Hello there ladies & gentlemen! An album has come out recently that I plan on reviewing soon but, until I get my arse in gear, here's something I wrote over a year ago about HMV. It's, uhhhhh...rather critical. Enjoy!
Not too long ago, it was announced that many HMV stores around the UK would be shutting down. For those unaware of HMV, they're kind of like media department stores depending on their size in the area they're located. Bigger HMVs will have multiple floors, selling clothing as well as their usual stock but most HMVs will be average sized and have CDs, DVDs, video games and other random pieces of entertainment ranging from iPod accessories to books. For years, I've continuously supported my local HMV despite feeling as though the employees know about as much as music as I do about the employees of the HMV.
I've stated before that the people in my area have barely any fucking knowledge about Rock music and though they may be wise beyond their years in the field of Clubbing Anthems and Wank Pop, less than 2% probably know the difference between Hard Rock and Metal, hence the reason why bands such as Queens Of The Stone Age & AFI are under the Metal section in my HMV. There's one bloke who works there that actually seems to know his stuff. I've had great conversations with him about recommended Metal and he's actually informed me about top quality Classic Rock bands...everyone else seems to know total jack about Rock, and that applies to Woking as a whole too.
But I'm not here to have a pop at the employees of my local...fuck it, Woking HMV. I'm not here to criticise how their recommendation sections for 60s Rock have had 70s CDs and how they've recommended live albums by bands who aren't really popular for being amazing live and therefore just picked any album by an old group. I'm here to fully slag off HMV's business model and talk about why they deserve to fully go under as a business. For the record, I hope they don't. They're the only music shop in Woking and if they go, I don't believe I have a reason to go into Woking town centre any more...and I need the exercise that the walk into town does me. I just think they deserve to fail as a result of the following.
Firstly, there's the matter of having employees who don't strike me as experts in their occupation, which is straight away the sign of amateur companies. Hiring people who did D of E Gold over people who can recite entire back catalogues of multiple bands spanning several different genres and decades. I admit that HMV aren't just a music shop and I imagine that the other employees at the Woking branch and other branches probably know their film and video game trivia but I've never walked into an HMV and felt the same level of respect for employees as I do when I enter...I don't know, an Apple store. They're paid to know their shit. HMV pay people to do general work that a moron can and more than likely is doing whilst you're reading this rather harsh hate letter.
Secondly, there's the service. Allow me to tell you about how I tried to order 3 different albums from the HMV Woking store. The albums in question were "Another Perfect Day" - Motorhead, "Rust In Peace" - Megadeth and "The Ritual" - Testament. Hardly piss-weak obscure albums by nobody bands and yet they weren't stocked. I believe the only one that was was "Rust In Peace". One album that came with a bonus live disc but cost a bit extra. Not wanting to pay the extra for content I wasn't arsed about, I decided to order a standard copy.
I placed an order for the Motorhead and Megadeth albums, also learning that the Megadeth album will come with their album "Countdown To Extinction" for the same price. I was happy to pay that because I was actually interested in listening to the other album of different material. They claimed they'd text me when the albums arrive in less than a week. One week later, I've received no text. I pay the guys a visit and learn that one of my albums has arrived, the Motorhead one. Thanks for the text, lads. For the next month, I pop in every now and then to ask about my Megadeth album. I get the same reply. "It's not arrived yet".
They told me it's down to the company delivering the album, which I can respect, but it doesn't make HMV look very professional when they can't deliver a basic service that any other shop and (most importantly) the Internet can. Eventually it arrived and, feeling generous, I ordered another album, the Testament one. Same deal, we'll text you when it gets here. A week later, I pop in and it's arrived. No text again. They did text me about the Megadeth album but since I was literally standing inside the store when I received it, I'm not awarding them any brownie points for that.
As a result, I have no interest in ever ordering anything from HMV ever again. I know I could order it online from their website for a speedy delivery but frankly, why order it from HMV when I could order it from Amazon or eBay or a trusted company? So that's my stance there. They fucked up repeatedly and now I'll only be buying things they have in store. Anything else I may have been tempted to order can wait. Hardly a major victory for myself but take into account the number of people who have already made the transition to buying music online and I'd imagine they need all the customers they can get, so there's no reason for shoddy service.
