#Sonic Solace advantage

[sonic-solace]

Sonic Solace Tinnitus - Ingredients Pros & Cons

Sonic Solace Review A quick point before we start, I am not a doctor and do not claim to be. Any special diet requirements you have you should take up with your dietician or medical professional. Sonic Solace Review The foods I talk about here are foods that I find beneficial to me to avoid. My name is John and I suffered with Sonic Solace Review tinnitus for ten years. Over this time I have found what works and what does not with helping tinnitus. My website was setup to help those who suffer with a series of self help guides Sonic Solace Review.

To Know More Visit Official Website: - Click Here

Sonic Solace Review Tinnitus is a condition where you here a constant ringing in your ears. You may also experience headaches and dizziness with it. The condition itself is not life threatening, it is just very annoying. I have to run a fan on my night stand at night when I sleep, to provide some noise.

In other words, you can't trade your worries for a change in destiny. No one is going to re-write the books just because you like to worry. I found the best way to deal with worry is to obtain the basic facts and determine what the core of my worry is.

But, do you know the only problem with this kind of thought process? None of it would make my tinnitus or my life any better? And, that's when I decided to do something about it. I realized that if I could not cure my tinnitus then I would have to cure my life instead. How did I do this? How can you do this?

Wax build-up in the ears causes ear infection too. When those ear fluids come in contact with dirt, wax forms. If the ear is not cleaned regularly, wax can buildup to the extent it causes major problems.

To Know More Visit Official Website: - Click Here

I was so busy fighting the Tinnitus and struggling to make it through the day, I barely noticed my wife's struggle with my Tinnitus too. I had no energy for her personal fight to keep me alive, or to fight the Canadian Hearing Association when they told me they couldn't measure the volume of the noise I hear (higher than their instruments could measure). I had no strength to fight the audiologist who sold me "white noise/masking hearing aids" that, despite my discipline, hope, and full cooperation, didn't work for me. I didn't have the energy to fight other health professionals who tried to help but whose good ideas didn't work. They got my money; I kept the tinnitus.

Before you lie down, review your day and think of ways to resolve any problems you may have encountered. When you don't get enough rest, your body does not have the chance to regenerate and heal.

In fact, you can make your own natural products to help your tinnitus at home. Everything can be found in the grocery store for under $10. Geoff Barker, an renowned tinnitus researcher, developed a guide to help you cure your tinnitus. I highly recommend checking it out because it has helped thousands worldwide.

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[sun13koi]

Why Will Solace is the most Op Demigod

Warning: Spoilers for pjo books involving Will, mentions of gore

1.Light manipulation. He can shape, manipulate, whatever you want to call it, to solid beams of light. This can be used to stun enemies, make decoys or distractions, it could blind people!

2.Sonic Whistle. He has like, a literal anime move. His whistle is so loud people nearby have to cover their ears to avoid getting by hearing damage (this is why I au him with having hearing aids now). It also may do kickback a bit???

3.Glowstick! As long as he can walk, he can turn himself into a light source! It’s funny, but also very useful, as seen in TSATS

4.Healing. MAN CAN JUST HUM TO HIMSELF WHILE HIS HANDS ARE HOVERING OVER A WOUND AND- POOF!

5.His time in the infirmity must have given him a good resilience to seeing things like blood or gore.

6.Elemental Advantage. There may not always be Water for Percy. There may not be Air for Jason (underwater). As seen in the underwater scene, Leo’s powers won’t always work. But there’s usually at least a little bit of light everywhere, and he can make his own. Not to mention, his boyfriend has shadow manipulation to back him up, so between the two of them, they’re a force to be reckoned with.

More to come later!

[monarch-afterdark]

Titan History: Camazotz

Welcome once again to Monarch: After Dark, the digital gateway between you and the organisation dedicated to understanding and navigating this troubled new world we live in.

For today's communication, we look to a Titan whose awakening was foretold by ancient legend, said to be the beginning of darkness falling upon the world; the demonic lord of the night, Camazotz.

(Pictured above: Artistic pinup of Camazotz, courtesy of Outpost 33's chief expedition manager, Mohammad "Zid" Yazid)

Monarch Database File: Camazotz

Monarch Designation: Titanus Camazotz

Height: 164 feet

Wingspan: 402 feet

Nature: Bio-Sonic

Behavioural Classification: Destroyer

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"A darkness will swallow the world, and the King of the Deep will rise and rise, and the sun will die on his tongue..."

The above quote, an English translation of an ancient Iwi prophecy, does well to invoke the fear that Camazotz plants deep in the hearts of those who hear it. A giant bat, with torn wings decorated with lethal spikes, demonic horns and fangs, and an armour-plated body, Camazotz is sure to be almost exactly how one would envision him upon hearing about him.

A nocturnal tyrant, only emerging under cover of darkness to claim the land for his own, Camazotz does not act on his own. A Titan ruler in his own right, Camazotz commands an army of draconic bat-like minions that will swarm his enemies and tear them apart at his behest, or battle smaller opponents while Camazotz brawls with his main quarry.

(Artistic depiction of Camazotz and his minions battling G-Team pilots over San Diego, circa. 2019)

Camazotz has his roots deep in mythology, menacing humanity for thousands of years. On Skull Island, Camazotz is a beast of the night that lurks within the Hollow Earth, waiting for darkness to fall upon the island so that he can rise to conquer it. Some evidence uncovered by Monarch suggests that a temple dedicated to Camazotz rests somewhere in the Hollow Earth, complete with its own clan of bat-worshippers and a temple guardian who defends the territory in Camazotz's absence.

During the Monster Zero crisis, Camazotz awakened over San Diego, where he battled with G-Team fighter pilots alongside his army of minions. Following the battle, Camazotz retreated to Hollow Earth, waiting beneath Skull Island for his time to rise.

In 2021, Monster Zero seemed to posthumously grant Camazotz his desire. A storm generated by Monster Zero in the Pacific merged with the perpetual storm system surrounding Skull Island, plunging the island into darkness and chaos. Camazotz readily seized his opportunity and emerged from the vortex beneath the island.

(Pictured above: G-Team pilot Audrey Burns creating a sonic boom in front of Camazotz's face to disorient him, circa. 2021)

Camazotz did battle with Kong, the Titan guardian of Skull Island, aided by his hellish army. The two Titans fought viciously, though Camazotz's aerial superiority granted him the advantage over the landlocked Kong.

A daring plan by G-Team pilot Audrey Burns, who had been mentally scarred by Camazotz in 2019, was put into place to disorient him long enough for Kong to turn the tide of battle. Facing her fears head-on and refusing to back down, Burns triggered a sonic boom in the demon-bat's face, disorienting him long enough for Kong to take victory, banishing Camazotz back from whence he came by punching him back down into the Hollow Earth.

While Skull Island was quickly rendered uninhabitable in the aftermath of the battle, Monarch believe quite firmly that Camazotz is still alive, biding his time until he can strike again. To date, Monarch have yet to authorise the expedition into Hollow Earth to locate Camazotz's temple.

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And there you go! Camazotz is almost certainly a terrifying prospect, and the idea of him lurking deep in the Hollow Earth sends chills down Monarch's spine. While the Hollow Earth can take solace in having Kong as its protector, the outcome of their rematch will remain to be seen...

Until next time,

Monarch: After Dark

[get-health-supplement-for-all]

Is Sonic Solace Safe? Is it really work?

It's the only product in the world which is carefully designed to do one thing: protect your ears!

Sonic Solace is a scientific breakthrough in ear health, and has been taking the world by storm.

What is Sonic Solace ?

The World Health Organization estimates that 25% of people will experience a problem in their ears in the next 30 years. These problems could affect more than 700 million people. However, this is not an inevitable fate. Consumers can avoid these problems. Most people don't pay much attention to ear health or the issues that affect it (e.g., hearing loss, ringing, etc.). Sonic Solace can help you if you lose your ability to hear.Sonic Solace, a new revolutionary formula for ear health, has thousands of users who have already used it to improve their own. Five exotic ingredients are combined in a proprietary blend to protect the ears and eliminate toxins. The inner ear hairs can be protected from hearing loss by using this blend. This can also help with tinnitus caused by this type of pain.

That’s why we created

Sonic Solace The unique ingredients help to clear up toxic nerve environments, which if not addressed, will destroy or damage the hair cells in your inner ear. If these hair cells are not protected, you may experience ringing in your ears, or hearing loss.

Frequently Asked Questions

Small Call to Act How Many Bottle Should I Order? Sonic Solace is best used for at least 3 to 6 months to achieve the best results. This will ensure you reach your goals. Sonic Solace can be purchased monthly, but we recommend you buy 3 to 6 Bottle of Sonic Solace as we offer discounts and that's the minimum amount you need to see results. You should note that this discount is not available year-round. So take advantage of it while you can.Is Sonic Solace Approved By The FDA?Sonic Solace is manufactured in the USA by our FDA-approved, GMP-certified facility. We adhere to the highest standards.

How can I buySonic Solace Supplement?

Sonic Solace is available For a limited time, they offer three discounted packages: Basic bottle - $69 Per Bottle.How Will Sonic Solace Be Shipped To Me And How Quickly?

You can expect your order to be shipped within 5-7 business day if you live in the United States of America or Canada. Orders from outside the USA or Canada typically take between 8-15 business days (+ customs clearance). Delivery times may be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. We will deliver your order to your office or home using a premium carrier like FedEx or UPS.

Is Sonic Solace Safe?

Sonic Solace contains 100% natural and safe ingredients. It is therefore completely safe, effective, and natural. Sonic Solace is used daily by thousands of people. There have been no reported side effects. Sonic Solace are made in the USA at our FDA-approved, GMP-certified facility. We adhere to the highest standards. It is 100% natural, vegetarian, and non-GMO. Before using, consult your doctor if you have any medical conditions ion Headline

There have been no reported side effects. Sonic Solace are made in the USA at our FDA-approved, GMP-certified facility. We adhere to the highest standards. It is 100% natural, vegetarian, and non-GMO. Before using, consult your doctor if you have any medical conditions ion Headline

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[sonicsolacereviews]

Sonic Solace Reviews: Must Know Before You Buy!

