#AlbumReview

[dustedmagazine]

Godspeed You! Black Emperor — "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD" (Constellation)

The night of the election in America, Godspeed You! Black Emperor played a show in Toronto. As they almost always do, they said nothing. No interaction beyond playing music and then expressing wordless thanks to the crowd as each stepped off stage to the roaring feedback surge that closed out “Piss Crowns Are Trebled” and the concert. Even if they’d taken a moment to check the news that night, what was there to say? As suggested last time here, the ineffable, unspeakable power of the Montreal collective can be read at least partially as the only possible response to the deranged and deranging power of repression and evil in the world. 2021 felt dark. Suffice it to say that things have not gotten better and appear set on getting quite a bit worse.

The title this time, of course, is a reference to the verified (and thus almost certainly lower than actual) death toll of the genocide in Gaza at the time of creation. Associate and Constellation labelmate Jessica Moss released her own powerful statement on the same issue this year, and again, things have not improved in the meantime. It’s enough to lead to a rare appearance of lyrics, with “RAINDROPS CAST IN LEAD” featuring a poem in Spanish read (and written? as always, the band remains gnomic) by Michele Fiedler Fuentes. Of course the current album will be viewed in light of current events (they almost beg you to do so, from track titles and statements on down), and while no Godspeed You! Black Emperor record is exactly drowning in levity, they cast a particularly grim panic over affairs here.

If G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! frequently felt like the massive, sweeping motions of some sort of gestalt entity, it’s fitting that things here feel fractured at times, if no less cohesive. Halfway through “PALE SPECTATOR TAKES PHOTOGRAPHS” it feels like there’s a fire alarm going on behind the banks of sound. One of the guitarists frequently sounds as if they’re trying to pickaxe their way through a boulder (especially on parts of “BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD”). The opening “SUN IS A HOLE SUN IS VAPORS” sounds equally as if they might be tuning up for most of its length and like it’s a shame they’d already gotten around to using the name “Anthem for No State” as a title.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor has always been oriented towards apocalypse (the machine has been bleeding to death since their first album as a group, if not long before), and it continues to be queasily terrifying how swiftly the world rushes to meet them there. These are always someone’s last days; the rest of us wake up each morning and fall a little further down. They themselves say, this time, “what gestures make sense while tiny bodies fall? what context? what broken melody?” That may be the reason they close with “GREY RUBBLE - GREEN SHOOTS,” a tidy just-under-seven-minutes that presents both a stirring crescendo and an aching coda. Determined as always to nurture what is left growing after all the valedictions and maledictions are handed out. Every triumphant moment here feels wrested from the jaws of death, all too aware of who still gets claimed. They, and we, have to keep going.

Ian Mathers

[album-a-day-project]

2/20/24

Yeat

2093

====

This is my first time listening to Yeat at length. I've come to the realization that I don't need 22 tracks from artists like this anymore. He seems to use the same exact flows as Travis Scott, without the same level of entertainment value, maintaining a monotone voice throughout every single track.

Upon reviewing the credits, I noticed numerous writers listed for each track, as well as various 'TikTok Producers', which initially surprised me. It appears that we're witnessing the full evolution of Soundcloud rap into TikTok rap, with the first successful artists garnering substantial industry hype and financial backing. This is likely how Yeat managed to feature Future on the track 'Stand On It', which falls flat.

There's undoubtedly a place for this type of music, and Yeat appears to be leading the charge in the zone of TikTok rap. However, the repetitive and uninspired lyrics fail to drive the overall industry forward. By the end of this album, I find myself thoroughly exhausted. Thankfully, it's finally over.

5/10

[sonicreducer-band]

Fugazi Red Medicine by Ryleigh Fugazi, a band hailing from Washington D.C. and composed of Ian MacKaye, Guy Picciotto, Joe Lally and Brendan Canty. The band formed in 1986 and had an illustrious career touring the world and releasing several albums. Red Medicine is the 4th official album by Fugazi and the best combination of the bands signature rock sound, and the experimental sound they adopted in the second half of the bands existence.  Red Medicine begins with a disorientating, messy combination of sound. Many tracks on the album begin with a similar destructive intro. Not all tracks begin with these random sounds though, Latest Disgrace starts with a continuous clicking sound, but what sets this apart from the others is that the intro track is actually incorporated into the song, keeping the time in the beginning.  Red Medicine is not only great because of it’s experimental aspects, but it also consists of some of the bands best performances on any album. The guitar riff and composition on the track Combination Lock are unlike anything the band had done before, and Guy Picciottos vocal performance on the track Forensic Scene is both beautiful and haunting. Brendan and Joe accommodate this album as they do on each album, by being an extremely tight rhythm section, while also providing extremely catchy moments such as the bass intro for Bed For The Scraping.  Red Medicine is my favourite Fugazi record as to this day I think it stands up to anything else in the genre, and I haven’t really heard anything like it. I believe there’s a valid argument for any Fugazi album being the bands best as they don’t have any low points in their discography, but what made me fall in love with Red Medicine more than anything is the live performance footage of songs like Do You Like Me, Birthday Pony and Long Distance runner as they have such a powerful live energy and are huge standouts to me in the bands live set. Fugazi’s 1995 album Red Medicine not only set the pace for what the band would create further down the track, but also set the standard for what a “punk” or “post punk” band is meant to do. 

