Preview: DEADMAU5 - Album Title Goes Here

Deadmau5 has got a new album. Yeah, not surprising since he promised one back in 2011.
Now 2012 is ending and we finally have an album. Well but guess what?
It's a great album, and it's gone back to the For Lack of a Better Name vibe, which was my favorite album from the mau5.

The tracklist is freaking amazing. That I must say it is.
However, it is missing two tracks which I think are tremendously important.


First, AURAL PSYNAPSE. Aural. Freaking. Psynapse.
This track made people regain trust in Deadmau5, and provided us with a worthy successor to Strobe, becoming the true Strobe, Part II. It's my favorite track of the Album Title Goes Here era, so to me it is just unforgivable.

Second, WHERE'S MY KEYS.
This one is miles better than the much acclaimed Superliminal in my view, however, it was a track people talked for weeks and weeks, being the highlight of Meowingtons Hax tour, plus being the confirmation, given by Aural Psynapse, that Joel was done with stuff like 4x4=12, after Maths hinted it to people.

Other than that, the tracklist is pretty much perfect, but the single omission of those two tracks may be enough to keep me from buying it. Sorry Joel, but give us a deluxe edition (in case you're wondering, in this era he released enough tracks to fill two CDs to the max, more than enough actually) with AP and WMK and we have a deal.


Tracklist:

01. Superliminal
02. Channel 42
03. The Veldt (which I hope, I hope it is the 11 minute original mix, because this song needs the tribal drums)
04. Fn Pig
05. Professional Griefers
06. Maths
07. There Might Be Coffee
08. Take Care of the Proper Paperwork (I didn't like Don't Forget The Paperwork, I hope this is not it)
09. Closer
10. October
11. Sleepless
12. Failbait
13. Telemiscommunications



Tracks I've heard (I've heard Channel 41, not 42; and I don't remember October):
SUPERLIMINAL - 7/10
VELDT - 8.5/10
FN PIG - 7/10
PROFESSIONAL GRIEFERS - 8.5/10
MATHS - 7.5/10
THERE MIGHT BE COFFEE - 9/10
CLOSER - 8.5/10
FAILBAIT - 7/10

Yeah, it looks really promising.



Preview: 8/10, I'm betting my final score will either be 7.5 or 8.5, depending on the new track. I'm really interested on Telemiscommunications.

Owl City - THE MIDSUMMER STATION (2012) - Sampler

So I've been an Owl City fan ever since I heard Fireflies... like months after everyone else. Both Ocean Eyes and All Things Bright and Beautiful were wonderful. Catchy and great music with the most imaginative lyrics ever.

What about The Midsummer Station? The Shooting Star EP got a 10/10 from me, so I set the bar real high for TMS, and although Good Time took time to get used to it became a summer anthem quickly.

And now the samples for the whole album are out and all I have to say is...

The music is different, and more dancey (not necessarily a bad thing), though it becomes slower and softer from Embers onwards.

But the lyrics, they have lost all the magic Adam Young had put on them. They're nice, but they have lost all the creativity, everything that made them special. The random stuff that strangely worked together.

Before I go track-on-track lemme just say: what the hell Adam, why record two extra songs and not put them on the standard album? A japanese bonus track and an iTunes bonus track that are not available retail-wise? That crap pulled me away from retail releases of All Things, haven't you learned? I'm gonna buy this retail, but don't expect me to throw away extra money. If there wasn't space left on the album, I'd understand, but there IS!! Eleven tracks with an average of 3-4 mins each? There is SO MUCH SPACE LEFT.

