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Album Review: The Birthday Massacre ‘Pins and Needles’

Published

14 years ago

on

There are those that think some music falls under the category of ‘guilty pleasure listening’. I personally believe that NO music should be a guilty pleasure! Plant your feet, square your shoulders and let it be known that what you enjoy listening to is what you enjoy listening to, no excuses or reasons. I’m going to go public right now and say that I still blast out Aqua on occasion. Yes, the ‘Barbie Girl’ group. Am I ashamed? NOPE! Not at all! 
tbmpancover
The reason for this diatribe is that I can easily see someone saying, in hushed whispers, that they listen to The Birthday Massacre. Well, if you check out my review after the jump, you’ll see if those hushed tones are necessary or not.

The album starts off with ‘In The Dark’, which is the current single and a music video was released for it recently. It’s one of the heavier tracks on the album but still conveys what to expect: Chunky guitar riffs, melancholic vocals, and 80’s inspired synths and keys. It’s a highly polished song that flows easily from one part to another and is very catchy. 
The production on this album is very nice and neat. Everything sounds very polished and each instrument is easily understandable. The bass fills in the necessary low end that an album like this needs to produce. The guitars range from chunky distortion to effect-driven clean tones that add texture. The synths avoid overused pads, instead opting for immediately apparent tones that sparkle above the music. The drums never get bogged down with trying to impress, choosing instead to play what the songs need. The cymbals sizzle pleasantly and the rest of the drums have a solid attack and thump behind them. The vocals are mixed in at the perfect level.
Sure, the look of the band might turn away some potential listeners, but who wants them anyways? If the look of a band is what turns you away, rather than their music, you’ve got the wrong mindset. The Birthday Massacre has put out a solid album in ‘Pins and Needles’ that is immensely enjoyable and can be appreciated at face value. 
4 out of 5 skulls
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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

1 week ago

on

April 9, 2024

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John Carpenter music

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…

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