[lboogiepopworld305]

https://lboogiepopworldinthe305.blogspot.com/2020/11/parisjacksonalbumreview.html

[screamingforyears]

MINI_REVIEW(ed):

The review template of choice for the TL;DR Tribe… ‘QUIET PLEASURES’ is the latest EP from @glixen & it finds the Phoenix-based quartet of guitarist/vocalist Aislinn Ritchie, guitarist Esteban Santana, drummer Keire Johnson & bassist Sonia Garcia finding their inner sonically swole selves by linking up w/ producer @sonnyyyyyy who adds some extra heft to their brand of hazily pedal gazed & deliciously dream_popped AltRawk as heard on the table-setting opener “shut me down.”

[mythologicafolk]

Scurra, the French Medieval Folk band known for its "strolls" around medieval fairs, released their album Marchands de Fables in April 2024. The band graciously sent us its digital version for reviewing.

Read more:

https://mythologica.com.br/en/reviews/scurra-marchands-de-fables-2024/

[yukitozinho]

get up - the 2nd mini album, by newjeans.

🐰 data de lançamento: 21 de junho de 2023. 🐰 produzido por: 250, Park Jin-su, Frankie Scoca... 🐰 faixas:

1. New Jeans 2. Super Shy 3. ETA 4. Cool with You 5. Get Up 6. ASAP.

O tão aguardado retorno da sensação sul-coreana New Jeans surpreende pela versatilidade, enquanto peca pela simplicidade, por ser tão curto e com uma certa preguiça diante da falta de inovação dos produtores, e mesmo assim, as garotas brilham com os vocais nessas novas faixas.

Eu estava levemente ansioso por esse retorno. Desde que o New Jeans lançou uma das minhas faixas favoritas, Ditto, no final de dezembro do ano passado, eu fiquei empolgado por mais músicas das garotas gerenciadas por Min Hee-jin, que encabeçou um dos meus grupos favoritos, o f(x), enquanto estava na SM Entertainment. Após Zero — uma música comercial para a Coca-Cola — e o single OMG, muito se especulava e esperava sobre o comeback das cinco garotas.

Pois aqui estamos, com Get Up, que teve um grande planejamento, digno de um álbum de estúdio, e que me decepcionou levemente por não cumprir minhas expectativas que foram geradas por esse planejamento estrondoso. Com inúmeros clipes, spoilers nas redes sociais, o New Jeans entrega o mesmo de sempre, porém de uma forma reduzida, levando em conta que o álbum tem doze minutos — duração menor que o meu banho.

O álbum abre com a faixa que dá nome ao grupo, New Jeans, lançada como pre-release com a próxima faixa, Super Shy, duas semanas antes do lançamento do álbum. Em um synthpop simplista e que já se tornou uma marca registrada do grupo, essa introdução funciona perfeitamente para criar o clima que vai percorrer o álbum. Em uma espécie de metalinguagem, NewJeans se reapresenta após o primeiro mini-álbum dizendo “Olha, é um novo eu / Mudamos, quem são essas? / Olhe para nós, New Jeans / Tão fresco, tão limpo.”, deixando uma grande expectativa do que está por vir. Porém, a música cai na mesmice de forma que não altera nada no instrumental, como inserções mais sintéticas ou o modo de cantar das meninas, que fazem um bom trabalho em manter o tom em quase dois minutos.

Um dos maiores investimentos desse álbum foi sem dúvida no marketing. New Jeans tem um clipe onde as garotas se transformam nas Meninas Superpoderosas, desenho clássico e que marcou uma geração e que explicita essa mudança entre o primeiro álbum e esse, porém sem perder a essência e estética característica do grupo. O clipe é gracioso e vale muito a pena conferir.

🐰 + clipe de New Jeans.

