OK Computer by Radiohead

Radiohead
OK Computer
1997
Alternative
Capitol

1. Airbag
2. Paranoid Android
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien
4. Exit Music (For A Film)
5. Let Down
6. Karma Police
7. Fitter Happier
8. Electioneering
9. Climbing Up The Walls
10. No Surprises
11. Lucky
12. The Tourist
(Also included is a 953x953 album cover .jpeg)

Fitter, happier, more productive
Comfortable
Not drinking too much,
Regular exercise at the gym
3 days a week
Getting on better with your associate employee contemporaries
At ease
Eating well
No more microwave dinners and saturated fats
A patient, better driver
A safer car
Baby smiling in back seat
Sleeping well
No bad dreams
No paranoia
Careful to all animals
Never washing spiders down the plughole

"Fitter Happier"

I was with some friends the other day and the OK Computer CD case was sitting nearby. One of them asked, "which Radiohead album is that?" and the other responded, "that's the Radiohead album." I'll be the first to admit that OK Computer is not my favorite Radiohead album, (just wait for my epic Kid A/Amnesiac double blog post) but it's definitely what they'll be remembered for most. And on top of that the music is incredible. So you should really already have this in your collection. But if not, I am here to share the wealth.

Radiohead has gone through a lot of stages in their music through the years. They started as pretty raw, raunchy, almost garage rock with Pablo Honey and The Bends. They took a very dangerous but much needed step in a more psychedelic and hard rock direction with OK Computer, and then took a complete U-turn with their next companion piece, Kid A and Amnesiac. Those two albums used barely any guitar (something Trent Reznor picked up for Year Zero) and implemented a lot of electronics and ambiance to create a totally unique sound that had never been heard before. OK Computer is what got them huge, and is still seen as their best work almost unanimously by fans (myself not included however).

It's a big, awesome sounding record. Right when you first press play, the fuzzy bassline to "Airbag" demands your attention and then slowly swirls around into the mix of other floaty guitars. Orchestrated perfectly to fill every single empty space in the mix (and your ears). It progresses very naturally like this, and the whole album has a very classic sound that is very often imitated (Muse? Looking at you.) but never duplicated. Download this record if you've never heard anything by Radiohead. You need it.

Click here to download part 1 (66.96 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (47.43 MB)

Buy it!
CD / 2 CDs+DVD / 2 CDs / Digital Copy / Vinyl

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
2000
Post Rock
Kranky

1. Storm
2. Static
3. Sleep
4. Antennas To Heaven
(Also included is a 900x900 album cover .jpeg)

"...The only thing is, they see it
Not through the light of God, and the way I show you,
I show you to see it through the light of God,
And the understanding of God.
Because when you see the face of God, you will die
And there will be nothing left of you
Except the God-man, the God-woman,
The heavenly man, the heavenly woman,
The heavenly child!
There'll be prayer on your lips day and night.
There'll be a song of jubilee waiting for your king.
There will be nothing you will be be looking for in this world
Except in for your god.
This is all a dream.
A dream in death..."

"Static"

I bought Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven without ever hearing one note of it. I was just so struck by the name of the band, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the name of the album, along with the eerily ambiguous cover art. I ordered my copy offline, not knowing what to expect. To tell you the truth, I had a strange feeling that I was going to be listening to some epic, progressive math rock band. I was very happily mistaken. Godspeed You! Black Emperor is the post rock band to end all post rock bands.

When the package arrived, it came with two other CDs I had ordered at the same time. Madvillainy by MF DOOM, and Things Fall Apart by The Roots, two other albums that I had never heard before in my life. I normally don't buy music this hastily, but I was so interested in these 3 bands that I felt like I would ruin the experience for myself if I didn't have everything in front of me when I listened for the first time.

I listened to Godspeed You! Black Emperor last, as I was going to sleep, because I knew I couldn't stay awake through their ridiculous track lengths. The next day, my dad was getting on a plane to be taken to a hospital. He was going to undergo a serious spinal corrective surgery, and he was worried that he would come back worse than he was, along with the rest of my family. When I listened to this album for the first time, with all these thoughts spinning around my head, trying to fall asleep, it was perfect. I think about it every time I listen.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is one of those bands that I have a very hard time trying to describe to people properly. Their music is so good that you have to hear it to believe it for yourself, otherwise you will be convinced that it's just simply not for you. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven is their best album, and it is a 2 disc double album consisting only of 4 songs, 2 of which take up each CD of the set. The shortest song is nearly 19 minutes, and the longest is 23. However, they somehow aren't boring. Their songs consist of many movements, much like in classical music, that flow into each other seamlessly.

