Music: 7/10 Vocals: 5/5 Lyrics: 4/5 Production: 4/5
Total: 20 out of 25: B+
Snow Patrol dishes up a very good pop/rock album. It reminds me of the style of Gin Blossoms and Vertical Horizon. The music ranges from the edgy "You're All I Have" to the ballade "You Could Be Happy". The latter is sung over what sounds like a music box. Personally, the best of the album is the desperate "Set Fire to the Third Bar" about a couple separated by a distance that longs for each other. What is equally satisfying is that there are no bad songs on this album. It remains evenly good with spikes of greatness.
The highlight of the band is singer Gary Lightbody. He's not going to win any awards, but he is a very competent singer that sounds good in front of the full band to over a simple acoustic guitar. His voice is pure with no signs of studio manipulation or massive overdubbing to mask intonation or tonal issues.
The lyrics on the album are very good. They would be great as a teenager pining over love lost or broken. But, Gary stays away from the common cliches, sappiness, or just stupidity. Instead he has penned some smart lyrics for a genre not known for smart lyrics.
The production on the album is perfectly fine. It could use a bit more brightness and a little more bass. It comes across as slightly flat but EQ seems to fix it pretty well. Otherwise it was recorded clean without overproduction. It sounds like this band should be able to reproduce its sound pretty well live.
Overall I give Snow Patrol's Eyes Open a 20 out of 25, or B+. It's relatively disposable music that is well done and deserves a few months in your CD player.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thai Taste: A-
Food: 8 Presentation: 5 Decor: 4 Service: 3
Total: 20 out of 25: A-
Thai Taste is an excellent Thai restaurant located in the strip mall at Route 70 and 73. It's gotten some good reviews in print and on the web so it was worth checking it out.
The restaurant itself is beautiful. Very clean and warm. Upscale casual. They had a few oriental bowls with flowers floating in them. And, the hanging overhead lighting is unique and beautiful. I'd like a few in my house.
To start I ordered a Thai Iced Coffee. It came in a very tall and thin glass. Coffee on the bottom with cream on the top. Sweet but slightly acidic. It was delicious. The hot coffee was good as well.
Next was a bowl of Tom Yum Koong soup. 3 different kinds of mushrooms and 3 shrimp in the soup. The broth was slightly tart from the lime juice and a medium spiced from hot peppers. Very good.
My wife opted for the Seared Tuna appetizer. It was served on a smear of spiced mustard. On the side was a nice small salad topped with edamame soybeans. The tuna was fresh, tender, and melted in her mouth. The salad was unique and was gone before I knew it.
For our main course, I ordered the Pad Kra Pao with shrimp. It was a fantastic sautee of peppers (green and red, hot and mild), mushrooms, thai basil, and shrimp. It had a very clean flavor and wasn't overpowered by sauce or oil. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and there were plenty of them. They were of a "medium" size. With a side of rice to soak up some of the sauce, the dish went down easily. My only wish would be for it to have been a bit spicer. It was a mild heat, except for the bit of red hot pepper I bit into.
My wife ordered Pad Khing with shrimp. It was another great mix of peppers, onions, ginger, mushrooms, snow peas, and zucchini. It had a similar light sauce. My wife was very pleased with her meal. She also stated how clean the meal was. Not heavy or overburdened with anything.
Given the food and the decor are excellent, the only area for improvement was with service. It was average. But, given everything else I wanted it to be a bit quicker. We were first to arrive that evening and the restaurant was never really busy. But, the attentiveness with refills, plate clearing, after dinner coffee, and getting the check were a bit slow.
Luckily Thai Taste is an upscale restaurant that serves just Thai food. Too often these types of places are Thai French which is a distant cousin of pure Thai food. The prices are reasonable. Dinner for two was about $60 with tip. It is a BYOB. My wife and I will definitely be back. Thai food is very under explored in this area so it's great to see such a quality establishment.
Total: 20 out of 25: A-
Thai Taste is an excellent Thai restaurant located in the strip mall at Route 70 and 73. It's gotten some good reviews in print and on the web so it was worth checking it out.
The restaurant itself is beautiful. Very clean and warm. Upscale casual. They had a few oriental bowls with flowers floating in them. And, the hanging overhead lighting is unique and beautiful. I'd like a few in my house.
To start I ordered a Thai Iced Coffee. It came in a very tall and thin glass. Coffee on the bottom with cream on the top. Sweet but slightly acidic. It was delicious. The hot coffee was good as well.
Next was a bowl of Tom Yum Koong soup. 3 different kinds of mushrooms and 3 shrimp in the soup. The broth was slightly tart from the lime juice and a medium spiced from hot peppers. Very good.
My wife opted for the Seared Tuna appetizer. It was served on a smear of spiced mustard. On the side was a nice small salad topped with edamame soybeans. The tuna was fresh, tender, and melted in her mouth. The salad was unique and was gone before I knew it.
For our main course, I ordered the Pad Kra Pao with shrimp. It was a fantastic sautee of peppers (green and red, hot and mild), mushrooms, thai basil, and shrimp. It had a very clean flavor and wasn't overpowered by sauce or oil. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and there were plenty of them. They were of a "medium" size. With a side of rice to soak up some of the sauce, the dish went down easily. My only wish would be for it to have been a bit spicer. It was a mild heat, except for the bit of red hot pepper I bit into.
My wife ordered Pad Khing with shrimp. It was another great mix of peppers, onions, ginger, mushrooms, snow peas, and zucchini. It had a similar light sauce. My wife was very pleased with her meal. She also stated how clean the meal was. Not heavy or overburdened with anything.
Given the food and the decor are excellent, the only area for improvement was with service. It was average. But, given everything else I wanted it to be a bit quicker. We were first to arrive that evening and the restaurant was never really busy. But, the attentiveness with refills, plate clearing, after dinner coffee, and getting the check were a bit slow.
Luckily Thai Taste is an upscale restaurant that serves just Thai food. Too often these types of places are Thai French which is a distant cousin of pure Thai food. The prices are reasonable. Dinner for two was about $60 with tip. It is a BYOB. My wife and I will definitely be back. Thai food is very under explored in this area so it's great to see such a quality establishment.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Introduction
For whatever reason, I love writing reviews of things. Movies. Music. Liquor. Restaurants. Products. Whatever. Perhaps I like hearing myself type. But, everyone likes reading reviews either in the paper or Amazon. They are essential today. When do you buy something without seeing what it's rated and what people think of it? So, this is my giving back for all of the reviews that have helped me through the years.
This blog is in conjunction with my other blog - Blogobeer - which reviews liquor, mostly beer.
Also, when appropriate, reviews written here will be copied to other sites such as Amazon and BYOB Guide. But, this site will always been the most current and comprehensive.
Thanks for reading.
Tom
This blog is in conjunction with my other blog - Blogobeer - which reviews liquor, mostly beer.
Also, when appropriate, reviews written here will be copied to other sites such as Amazon and BYOB Guide. But, this site will always been the most current and comprehensive.
Thanks for reading.
Tom
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