Quote:
Originally posted by puck
i just picked up the self titled disk by hangedup and Born into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward by The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-la-la Band. both are great albums.
has anyone heard any of the other spinoff bands? what are your impressions?
also, i only have yanqui u.x.o by gybe. i think its ok but nothing to special. what is their best album? |
I also enjoyed the Silver Mt. Zion albums, but I haven't had good luck with their other spinoffs. Especially Set Fire to Flames. I had high hopes for that one, but it didn't turn out very well.
Oh, wait, you appear to be missing the first Silver Mt. Zion album. I forget what it's called... something about light and the corner of a room. That one is even better than the second album, IMO, especially because it features one of the most haunting things I've ever heard (the "weeping guitar" piece - you'll know it when you hear it, trust me).
Yanqui U.X.O. is one of their best albums, IMO, because it leaves out the field recording ******** that I'm really not fond of. They
can do amazing things with samples - for instance, the first album, Dead Flag Blues - the vocal sample on that track is unbelievable. It adds a dimension to GYBE that they otherwise wouldn't have. (The monologue, I mean.)
They reached their worst sample-wise on their double album,
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven. They went totally overboard with the field recordings on that album and blew it. There's some achingly beautiful stuff mixed into that album, but the sample-wank ruins it. They should've chopped out a lot of the sampling and released a single-disc album.
Their best work, though, is (IMO of course)
Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada. It's only a half-hour so it doesn't overstay its welcome. The first track,
Moya, is one of those songs that gets you right where it counts - the bottom of your spine, the core of your heart. The second track isn't as emotional but it is great nonetheless, and includes a recording (authentic as far as I can tell) of a crazed street poet who's "poetry" is actually a Megadeth song.
Good luck,
- Chris