Thirdly, aside from having pretty lacklustre stock and employees who have no specialist skill set that would make them useful to have in a modern record shop, the people running the show seem to be completely oblivious to modern progressions in music purchasing too. Damn near everyone has iTunes and if they're not pirating tracks, they're paying to download them online. CDs are a dying format and soon record shops will be extinct. What HMV need to do is find a way of integrating the ability to download MP3s into their shop. Imagine if HMV had some kind of bay or plug-in mini-computer system where your iPod would fit and you could browse their entire catalogue to pick and choose songs you wanted.
OH WAIT! They already do! They're just total fuckwits.
In the interest of fairness, I visited HMV Brighton whilst I was in Brighton (best place to be if you want to visit HMV Brighton). Same lyrics, different song. Pretty lame stock selection, mediocre recommendations but what's this? They had little screens on the walls where you could pop on headphones, scan their in-store items and according to the writing on the front of it "Download MP3s"...or at least you could if they fucking worked. I found 2 of these touch-screen mirrors sitting idle and after touching both screens to no result, I decided to leave. I can forgive Woking for not having this technology. I bet it's expensive and if shops are already falling, they can't afford to spend cash on something that people may not even buy into. But HMV Brighton? You guys fucking suck.
You have something that could work! You have something that, with a bit of adjustment, could give people a reason to go into your shops to buy single songs! Plug in your iPod, pay 50p to keep it charged, sign into your iTunes account, browse the library, pay for songs you want, download them straight into your iPod, have playlists based on what's actually playing in the store because the dumbass employees have no pissing clue, offer extra points or whatever it is you do, offer discounts for album purchases, charge their iTunes account and let them get on their way without having to waste time at the front desk.
Hell, you could even order CDs from those touch screen systems! Type in personal details and have it fucking delivered, I don't care just have something! All they have is the equivalent of a half painted bedroom and a sleeping dad lying next to a barely assembled crib. You were nearly there and then you fucked up and couldn't be arsed to carry on. Lazy bastards. Whilst I'm angrily ranting, how about this for a way of making buying CDs from HMV less annoying? Ever seen those CDs with "2 for £10" on them? Ever noticed how the CDs picked for those offers usually make no cocking sense? Here's an idea, how about we sort that out?!
Instead of making Greatest Hits albums with 2 discs and up to 30 tracks "2 for £10" and simultaneously ignoring other albums that have 8 songs and are priced £15, how about a system where you can pick two albums and request a price? Maybe one of those touch screen computer systems could calculate how popular they are, how many tracks they have, how long they've been out and how many more albums they have in stock and get you a reasonable offer? If fucking pizza companies can have a "Find me a great deal" option on their website, how is it that a music and media shop can't? Oh yes, that's why, because they're apparently a bunch of Fucking Amateurs.
So that's my piece. I apologise to HMV employees who may find themselves reading this but you've kind of brought it on yourself. As for people in charge of HMV, I offer no apologies. You're clueless, idiotic fucking clowns who deserve to lose your jobs to someone who actually has a fragment of business sense in their head. Luckily HMV have DVDs and games to fall back on but, by the sounds of it, hard copies of those titles will soon be gone in less than a decade...as I imagine HMV will.
Aaaaaaaaand that's it! Expect a review coming within the next month and (hopefully) it'll be more positive than the last three things I've posted here. Be seeing you!
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Monday, 21 October 2013
New Horizon - The Answer
Apologies for the months of silence on here but I've been busy with a few matters regarding my personal life. Nothing serious, just been a bit of a busy period. Right, time for a new post! In order to bring us back into the swing of things, most writers would probably give their readers a treat. A fun review of a popular album, perhaps? Maybe a write-up about some kind of setlist? Naaahhhh, here's a post about an album & band you've probably never heard of.
Before I begin, I should start off by saying that I really like this band. They'd released three top notch albums before this and are easily one of my favourite modern rock bands who were recommended to me by a good friend. Their first album, "Rise", was released in 2006 and had a collection of strong Blues Rock tracks that were heavy enough to match Foo Fighters material, featuring some damn fine guitarwork on tracks such as Never Too Late and Come Follow Me.
Their next album, "Everyday Demons", was released three years later and swayed towards more of a Hard Rock sound. As far as awesome album openers go, Demon Eyes is up there with Aces High and Holy Wars...The Punishment Due, and the album also produced the catchy but kickass single On And On. Finally, The Answer gave us "Revival" in 2011 which should be commended alone for containing One More Revival, a hard rockin' should-be classic that any band would be lucky to release as the last track on a final album.
