Rocky Mountain Electro-Emo: The Epilogues debut review

Originally published in Scene Magazine, October 2008

When I told a friend I’d be reviewing the Epilogues’ debut album for Scene, she caught me by surprise with her fawning: “It made me fall in love again… and I’ve never been in love.”

That’s a special kind of passion, no doubt. But for me, The Beautiful, The Terrifying is more like a post-breakup medicinal, good for any lover without a warm body to cling to: heavy on the synths and the woe, it starts off with ache-breaky melodies before transitioning into danceable “loving-the-single-life” synth rock.The Epilogues must have studied some arty encyclopedia on somber electronica in preparing their debut, as their sound draws a wide variety of comparisons. Singer Chris Heckman’s vocals have a coolly punch, comparable to those of Morgan Quaintance of Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Openers “King Arthur” and “Hurting You” especially reflect this. And like DIOYY, both sail on an unmistakable electro-emo beat and catchy chorus. It’d get repetitive if not for a few gems of different color: standout track “On The Radio” rides on a sullen Radiohead-esque synth line as Heckman muses on the complexities of escape. “Caroline” is a similar slow-burner about desperate jealousy lined with throbbing mental images of exes embracing new lovers.

Comparisons aside, there’s a fair chunk of dance amidst the bleakness, particularly apparent in “The World is Yours” where rampant hooky guitar breakdowns remind us that it’s okay to move on.

Ultimately, this heart hasn’t been moved, but I’ll be keeping The Beautiful, The Terrifying handy for the next time some girl breaks it.

www.myspace.com/epiloguemusic

My Favorite Archduke

Band: Franz Ferdinand
Song: “Darts of Pleasure”
Rating: A

Franz Ferdinand is going to be up there along with Radiohead and Queens of The Stone Age and a couple of others that I'm forgetting as one of the defining rock bands of the naughties. If we are so lucky as to have electricity 20 years from now, “Take Me Out” will be spun on classic rock stations for decades until the inevitable nuclear holocaust. They are fun, the music is original and catchy and they’re videos are all top-notch.

I admit, the main motivation behind charting up a video that’s just barely out of date is a sudden excitement for the band’s upcoming album, Tonight. Seriously, take a couple of listens to their new single, “Lucid Dreams”, spread out over several days and you’ll be just as hungry as me.

But I digress. This video is another golden chunk of Ferdinand video magic, stocked with color and clever shadowing techniques and absolutely super sweet editing. Lead singer Alex Kapranos has a face made for fronting a band and I’m so glad he doesn’t mind getting his goof on for these superb pieces (his entrance at bar practice with the single second shot of his bug-eyed glare makes me smile.)

Final points go to the mouth cam shots interspersed throughout. Kapranos probably isn’t much of a mouth breather, but for this video, I’m glad he’s letting his jaw hang loose; it makes for a fun ride.

BOOM Money

Artist: Cadence Weapon
Song: “Real Estate”
Rating: B

I don’t know much about finances, but I’m still a student. A student who’s eagerness to learn is fueled almost entirely by a fear by a dark future devoid of much of the luxury I so thoroughly enjoy today. I’ll admit; without some financial support from Mom and Dad, this blog would not be before you today.

So, I’m doing as much as I can to learn about why the recent Wall Street implosion was as significant as it is and what I need to do to prepare for a future that no one can really predict. So bless the lord above for artists like Cadence Weapon, whose latest video hams up the bleak reality of things, all while he spins lyrics from the point of a view of a negligent real estate broker. The beat is catchy and the vocals/lyrics flow so superb, that is, whenever Cadence isn’t dropping that nauseatingly-repetitive chorus.

In conclusion, this is a decent video; cheesy, but not unbearably so. Cadence has got a new look, and be it in a business suit or chilling poolside with models, I like it. Maybe it’s the hair. It's obvious that Cadence isn't spinning a story here, but I've got to admit , I would've liked to see a few desolate faces of business execs and daytraders, burned by a few greedy business decisions

Special Local Edition Music Video review: The Black Apples

BAND: The Black Apples
SONG: "20 Years At Sea"

RATING: B+

The audio quality isn't perfect and this is, in fact, a video made by a good friend who has gone off to LA in pursuit of a career that won't ebb away at his soul. But most importantly, this was a Fort Collins band that I got the opportunity to interview earlier this year. They dropped their new album earlier this fall- "Enjoy!"- only made 100 copies and I couldn't make it to their farewell show (they too have flocked to LA for similar reasons, the idea being a record deal) and my sister somehow screwed up and got me a copy of another band that is good in their own rights, but The Black Apples are something special mark my words.

This video is fun, and actually quality for being filmed by a college student. Can't give it a perfect grade, because of the audio, but I will say this song is aural magic. The main reason I'm posting it is because I'm immediately taking advantage of their "super up-and-coming" status. Four years from now, when their first national release takes college radio (followed by commercial radio by at least the second album) by storm, I'm going to get the claim to major cool status and boost this blog by three more readers. Also, check out their other catchy-and-cool-as-hell songs.

Getting Better

I'm feeling down.
The day has been long and unproductive. I've been racked with guilt for making bad choices, the wrong choices. Instead of exercise, I take an extra hour of sleep. Later, I half-ass my way through a paper and an article, projects I put off for gratifications that left me just as quickly as they came. Recognizing this, I make a half-hearted pledge to do better in the future. Whatever.
At the end of the day, I don't do the assigned readings and tell friends I'm too sick to go out and socialize. It's one bad choice after another, but some days a guy just doesn't want to step out of his shitty dirty box, a comfort zone with a carpet of crumpled paper and coins and crumbs.
To ward off guilt and shame before bed, the keyword is "deformities." There's a million to choose from, but three or so usually will do. I can look at these people/human things/genetic disappointments and remind myself how good I have it. I don't feel very sorry for these people; they'd probably be just as terrible as me if they had all of life's greatness at their fingertips. That is what I tell myself as I lie down.
Tomorrow will be better.

YouAge

Wired put out a fascinating article on the resurgance of the music video that I just had to blog about. Notice, if you so please, that there is heavy emphasis put on videos from indie artists. YouTube has fueled the coming of a new music video era, evidently, and I'm lovin' every minute of it.

It's a fairly fine selection (I highly suggest checking out Keith Schofield's awesome 'Toe Jam' video at the bottom of the list), but I would have to lodge my one complaint with the inclusion of Matthew Cullen's 'Pork and Beans'. I like the song, but damn, did he really have to go with a viral star-studded collection of internet celebrities (or their lookalikes) for a music video? I don't want to see all that shame bagged together in one scooping... ugh, come on Wired, you know you could've done so much better.

Indie Effects

Artist: Radiohead
Song: “House of Cards”
Rating: B

It’s probably the most-talked about music video of the year, a year where music videos almost, sadly, feel passé. But then Radiohead goes and pulls something slightly cool like this and everyone jumps onto YouTube to watch and enjoy.


I like this video. It’s cool and it fits the song well, and it really is something different from everything we’ve seen before, even with all of the CGI that floats along the music visual highways.


I really like the part, say about 1:20 into the video, when Thom’s head starts dissolving slowly. It’s pretty. Ultimately though, I can’t give this video an A; the scratchy rendering parts irritate me to no end.

BONUS: Watch the behind the scenes video, it too was pretty cool.