Where can I find the Sonic Solace?

A single bottle of Sonic Solace costs $59, and it contains a combination of different components that work together to enhance hearing and ear health in a variety of different ways. You are instructed to take two capsules on a daily basis in order to provide your body with a combination of vitamins, minerals, and natural components that will support healthy hearing.

In addition to the general claim that it helps maintain healthy hearing, Sonic Solace is a supplement that is aimed squarely at those who suffer from tinnitus. Sonic Solace asserts that it can provide relief for people who frequently suffer a buzzing, whooshing, or ringing sensation in their ears.

In point of fact, the inventor of Sonic Solace was previously plagued by a severe form of tinnitus, but his condition improved once he began consuming the components that are included in the recipe.

To alleviate tinnitus in a manner comparable to that described above, simply take two capsules of Sonic Solace on a regular basis.

The Advantages of Using Sonic Solace The following are some of the benefits that taking the supplement, according to Kevin Freeman and the rest of the Sonic Solace team:

Put an end to the ringing in your ears forever. Help maintain healthy ears Formulation made from natural plant sources, containing non-GMO, non-toxic, and non-habit forming components. It takes effect within a few days to a week, and the longer you take it, the more obvious the results become. Comforting Sounds Capsules that are simple to swallow Eliminate the underlying problems that are causing your tinnitus while also improving your hearing and overall ear health. Who Was the One Who Invented Sonic Solace? A gentleman by the name of Kevin Freeman was the creator of Sonic Solace. Kevin previously suffered from tinnitus that was so severe that he had to go to the hospital. Kevin's tinnitus was so severe that it almost took his life.

Kevin is not a medical professional, scientist, or researcher; rather, he works as a broker in commercial real estate.

Kevin began his hunt for a natural treatment for his tinnitus after experiencing its symptoms for a number of years. After some time, he was able to identify the components of Sonic Solace, employ those components in order to cure his tinnitus, and now he wishes to make his tinnitus therapy available to other people.

How does the Sonic Solace programme function? In order to promote healthy ears and get to the bottom of what's causing tinnitus, the Sonic Solace formula combines a number of different plants, herbs, and substances that are rich in antioxidants.

When you take a capsule of Sonic Solace, the components combine their efforts to alleviate tinnitus and promote healthy ears in a variety of different ways.

For example, corydalis, an element that is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, can be found in the product Sonic Solace. Corydalis is a member of the poppy family; nonetheless, it will not register on a drug test even if it is also known as Yan Hu Suo. Kevin and the rest of the Sonic Solace team claim that the corydalis in Sonic Solace will block the perception of pain in the sensory neurons in your brain, which includes the neurons in your inner ear. It helps prevent the injury from sending pain signals to the brain rather than repairing the injury or numbing the nerve in the area where the injury is located.

In addition to this vital function, the corydalis in Sonic Solace performs another important part by inhibiting the breakdown of acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter that has been related to memory, thinking, learning, and recalling information. It also has the ability to relax muscles.

A further benefit of corydalis is that it improves "micro-circulation" to the tiny blood vessels in your inner ear. The usage of Sonic Solace can improve ear health and get rid of the underlying cause of tinnitus by increasing the amount of blood that flows to the inner ear.

In addition, the Sonic Solace formula includes natural ingredients such as marshmallow root, California poppy seed, and other herbs that work in a variety of ways to combat tinnitus. When used on a regular basis, the five active ingredients in Sonic Solace have the potential to silence tinnitus within a few of weeks. This is the case regardless of the degree of the individual's tinnitus.

[weight-loss-su]

SONIC SOLACE - Sonic Solace Review! (IMPORTANT ALERT!) See this Testimon...

SONIC SOLACE - Sonic Solace Review! (IMPORTANT ALERT!) See this Testimonial About Sonic Solace

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: https://cutt.ly/HMwYboP

Hey, how you doing? My name is David and I’m here in this video to tell the absolute truth about Sonic Solace and talk about something that people are talking about this Sonic Solace and that can lead you to regret if not stay until the end, so stay tuned in this video here so you don’t buy wrong. You may have already seen a lot of reviews about Sonic Solace, but none have clarified all your doubts regarding the Sonic Solace supplement. In this video I will tell you all about Sonic Solace, if Sonic Solace works, what are the advantages of Sonic Solace, where to find Sonic Solace and how to buy Sonic Solace safely. So let’s do it.

What is Sonic Solace? Sonic Solace is a scientific breakthrough in ear health and has been conquering the world. It’s the only product in the world with a proprietary blend of 5 exotic nutrients and plants carefully designed to do one thing: protect your ears! The unique ingredients help clear toxic nerve environments, which, if left unresolved, will destroy or damage hair cells in the inner ear. If these hair cells are not protected, you may experience ringing in your ears or hearing loss.

Does the Sonic Solace supplement work? Sonic Solace is 100% natural, and effective! Thousands of people have enjoyed its benefits and continue to use it because there have been absolutely zero side effects reported. Every capsule is manufactured here in the USA in our state of the art FDA approved GMP (good manufacturing practices) certified facility under the most sterile, strict, and precise standards. Sonic Solace is 100% natural, vegetarian, and non-GMO. For those with medical conditions, it is recommended to consult your doctor first.

And what are the ingredients of Sonic Solace? Each capsule of Sonic Solace contains 5 clinically proven ingredients that quickly protect the health of your most vital organ... your ears. These ingredients are: Passion Flower, Prickly Pear, Corydalis, Marshmallow Root and California Poppy.

Does Sonic Solace supplement have side effects? No, Each capsule is manufactured here in the USA at our FDA-approved GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certified facilities under the most sterile, rigorous and accurate standards. Sonic Solace is 100% natural, vegetarian and non-GMO.

Where can I find Sonic Solace? You will find Sonic Solace on its official website, which is in the description of this video and also in the comments.

And is the Sonic Solace supplement warranted? Yes, Sonic Solace has a 180-day guarantee, if you don’t like it or think Sonic Solace didn’t have any effect on you, just send an email asking for your money back.

And how to buy Sonic Solace? To buy Sonic Solace you have to click on the link of the official website that is in the description of this video, so you will be redirected to the official website of Sonic Solace and ensure your purchase 100% safe. Buying the Sonic Solace supplement today will earn you a $216 discount in addition to free shipping. But this is only valid by the official website of the product that is in the description of this video. Then enjoy, because there are few units left.

Sonic Solace - Official Website Sonic Solace Pills - 100% Natural Tablets Sonic Solace Reviews - User Testimonial Sonic Solace Ingredients - 100% Natural

[7topreviewed]

7 Top Reviewed

Spending your well deserved cash on a gleaming new piece of tech gear is rarely simple. There are frequently many decisions; realizing what to search for is a test; and the web is brimming with terrible aides and promotions that make picking another item harder than it should be. You need the best stuff, the absolute best items, and selecting new tech shouldn't be upsetting or burn through days of your time. On the off chance that your searching for the best tech items available, you've gone to the ideal spot.

                                                    Go To

                                                 7topreview

Extraordinary Sound Bar Speakers at Every Price

As we head into the key TV purchasing season, sound quality might be an idea in retrospect for a considerable lot of us—yet it shouldn't be. Among the 200 or more sets in Consumer Reports' TV appraisals, most procure close to a respectable score for sound. That is presumably fine for routine sitcoms, television shows, and so forth. In any case, for films and TV shows, you may need a smidgen more sonic oomph.

To purchase a TV with a top score for sound quality, you might need to pay more, and maybe put resources into a TV that is bigger than you truly need.

A simple fix is to add a sound bar to your preferred TV. Beneath, we've recorded a few extraordinary choices from our sound bar appraisals, which are accessible to CR advanced individuals.

BEST HOME GYMS

A home exercise center can persuade you to exercise by saving you the outing to a public rec center. While most home rec centers offer an assortment of employments and activities, they fluctuate incredibly in their loads and number of capacities.

Any home rec center offers an assortment of exercises, yet you ought to have a thought of what your exercise routine comprises of to ensure the machine you select addresses your issues. In the event that various individuals will utilize the exercise center, search for a model that is not difficult to adapt to various statures. A few models use plate loads, a weight stack, or an obstruction framework, however not all home exercise centers incorporate loads. You ought to likewise ponder where you will put your rec center and how much space is accessible.

To dive more deeply into the assortments of home rec centers accessible, keep perusing. Or on the other hand, in case you are prepared to make a buy, think about our top suggested models.

JABRA ELITE 3 REVIEW: COMFY, CAPABLE, AND AFFORDABLE TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDSWe judge all earphones and earbuds on a size of 10, dissecting the classes we believe are generally significant: sound, solace, plan, battery execution, and, if appropriate, unique components. Here's the means by which the Jabra Elite 3 remote earbuds stack up.

One more day, another remote earbuds discharge. The remote earbuds market is developing quickly, and like so many tech items, cost is characteristic of value. As a shopper, you're comfortable with standard, saying "you get what you pay for," however for Jabra, the Elite 3 remote earbuds are one of their most astonishing item delivers in years, on account of their reasonable sticker price that doesn't miss the mark concerning great sound. With a sub-$80 sticker, the bright buds are the brand's most reasonable genuine remote set to date.

Jabra uncovered the Elite 3 close by pricier and more element pressed Elite 7 Active and Pro models, which I normally seized the chance to test. Following quite a while of testing them out, I'm glad to answer to you that the passage level buds didn't baffle — here's my audit of their plan, elements, and sound execution.

The best gaming PCs for 2021

The Razer Blade 14 is your general most ideal choice. It has everything as a gaming PC and is even among the general best PCs you can purchase. There are a lot of great choices past the Blade, however, including bigger choices and more reasonable financial plan gaming PCs. Make certain to look at our gathering of the very best modest gaming PC gives you can purchase at this moment.

Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage

AMD has become famous in gaming PCs, beating Intel out in a considerable lot of the best gaming PCs. Be that as it may, all-AMD gaming PCs are still exceptionally uncommon, which is lamentable, considering how amazing they've ended up being. The ROG Strix G15 Advantage model is the lead model. It sports the Ryzen 9 5900HX and the Radeon RX 6800M — a genuine contender of the Nvidia RTX 3080.

