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

[EzExZeRo7497]

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

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]

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

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]

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

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]

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

Got another album recommendation.

Solar Fields - Movements

[xVaLoRx]

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

me too

Shitmat - Full English Breakfest

(thank u ji !!)

[L.B.D.D]

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

nicemat

[EzExZeRo7497]

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

May 15th, 2014
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Copia by Eluvium

After a long and exhausting week, I do want to sit back and relax. So why not relax to music that's meant for relaxing? Eluvium is a prolific ambient/drone project, with a fairly eclectic collection of albums. Static Nocturne is my first album from him and it is a very noisy drone. It's like watching a storm at full force at midnight, truthful to its album name. Copia however, is a bright yet sombre ambient album.

This album is like watching the sun rise after the end of everything that you've went through. It's very relaxing and you reminisce on everything that matters in your life. Indoor Swimming at the Space Station portrays this picture quite well. I see myself looking at the edge of a hill, just letting everything go. It's a wonderful experience, although it does move a little too slow at points. I personally think that it's little more cleansing than what Stars of the Lid can do, ISatSS really soothes you more than generally bright drones.

The album does take a darker turn with Seeing You Off the Edges. While there's still some light in the track, it's no longer prominent. Not all of your memories are euphoric, in fact the ones that you mainly remember are tragic. The trauma you get is just as bleak as you've remembered. Some memories are more traumatic than others (through louder sounds), but you try not to falter. It hurts to dig deeper, but it's something that you have to embrace. This track to me, is your effort to overcome your tragic past. It's not really something that hits home, but it's a pleasant listen.

A problem with the album is that little is done with the tracks. These tracks are indeed beautiful, but most of the tracks rarely move in atmosphere. When it comes to tracks so lively, I do expect some occasional change. As it is it feels looking at pictures rather than scenes from your memories. It doesn't apply to all tracks, of course. I'd want to see more variation in tracks like say, Indoor Swimming At The Space Station. But there are tracks that do move slightly, like Ostinato. Tracks like those are pretty pleasant and the slight movements do hold my attention. I feel that more variation in emotion would be nice too - the only melancholic track here is Seeing You Off The Edges. Every track show the same picture with some modifications here and there. Not that it's bad since the picture is pretty, but it gets boring after a while.

I've heard from some people that the album is very cheesy/uninspiring, but I don't see the uninspiring component. Other than the modern classical pieces (Prelude for Time Feelers), I think these atmospheres are relatively fresh. It's definitely not incredibly unique (a la Koner or Basinski), but they're not that unoriginal. Maybe it's because I don't listen to much ambient like this, but I doubt it. As for the "cheesy" component, I guess I can somewhat agree. Take Reciting the Airships, for example. It's very very beautiful, but the constant uplifts just feel... cliche. It detracts my enjoyment a bit, but it's not that trite. For ambient like this, corniness is to be somewhat expected. There aren't many ambient tracks that create unbridled serenity without going too cliche, if there are any at all. Copia isn't even the worst offender, so I'm not sure what the problem really is.

I just think people care too much about uniqueness when it comes to music. It's always nice to have an "uninspiring" album done right for once. Needless to say, I do like this album. There's no denying that Copia has flaws, but the pros do outweigh the cons, so...

Album Highlights: Indoor Swimming In The Space Station, Seeing You Off The Edges, Hymn #1
Track Average Rating: 3.5/5
Overall Rating: 7/10
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Hard Normal Daddy by Squarepusher (recommended by xVaLoRx)
Alright, sure. Squarepusher is the drill and bass project of Tom Jenkinson. He's one of the pioneers of DnB, along with Venetian Snares and Aphex Twin. Hard Normal Daddy is his second studio album and his most popular. Admittedly, I've been turned off by Squarepusher for a while, which is a bit of a mistake. His sound is pretty unique. Go Plastic was the first album from him I've listened to, which was generally a mixed bag. I was quite intrigued by tracks like Tommib, but was underwhelmed by others like My Red Hot Car. From what I've heard, Hard Normal Daddy is considerably different. We'll see...

Interesting, so it's a combination of jazz and drill and bass. Coopers World is energetic for the most part, keeping you on your toes the entire track. Unfortunately the track doesn't get any more intense, but the jazzy section are pleasant. Actually, the variation in this is pretty good. While it doesn't rip your face off, it does keep itself interesting with very nice progression. Not bad, though not my cup of tea.

The album as a whole is rather playful, as playful as Aphex Twin's Richard D. James Album. However, this album feels more focused and interesting. The jazz elements in some tracks are a neat addition to compensate for its lack of complex noisy structures. It feels like a combination of Love As A Dark Hallway and Richard D. James Album now that I think about it. Not the most pleasant combination, but it works.

It's not always playful though, Rustic Raver is quite loud. While I think it is quite remarkable in structure, it doesn't faze me. It's not forefront enough. It's a little too tame, I really wanted the track to be a lot more experimental. It reminds me of some works from Venetian Snares - works which I also think need more force. This just doesn't do it for me, although the structure is neat. Anirog D9 does this much better, although simpler in structure. It's way too short though, lasting only 71 seconds long. It doesn't have enough time to progress and grow, which is saddening.

I could talk more about each individual track, but I'll refrain from doing so. Overall, the diversity in this is fantastic. Each track creates a different atmosphere from each other - some that stand out more than others. While I can't speak too highly about the quality of each track, it is a respectable effort.

The biggest problem for me is probably the production. The thing about The Flashbulb's drill and bass works is that the execution is very crisp. He might not be the most experimental nor interesting in terms of content, but the sound quality makes up for it. Unfortunately, Hard Normal Daddy (and Go Plastic to a smaller extent) sounds quite thin. It makes all of the tracks very underwhelming as a whole. Chin Hippy would've easily been a phenomenal track if it weren't for the bad production. It's fast and insane, but it's a bit distant the entire time because of the production. This seems to be more prominent when the drill and bass elements were introduced though.

It feels a little uninteresting while listening to this all the way through as well. While I did say that it's varied, not every track is interesting. It becomes increasingly harder to concentrate through the album after Coopers World. The louder tracks aren't loud enough and the jazz elements do get bland after a bit. By the time Male Pill Part 13 was playing, I was pretty sick of the jazz sections. Not because they weren't interesting, but there's too much of it in the album. My attention does wade quite considerably, so the album's enjoyability goes down as it goes on. It doesn't help that there isn't anything that stood out particularly, either. Maybe if there was something quite noisy (a la Dishevel from Kirlian Selections), that'd make the album more interesting.

Feels like an album that's weaker than its sum of its parts. Some of the individual tracks work quite nicely by themselves. It's just that as a whole it becomes a very tiring experience. But even then, there aren't any tracks in this album that I'd listen to again. I like this more than Go Plastic, however. It's more consistent in quality.



Album Highlights: Coopers World, Chin Hippy, Rebus
Track Average Rating: 2.92/5
Overall Rating: 6/10

[EzExZeRo7497]

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

Going to review two albums from my backlog. I want to finish up my backlog as soon as I can. Fortunately my backlog is rather small at this point, it wouldn't take more than 3 days. Another reason is that downloading all these albums are a bit of a hassle for me. I'll get to the album recommendations eventually, just not for now.

May 16th, 2014
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加爾基 精液 栗ノ花 by Shiina Ringo
Shiina Ringo is a j-pop artist, with a couple of successful albums under her belt. 勝訴ストリップ (Shōso Strip) is quite well acclaimed, but I'm not going to talk about that album. I'm going to talk about 加爾基 精液 栗ノ花 (Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana), her fourth album. First album from Shiina Ringo.

The album is quite vibrant, there are even bits that are jazzy. I was slightly expecting a more refined Utada Hikaru - but I was very very wrong. This is not your typical j-pop by any means - in fact it's rather unconventional. This is more towards art pop, easily. The first track caught me offguard, but it was a really compelling listen. All these peculiar elements like trip-hop were thrown at me, but they surprisingly click. Shiina Ringo's voice is also pretty different from what I expected, it's quite unique.

Unlike most pop albums however, it does suck you into a world. It's like you're being sucked in to this lively city, where there are many odd things going on. Either that, or you're just tripping out. Everything feels quite surreal, everything that used to be ordinary is now lively. I'm not too sure what to think of that - it's pretty abstract. It does have its calm moments too, the fourth track is a little ballad. It feels like walking to the park more than anything else to me, but with an odd flare to it. The distorted guitars confused me, but I realised that it's just the grass dancing.

You get the idea, the tracks are simply... abstract. You can't really take it at face value, it goes much deeper than that. While I do respect Shiina's beautiful songwriting and abstract imagery - I can't say that I'm always fond of it. The fourth and fifth tracks are too bright for me, too happy-go-lucky. The brightness does tone down the experimentation quite a bit - at least from what I've noticed. It becomes a little bit of a turn-off. This doesn't apply to that many tracks, however. The other tracks do suffer a lack of memorability. They are abstract for sure, but the tracks don't stick with me. They feel like they're missing something.

