[EzExZeRo7497]

Originally Posted by choof

an hour of your life wasted on meme

God bless.

May 20th, 2014
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Heartstrings by Serph (recommended by AlexDest)
Heartstrings is Serph's third album. Generally IDM, but there are quite a couple of cinematic elements in here too. I've heard of Serph for a while, but I wasn't too fond of his sound at first. I'm not sure if it'll be the same for this, but I'm willing to give this a shot.

Most of the tracks here are very twinkly. Shine, true to its name, is one of the most upbeat tracks I've heard in a while. The symphonic elements do compliment it nicely, it makes it feel quite majestic. Normally I would stay away from tracks like these, but this is actually quite pretty. It doesn't feel too trite, although it's a very familiar sound. I can't pinpoint any artists in particular, but it does feel very similar to some. It's a little bit too long though. It feels a little long-winded towards the end, but not a big deal.

Most of the other tracks are fine for the most part, some have a greater emphasis on IDM than others. Missing, for example, is generally glitchy. It's not as bright as Shine, but it's still quite bright. Perhaps a sky similar to late afternoon? Anyway, the track doesn't do much for me. It sounds like it's moving, but there's very little movement actually taking place. Actually, this would apply to a good majority of the album. I can't help but feel that this is an album that's only meant to sound twinkly and upbeat. It's a tad bit too crowded to see a particular picture, let alone a simple colour to work with. It's fine to have IDM albums that doesn't create landscapes, of course. The problem is that I think it's a bit too... hollow. I feel like these tracks are missing something. These sounds are best accompanied with environments, I believe.

All of the tracks generate similar atmospheres. They're almost always sweet, usually a bit too sweet. This problem is pertinent in every track. Not only that, but since they create similar atmospheres, I did get quite bored. By the 7th track (Cityscape), I was hoping for a change. Although there is a noticeable amount of variation (there's some jazz in here), the mood doesn't change. Or at least, it didn't change enough. I usually wouldn't be bothered if the tracks were engaging, but they weren't in this case. The album to me is like a straight line. Although it's a little neat at first, it does get boring quick.

To be fair, none of the tracks here are "bad". I can imagine most of them being interesting in small doses, but it's a bit too much here. 13 tracks is simply excessive - I was close to just skipping the last 3 tracks. More variation in terms of mood would be fantastic. The same mood for nearly an hour is way way way too much. Especially if it's not really attention-grabbing to begin with. I could see that Serph has potential, most of the tunes are actually quite intriguing. Take Chamber for example. It's just so intricate in detail, it's beautiful. Although the soundscape isn't as clear as I want to be, I can feel that it's there. It's a bit of a shame that they're generally made to be bright to begin with though. It really made the album feel way longer than it already is.

Doesn't work for me. Sorry Alex.

Album Highlights: Shine, Chamber
Track Average Rating: 2.69/5
Overall Rating: 5/10
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I am a terrible man. by Med Lin (recommended by Trogdor!!!!)
Oh sweet, an EP. I Am A Terible Man is generally ambient, with hints of IDM. Four tracks, so I might as well talk about each one individually.

Wake starts off pretty small, with its subtle and constant sound. The introduction does build some suspense, though the waves of synth does ruin it. It's a little too excessive, it's better for the subtle sounds to do the work by itself. Adding constant waves of synth don't really add on to it. In fact, it probably detracts from it. It progresses more to form this larger being, but not too big. It doesn't do much at its peak though. It just walks slowly with its prominent synth sound. It doesn't click with me, the synth doesn't seem to do anything. It feels like it's just there the whole time.

Drone is well, a drone. I feel like I'm in a large but empty space. A light flickers and I try to follow the light. By the time I reach the spot of light, I realise that the light is coming from something much larger. The atmosphere changes from subtle to eerie pretty quick. Twisted sounds of a female voice further enhances this. Even after the voices are gone, it's still a little frightening. The lights are flickering, more erratically than before. I'm a little too afraid to move closer to the light now, but the view is... actually nice. It does last a little longer than it should though.

I Am A Terrible Man takes a step away from ambience and is more IDM driven. It's very subtle in its approach - usually one step front and back. Though I said that ambient isn't in the center here, it's still there. It's floating to create this thin mist or aurora to make it feel more surreal. While the sight is pretty, nothing much happens. I can't say that it's a bad thing though, I could probably watch this for a long time.

The Days Without You is probably the most melodic of the four. It takes the same subtle movement that IAATM has, but it doesn't work as effectively. The sounds are too crowded here. Instead of a thin mist, it looks as if there's a lot of traffic going on. Not really a pleasant thing to watch. It does wind down at the last 30 seconds, which was quite the nice change. It lasted so short though, it would've been nicer if it was longer.

Now although I could elaborate on these and how I feel about them, it doesn't mean that I feel them strongly. All of these tracks don't really create too much of an effect on me. The sounds are decent, but they're not too engaging. I couldn't see myself listening to these again, especially since there are other artists that did better. The soundscapes are rather blur and simple, but it's better than nothing. Overall, not a very good EP. It's nothing offensive though, so I can't give this too low of a rating.
2.0/2.5/3.0/2.5
Album Highlights: I am a terrible man.
Track Average Rating: 2.5/5
Overall Rating: 5/10