An Album A Day Keeps The Doctor Away | 365 Album Challenge

[L.B.D.D]

gj mouse

[EzExZeRo7497]

Added albums.

James I've already listened to Triptunes and Corea before, but I don't really have time to explain on my ratings. I'll tell you my ratings though:
Corea - 7/10
Triptunes - 4/10

May 7th, 2014
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Deep River by Utada Hikaru

I mean, yeah. I'm pretty sure most people know Utada Hikaru - whether it'd be from the Kingdom Hearts series or the Evangelion movies. She's arguably the most popular J-pop artist out there, with many successful albums such as Ultra Blue and Deep River. The former being quite the guilty pleasure of mine, and Deep River is her third album. Apparently she was at most 19 years old when she wrote these songs, which is quite impressive.

Compared to Ultra Blue, Deep River is more towards contemporary rhythm and blues and dance-pop. Most of these songs are quite catchy, which seems to be the main appeal of the album. Her voice is great as usual - an incredibly upbeat and mature voice, complimenting the catchy instrumentals. There is some diversity too - Deep River is a ballad which is quite pretty. I do have a soft spot for J-pop ballads though, so that might have something to do with it. 嘘みたいなI Love You is a pop rock song, and the chorus has some very striking resemblances to the last song, Hikari. Those guitars sound so fake though, but it's really catchy.

The songs here are admittedly, not very memorable. In contrast to Ultra Blue which has very memorable songs like Passion (though this is more towards childhood memories more than anything) and This Is Love, the songs in this don't do too much for me. They are catchy sure, but I forget about them by the next track for the most part. Maybe there's too much emphasis on the "pop" component and not in the sentimental component, but I don't think that's the case. I think it's just because I'm not a fan of some of the songs.

There's nothing much else to talk about, it's a pretty average album for Utada Hikaru. Most definitely not my favourite album from her, but it's alright for what it is. The songs aren't fantastic, but they're generally okay. I wouldn't mind listening to this again, but it'd probably be a bit of a struggle to finish it all. I would kill for an album with mainly ballads like Sakura Nagashi and Deep River though, her voice is PERFECT for ballads like those. Unfortunately, this album isn't the case at all.

Shiina Ringo might do the trick, maybe? I'll see.

Album Highlights: Deep River, Travelling
Track Average Rating: 3.04/5
Overall Rating: 6/10
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The Chocolate Wheelchair Album by Venetian Snares (recommended by Nick Skyline)
I've actually listened to half of the album before this, but not the entire album. Most of my thoughts on particular tracks (especially Ghetto Body Buddy and Herbie) were recalled from memory more than anything else. So, every FFR/SM player should know who Venetian Snares is, so I won't elaborate on him too much.

Aaron Funk. One of the pioneers of breakcore, one of the most prolific breakcore artists and responsible for Rossz csillag alatt szuletett. An album that's well received among many music communities - also the highest rated breakcore album on RYM. He's also pretty hilarious in his interviews.

The Chocolate Wheelchair Album is a pretty typical album from Aaron Funk. When he's not sampling classical music for his tracks, he is incredibly playful and often absurd. Those absurd tracks don't do it for me at all. It feels like they're absurd because it's mainly made to sound peculiar. It doesn't faze me in any way, the structure is rather generic for breakcore. Sure, it's not always generic - Einstein-Rosen Bridge is pretty dancey for breakcore standards and Ghetto Body Buddy is raggacore that eventually goes nuts, but still. Nothing too spectacular, at least for me.

When I think of breakcore, I do want an album that would rip my face off or at least fascinate me with its incredible structures. Xanopticon, Terminal11 (Speed Modified and earlier) and DEV/NULL have accomplished that beautifully. Fortunately, Aaron did slip in a couple of tracks which are just fantastic in structure - particularly Epidermis, Hand Throw and Herbie Goes Ballistic.

Hand Throw is a raggacore track that starts off pretty hard hitting off the bat, and just goes insane with hard punches of noise halfway through. It's not overly noisy a la Winnipeg is a Frozen Shithole, but it's still a great execution. These walls of noise are quite pretty.

Herbie Goes Ballistic starts off pretty loud and gets progressively louder. By the time a minute is up, you're already assaulted by relentless amen breaks and punches in the face. It just continues to become more and more experimental - a continuous barrage of noise to the point that it makes WIFAS sound like a walk in the park. Although nowhere as noisy, it definitely sounds far more coherent and intimidating.

Epidermis is just phenomenal. The samples in the beginning just set off an eerie atmosphere off the bat and just continues to build up. Even at its calmest (the moments 1:50 in and 2:30 in) it's still very dark and creates this sense of paranoia. It's really loud throughout, although nowhere as relentless as Herbie. The climax 3 and a half minutes in is just perfectly executed. Everything that built up to it just falls apart and it becomes a neverending barrage of chaos.