Oh, the variation? It's quite diverse. While all of them have the common factor of being abstract, it paints very different pictures. The fifth track looks like a vibrant mall, while the sixth track is very dark and looming. She also throws in many genres like jazz, trip-hop and rock to keep the album fresh. With so many atmospheres to create, it's hard to keep the quality high throughout. Not all tracks click with me for sure, but she did a great job. The ones that are too sugary are still tolerant to an extent.

Not bad. I wasn't expecting much, but this is a pleasant surprise. It's definitely not the best j-pop album I've come across, but it's a different spin on it. There's no denying that the experimentation worked well. I just don't feel compelled to listen to it again. Most of these tracks do bring me to a new environment, but I'm not interested in finding out more about the environment. There's something missing... perhaps the catchiness? Actually, it probably is. Oh well, it's a nice listen through.

Album Highlights: 宗教, 迷彩, とりこし苦労
Track Average Rating: 3.36/5
Overall Rating: 7/10
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Wild Light by 65daysofstatic
65daysofstatic... it's been a while. 65daysofstatic is a post-rock band from the United Kingdom. Their post-rock sound is different from Mono or Explosions in the Sky, however. They infuse glitch and electronic elements into their music, which creates a very unique sound. How much electronic they put in is varied, of course. We Were Exploding Anyway, to my knowledge, embeds it the most. I've been fond of 65dos' first two albums (The Fall of Math and One Time For All Time) for quite a long time now, both with 8.0 and 8.5 respectively. While I can't speak as highly about the other releases, I might as well give this album a shot. Wild Light is their most current album.

Well, right off the bat there are some prominent electronic elements. While it's nowhere as cinematic as Silent Running, it does have some weight to it. The first track is incredibly heavy at the last minute - as if the force of the universe is crushing on you. It doesn't last very long, however. Which is a shame, because that part is unbelievably good. It reminds me of Yodaka's Ema at that point, which is one of my favourite tracks at the moment. Always a good thing.

Prisms... I can't speak too highly of. It's similar to some tracks in We Were Exploding Anyway, which I am quite mixed about. It is definitely upbeat and mellow, but doesn't do much for me. It does get quite flashy at points, but not in a cliche way. It's something that pumps you up, but I just don't see that for me. The continuous crescendo is neat too, but it feels like it's just there the entire time. It just doesn't click with me - but I could see the appeal. The last minute is quite pleasant though, I liked that.

I've noticed that I can't really imagine any soundscape from this. It feels a little too artificial to do so. Even if there are, I feel like a person outside of that environment. It doesn't put you in the forefront like The Fall of Math or One Time For All Time does. It doesn't help that when the tracks are built to its peak, it doesn't explode. Instead, it just stays there and fades away. Really not a fan of that happening. It doesn't apply to every track, of course - tracks like Blackspot and HDIS does explode. The staying power isn't there though, aside from Blackspot. Blackspot's explosions were beautiful and gigantic in size.

I can't say too much about the quality of the tracks. They're generally average, but often mediocre. It doesn't affect me viscerally, but they sound decent. A little odd for a post-rock to really catch my attention outside of a sentimental way, personally. The electronic elements do make it harder to really take it in viscerally. They make the tracks a little too... artificial, for a lack of a better term. It becomes a bit of a barrier - IDM isn't necessarily a genre that I like emotionally. There are a few, but Wild Light isn't one of them. It creates this layer that I can't break through to enjoy it in another way.

I think by the time the sixth track is over, it becomes a hassle to listen to. There isn't much variation to listen to. It also becomes a little predictable too. The more energetic bits tend to be in the second half, for example. The tracks are almost as long as each other too, which adds on to the predictability. Some tracks do have their own flavour, but those flavours are thin. They're not unique enough to really differentiate from the others. Take Taipei for instance. While it sounds different in terms of sound, it's hard to not think that you've heard it in the album before.

The last two tracks almost make up for how mundane the first six tracks though. While still not as forefront as I'd like, it's still very striking to me. Unmake the Wild Light is very engaging from the get go and just builds up from there. It's wonderful - as if the world is about to explode. The energy is so visceral and powerful, it's almost unreal. Safe Passage starts off as a ballad, but changes into this solemn yet desolate landscape. While the transition is abrupt, the content does make up for it. It starts off sombre and just becomes more and more painful to look at. By the time four minutes was up, the landscape looks post-apocalyptic. It's a depressing place to look at, especially since you saw the exact same place being beautiful before.

