Thrice and Saves the Day

I figured I may as well stick my reviews up here. You can check out older ones here.

Thrice - The Alchemy Index: Vol I & II

The Alchemy Index is a four-disc concept album, with each disc representing Fire, Water, Earth or Air. There are only six tracks on each disc, but the album is being released in two sets, each containing two of the volumes. The first set, containing Fire and Water was released in October 2007, while the second set will be released in April 2008. The band members have said that Fire will be the most familiar to fans of the band. It is certainly a lot heavier than Water, and certainly an epic collection of songs. Water is far more ambient, featuring calmer tracks that are quiet and more melodic. The first collection is certainly a must for anyone who is a fan of band, and well worth buying if you’re looking for an introduction to Thrice. While the songs may not be catchy, radio-friendly tunes, they have been constructed with great skill and are definitely worth checking out.

Saves the Day - Under the Boards

Under the Boards struck me as being quite a melancholy record. There are poppier moments, such as the tracks Radio and Can’t Stay the Same, yet these have a poignant undertone to them. Frontman Chris Conley stated that the album “is an expression of…reflection and remorse”, which can certainly be heard on all 13 of the tracks. The album is composed excellently, with energetic tracks such as Bye Bye Baby and slower moments such as Turning Over in My Tomb fitting together perfectly. It is difficult to choose a stand out track as all the songs are brilliant. A superb follow up to Sound The Alarm, checking this out is a must if your tastes fall into the categories of rock, pop and punk.

What is wrong with people

Plastic bags:
Don't you just hate when people in stores say "would you like a bag for that?" all smiley, and when you say "yes", they suddenly glare at you? If it annoys them so much that I'm not environmentally conscious, then they shouldn't have offered a bag in the first place! Do they expect me to carry my gigantic Dykeenies <3 You shopping bag everywhere or something? And those paper bags they have in Primark, they break all the time. If you're going to switch to a more "environmentally conscious" method of transporting goods, then at least make sure it's up to the job.

The Simpsons:
I was just watching that delightful episode on C4 about Apu's arranged marriage. You know, the one where Homer storms in to sabotage the wedding dressed up as Ganesh, in the belief that Apu wants the wedding stopped. Except...he did storm in, but it then suddenly cut to something else. Did they cut out his speech about being Lord Ganesh on the grounds of it being religiously offensive or something? Or was it just a mistake? In addition, why are the episodes being shown ten years old? I can remember watching them the first time round on BBC2 back in the day. (Actually those were probably repeats too since I don't think I was even in Britain in 1997.)

Now there was something else that ridiculously annoyed me which I wanted to write about, but sadly I have forgotten it.

Music recommendation: Blackhole - a band featuring Frank Carter's (of Gallows) brother on vocals!