Regardless of being a lot less expensive, the ROG Strix G15 Advantage performs incredible, offering superior gaming at a less expensive cost. Obviously, it's a long way from a smooth or inconspicuous plan, taking motivation from dashing and sports, as is normal with the Strix brand.

On the off chance that you wouldn't fret the look and the additional weight in this one, you'll love the presentation per-dollar worth of the ROG Strix G15 Advantage.

RockShox Launches Flight Attendant Electronically Controlled Suspension System

Airline steward (FA) is a programmed electronic frill for some RockShox suspension parts. The framework comprises of three remote sensor gatherings—one in the fork, one in the shock, one in the wrenches—and electronic actuators in the fork and shock, which switch their damping mode. FA is just accessible as a fork and shock framework for full suspension bicycles in this first cycle.

In programmed mode, FA utilizes its three sensor gatherings to gather data from the wheels, if the bicycle is going up tough or downhill, and the rider's bits of feedbacks, and feeds that data through a calculation to choose one of three fork and shock modes—open, pedal, firm. RockShox says Flight Attendant makes, "suspension-position choices each five milliseconds," notwithstanding, they would not let me know how quick the framework can change modes. Yet, we realize that FA's system is basically an engine that pivots the fork's crown agent and the shock's pedal mode switch, so mode switches are not prompt.

As indicated by RockShox's item chief Jon Cancellier, the high-height perspective on Flight specialist is "Open is our default: It is protected, unsurprising, agreeable. We are utilizing the framework to settle on choices to get away from open. How the calculation manages the data that its accepting: That's the mystery ingredient. That is what we burned through very long time creating."

Airline steward generally follows up on the low-speed pressure circuit, however rapid pressure becomes an integral factor sometimes (for the most part in pedal and lock). It doesn't adjust the suspension's bounce back damping or spring rate. Usually, the framework chooses a similar mode for the fork and shock, yet sometimes, it might go into a split state: open fork/pedal shock or pedal fork/lock shock.

Best earphones 2021: Wireless earphones, earbuds, and the sky is the limit from there

Capitalize on your music with the best earphones of 2021. Regardless of whether you're searching for a top notch pair of jars from one of the enormous names, or some modest earphones for your drive to work, we have you covered.

There is a great deal of decision out there when you're searching for the best earphones, so it pays to realize what you're hoping to escape them, and the amount you're willing to spend. Clearly, you need incredible sound quality - and each of the choices we suggest beneath have that region covered, yet what else would it be advisable for you to be paying special mind to?

Probably the greatest choice you face is do you need over ear earphones, or earbuds? This is generally an individual inclination, albeit each kind of earphone enjoys its benefits. Over ear earphones for the most part have better solid quality because of their greater drivers, while earbuds are limitlessly more compact and advantageous.

Close by the style of earphones you need, you likewise need to contemplate highlights that you may require. In case you're utilizing them in uproarious conditions, you'll need clamor counteracting earphones to impede the commotion. In case you're after some exercise earphones, you need a couple with a solid fit and waterproof rating - you would prefer not to perspire your earphones to death.

Battery life is something else to think about as well, particularly in case you're utilizing them for significant stretches of time. Earbuds will in general have a more limited battery life than over-ear earphones, yet they frequently have a movement case that can re-energize them in a hurry. You can skirt the battery issue altogether on the off chance that you go with wired earphones however, expecting you have a gadget that upholds a wired association. You'll require a connector for most current devices like cell phones, however different gadgets like home PCs and computer games control center will function admirably with wired earphones.

Beats Studio Buds - Best remote earbuds

Beats Studio Buds are effectively the best earphones that Beats has at any point made, and they're additionally the absolute best commotion dropping earbuds you can discover available. They have a very interesting and in vogue look, which is the aftereffect of ergonomics as much as styling. This thoughtfulness regarding structure factor implies that they fit very well, which makes them ideal earphones for the exercise center or your morning run.

With respect to the real solid quality? It's radiant. Beats have regularly been concerning that bass, yet the Beats Studio Buds have a significantly more adjusted and adjusted sound profile. The bass is as yet incredible, however it no longer overwhelms all the other things. On top of this, you get dynamic commotion counteracting that will impede all that annoying foundation clamor.

The battery life is a little not really good or bad, yet you actually get a fair measure of juice between the buds and the charging case, and they re-energize super rapidly when you do require a top-up. However, assuming you need extravagant elements like remote charging, you're in a tough situation. These are minor protests however, and the Beat Studio Buds are our #1 pair of earphones right now, particularly with the forceful value point they're selling for.

[shadowhunter-dftba-blog]

best DJ Headphones

It’s at last time for our rundown of best DJ Headphones to buy in 2018! At the core of DJ’s most individual instrument is a couple of earphones.

Each DJ has an alternate individual inclination for their Dj headphones. From what they look like, to how they sound, the involvement with every earphone will fluctuate from individual to individual.

Do you know what Dj Headphones are? let me tell you in brief that what they are:-

These earphones are intended for proficient DJs to plainly perceive the bass, midrange, and highs on their soundtracks – they additionally give superb commotion separation and solace to enable DJs to hear the music obviously in boisterous and uproarious conditions.

They are uniquely designed to work with strong materials with swiveling ear jars so you can wander aimlessly the earphones over the head and around the neck without worrying about breaking them – some of these earphones additionally highlight single-sided tuning in for you to nearly screen the sound.

Advantages of Dj Headphones:

There are many advantages of Dj Headphones but some of the most important and basic are as under:-

With great sound, bass and beats quality, they last for very long so you don’t need to worry about your one-time investment.

They are available in great design, style, and manufacturing quality is very high which decrease the chances of breaking.

The earphones are made in such style that they can be rotated almost at 360 degree, which gives the DJs.

Disadvantages of Djs headphones:

Disadvantages of Djs headphones vary from model and designs but some of the main disadvantages are as under:-

Due to very high bass, frequency, beat, and sound, they may damage the ears of underage.

They pretty much expensive compared to other best headphones and studio headphones.

They are never been recommended for normal use.

What Makes A Good DJ Headphone?Sound

Accurate sound reproduction is not of utmost concern here. DJ headphones should provide enhanced lows and crisp highs. It's the kick drums, snares, and hi-hats you're paying attention to when mixing, not intricate sonic details. For tech specs, here are some approximate guidlines:

Frequency range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz is the standard, you can go wider, but it's not necessary.

Drivers that are 40mm or larger for louder lows.

For impedance, look for a model with a rating of 25 ohms or more.

Durability

Over the head, around the neck, the one-hand-single-ear hold — DJs constantly twist and forcefully form fit headphones, and a proper pair should be able to take the abuse (at least for a year or two). Check how strong the joints / hinges are and the quality of the materials used.

Comfort

However you wear them, DJ headphones should be comfortable. Check for headband padding, quality of the ear pads, and adjustability. Further, swiveling or rotating cups might provide better fit, and if you like to move around in the DJ booth, look for headphones with coiled and/or detachable cords.

After tons of research Dj headphones and Dj headphones reviews search,, the details mentioned are exact and according to the needs of the buyers. Are you happy now with the information that i provided to you? YES.

[swimintothesound]

Swim Into The Sound’s 20 Favorite Albums of 2017

Last Year 

2017 sucked. Politics have sucked. People have sucked. My diet has sucked. Everything is falling apart in slow motion. The entire year has felt like one prolonged exercise in frustration as we collectively fight back with about as much power as a punch thrown in a dream state.

I spent the first half of this year working a job that was fun, creatively fulfilling, paid well, and in my field. That ticks pretty much all of the “career boxes” one could ask for, so as turbulent as the gig was, I was disappointed when it came to an end over the summer. I’ve spent the back half of this year wrangling random freelance gigs, volunteering, looking for a job, and reveling in ambiguous employment.

It’s no coincidence that, after a six-month break, I began writing here regularly back in May because I truly had no other creative outlet at the time. I’d just like to say: thank God for this blog. Swim Into The Sound has proven to be an excellent way to expel my oft-overflowing creative juices, and writing here has provided me more solace, motivation, and guidance than I can ever put into words.

I’d also like to extend a personal and sincere thanks to you for reading. Whether this is your first time here or you’ve been subscribed for months, every reader means the world to me. On top of increased readership, I’ve also received some absolutely incredible responses to my writing this year. I’ve grabbed the attention of artists I love and podcasters that I look up to. I made the front page of /r/indieheads (my internet home), and people that I know in real life have discussed Swim Into The Sound write-ups with me. Most of the time I just write this stuff, edit it until I’m slightly less ashamed, then throw it out onto the internet. It’s forever-astonishing to me that anyone engages with these words, so thank you. It’s been a spectacular journey, and there are already many cool projects brewing for 2018. I can’t wait to see where things go from here.

To keep from drowning you in personal details, let’s just get straight to the main event. As bad as some parts of 2017 have been, it was actually an incredible year for music. Unlike the past, 2017 has felt like a year with no “clear” album of the year winner. There was no Blonde, Carrie & Lowell or To Pimp a Butterfly. No album that made a massive culture-wide impact, or even wormed its way into my list of all-time favorites yet. Instead, it’s been a year of many, many, many great albums, which in some ways is more exciting.

2017 has also been a year of upheaval. A year where women could rule, creeps could be called out, and our world was at risk of ending at any moment. It’s an exciting, hopeful, draining, and terrifying time to be alive. It has also been a year of unexpected surprises. I’ve found welcome homes in unexpected places, both online and in real life, and these communities have helped make me a stronger person.

2017 was also a year of discovery. I've been to more concerts in the past 12 months than I have the rest of my life combined. Thanks to a free 6-month TIDAL subscription, I’ve made more musical discoveries in 2017 than any year previously. From Hamilton to Swans, I’ve broadened my horizons more this year than ever before.

There are a lot of things to say about 2017, but if nothing else, it was the year that I learned about the power of weirdness. The strength that all of us have to stand up to the people in power. The creative potential that lies within all of us. I’ve found excitement in the new, and comfort in tradition. As always, this blog is a place to celebrate both old and new, but December specifically is a time to pause and reflect on the year that’s just passed. The things that inspire. The things that bring hope. The magnificent creations.

