Album reviews for The Garden EP, A song-by-song take at the album Options

[Badman]

Go song by song and list what you like and what you don't like about the album. Don't comment if you haven't actually listened to the whole thing and just want to heckle. We can be even-handed and objective rather than emotional about this album.

Onto my review! Much of this is stream of consciousness while listening to the songs.

1) The Garden

Pretty catchy pop music. It feels like it is going somewhere but never arrives. He reuses the line "dirty water" from DWLF which feels like lazy songwriting. It is listenable though and I could see this getting stuck in my head after a few spins.

2) Rise

Normally Ed builds up in his songs... not so with this song. He explodes off the track with this one. The use of the word "rise" reminds me of DWLF as well. This song is clearly about rising up from the attacks on his character that he is fighting in the courts. Overall it doesn't excite me and feels repetitive.

3) I'm The Proof

Now this is the traditional Ed right here. He builds up nicely and I like how the musicians don't play initially but give time for just vocals. The lyrics to this song are the first on the album to really make me think christian lyrics. He is trying to say he is christian now but this song kind of contradicts Rise. Overall at the same level as The garden in terms of a listenable song. The difference is that the closer I listen to this song the less I like it whereas the Garden did nothing to hurt anyone.

4) Solar Flare

Oh... that falsetto at first is bad. Just horrible. D: The chorus reminds me of What are we fighting for. Oh my god, did he really just go na na na na nanana na? Hey, I actually like the little addition he did a minute before the end of the song. Rarely does Ed quite down long enough to let anyone be heard but him. Still, this is the worst song on the album so far. Just... just... ugh.

5) Mind Games

This is a cover of John Lennon and I have never heard the original. First thing, ed is getting into this thing where he kind of fluctuates up and down like "miiiIIIiiiiIIIiiiIIIiiinnd games" It is annoying and reminds me of in Solar Flare how he goes "SAVE me FROM mySELF" . "Love is a flower, you gotta let it grow" is a terrible line; I can't believe lennon wrote it. The rhythm guitar in this song is annoying and if Ed really wanted to nail this song it would have been acoustic with some tambourines,sitars, or something. Ed from 1999 would have clearly seen that. The last 40 seconds of the song are well done though.

6) The Garden (Juno Reactor Remix)

Nice start to this song... quiet. The beat behind the lyrics is much better than the original. It gives the sense of impending doom and makes it a whole new song. The car screeches are cool too. I know why this song is so much better now!! The crappy drummer has been replaced by a backbeat, brilliant!!

I award this song the best song on the album award. I like it more than I like Heaven from BoP. This song and DWLF are where I was hoping the album would go. They missed the mark on this album but maybe in the future Ed will work with this guy again.

7) Rise (Elder Jepson Remix) [Feat Hawkman]

Oh my god, a callout at the beginning of the song. This guy sounds like a retarded Jamaican. Oh dear god it is dubstep, Ed did not just make a dubstep song. I haven't been this embarrassed for Ed since the song Home on SFBM. No friend of mine will hear me listening to this crap. This hawkman guy keeps trying to shove in past Ed but can't seem to. This collaboration doesn't feel natural when listening to the song. It reminds me of when Ed was in that "get like me" rap song. Ed, you are drunk, go home.

8) I'm The Proof (Feat. Eva and the Heartmaker)

After that last song, this sounds like a great start! On this start this doesn't sound much different from the original. Hmm... this girl has a high pitched voice. This reminds me strongly of the stuff done with shelby lynn back in BoP. Same bland drums... overall this music doesn't inspire me. Forgettable is the word that comes to mind. One positive is that this collaboration feels more natural than the hawkman monstrosity.

9) Solar Flare (Jamie Candiloro Remix)

Oh god, please not more dubstep. Oh no, nananananas... So far no dubstep, it sounds kind of foreboding like the Juno Reactor remix. This actually isn't that bad. The drum machine is giving an above average beat. I also think the xylophones in the background add to the song. Overall this remix is better than the original. I think it is the second best song on the album actually. The lyrics are still shit but if you can get past that it works.

10) Mind Games (Karsh Kale Remix)

Cool way to start off. It lacks passion though. The beat doesn't change; it is just a boring song altogether. I had high hopes here after DWLF but they weren't met. This song is forgettable and uninspiring. Right in the middle of the road album-wise. It fails to offend me but it fails to make me want to listen further.

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Overall I'd say this album only has one to two songs on it that are worth pulling while the rest can be trashed for precious harddrive space. It could have been really good if he would have gone the juno reactor/karsh kale way on all the songs and spent more time with them. Overall the album feels rushed and kind of out of touch with what people listen to these days. Who is his target audience? Soccer moms don't like dubstep and neither do christian conservatives. Ed is very confused and I'm not sure what he is getting at. I give the album a 3.5/10 which places it slightly below SFBM.

This post has been edited by Badman: Nov 22 2012, 3:25 pm