Hans Zimmer - Inception: Music From The Motion Picture

Hans Zimmer - Inception: Music From The Motion Picture
2010, Warner Bros. Records

Hans Zimmer has written scores for some of the biggest films to come out of Hollywood in the last two decades. His Academy Award (8 nominations), two Golden Globe Awards (8 nominations) and three GRAMMY Awards (9 nominations) are a testament to Zimmer's unique ability to marry his creative craft to the theatrical visions of a wide range of film projects and directors. Zimmer's latest project (one of three scheduled for 2010) is the new Christopher Nolan Film, Inception. The soundtrack drops on July 13, 2010 with the film to follow three days later.

Zimmer immersed himself heavily in the digital world for Inception, a film about a shared virtual reality created for mankind to interact in (ala The Matrix) where the most coveted possessions are thoughts and ideas. The choice to go nearly all digital is thematically sound, but backfires a bit on Zimmer and on the film. The music from Inception is imbued with all of the drama and tension that Zimmer can muster from a computer, but the highs, lows and contrast just aren't the same as they might be with a real live orchestra. Guitarist Johnny Marr (The Smiths, Modest Mouse) sits in on eight tracks on the album, adding a distinctive tone to Zimmer's creation, but the creative dynamics long time listeners have come to expect from Zimmer never fully realize themselves here.

Zimmer sets appropriate moods throughout, weather with the rueful and weary tone of "We Built Our Own World", the ominous Hitchcock-flavored "Dream Is Collapsing" or the misty distant feel of "Old Souls". "Mombasa" is a rhythmic highlight, breaking out of the sonic mode of the album but falling into a repetitive trance that's disappointing. Zimmer begins to build toward a conclusion with "Dream Within A Dream", a powerful suspense-builder that is less than it might be based on the limitations of the electronic spectrum Zimmer works in. "Waiting For The Train", at nine and a half minutes should be the centerpiece of the album, and does contain a number of dramatic highs and lows but lacks the compelling edge that both Zimmer's talent and the premise of the film would seem to dictate. "Paradox", however, shows Zimmer near the top of his game, full of suspense and intensity that would translate even better from strings and bows than it does from electrical impulses. The album nearly fades away with "Time", which sounds almost incomplete with its near-sudden ending.

Hans Zimmer delivers with the score of Inception, offering up a musical guide to Nolan's film that is solid but mostly uninspiring. Even the best pitchers throw hanging curves once in a while, but we won't know whether this one just got away from Zimmer or whether the film it's tied to failed to inspire until Inception hits theaters later this month. What's clear is that even Zimmer's lesser works are startlingly good, and Inception is; it's just not up there with his best.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Hans Zimmer at http://www.hanszimmer.com/ or www.myspace.com/hanszimmermusic. Learn more about Inception at inceptionmovie.warnerbros.com. Inception: Music From The Motion Picture drops on July 13, 2010. You can pre-order the CD from Amazon, or the the digital release from iTunes.

Review: Buckfast Superbee - Turn Of The Radio Age

Buckfast Superbee - Turn Of The Radio Age
2008, Walking Records

San Diego favorites Buckfast Superbee are coming for your hearts and minds on their sophomore CD, Turn Of The Radio Age. Their 2006 self-titled debut made a name for Buckfast Superbee, with song placements in Midway's MLB Slugfest (XBox & Playstation) as well as in the movie Heroes For A Day. Their debut rose to #2 on college radio charts, keeping pace with releases from the likes of Green Day and Modest Mouse. On Turn Of The Radio Age, Buckfast Superbee maintains the hard edge rock feel and delicious hooks that have made them the darlings of the aggregate SoCal Rock N Roll scene.

Turn Of The Radio Age opens with the title track, a brief prologue that mixes bleakness with beauty before crashing through into The Heavy Persuader, a driving modern rock anthem built on great hooks and a highly infectious melody. Denigration As An Art takes the three minute Pop/Punk song and raises it to the same lofty heights. Vocalist Timothy Joseph leaves it all on the CD in a song that soars and careens right into its closing notes. Buckfast Superbee takes on an almost 1980's aesthetic in Proficiency Breeds Modernization. The melody and arrangement ring true in a song about the downside (or downsize) of progress.