Don't forget this is for the samples, not the full songs (except tracks 2 to 4, 7 and 11)

01 - Dreams and Disasters - This one is a dancefloor-calling song, no different of what we have out there. That's a bad sign, but the song ain't so bad. (7/10)
02 - Shooting Star - Yeah, this is the song that reminds me the most of older works with a tad of originality, not lyricwise though. This could easily fit onto ATBAB. Catchy as hell but that's OC for ya. (9/10)
03 - Gold - I'm pretty sure back when the Shooting Star EP was released this was my favorite. I'm not so sure now if it is, but that's because the 4 tracks in there were absolutely fantastic. Really good, but probably my least favorite from the EP now. (8.5/10)

04 - Dementia - This is SO different from Owl City, but hey, it works! It really really works! Probably one of the best in the album. (9/10)
05 - I'm Coming After You - Owl City has a bit of a childish sound (since it's synthpop) but this one is... just... Oh my god. Seriously. The only thing that saves it is the fact that the verse seems to lighten up the at-first-stupidly sounding chorus. And that saves it from me giving it a 3 out of 10. (6.5/10)

06 - Speed Of Love - Outside the 5 we knew, this has the most appealing sound to me. The progression of the song is what is worrying me. (8/10, though I'm feeling like a 7.5)
07 - Good Time - I really like this one. Makes you feel really good and optimistic. (8.5/10)

08 - Embers - It's just amazing. Sounds like something from the EP, but then when you remember what was in it you discard that option. (8.5/10)

09 - Silhouette - I loved this sample. Probably the best lyrics here (not the creativity from older albums so don't think it's that), very inspirational, and sounds like a perfect ballad. (8.5/10)

10 - Metropolis - There's often a black sheep in an album. To me it'd be I'm Coming After You (that woo woo imitating a siren is just cringe-inducing). However, Metropolis sounds awful to me. The sound is basically mashing the first track with Speed of Love and the lyrics are bland. With Ocean Eyes, everyone said "Every track sounds the same" but they all had something to make them stand out. This one doens't. Stuff said.(6/10)
11 - Take It All Away - The lyrics in this one mean a lot, and I mean a lot. I just love it. (9/10)
12 - Bombshell Blonde - Adam, what. have. you. done. This ain't you. It sounds so... well... the first thing that came to my mind was 007 for some reason. Makes you sound a little promiscuous but whatever. We know it's not but it sounds like you're trying to conquer a random girl. Let's hope the song saves it. (6/10)



Overview: The 5 released tracks pumped me to buy it day 1, now I'm a bit torn but I'll definitely buy it. ATBAB to me had either great songs or awful songs. This one has only two awful songs to me. I'm a bit worried about how Dreams and Disasters, Speed Of Love and Embers will turn out, but I'm sure they will be fantastic.

The best tracks are Dementia, Good Time, Embers, Silhouette, Take It All Away. Shooting Star and Speed Of Love are the runner-ups, with Dreams and Disasters and Gold not far behind.
I'm Coming After You and Metropolis are the worst tracks but for different reasons. I'd stay away from Bombshell Blonde aswell.

Movie: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)

Movie: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012) Review

This is better than the final poster.

Director: Cristopher Nolan

Cast: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard,
         Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Ben Mendelsohn, Alon Aboutboul

Rated PG-13, 164 mins.
Released July 20th, 2012


Back in 2008, when THE DARK KNIGHT was released, I was astonished. I had never been a Batman fan and BATMAN BEGINS was ordinary, just another superhero movie with nothing special. TDK however, along with the perfect rendition of the Joker by the one and only Heath Ledger, had a new, different feel to it. A darker tone, a serious film, and it blew me away.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES' first half is just perfect.

When THE DARK KNIGHT RISES was announced I wasn't that excited because I thought that no one could outdo Ledger but then it all changed while re-watching the first trailer (I never watched any of the others, to avoid getting the good scenes ruined, though it didn't work and I'll explain along the way) in July. The hype was too much, that's why it killed the movie. I'll explain this aswell.



I went to the midnight showing in Oporto, Portugal, on Wednesday, August 1st and here is my review of the film.

So, first things first. Cast.
Christian Bale has improved his acting skills, and he is way better here than in BB or TDK.
In fact when the major plot twist is exposed his expression is very well placed, even behind the mask.

Anne Hathaway is simply fabulous in her role.

