Tag Archives: 4

Koushik – Be With

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

60s psychedelica with a hip hop bend

Moods

hauntology psychedelica

Thoughts

There's an effort here to make this sound old with vinyl record crackle and surface noise as well as low fidelity mics. It's effective and compliments the scattered instrumentation to create a spectral hazy psychedelica that's interesting and true to original influences (not the watered down modern 'chill' stuff).

Works well, rivals caribous early catalog who does a very similar thing ( honestly you could've told me Dan snaith made this as it's a dead ringer to some of his work).

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/Koushik-Be-With/release/484910

Listen!

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs1inZNRlKw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqZCiW5pGlM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FikemItj6tI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsVy6a7dl7I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxfz8TmJ8gs

Spotify


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Koushik – Be With

Description: Album Review of Koushik – Be With


Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Mariah – うたかたの日々/ Utakata No Hibi

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

Experimental new wave rock

Moods

New age meets post punk in this highly accessible piece of experimental music

Thoughts

Yasuaki Shimizu was involved in some interesting music during the early 80's that has held up well to the test of time. Mariah is one of the better entries with easy to appreciate melodic elements and an overall positive energy.

His particular brand of experimental music has a similar sound – part worldly, new wave, post punk, krautrock's rhythmic chug – that weaves together in a rich sound.

'Hana ga saitara' borrows this energetic string bow pull, sounds like a ship and it's sort of disorienting. Lyrics here remind me a lot of some straightforward talking heads songs.

Something about this remains very "future", a forebear to vaporwave but so much larger. The result is magnificent and something that should be heard.

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/Mariah-%E3%81%86%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8B%E3%81%9F%E3%81%AE%E6%97%A5%E3%80%85-Utakata-No-Hibi/release/7490374

Listen!

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UIBLA-PuUw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRgLhEGEetc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEHL6WBH_qk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4xdyQAq6rs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh2PU74kRXY

Spotify


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Mariah – うたかたの日々/ Utakata No Hibi

Description: Album Review of Mariah – うたかたの日々/ Utakata No Hibi


Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Shy Layers – Midnight Marker

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

jazzy electro pop rock with vocoder

Moods

A record that puts me in a good mood: chill with a pop, happy but not cheery, loose while tight.

Thoughts

all around enjoyable, strikes a nice balance. Has the precision of jazz and electronic but maintains a loose feel. The vocoder lyrics add a nice touch: never trying to steal the spotlight but adding an accessible hook. This record succeeds with it's songwriting and leaves rewards got repeat listens. It's presented simply but is an intricate production.

Philip Sherburne did a nice write-up for Pitchfork on this:

As before, Midnight Marker’s breezy melodies and lilting grooves make for a nice, chill listen—good morning-coffee music, cooking music, countryside-drive music. But this is nothing like the studied, stoned remove of anything you’ll find filed under “#chill” on any streaming service. His synths have real bite. His drums, recorded with real sticks on real skins, are enviably muscled. Walsh has said that one of his takeaways from both highlife and funk was that the guitar could function primarily as a percussive instrument, and he continues down that path here, backing up more melodically outgoing riffs and runs with plucked pulse and flicker.

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/Shy-Layers-Midnight-Marker/release/12081230

Listen!

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYuYnAdVZ7Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFwx4Ay70CU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28GZ8Nomy1w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbCAdmysIT0

Spotify


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Shy Layers – Midnight Marker

Description: Album Review of Shy Layers – Midnight Marker


Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Actress – Splazsh

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

Accessible experimental electro

Moods

Deep dank dark club music

Thoughts

this isn't gunning for the dance floor but it would work really well in certain 'dance' settings. Thinking smoke machines, deep, rhythmic.

It conjures up bad sound systems with tracks that have this bloated bass like you're listening to a dj through the basement floor of a club. Maybe that's the point: It's club like music presented out of context, from far away. Detached as an observer. The whole thing feels hazy, like it's filtered through something. weed maybe… i dunno but there's a separation between the listener and the music.

He's pushing electronic music forward in his own way, I suspect this will age well. At 10 years it still sounds relevant.

 

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/Actress-Splazsh/release/2281630

Listen!

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0FmZReUWXU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcnRT-m9MYo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqUzSq1MVh0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0bJUbcBP_c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqQFMjUySio

Spotify


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Actress – Splazsh

Description: Album Review of Actress – Splazsh


Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Max Graef Band – Dog

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

Jazzy punk funk by amateurs

Moods

An enjoyable jazzy dance punk record

Thoughts

The basic but prominent bass work give this an 80s dance punk vibe like the minutemen or that other LES stuff like the ESG. Keys and rhythm provide an accessible jazz funk but it remains grounded.

A great hybrid of those two styles, nothing inventive but it's a fun record with an easy amateur feel that's appealing.

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/Max-Graef-Band-Dog-/release/7837490

Listen!