I’ve been celebrating 2017 for the entire month of December, and this post officially marks the end of “List Season” here on Swim Into The Sound. If you haven’t checked out our Diamond Platter Awards or Un-Awards, please feel free to peruse them for an even more complete picture of both the good and bad that 2017 has had to offer. But from here on out we find only the great. The impeccable. The cream of the crop. The best pieces from a year of many fantastic works.

So here’s to the weird. The new, the fresh, and the bold. Here’s to staying strong. Here are my 20 favorite albums of 2017.

20 | Slowdive - Slowdive

Slowdive’s self-titled album plays out like a fever dream. From its first notes, the record warmly envelops your entire body, consuming you like a long-lost childhood memory. As the album wears on, it transports the listener further, slowly shepherding them as they venture from their starting point on earth until they’re floating weightlessly in space surrounded only by far-off glittering lights and nostalgic memories from a life that’s not their own.

In keeping with the introduction’s theme of “discovery,” Slowdive is a group that I’d never listened to until this year. Needless to say, the fact that the band’s self-titled fourth album was their first in 22-years was lost on me. Despite the fact that I went into the album fresh and lacking context, the impact of Slowdive’s 2017 release was still severely felt.

There’s a sense of strange familiarity and nostalgia at play throughout Slowdive. Songs like “Star Roving” and “Sugar for the Pill” have an immediately-accessible grungy 90’s sound in which Sonic-Youth-esque vocals pair with reverb-ridden post-rock guitars and precise drumming. Using this word feels weird (especially for a record that isn’t even my favorite of the year), but Slowdive is perfect. It’s a flawless self-contained adventure that’s both accessible to newcomers and satiating to long-time fans. It’s the purest distillation of what dream pop is all about. It’s a monumental record of whirring soundscapes that shift like slowly-moving giants and crash against the listener like dense ocean waves. Slowdive is a masterful release from a band who’s not afraid to wait for greatness.

19 | SZA - CTRL

A “summer album” if I’ve ever heard one, SZA’s long-awaited debut LP is a bright, shimmering, and sunny record packed with songs of unrequited love punctuated by brief moments of carefree enjoyment. Songs jump from soaring infectious melodies to harrowing tales of normalcy at a moment’s notice, making for a manic listening experience that’s just as fun-loving as it is heartbreaking.

CTRL is an album about a normal girl by a normal girl. A collection of songs about the human experience from an honest and decidedly-female perspective. It’s like the R&B version of My Woman sprinkled with breakneck vocals, raw lyricism, and Blonde-esque instrumentation. Even when singing about well-trodden topics like late-night hookups, SZA manages to make everything feel refreshing and new. You get the sense that countless long hours and many late nights were spent crafting this album because the entire LP feels well-worn, well-loved, and well-thought out. CTRL is a single confidently-delivered package that glistens and beams in the sunlight of the listener’s heart.

18 | Jay Z - 4:44

It’s embarrassing to admit, but it’s confession time: until this year I’ve never listened to a Jay-Z project in full. I'd heard the hits, the guest verses, the collaborations, and I know he's got a trilogy of near-perfect hip-hop albums, but to be honest, I've just never been that into Mr. Carter’s approach to rapping. When I heard people raving about his thirteenth album, I decided that I had nothing to lose, so I took full advantage of my TIDAL subscription, set my reservations aside, and give it a shot.

Ever since Beyonce’s 2016 album I’ve been invested in the "Lemonade Narrative," and it turns out 4:44 followed that album up directly by providing listeners with some sense of conclusion and finality.

While I came for the People Magazine drama, I stayed for everything else. It turns out 4:44 is a stunning, honest, and compact album that features Jay-Z at his most reflective and adult-like state yet. I guess scandal, nearly losing your wife, then having twins is enough to change anyone for the better. On top of Jay's refreshing take on himself, we have an album that's centered around his old sample-based soul sound. Helmed entirely by No I.D., this led to a record that feels complete, consistent, and singularly-visionary throughout. While Jay-Z has been resting on his laurels artistically for some time, this album proves he still has a strong voice, important things to say, and an impactful message that's worth conveying in 2017. As he moves into the position of hip-hop's father figure, I'm now excited for the first time in my life to see what Mr. Carter has in store for us next.

17 | Father John Misty - Pure Comedy

It was unclear where Father John Misty would go after 2015’s breakthrough I Love You, Honeybear. Turns out the answer was everywhere. From tormenting Ryan Adams to duetting with Tim Heidecker, Tillman’s extra-musical antics are simply too innumerable to list in one single blurb. The good thing for fans was, as overwhelming as the avalanche of news updates sometimes felt, each headline managed to be entertaining and (more often than not) resulted in fresh music.

When it came time to release his third album under the Father John Misty persona, Josh Tillman turned his gaze outward. Shifting from the self-destructive personal tales of Honeybear, Pure Comedy finds Misty openly waging war against the universe and everyone in it. In the album’s slow-mounting opening track, a winding piano skitters around Tillman’s biting stanzas, ensuring that neither it nor the listener are trampled underfoot. As the lyrics outline the cosmic absurdity of existence, the piano pulls away, the vocals mount, and a gently-brushed drum begins to keep time just as Tillman belts out the album’s title. It feels like an announcement. An exercise. The catharsis of two albumless years and an election gone awry.

Featuring grand, swelling, and sometimes rambling songs, Pure Comedy blurs the lines between a post-apocalyptic near-future and present day. The album becomes a microscope through which humanity is observed, and everyone’s a smug asshole including our narrator.

The album’s definitive moment comes with its last two songs “So I'm Growing Old on Magic Mountain” and “In Twenty Years or So” which together make for an epic 17-minute meditative send-off. Both songs are massive, colorful, and awe-inspiring ballads that hit you with a crippling emotional gut punch before landing on what’s essentially a twist ending. Best experienced as the conclusion to the album’s 74-minute journey, Pure Comedy may take some time to sink in, but once it does, it will linger with you forever.

16 | (Sandy) Alex G - Rocket

Alexander Giannascoli is an enigma. A wonderfully-gifted singer, willfully-obtuse songwriter, and prodigy of melody, Alex G first rose to prominence through a series of increasingly-prolific Bandcamp releases culminating in DSU, his indie-wide breakthrough. Since then, he’s made a name for himself continuing to record artistically-acclaimed small-scale releases in between working with Frank Ocean, and more recently, he’s undergone a name change rebranding himself by adding “(Sandy)” to the front of his title.

Much like the man behind the music, Rocket is a mysterious and wandering album full of bright sounds and brilliant ideas. From jaunty country duets to auto-tuned croons, and even hardcore noise rock screams Giannascoli wields an astonishing amount of genres effectively throughout Rocket’s 41 minutes. Despite the fact that nearly every song takes a different musical approach, the entire record maintains a strong sense of self and wholeness throughout. Each additional sound and layer of weirdness adds merely one more brush stroke on to the bigger story that’s already been painted, resulting in a beautiful and one-of-a-kind work.

15 | Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

Kendrick Lamar’s fourth LP is one of the most important records of 2017. A shared experience, a communal soundtrack, and a cultural anthem, DAMN. is a stadium-packing monument to the marginalized, underrepresented, and underserved. Despite an impressive prelude, intricate self-referential throughlines, and conceptual frameworks (both real and imagined), the Compton rapper’s 2017 release is fantastic but falls just short of his last two LPs.

Taking neither the cinematic route of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, or the jazzy cultural takedown that was To Pimp A Butterfly, DAMN. lies somewhere in the middle as a primarily-autobiographical record that finds Lamar contextualizing his existence within a broader cultural landscape. Each song is a personal unmasking of the man behind the music, and the demons that live within him. Each word lets the listener a half-step deeper into Lamar’s psyche.

While DAMN. isn’t bad, I feel the need to defend my decision to place it towards the back of this list (in opposition to apparently every other publication this year). At a certain point, whatever album followed the magnum opus that is To Pimp a Butterfly was destined to be a disappointment, or at the very least feel like comparing apples to oranges. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been enjoying DAMN. all year (and listened to it more than almost every other album of 2017), but I can’t shake the feeling something is missing that kept it from being truly next-level.

Part of the reason I’d rank DAMN. below some of Lamar’s earlier albums is how piecemeal it feels. Songs stand alone (for better or worse) and rarely feel like part of a cohesive point that the artist is making. While this allows for some incredible variation and sonic experimentation, it also means DAMN. feels formless and aimless at times. The reason it gets #15 is that even a good-to-great Kendrick Lamar album is better than most other records any given year.

“HUMBLE.” is an unparalleled cultural anthem. “DNA.” is a blood-pumping, muscle-flexing, and stank-face-inducing track. “FEAR.” is a foreboding tale that recounts three pivotal ages in Kendrick’s life. Each of these songs have become standouts of 2017, and even some of Lamar’s best. A commentary on race, sexuality, and our nation, DAMN. is just a pit stop in the career of the greatest rapper alive.

14 | Idles - Brutalism

I’m a punk at heart. While I’m not as angry as I was back in high school, I often forget how deep those roots go and how influential that genre of music has been for me. Sometimes a record comes out that rekindles a long-lost love and can bring you back where you were at a specific moment in time, and for me that’s Brutalism. Hailing from Bristol, Idles are an English punk band that has been active for nearly half a decade at this point. After a string of EPs, Brutalism marks the group’s first official LP, and while it’s only the group’s debut, that five-year cooking time is evident in how fleshed out this record is. It feels like a career high, and it’s only our introduction to the band.

“Heel / Heal” kicks things off like a powder keg as the drum unrelentingly pounds forward with engine-like momentum. Soon singer Joe Talbot enters the mix and exasperatedly exclaims “I’m DONE” as the bass and guitar explode beneath him. Tracks like “Well Done” and “Date Night” perfectly capture the directionless anger that accompanies mid-20’s joblessness and sexual frustration, all captured in biting two-minute takes that bounce back and forth between the walls of the listener’s skull.