However, it wasn't their final album...although if "New Horizon" bombs in sales, perhaps it should've been. Despite what the album title and cover (a sort of Prog Rock parody you'd find on a Pink Floyd or Dream Theater case) suggest, this isn't so much a new horizon for the band but rather a collection of mediocre tracks that have been stripped of the fire & energy that these Irish rockers had successfully harnessed for their last three efforts.
The title track, New Horizon, starts off nicely and definitely feels like you're in for another heavy installment from the boys. Credit where due, it does have a foot-stompingly good rhythm from James Heatley on drums, a solid solo from Paul Mahon and raw vocals as strong as the band at their best from Cormac Neeson. So far, so good...but that's all it is. Good. There's nothing that wows me just yet, although we're only on track one and it's not exactly a crime to be less than excellent right off the bat.
Leave With Nothin' gives us a smooth flow from Hard Rock to Hard Funk with a guitar riff reminiscent of toned down Rage Against The Machine filler tracks and a bassline that allows Micky Waters to shine in the spotlight for a bit. Once again, the song is good and I'm sure it'll appease fans of heavy Blues who haven't heard the band's previous albums but I can't say I'd want to listen to it again. Mind you, at the same time, I wouldn't complain if someone played it on a pub jukebox...especially if it replaced the usual contemporary dance crap that inexplicably plagues pub jukeboxes.
Track three is Spectacular. No, that's the name of the song, it's called Spectacular. In reality, it's pretty ordinary. Initial reaction is it sounds like a lost track from the 90's Britpop period re-recorded in the 00's with Joe Perry on guitar having quantum leaped from the late 70's. So basically, it's a mishmash of styles from different decades culminating in this song. Usually taking inspiration from lots of sources is a good thing that creates a work of art as close as possible to something original in this day & age but instead, it appears to have created a song that might be good to listen to when it's on but has little repeat value.
Previous records have produced at least one strong track by this point in the album but so far, I've found the songs to be little more than filler. The next one, Speak Now, continues this trend. It's a nice break from the fast rhythm but borders on the line of dreary with an opening similar to songs by The Cure that time and society forgot with good reason. I get the feeling that all of these songs would be a shitton better if witnessed live at a small gig full of Rock fans, provided there was some kind of Wanker Magnet at the door to stop tossers getting in, although that'd rule out Shepherd's Bush Empire as a venue since the staff wouldn't be allowed entrance.
Somebody Else does a swift job of bringing back the foot-stomping beat and rather than write a more melodic song with precise riffs, the band opted to create a track with more of a Garage Rock edge, similar to tracks by bands such as The Hives. Sadly, whilst it's not a dull track, it certainly doesn't have the same spark other ones have had. All in all, I reckon I could give you a condensed review of this album by saying that the majority of songs, whilst not bad by any means, are certainly nothing more than run-of-the-mill Rock songs but sod it, let's truck on anyway. Who knows, maybe this album will pull a Desolation Boulevard and find its feet halfway through.
Concrete is another heavy rocker that plods along until a nifty change in pace around the two & a half minute mark, reminding me of Velvet Revolver's Slither...in a good way! Perhaps I'm not struck by this album because I feel like most of the material has been done before, only a lot better by other bands. Seven tracks in and Call Yourself A Friend gives us our first atypical track. One that isn't particularly heavy or Bluesy. It starts off as the kind of song that fell off the tracklist for an average Snow Patrol album but halfway through, Cormac starts to unleash his inner Steven Tyler with some more powerful vocals. I'd recommend sticking with this track if only for the upbeat change in tempo at the end.
Despite what the title insinuates, Baby Kill Me isn't The Answer getting all moody whilst channeling Morrissey into their music. It's a standard heavy Blues song that could've easily been written for "Rise". I could imagine this song being played during end credits for a 00's action film that got an average of about 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. As uninteresting as this album may come across, I must admit it'd make a decent driving CD due to the faster paced tracks, each with a serrated edge.
Burn You Down gives us more of the same in the form of foot-stomping meets heavy riffing, ultimately leading up to a tidy solo and a neat ending. Your "good" modern Rock song in all its unfiltered and unaltered glory. The last track on the album isn't any different. No really, it's not. It sounds almost exactly the same. Scream A Louder Love doesn't send the album off with a bang or a sensitive whimper. It just says "Fuck it, and AGAIN!" before giving us a spiritual repeat of the last song. However, since I'm reviewing this album from Spotify, I find myself with three more bonus tracks.
