Aphex Twin - Cheetah [EP]
Cheetah; as in this serves mostly as a demonstrative dabbling with the seldom-seen synth of the same name, not as in this is a speedy+voracious set of tunes that are gonna hunt you down and sink their teeth in. And per ushe, the Aphexer proves himself a gracious enough guru, establishing the particular characteristics of said synth slow and safe and steady while compiling its miscellaneous morsels into 30-second asides for the sake of consummation. But unlike his similarly satiated showcasing of computer controlled acoustic instruments last year, this sound palette reads too much as routine and the bore fruit is pretty much dispensable. Shoutout to stark-n-crawling thick-ass bass thumps, though. 5.5/10
Shinichi Atobe - World
This rudimentary set of scratchy electro-loops could feasibly fit nice-n-snug as disregardable background fodder for an equally rudimentary video game that sports only a title screen and 5 stages, especially given that the titular choices here are simply "Intro" and "World"s 1-5. On their own however, these worlds are really rather barren -- prosaic-but-passable techno starts to sprout towards the tail-end, but on the whole this is way too meager, perfunctory, uneventful. "World 1" in particular has to be one of the most frustratingly monotonous tunes I've encountered in recent memory; kind of stunning really, but certainly not a satisfactory first impression. ~*~meh~*~
Blood Orange - Freetown Sound
Lotsa good bleedin' on through here: lush-n-dreamy arrangements that are percussively preeminent, multi-instrumentalist mastermind crooner with loads of soul and sensitivity and smarts to boot, a gaggle of propitious girl-guests. Prominent Prince worship and kicking things off with a fiery feminist recitation never hurts neither -- but I'm not sure the near-permanent placidity is quite conducive to the durational ambition and socially conscious commentary, the latter of which comes through in interludial sampling more than it does the actual tunes. A handful of moments pump up the pep, but on the whole it seems stuck in a shell of subtlety. Nothin' wrong with that per se -- just could've done with a bit more in the way of hard-selling methinks. 6.5/10
Bernardino Femminielli - Plaisirs Américains
///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\
Though he initiates as a warped-n-muttering whoever with a penchant for kraut-punk and strident amp squeals, the prevalent persona unexpectedly ends up a breathy+enigmatic French Seducer Man who whispers over soundtrack possibilities for 70s street-crime flicks/foreign art films. "Hooks" that emit murmurings of "taxi" and "the police" sound straight from the steamy shadows of the night and I just assume all that other stuff I don't understand is pensive poetry or attempts at wooing. No-bullshit electro bumpin' and the casual coating of industrial/droning/psychedelia beef things up and give it cred, but most commendable may just be how sincere the schmaltz is: the balladry and pianos, the extended wailing solos and squeaky saxes, the misty melodrama wrapped in nighttime swank. Not to say it doesn't sound ridiculous, indeed it does -- they just do ridiculous pretty damn well. 7/10
James Ferraro - Human Story 3
///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\
For the most part I get a kick out of the classical-style midi-piano hypermania -- these laborious and noodling symphonies are sprightly and silly enough to charm if not outright oppress, and as a whole it manages to achieve a sense of grandeur while in the format of resolute goofball abstraction. Grows toilsome all too promptly as well tho, especially with the detached CPU-voices offering up social commentary via overt catchword. Lattes, smart-cars, Starbucks, Ikea, fay-tay-lities, yes yes this is like the consumerist world we live in, man. But cred for holding down the whole bold-n-visionary classical-madman thing. 5.5/10
Kablam - Furiosa [EP]
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
Preternatural electro portrayal of that time you trailed those little creepy-crawly somethings deep down into the basement, only to come upon the writhing chained-up robot creature who proceeded to send y'all sailin' through the vigorous vortexes of phantasmal choirs and clocks galore. Then those same little creepy-crawly somethings ate you alive, or the basement caught fire and caved in, or something. Surreal and turbulent and fun, only took like 17 minutes, a lion showed up? You know the time. 7.5/10
Kayo Dot - Plastic House on Base of Sky
Synth layers upon sumptuous synth layers and semi-shrouded vagabond drumming are enough to spawn an immersive spacemosphere that's enthralling as it is jittery, and prevailing to the point where one may forget they ever tread in metal. Sounds great, sure; terrifyingly technical, totally -- also often compositionally unstable to a fault, sporting less sections of inspiration and solidity and more moments that seem indifferent+cluttered. Vividity that begs to get lost in but becomes tiresome and disorderly; though the whole 'woah space maaan' thing definitely deserves partial blame for any yawnin' that may occur. 6.5/10
LSDXOXO - Fuck Marry Kill
If you're under the assumption a project called 'Fuck Marry Kill' by an artist named LSDXOXO is an explicit novelty, well, you right. The beats are brash and blatant to the point of bizarro, minced-up vocal loops are gruntin' somethings and poppin' pussy more often than not and persistent to the point of hyped-up hypnosis, a Kanye remix gets tossed in for kicks. Stalwart and forceful as fuck but always bringing on the bubbly+kooky, these are sexually-charged club bangers rendered ridiculous and playful. Opening track embodies it well: rubber bands, water drops, steel-door slams, soothing soul-croon vs. moaning and booties, etc. 7/10
Preoccupations - Preoccupations
Stripped of their controversial-yet-hollow appellation, the mentally afflicted brooders formerly known as Viet Cong have cut back on the dark-n-dirty in favor of pretty synth patches, drafty ambient segues, and a more subdued+by-the-numbers take on post-punk in general. Not necessarily a negative thing; they're still stewin' in shadowy depths and spewin' out some striking stuff fo sho, and arguably they're hookier this time around -- but the whole numbed new-wave thing has 'em sounding a bit stiff and slack compared to last year's effort, or as they put it: "We're all reluctantly engaged." Lines that are hard to sell when reluctantly engaged: "The persistence of monotony is blowing out the sun / This repetition's killing you, it's killing everyone", "There's nothing to do cuz we're all dead inside / All gonna die". 6.5/10
Young Thug - Jeffery
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
A gem in Thugger's cluttered discography fo sho, for the vivacious versatility if nothing else -- not just in his everlastingly elastic flows, but the ability to tote stylistic identities and a bag-o-tricks that are as colorful as his song-titled idols. We see him rockin' reggae on "Wyclef Jean", rapid-fire-spitting during the enhanced-Future impersonation of "Future Swag", breaking out the earnest creaks+pleads for "RiRi", going all choked-up gorilla on "Harambe", pursuing pop-man possibilities harder than ever alongside Idol #1 for the fascinating finale "Kanye West". It's the kind of artistic turning point that further cements the chance of "Jeffery" making it onto a few deity lists. 8/10
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