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rayword45 08-20-2016 11:22 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 343: Blonde by Frank Ocean

I've been binging a lot of David Lynch recently to the point of making my friends watch Eraserhead with me. Why? Because Twin Peaks season 3 hype even though I hated season 2. Shoot the bandwagon. Why am I mentioning this? Because, with the exception of Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive, all of the Lynch movies I've watched suffer from the exact same flaw.

BLOAT.

And this album suffers from that too. I know we waited a long time for this album (these albums?), but some of these tracks are just a complete and utter waste of time. I don't need to hear some dude's mom talk about how LSD will fry your brain my brain is fried.

But outside of the bloat and filler, this music is pretty damn beautiful. There are some questionable artistic choices (What the fuck is that first two minutes of Nikes? Is this supposed to be social commentary on how bad the shoes suck? No? I'm just stupid? Fuck.) and some unnecessary decadence (yeah we get it man you been popping tabs and your boyfriend broke your heart, you're overdoing this) but the man pours his heart and soul into his music and it doesn't come off as TOO sappy. Just sappy enough. I like tree sap when it makes maple syrup.

In comparison to Channel Orange this album is wimpier and more Drake-esque, but I like Frank more than I like Drake so I don't hate this. It's also quite a bit more spare in terms of arrangements, but that's not a bad thing in my opinion. The vocal performances are as good as ever.

This is pretty decent dishwashing music.

Best Track:
Rating: 8/10

rayword45 08-21-2016 03:33 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 344: Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By by Lovage (Album Choice: korny)

This is the only "porn groove" album I've reviewed thus far. Is this meant to be sex music? I mean, I get the overall tone of the album but it's a bit sleazy. In fact at certain points I'm just straight up uncomfortable with Mike Patton's sex voice.

Other than that, this is decent but a bit repetitive. The skits are awful. Also way too much trip-hop recently. Maybe I should actually try fucking to this album, then maybe I'll really get it. But then again, the prospect of fucking to Mike Patton's greasy ass is not very appealing.

Best Track: To Catch A Thief
Rating: 5/10

rayword45 09-1-2016 08:23 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 345: How To Be A Human Being by Glass Animals (Album Choice: Jonathan V.)

Man, I really suck at fulfilling goals on time.

This album is pretty solid throughout and it has a clear vibe that the band is going for, but having a singular vision means things get pretty samey after a while. And I also think it'd be better instrumental. But if it was instrumental I'd probably be requesting vocals. Fuck my opinions.

Best Track: Youth
Rating: 5/10

rayword45 09-8-2016 12:34 AM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 346: Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not by Dinosaur Jr.

I chose this expecting it to be boring and thus good-study music.

I was pleasantly disappointed by the first side but this second side is way too wanky and boring as hell. These guys love their formula more than Seth Putnam. Still better than the stretch of albums from Green Mind (fuck you) to Hand It Over and Lou Barlow has the voice of an angel nearing his 50s.

Best Track: Goin Down
Rating: 6/10

rayword45 09-25-2016 03:23 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 347: Skeleton Tree by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Will I ever finish this? It's looking less and less likely not that it means a fucking thing in my life or anyone's. Meanwhile, let's finish my first ever Nick Cave album! I've heard a good deal of Birthday Party songs but pretty much nothing else related to him. And to preface the criticism, I have no desire to think about let alone discuss the death of Cave's son prior to this album's release because assuming that that horrific tragedy is painted onto this album's tone despite the artist's claims to the contrary is a douche move. And also creating expectations for yourself is dumb.

His voice is as overwrought as I've heard about, and it fits when it fits, such as on the post-rock drone dirge opener Jesus Alone. When it doesn't fit, it's just fucking corny, like a priest reading over the wrong CD (see Rings of Saturn's bizarrely uplifting techno or Anthrocene way-too-energetic drum programming). This album is obviously not representative of the instrumentation on his other albums, but that aspect of this album is pretty decent if, again, a little bit on the tawdry side. They do a much better job of conveying the emotions I assume are what Cave intended to express but they're still overwrought at times despite being ridiculously spare and uncluttered by any rock standards.

Meh. More Birthday Party for me. Or actually, just more Scratch Acid.

Best Track: Jesus Alone
Rating: 5/10

Deadlyx39 09-25-2016 06:12 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Happy to see this is still going. You're so close you might as well finish it mang.

rayword45 10-3-2016 02:17 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 348: Head Carrier by Pixies

When I started reviewing albums all the way back before sophomore year of high school, I was somehow managing to pull off more than one album a day, just so I could fit 100 albums before the summer started. I was a hot-headed little tool at that time, and even though I still am rather eccentric, I feel much better right now. Just, regular old satisfaction flowing through my veins. I'm not failing school anymore, I don't despise the majority of my friends, shit isn't cliquey anymore and I feel like a normal dude. Obviously I still have hormonal times like any shitty teenager but wow, I can't believe how much better things are going when I compare them to high school. I feel like the slowing down of these reviews represents me becoming less of a self-loathing moron. Not that I don't enjoy doing these reviews, I still hope to eventually touch 365, it's just that I'm glad I don't have the time to listen to albums with any sort of focus at this point. In fact I only have the time for this album because of a bizarre Starbucks situation. Apologies for the self-indulgence for a moment (fuck you if you whine about this, most of my reviews are even worse) but I feel like how I want Gregg Turkington to feel at the end of On Cinema. Let's hope life doesn't flip upside down soon (it probably will).

By the way, this album sucks balls and you knew it was gonna suck balls.

Best Track: There's music on this album? I just thought it was dead air.
Rating: 2/10

noname219 10-3-2016 02:43 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Yeah, you can replace Avalancha with Teens of Denial if you haven't heard of it already. And also Pelagial with O'Brother - Garden Window.

rayword45 10-9-2016 05:21 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 349: 76:14 by Global Communication

I chose this because of its ranking on RateYourMusic and also I need ambient music to write an essay to.

It wasn't that special.

Best Track: 4:14
Rating: 6.5/10

rayword45 10-25-2016 06:15 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 350: No Sorry by Birthing Hips

I've been waiting for this debut since I saw these guys live almost a year ago. Let's see if my expectations are disappointed.

I'm surprised by how NOT lo-fi this is. Unlike most DIY releases from Boston, I can barely hear the cassette whirring or hissing, if I can hear it at all. Regardless of production quality, this release is mostly what I expected, if somewhat more produced and a bit less abrasive than I'd like. Twee/bubblegum pop meets art punk meets noise rock. Great album with a distinctive sound to it yet no homogeneous song structures. The singing could quickly become grating to many but it's an acquired taste, and this definitely has some of the best guitar work I've heard this year.

Best Track: Sex Bias (which is much better live)
Rating: 7/10

rayword45 11-2-2016 12:15 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 351: It's Immaterial by Black Marble (Album Choice: David H.)

It's a divine blessing that Spotify doesn't require administrator privileges to install. These library computers suck enough ass as is. Anyways, calc homework here we go. Last time I listened to anything from these guys was when I reviewed A Different Arrangement way back in 2013. It was pretty middle-of-the-road stuff from what I remember, but I'm certainly not optimistic about the fact that I felt no urge to return to these guys over the course of three years.

First five minutes and what the fuck is this Iron Lung shit? Are you trying to be a-ha? News flash: A-HA SUCK(s/ed) ASS and this is an even shoddier knockoff. Awful.

