OSSO and Sufjan Stevens — Run Rabbit Run
Run Rabbit Run doesn’t actually have much to do with composer Sufjan Stevens, or with John Updike, for that matter. Rather, the album presents listeners with a rearranged string orchestration of Stevens’ 2001 electronic album Enjoy Your Rabbit by New York composers Michael Atkinson, Nico Muhly, Gabriel Kahane, and a handful of others. The album is performed by the Osso String Quartet, which includes a number of musicians who contributed to Stevens’ 2005 top-seller Illinois. (Have I lost you yet?)
Run Rabbit Run continues Stevens’ trend of themed albums, as each song is named in accordance with the cycle of the Chinese Zodiac. Although the orchestrated reworking flows smoother than the synthesized static of the original, the Osso String Quartet fails to capture the variety of moods each original track had to offer. Nevertheless, Run Rabbit Run offers a playful, often enchanting atmosphere of its own. With just a viola, a cello, and violins, the quartet creates effective, elaborate orchestrations.
Devoted Stevens fans anticipating a new addition to Sufjan’s 50 states project (creating an album to capture the mood of each of the United States) may be let down by this release. However, the inspiration his music has breathed into these talented New Yorkers is well worth it.—Kalin Smith
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Thousand Foot Krutch — Welcome to the Masquerade
Thousand Foot Krutch rock harder than ever on their newest album, Welcome to the Masquerade. With pop and metal influences, this melodic Ontario trio have created an album with an effective mix of genres.
Title track “Welcome to the Masquerade” is a solid rock anthem filled with gritty guitar hooks and authentic death growls, pivotally preceding the explosion of sound in the chorus. “Look Away,” a catchy soft-pop ballad incorporating strings, piano, acoustic guitars, and looping vocals, is gorgeous, but seems more fitting for lead singer Trevor McNevan’s side project, pop-punk band FM Static. But the song does provide a welcome break from the distorted guitars, strong sounds, and heavy percussion that characterizes the rest of the album.
Rounding out the track list are “Forward Motion,”—with an impeccable balance of percussion, rising vocals, and interweaving guitars—and “Smack Down”, another rock anthem reminiscent of the group’s earlier Phenomenon album. The last track, “Already Home,” is similar to “Look Away” and could be written off as overkill at the end of the album. The sweet-sounding melody is almost too perfect, with overwhelmingly warm tones at the chorus that sound like they could be the overture to a teenage TV drama. And just like that, Welcome to the Masquerade comes roaring in like a lion and simmers out like a lamb. —Jessica Lee
Skeletonwitch — Breathing the Fire
Skeletonwitch are, at best, an acquired taste. After glancing at the cover of Breathing the Fire, I immediately realized my manifest destiny was to make fun of this thrash-revivalist band. How could I resist a fire-breathing skeleton clutching a corpse with a half-shredded ribcage? Naturally, I was excited at the comedic possibilities.
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm was tempered after listening to the aptly titled opener, “Submit To The Suffering.” All it took was a minute of the superfluous thrash beats and cacophonous shrieks before I was indeed suffering, and ready to tap out to the musical equivalent of a Ken Shamrock ankle lock. With every song title dumber than the last (“Stand Fight Die,” “Gorge Upon My Soul”) I found myself trying desperately to seek asylum from this terrible Athens, Ohio band.
But then it hit me like a bag of bricks. Recently, I have been contemplating the meaning of life, vacillating between comprehending the futility of human endeavour and making sense of creation; as a matter of happenstance, “Breathing The Fire” clarified my deepest, darkest thoughts. While finishing the album and attempting to interpret vocalist’s Chance Garnette’s incomprehensible garbling, the answer I was looking for dawned on me: if bands like this have a forum for their art, there must be no meaning to life.
Skeletonwitch have managed to solve centuries of philosophical conjecture. And, if I were to grade them strictly on their contribution to answering the academic world’s most troubling questions, I would have no choice but to award them a glowing review for their daring treatise on life’s futility. But alas, I must judge Breathing The Fire as a standalone piece of music, and as it stands alone, it fucking sucks.—JP Kaczur
Paint — Can You Hear Me?
Paint’s second full-length album, Can You Hear Me? begins with “Don’t Blow Me Away” and “Madonna,” two mundane rock-angst-roll tributes with Tragically Hip–inspired vocal patterns, Creed-driven lyrics, and Oasis-style song structure. Through their muddled attempts at capturing new-age rock, Can You Hear Me? sounds like it should be played in the sort of vacant bar where lonely souls drown in half-sincere sorrow. The third track is actually a charm, as “Strangers” and its catchy guitar work pulls the album to an almost respectable level. The redundancy of the album is overwhelming, though, and I found myself repeatedly wondering when the songs were going to change.
Even the album art on Can You Hear Me? is self-indulgent. Notable artists such as Kurt Cobain and Ian Curtis are cut from their rightful resting places and placed alongside Rosa Parks and Malcolm X, while Paint lurk in the background. It’s less of a comparison, and more of a contrast; Paint simply can’t measure up to their self-perceived prominence in the art world. Overall, Can You Hear Me? paints a bleak picture for the listener.—Andy Friesen
