Clutch : "Book of Bad Decisions"

The bar is held pretty high after "Psychic Warfare" . The opener is not as strong as "X-Ray Visions", but it has a groove that is what the band does, there might be a little more atmosphere. I guess it feels like Fallon's delivery is not as urgent. "Spirit of  76" finds the band back where I want them to be. The title track has a similar slinking blues groove, though marginally less impressive than the previous song. "How to Shake Hands" finds Fallons narrative locking into to the song with his more noted personality. The funk to "In Walks Barbarella" is hard to deny. The hook is there and finds Fallon's vocals gather the needed grit to add to the song's hook. The more standard rock fare of the much less adventurous "Vision Quest" doesn't do as much for me. I guess when it comes to straight up rock n roll , it's pretty decent , but I think I have already heard these guys do straight up rock n roll better.

"Weird Times" is there brand of rock n roll once again, though the drums are more upfront in the mix and this album doesn't find the bass as up in your face which makes the overall sound not as heavy as the previous album. Their drummer is really sweating for his paycheck on this album, so if you are a drummer this will not let you down. When the bass does resurface on "Emily Dickinson" it doesn't have the same growl it's had in past. For this song they can get away with it as it's more melodic and bluesy. Fallon takes on more of a country croon, though in his resonate baritone. It wanders off into something more psychedelic by the end of the song. "Sonic Counselor" has almost more of a ZZ Top feel. There is a little more of Sabbath to the chug of " A Good Fire". The blues drenched hook bounces around the song and is what you expect from their formula.

So far the more explosive elements seem toned, so going into "Ghoul Wrangler" my hopes are high for them to rocking a little harder. It is however nothing new for these guys and I have heard them commit to this harder. I can hear traces of Judas Priest in the more palm muted riff. They rock pretty well into "H.B is in Control" . Lyrically this might be one of the album's best moments.A slide guitar opens the twangy "Hot Bottom Feeder".  It is pretty much what you would expect from these guys and rides a pretty solid groove, the bass still could use a boost and really the mix is the only gripe about this album, as it would give this song more balls. The tempo picks up for "Paper & Strife". It's another meat and potatoes rock n roll song, along the line of 70s radio rock like Mountain.

The album ends with "Lorelei" a darker more somber song, that is a nice directional shift. Fallon talks his way through the verse and goes into his more gritty for the chorus. It ebbs back down kind of like "Hell"s Bells" I'll round this down to a 9 and see how it sits with me, some of the more straight forward rock n roll moments doesn't do as much for me as the song driven by the kind of thicker grooves that I want from the guys. Sometimes it feels like Fallon's hooks are just being dialed in a little and they are working more of a formula, but overall their formula work, The Drumming and guitar playing are so great they can easily carry this album. 

Brand New : "Science Fiction" (Full Album Stream)

Until 2006 when My brother turned me onto the album "God and the Devil are Raging Inside of Me" I was under the impression they were some sort of Christian pop punk band. There debut kinda fell in with the whole Myspace emo thing. Their newest album starts off very dark with an amazing vocal when the song kicks in after a sampled narrative. The vocal is amazing because of the sound invoked.Jesse Lacey doesn't have the best pipes in the business, but he works well with what he has and knows where to put his voice. The instrumentation is sparse but allows the vocals room to do their thing. Right from the start of "Can't Get it Out" it reminds me of the Pixies with how the bass drives the song. There is a little more of the pop punk thing on the chorus. The guitar is strummed in the verses with a very Pixies like feel. The vocal harmonies on this album are very well layered and the vocals benefit from stellar production. The first song that doesn't do anything for me is "Could Never Be Heaven" . His voice sounds fine, it's just a tedious folk ballad that drones on with the chorus. They return to more of a strum of acoustics with vocal layers playing against it. The =Effected guitars of "Same Logic/ Teeth" provide atmosphere as the guitars build the dynamics. The slink of the bass is what makes this song a winner, though it has lots of ebb and flow. Some of the cooler parts they could hold onto longer. There is a yelled vocal that reminds me of Bright Eyes' more aggressive moments. The acoustic break toward the end of the song is unexpected and cool. The beginning of "137" feels like "Heart Shaped Box". The vocals find Lacey in his sweet spot. Some of the guitars sounds like Pink Floyd and the guitar solo section is almost metal. The mid-tempo "Out of Mana" is more conventional rock , but it still has their signature upon it, mainly in the lyrical content and care free brooding of the vocals. Way more guitar solos than you would expect from them.They have been listening to way more classic rock, the guitar of "In the Water" starts off with a hint of Yes, then the songs goes down a bluesy road not unlike Stone Temple Pilots in the way the vocals fall. While it's way better the slight tinge of Southern rock could find this sharing the stage with Shinedown. So not a sell out but more accessible. The clean guitar of "Desert" is well played though the lyrics are semi-religious, so that brings me back to pondering their message. Though I find him to be full of doubt so I can work with that as it's not preachy. "No Control" finds them back in a more grunge place this time closer to Weezer. "451" is one of the albums most straight forward rock songs which will transition well into a live setting , but this version aside from the lyrics falls a tad flat on me. The moody "Batter Up" closes the album. The layered vocals are effective and this is more in their wheelhouse than some of the more rock songs and is full of feeling. All of their albums are different to some extent, I guess this could be considered more mature, but I was not expecting some of the more classic rock radio moments. Still this is a great album that sounds amazing I'll give it a 9.5.