#albumreview

[album-a-day-project]

2/20/24

Yeat

2093

====

This is my first time listening to Yeat at length. I've come to the realization that I don't need 22 tracks from artists like this anymore. He seems to use the same exact flows as Travis Scott, without the same level of entertainment value, maintaining a monotone voice throughout every single track.

Upon reviewing the credits, I noticed numerous writers listed for each track, as well as various 'TikTok Producers', which initially surprised me. It appears that we're witnessing the full evolution of Soundcloud rap into TikTok rap, with the first successful artists garnering substantial industry hype and financial backing. This is likely how Yeat managed to feature Future on the track 'Stand On It', which falls flat.

There's undoubtedly a place for this type of music, and Yeat appears to be leading the charge in the zone of TikTok rap. However, the repetitive and uninspired lyrics fail to drive the overall industry forward. By the end of this album, I find myself thoroughly exhausted. Thankfully, it's finally over.

5/10

[dustedmagazine]

Butthole Surfers — Rembrandt Pussyhorse (Matador)

Photo by Jerry Milton

Given the amount of ink spilled and pixels configured concerning the music and cultural phenomena associated with the Butthole Surfers, it seems a daunting task to find anything new to say about the band — even about a record as excellent as Rembrandt Pussyhorse, first released 38 years ago (say what) on Touch and Go and presently being given the vinyl reissue treatment by Matador. But two things obviate the perceived difficulty registered just above: somehow, someway, Rembrandt Pussyhorse sounds like it could have come out yesterday on some currently über-hip, punk-adjacent underground label (say, Feel It Records from Cincinnati, or London’s La Vida Es un Mus); and for certain, it feels a very particular, vividly upsetting sort of way to listen to these demented, raging and inspired songs in March of 2024, as we struggle and lurch our way toward spring.

For example: Give “Strangers Die Everyday” a spin and try not to think about Gaza. That shouldn’t be a compelling match, of past music with present, all-too-real event. The song features a nigh-histrionic, Bela-Lugosi-as-the-Count organ, plastic fangs chewing on cheap, drywall scenery. Gibby Haynes does some of his bullhorn-mediated vocal antics, and sounds of bad plumbing bubble up into the mix. It’s the Butts in nightmare mode, which was always a vertiginous blend of ruthless ugliness and brain-rattled hilarity, and there is nothing funny about Gaza. Nothing at all. But keep listening. “Strangers Die Everyday” ends up expressing a deranged pathos. The organ is hammy, but the melody is mournful. The glurping, glooping bubbling evokes looking down a mostly stopped-up drain, which is always a bum-out experience, woven into the textures of the “Everyday” world nodded to in the song’s title. It situates the sadness and disgust in a feeling tone. But just exactly where is your everyday world? If you can tune in and make an additional metaphorical leap (to all the drains in Gaza, and in Myanmar, and in Ethiopia, and elsewhere, all of them backed up and drowned by unstanched cataracts of blood, from the bodies of all of those strangers), you will feel a particular sort of weight in your gut.

The Butts’ best stuff always worked the spaces in which earnestness, nausea and a decidedly bonkers mirthfulness overlap. Perhaps “collide” is a better word for the music’s resulting dynamic. In their early recordings, you can hear them bashing and stumbling their way toward ever-more-effective smash-ups of sharply opposing affects: the delirious one-two punch of “Suicide” and “The Revenge of Anus Presley” from Butthole Surfers (1983); the ebullient, anxious, headlong hallucination that is “Dum Dum” from …Another Man’s Sac (1984). The best performance of that sort of collision on Rembrandt Pussyhorse is “Perry,” which initially registers as a hyperbolic parody of the theme music to Perry Mason. Natch, let the laffs commence. The organ is back, but this time it’s in full Phantom-of-the-Opera mode, rollicking and tempestuous, Lon Chaney grinning horribly. Haynes delivers the laffs, howling and whooping himself breathless.

Keep listening. “Perry” takes its turn toward something more than parodic goofiness when Haynes provides a series of anaphoric itineraries: “It’s about coming of age / It’s about learning how to do it / It’s about learning how to experience things the way they ought to be experienced….” And so on. It’s a reckless thing, following Haynes into that improvisatory philosophical space: How, precisely, should things be experienced? What would a Butthole Surfer say? “It’s talking about being the slave boy / It’s talking about giving head when you’re 6 years old / It’s talking about enjoying these things….” You can just about see Raymond Burr blanch, even in black and white — and sure, it’s the Butts being the Butts, invoking a series of transgressive, taboo images, perhaps only for the charge of the transgression itself.

But there are other ways to hear the transgression. We might take the reference to Perry Mason a little more seriously. In the summer of 1986, just months after Rembrandt Pussyhorse was released, the Meese Commission on Pornography published its final report, a Puritanical screed that sought to throw the full moral weight of the Justice Department (yeah, yeah, I know) behind a juridical condemnation and potential outlawing of sex work, porn consumption and kink. The most liberal — in the hard sense of that word — readings of the Report’s recommendations would likely sanction tossing a band called the Butthole Surfers and songs like “Perry” (and “Lady Sniff,” “The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey’s Grave,” “Moving to Florida,” and later just about every song on Locust Abortion Technician and Hairway to Steven…) onto the pile with all the copies of Hustler and Torso and the endless numbers of VCAvideocassettes — not to mention the models and actors themselves, and all the folks who watched them and looked at them and felt pleasure.