So a very mixed bag of tracks here, ranging from one of Aaron's best (Epidermis) to some of his most cliche (Abomination Street). I generally found it okay, but I wouldn't listen to the album again. Too many fillers, too little substance. I'll listen to Epidermis a lot more though, what a spectacular track.

Album Highlights: Epidermis, Herbie Goes Ballistic
Track Average Rating: 3.05/5
Overall Rating: 6/10

[L.B.D.D]

essays baby

[James May]

Oh lmao, wasn't sure if you already did but oh well heh. I'll try to find a few more albums then x)

[EzExZeRo7497]

May 8th, 2014
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Variations for Piano and Tape by William Basinski
William Basinski is one of the most popular ambient artists out there. He was greeted with overwhelming popularity with The Disintegration Loops, a series of tape loops that continue to repeat and repeat... until they finally disintegrate to nothingness. While I find them rather overrated (perhaps due to the fact that newer listeners would be more fascinated to his process in making music more than anything else), they're still very good. The fourth album is my favourite one personally, third one is easily my least favourite.

Other than his most popular albums, he has made a couple of jewels. The Garden of Brokenness, Melancholia, Vivian & Ondine... all spectacular albums. Easily blowing The Disintegration Loops out of the water, both in bleakness and detail.

Anyway, back to the album. I can imagine myself 40 years from now in my own apartment in a rocking chair listening to this.

It'd probably go something like this:
It's a day off. I boot up the computer, checking my music folder for some new music to listen to. I stumble upon a folder that I don't quite remember having.

"Oh, what is this?"

The folder said [Ambient] William Basinski - Variations for Piano & Tape. It hasn't been opened in many years.

"That name sounds familiar... Basinski..."

...

"Ah yes, William Basinski. I used to like his music back when I was a teenager. My music taste was so bad at the time - listening to drone, pretentious Japanese experimental music and just downplaying /mu/core like it was nobody's business. I remember Melancholia and The Garden of Brokenness being two of my favourite albums at the time. Unfortunately I don't have them anymore... this is the only album from him I have left. Let's see how my opinion has changed."

I drag the folder and put into my music player. I hooked up my speakers and poured a cup of coffee. I sat down on my rocking chair and just embraced the sound. The beginning baffled me at first.

"Why is this so lo-fi? I mean MP3s are pretty low quality now but this is worse than I remembered."

I'm still an idiot even after decades of education and work experience, apparently.

Minutes have passed. I was getting really sleepy because of how pleasant it was. I saw the sky change from blue to orange, so I walked to my window to look at the sunset. It's one of my favourite things to do.

When I looked at the sky, I felt more connected to the track.

"This track.. reminds me of myself. Or more specifically, memories of myself."

I looked at the window, looking at everything that this view could provide. I eventually saw a building that was very familiar. It took me a while to realise...

"It was the place I lived in when I was young. All of my memories were there. My happiness, my sadness, everything."

The sun is moving down, but I was still contemplating on my previous memories.

"Why didn't I cherish them back then? I've always found my life mundane, but it really was much better than what I have now. Puppy love, actual friends to talk to, all the time in the world to listen to music and so much more. Now I'm a 55 year old single man all alone, with no one to talk to. My life is entirely mechanical at this point - sleep, work, eat, shower, repeat. No variation, just monotony. Aside from the occasional bills, I don't have anything to care for. I want colour in my life again."

It took me a while to realise... the track is decaying. My memories are decaying. Where are they going? I want them back. Please, come back.

By the end of the track, I was screaming at the window because the beauty of old memories was fading away. 44 minutes has passed. The sun has finally set. All I could feel was tears of untangible melancholy running down my cheeks. I felt hollow. I've never felt like this empty in a long time - probably in over thirty years.

Turns out I still like Basinski. Or at least, he's still able to cause that much of an effect on me. I turn around and sit on my rocking chair, once again. I take a sip of my coffee.

"Fuck, my coffee's cold now."

This is a extended loop of Melancholia XII. It's my least favourite track from Melancholia, but this was still a pretty pleasant experience. Like what I wrote earlier, this reminds me more of very old memories. Unfortunately I'm a little too young to really experience this firsthand, but it's still quite the trip.

Album Highlights: -
Track Average Rating: -
Overall Rating: 7/10
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Ultramarine by Young Galaxy (recommended by ninjaKIWI)
Ultramarine is a synth pop/electropop album from Canadian band Young Galaxy. Synth pop is admittedly a genre that I don't really like, but I haven't visited much to begin with. So let's give this a whirl.

