Faith No More -Sol Invictus

After waiting eighteen years for album that I never thought would actually come out, Faith No More reunited to release Sol Invictus.  This album is better than what it should be for a band that was known for pioneering alternative music and doing it their own way.  This isn’t a reunion album designed to cash in on past accomplishments, this is a group of guys that continue to push boundaries creating their own sound.  Like fine wine, FNM got even better with age.  “Sol Invictus” opens with Roddy Bottom ‘s keys bringing us into a holy sounding piece with Mike Bordin’s drums keeping a military marching beat.  Mike Patton’s vocals wash over the sounds with varied harmonies, creating an atmosphere of desperation and religious questioning. A very peaceful opening track that sets the tone for the entire album.  Next up is “Superhero,” a song so FNM-esque that you almost forget it has been eighteen years since they recorded music together.  Every member has their moment in this song, with it’s fast pace rhythm, dynamic keys, bassist Billy Gould and guitarist Jon Hudson sound great together here.  Patton uses all of his vocals talents on this one; singing, harmonies, guttural screams, and the occasional howl or two.  I have read a few reviews that said “Sunny Side Up” sounds like “Easy” meets “RV,” but this catchy tongue in cheek number is so much more than that.  Gould’s bass takes lead with this comical number about cooking an egg.  With it’s mellow beginning, things quickly turn to an incredibly intense chorus, followed by another mellow verse.  Only Patton can make lyrics like “sunny side up, it’s not the only way to fry an egg” or “honey bees will sting for me, stinging” and make them sound believable.  That has always been one of FNM’s finest traits, taking the absurd very serious.  They are in on the joke, are you?  While it does sound a little like one of Patton’s other bands Tomahawk, “Separation Anxiety” is one of the best tracks on an album full of good ones.  Gould and Bordin paint a dark and brooding sound that allows Patton to sound his creepiest.  There may even be a hint of “Malpractice” found in this one.  As the end of the song draws near, Hudson’s guitar aids Patton’s voice to delirium.  This song sticks with you after hearing it.  Possibly the highest point of Sol Invictus follows in “Cone Of Shame.”  The song begins very western sounding with Patton doing a bit of crooning over Bordin’s marching drums.  Then almost exactly at the middle part of the song spoken lyrics begin setting up a showdown of musically intensity unlike anything else found on the album.  “You’re only happy when you’re pissing me off” Patton screams during the sonic assault.  This song alone is worth the price of admission.  In true FNM fashion, they follow that up with a song that has an Italian flavor to it.  “Rise Of The Fall” has verses that sound like you are relaxing on some gondola while the choruses yank you away from your musical vacation into some nightmare that only Patton could compose.  The structure of this song feels very Mr. Bungle in a FNM sort of way.  I bit of acoustic guitar turns up next in the attack on consumerism “Black Friday.”  A bit of Hispanic sound in Hudson’s guitar playing carries this song while Patton screams “buy it” over and over again.  The irony here is that their first single released off Sol Invictus was released on Black Friday, which is the next track.  Only FNM could get away with making their first new song in eighteen years called “Motherfucker.”  In a first, Bottom sings all the verses in spoken word.  The first listen probably feels very weird, but after multiple listens and it really works. Bordin’s drums carry the song along while Patton has various harmonies in the background before singing the choruses.  There are parts of the song that feel very classic FNM, especially when Hudson’s guitar moves to the forefront.  Another haunting highlight is “Matador.”  It’s beautiful piano juxtaposed with the creepy guitar playing makes this song feel off in a good way.  The song has a very grand feel to it as it progresses in a “King For A Day” sort of way.  Everything comes together in an epic finish.  Very likely making light of their return, the last track is titled “From The Dead.”  It has a very hymnal sound, like the entire album has been a religious experience.  A very beautiful and peaceful way to end their return as Patton sings “back from the dead, I can see the end.”  To have Faith No More back, touring and releasing new music is a exactly what the music world needs.  The masters are back to teach the students how it is done.  Sol Invictus isn’t Angel Dust, but is better than 90% of all the other shit being passed off as music today.  Welcome back FNM, stay as long as you like!

Incubus -Trust Fall (Side A)

