Dance Gavin Dance - Artificial Selection
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\
Deep in the caverns of imagination is 2001 me patting present me on the back while a mere-two-months ago me looks on in awe and disdain. From a download to see how bad they REALLY were came a guilty pleasure turned purchased CD turned cautiously yet unquestionably gung-ho for album. A consummate contrast of appallingly appealing cleans and angsty throat shredding that's silly and seductive, dramatic and dazzling, swarming with sweeping skillz. It's hard to tell if this is frontloaded or if they're just taxing in general or both, lyrics legible or not are oft absurd to the point of asinine and/or conjure a cringe -- beautiful catharsis, not wanting to be treated like a psycho, belly-placed popcorn tellin' ya things, bright asses in battle, smoking weed out of a pussy filled with money, etc. -- but this sheen-n-severity stew consistently strikes a nerve. Many a lil memorable touch and quirk; but they're surely just a bonus to some stupidly huge hooks+harmonies that you'll unabashedly wail in your worst falsetto. Sing along, now: "Don't fight, it's too magnetic." 9/10
Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
My first go with Lopatin via 2015's Garden of Delete intrigued yet irritated; flashes of disturbing brilliance in an electro tangle too disjointed. Hearing his more accessible work as a major arranger for Anohni cemented continued interest, and here I am now with Age Of and I'm siked I stuck around. Still a total tangle flow-wise -- but the erraticism is both enhancement and enigma, patchy enough to still stay surprising+intricate ten listens in. Perhaps this one just has a brighter palate: medieval MIDI strings stick it somewhere in the classical cheese canon yet doesn't abstain from factory doom; and yes the singing from Trixxer himself, which balances out the ol screams/squelches/static and is a game-changer even if a bit garden-variety. Or maybe I've just grown warmer towards his webs -- definitely enjoyed Garden of Delete somethin' extra on a recent return listen. 7.5/10
Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
Come to think of it, exactly what I hope for in an extreme-metal journey of epic proportions: all-consumingly heavy yet crisply-n-punchily produced, elaborate flow that don't overelaborate, intense both sonically and emotionally, synth odysseys on top of model tech-metal madness, the softie skills to balance the extreme. Their prog keeps busy and blows mind without kneeling to nonsense noodlin', winningly decipherable roar vox devour ya whole while making room for cleans/shrieks/murmurs, jazz flourishes are conducted with wistful+whimsical grace; at times reaching full-on beach level. Not that you won't hear every one of these absurdly talented gents loud and clear, but if you find the drums to be too deafening it's probably cuz they deserve to be. One more great trait that well-formed albums should possess -- a finale that reprises the intro and singlehandedly encompasses everything that makes said album awesome. 9/10
Simian Mobile Disco - Murmurations
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
In collaboration with the cavernous+commendable all-female Deep Throat Choir this pair-o-producers sees their rather orthodox deep house go mystical, chilling, incantational, perhaps ice cold dance pop. It doesn't ever quite catch up with "Caught in a Wave"; which solidifies the tone early on and gloriously, emanating equal parts black hole and beautiful -- but those pining for primal-thump protractions with the chants to match and space soars and 'ahhh'ing into the abyss will surely find an agreeable groove to stick with. Choir that blurs cautious church-backers with warriors cert don't hurt. 8/10
Tropical Fuck Storm - A Laughing Death in Meatspace
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
///BRAV-FUCKING-O\\\
Diggers like to sing the praises of Liddiard's lyrics, but the thick-n-slurred accent and confounding arrangements often camouflage em. Certain curiosities will cryptically poke through -- crackerjack Australian coke, the USSSSSR, an adios for the cast of Happy Days -- but his unstable snarlin' suavity does the trick on its own, with fellow Droneser Fiona Kitschin supplying sweeter+clearer femme-vox foil. As for those confounding arrangements: masterfully messy and in the moment, dirty yet diapasonal, colorful and chaotic, refreshingly radical for a rock band in 2018. An exhausting thrill and a half. 8/10
Twin Shadow - Caer
*******HIGHEST RECS*******
Based on the initiatory trio you may assume George Lewis Jr. requires the ladied likes of Rainsford and Haim to generate the jumbo-stadium lighter-waver pop that reaches for the same Petty-n-Springsteen that said trio references. Yet even with should-be smash "Saturdays" supplying an impossibly irresistible boogie, I do prefer the palpably personal all-alone aftermath. He confirms the 'shadow' in his pseudonym is outta shyness, literally and artistically -- certainly don't make him any more anti-anthemic when he wants to be. But balladry and drama are kept in check obnox-wise while continuously grabbing your attention and heart strings, "Littlest Thing" is probably the biggest thing here, interludes offer soul searching and poignant origin recognition and rain. He yearns and loathes to simultaneously be cool, famous, quiet, faceless: any ol way he chooses, he tends to pull through; not to mention warrant that lighter wave. 8/10
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Beach House - 7 7/10
Blawan - Wet Will Always Dry 7/10
Eartheater - IRISIRI 6.5/10
Future - Beast Mode 2 6/10
Ghost - Prequelle 7/10
Ben Howard - Noonday Dream 6.5/10
Illuminati Hotties - Kiss Yr Frenemies 7/10
Raime - Am I Using Content or is Content Using Me? [EP] ~*~meh~*~
Travis Scott - Astroworld 6.5/10
serpentwithfeet - soil 7/10
Toxe - Blinks [EP] 6/10
Leon Vynehall - Nothing is Still 5/10
Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth 6.5/10
Wussy - What Heaven is Like 7/10
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