Discover Top Posts Tagged with #concept records

After last year's very excellent Lucky Leaves LP, Krill are calling their follow-up, Steve Hears Pile In Malden and Bursts Into Tears, a failed concept record. Rumored to be about a bro named Steve who discovers that he's a character in his favorite Pile record, the Massachusetts trio have now confirmed that they couldn't quite connect the dots to pull it off. Not only do I not think that matters to its success as a rock 'n' roll record, but I think Steve Hears Pile In Malden deserves a more generous reading, too.

The EP's cornerstone, "Turd" is a quintessential Krill song. The swirling guitar line is poked through the hook like the rhythm section's playing Flappy Bird, while bassist Jonah Furman spins a metaphor for his life out of the life cycle of a turd. "If I could just keep a commitment, maybe I'd be happier," he yelps in what I interpret as the moment when he breaks down the fourth wall. He later tells about a time when he tried to plan the rest of his life in his calendar--he got two months deep before filling out the rest with the song's title, "Unbounded Nameless Future." There's levels to this shit, and as a concept record about an artist coming to terms with entropy and falling short of extremely ambitious goals, Steve Hears Pile In Malden works fine.

Krill are playing at The Observatory in Chicago with Ava Luna this Saturday, and your attendance is highly recommended.

#krill #pile #concept records #good music

I love how "Children of Fire" is a direct sequel to "Son of the Morning." Oh, Sleeper amazes me. I loooooove concept records.

#Oh Sleeper #God vs Satan #concept records

Favorite Concept Albums

While I'm sitting here at the studio and thinking about our concept album, I decided to list what my favorite concept albums are in no particular order:

1. The Carrier - "No Love Can Save Me"

This album is only a 3-song EP, but has so much packed into it. From what I get out of it, I believe it's about a man who decides to take peoples' lives on a train and later on feels guilty for his actions. He goes on living life thinking nothing can save him now, if the world comes to an end, from making this decision of killing off others, no matter how many friends he has or how much he prays. Depressing stuff, but awesome music.

2. Defeater - "Lost Ground"

This is also an EP, but a little longer. This concept is based off a track on Defeater's previous record "Travels" (which is also a sweet album) called "Prophet in Plain Clothes". It's about an African-American who goes out to war in the World War II-era after his mother passes and realizes he has nothing left to lose. A lot happens in this story and it is definitely well-written. I recommend finding 20 minutes of your time to jam to this record and read the lyrics. Great stuff.

3. PM Today - "In Media Res"

I was thinking whether or not to put this up as a "concept album" because it's not necessarily a story...but lyrics are repeated in some songs and all the songs have to deal with one topic: Growing up with reality. It talks about how people change, how much love can suck, how much you change from being young to now, and how sad this world really is. It's not only written lyrically-well, but the music is amazing. The number one album I can relate to personally, and definitely my favorite of 2010.

4. The Dear Hunter - "Act 1: The Lake South, The River North", "Act 2: The Meaning of, And All Things Regarding Ms. Leading", "Act 3: Life and Death"

This band...this band IS the concept. This band strictly started so they can write a 6-act story based around the character, The Dear Hunter, or the Boy. So far, they have 3 albums out for the story they are creating right now. It's by far the best story for any concept album I've ever heard in my life and will be for a long time. So much has happened in this story that I don't feel like typing out what it is about. Heck, I sometimes don't even get what's going on in this album. If you are a fan of well-written music and bands that experiment with all kinds of genres, check out all three of these albums.

5. A Hope For Home - "Realis"

One of the most underrated bands, A Hope For Home put out a record through Facedown Records that was also one of my favorite albums of 2010. This concept is split into two parts about a man who is looking for the "truth". The first part explains how he is controlled by mankind by being a gear in the machine of the world, a meaning to the world. The man is told that he controls his own life, but he feels like there is something more than this world and mankind. The second part explains how he searches for the light and truth with no direction or understood purpose. He searches long enough to where he finally dies, but finds out what gives his life meaning. He believes something is past our material existence, and "truth" helped him believe that. This album is my second favorite concept as a story, with The Dear Hunter coming in at first.

6. Thrice - "The Alchemy Index Vol. I-IV"

Thrice will always be my favorite band. This collection of albums is the reason why. It took them a year to write four 6-song EP's about the elements (Fire, Water, Air, and Earth). Definitely not a story, but a beautiful concept, and my favorite one. Each element has its own distinct genre, and that is why I love these albums so much.

Well, there you have it! My top favorite concept albums. If you ever have time to check out these awesome bands, do it as soon as possible.

#concept albums #concept records #the carrier #defeater #PM Today #The Dear Hunter #A Hope For Home