Luckily, they abandon the bad eurodance influence quite quickly and go back to sounding exactly how I remember them from 2013. There's some variety in here in terms of structure, but it all ends up sounding pretty samey since the spacey synthy Depeche Mode atmosphere NEVER changes in the slightest. Well, I should commend them for attempting variety, even if their efforts were in vain. The chiller, more ethereal tracks are quite nice if somewhat unremarkable. The pop songs just suck though, like bootleg Kraftwerk so kitschy it becomes disgustingly self-indulgent. Is that ACTUALLY the atmosphere they wanted? If it is, which it probably isn't, they fucking nailed it.

Overall, pretty meh album. A bit too repetitive and inconsistent. It has some nice moments but those don't outweigh the shitty tracks nor do they leave much of an impact.

I'll give this a bonus point because I actually got some calculus done.

Best Track: Woods
Rating: 5/10

rayword45 11-2-2016 01:51 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 352: The Fall of Math by 65daysofstatic (Album Choice: EzExZeRo7497)

Anyone who thinks that choosing a run-on word as a band name is a good decision needs their ass kicked. If it was agreed upon, kick all of their asses. Who the fuck are you trying to be? Is this supposed to be artsy? Or are you some angsty 15 year olds who all buy Invader Zim shirts at Hot Topic? Neither of these would EXCUSE your horrible decision but at least it'd make more sense.

I've had two albums by these guys requested ever since I started this oft-delayed project and I have yet to even find out what genre they are. Fuck it, I'm going into this one blind other than album title and band name. That way I CAN'T be disappointed, because it would take emo Billy Joel cover album levels of suckness to be worse than that fucking band name.

I don't care about math rock. I don't hate the genre, hell I love Slint and Rodan as much as every other mutard (no I don't browse mu) but it's definitely a once in a blue moon thing for me, and it doesn't help that most math rock, this included, seriously lacks structure. I have similar opinions about post-rock, except there are way more post-rock gems than math rock ones. Still, I can probably take repetitive crescendos for about as long as I can take people thinking odd time signatures immediately indicate good songwriting.

So what do you get when you combine meandering song structures, excessive crescendos and unnecessary time signature changes? This wankfest! Like pretty much every other album I rash on, this certainly does have its moments, but I could trim this down to a 15 minute EP and be much happier with the end product.

But, on the good side of things, the music is MUCH, MUCH better than... ugh what the fuck were they thinking?!

Best Track: Retreat! Retreat!
Rating: 5/10

rayword45 12-5-2016 04:54 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 353: Sings by Patty Waters (Album Choice: megido18)

Godfuckingdamn it's been more than a month since my last review. I'm a failure at this. I notice now that the less I review albums, the higher my grades get. Correlation may not be causation but it's something I'm dwelling on now. Ah well, time to keep cramming for those finals and maintain the very first set of good grades I've had since the fifth grade.

Jesus Christ this stuff is depressing as all hell. I'm already stressed, lonely and empty. This music makes me more stressed, lonely and empty while somehow simultaneously being tranquil as all fuck. The entire first side is incredibly samey, but the atmosphere is engaging enough for me to give that a pass. This could very well replace Pink Moon during moments in my life that call for Pink Moon.

This second side is just weird as fuck. And not in a way I'm used to, this is some Yoko shit. Not my taste, really. I respect how groundbreaking this obviously was in 1966 but this shit goes on FOREVER and it quickly goes from shocking and creepy to simply irksome.

Meh, the first side is good enough that I'll give this an average rating.

Best Track: Moon, Don't Come Up Tonight
Rating: 6/10

rayword45 12-5-2016 06:18 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 354: Slowly Peeling The Flesh From The Inside Of A Folded Hand by Terminally Your Aborted Ghost (Album Choice: MiseryBusiness)

These guys were a Boston band but they broke up before I was a teenager.

This is actually pretty interesting songwriting. The slight majority of this album is RIDICULOUSLY samey (moreso than something like Eyehategod) death metal, with nothing but nigh-indistinguishable chug riffs and pigfuck vocals. However, these guys veer into other territory quite frequently and VERY abruptly, which keeps it pretty interesting and occasionally catchy, like adding pockets of good rum to a shitty virgin daiquiri. That was an AWFUL analogy.

This definitely isn't an album for universal situations, nor is it even remotely close to "perfect" death metal in my eyes, but it's certainly a fun listen. Creativity deserves commending. Also fuck that title.

Best Track: Tie between Entry Stabwound and An Analogy Like A Snuff Film
Rating: 7/10

IamMe90 12-5-2016 09:46 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Request(s):

Anderson .Paak - Malibu
Kaytranada - 99.9%

IMO Malibu is AOTY and fuckin phenomenal, and 99.9% is pretty dope too, although occasionally littered with some less than stellar moment

choof 12-5-2016 11:24 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
my brother liked malibu a lot and it directly influenced his approach to music quite a bit and i trust his judgement but i'm just popping in to say nope, elseq is aoty

IamMe90 12-6-2016 03:42 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by choof (Post 4499859)
my brother liked malibu a lot and it directly influenced his approach to music quite a bit and i trust his judgement but i'm just popping in to say nope, elseq is aoty

haven't checked it out, i'm not a huge fan of IDM but i'll trust you that it's an exemplary album w/in the genre

choof 12-6-2016 05:57 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
I have a sad and broken robot brain

rayword45 12-14-2016 07:10 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 355: Malibu by Anderson .Paak (Album Choice: IamMe90)

Shortest turnaround for a request ever, maybe? Not in terms of days (at all), just total number of reviews between. This conveniently fits into my mission of listening to as many 2016 albums as possible which starts today. My art school friend told me this guy sounds like a new James Brown. Ballsy comparison, that's gonna make anyone expect gold vibrations. Hopefully this sounds nothing like the rapist-murderer in my night terrors (The Weeknd). Let's go.

The Bird is a fantastic pop song. As is The Season / Carry Me. The production overall is just phenomenal, lively yet laidback, with horns, keyboards and backing vocals all complementing .Paak's vocal performance splendidly while simultaneously holding their own. Vocal performance does not remind of James Brown but then again the only song of his I actually remember is I Feel Good. Where did those expectations even come from? I've gotta check some singles out after this album. Anderson's got a good singing voice, and he's able to come off as sexual without coming off full-on slimy most of the time (one exception being Silicon Valley). His features vary in quality like you'd expect them to.

This is REALLY shitty homework music. But it's good music. 61 minutes was maybe more than a little bit excessive, and I think this album would benefit greatly from removing the boring filler shit like Water Fall (Interluuube). That being said, it certainly never became torturous and stayed incredibly enjoyable throughout. I would fuck to Room In Here without questioning my hipster status... Why did I write that sentence?

Best Track: Toss-up between The Bird and Room In Here
Rating: 8/10

rayword45 12-15-2016 12:43 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
yo guys can you recommend me some of the best and worst 2016 albums?

noname219 12-15-2016 01:03 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
My favourite might be the latest PUP record. Haven't listen to a lot of new stuff but I liked Car Seat Headrest, Vektor, Deakin, Trap Them, Weezer, Oathbreaker, Oranssi Pazuzu and Bowie.

Others were alright or slightly disappointing. Nothing I've heard was horrible except that Corey Feldman record, which was honestly, only good for a laugh.

rayword45 12-19-2016 08:52 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 356: Horse Jumper of Love by Horse Jumper of Love

After 6 days, I decided to stop #NoPorn2.0 because I'm going to have my own room very shortly. Seemed like decent enough justification, I'll start again when I go back to school.