Hmm... incredibly upbeat, but not quite bright. It's pretty nostalgic - pretty similar to synth pop in the 80s I suppose. Pretty Boy is quite the earworm, although it does sound rather cheesy. Quite the catchy beat and the vocals do fit in pretty nicely. Fever is almost reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine minus the distortion, which is pretty sweet. However, the album doesn't keep the same quality of enjoyment. Fall For You for example, though has a nicer beat than Pretty Boy overall, falls short as it's nowhere as attention-grabbing.

Too upbeat for me, at times it does feel pretty trite too. New Summer in particular is especially cheesy - with its lyrics and the slow cliche melody. The dream pop elements in that is a nice touch though, but most definitely not enough to salvage my enjoyment. Though most of the other tracks don't have that large of a problem, they do feel rather unmemorable. Most of them either lack the catchiness, or too poppy for me.

Tiring listen despite its length of under 40 minutes. It just doesn't work for me. From what I've heard - What We Want and New Summer are the best tracks in this album, but they're two of my least favourite tracks in the entire album. I've noticed that their dream pop moments are pretty good, I think they'd do better as mainly dream pop with synth pop elements instead of the other way around. As is, it's a respectable piece of work, just really not for me.

Album Highlights: Fever
Track Average Rating: 2.4/5
Overall Rating: 4/10
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Hard to believe that it's only been a week since I've been doing this. 350 more albums to go.

[EzExZeRo7497]

May 9th, 2014
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La grand-messe by Les Cowboys Fringants
Les Cowboys Fringants (translated to The Dashing Cowboys) is a Québécois folk band with some elements from rock music. La grand-messe is their sixth album and arguably their most popular.

The opener (Intro + Les etoiles filantes) starts off rather bleak and eventually shines brighter. While it is incredibly bright, the lyrics are a different story. It is the story of an old man reflecting on his childhood memories - spending time building igloos, annoying girls, all that jazz. He continues to talk about them, finally being able to take in how beautiful those memories are. He knows that it's too late now, all he could do is move on and wonder what will remain.

That track is a good representation of what La grand-messe has in store - I can compare this juxtaposition to a band like Streetlight Manifesto, at least some of their works. Incredibly upbeat and amusing on the outside, but really not as happy as it pretends to be. Regardless, these cheerful moments are quite engaging and fun - even it does feel a little over the top for me. Most of the melodies are generally catchy too, which is nice.

It's not all happy-go-lucky though. There are some pretty sombre songs in here too. Plus Rien is a rather melancholic song of someone being the last man on earth and how consumerism has destroyed humanity. It's rather beautiful and it paints quite the desolate and revolting landscape. Hannah is a song I could somewhat relate to - which is rare for a song to do so. But hey, it works. The song is incredibly pretty too, since the song is so depressing every crescendo feels huge.

It does bring a problem though - there's not too much variation. It eventually becomes predictable in concept - they're either incredibly bleak or incredibly bright. There is very little content in between, so it does swing very violently at points. Although most of the tracks here range from decent to fantastic, there are still some that feel way too over the top for me - like Symphonie pour Caza.

Incredibly fun album when you want it to be. It could also be incredibly sentimental if you want it to be. Very accessible and just a solid album throughout - despite its flaws. I do have to get in the mood to enjoy music like this, but I could get into a lot of moods to not only respect this, but also enjoy it.

Now that I've listened to this fully, I have another album in mind to review... probably not for tomorrow though. We'll see.

Album Highlights: Intro + Les étoiles filantes, Hannah, Ma belle Sophie
Track Average Rating: 3.38/5
Overall Rating: 7/10
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Black Sea by Fennesz (recommended by lurker)
Fennesz is an artist that I have no idea what to expect from. I've seen his name being thrown around in many ambient reviews - being compared to artists like Belong and Tim Hecker. Because of this, I was pretty curious on what his music is like. Unfortunately, I've been busy so I didn't have the time to listen to his albums. Looks like it's time to listen to one of his albums.

First track - very rigid textures, rather surreal at points. The comparisons to Belong and Tim Hecker makes sense, but Belong is far more shoegazy and minimal. Tim Hecker would be the best comparison, but Tim Hecker is a bit more... aggressive. Though this sounds incredibly synthetic, it feels really warm. Not in a loving way, but how pleasant it is. I really don't understand why, the landscape is barren and is lacking in life. But I feel safe, it really boggles me. Even when rain starts to fall, I feel like I belong here.

Even when the track is over, I still can't figure out why. It's incredibly beautiful though.

Less on how I feel and more on the content itself though. This is pretty varied in atmosphere. While Black Sea is incredibly warm yet brittle, The Colour of Three is very intense feedback, but I feel that its synthetic sound doesn't quite work with the feedback. In contrast to Belong's All Equal Now, it feels very hollow in comparison. Both are intense feedback, but All Equal Now seems to create much more of a cathartic effect.

