Have you ever wanted to grab a band and shake them and say "No rock more not less"?

Question

This kind of goes along with a question Lovenrckts asked about a lot of the modern indie rock being very whispy and mellow. I picked up the new Band of Horses today and I like it and all. It's pretty good, but they stood at the fork and decided to make a mellower record as opposed to one that rocked equally or a little more. They're really good at the more up-ity stuff and the two or three tracks on the record that rock more are clearly, for my money, the best tracks.
Don't get me wrong. I love mellow tunes, and obviously my opinion isn't really relevant, but I'm slightly disappointed.

Do you have any bands like that? Ones that you think made the wrong decision.

It should be noted that I've only heard the record once and my opinion is completely subject to change if there is some revelation. Plus, I haven't heard it in the car yet which is the really telling listen.

JMike, I know what you mean about burried guitars. It drives me nuts, guitars are the meat of rock and should be respected as such.

That's funny Sookie, it's not always the case, but when I hear a band has evolved I fear it is the hidden meaning of getting older and trying to finesse everything.

Hi Lovenrckts. This one isn't a case of killing the meat, but moreso sucking out the drive. They were a lot like Built to Spill, but for most of the new one it's more methodical (which is a department they needed no help in to begin with).
I hadn't heard the BRMC follow up, that's annoying. I loved that kind of, Jesus and Mary Chain meets the Stooges thing they were doing.

Hi Master C, I haven't really heard the Disturbed (I've heard of them obviously), but it's funny to think of a band of that name lacking aggression. It's just false advertising.

Hmmm, evolution and it's connotations....

Also, that's one of those things to beware of when you've got several years between albums. You never know just how they will "progress their art."

Have a great weekend everybody.

man, I've become really cynical I just noticed. hmm.

Thanks a lot everybody. Great examples and great answers. On the second listen it's a little better than I thought, but I still stand by my initial assessment.

Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

Shake them, smack them...like that scene from Airplane! when everyone lines up to get a swipe at the manic passenger. It's absolutely sad seeing all the great bands around you that made you fall in love with music become so...dare I say, flaccid?

You got Modest Mouse doing a song like "S@#t Luck" 10 years ago and now...a bluegrass tribute album of their songs(?)! I knew the banjo was bad news...even when Kermit was playing it.

Others I would like to see revisiting their original rock roots: Spoon and Blonde Redhead (MachPen's question reminded me how much they've sank into 'more mellow' and 'less rock').

This is not to say I don't enjoy ANY of their more mellow songs but when you notice a steady decline of rock in every album it may be time to just say, "it was good while it lasted".

Answer 2

I'm with Sookie. I love Deftones and the way they blend melody with the heavy, but I think Chino needs to draw a fine line between Deftones and Team Sleep. Deftones should be the rockin', heavier stuff...or at least the guitar-driven tunes...while Team Sleep should be all the electronic ambient stuff. The last 2 Deftones albums and the Team Sleep album have several songs that should've been on the other band's CD. I also agree that Pearl Jam needs to awaken from their coma and get back to playing music with a pulse. I also think that Incubus could stand to rock out some more. They used to have some off-the-wall heaviness, and they've progressively gotten more mellow on each album. They're fantastic at writing the mellow songs to, but on their last couple albums there's been moments where I wanted to grab the band by the shoulders, shake them and say "WAKE UP!"

Answer 3

YES!

On "Saturday Night Wrist" the Deftones continued to explore the more ambient side that they started experimenting with on "White Pony". Don't get me wrong - I liked it and I dig them, but they churned out a little too much of it on this album. I just don't want them moving there completely and permanently.

And Pearl Jam has slowly gone downhill since "Yield". Yes, you can say that they still "rock", but the music has just lost its edge to me. Some would say that it's the band "evolving", but I think evolution would denote growth, not moving in the wrong direction.

I know what you mean about listening to stuff in the car...I don't know why, but that's the place to really *listen* to stuff.

Edit: yeah, I don't think that "evolution" in the musical sense has a concrete definition. Some times it's good and some times it's far from it - I guess it's a matter of perception and opinion.

Because it isn't really defined, I cringe when I hear it. There is a question here waiting to happen...

Answer 4

Often. It's especially disappointing when I know the band can really crank them out, yet the album is filled with mellow, mid-tempo snoozers.

I've noticed this to be the case with Ginger (of The Wildhearts) on his solo albums. The guitar is buried so far back in the mix that I can hardly listen to them. In fact, I've got one on eBay now, and the other two probably won't be far behind.






NP: "Nothing Means Nothing" - John Sykes

*edit* I too am a car listener. Once a CD has cycled through the car it goes to one of two places, either the iPod or eBay.

Answer 5

The only band I really feel this way about is the Chillis. I usually don't mind if a band mellows, or shifts the focus away from guitar, as long as they do it well. I'm just really getting sick of John Frusciante's "less is more" approach to guitar playing. Someone really needs to sit him down and straighten him out. Or maybe it was all the drugs that made him so good back then. Man, they used to be great.

Answer 6

Hey, Prof. I know what you're talking about it. There is no taking the "meat" out of rock. There are two notable examples I can think of right now.

Love & Rockets - Hot Trip to Heaven - This album pissed me off to no end. I waited five years for the follow up to the self-titled for this piece of ambient dreck. This band had no business abandoning the guitar.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl - Instead of continuing to be the second coming of Jesus & Mary Chain, they went all country on me. I know bands love mixing it up and trying new things, but I wasn't down for this at all. They definitely needed a good shakedown after this.

Answer 7

Absolutely! I have that urge at least once or twice a year.. I like mellow songs every now and then, and one or two on an album aren't a bad thing. I just hate it when a band that usually rocks, makes a whole album of mellow stuff.

Answer 8

When Disturbed released their second album, I was thinking the same thing. A few songs on there were pretty good, but it still wasn't the same aggression you felt with their first release.

I think a LOT of people will be making that case for AFI too. I know pleny of people who miss the East Bay Hardcore days.

Answer 9

With every Robert Plant solo disc , he gets one step closer to the Ramada Inn lounge playing with Murph and the Murphtones

Answer 10

Most recently, listening to the studio version of "15 Steps" by Radiohead makes me want to shake them and ask, "Why aren't you rocking like the live version you have out on You Tube!?!??!"