Amnesia Scanner - AS Truth [EP]
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
Not only did I find this single but semi-segmented 15-minute journey tune preferable to their more conventionally formatted 6-track EP from last year, it made me appreciate that ol thang some more too. This further firms up their distinct rendition of warped electro-grime -- buzzy and bruising with ne'er an element going unscathed by its whacked out wrath, trouble sitting still, terrifying+incomprehensible club vox from time to time, damn catchy or near ambient when they wanna be -- and hearing 'em pull off this kind of extendo ebb-n-flow so fluidly with no lack of subtleties and extremes is endearing. Just wish they didn't blow most of their lunacy load in the first 150 seconds with all those video game motorcycles and rapid-fire alien annihilation, excellent a section as it may be. 7.5/10
Banana - Live
Quartet of quirky instrumental compositions from Cate Le Bon and her Crab Day crew -- ostensibly frank+off-the-cuff stuff with its live sketch deportment and lack of tune titles, but if you're a sucker for stringent structure or uber-repetition or marimba-n-vibraphone aplenty this'll tickle a fancy. See "A" and "C" for bouncy and busy, "B" and "D" for pensive and pacific. 6/10
Elbow - Little Fictions
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
Pretty tempting to decry 'em as temperate britrock softies that have no prob flirting with some soaring-n-sappy sugar-cheese -- kids hugging the world, love and miracles, powerful hearts, fields turning gold when he gets a text from you know who. Shame their seasoned slow+steady pacing and clarity-clad instrumentals are just so pleasant: the delicate yet forceful grooves, the modestly calculated arrangements, the buncha beautiful tones, piano-only and string-things stickin' to occasional drop-in. Voicer Guy Garvey follows the whole steady and pleasant thing to a T; managing to never quite oversell or undersell yet consistently captivate. His (and maybe their) true moment in the sun is kinda like safe-Smiths and called "All Disco", wherein they preach that obsessing over songcraft just ain't worth it. Like, yeah, but we can't all sound this effortlessly charming, ya know? 8/10
Future - Future
This protracted platter of familiar Future fodder drops the inevitable handful of bangers and a few distinct beats-n-flows -- after all, studied grimness and catchy hooks can possess the ability to possess without much effort elsewhere. But like 2014's 'Monster', this coulda shoulda been half as long; and unlike Monster, shifts are seldom and persona is dwindling and there's a pair of insufferable radio-call-in skits. Longer than Monster, too. Feelings are saved for last per ushe and provide highlights per ushe too, unless you count the flute-sublimity unmasking around the midway mark feelings: "Percocets, molly, percocets / Chase a check, never chase a bitch" goes the chorus. A suitable summary at this point sure, but can ya at least talk about pissing em out+off again? 5/10
Lampgod - God Shit [EP] (late 2016 release)
Convokes charm with its unusual beats and disheveled amateurism, gets better as it goes on too -- but the coulda-been-made-in-a-day laxness and ad-lib talks/samples nearly outweighing the rhymes and sub-15-minute runtime leave something to be desired and present a rather ambiguous persona in the end. Until the coming-soon full-length, we know this: he wants to eat and wants everyone else to eat too, he's not out to impress or care about production levels, he bleeps out his own "bitch" and has a sample scold him for saying it. 5.5/10
Priests - Nothing Feels Natural
Each of these ten trax has its own fun lil distinction whether it's a standout surf guitar loop or a deadpan-n-driving spoken word tirade or a good Cookie Monster growl or a catchy corporate-mock mantra -- but reliance on repetitive and rudimental drum+bass patterns can leave the tunes feeling weak, and said patterns usually aren't particularly novel or notable. They never quite outdo themselves in the catharsis department after the teardown/buildup/dinning dogpile of the opener, but as a succinct set of summed up post-punk routines complete with an outta-place placid interlude it's nice on the whole. If nothing else, they've got a versatile and perturbed frontwoman and are steady as fuck. 6.5/10
Sampha - Process
As a fragile and forward-thinking English electro r&b man, James Blake comparisons abound. But Sampha dips more into varietal vigor and fuller tunes and humanness -- it's not too bleepy bloopy or overdramatic despite the initial astro-accents, he continuously confirms having what "some people call a soul" and clinches it on a too-sweet childhood-piano centerpiece. Has the wisdom to debut with a compact 10 songs/40 minutes as well as enough beat+vox smarts and authentic coy charm to hope he doesn't go robot anytime soon. 7/10
Stabscotch - Uncanny Valley
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\
This nightmarishly sprawling and screamy punk/noise/prog/something/sludge trudge is torturous and tantalizing. Unwieldy and wild to put it lightly, forever fidgety and frequently ferocious; but for 90something jarring-ass minutes my eyes widen in awe rather than roll in exasperation -- in full band mode they go so hard+heavy it's impossible not to be impressed-n-intimidated, yet they chase such brazenly scuzzy extremes and spread the creepy basement psych so absurdly thick that it turns comical and uninhibited. Throw in some spoken word+whimpers, some glitchy ambient dream scum, a jungle tribe thing, fuckin' around on flutes like a group of 4th grade music class nuisances; and you've got quite the spectacle on your hands. Start-to-finish listens are probably best left for masochists, but considering the complexity and ceaseless surprises and intense-bizarre-fun combo? I'm on my 6th or 7th time. 8/10
Sun Kil Moon - Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood
Between the sternly scant+oft sterile arrangements and ludicrous leviathan length, it's officially pretty hard to give a hoot about Kozelek's meandering minutia-mumbles -- we're talking a cat versus chameleon scene; losing boxing bets and starting to burp alot; finding a shoe store; the any-thoughts of any-day events -- idly delivered. Coulda been manageable maybe if he hadn't kept a journal or read other people's letters or gone hokey artificial-vague when he ran out of ideas, but at 2+hours this feels not so much like an adventurous accomplishment and more of an intentional annoyance. Though his rifling through worldwide newsreel negativity is altogether noble, harebrained, grumbly, defiant; certainly providing some of the more notable moments, it comes off passive in the midst of mundanities and painfully period-specific. Still, he's something to behold: old DGAF dude who beautifully serenades peeps and places, paints a distinct picture, uses cute harmonies to call Trump a "huge fucking asshole" and emphasize his bowl of gazpacho back-to-back, investigates the mysterious Elisa Lam murder case and makes up his own featuring a Clapton impersonator, etc. 5.5/10
Various Artists - Club Chai Vol. 1
Humungo electro compilation boasting 21 different producers and roughly 90 minutes of material which will without a doubt tucker out and become a blur of beat-peepz. Somewhat similar to that Staycore spread I enjoyed so much last year, but this tea-team here is denser+grittier musically and team-wise too; not as much of an inclination towards light and the club; commands plenty of choice hyperactive variety without ever sounding like your average ol house-dance-whatev. Take for instance the industria-scuzzed synth-buzz+machine-guns ontop of a spectral Armenian choir leading the way for clangin-n-bangin Rihanna and Oneohtrix Point Never remixes; or the anomalous 12-minute surreal-turned-space-groove anthem-4-womanhood whose inquiry about support goes from polite request to demonic demand. Which eventually paves the way for breathy moans and movin' hips to fellatio and big ass-n-tits; oh and an impolite pussy crushing your balls. 7/10
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Age Coin - Performance 5/10
Emptyset - Borders ~*~meh~*~
HKE - Dragon Soul 6.5/10
Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now 6/10
Oso Oso - The Yunahon Mixtape 6.5/10
Porcelain Raft - Microclimate 6/10
No comments:
Post a Comment