It's a really odd album, even though I've heard similar artists before. His production is incredibly artificial - which is a word that I rarely use to describe music. It's rather unsettling, but it's still... pleasant. I don't think the atmosphere of the tracks are cold by any means, but rather the production itself. Although it's very detailed, it's just very fake. Other than Saffron Revolution and Black Sea, I felt the same for every track in this album. This is something really beautiful there, but it's heavily blocked by these peculiar textures.

I really don't get it. This really has many elements that I'd be obsessed over. Incredibly chaotic but serene, drones that are unsettling yet warm, and a lot more. It's just that one thick barrier that's detracting from my enjoyment. Perhaps I'll need to give this a few more listens. I'm really uncomfortable with this album, but I could see a lot of beauty in this. I just have to get used to the textures a bit more, maybe my paranoia would dissipate and I could fully submerge in Fennesz' world. There's really no denying that this album is fantastic, but I really don't like how Fennesz is producing his sound.

Album Highlights: Black Sea, Saffron Revolution
Track Average Rating: 3.62/5
Overall Rating: 7.5/10

I have a question for anyone who has listened to Black Sea (the full album) - how did you find the atmosphere the first time you've listened to it? I don't know if I'm the only one who felt uneasy listening to this.

[EzExZeRo7497]

May 10th, 2014
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Black Earth by Bohren & der Club of Gore (recommended by noname219)
Dark jazz is a fusion genre that I've never ventured before, nor have I even heard of. From what I know, it is a form of dark ambient influenced by slow jazz music. It's a combination that I wouldn't expect to work, but I've been wrong. Bohren & der Club of Gore is one of the most influential dark jazz acts, along with The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble.

Very very slow, but also very relaxing. It is very dark, but it's a type of darkness that I would be very comfortable in. To me, it feels like I'm in a post-apocalyptic city, walking around and examining every place that catches my interest. There's nothing out there that haunts me, other than loud environmental sounds from the drums. The drums do get jarring at points, especially in parts like the second half of Crimson Ways. It's relatively minor though, so it's not a big deal.

It feels far too slow at points, and the constant drum hit doesn't help. It feels repetitive, although most of the tracks sound decent. They're too subtle for their own good - they only create pictures that show nothing. The atmosphere I get is rather thin as well, maybe because I'm not very connected to the album. There are some bits which create some life (albeit in a unpleasant way), but overall not too much to talk about. They do evoke something but they are generally minor.

However, the parts that are more influenced by jazz are beautiful. At points, it feels like walking into an abandoned club (Maximum Black). At other points, it feels like you're remembering a tragedy and mourning for the losses (Destroying Angels). It's interesting that how subtle these instruments are, yet they could still create such a detailed landscape. Visions of empty roads, broken tables and the occasional street light come to mind. Wonderfully done.

This doesn't quite do it for me. While there are moments which I find pretty, there are many other moments which bog down my enjoyment. It's overall far too long as well, it'd evoke the same effect if it's shortened down by 20 minutes. 70 minutes is far too much, especially with so little to remember. It's also rather predictable as well so it gets very monotonous quickly. I understand that this album is also dark ambient, but even dark ambient has its exciting bits. Thomas Koner, Steve Roach and Black Swan have done much better. Just because it has ambience doesn't that it has to be incredibly long-winded.

I don't dislike this album though, it's generally decent - just too heavily flawed for me to like more than I already do. But hey, the cover is a fantastic interpretation of the music. Have to give credit for that.

Album Highlights: Destroying Angels
Track Average Rating: 3.17/5
Overall Rating: 6/10
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Diminishing Between Worlds by Decrepit Birth
Decrepit Birth is a band I found through SM and I grew to greatly enjoy this band. Polarity used to be one of my favourite albums, but it's nowhere as amazing as it used to be. This band plays technical death metal, which is something that I do have a small soft spot for. I like music that's loud, especially ones that are incredibly overwhelming. Some of Fleshgod Apocalypse's works have done this (Abyssal is probably my favourite one) and it's a rather frightening experience. Although Decrepit Birth is nowhere as aggressive, I'm still willing to see if they'd produce a similar effect.

I know nothing about technical metal jargon and very little about technical ability in general, so I'm just basing my thoughts on how it sounds and how I feel about it. To start off, The Living Doorway is a great opener. Everything about it is just relentless. It does go very aimless at many points, but it doesn't feel like general wankery. Not going to elaborate too much on the rest, but they're very aggressive as a whole. Even the subtle bits generate some form of paranoia or fear. This is something that I'd want an album like this to evoke.

While the album does what it does, it doesn't do too much other than that. For one, it's extremely repetitive. Everything about the album is repetitive - whether it's the guitars (good but still), the drumming or the vocals. There are a lot of good riffs, but they're very short. It becomes very generic by the fourth track, as if you're listening to the same thing over and over again. There's also the problem that it's not immersive enough. Or at least, it doesn't grab my attention. They're just there the entire whole time - as background noise. It doesn't strike me as an album to admire technical ability or be immersed by, but rather just something to be played in the background. For what this album would fit in a background, I'm not sure.

Worse than Polarity overall. It suffers from the same flaws Polarity has but to a far larger extent. The intimidation effect I get is no longer there after the first two tracks. It would be much much better if this was an EP, it's rather unnecessary to have 11 tracks of practically the same thing over and over again. While there is some variation (The Enigmatic Form), they still don't do anything for me. The production overall is flat, I want them to be a little more creative in their songwriting. It's raw for sure, but just being aggressive doesn't cut it.

Not sure why they have so much backlash though, they're not unpleasant to listen to. The band could be fantastic, but songwriting is greatly holding them back. A more specific atmosphere would be nice, like post-apocalyptism or something similar. As it is, the album is just aimless, repetitive and uninspiring overall. Not really enjoying that.

Album Highlights: The Living Doorway, Reflection of Emotions
Track Average Rating: 2.5/5
Overall Rating: 4/10

[EzExZeRo7497]

May 11th, 2014
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Tras el horizonte by EUS
I think I'll make this quick. This is a drone album, with some elements from post-rock. Not the prettiest combination, but there are worse. The atmosphere is rather varied - Albora is a very uplifting track (although it does feel dark on the surface), while El Camino is a melodramatic intricate little piece of music. It does remind me of 36 (Hollow specifically) at quite a lot of points. The album as a whole lures me to sleep, rather than keep me just awake enough to notice all of its details. That's not an ambient album that I want, but I could see some others enjoy this.

While it is pleasant sounding, there are some aspects that I really didn't like. For one, some tracks are too long. El Camino is nine minutes long, but it could've been shortened to around four minutes to have the same effect. If not, the effect would've been much more prevalent throughout. The track takes its own sweet time, in a way. There are some tracks that are far too bright for me to enjoy as well - such as Transparencia. It's eight minutes long as well and it almost feels like staring at the Sun in daylight. Not really a pleasant experience and I have to admit, it does hurt a little. Not physically, just psychologically painful. Another problem for me is that there are some tracks that throw too many ideas for the atmosphere to really be there. Take Erosion for example - a track that's generally dark ambient at first, and then introduces a very contrasting brightness that creates this odd greyish environment. It's not really one that I could enjoy, as the ideas clash too much to create something beautiful. It's a bit too noisy, noise that's completely aimless, I mean.

Tiempo Muerto is my favourite track in this. It paints a landscape of a lively dark forest. Instead of fearing of what's inside, you feel like you become one with nature. It's a very overwhelming experience - more overwhelming than most ambient tracks I've heard. Contrary to what I said above, I felt that this was too short. Something as bleak as this could've been extended to ten minutes for a full effect. It's not as breath-taking as I would like it to be at the moment.

Not a very good ambient album as a whole. There are some moments which are good, but the bad do outweigh the good. While I do respect his attempt on diversification (it is very varied for an ambient release), there isn't too much to write about. Most of his ideas were executed much better by others - Stars of the Lid, 36 and Williamette are a couple of examples. Maybe I've listened to so much ambient that I have this high standard for music like this, but it still is a soft spot for me. Ambient is a genre that I would generally like, even if it's not quite good. Basically, it doesn't take much for me to like it, but it does take quite the effort for me to be impressed. This doesn't meet either criteria, it just feels lackluster as a whole.

Album Highlights: Tiempo Muerto
Track Average Rating: 2.64/5
Overall Rating: 5/10
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Up by Various Artists (recommended by James May)
Up is a chiptune compilation album by Ubiktune, with tracks from artists like C-jeff, Coda and our very own Virt and Blitz Lunar. I've listened to a plenty bit of chiptune before listening to this album, so I do have some experience with this genre. I personally don't think chiptune by itself works well, it really needs some elements from other genres for it to really work. There are artists like she which bring elements of electropop, while there's artists like Kkrusty which bring elements of breakcore.

Some of these tracks do prove my point. I could hear some elements of progressive rock (First Flight, Triple Point) and a couple other genres in these tracks. However, there is one track that doesn't seem to have any clear influence from any genre but stunned me anyway - Mathsma Attack. I'm personally not sure if it's because I'm already so used to listening to this and all, but I really like it. The ending feels rather unnecessary, I think it'd be better if it stopped at 3:48 or so. That's really my only gripe about the track. The rest of the track is phenomenal. A fantastic combination of intensity, progression and catchiness.

I can't quite say the same for most of the tracks. While I did listen to a lot of chiptune, I can't say that I like it as a whole. It's not really a genre that really engages me, although there are many tracks in the genre that I like. These tracks are usually hard-hitting or catchy as a whole, but there are very little of that in this album. Most of the tracks are a bit too soft for me. There are exceptions like Last Sppr, but they're rather unpleasant to listen to and feel like they're noisy for the sake of being noisy.

This album, to me, shows the more accessible side of chiptune. A chiptune enthusiast would like this. I'm not one, unfortunately. It's a bit too safe for me to really like. I want them to be louder or more experimental. However, chiptune isn't really a genre that could be well experimented with. There are some good chipbreak/chipnoise tracks out there, but they're pretty far and wide. As a whole I think chiptune is just reducing its intensity and ultimately my enjoyment. I could see a lot of potential in chiptune though, it's just that most of them aren't powerful enough to faze me. They just need a little push, then I'll really like it.

Album Highlights: Mathsma Attack, Forcystus
Track Average Rating: 2.73/5
Overall Rating: 5/10

I've probably been too harsh lately. Interesting how your perception in music changes drastically by a little change in overall mood.

[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?

[mirelle94]

just going to drop something

SASAKURE.UK - Fantastic Reality of Aesop

[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

[EzExZeRo7497]

May 13th, 2014
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Red Rainbows by Noveller
I've been trying to get this album for a while now. Red Rainbows is best described as guitar-based drone album. I could hear a couple of influences from this - mainly Tim Hecker and Birchville Cat Motel. Noveller does put her own flare into this album though, particularly in her noisier tracks.

The first two tracks - Rainbows and Brilliant Colors, is primarily noise. I have to admit, tracks like those are too loud for me. They're incredibly aggressive in structure, absolutely relentless in its approach. It's just so noisy - by far some of the noisiest tracks I've heard that could still be considered drone. Because it's so noisy, it's really haunting and even traumatic to me. The sounds are so massive and so overwhelming, it's frightening. There isn't a landscape to even portray - the massive sound IS the landscape. Although I do respect the fact that those tracks are able to evoke such emotions from me, I can't say that I enjoyed them. They're too aggressive - I could barely see any light that I could comfort myself in. As much as I want to be fascinated by sound, I also want to feel at peace. This especially applies to drone. October Language is noisy as well. While I do feel terror at some points in October Language, I can still relax and not get a panic attack from how overpowering it is. This is just... too much. Noise is a genre that I can barely withstand by itself. This is pretty close to just noise - I can't get into it.

After that relentless maelstrom of noise, St. Powers feels like some of the calmest music ever. It still isn't as pleasant as I'd want it to be, but it does the job. It is quite pleasant, but incredibly disheartening. I see a blur picture of the aftermath of a natural disaster. You could still hear some parts of the place you're in fall apart - which further shows the damage done. It is the sound of the city weeping in pain, begging for no more. It's not as pretty as I'd expect it to be. In fact, it's probably some of the most depressing tracks I've heard. Not sure what to think of it.

The atmosphere does become far more terrifying in Tunnels, an incredibly dark and eerie track. I could hear sounds of plates and doors just move around, just building anxiety. I don't know what's going to come next - and it becomes more and more terrifying as the track moves on. It does feel really forced however. It's basically ten minutes of foreshadowing without sounding pleasant. Noveller didn't do much other than to try to create anxiety - which doesn't work too well by itself.

Bends is a huge letdown in comparison. It just builds more and more fear as you're expecting the storm to explode at any minute now. The storm does take on many forms, but you've noticed that it doesn't get any bigger. It does pick up more force occasionally, but never reaches the point that it becomes critical. Ultimately, it never does explode, it just ends up dissipating in your very eyes. But why is this so long? It had nineteen minutes to follow up the anxiety I get from Tunnels, but it fails to do so. I was fully expecting a majestic storm of noise, but all I got was a gentle breeze in comparison to the first two tracks. Really disappointing closer.

While this album does create vivid pictures, it doesn't quite work for me. I think my biggest gripe with this is actually the track order. The first two tracks caught me too offguard, which didn't give me a good first impression at first. While the third track is fine, the fourth/fifth tracks are too weak in comparison to the first two. I know that a track order isn't really that necessary, but it does detract a lot of my potential enjoyment from this. It's horribly ordered, but even when it is properly ordered (say, 5 -> 3 -> 4 -> 1 -> 2) it wouldn't be that good to begin with. I think I'd give it a 6 at most. It's either too much or too little to really indulge in as a whole. It'd probably be better if it's less experimental.

But that cover art though.

Album Highlights: St. Powers
Track Average Rating: 2.7/5
Overall Rating: 5/10
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Dopesmoker by Sleep (recommended by rayword45)
Sleep is a stoner metal/doom metal band from San Jose, gaining considerable popularity with their second album Sleep's Holy Mountain. Dopesmoker is their fourth studio album and at this point of time, their most recent.

The first track is 63 minutes long. It's like a journey in the middle of the desert and you're fully confident of where to go. It's a very long journey, but you're ready anyway. Eventually you hear the calls of a large figure, screaming "drop out of life with bong in hand, follow the smoke toward the riff filled land". You hear where the voice is coming from and continue to walk under the hot blazing sun. Your journey continues and continues... you do get tired at some points. After a short deep breath, you continue your journey as forward as ever. This continues up to the end. There are some bursts of energy here and there (translated from guitar solos), which does change the atmosphere a bit here and there.

I couldn't get into it. This is supposed to put you into a trance-like state or at least immersed, from what I've read. I don't think they achieved that with Dopesmoker for me. The solos do almost nothing for me (other than the part 40 minutes in) and I thought the vocals were pretty trite. However, my main problem is the length. Why is this 63 minutes long? It is quite monolithic, but I think it appears to look far larger than it really is. It is rather unpredictable when it comes to the solos and all, but that doesn't mean that it should be that long. The riffs do sound rather nice though, just not interesting enough to hold my attention for nearly an hour. Maybe if it's shortened to 30 minutes it'd be nice. Flood 2 by Boris is a beautiful track that rarely moves other than the occasional guitar solos, creating a lot more beauty than that in 1/3 of the time. So I don't think Dopesmoker needed to be that long-winded.

Sonic Titan is a bit too upbeat for me to like, despite its heavy sound. It's nice that it's significantly shorter, but if it doesn't work if you couldn't hold my attention within the first few minutes to begin with. Does feel a little too cheesy too, but I think that's just me being overly analytical at that point. I can't really conjure a picture when it comes to this, unlike Dopesmoker.

I'm pretty sure I missed the entire point of Dopesmoker. I really don't get it, it's an album that doesn't faze me in any way. It is a nice listen, but it doesn't go any deeper than that. The landscape I get from Dopesmoker ultimately becomes repetitious due to its length and lack of variation. More variation would've been fantastic. As it is I just think it drags on way too much for its own good. It's a great sound for the first 20 minutes though.

Album Highlights: -
Track Average Rating: -
Overall Rating: 6/10

[L.B.D.D]

wtf there are new flashbulb?

[EzExZeRo7497]

Yeah man.
http://theflashbulb.bandcamp.com/track/solar-one
http://theflashbulb.bandcamp.com/album/nothing-is-real

[rayword45]

Originally Posted by EzExZeRo7497

Dopesmoker by Sleep (recommended by rayword45)

I couldn't get into it. This is supposed to put you into a trance-like state or at least immersed, from what I've read. I don't think they achieved that with Dopesmoker for me. The solos do almost nothing for me (other than the part 40 minutes in) and I thought the vocals were pretty trite. However, my main problem is the length. Why is this 63 minutes long? It is quite monolithic, but I think it appears to look far larger than it really is. It is rather unpredictable when it comes to the solos and all, but that doesn't mean that it should be that long. The riffs do sound rather nice though, just not interesting enough to hold my attention for nearly an hour. Maybe if it's shortened to 30 minutes it'd be nice. Flood 2 by Boris is a beautiful track that rarely moves other than the occasional guitar solos, creating a lot more beauty than that in 1/3 of the time. So I don't think Dopesmoker needed to be that long-winded.

Sonic Titan is a bit too upbeat for me to like, despite its heavy sound. It's nice that it's significantly shorter, but if it doesn't work if you couldn't hold my attention within the first few minutes to begin with. Does feel a little too cheesy too, but I think that's just me being overly analytical at that point. I can't really conjure a picture when it comes to this, unlike Dopesmoker.

I'm pretty sure I missed the entire point of Dopesmoker. I really don't get it, it's an album that doesn't faze me in any way. It is a nice listen, but it doesn't go any deeper than that. The landscape I get from Dopesmoker ultimately becomes repetitious due to its length and lack of variation. More variation would've been fantastic. As it is I just think it drags on way too much for its own good. It's a great sound for the first 20 minutes though.

Album Highlights: -
Overall Rating: 6/10

A. I believe you listened to the old 2003 version, since you mentioned Sonic Titan. While the changes aren't THAT noticeable and really wouldn't have made a difference in score, I still believe that you should've went with that one.

B. If you don't get it, then that's perfectly fine (I've heard condescending marks about this album being "anti-music" or "pretentious"). I think your claims of shortening the album making it better though are a bit ill-advised, since the sprawl of the album is part of the appeal, but that's just my opinion.

[EzExZeRo7497]

I suppose the sprawl is part of the appeal, but even then I don't find the irregular developments that amazing. This is my first time listening to something this long that's not ambient though. I guess I put myself too much into an "ambient" mindset, so it does limit my preferences here and there. Maybe making it shorter wouldn't be that good of an idea, but I would still like the movements to be a bit less subtle.