Bane lacked that, with the exception of that particular scene which to me was the only part of the whole movie in which Tom Hardy delivered an exceptional performance.

Anne Hathaway steals the spotlight as Selina Kyle (she is never referred as Catwoman btw) and delivers the female performance of the year (male goes to Omar Sy in Intouchables). She is THAT good. Seriously. She has that charm and that beauty of the character and plays every single aspect of Selina perfectly. All the psychological (and even physical, to an extent) variations of her aswell.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard were a great surprise. Very believable and both were great. Cotillard's final scene was appalling, but other than that, she was quite great. As for Gordon-Levitt, he's the most... let's say ordinary, but he plays the part good and fulfills the premise of the character quite wonderfully, and if that's not good acting, then I don't know what is. Not exceptional though.

Tom Hardy does succeed in being a threat physically.

With such great actors it'd be to expect that Tom Hardy, playing the villain, would give a great performance. Let me tell you this: Bane is awful. Visually threatning, but everything else is just so out of place. And the voice, oh the voice... it is like having a tiger speaking like a dolphin. It takes away a good part of that threat.

Acting aside I will now speak of the story. It is more complex and flows a lot better than TDK, which had a simplistic story which seemed to stutter at times, though the progression of it was better than TDKR. In fact, in TDKR the first half (which resembled TDK) was just outstanding, it deserved a perfect 10. The second half was the total downfall. Way too hollywoodesque, predictable, and just not believable at all. Plus, all explosions are in the trailer. On the very first trailer. That's why to me the bar for the film should've been lower, for that scene in particular specially, because there were several aspects which to me were a big surprise.

The Bat does look a bit cheesy, but awesome.
Goes along the hollywoodesque second half.

Also, the "Deshi basara" chant was wonderfully used in the film and to me that's what gave it an epic POV. One thing I think I haven't said: you NEED to see BATMAN BEGINS to understand this. Heard me?

Ok so now comes the score. Hans Zimmer made a wonderful piece of art once more. Definitely one of the best soundtracks of the year, if not the best, and a massive improvement from TDK.
Plus, without Zimmer's work, TDK would've still been good but TDKR would lose a lot (and I mean A LOT) without this.
"Gotham's Reckoning", "Mind If I Cut In?", "The Fire Rises", "Despair", "Imagine The Fire" and "Risen From Darkness" are perfect, and the other tracks aren't far behind. The chant is once more used beautifully and subtly, which is really really good.

The film, like all of Nolan's work, never fails visually.

So, summarizing things, should you watch TDKR? Definitely.
Will you like it? Depends, but it will help if you liked BB. Why? Because until now all I have seen is that people who liked BB loved TDKR and some who liked TDK didn't like TDKR.







Positive aspects:


Now this is what I call clever advertising.

+ Part of cast (Anne Hathaway,
Marion Cotillard, Christian Bale)
+ Score
+ Better flow of the story
+ Complex plot

+ Outstanding first half
+ Meaningful ending
+ Wonderful cinematography
*SPOILER ALERT (highlight to see)*
+ Tom Hardy on the Talia Al Ghul scene
+ Many characters turn out be from the comics


Negative aspects:

- Bane
- Hollywoodesque second half
*SPOILER ALERT (highlight to see)*
- Robin's part on the Batcave could be better
- Appalling Marion Cotillard death scene

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (8/10)

Music: Pendulum - IMMERSION (2010)

PENDULUM - Immersion (2010) Review

So why am I reviewing a two-year old album. Cause it's awesome and introduced me to an amazing guy: Rob Swire. He's the mastermind behind Pendulum, and after listening Deadmau5's "Ghosts N Stuff" for the 9000th time I decided to check their work. Truth being said, I don't like 'Hold Your Colour' nor 'In Silico', but 'Immersion' made it onto my favorite albums list.