“Mother” is the album’s snarling high-point as the group weave a tale of matriarchal political betrayal. Hooking the listener with a twist chorus as a well-placed pause allows them to unveil a beautifully-poetic “Mother… Fucker.” It’s barebones, simplistic, straight-forward punk music that evokes the best parts of the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, and The Sex Pistols, all presented in a surprisingly clean and well-produced 40-minute package.

13 | Tyler, The Creator - Flower Boy

There’s no doubt about it; Tyler, The Creator grew up before our eyes. The enigmatic figurehead of Odd Future made a name for himself at the dawn of the New Internet by leveraging a deft understanding of new media and shock value as fuel for the unparalleled rise of a group of 20-something Californian teenagers. Tyler’s solo career has wound from Horrorcore to Death Grips-esque industrial hip-hop, but on his latest LP, he eschews all that for a veneer up-front of transparency.

On the opening track “Forward” we witness Tyler as he wrestles with everything from waning popularity to racist cops to his own sexuality. It’s here that we begin to realize we’re in store for a more honest record. While the album still has some scattered bangers like “Who Dat Boy” and “I Ain’t Got Time!”, the remainder of the album is a jazzy and shockingly-reserved outing that allows Tyler to vulnerably open up more than we’ve ever seen before. “November” and “See You Again” both revel in nostalgia while “911 / Mr. Lonely” and “Where This Flower Blooms” offer hopeful rays of positivity that claw towards the possibility of a brighter future.

When Flower Boy leaked two weeks ahead of its scheduled release date, most of the discussion online surrounded “Garden Shed,” the album’s revealing centerpiece that, combined with a handful of references scattered throughout the record, seem to allude to Tyler coming out of the closet. While there have been several hints up to this point, Tyler addressing this topic so entirely feels like the coming of a new age. The hip-hop figure who made a name for himself eating cockroaches and embracing vulgar darkness is now crooning and singing about kissing white boys. It’s refreshing, shocking, and reassuring all at once. Undeniably his best work, the world now finds itself rapt as we wait for the newly-matured Tyler, The Creator to make his next move.

12 | Julien Baker - Turn Out The Lights

The most spiritual experience I’ve had with music this year (maybe ever) has been interacting with Julien Baker’s Sprained Ankle over the summer. I say ‘interacting with’ because it was much more than just listening. The album deeply affected me. It touched me. It was affirmation that everything was going to be okay and my feelings weren’t invalid. I spent a month or two going on long, multi-hour, half-drunk, wistfully-existential walks, the feelings of which I detailed in this write-up over the summer. What initially began as a lazy way to get my Fitbit steps in, quickly evolved into therapy. Something I needed to do to work out issues I was going through at that time. My first job had crumbled before my eyes, and I’d never felt more isolated and alone. When Baker announced her sophomore album was coming out by the end of the year, I found myself emotionally-drained, but hungry for more.

Turn Out the Lights begins with the arid creak of an old floorboard and a slowly-mounting piano line. That piano bleeds into “Appointments,” and soon Baker unveils herself as the force of nature that she is. The keys become eclipsed by a faintly-glimmering guitar as Baker regretfully explains that she’s spending the night at home. The song slowly mounts into an explosive cry of shaky self-assurance “Maybe it's all gonna turn out alright / Oh, I know that it's not / but I have to believe that it is.”

The remainder of the album’s songs follow a similar pattern, often focusing on one single instrument and Julien Baker’s incredible voice as she outlines tales of death, regret, and religion. It’s a heart-breaking album of stunning moments and impeccable songwriting that manage to articulately explain the dark, dull pain of a deep depression. I believe in God and Julien Baker.

11 | Smidley - Smidley

I first stumbled across Smidley in a half-hearted attempt research the bands who were opening for Tigers Jaw on tour this spring. After 33 minutes of listening to the group’s breezy self-titled record, I calmly collected myself, picked my jaw off the floor, and listened to the whole thing again.

Probably one of my biggest “surprises” this year, Smidley’s self-titled record is brought to us courtesy of Foxing’s frontman Conor Murphy and features a collection of ten refreshingly-unique pop-punk tracks. Often fueled by bile and anger, the songs on Smidley range from soccer mom takedowns to dead dogs, yet every song bears the same airy, happy, summery disposition, and I can’t think of any other artist that could deliver a chorus of “Fuck This” in such a pleasant tone.

While “Fuck This” may have been a personal chant of mine throughout 2017, the most striking moment of the album comes in its closing song. Preceded by a dark ballad of drool-inducing drug binges, “Under The Table” is a cresting pop-punk depiction of a relationship that finds Murphy singing the song’s chorus in a whispered voice. As he sings the song’s title, his words are punctuated by a towering drum strike and the track explodes to life as a set of double-tracked vocals pair with a bouncy bass and rigorous guitar. It’s a cathartic and throat-shredding closer that left me in awe, the ballsy ending note to an album that surprised me with brilliance from its first seconds.

10 | BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION II

My first exposure to BROCKHAMPTON came when I sat down to listen to the first of three records the group released this year. Encouraged by a friend to check them out, I went into the Saturation Trilogy knowing nothing more than the fact that BROCKHAMPTON was an Odd Future-esque music collective that preferred to be labeled as a “boy band.”

The first thing I heard when I hit play on “HEAT” was 10 seconds of a garbled ambient hum. Suddenly a series of drum hits and a nastily-blown out bass forced their way onto the track accompanied by the first set of lyrics: “I got pipe dreams of crack rocks and stripper poles.” and every muscle in my body stiffened at once. After these introductory lines, the group’s members went on to trade bars about everything from race to self-medication over the song’s four and a half minutes before culminating in a brutish scream of “FUCK YOU.” I was hooked.

Gripped by the song’s lyrical and instrumental ferocity, I was hungry for more, but the next song sounded nothing like the first, and the third sounded nothing like either before it… yet they all worked. The first tape’s other highlights include the pop-culturally-dense “STAR” and “BUMP,” a track that jostles the listener from pop-punk-esque singing to gritty hip-hop bars. The boy band seemed to be intentionally trying to throw the listener off at every turn, packing as many ideas, sounds, voices, and topics into one project as humanly possible, and the crazy thing is that it worked.

At this point, it practically feels cliched to talk about BROCKHAMPTON's origin (a group of teens who met on a message board and all moved into a house to create music), but it feels necessary because it gives context to the group’s output. Having released three albums, a documentary, TV show, and tour all within 365 days is a feat. The fact that all each of these multimedia creations are of the same impeccable quality is what’s worth writing home about. BROCKHAMPTON are prolific young creators incarnate. Handling everything from production and art direction in-house, the group is DIY-ing their way to the top of the rap game through sheer brute force.

On Saturation II the group finds an even more refined sound. I went in cautious, wondering if they could even brush the same level of greatness as we saw on the first Saturation, yet the group managed to exceed even that. Early album cut “QUEER” represents a single-song encapsulation of what makes the group special, jumping from punchy “fuck you” hip-hop to infectious mid-verse chants to jarring crooned choruses, the song swings between multiple sounds and genres all in less than four minutes. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the penultimate “SUNNY” interpolates “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia in a moment that sent me into a powerful spiral of nostalgia the first time I heard that iconic late-90’s guitar slide.

To put it simply, everything is better on Saturation II. The earworm-ready choruses are refined further, the verses are tighter, and the beats are even wilder. The whole album is more polished and cohesive with songs that can work on their own and exist within the context of the larger album. Flawless, unreal, and unlike anything else this year.

9 | Half Waif - form/a

Half Waif’s form/a EP is an introverted, lush, and secluded 19-minute collection of electronic songs single-mindedly concerned with emotions and moods. Sung solely from the perspective of frontwoman Nandi Rose Plunkett, this EP finds her reflecting on impactful and pivotal moments from her childhood using a cold Celtic electronic soundscape as her icy backdrop.

Throughout the EP Plunkett finds herself reckoning with what it means to be a woman in the world, and what decisions have led her to this exact moment in time. Her voice is haunting and calculated. Her keyboards swell just when she needs them to, and the drums kick in at just the right moments. It’s clear that Nandi has a strong command over every piece of the world that she’s exposing you to, a carefully-constructed recreation of her memories, tragedies, and thoughts forever documented lovingly on the 19 minutes of form/a.

It’s an album about missing out, getting lost in your own head, and vanishing into nothing. Opening and closing with a set of lyrics about emotions, she finally reveals the album’s meaning in “Cerulean” as she sings “My mood has no form / It sits on my chest heavy and warm / My mood is not an invited guest / It takes over my body and gives me no rest.” It’s a striking and introverted sentiment dripping with emotion and rawness, delivered over a cold and unfeeling electronic beat.

A seemingly common topic for Nandi, this idea of formless and untamable moods is something that feels surprisingly missing from music. Songs are so often about feelings and the actions that they inspire, but rarely ever the moods themselves. form/a is a beautiful and sprawling expedition of the self that feels familiar and foreign at once.

8 | Sorority Noise - You're Not as Alone As You Think

For a while Sorority Noise was just another half-silly, half-serious emo band that sang about girls, and sad feelings. While I thought I preferred the group’s earlier carefree approach to emo, 2017’s You’re Not As _____ As You Think takes the seriousness of 2015’s Joy, Departed to the next level musically, lyrically, and mentally.

In an interview with Stereogum, the group’s primary musical force Cameron Boucher detailed an experience that served as the record’s driving force. Following the suicide of a childhood friend, Cameron found himself back in his hometown:

“Sean had been passed away for about a year, but I didn’t remember that. And so I was like, I’m gonna drive by Sean’s house and just stop by and say hi. And then I drove to his house, and when I pulled up in front, I realized he wasn’t there. That’s what the chorus of [No Halo] is about, and the whole song in general… I think I literally just sat in my car and wrote 90% of the lyrics right there.”

We saw the immediate effects of Sean’s suicide on It Kindly Stopped for Me, an EP that was never meant to be released to the public but was put out in hopes that it would help others in the same way that it helped Cameron. In that same interview, Boucher revealed that he primarily writes songs from emotion, as a way to cope with reality, not really thinking about what they mean or needing to explain them down the road. What we see on You’re Not As _____ As You Think is someone who’s sat, meditated, and grown from the pain of this loss. It tackles drug abuse, depression, religion, and everything in between with some of the most raw, honest, and heartfelt lyrics that I’ve ever heard.