Two interesting tracks, six generally unspectacular ones. Normally I wouldn't give a low rating (i.e. 5 or lower) just because there weren't that many standouts, but this is an exception. I was so close to just deleting the album by the time Sleepwalk City was done. Although I didn't regret continuing on, I did wish that the front part of the album is a lot better. My question is, why didn't they make it as interesting as the last two tracks? This could've been far better if the great quality was consistent throughout. As it is, I can't see myself listening to this album other than the last two tracks. Doesn't work for me.

Album Highlights: Unmake the Wild Light, Safe Passage
Overall Rating: 5/10

[L.B.D.D]

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

shit man essays

[EzExZeRo7497]

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

May 17th, 2014
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Flowers by Asuna
Flowers is an experimental ambient album lush with field recordings and occasional noise.
The first track, Rainy Garden, starts off very oddly. It's filled with tons of glitch and even noise - it was very disturbing in the first few minutes. I had no idea what was going on, it was almost like an epileptic seizure. All these flashes of colour hit me and I'm just... intimidated. It then continues with a warm period of acoustic guitar before moving on to a more synthetic and metallic movement. It sets off the mood quite quickly, it's like watching a garden of fake flowers and trees that aren't green. The sound of rain accompanies well too, further showing the isolation. When the rain is cleared, you see a figure of someone singing to the garden. You see that the garden became more lively and less callous, which is odd. You venture the garden to find out more about this... odd garden. Soon after the figure stopped singing, the flowers stopped dancing.

All of these tracks are named after flowers, for the most part. Since they're mainly a small component of the garden, the tracks are short. Dandelion is a little IDM track with bleeps and bloops. It doesn't do much for me because it's so minimal and stationary however. I could say the same for most of the tracks here really - they're mainly stationary and don't do much. South Orchid is a little warmer than the previous two tracks, but it doesn't do too much. While the latter half reminds me of a more mechanical Motohiro Nakashima, the track just feels artificial. Perhaps it's the intention of the track? I'm not sure.

You eventually realise that you've reached one corner of the garden and see the courtyard of a high school in the distance. Apparently they're having a march at the moment, so you sat down to watch and listen. You eventually see that the flowers are actually dancing again and it's quite pretty to watch. It's a shame that the march is so noisy though, it hurts the experience too much. You move east of the direction you initially went. The courtyard is still singing, so the flowers are still lively. You walk to the Blue Daisy, where it was moving the most. You hear students singing and you see the daisy just swaying back and forth. It's odd, but it's a wonderful little thing. There's something magical about these fake flowers having so much life... not sure what.

You see a bench and sat on it to relax. As you watch the glorious view of the synthetic garden, it started to drizzle. None of the flowers seem to move from such delicate sounds... except for one - the Forget Me Not. It's so mesmerising to see its subtle movements from the droplets on it. It creates a really thick droning sound, which envelops you. You eventually get so engrossed in the sound - you can't even see its movement anymore. It took you a few minutes to renotice the subtle movements of the flower. The sound is still as strong as it was before, though. It's so serene... it makes your sleep just wonderful. Instead of the slightly uncomfortable sight of false nature, you're comforted by the sound of rain and grey drones. Your sleep gets interrupted by the sound of other plants like the (Cut) Loqut Tree. You wake up and just follow on your merry way.

I could narrate more about the album, but it doesn't talk about how I feel about it. Most of the tracks here are very short - under 2 minutes. That's really short for ambient standards. Thus, it has the problems that most short ambient tracks have. The ideas don't stay for long enough to grow and they ultimately do nothing. It doesn't help that they aren't engaging to begin with, either. However, most of the long tracks (aside from Holland Garden) are actually quite beautiful. While I was a little unsettled by the beginning of Rainy Garden, it was still a gorgeous sight. It looked unique - the textures of metallic flowers and all are magical.

Flowers is a wonderful album conceptually. It flows well and shows the beauties and intricacies of a synthetic garden. Unfortunately, the content doesn't engage me that much. I was more fond of the actual atmosphere, rather than the music itself. The short "flower" tracks, are uneventful, unengaging or even unpleasant. The only exception would be Clover, which is oddly enough the least artificial track. Everything else didn't click with me, they just complimented the overall concept. This is basically an album that you have to listen to fully, basically. You won't get the full effect otherwise. Unfortunately, these short tracks don't keep your attention well enough for the most part. But there are some gems here, so I can't give it a low rating.

