Sunset Rubdown - We've Got Broken Eyes- Track Review

Sunset Rubdown

We've Got Broken Eyes

Score: 4/5

This one is a bit of a rarity, seeing as it isn’t found on any of the Sunset Rubdown LP’s or EP’s. I can’t understand this, because it is by far (arguably) one of the best Sunset Rubdown songs to date. In We’ve Got Broken Eyes, Krug sets the tone of the song early quickly piling up, otherwise annoying as hell noises, to make beautiful ones. Which is one of Krug’s seemingly endless talents, making things that would otherwise sound horrible and making it sound like replacing them with softer, more universally enjoyable noises would just be “ridonkulous” . Upon writing this review, I listened to the song heavily, never once understanding what exactly in Gods name, Krug is shrieking about. Except for “Lord, I think the city’s been hypnotized/kiddies got a lot of shit in their eyes.” Now that is the Krug we have grown to love, even if you do know the words, you still don’t know what (if anything) they are pertaining to. There are parts where I doubt he is even speaking a dialect which is recognizable in North America, or even the world. Maybe C3PO knows what the fuck he’s saying, maybe not. At one point in the song, it sounds like Krug is singing twice, with one voice, saying different things in the same tone, it is truly bizarre, but that is the real genius here. We’ve Got Broken Eyes is so bizarre and jangled that I don’t know what’s happening; I’m confused, scared, and at times hungry. All I know is that when the song is done (6:58) My ears are ringing with joy but my mind is a smoking ruin.

We've Got Broken Eyes

Silvershit Pickups- Lazy Eye - Track Review

The Silversun Pickups

Lazy Eye

Score: 1.3/5

I hate this song.


I don’t even know if the lead singer is actually saying words in this song, it sounds like gibberish and he sounds a bit like a baby.

However, in defiance of my ears, my mind actually kind of likes it, the arrangement of the song is pretty well done, in that the cadence of the ups and downs is familiar and warm, the vocals are soft as fontanel. Which makes it that much more hilarious when he starts to scream a bit in the middle of the song, and brother, believe me when I tell you that this “gruff” yelling is hilarious, he fails on every level to be xtuffXcorex.

God, how I loathe it, but I still find myself tapping my foot, my head slowly moving to and fro, my soul turning in on itself, my spirit begging to leave its immaculate vessel.

Oh, and I saw these guys on Letterman or Leno or O’Brien, whatever, anyways, their stage presence is dreadful! The lead singer has less charisma and stage presence than the lead singer of Keane! If you can fucking believe it. Apart from Lazy Eye, which is (arguably) their only song kind of semi worth lowering yourself for, I would advise you never torture yourself by listening to another song. Oh, and just in case anyone says “Give them a chance! They could be good or something!”

I do have one positive thing to say, the bassist (maybe) is pretty cute and she might look like Maggie Gyllenhaal (who is cute…well, sometimes, have you ever noticed that?)

I’m not even going to link to it.

Bloc Party - The Once And Future King - Track Review

Bloc Party

The Once And Future King (Target Exclusive)

Score: 2/5

Oh, Bloc Party, how this review pains me so!

Being a huge Bloc Party fan makes me a little biased, in that I believe that everything Bloc Party puts out is absolute gold! But in this case, not even my wide eyed idealism of a pure and true Bloc Party can shield me against this absolute mound of excrement.

For A Weekend In The City, Bloc Party recorded a bunch of B-sides and store exclusive tracks, wait, what? Store exclusive? Like, songs for stores? Almost, these are songs that you could only get at certain stores, or some shit, you know what? To be honest, I don’t even fucking know what it means! But The Once And Future King is a “Target Exclusive” and, my friends, let me be the first to warn you, it is just, words can’t even describe what they have done here, the Bloc Party of yore is dead, the Bloc Party that makes exclusive tracks for department stores is in!

The ferocious drumming and the precision guitar work is still there (kinda), but what’s missing is Kele Okerekes voice. He is still singing, but this time he croons lackadaisically about who the fuck knows, maybe about how much Target is paying him for this shit? (upon further review, he is singing about a king cut down in his prime and then he vows to make a triumphant return) It really doesn’t matter what he’s singing about, the fact is that this song lacks the zest that the other songs are filled to bursting with. And I guess that’s what Target is all about. Cheap shit.

The Once And Future King

Bright Eyes- Napoleons Hat -Track Review

Bright Eyes

Napoleons Hat

Score: 3.9/5

For the most part, album reviews are a daunting task; I have to sit here in my darkened pulpit, listening to a record over and over and over. So I switched it up and reviewed an EP, but it turned out to be only 150 words shorter than a full album review! Shit! So I decided to start doing single track reviews, but only for tracks that I feel really strongly about or tracks that I think you, the public, should be exposed to.

“Napoleon's Hat” was done for Lagniappe: A Saddle Creek Benefit for Hurricane Katrina Relief. It starts off with a really low key opening, the strum of an acoustic guitar that fans of Bright Eyes have no doubt gotten used to, the sharpening of a knife (or something) and a really flat drum beat. And it works to the songs benefit, considering that what really makes this track standout among all other great Bright Eyes tracks is the emotion in the lyrics. Mozart’s parents put cigarettes out in his ears/when he got old enough to stutter he said/I don’t listen but I-I-I can hear. Truly one of the greater lyricists of our time, Oberst weaves through the song with ease, his voice quivering rarely, while he describes the death of Dr. Oppenheimer and the style of Napoleon Bonaparte and how we can’t forget all the people that were killed/left homeless in Hurricane Katrina just because our lives are still okay.

The lyrics exude emotion, and they draw the emotion out of us, but Oberst doesn’t appear to have any emotional link to this song, his signature quiver is gone, which is (arguably) a good thing. But still, come on, it’s the fucking quiver! He sounds like he has more of an emotional connection to “A Lover I Don’t Have To Love” which is about a one night stand.

This track is super rare (I think) that’s probably because it was off a charity album, I don’t think anyone buys charity albums because they are chock full of horrible duets by popular pop stars. But I would say that this is one of the exceptions. I didn’t buy it though. So every time I listen to it, I feel a little bit guiltier than I would like to.

All in all, it feels like this is Oberst saying “George Bush doesn’t care about poor people.” And he’s probably right. But without Mike Meyers beside you, looking like he just got hit in the special place, your message is less potent.

Bright Eyes- Napoleon's Hat