/ Lullaby For A Sadist
Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die – Panic! At The Disco
Releases 8th October on Decaydance/ Fuelled By Ramen
Alternative/ Rock/ Pop
There’s a lot of eighties style synth-pop on this fourth release from P!ATD (think The Human League mixed up with The Killers), and I’ve got to say that it’s a welcome move. The melodies are catchy, the retro is intelligent, and the lyrics aren’t the worst they’ve ever come up with.
It never gets overly exciting at any point, but neither does it hide many filler tracks. Everything has its place on this record and that’s always something nice to hear. Perhaps it would have been better if there was some hint of actual depth in the lyrics or music rather than just an omnipresent sense of art-school know-how, but even this small failing doesn’t detract from the immense catchiness and danceability of this record. I mean, I’ve never been a big fan of the band, but even I was tapping my toes at certain points.
Fans will love it and other won’t be too turned off by it and will probably find something to like: a triumph of pop marketing.
RATING: B-
NOTABLE CUTS: Miss Jackson/ Vegas Lights/ Far Too Young To Die
TRASH: Nicotine/ Collar Full
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- Panic! At The Disco – “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!” (ryanandjondomusic.wordpress.com)
- Album Review: Panic! At The Disco “Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!” (deltavibe.wordpress.com)
- Getting ready for Korn’s newest album by looking at their past (blog4dat.wordpress.com)
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- Korn’s The Paradigm Shift is a Perfectly Harmless Pop Album (metalsucks.net)
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Lachlan J. Faces The Music 