01. GENESIS (7/10)
Just an intro, reminiscent of 8-bit games, but it could've been a little better.

02. SALT IN THE WOUNDS (8/10)
This song is probably one of those which you will dislike the most, this being if you don't like videogame music neither techno. I love both, so this track amuses me. In fact, this looks like a final boss track.
It becomes a little repetitive since it is too long, plus lyrics wouldn't hurt and they wouldn't be that hard to make, that's why I dropped the score, and perhaps it would've gone lower but  I don't think it deserves that.

03. WATERCOLOUR (9/10)
Very contagious and one of the best tracks in the album. I'd still like to know if Rob sings the 'out of heeeeeere' part live or they sample the voice, because holding that note for that ammount of time is just... maybe he's even more talented than I thought.

04. SET ME ON FIRE (8/10)
Pure dubstep. Different direction for Pendulum, but they went through so many genres in this album it doesn't surprise me. I hated it at first, then really liked it. That's how dubstep goes for me. Every. Single. Time.

05. CRUSH (9.5/10)
It's the third best off the album. Well done, Pendulum. This one takes a heavier-rock form and it turns into an spectacular, memorable song that can only be described as 'wonderful'. Maybe a 10 out of 10 is too much. I really need to tell you to check out this one. Keep the bar low though and listen it through, that way you'll be beyond amazed.

06. UNDER THE WAVES (7.5/10)
It has a great instrumental and the "We reach the end" line followed by the synth is very catchy. So why a 7? It doesn't really stick with you. Still, it deserves a boost so half a point up it goes.

07. IMMUNIZE (8/10)
This one is the heaviest song here, although Comprachicos isn't far behind. It is very reminiscent of Crush though, it's like a 2.0 version of it. The techno bassline makes up for a tad of originality so that improves it. Like, a lot. Without it the song would be mostly crap.

08. THE ISLAND PART I (9.5/10)
To me, the second best one. Was a 10/10 but with time it dried out. Very, very catchy, and very well built. The lyrics are also good. Overall, a great dancing song, but to me it becomes an instant classic. Screw the mix this and mix that. This is the real deal.

09. THE ISLAND PART II (8/10)
I hated this at first. I really did. Set Me On Fire aswell. Now I love them, so add two and two and you can see this is true dubstep. Almost no lyrics though.

10. COMPRACHICOS (7/10)
The story behind this is disturbing and shocking but if you dig into weird myths and tales (such as japanese urban legends) look it up, Comprachicos are a part of spanish folklore. So in order to understand the lyrics maybe you should see the backstory, but you can give it another interpretation.
Very powerful song, but it could be better.

11. THE VULTURE (6/10)
Argh. Like, blergh. I can't believe I really liked this on my first listen. It's a weird mix between DnB, techno and dubstep. Maybe that's why I'm not a fan of Pendulum's other albums. It's not the worst though.

12. WITCHCRAFT (9.5/10)
Best one. Period. It is almost bipolar with so many different sections each almost opposite to the other. It goes from a ballad, to a techno environment and then it shifts between DnB, that techno and the guitars give it a cool twist. A very interesting piece with emotional lyrics. I loved it. It stole The Island's place of king of the album just recently to me, but it was a song I loved from the beginning.

13. SELF VS SELF (5/10)
It's a good song, but this is not its place. Pendulum, the song doesn't fit in this album. It's pure rock, going onto metal (no surprise since In Flames are guest features) 0/10 for placement in the album. I do have to give it some credit though. I'd give it a 4/10, but I boosted it could at least shine for the effort. Just... don't do it again.

14. THE FOUNTAIN (8/10)
Why are people saying this the worst track? It has a great catchy riff, the lyrics fit so well, and the artwork of the album seems to have been made because of this song. Give it a chance people!

15. ENCODER (9/10)
This is a perfect ending to such a ride of an album. I can't describe how awesome both parts of the song are. They are both perfect. Just... perfect. And the lyrics are very fitting with the fact that it is the closure to this awesome record.

Overview: Just an amazing album which you should get... now.
Best tracks: Witchcraft, Encoder, The Island Part 1, Watercolour
Worst tracks: Self Vs Self, The Vulture

IMMERSION: 8.5/10