Van Coheed and YellowCambria

Coheed and Cambria will release the 4th installment of their sci-fi-prog-metal-indie-rock series this Tuesday and I wish I could say I was completely psyched about it. They've been one of my favorite bands for a long time, put on one of the best live shows I've ever seen last year, and have a record in my all-time top 20 (The Second Stage Turbine Blade). While overall, the following albums haven't usurped the first, there have been some amazing songs on each of them, allowing Coheed to sustain momentum over these years.

Now comes GAIBSIVV2:NWFT (haha!), the first single of which opens up with a similar palm-muted guitar riff to Yellowcard's "Ocean Avenue" to the point where whenever I hear the song start to play at my job, I think it's Yellowcard. No, this isn't a plus. It's probably my least favorite Coheed single ever, even after it starts sounding less like YC. In fact, much of this album, in my opinion, just sounds like b-sides or demo versions of previous material. It literally all sounds the same. The melody for "Radio Bye Bye" sounds nearly note-for-note identically to the far superior "Mother May I" from the previous record. This is one of many examples I could use.

There are a few bright spots. Enough to post a blog on them in the first place. "Feathers" opens like a vintage Van Halen track, but picks up steam fast and shows glimpses of the Coheed of old. "The Road and the Damned" has a beautiful string section backing up a fantastic melody and arrangement. They've still got it. They've still got it.

Listen:
Feathers (*fixed)
The End Chapter IV: The Road and the Damned
[from Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow (out 10.23)|buy]