Apesar de New Jeans não ser nada de novo na discografia das meninas ou até mesmo no álbum, é uma música muito deliciosa e que vale a pena ser escutada. Com certeza, essa introdução não foi colocada aqui à toa, o que nós podemos ver bem a partir da próxima faixa.

Super Shy foi o primeiro pre-release oficial do álbum, e acompanhado da b-side do single — e intro do álbum —, volta às tão marcantes origens que conquistaram o coração do mundo. O instrumental etéreo é um grande destaque, Super Shy se encontra entre a melancolia de Ditto e a felicidade das primeiras faixas das meninas. O rap melódico de Hyein é incrível e dá um tom charmoso e diferente à canção. O refrão mantém a tradição simplista na questão de produção do grupo. A transição da intro para Super Shy é uma coisa a se destacar, pois, elas casam perfeitamente bem e foi um grande acerto em manter o clima que a intro constrói.

Diferente do resto do álbum, Super Shy é a única música a qual eu não sinto tanto problema na faixa ser curta, talvez por ela ter mais camadas do que as outras e ser mais bem construída que as outras. Como o último refrão que utiliza de uma robotizada divertidíssima que diferencia dos primeiros, reforçando o quão viciante esse refrão é. O clipe, assim como a faixa, é divertido e jovem. Gravado em Portugal, com cenários em cores vívidas e com flash mobs dignos de fazer um vídeo dançando no TikTok, mantém a essência das garotas anteriormente vista em Attention e Hype Boy, por exemplo.

🐰 + clipe de Super Shy.

Em um bubblegum synth-pop que poderia ser feito pelo Girls’ Generation nos anos 2000, caso tivesse uma produção mais exagerada, New Jeans acerta no alvo ao lançar essa faixa que fala sobre ser tímida demais para confessar seu amor e para o seu crush notar. Gee mandou abraços!

ETA é o maior destaque do álbum justamente por se afastar de tudo que o NewJeans fez antes. Em um dance-pop divertido, meio funky, meio quirky — incomum em uma forma interessante —, com buzinas de ar no instrumental e efeitos de voz que parecem ter saído de qualquer música pop da década passada que usou e abusou desses efeitos e que conquistam demais. Mesmo assim, não fica repetitivo demais — como Super Shy e New Jeans —por ter uma quebra no pré-refrão, cantado em coreano e sem todos esses efeitos divertidos, dando um tom mais sério. Não é à toa que essa faixa é a faixa-título do álbum, pois de fato, é a melhor e mais experimental que o NewJeans até agora.

O clipe, gravado totalmente no iPhone 14 Pro, conta a história da letra. Uma amiga das garotas — Eva, como revelado no clipe — está sendo corna e as garotas resolvem avisá-la e fazer uma música INTEIRA sobre isso. Não poderia ser melhor, não é? Eu adoro como os clipes do NewJeans mantém essa estética delas serem garotas quaisquer, se divertindo, sendo jovens e bonitas. É um clipe belíssimo e uma grande publicidade para a Apple, outro grande acerto desse álbum.

🐰 + clipe de ETA.

Mesmo assim, em um defeito que percorre o álbum inteiro, ETA é curta demais e me deixou com um enorme gostinho de quero mais. Uma ponte, talvez? Não sei. Algo aqui faltou e me incomodou, mas tenho certeza de que vou alcançar muitos scrobbles em meu Last.fm rapidamente, não só pela música ser muito divertida, mas pela sua duração que chega a ser ridícula.

Cool with You foi uma faixa que me decepcionei um pouquinho, justamente por não ter sido tão explorada sonoramente. O instrumental é simples demais e chega a me incomodar, tal qual as duas primeiras faixas do álbum. É uma música delicada e merecia mais apreço do que realmente teve. É o mais próximo de ballad, mesmo ela sendo uma música de influência do UK garage, que temos nesse álbum, e poderia justamente ser MAIOR! Nenhuma música nesse álbum é grande, mas eu não consigo aceitar. O pré-refrão é magnífico e de novo, Hyein dá o seu toque especial e que me faz sorrir. As harmonias e vocais estão no ponto nessa faixa.Porém, a música não se sustenta no refrão que repete o título da música inúmeras vezes. De novo, o último refrão adiciona mais coisas, construindo um clímax que deixa aquele gosto de quero mais, que não é tão bom quanto deveria. COMO ESSA FAIXA SÓ TEM 2:30 DE DURAÇÃO?