In the search for the best of 2016 (yeah I'm definitely not quitting once I reach my long-belated goal), it's actually somewhat surprising and even embarrassing I haven't listened to this one yet considering the fact I almost went but unfortunately failed to see these guys live on at least three separate occasions despite being too goddamn lazy to listen to any of their songs. Word of mouth is a powerful thing.

Very laidback album, doesn't sound derivative, performances are confident and this thing is just about the perfect length at 26 minutes to not get boring. This isn't one I'm gonna pull out often though, as a matter of fact I'm more excited to think about where they could go in the future than to listen to this one again. With the exception of highlight Bagel Breath these guys are just too content with maintaining a single image.

I'll be fair and say pretty much every local bands I know didn't have the strongest of debuts anyways.

Best Track: Bagel Breath
Rating: 6/10

MarcusHawkins 12-19-2016 09:10 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
AAH only 9 more to go! Keep it up, you're almost there!

rayword45 12-19-2016 09:44 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 357: Coloring Book by Chance The Rapper (Album Choice: Well, I know several people told me to listen to it)

Another one that's long overdue. I'm done now, so let me tell you, this right here is a perfect example of failing to live up to the hype. After thoroughly enjoying both Acid Rap and Surf, and after at least fifty people telling me this album was his "best yet" or something similar, I found myself bored to tears by the constant gospel influence here. This is certainly a notch better than 10 Day and his earliest releases but that's barely saying anything. Gonna cherry pick the best tracks out of this one and go back to psychedelia where I belong.

Best Track: Angels
Rating: 4/10

ilikexd 12-20-2016 03:43 AM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by rayword45 (Post 4502773)
yo guys can you recommend me some of the best and worst 2016 albums?

best: sleep cycle

choof 12-20-2016 01:25 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
sleep cycle isn't the best album of the year but it's fucking good
elseq is still my top pick for the year

IamMe90 12-20-2016 07:13 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by rayword45 (Post 4505071)
Day 357: Coloring Book by Chance The Rapper (Album Choice: Well, I know several people told me to listen to it)

Another one that's long overdue. I'm done now, so let me tell you, this right here is a perfect example of failing to live up to the hype. After thoroughly enjoying both Acid Rap and Surf, and after at least fifty people telling me this album was his "best yet" or something similar, I found myself bored to tears by the constant gospel influence here. This is certainly a notch better than 10 Day and his earliest releases but that's barely saying anything. Gonna cherry pick the best tracks out of this one and go back to psychedelia where I belong.

Best Track: Angels
Rating: 4/10

THANK YOU.

i thought the gospel was way too omnipresent and uninteresting on this album. that being said, i was disappointed by acid rap too; didn't really think it lived up to all the hype i heard about

rayword45 12-22-2016 08:57 AM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 358: Teens Of Denial by Car Seat Headrest (Album Choice: noname219)

Why did these guys generate a buzz? Let's see.

yo getting good grades for the first time ever is MAD weird

I haven't found any reason for these guys blowing up other than "they're good" so okay then. They ARE good. These are good indie rock songs, with lots of fuzz, noise, and anthemic choruses. Strangely, the most boring tracks were the shorter ones, including the opener. I thought H Jon Benjamin was featuring on The Ballad Of The Costa Concordia but I suppose not.

I expect this one to grow on me. It's really not a wower first go around but it is VERY consistently catchy which is rare. Will update rating later.

Best Track: Very close tie between Vincent and The Ballad Of The Costa Concordia
Rating: 6.5/10

rayword45 12-24-2016 06:22 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 359: Bottomless Pit by Death Grips (Album Choice: Anthony F.)

Did I make that album choice joke before?

Merry Christmas. Is anybody actually offended by the phrase "Merry Christmas"? I have a fuckton of super PC friends but I've only witnessed people self-censoring, never actually getting offended by the word Christmas. I see far more people getting offended by the absence of the word Christmas than vice versa.

Death Grips has always been mood music for me in that they can hit the spot when the time's right but I have no desire to listen to them 99.7% of the time especially considering how same-y they can feel. My brain is slowly detaching from reality so now's as good a time as ever for this I suppose.

This album is their most melodic release yet, which I like. Zach Hill has always been my favorite part of this band (NO LOVE DEEP WEB is my favorite release) and he shines for sure, but I've never been this impressed with Morin who really managed to make this sound fresh. Can't say I'm any more or less impressed with Ride this time around. Also can't say I'm expecting to pull this one out with a lot more frequency than other Death Grips albums.

Almost definitely not going on my year end list.

Best Track: Giving Bad People Good Ideas
Rating: 6.5/10

rayword45 12-29-2016 10:26 AM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 360: Requiem by Goat

First listen and I'm not sure what to make of this one. I enjoyed it but I don't have much to say... I'm gonna try this one again later.

Tried again. Eh, it's good and trippy. I'll probably like this a lot more if I listen to it tripping. Sober, it's too long and wanky. I'll give this one a few more shots.

Best Track: I Sing In Silence
Rating: 5/10

rayword45 12-29-2016 04:58 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 361: Lil Boat the Mixtape by Lil Yachty

This guy is a meme, right?

These songs all sound the fucking same to me, 808s and autotuned mumbling like pretty much every other trap rapper. It's pleasant to listen to, but incredibly tiring for 45 minutes. The lyrics are as boring as anyone else in this genre that isn't part of Rich Gang, although it's pretty damn funny to hear such spiteful words like "then you turned around and fucked the crew" or "fuck you you fucked me over" sung in such a nonchalant fashion.

Oh yeah, he is a meme. One Night (Extended) is alright. The last track is actually fantastic.

I listened to this on a boringass train ride. Wrong atmosphere.

Best Track: We Did It (Outro) (Positivity Song) (Fuck This Title)
Rating: 5/10

rayword45 12-30-2016 07:08 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 362: Värähtelijä by Oranssi Pazuzu (Album Choice: Polymorphia/noname219)

This album should've ended with Vasemman käden hierarkia. That right there is a fantastic example of an excessively long atmospheric track done right. Great use of repetition. The whole album seems to peter off after that though, after five great tracks. Or maybe I'm just tired. Eh, fuck it, I'm horrible at judging black metal although this barely seems like it at times.

Best Track: Vasemman käden hierarkia
Rating: 7/10, 8.5/10 if it ended where I said it should

rayword45 12-30-2016 09:11 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 363: New English by Desiigner

All of the negative things I had to say about any other trap release applies here to the farthest extreme, except for any complaints about the album being too long.

Most of these songs don't even feel like songs, they don't so much start or end rather than just pop up and exist for a brief period of time. I don't think that sentence made sense, let me try again. These songs don't have beginnings or ends, they legitimately seem like demos or samples for a radio commercial or something. As a result, the whole album seems more like a longform mashup than an actual release.

And it's not even a GOOD mashup. Trap can get same-y but these songs legitimately sound the same. The delivery is always the fucking same, the beats are nigh indistinguishable, the lyrics... okay I don't know the lyrics but I'm not trying. When a track called Interlude 2 is infinitely more interesting than everything else preceding it, you done fucked up.

Panda is still a fun fucking song to dance to though.

Best Track: Panda
Rating: 2.5/10

rayword45 12-31-2016 12:58 PM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Day 364: RTJ3 by Run The Jewels

Up until today I've been loath to listen to any Run The Jewels releasess purely out of laziness. That was a fucking mistake, this is FANTASTIC so far.

I wish I had more to say. I wish this was 365. This is what I wanted when I listened to Death Grips. Never once over the course of this hour did a smile leave my face. This is some life-affirming shit.

Best Track: A Report to the Shareholders / Kill Your Masters
Rating: 9/10

rayword45 01-6-2017 01:23 AM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Waste of a post, I'ma just warn you guys that 365 is gonna be uncharacteristically long and, somehow, uncharacteristically self-indulgent. Yeah, I don't know how I managed that one. But like, 2 people are gonna read the number anyways so whatever.

Coming tomorrow (AKA tonight) or Saturday.

Spenner 01-6-2017 05:29 AM

Re: Read My Reviews
 
Hype.

And kudos on the dedication jeez louise.

rayword45 01-7-2017 03:06 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 365: elseq 1-5 by Autechre (Album Choice: choof)

This is it guys. The bigun. Hey choof, you still owe me a review of It Just Gets Worse.

Yeah I'm not quitting after this, I have nothing better to do with my life. Well, clearly I have something better to do otherwise this wouldn't be coming 18 months late. Or maybe I'm just a lazy sack of shit. Eh... It's 1:00 A.M. and I'm gonna try to at least get through the first 3 EPs before calling it a night and finishing this off. These 365 reviews are like a chronicle of my mental descent. Even the so-bad-they're-terrible reviews like the Scientist albums and Analord 09 hold a special place in my heart as demarcations of certain points in my life. The latter I specifically remember writing while skipping school inside a MassArt bathroom because fuck going to AP Biology. That was a shit class, I didn't get the AP credit so I had to take a science course in college.

Going off that, I originally wanted to review user48736353001 as the big one... Yeah fuck that shit I don't think I'm ever gonna get through the entirety of that. While I listen to this one, I'm gonna reminisce a bit. Don't worry, I PROMISE I won't waste the entire review with dead self-indulgent air like usual. I'll separate the masturbation from the bad-but-legitimate music review.

I started NoFap as an experiment on January 3 because my bartard (I love you bro) friend convinced me to give it a shot. He swears by it like he swears by etizolam. 4 nights in, the only effect I'm truly noticing is multiple dreams, and they're very retarded dreams, shit like old high school spats turning into dance battles. I question my own psyche sometimes. And reading through these first few reviews of the challenge... Dude I have fallen for some ugly-ass chicks, inside and outside. Not specific to summer 2014, that's pretty harsh and I don't mean it there, I just mean in general. Fuck I have terrible taste in a lot of things. Ah well, opposites attract, right? That's why I get so much pussy. I was an angsty ass 16 year old back then and now I'm a numb, repressed, drugged up 19 year old, although I still have the exact same sense of absurdist hipster humor. Life is good, man. Those last two sentences came out way more depressing than I intended. Wait, HOLY FUCKING SHIT I started this challenge before I even had ever been drunk let alone try drugs that aren't weed. Wow perspective is insane. I bet if I looked at my posts on this website from 2007 I'd wanna kill myself.

3 years later, my favorite genres are still pretty much the same and I'm surprised I didn't list any electronic genres as favorite because they definitely were back then. Maybe it's because you're all weebs and I knew I would get a bunch of bleep-bloop recommendations anyways. There's a fuckton of albums I never revisited, maybe some warrant a revisit. Then again, a fuckton do not.

I'm gonna take a break after curvcaten to listen to Bohemian Rhapsody. It could just be the lack of sleep but reading through this is making me feel all kinds of ways. Also there are a lot of reviews, including A Day At The Races, where I gave glowing reviews yet never returned. I'm not fixing that particular one right now I just need the bombast in my ears.

This song reminds me of Clone High for some reason. Okay, being dead serious, I am SO GLAD I am not as much of a loser as I was that summer. Jesus Christ, I don't feel I've changed much at all but I hate my slightly younger self so much. It's funny, because I talk pretty much the same way except I'm probably dumber now. Or I'm just as dumb but slightly more self-aware.

I am fully convinced the guy who recommended Believe to me is going to die one day of something stupid and drug related (good thing he'll never read this, I'm a bitch). Serves him right for recommending that album, just kidding I hope he turns his fucking life around. Man, I've only hung on to like, 7 or 8 friends from high school, really. It's only been 6 months from graduation, but this is also affected by my high turnover rate for friendship. In reality, the friends I've lost fucking suck and I am always right, but it sure does induce longing to think about that time period. Those time periods. Lemme peep these 2013 reviews real quick.

Ugh, that was terrible. That's enough of a picture of me for me. The other day, I managed to get the 5 people in a hipster restaurant to laugh by complaining about the hipster radio station playing Neutral Milk Hotel. I don't get it, I'm not funny and that wasn't funny, that was sincere. That 2013 shit was from when I was just starting my old job (which I had to leave in August because college). I miss my old job. I miss having a job. Even the prospect of an unpaid internship is sucky because I am a broke bitch.

"I need to experience this in some outdoor festival or gathering or something, preferably surrounded by MDMA (which I would NOT take)." - Me in my review of Vision Creation Newsun. That album is still fantastic but seriously, who the fuck did I think I was back then? I really don't remember my identity back then much because I hung out with people with entirely different interests than me. Oh yeah, I was a hipster who did crazy shit for laughs. That... still describes me. I really have no idea where I am going, do I? Hey, I remember the exact moment of this 4-album streak! I have fond memories of that family camping trip, but I'm bothered that I seem to remember only uneventful events instead of, like, the drama that I was so addicted to. Oh yeah, BabyMetal still sucks ass. HOLY SHIT MY FIRST TIME LISTENING TO BORIS THAT'S HOW I FOUND MY ROOMMATE. Weird way to find a roommate, but it's been working out well enough. Thank you noname219, I owe to you a large part of my college identity as a... Why the fuck am I considered "street-smart"? I'm not street-smart I'm just surrounded by rich white kids and brain frying hippies who probably shrivel up at the sight of a cop car. Why did I bold a username? I'm keeping that bolded. Looking a little further, I am so glad I was right in my predictions that college would be better than high school. Fuck high school that place fucked me up bad mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. Well, not so much physically but FUCK BLS. I wanna go up to my most hated teachers and administrators, brag about my now full point higher GPA, and blow weed smoke in their faces. In reality, that would accomplish literally nothing, but a boy can dream, can't she? I just ran across an old photo where the College Board (based on test scores) told me to apply to all the Ivies as well as Colby and Brandeis, man fuck were they thinking? That GPA would've gotten my ass called up then beat by the admissions officers.

I notice that the word rif***e was once censored because of the word "***" being place inside. Dude, there has to have been like a thousand words that got censored because of that. When I was 13, I thought I was asexual, but then I discovered I was just repressed. I'm on 2015 in this thread of self-indulgence and occasionally music now. What happened that year? The only real stand out memory is going on a boat for New Years. Damn was that one of the best experiences of my life, only to be topped this year. Life is good, I self-deprecate too much. Wait, I used to hate TRAP? Dude I was a boring fuck most of junior year!

I've chronicled a shitton of my life on the internet, but most of those memories have been lost to time, hosting issues and database purges. And good on that, this is cringe enough. Damn I come across as pretty self-important, even pompous. That Drake review, ugh. Not the whole thing, but the intro is at least... ugh. Holy shit, I started this challenge before going to my first real concert! I started this challenge before ever actually getting anywhere with a girl! I started this challenge before I had any legal troubles! Well, none of those were actually that long ago, but still, time flies. Interesting to see my first impressions of some of my favorites and some things where my opinions changed drastically (damn, that Solid Gold review had some tracks replaced with Return The Gift versions by mistake). Meanwhile, I've remained the same angsty fool inside, I should probably see a therapist. I just realized that the point where I stopped and started again within this shittier section isn't very well specified. I didn't write this all at 1:00 A.M but oh well, assume I did.

The imagery some of these old reviews conjures up in my head makes me long for times that were objectively shittier. Well, not really, I'm missing the good times like listening to Porcupine Tree in a sweaty-ass Puerto Rican car, but then I remember that those good times were surrounding by poopy times. Oh yeah, that Shaggs review... Man, what the fuck. Wait, I made it PAST halfway within 365 days? Really? That's surprising to me.

"Regardless, I'll push on, let's aim for the end of the summer, and failing that the end of 2015." lmfao

That Saralee album review makes me more depressed than the Shaggs one since it's slowly coming true. Be careful what you wish for, I suppose. And this is the point where I'm gonna stop with the self-reflection... Man, I'm a mess.

Okay, why the fuck did these guys tour in 2015 and drop this so long after? I can recognize feed1 from that night, but that's it for this first EP. That's the best track of the first five for sure. The rest is still very good, but a lot of it seems to drag on quite a bit, especially c16 deep tread. Remember how when I reviewed Oversteps I commented on the song names? Yeah that still applies here, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAP? Being obtuse for obtuse's sake is not something I can get down with if I can't say things out loud. Regardless of these complaints, this is a damn strong EP... or album. These really shouldn't be called EPs. I'm definitely gonna at least return to feed1 and 13x0 step, probably the whole thing.

elseq 2 is a little bit more acid. Is this just gonna be 5 mini-reviews following a bunch of bullshit? Probably. This first track makes me wanna dance, and it makes me long for New Years again, until it meanders around the halfway point. Why? Is this supposed to be a solo? An analog synth solo? This just sounds like ASS. It's not interesting the way Gantz Graf is with the seemingly random sounds, it's just equal parts boring and grating. Yeah I'm an Autechre pleb. I can't listen to this as a 4 hour album, it's just not gonna happen. I'm gonna treat it as such for the sake of the review but it really already feels like separate EPs. That first EP was great, this one started strong but then it devolves into nothing but fart sounds. Well, c7b2 also has a little bit of taste to it, but it mostly sounds like the same old wankery.

Each EP has its own flavor it seems. This is barely an album then. Regardless of that fact, eastre is fucking phenomenal drone. I think the flavor of elseq 3 is repetition. mesh cinereaL is great... whatever. Abrasive and atmospheric stuff, reminds me of what I wanted Tri Repetae to be. Not much else I can say for this third disc except I'd place it between the first two in terms of quality and enjoyability.

This stop-start shit is great. These staccato sounds are great. I'm not gonna separate my opinions of discs four and five into separate paragraphs. Minus elseq 2 which I can safely say I'm not a fan of, I think this is gonna be a great accompaniment to some acid trips. Funny, the acid disc is the one I don't want touching my acid.

Okay, yeah I had to seperate the last two discs into two seperate paragraphs because they're so utterly different. elseq 5 is the minimalist disc, or at least minimalist by my standards of what I expect Autechre to be. Remember, Gantz Graf is my lifeblood. On that note, all five tracks here are wonderful, especially freulaeux. I kinda expected a more explosive ending than oneum provided, but it's still gorgeous.

Okay, and that's it. I'm done. 365 motherfucking albums. I could've just done one of these but I had to do something kinda grand at least. The problem with rating this one is that most of these are really good EPs, but they don't really add up to a cohesive whole. If I were to rate these in order, it goes 8, 5, 9, 7, 8.

Fuck it, I'll just give it an 8. This was a clusterfuck trainwreck.

Best Track: eastre or freulaeux
Rating: 8/10

rayword45 01-7-2017 03:08 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
I warned y'all it was gonna be self-indulgent.

dAnceguy117 01-7-2017 05:19 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
lmao rif***e

rayword45 01-7-2017 05:31 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Lea***e
Bouf***e

rayword45 01-14-2017 05:42 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 366: New York Tendaberry by Laura Nyro (Album Choice: megido18)

I told you guys I was gonna keep doing this. It's a convenient log for me to keep. This will accompany me as I continue to read What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, which is a pretty fucking great read to this sadsack hipster. Sexual monogamy is stupid.

I was wary for the first few minutes, but this is proving to be some pretty damn beautiful stuff. The vocals are occasionally overwrought (or just... weird) but most of the time they're great. And it fits the book!

Best Track: Either Captain For Dark Mornings or Gibsom Street
Rating: 8/10

Spenner 01-15-2017 06:36 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Oh I missed it on the day it counted. But GG, good for continuing cuz the people need to know.

choof 01-17-2017 12:08 AM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
YISS
those ratings for elseq 1-5 are pretty close to what I'd give them as well. hated elseq 2 t b h. I've been listening to 4 and 5 lately, even I can get burnt out on the ae so I haven't given them the proper attention. 5 is good as fuck

rayword45 01-31-2017 01:41 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 367: A Shadow In Time by William Basinski

How many times am I gonna recognize repeats from Melancholia in this guy's discography? How many times will he nevertheless amaze me? The second track here is much better than the first, but both work well in this shitty weather.

Best Track: A Shadow In Time
Rating: 8/10

rayword45 01-31-2017 09:28 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 368: Near To The Wild Heart Of Life by Japandroids

I still love Post-Nothing. This band has gotten some minor backlash in recent times (recent meaning after 2012 I guess) but that album still sounds joyous to me, a soundtrack for high school celebrations gone past. On the other hand, I completely agree with whomever shares my opinion that Celebration Rock is a piece of shit.

This sounds more like Celebration Rock unfortunately. These guys are pretty samey across all their works, but what made their earlier works great is the amount of spark and energy in the performances. This is just too polished, the fuzz and feedback feels too produced. There are some great pop melodies to be found here, but overall this just feels uninspired.

Also, I heard these guys suck live.

Best Track: I'm Sorry (for Not Finding You Sooner)
Rating: 5/10

choof 01-31-2017 09:59 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by rayword45 (Post 4515046)
How many times am I gonna recognize repeats from Melancholia in this guy's discography?

three times: variations of a chrome primitive, melancholia 2 and 14, and now this title track
honestly I have no idea what people are seeing in this album, I thought the first track was ruined by the saxophone and the second track was merely okay but the ending felt so tacked on

I'm upset because if he decides to tour this year and I have the funds to go see him, I know there's a good chance of me not liking it because he'll play this piece live. although he started this piece after cascade and he started cascade after nocturnes so maybe he'll have some new material???

rayword45 02-7-2017 02:41 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 369: Becoming X by Sneaker Pimps (Album Choice: MixMasterLar)

I remember playing Spin Spin Sugar (Armand's Dark Garage Mix) in DDR Extreme 2 when I was 8. I didn't like the song much back then, but I appreciated it a lot more somewhere in my mid-teens.

This album shifts between sounding like sweet candy sex and obnoxious candy trip hop genericness, and usually within the same song multiple times. That's completely the fault of the vocals. The instrumentals are great across the board, with beats simultaneously catchy and chill and psychedelia galore.

I just wish the singer didn't sound kinda like a teenager half the time.|

Best Track: Post-Modern Sleaze
Rating: 7/10

Rapta 02-7-2017 02:59 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
go listen to a yousei teikoku album

ilikexd 02-18-2017 03:57 AM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
can i give you new recs

rayword45 02-18-2017 02:04 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
sure

ilikexd 02-18-2017 07:07 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Galaxie 500 - On Fire
Exuma - Exuma

rayword45 02-24-2017 06:13 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 370: Serial Experiments Tangela by Love Through Cannibalism (Album Choice: Trogdor!!!)