Their sound is also heavily influenced by classical music. I like to describe them as being a classical rock band, but they aren't classical sounding at all, and they aren't rock sounding at all. They actually teeter on the edge of ambient from time to time, but their music is altogether very melodic. It's ridiculously hard to describe and I apologize for doing so.

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven is split up into several movements for the sole reason that it's an experience. Listening to it all the way through creates a mood and a mindset that I don't think I've ever seen be done in any other album. It opens with "Storm," which begins as a triumphant march, like a holy band playing to exhaustion, welcoming and accompanying your first steps in heaven. And everything progresses naturally after that, oftentimes taking more grave turns. The entire album is littered with recordings of people (and places) speaking, which serve as reference points to exactly where you are in your journey through it all.

It's altogether very moving.

Click here to download part 1 (46.67 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (47.18 MB)
Click here to download part 3 (88.46 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

Eye To The Telescope by KT Tunstall

KT Tunstall
Eye To The Telescope
2006
Pop
Virgin

1. Other Side Of The World
2. Another Place To Fall
3. Under The Weather
4. Black Horse & The Cherry Tree
5. Miniature Disasters
6. Silent Sea
7. Universe & U
8. False Alarm
9. Suddenly I See
10. Stoppin' The Love
11. Heal Over
12. Through The Dark
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

I used to talk
With honest conviction
Of how I predicted my world
I'm gonna leave it to stargazers
Tell me what your telescope says

"Through The Dark"

I started listening to KT Tunstall in 2006 when this album charted because of the success of "Suddenly I See." When my friends who were just too cool for school found out that I listened to a pop singer, they made fun of me for listening to something that they considered girly and bubblegum. I'm sorry to say that out of peer pressure I quit listening to her music just so no one would judge my music taste by it. And about half a year ago, I rediscovered her music, and I was floored. I can't believe what I was missing that whole time. This is not girly, this is not bubblegum, this is barely pop. KT Tunstall is one of the best singer-songwriters in the music industry today, and probably the absolute best that gets radio play.

I'm somewhat of a guitarist myself, and I was trying to get into "looping." It's a style of playing where you use an effects pedal to record yourself playing something in a rhythm live, then play it back infinitely and play over yourself to become a sort of one man band. In my googling for loop pedals and people who use them, I stumbled upon KT Tunstall's breakthrough performance on Later With Jools Holland, where she performed "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree" all by her lonesome, but with every layer of the song intact. She looped herself beating on her guitar to make drum noises, a miced tamborine, and her own voice, to create a totally unique sound that I had never experienced before. I strongly suggest you prowl through Youtube to find that video if you're at all on the fence about KT's musical abilities.

She's quite a guitarist. And singer. And lyricist. And overall just a fantastic musician who I absolutely love to listen to. There's not a bad song on the record, it doesn't wear itself out like most albums that you may have discovered through heavy radio rotation. She has a wonderful voice that is both powerful and soothing, and if that isn't enough, the production on all aspects of the music is great. I can't recommend this enough. Download it.

Click here to download part 1 (53.85 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (41.04 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

Change by The Dismemberment Plan

The Dismemberment Plan
Change
2001
Indie
DeSoto

1. Sentimental Man
2. The Face Of The Earth
3. Superpowers
4. Pay For The Piano
5. Come Home
6. Secret Curse
7. Automatic
8. Following Through
9. Time Bomb
10. The Other Side
11. Ellen And Ben
(Also included is a massive 1425x1425 album cover .jpeg)

I'm an old testament type of guy
I like my coffee black and my parole denied

"Sentimental Man"

Emergency & I is hailed as one of the best albums of the '90s all the time, and the rest of The Dismemberment Plan's catalog is really overshadowed by the greatness of that album. It's very true that Emergency & I is an awesome record, but in my opinion, Change is a little superior and never got the attention it deserved. It is also the band's last album before calling it quits on good terms, and serves as the perfect swan song for one of the best bands of all time.

