The point of these threads is to encourage people to look for new and interesting music. We do this by listening to and ideally discussing albums we've never heard before. Many of us already listen to new music daily, these people are in it to venture "out of their comfort zone" by listening to albums they otherwise wouldn't have, or just to have a good time.
What the fuck is this and why is it on my auto recs? I can't tell if it's genius or terrible
Evan Rivera
lol idk if actual deep storytelling or shitposting
Jacob Thomas
Huh?
Wait, like half of this is sampled on The Unseen. Wtf
Ryan Jones
Rec me some good jazz please
Ayden Ramirez
What kind of jazz in particular?
Regardless, pic related.
Ethan Bell
I was leaning for some Hard Bop or maybe some ECM shit but i think whatever is fine. Thanks for the rec
Nathaniel Thompson
>was leaning for some Hard Bop o well there you go. Pic.
Jayden Allen
Haven't been here in a while and left my tourney unfinished, so getting back on that. As some of you might remember, there were a lot of rules which I will not describe here unless the specifics are requested. The essence of the tourney is competing with automatic RYM suggestions. The essence of my reviews is providing a brief and meaningless piece of impression.
Doug Snyder & Bob Thompson - Daily Dance (Torts) vs NEU! - NEU! (rym robot man) I am sorry Torts for not comprehending your piece quite right away, I think it will come to later, but so far didn't really click for me. Nice sound, nice instrument skill on that album, yet I can't appropriately appreciate it on the first listen. First half of NEU! seemed kinda dull at times. I'm not the only one who got that impression, am I? Jahresübersicht is significantly more engaging though.
Various Artists - Music of Nat Pwe: Folk and Pop Music of Myanmar Vol. 3 (Letov) vs Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (rym robot man) Drake has his profound melancholy all over the album, the instruments which lacked on Pink Moon add certain aesthetics as well. It's good, composed well, yet I find Pink Moon somewhat more touching and honest in its lack of trinketry. Still a great album though. Interesting rec by Letov, I like both trad music and Southeast Asia. I guess though I prefer more rhythm and pattern to trad, this one seems a bit chaotic, though it shouldn't come as a surpise, it's Southeast Asia, after all. It has neatly sounding instruments though, scattered through the piece like some exotic spices.
P.S. I remind the participants that I only announce those who advance after I finish the whole round, therefore the recs will only be needed then. I understand that some people might have disappeared since the start of this tourney and in that case I'll consider one of the highest rated albums on their rym profile their rec.
Christian Wilson
And yes, I had bets: Terminus (Terminus) Shamepai (Kanzler) Jangle (Transgod) s (gfr) Torts (justok, Torts)
Brandon Edwards
;_; damn
:^) Hope it clicks before the end of the round
Jordan Scott
>Huh? The album you mentioned
Cooper Thomas
gimme numbers between one and twohundredandtwelve
Ryan Ramirez
2
Ayden Bennett
azealia banks - 212
Sebastian Ortiz
165
Christian Hall
54
John Baker
>Halber Mensch Side A is an exercise in impeccable metric that features infectious and hard-hitting grooves that accompany frantic vocals. I appreciated how progressive and spontaneous these tracks get, without spoiling it's sense of rhythm and groove. The second half features are more atmospheric and moody. It's sort of a better produced continuation of whatever Kollaps achieved. It's good.
>Front Decent grooves, but not much else.
>US Highball HOLY SHIT THIS CAME OUT IN 1946
77 (live)
Jason Miller
cool
Michael Roberts
>HOLY SHIT THIS CAME OUT IN 1946 Harry Partch is the shit.
So I'll share with you all my review of Fishmans - Otokotachi no Wakare, track by track.
>1. Oh Slime: 9/10 >duration: 7:51 Perhaps my favorite Fishmans opener ever. The beggining riffs send chills down my spine every time. It's just so awesome, so emotional, the band is presenting all the members with such a sense of joy and fun, and rescuing that childhood wonder feel, and in sum, the track foreshadows all the spectrums and forms that the show will take from track 2 onwards, from acoustic and dub dream pop to orgasmic and abstract sounds.
>2. Night Cruising (ナイトクルージング): 9.5/10 >duration: 6:25 So let me start out by saying how orgasmic the quality of the audio is. The sound is so immersive you can hear about almost every little trace of sound in the music, every instrument's nuance and shape. The 1.4MB kb/s bitrate file sounds like you're in a very privileged top spot to the point where immersion and emotional power is almost complete and it's difficult to say whether the keyboards are coming out of the speakers or from behind your head or by your side. Sato's voice also flows perfectly, and is so beautiful it's instantly eye tearing. Cheesy I know but it's possibly the first thing that comes to mind when I think about "beautiful japanese music that will make you cry". This is so beautiful and relaxing it's like seriously entering into a nirvana trance.
"Night Cruising" has a dreamy ambiance and this is the absolute definitive version of it, which is really quite the achievement. Even the weirder moments manage to be deeply touching and is just beautiful...
Thomas Lopez
Oh God Here It Comes
Noah Bell
LISTEN UP FOR THE REAL HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ART WHICH IS GAY AS HELL
Jaxson Price
...
Cooper Davis
thats a qt weekend
Jaxon Myers
>3. なんてったの: 9/10 >duration: 6:26 Another really beautiful, soul clutching dream pop track. Very beautiful and emotional (heck, the entire album is like that) but the melody in special is a delight.
>4. Thank You: 9/10 >duration: 2:57 Kind of a dream pop dub fusion, catchy and wild, and obviously the lyrics are fantastic and unusual at the same time, but the "Thank You for My Life" part is especially very touching and emotional within this context, a celebration made by someone who loved to live.
>5. Lucky Guy (幸せ者): 8.5/10 >duration: 4:04 Possibly my least favorite track off Kuuchuu Camp, which is still nice. At this point you'll realize that this live album is all about the approach though, and even Lucky Guy becomes somewhat eerie, and beautiful (these keyboards), with stunning arrangements, and I love the chorus especially.
>6. 頼りない天使: 8.8/10 >duration: 4:53 Imagine if someone played dream pop and reggae mixed with church organs? Not only Fishmans pull this insanity out completely but they also do it superbly and effortlessly. This song is intensely beautiful and different, and at the same time perhaps one of the more straight forward pop tracks of the night but still nice. The synth is just chill and amazing, and of course the dream pop ambiance really adds to the whole. Just good stuff.
Juan Johnson
>7: ひこう: 8.7 >duration: 9:11 This songs always sounded ludicrously similar to me. It's the most dub oriented track of the night and it does have some moisted,wet raw earth feel to it which is impressive considering the intensity of the flowing dream pop ambiance surrounding everything. Makes me think, that perhaps the sound of the dream pop bits being somewhat raw sounding (because while damn good the sound it's not really as lush or polished as something you'd hear in a concert by Sigur Ros or Cocteau Twins for example) and this rawness of the dream pop bits allowed for this. Anyway it's just fantastic direction throughout and also a flawless choice of instruments. Much like the previous track, it's also a little bit more conventional and pop oriented than the rest of the set. The guitar solo in the middle is rather crazy and becomes chaotic with some strumming of two notes, and then returns to the main pop structure again.
After the end there's a bit with Shinji talking to the audience. You definitely can't tell it's that guy who is singing, his normal speaking voice is relatively really low reaching and makes me wonder how did he manage to get so high pitched for singing. Probably intensive training heh. Pretty sweet song anyway, delightful.
Kevin Russell
>8. In The Flight: 9.5/10 >duration: 6:48 Starts unpretentious, light, withsimple guitar riffs and restrained singing much like the studio version, but the differences become more obvious as the song goes on. This one is sadder, more beautiful, and has a strong emphasis on the melodic virtuosity and on the aquatic, sea ambiance, and is really evocative.
Mind you this is the exact turning point of the album. I don't know which LP out of the 4 this track comes in, but would probably guess it's either the beggining of LP 3 or the very last track of LP 2. Halfway through, the song takes a twist, with Sato providing lyric-less vocals and the violin emerging and doing an absolutely jaw dropping, stunning solo, and the song closes with what to me sounds like a combination of street urban hip hop breaks with funk and energetic drumming. This kind of music "breaking" resourcewas used extensively in the Shibuya Kei of the 90s, and it's a groovy climax to the song, again totally unexpected and crazy awesome. (At this point the album goes from aquatic dream pop to full blown dream aquatic. Now there's no coming back anymore...)
The Fishmen become Fish
Ryder Cooper
why cant u download the beatles on soulseek its shit
>What I Liked The live recording of this album. It's decidedly cavernous and distant. While I doubt that this was intentional, it does wonders in making this release atmospheric and engrossing. Easily the best part of this album.
>What I Disliked WAY too much ornamentation, especially on the bass. I believe Jangle said something about how one little mishap in minimal music can ruin the entire act. This rings true here. Part of LRD's charm is the straightforward and harrowing simplicity of their performances, especially on the bass guitar. Here, the bassist takes too many liberties and it brings down the overall tone of the songs. I would go as far to say that "The Last One" was butchered. Still good, but the worst LRD release I've heard so far.
Wyatt Howard
>when ur show is generic /ss/ bait with an ugly and unbelievably annoying shota protag and that means it's subversive or something
Juan Allen
>when ur show is generic /u/ bait with an ugly and unbelievably annoying loli protag and that means it's subversive or something
Luis Carter
Are these meta posts referring to /daily/
Noah Clark
>when ur show has giant robots
Christian Thompson
The Fishmen become Fish
>9. Walking in the Rhythm: 9.5/10 >duration: 7:48 It's far quirkier than the studio version, and shorter, like it was condensed in a radio single format and received the Season treatment. It's a different, funkier and emotional take on the song, and sounds like you are literally listening to the show inside a giant aquarius. It's pretty wild and weird. The violin is absent in this version, replaced by a sweet guitar solo. At the end of the trademark repetitive chorus there's a hip hop break similar to the one on In The Flight, and at the end of that break there's yet another break, this time even crazier, I can only describe it as aquatic sounding shibuya kei mixed with a stunning, hard rock influenced guitar solo in betclimaxThe climax is breathtaking.
>10. Smilin Days Summer Holiday: 9.4/10 >duration: 4:57 One of the few tracks in this set clocking below the 5 minutes mark, beggining quite emotionally charged and fast paced, as if Sato had no time to waste anymore and just decided to go all out and sing and play the music as quick as possible, then the instrumentation gets unexpectedly avant quirky in the middle, almost like in a childish manner but since the intention was to sound as playful as possible this was fitting. The aquatic feeling is intensely permeating every track since In The Flight and I think this is really interesting. The trademark jazzy sax (or is that a trumpet?) solo is brilliant as well.
Ethan Fisher
maaan kids are a shit giant robots are cool tho
>the 2 lessons to be learned from eva
Jacob Howard
>eva >robots
Justin Wright
>11. Melody: 9.7/10 >duration: 5:49 This one was a slow grower for me. Coming just after the craziest, most excentric tracks on the album at that point, coming after Smilin Days and just before ゆらめき In The Air means that a subtle track such as this one is going to pass overlooked in some way. But surprisingly or not I've been playing this one far more often than almost every other track in this album recently.
It's fairly certainly more emotional than the studio counterpart but I still haven't realized how powerful this one could become when played in the right occasion.
Here's my story: One day, not too long ago, I was playing this version of "Melody" occasionally, inside my room, just enjoying the chills, and then I decided to look up the lyrics. After a while i realized the lyrics will translate to something like "inside this room, music flowing, dark melody, the landscape i see through the window, the sun will change people in this room, let me dream for another two hours ", which in my mind is Sato's love letter to music and within the context of the album is just heartbreaking. Sato was also acclaimed as a lyricist so no surprise here he also knew how to write touching lyrics like a top class frontman. Melody has a happy, groovy rhythm in the studio, but in here the rendering is nuanced and melancholic.
Andrew Smith
not so cool anymore when they turned out to [spoiler]not be robots[/spoiler] now were they
Liam Cox
Anonymous Fishposter is the best
Hunter Green
i also think giant robots are cool even if eva didn't have any
Lucas Torres
>12. ゆらめき In The Air: 10/10 >duration: 16:00 The studio recording is not the most accessible song of Fishmans auvre, but this live version turns it into a full fledged lush, prog-pop anthem and magical rollercoaster with a sure, melancholic build up exploding with such an unbelievably breathtaking Sigur Roesque, almost sonar sounding vocals and what is also possibly the greatest Honzi's performance wielding the violin ever. The lyrics are that of a love song, almost abstract and very emotional. The main lines can be translated to more or less like: "I hope you don't fade away again... In The Air". The song ends with falls of dark, nightly flutes, only to pick up yet another crescendo, this time for an uncertain but satisfying climax. There's not much to say after that: at this point fishmans rises from dream aquatic to cloudy dream pop, finally reaching the sky high. One of the greatest songs I've ever heard...period.
>13. Ikareta Baby: 8.6/10 >duration: 5:38 The first minute is an introspective one man show, with Sato singing alone to fhe stage and emotionally the beggining lines of Ikareta (Fishmans most popular song at that point) with his guitar, to immense cheers of the audience. The version is relatively simple, I do think it's not that much better or even better at all than the studio version, but the nightly synths are really sweet, and an emotional track even though it's a tad bit economic especially considering the songs that came before and the closer. Manages to go well within context, but simply because it was their most asked song.
Camden Russell
you have to search something like "1966 revolver" and not search using "beatles". the same thing happens with Prince and Dylan.
Evan Lee
:D :O
Levi Allen
:0
Michael Richardson
>14. Long Season: 10/10 >duration: 41:31 A slow burning, instrumentally packed and a more experimental version of their masterpiece song. In this one Fishmans brought their discipline to play. I always considered the studio version a very good prog song, perhaps one of the best when it comes to long prog epics, but this one is definitively one of the very best in prog, period. I'll even go as far as saying that at it's peak, this rendition of Long Season can rival the very best of any jazz band ever, such is the creativity and precision and cheer impact of the composition.
What I like the most about this rendering of Long Season (some could say it's the definitive version indeed), is that every player has some time to shine. Everyone delivers the performance of their lives here (except maybe Sato, but he also does fantastically well). Sometimes the whole thing might sound a little sloppy and lazy though. In Long Season Honzi plays three instruments at once (by far the most demanding of her) and at any given time there will be at least two instruments looped and without much external control, and this hurts especially the climax a little, making it sound a little too "mechanical". But the drumming, especially in part 3 (delivered by the underrated Motegi), and the background guitar player, Sekiguchi (who outsolos Shinji for a while near the end with a spectacular number) are nothing short than superb, as is Kashiwabara performance, always bringing forth groovy and refined bass lines, and Honzi brings out a really intense showing.
The chorus bits in the song are highly emotional, bringing a feel of lost childhood wonder,almost if realizing that the joy and the fun days are going to be over soon, or maybe even embracing a longing for the past? A sense of nostalgia, or lamentation. It shouldn't sound sad, it should sound even ridiculous, but the approach makes it sound really emotional and warm.
Part I
Connor Campbell
>Part I :0
Cameron Jenkins
Part II There's also a superb demonstration of technique in the whole track, from fantastic, gut wrenching improvisation to heavenly, floating tiny bits of crystal sounding atmosphere to just really good music. And Honzi. Damn. I don't know if she's as good as let's say, Vivaldi, but she really knows how to handle the violin.
Overall, the album is absolutely stunning pop music, with the second half being a complete masterpiece.
Thank you!
Juan Clark
>this rendition of Long Season can rival the very best of any jazz band ever,
Xavier Mitchell
>this rendition of Long Season can rival the very best of any jazz band ever
Jaxon Miller
part II is less :0-worthy hyperbole train has left the station, folks
Bentley Gray
more like
Kayden Baker
me on the top
Logan Jones
post your recently-added and rec people
Gavin Cruz
i dont have anything like that set up in my player or idk how and i dont wanna bother
Austin Nguyen
>orange the juice Have you tried to listen to Orange Juice?
Aiden Anderson
Finally heard the New York Sessions of Blood on the Tracks and I'm smitten. Anyone who thought the official version was too polished, pop-friendly, or over-produced should check the "original" versions out. Really clear how intimate these songs actually are.
I only know A Rainbow in Curved Air. Check out Those Shocking Shaking Days: Indonesia Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock and Funk 1970-1978
Carter Davis
i dont need more than one, two jangly bands in my life atm sorry but i can never have enough spork stuff
Ian Garcia
I already have. Good shit but not as good as Now Again's Nigerian comps.
:0
Easton Gray
>not as good as Now Again's Nigerian comps. it should be said that most stuff Uchenna Ikonne touches is gold
DEFINITELY check out Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock 1972-1978 volumes 1 and 2. It's very worth at least buying the CD for the book/ebook it comes with. Also of note is Soundway's The World Ends: Afro-Rock and Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria as well as Analog Africa's African Scream Contest and Afrobeat Airways compilations.
Andrew Richardson
Cool, I'm checkin em out
Noah Reed
[1/2]
Melvin Van Peebles - Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death >Funk, Spoken Word
Well, if this isn’t one of oddest albums I’ve ever stumbled upon. After some research I found out that Van Peebles is a director/playwright first and musician second. He’s famous for a number of blaxploitation films, such as Watermelon Man, which is essentially a racially-themed “Metamorphasis” adaptation. He also made soundtracks to said films, including one with this title. However, this is confusingly not related to this album. Instead, this is a number of random unrelated spoken word tracks over out-there funk production.
As far as the instrumentals go, this is a bit weird. This isn’t your typical GSH spoken word stuff where Van Peebles raps over soothing piano riffs. Instead, most tracks are performed over anxious, off-kilter jazz/funk pieces. They’re a bit uncomfortable, like the hectic “Put a Curse on You”, which features pounding drums, squealing horns and a jolty bass line. “I Got the Blood” even features some electronic influence. What sounds like a tape-manipulated, reversed jazz track spins in the background and a droning bassline weaves in and out at various volumes. Most of the time, they lean toward minimalist but still manage to emmit this distressing atmosphere. Even “You Gotta Be Holdin’ Out Five Dollars On Me”, which starts as a nice jazzy jam, has a shrieking violin in the midst of it all.
Ian Richardson
[2/2]
The instrumentals are cool but what ties the experience together is Van Peebles’ vocals. He has this weirdly soothing voice on the calmer tracks. But on the first few tracks, which are more avant-garde, his voice is filled with emotion. It cracks and quavers. It sounds like he’s lost all hope on a few tracks, as he struggles to keep singing. On “Funky Girl on Motherless Broadway”, I couldn’t help think of To Pimp A Butterfly. There’s this awkward jazz-funk jam just churning away in the background as Van Peebles painfully sings, talks and half-cries into the mic. It sounds like it could be a big influence on an album of that style and I’d never think I’d find something comparable from this decade.
Also, quick sidenote - I love finding random hip-hop samples. This is a Madlib goldmine, with “Come on Feet do Your Thing” sampled in “Come On Feet” and “Good Morning Sunshine” sampled in the same titled track on The Unseen. How does ‘lib find music this rare and manage to make it sound good in his music?
Lyrically, this album is really cool, with some unique little passages. He tells stories, which are at least somewhat political. Regardless, they nearly always often diverge into stream-of-consciousness rants. He kind of wanders off the trail, diving into random thoughts, before returning to a more coherent chorus. I’ve always thought this style was a bit intriguing, especially when used right, because it’s weirdly psychological. You get this odd, unfiltered glance into someone’s mind and you aren’t sure where it’s gonna lead. Ultimately, that’s what makes this such an intriguing listen.
What a fucking weird album.
4.5/5
Zachary Sanders
Me! Any news on a new album?
Levi Robinson
now what i've gathered from mostly skipping through is that every song is vastly different from the next but they're internally consistent, meaning they follow the Secret Chiefs/Estradapshere/jazz major school of spork which i'm not that huge on but it's a p neat performance maybe check it out idk
Thomas Perez
He's dropping it in April out of nowhere, shits hype
George Duke was good but not my speed. still trying to find the soul/funk album that fits like a glove. Luther vandross came a bit closer for me.
Logan Morgan
I like this idea. I couldn't fit much in the screenshot but whatever
Eli Williams
Eye Candy - Cerebrotonia
Adrian Kelly
listen to terry riley- you're nogood
I got two rows in my screenshot
Zachary Wood
Still catching up with adding stuff to Spotify that I had in itunes
Jose Nguyen
Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation >Punk
I was kind of expecting something a lot bleaker and edgier here, but Hell employs a wild, wacky, almost sardonically humorous persona here. He’s very much just a “snotty punk”, as one RYM reviewer put it. And the songwriting reflect that persona. Even though these songs are strictly punk in the Ramones sense—bopping little angular ditties—the guitars are not afraid to engage in masturbatory live improvisation that adds to the wacky sound and stories of the album (most obviously on “Betrayal Takes Two” and the 8-minute closer “Another World”).
Hell sounds a lot like David Thomas (and The Voidoids kind of sounds like Pere Ubu) on “Who Says? - It’s Good to Be Alive?” and “Another World”. Though Iggy Pop ought to owe royalties to Hell for “The Passenger”, because that song’s basically just a worse version of this album’s titular track, “Blank Generation”.
The bonus tracks are also great, but they’re decidedly bonus. “I’m Your Man” is too similar to “Blank Generation”, albeit with backup singers and a call and response structure. “All the Way” is a soft, seemingly intentionally cheesy ballad à la s/t Velvet Underground. Both are fun, but not quite for the album. I’m glad I listened though.
I really ought to give this thing a few more serious listens. The lyrics seem pretty important (Hell’s vocals are so damn high in the mix—what an ego), and I had to do a few double takes to catch some of the things he said. Really was expecting something a whole lot darker and more nihilistic, but this is actually pretty fun (“down at the rock and roll club”).
>7+/10
Aiden Bailey
aight trip up you caught my attention because if you havent noticed LITERALLY ALL or eh most of the albums/bands i ride for follow the same philosophy you were kind of getting at in the last paragraph: everything has to be a hook or anticipate a hook, pack as many unique memorable moments into as track as you can, that thing well alright this is not exactly like that and i'm not into the Filosofem vox recording but i listened to like exactly one track yesterday like "eh i can see that" and now that im replaying the whole album the Barely Legal hook already felt like a standout etched into my brain so it's gotta do something right, right? well its focus lies much more on subtle buildup and suspense rather than the intense, constantly shifting payoff of like, Slam or ISMFOF so it doesn't need to be shifting between styles and that's okay you should probably get to Ruiner and Aesthethica they're like that except well, less subtle in how riffs trade each other off because who needs subtlety? could see myself getting into that if i ever grow into the vocal delivery and recording but it does stand out so i prolly will
Jack Davis
I have absolutely no idea what is being said here
there was a kid on my floor in my freshman year dorm that had a play count for "Is this It" (just the song) upwards of 10,000. He listened to it on repeat nonstop
Dominic Carter
i can see that, yeah though it's definitely not constant, upfront hookage all the way through for me, at least, casablancas's delivery kind of sells the less outright hooky moments and makes them a sort of pseudo-hook but that's just because i like his voice that's me but stronger +i used to be a primarily phone-based listener
Alexander Sullivan
yeah i wrote the first sentence before listening and sort of corrected myself in the last bit. it is pretty tight though i can say as much
Sondre Lerche's 2014 album, Please, was a major stylistic departure for him. Pleasure continues on that same path- this is the first record of Lerche's to recieve the "indietronica" genre tag. On Pleasure, through immaculate and shrewd production, a very lush, textural, and surprising sound-world is created that is certain to please fans of Tame Impala. Sondre continues to wear his Prefab Sprout influence on his sleeve, proudly. Despite the ease of comparison to similar acts, Lerche continues to make his unique voice heard. It's obvious that nobody else could have made this record, for better or worse. The melodies and structures he employs are characteristic of him, which is to say they move in unexpected directions, and almost fight with the listener for comfort. Hard left turns and steep grades abound, at times defying a head nod or foot tap to the beat on the first listen. Pleasure is not quite radio-friendly, Sondre never has been, though his music exists in the same arena. He even keeps an open dialogue with mainstream pop with his frequent covers of hit singles (his most recent include Ariana Grande and Drake), but in spite of his apparent desire to be mainstream pop, he is uncompromising with his structural experiments, leaping and stumbling through songs. Not to say he might not reach huge mainstream success in this way- he seems well on his way, in fact. Pleasure opens on "Soft Feelings", which clearly sets the stage for a record that initially sounds lifted from the 80s, but will likely some day be thought of as "a very 2010s" sounding record. It's followed up with "I'm Always Watching You", which I felt was the stronger of the singles released prior to the album. Driven by an incredibly compelling chorus, the song lyrically addresses modern infatuation: one characterized by internet lurking.
(1/3)
Kayden Mitchell
Tarika Blue - Tarika Blue (1976?) >funk, soul, smooth jazz
This bored the hell out of me, to be honest. The funk and the soul are there in the vocals, but there’s nothing to really hang on to in the music proper. There’s no texture, no real soul in it. The polish is too shiny, the shimmering guitar work, while beautiful, offers no substance. The second track offers a tight groove but not much else. It’s the closest thing to a good track this album might have.
1.5/5
=============
Rick Ross - Teflon Don >southern hip hop, rap
Rick Ross - Teflon DonRick Ross - Teflon Don Rick Ross’s 2010 effort is not too far removed from the Pen and Pixel era of Southern Rap, and yet not quite arrived at today’s latest. Somewhere in between the dated annals of Big Bear’s Doin’ Thangs and Future’s HNDRXX lies the opening 808 salvo of Rick Ross’s “I’m Not A Star”: clearly enunciated raps and yet impressively prescient production from Atlanta’s greatest. The song relates Rick Ross’s fight between his newfound starhood and his roots in trapping, and how the two have become intertwined: “I'm not a star, somebody lied, I got a pistol in the car, a 45… Make all of my bitches tattoo my logo on they titty, Put a statue of a nigga in the middle of the city.” The Chubby God wants the fame, and is already used to it, but his old habits die hard.
4/5
Anthony Cooper
I found some pretty smooth jpop if anyone here is into that
Finally getting around to listening to this, on Breakfast Time For Baboons. It's pretty jarring, but I like the jazzy touch it's had throughout. A lot of interesting sounds and textures, angular melodic harmonies, and time signatures that make it difficult to tell where one bar ends and the other begins, especially since I'm hearing multiple rhythms.
Jack Price
>The December Sound - The Silver Album This album is reverb city, but having lots of reverb can only cover up boring and uninteresting songwriting to a certain point. There were times when the vocals had a unique and engaging sound, the guitars lines flowed in a cool way, and the wall of sound actually had some interesting textures going on, but none of these aspects ever manifested at the same time as each other so there weren't any real impact moments. The whole album felt very shallow in terms of its shoegaze sound and I rarely felt like i was getting lost in the background textures. Overall it's not a bad album, but it doesn't have many unique or worthwhile qualities that would make me want to listen to this specifically. The album art is pretty great though. 5/10
Brandon Anderson
I remember absolutely hating that record 4 years ago. I should probably relisten since I wouldn't be surprised if I liked it now.
Charles Ward
(2/3)
"Serenading in the Trenches" is the sequel to "Crickets" from 2014's Please. It's pretty much the same song reimagined a bit more energetic and maximal. "I Know Something That's Gonna Break Your Heart" is one of my favorites of the album. A classic Sondre melody, the synths used during the chorus hearken back to the theremin used on 2002's Faces Down, while also employing obscured and echoey vocals, as Sondre did with Kato Adland on the Sleepwalker (2014). "Siamese Twin" is a slowing down of the record, and is the most experimental sounding (insofar as Sondre is choosing to experiment on this album). It includes a chiptune-styled intro, a luscious, Mac Demarco style guitar sound, chopped up portions (think the end of "Go Right Ahead" from Sondre's 2011 self-titled), and most interestingly, some soft noise in the latter half the song that adds a texture that upsets preconceived notions of what Pleasure's sound-world (and Sondre's in general) is capable of. "Bleeding Out Into The Blue" is another standout track. Dying synthesizers carry it forward, and as the song carries on, it grows more triumphant, until it collapses in on itself, and then builds itself back up, repeating the process. Hissing noises are present, and at the 2:48 mark, one of those sonic hard left turns pops up, reminiscent of the suprise theremin on "Things You Call Fate" (from Faces Down). "Bleeding" is easily one of the best songs on the album. "Reminisce" is comparably underwhelming. It feels a bit defocused sonically, but seems like it would work as a party song. The lyrics are peculiar, Sondre expresses a yearning: "I want to be above this state of mind", and he also addresses more modern concept with the same honest self-deprication: "I want to turn male privilege on it's head, even though without it I would probably be dead". Reminisce also has a guitar solo, but it's definitely one of the weaker ones Sondre has put to record.
Tyler Reed
(3/3)
"Hello Stranger" stands a strange angle. A little too stripped down to be a party song, it carries that energy, until it is eventually built up to something that is aligned by the typewriter "ding!" that marks when the song is really going off, regrettably close to the end. "Violent Game" is the odd one on this record. It starts with just Sondre's voice and guitar, as it could have been heard on many of his past records. But his voice is strained, he is really howling, and the drums come in with a harshness. It's like 2007's Phantom Punch again. A proper rock song! Very "Airport Taxi Reception". Distortion creeps in, giving it a connection to Pleasure, and then the song disperses into erratic vocalizations, and a stellar guitar solo, the best one Sondre has done since "Domino" (from 2011's self-titled), and probably his best one yet. Violent Game captures an energy and meandering uncertainty that hasn't been heard on record since Sondre's live album, Bootlegs (2012). This song is really a spiritual successor to the 6 minute version of "Sleep On Needles" from that album. Finally, the record ends with "Baby Come to Me", which is another of my favorites from Pleasure. A twinkling, totally triumphant conclusion, which serves to summarize and resign Pleasure. The line "water under the bridge" repeats, and at the song's end, the vocals drift elsewhere, and Pleasure fades away.
Overall, Pleasure is just that. A step up from Please, Sondre has undoubtedly proved he can handle experimentation and still make terrific pop songs. One of his best records yet, I would say that it leaves me incredibly excited, almost impatient, to hear his next one (and it does), but Pleasure is so satisfying, that the time between now and his next album will hardly feel like a wait. It will just be a pleasant time in my life.
An unwavering 9/10.
Elijah Stewart
whole lotta "music talk" going on round here...
Kevin Cook
I put down quite a few tracks to listen to again, but it's more curiosity than "Man, that track was great". There's some interesting ideas in there, but I would have preferred something more concrete. Still having the multiple rhythms and challenging time signatures, just more general intense drones or melodies, even if nearly atonal, than just hearing a bunch of glitching and noise.
Liam Garcia
My radio show is going live in 30 minutes. The schedule is a little off, since our schedule's a little fucky but it's gonna be lit. Listen in at kscmd.org
Bentley Carter
This looks cool! gonna listen :-)
Ryder Russell
>this rendition of Long Season can rival the very best of any jazz band ever jesus christ man
how can people listen to a song so many times my iTunes got accidentally deleted and i lost all of my play counts on August 2015 so I don't really have much, but back then my highest listened to song didn't even hit 90 plays. it was some tool song btw
>cumblogs
Caleb Perez
[also please ignore my genre tagging back then i would use discogs tags and whatever i thought the album qualified as]
Zachary Wright
you think that's bad?? i've heard this song probably 2000 times
Ian Powell
Thanks! It's gonna be all summery jams from 2007-2017
