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Heartland, the third studio album from apparent final fantasy nut and Canadian ‘indie rock’ (is it different up dehr, eh? I’m from Minnesota, so I can say that and not be racist) Owen Pallet is, well… how the hell do I talk about an eclectic clusterfuck of instrumental masturbation? As the first of his albums to be released in Japan, it is being packaged under his name, as opposed to his historical moniker of Final Fantasy to avoid conflict with Square Enix Holdings Corporation. What a fucking fruitloop. It’s a video game. Christ.

I digress. Obviously.

The concept behind the album is apparently one-sided dialogues between a young and very violent farmer speaking to his creator, according to Pallet himself. WTF? For the most part I couldn’t get past the fact that the happy ditties and complex lyrics made me feel like I was in a fucked up cartoon musical. It’s like orchestral jazz and a 1970’s concept album in a fistfight with the roadrunner and Elmer Fudd behind a Cure show. Seriously.

Ok, the backing of the Czech Symphony is pretty awesome, if you’re into that kind of thing.

I get the feeling that this is one of those albums that requires listening to over and over, and each time something new comes out. Like herpes. Oh wait. Anyway, “Red Sun No. 5” is growing on me, with its rather ghostly and somber progression. Or I’m hallucinating. Who’s to say. I hear patients is a virtue… maybe in a couple of months I’ll be able to get past wondering if Wile E. Coyote is going to drop a fucking rock on my head when I listen to Heartland. Or I’ll just go back to cranking Monster Magnet and mainlining espresso.

I promise to check out the latest, Appeal to Reason, that came out in October but for now I’d like to throw in my two cents on The Sufferer & the Witness (2006).

I got turned on to Rise Against via Pandora Radio while listening to stuff from Hot Water Music – I think the first song I heard was “Bricks,” and was caught right off the bat. I have a huge, huge, huge soft spot for the kick-snare-kick-snare punk/core driving beat.

The intro begins with a voice over that says “this is noise” and it gets better from there. Besides “Bricks” there is “Worth Dying For,” a hard hitting yet melodic cut that seems to question the direction the world is taking yet resolves to not give up fighting for it.

The last cut, “Survive,” is another that I can’t help but to play over and over. It switches between a chorus driven punk ballad and something closer to a crunchy metal anthem. Being the sucker for great lyrics that I am, I can’t help but to holler the chorus “How we survive is what makes us who we are.”

That said, start to finish it’s a great album. There are a couple of cuts that took multiple listens to really appreciate, one or two I find myself skipping if I’m not in the mood, and at least three that grabbed my belt loop and continue to shake my money maker.

It was the 12th track “Uncle Sam Goddamn” that pulled me in and keeps me jumpin’, but damn dude – the rest of this album just kicks.

In a quest to broaden my hip hop horizons, and to get away from misogynistic/violent rhetoric/homophobic themes that blister the pop hip-hop vinyl, I came across Brother Ali and in the mix he’ll stay. Very simplistic and jazzy beats underlie smooth and skillful vocal rhythms, with lyrical content ranging from an open letter to his ex-wife, to “Freedom Ain’t Free” (with it’s awesome reggae-esqu tracks), this album flows.

It’s impossible to pick a favorite lyric, but “I use blood and sweat to butter my bread, ‘cuz this cold world couldn’t give a fuck if I’m fed” is up there.

Being a fan of Nine Inch Nails, I was psyched to check out its (er, Mr. Reznor’s?) latest. Being a cheap bastard I was psyched it was free.

I dig it. I think it I’ve gone through the full 43:45 over a dozen times in the last couple of weeks (ok, fine, so I wanted to make sure I had a good feel for the album before I tried to wax familiar), and every time something pops out. Track two, “1,000,000,” with the muddy distortion guitars, or at least a sound akin to muddy distorted guitars (but in this day and age of synthetic sound generation I’m gonna have to cover my ass on this one) is rockin’. I haven’t found much on the album that doesn’t appeal to me, though I must admit that the disjointed nature of “Letting You” was an acquired taste, even for a guy who lived in a house/studio space with Trash Gordon for six months.

I’ve read some critical reviews complaining that the album doesn’t have a theme, or that it is all over the place. Maybe, but I likey. The above mentioned “1,000,000” follows “999,999” (yeah, the math works on this one) which is more of a soft and melodic (dare I say soothing?) introduction to the album, a vibe shattered by the following tracks in true Nine Inch Nails style.

Contrary to rumor, likely just confusion because of the release of the lyric-less Ghosts I-IV prior to The Slip, The Slip does have lyrics on most of the songs – many rather angst ridden. Go figure. In particular, the track “Discipline:” “Nothing matters to me, nothing matters as much, I see you left a mark, up and down my skin”. Dig it. According to many reports Reznor is sober these days after kicking junk, which makes this album and those lyrics all the more diggable.

So check it out. If you don’t like it, I’ll refund your bandwidth.