Tweekend

by

The Crystal Method

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Tweekend - The Crystal Method (Review)

Category: Electronica

Artist Name: The Crystal Method

CD Title: Tweekend

Description: After reading plenty of the other Tweekend reviews on Amazon.com, and with no small amount of trepidation, I purchased Tweekend. Why trepidation? Well, after hearing Vegas, their first cd, a truly amazing album, I truly doubted if Tweekend, a cd that is supposedly "techno for the masses", could be as good as their first. I bought it nonetheless, even more eager to do so after seeing the video to their single "Name of the Game". So what do I think of the cd, as a whole? Great stuff, without a doubt. Just like Vegas, every song on it is good. No semi-weak songs, or terrible songs, or filler, all the songs were carefully crafted, and "tweeked", before TCM actually released the cd, which is why there was a four year period in between albums. Tweekend has a definete style to it, a more hip-hop, rock approach than the outer spacey Vegas. What is the result? A definetely different sound. Although a few of the songs on Tweekend resemble those on their first album, much of the content is original and creative.

Songs:

1. PHD

My Comments: One of the most original, coolest songs on the cd. Although when I first heard it, I was unsure if this was TCM I was hearing, but indeed, it was. It merely sounds different than anything they've ever made before. I was certainly suprised to find that this as the first song on the cd. This song is not "techno for the masses." It's complex beat and high pitched sounds make it difficult for non-techno fans to appreciate, but for one such as me, I truly admire the genius in this song. Flawlessly made.

Rating: 10/10

2. Wild, Sweet, and Cool

My Comments: This is about the closest song on the cd that one could call "filler." But Wild, Sweet and Cool is not exactly filler. It's relatively short, and has cool lyrics, and is easy to listen to, but other than that, it's nothing spectacular or outstanding. Vegas fans may be unfamiliar to a song like this from TCM, but it's still quite good.

Rating: 9/10

3. Roll It Up

My Comments: Roll it Up is somewhat similar to Wild, Sweet, and Cool, in a vague way, "bordering on being filler" way. They're both actually really good, though. Of the two songs, I prefer this one more, simply because I think the rythm is better. My only complaint is that it seems a bit stretched near the end, but that's only 20, 30 seconds of mediocrity on a five minute song, so I don't mind.

Rating: 9/10

4. Murder

My Comments: Ah yes, Murder. Where did anyone get the concept for this song? I don't know, although it sticks to the "murder" theme alot better than ATB's song "Killer" sticks its theme. Although the next single hasn't been anounced yet, I predict this to be TCM's next single. It has lyrics by Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, and, I admit, he's not a bad singer. I'd much rather hear him sing this track than Fred Durst. Hehe. Anyhow, at first, to the average TCM fan (such as myself), this song seems shallow and unprogressive. After listening to it a few times, I realize, no, it is not shallow. But it is unprogressive, at least in comparisons to TCM's other songs. What I mean, by unprogressive, that it's essentially the same thing throughout the whole song. Verse 1, then chorus, then verse 2, the chorus, etc. Exactly like a pop or rock song. That is exactly what electronica fans do not want to hear. That's why they like techno and find enjoyment in it. Nonetheless, the song is damn good.

Rating: 9/10

5. Name of the Game

My Comments: Possibly the best song on the cd. It's got really cool guitar, which serves as an actual beat/rythm throughought the whole song. During the first listen, NoG may just seem to be a bunch of scratching and annoyingly repeated lyrics with repetive guitar licks in the background, but it's much more than that. Well, it's not much more than that, but that alone, is really cool. The song is undeniably great. If nothing else will get people off their feet and onto the dance floor when you have this cd on, NoG should work. And if NoG doesn't work, than nothing will.

Rating: 10/10

6. The Winner

My Comments: This song is payed less attention to than the other songs, and with good reason. It's nothing really great in the first place, anyway, but the main reason is because it is practically "lurks" in Name of the Game's shadow. After hearing NoG, the beat and rythm of The Winner will sound repetive and generic. Despite this, I have carefully listened to this song, and made my assessment. It's a great song. That's all.

