Listen to this album as you read the review! (thanks NPR!)
Like I said before, I've only heard various tidbits of this album. Some songs here and there, a music video here and there, a bootleg here and there, but besides all of that, I don't think that I've been exposed to the studio recorded epicness that I need to be exposed to. So I have high hopes for this album. Really high hopes for this album. Album of the Year Hopes for this album. I'm pretty sure that I can speak for a lot of people when I say that. I hope it can meet my standards!
Romance
(Go listen to it here!) Something told me that they would open with this. It was one of their singles after all. (should have been a red flag) It is a fitting song, it just starts off awesome. You have the dual guitar maze going on with those blaring drums and the flowing wind of the keyboard. They really started this album with a bang! I could just be happy with this one song playing over and over, but instead I have a whole album to play though! This is very good news. If I find it hard to not move on from the first song to the next song, then you know that I would like the album!
Something Came Over Me
This has been my favorite song from the bootleg, so I'm remotely familiar with this song. This is a slower song, but it isn't lacking on the awesomeness. Right off the gate the dual guitars are just what keeps me listing, it really is a simplistic guitar tab, but it is just in the way that they play it on this song! Something just sounds...Better I guess? I'll find more examples thought the song
Boom
Wow, Carrie's vocal delivery on this one is reminding me of the Kinks or is it the Pretenders? Whatever it is I'm enjoying it. This song is pretty simple lyric wise, but at the same time it is so complex; this is showed in the breakdown near the end of the song. This might just be me again, but I 'm fining some resemblance to Sonic Youth here too? (am I just crazy?). Anyway, this is a great song to listen to, and it flows greatly into the next song.
Glass Tambourine
I think that Wild Flag collectively summed up the universe. I've really liked this song ever since I heard it on the 7inch and I"m so glad that Wild Flag went back and revised it a little. (yes I can tell). But it is still the same song but this time around, they just added a little extra something in the solo/breakdown, and they made the ending more epic (4:31 on is re-worked). What else can I say about this song? It is just very good. Halfway through it you feel like you are floating in space looking at a glass tambourine.
Endless Talk
Endless Talk is the halfway point of this album. If you read my reviews often, you will understand that the halfway point is where I judge if an album is just average, or if it is really great. Like most halfway point songs, this one started off a little bit slow (one of my pet peeves) but the pace is a major part of this song. I when I listen to this song, I can hear a mix of The Who, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pretenders and those awesome 60's pop harmonies (no I seriously do). The guitar isn't mind melting on this one, but that is a good thing because we get to hear the harmonies from the keyboard!
Short Version
Nice Opening! I feel like this band never stops on this album! To be honest this sounds even better than I thought that it would sound (dont' rely on the lyrics). I seen a live version of this not too long ago, and I was amazed by the dual guitar harmonies and the vocal melodies and even at times the keyboard melody is pretty out there. I guess this song is what liquid would sound like, and by that I mean that this song is very fluid.
Electric Band
I've heard this song plenty of times on the bootleg. Every time that I listen to it, I just can't get my mind around how awesome the drum opening is. It just holds up the rest of the song, and gives it unique qualities.
I also like the high gain effect that the lead guitar has on this song; it goes great with the drums It takes a little effort to hear it but from what 2:18 until the end of the song, that guitar with the gain is going crazy. On the other hand I felt like this song could have been a little bit longer, but the ending just sounds great,so its fine even if the song is a little short.
Future Crimes
The Drum opening is what really sands out on this song. It is there from the start, and right there when the song ends. But there is more than just drums on this song. Again you have to listen carefully, but you listen to the guitar with the gain, you can find a really good riffs, and also if you can listen and try to find the keyboard riff that is going right along with you will probably be amazed. You probably didn't hear the difference (trust me I did) but this "album version" of Future Crimes is a little bit different from the 7inch version. I personally think that re-recording it is smart, but that just might be me tyring to be cool again.
Racehorse
This is the best song on the album. But you would only agree with me if you listened to the whole album in order. Firstly, listen to that bridge at 1:09. There is just so much in that small section of that song, and then not too long after that at 1:20, we have another breakdown! Check that out. (Another one at 1:45 I need to quit counting!) The small instrumental beak starting at 2:40 is nice too. After that the keyboard adds another dimension to this song.4:40 on is just pure joy in my ears and brain. It is 6 minutes of pure amazing.
Black Tiles
I love how they broke up the long song by ending this album with a shorter song. I really haven't seen that on a shorter album. This song is also a highlight on this album because it is shorter, but also because it sets the new standard on how to end an album. It doesn't scream "This is the last song on the album, be sad that it is over" but more "This song is slower, but because this the last song on the album, enjoy it and listen to it again". I really appreciate the ending of this song (3:45 on). It is just the cherry on top, the one last guitar melting solo on this album; and then it is over. Just like that.
Trust me, I'm not joking when I say this, but this is probably my new favorite album. I honestly can't find any weak points on any of the songs or on any of the instrumentation. This is pretty much anything that I could want in a album. It has elements of punk, indie, noise, experimental and it even has hints from some of the great bands of the past. Looking to the future, I hope that Wild Flag releases more stuff! They can't just leave us hanging (a la Sleater-Kinney). Because if they did...
Anyway, I hope I didn't sound like a rabid Wild Flag fan that was trying to get you to buy this album. It is just great. Go buy it Today as a thank you to Wild Flag. I think that they just saved music.
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