It's not a hard history to uncover when you listen closely. Reagan’s reinvigoration of the American Right in part drew upon Jerry Falwell’s political turn, and the idea that evangelicals could have real power if they participated in the electorate, rather than regarding it as the fallen domain of a lesser law. In 2024, the Republican Party takes that evangelical vote for granted, and its full complicity with the array of MAGA-affiliated constituencies has created a new set of political alliances, issuing in events like January 6 and the Q Shaman leading a prayer service in the evacuated Senate chamber. Not sure even Haynes could conjure that image. Return to the record. The echoes of Raymond Burr’s voice, in full closing-statement declamation, reverberate out from “Perry” to the Butts’ magisterial cover of “American Woman”: “All right, you little creep, come out of there! We know your name!” We’ve got you surrounded! Where’s Mike Pence?

No one would argue that the Butts possessed anything like socio-political prescience when they recorded Rembrandt Pussyhorse. They were too busy experiencing things the way they had to experience them, to make the music that they had to make. And some of us enjoyed it. Still do. That may be reason enough to return to the record — or to reissue it. But the band somehow tapped into some very serious energies circulating in the mid-1980s: the Reagan Administration’s bloody-minded Christian nationalism (read some of his speeches, you’ll hear it); the Israeli Labor Party’s “Iron Fist” policy of 1985 and the accompanying intensification of settler activity, all of which would soon lead to the First Intifada. And here we are: Gaza on fire and self-identified Christian Nationalists like MTG and Tommy Tuberville setting policy. Here we are, in the “Whirling Hall of Knives” Haynes and Paul Leary and the rest of the band set in motion in 1986. Even today, especially today, it cuts deep. It draws blood. Strangers die everyday.

Jonathan Shaw

[myc0smosism1ne]

"Some Great Reward": Depeche Mode's Synth-Pop Evolution

British band Depeche Mode’s fourth studio album Some Great Reward released in 1984 was a turning point in the band’s sound that resulted in their first US chart success, with their single “People are People” reaching no. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Some Great Reward was a transitional phase for Depeche Mode, where the aspects that would come to define Depeche Mode’s signature sound in the years to come were starting to develop. Songwriter Martin Gore was coming into his own, with his lyrics reflecting relationships and the human condition, grappling with skepticism of religion, sex, politics, and love, from the perspective of an intelligent and cynical soul. Gore’s lyrics exhibit a depth often overlooked in music; notably, as they avoid common love tropes and present a more honest and realistic portrayal of relationships

Often the band’s earlier lyrics were backed by a more pop-style arrangement, Some Great Reward still contains those pop hooks and arrangements, but they are created to be in a more foreboding style. The album’s instrumentation sounds like they clash at first listen, but with further listening, this combination of thought-provoking lyrics and the industrial, loud dynamic music, sometimes coupled with soft and sweet sounding instrumentation, are done masterfully, where these seemingly contrasting ideas come together seamlessly. Depeche Mode became more playful and musically innovative with Some Great Reward, testing the boundaries of sound and the machinery of electronic instrumentation, redefining the genre of synth-pop in the process, into something more industrialized and tinged with subtle elements of darkness in the album's atmosphere.

Some Great Reward, saw Depeche Mode stepping out of the youthful, more energetic, and brighter synth-pop sound of their first couple of albums, signaling the member's maturation into being young adults and grappling with different complexities. One of the most prominent examples of this is the song “Master and Servant,” taking the theme of capitalism in society and subtly revealing this from within the song's lyrical themes of sex and BDSM, bringing the first musical taste of the new turn Depeche Mode was taking, a turn to something more earnest, more sexual, and more darkly cynical.

The lyrics explore the interplay between control and submission, drawing parallels between intimate desires and the broader societal structures influenced by power imbalances. The provocative nature of "Master and Servant" extends beyond its lyrics, with the music itself contributing to the song's edginess. The juxtaposition of alluring melodies with darker, more industrial elements exemplifies Depeche Mode's willingness to challenge musical conventions, foreshadowing the innovative approach they would further develop in subsequent albums.

The synth-pop-filled, often naive lyricism that defined their earlier albums is still subtly present but now takes on a more nuanced and complex role, with it being a backdrop to the band's lyrical exploration of power dynamics and societal structures.

Gore’s lyrics explore complex and provocative themes, such as on some of the album's standout tracks, "Blasphemous Rumours," "Stories of Old," and "Lie to Me," that delve into poignant narratives that contribute significantly to the album's emotional impact. In "Blasphemous Rumours," the lyrics address the weighty subject of suicide, offering a stark commentary on the struggles of individuals and the moral implications surrounding life and death. The combination of dark lyrical content against the backdrop of an upbeat musical arrangement creates a haunting contrast, enhancing the emotional impact of the song, and aligns with the album's broader examination of societal and personal challenges.

"Stories of Old" introduces a different facet of Depeche Mode's lyrical prowess, with its delving into themes of desire, intimacy, and vulnerability. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of romantic entanglements, showcasing Martin Gore's ability to convey complex emotions through evocative storytelling. As the track unfolds, the listener is immersed in a narrative of passion and longing, adding a layer of intimacy to the album's overarching exploration of human relationships. Similarly, "Lie to Me" explores the dynamics of deceit and self-deception within relationships, the lyrics are filled with longing and vulnerability, and contribute to the emotional depth of the album, as the music skillfully weaves a narrative that complements the broader themes of love, power, and societal critiques found throughout Some Great Reward.

