Search - Braid :: Movie Music 2

This is Emo? Talk about Transcendent!

Brock Brown | Phoenix, AZ United States | 09/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Emo? Talk about Transcendent!
Right from the opening moments of this CD you're going to be confused to a degree as the joyful, melodic voice of a woman begins filling your ears, a sound unexpected from a Braid album.
Where's Bob Nanna (the main singer)? And what about Chris Broach (the heavy guitar player)? There's nothing but her voice, zero sound and no singing from the duo previously featured on past Braid CDs.
Then in one explosive moment the entire sounds of Braid, the clashing drums, rambling guitars and screaming vocals of Bob and Chris, shatter the silence.
In a trade-off between the kind and simplistic voice of the woman and the angry, raving voices of the band you hear the insanely destructive sound that the instruments provide as background music to the vocal showdown.
Once the quick but emotional song ends you realize you can step back and pretty much sum up the entire style of Braid in one word: Transcendent.Braid has never been the scapegoats of the corporate wishes, the pop ridden sounds of the angst ridden emo singers, or the stylized beats of the flavor of the month artist.
They are first and last innovators of their genre, something all musical artists should strive to accomplish and work towards.
As musical notes and guitar rifts interchange and hang in the air for seconds if not minutes Braid sings (and often screams) their way through their odd and out of place lyrics, which deal with personal thoughts and idiosyncrasies more then the loss of a girlfriend.This CD, better then any other Braid CD on the market reflects their groundbreaking nature in the emo genre of music, never conforming to the basic wanton sounds of the typical artists found in this punk ridden land.
Some songs are exactly like the last in that you're thrown through a torrent of emotions and verbal expressions along with loud and imposing guitars, yet others come off as hilarious (if not entertaining) singles with experimental sounds and pauses between music for beat changes.
As it was already described one song entitled "Roses in the Car" features a kind of Pac-Man techno beat along with well-known lyrics to an infamous Braid song.
This is about as anti-grade as the band brings itself to as the rest of the music is violent and exciting compilations of the various sounds and talents of Braid.
One song which comes off better then any other on the entire CD is the Band's reproduction single of the song "Always Something There to Remind Me" by Burt Bacharach.
Bob Nanna's vocals go so well with this song that you could almost swear that the Braid version is better then the original song!Perhaps the only downside to be found in this CD is the different nature of some songs, plain and simple.
Although it remains to be one of Braid's strong points and the feature that keeps it from being just another Pop-Emo group, it often hinders the consistency of the music.
Some songs are so moving and fluid that they almost become lost in themselves, while others come off so solid that they hit your ears better then most of the major emo groups of current times.
But that is always to be expected when using different and sometimes risky sounds and styles in your music, you're bound to lose some regularity. But, I'd rather stake my time out with the sounds and style of Braid then some of the better known emo groups, if only to hear something different then laid down beats and time changed guitar rifts.
In the end, if you're looking for a fun and less then normal emo CD to listen to then the best CD to turn to is Braid: Movie Music Volume II.
However, if you're out to find a CD with a bit more depth then you'd be better off buying the first Braid Movie Music CD or the Frame and Canvas LP."

If you don't enjoy this, your opinion may just be incorrect.

07/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We know the story: Braid came, Braid rocked (the most abbreviated description of Braid at their height of their career), Braid left. But after they parted, they released this collection of covers and seven inch material. You do get some great covers (My Life, This Charming Man, Trompe Le Mond, etc.)Besides finally getting all of the b-side and what have you, this is a very diverse collection of Braid's music. Where most B-side collections get redundant after 4 or 5 songs, this album keeps going right up until the end of Trompe Le Mond. If you haven't checked out Braid, please do so. I, and maybe I'm not alone here, consider Braid to be at the top of the Emo genre. A lot of people have conflicting views, but check them out for yourself. I've noticed that a lot of people who give negative reviews of Braid are in the Get Up Kids/Vagrant variety of emo. Not that I don't like the Vagrant label, the get up kids are only one of many great emo artists (here's a word on Get-Up, as good as they are, I think there is better, don't use them as the gold standard in rating music). Check out Braid with any open mind. And if you're thinking about checking out Hey Mercedes or Firebird Band, I recommend giving Firebird a whirl first. A lot like the late Braid material, but more evolved. Not to mention The Firebird Band played one of my favorite shows as of late."