In late October the group released Alone a follow-up 7” that was meant to fill in the blank space in You’re Not As _____ As You Think. Containing two songs that add an additional layer of gravitas, and reflection to the full LP, these two releases combine into one singularly-impactful emotional gut punch that candidly addresses depression openly and honestly.

7 | The National - Sleep Well, Beast

On the cover of The National’s new album, we see a black and white photo of a happy home. Composed of five straight lines, the house is simple and picturesque as if it were drawn by a child. The sky is grey and muted like a fall morning at 3am. Inside of the house, we can make out a handful of figures. The house is missing a door. We’re not sure what’s happening, we’re not sure if they’re happy, but all we know is that we’re on the outside looking in.

The music contained behind this cover is suitably just as grey and simplistic. Jutting around drunkenly with jagged songs of sadness and regret, Sleep Well, Beast is The National’s great monument. I’ve been listening to the band casually for years now, but nothing has ever grabbed me the way that this record has. I listened through a few times thinking ‘this is good’ but then one fateful day, an old relationship sprang back into my life while “Carin at the Liquor Store” was playing and The National made cosmic sense to me at that moment. Suitably wistful, overwrought, and trapped in their own heads, this is music made for turbulence of the soul. Music for a world that doesn’t make sense, but you must exist in nonetheless.

On a late October episode of Comedy Bang Bang, the National found themselves playing acoustic renditions of Beast songs in between interviews with zany characters. Before playing “Guilty Party,” lead singer Matt Berninger explained that the record about “looking over the edge of ‘what if?’” It’s an album about hibernation. About emerging from depression and combating the dregs of the world with dogged consistency if nothing else.

Beautifully-composed with dashes of electronic elements and long, swaying melodies, every song contained here showcases a different strength of the band. It’s an album that makes you happy to have lived. Even if you’re encountering a constant stream of bullshit, slowly being beaten down and drained by the great torrent of life, Sleep Well Beast assures you it’s all worth it by letting you know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Hope for us all in the grey dawn.

6 | Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the Alps

Phoebe Bridgers’ soul is haunted. Throughout Stranger in the Alps, her guitar, voice, and thoughts drip with tangible darkness and unshakable regret. It’s a 44-minute soul-bearing expedition that will leave you physically and emotionally drained by the end.

Beginning with “Smoke Signals” a rolling, arid track that finds our hero dying vicariously through Lemmy and Bowie, the album twitches and swirls with life, reveling in the shifting blackness of the afterlife. Throughout the record we see flashes of a life well-lived: singing at funerals, unearnest hypnotherapist visits, and basking in the half-comfort of a shower beer. All of these tracks center around Bridgers’ confidently-delivered vocals, impeccable guitar work, and brilliant stretches of self-destructive storytelling.

One of the most haunting works comes at the album’s halfway point in the form of “Killer,” a measured piano-ballad track that finds Bridgers taking after indie folk Gods like Sufjan Stevens by comparing herself directly to a renowned serial killer. In the back half of the song she flashes forward to her own death as the piano flutters and a subtle hum of strings enter the mix. Stranger is one of the best debut albums I’ve heard in years, and as Bridgers embarks on a nationwide tour on the back of this record’s success, I absolutely can’t wait to see what she has for us next.

5 | The War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding

Long-time fans will know that when I call something “background music” I mean it as a compliment. For months now, The War on Drugs A Deeper Understanding has been my go-to “background album” for nearly every situation and I believe it deserves props for that alone. When no other music presents itself to me, when I can’t think of anything else to listen to, when my queue is empty, this record is always there.

There’s something to be said for an album that’s calm and steady enough to lie in the background, yet musical enough to stand on its own. Some of my all-time favorite groups like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and Russian Circles are all bands that I adore and lovingly refer to as background music. They’ve helped me read, write, and create. They’re the perfect soundtrack to life, and now A Deeper Understanding joins their ranks as a fantastic album of infinite subtleties, musical vastness, and ever-cresting sonic landscapes.

On top of this situational flexibility, A Deeper Understanding also manages to improve upon the band’s previous effort Lost in the Dream which is astounding. The highs are louder and more blistering, and the lows hit even harder. Every song is a journey, and each solo implores you to get out and explore the world. A romantic record that inspires with each breath it takes.

4 | Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me

Phil Elverum has a message to declare: Death is real. Recorded after his wife’s passing in July of 2016, A Crow Looked at Me is the draining of grief. An exorcism of pain. A confessional, first-hand account of the soul-wringing agony that is inflicted in the wake of the death of a loved one. How you live. How your infant daughter lives. The crushing pain of mundanity and how everything you see is a memory. A past. A future. A plan that never got to unfold. It's not an album, it’s grief incarnate. It’s not fun to listen to, but it’s one of the most important releases of the year. The more you dig into the album, the more it hurts. Each line is a painful, poetic, being-shifting barb in which you empathize with Elverum unlike any other artist.

Recorded entirely on his wife’s instruments, the physical record has exact times demarcating how long each song was written from the time of her death. Some songs use a respirator for the beat and contain lyrics about how even the old garbage in the upstairs bathroom serves as a reminder that your loved one is gone. Every moment is beautiful, and every second hurts. It hangs heavy in your chest and will remain there for the rest of your life.

3 | Lorde - Melodrama

On the polar opposite of Crow, we have Lorde’s Melodrama a bright, joyful, and carefree album that, yes, is about a breakup, but handles that topic with as much happiness as a pop album possibly can.

Lorde’s first album in four years, Melodrama was one of 2017’s most highly anticipated releases. From aged poptimists to teen streamers and radio-ready moms, everyone was looking forward to the iconic New Zealanders return to music, and the most miraculous thing is that Lorde managed to please every one of these groups with the same album. Melodrama is musical enough to stand on its own against “high art,” poppy enough to be played on the radio, and has just enough flourishes to reward repeat listening.

To put it simply, Melodrama is the best of every possible world. A sophomore album that manages to please fans both old and new. A shining example of the heights that the pop genre can achieve, and the barriers it can break. It’s the continued and never-ending story of how one sixteen year old can rocket herself from a 2013 Song of the Summer to industry mainstay, segueing all that into the creation of one of the best releases of an entire genre. Melodrama is a pure, unbridled, and brilliant success on every level.

2 | Feist - Pleasure

Like most other denizens of 2007, my first exposure to Feist was through her fluke pop hit “1234.” As previously documented, I was slavishly devoted to late-2000’s-era pop music, so this song’s cultural impact was not lost on me. Like many other listeners, the song quickly faded from my consciousness and I wrote Feist off as a one-hit-wonder. After all, “1234” was essentially a Sesame Street song and, while catchy, wasn’t particularly deep. So I categorized her in the same vapid Adult Contemporary genre as Teddy Geiger and James Blunt: not offensive, but not something I’d ever seek out on my own. Aside from a one-off reference in a 2009 episode of The Office, I seemed to be right for the most part, at least she never broke her way back into my iTunes library.

When I saw people glowingly discussing Feist’s 2017 record I was intrigued, to say the least. Assuming it would merely be a pleasant and well-polished pop album full of slightly-Canadian tunes, I sought out the record and let it play through.

Expertly-deployed as the first song, “Pleasure” is an absolutely stunning introduction that immediately dismantled every one of my previously-held 1234-based notions. Boldly opening with 20-seconds of near-silence, “Pleasure” lulls the listener into a false sense of security with single row of, slightly-distorted guitar plucks and a reserved Leslie Feist on vocals. The melody slowly unwinds as Feist expertly pairs her voice with her guitar. Soon the music cuts down to almost nothing and Feist’s voice is reduced to a whisper as she moves closer to the mic croons the album’s title. Then, just as the listener is leaning in, straining to hear the song’s delicate melody, Feist cranks her guitar up to eleven as a simple snarl-inducing riff consumes the entire track. Towering over the rest of the mix, the distorted guitar strings swallow everything in their immediate proximity, blistering through the riff as the listener is shaken by the sudden change of tone. It’s a beautiful bait and switch, and merely the first example in an album that is brimming over the top with one-of-a-kind moments.

As an album, Pleasure finds itself oscillating between tender fragility and raw power. In a pre-album interview, Feist explained that the album is said to “explore emotional limits: loneliness, private ritual, secrets, shame, mounting pressures, disconnect, tenderness, rejection, care and the lack thereof.” and Pleasure manages to handle every one of these topics with extraordinary grace.

Sometimes the scope of the songs will pull out to reveal the larger context, but for most of this album, you're just listening to Feist and her guitar. The songwriting and melody are sharper than almost everything I’ve heard all year, and I emerged from my first listen ashamed. Mad at myself for writing her off as a one-hit wonder when the reality couldn’t have been further from the truth: Feist is an artistic force to be reckoned with.

Funnily enough, there are also moments that come across as very trapped in time like references to flip phones, a spoken word passage by Jarvis Cocker, and a completely left-field Mastodon sample. The beauty of Pleasure is that somehow none of these elements feel out of place or make the album feel trapped in 2007. Instead, they make the record all the more special. They serve as one-of-a-kind instants that would feel ingenious anywhere else. The musical equivalent of well-worn leather. A double-helix of unique and unpredictable beauty.

Pleasure is a barebones album that’s deeply-personal and loving, occasionally violent and explosive, and wholly beautiful. Tracks like “Lost Dreams” feel like controlled explosions: moments of eruptive vitriol, surrounded by pensive waves of rocking harmonies.  Songs like “Baby Be Simple” smolder and rumble onward, often carried forward only by Leslie’s voice. You find yourself so lost in these songs that when the guitar does enter the mix, it seems like an explosive burst, even though it’s just a single gingerly-strummed chord. It’s an exercise in reduction, reservedness, and deceiving looks. Fierce and unpolished, uncomplicated and bare, Pleasure is songwriting and guitar work in its purest form. One of my favorites of the year, and an absolute hidden treasure.

