1. We’re So Starving
2. Nine In The Afternoon **
3. She’s A Handsome Woman
4. Do you Know What I’m Seeing? **
5. The Green Gentleman (Things Have Changed) **
6. I Have Friends In Holy Spaces **
7. Northern Downpour **
8. When The Day Met The Night **
9. Pas De Cheval **
10. The Piano Knows Something I Don’t Know
11. Behind The Sea
12. Folkin’ Around **
13. She Had The World**
14. Form A Mountain In The Middle Of The Cabins
15. Mad As Rabbits

**Clear Favorites
The only thing that sounds the same between the albums is the singers voice. Everything else about “Pretty. Odd.” is totally different from its predecessor. It’s so different that I refuse to compare the two, simply because it is like comparing an Air Rifle to a Railgun. Sure they’re both guns, and they have triggers, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

To start, gone are the head-bopping hyper-beats of the first album. They’ve been replaced with a much more slowed and controlled flow. There is heavy use of acoustic guitars, harmonies, and random background noises such as birds and trains. There is even an introduction of brass in some of the songs, which I appreciated. All of the tracks show a stunning advancement in maturity for the band, and it shines through in how tight all of the musical areas are pulled together. The melodies are much stronger, and far more complex than before. The singing has been slowed down, and though the language is still as intelligent as it always was, it’s slow enough that you can actually tell what they’re saying this time.

Throughout the whole album is a very strong folk-feel. All of the songs sound like they could be sung around a campfire (if you had enough alcohol in you at least) and fill you – or at least myself – with a warm , fuzzy feeling. Where the first album was all about throwing unique music in your face, “Pretty. Odd.” does a good job of bringing you along for the ride instead of being subjected to itself. It’s much calmer, partially because of the use of ukulele, tambourine, and fiddles. This is not music you are going to hear played in clubs all that often, that’s for sure.

There is still a large influence from music long since past. Many of the songs feel reminiscent to early 90′s T.V. themes or movie themes from the 80′s. Pas De Cheval sounds like the band watched every episode of Bonanza before going to the studio.

One thing I noticed was the strong introduction and use of harmonies with the band. Other members are given ample chance to sing their own parts, varying the experience of the album greatly. ‘Behind The Sea’ is a perfect example of this. The lead singer only sings backup during the entire track, giving the others a chance to really shine as the singers that they are.

An issue I have with the album is the fact that there are 15 tracks. This is nice, since you now get more music for your money. It’s also a pain because now you have more music on the CD. There is a reason that artists tend to limit the number of tracks of their CDs. If you have too many tracks, people will start to get bored which results in their turning off, or tuning out the rest of your hard work. I can see that happening with “Pretty. Odd.” really easily. I don’t see this album getting as boring as “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” or at the very least, not as fast, but it’ still possible.

I’m shocked with how much I ended up liking “Pretty. Odd.”. With a complete departure from their first album, they’ve managed to re-invent their sound and probably earned some new fans (and lost some old ones). You need to listen to the album yourself to really come to a decision yourself, because this is an album that will divide people down the middle. I personally like this album far more than their first one, and I used to love their first album.

8/10

Another helpful tidbit: if you are tired enough, you can actually sleep on a cement floor! I proved this by passing out in our conference room for nearly two hours. I say passed out because it wasn’t sleep in any sense. I actually felt worse when I was roused. Ah well, such is my work-life.

Onto the random paragraphs that summarize my life in the past little while!

I’ve been obsessed with the newest season of Sam & Max by Telltale Games. This season (with the exception of one episode) blows the first season out of the water. I’m not saying that the first season is bad, far from in actuality, but this seasons writing and direction are much tighter than the last season, and I’m rather looking forward to the last installment. I pray that they continue making more seasons.

There’s a new Dentyne commercial out that I’m in love with, and thanks to a little investigation Theresa and I found the band that made the song. Ben’s Brother is the culprit, and after listening to their myspace page, I went and tracked down their 2007 album: “Beta Male Fairytales”. It turns out that though ‘Stuttering’ will be a super hit single, the rest of their music is pretty much top-end awesome. I’ve officially become a fanboy of them and pray that they visit Canada at some point in the future. I’ll make sure to do a review of the album this week. For those looking for a copy of the track (which cannot be downloaded from the bands MySpace page there is another MySpace page that features the download. How long it’ll be up I don’t know so I suggest getting it while it’s ‘hot’.

So a new Panic! At The Disco album came out. Considering how hyped up the first CD was, I’m a little shocked that this went so under the radar. I’ll admit I liked them when I first heard of them (I was visitor 63 on their MySpace way back in the day.. and I still have their original 3 track releases). Then they got huge and over-played. Then they disappeared. I was expecting them to burn hot and then fizzle out after the first album. Then I heard about “Pretty. Odd.” two days before the release date. I got my hands on a copy recently and I’ve gotta say that it’s a drastic departure from their last album. “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” was all about being bouncy and energetic and borderline insane. “Fairly Odd” is toned down and dare I say, a more matured sound than before. I don’t know whether I like it or not. I’ll try and review their newest album this week as well.

I was recently recommended an artist called Matt McIntosh on Last.Fm and I have to say that I’m at least a little impressed. Very haunting, toned down, with a weird-hollow voiced sound to it. I’ll try and review this one when I get the chance. Apparently he’s made a lot of music in the past.

Last thing to note, I’ve been getting more into Twitter, though I’m not entirely sure why.

Until next time folks.

So kiss me again
Cause only you can stop this stut-stut-stut-stuttering
Kiss me again
And ease my su-su su-su su-su s-su-s-suffering

Ben’s Brother – Stuttering

Corey signing off