Punknews.org

|
Sign In | create an account

Armchair Martian

Who Wants To Play Bass (2002)
Fat Wreck Chords

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: Brinepacer
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on April 4th 2002

First off, I don’t like Jon Snodgrass’s voice, it seems a little put on to me, but that’s very subjective, so I’ll work past it. Nonetheless, this CD doesn’t really stand up. Imagine The Weakerthans played in a Texas bar. This is straight up drunk rock. Note: Not drinking rock, drunk rock – Music for four in the morning when you’re home and alone and depressed. Give me a whiskey and an armchair and we might be somewhere, but in the cold (sober) light of day, this all sounds too similar. Opener “Mexican Song” kinda threw me for six, as I was expecting pop-punk of some sort, and the slowed down tempo was something of a welcome surprise. However, drawn over the course of thirteen songs, with little variation until the closing quarter, I found myself easily distracted. But as I say, throw those hot whiskeys my way later tonight, and we might have a deal.

Login to rate this album

People who liked this also liked:

Please login or register to post comments.

What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?

Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

clcsqueejy04 (October 31, 2011)

Also, I adore the Weakerthans, but have no fucking idea where the "Imagine the Weakerthans..." bit is coming from.

clcsqueejy04 (October 31, 2011)

I'm pretty sure this reviewer just reviewed as much Armchair Martian as he could, spamming punknews with his unshared ill-will toward Jon Snodgrass.

nikko (December 11, 2005)

terrible review

Anonymous (September 8, 2002)

Totally disagree with this review. The album takes a few listens, and I don't think the reviewer really LISTENED to it. This album was a lot like Social D's White light album for me. While a different sound, it's songwriting genius is almost unparrelled. Very introspective. Snograss is definately at his best here. Right up there with John K. Samson and Mike Ness as far as songwriting goes.

Warning! Not for the weak of mind and emotion.

Anonymous (April 5, 2002)

Yup, horrible review, fantastic record. Good to see you're still alive, miguel...

Anonymous (April 5, 2002)

Shit, mutherfucker, I want to play bass. And I have...for Armchair Martian. And, I'll tell ya, this review comes from someone who is not familiar with the history of great records Armchair has produced. So you don't like his voice, well, like you said - subjective. If you've heard the stuff Jon and Paul do with their sorta 'alt' country band, Drag the River, (who they've been spending an awful lot of time with lately) this album won't come as such a surprise. This recording kinda floats somewhere in the middle of the two bands, softly looming overhead like a pink elephant winkin' at ya, like you got some catchin' up to do. When I first heard this record, I wasn't quite sure what to think of it. I mean, if you're an Armchair fan, you'd immediately expect something a little more rockin', but this record is moody and a lot more complex. It almost makes me feel that people aren't ready for this record, but I'm glad they did it and I wonder, man, what's next? This shit is deep. Snodgrass, is a brilliant songwriter, and knowing him, that's all he does. It's his life. This shit seeps from his pores. I'll ride shotgun with him any day.

peace,
miguel
http://www.dmnr.com