Excuse 17
Excuse Seventeen
An Olympia Riot Grrl band that i stumbled across on last.fm (I use listenbrainz now, since they use an open database)
overall
I enjoy this album! Not something I’d normally go for, some of the songs are not really anything for me, a little too dreamy but@ some of them are really good and I think if I had this CD as a child it would have been very formative. In fact I might dig around eBay for a physical release of these songs to try and upload at a decent quality somewhere, there doesnt seem to be that many versions available. There was at least one song with some skipping in the version I listened to, I wonder if that’s present in the recording or just the version that got uploaded? Overall a fun album that tells you point blank what it’s thinking, and the tempo changes are very very tight so its obvious the little bits of slop are intentional and help the sound of the album. :3
links
Vanishing Act
A simple start, a little wishy washy but in a nice way. Fuzzy. I like the overlapping vocals a lot, it gets crowded and the thematic stuff in the song is nice, just a song about a girl and vanishing. The screaming doubling the vocals in the background is a nice touch. Nothing particularly catches me but I liked the chorus section, and the line “I want that light in the sky to suck me in.” resonated with me :)
Two Faced
The intro is fun so far, very bad brains. I like how much it picks up, and the chord changes are strong. The sudden tempo changes are really good, tighter than id expect for the genre. The bass tone is nice, I think it could be doing a little more but simple fits the genre. The reverb on the vocal outro is fun.
Cut and Dry
A little dreamy, the vocals are a little muddier in the intro in this one but the very close harmonies are cool. About 3/4 through the vocals in the chorus get really fun, I could have gone for this the whole song! A little X-ray Spex, really good.
Hope You Feel Bad
Much cleaner vocals, a little slow and dreamy still. Bass is really fun and the tone of it is great, perfect fit with the genre, a little crunchy and articulate but still dreamy. The bridge section is a nice refrain, I feel interested in this song again! I like the interplay of the guitar parts in the last few sections. The rhythm guitar is a little quieter and the vocals get a little quieter but the bass and lead guitar are synced up.
Despise
This intro hurt my ears, volume too high. I really like this intro section, shouty and loud and classic punk. The dreamier verse section is not anything special but the little feedback is really good and it carries well into the chorus, again the tempo changes are tight and nice in and out of the chorus and the speed up makes it sound nice. Second verse has more of the feedback and now more overlapping vocals! Good! Chorus continues to build, now with lots of squeaks and feedback! Ooo I really like the little step up key change for the last chorus, perfect little punk move :)
Carson
Bass tone! I love it, the drums are good here too. Vocals have a nice melody, dropping in and out of slightly more spoken bits. Tempo speeding up again! Chorus chords sound like they are just jumping a little bit, which is kind of nice really. Who needs a key when you know what feels good. The transition tempo change out of the chorus is a little sloppier this time but I like it, the little band stops and stumblings are cool. The chromatic moves in the chorus chords are fun, there’s a weird noisey. Solo? More like a noise wall, very hard to pick out individual notes or even chords but it fits really well for the outro
Code Red
I like the chord loop, I wonder if its going to be these the whole song. That’s always fun. Guitar intro is fun, interesting syncopation. Lyrical content is edgy and a little blunt, not a bad thing. The full band stop around halfway through the song is fun again, could be a little tighter but because of the genre I don’t think it’s that big of a distraction. The second band stop is much tighter and I like it more. I really liked this one overall
We’re the Seniors (And We Rule The School)
What is says in the title, a song about school a little bit, very grrrl angst, I suppose that’s a pretty classic punk song topic. The vocal melody on “Me, me, me and I” is really good, I like how its delivered the first few times especially. The outro isn’t what I’d expect but it works i think!
Imaginary Friend
How many songs can you start by singing the name of the song? A few on this album at least, kind of fun and silly :)
Chorus has multiple vocal lines over each other, at different rhythms. I like the faster backing vocals a lot, they bring so much energy. The bass and guitar part right after bring it down for a while which means the next chorus comes out of nowhere a little bit but in a good way. The first chorus picks up the energy, and the second one makes it feel even higher. I’m glad to only see two though, I think more would detract from the song and make it too long when it’s already said what it needed to say.
Groundhog’s Day
I don’t like this one as much as the last, the vocals being a little off key doesn’t work as well with slower songs like this I think. The chorus is nice and I like the little bit of filter resonance in the noise behind it, I think from the guitar part. It makes the section feel much more full.
Break and Enter
Last song on the album, I’m excited! I like the chords, a tiny bit more complex harmonies and the lead guitar part is interesting. The vocal screaming gets that screaming shrieking girl punk vocalist sound perfect. As far as the slower songs on this album this is by far my favorite so far. The instrumental sections are interesting and the bass sounds full with a nice high plucky tone. You can hear the picking :)