Instrumentation on the album also marks a notable departure from the band's earlier sound, with the incorporation of newer band member Alan Wilder into Depeche Mode’s lineup bringing a fresh perspective, that is evident in the meticulous layering of synthesizers, drum machines, and the albums innovative use of samplers. The sonic landscape becomes more textured and sophisticated, with Wilder's influence pushing the boundaries of the electronic sounds in the album. This departure is particularly noticeable in tracks like "Somebody," where the subtle interplay between instrumentation and emotive vocals reflects a newfound depth and complexity.

The album heavily relies on synthesizers and drum machines, complemented by inventive samplers that capture sounds from everyday life, such as pans falling down stairs and working it into the album's soundscape. Some Great Reward’s unconventional use of sampling provides an intriguing layer of complexity with the album’s attention to detail in the sampling process, adding depth with the transformation of seemingly mundane sounds into integral components of the album's sonic identity.

Each track on the album has a disjunct yet harmonious sonic landscape, where the separation of vocal and instrumental layers is remarkably clear, allowing listeners to distinguish each element while still experiencing the cohesive flow of the music, resulting in an exhilarating listening experience that showcases Wilder's mastery in blending technical precision with artistic creativity.

The album's contrast of dark lyrical content against upbeat musical arrangements, along with the evocative storytelling, enriches the album's overarching story of societal challenges, human relationships, and personal struggles. Some Great Reward not only solidified Depeche Mode's position as pioneers of synth-pop but also laid the groundwork for their continued exploration of mature, provocative, and innovative musical expressions in the years to come.

[screamingforyears]

REVIEW(ed):

‘HEEL TURN’ is the long awaited & highly desired sophomore LP from LESSER CARE (@lessercare) & y'all can rest easy, the wait was well worth it as our boys done did it.

The El Paso-based duo, comprised of composer/lyricist/vocalist/guitarist Andres Chavez & drummer/percussionist/vocalist Zane Pacillas (w/ a special shoutout to bassist/guitarist Angel Yglecias) are the breath of fresh air that we’ve needed for some time & across a 12-track spread have further refined & mastered their brand of street_wearing, dream_gazing & Alt_rocking PostPunk. 

“God’s Favorite” sets the scene/vibe, letting you know, this isn’t the same ole stroll through the post-punk-park…

“Cry Orchid” is the first proper track & it puts Lesser Care’s confidence on full display by showcasing a softer side that brilliantly blends their brooding tendencies w/ a wash of dream_poppin textures while “Streetwear” brings those glammy gloomer goods & “Intuition” recalls the expert melancholic moodiness their big bros in Soft Kill have made a name from (those subtly massive drum fills tho).

“Candy” is all saccharine rush & ringing guitars (& more sick ass fills) while “Heavenly” finds the boys linking up w/ vocalist Haley Anne & stepping their game up to higher dreamPOP levels w/out dialing back any of the melancholy across 4 synth laden mins as “Even After Everything Changed (Feat: Tobias Grave)" brings a loaded 3:42 clip moodily lit & emotionally surged AltPop.

“Bubblegum Machine” ups the oomph across 3 mins of buzzsaw guitars & swinging beats while “Gloss” & “Something New” once again prove that our boys know their way around some atmospherically trapped SynthPop…. Which brings us to the one-two closing punch of “Finally Bare” & “Light Blue,” the former w/ its hard hitting swing (not to mention that final third guitar burst) & the latter’s bringing-it-all-home vibe as LC collect, disperse & hone in on all the sounds/vibes of the past 11 tracks while channeling them into a cohesively wrapped 5 min package.

‘Heel Turn’ is the sound of Lesser Care rising too the occasion & surpassing all our hope, desires & wishes… this is the sound of well heeled progress.

[yukitozinho]

truque by clarice falcão

🎩 data de lançamento: 10 de agosto de 2023 🎩 produzido por: Lucas de Paiva, Clarice Falcão 🎩 faixas:

Dimensão

Fundo do Poço

Chorar na Boate

Quatro da Manhã

Ar da Sua Graça

Podre

Eu Destruo

Truque

Ideia Merda

Dizer Adeus

Quero Acreditar

Segunda Dimensão

Sucedendo o incrível álbum Tem Conserto, de 2019, Clarice Falcão realiza seu retorno de forma triunfal: um álbum visual, mais letras cômicas e românticas e uma produção surpreendente.

(Clarice Falcão no clipe de Chorar na Boate. Reprodução, ©Clarice Falcão.)  

Depois de 3 anos sem lançar um material inédito, Clarice Falcão retorna com seu quarto álbum. Eu estava levemente ansioso por esse retorno, o qual foi anunciado durante a live de 10 anos do álbum mais famoso da cantora, o infame Monomania, onde ela performou a inédita Eu Destruo. Clarice sempre foi uma figura que chamou minha atenção, quando a descobri com Eu me Lembro e fui arrebatado por essa canção incrível. Desde então, me aprofundei nos trabalhos da cantora e inclusive a vi ao vivo durante a Turnê em Conserto, um espetáculo que marcou minha vida. Quando Eu Destruo foi tocada pela primeira vez naquela live, minha empolgação foi a milhão com a possibilidade de ouvir novas faixas da cantora.

