2018 pt. 6

Cavern of Anti-Matter - Hormone Lemonade

These kraut-revering synth-ultraists still churn out exquisite groovework and cohesive layering like no one's business; steadfast shooting you off into space while keepin' it busy+upbeat. Making em rather undeniably engaging is their fusion of man and machine, deep dark galaxy drifts and video game fun-time, jammy goodness and sincere sound-care. So the dearth of character and a creeping feeling of caution may be permissible I spose. But few of these trax are the tremendous treks that so many on their last one were. Matter of fact, the 16-minute opener (by far the longest tune here) on its own sums this all up pretty unsuccinctly. 6.5/10

Ed Schrader's Music Beat - Riddles

True to post-punk norms vox convey a mumbly spectral crooner and dramatic wildman, but this bassfuzz/drum duo is texturally punchy and dancy even at their dinniest. A good giant distorted bass line always works, but ample piano and a bit-o-sax and twinkling Springsteen+New Order worship make em a bit more than rowdy beatkeepers. That being said, the more beat usually the better: see "Dizzy Devil"s yelly percussive overload and "Rust"s rigid ruckus. 7/10

Elucid - Shit Don't Rhyme No More

All the understated murk and scrappy structures might have ya seekin' some more solidity, but this transmits quite the brusque throwaway weirdo charm. Its brevity make his dense+ramblin' flows a bit easier to dig through, "Hyssop" wins with dreary drone before rapidly collapsing, "1010 Wins" reads as resolute garage rock before going slo-mo, "Rick Ross Moonwalk" has a silly skimpiness Da Boss would probably abhor. Guest-free but sampled females provide accompaniment -- noteworthily, Bjork for the kickoff and Chelsea Wolfe's snarls/Laurie Anderson's airplane prophecies for the vampire bar. 7/10

George FitzGerald - All That Must Be 

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

Bit bigger, less alien, more glimmer, vox/sampling broadened yet not quite as crucial -- growth that accentuates the shades of hackneyed or basic that exude from FitzGerald's nighttime house-pop. But he also remains a well-honed layerer who's superbly sturdy and makes both alot out of little and alot sound like little. Its swells are simple+satisfying rather than spellbinding, grooves-n-soundplay safe but spotless, moodz huge yet subdued. Rich in subtlety and texture and thump; yet too forthright for flubdub. 7.5/10

Iceage - Beyondless

Trades in some of the ragged despondence and punky pummeling for arrangements that dip into bluesy, symphonic, shaker-filled -- nicely dense and rough around the edges, for the most part diggable, but these half-awake-rolling-in-a-gutter vox certainly ain't lendin' it propulsion; something that seems achingly absent here. Part of me likes the near-cheese "Take It All" best cuz it just goes for it emotively. 6.5/10

Lost Girls - Feeling [EP]

Girl+guy lost inside 2 tracks/25 minutes of meditative electro and clatter: calmly communicated inner monologue, whispering, floating, sobbing, howling, panting, "the vast expanse, or whatever". 6.5/10

Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour

Amongst the bewildering abundance of praise for this Beige-ish Hour is GQ somehow calling it 'gutsy' (I hear "High Horse" in Stop&Shop), which makes me assume they considered her previous works outright terrifying. Tame as they may be, there's something to appreciate in the feather-in-a-breeze production and tidy arrangements; but where's the spunk? The country? The wit? At least her trite used to have bite -- now it's "You've set my world on fire", "You look out the window while I look at you", "looking at my phone, putting it back down", "everything that goes up must come down", marveling at how time zones work and that plants are real. And barring a moving moment for Mom, I struggle to see the much-touted 'most personal' artistic statement shine through much. I'll take Dime Store Cowgirl over Dime Store LSD-lite Pop-Rock in this case. 5/10

Oneida - Romance

Fractured and firm and down with minimalistic hammering+dissonance, all admirable attributes. But really too stationary and longwinded for their own good most of the time -- its kraut will catch you in its hypno-trap of staticky buzzwork and fluttering psychedelia and insistent jams, but when going the distance (as they near always do) their repetition reveals its limitations. Don't help that vox when there are pretty vacant whether dreamily moaning or stony-faced sing-talking or punkin' it up or buried. Consider the 18-minute ender both a climax and the choriest. 5.5/10

Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology

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

Proggy death metal duo that has alot more goin' on for them than a gastropodous fixation, to put it lightly -- huge full-band fabrication many actuals would die for, mingling of growl/rasp/near-operatic cleans, robust+technical performances through-n-through, stockpile of riffage alongside labyrinthine structures. Encounters with deja vu and 7+ mins being the norm make em kinda tiresome, but there's so much elaborate heavy horsepower to dive into here; and ooo does it sound good. Slimy icing on the cake is also swimmingly integrating their sludgy namesake. 8/10

Yo La Tengo - There's a Riot Going On

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

///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\

Lotsa complaints of tedium being hurled at this defiantly quiet riot; a shame cuz I find much amenity in its aura and a flow that's pensive, quirky, cryptic in the kindest way. Floppy pit-pat grooves, gentle vocalizations that come and go, afternoon laze and island breeze and heaven-wades and casual hypno-drone without the respite of squealy feedback pop or jam-outs. Even for a group that's long fucked with hushed, this is a cherished curveball that comes 15 albums deep; and further proof that for them "doing it wrong" is pretty damn difficult. 7.5/10

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Chevel - Always Yours 5/10

Lil Xan - Total Xanarchy ~*~meh~*~

Road Hog - Spares 5.5/10

Saba - Care For Me 7/10