2017 pt. 8

Boss Hog - Brood X

They've got a hard bluesy swagger that would be a hit at any worthy down-n-dirty dive bar and the sort-a electrified garage scum that ain't apologetic. Led by gal-guy but-mostly-gal power couple who are into black eyes, Sunday routines, etc. Guy, adequate axe-shredder he may be, kinda just shouldn't sing. Tunes, though oft-fun, tend to lean towards generic, shrill, campy. "Rodeo Chica", just a big ol roundup of corny. 5.5/10

Fen - Winter

Surely a solid crossing of metal that's black and rock that's post, ambitious too with six massive tracks in an hour fifteen. But all those aspects come off a bit middle-of-the-road here, considerably cohesive and occasionally electrifying they may be -- an intense well-executed epic on the whole but couldn't help crave something more-often vehement; further brutality here, increased bleakness there. And this length: I know Winter's long, but dayum. 6/10

Forest Swords - Compassion

*******HIGHEST RECS*******

Distinguished for really setting itself apart in the electro-field without going full bizarro, and sounding, well, distinguished -- structurally spotty and sometimes draggin' yeah, but the resultant aura is a heady nonpareil. Coated in jungle dust and lil glitch-marks, orchestral yet primal, grand but nervous, foreboding but primed for whatever comes. Abruptly cut sample(?) chants boost the mystery; treading between otherworldly transmission and ancient semi-hook. Occasional operatic coo there to haunt+soar, flute-hum hybrid(?) of "Panic" there to draw swarms of evildoers out from the shadows in a snakecharmer-esque manner. Most Urgent Abruptly Cut Chant in an album that captures the consternation of 2017: "I fear something's wroOoOoOng". 7.5/10

Jlin - Black Origami

*******HIGHEST RECS*******

///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\

What makes this footwork follow-up formidable isn't stock horror samples or harshin' up the soundscape, it's the rigorous refinement involved and pushing onward into the abstract. After a notably business-meaning beginning it never really peaks but also doesn't quit -- prickly twitch percussion-fests are dedicated to dizzying, voice-slices and bobbleheads more efficiently utilized, wraps you in its stark bass-laden groove and tosses sounds around like ragdolls. You may even wanna dance to it. Rarely does it not transmit the tenseness of a 'tick tick ticking time bomb time bomb'; which along with its stylistic restrictions, can get tiresome, yes. Mechanized marching bands led by rattlesnakes and gym teachers. 8/10

Mondkopf - They Fall But You Don't

It is what it is like much minimalistic sinister synth drone, but this one shines in its precise pacing and drama-inflecting efficacy. Letting these six interconnected pieces expertly escalate before your ears can result in deep dark aural pleasure, plod though it may. Easy to drown in, possible to ignore, poised enough to spellbind. The ambient dream warmth of playful keys and angel choirs on part five+finale serve as consolation-prize refreshers. 6.5/10

Sacred Paws - Strike a Match

*******HIGHEST RECS*******

It's apparent approaching the second half of this 10-track debut that tight jangly-twang is surely their comfort schtick, and by the time ender "Getting Old" rolls around it kinda reads your mind. But rarely is their oh-so-buoyant verve not magnetic or calmly bursting with bustle -- Rachel Aggs and Eilidh Rogers make for a team to be reckoned with, not just through guitar+drummin' finesse but vocal harmonizing/anti-harmonizing as well. Simultaneously betraying each other lyrically but usually good for merging into 'woah's and 'oh's, they honey up deadpan distress in a way that's complex, catchy, and composed. As do the ska-ish horns and obedient handclaps. 8/10

Suda - Hives [EP]

There comes a time in every consumer's life where these EPs of enigmatic electro experimentation begin to blur. That or this just ain't very diacritical. 5.5/10

Tzusing - 東方不敗

Horror-tinged techno from what I can only presume is the dark dungeons of China's creepiest clubs. Its eeriness is righteous -- coercive and stark and crawly, vox/sampled vox when employed are warped or shadowy as hell, emanates a wee slice of b-movie cheese. Which, along with huge-yet-soft bass thumps aplenty stompin' out those grooves, make this fright-fest quite fun. Maybe altogether too stiff and strange to be funky, but what the hey, funky too. 7/10

Wire - Silver/Lead

Fairly certain that post-punk icons Wire are incapable of making a record that doesn't at least SOUND good, even 40 years deep with some dubious detours. This maintains that streak, but after a bright-n-exciting first few trax this just steadily sinks into the mellow and languid. A no-frills approach was rather complementary on their last one, here unfortunately it just turns into a drag; frontmen Newman and Lewis in particular refusing to reveal much of anything in the way of ardor as voxers. Proficient in tonage and contented restraint. 5.5/10

Your Old Droog - Packs

Funny that this ol droog was initially conjectured as Nas incognito, cuz Nas hasn't come through with this much character or conspicuous lines since Illmatic. A self-claimed rap superhero and certified cancer-stick spokesman, ex-fiend who's moved onto green tea and tangerines, loss-hater whose marked references include Charizard and Redman's MTV Cribs appearance. The skits are irrelevant and terse, but verse-work and dust-grit and otherwise guests go a long way -- a prompt yarn about an impromptu cop killer is fitted with a beat just as manic and when he wants to 'rock' everyone involved ups the ante. When the beat turns into a circus, in comes ringmaster Danny Brown. The Droog is so into skill tho. Enough to know that it should take precedence over skin in the rap game, enough to think that if you don't succeed swiftly you may as well just surrender, enough to profess he's better than all of em anyway. "I'm sick of these sycophants who want to make their idols proud / I want my hero to hear me and shit his pants". We've all got dreams. 7/10

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Daniel Brandt - Eternal Something 6.5/10
Girlpool - Powerplant 6.5/10
Soen - Lykaia 6/10
Talaboman - The Night Land 5.5/10