Album Highlights: Rainy Garden, Forget Me Not, Clover
Track Average Rating: 2.88/5
Overall Rating: 6/10
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Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison by Harmonium
Shoutouts to noname.

Remember that one album I had in mind after reviewing La grand-messe? This is the one I'm talking about. Harmonium is probably one of the biggest acts from Quebec. For people who don't know, Harmonium is a progressive folk band - mostly known for Si on avait besoin d'une cinquieme saison - or If We Had A Fifth Season. Which is what I'm going to review today.

Whoa, what a pretty atmosphere. The first track, Vert, translates to Spring. It really shows the beauty and fun of spring. Lush acoustic guitar, for example, signifying growth and life. It's a very serene track, the soft instruments and vocals really compliment the wonderful environment. It's so broad too, you feel like you could run around in the fields of flowers for days. While I can't say too much about the lyrics (mainly because I can't find them), the vocal delivery is generally good. Some parts do feel iffy to me, but that was because it was making it less serene and more energetic. I guess that still works as it's spring, but I'm not a fan of it.

Dixie is a lot more upbeat in comparison, with the mellotron further enhancing the mood. Unfortunately catchy songs like these don't do much for me, but it's nice for variation. I suppose that it's supposed to show the high energy summer has, and it works. But summer is my least favourite season, so it's probably fair to say that this is my least favourite track. It's quite a bright environment too, but far too bright for me. I could imagine most people who are into brighter music to really like this.

Depuis l'automne is a very long ballad, showing the melancholy and low energy of autumn. The vocals are more sombre than ever and the sky is now orange. The mellotron finally unravels the bleakness of the season - with trees nearing death and the piles of dead leaves on the ground. While it is rather depressing, it has this sense of warmth. A warmth that I could be comfortable in... almost like autumn. It's so beautiful, yet it's also very tragic. It captured the mood of autumn perfectly, and I do like autumn the most. The vocals in the last few minutes do ruin the serenity of the track, again. The mood is a little bit too powerful - I've always seen autumn to be delicate. They're being a bit too rough with the season, in my opinion.

As you could see, there's a lot of variation in this album. Of course it had to. How else could you cover all four seasons, along with an additional one? And surprisingly, most of them are structured wonderfully. What differentiates between each track would be how much I personally enjoyed them. I really can't criticise the tracks objectively, because I could see the appeal in them.

The best track, is Histoire sans paroles. It has no lyrics, just an experience through its 17 minute life. For the first three minutes, I feel like floating euphorically in this landscape. The sun is shining, everyone is moving freely and everything is peaceful. I just want to listen to that part forever, it's just so beautiful. Easily my favourite part of the album. Unfortunately it doesn't last long, but the rest of the track is still pretty interesting. It varies greatly, starting off mellow to unforgivingly cold really quick. I have to respect the fact that Harmonium is able to switch moods so well, although it does swing too violently at points. Many parts of the track are very pretty - but there are also some that are subpar. It captures many emotions - where it'd be fear, sadness or serenity. They do so quite well, some attempts better than others. But overall, fantastic. Simply fantastic.

Great album. There are some tracks that I don't enjoy as much as others, but the ones that I did enjoy are quite memorable. It's also nice that this is an album you could play in the background or attentively, so it's very accessible. I think I'll be listening to this album for a while, there are some clear gems in here. It's a bit of a shame that there's a noticeable portion that I didn't enjoy though, because I really like this album outside of that. I would love to give this a higher rating than I did, but it bogs down my enjoyment quite significantly.

In summary:

Sweet spot for french music much?

Album Highlights: Vert, Depuis l'automne, Histoires sans paroles
Track Average Rating: 3.6/5
Overall Rating: 7.5/10

3 more albums left in my backlog.

[EzExZeRo7497]

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

I'm so tired. I think I'm burning out, might take a day break or two. Anyway.

May 18th, 2014
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1973 by Seirom
The album opens up wonderfully with Strands of Golden Light, a space ambient track which slowly progresses to black metal. It starts off clearly empty, with a few lone stars here and there. Once the stars become brighter, it feels as if the order was disrupted. The entire space starts to accelerate and it becomes a chaotic yet beautiful atmosphere. The destructive sight of spinning stars and supernovas and the birth of new nebulae... beautiful. The aftermath of it is just breath-taking.

