Shaun Millard, Author at Driven Far Off

Phantom Planet – Raise the Dead

May 16, 2008 By Shaun Millard 2 Comments

Artist: Phantom Planet
Album: Raise the Dead
Label: Fueled by Ramen
Purchase: SmartPunk
Release Date: April 15, 2008

Overall: 8.5
Music: 8.5
Lyrics: 8.0
Production:8.0

Far from the melodrama of teeny soaps and Jason Schwartzman, Phantom Planet is alive again and back with their newest album, Raise the Dead. Tragically, the past will always follow the band but they are content to move forward with vigor and purpose. As most listeners will carry “California” into this record, it will soon be forgotten. Raise the Dead responds as vocalist/guitarist Alex Greenwald’s obsession with cults, their leaders, and the music which drives them. This opus will help deter the listener from the “California” pop and even garage rock tendencies of past Phantom Planet albums. Throughout Raise the Dead, it is evident Greenwald immersed himself into the studies of cults and such leaders as David Koresh, Jim Jones, and Charles Manson. The album’s upbeat and raucous sound is highlighted by double meanings and haunting orchestration. Several tracks strike with circus-like rhythms, luscious strings, subtle horns, and atmospheric effects. Upon their underlying themes, Phantom Planet have created an indelibly, grander record.

Raise the Dead opens with the title track in a booming anthem intensified by strings and Greenwald’s wailing, reminiscent of The Walkmen. “Leader” stands out as a track with joyful pop melodies streamed by a children’s choir and features excellent lyrics, which delve deeply into the album’s theme. While their first single “Do the Panic” harkens back to garage rock, the song forges ahead strongly behind Greenwald’s erratic vocals and the striking guitar riffs. “Ship Lost at Sea” contains bright horns and vaudeville rock which will send the listener reminders of 60’s pop. Indeed, the atmospheric blends of “Confess” offer a likeness to the excellence of Radiohead. Alas, the album closes with a serene ballad “I Don’t Mind” which gently slides beside lowly horns and a steady acoustic line.

Phantom Planet will surely surpass the listener’s expectations and their progression should only offer brighter hopes for future records. Raise the Dead is a wonderfully, haunting display of Greenwald’s (unhealthy) obsession with cult-life. Maybe now, he can leave “California” behind.

Standout tracks: “Leader”, “Raise the Dead”, “Ship Lost at Sea”

Track Listing
1. Raise the Dead
2. Dropped
3. Leader
4. Do the Panic
5. Quarantine
6. Ship Lost at Sea
7. Demon Daughters
8. Geronimo
9. Too Much Too Often
10. Confess
11. Leave Yourself for Somebody Else
12. I Don’t Mind

Anti-Flag – The Bright Lights of America

May 7, 2008 By Shaun Millard Leave a Comment

Artist: Anti-Flag
Album: The Bright Lights of America
Label: RCA Records
Purchase: Interpunk
Release Date: April 1, 2008

Overall: 8.0
Music: 8.0
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.0

In true Anti-Flag-ian form, this piece will appear as a an album review and a commentary. Upon listening to The Bright Lights of America, as well as researching the band’s history and reading reviews of this album, many quandaries come forth into the mind of the honest listener. What criteria is set forth by the so-called music critic and should they be instead labeled as a cynic? It seems that those limber bones and elitist minds, which reside in front of the laptop’s screen inside a major music publication, technically debase each album that crosses their cluttered desks. Have they forgotten the emotive quality that even a simple piece of music can affect the listener? Even within the straight-forward motion of the punk genre, “critics” tend to pick apart arrangement, performance, and vocal flaws in order to devalue the artist’s work. Understandably, it is job to find the defects in the album. Often, the “critic” forgets their passion and connection which draws them to a life driven by a soundtrack. Were Black Flag, The Ramones, and The Sex Pistols creating technically sound albums? No, they were records driven by anger, resentment, passion, and heart. Some of these things, the honest listener may find in Anti-Flag.

The Bright Lights of America, Anti-Flag’s second major-label release, brings forth a new direction. Anti-Flag has made a career of creating leftist political manifestos by way of furious, striking punk rock. Yet, their newest album takes two improbable turns. First, Anti-Flag softens such manifestos for more personal “politics.” The songs tell stories and lyrics depicting social struggles, deterring from anthems against war and Bush-era policy. Subsequently, the album’s title track details society’s weight on the burgeoning youth and how “cutting” becomes a mean to cope. With the fierceness of “The Modern Rome Burning,” Anti-Flag pounds away with a message of how humanity is bred into a nation of imprisonment. Their gang-vocals chant away people’s struggle into dissent and the track is preceded by a commentary from Mumia Abdul-Jamal, a death-row inmate. Although the messages throughout the album are strong, gang-vocals and repetitive choruses run rampant. Despite the chant’s strengths, they sometimes feel counter-productive.

