Promising so much, delivering so little ‘When music goes bad’ 아쉬워도 괜찮아

Photos by u2.com & thegaslightanthem.com & kasabian.co.uk

For even just a few minutes, let’s pause and discuss three of the worst albums released over the past twelve months. Bruce, Prince, Lilly Allen, sure, in 2014, each individual is guilty of artistic sins, but they are innocent compared to the following three bands. For your current crimes against music, we say, “shame on you!”

 

3. The Gaslight Anthem – Get Hurt

It seems that The Gaslight Anthem can’t be mentioned without Springsteen entering the equation, so, with that being said, it is no surprise that the New Jersey outfit made a conscious effort to shake off the comparison. On Get Hurt, their fifth full length studio record, the group opt for a heavier, more unabashed approach.

While the band must be admired for changing their artistic direction, Fallon’s attempt to move his group into Alice in Chains meets Screming Trees territory falls flat on its face. Sounding more like an unreleased Bon Jovi track , “Rollin’ and Tumblin,” with its mundane lyrics and bland instrumentation, is a soulless offering. Like watching a child attempting to operate a jackhammer, Gaslight’s latest LP is a particularly uncomfortable affair.

Attempting to add some weight to their sound, the group end up looking like Savage Garden masquerading as Soundgarden, especially as 90% of the album’s narrative involves ‘heratbreak’ and failed romantic endeavours. Depicting an upside down heart, the album’s front-cover artwork sums up Get Hurt in the most fitting of ways imaginable, but one would assume that this wasn’t the message the band hoped to communicate.

 

 

2. Kasabian – 48:13

Ah, Kasabian, where do we even begin? A decade ago, when the group burst onto the scene with their self titled debut, we were excited, sure, Two years later saw the release of Empire, another stellar album. However, eight years on and three album’s later, it’s safe to say that our fascination with the UK rock band has well and truly diminished, in fact, it has decreased to the point of nonexistence. Opening with “Shiva,” ‘48:13’ fails to excite from the very beginning.

Lost amidst a wave of throbbing beats and ridiculous innuendo, the track is as forgettable as it is void of artistic merit. Dumbing it down even further, tracks like “Eez-Eh” and “Treat” fall somewhere in between grotesque dance punk and ‘edgy’ pop.

Lyrically speaking, this is the weakest Kasabian have ever been, and that is really saying something. Never renowned for their thought provoking philosophies, lines like; “Everyday is brutal, now we’re being watched by Google,” do the group no favors. While attempting to provide us with insightful, witty commentary, Kasabian do nothing more than spit near-nonsensical tripe. Empty and utterly depressing, the once mighty Kasabian look like a group devoid of any real ideas.

 

 

1. U2 – SONGS OF IONNOCENCE

The phenomenal farce that accompanied Songs of Innocence, U2’s latest album, highlighted one important truth; insecurity sprinkled with mega-marketing glitter is still insecurity. As an Irishman, it is painful to write such a critical review. However, it is almost a quarter of a century since U2 were exciting, hell, even relevant.

1987 brought The Joshua Tree, a truly inspired record, while 1991 saw the release of Achtung Baby, another commendable effort. Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen, Jr. once made music that actually mattered, music that possessed impressive qualities.

The time when Bono’s swagger, The Edge’s slightly limited guitarmanship, and Larry’s unrelenting drumming actually impressed seem nothing but an indistinctive, slightly embarrassing dream. The age of U2’s scorching harmonies and unwavering conviction have well and truly diminished, right to the point of irreversible mediocrity.

Teaming up with Apple, the seemingly ingenious idea to ‘gift’ every customer with Song’s of Innocence for absolutely free most definitely backfired. This wasn’t one of the most deplorable examples of guerrilla marketing, this was the King Kong of marketing malfunctions.

The Irish quartet’s latest record gets lost somewhere between self-discovery and absolute gibberish. The naïve belief that almost half a billion people with an iTunes account desired U2’s latest offering wasn’t just presumptuous, it was detrimental to the band’s street cred, well, the little bit that still remained.

On “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)”, Bono sings, “and your voices will be heard.” Well, Bono, perhaps you should clean out your ears and listen to the people who grew up respecting your music. What the hell went wrong?

 

 

Contributor, John Glynn

As a contributor of CultureM Magazine, he is writing about global culture, for example, movie, music so on.

영국 출신의 컬쳐엠매거진 컨트리뷰터 존 그린은 영화, 음악 등 문화 관련 컨텐츠에서 날카로운 분석을 통한 심도 깊은 이야기를 전해주고 있다.