O álbum inicia-se com a minha música favorita, Dimensão. Sem fugir da sonoridade do álbum anterior — também produzido pelo Lucas de Paiva —, Dimensão é uma faixa de abertura incrível que nos faz adentrar esse álbum tão estranho, ao mesmo tempo que familiar. Descrito como um álbum que conta uma história de amor, aqui, podemos ver o estágio de luto em um relacionamento, que podemos ver claramente em “Existe uma dimensão para nós dois / Não é aqui, nem é agora / Não é agora, nem é aqui, nem é depois.”, porém, sem perder a diversão em suas letras, marca registrada da artista, que contém Banho de Piscina ou Dia D na discografia, Clarice nos arrebata com uma produção magnífica, etérea, como se estivéssemos viajando pelo espaço-tempo. Com sons de flauta como se tivessem sido retirados do álbum Utopia, de Björk, Dimensão inicia nossa jornada de forma inexplicável.

Seguindo, temos Fundo do Poço, uma faixa que explicita essa característica peculiar de Clarice de fazer música com tons sérios de uma forma cômica. Um instrumental que remete a trabalhos da PC Music — coisa que retorna mais tarde em outras faixas — e uma letra que descreve como ela decora o seu próprio fundo do poço; nada mais é necessário nessa faixa. Vale a pena escutar essa música, dar belas risadas e contemplar o vocal de Clarice, que nessa faixa, está fenomenal.

Chorar na Boate foi o primeiro single do álbum, lançado um mês antes do lançamento do álbum. Apesar da sonoridade similar ao álbum anterior, enxergo Truque como um álbum menos pessoal comparado ao anterior que tratava de assuntos como depressão, luto, etc. Mas, essa faixa em especial, parece ser retirada da mesma sessão de CDJ, do álbum anterior. Chorar na Boate é um pop animadinho, com uma produção oitentista muito interessante e que te faz dançar, mesmo que você não queira, remetendo à algumas canções do Daft Punk. Foi uma escolha muito interessante como primeiro vislumbre do que o álbum seria, mas, isso logo foi quebrado pelo próximo single e é a faixa que sucede Chorar na Boate, depois do interlúdio Quatro da Manhã, que mescla elementos do cotidiano da faixa anterior até escalonar em um piano melancólico contida em Ar da sua Graça.

Ar da Sua Graça é estupendamente linda. É uma balada delicada, com acordes que me lembraram — bizarramente, tenho dito — Numb, do Linkin Park. Ela encontra-se no mesmo espectro de Dimensão, narrando uma saudade deixada por alguém quem o eu lírico amou. Mais elementos são incrementados na produção, sem perder a delicadeza.  É, sem dúvidas, um dos destaques do álbum.

(Clarice Falcão em imagem promocional para seu quarto álbum, Truque. Reprodução, ©Clarice Falcão.)  

Voltando às letras cômicas, nós temos as faixas Podre e Eu Destruo, as quais bebem na fonte do synth-pop que deixa evidente a distância dos primeiros projetos da artista, e que honestamente, me agrada muito. O desenvolvimento artístico de Clarice é perceptível, desde a garota apaixonada em Monomania, a “depressão” de Tem Conserto até chegar no resultado correto de transtorno bipolar, o qual ela descobriu na pandemia e que resultou nas faixas desse álbum; os primeiros singles são exemplos disso. Podre tem efeitos que permeiam os ouvidos em uma cacofonia deliciosa, enquanto Eu Destruo facilmente poderia ser encontrada em Problema Meu, segundo álbum da artista, que para mim, funcionaria mais no violão enquanto ambas abraçam o synth-pop de forma que eu não consigo mais desvincular a artista desse gênero.

Todavia, é com Truque, a faixa-título, que isso se perde. Essa canção parece ter sido retirada dos primórdios da MPB, com uma produção rebuscadíssima — incrementando pianos, baterias e outros detalhes belíssimos enquanto a faixa progride — em um arranjo que parece ter sido retirado da Tropicália. É um grande destaque no álbum, ainda mais quando percebemos sobre o que se trata a música: tomar um bolo! A faixa desagua em um fade-out delicioso encerrando-a de forma memorável.

Ideia Merda retorna ao lado mais cômico, voltando ao estilo PC Music com distorções e barulhos tecnológicos, contrastando completamente com a faixa anterior. Isso é claro, no final da música onde uma cacofonia é introduzida de forma deliciosa e surpreendente, a qual você deseja ter sido apresentada antes e não só no final da canção.

Dizer Adeus é uma balada que me pegou bastante, para ser sincero. A letra é o ponto alto dessa música, onde Clarice canta, com maestria, para finalizar a faixa: “Eu não sei dizer adeus e eu não consigo estar feliz aqui.” É uma balada simples, mas delicada de forma que te chama atenção justamente simples, assim como Esvaziou, do seu último álbum. Relembrando Qualquer Negócio, do seu primeiro álbum, Clarice me surpreendeu de forma que eu jamais esperaria nessa faixa. Com cordas entrando no desfecho da canção, me fez refletir sobre muita coisa. E de fato, eu também não sei dizer adeus.

(Clarice Falcão revisita seu primeiro álbum, Monomania, em imagem promocional para seu quarto álbum, Truque. Reprodução, ©Clarice Falcão.)

