REVIEWED: Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter



There is an electric coffee stirrer kept somewhere in a hidden crook of my mind in which I can't quite get my logic around it. Wait, no, hang on a minute. I don't think it's really a coffee stirrer as how the label on the packaging says. What it really is I believe is a diabolical weapon capable of molesting hundreds of underage school girls while destroying youthful ideals of MyVi-driving, futsal-playing douchebags. Some sinister weapon indeed. From what I generally understood of what was printed on the packaging label is that it is a battery-powered hand-held cappuccino maker. You know, if you like your coffee to be quite strong yet creamy and has lots of froth like it's in a rabies-induced fits, then this is the perfect tool for you. So in other words, it is absolutely worthless - but somehow I have one. As a result, I never used it and now it is sitting somewhere, gathering dust.

So, in the interest of the header for this entry, where I am supposed to do a review of Deerhunter's new album, and as usual my almost fetish like love of using everyday things as an analogy, I can report that Halcyon Digest is absolutely nothing like that diabolical weapon. Confused a little bit? Allow me to explain.

The band's last full-length studio album, Microcastle, is a polished and refined product, accentuating on the band's major strength (in creating mesmerizing beauty mired amidst a haze of fuzzy distortion noise). It's a carefully crafted album despite most of the time containing only droning noise that comes in no particular shape or form. It was a major leap forward for the band in terms of delivery and dexterity. Thus, it came as a real surprise when I found out that their new album was almost nothing like all their previous efforts.

For starter, there is this air of clarity hanging about the album - it doesn't sound fuzzed. It no longer shimmers through a blanket of thick fog; everything is as clear as a sunny Sunday afternoon. And when I said sunny Sunday afternoon, this album feels dreamy, probably a bit drowsy, but one that you don't complain about. It's a quality that Deerhunter has successfully retained from all their previous efforts but yet at the same time doesn't sound all that too familiar. It's like meeting an old friend - now fatter, has six children and receding hairline, but the warmth and friendliness is still there.

The album skips gingerly through the opener "Earthquake" before it shudders you to wake with "Don't Cry". I am mentioning the two track because I believe the title should have gone the other way around, if it were to explain the feel of the track, of how the song sounds like. But just when it is starting to sound all too familiar once again, the haze quickly dissipate and disappear entirely with "Revival". It has a hint of Spoon-ish giggly excitement to it, something which is entirely unfamiliar for this peddler of noise rock.

I am tempted to even call this (among) the most intelligent album of the year for one very specific reason - it doesn't allow the band to regress into foolishly repeating itself. There are a number of moments where it does remind listeners to the good old days, like for example "Desire Lines", but because it was sandwiched in between moments of genuine clarity and clearheadedness, it doesn't sound like a continuation of the same story, rather a shift to a new chapter of the same book.

So, once again, how is the album nothing like the coffee stirrer you ask? Exactly - it is absolutely nothing like it in which I can't actually relate between the two to make it as an analogy.

REVIEWED: Option Paralysis by The Dillinger Escape Plan



If there is one thing that I would like to complain about, for the moment, it is going to be about the cafeteria at my office. Starting from August this year, a new operator had taken over the running of the cafeteria at the college, and as such, anticipation was quite high among all lecturers because we figured it is about time we get to eat delicious (and should I add quality) food. The previous operator was pretty decent, but because (I suspect) they had ran out of ideas of what else to serve, the last four to five months of their tenure at the cafe was an excruciating exercise in serving basically almost the same thing everyday. Safe, yes, but pretty bland. Thus when the new operator came in, our expectation was understandably (hopefully) high. For the first three to four weeks, their food was excellent. All the dishes look inviting, they all tastes amazing - it's all very exciting. Come October though, something drastic happened. All the fantastic dishes that they used to serve pre-October is there, but the excitement is no longer there. They still serve the same food, but what makes the October food not as good (or any good) as those served pre-October is the difference in taste - or the lack of it.