1 | Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds From Another Planet

If years could have mascots, 2017’s would be Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast. Aside from listening to her throughout the year, seeing her live twice, and being my 4th most-played artist of 2017, she has become symbolic. A figure that represents my shifting personality, internal monologue and grappling with the reality of the world. I feel like she’s simultaneously speaking to me and for me. I’ve found a new voice through hers.

As much as I enjoyed every other album on this list, my “album of 2017” can’t be anything but Soft Sounds From Another Planet. There are sadder albums, deeper albums, dancier albums, and maybe even “better” albums that released this year, but Soft Sounds represents more than that. When I think about my life next week, or next year, or five years from now, I know that Japanese Breakfast will still be a part of it. Albums come and go. Phases, genres, and artists all rise and fall, but Soft Sounds is something that I can see venturing back to forever.

I know this because Michelle’s music has already been something that I’ve been able to return to all year. Her debut album Psychopomp was one of my best discoveries of 2016 and a record that drew me in from first listen. It’s not often that I order a vinyl record before I’ve even finished my first listen. Another distinction Zauner is honored with is being one of the first real “reviews” I’ve done for this website thanks to an early vinyl shipment. That said, between that review and my female-fronted profile of her in October, there’s not much more I feel like I can say about this record on a technical level.

Despite my hype, it’s not a record I expected to be my favorite until I sat down to really think about what has impacted me this year. I took a long break from Soft Sounds after listening to it endlessly for that review, and when I came back to it after multiple weeks, I was surprised to find that I knew every word. I’d memorized every melody, and internalized every beat. That’s something I can say about very few records, let alone one that I’ve only been listening to for five months.

Michelle posted her own year in review on Instagram, and even a cursory glance reveals an incredibly happy, humble, and wholesome person who deserves every ounce of success she has earned. To watch her shoot from “Underground Bandcamp Musician” to one of the biggest names in indie over the past year has been astounding to behold.

I remember hearing “Road Head” for the first time as she sampled her vocals and made a beat of them live on stage. I remember being transported by the 90’s bass-centered groove of “Diving Woman.” I remember watching her perform “Boyish” to a silent room as a disco ball twirled above the audience’s heads. I remember dancing to “Machinist” alongside Michelle as she jumped into the audience at our small Portland show. I remember finding solace in “Till Death” as the news seemed like a constant stream of cruel men winning things that they don’t deserve. I remember tearing up to the fan-like synth of “The Body Is a Blade” as childhood photos flashed on screen. I remember full-on crying to “This House” as Zauner recounted her life in scattered flashes following her mother’s death. This album is my 2017.

Michelle Zauner is the absolute best that humanity has to offer. A shining star of this world. A phenomenal voice, a gifted director, and a musical visionary. Her music makes me want to be a better person and improve myself just for the sake of attempting to one day achieve what she already has. Thank you for the music, and thank you for the voice Michelle, you are who I want to be.

[dunntown]

SuperUnKnown - R.I.P. Chris Cornell

“I woke the same as any other day

except a voice was in my head

it said, “Seize the day, pull the trigger

Drop the blade and watch the rolling heads.”

A BiPolar perspective to Chris Cornell’s death.

Thursday, May 18th, 2017 - It was around 7:45 in the morning. I silenced the alarm on my phone, hushing the soothing sounds of Fat Mike from NoFx’s voice as he wakes me most mornings lately with the lyrics “One morning I woke up, scratched my balls and eyes..” This being the opening lines to the song “I don’t like me anymore.”, It’s sort of appropriate for a guy who struggles with bipolar disorder and depression. I decided to go about my morning routine of scrolling through and deleting the massive amounts of spam mail I seem to get while I sleep. The first thing I saw, however, was a newsletter from my local rock station. “BREAKING: Chris Cornell Dead”. I just sort of sat there for a moment, wondering what kind of dead celebrity hoax this was. Chris Cornell, the guy who was a monstrous part of my musical adventure as a teen was dead. It was so strange, he seemed so healthy. He didn’t seem to have any real drug or alcohol problems that I ever recall reading or hearing about. It was a bit jarring. 

I proceeded to flip through the various news sites, sort of exposing myself to as much input as possible into how one of my favorite songwriters had met his demise at the age of 52. It’s important to note something to those reading this who may not realize what it was like for those of us on April 8th, 1994. I was in 6th grade. My childhood friend Lonzo Jones, a guy who sadly is no longer with us, rushed up to me as I left a class and said “Dude, did you hear? Kurt Cobain is dead!” I was really confused then, and I had to wait all day to hear more when MTV delivered updates via the broadcasting of Kurt Loder. I think it’s important to explain why that moment is so memorable because I feel like May 18th will always be the day that Chris Cornell died for me. (I’m aware Joy Division’s Ian Curtis lost his battle with depression on this day 37-years ago as well). 

Chris Cornell, the powerful, dynamic singer whose band Soundgarden was one of the architects of grunge music, died on Wednesday night in Detroit hours after the band had performed there. He was 52.

The death was a suicide by hanging, the Wayne County medical examiner’s office said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon. It said a full autopsy had not yet been completed.

Mr. Cornell’s representative, Brian Bumbery, said in a statement that the death was “sudden and unexpected.”

I read this and many other write-ups like it. “Suicide” and “Sudden and Unexpected” are the two things that stand out to a guy like me the most. I haven’t been one to shy away from the fact I suffer from mental illness. (more on this in a moment.) The stories kept coming in that Chris had hung himself and almost immediately the internet was awash with more commentary and the gushing of fans. I wasn’t aware I knew so many fans of his work. It’s strange how that happens. It’s even stranger than that as I sat and went over some comic work I am trying to catch up on, the one person I kept thinking about was a friend I had in middle school named Gary Gilbert. Gary was without a doubt the biggest Soundgarden fan. We used to have weird “grunge rock wars” about who was better as I was a devout Nirvana fan and he was all Soundgarden. I almost immediately thought about “I wonder how Gary is taking it?”. This led me to do something I haven’t ever done in my life. I searched for him and sent him a friend request on facebook. So, here I am, wondering about how a guy I haven’t spoken to in 20-years at least is feeling about the death of Chris Cornell. 

I guess this history lesson wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t explain one of the things about why I loved and adored the grunge scene so much. I missed the punk scene. However, I totally would never have known about punk music if not for bands like Nirvana, Mudhoney, and Soundgarden. I didn’t learn about the Sex Pistols until I heard Kurt Cobain talk about them in an interview in 1992. Grunge was my gateway drug backward into my obsession with Punk and Hardcore. 

So, I now come to the first real part of this blog. Grief is weird. I believe a big part of the process is trying to reconcile to yourself that this is a permanent fixture in your life. You go your whole life taking advantage of these artists and actors and musicians... Then, poof!

I loved Chris Cornell’s work. I personally believe out of every grunge era musician, he was probably the most well rounded of all of them. His voice is capable of giving me goosebumps and some songs will forever resonate with me. Soundgarden was the middle man of Grunge. It bridged the gap between Punk/Sludge/Noise rock from bands like The Melvins and Sonic Youth to the more commercially recognized bands of Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam. Soundgarden plays loud, hard, yet poetic rock. Their music was built on Led Zeppelin, Hardcore Punk, and Black Sabbath. They defied the expectation of what a “Grunge” band was and stood out among their Seattle scene as the toughest machine in town. Chris Cornell’s thunderous, multi-octave vocals pierced the souls of all of the angst-ridden and angry youth who also weren’t finding solace in the nonsensical poetries of other bands at that time. Cornell’s lyricism is some of the most well-versed poetry I’ve ever heard. Cornell spoke to kids with depression through experience, and told stories of sardonic nihilism, inner torment and defined the battles of depression as beautifully catatonic waves of torment. 

Cornell spoke to me... 

"Whatsoever I've feared has come to life. Whatsoever I've fought off became my life. Just when every day seemed to greet me with a smile sunspots have faded. And now I'm doing time 'cause I fell on black days."

When I was in high school, I thought there was something wrong with me. It was always a roller coaster ride of emotion. I’d always suppress it and I got really good at it. In 10th grade, a good friend of mine named Robert Patton killed himself. It really shook our school, and today, when I read the report about Chris Cornell’s suicide. I immediately remembered what our Principal had said to us about Robert’s death. 

“sudden and unexpected.”

Robert was a fun kid. We laughed and talked about all kinds of crap. I never saw it coming. He seemed so happy... He didn’t seem damaged or broken, not like how I felt. However, I bet you not many of my friends knew I was depressed back then either. I am bipolar and suffer from bouts of depression and mania. I also suffer from clinical anxiety and have ADHD. I’m a cocktail of neuroticism and to this day can’t believe my current and/or ex Wife/Girlfriends haven’t murdered me in my sleep. 

One of the things I decided this morning was that if the facts came out and they said he had indeed committed suicide, I’d write this version of the blog. I wanted to make sure it held a clear message about mental illness and hopefully could help someone. 

I always get asked, “What’s it like?”

So, here is the best way to explain how it all works. Mania is sort of this awesome high. You have energy and motivation, and you just don’t want to stop. Couple that up with ADHD and sometimes it creates severe problems. You’ve now lost your impulse control, so for example. I wanted to find a particular record. (Led Zeppelin 4) I decided to hit a pawn shop and a couple thrift shops. Waste a couple hours and get home for dinner. I was severely manic that day though and my ADHD coupled with it made me hit every thrift shop, pawnshop, and anywhere else I thought I might find it. I searched for 6-hours before Aly (wife) made me buy it offline. 

The best part of mania is the optimism, you could literally burn down your home and just go “We can rebuild it and make it better too!”. I’m also much more on point creatively. I get so many ideas, so many great moments of artistic expression. Sometimes being manic is like a comic creator's super power. When Mania strikes, I do as much as possible to capitalize on it. 

