Listening Room Forum: 2007

Jesse Sanchez60 said:Yeah, including Willie The Pimp in there—but honestly, Echoes is just a disaster...
True, they drag things out way too much on this album. They lost that specific vibe that made Radiohead feel so magical right up until Down... it all feels kind of hollow now, even if there are a few good moments scattered in there...

I still think Echoes is their best 😳

And Radiohead stayed magical even after Down 😳

future of the left // Curses, Too Pure, 2007



mclusky, jarcrew, noisy rock, distorted bass, angry vocals, roland juno-60,

I won't bore you guys too much about mclusky, I guess... 😈
Basically, after that powerhouse trio from Wales split up, everyone who loved them was just sitting around wondering what would happen to Falko—how he’d move forward and who he’d team up with. Chapple went a bit faster, actually; his group Shooting at Unarmed Men (where he handled guitar and vocals) quickly put out a mini album soon there will be (2005) and then a full-blown album yes! tinnitus! (2006), but unfortunately, those results didn't quite hit the same heights as the old radio days with Falko... shortly after Tinnitus, Chapple basically walked away from the crew and moved to Australia, where word is he's forming a new band under the same name to keep things going...
So we were all just waiting on Falko, who decided to keep moving with Jack (the drummer from Meklaski on the second and third albums), while the bass slot went to Kelson Louis Tregurtha Mathias from Jarcrew... earlier this year they dropped a solid single fingers become thumbs, which wasn't quite on the level of the previous outfit, even though it had that great Lord Hates a Coward vibe, which eventually paved the way for a full album called curses ...
And the result was this:
Even though (in my opinion, sadly) the future of the left didn't continue experimenting in the direction mclusky headed with the difference between.., opting instead for a blend of sounds from the first two mclusky records (meaning simpler, more minimalist, yet still heavy constructions), all the right ingredients are there. Even the new bassist often "steps into" the songs with his vocals, much like Chapple used to do... despite the simplicity, similar to a mclusky album, this one doesn't necessarily grab you instantly, but after a few listens, you can see it's a really solid collection without too much filler, and they absolutely crush the already well-known the lord hates a coward. Plus, thanks to the synths and that classic Meklaski melodicism, I think the biggest hits are manchasm and the brilliant suddenly it's a folk song. It's interesting, though—the future of the left works best on this album when Falko puts down the guitar and leans into that old analog Roland 👋. Still, even with the lack of guitar on several tracks, the sound stays very close to those first two albums; you've got the standard distorted bass, powerful drums, and it's honestly hard to even notice the guitar is missing 😬
The end result is that this new Meklaski incarnation drifts quite a bit into the territory of Les Savy Fav, so anyone who's been loving Les Savy Fav this year should definitely give this album a listen if they haven't already...
And finally, I have to mention that this album probably has the best "closer" of the year in the beautiful Contrarian, where Falko sings softly while playing the keys 😍... if I have to nitpick, I'd say the future of the left misses the mark slightly when it comes to the lyrics, if you're comparing them to the Meklaski era...

Overall, it's one of the better albums of the year as far as I'm concerned, and if the future of the left follows the same upward trajectory in quality that mclusky did with their releases, they have a real shot at being mentioned one day as a band just as talented as the genius, irreplaceable Meklaski 😬

edit: I can't seem to dig up who produced this, though it sounds very Albini-esque 😳

future of the left rula 😍

The lighter stuff—just like with Meklaski—isn't really my thing, and I still don't see the appeal. 😬

The rest are all great, though. 🙏 Manchasm is definitely the standout hit 👋
my favorite is Small bones Small bodies 😍, although I think the version on Myspace was better since it had that intro. Doesn't matter much, though—it's killer. 🙂

The band is honestly just like Meklaski. There's no real difference, and they're just as good in my book.
Falko is the best. 😍

Radiohead : In Rainbows, Radiohead, 2007



just Radiohead, man 🤷

They aren't even with EMI anymore—it's a self-release. They've been working on this since 2005, I guess. You can grab the digital version or a physical copy online, like here. There will be standard CDs too, but whatever, blah blah blah 🙂
Maybe just Google the specifics... I'm mostly just here to mope and be emo, which is why I'm posting. Plus, I love this thread. Did I mention that already? 🤔

They went and made another damn good album. It’s honestly stellar from start to finish, though you might need to sit with it for a bit before it really hits, like most of their stuff. After Hail to the Thief, Yorke mentioned they wanted to head toward something more like Gloaming (day should be ringing, day should be ringing 😵), and I suppose that's exactly what happened.
The vibe still feels connected to the path they started with Kid A, though to me, it feels more like OK Computer—not necessarily musically, but just in that specific atmosphere. It’s sad, light, and sort of devastating. And beautiful. No one can pull off being that wonderfully, brutally depressed quite like Thomek. Then again, it’s not surprising when he looks like a frog with hair gel in his brain (shoutout to Markan 🙏)

Song favorites: All I Need, just a soft, lovely little romantic thing. I melt.

Reckoner, which reminds me a lot—again, just that atmosphere—of Climbing Up the Walls. But it’s lighter and less creepy. Maybe even better.

And Videotape. 🙂 I really, really love Radiohead. They aren't just an "album band" to me; it's hard to pick because I love so many of their songs, but I think this might actually be my favorite thing they've done. It's pure heartache—that lump in your throat feeling—where once you play it, you have to keep it on repeat. It's the last track, and it's basically Motion Picture Soundtrack levels of grief and beauty. Listening to this reminds me why I love music so much.

five stars. 😍

Tomorrow I'll probably listen to some metal

Here are two more for the happy campers:

1. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends



It’s got this great, playful punk energy to it. Honestly, it feels like it's been forever since they dropped a real album, and just when people were starting to write them off... boom. It's packed with hits. Mate, what are you waiting for? There are plenty of us here who were way too young to catch them back in the day!!!

2. Stereo Total - Paris Berlin Rockabilly



A mix of rockabilly, punk, disco, French chanson, and electronica. Just two people having a blast. It doesn't actually have anything to do with Stereolaba, even if the name might remind someone of them (French vibes, 60s influence plus electronics). The best track is 'Patty Hearst'.😁

🙂

gentlepuma20 said:Tomorrow I'm gonna listen to metall

you're better off 🙄

😍 🙂

P. S. 🙂look at this guy above, just stopping in his tracks, taking a second to reflect, and then immediately dropping some random topic on us like it's nothing.

redgull44 said:1. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends

I was just listening to them—honestly, it’s kind of beautiful, I guess... 😍
Such a monster of a band 🙏 🙏 🙏

quoting this

redgull44 said:...Matt, what are you waiting for? There's plenty of us who were way too small back in the day!!!...

Maybe I just got lost in that massive forest of text up there.

enon 🙂 :kray: 🙂