Os clipes — porque são duas partes, assim como o de Ditto — são incríveis e contam a história entre o amor proibido de Eros e Psiquê com participação de Jung Hoyeon, de Squid Game, e Tony Leung, de Chungking Express. Jung Hoyeon estrela como Eros, Micol Vela como Psiquê, Tony Leung como o vilão Afrodite. Os clipes são uma incrível releitura do mito, e finaliza de forma majestosa, com Eros assistindo o NewJeans dançando o interlúdio que dá nome ao álbum, Get Up, que tem 30 segundos (ou crime cometido nessa faixa, por isso, vou nem avaliar).

🐰 + clipe de Cool with You (side A)

🐰 + clipe de Cool with You & Get Up (side B)

Cool with You e Get Up encontram o grupo replicando a melancolia de Ditto e Hurt de uma forma ainda mais sensível e linda, com certeza, um dos meus clipes favoritos lançados esse ano e um dos destaques do álbum vai para Cool with You.

O álbum se encerra com a — pasmem — curta ASAP, a qual eu estava profundamente ansioso desde que a prévia foi lançada. Com um instrumental delicioso e bastante aproveitado, com direito a sintetizadores sincopados, barulhos de relógio e de jogos, ASAP poderia e tinha potencial para ser a minha preferida e melhor música do álbum. Porém, a música me incomoda porque algumas partes são desconexas, como o último refrão que não combina nada com o último pré-refrão, sem realizar uma transição bem-feita e bonitinha, soando como se tivesse sido feita por um fã que apenas copiou as partes previamente lançadas. A música não ter mais de um verso diferente também me incomoda, pois, a música é quase tudo aquilo que eu já vira no teaser lançado.

Peca pela simplicidade, pela rapidez, mas é um perfeito encerramento para o álbum. Eu gostaria muito de ouvir mais dessa música e com certeza, ela seria minha favorita caso fosse maior. Apesar das ressalvas, ASAP é uma ótima faixa e eu continuarei a amar assim como eu a amei desde que ouvi na prévia, mas eu esperava muito mais. Os vocais fofos e harmoniosos das garotas se casam perfeitamente com o barulho de relógio do refrão, junto ao instrumental etéreo assim como o de Super Shy e Cool with You. É uma ode a tudo que foi feito na carreira das garotas, ao mesmo tempo que encontra uma fronteira a qual deve ser cruzada nos próximos lançamentos.

🐰 Nota para a capa o álbum: 5/5

A capa de Get Up é incrível e finalmente o New Jeans largou aquele coelho que é fofo, mas eu já estava saturado. Get Up não perdeu a estética Y2K que as garotas tentam replicar em todo lançamento, mas realçou isso com nada mais que suas versões como Meninas Superpoderosas, em cores vibrantes e extremamente divertida, assim como o álbum. E não pensem que o coelho foi esquecido, pois, o querido está no canto superior esquerdo.

No Apple Music — plataforma que eu uso —, a capa fica ainda mais dinâmica e fofa, com uma capa animada onde as garotas se movem assim como as heroínas.

🐰 Nota geral para o álbum: 4,1/5

Get Up é um ótimo sucessor de New Jeans (o álbum), pois mostra a versatilidade que as garotas podem fazer e destacar suas diferentes habilidades. New Jeans e Super Shy encontram-se no mesmo local dos lançamentos anteriores, queridos pelo público, e dá para entender o porquê dessas faixas estarem aqui, afinal, não se mexe em time que está ganhando. Todavia, os destaques desse álbum são justamente as novas facetas que foram desbloqueadas com outras canções. ETA, a canção funky que soa mais como um lançamento da segunda geração do K-pop se tivesse uma produção mais “poluída”, poderia ser irmã de Bang! do Afterschool; Cool with You, que facilmente seria uma b-side do lado Velvet do Red Velvet, e ASAP que exala o frescor e jovialidade que o New Jeans tanto se preocupa em reproduzir, levemente mais experimental e divertida.

Talvez, tudo isso seria mais bem aproveitado se as músicas não fossem curtas demais e chegam até ser esquecíveis por não serem de uma duração relevante. Odiei algumas na primeira vez que ouvi, mas aos poucos, algumas foram conquistando meu coração e realçando esse sentimento amargo de querer mandar um e-mail para os produtores e perguntar se eles estavam com preguiça quando estavam trabalhando. É um ótimo álbum sem dúvidas, mas isso é ridículo. O álbum tem uma intro, um interlúdio e quatro faixas onde nenhuma passa de míseros três minutos. Entendo que a tendência são músicas mais curtas, mas nesse caso, não dá, tinham que ter sido mais bem aproveitadas, ainda mais na indústria do K-pop onde tudo é pouco.

