Welcome back to Thrak Attack! What's your adventure? This month's adventures take us to a bunch of places including AWOLNATION, Bumblebee, Midgar, and Camp Verde. It's been a pretty solid month with some pretty solid adventures! Let's see which one tops the list and which ones fall flat!
8. "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" by Fiona Apple
This album is not at all what I expected it to be at all. I really liked Fiona Apple's older hits but I never actually dove into her discography past that. I didn't really know what I was jumping into and what I heard was not my favorite. The lyrics are cool, some of the piano work is really good but the songs are just strange and that's not really my vibe in music tastes. The songs that stick out on this one are "Shameika" and "Under the Table" but other than that it's just an odd album which isn't my thing.
7. "The New Abnormal" by The Strokes
This is the strokes 6th studio album which means they have been around for a while now. Usually at that point a band begins to grow and their sound begins to change but that is not the case for the Strokes. This album sounds the same as some of the stuff from their first albums and I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. Anyways, this redundant album has some small saving graces such as "Selfless", "Bad Decisions", and "Why are Sundays so Depressing".
6. "Cycles" by Scary Pockets
Whenever a new Scary Pockets album is released it always tops the list. This one was a little weaker than previous albums but it's always fun to hear what songs they chose and how the made them into a funk album. The only reason why this album is not higher up on the list is because it's a cover album but that does not take away from how much fun this album is! The top three of the album are "Hide and Seek", "Use Somebody", and "Slow Burn".
5. "Angel Miners & the Lightning Miners" by Awolnation
This album is interesting to say the least and the band has a very unique sound and specific sound that works for most songs but some songs on this album do not benefit from that sound. There's a story in this concept album here but there's too much junk on this album and noise for me to pick out the story which makes it a pretty poor concept album but I do enjoy four of the songs on the album which makes it the best album of the month? Maybe? Anyways, the song to look out for is "Mayday!! Fiesta Fever", "Lightning Riders", "California Halo Blue", and "Radical".
4. Bumblebee, AZ
Me and my girlfriend decided to drive up to Bumblebee, AZ for date night to look at the stars. The good news is the night sky was lit up so well out there! The bad news is we couldn't really see all the stars because that night was the Super Moon, the largest moon of the year. The moon lit up so much that you could have gone night hiking with no problem! It wasn't what we expected but it was a beautiful experience and just goes to show that you can never fully plan on what will happen on any adventure! We lucked out on this one though!
3. Trials of Mana
This game is a remake of a game from 1991 and it is very well done. The characters are a little more fleshed out and some stories make much more sense then the originals. Some of them stand out from the others like Hawkeye and Angela, but some are very lacking in substance such as Duran. The combat is enjoyable and I was a dumb dumb and chose the beginner setting because I wanted to check out the story but they make the game WAY too easy. I'm flying through the story because of it which is great but the combat isn't as enjoyable without the challenge. I do really like the game and it adds a lot to the game experience to get rid of the turn based style of the original.
2. Bell Trail, Camp Verde, AZ
8. "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" by Fiona Apple
This album is not at all what I expected it to be at all. I really liked Fiona Apple's older hits but I never actually dove into her discography past that. I didn't really know what I was jumping into and what I heard was not my favorite. The lyrics are cool, some of the piano work is really good but the songs are just strange and that's not really my vibe in music tastes. The songs that stick out on this one are "Shameika" and "Under the Table" but other than that it's just an odd album which isn't my thing.
7. "The New Abnormal" by The Strokes
This is the strokes 6th studio album which means they have been around for a while now. Usually at that point a band begins to grow and their sound begins to change but that is not the case for the Strokes. This album sounds the same as some of the stuff from their first albums and I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. Anyways, this redundant album has some small saving graces such as "Selfless", "Bad Decisions", and "Why are Sundays so Depressing".
6. "Cycles" by Scary Pockets
Whenever a new Scary Pockets album is released it always tops the list. This one was a little weaker than previous albums but it's always fun to hear what songs they chose and how the made them into a funk album. The only reason why this album is not higher up on the list is because it's a cover album but that does not take away from how much fun this album is! The top three of the album are "Hide and Seek", "Use Somebody", and "Slow Burn".
5. "Angel Miners & the Lightning Miners" by Awolnation
This album is interesting to say the least and the band has a very unique sound and specific sound that works for most songs but some songs on this album do not benefit from that sound. There's a story in this concept album here but there's too much junk on this album and noise for me to pick out the story which makes it a pretty poor concept album but I do enjoy four of the songs on the album which makes it the best album of the month? Maybe? Anyways, the song to look out for is "Mayday!! Fiesta Fever", "Lightning Riders", "California Halo Blue", and "Radical".
4. Bumblebee, AZ
Me and my girlfriend decided to drive up to Bumblebee, AZ for date night to look at the stars. The good news is the night sky was lit up so well out there! The bad news is we couldn't really see all the stars because that night was the Super Moon, the largest moon of the year. The moon lit up so much that you could have gone night hiking with no problem! It wasn't what we expected but it was a beautiful experience and just goes to show that you can never fully plan on what will happen on any adventure! We lucked out on this one though!
3. Trials of Mana
This game is a remake of a game from 1991 and it is very well done. The characters are a little more fleshed out and some stories make much more sense then the originals. Some of them stand out from the others like Hawkeye and Angela, but some are very lacking in substance such as Duran. The combat is enjoyable and I was a dumb dumb and chose the beginner setting because I wanted to check out the story but they make the game WAY too easy. I'm flying through the story because of it which is great but the combat isn't as enjoyable without the challenge. I do really like the game and it adds a lot to the game experience to get rid of the turn based style of the original.
2. Bell Trail, Camp Verde, AZ
This is the second time we've done this trail but this time we did it right! It's a 4 mile out and back trail with about 300 ft elevation. It is not challenging but it is a substantial hike. It starts off flat but then takes you up the cliffside overlooking the crystal clear creek, green vegetation, and red rocks. The end of the trail has a few watering holes where the water pools up and you can go swimming and cliff jumping! The water is crystal clear so you can see the rocks, fish, and crawfish! It's a pretty popular trail but there is plenty of space on the big flat red rocks for you to station yourself. This time we brought a nice cooler filled with drinks, lunch, and snacks and we enjoyed our time in the water, napping on the rocks, and wading in the crystal clear water. It took us about 2 hours to get to that spot, spent 5 hours there, and then hiked back in the sunset for 2. A lovely day! Next time we do it we will for sure plan the entire day and bring plenty of water, drinks, and snacks!
1. Final Fantasy VII Remake
This game is beautiful. It's a remake of a 1997 game which is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time and this one does not disappoint. The visuals are stunning, the characters are great, the world building is fantastic, and combat is fun and satisfying! Not only are there huge battles but racing combat, rhythm game segments, and even some puzzles! I love this game and will be going in on the second part for sure! I do have an issue with this game though. The original game was a 70 hour experience. Square Enix is splitting up the game into 3 parts each 30 hours. Where is that 20 extra hours coming from? They claim it is for developing the characters and story more but after playing through the final attack on Shinra I now know that this game is full of filler battles. I kept saying "this is the final battle!"... "no this is the final battle!" Don't get me wrong, I loved this game and all 10 of it's final battles but I was ready for it to be done by the end of it! Still a well crafted game that will make me come back for more!
Well that's that for April! Not a bad month with a good array of adventures! Next month is May and I'm going to try and do a "Month in Review" post on the first of the month from now on so stay tuned to see what is coming up in the month of May! Stay healthy, stay safe, and keep going on adventures!
All the Best, Ross
Comments
Post a Comment