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  1. STARS ~ No One Is Lost
  3. First listen, review on the go as always!


    Hammock - Departure Songs

    Cold Front features a Passengers-like crescendo, which is something that could be said about most of these songs (album spoiler!). Noy my favourite kind of song by Hammock since I prefer their guitar-oriented work, but a nice introduction to the album.
    Ten Thousand Years Won't Save Your Life but then thousand guitars will surely do! I already knew this song, it's among my favourites from this band, so I can only say good things about it. Violins, stronger guitars and drums and ethereal, Sigur Ròs-like vocals... Impressive song.
    I have a soft spot for 3/4 signature time -which is specially profuse in post-rock btw- so I obviously dig Together Alone! The song would be perfect if it had modulated to minor chords during the middle section, but it's great anyway.
    Artificial Paradises is one of their most popular songs, I think. It brings nothing new to what we've already heard on the album, but it's just so easy listening that I can understand why thousands like it.
    (Tonight) We Burn Like Stars That Never Die on the other hand DOES bring something new! That heavy synth at the start, the synth driven verses and (finally!) some intelligible lyrics turn this one into one of the album highlights. The ending with the horns ressembling the main melody is gorgeous.
    Pathos is another well known song, quite possibly the first one I ever heard by Hammock. Standard Hammock style, nothing remarkable really.
    Awakened, He Heard Only Silence is basically an interlude; second shortest song on the album.
    Words You Said... I'll Never Forget You Now - or maybe I'll do. One of the most "meh" songs in the album.
    Tape Recorder is another story, though. Haunting ambient song. Shivers when the strings kick in around the 3:30 minute mark. Lovely, beautiful.
    And beautiful is Frailty (For the Dearly Departed) too, although it should have grown to a heavier song with drums around the middle in order to be a true highlight.
    Dark Circles - now that's a heavier crescendo! Many songs in the album could learn from this one. Straight to highlights.
    (Let's Kiss) While All the Stars Are Falling Down features a more industrial sound; until the vocals kick in, it could easily be a U2 outtake from Zooropa or Pop. Can you hear it? I could do without the falsetto vocals, or at least without some of them. Let the song's epic sound shine through, guys! Oh well, still a great song. I have a feeling this will be one of Alvin's favourites.
    All Is Dream and Everything Is Real brings us back to the standard Hammock sound, even featuring an annoying Christmas bell on the background of some verses! The guitar melody heavily ressembles some Explosions In The Sky song which I can't put my finger on right now, but I'll get to it eventually.
    Mute Angels - sorry what? I fell asleep, sorry!
    You were Hiding But Nobody Missed You! Another synth & guitar driven song that gets the album walking again after the last song's mistake. It features an interesting chord / key change at around 3:40, doing a progression that ressembles something U2-ish... Maybe Streets' intro or NLOTH chorus. It only lasts a few seconds but it's there and it caught my ear instantly.
    We Could Die Chasing This Feeling is another standard sounding song that won't stand out. It sounds like Daniel Lanois had invited The Edge to jam over a soothing backing track for 6 minutes... But then the horns kick in and take the song to another (better) level for a couple of minutes. Well done.
    At first glance, l thought Glossolalia was inspired by Sigur Ròs' epic Glósóli, but it isn't; glossolalia is the ability of vocalizing syllabes and words with no meaning, with a spiritual or artistic purpose. So, in a sense, it's similar to the "language" in chiwh many of Sigur Ros songs are sung (Vonlenska or Hopelandic). The song itself is the shortest on the album, just a brief interlude before the epic finale.
    (Leaving) The House Where We Grew Up has a strong melancholic feeling to it, as the title would suggest. Brilliant song, the stand-out track among the "standard sounding" ones in my opinion.
    And the album ends with Tornado Warning, an ethereal composition that adds absolutely nothing new to the songs already heard. Not the best, not the worst. Just another one. The album could have ended with The House... and it would have been perfect.


    Top tracks (in no order):
    Ten Thousand Years Won't Save Your Life
    (Tonight) We Burn Like Stars That Never Die
    Dark Circles
    (Leaving) The House Where We Grew Up


    Overall: as some of you might know, I'm a big fan of post-rock and ambient rock; bands like Explosions In The Sky, Mogwai and Hammock are among my favourites in these genres. Therefore, I already knew some of these Departure Songs, but I had never listened to the full album in a row. It's an amazing trip through different soundscapes. I assume it can get boring at times, specially if your ear is used to more lyrical, standard compositions; the repetitive sections and the mostly uniform sound and style. But as a fan of this band in particular and the genre in general, I obviously enjoyed this musical journey. A shorter album without some of the fillers would have been even better, but it was fine anyway
  4. Here's the updated opening post by Matt, telling who chose and what albums were chosen through past editions of this wonderful game.