Embora esse seja o defeito primordial, é incrível ver que o New Jeans está conquistando seu espaço de forma respeitosa e com uma base tão solidificada. A sua identidade já é fixa na mente de diversos ouvintes, sejam eles casuais ou fãs, e isso é perfeito para um grupo que não tem nem um ano de estreia. Porém, os fãs que vão chorar pagando caríssimo em um show que dificilmente chegará a mais de uma hora, pois somando todas as músicas do grupo, não dá nem isso. Recomendo muito as faixas que têm estrelinha, mas vale a pena escutar o álbum inteiro pelo menos, uma vez. Lembrando que isso aqui não passa da minha opinião :P

🐰 Ranking individual das músicas:                          

⭐ ETA  (4,3/5) ⭐ Cool with You (4,2/5) ⭐ ASAP (4,2/5) Super Shy (4/5) NewJeans (3,8/5) Get Up (não avaliado porque é um interlúdio de 30seg).

🐰apple music 🐰spotify

[entertainmehub]

KillerStar - Live At The 100 Club Read the full review here: https://ift.tt/SeZcp7k More at Music-News.com

[dustedmagazine]

Drop Nineteens — 1991 (Wharf Cat)

The Drop Nineteens were still college sophomores at Boston University when, on a quick trip to London to see a girlfriend, Greg Ackell walked a demo around to labels — Creation, Fiction and 4AD. The New England shoegazers hadn’t yet played a show when 4AD’s Colleen Maloney forwarded their cassette to Melody Maker, who promptly named “Mayfield” their Single of the Week. Though hardly even a band yet, Drop Nineteens were already getting called “the American Slowdive,” a band that none of the principals had, at that time, ever heard.

1991 gathers the material from that first home-dubbed cassette release, the one that got Drop Nineteens started. Following close on the reissue of the band’s landmark Delaware ahead of the Drop Nineteens first album of new material in 30 years, these songs capture the swirl and echo and sway of a band about to make an impact.

“Mayfield” opened the door, erupting out of a wind tunnel here, with scrambling drums, a wall of three guitars, and vocals that slip in and out of the noise-storm, hitting an ethereal harmony or a yearning chorus, then sinking back into a mass of static and hum.Yet other songs were arguably even stronger, the wheeling, spiralling “Shannon Waves,” the dream pop delicate “Kissing the Sea” which turned the mic over to Paula Kelly. A formidable guitarist and the group’s only female member, her haunted vocal sweetness plays counterpart to Ackell’s more conventional Brit pop romanticism. 

A second cassette demo, called The Summer Session, is also included here, this one with Hannah Yampolsky singing (Kelly was out touring with another band). Here, a few months after the Mayfield demo, the band’s attack is sharper and more assured, but the singing dissolves into the ether. “Daymom,” follows a clanking, ominous bassline, not so different from the one that propels the Cure’s “Fascination Street.” The vocal sound is pretty but frictionless; all atmosphere no forward motion.“Soapland,” too, showcases some driving percussion and slashing guitars, but doesn’t really cohere into a legible song. The band was missing Kelly—and she rejoined soon after this second set of demos.

These demos were never reworked into album versions.The band started fresh when it recorded its best-known album Delaware. As recently as a year ago, hardcore fans were still trading tips about bootlegs copies and YouTube versions of this material, so it’s great to have it in a readily accessible format. Yet ultimately, the songs have a provisional quality, provocatively lovely but elusive and unfinished.If you love shoegaze or the Drop Nineteens or both, though, this is well worth checking out.

Jennifer Kelly

[album-a-day-project]

1/7/25

Bad Bunny

DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS

====

"I should have taken more photos". Starts off with salsa than it moves right into reggaeton, which I thought was a pretty slick blend. I can see this album going hard in Medellín when I'm there in a few weeks. With this type of album I don't necessarily need an hour run time, but this one really makes a strong point and is something refreshing from Bad Bunny that I wasn't expecting; he's branching out. This is my favorite album of his to date, but I don't think that many people will be as into it as I am. I can actually feel Puerto Rico in this music.

AAD Recommends: 88%

[hiphopraisedmetheblog]

HHRM REVIEWS: MC REEF - THE UNEXPECTED VOL. 3

Release Date: December 13, 2023Label: Team ReefLength: 52 minutesTracks: 16 Welcome to the world of MC Reef, where raw talent meets heartfelt storytelling, and “The Unexpected Vol. 3” serves as yet another testament to his artistic evolution. Brooklyn’s own MC Reef has returned with a project that not only encapsulates the gritty essence of hip-hop but also showcases his lyrical prowess in a way…

[azuresparkz]

HIT ME HARD & SOFT

An Album Review

Billie Eilish’s most anticipated album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT came out May this past year and has already been topping charts across national and international stations. Another string to the bow of the girl pop explosion this summer, accompanying releases from Charli XCX and the rise of the Midwest Princess herself to stardom, Chappel Roan.