There's plenty of good humor in this album, just like there is in the rest of The Dismemberment Plan's music. But Change is also more matured, and deals with heavier subjects, like politics, religion, and divorce. Before I had ever heard the music, I read a review that mentioned that Change helped the writer deal with September 11th, which I found very poignant. It was, after all, released a month after the tragedy. The music just seems to have an overall more serious tone to it, while still retaining all the quirks that make the band what it is.

I wish I could think of more things to say about Change. But I'm drawing a blank. I truly believe that these guys are one of the best bands out there, and that this is the cream of the crop. Please check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Click here to download part 1 (53.25 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (47.06 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

Sin-A-Matic by Louis Logic

Louis Logic
Sin-A-Matic
2003
Hip Hop
Solid

1. Sintro
2. Street Smarts
3. Freak Show
4. Celph Hatred
5. Diablos
6. Dos Factotum
7. Coochie Coup
8. Postal
9. Mischievous
10. Halfway Stretch (Sinterlude)
11. Best Friends
12. Revenge!!!
13. Fair Weather Fan
14. The Rest
15. The Ugly Truth
16. Idiot Gear
17. Dust To Dust
(Also included is a 342x342 album cover .jpeg)

You're just another asshole
Who wants to see me dressed up in my dad's clothes
Working underpaid until I'm mad old
As far as that goes
You'll never live to see it take place
I've brought a little present for you in my attache case

"Postal"

Scroll to the bottom of this blog post and click the download link, right now. After you've done that, continue reading. Ready...go.

There are a lot of rappers on the scene right now who are trying to differentiate themselves from the mainstream by putting a serious message in their lyrics, as opposed to rapping about material possessions and women. Louis Logic takes a step in the opposite direction. It's apparent that he's trying to become noticed by being as offensive as he possibly can towards anyone he can. He gets this message across as soon as the album starts, with the opening statement: "Perfection is rhymer, it's only 'cause I'm such a dick you always find me next to vagina."

The title of the record, Sin-A-Matic, refers not only to the lyrical content, but also is a play on words of "cinematic," to describe Louis Logic's visual delivery style. He's quite a storyteller, and his lyrics are very easily understood and followed. This works great on songs like "Postal," "Best Friends/Revenge!!!" and "Dust To Dust." Narrative lyrics are even more apparent on his follow up album, Misery Loves Comedy, but this is by far a superior disc.

Though Louis Logic tries to offend for shock factor every chance he gets, it's all in good fun. Most songs are satire on the common radio rapper, like "Coochie Coup," which is probably the most obscene piece of music I've ever heard in my life. His lyrics are absolutely hilarious because of this, though. I dare you to sit through Sin-A-Matic without having a good belly laugh or two. He doesn't let the album end without a serious note or two though. "The Ugly Truth" is a very thought provoking song about the average middle aged white man's prejudiced views on the world around him, and "Dust To Dust" is a story of a married man's scuicide, induced by years of adultery.

Apart from Louis Logic's awesome writing and delivery, there's another huge plus to this record, and that's the very fresh beats, mostly by J.J. Brown, who is currently Louis Logic's partner-in-crime on his new record label, 5G productions. I can't brag on this guy enough. Every beat he does is ridiculously catchy and full of energy. Check out Misery Loves Comedy and Sin-A-Matic: The 80's Edition for 100% J.J. Brown produced beats on Louis Logic records.

Sin-A-Matic is my favorite hip hop album of all time. However, it's not perfect. There's but one flaw, and that's the song "Freak Show," which keeps in tune with Louis Logic's theme of shock-and-awe obscenity. But I think this song takes it just too far, and is far from being actually enjoyable. I think that if this song from the record, or maybe placed in a different order in the tracklisting, the album would be very near perfection. I'm sure someone will be able to get into it though. Just not me.

Click here to download part 1 (63.2 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (72.85 MB)

Louis Logic has an entire song dedicated to keeping his music out of the reach of children, and he means it. Very vulgar.

Unfortunately, Sin-A-Matic is out of print, both for physical copies and legal digital copies. If you really want a physical copy of the album, you can look on amazon marketplace (like I did) and pay over 20 bucks for a new copy. It's worth every penny, though.

Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust by Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós
Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
2008
Post Rock
EMI

1. Gobbledigook
2. Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur ("Within Me A Lunatic Sings")
3. Góðan Daginn ("Good Day")
4. Við Spilum Endalaust ("We Play Endlessly")
5. Festival
6. Með Suð Í Eyrum ("A Buzz In Our Ears")
7. Ára Bátur ("Row Boat")
8. Illgresi ("Weeds")
9. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All Alright
(Also included is a 400x400 album cover .jpeg)

At light speed
Inside a heart explodes, an airplane crash
Down on the earth sings
I make a wish and close my eyes
Yes do that, a silly dance
All is forgotten in very little time and yet begins
Open eyes
Oh no

"Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur" English Translation

I love Sigur Rós. I do not love that every time I blog about Sigur Rós, I have to copy+paste a thousand Icelandic words back and forth from Wikipedia.

They said it couldn't be done. Well, they didn't expect it done. A band as moody and greyscale and atmospheric as Sigur Rós, releasing an incredibly organic sounding summer record? Ridiculous. But last summer, the band released Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust, which not only seems like an incredibly natural progression in the band's catalog, but also contains some of the happiest music of the year. And they did an excellent job.

Happiest music of the year might be an understatement. I dare you to sit still during "Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur" or "Festival." The first five tracks of Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust really bring to mind an icelandic version of Animal Collective. The backbone of the songs are acoustic guitars, as opposed to Jónsi's signature reverb soaked bowing on an electric guitar. Also, many of the songs feature a standard tenor vocal range, unlike the band's frequent use of falsetto in the past. It's so incredibly different, yet it still feels like Sigur Rós.

My only complaint with the record is the pacing of the last half of the album. After the insane buildup and release that is the coda of "Festival," every song after that gets gradually slower and calmer, until finally the band has reached it's all time softest intensity for the closer, "All Alright." All of the songs are great. Don't get me wrong. But I think that because they were put in this order, the listener slowly becomes disinterested as the record closes out. Especially because of the extreme amound of energy behind the first five tracks. However, give the B-side of Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust a chance. It's the same quality as the A-side, it just takes an extreme detour in mood.

This is the definition of a summer album, and I've waited to post it until now for a reason. Listen to this outside, driving or running or working, on a humid summer afternoon or evening. Completely perfect accompaniment.

Click here to download part 1 (65.16 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (54.5 MB)

Buy it!
CD / Vinyl / Digital Copy

Alive 2007 by Daft Punk

Daft Punk
Alive 2007
2007
House
Virgin

1. Robot Rock/Oh Yeah
2. Touch It/Technologic
3. Television Rules The Nation/Crescendolls
4. Too Long/Steam Machine
5. Around The World/Harder Better Faster Stronger
6. Burnin'/Too Long
7. Face To Face/Short Circuit
8. One More Time/Aerodynamic
9. Aerodynamic Beats/Forget About The World
10. Prime Time Of Your Life/The Brainwasher/Rollin' And Scratchin'/Alive
11. Da Funk/Daftendirekt
12. Superheroes/Human After All/Rock'n Roll
13. Human After All/Together/One More Time (Reprise)/Music Sounds Better With You (Encore)
(Also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

RroooOoooooOOooOoobBoOoOootTttttttTtTTtTtt
HhHuUuuuuuUUUuUuuuuuMmAMMaaaAaAAaaaaaaaANnnnnnnNNannn

"Robot Rock/Oh Yeah"

This is the first and probably the last album that I will ever say this about: Alive 2007's only flaw is that it is so good, that every time I listen to it, I can't help being sad that I wasn't actually there. When an album is so good that being good becomes it's only flaw...I'd say you have one incredible album on your hands. This is the best house/electronic/dance/techno/whateveryoucallit album you will ever hear in your entire life. And I am aware that them's fightin' words.

What is Alive 2007? It's a live recording of Daft Punk playing at the Bercy arena in Paris on June 14th, 2007. What makes it so special? Here's a rundown of what Daft Punk's live show: it's almost every song that the group has ever released, sampled and played on top of each other in one singular, stream-of-consciousness mash-up song. To top it off, (no pun intended) Daft Punk is putting together this music as it happens at the point of a gigantic glass pyramid. Inside the pyramid are hundreds upon hundred of lights and screens, which are being controlled along with the music to create a light show for your dancing enjoyment.

Obviously this is audio and you can't see the light show, but the music is plenty visual. It's also incredibly well produced for a live album, and you really should do it some justice by listening on a pair of good headphones with high bass response. Sorry I can't describe the music in more detail, but I think it really speaks for itself. You will be blown away. If you aren't familiar with any of Daft Punk's music, then this is a great place to start. If you already know most of their catalog, then you'll be pleasantly suprised at the vast amount of songs and samples included in this show.