Anti-Flag’s second turn into a new direction appears as the expansive musical arrangements. Not to fret, The Bright Lights of America is chalk-full of mosh-inspiring, speed-induced anthems. Although, the album is vigorously flared by delicate intricacies. The opening track, “Good and Ready,” harkens an old-school punk vibe but concludes with a children’s choir providing a haunted call and response interlude. “Go West” is a rebellious ballad of adventure, highlighted by a harmonica intro. As well, cellos, brass, and other orchestral instruments shape the album’s integral tracks.

Anti-Flag’s The Bright Lights of America is a strong approach into a new direction. It strikes a similar punk rock chord alongside the likes of A.F.I. and Strike Anywhere. Ultimately, the listener’s journey through the record will define its final resting place.

Standout Tracks: “The Bright Lights of America”, “The Modern Rome Burning”, “We Are the Lost”

Track Listing
1. Good and Ready
2. The Bright Lights of America
3. Vices
4. The Modern Rome Burning
5. If You Wanna Steal (You Better Learn How to Lie)
6. No Warning
7. Spit in the Face
8. We Are the Lost
9. Go West
10. The Smartest Bomb
11. Shadow of the Dead
12. The Ink and the Quill (Be Afraid)

Thrice – The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV Air & Earth

April 21, 2008 By Shaun Millard 4 Comments

Artist: Thrice
Album: The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV Air & Earth
Label: Vagrant
Purchase: Interpunk
Release Date: April 15, 2008

Overall: 8.0
Music: 7.5
Lyrics: 8.0
Production: 8.0

The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV Air & Earth marks the completion of Thrice’s foray with experimenting with the four elements of nature. Overall, the newest Alchemy Index displays Thrice’s explorations with instrumentation, rhythm, and feel. The album consistently moves from expansive arrangements into acoustic etudes. As well, Thrice delves into the world of blues, folk, jazz, and dance, while continuing to strengthen their trademark sound. The record, in its attempt to explore each element with an EP of six songs, contains many successes and a few failures.

Volume III: Air establishes a mood and feel most similar to past Thrice records such as Vheissu. This EP is definitely stronger than Volume IV: Earth and appears as a wonderful direction where Thrice may be headed. Air utilizes atmospheric guitar lines and effects, soft piano strikes, and a locked-in rhythm section beautifully depicting one’s serene flights on the edges of the sky. “Daedalus” stands out as a track with introspective guitar leads behind a story of a father losing his son. The track concludes with a touching verse displaying Dustin Kensrue’s ability to connect with the listener. Air reiterates Thrice’s skill of experimenting while not compromising their sound.

On the other hand, Volume IV: Earth feels awkward and beyond the capabilities of Thrice as a band. As expected, Earth takes an acoustic folk/blues approach to each arrangement. Most often, the songs feel clumsy and like an acoustic version rather than a creation. Earth appears that a possible statement into humanity’s continual disconnection with the natural world was squandered. The EP takes a more expansive approach when it should have taken a simplified stance. Although its limitations, “Come All You Weary” stands out as a well-played, bluesy track. Kensrue’s gravelly vocals cut deeply into this road-wandering song. Thrice made the right choice as it is their first single off this record. Volume IV: Earth does contain a few gems but, all in all, sounds like a misrepresented element.

Ultimately, The Alchemy Index: Vols. III & IV Air & Earth successfully continues Thrice’s approach into progressive and popular music. The strength of the album’s better tracks surely outweighs those of the weaker kinds. Thrice chose to venture outside of its safe haven and the listener will find worth in their exploits.

Standout Tracks: “Daedalus” and “Come All You Weary”

Track Listing
Vol. III: Air
1. Broken Lungs
2. The Sky is Falling
3. A Song for Milly Michaelson
4. Daedalus
5. As the Crow Flies
6. Silver Wings

Vol IV: Earth
7. Moving Mountains
8. Digging My Own Grave
9. The Earth Isn’t Humming
10. The Lion and the Wolf
11. Come All You Weary
12. Child of Dust