Okay so for college in September one task was to analyse three albums of your choice! The albums I picked were:
Moral Panic - Nothing But Thieves
Hurry Up We’re Dreaming - M83
I was talking to the Georges about it and figured there’s someone out there that would maybe enjoy my ramblings about the albums and songs! So I’ll upload it here :)
I would have written so much more but I had a limit of 1500 words and even this is over that 🤷♂️
My three favourite albums
1. Moral Panic by Nothing But Thieves
So Moral Panic is one of the best albums to exist. All the songs were so good that they added five extra unreleased songs to make Moral Panic II. For a 62 minute long third- studio album, you’d have thought they would have discovered their sound, but it is different to everything else they have made. Produced during the end of 2019 and being released after the first lockdown, the title was inspired by lots of social issues around the time. With so many different sounds in one album, from the love song ‘Impossible’ with the slow, sad tempo to ‘Can you afford to be an individual,’ challenging societal standards it’s certainly a mix of emotions. Lead singer Conor Masons vocals have always been exquisite, but this album really helps to bring it out with the different live versions available, including the O2 arena video available on YouTube. With easily recognisable guitar and bass riffs and Conor’s vocal range of B2 – D6, this album is the great goodbye to their sound before releasing Dead Club City, an experimental electro-pop album to introduce their new and different ideas. Now it’s time to go into the individual songs. The first track, ‘Unperson’, is a song that starts quieter, but gets into that heavy feeling very quickly. The repetition of lyrics helps to add to the feeling of confusion that was being felt, especially during that time of the year. Going from heavier music with talking into a quick break including softer singing helps to give that whiplash feeling the band are trying to construe. Then having the break of lyrics at the two-minute mark, and having the drums slowly start to increase in severity, just makes the starting song the best introduction to the rest of the album. Now, the second song varies as to whether you are listening to Moral Panic, or Moral Panic II. Whilst writing this, I am listening to the complete collection, and that is what I will go off. The second song is ‘Futureproof’, which just starts with the heavy drum and guitar chords. Yet again calming down slightly whilst Conor sings, as though they are trying to highlight them even more. Having both the lyric tone and the rest of the song start to decrease just shows how in-tune they are as a band. Also, Conor's breathy tones just really bring everything together. The change from ‘Miracle Baby’ to ‘Impossible’ just creates even more confusion about what is supposed to be going on. Going from songs questioning standards to a love song talking about how the love interest makes everything easier in life. And yet some lyrics could be taken in the wrong way. “I could drown myself in someone like you.” But maybe that juxtaposition is exactly what they are trying to do. The faint violin gives the track an almost melancholic sound, and Dom’s backing really makes it other-worldly. There is just a pause where no-one plays, and it goes into singing and that change just represents the entire sound of the album.
2. Parachutes by Coldplay
So, when I first heard we had to write about three albums, I was just going to do three NBT albums. But then I thought about albums that had changed me as a person. And I knew this album had to be done. Everyone knows this album because of ‘Yellow’ but it’s so much more complex than that. Released in 2000, it was post-Britpop and Coldplay were here to make a change to music. Following the release of Radiohead's album ‘Kid A’, the slow and melancholy vibes were exactly what people were looking for. Not only that, but the whole album was dedicated to the drummer’s mother who had died two months prior to the release. Considering the sad, atmospheric sound the band were trying to create, they definitely did a good job. Every song is similar, making it a great backing album for anything chill. It is the perfect soundtrack for studying, crying and trying to fall asleep. The first track of the album being ‘Don’t Panic’ really helps to set the mood for the whole album. The repeated guitar chords create a familiarity with the whole song, and the lower voice really does just make it exactly what they were aiming for. That familiarity sets itself into you for the entire album. Considering this was my top song last year, I think that says a lot about how my year went. The soft introduction into ‘Shiver’ is brilliant, that slow transition into the song is just what you are looking for. This song seems more upbeat as it goes on, almost giving the listener hope, with the drums creating a steady beat to rely upon. And then those first lyrics hit, and you realise that no matter how happy those melodies are, the lyrics will be sad. And that was exactly what they were aiming for. Deriving from artists such as Lou Reed, who did the same thing. Okay, I’ll do ‘Yellow’ next. Quite possibly Coldplay’s most popular song, with lyrics connoting love and admiration, it is almost a wake-up call between all the other songs. Whilst yes, the melody is the same, those lyrics are so much happier, almost as if Coldplay were trying to tell a story though the album. These lyrics show love, but based on the context of other lyrics, it may be unrequited. Hence the happy backing, but sad lyrics. This album is so complex, with so many different theories about what everything means. That is what helps to make the album as amazing as it is. And finally, ‘We Never Change,’ with its depressing guitar chords, doing the same thing repeatedly, being strummed harshly, is the perfect penultimate song. The lyrics slowly get more uplifting, changing the entire point of the album, is brilliant. The piano really does just round the whole ending to this song out. I simply have no words. The genius the band have to create a song with this much emotion, and lyrics the listener can relate to, is why this album is one of my favourites. Even adding a secret lasty track makes this album cool. ‘Life is for Living’ has simple plucking and is simply Chris singing along in the beginning. Violins then join in, and it makes it the perfect ending to a perfect album.
3. Hurry up we’re dreaming by M83
M83’s sixth studio album is exactly what you’d expect from a French electronic band. The experimental synth sound is certainly out there, but it works. The frontman had recently moved to Los Angeles and wanted to base the album off the excitement of discovering a new place and dreaming of your childhood, as he had moved from France after living there for 29 years. Being over an hour long, to ensure people don’t get bored, every song is different. I mean, there’s a whole song about frogs. And the title is in French. And it’s just a child talking. For the entire song. When I said this album is experimental and “out there,” I was not kidding. The use of a child throughout the entire song with upbeat, carefree melodies really represents the childhood M83 were trying to construe through this album. Each song blends into the other, making the whole album seem like a fever dream, yet again that idea of dreaming as a child coming into play. Let's talk about popularity. ‘Midnight City’ is the most well-known M83 song. Appealing to the idea of a futuristic world, with the synth repetitive notes is exactly what you would think a night drive through the city in 3000 would sound like. The lyrics explain how comforting the city is, and it is a tribute to the whole city. Every song starts off quietly, getting into the tune, almost cautiously. But some songs stay the same, including ‘Where the boats go.’ A slower song, acting as a break. ‘When will you come home’ into ‘Soon, my friend’ shows the deeper connection the artist has with the album, making it personalised and strengthening the bond. It makes the listener feel more involved, and all of these emotions being involved in one album is one of the reasons I love it so much. This complexity works with the nostalgia I feel when listening to the album, as it’s something I used to listen to a lot as a child. Many songs have an ambience of a forest, with the juxtaposition between the city making it confuse you, the same feeling you’d get when moving into a new place. One of my favourite songs from this album is ‘Steve Mcqueen’, purely because it builds up for nearly a minute and then goes into it, making it seem so easy to quickly change like that. The vocals are just enough, not overpowering the song but helping to add that backing that brings it all together. Ending with ‘Outro’, just as the album does. This song is exactly what you need to chill out, giving the album the kind of ending it needs. It prepares you to listen to it all over again. The break at the minute mark before the strings come back in with the singing just feeling like you’re being reborn. The constant switch in the album from being quieter to everything all at once is overpowering, but it works so well that it isn’t overwhelming. It’s peaceful
