Music Reviews

G.A: Shore released today by Fleet Foxes. I’m going to do a live listen and document how I feel. I’m not a huge fan of Fleet Foxes but I do know a couple of songs on their discography. I hope it is a great album. I read it took them two years to make it.

Live Listen:

God, What a lovely opener. Love the contrast with the sound of the children and the tinkering of percussion in the background. Really great way to start the album in Wading in Waist-High Water. The album transitions gorgeously too.

Now we have the stock Fleet Foxes in Sunblind. The lightness of the cymbal and the stereo mix of the piano getting louder is really enjoyable in this song. The chorus build-up doesn’t implore a wide range of emotions but it's still a relaxing accompaniment to the instrumental in the background. I’m really enjoying the piano in the latter half of the song although I wish it was louder but the rhythmic clarity into the vocalizing section is another great part of the song. Feels like a beach song or cruising along the coast. The head-bop aesthetic fits well with this song but doesn’t over do it. I’m really enjoying how drawn out the endings are and am excited for the next song.

Unfortunately the transition isn’t seamless but nonetheless the use of choir is again shown in Can I Believe You. The electric guitar is an interesting touch although the rhythm can overbear the lyrics a bit. Something I enjoy is the drum set snare and how crisp it sounds. The vocal range in this song reminds me a bit of Phil Collins. I wish the lyrics were a little more discernible during the chorus but the choir bridge back into the main lyrics of the song was pretty nice. No transition at the end of this song.

Wow, the introduction to Jara was really fun to listen to. I like this guitar compared to the electric guitar in Can I believe you. It’s a bit more folk and has a great melodic line. The reintroduction of the intro was great although I wish it was louder. The panning of it is really cool. The vocal range in this song is a little safer than I’d like it to be and is not too loud either which is a bit of a bummer. I spoke to soon, towards the end the range was there but the impact could have been longer. I might be asking for too much. The resolve at the end is really funny.

The introduction to Featherweight is really great as well. The dual guitars add great texture to the piano progression. I’m enjoying the lyrics much more in this song and how the chorus evolves thus bringing out the piano. I’m a huge piano fan so I love hearing it being brought out in a song. The chorus is really nice and has a nature feel to it. Maybe a meadow or an orchard would be a nice place to play this song. The piano is so great too in all its abstractness and awkwardness. It fits the song where it belongs. The song ends with the dual guitars although I wish the outro could be longer.

I wish there was a cool introduction in A Long Way Past the Past but it plays it safe. Feels like a song that would roll in the credits. The brass is delicately placed and is a great touch to the drumset and the electric guitar. The whole song so far seems really safe compared to others. The bridge is a bit of a deviation from the safeness and although I wish it was longer it’s a great texture. It added a repeated guitar string that carries the song to the end and does so quite nicely. The ending is a little abrupt.

Really weird introduction that polarizes the introduction. The harmonies in For a Week or Two are really enjoyable with the bass drum carrying throughout the song. The piano does a great job as well. The bird sounds are a little out of place but they’re actually used for an interesting transition

What a great transition from the last song. The introduction was stellar as well. Maestranza is doing a great job at keeping a new listener from possibly skipping. Two guitars seem to be a theme in this album and is prevalent in this song as well and is an enjoyable texture. The chorus is great as well. The key change caught me really off guard and changed back to the original key quite fast making me wonder why it was put there in the first place. The bird sounds don’t serve as a transition this time.

I always like hearing studio recording vocals in a track and that perfect was a nice touch. Young Man’s Game feels like another safe song in this album which appears to be a pattern. The children’s choir is such a great touch though. Hearing it in the first song and hearing it here is nice. I always wish for things to be drawn out but if it repeats that’s also a great touch in which it does. Ended safe as it started. The transition wasn’t seamless here either.

I’m Not My Season might be the clearest vocals so far on this album. The chord progression is quite nice and it's a cozy song. Although I am a fan of vocal range, I can admire consistency and all the lyrics so far have been consistently nice to listen to. The transition was real nice now with the beach and bird sounds.