Road Less Travelled rumbles in with another Bluesy rhythm and acts as a great opener for the bonus tracks. Probably the second best of the three, since Feel The Fear sounds like a revised version of Concrete that once again fails to take off. Those ascending triplets are good in small doses boys and, even then, you have to really fuckin' nail the tempo! Finally, Real As It Gets is ironically about as good as the album gets, although it's a decent track for the album to end on if only for the lyrical tease of "and it's not over yet" throughout the chorus.
So time to recap "New Horizon". Let's be honest, it's not their best material. This is their Don't Look Back or Afterburner. If these guys suddenly become huge within the next decade, I doubt it'll be because of this album and even then, it's unlikely many tracks from this collection will still be on the live set by the time the band are reaching the end of their career. Lyrically, this album covers the basics of past efforts. Friendship, romance, travelling, the usual Bluesy topics. However, this album seems to have lost the "Last Of The Old Rockers" vibe that this band had carried around with them for each recording.
You might like some of the tracks so I'd recommend it if you're into modern Hard Rock with a Blues edge (or Heavy Blues with a Hard Rock edge, if you want) but maybe lower your expectations if you're already into The Answer and their music. Not to say they're giving a substandard performance, oh no! They're all on top-form and I definitely don't feel like they've peaked creatively.
Despite what I said at the start of this review, I do have confidence that this band will return with another awesome record but sadly, this one is worth no more than a 5/10 for me. The songs are OK but I think I'll be returning to Under The Sky and other belters before revisiting any of these again.
Right, thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll try to get another post out before the end of the year. Maybe I should set myself a target of 1 post every fortnight or something like that, depending on how much time I get for writing these. If you have any feedback, leave it in the comment section and if you enjoyed reading this, please share. Be seeing you!
Before I begin, I should start off by saying that I really like this band. They'd released three top notch albums before this and are easily one of my favourite modern rock bands who were recommended to me by a good friend. Their first album, "Rise", was released in 2006 and had a collection of strong Blues Rock tracks that were heavy enough to match Foo Fighters material, featuring some damn fine guitarwork on tracks such as Never Too Late and Come Follow Me.
Their next album, "Everyday Demons", was released three years later and swayed towards more of a Hard Rock sound. As far as awesome album openers go, Demon Eyes is up there with Aces High and Holy Wars...The Punishment Due, and the album also produced the catchy but kickass single On And On. Finally, The Answer gave us "Revival" in 2011 which should be commended alone for containing One More Revival, a hard rockin' should-be classic that any band would be lucky to release as the last track on a final album.
However, it wasn't their final album...although if "New Horizon" bombs in sales, perhaps it should've been. Despite what the album title and cover (a sort of Prog Rock parody you'd find on a Pink Floyd or Dream Theater case) suggest, this isn't so much a new horizon for the band but rather a collection of mediocre tracks that have been stripped of the fire & energy that these Irish rockers had successfully harnessed for their last three efforts.
The title track, New Horizon, starts off nicely and definitely feels like you're in for another heavy installment from the boys. Credit where due, it does have a foot-stompingly good rhythm from James Heatley on drums, a solid solo from Paul Mahon and raw vocals as strong as the band at their best from Cormac Neeson. So far, so good...but that's all it is. Good. There's nothing that wows me just yet, although we're only on track one and it's not exactly a crime to be less than excellent right off the bat.
Leave With Nothin' gives us a smooth flow from Hard Rock to Hard Funk with a guitar riff reminiscent of toned down Rage Against The Machine filler tracks and a bassline that allows Micky Waters to shine in the spotlight for a bit. Once again, the song is good and I'm sure it'll appease fans of heavy Blues who haven't heard the band's previous albums but I can't say I'd want to listen to it again. Mind you, at the same time, I wouldn't complain if someone played it on a pub jukebox...especially if it replaced the usual contemporary dance crap that inexplicably plagues pub jukeboxes.
Track three is Spectacular. No, that's the name of the song, it's called Spectacular. In reality, it's pretty ordinary. Initial reaction is it sounds like a lost track from the 90's Britpop period re-recorded in the 00's with Joe Perry on guitar having quantum leaped from the late 70's. So basically, it's a mishmash of styles from different decades culminating in this song. Usually taking inspiration from lots of sources is a good thing that creates a work of art as close as possible to something original in this day & age but instead, it appears to have created a song that might be good to listen to when it's on but has little repeat value.