Click here to download part 1 (89.48 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (90.77 MB)

I own the standard edition of Alive 2007 that you can pick up off of any record store shelf today. However, at the time of release, it was also offered in a Deluxe Edition that included a huge photo book, a heavy duty booklike CD-case, and a bonus disc, containing the Finale from this show. The Deluxe Edition is no longer being made, or I would have a copy. But thankfully, one of my good friends got it as soon as it came out, and so he has given me a copy of the Finale. Ususally I don't upload anything to the blog unless I have paid for it and have a physical copy myself, but this is an exception because I really don't feel like the album is complete without it. The Finale is the best track, and it definitely deserves to be heard by everyone who downloads Alive 2007.

Alive 2007 also contains the only profanity ever uttered by a Daft Punk recording, and I quote: "fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it fuck it." In that order and that many times.

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

blink-182 by blink-182

blink-182
blink-182
2003
Pop Punk
Geffen

1. Feeling This
2. Obvious
3. I Miss You
4. Violence
5. Stockholm Syndrome
6. Down
7. The Fallen Interlude
8. Go
9. Asthenia
10. Always
11. Easy Target
12. All Of This
13. Here's Your Letter
14. I'm Lost Without You
(Also included is a 492x500 album cover .jpeg)

Like violence, you have me
Forever and after
Like violence, you kill me
Forever and after

"Violence"

I've had a hard time convincing people that blink-182's final and self titled album is actually legit. Most people can't look past the boner jokes all over the band's first four albums, and most notably the megahit Enema Of The State. However, it's very clear to me that the band found on this release, blink-182, is a much more matured group of guys, both mentally and musically. This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I think it's not too much short of being a perfect record.

How has the band changed exactly? Lots of ways. For one, the lyrics are actually good. It's no Shakespeare, but these songs are the most personal that blink-182 has ever written. "Here's Your Letter" is a song about communication and how people are incapable of being able to explain what they truly feel to someone. Would you find those lyrics on Take Off Your Pants And Jacket? I'll give you one guess.

Also, the production quality is incredible. Listen to this album on a good set of headphones. The guitars are huge, Travis Barker's already machine-gun drumming is even more pounding, and all of the vocals are crystal clear and sparkling. It almost has a psychedelic feel very often, with lots of pretty sounding swirling layers and effects. Huge props to the late Jerry Finn for putting this together so well.

My favorite part of the album is that it just sounds powerful. The first time the chorus blasts through the mix in "Obvious," everything gets turned to 11. This album is incredibly dynamic. And apart from getting your blood pumping with heavy beats, blink-182 really figured out how to affect their listener emotionally using only music with their self titled finale. Listen to the beautiful guitar sounds after the intro of "Asthenia" or the dissonant bells at the beginning of "I'm Lost Without You" and tell me that it didn't tug your heartsrings just a little bit.

GIVE THIS A SHOT. The album blink-182 might as well have been done by a completely different band.

Click here to download part 1 (51.98 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (52.38 MB)

A couple f-bombs still made it onto this album, despite the major changes that blink-182 has gone through.

Buy it!
CD

Madvillainy by MF DOOM

MF DOOM
Madvillainy
2004
Hip Hop
Stones Throw

1. The Illest Villains
2. Accordion
3. Meat Grinder
4. Bistro
5. Raid
6. America's Most Blunted
7. Sickfit
8. Rainbows
9. Curls
10. Do Not Fire!
11. Money Folder
12. Shadows Of Tomorrow
13. Operation Lifesaver A.K.A. Mint Test
14. Figaro
15. Hardcore Hustle
16. Strange Ways
17. Fancy Clown
18. Eye
19. Supervillain Theme
20. All Caps
21. Rhinestone Cowboy
(Also included is a 455x455 album cover .jpeg)

Who rock the house like rock and roll
Got more soul than a sock with a hole
Set the stage with a goal
Or have the game locked in a cage getting shocked with a pole
Overthrow it like throwing over a biscuit
A lot of bitches think he overly showmanistic
Let go his dick if that’s the case
Rats want to waste
There’s more cats to chase
Dogs, we got to light new powers
Woke up broke, spit shit, few hours
Sheesh, been unleashed since the Greek club
Have the fans saying please make me a dove
Well, since you asked kindly
Where you been behind the mask you cant find me
Ya blind, in the wine zone leave ya mind blown
When he shine with the nine
He’s a rhinestone…cowboy