Gibralter examines the art of selling out, where an artists music becomes more about the meal ticket than the muse. Tilt-O-Whirl is a tremendous, high energy rocker consumed with the dichotomy of being a working/traveling musician and having a personal life. Buckfast Superbee is super tight here as always, and the song takes on a life of its own. Buckfast Superbee goes into something of a slumber in the middle of Turn Of The Radio Age before turning the lights on again with Spirit Of The Underachiever, a virulently melodic Punk rocker that will rattle around inside your brain for days. The album closes out with Pitch Vs. Rotation, starting out as a high repressed arrangement before blooming into big minor triad harmonies built over a plodding melody line. Pitch Vs. Rotation contrasts well as a slower song compared to tunes such as Automatic, By The Way Of The Valley and SPF 638.

Buckfast Superbee shines on the harder-edge; Punker tunes on Turn Of The Radio Age, and falters a bit on the slow material (with the exception of Pitch Vs. Rotation). Buckfast Superbee is ready for prime time as a Rock band, but it would be nice to hear them bring the energy that drives them through the faster and harder material into the down-tempo material. Buckfast Superbee will succeed as they are, but if they can make that transition no one will stop them.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Buckfast Superbee at http://www.buckfastsuperbee.com/ or www.myspace.com/buckfastsuperbee. You can purchase Turn Of The Radio Age as either a CD or download at www.cdbaby.com/cd/buckfastsuperbee2.

Review: A Scribe Amidst The Lions - Sunken Cities

A Scribe Amidst The Lions - Sunken Cities
2008, Tubwater Music

San Diego’s A Scribe Admist The Lions takes Alternative Rock down harrowing and reward paths on Sunken Cities, their second album. Nominated for a 2008 San Diego Music Award as best alternative album; Sunken Cities explores the depths of experimental rock in occasionally discomfiting and generally rewarding dioramas of sound. Don’t expect to listen passively; you won’t get it unless you stay involved.

Sunken Cities opens with The Depth Commencing, a brief instrumental appetizer that leads into the explosive chaos of The Equator Swallowed The Boys. Imagine elements of Classic Rock and Melodic, Post-Punk Modern Rock wrapped into a highly compact yet ranging Rock N Roll experience and you'll get an idea of where A Scribe Admist The Lions starts out. Elements of Grunge come into play on Scripted Daydreams, which has a monotonous and less-than-elegant temperament. The vocal line reaches stratospheric heights in this song with notes that are pure imagination for most singers. A Scribe Amidst The Lions takes turns both Progressive and Psychedelic on songs like Wet Bird, Marble Czar and Light Sinks The Moon, balancing right on the edge of musical madness for much of the middle of the album. No Peace Found In Pieces continues the somewhat psychedelic aspect, but maintains a bit more constructive approach. After several listens I'd have to say that A Scribe Admist The Lions remind me most of Canadian rockers The Rheostatics but with less of a tendency to seek out the occasional bit of Pop sensibility. You'll want to make sure you seek out The Drift and Metropolyptika as well.

A Scribe Amidst The Lions is what you might call an acquired taste. Dark, urban soundscapes populated with psychedelic bordering on psychotic moments is the order of the day on Sunken Cities. This is an album that challenges the listener to dig deeper and find your own treasures. On balance, I can't say that I entirely enjoyed it, but Sunken Cities was an interesting experience. There are folks out there for whom this will click, starting with fans of The Rheostatics.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about A Scribe Amidst The Lions at http://www.ascribeamidstthelions.com/ or www.myspace.com/ascribeamidstthelions. You can purchase a copy of Sunken City at www.cdbaby.com/cd/asatl2, or you can download the album from iTunes.

Review: This Will Destroy You/Lymbyc System - Field Studies (Split EP)

This Will Destroy You/Lymbyc System - Field Studies (Split CD/LP)

2009, Magic Bullet Records

Magic Bullet Records offers up a split LP from This Will Destroy You & Lymbyc System entitled Field Studies, produced by John Congleton (Modest Mouse, Explosions In The Sky, Black Mountain). This dynamic five song collection (2 from TWDY, 3 from Lymbyc System) runs the gamut from over the top rock to distinctive melodic studies. Field Studies has its roots in a 2007 tour that brought the two bands together and seeks to cross-pollinate a following between fans of the two bands.