This one is enjoyable, but not one I'd ever call a favorite. Emotionally it comes off as too cold and impersonal, yet I can sense some attempts at injecting feelings (or just trying to sound more like an old Pokemon game). I'd prefer either more aggression (because the drums go fast (hurrhurrhurr) but the melodies clash) or more soft, sweet moments. Nice and concise, my favorite rhyme, and the conclusion is fantastic.

Revisit? Maybe. WOW my English is getting worse every fucking day. Catch The 5th Annual Live On Cinema Oscar Special this Sunday!

Best Track: Recover (Requiem)
Rating: 6/10

rayword45 02-26-2017 06:49 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 371: Go Plastic by Squarepusher (Album Choice: xValorx)

Fuck you Squarepusher your not cool because you can make the drums go fast

That will never get old to me. I've never actually listened to any of this dude's music in my lifetime, never felt like it I guess. That's changing while I study this fucking Econ bullshit.

This is just way too impersonal sounding for me. It's neither aggressive enough nor pretty enough to stand out to me, with the exception of a select few songs. I Wish You Could Talk is the obvious highlight, Plaistow Flex Out is pretty nice too.

I'll return to this artist... eventually.

Best Track: I Wish You Could Talk
Rating: 4/10

Snapps 02-28-2017 02:49 AM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
wac - ongaku

MyNameIsNothing 02-28-2017 09:46 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
gonna second nonames rec for last years pup album its p gr8
some other 2016 releases u should check out::::
japanese breakfast - psychopomp
whitney - light upon the lake
also i saw velocity design comfort on ur rym page its worth the listen

Surt 03-1-2017 12:49 AM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
may as well go for it

Frums - metacontinues

rayword45 03-1-2017 12:26 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 373: Endtroducing..... by DJ Shadow (Album Choice: HitlerWasRight)

Just going through the canon at this point. I'll get through it one day... Or maybe not. Like, what reason will I ever have to actually listen to Arcade Fire?

I'm bumping 6 Underground to an 8.5 even though I still find the vocals to be slightly annoying because I can't stop listening to it when I'm studying.

Man, what the fuck am I supposed to say for these albums? That I'm late as fuck? There are some fantastic tracks on here for sure. Organ Donor, Changeling, and especially Midnight In A Perfect World stand out to me in particular. There's very few down moments on this album and I certainly can't pick them out, though I'm still not convinced on the hour-long runtime.

Good shit, man. Will return, of course.

Best Track: Midnight In A Perfect World
Rating: 7/10

Trogdor!!!! 03-1-2017 03:42 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by rayword45 (Post 4525547)
Day 370: Serial Experiments Tangela by Love Through Cannibalism (Album Choice: Trogdor!!!)

This one is enjoyable, but not one I'd ever call a favorite. Emotionally it comes off as too cold and impersonal, yet I can sense some attempts at injecting feelings (or just trying to sound more like an old Pokemon game). I'd prefer either more aggression (because the drums go fast (hurrhurrhurr) but the melodies clash) or more soft, sweet moments. Nice and concise, my favorite rhyme, and the conclusion is fantastic.

Revisit? Maybe. WOW my English is getting worse every fucking day. Catch The 5th Annual Live On Cinema Oscar Special this Sunday!

Best Track: Recover (Requiem)
Rating: 6/10

I totally forgot about this but yes Recover is the best

Trogdor!!!! 03-1-2017 03:43 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Also no love for Napalm Brain on Endtroducing that track is the shit

rayword45 03-1-2017 08:25 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 373: Mood by Evil Needle (Album Choice: IAmMe90)

This album got fucking destroyed on RYM. Let's find out why.

Uh, I mean it all does kinda sound the same so far, but it's certainly not BAD. The synths are somewhat on the corny, outdated side and I'm not sure this guy achieved the aesthetic he was going for, but the melodies are pleasant, the beats are easygoing and the vibe is chill. And static, yes the vibe is very, very static. Being one-note can equate to being focused, but here it doesn't really make for discernibly unique songs.

As a 40 minutes relaxer, this album does the trick. As something I feel the need to analyze or listen to often at all, no sirree. I enjoy the lush, oceanic feeling I get from listening to this, but I don't need to feel this all the time. Or even very often at all. I suppose it did what it tried to do, though, and it never overstayed its welcome so I can't fault it much at all.

Unless this was attempting to be sex music. Then hell no.

Best Track: I really can't, guys.
Rating: 7/10

contrapatior 03-7-2017 09:20 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
review my new ro track, the forest

rayword45 03-19-2017 05:33 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 374: Dusk by Andrew Hill

I feel like I was expecting more from this album, a little more weirdness. Eh, whatever. It's decent poker music. I lost $5.

Best Track: Ball Square
Rating: 7/10

rayword45 03-21-2017 08:38 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 375: Totems Flare by Clark (Album Choice: Crazyjayde)

Pretty nice album. Seems to jump around structures and moods within songs a lot, but the whole thing stays pretty acid. For something that should be pretty samey, a little more than half of these songs I can seriously jam to (Look Into The Heart Now, Future Daniel, Suns Of Temper) and then the rest just has no effect on me. Also, the Japanese bonus track is boring as fuck.

Definitely gonna return to this one. Watch me never do it.

Best Track: Suns Of Temper
Rating: 7/10

rayword45 03-28-2017 10:29 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 376: Musick To Play In The Dark by Coil (Album Choice: Lambdadelta)

These vocals fucking suck. I get the whole "spoken word so monotone it's creepy" thing they're trying to do for the sake of atmosphere, but it just doesn't work at all for me. I like my dark ambient minimalistic. And this album is pretty minimalistic (outside of the lame pretentious poetry) but man I just don't know, something about this isn't doing it for me. The arrangements are nigh indistinguishable for the most part, and they fail to evoke any real emotional response for the most part. This isn't somber, this isn't menacing, this will never give me goosebumps nor will it ever paint actual imagery in my head like good ambient does. This is just bland.

Can't wait for the new Gas album to come out. Which reminds me, recommend some good 2017 shit. Or some terrible 2017 shirt.

Best Track: Strange Birds
Rating: 3.5/10

rayword45 03-28-2017 10:29 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 376: Musick To Play In The Dark by Coil (Album Choice: Lambdadelta)

These vocals fucking suck. I get the whole "spoken word so monotone it's creepy" thing they're trying to do for the sake of atmosphere, but it just doesn't work at all for me. I like my dark ambient minimalistic. And this album is pretty minimalistic (outside of the lame pretentious poetry) but man I just don't know, something about this isn't doing it for me. The arrangements are nigh indistinguishable for the most part, and they fail to evoke any real emotional response for the most part. This isn't somber, this isn't menacing, this will never give me goosebumps nor will it ever paint actual imagery in my head like good ambient does. This is just bland.

Can't wait for the new Gas album to come out. Which reminds me, recommend some good 2017 shit. Or some terrible 2017 shirt.

Best Track: Strange Birds
Rating: 3.5/10

ilikexd 03-28-2017 11:20 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by rayword45 (Post 4539725)
Day 376: Musick To Play In The Dark by Coil (Album Choice: Lambdadelta)

These vocals fucking suck. I get the whole "spoken word so monotone it's creepy" thing they're trying to do for the sake of atmosphere, but it just doesn't work at all for me. I like my dark ambient minimalistic. And this album is pretty minimalistic (outside of the lame pretentious poetry) but man I just don't know, something about this isn't doing it for me. The arrangements are nigh indistinguishable for the most part, and they fail to evoke any real emotional response for the most part. This isn't somber, this isn't menacing, this will never give me goosebumps nor will it ever paint actual imagery in my head like good ambient does. This is just bland.