In tracks like Never So Lost, The loud distorted instruments and noise just blend in wonderfully to create this atmospheric wall of noise. I do have a soft spot for distorted walls of noise, especially ones which I can relax in. The wall is so massive here, so it consumes me quick. Even when I can't feel the wall anymore, I'm greeted with the emptiness of space. The sounds of noise are still there, just not as prominent. For some reason, the juxtaposition is beautiful. There's nothing on the inside, but very dense on the outside. Not sure what quite clicked there, but it worked.

Unfortunately, the album goes down from there for many reasons.

Instead of following the cold and barren drones of the first two tracks - it takes more of a blackgaze approach. More towards Deafheaven instead of Alcest, at least instrumentally. From then on, it becomes a mixed bag of tracks. For example, As Hills and My Dear are incredibly cheesy. The upbeat melodies and all just don't click with me. I couldn't listen to it for a long time without skipping. In contrast, 1973 has a denser sound and is more shoegazer than the track above. While the sample of a female voice is rather unnecessary, it's still quite a pretty sight. The textures are fantastic and it really shines in the overwhelming bleakness of the album's environment. Bit of a shame that it's only 4.5 minutes though, far too short.

Other than the blackgaze/atmospheric black metal tracks, these drone/ambient tracks don't seem to hold a light to the first two. Forever is a respectable attempt to keep the album as hopeful as the other two tracks. However, it is too explicit in its approach. It's too warm on the outside. I can't say that it's as pretty either, it's too bright to really feel its details. At Night does a better job by being more subtle in its approach. It's still a little too warm, but I think it did a good job at creating a new atmosphere. The sounds of birds is a nice addition too - which presents that there's still life in space. There are some tracks that are incredibly bleak too, such as To Disappear. They're decent for the most part, but there are many artists that did better. It's a pretty sight though, despite all its melancholy and grotesqueness.

Throughout the rest of the album, Changes seems to be the only track that matches the first two tracks. Most of the blackgaze tracks are uninteresting and too cliche. The ambient tracks are decent for the most part, but nothing spectacular. They're either too short, too cookie-cutter or simply uninteresting. I can't say the atmospheric black metal elements compliment most of these ambient tracks either, the drums become too clunky and bold. I could barely feel the ambience already since they're so thin, and the drums just destroy what's left of the atmosphere.

All in all I just think that this album is confused. What direction is it trying to go? Drone? Blackgaze? I'm unable to tell. This does mess up the soundscapes too - at one point it's very bright and then the next track is like pure darkness in comparison. This makes the album feel fragmented and incoherent. Normally I wouldn't lose that much enjoyment, but this feels like an album that would've been fantastic conceptually. An journey through space and its subtleties? That's a great idea! Unfortunately, it wasn't executed so well. A little disappointed, but there are worse.

Album Highlights: Strands of Golden Light, Never So Lost, Change
Track Average Rating: 2.83/5
Overall Rating: 5/10
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Hvis lyset tar oss by Burzum
Varg Vikernes is a man famous and infamous for many things. He is infamous for murdering the guitarist of Mayhem, a fairly large black metal act, along with burning of churches. His philosophy is generally immoral and all in all evil. In contrast, he is famous for being one of the largest black metal acts ever. During his imprisonment, he has released three albums. His most known however, is Filosofem. It is an hour long album filled with undying hatred and anger, almost unpleasant. The fact that Vikernes has used abysmal equipment to produce this as well enhances this mood. It's dark, it's relentless and disturbingly amazing. However, I'm not talking about Filosofem. I'm talking about his other seminal album - Hvis lyset tar oss.

The first track opens up with Burzum's typical raw sound, but it's not heavy. It's still just as horrifying as I imagined it to be though, almost sinister. After that, it dives into heavy black metal that we all know and love. This doesn't seem to die down at all, it feels like the sprite of hatred itself is walking and roaring in anger. You see it cause destruction to everything it touches, especially at the guitar solo. You see it rip apart everything, and literally everything. By the time its onslaught stops momentarily, you can hear cries of mercy. The entity shows no remorse however, and continues destroying figures in the most gruesome ways possible. Almost disturbing.