Quero Acreditar também explora esse lado mais pessoal da lírica de Clarice, porém, ao contrário da faixa anterior, é disfarçada por um instrumental animado que me remeteu a Irônico, faixa do segundo álbum da cantora, e que facilmente poderia estar em alguma trilha sonora de filme ou novela da Globo. Adorei o segundo verso onde a cantora canta: “Cadê meu Buda? Bahá’u’lláh, Nossa Senhora, os Orixás?/ Ou Zaratrusta, ou Ganesha, ou Maomé, ou eu sei lá?“ até finalizar no refrão de novo onde a cantora quer acreditar em alguma coisa além de si mesma. Essa é uma das canções que mostra o trabalho de Lucas de Paiva como um produtor excepcional, fiquei fascinado com o instrumental dessa faixa, que na minha cabeça, tocaria no programa do Amaury Jr.

E quando eu pensei que não tinha como ficar melhor, Segunda Dimensão apareceu. A faixa retoma a lírica da primeira, em um instrumental mais etéreo AINDA e com certos elementos que me remeteram a um filme da Disney. Apesar de ser mais curta que a original — lê-se Dimensão —, essa faixa ainda tem poder suficiente para mostrar o porquê dela estar aqui e porquê dela finalizar o álbum de forma incrível e que me deixou com um gosto agridoce.

🎩 nota para a capa do álbum: 5/5.

Eu sou suspeito para falar em capas em preto e branco, pois eu amo demais e acho quase todas incríveis. Porém, além da estética P&B conquistar meu coração, os detalhes foram quem roubaram a cena para mim. O nome da artista escrito em rosa, a pose e a caracterização meio Audrey Hepburn, o nome das canções cortado ao lado — que por sinal, é o truque da capa! — me chamaram bastante atenção. Tem até um quase coração na capa, fofíssimo.

🎩 nota geral para o álbum: 4,5/5.

Eu me surpreendi positivamente com esse lançamento. Para ser sincero, pensei que a sonoridade de Tem Conserto — e do EP de regravações Eu me Lembro — não seriam repetidas na carreira da artista. E estou extremamente feliz que se repetiu! Truque é um álbum coeso, aborda temas sentimentais sem perder a essência que Clarice sempre trouxe em seus trabalhos, junto com as suas letras cômicas que eu, particularmente, adoro. É como se esse álbum juntasse todas as personalidades vistas em álbuns anteriores, e dessa vez, se mostrasse na sua melhor forma, como ela mesma diz em sua carta de anuncio do álbum em seu Instagram.

Lembrei-me de SHALALA, do Taeyong,que também essa característica de ser confuso e confiante na mesma dose, e eu acho que isso descreve muito bem o que Clarice quis passar nesse álbum. Tenho certeza que muitas músicas irão se manter comigo por muito tempo — Dimensão, Truque, Dizer Adeus, Ar da Sua Graça, Segunda Dimensão — e que outras, eu vou deixar como pérolas dentro de ostras, apreciando-as apenas quando ouvir o álbum inteiro novamente. Mal posso esperar pelas apresentações ao vivo desse álbum e eu me vejo na obrigação de ver pelo menos um show dessa era incrível que está se iniciando.

E sobre o álbum visual, eu nem preciso dizer nada. Os clipes estão impecáveis!! Ar da sua Graça com peixes, Truque onde ela desfaz a maquiagem depois de ter sido largada pelo date, Dizer Adeus que traz uma estética meio Lady Gaga de 2010, Eu Destruo sendo um puzzle divertidíssimo de acompanhar... além de ficar reparando nos “truques” que a cantora deixou nos vídeos. Recomendo a todos assistirem — e escutarem — esse álbum visual incrível pois é um ótimo trabalho e recomendo demais as que tem estrelinha! Lembrando que isso aqui não passa da minha opinião!  

🎩ranking individual das músicas:

⭐️ Dimensão (5/5) ⭐️ Dizer Adeus (5/5) ⭐️ Truque (5/5) ⭐️ Segunda Dimensão (5/5) ⭐️ Ar da Sua Graça (4,8/5) Quero Acreditar (4,5/5) Chorar na Boate (4,4/5) Ideia Merda (4,2/5) Fundo do Poço (4,2/5) Podre (4/5) Eu Destruo (4/5)

🎩apple music 🎩 spotify 🎩 confira a playlist do álbum visual no youtube!

[skeletonstaff]

Lookit lookit! A review for Malapropism in the hallowed pages of SHINDIG! magazine. (March issue) And it’s quite good. 😎 Also some other Malapropism reviews from previous weeks - from the excellent to the mildly confusing. 🤪 To buy: https://skeletonstaff.storenvy.com #skeletonstaff #comicartists #cartoonband #comic #virtualband #shindigmagazine #malapropism #stantonmarriott #albumreview (at Sydney, Australia) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpa8oVMhG44/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[resonanceandempathy]

Album Review Ballistik Boyz Last Dance NI Bye Bye

Tracklist

ラストダンスに BYE BYE (LAST DANCE NI BYE BYE) 

Milk&Coffee

WAVIN’

Last Dance ni Bye Bye (Instrumental)

Milk&Coffee (Instrumental)

WAVIN’(Instrumental) 

Last Dance ni Bye Bye 

The strength of this song lies in its melancholic passionate delivery in its vocal/rap. When you listen to the song without looking at the lyrics it seems like the usual mid tempo love song right? However, the lyrics are sincere which gives the song a rare vulnerability. Furthermore, I feel like a lot of thought was put into assigning each member in Ballistik Boyz the part that fit them the most and that’s what made the song even better. Rating 10/10

MV Review

I like the music video because of three things:

The black & white shots give it a classic vibe

The dance scenes are enjoyable to watch as it's filmed well and shows their dance skills as the choreography is difficult and requires a lot of technique.

