April 2006 Archives
CD, SPV/Steamhammer 2006
Track list: Keep the Circle Whole - Yeah - Slave/Master - Broken Man - Man in Mind - Merciless Room - Trespass - Black - No Light on the Dark Side - Triumph is a Sea of Flame - In the Shadows - Down
The Quill kicks ass. Their big riffs, groovy sounds and the excellent vocalist Maguns Ekwall come together in what's definitely one of the better rock albums in 2006 so far. The album is thoroughly good, with few brighter spots and just few weaker tracks. It starts great, that's for sure: Keep the Circle Whole gives a pretty good picture of what's coming. ****
CD, Attack 2006
Track list: I Will See You in Far Off Places - Dear God, Please Help Me - You Have Killed Me - The Youngest Was the Most Loved - In the Future When All's Well - The Father Who Must Be Killed - Life Is a Pigsty - I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now - On the Streets I Ran - To Me You Are a Work of Art - I Just Want to See the Boy Happy - At Last I Am Born
After the smash hit You're the Quarry, Morrissey returns with a new album, and it's a jolly good album, too. From the obvious hit of You Have Killed Me to the subtle brilliance of Life Is a Pigsty, this one has it all. The album sounds brilliant, too, thanks to producer Tony Visconti. Morrissey is having the time of his life, if you ask me. ****
CD, Virgin 2006
Track list: Meds - Infra-red - Drag - Space Monkey - Follow the Cops Back Home - Post Blue - Because I Want You - Blind - Pierrot the Clown - Broken Promise - One of a Kind - In the Cold Light of Morning - Song to Say Goodbye
I was a bit slow to warm up for the latest Placebo album, but finally it got to me. There are plenty of good tracks (no Every You Every Me or Nancy Boy, though), mixed with weaker tracks, but which are the good ones and which the weak ones seems to depend on the listener. I personally enjoy Meds, Infra-red and One of a Kind, but don't like Follow the Cops Back Home, for example... The good stuff weighs over the weaker stuff easily, so the whole is pretty good. Besides, in this iPod time, who cares about a weak track or two? Just forget them. ****
CD, Cyberware 2006
Track list: Aika ei parantanut haavojani - Nimesi jää elämään - Malja eiliselle - Ei savua ilman tulta - Tahdon kadota - Kaukana kaupungista - Katarsis - Hyvästi maailma - Tuhansia päitä - Sulkemisaika - Stigmat - Jäähyväiset
While Nekropoli was an excellent goth punk album (I'd actually give it five stars now), it offers little variation. This album is more varied, with all sorts of different moods - Tuhansia päitä, for example, is very Placebo-like. The result is good; while Nekropoli reigns still superior, doing another similar album would've been a mistake. This album shows Suruaika is moving on and exploring new directions. Well done. ****