Now, why the Hell am I on about the cafe food at the college is because I would like to use it as an anagram to describe what I think and felt about Dillinger Escape Plan's latest offering, Option Paralysis. To review the band's fourth full-length studio album, I have to compare it with their previous album, Ire Works. Ire Works for me is like the cafe's pre-October food - they are genuinely amazing. You feel excited and giggle like a small child in unbridled joy; you marvel at its' amazing quality; you secretly believed that the future is shining brightly like the sun over Sahara for them - you wanted the future to be even better with them. When the third album was released, I felt all the fore-mentioned emotion because it was such a huge leap for the band musically. Before that album, they are just another band in the shout-whatever-the-Hell-you-want-nobody-gives-a-fuck-as-long-as-it-sounds-awesomely-ear-shredding music movement; or the one that I like to call it as the 'awesomely pointless' music. With Ire Works, the band had taken a long, hard look at sounds, pauses, breaks, beats, loops, samplings, and most importantly, melody - and not just odd time signature and killer riffs. For once, Dillinger Escape Plan sounded like they had actually carefully planned and diligently crafted the album so that the whole package feels solid, and wholesome. It doesn't sound like a car that has been chopped to pieces and held back together again using gaffer tapes. The album feels complete, sounds complete, and for once actually makes complete sense.

Which then brings us to their follow-up, the fourth album. This new one is like the October food at the cafe. Some of the ingredients that makes up pre-October food is still there, used to a good effect, but it feels half-hearted, it tastes half-cooked, and it looks like a half-witted buffoon. The opening track, and probably incidentally, their first single off the album, "Farewell, Mona Lisa" sounds convincing enough to make you believe that it was a continuation of the great third album. However, you are only going to be fooled for five and a bit minutes when the song ended because by the time you hit "Good Neighbor", the second track, all Hell suddenly breaks lose. There are no more clarity in their effort, no focal sense of direction, no feel for the art that they have so successfully created before. It doesn't thrill you, or amaze you, or left you giggling in awe. It feels like as if the band decided "ah fuck it, to Hell with it" with this album.

There are a number of good moments like for instance "Chinese Whispers" (which I strongly believe is the only stand-out track) but they come very rarely and very far between. Please do not get me wrong - it is not an entirely rotten album either. It is a good effort, but on its own. Put it in perspective with Ire Works and suddenly this album sounds like they had just demolished the Louvre, then glued all the pieces together using paper glue, using the logic of Wacky Tunes. It's rubbish.

REVIEWED: Diamond Eyes by Deftones



It was a quiet night - disturbed only once in a while by the sound of people chattering from afar. I was ready to settle in for the night with Salleh Ben Joned in hand. But right before I dive in into the ocean of His Sullied Greatness literary outpour, I popped in a CD into the CD player. Ten seconds in and I was greeted by a sudden jerking noise: welcome ladies and gentleman to Diamond Eyes, Deftones' sixth studio release, and for history purpose, the one which Chi Cheng is sorely missed.

The one thing that everyone (and I mean everyone who has not yet listened to the album) should be aware of is the fact that this album was not written in the aftermath of their bassists car accident. Many are already aware of the story of the making of this album: planned and worked on EROS, slated for a 2008 release, when suddenly a tragedy befalls on one of the group member; the band felt it is not 'okay' to continue working on it with one member missing; ditched the whole thing and quite literally, began on a whole new project with a supporting bassist in tow, and voila, Diamond Eyes. Judging from that story, one has the tendency to think and feel as if this album was written in remembrance of that event. You would think that this album was written somewhat to be like a tribute to Chi. Well I have to admit that feeling is quite strong and hard to be ignored.

I'm not the kind of person who is very big on emotions (I am well known for my poker face - not that I play poker anyway) but I can sense that in times like that, people has the tendency to go soft and mushy (or insecure) in their retrospective. We become introvert - everything then was viewed from inside out, not the usual other way around. Suddenly, everything, even the tiniest and littlest of details become hugely significant and meaningful and deep. And not to bang on other people but at times, deep stuff are amazing stuff. But because of the image of 'cool muse' is always associated with being deep, many people start to develop a false sense of deepness. They are all broody, and gloomy, and philosophical, and technical, thinking that they are getting away with being a 'cool muse' just by pretending to be deep.