The styling is cohesive and fits the melancholy mood of the song.

Milk&Coffee

Milk and Coffee is outstanding. When I first listened to it, I was shocked as I wasn't expecting this type of song from the group. It’s so beautiful and touching listening to their passionate vocals on this song. I remember coming across a lyric video on the YouTube channel and as I read the lyrics whilst listening, I was impressed at how well they conveyed the lyrics through the vocals. The lyrics “I love you so bad even if it's last night” sounds so good and is one of my favourite parts in the song. Rating 10/10

Wavin’

Wavin’ is the carefree summer song of the EP but it's much slower which I like a lot. This song transported me back to the memories of my childhood when I would go out for picnics with my family. We would come home happy and chat about what we had done that day. It was nice to remember that memory though listening to Wavin’. It’s a nice song to end the EP. Rating 10/10

Conclusion

To conclude, this EP was amazing and worth listening to as it shows a different side to Ballistik Boyz. When I listened to this as a new fan last year, I realized that Ballistik Boyz are versatile in their discography which I appreciate. I hope they can continue to make awesome music that I can enjoy in the future. The reason why I didn’t mention the instrumentals as I had given my analysis on the songs but I listen to the instrumentals and sing along. My rating for the album is 10/10. 

[alaawritesablog]

Odyssey - NOON (Review)

There’s usually very little western inspired music that comes out of the UAE that I enjoy. There could be a wide variety of reasons why that is happening, but this album from dubai-based trio “Noon” was a very enjoyable experience for me from top to bottom. I found them on Instagram in March 2022 while I was looking for more local artists to support and was immediately intrigued by their bio: “an experimental music project from Dubai comprising elements of traditional middle eastern music with polyrhythmic Jazz/rock”. I checked out their Spotify and was immediately disappointed to find they had only released two songs at that point. 

I scoured their socials to find any news on a possible album release… nothing. Nothing but a vague “album coming soon”. So, I gave up. I moved my focus to other artists, local and not, and occasionally checked up on them. Until a week ago, I hadn't even known they had finally gone through with releasing the record they had been promising for months. No roll-out, no pre-release singles, no real promo, nothing. So, here I am 2 months late to review this album.

This record starts off with a song that sets the tone. It includes most, if not all, the elements you see throughout this LP. One of the many notable things is that they use a drum kit for percussion instead of traditional percussion like most Arab fusion stuff tends to. It’s choices like these that are what makes this album fascinating and really shows off their technical skills. 

My favourite song on here is Hybridge pt.1, most of this LP uses the oud as the main instrument, so the vocals on here are a breath of fresh air. The singing on this is so amazing and the little moments where the oud comes in perfectly balanced and doesn't overpower the vocals. The melodies the oud is playing complement the vocal melodies so well. This track was such an immersive experience, I didn't notice it was 8 minutes long when I first heard it. They are a fusion band that combines many different cultures and genres that I've never heard combined quite like this. As I mentioned before, they use a drum kit instead of traditional percussion throughout this whole LP, and the expert drumming is one major factor of what makes this work. The oud melodies are really beautiful and, in the more rock inspired moments on this record, they have a way of making me forget it’s an oud, like on the song Walks on Nawa. And the production on this entire album is sublime.

But, there is one main problem that presents itself multiple times throughout the album. This album has many different things going on, and one tool they use to combine them is a switch up. A switch up is a sudden switch between two musical ideas. Sometimes they pull these off. Other times they either switch up too fast, cutting the previous idea too short, or they don't switch up fast enough and let a melody or idea go on for too long and become repetitive. 

A great example is the switch up in the opening track “Longa Nahawand”, the song starts off calm and slow and then builds to a great track with a phenomenal balance of rock and traditional Arab music elements. My main problem is that they switch back to a slower, more stripped down song. I, personally, didn't enjoy this switch very much. It throws off the momentum and really ruins everything the earlier half of this song was building to. And these types of switches are prevalent all throughout this album, and many times it's so awkward it stops the experience from being as enjoyable. The only way I can think to describe it is that it feels like an unfinished plate of food being taken from me while I was enjoying it. They don’t always let the ideas they start finish. And there are many instances of this on the record that I will not be listing.

All in all, this LP was an interesting experience for me, top to bottom, and while it’s not my favourite and it has its pros and cons, It is by far the most promising thing I have heard from a debut record from the UAE. I always love supporting small artists worldwide and I will never not stop to check something out, and a lot of the time it is incredibly rewarding. Noon have been teasing this album for months and I believe they largely delivered on their promises. I am incredibly excited for what is to come.