"Rhinestone Cowboy"

Derek Dumile goes by many different names. For example: Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah, Metal Fingers, Supervillain, Madvillain, and Danger Doom. However, his most famous and encompassing emcee alias is Metal Face Doom, or MF DOOM. ("Use all caps when you spell the man's name") So that's how I tag the "artist" section of Madvillainy. On this record, MF DOOM teams up with producer Madlib, under the alias "Madvillain," to put together an album themed around old-school superheroes and supervillains. Most of the beats have a retro feel to them, as if they were playing from a phonograph or a mechanical television.

For a long time, MF DOOM was my favorite emcee, and while that spot is currently occupied by Louis Logic (or Louis Dorley), Madvillainy is still one of my favorite hip hop records, and it's something that I put on a lot when I'm stressed out or just want to relax to a nice beat. MF DOOM has a very calm voice, (wonder why? see: "America's Most Blunted") and Madlib's beats are smooth and tight on every track. Most of the music behind the raps is very jazz and swing oriented. It's not exactly something The Roots would put out or anything, but to a less extent.

One of my only criticisms of Madvilainy is that there are too many short or instrumental songs. Despite the whopping 23 tracks on the record, it's only a little over 45 minutes, and few of the songs are over 2 minutes. 4 are instrumental, and many of the rest have no room to breathe in the short time they're allotted. Could have been majorly improved, in my opinion.

Adjectives to describe Madvillainy: calm, cool, collected, random, retro, smooth, fresh, quick, clever, mysterious, intoxicated, witty, and thick. Check it out, it's one of the best hip hop albums to come out in the last 10 years.

Click here to download part 1 (55.6 MB)
Click here to downoad part 2 (43. 58 MB)

Not as profane as your average rap album, but it still was awarded a Parental Advisory logo.

Buy it!
CD / Digital Copy

March by Goodbye Sons

Goodbye Sons
March
2003
Folk
Independently Released

1. Apart
2. March (Lion)
3. More Of The Same
4. Fullgrown
5. Good Work
6. Clockhammer
7. Periwinkle Springs
8. Close Encounter
9. Part Of The Wind
10. Streets & Avenues
11. Sanctuary From The Wasp
12. All About You
13. March (Lion)
14. Someday Or Later
(Also included is a 599x599 album cover .bmp)

Your smile's already told me
"Mark me off your page"
Well, I don't care, I wish I did
Next week I'll be okay
The way I see, it's gone
The way I looked at you
A drunken haze is good for the eyes
But never true

"Clockhammer"

I'm really trusting you guys, here. Goodbye Sons is a completely independent band, and they don't get paid very much for the great music that they put out. This album was put together in their own studio and released completely by the band. However, it is possible to buy a copy from CDBaby.com, (see the link at the bottom of this post) so I'm begging you to buy a copy and support the band if you like what you hear. However, if you don't, and this just gives people a way to pirate their music, then I could get in quite a bit of trouble. But like I said, I'm trusting you, and I'm hoping that this blog post will help rather than hurt. It's in your hands.

Goodbye Sons have been described by CDBaby.com as "a whiskey soaked wall of sound," and I completely agree. Their songs are very much still just simple folk tunes that could be played by anyone with the know-how and an acoustic guitar. However, the production quality and the atmosphere provided by their many instruments and subtle use of effects creates a very unique feel. The sound is very visual, and almost trancelike in some cases. However, they don't wander too far from their roots, and maintain a very natural, organic vibe.

Time for one minor complaint: I truly believe that March would be a near perfect album if the band had chosen to omit one song, "Good Work." It sounds so strange and out of place that it ruins the great pacing created by the song before it, "Fullgrown." (Which is the best song on the album, in my opinion) I will never understand why that song is on the record...but reguardless it is so I uploaded it anyways. I'm sure someone will appreciate it. Besides that song, I can't stress enough how good the rest of the album is musically.

Enjoy the fabulous music on March, it's really a great album. Please support the band if you like it.

Click here to download part 1 (57.93 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (71.09 MB)

Buy it!
CD or Digital Copy