Review Piece
Curriculum Work
A music album review on a band called The Neighbourhood, written for Editorial and Feature Writing module.
The Neighbourhood is back with “Wiped Out!”
The Neighbourhood released their second full-length album on Oct 30
By: Rusyda Aris
Album art from: http://genius.com/The-neighbourhood-wiped-out-tracklist-album-art-lyrics
The five member alternative rock band from California, that gained popularity with their chart-topping song Sweater Weather in 2014, is back with new music. Released on Oct 30 on ITunes, The Neighbourhood’s album Wiped Out! compromises of 11 tracks. Just like their previous albums I Love You and their mixtape #000000 & #Ffffff, the band has kept their dark signature tone and alternative rock sound. The album’s overall melancholic and dark theme is well complemented with lead singer, Jesse Rutherford’s vocals.
The fans who were disappointed with their mixtape, which had elements of hip hop and rap in it and featured rappers like French Montana, YG and Danny Brown, can be assured that the band have stuck closer to their roots in this album. No rapping this time.
I admit I was a little bit disappointed that not a single track in Wiped Out! featured a rapper because I personally liked how their mixtape sounded. On the other hand, I guess that means fans who couldn’t fully enjoy their mixtape last time because of the sudden inclusion of rap, would be happier now.
The album opens up with A Moment of Silence which is a 30-second track that literally features no sound at all. This may throw off some people who actually expected an actual song, like myself, but is only greeted with a humming, empty silence that goes on for half a minute. Although the track list has 11 songs, it really is just 10 songs.
Prey is listed as the second song on the track list but it would be the first actual song that listeners would listen to in the album. It is indeed an amazing song to start off the album with. The steady sound of the tambourine in this one, really adds to the mood of the song. My
favourite lyrics in the album, “we need to find ourselves, before someone else tells us how”, would be from this track.
Daddy Issues, a slower, calmer song is another good one with the melody from the electronic organ, I believe. Scrolling through the comments for this song, I’m not the only who seems to love it. Ferrari starts off strong with a very electronic sound but softens up as the other instruments kick in. Single is another slower, lovely track with its guitar instrumentals. Wiped out, the title song has an incredible transition at the end. The rest of the songs on the album are amazing as well. I find them perfect to listen to while you’re on the bus or train, on the way home.
If you liked the band’s first album, give this album a listen. If you have yet to listen to their first album but listen to bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Twenty One Pilots and The 1975, this album is enough to make you want to consider adding them to your list of favourite bands.