One of the most annoying aspect of these deep pretenders is their inclination to talk about themselves. Their emotions, their desires, their pain, their anger, their happiness, their sadness... thank God they did not delve on their Freudian psyche as well. And that brings us to the strongest point about this album - it doesn't try to be deep and psychological about the whole event. What greeted listeners instead was full of expression of space, and colours, and shapes. They are all visual images. And it all comes together not as an explanation of a visual imagery of what Chino Moreno had in his mind but instead he invites the listener to explore the whole expanse of his psyche. What you will find here is not expression of guilt, and anguish, and despair, and hopelessness; no. What you'll find here instead is hope, and rejoice, and elation. Chino doesn't whine and gripe and moan and mope his way around, but he is just being at complete ease with himself. It's like he's accepting his fate in life and just carry on with it like it's not a problem at all.

There are traces of Around the Fur and White Pony moment in this album, like for instance the second track "Royal". It's a savage attack from the jump, proceeded by two tracks with unnerving energy, "CMND/CTRL" and "You've Seen the Butcher", which made the whole journey a bit more nice as it greets "Beauty School". It's a really beautiful song this - the chorus soars like a newborn bird that is about to take on its maiden flight, greeted by the warm sunlight, streaking from a cloud. And to complement the whole experience, the closer "This Place is Death" is where the baby bird is already afloat in the air as it explores the world from above. Really, this album is not for emo/screamo/goth kids looking for their next emotional trash outpour fodder. This album is for people who are looking for hope and the beauty in life. This album is more suited to Sir Thomas Malory's fan rather than fans of Edgar Allan Poe.

The last album by Deftones that I really liked was White Pony, the album that perfectly encapsulates the whole passive aggressive notion. Their subsequent two albums, the self-titled one and Saturday Night Wrist, though a commendable effort on their own, falls short of being purposeful or having any focal direction. Diamond Eyes on the other hand feels pretty much like Arcade Fire's debut - it is focused, it knows its motivation, and it exists itself to be purposeful. In other word: it's effing brilliant.

LISTED: 5 Great Albums That Feature a Bird On Its' Cover

In celebrating the release of the brilliant Deftones new album, in which the cover featured an owl, I thought I'd have a stab at compiling some of the greatest album released in this part of century in which the album cover takes on quite similar a theme: birds.


5. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Released: 20 March 2007 on Fat Possum
Bird of Choice: A parakeet

No, the name is not really a dead giveaway because in his last outing (the also brilliant Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Egg), the album featured uh... something. An animal, is all I can conclude. On this one with a parakeet on the cover (though), it's a much tighter affair compared to the last album with a more diverse musical direction taken. It's a lot more electrical too, and that's a good thing.






4. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
Released: 16 March 2004 on Sounds Familyre
Bird of Choice: A swan

"A swan is a swan - it's not a bird" a colleague argued with me. Fine - but that actually sets a really nice tone for the review of this album by the poster boy of the New Weird America movement. It's not what you call delightful, although the songs all sounds delightful; it's not really lighthearted either, although it is very lighthearted. Sufjan Stevens might be rambling on about something, but it doesn't sound intelligible either. One might be tempted to label this album under folk, but this is nothing like it. It is its own type - it is its own species. It is not folk, just sounds folk-ish.


3. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
Released: 7 October 2003 on Barsuk
Bird of Choice: A crow

It's an intimately gorgeous and breathtakingly romantic album this. It's like finding new confidence after years of solitude heartbreak - it sounds purposeful. Which kind of makes the cover art a little baffling somewhat. It doesn't project the hope and rejoice that the album contains within when one takes it for a spin.









2. Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
Released: 22 September 2008 on Wall of Sound
Bird of Choice: An eagle

Many critics opined in 2006 when Mogwai released Mr. Beast that it is their most rocking album to date. Sure, tracks like "Glasgow Mega-Snake" and "We're Not Here" are full-on rocker make no mistake. But the band's interest in metal is no more obvious than this 2008 release. It rocks harder, and sounds more immediate. And "Batcat" sounds like it came straight out of Hell.







1. Deftones - Diamond Eyes
Released: 4 May 2010 on Reprise
Bird of Choice: An owl

Where should I start about the brilliance of this album... I honestly think that this album is pretty much like Arcade Fire's debut - it has this sense of purpose. It was written for an occasion. It was written for the celebration of that occasion. It's not entirely self-aware of its own existence; it's not entirely self-aware of its' own lack of self-awareness. It just happens. Everything just falls into its' place. It feels complete, authentic, earnest. It's a very assuring album. It will make you feel at ease with it, and that's rare to get in an album. Definitely a 2010 highlight.