Say Hello to Sunshine Album Review

Released three years after their first full-length album, Finch’s Say Hello to Sunshine establishes a harsher sound for the band. While their first album, What it is to Burn, was generally considered a pop-rock album, Say Hello to Sunshine experiments with a heavier, fierce sound.

Say Hello to Sunshine introduces more screams while still using the clean vocals present in What it is to Burn. This use of contrasting vocals also seems to accentuate contrasting moods in the songs; while some parts of the songs seem to be calm and almost uplifting, the mood quickly breaks into anger—the thrashing screams demonstrating this. This formula is fairly consistent in a majority of the songs, making this album sound quite cohesive. 

Many songs on this album seem to be highly influenced by Linkin Park, System of a Down, Korn and especially Incubus. The vocals are more developed, including new growling techniques (reminiscent of Korn) and harsher screaming. While in the previous album the screaming denoted pain, this new album deals with anger and frustration. 

Although most songs on Say Hello to Sunshine demonstrate Finch's new style, a few moments retain the feeling found in What it is to Burn. Songs like "A Piece of Mind" and "Reduced to Teeth" preserve enough of the calm and reflective feeling found in What it is to Burn, to remind the listener that this is still Finch. Overall, the music on Say Hello to Sunshine is a refreshing change from Finch's old style, and will surprise old fans with a new type of music.

(I didn't particularly enjoy the album, but this is a positive review for the assignment.)

Ecailles de Lune Album Review

Ecailles de Lune is the second full-length album from Alcest. Alcest is a project formed by multi-instrumentalist Neige, emerging from the French black metal scene. Starting out as a black metal band, they have evolved into more shoegaze, although still having some strong black metal influences. Neige cites his inspiration as being from a sort of dream land, and wants his music to be a journey into his memories for the listener.

Ecailles de Lune is a story about a man leaving one world for another. His journey takes him into the sea, as one might imagine from seeing the album’s underwater artwork. The music evokes a lot of imagery related to the sea. The first song is like a plunge into the ocean, and a lot of the sounds echo as if they are heard underwater.

Neige’s vocals on this release are very enjoyable, as there is a contrast between clean vocals and shrieks. However, although the album’s mood is wavy and beautiful, the high-pitched shrieks don’t feel a bit out of place. Neige has a unique way of making even screams sound elegant. The clean vocals as well as the guitars are immersed in reverb, invoking a spatial atmosphere.

Alcest’s work overall is very atmospheric, and the last track is my personal favorite in this way. It is melancholy, slow, and contemplative, almost like he is calling back home and no one is answering. The echoed phrases here are almost like a reverberation of the entire album’s story. Neige’s vocals on this track especially are very much integrated into the rest of the music, and are treated as another instrument. The skilled blending of the instruments creates a unified world and experience as Neige invites us to travel into his own world.