Boards
albums which end with a BANG
really difficult to do right, yes?
i've noticed that a lot of the popular albums released this year (read "critically acclaimed") seem to end on a more sedate song, to wind down as it were. Is this some cynical tracklisting machine, or is it just near impossible to end your album with a hi-NRG track?
of course it isn't impossible, and there are a few noticeable examples. But these tend to be quite self consciously "ending on a bang", as if the artist realises that going from power to silence is jarring and so tries to make a point of it. One example that comes to mind is Hypermagic Mountain by Lightning Bolt, which stops very abruptly during what seems to be a rising riff session. The juxtaposition between the noise and the silence is really quite effective at putting the previous hour of scree into context. It sounds bizarre, but i guess thats the point.
I guess if i want anyone to reply i'd better pose some sort of question: Is it possible to end an album on a bang without it sounding jarring? Got any examples? Any examples of unusual noisy ends which jarr but work? Heavy tracks which fade out need not apply..