Can't wait for the new Gas album to come out. Which reminds me, recommend some good 2017 shit. Or some terrible 2017 shirt.

Best Track: Strange Birds
Rating: 3.5/10

oh man, surprised you dislike this so much

you better have listened to it on a very mellow night

rayword45 04-6-2017 07:49 AM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 377: metacontinues by Frums (Album Choice: Surt)

Stuck in a carpool to my hometown so I can go yell at politicians to stop taking oil money. They're probably not gonna listen, the greedy old fucks. Activism is depressing.

Why isn't this on RYM? Also why am I still titling these "Day (Review #)"? That's just stupid.

The Divine Comedy is an example of a great, visual-inducing track marred by garbage distorted vocal samples. What a fucking waste, that was totally unnecessary. The rest of this album is similar except the songs DON'T have obnoxious garbled nonsense on top. Well, some have a little, very little, but not enough to be annoying. 4 out of 5 tracks here are gorgeously airy tunes with enough variations to the formula to keep it interesting. This is definitely a keeper.

Best Track: Infinityyyy
Rating: 8/10

rayword45 04-6-2017 08:28 AM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 378: The Dream Is Over by PUP (Album Choice: noname219)

I'm not really in the mood for punk, and this sounds like punk based off the first minute. Keep that in mind for my score, adjust to you liking, who gives a shit?

The harmonies in DVP are great. The skronky riffs in Doubt are great. The feedback, solo and shifting dynamics in The Coast are all great. The anger, aggression and drumming in Old Wounds are great in equal parts. The infectious poppiness of My Life Is Over And I Couldn't Be Happier is great. The multiple solos within Familiar Patterns are great. The emotional conclusiveness of Pine Point is great. The fact that this album runs a tight yet fulfilling 30 minutes is great. There's a lot of greatness here. Insert Donald Trump joke here.

My only gripe is that the vocalist never really rises above "adequate" and oftentimes he falls into the trap of "totally obnoxious post-emocore whiny bullshit". Other than that, yet another keeper. Two in an hour!

I still need 2017 recommendations guys.

Best Track: Familiar Patterns
Rating: 8/10

rayword45 04-9-2017 04:32 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 379: Redeemer: Underground Edition by Machinae Supremacy (Album Choice: Tokzic)

These guys made some songs that made it into ITG that I never played (and I actually play officials whenever I play because I suck, relatively speaking). Well, I did enjoy Megascorcher, that was actually a ton of fun, but it's not an official so whatever. These guys make chiptune power metal, or something like that. Let's go.

I just realized that I've never heard the vocalist in this band in my lifetime. I've been playing ITG for over a decade now and... THIS DUDE SUCKS. I don't like Power Metal-style vocals most of the time, but I would've accepted that for the sole reason of being appropriate. Whatever this guy is doing is completely inappropriate for the instrumentation unless they were going for some incompetent-nerd-tries-to-shout aesthetic or something. Sometimes the instrumentation overpowers the crappy nasal crooning, like the wonderful guitar work in Ronin or the chiptunes in Seventeen, and sometimes the vocals are at least bearable, like in... Well, the closest example would be Reanimator (March of the Dead III). But overall, this guy's singing just ruins the majority of this album. Isn't this band supposed to be instrumental metal anyways? Jesus shit.

Also, I know metal albums have a tendency to be overlong, but in this case, it's especially annoying that this runs 62 minutes because I have to listen to this vocalist for 62 minutes. Call me a hypocrite since I can't sing, I like plenty of bands with objectively untalented singers (The Mountain Goats is the most obvious one) and I always say vocals are the least important aspect of a song to me, but this is just too damn annoying. It's sad because I have very few other gripes. If there's an instrumental version of this album I might listen to it and actually enjoy it. In fact I think I'd enjoy it quite a bit, though maybe not for 62 minutes.

More 2017 albums guys. More. More.

Best Track: Reanimator (March of the Dead III)
Rating: 4/10

rayword45 04-9-2017 05:30 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 380: Melting Sun by Lantlos (Album Choice: Dvaerak7Korgo)

I'm currently using some shitty ass earbuds. Fuck Monster for taking forever for their stupid-ass "repairs" (they're just shipping me a new pair ffs) and for making me pay for shipping and handling. All companies should be like Nintendo when it comes to warranties. Also I realize Monster N-Tunes aren't exactly audiophile headphones but I would never call myself one anyways since I listen to a hell of a lot of 128kbps MP3s. Plus, I got them for my birthday back in 2015 and until Kohls changed their policy I was able to trade them in for a new pair every 2 months. Next time I buy a pair I'm buying them at Best Buy with the warranty.

Anyways, this is a very relaxing album that just breezes by really fast. Gorgeous textures and soothing vocals, though I'm not very impressed with the song structures. Not really the point though, I can see myself coming back to this. Not sure how this is remotely related to black metal, and it's a lot less lush than most shoegaze. Also, I don't know why they feel the need to repeat the album title in every track title.

Best Track: Melting Sun II: Cherry Quartz
Rating: 6.5/10

Wayward Vagabond 04-9-2017 05:41 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
You should check out death peak by clark

rayword45 04-16-2017 01:56 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 381: Cool Cat by Chet Baker (Album Choice: Phillip S.)

I just discovered where the Harvey Birdman theme song comes from and it put me in the mood to seek out some jazz. Expect a review of some Reg Tilsley at some point in the future, but don't expect it to be any good. Or expect this to be any good, I don't know shit about jazz.

This is a pretty album, and I'm gonna return to it because it made me unusually productive. I'm not too keen on the vocal tracks here, but the first two tracks are divine. Not to say that the singing is objectively bad in any way, but I prefer the atmosphere given off by instruments alone for this collection.

Best Track: Round Midnight
Rating: 7/10

MyNameIsNothing 04-16-2017 03:13 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
world eater by blanck mass is aoty 2017 so far
also worth checking out:::
sorority noise - you're not as ___ as you think
clap! clap! - a thousand skies
kid koala - music to draw to: sattelite

rayword45 04-22-2017 07:21 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 382: Narkopop by Gas

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!

I'll probably review the new Kendrick album next but honestly I'm realizing I seem to like each successive album less with him so I'm oddly wary. Fuck you Section.80 may be the least technically impressive album of his but goddamnit he paints a world I, and generations, can relate to with ease and that makes it my personal favorite. Also I'm raising my score of Pop to a 10 because I love tripping.

But yes I've been looking forward to this.

Narkopop 2 goes a bit more over the place than I was expecting. In fact a good chunk of these songs aren't as droney as the ones on Pop, but they're certainly less energetic (and BETTER) than the overall sound of Königsforst. Okay I really don't have much to say, it's not as amazing as Pop but very little is and this is still AMAZEBALLS. Why did I use that word? I make myself cringe.

Hooray for piracy! Go listen to this now, you twit. Stop reading my bullshit.

Best Track: Narkopop 2 or Narkopop 9
Rating: 8.5/10

rayword45 04-28-2017 12:08 AM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 383: Damn by Kendrick Lamar

Welp, I like Section.80 more than I like Good Kid, M.A.A.D City more than I like untitled unmastered more than I like To Pimp A Butterfly so here we go. What? levitate (fuck the real title) is a better banger than anything on TPAB and Section.80 may be his least technically impressive but it beautifully paints a world I (and a generation, because I'm pretentious enough to speak for a generation) can relate to with such ease, moreso than any of his others.

