WHOA!!!!! I read the review on Tedious Bliss and Leaning Against the Wind and man, this person couldn't have gotten it more wrong!! Granted, I am a fan of FLS and I'd like to think a friend of the band, but I'm being as objective as possible when I say this review must have been written after the the Sunday afternoon ennui he/she speaks of finally drove him to the medicine cabinet. The first obvious difference between the two albums is recording quality. The quality of Tedious Bliss, recorded at Stepbridge, would have been hard to match in a home studio. However, the musical quality of Leaning makes up the difference. The vocal harmonies are more advanced, guitars are simple and expressed very tastefully, drums are tight and don't obstruct the flow of the music, while the bass holds it all together with well-written grooves. Lyrically, the songs express very familiar situations and trains of thought, however personal they may be to Joni. Songs like 5th Gear and To be Human (Leaning) and Photographs (Tedious Bliss) are my personal favorites. By the way, I'm a chick in a band with three other guys. I guess that makes Hit by a Bus another No Doubt.
Gio "...only hope that a mighty rhythm and the right words could save the world." --Allen Ginsberg
Posts: 1874 | Location: Earth | Registered: May 01, 2003
Well, thanks for sharing your thoughts!! And I would definetely say you are a friend of the band
The whole No Doubt thing is something that goes away and resurfaces a lot. I definetely went through a phase where I did listen to ND a lot, and Gwen Stefani is an influence of mine, but not the only influence. Honestly, she's awesome, but she's also really annoying. I'm just as influenced by local musicians,and all kinds of other musicians out there.
Its hard to make sense of a band without comparing them to someone else, knowaddamean? Even when music sounds like nothing else, people have a need to categorize it.
The worst question is when people ask "What does your band sound like?" So hard to answer. Its like, do you tell em what you really sound like, what you would like to sound like, what that person would probably think you would sound like.....I don't know.. I just tell people to come to a show and decide for themselves.
