Album Review: Counting Spins

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Local musicians Clap Clap Riot have just released their debut album Counting Spins. The boys, originally from Christchurch, have spent the last year working hard on the album and it has paid off, with a 12 awesome songs with a sweet sounding Kiwi slant.

You’ve probably heard quite a few of the tracks from Counting Spins before, as Clap Clap Riot bought out four tracks before releasing the album. The first was Everyone’s Asleep, which came out in March 2011. It’s the one that starts with a whole lot of clapping (kind of cute irony there, huh?) before kicking into a sweet chorus. The second song to receive some air time is Yoko Ono, and this is my favourite song off their album. It’s a great rock song which kicks off hard and fast and has a nice comparison to relationships like the one between Mr and Mrs John Lennon. Whether you feel partial to Yoko Ono or not, Clap Clap Riot turn her name into a great song.

You might also recognise Moss-Haired Girl, which was released in late 2011. With a similar sound to Yoko Ono, I feel this is the direction Clap Clap Riot want their songs to take – and it is a damn fine direction to take. Finally, So You Say came out earlier this year; it’s the track you probably best recognise and starts off with some strings before, again, kicking into a heavier chorus which is fast becoming Clap Clap Riot’s signature sound.

In saying this, the rest of the album follows in a similar suit and there isn’t a lot of variation between the tracks. Everyone’s Asleep is probably the track which takes the biggest detour from common sound. However, because it is their first album and a new sound for New Zealand, Counting Spins still manages sounds fresh, you can forgive Clap Clap Riot not putting in too much variation into their tracks. I especially recommend checking out Never Go Back and, for something a tad more upbeat, Lie.

Thanks to a few good contacts in the New Zealand music industry, Clap Clap Riot had some help making the album sound so good. The most significant of these is said to be Jimmy Christmas, lead singer and brain child of The D4 and Luger Boa. Christmas knows how to make an album sound good and helped Clap Clap Riot on their EP. I wouldn't be surprised if Clap Clap Riot retained his advice, and some other local music greats, to bring Counting Spins up the level it is. 

Overall, Counting Spins is a great debut album which you can't help but like; everyone I’ve talked to has nothing but good things to say. It is fair to say Clap Clap Riot are still finding their footing in the industry, and I can’t wait to see where they’re heading next.  

Concert Review: 30 Seconds to Mars 2010

30 Seconds to Mars live at the Logan Campbell Centre August 2010

At the last minute my friend had a spare ticket to 30 Seconds to Mars. I threw him a very reasonable $65 without much thought and jumped in the car to see the Mars invasion for myself. 30 Seconds to Mars had been all over the radio with their rocking tracks and C4 was repeating their outrageously expensive music videos daily. 30 Seconds to Mars seemed like a sweet mash up of rockers and political glamour so it was without a doubt I wanted to see them live.

The night kicked off with Computer Want Me Dead ... which really did leave me feeling a tad dead. Even when the crowd started throwing glow sticks at the duo, there was no spark in their performance. Overall, it was a bit lacklustre, even though on the radio Computers Want Me Dead seemed like a kicking Kiwi duo.

My big mistake was not checking out their most recent album thoroughly before I headed along to the concert. I loved their second album and still play the hits today, but their third album sort of slipped by me. However, even though I didn’t know all the words to the opening track Escape, the rocking intent from 30 Seconds to Mars was there, and I found myself cheering along with the crowd regardless of my lack of knowing the lyrics. Lead singer, Jared Leto, was sporting a large blonde mohawk and sunglasses, and looked every bit a rock star.

For me, the concert really started when Attack was played – this is one of the songs I knew best. This was followed closely by older hits such as A Beautiful Lie and their new smash hit, This Means War a new song I did know all the words to). A nice touch to the night was when Leto disappeared off the stage during a drum solo and reappeared at the sound desk, situated at the back of the venue. This is where he bought out his acoustic guitar and played three songs, including From Yesterday solo. It was a beautiful rendition which the crowd obviously loved, judging from the vast amount of cheering and applauding.

30 Seconds to Mars rounded off their set with their smash hits Closer to the Edge and, my personal favourite, The Kill. I lost my voice somewhere in these two songs and I had to croakily ask my friend how they would encore. It was their recent hit Kings and Queens which did it, complete with around 20 school kids who had won the opportunity to go on stage with the boys.

Overall, it was one rocking night confined within the small space of the Logan Campbell Centre. The biggest disappointment was the acoustic version of From Yesterday; despite it being beautiful, it was the hit which catapulted 30 Seconds to Mars into fame and I would have loved to see the full version as the final song played on the night. Other than this, 30 Seconds to Mars gave me a fantastic night fully worth my money. 

Album Review: Living Things

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Linkin Park released their fifth studio album, Living Things, at the beginning of June, and if you are a long term Linkin Park fan, this album should be in your collection. The album is a mix of the sound from Minutes to Midnight with the original angst of Hybrid Theory. Combine this angst with some sweet rock rapping from Mike Shinoda and you’ve got the gold which has always been Linkin Park.

The first single you’ve probably heard on the radio is Burn It Down and it epitomises this angst. Lead singer, Chester Bennington, sounds fantastic in it. To me, it sounds like Chester has manage to nail his vocals without putting too much strain on it, something he struggled with in the previous two albums. And, as a bonus, the title track of the album had nothing to do with a Transformers movie. It seems  Linkin Park have realised they don’t need Michael Bay to sell more records.  

The track which kicks off the album is Lost in the Echo and it’s classic Linkin Park. Some guitar, Shinoda with his raps and Chester coming over the top and into the chorus – how is it this combination never gets old? The song also sets up the rest of the album nicely. There’s a flow throughout the album, continuing with the classic Linkin Park in tracks like In My Remains and I’ll Be Gone, and then a bit of a fresh twist in tracks such as Lies Greed Misery.

Linkin Park have a few standard formats of songs off all their albums and Living Things picks up on these. First, the song Until it Breaks is their one drum heavy song on the album (think Nobody’s Listening off Meteora). They drop down the tone with Castle of Glass and Roads Travelled. Critics mind view this as going soft, but I like the softer side of Chester’s voice still amongst the guitar and drums, and it is nowhere near as bad as that Valentine’s Day song. Finally, Chester gives us one last yell with Victimized; it seems he can’t resist bringing up that strong voice which originally got us into Linkin Park.

I suppose the big letdown is the lack of really new, really fresh stuff. Chester said Living Things is “embracing everything that [they] have done in the past" and taking the “best pieces”. Yet, remember when Linkin Park released Breaking the Habit?  It was so different and yet everyone raved about what a great song it was. That’s what this album needed; something completely different. On the other hand, Linkin Park ain’t broke, so I guess it wasn’t the time to fix it.