[theplaguereview]

Tom Waits -- Bone Machine / 1992 / Post Industrial Gothic Americana Tom Waits' 1992 masterpiece Bone Machine is a standout in his discography for the album's nightmarish aesthetic in production and lyricism. Bone Machine is one of the more timeless albums I have ever heard. Lead Belly seems to have an overarching influence here--though he may not have been cited as so--with Tom Waits' bluesy and dark lyricism and stark atmosphere. Another pervasive influence I heard was some of the screeching and squawking sounds of industrial music. Bone Machine has excellent pacing despite being nearly an hour long. Though there are abrasive elements to this--it never feels like a chore and I attribute that to the album feeling otherworldly and lived in. Waits' lyricism grounds an album that could have been seen as alien and flashy for the sake of it. Great flow to the album, incredibly dynamic vocal performance, and structure with clear beginning, highlights and end. Genius and apocalyptic--this may be Waits' best album. #musicreview #albumreview #tomwaits #bonemachine #mucore #80salternative #experimentalrock #singersongwriter #gothiccountry #americana #postindustrial #industrialmusic #favoritealbum #favoritealbums #musicrecommendations #albumrecommendation #albumrating #kathleenbrennan https://www.instagram.com/p/CmZkOfxJsvV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[midjipress]

#Wannabe talking about “Wings on My Shoes” by @willhoge. • • • • • • • • • • #music #newmusic #2022music #musicreview #albumreview #2022album #album #record #vinyl #goodmusic #musician #country #americana #folk #rock #altcountry #indie #hiphop #instagood #bestof2022 #art #comic #illustration #sixpanelmusicblog #drawing #webcomic #punk #songwriter #songwriters https://www.instagram.com/p/ClUaw_Vpn9a/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[album-a-day-project]

1/26/24

The Smile

The Wall Of Eyes

====

The band of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and Tom Skinner. I've been waiting a long time for this album as Radiohead is one of my favorite bands and I'm highly critical of anything Thom puts out. Their single "Wall Of Eyes" was released last year that I've been listening to on repeat for a while. It feels like much of the production is leading this with Thom playing backup for many of the tracks. There is also some different musical influences spaced throughout each track from jazz, dream-pop which makes this incredibly easy on the ears. I'll be continuing to listen to this album as you can tell it's very complex; I just wish it moved me a bit more like Radiohead albums do.

8/10

[dustedmagazine]

Vince Clarke — Songs of Silence (Mute)

Photo by Eugene Richards

Vince Clarke has certainly been in some storied synth bands. He wrote “Just Can’t Get Enough” (and eight other songs) for Depeche Mode’s 1981 debut, Speak & Spell, before leaving that band over creative differences. From there, he headed to Yazoo with Alison Moyet and The Assembly with Eric Radcliffe, and finally to the boppiest, poppiest synth outfit of them all, Erasure, where he played stoically as all manner of frivolity unfolded around him.  If you grew up in the 1980s or 1990s and watched any MTV at all, Clarke’s songs are burned into your cortex, and quite possibly unwelcomely, but there’s no denying he was in the thick of a certain kind of dance-y, celebratory, machine-age pop.

The critical thing to understand is that Songs of Silence is nothing at all like that.

This brooding, looming suite of songs was recorded during COVID and reflects Clarke’s sorrow and isolation as friends fell ill. He channels a haunted vibe through modular synth, building each track around a single sustained tone that runs from beginning to end. Lots of things happen around those tones, fluttery arpeggios, slashes of stringed instruments, even, in one instance, a sepulchral folk tune about a “black legged miner.” Still, these tunes are constructed around static, meditational sonic atmospheres that fluctuate in volume and timbre but do not fundamentally change. There’s a sense of the eternal in them, even when as in “Scarper” they twitch into propulsion with percolating electronic rhythms.

Consider the opening “Cathedral” with its crescendoing drones, its altered, inhuman voice sounds, its cavernous sonic space. It unfolds in one long blast of sound after another, a rumbling fog horn, a tremulous string vibration, an unearthly space voyaging organ. You can’t really participate. There’s no melody to hum, no rhythm to tap, and so the best way to experience it is through stillness. You allow it to surround you, to envelop you, to subsume you, like a mystical experience.

These cuts are mostly solitary endeavors, but Clarke invites in a few collaborators to fill out his visions. Caroline Shaw’s pristine soprano arcs through interleaved shimmers of synthesized tones in “Passage,” sounding like the dream of a dream of a dream of an angel. Cellist Reed Hays scrawls a wild, passionate signature over the hushed immanence of “The Lamentations of Jeremiah.” Warmth and anguish flare from his instrument, spilling something baroque and organic into Clarke’s ominous atmospheres.

The disc’s most affecting cut is its oddest. “Blackleg Miner” sets a old labor protest song in a desolate post-industrial landscape. The air hums and trembles around the song’s brutal simplicity, surging to obscure it, at intervals, with sounds like bells shivering in sympathetic vibration. It’s a folk song launched into deep space, hurting through black voids, carrying a faint futile message about what it meant to be human.  

Jennifer Kelly

[stepoffmagazine]

‘Stepping Into Your Power’ Step Off! Radio: The Ina Episode

Ina of underground Hip-Hop group Indigenous Cats returns to Step Off! Radio to discuss the release of her debut solo EP, ‘The Ina Project’.

For the past several years underground hip hop duo Indigenous Cats, composed of recording artists Calmplx (pronounced Complex) and Ina, have made their rounds in the underground hip-hop scenes of Los Angeles, California. Drawing inspiration from classic Boom Bap Jazz, and Reggae, interwoven with unique takes on decolonization; the duo’s incorporation of Indigenous empowerment in their music has…

[screamingforyears]

MINI_REVIEW(s):

The review template of choice for the TL;DR Tribe…

‘ROMANCE’ (@candlepin_records) is the debut LP from @velvetbkny & it finds the New York-based quintet of Byron, Zack, Tyler, Bryce & Matt bringing the six-string slangin goods across an 8-track spread that tenderly wraps their dreamily hazed meets alt_rawking ways under one distortion filled GrungeGaze(d) umbrella as witnessed on the slow_coring “Slowdance.”