I feel more outgoing, charismatic, secure in who I am and what I am doing. I feel like I can do anything. I wake up with a drive and determination to get things done, and I just go and go and GO. I am way more sociable, I talk too much, I dominate conversations, I interject when I don’t need to. I can’t keep on topic cause my brain is working faster than the conversation that is happening. I sometimes depress myself thinking back on these times as well. Sometimes, you just can't recognize when you’re being “TOO MUCH” for some people.  During manic spells, I feel like Superman. I can do anything, my self-esteem is up, I can conquer the world. However, the major dread of anyone who recognizes their mania is that we know it’s only a matter of time before we crash. The thing about mania that is so appealing is that without the highs of manic episodes, I don’t think I could tolerate the lows of depression.

I've givin' everything I need. I'd give you everything I own. I'd give in if it could at least be ours alone. I've given everything I could to blow it to hell and gone. Burrow down and blow up the outside world."

The point of this is to discuss why Chris Cornell could have been suicidal, depressed, and mentally ill... and no one would have known. In the song “Fell on Black Days” he basically defines what it feels like to fall into depression from a manic episode. 

When my depression kicks in, I am just intolerable. I want to be left alone, but not too alone. I want to not exist, but I fear not being remembered. I don’t want to go anywhere, but I don’t want to be here. When people talk to me, I feel they are judging me, chastising me, making me feel like I am incapable of doing anything right. It becomes really easy to hide.  Seeing people be happy is the worst, It annoys me and makes me angry. It reminds me that I am broken and that my bipolar disorder is always there. I’ll always have instability and the most annoying part is the people who tell me “Cheer up!” as if it was that easy. The nuances of daily life also begin to start dragging my mood deeper into the void. This is where suicide becomes... endearing.  I’ve contemplated suicide pretty much during every depressive state. I have tricks, mechanisms to break my thought process. My kids. Music. Art. Comics. Writing. Sex. All of these are ways I trick my brain into walking away from the ledge. If I feel I am not able to do it alone, I’ll sometimes text, message or call a friend. This is that exposing my own personal life part. If any of my friends read this and you ever complain to yourself. “Why does Martin call me and just not have anything to say?” It’s because if I'm on the phone with you, I'm not self-harming. I am very cognitive of my mental state and I am very good at keeping it in check. Sadly, some are not. Some fight for a very long time and some give up. Robin Williams comes to mind. 

"Boiling heat, summer stench 'neath the black. The sky looks dead. Call my name through the cream. And I'll hear you. Scream again. Black hole sun won't you come and wash away the rain? Black hole sun won't you come? Won't you come?"

I sometimes imagine what it’s like for normal people. I imagine they deal with stress and anger and anxiety in a much different way. If I told you that I sometimes have gotten so angry I’ve punched myself in the face, causing damage to my teeth... Would that make sense? I have bad teeth, and some people have asked me why. Why are they chipped? Why are you missing one? They don’t look unbrushed. It’s because I used to punch myself in the face. It was reactionary and really destructive and thankfully, I’ve not done that in a very long time. Don’t get me wrong, I totally do have my “normal” days. I get to have them every so often. I think it’s why I take so much pleasure in the little things.  I think Chris Cornell gave into his depression. I think he let go of his fight because like anyone who suffers from clinical depression will tell you. Sometimes, when you look into the future, you can’t see anything but a cold, dead, blackness. 

The night before his death, Cornell performed in front of a sold-out show in front of a legion of fans. He lasted longer than his grunge brethren like Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Shannon Hoon, and most recently Scott Weiland. Cornell experienced almost 2x the life as some of these tragic artists. He was very much alive to all that looked upon him that night as he played them out to a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “In My Time of Dying”. His haunting words catching me in the heart were “I feel bad for the next city.”. I would have bought every album as I always did of Cornell’s work until he hung it up. His future was to be that of an aged and grizzled rock vet, strumming an acoustic guitar and telling us more stories about his inner battle with his own demons. I always envisioned Chris Cornell being my generations Jonny Cash. That, sadly, will never be the case. 

A lot of you, my fellow fans have been asking “why?”. 

You will never truly understand the answers to that question if you do not grasp the silent killer that is mental illness. Chris Conell will go down in legend as one of the best singers and songwriters of Rock & Roll. 

"I got up feeling so down. I got off being sold out. I've kept the movie rolling. But the story's getting old now. I just looked in the mirror. Things aren't looking so good. I'm looking California and feeling Minnesota. So now you know, who gets mystified. Show me the power child. I'd like to say that I'm down on my knees today. It gives me the butterflies, gives me away till I'm up on my feet again. I'm feeling outshined."

RIP

Chris Cornell

If you’re ever struggling emotionally or going through a tough time, you can always call Call 1-800-273-8255 Available 24 hours everyday! National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

- Martin Dunn

[uclaradio]

Interview with Westerman

as interviewed by Salvatore Ingrassia

Westerman at the Moroccan Lounge, 11/29/2018

Questions have been rephrased for conciseness.

We’ll start off with some basic questions–what’s your full name, where are you from, and, in your own words, what kind of music do you make?

My name is William Westerman, I’m from West London (Shepherds Bush), and I make experimental pop music I suppose.

Which artists have most influenced your work? From what you can tell, how do these influences surface in your music?

Uh, I think there’s a lot of different artists… I try not to think about other artists when I’m making my own music. But I like a lot of different genres, my dad listened to lots of jazz so I think there’s elements of that in my music. I listened to a lot of singer-songwriters when I was still in my teens, people like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake–kind of classic, sorta songsmith-type people…. Increasingly now I listen to more kind of atmospheric stuff. I think from working with Bullion my producer, coming from more of like an electronic background, that’s obviously something that’s been seeping into the music as well.

Since releasing the Harvard EP you’ve undergone a pretty rapid sonic transition in just a few short years. It seems like you’ve moved away from a folky acoustic set-up and have begun producing more atmospheric, electronic music….What specifically has influenced this change in your music?

I think it’s just like, I had never really done any recording so when I was writing songs it was just writing on a guitar and singing ‘em live. Like you just have those two textures, your playing and your singing, and the lyrics. But I guess when it came to like start recording music and making the second EP and having done the process of seeing how you start to like build a track up, it just got me thinking about more kind of compositional elements. Just thinking about ways you could kinda create effects, and maybe it’s more effective to use a different texture and a melody line from an instrument as opposed to just your voice in that plane. So I guess just that process of starting to understand recording and the actual recording process a bit more.

And would you say working with Bullion has affected this in any way?

Yeah I mean sure, like we’re good friends, we get on really well and I think we just have a really good open and creative relationship where like we share music with each other all the time, and just like being opened up to I guess different types of music I didn’t know before. But yeah, also just watching the way that he makes his music and the way he builds tracks up I think by osmosis has just kind of affected the way that I think about arranging my own stuff.

There’s been a revival of 80s aesthetics across different genres in recent years. Your 2018 projects seem to somewhat reflect this trend.  What are your thoughts on this trend and how does your music fit in this landscape?

Um, I don't know. It’s strange because when I started making this music I wasn’t aware of like that that was gonna be a thing… I never think when I’m making music like ‘I wanna reference 80s sounds,’ it’s more just playing around with different textures when it comes to recording and just trying to find stuff which frames my melodies or my voice [in a way] which seems appropriate…. If that is something that’s being revived I do think there’s a nice romanticism in a lot of those sounds and textures, maybe if that’s a thing that’s coming back… maybe it’s kind of a nostalgia thing? I guess like when Ariel Pink first came through 10 years ago it was more of a thing of using analog gear. It might be linked to people getting more like… like people rejecting too-polished and too-processed “perfect” types of music…. But I haven’t really thought about it until you asked me.

Your music seems to elude categorization. What might inform your individualism and how do you see yourself in the greater landscape of music today?

I never really liked the idea of trying to sounds like something else. When I’m making music I try to not think too much about it and just sort of see what comes out, like I try not to process it too much other than like a degree of ordering and refining. But in terms of the melodies and stuff… I just try and follow that without looking at anything too much apart from my own intuition…. I guess it’s kind of alternative music, it’s not really concerned like the current trends of mainstream pop music.

One word that comes to mind when I think of your post-2016 output is subtlety. What is it about subtlety you find attractive?

I think the more music I make and the more I sort of understand making music and putting it together… I think a lot of modern music has just too much going on. Like maximalism can be cool if there’s like a reason for it. I do try and give the different elements and textures room to breathe. Like if the ideas are strong enough they should kinda carry that weight on their own, that’s definitely a principal that I do agree with. But I guess a lot if it is also just independence and what kind of voice you have. I have the voice that I have and it has a certain texture and a certain timbre and whatever… it’s just trying to suit it [and] find the right way of framing what you do, I guess.

As a solo artist, what would you say are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working by yourself? Does being a multi-instrumentalist influence your choice to go it alone? 

I don’t know if I’d really classify myself as a multi-instrumentalist, that’s kind of you. I kind of play guitar and play some other stuff quite badly *chuckles*. I think I’ve always just liked working on my own, for me my process is trying to expel a lot of the kinda craziness in your day to day life. It can all be quite overwhelming, a sort of wall of information. Making music has always been a quiet thing that I do just to kind of make sense of all this crazy stuff…. I was always making music before I was releasing music and it was for that kind of tranquility and solace. I guess the advantages are like, I’ve never really thought much about scenes or whatever music fits in ‘cuz I’ve never really been a part of one. So maybe in terms of sounding like an individual, that probably plays a large part in that.

You have a degree in philosophy. Are there philosophical concepts that you try to weave into your songwriting? Has this informed any lyrical themes or references?

I think there’s a lot of questions in my music. I don’t know if that’s informed necessarily by having done philosophy or [if] I did philosophy because that’s kind of the way my mind works. I am definitely quite concerned with balance. I did a lot of Greek stuff. Just thinking about like Parmenides and Aristotle… that’s something I’m definitely drawn to in music, to kind of create balance. It kinda goes back to just like, giving things room to breathe and not overloading things.

Finally, are there any contemporary artists you recommend?

That’s a good question… My favorite record this year is Amen Dunes’ album. I wasn’t aware of his music until this latest album but that’s a brilliant record. What else is good… I always find that a hard question, I do listen to music a lot but when you get put on the spot your mind goes blank. I’ve actually been listening to older stuff again recently. Like I’ve kind of been going back into a Talking Heads phase, which is a thing I do semi-regularly. But the Amen Dunes record, I definitely recommend that one.