The album is one of the more multi-genre releases from Eilish, delving into brighter sounds and acoustics as hinted from her Single “Guitar Songs” where she poured her heart out into “TV” and “The 30th”. 

TRACKLIST

Skinny

Lunch

Chihiro

Birds of a Feather

Wildflower

The Greatest

L'Amour de Ma Vie

The Diner

Bittersuite

Blue

Although not released as singles, the chart toppers of this album are evident to the listener, with ‘LUNCH' turning heads and bringing a new edge to Eilish’s persona and bringing her own addition to the growing ’Sapphic Summer’ 2024 is bringing about.

Accompanying ‘LUNCH' on the chart toppers is ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’, a happiest song about loving someone to literal death anyone could ask for, in true Eilish fashion.

Both songs took the internet by storm, followed of course by her iconic collaboration with BRAT summer icon Charli XCX on ‘Guess’. 

The rest of the album is a beautiful showcase of Eilish’s skillset and development as an artist, going from ‘SKINNY’, a song very reminiscent of her hit of 2023 ‘What was I made for?’ From the Barbie movie straight into the sapphic banger ‘LUNCH’ without missing a beat.

Moving from Lunch to the Techno-house/R&B stylings in ‘CHIHIRO’, into the soft pop ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ into the moving ‘WILDFLOWER’ ballad, she steps effortlessly from Jazz/Blues in the intro of ‘LAMOUR DE MA VIE’ transitioning into an insane 80s club banger, to the emotional rock ballad of ’THE GREATEST’.

She then returns to her dark pop roots in ’THE DINER’ and ‘BITTERSUITE’ and tying the whole thing up in a ‘BLUE’ bow, referencing a song she used to tour in the beginning of her career ’True Blue’ combined with quotes and references from each of the songs on the album. 

Overall, a phenomenal album start to finish that feels like a true collection of moments from her life — a body of work rather than a story start to finish like some of her other albums felt, a very mature and in depth dive into her psyche and musicianship as a young woman.  

[screamingforyears]

MINI_REVIEW(ed):

‘CHAMELEON’ (@daisrecords) is the debut LP from @trauma.ray & it finds the Fort Worth-based quintet of singer/guitarist Uriel Avila, guitarist Jonathan Perez, bassist Darren Baun, drummer Nicholas Bobotas & guitarist Coleman Pruitt seamlessly HUMming their way across a weighty 12-track spread that’s chockfull of bombastically amplified AltRawk (Bishop), quietly/loud GrungeGaze (Spectre) & tenderly textured DreamPop as heard on sprawling 7+ min closer “U.S.D.D.O.S.”

[carolinecashew]

Album Review: LOST IN HEAVEN (2024) – Chase Atlantic

FAVELA

This first track has a beat that I find similar to “MAMACITA”. I think the correct term might be samba.

“We just touched down in Brazil”

According to Wikipedia: “Favela is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil.” It’s essentially a slum or ghetto. As I am largely unfamiliar with Brazilian culture, I thought it was a girl’s name at first.

“No TSA when we land” 

Favelas are poverty- and crime-stricken places. Drugs and many illegal activities run rampant.

They played this when I saw them. I’ll admit it isn’t one of my favorites. But it’s an interesting choice for the first track. 

DIE FOR ME

The guys are experts in sexual lyrics. Filled with minor chords, the dark and mysterious ambience is tempting. The lyrics seem more explicit to me than they usually go for. I was surprised when I first heard it. In a really good way. The sexual metaphors are so clever and witty. They just hit you one after another. Don’t even bother counting how many there are.

“Chase in rotation, no Drake in her playlist”

I don’t assume this is meant to stir up or address any possible beef the band has with Drake. It’s just funny. It’s become one of the most iconic lines off the album, quoted by many fans.

They opened each show on their tour with this song. It was the first single off the album (although you could argue that “MAMACITA” was the first—it came out in 2023). I remember at my show, Mitchel walked out first by himself with a drink. Then Clinton, Kras, and their touring band filled the stage.