    Originally posted by MattG:
    2014
    Week: Apr 27 - May 3
    User: EyesWithPrideB3
    Album: Welcome to the Monkey House - The Dandy Warhols

    Week: May 4 - 10
    User: bartajax
    Album: Pocket Revolution - dEUS

    Week: May 11 - 17
    User: KieranU2
    Album: Double Nickels on the Dime - Minutemen

    Week: May 18 - 24
    User: Alvin
    Album: Let Love In - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

    Week: May 25 - 31
    User: LikeASong
    Album: A Funk Odyssey - Jamiroquai

    Week: June 1 - 7
    User: Mr_Trek
    Album: Black Love - The Afghan Whigs

    Week: June 8-14
    User: AidanFormigoni
    Album: The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2 - Joss Stone

    Week: June 15 - 21
    User: RattleandHum1988
    Album: Medusa EP - GEMS

    Week: June 22 - 28
    User: iTim
    Album: We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse

    Week: June 29 - July 5
    User: Andrew_C
    Album: Puddinghead - Ball Park Music

    Week: July 6 - 12
    User: patou2
    Album: Transformer - Lou Reed

    Week: July 13 - 19
    User: drewhiggins
    Album: ?


    2015

    Spoiler (click to toggle)
    New list, drawn by random lottery for the order:

    LikeASong
    Mr_Trek
    iTim
    EyesWithPrideB3
    patou2
    Andrew_C
    drewhiggins
    Alvin
    KieranU2
    AidanFormigoni
    RattleandHum1988
    stj0691
    NeonTiger64

    New schedule…let's go Thursday to Thursday, which will give us a good time to jump on the newest album over a weekend, and also gets things rolling this week! Sergio has first pick, so his cycle starts on 8th of January.


    Week: Jan 8 - Jan15
    User: drewhiggins
    Album: Alice Cooper - DaDa

    Week: Jan 15 - Jan 22
    User: LikeASong
    Album: Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones

    Week: Jan 22 - Jan 29
    User: Mr_Trek
    Album: Sinkane - Mean Love

    Week: Jan 29 - Feb 5
    User: iTim
    Album: The Heavy - The House That Dirt Built

    Week: Feb 5 - Feb 12
    User: EyesWithPrideB3 Alvin
    Album: Archive - You All Look The Same To Me

    Spoiler (click to toggle)

    Week: Feb 12 - Feb 19
    User: patou2
    Album:

    Week: Feb 19 - Feb 26
    User: *tbd*
    Album:

    Week: Feb 26 - Mar 5
    User: Andrew_C
    Album:

    Week: Mar 5 - Mar 12
    User: Alvin
    Album:

    Week: Mar 12 - Mar 19
    User: KieranU2
    Album:

    Week: Mar 19 - Mar 26
    User: AidanFormigoni
    Album:

    Week: Mar 26 - Apr 2
    User: RattleandHum1988
    Album:

    Week: Apr 2 - Apr 9
    User: stj0691
    Album:

    Week: Apr 9 - Apr 16
    User: NeonTiger64
    Album:

    Week: Apr 16 - Apr 23
    User: bartajax
    Album:
  5. I listened to this a little bit yesterday, and I like it! I'll be more detailed once I finish listening

    And Sergio, is there a way to sign up to do this? I'd like to at some point if possible
  6. Just get involved! Your turn will come
  7. Great review Sergio!

    I pretty much agree with your top tracks, although I'd throw in (Let's Kiss) While All The Stars Are Falling Down alongside them. I love that song.



  8. Also, the female singer's voice is just

    I added the album to my family's Amazon Prime library.
  9. Originally posted by Welsh_Edge:Great review Sergio!

    I pretty much agree with your top tracks, although I'd throw in (Let's Kiss) While All The Stars Are Falling Down alongside them. I love that song.

    Let's Kiss was definitely the 5th one, I was about to include it as a special mention but decided to keep it at 4. Great great song.
  11. Updated the running order for 2016 in the second post as follows:

    2016
    Week: February 21-27
    User: Welsh_Edge
    Album: Hammock - Departure songs

    Week: February 28 - March 5
    User: Alvin
    Album:

    Week: March 6-12
    User: LikeASong
    Album:

    Week: March 13-19
    User: thefly108
    Album:

    Week: March 20-26
    User: patou2
    Album:

    Week: March 27 - April 2
    User: NeonTiger64
    Album:

    Week: April 3-9
    User: iTim
    Album: