More HP Dorkage - Wrock reviews
Oct. 21st, 2007 11:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amediaI've been listening to the eight EP's I got from the Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club, more or less obsessively. They are immensely enjoyable and I wanted to share my impressions. Your mileage may, of course, vary.
Remus and the Lupins are one of the groups that span multiple genres, incorporating industrial ("I Eat Rats"), rockabilly ("Ridikkulus"), and synth-pop ("Expecto Patronum") styles into the EP "Born to Howl." They also do straight-ahead rock, with a fun cover of Meatloaf's "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth."
The Parselmouths are versatile as well; the title song on their EP, "Illegal Love Potion," has a wonderful B-52's vibe, while "Oh Dumbledore" has a bluesy feel. Their tight harmonies, edgy lyrics from the Slytherin point of view, and catchy melodies are captivating. "It's Not Half Bad" and "Myrtle's Always There" offer unusual silver linings to difficult situations, while "Who Are These Boys?" answers the question I never wondered about, what would it be like to date Crabbe or Goyle?
Harry and the Potters perform engaging garage-band rock on "The Enchanted Ceiling," reminding me of one of my favorite obscure bands, The Fleshtones. I like the thrash-y sound of "Harry Potter" and the cool Pink-Panther aura of "Hermione Screws up the Polyjuice Potion." "Phoenix Tears," which appears to celebrate a sort of magical substance abuse, was somewhat disturbing in content and all the more so because it is impossibly catchy. Their mini-songs (30 seconds to a minute) are quite fun.
The Remus Lupins' EP "Horcruxes and Hand-Me-Downs" offers rock'n'roll with a darker flavor, shading sometimes to gloomy, with strong character insights and unusual perspectives. They use a 3/4 time signature on "Origin," lending an already-intriguing song an unusual musical angle. The fuzzed and half-chanted vocals on the verses of "Slytherin Don't Dance" make an excellent contrast with the lighter sound of the refrain, with great transitions in-between.
Ginny and the Heartbreakers offer a sweeter, wispier sound on "Love Storm." A couple of the songs – "Ode to the Minor Characters," which has a clever premise, and the "Volde-Who?", which sounds a bit like a football cheer – dissolve into disappointing silliness. Of the rest, though, I particularly liked "The Happiest Day," a dual-POV retelling of Harry and Ginny's first kiss, and I found "Harry Got Naked" irresistible.
Quirky folky songs from Roonil Wazlib's "Putting Fluffy to Sleep" make this listener sit up and take notice. I never thought before about the advantages of having a toad for a pet, nor did I sympathize with the pains of Viktor Krum's celebrity, but "Trevor the Toad" and "*Someone* Isn't Getting Any" made me stop and think. "Bookworm" is a catchy introduction to Hermione, and "Fog" is pretty and evocative.
What musical genre could better represent Voldemort than heavy metal? The purveyors of "Evil is Sexy" clearly agree. Voldemort present the evil perspective with relish and classic Metallica-worthy instrumentation and vocals. Filch's muttered "My, my, are we in trouble" becomes the hook for "Cradle of Filch," in which he threatens perpetrators with dire punishment in a splendidly sinister marriage of content and style. And despite some adult language, the title track offers a nifty parallel-refrain structure and terrific guitar and percussion.
I confess that on first hearing The Hungarian Horntails online, I thought they reminded me of the Flying Lizards and other minimalist punk bands… learning that they consist of a 4-year-old backup singer and an 8-year-old frontman made me rethink how I looked at those punk bands back then! Their EP "The First Task" is perhaps best heard in small doses, but it's quite a work of devotion.
Remus and the Lupins are one of the groups that span multiple genres, incorporating industrial ("I Eat Rats"), rockabilly ("Ridikkulus"), and synth-pop ("Expecto Patronum") styles into the EP "Born to Howl." They also do straight-ahead rock, with a fun cover of Meatloaf's "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth."
The Parselmouths are versatile as well; the title song on their EP, "Illegal Love Potion," has a wonderful B-52's vibe, while "Oh Dumbledore" has a bluesy feel. Their tight harmonies, edgy lyrics from the Slytherin point of view, and catchy melodies are captivating. "It's Not Half Bad" and "Myrtle's Always There" offer unusual silver linings to difficult situations, while "Who Are These Boys?" answers the question I never wondered about, what would it be like to date Crabbe or Goyle?
Harry and the Potters perform engaging garage-band rock on "The Enchanted Ceiling," reminding me of one of my favorite obscure bands, The Fleshtones. I like the thrash-y sound of "Harry Potter" and the cool Pink-Panther aura of "Hermione Screws up the Polyjuice Potion." "Phoenix Tears," which appears to celebrate a sort of magical substance abuse, was somewhat disturbing in content and all the more so because it is impossibly catchy. Their mini-songs (30 seconds to a minute) are quite fun.
The Remus Lupins' EP "Horcruxes and Hand-Me-Downs" offers rock'n'roll with a darker flavor, shading sometimes to gloomy, with strong character insights and unusual perspectives. They use a 3/4 time signature on "Origin," lending an already-intriguing song an unusual musical angle. The fuzzed and half-chanted vocals on the verses of "Slytherin Don't Dance" make an excellent contrast with the lighter sound of the refrain, with great transitions in-between.
Ginny and the Heartbreakers offer a sweeter, wispier sound on "Love Storm." A couple of the songs – "Ode to the Minor Characters," which has a clever premise, and the "Volde-Who?", which sounds a bit like a football cheer – dissolve into disappointing silliness. Of the rest, though, I particularly liked "The Happiest Day," a dual-POV retelling of Harry and Ginny's first kiss, and I found "Harry Got Naked" irresistible.
Quirky folky songs from Roonil Wazlib's "Putting Fluffy to Sleep" make this listener sit up and take notice. I never thought before about the advantages of having a toad for a pet, nor did I sympathize with the pains of Viktor Krum's celebrity, but "Trevor the Toad" and "*Someone* Isn't Getting Any" made me stop and think. "Bookworm" is a catchy introduction to Hermione, and "Fog" is pretty and evocative.
What musical genre could better represent Voldemort than heavy metal? The purveyors of "Evil is Sexy" clearly agree. Voldemort present the evil perspective with relish and classic Metallica-worthy instrumentation and vocals. Filch's muttered "My, my, are we in trouble" becomes the hook for "Cradle of Filch," in which he threatens perpetrators with dire punishment in a splendidly sinister marriage of content and style. And despite some adult language, the title track offers a nifty parallel-refrain structure and terrific guitar and percussion.
I confess that on first hearing The Hungarian Horntails online, I thought they reminded me of the Flying Lizards and other minimalist punk bands… learning that they consist of a 4-year-old backup singer and an 8-year-old frontman made me rethink how I looked at those punk bands back then! Their EP "The First Task" is perhaps best heard in small doses, but it's quite a work of devotion.
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Date: 2007-10-22 05:44 am (UTC)And for completeness, I also have to say that I'm curious if there are now genres of Hobbit Folk or Elvish Instrumental from the LOTR side of musical fandom...
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Date: 2007-10-22 01:28 pm (UTC)I've got some LOTR music, too... when I have a chance I'll post!