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AeschTunes’ Top Five Albums of 2007 December 31, 2007

Posted by aeschtunes in Darren Hayes, Erasure, Nine Inch Nails, Seal, Storybox, music.
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This is a list of our top five favorite albums of 2007.

5. Darren Hayes – This Delicate Thing We’ve Made

This was Darren’s first release as an independent artist. With this album, he took a chance and released a double album. Unfortunately, this chance didn’t entirely pay off. While there are some really good songs on this album, there are also quite a few songs that were either B-side material or “throwaways.” Had this album been one disc with the strongest songs on the album (which is roughly half the album), then This Delicate Thing We’ve Made would’ve been much higher on our top five list.

4. Erasure – Light at the End of the World (limited edition release)

2007 saw the release of Erasure’s twelfth studio album, Light at the End of the World. Overall, this was a decent release, although the last three songs of the material on the “regular” release were rather forgettable. In fact, I felt that the two bonus tracks on the limited edition release were stronger than some of the songs that appeared on the actual album. With a few minor adjustments, this album would’ve ranked higher on this list.

3. Storybox – No Dancing Allowed

The first album underground synthpop artist Dave Montana released under the name Storybox, and it was his first release for Section 44. Overall, this is a pretty good pop-oriented synthpop album. However, there is a three-song section near the end of the album which is more experimental in nature. In some respects, these three songs stand out like a sore thumb on the album, and it does distract from the listening experience somewhat. Like with Erasure, if there were just a couple of minor adjustments, this probably could have ranked even higher. But this is a good album, and is definitely worth checking out if you like synthpop and electronic music.

2. Seal – System

Seal released his fifth album, System, this year. This album saw him make a return to his dance pop sound on his 1991 self-titled album. That’s not to say that he recycles that old sound; he takes that sound and modernizes it. And there are some ballads on the album, but the ballads and slower tempos don’t dominate on this album. There was just one minor weak spot on the album… if not for that, this album would’ve been our number one for the year.

1. Nine Inch Nails – Year Zero

Trent Reznor came up with a definite concept for this album, which he carries successfully through the whole project. This was definitely a stronger album than Nine Inch Nails’ last release, With Teeth.

There were some other good albums released in 2007, but they just didn’t quite have what it took to make our top five. However, I will include them below as “honorable mentions”:

Dave Gahan – Hourglass
Neuropa – The Blitz
Rupesh Cartel – The Disco and the What Not
The Smashing Pumpkins – Zeitgeist
Virtual Server – Setup

Album Review: Darren Hayes – “This Delicate Thing We’ve Made” October 19, 2007

Posted by aeschtunes in Darren Hayes, music, review.
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Darren Hayes
This Delicate Thing We’ve Made

This Delicate Thing We’ve Made is Darren Hayes’ third solo album, and it is also the first album he has released as an independent artist. For his first independent release, Darren was ambitious and put out a double CD. On first listen, it feels like Darren was trying to put together a kind of “concept album,” because several ideas (such as time machines) show up in several of the songs. However, by the time a listener finishes listening to both discs, you’re left feeling that Darren is simply retreading the same ideas, and are left feeling as if you’ve been going in circles.

This album is a lot to try to absorb in one listen. On the first disc, the songs average in the 4-5 minute range, and there are 13 tracks on that disc. The second disc, which contains 12 tracks, has songs that range between 3-4 minutes in length. The first disc, while it may have the longer songs, is actually the easier disc to listen to. The second disc focuses too much on midtempo and slow songs, which can make it a tedious listen.

Overall, This Delicate Thing We’ve Made is not a commercial album; sonically, a lot of what is on the album is not radio-friendly. Also, this album feels as if its longer than it really needs to be. To be honest, I think half of the songs on this album sound more like they are B-side material, and could easily have been left off. In fact, if this album had been a single CD with the strongest songs from this set, it would’ve been a great album.

Some of my favorites on the album include: “Waking the Monster,” “Sing to Me,” “Listen All You People,” “The Great Big Disconnect,” “The Future Holds a Lion’s Heart,” “On the Verge of Something Wonderful,” “Walk Away,” “Me, Myself and (I),” “Setting Sun,” “Words,” and “The Tuning of Violins.” The songs I felt could’ve been left off the album include: “A Conversation With God,” “Bombs Up In My Face,” “Lucky Town,” “I Just Want You to Love Me,” and “A Hundred Challenging Things a Boy Can Do.” I would’ve liked “The Only One” a lot better if the vocals on it hadn’t been processed; personally, I didn’t think the processed vocals added to or improved anything for the song.

This Delicate Thing We’ve Made had a lot of potential, but the final product ended up feeling rather overblown. This album would’ve been much stronger as a single disc.