Haarp, like almost every other live album, has one major flaw–concerts usually suck to listen to unless you were there. Recorded in a massive show at Wembley Stadium last June, Muse manages to double the length of most of their already dangerously bloated and pretentious synth-hard rock without adding any new riffs or arrangements.
Press Play – Album Reviews
MuseHaarp**
Haarp, like almost every other live album, has one major flaw–concerts usually suck to listen to unless you were there. Recorded in a massive show at Wembley Stadium last June, Muse manages to double the length of most of their already dangerously bloated and pretentious synth-hard rock without adding any new riffs or arrangements.
Muse is a fine band, if a little derivative, but live, they can’t find the intensity that they manage to pull off quite well in the studio. The album does include a DVD of the show, where you can see Muse perform their best Pop-era U2 showboating, but a major flaw remains–Muse does not know how to rock a stadium. This album amounts to nothing more than a glamorized concert souvenir of a concert you never attended.
-Stover E. Harger III
Tony ScherrTwist in the Wind*1/2
I’m sick. Not vomiting sick, just… tired. I’m tired of the glut of singer-songwriters that invade my ears and fill them with acoustic-guitar melodies and lyrics about lost love. Sure, occasionally there’s a bright spot, a talented musician who pushes the genre or at least writes really significant songs, but more often than not–and in the case of Tony Scherr–the music is just mediocre.
And that’s the hardest part. The songs on Scherr’s new album, Twist in the Wind, are fine examples of rock-based songwriting with the occasional jazzy departure. And his voice is textured and endearing, if obviously untrained. There’s just nothing vital here. Tracks like “Shopgirl” and “Between” easily slide into the background, living up to their cliche titles and whimpering attitude.
-Ed Johnson
