I think Jane Doe can be a tricky album to start with as it is pretty extreme, but you might have more luck with any of their other albums, like All We Love We Leave Behind, Axe to Fall or You Fail Me. Overall I consider them to be one of my favorite bands, and they have many really strong albums, so might be worth checking out the others.
Also, I would like to thank everyone for following the list and posting comments. Hopefully someone will find some new music they like through the list. I won't drag this out too long, most of you probably already knew it, but here it is:
1. Oceansize - Frames (2007)
Genre: Progressive Rock/Post-Rock/Art RockI remember the first time I heard this album, and Oceansize in general. This was back when I was a prog snob and quite a douche, and I quickly dismissed the band as being a "poor man's porcupine tree". Oh boy, if anyone ever invents a way to travel back in time, I would punch my younger self in the face.
This was back in 2008 I believe. But 2 years later the band released a new album, "Self Preserved..." which I checked out, and fell in love with. I checked out the previous albums but left Frames until last, because I remembered not being too crazy about it from the earlier experience, and I was afraid that if I went back, I would still dislike it. After slowly giving the other albums time and falling in love with everything the band had made, it was obviously inevitable to avoid Frames for much longer. I loved the other three albums so much, and maybe this would be that one album that just wasn't as good as the rest. I finally sat down to listen to it again, and boy oh boy was I blown away by it. It was like a final piece of a puzzle, and everything just sort of made sense all of a sudden.
I think what makes Oceansize my favorite band is their unique sound, and how well they balance certain elements from genres. They have progressive elements in their music, they have post-rock elements in their music, and everything from alternative rock to metal thrown into the mix. Their balance of these genres is just a perfect hit for me, and the music appeals to me on many different levels. Some songs are rocking, others are beautifully constructed with some of my favorite music sound landscapes ever made. It's the diversity and the ability to make songs that sounds very different to each other, but in the whole picture they make sense. Frames for me is the band's best album, because it has all the best elements of the band, and even though the other three albums (and the EPs) are incredible as well, this one just stands above them.
The opening-song, "Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt" is possibly the most progressive song on the album. The rhythm of the intro/main-riff is really sweet, and the song opens up the album in a fantastic way. An incredible song, and it fades into the second song, "Unfamiliar" in a perfect way. This one is a bit shorter, but has a lot of changes and different ideas for a 6 ½ minute song, and it keeps you interested throughout. The third song, "Trail of Fire" is one of the big highlights on the album. With a piano-line that is incredibly beautiful, the song also goes through many different phases and changes, and has a very "natural" way of progressing as a song. The fourth song is another favorite of mine, "Savant". It's a beautiful song filled with emotions, and has an amazing string arrangement towards the end. One song that some people tend to like less than the others is "Sleeping Dogs and Dead Lions", but I love that song to bits. It's the heaviest song on the album and has an almost Meshuggah-sounding riff and a pretty intense chorus/heavy part. To me, it's a song that works perfectly on the place it has on the album, and the way it leads into the last song, "The Frame" is awesome. The Frame is another favorite of mine, and has some incredible lyrics, and is just an emotional journey overall. A lot of really memorable lines like
"I am not the picture now, I am the frame" and
"Time won't change a thing when I'm gone".
Overall just an incredible album, and every song has it's own special place in my heart. But I guess you already knew that.
Favorite songs: The Frame, Savant, Trail of Fire, Unfamiliar, Commemorative 9/11 T-Shirt, Only Twin, An Old Friend of the Christy's, Sleeping Dogs and Dead Lions and Voorhees if you have the special edition. (that's all of them!)
So yeah, thanks for following. Was fun.
Topic: Zantera's Top 50 Albums v.2.0 (Finished) (Read 14383 times)
