Beau's Vinyl

Art by Scott C

Yo thanks. Sorry I don’t know when you sent this. I haven’t been on here in years. 

Gremlins Soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith. The gatefold jacket reacts to sunlight!

Thom Yorke - Suspiria

Midsommar OST by Bobby Krlic (aka The Haxan Cloak)

Pony

George A. Romero’s zombie trilogy by Waxwork Records.

Happy 20th birthday to Enema of the State!

Released by Milan Records

MGMT - Little Dark Age

What are your favorite songs from “Out of the Vein”?

First Man Soundtrack signed by composer Justin Hurwitz. Art by Marc Aspinall.

Over the past few years Angels & Airwaves have kind of just turned into a studio project. I understand that the guys have other priorities and obligations, but I’d like to see them live again sometime soon. With that being said though, this little EP is pretty damn solid. This is a four track EP with acoustic songs off of their first full length record, “We Don’t Need to Whisper”. From what I understand, Aaron Rubin, their producer had a big hand in putting together this release. Other than engineering and producing the record, he also performed the percussion and bass for the record. That’s one part of this release that I think really shines. The additional instrumentation. It makes the songs unique and fresh. In the beginning of “The Adventure” I think they even use a telephone ring as an instrument. Some pretty unique stuff on here. I dig it. I do wish this would have been released with normal packaging and artwork though, instead of just a clear slip. Another thing I enjoy about this release though, is Tom’s vocals. I like the fact that he changed up some of the vocal melodies. I think it gives the whole thing more of a live feel, besides the noticeable pitch correction on “The Adventure”. I think it’s also pretty awesome that he takes the time to sign some records on their way out. This is my third record signed by Tom. Very grateful. I’m excited to see what these guys cook up next. Maybe a new full length and a tour? We’ll see...

“A Higher Place” by Born of Osiris is my second favorite record of theirs, right behind “The Discovery”. I wrote about that a while back, go check it out if you’re interested. This came out when I was in high school(2009) and I remember when the single “Now Arise” got released and a friend of mine was freaking out (in a good way) about the little hip hop inspired ending. I think this record pushed the band into a more technical and melodic direction. This record has some of my all time favorite guitar work from BOO. Catchy guitar riffs, creative drumming and some beautiful sounding keys. A majority of the key sounds they get on here are great. There’s just something about them that I really like. They have a certain quality to them that has made its way into almost all of their releases after this point. A great example of what I’m talking about would be 2:06 in the song “Starved”. The lo-fi production is actually a plus for me as well. It gives the record a more raw feel, with its scratchy guitars and distorted sounding vocals. Overall I think this record is fantastic. There isn’t one bad track here. Some standout tracks for me: “Starved”, “An Ascent”, “Thrive”, “The Accountable”

Jóhann Jóhannsson is one of my favorite modern composers. I think I first discovered his music in the Denis Villeneuve film, “Prisoners”. Denis just happens to be my favorite director working today and Arrival is another fantastic film in his filmography. The movie has a great sense of mystery to it and Jóhann’s score adds to that mystery in the best way. Jóhann is great at atmosphere as well. He’s great at blending electronic instrumentation with acoustic. In my opinion, this score blends mystery, atmosphere and tension together beautifully. There are some luscious string passages here as well. A great example would be the track, “Transmutation at a Distance”. Unfortunately Jóhannsson died earlier this year. I will make sure to keep him alive through his music.

“Face Value” is Phil Collins’ first solo record and the first Phil Collins record I had ever purchased. Released in 1981 on Atlantic Records in North America, Face Value has probably Collins’ most popular song, with the iconic drum fill, “In the Air Tonight”. That song has to be one of the best album openers of all time, in my opinion. The first half of the song utilizing a Roland drum machine and then the second half kicks in with that iconic fill on acoustic drums. Not to mention the gated reverb on the drums that he helped popularize in the 80’s. This album was written when Genesis was still a band. Phil knew he wanted to write a solo record and the inspiration for this album came from his unfortunate divorce. He used this as an outlet for his emotions. Musically, this album is pretty all of the place, which is what makes it so great, in my opinion. I’m not sure if this is my favorite record of his, but it is WAY up there. Top 3 for sure. Same fave tracks: “In the Air Tonight”, “The Roof Is Leaking”, “I Missed Again” “If Leaving Me Is Easy”

“Is This Thing Cursed?” was my first real introduction to Alkaline Trio. I had listened to them a bit in the past, but I told myself I’d make it all the way through this new record and I’m glad I did. I think this record is incredible. Out of the thirteen tracks, there’s only one that I think is ok. Pretty much every track here stands out in its own, unique way. I love the contrast with Matt and Dan’s voices. It reminds me of Mark and Tom (when he was in the band) from blink. Matt and Dan’s lyrics also contrast each other well. The production on this album is great. It’s not over produced, like the newest blink records. The guitars sound like guitars and the drums sound like real drums. That was a relief. Anyway, I think this will probably make my top 10 albums of 2018. It’s a damn good punk rock record. Favorite tracks: “Blackbird”, “I Can’t Believe”, “Krystalline”, “Stay”