Review, Reuse, Recycle

Dear Reader(s),

As addressed by my only — I mean, one of my many followers, these most recent posts are recycled material. This is absolutely true; these reviews were written for my school newspaper. They are being posted here because I want to get all of my album reviews on my blog. There is, however, new material coming soon. So don't touch that dial — um, mouse. Stay tuned to Isaac Bruce Springsteen for infinitely more posts than present in the past three or so months.

Your loving blogger,

Brandon Foster

REVIEW: "Day and Age" - The Killers

What do you get when you mix steel drums, saxophones, disco beats, synthesizers that beg to be danced to, harps and background vocals that trigger memories of the opening scene of "The Lion King?" Why, The Killers, of course.

The Las Vegas band's new album, "Day and Age," takes countless elements — many unexpected — and combines them with songwriter/lead singer Brandon Flowers's apparently endless supplies of imagination, potential and ambition.

Much like The Killers' first two releases, it takes a couple of listens for this CD to sink in. After the initial shock of Flowers's goofy lyrics ("Saw Cinderella in a party dress/She was looking for a nightgown/I saw the devil wrapping up his hands/He's getting ready for the showdown") and the seemingly astray musical styles, the album is a catchy mix of dance-induced pop and epic alternative rock.

"Day and Age" finished first in Rolling Stone magazine's Rock List: Readers' Top 30 Albums of 2008. The two singles "Human" and "Spaceman" reached sixth and 23rd respectively on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. These are two of the standouts on the new CD as well as "Losing Touch," which is a downloadable song for Guitar Hero: World Tour.

"Human" asks the vital question "Are we human? Or are we dancer?" in reference to journalist Hunter S. Thompson's quote about America raising a "generation of dancers." In other words, Thompson believes that people currently follow the steps of everyone else.

With their newest album, it is obvious that The Killers are human. The band dances to their own beat: a beat that has made The Killers one of the elite rock groups in this day and age.

As published in The Prowl, winter 2008.

REVIEW: "The Resistance" - Muse

Wait, I have a blog?

I apologize profusely for my extended hibernation. Coming soon should be some CD reviews, a list/critique of all the concerts I've ever attended and the B segment of Alphabetical Awesomeness (Backstreet Boys

FTW?). But for now, here's my review of Muse's "The Resistance," as written for my high school newspaper, The Prowl.

Given its vast following in England and its status as one of the best alternative bands of the decade, Muse was bound to get known across the pond.

Their popularity was confirmed by their appearance on the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. When Kanye West wasn't ruining acceptance speeches and Lady Gaga wasn't changing Halloween costumes, Muse was pleasing the nine million viewers' ears with its anthemic "muse-ic."

This performance coincides with the release of their sixth LP, "The Resistance." This much-anticipated CD is quite possibly the group's most adventurous yet.

The album begins with the lone single, "Uprising," a typical Muse song fused with an atypical amount of pop. The track grows catchier with each listen and will most likely get the most radio play of the 11.

By placing this song first, Muse seems to acknowledge that it is the only single. It's almost as if the band is getting it out of the way so that it does not interfere with the journey of an album that follows.

While Muse is no stranger to epic verses, it takes its progressiveness to a new level here, experimenting with elements of R&B, Queen-esque arena rock and instrumental music. In fact, the album ends with "Exogenesis," a three-part symphony about migrating astronauts.

It's nice to see the group differentiate from its typical style and these attempts work fairly well. While this may not be Muse's strongest effort, it is undeniably its most diverse. The new style may turn away some old Muse fans, but the band's daringness should gain them some new ones.

For those just now getting into Muse, this might not be the perfect introductory CD (check out "Absolution"), given its experimental content. However, thanks to the band's newfound American fame, it will be many listeners' first Muse CD. This is not necessarily a bad thing; if lead singer Matt Bellamy's vibrato-laden vocals and the music's distorted swooning leads the listener to the Muse library, they will have made a great discovery. But the average teenager won't have the attention span to sit through this album.

Don't let that turn you off to Muse. The band is worth checking out, even if this album does not fit your taste. And besides, Twilight author Stephanie Meyer considers the group one of her greatest influences. [Hordes of teen girls drop their Prowls {or in this case log off their computers} and go buy "The Resistance."]

CD I'M LISTENING TO: "Forget and Not Slow Down" - Relient k

CD I NEED TO GET: "Monsters of Folk" - Monsters of Folk

CD I WANT TO GET: "Backspacer" - Pearl Jam

CD I'M INTERESTED IN: Twilight Soundtrack (I'm serious, check it out.)