| Here is the second part of my review. Remember to drop me a line, let me know of your thoughts on the album and my opinion, as well. God Damn Me: Another sure-to-be-epic, this is a toned down version of "Take a Picture." However, don't think that for a second it is anything similar or proof of repetition. Starting with an aucostic guitar, the song slowly builds to employ all the members of the band. Whil eall the instruments are combinding, beautiful and finely hewned lyrics are sung softly by Richard. No one has made the words 'god damn' sound so poetic or meaningful. The big bonus in the song is the moving bridge, one which I wish was longer. The ending is also good, leaving the vocals to melt away until all that remains is that lone guitar, being stummed expertly. The only negative: Richard gets caught up in repeating lyrics again.Still, it's more of a pet peeve than a detractor from the song. A very good song, one that stands as a testiment to the fact that you don't need loud sounds to rock out. (9.5/10) It Can Never Be The Same: If "So I Quit" was the band's sin, here is their redemption. The other track on the album in which all four participate in the authorship of a song, this is proof of what all four can achieve if they work together. Full of sonic guitars and a dark, forboding tone, this song posseses the rawness of Shortbus, while displaying a maturity in arrangement. This song rocks, with a roaring chorus and a toned-down, but nonetheless, enveloping verses. Reminding me a bit of "I'm Not the Only One," I find myself getting wrapped up in the song, bobbing my head. A great Filter song, and good way begin the journey towards the conclusion of the album. (9/10) World Today: It first, like "American Cliche," I didn;t give the song much credit. Now, however, it's one of my favorite tracks on the album, believe it or not. The song really is different from anything the band had done before, relying much more on non-traditional sounds than usual. Rather than laying down the customary and worn-out rock track, Filter stepped into uncharted territory and came out a sucess. In thies track, they manage to take a massive 'leap', experimenting with new ways of making music, while still keeping the things we have come to love in Filter in the mix. Foreign sounding voices and beats penetrate the musical serface, but Mr. Patrick's vocals adapt in a charmeleon-like way. Hollering along with the beat, he paints an eerie, and yet mystical picture with his voice. The wall of sound chigs along, snatching other beats along the way and incorporating them into the track. A very different song, which I very much appreciate. While some bands experiment and change for the worse (e.g. Oasis), Filter takes a step but not without packing the essential Filter characteristics. (9/10) The 4th: Not to much to say about this song, since there's not too much to it. Once I heard that Filter would be redoing to the classic U2 song, I was excited and prepared for an onslaught of wailing guitars and heavy beats. Instead, this version is watered down. The song could have the same feel and be five minutes shorter. I won't say it's a weak ending since it does allow the listener to finally take a breath and relax after the previous fifty minutes or so of not stop action. However, the boys could have done a lot more. (7.5/10) CD layout (i.e. slip cover, pictures): I liked the layout of the lyrics, following the design seen in Title of Record and Shortbus. It's also nice to see a photo of all four. However, it would have been nice to see all four on the cover as well, rather then just Patrick. I know he is the frontrunner, but he also is constantly giving credit to his band mates, as he should. Therefore, they deserved to be on the front as well. Still, I like it. Simple, very Filter-ish. (8/10) Movie: If anyone had slipped the cd into their cd-rom drive, they know what I'm talking about. What is that movie all about?!? If someone can explain it to me, please do so. It's very cool how it's done; I do like it. But I don't get the point of it. No rating since I don't have my facts straight. Overall: Summing up everything, I can see that this is an excellent cd. Sure, it has its weaknesses, but every album does. Great songs fill this tracklist, and I'll surely be keeping it in my daily rotation of cds for quite some time. However, Title of Record still takes the cake as best Filter cd. While this cd does say alot, it almost tries to say too much in too may ways. Title was much more flowing. Don't, though, think this cd isn't worth your money. This is still a very good album and was, I can honestly say, worth the wait. I give the cd a nine out of ten rating. |
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