‘FAST PAINT’ is the latest EP from @vincent.christ_& it finds the prolific London-based producer/multi-instrumentalist embracing his inner nü_romatic across 3 tracks that revel in their percussively throbbed, sonically surged & sensually saxxed up ways as heard on the new_waving rush of “Rain In Europe.”

‘THE GREAT CALM’ (@piasbelgium) is the latest/greatest LP from @whisperingsons & it finds the Brussels-based quintet of Sander Pelsmaekers (synth), Tuur Vandeborne (drums), Bert Vliegen (bass), Kobe Lijnen (guitar) & Fenne Kuppens (vocals) optimistically charting a new path across 12 tracks that maximize their brand of ambiguously stoic PostPunk as evidenced on the cinematically synth_waving “Cold City.”

‘SPIRITUAL SICKNESS’ is the latest LP from @yeahrs_ & it finds the increasingly prolific Berlin-based quartet of Morgan (guitar/vocals), Tom (drums), Thomas (bass) & Oyemi (guitar/vox) sounding as dialed in as ever across an even 10-track spread that finds the group pushing their post_gazing ways to new heights by adding some passioned screams into their well-worn template of dream_poppin AltRawk as witnessed on “It Never Leaves Me.”

[undergr0und-inspection]

Bktherula - LVL5 P1 (Rezension)

(Lesezeit: 3min)

Bktherula veröffentlichte nun am 17.02.2023 ihr lang erwartetes Album "LVL5 P1". Es ist zehn Songs groß und nur 20 Minuten lang. 

Die erste Single des Albums, "FOREVER, PT2 (JEZEBEL) (feat. Destroy Lonely)" ist schon im letzten Juni erschienen und hat seitdem schon knapp zwei Millionen Klicks auf Spotify sammeln können (daran war ich nicht ganz unschuldig). Daraufhin brachte sie im letzten Monat die zwei Singles "TAN" und "PSSYONFT", beide mit sehenswerten, interessanten Musikvideos, heraus. Auch wenn sie eigentlich eher bekannt für ihren lässigen Flow auf entspannteren Beats ist, zeigt sie bei diesen beiden Songs, dass sie auch auf dolleren, typischen Underground Beats abliefern kann. 

Auf "LVL5 P1" weiß man, jedes mal wenn der nächste Song anfängt, nicht was auf einen zukommt. Ein aggressiver Trap Beat mit doller 808, ein "typischer" flowiger Bktherula Song oder doch etwas in die R&B Richtung. Einerseits ist das zwar aufregend, andererseits wirkt es zusammenhangslos und mehr wie ein Mixtape als ein Album. Trotzdem gefallen mir einige einzelne Songs wie zum Beispiel "TAN" oder "DOITAGAIN" sehr gut, doch ich denke das sie besser zur Geltung kommen würden in einem Album oder einer EP, dass insgesamt mehr auf ein Genre setzt. 

Mein absoluter Favorit vom Album ist "FOREVER, PT2 (JEZEBEL)" mit Destroy Lonely. Die beiden Stimmen harmonieren unglaublich gut und der Song lief bei mir schon im letzten Sommer rauf und runter. Es ist einfach ein gute Laune Song, zu dem man entspannt auf der Couch liegen kann, der aber gleichzeitig auch total tanzbar ist.

Neben dem Atlanta Rapper Destroy Lonely ist auch Emo Sängerin, Rico Nasty auf dem Album als Feature vertreten und das sind nicht die ersten nicht die ersten "Underground Größen" mit denen Bktherula kollaboriert. Sie ist vertreten auf Songs von zum Beispiel Matt Ox oder Autumn! und wird immer wieder in Songzeilen von den aufstrebenden Superstars Tana, Jaydes oder Luisss erwähnt.

Sie ist eine der wenigen Frauen in dieser frischen, jungen Underground Bewegung und ich denke das sie sehr großes Potenzial hat auch wenn es bei den Lyrics, auch bei diesem Album, um die selben typischen Sachen geht. Geld, Drogen und Sex. Es geht eben bei dieser Musik mehr um das ganze Gefühl und um den Flow als um die Wörter die gesagt werden. Ich mag sie zwar lieber auf den ruhigen flowigen Beats und würde mir auch mal einen gefühlvolleren Song von ihr wünschen, doch das ist Geschmackssache, da die 808 lastigeren Songs auf dem Album ihr wirklich auch sehr gut stehen. Sie hat eine tolle Leichtigkeit in der Art zu rappen und so kann sie auf ruhigen Beats schweben und auf den harten Beats, fast schon, satirisch rappen wie bei dem Song "PSSYONFT (abgekürzt für Pussy on Facetime)

Insgesamt ist es ein interessantes frisches Album, dem zwar ein roter Faden fehlt, in dem dadurch aber auch nahezu jeder etwas findet das ihm gefällt. Auch die Musikvideos haben Spaß gemacht zu schauen und ich denke, dass man Bktherula definitiv im Blick behalten sollte. 

1. TAN - 8.5/10

2. DOITAGAIN - 8/10

3. BACK - 7/10 

4. BELIEVE - 7.5/10

5. CRAZY GIRL - 5.5/10

6. NO ADLIB - 5/10

7. FOREVER, PT2 (JEZEBEL) (feat. Destroy Lonely) - 10/10 

8. PSSYONFT - 8/10

9. ????? - 7/10

10. WE MADE IT (feat. Rico Nasty) - 4/10

LVL5 P1 - 7.1/10