Quiet Air / Gioia starts off great. I really enjoy the instrumental and the rhythmic lyrics. Poem style songs are great. The distorted piano is another great touch to the song. It feels a little repetitive but I enjoy the transition with the guitar to the vocalizing section. I wish everything was drawn out a little longer. The harmonic part doesn't fit too well with the vocalizing that was happening prior. The latter half of the song has a nice piano accompaniment that I can get by. The distortion of the guitar towards the end catches my ear as do the contrasting harmonies. No transition at the end.

Going-to-the-Sun Road has another great introduction. I do wish the bass was a little louder. I feel like the song is playing a bit of pick-a-path and going with the best sound. I enjoy experimental music and divergent sound so this song doesn’t have any danger to it. Safety is not something I dislike, it's just that I wish it wasn’t so prevalent. The brass is a great touch. Wow, the Brazilian artist is such a great listen and wrapped in the harmonies it really sounds great. Why couldn’t she have sung the whole time?

Thymia had another interesting introduction. The harmonies with the electric guitar in this song is pretty relaxing. You can hear the brass a bit in the background. The acoustic guitar feels a little out of place until it's paired with the electric guitar. The acoustic guitar has a nice melodic line. The ending is a little abrupt and ten seconds of blank space isn’t too nice.

The human metronome and the studio recording vocals are a great introduction in Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman. Although I wish the bass was louder the song is put together quite well. The vocals are a nice volume in contrast with the instrumentals. The instrumentals in this song have a lot of depth to them also. I really enjoy the drumset sound and the humming in the background as well. The brass is again used as a texture in the latter half of the song and is extremely similar to the brass used on the earlier songs in the album. The ending is a little chaotic but leaves room to be excited about the final song.

Shore, the title song. Loving the use of the piano in the introduction. The duet is such a great addition to the piano as well. The drumset adds a great texture to the piano and the miscellaneousness going on in the instrumentals. The instrumentals are similar to Wading in Waist-High Water but the piano’s prominence individualizes the song quite nicely. The tom rolling into the cymbal textures is interesting. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about the latter half and how long it took to resolve back into the bridge but I do admire the technicality of it. Really enjoy the resolve at the end with the piano. The abrupt sound takes away from the relaxing ending but it’s their choice to add a texture like that into the song.

No song was unlistenable but there were a few aspects of the album in which the repetitiveness really bore me out. The brass, the dual guitars, and the harmonies were great textures. I just wish they were explored and manipulated more in a couple of the songs. The children’s choir and the Brazilian women were two aspects of the album that I believe should have had way more time. Going-to-the-Sun road could have been one of my favorites but it just didn’t draw out what I needed. I also wished all the transitions were fluid like the first song of the album. A bit of a let down that everything seemed so sporadic. The harmonies and introductions were all great though. 7/10

Favorite Songs: Wading in Waist-High Water, Sunblind, Maestranza, Young-Man’s Game

G.A: Saint Bernard 2 released today at midnight and on his three year hiatus Lincoln has comeback with a powerful punch in the form of one song. Although he does have an album coming it's nice to have a tidbit of his musical progression over this period of time. This review is solely for the newest edition to his discography which is Saint Bernard 2.

In this song, we're met with a folk style humming that leads into a very unexpected bar piano. There's no room left for drumset or electric guitar which is typical of Lincoln's work. The arpeggiations from the piano during the verse where he reminisces on the original Saint Bernard adds a bittersweet feeling to his newest song for his oldest fans. His voice appears to have somewhat of a country depth from this three year gap but the upcoming layered vocals show that this Lincoln still has the same range as his 19-year old self. The blank space that filled the original Saint Bernard is now filled with luscious strings and then the drumset and piano accompany some awesome triplets in a spectacular buildup. This whole section that transitions into the simmered down electric guitar has the same feeling as the blank space in the original. The vocal range during the chorus is such an evolution in his tone and style, that it came to me as a really big surprise. Really wish it was longer but it was such a great experience for old and new fans alike. 8/10