When they play this live, they pause just before the first chorus for maybe 8 (?) seconds. Then the chorus kicks in. It’s a trick performers sometimes do in an attempt to make everyone feels the chorus harder. I find that there can be an issue with doing this. The artists don’t know exactly how it will be received by the thousands of people in the room. Some people will be confused. Some will really enjoy it. Some won’t. I assume that the decision was thought through, and I think people liked it. Experienced performers know what they’re doing. Objectively, this trick has the potential to raise the performance’s vibe, or leave people with a question mark floating above their heads.

RICOCHET

Another single, and definitely one of my favorite Chase songs. The 12-second intro gets me so excited. 

“And I said I wouldn’t get involved / But fuck it, I’m a human being / I don’t like the way I’m feeling”

A sad, relatable confession of an element of the human experience. It’s vulnerable, and put simply like the words a child would use. The innocence is there.

The percussion leading into the first chorus is perfection. It’s just two or three seconds of triple-meter banging building up.

“Yeah, I’ll do anything to kill this pain”

I relate to this line from an ADHD perspective. My dopamine receptors are fucked. There are times when I feel so low I feel I really would do anything. The deprivation of happy chemicals is actually painful and it’s why neurodivergent people are more susceptible to addictive behaviors. So this line is validating to me.

This song includes a bridge to the second chorus, and it might just be my favorite part of the song. It brings you down with a low, pulsing beat. 

“Your life’s like a movie” 

This line begins that bridge. Sung by Mitchel, and repeated by a high-pitched voice in the background. It stops during the chorus then comes back for the outro and repeated by Mitchel again.

“I’m just so nauseous / These drugs I’ve been on, got me intoxicated / I’m intoxicated, I’m intoxicated”

Favorite part of the song right here. The buildup is crazy. Ironically, it makes my brain feel good. It’s mind-blowing in a way that makes me almost want to cry. Or explode. I’m not sure how to phrase it. The triple-meter percussion thing is used again here too. I could listen to this bridge on loop. The way the notes of the melody gradually increase is addictive.

“That shit’s in the past, can’t look behind me now”

This is present-day Mitchel talking. However…

“Sitting with my thoughts ain’t the remedy / I’m still knee-deep in this fuckery”

Getting clean is only half the battle. Your problems and pain still exist. The drugs never solved them. The line feels hopeless. Like there’s no solution. What are you supposed to do to feel better?

YOU

This is hands-down one of the most beautiful, saddest Chase songs. I’d put it in my top ten. It was almost like a spiritual experience to hear this live. It’s filled with regret, grief, remorse, shame, and love. “YOU” is one of those songs that makes you stop whatever you’re doing, stare blankly into space, and fall to your knees. This song commands your senses. (It also has a few Chase Atlantic easter eggs in the lyrics.)

“Yeah, it’s getting harder to move”

The track has a small, quiet intro that you can barely hear. The first chord sounds like the music is turning. Mitchel doesn’t beat around the bush and immediately introduces the song’s situation with this line.

“But you’ve been diggin’ up the truth”

He’s been found out, and this line makes it feel personal to the listener. He is singing, talking, to you.

“’Yeah, I don’t wanna stay and watch you die’”

I wanted to mention this one because it’s just simply put and brutally honest. No ornamental metaphors or anything.

“I’m using music to distract my fuckin’ mind / So / I wrote this song for you”

Mitchel both listens to and writes music to cope. There’s something about writing about your struggles that makes you feel like you have power over them instead of the reverse. By choosing to get close to it through writing, you conquer it in a way. You talk back to it. We all use music to distract our minds in some way.

“I’ve been having breakthroughs / And hoping you were proud, just maybe”

This is just damn sad. It makes me want to give him a hug. You can hear the childlike innocence.

“A thousand apologies couldn’t make up for the time that I’ve wasted”

I just. Yes. Wow. I feel this in my own way in all the time I’ve wasted in my own life. You can’t change the past. None of us have that kind of power. Even when we move forward, that reality still exists.

Finally, the saxophone outro is like a cry. And a hug. A gut-wrenching conclusion that carries the listener and offers a space to reflect on all that Mitchel has said.

DEMON TIME

“So I drown in Hennessy when the night calls”

This beat makes a reappearance in the next track. Both songs sound like they’re meant to go together. “DEMON TIME” is about Chase Atlantic’s rise to fame, it’s highs and lows, and feeling used. 

This song isn’t one of my favorites to be honest. Though I appreciate the reflection the guys share in the lyrics.

NIGHT CALLS

As mentioned, “NIGHT CALLS” is like a “DEMON TIME” part 2. It’s also the shortest track on the album. There’s a swoosh sound at the very start of the track imitating a sent text message.

