Fall of the Plastic Empire

Burning Brides | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 24, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: V2 North America
• ASIN: B00006JJ2H
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,585 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Plank of Fire

2. Glass Slipper

3. If I'm a Man

4. Arctic Snow

5. At the Levity Ball

6. Stabbed in the Back of the Heart

7. Rainy Days

8. Elevator

9. Blood on the Highway

10. Plastic Empire

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the nay-sayers, May 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Fall of the Plastic Empire (Audio CD)

Here's a tip for all those that rip this CD and this band. See them live. They will blow you away. The tightly produced sound on this album gives way to loud abusive and all out rockin' live music. I like this album but love them live more.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 33 minutes 12 seconds worth of new-old-rock goodness, October 12, 2002

By 

punkviper (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fall of the Plastic Empire (Audio CD)

Strokes, Hives, White Stripes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, International Noise Conspiracy... all bands collared with the "new-old-rock" label, all given the herculean task of "saving" rock from the depths of pop hades that it seems to be currently consigned to. Well, i can't blame them for not being the rock messiahs everyone wanted them to be. They're just good rock music, if you want some, go get some, cause there they are. Radio doesn't particularly care. But peculiarly, if radio were to care, they might do well to pick up on the Burning Brides.

Basically a boyfriend/girlfriend/drummer trio based in Philadelphia, the lovebirds are Juilliard dropouts, so you know they have some ability and sense of history (and the all-important rock quality of vanity) and it shows on this re-released CD.

There are a lot of influences here, and the impressive part is how effortlessly the band just bounces between all of them. It isn't a 1-trick-pony kind of thing like some of the other bands of this moniker, where the wailing and repetition get old. The pop aspect is certainly present, which makes it a candidate for radio play, even though we all know that will never happen. It's nice to hear some more subtle older influences instead of just blaring garage knockoffs. Though i must admit that sometimes the line between homage and ripoff gets slightly blurry.

But it's good, and certainly up the alley of any fan of the afore-mentioned bands. It's not as howling/frenzied as The Hives, not as 70's as the Strokes. It's pop-rock done well, the way it used to be. Now, where's my cane?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect release, April 25, 2003

By 

wellwellwell (bog) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fall of the Plastic Empire (Audio CD)

The first song I ever heard from this band was "Something In The Way", a cover of the infamous Nirvana song. And with that one song, I was hooked. I had a hard time obtaining this CD at first, and the one I have has a different cover image; but all the same songs. But anyways, I can't say enough good about this band. They're great. Out of the 10 songs on Fall Of The Plastic Empire, about six have terrific potential to be true rock and roll 'singles'; even though I doubt radio stations will ever play them. Those six possible singles (in this order) are as follows:

1. "Stabbed In The Back Of The Heart" - this song catches you right from the start, and doesn't let go. It's an anti-love song in which the lyrics are twisted around so perfectly you can't help but love it. It starts: `hey you know something... / you fxcked me over / and I've just got a couple words to say to you'. I won't ruin it for you. In my opinion, it's the best song on the album.

2. "Arctic Snow" - the Burning Brides played this song on the NBC show Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and they were awesome (that seems to be where many people took note). For them it is kind of like a single, yet not quite of that magnitude. Even my girlfriend (who doesn't normally like rock music) loves this song. Very catchy.

3. "Plank Of Fire" - this one starts off the CD with a huge bang. The lyrics are flawless. I particularly enjoyed: `I thought the ambulance would come / to take us from the things we've done`. The song is also very versatile as far as its balance between lyrics and sound. There is also a single-version CD of the track. What does that tell you?

4. "Glass Slipper" - A single-version CD of this song is also available, and that's in good time. This song is only 1:45 long (it`s deceiving, I know), yet it rocks just as hard, if not harder, than all the other tracks. And for anyone who appreciates guitar solos, you will be amazed with the sound.

5. "Blood On The Highway" - This is one of the last songs on the CD, but don't overlook it. It has a fast start and some excellent lyrics that fit in very nicely with the melody. The song's also featured on the "Glass Slipper" single mentioned before. There's some excellent metaphors used; and again some great solos.

6. "If I'm A Man" - Being that this song is like no other on the CD, you have to love it. The lyrics are really pretty weird, but in a good-weird way. Towards the end of the song, they slow down the music and throw in some almost funny lyrics; in the vein of Barbie dolls and meat-heads. You have to hear it to believe it.

***

In a time where pop bands and endless, nameless rap artists seem to be ruling the music scene, the Burning Brides offer a beautifully done CD to really change the pace of rock music. As I said, they have done a cover of a Nirvana song (featured on the Smells Like Bleach tribute), and yet their sound isn't really grunge at all. They have their own kind of rock sound, that's as refreshing as it is hard. The other four songs not listed above are still good (the almost 6-minute epic "Plastic Empire" is classically awesome); as it seems I have led you to believe they are not. In fact, they're very good, but one CD can't have 10 singles... if you know what I mean. Burning Brides are a band that certainly needs to be heard. So if you saw their performance on Conan or even if you just like new rock music, you should buy this CD (at least listen to the samples featured on the other album). It will not disappoint you, I promise you that. This is an amazing album from an amazing new band.