The second track shows the sprite more enraged. It's far angrier than ever before and the flames behind it are engulfing the forest behind the sprite. The sprite doesn't seem to move as much though, it's just standing there shouting. It looks like it's harnessing energy, but I don't see the flames getting bigger. Ironically, they're getting smaller. Unfortunately, that's what the track mainly provides. I didn't enjoy this too much, but the guitar tones are great. However, the track is too stationary. It doesn't do anything for me other than see this sprite enraged. The energy does change at points, but I was expecting a linear upward slope in energy. It's just too inconsistent in energy to really work for me.

Honestly by the time the third track started I thought it was starting to drag. Filosofem was at least very engaging with its varied sound. The first three tracks of Filosofem do convey the same emotion, but they were executed in different ways. This album is generally relentless pummeling. It just feels brutal for the sake of being brutal. It doesn't have too much to offer, other than a hard-hitting sound. While it is intriguing at first, it could only get so far before it starts to become stale. Maybe I'm not in the mood for black metal, but I'm not too sure. From what I recalled, Filosofem was just a lot more interesting overall.

The last track is Tomhet. It sounds remarkably similar to the other ambient track in Filosofem, but a lot brighter. It's nowhere as meditative, in fact the raw sound just makes it hard to concentrate. It's quite jarring even, it's hard to really imagine any soundscapes with this. This doesn't stand out to me as a track that you listen to consciously though. When I close my eyes to relax, it becomes a lot more serene. It lulls you to sleep, but in a very peculiar way. Instead of warm drones, you're hit by this synthetic ambience. It's odd, but it oddly works just as effectively.

The synthetic raw sound dies off after a while and becomes more of a meditative one. It's great for the most part, but the high notes of the flute interferes quite significantly. It snaps you out of that meditative state, which is quite frustrating. I'm not sure what Burzum is trying to do with this track altogether, but it sounds nice. It's not an ambient track that I'd visit again, but I wouldn't mind sleeping to this if someone was playing it.

Can't speak too highly about this release. It doesn't feel very innovating - the ideas here are dragged for too long. More variation would be nice, but as it is it doesn't appeal to me that much. I was pretty underwhelmed by the album overall too, I was expecting a far more emotional sound. All I could see is just a concentrate of hatred into one figure, but not the entire atmosphere. Though the album as a whole is decent, it couldn't click with me as much as I'd like it to.

Album Highlights: Det som en gang var
Track Average Rating: 3.25/5
Overall Rating: 6/10

Done with my backlog for now. I do have one album left, but it's 2 hours long. I don't really want to listen to that along with another album at this point of time.

[noname219]

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

Black Earth

A tough one to get into. There's nothing that grabs my attention each time I listen to it. I couldn't tell you which song would be my favourite, I don't remember anything about them . It works well as ambient music to study to late in the night, that's it.

Si on avait besoin d'une cinquième saison

Thanks for making a review for this album, it might be one of my all-time favourite albums. There's something very natural about it, the sonorities, the melodies aren't forced. The music flows so well with the concept.
I love Dixie, it's playful, short and sweet. But I agree that Histoires Sans Paroles is the highlight, and especially that piano part at 7m30, with the following vocal performance of Judy Richards. I would have loved to see her doing all the vocals on the album, Fiori is a great composer, but his voice isn't on par with the music.

[Crazyjayde]

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

*silently nodding in approbation*

[EzExZeRo7497]

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

May 19th, 2014
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My Love Is A Bulldozer by Venetian Snares
Newest album from Aaron Funk. From what I've heard it's relatively different because Aaron actually sings in this album. I've heard previews of the songs in this, and thought that they were relatively mediocre. Not sure if my impression will change from there, but I'm not expecting too much.

Though the 10th Circle in Winnipeg is breakcore, it has a rather unorthodox structure. Or at least, it doesn't sound like something Venetian Snares would make. The amen breaks aren't really the forefront here, but instead a background instrument. It works and is quite a breath of fresh air, in comparison to everything else Aaron has made anyway. Not bad, but I did expect something more aggressive.

1000 Years actually has vocals from Aaron Funk himself. It's a pleasant bass voice, although the lyrics are rather unpleasant. I do like his singing in this, but it gets cut short with breakcore. It's fast and relentless for the first half, which is beautiful. It's nowhere as aggressive as something from Winnipeg Is A Frozen Shithole, but it's still good. It takes a little break before starting its second breakcore section after the first half. I can't say that the second half is anywhere as good though, it just felt a little lackluster in comparison. It's more structured, but the layers don't seem to compliment each other. The non-breakcore bits are okay, but nothing too special.