[rayword45]

If you put yourself in an ambient mindset, did you really expect unsubtle transitions?

However, the only correct mindsets for this album I believe are

A. Sprawling
B. Stoned
C. Stoned and tired

And I can't expect you to smoke weed just to review an album, so I can't criticize your opinion much at all.

[EzExZeRo7497]

Got me there - but in my defense, most long ambient tracks that I listen to do have movements less subtle than Dopesmoker. But it doesn't matter anyway, I didn't find it too spectacular probably because I wasn't in the right mindset like you said.

No time to write a second review, but have this.

May 14th, 2014
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More! More! More! by Capsule
Capsule is a shibuya-kei/electro house duo from Japan. More! More! More! is their most popular album, at least to my knowledge. The album is generally electro house and electropop. I've only heard one track from this before reviewing, which is Jumper. I'll get to my thoughts on it later in the review. The main appeal of genres like electro house are how addictive and catchy they are. This is music that you just shut your brain off and just dance like no tomorrow. So I can't really bring in my sentimental thoughts about the album. I could however, talk about what I think about the content itself.

I'll just give a track by track review for this instead, since I can't write paragraphs on the overall album:

More More More (3.5/10) - Very sugary track, maybe too sweet for me. It's unbridled joy, maybe a step under Perfume's Dream Fighter. I personally don't think that it's that catchy and the vocals were a little difficult to take in.

The Time Is Now (5/10) - That beat is so catchy, goddamn. Unfortunately the vocals do bog it down quite considerably. It's pretty odd to hear the female vocalist try to bust out rhymes in English, almost cringeworthy. The rest of the vocals were more tolerable than More More More's, but not much better. It still wasn't that great, at least in my opinion. Fortunately, the vocals aren't too prominent.

Jumper (10/10) - Yes. Yes. YES. YES. This is phenomenal. A continuous progression in beats which keeps the track extremely fresh but doesn't leave familiar ground with the single lyric being repeated throughout. While there's really only one phrase used in the entire track, it fits so well. Koshijima's vocal execution at different points of the track is fantastic. Not to mention it pumps you up pretty quickly too, keeps you in the mood all the way through. It's so catchy throughout, I think I had this stuck in my head for weeks the first time I listened to it. Basically, listen to this in small doses. It gets too addictive otherwise.

Phantom (6/10) - Fakebit/electro house rendition of a hard rock melody. The tune is good for the most part, it keeps you on your feet throughout. The distorted vocals turn me off quite a bit though, I think Koshijima's vocals would fit quite well here. But hey, the general beats in this are actually pretty nice. The occasional glitch here and there was neat too.

Pleasure Ground (7.5/10) - Not very in-your-face, but still pretty upbeat. I could compare the atmosphere to something like.. School Food Punishment, perhaps? It's a very pleasant listen throughout, the vocals are incredibly soothing... for the most part. The vocals at the chorus are a little jarring, but not overly unbearable. Very good combination, but not very memorable. I have to listen to this a few more times though.

The Mutations of Life (5/10) - Continuing the subtlety of Pleasure Ground, The Mutations of Life takes it one notch lower. This feels like filler more than anything, it isn't catchy enough to hold my attention. The vocals weren't as good as Pleasure Ground's by any means, so another factor that doesn't click. It's not an unpleasant listen though, just very forgettable.

E.d.i.t. (6/10) - Back to the original energy levels of the first few tracks. Catchy, but the stock vocals really don't mix well with this. The tune drowns the vocals easily, so they become whispers in comparison. I don't know if it's intentional or not, but I don't see the point in doing so if it is. Doesn't help that the vocals aren't that good by themselves to begin with too. Feels long-winded too, which is odd because 6 minutes is the average length of a track in this album.

Adventure (4.5/10) - It's sugary again. This sounds more like a ballad more than an electropop track though. It's pretty sweet yes, but I could feel this sadness in Koshijima's vocals. That is, until halfway through. Her voice breaks through the sadness and just explodes in joy. Unfortunately, it's not quite something that I really like. The track isn't bad, but the combined elements of the mediocre tunes and slightly above average vocals don't mix well.

So overall, a generally unspectacular album with some highlights. This album would've gotten a significantly lower rating if it weren't for Jumper and Pleasure Ground, since the other tracks don't make a single dent on me. Some aspects are catchy for sure, but not enough to grab my attention throughout.

Album Highlights: Jumper, Pleasure Ground
Track Average Rating: 2.94/5
Overall Rating: 6/10

[AlexDest]

Got another album recommendation.

Solar Fields - Movements

[xVaLoRx]

me too

Shitmat - Full English Breakfest

(thank u ji !!)