Rating: 8.5/10

7. Ready For Action

My Comments: RFA is similar to Vapour Trail (from their first album), because of the way it sounds itself and the fact that it isn't as well known as TCM's other songs. Keep in mind, though, that Vapour Trail is my favourite track off Vegas, and quite possibly, the best. As is expected, RFA is no exception. Although it's roots seem to come from Vapour Trail, it is much different and less repetive and easier to listen to for an average listener. In fact, believe it or not, of the two songs, I like RFA even more, but only because of it's short lyrics. It's only a couple lines repeated quite a bit, but they give more life and activity to the song.

Rating: 10/10

8. Ten Miles Back

My Comments: Like RFA is similar to Vapour Trail, Ten Miles Back is similar to Jaded, from their first cd. And, like RFA, I find TMB to be better than Jaded. There's not really a way to describe it. Nearly throughout the whole song, it has this funky sound that sounds like it was inspired by a baby sucking its soother, although it's a bit more advanced than that. At first, it's annoying, but after a few listens, it grows on you, and reminds you that this is the trademark sort of stuff TCM is known for. I have to admit, though, that I never really liked Jaded too much anway, but this song is certainly better.

Rating: 9.5/10

9. Over the Line

My Comments: This and the following song are mildly similar. Both sound much different, but the reason they are similar is because they follow the same sort of path, although their style is certainly different. Over the Line is a good song to listen to. That's all. Some may dislike, but I actually find this and the next song to my liking. Greatly. One similarity is that the two tracks are sort of. . . dark in complexity. Not the kind of track you'd hear on the dance floor, and not entirely "uplifting", either. Somewhere in between.

Rating: 10/10

10. Blowout

My Comments: Between Blowout and Over the Line, I'd have to say I like Blowout a bit more, although both are masterpieces and very well made. Blowout is even more dark than OtL, and more trance-ish, too, which is an electronic music genre I greatly enjoy. The two songs are original and add sophistication and uniqueness to how one might define TCM's "sound."

Rating: 10/10

11. Tough Guy

My Comments: One of my favourite songs on the cd, and, along with Name of the Game, possibly the best song on the cd. By far, though, it's the darkest, slowest, but coolest song I've ever heard TCM do. Actually, the song starts out slow, but grows momentum in the middle. Maybe it's simply because of my difficulty with describing in words what songs "sound" like, but I admittedly can find no proper words to describe this song. The closest thing I've ever heard to it would have to be "Poison", by Prodigy, but still, both songs are incredibly different, and I fear that I will someday regret making that comparison.

Rating: 10/10

Now, let it be noted: like many cd's these days, there is a "bonus" track on the cd, that isn't listed anywhere on the cd pamphlet or no the case. But it doesn't matter, I know the name of the song: it's Name of the Game, except a different version. Not a remix, though. What can I say about it? I prefer the original, because of its "rap" lyrics, but this is still pretty good. So I am forced to make a decision: should I rate it or not? I decided, no, I should, not, since it's not as good, but still, quite similar, as the original version.

Overall/Average Rating: 9.5/10

Best Songs: PHD, Name of the Game, Blowout, Tough Guy

Worst Songs: The Winner, Wild, Sweet, and Cool

Best Song: Name of the Game

Worst Song: The Winner

Highest Score: 10/10

Lowest Score: 8.5/10

Now, I'm trying not to compare this album to Vegas, since many great albums have been dissed unfairly due to following up an even greater album. But it's just impossible to ignore the fact that Vegas was probably the best techno CD I ever heard, and this is not. In fact, it's tough for me to even say that this CD is good, since after listening to it a few times, I can't remember any of the songs. Almost every track sounds identical, and the only purpose of this CD seems to be to give your bass speakers a workout.

The reason I liked Vegas so much was that the tracks had more of a musical quality, and often had a sort of dark beauty to them. In addition, some of the songs were actually defineable as such. For example, "Keep Hope Alive" and "Trip Like I Do" were not only some of my favorite techno songs, but some of my favorite songs in general. But the songs on Tweekend are all drums and beats, with little music to separate them from one another. Admittedly, "PHD" is a nice experiment, and "Name of the Game" is ok. That's about it. If all you want is another CD to bounce to, this will suit your purposes. But Crystal Method are capable of so much more than this.