The self-titled track is pretty neat. Pretty similar to Herbie Goes Ballistic in structure, but not as chaotic. It doesn't sound as evil as HGB by any means, but it still sounds sinister. The track atmosphere is true to its title; sounds as if it'd would kill to be with its lover. It's an obsessive track - further reinforced with lyrics like "only you will make my dick feel like this". Main problem is that it's way too short - the ideas are too brief to fully nurture.

Favourite track is She Runs, a subtle breakcore track that reminds me strongly of Plunging Hornets. Plunging Hornets is my favourite track from Aaron, so it's only fair that I enjoy this. Unlike Plunging Hornets though, this feels quite aimless and unengaging. It also gets a little too noisy towards the end, ruining the subtlety. Really didn't like that, but the first half made up for it I suppose.

I don't see why the album has to be 53 minutes long, there's too many fillers here. Your Smiling Face doesn't seem to move anywhere, Aaron's voice is the only way to determining direction here. Unfortunately his vocals here are really bad. He tries a little too hard to set off a mood, and the woos just makes it harder to enjoy it. In fact, I don't think I could like it unironically. It did make me laugh though, which I assume is the purpose since the title is "Your Smiling Face". Amazon is pretty generic and I'm not really a fan of Aaron's typical works. Doesn't work for me.

The ballads/calm tracks here are pleasant, but they only do so much before starting to get bland. I know that Aaron is trying out something different here, but it just feels like a mediocre VSnares album with ballads. It doesn't contribute to the overall enjoyment, but instead separating the album into two distinct components. He doesn't seem to have any emphasis on any part either - so they don't stand out at all.

Most people who are into Venetian Snares will enjoy this. I'm not a Venetian Snares person at all. I thought his best albums were Meathole and Winnipeg Is A Frozen Shithole, and this album doesn't resemble any of the two. This album is essentially a mediocre album that tries to save itself with some ballads, and doesn't work. In fact, it just made the album far more incoherent and lackluster than before. Perhaps Aaron is focusing too much of having variation over quality of the tracks. But even then, the variation isn't that much. Most of the tracks could be categorised to two different groups. Unmemorable overall, severely flawed, but not unpleasant. It's just not something I'd listen to again.

Might increase the rating for this, I think I'm being a bit too severe.

Album Highlights: She Ran
Track Average Rating: 2.54/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/10
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LARP of Luxury by Eyeliner (recommended by Arkuski)
Interesting.

Vaporwave isn't a genre that I understand at all. The only other vaporwave album I've listened to Floral Shoppe and I disliked it quite a bit. This isn't much better. I can't say much about the content iself, since there's really nothing much to talk about. The tracks are generally melodies that you probably hear in 80s/90s Japanese malls or something. The music hasn't aged well, it's now filled with cheese. This doesn't feel nostalgic to me by any means. It doesn't bring anything new to the table either, just repackaging what it was made decades ago.

There really isn't much I can talk about here, since most of my reviews are generally based on how I feel and what I see. I don't feel anything nor see anything in this album. It's calm sure, but it's surrounded with so much triteness. If I wanted calm music, I could always listen to ambient. It's far more visceral and cathartic than vaporwave.

So my question is, what IS the purpose of vaporwave? Is it supposed to emulate nostalgia? Is it for people to relive music in the past? Whatever the reason is, I really don't get it. Those two reasons are the only two that I could conjure. Anything else feels like correlating the amount of water consumed by humans to the frequency of bee stings. Basically, any other reason would be too far-fetched and I fail to see relevancy.

Maybe I'm too level-headed for music like this. I think it'll make more sense when my mind starts to disintegrate because of the hot weather. I can see myself melting to this, just chilling like it's no one's business. Unfortunately I rarely feel like that, or at least not under hot weather. Staying indoors keeps my mind intact, which is nice.

Anyway, vaporwave is most definitely a genre that's not for me. Even if there is no ultimate purpose for it, I can't say that I like it. It's too corny and all I felt was partially relaxation and mainly cringe. The North Face was a really neat track though, it was quite the breath of fresh air. It almost feels like deep trance/house, it's so vast in atmosphere. Probably the only track that I'll come back to listen to.

I'm just going to stick with t-rogdor's definition (happy belated birthday, by the way) and say that vaporwave is chopped and screwed for white people. It makes the most sense out of any other reason I could think of.

~フレッドYOLO~

Album Highlights: The North Face
Track Average Rating: -
Overall Rating: 3.5/10

[Arkuski]

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

lol thanks for the review