In this week’s installment of Geek Approved, Converge releases their whopping eighth album since forming in 1990, Royal Trux continue their extensive reissue campaign by re-releasing their seventh album, Accelerator and newbies Freelance Whales drop their second. (Also out today and worth picking up: Trash Talk’s blistering 119, which is scheduled for review in Geek’s issue four.)
Converge
All We Love We Leave Behind
Epitaph
Every Converge album is an event, and every Converge albums resides notches above most every other speed-obsessed hardcore bands. All We Love We Leave Behind continues the career clinic Converge puts on with each new release. Occasionally I wonder what a bad Converge album would sound like. Maybe one that mellows out with age? Anyway, All We Love We Leave Behind is not that album, so I’ll have to keep waiting, I suppose. And, I bet they could pull off a terrific, moody mellow exploration into their collective subconscious without a hitch.
Stream the whole Converge album here:
Freelance Whales
Diluvia
Mom + Pop/French Kiss
If you could capture youthful exuberance and sell it on vinyl, it would be called Diluvia. Freelance Whales absolutely nail their sophomore album. A perfect mix of instrumentation and electronics, Diluvia scales back the saccharine of the band’s well-received debut, Weathervanes. A lushness bolsters the maturing band’s attack, and vocalist Judah Dadone’s phrasing extends from pre-teen to barely legal orchestral pop to keep pace. This dramatic of a transformation is rare, especially when every key ingredient of the band remains in place.
Check out “Dig into Waves” from Diluvia here:
Royal Trux
Accelerator (Reissue)
Drag City
I’ll be honest: Accelerator is not what I was listening to in 1998, when I graduated high school. I should have. Considered amongst Royal Trux’s best albums, Accelerator was the third in a trilogy of albums the band planned for Virgin Records after they were signed in the post-Nirvana frenzy that saw bands like Royal Trux, The Jesus Lizard and Drive Like Jehu sign to major labels. However, the band was dropped after the first two albums (Thank You and Sweet Sixteen) and they returned to Drag City. At times reminiscent of Daniel Johnston, at others Ween and at others early Beck, Accelerator runs the gamut of noisy, weird indie rock from the fringe. Current indie bands take themselves too seriously to make an album this fun. It’s a shame.
Here’s a silly little trailer for Accelerator: