[EzExZeRo7497]

Originally Posted by Crazyjayde

And then would be the right time to suggest Danimal Cannon & Zef - Parallel Processing.

But goddamnit Ez, your reviews are surprisingly consistent. I also find interesting your use of imagery, or even narrativity in Gas - Pop (which makes me want to give it a spin). I can definitely see the effort behind these reviews.
I've become to expect somewhat similar ratings for Body Riddle and Black Sea, but I couldn't have speculated what La Grand-messe ended up being. Sweet spot for french music much?

Added Parallel Processing.

Thanks for the comments, really appreciate comments like these. I feel that imagery is a great way of explaining my thoughts honestly - especially for something as minimal as ambient. Helps a lot when it comes to how I feel about some tracks as well. Also I'm not sure if I do have this soft spot for French music, heh. Might be because the two albums have been clicking with me because of its original genres to begin with.

Also hi, Jayce. Added that album.

May 12th, 2014
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Solar One by The Flashbulb
Today is a beautiful day. Two new Flashbulb albums and I'm going to review them because Benn Jordan is better than lose the virginity.

Solar One is a very different album in comparison to anything Benn has made. While he has made some ambient music, it's nowhere as minimal nor unstructured as this. According to Benn himself, this is the result through trial and error, effectively making music using ASMR and theta waves. Essentially music that lulls you to sleep. Needless to say, this is pretty relaxing.

It paints a very slow-moving landscape of a beige-coloured sky. There's the occasional train in the background, but it's not very prominent. I could compare this to a slightly darker Stars of the Lid - it's incredibly pure and formless. It's also quite bright, but not too overbearing. The track does move a bit here and there, but the movement is very constant. Kinda similar to clouds moving to block the Sun and some time later the clouds move away from the Sun. It does progress very subtly 45 minutes in, it feels like it's brighter at the moment. There's really nothing much else I can talk about. I can feel myself slowly lose consciousness as I listen to this. After 20-30 minutes it's a bit of a conscious effort to keep my eyes open.

This music is absolutely perfect for the clearance of the mind. Arguably one of the best tracks for this - although I think there are some moments which are too overpowering. It's not that they're loud, but rather the atmosphere becomes a bit too bright to be completely comfortable in. I can probably sleep to this and have some of the most pleasant sleep that I've ever had - easily edging out albums like Somnium. But I can't find any other good purpose for this type for music other than sleep or mind clearance. It's not an album that you can listen to actively, but rather an album that you leave in the background. This is music that will lull you to sleep and give you some of the most comforting dreams ever. This is also music that you'll leave in the background only to be interested in something completely different. You won't feel like the music is there consciously, but you feel that it's there subconsciously.

I'm torn on this. I'm not sure what to rate it. On one hand, it's a beautiful track that easily outmatches any ambient work Benn has made. On the other hand, I can't see myself listening to this as much as Louisiana Mourning or Pale Blue Dot. It's too situational to really enjoy - when you're feeling incredibly depressed. When you're fully awake, you wouldn't want to listen to this. This will probably ruin your sleeping schedule.

Tentative rating of 8/10. I might bump this down because I don't think I'll be listening to this so much, but it's one of the prettiest things I've heard in a while. This does stand a chance at being AOTY though, but not that it matters.

Edit (May 25th, 2014): Just as I expected.

Album Highlights: -
Track Average Rating: -
Overall Rating: 8/10 7.5/10
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Nothing Is Real by The Flashbulb
I think everyone knows that I really like The Flashbulb. This is probably the release that I was most looking forward to this year, since I don't think Daisuke is making another album any time soon. Nothing Is Real is a fairly typical album from Benn - many tracks, short album length. Like most of Benn's later albums, this is a conceptual album. Nothing Is Real is based on his depersonalisation.

While the structure of the album is pretty normal for Benn, I can't seem to relate any album of his to this album. I expected this album to be strikingly similar to Opus at the End of Everything, but it doesn't seem to be the case here. I think the best comparison would be a less detailed Arboreal. I noticed that he has toned down the IDM elements, in contrast to his other albums at least. That may or may not be a good thing, but I think this does signify that Benn probably isn't going back to his older roots any time soon - other than to appeal to his older fanbase.

Very varied as a whole - there's still some IDM. Through Mud is prominently IDM and similar to A Raw Understanding from Arboreal. Personally don't like that much, but variation is always a plus. While this is supposedly an album based on depersonalisation, I don't get that disconnected/hazy atmosphere from most of these tracks. The only exception would be Room 13, which is quite hazy and blurry. It feels like floating away from yourself, but from a short distance. It's a little surreal, now that I think about it.
Nothing But Lines is a wonderful track, with its airy humming atmosphere and pleasant sounds of glitch. Its progression is also beautiful too, it grabs my attention almost all the time while still sounding fluid. And of course, there's some moments where it's more sombre - such as Troubled Plains. A track very similar to Tomorrow Untrodden from Arboreal, which is easily my favourite track from that album.

There's some tracks that I didn't like, of course. For example, Solar Motel doesn't click with me. While the IDM elements are pleasant and the female vocals are nice, they clash really badly and doesn't come off as relaxing. While I did mention that most tracks didn't capture depersonalisation well, there was one that did but was very forced. The track I'm talking about is The Fear of Vision, but it's a very forced way of doing so. The sample in the beginning creates this concrete mood and just progresses. The progression, while rather nice, feels really trite. That's probably my least favourite track.

Like most albums from The Flashbulb, it does suffer from inconsistency. It is inevitable though, especially with so many tracks and ideas in the album. Maybe if he concentrated more on a few select ideas (say, 5) and base tracks off those few ideas. It doesn't have to be 20 separate ideas, since most of the ideas won't even foster to begin with.

This is a problem with The Flashbulb's work as a whole, rather than this album in particular. Benn jumps to one idea, plays around with it for a few minutes, then skips to another. It wouldn't be too problematic, but the thing is that some ideas were great and they didn't stay for too long. I understand that Benn is trying to be eclectic, but his eclectism towards his albums does bring his work down quite a bit.

Pretty standard release for Benn. While it is an enjoyable experience, it suffers from the same problems that every cinematic release he has made. Benn really has some potential - as shown in Kirlian Selections. He's able to take one particular concept and execute it in fantastic ways. This is just a tad bit too unfocused for me to enjoy. But there are some very nice tunes in here though, as expected from Benn.

Album Highlights: I Can Feel It Humming, Nothing But Lines, Neon Wireframe Landscape, For Your Escape, Bryson City, NC
Track Average Rating: 3.48/5
Overall Rating: 7/10