Wait, there's a new Pile album. Sorry, next time guys.

Day 383: A Hairshirt of Purpose by Pile

I fucking love these guys, haven't seen em live in over a year and a half now. They better play some summer shows. Their music, at its best, represents some sort of catharsis for me, and it conjures up images of home. I'm probably biased because Boston but whatever. Songs like Prom Song (the obvious), Don't Touch Anything and Baby Boy really help me get through my pathetically angsty teen emotions whenever some bullshit happens. They're certainly not a perfect band, as they're more of a singles gig for me than an album gig.

Damn, is this a stylistic shift attempt? A subtle one? I mean, there's still that grungy post-hardcore feel to all the tracks here but goddamn the crescendos. Everywhere. Crescendos in Rope's Length, Milkshake, Leaning On A Wheel, Dogs, more but I really don't feel like listing the whole damn tracklist or what seems like it. Are they trying to turn prog or ape Godspeed You! Black Emperor or something? To be frank the difference between this and the last 3 albums is readily apparent, but I'm exaggerating for comic effect. I'm not akin to this style of Rick's songwriting but it's pretty decent, just not quite what I was looking for.

So let's just comment on a handful of tracks because I never listen to this band in a cohesive context anyways. The whiny drawl of Worms is beautiful but doesn't really start the album with an explosion as I'm used to with this band. Much more subdued than any of their other openers (I'm just ignoring everything before Magic Isn't Real because screw that) but easily a standout track immediately. They seemed to have relegated the usual explosion to the second track, Hissing For Peace, but I'm not as enamored. No Bone is another soft acoustic song, pleasant but nothing special. Texas is a great blow of punk energy akin to #1 Hit Single or #2 Hit Single as is Hairshirt. These seem to be more popular among the fanbase so although they're generally not my favorites (not to say I don't like them, they definitely fit an angry niche) I get why they chose the former as the lead single. In fact I'm inclined to call Texas the true album standout, as it starts angry and never relents but only builds up in intensity (man these crescendos sure are something) leaving it a completely fulfilling 2-minute endeavor with no filler nor wasted potential. The aforementioned Dogs seems like it's trying to be one of those 90s-harkening quiet-loud-quiet songs that Pile is best at making, but something is missing. Slippery feels similar, what could be missing?

Oh yeah, the CATHARSIS. These are pretty good rock songs but there's less of the emoting, screams and dynamic contrasts that make up the best Pile songs. Or actually, there might be an equal amount but the song structures are just too different and not arena-rocky enough. I hate to say I wanted more of the same, because a band trying new things while maintaining their unique voice should be applauded, but something is just missing here for me. The raucous punk songs are my favorites for the first time, and those haven't changed much at all.

This seems way more album-formatted than previous Pile works. The lack of centerpieces is interesting. I Don't Want To Do This Anymore is a straight interlude. A bunch of these tracks seem like throwaway interludes.

...Okay I'm full of shit I googled this album to read some reviews and that's what people said. An album-oriented Pile album? Weird. But if you actually cared, rest easy knowing that those reviews do not affect my score at all. Because I've listened to this album 3 times now and I still haven't been able to enjoy it more as a cohesive piece. Maybe at some point it'll click, who knows?

Best Track: Texas
Rating: 6/10

rayword45 05-3-2017 03:52 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 384: DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar

*insert intro paragraph from previous review here*

On a seperate note, what the fuck was he thinking with this title scheme? The album title is bad enough (Lil B made whatever kinda statement you're trying to make irrelevant) but then EVERY GODDAMN SONG IS TITLED LIKE THIS. IN CAPS. ENDING WITH A PERIOD. And it's just fucking stupid.

Humble (seriously screw these titles) freaking sucks. Can we just get that out of the way? I dunno why this was chosen as the lead single because it's a goddamn snoozer. And outside of that, overall I put this in the same caliber as the rest of his post-good kid releases. Most of these songs seem to feature either a look into the way Kendrick's brain works or a commentary on the anti-black culture of the United States. Everything from a technical standpoint is on point, but I much prefer his more world-building albums.

Whatever. Might be my least favorite yet.

Best Track: DUCKWORTH. (ugh the caps)
Rating: 7/10

Wayward Vagabond 05-4-2017 12:50 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
wow how DARE you

rayword45 05-4-2017 05:20 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 385: Metaphysics by Duncan Avoid (Album Choice: choof)

I always go to choofboy when I need some bleep bloops. And I need them BAD right now because fuck finals. I wish I could live life as a potato sack. Except I'm doing that in college right now pretty much, out here in bumfuck nowhere farmtown. Man, it's boring here, but when I was in Boston it was basically nothing but nonstop bullshit drama or truly heinous injustice which clearly took a toll on my emotional health. I don't know how to live without drama, and as a result of living in flames for years I do not know how to function as anything other than an emotionally repressed stoner. But it's not totally me! I mean, all anyone does out here is smoke weed and watch television and go to the trashiest, lamest parties I've ever seen. This was one of the top party schools? Are you effing kidding me? There's nothing but a bunch of beer pong, bad music and barbituate-laced drinks inside a stuffy room. Where are the wild house parties that create stories? And the parties here end at like 1AM, what the hell is this haven't you people watched How I Met Your Mother? Well, I didn't, only the first two seasons. That's actually a pretty decent show with the laugh track removed. Good shit doesn't happen until 2AM, bad shit starts at 4:30.

Okay, enough rambling for now. Back to the study. Again, fuck finals.

Attention Deficit Disorder... Heh heh, it's funny that this song seems to fit me to a tee. Or is it T? I can never remember. Longest track on the album, and not a total bore! For a genre made up entirely of robotic seizure noises that's amazing. There's a lot of time signature and structural fun to be found in here against the aural assault, making this rewarding even when listened to passively. And some of these songs (S.H.I.F.I, Auditory Arms) are even catchy or groovy in their own weird ways, that or good rhythms pop up throughout the splatterpaint mess by chance. Either way, this is a pretty good release, but like half of the things I review it suffers from being too long. That, or it's too tonally homogenous. One or the other. I can get down to a colder atmosphere, but it can get boring for a full hour (this is coming from someone who's dream wedding song is Boy/Girl Song). Will return, because fuck finals.

Best Track: Attention Deficit Disorder
Rating: 7/10

rayword45 05-26-2017 12:31 PM

Re: 365 Reviews Done
 
Day 387 (Why do I still keep calling these "days" considering if these were marking consecutive calendar days my sense of time would be completely fucked): Facade by Natriums (Album Choice: egypt89)

So... Someone requested I review THEIR album. Last time I did this, I'm pretty sure I was 15. It's been almost 4 years! God damn... No wait, MarioNintendo told me to review his piano shit but I never got around to it, sorry bro.

This is referred to as IDM and downtempo but it reminds me of an acid Motorbass more than anything. The first four tracks here are easily the best. Afterwards, things get kinda samey though never unpleasant. The last track and bonus track bring back some of that earlier magic, the latter especially since it goes a lot of places over the course of its 9 minute runtime, a very nighttime-esque, danceable track.

Yeah, I don't have much else to say. A very respectable effort for a 16 year old without any real clunkers, hey I resorted to ageism. Damn it's been three motherfucking weeks.

Best Track: For You
Rating: 6.5/10


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