Field Studies opens with This Will Destroy You on Brutalism & The Worship Of The Machine, a virtual wall of sound comprised of ambient textures built from synthesizer and percussion. Clocking in right around eleven minutes, this composition has the feel of movie background music. There's not a great deal of development; no melody to speak of, but there is expansion and contraction in the sound and layering that suggests movement if not plot/melody. Freedom Blade takes a bit more traditional approach with a halting melody built on thematic chord progressions and poly- or even arrhythmic percussion lines that are almost atmospheric.

Lymbyc System takes over for the final three tracks, opening with Processed Spirits. Processed Spirits mixes jazz and light R&B elements in a tapestry of metamorphosing percussion, synthesizer and guitar. There is a melodic progression here that subtly borders on an Arena Rock theme until Lymbyc system throws subtlety aside and breaks into Rock N Roll at about the three minute mark. Notations uses polyrhythmic percussion schemes and peripheral suggestions of melody in strings and brass to punctuate a regression of synth chords that suggests decay and rebirth or a cyclic process. The overall result is quite a pleasant listen but does become repetitive. Lymbyc System closes out with Narita and a melody line that sounds like it's supplied by a 1980's era Casio Keyboard. The percussion here suggests a protracted dance beat juxtaposed against a lyric background and kinetic fills and effects from synth. The end effect is almost like a musical fireworks display from a distance; the sparkles and explosions of sound are muted but pretty nonetheless.

Field Studies is an interesting mix of styles. This Will Destroy You brings a largely ambient sound that relies more on changes in texture and density to bring their musical message, while Lymbyc System dances on the edge of traditional composition with highly stylized yet mellow synth-based recordings. The net effect is a highly enjoyable listen, although I will say that I would be more inspired to go out and buy a recording from Lymbyc System than This Will Destroy You. It's definitely worth spending a little time on your Field Studies.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about This Will Destroy You at http://www.thiswilldestroyyou.com/. You can learn more about Lymbyc System at http://www.lymbycsystem.com/. You can purchase a copy of Field Studies from Amazon.com, or you can download the album from iTunes.

Review: The Apostrophe S - No Nature In Space (demo)

The Apostrophe S – No Nature In Space (Demo)
2008, Prisms And Chisels Inc.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania’s mix a post-punk approach with a new wave melodic sound and just a touch of psychedelia to create a sound that sounds a bit like a lot of people and exactly like no one I know. Influences include Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Weezer, The Pixies and The Cars. No Nature In Space is the band’s first full-length demo, mixing high energy with Lo-Fi antics. Let’s check it out.

Garage rock. Lo-Fi. Call it what you want, but there's a certain attraction to the raw form of Rock N Roll that is practiced by bands everywhere on their way to finding a sound. Some bands manage to stay within that sound and carve out their own niche, or a hybrid between Garage and something else. The rest of the bands that stay in the garage range never quite find the right mix of sound and style to declare themselves. The Apostrophe S is a band that is searching for that sound and style. There is an almost ambivalent feel that comes from their demo, No Nature In Space, as if there are strong desires for different directions in the band. The first breakthrough comes on Skeletons, the 6th track. Skeletons mixes a reggae sound with that lo-fi mystique behind one of the better vocal performances on the album. There is life and energy to the song that has been somewhat muted on the first five tracks. Ode To The Sea goes for a minimalist ballad that relies on subtle progressions and an almost ethereal air that reminds me a bit of The Rheostatics. Other songs of interest are Until I Find You, 423 and Untitled.
Assuming the mix of songs is somewhat progressive for time, it sounds like The Apostrophe S is searching successfully for their sound. I am not sure that they've found it yet, but it sounds like they've got a couple of possible directions that at least sound promising. Right now this is a good bar band, but perhaps not one you'd invite to a party, as there is a bit of a melancholy feel to a lot of their songs.

Rating: 2.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about The Apostrophe S at www.myspace.com/diamondvan.