It Pulses Through Us All

…reviewed any albums for a while. But I have at least three that I WILL do before friday night comes to an end. For all none of you that care (PS. if you do care, let me know yeah? It’s not an ego thing, I’d just love to know who reads them or who enjoys my little reviews etc etc and so on and so fort. Yes, fort).

I shall blame being tired. But the real reason is that I am lazy. Amazingly lazy, in fact. I’m lazier than Bruno Mars on a lazy day. POP CULTURE REFERENCE FOR THE WIN. Although its validity is somewhat diminished by my declaring it in such a way… but fuck off, I’m proud. That was a spontaneous thought. OUT OF THIN AIR.

BTW (acronymn useage to appear less formal) if you’re in a band, know a band, have a band, rape a band, band a band, or anything along those lines, POINT ME IN THEIR DIRECTION. I wanna promote shit and shit like that. Shit.

And OMG (acronym used for shits and giggles) if you read this whole thing you are ridiculous and awesome at the same time.

RIDICULUM. AWESOMICULOUS. TAKE YOUR PICK.

And that’s me done typing for the day. There are 320 of you. I expect a very small number of you to react to this post (Considering about 95% of you are here because I posted a picture of some Bon Iver lyrics and expected much more along the same lines rather than all this useless, pointless bullshit with not nearly as much emotional and beautiful poignancy as wor Justin’s lyrics).

Thanks,

He who doth wear a brown hat (very rarely, these days). x

…is incredible.

(Yes, I’m a pirate. Yes, I will be buying it when it is released. No, I regret nothing).

I’ll definitely be writing up my thoughts on it in-depth once I’ve had a bit more time with it. Overall - much more busy musically and a little more optimistic.

New City and Colour album,

New Bon Iver album,

3DS Update,

Seeing Charlie Simpson live.

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT SON.

For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver

http://brownhatter.tumblr.com/post/5304939137/for-emma-forever-ago-by-bon-iver-album-review

Bring me Your Love by City and Colour

http://brownhatter.tumblr.com/post/5220494754/bring-me-your-love-by-city-and-colour-album-review

When We Were Lions by Charlie Simpson

http://brownhatter.tumblr.com/post/5161512502/when-we-were-lions-ep-by-charlie-simpson

The album sounds raw, the recording quality isn’t perfect - but that just enhances the simple beauty of For Emma, Forever Ago. Justin Vernon’s vocals echo and haunt every track and every lyric seems to be bled directly from the heart. The tale of the albums creation is a bittersweet one - Vernon hid himself away from the world with a broken heart from various events in his life and created this music - and the care and attention taken to create each track really shows. The real appeal of this album is just how bare it is - there’s not often much more than a simple beat, some harmonic vocals and an acoustic guitar lying between the listener and Vernon’s true emotions.

For an album that’ll really speak to you, pick up For Emma, Forever Ago.

Charlie Simpson is a man who has seen the world from the top of the charts with a heavy heart, seen the world from the rock charts with a happy heart, and now he’s about to embark on his third musical adventure with his solo efforts. ‘When We Were Lions’ is an EP the Suffolk-born rockstar created and sold to his fans through Pledge Music.

The title track ‘When We Were Lions’ starts things off and it’s a song which sets the tone for the rest of the EP perfectly with its poignant, delicate lyrics and heartbeat drums. Goosebumps are sure to rise as Charlie’s vocals bleed through the atmospheric piano, and the pre-chorus features a line which will stay with you forever, “It pulses through us all; we say that love’s enough but it can’t save me now, yet I’ll keep holding on”.

The theme of the past and of loss and growing older continues in a much lighter tone in “If I Hide, Will You Come Looking” as the bouncy tone takes the listener back to childhood. The harmonies are excellent here, and there’s a sweet simplicity to the whole track. “The Farmer & His Gun” Takes us further still from the melanholy tones of track one with a simple, country vibe. Toes will tap and it’s a relief that Charlie throws in a more upbeat track to break up the overall feel to the EP, thus making it feel more rounded and full.

“Bullet” starts to darken the tone once more with a relent bass drum beat and brooding vocals. Some nice string arrangments flow throughout and though this isn’t the best song on the EP, it’s certainly worth a listen for that big, emotional climax.

Finally, “Lost” closes out the EP and really steals the show. A gentle and thoughtful verse is torn into by a huge chorus filled with pounding drums and fantastic vocal work. The second chorus is even bigger, and the whole song really speaks to the listener on an emotional level thanks to the terrific musical prowess of Simpson.

Charlie is releasing his full-length album, ‘Young Pilgrim’, sometime this Summer and if it’s anything like ‘We Were Like Lions’, it’ll be a must buy. The first single can be purchased now, and a free mini-EP can be downloaded for free at his site, www.charliesimpsonmusic.com, as well as updates on the album. You can also see the video for ‘Down Down Down’ HERE.

Glen