Previous records have produced at least one strong track by this point in the album but so far, I've found the songs to be little more than filler. The next one, Speak Now, continues this trend. It's a nice break from the fast rhythm but borders on the line of dreary with an opening similar to songs by The Cure that time and society forgot with good reason. I get the feeling that all of these songs would be a shitton better if witnessed live at a small gig full of Rock fans, provided there was some kind of Wanker Magnet at the door to stop tossers getting in, although that'd rule out Shepherd's Bush Empire as a venue since the staff wouldn't be allowed entrance.
Somebody Else does a swift job of bringing back the foot-stomping beat and rather than write a more melodic song with precise riffs, the band opted to create a track with more of a Garage Rock edge, similar to tracks by bands such as The Hives. Sadly, whilst it's not a dull track, it certainly doesn't have the same spark other ones have had. All in all, I reckon I could give you a condensed review of this album by saying that the majority of songs, whilst not bad by any means, are certainly nothing more than run-of-the-mill Rock songs but sod it, let's truck on anyway. Who knows, maybe this album will pull a Desolation Boulevard and find its feet halfway through.
Concrete is another heavy rocker that plods along until a nifty change in pace around the two & a half minute mark, reminding me of Velvet Revolver's Slither...in a good way! Perhaps I'm not struck by this album because I feel like most of the material has been done before, only a lot better by other bands. Seven tracks in and Call Yourself A Friend gives us our first atypical track. One that isn't particularly heavy or Bluesy. It starts off as the kind of song that fell off the tracklist for an average Snow Patrol album but halfway through, Cormac starts to unleash his inner Steven Tyler with some more powerful vocals. I'd recommend sticking with this track if only for the upbeat change in tempo at the end.
Despite what the title insinuates, Baby Kill Me isn't The Answer getting all moody whilst channeling Morrissey into their music. It's a standard heavy Blues song that could've easily been written for "Rise". I could imagine this song being played during end credits for a 00's action film that got an average of about 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. As uninteresting as this album may come across, I must admit it'd make a decent driving CD due to the faster paced tracks, each with a serrated edge.
Burn You Down gives us more of the same in the form of foot-stomping meets heavy riffing, ultimately leading up to a tidy solo and a neat ending. Your "good" modern Rock song in all its unfiltered and unaltered glory. The last track on the album isn't any different. No really, it's not. It sounds almost exactly the same. Scream A Louder Love doesn't send the album off with a bang or a sensitive whimper. It just says "Fuck it, and AGAIN!" before giving us a spiritual repeat of the last song. However, since I'm reviewing this album from Spotify, I find myself with three more bonus tracks.
Road Less Travelled rumbles in with another Bluesy rhythm and acts as a great opener for the bonus tracks. Probably the second best of the three, since Feel The Fear sounds like a revised version of Concrete that once again fails to take off. Those ascending triplets are good in small doses boys and, even then, you have to really fuckin' nail the tempo! Finally, Real As It Gets is ironically about as good as the album gets, although it's a decent track for the album to end on if only for the lyrical tease of "and it's not over yet" throughout the chorus.
So time to recap "New Horizon". Let's be honest, it's not their best material. This is their Don't Look Back or Afterburner. If these guys suddenly become huge within the next decade, I doubt it'll be because of this album and even then, it's unlikely many tracks from this collection will still be on the live set by the time the band are reaching the end of their career. Lyrically, this album covers the basics of past efforts. Friendship, romance, travelling, the usual Bluesy topics. However, this album seems to have lost the "Last Of The Old Rockers" vibe that this band had carried around with them for each recording.
You might like some of the tracks so I'd recommend it if you're into modern Hard Rock with a Blues edge (or Heavy Blues with a Hard Rock edge, if you want) but maybe lower your expectations if you're already into The Answer and their music. Not to say they're giving a substandard performance, oh no! They're all on top-form and I definitely don't feel like they've peaked creatively.
Despite what I said at the start of this review, I do have confidence that this band will return with another awesome record but sadly, this one is worth no more than a 5/10 for me. The songs are OK but I think I'll be returning to Under The Sky and other belters before revisiting any of these again.
Right, thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll try to get another post out before the end of the year. Maybe I should set myself a target of 1 post every fortnight or something like that, depending on how much time I get for writing these. If you have any feedback, leave it in the comment section and if you enjoyed reading this, please share. Be seeing you!
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