To celebrate signing a new record deal with Island Records, Incubus has released a four song EP titled Trust Fall (Side A).  Falling somewhere between A Crow Left Of The Murder and Light Grenades musically, this is what most fans have come to expect from Incubus.  These four tracks are not nearly as experimental sounding as their last album If Not Now, When? nor are they as serious sounding.  It actually sounds like Brandon and the boys are having fun playing these songs.  Which is great, because it is fun listening to them.  Opening this fun musical adventure is “Trust Fall.”  A nice slow burning intro of guitars soon turns to an upbeat tempo with a funky driving bass.  Brandon Boyd’s lyrics are at their whimsical best weaving a story that sounds like falling in love is like a trust fall into the world.  By the time we reach the end of the song, Boyd turns from singing to  spoken word during the outro while the music fades out into the universe.  This might be one of their most electric numbers since “A Kiss To Send Us Off.”  Following that up is a tongue in cheek love song “Make Out Party.”  Ben Kenney’s bass is tuned down and driving this song with it’s sexy funk.  During the verses Boyd does his best high octave Prince impersonation that adds another dimension to this quirky love song.  The choruses hear his normal voice layered as drums move to the forefront adding desperation to it all.  The keyboards even get a great moment near the end of the song.  This is the fun type of experimentation long time fans enjoy from new Incubus music.  Heavy hitting and very deep lyrics make “Absolution Calling” the best of the four tracks.  Again, little things like the snapping and the extra voice tracks make this song complete.  Mike Einziger’s guitar playing here is fresh sounding while still balancing the older Incubus sound.  Like the previous two songs, the bass playing is some of the funkiest in their catalog filled with some great funky moments.  “I remember feeling the opposite of falling,” this song really takes you out into the cosmos of sound and words.  Ending this EP is “Dance Like Your Dumb,” another funky song that challenges the listener to not get up and dance to this fun song.  With classic lyrics like “then like a pink Boba Fett she calls you on your bet” and “dance like you got your legs from a cartoon,” this is fun-not-taking-themselves-too-serious sounding Incubus in the best way possible.  If I didn’t know any better, I might have thought a was listening to older Chili Peppers or b-sides from an earlier long lost Incubus album.  It feels like they have found the balance between mature song writing and the metaphorical fun of their older sound.  While four songs might be a small sample, if this is the direction Incubus goes I am hoping that we get a Side B to Trust Fall very soon.

Duran Duran -Rio

There are just some things about the eighties that just stick with you; Nintendo, big hair, bad fashion, Star Wars, just to name a few.  One of my guilty eighties pleasures that I haven’t let go of is Duran Duran.  Catchy British pop music that you just can’t get out of your head at times.  None of their albums epitomize this more than ’82’s Rio.  Some will argue Seven And The Ragged Tiger is their best and you would have a valid argument.  However, there are some fillers, perhaps because it was rushed out on the heels of the success of Rio.  It has the feel of the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers in that it seems like it was piecemealed together over a three year period or so, aged to perfection. Opening with the title track, Simon LeBon and company kick things off with intense guitars and catchy repetitive synths that take the listener along for a ride on the Rio.  Even the horn section toward the end of the song, remember it was the eighties, works to make the song even catchier.  This song was one of the album’s big hits and also very instrumental in the evolution of the music video and MTV.  “My Own Way” has a very drum machine beat carried by the amazing work of keyboardist Nick Rhodes.  The chorus is danceable without being cheesy, even by today’s standards.  In fact this was the lead single that got heavy rotation in the club scene.  The lyrics are pretty straight forward, but somehow LeBon deliveries them in a way that doesn’t feel repetitious.  While not exactly a ballad, “Lonely In Your Nightmare” certainly tones things down a bit and probably drove the ladies crazy live.  Again, catchy lyrics, guitars get to shine, keyboards, and the drums keeping time with the bass, this is the quintessential Duran Duran sound.  I’m a little surprised no one thought to make this a single at some point and time.  However, the biggest hit “Hungry Like The Wolf” follows.  Big crazy video, a bit of mystery to the lyrics, and lots of fun to listen to, it is no mystery why it was the highest charting hit off of Rio. It’s use in the Shrek movies a few years back brought this song to a whole new generation.  Next is the closest thing in my opinion as a filler, yet not a bad song.  “Hold Back The Rain” just feels too similar to “My Own Way,” with the way the keyboards carry the song with the drum machine vibe behind it.  Especially compared to the next track, “New Religion,” “Hold Back The Rain” becomes kind of forgettable in the albums entirety.  With it’s toned down grove being carried by the bass and the way LeBon’s voice is multi-track layered, “New Religion” is one of the best tracks on an album full of goods tracks.  Toward the end of the song the guitar work of Andy Taylor gets just as funky as the bass is throughout, making one of those musical moments that you could just listen to repeatedly.  Following that up is another song offering a bit of the funkier side of Duran Duran, “Last Chance On The Stairway.”  LeBon sings this number with the desperation that goes along with the song title.  And is that some xylophone getting funky midway?  The way Rhodes paints a wonderful landscape for the other musicians play on is a thing of beauty to hear.  “Save A Prayer” falls into the ballad category in a very longing synth sort of way.  Again, Rhodes and LeBon own this song with the way the words entwine with the oriental sounding keyboards during the verses.  “Don’t say a prayer for me now, save it ’til the morning after” sings LeBon as the keys change into a fade out leading to my favorite song on the album.  Closing things out is “The Chauffeur,” a somewhat haunting number.  It feels both hypnotic and sexy in a way that sticks with you as you hear “sing blue silver,” an unusual lyric that you just can’t shake.  It has a sense of voyeur-esque chauffeur watching seduction to it. As the song gets deeper the more the rhythm starts to pick up, adding to the hypnotic sound.  The perfect climax to the album!  I would also recommend listening to the Deftones cover, it is haunting in an entirely different way.  As most albums released in the early eighties were, you only get about forty two minutes of music.  But almost every note is worth the price of admission.  Rio is the perfect way to remember the second British Invasion!