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXorVKlYj1Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBDwyynSBL4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9P5lvySQLo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TRBQec5A7U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8RSUcX2zV0

Spotify


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Max Graef Band – Dog

Description: Album Review of Max Graef Band – Dog


Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Sam Gendel, Sam Wilkes – Music For Saxofone & Bass Guitar

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

Abstract bedroom smooth jazz

Moods

Hangs around like steam rising after a summer downpour.

Thoughts

Bunch of rough ambient sax and basic supporting sounds like a drum machine or bass line. At times it's like they're boiling modern r&b to its most basic form with looping finger snaps or whispery beatbox. It's a bunch of sketches, not really an album. There's a lot of ambient background noise, effective as another texture like burial. Has an improv vibe.

Gendel is a good sax player, really hear his rich sound on the solos ( track one is a good example).

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/Sam-Gendel-Sam-Wilkes-Music-For-Saxofone-Bass-Guitar/release/12194261

Listen!

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enX9Fr-I8MA

Spotify


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Sam Gendel, Sam Wilkes – Music For Saxofone & Bass Guitar

Description: Album Review of Sam Gendel, Sam Wilkes – Music For Saxofone & Bass Guitar


Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Topdown Dialectic – Topdown Dialectic

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

minimal house with ambient ideas

Moods

A black cosmos speckled with particle grooves

Thoughts

Really connect with this. Highly repetitive song structures with interesting bits that subtly float up through the rhythm. There tends to be some rhythm even when it's at is most atmospheric, makes this an accessible record for people who wouldn't typically listen to ambient. Production mimics lofi at times.

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/Topdown-Dialectic-Topdown-Dialectic/release/13230387

Listen!

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWRk6DUlR8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTED4Tn_q6o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy-2mEg9TTU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89usL-4pI1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zMkBu_E84Y

Spotify


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Topdown Dialectic – Topdown Dialectic

Description: Album Review of Topdown Dialectic – Topdown Dialectic


Rating: 4 out of 5

 

U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

Gritty 70s rock with a strong modern lyricst

Moods

A gritty, literary, pop-rock masterpiece

Thoughts

I'm not familiar with Meg Remy's entire catalog but this is a good example of something that borrows heavily from music in the past but without trying to imitate entirely. Great textures and jazzy horns that move quick. Not polished, gritty and textured with modern electro flourishes here and there.

Great pop writing at its core. Her voice is a delicate alto which naturally adds a vulnerable personalness. She's a fantastic lyricst who can keep up with the best abstract and literary singers albeit in a direct wit. She's protesting, it carries aggression towards aspects of life from emotional abuse to plastics, most importantly the struggle of being a woman in today's world.

Very full, not a bit of filler on this and a standout of modern rock.

Incidental boogie.. damn love that track.

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/US-Girls-In-A-Poem-Unlimited/release/11564458

Listen!

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YkIvuGYGqA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9PLXHDEUFE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtGb5NiGBjc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cFnewlPpzI

Spotify


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U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited

Description: Album Review of U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited


Rating: 4 out of 5

 

Shawty Pimp, Reddog – Comin’ Real Wit It

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

90s graphic southern rap

Moods

A hipster gangster rap reissue and classic soundtrack for riding dirty.

Thoughts

This is the stuff of hipster dreams: a tape reissue from an obscure southern rapper. The result has this pleasing lofi quality, you get the sense that part of the production is missing from the version you're hearing; as if you've been ripped a tape of a tape that's lost part of the fidelity.

Songs are really just flows, not much pop structure but it's fun and loose, noones swinging for the fences with over production and songwriters. Gives it a refreshing personal intimacy. Graphic for sure but if you're OK with that its appealing.

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/Shawty-Pimp-Feat-Reddog-Comin-Real-Wit-It/release/6341713

Listen!

Spotify


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Shawty Pimp, Reddog – Comin’ Real Wit It

Description: Album Review of Shawty Pimp, Reddog – Comin’ Real Wit It


Rating: 4 out of 5

 

James Ferraro – Far Side Virtual

by ·

★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening

Sounds like?

vaporwave (new age synth and computer Muzak with a cynical twist)

Moods

A vaporwave classic, I'd like to logout now please

Thoughts

I'm not a vaporware historian but I appreciate the genre and it's cultural critique: taking the soothing elements of Muzak and warping them into this anxious soundtrack. This is a definitive vaporwave album and representative example of the genres aim. With just the right amount of maddening cheese, it doesn't feel like it's deliberate satire (well maybe on wifi sushi which is almost laugh out loud funny). He really captures the excitement that once existed about globalization's limitless possibility unlocked by the consumer. In hindsight we can see growth in corporate culture has just led to disappointment and further inequality, revealing an entirely new interpretation of this music.

As art I applaud it, its effective and immediate. To sit and listen to this as you would regular pop? I'm not sure it has that appeal.

More Info

https://www.discogs.com/James-Ferraro-Far-Side-Virtual/release/7853044

Listen!

Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9ndKlm-G3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRFn97NyURM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNhP6aoP6XY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w82omu5nrkk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIvR9rqae7Q

Spotify


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James Ferraro – Far Side Virtual

Description: Album Review of James Ferraro – Far Side Virtual


Rating: 4 out of 5