Opinz » reprise

Neil Young – Fork In The Road

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:01:38 +0000

It’s nice to see artists evolve and not put out the same music over and over again, but the “same old same old” rules don’t apply to Neil Young for two reasons – 1) we’re lucky that Neil Young is even able to sound like Neil Young, unlike some of his contemporaries, and 2) pre-grunge Neil Young and Crazy Horse, which is exactly what Fork In The Road sounds like, is some of the most charming roots rock ever made…the entire album is loosely based around his ’59 Lincvolt project and though one might wonder how to keep such a record from becoming dull it really is an inconsequential note, and it’s nice to see him continue the same themes and styles from the late Crazy Horse era because it works.

Rating: 7.7 / 10

April 7, 2009
Reprise Records

Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown

Sun, 17 May 2009 05:01:52 +0000

If reinventing yourself and going from a brat-rock hit machine pumping out radio-friendly pseudo-punk hits to a modern-day Who pumping out convoluted mini rock operas works, you going with it – which is exactly what Green Day has done with their follow up to American Idiot except that the story is a little clearer and the songs are more varied, ranging from the epic title track, which is already one of the best songs they’ve ever made, to “Christian’s Inferno” (one of the most punk songs they’ve ever made) to the ballad-y “Last Night on Earth” – the songs are powerful and punchy and have a weird sort of maturity not found on American Idiot.

Rating: 7.9 / 10

May 15, 2009
Reprise

Mastodon – Crack The Skye

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:59:40 +0000

If you’ve ever wondered what a Black Sabbath cover band would sound like doing a Rush impersonation look no further than Crack the Skye; although the cloned Ozzy vocals can be eyeroll-inducing and the concept – something about a paraplegic kid who can travel on the astral plane, falling through a wormhole and winding up in Russia where a cult puts his soul in Rasputin’s body and his killed and the Devil takes his soul and so on – is exhausting if you try to follow it…but the music itself is good – not too heavy metal, not too rock – and is creative and manages to stay interesting throughout.

Rating: 7.8 / 10

March 24, 2009
Reprise