“So what’s the point of hoping? Yeah / I’m barely even coping”

Simple, yet effective. The easy rhyme is nice to hear.

“Another drink and I’ma end up on the floor, yeah / So why the fuck you joking?”

A probable reference to the “DEMON TIME” lyric I quoted about Hennessy, and maybe the album’s last track titled “DON’T LAUGH”.

It’s a good song to listen to late at night.

DISCONNECTED

I like a lot of the lyrics in this. It’s a bop too. I take it it’s about dissociating or similar experiences.

“Why you talkin’ to me, baby? Talk no more / I can’t hold you, baby, my whole body’s numb”

Sad hours: open. I like the notes Mitchel hits on this line.

“You said, ‘The grass is always greener’, but the sky is gray”

Amazing. A masterpiece. Poetic. I love it. *chef’s kiss* This might be one of my favorite lyrics off the whole album. It makes you think about false optimism and stuff.

“Bitch, bitch, yeah, I feel disconnected”

This part startled me when I listened to the song for the first time because it just come out of nowhere, loudly, after a few seconds of silence. You think the song is over. And then Mitchel yells in your ear. Nice.

HOURS LOST

I love this song’s rhythm. It hits all the right spots in my brain. Good stuff. I like the play on words with how similar “hours lost” and “I was lost” sound.

“Breathe in, had to find a way to stop the bleeding”

The melody here combined with the bassline is a classic Chase move. How they switch up all the tunes in a song in a way that is unexpected and fits perfectly is just one thing that is characteristic of the band’s sound. You hear it in bands like Coldplay and The 1975 as well.

“I was lost, abusing that money, sex, and power, baby”

They do it again here. Is there a name for this thing?

“I don’t wanna live and die, I wanna live and live”

First time I heard this it was like an epiphany. He gets it. This is exactly how it feels. Honestly the whole bridge is so good. Chase is king of bridges.

The ending of the song has a lot of lyrics you can’t hear unless you listen closely. Or read them.

MESS ME UP (feat. Xavier Mayne)

This song’s construction makes you feel like you’re floating on clouds. I hadn’t heard of Xavier Mayne before. His voice is great for this song. He has writing credits too. He sings the first verse and chorus.

“Full of blood and soil, these flowers blossom / And I can tell they’ve been dying to bloom”

This is one of Mitchel’s lines. I just love the dichotomy here. This might be a reach, but “dichotomy” is also a botanic term for when a plant repeatedly branches into two equal parts. I don’t think flowers do that though. (I’m not a botanist.)

AMY

If you thought “YOU” was sad, meet “AMY”. She is one of the band’s saddest and depressing songs. There is no hope in it at all. Every single lyric in this is so good, I’d end up quoting them all. The chord sequence and the long notes on “Oh, Amy” feel like they’re pushing you down into a deep, depressive space. So much so that I’d give people who are sensitive to the topic of addiction a word of caution with this song. On the other hand, it may also be validating and helpful. Listen at your own discretion. It’s very well done.

DOUBT IT

This one is funky as hell. It digs at pretentious people. It kind of gives you a taste of what the next track is like. It’s another of the album’s singles.

“I got your girlfriend on my right side / She’s tryna joyride in the Audi”

A silly goofy line. If I could describe it with an emoji, it would be the sunglasses face one.

I didn’t become a hard-core fan of Chase Atlantic until the last year or so, but I’ve been listening to their music since around 2019. When the band released a teaser snippet of this song, fans online were noting that it sounded similar to a track the band released on SoundCloud in 2016 called “Know Me”. There are a few lyrics in “DOUBT IT” that are similar to “Know Me”, and the melody is similar too.

MAMACITA

I hate admitting that I didn’t really like this one at first. I love it now. It’s fun. It’s a shame they didn’t play it at my concert. I like how bouncy and quick it is. 

“She may not tell you the truth / But that doesn’t make her a liar” 

A fan-favorite lyric. It has you going “huh?”. I swear this band never misses. Insert another sunglasses face emoji.

This song was released over a year before the album, which is a pretty long time. The music video is hilarious and superb.

DON’T LAUGH

The last track on the album—it’s rather slept on. It’s different than the others. It’s simple and easy to listen to. The chorus plays at the end of the “MAMACITA” music video, which came out in early 2024. It’s got a kind of alternative-pop vibe reminiscent of the band’s older music. Love the saxophone interludes. I imagine listening to this song on a big open meadow on another planet. 

There’s a monologue at the end. I assume it’s the character Void talking to Aura.

“I had to become someone I didn’t want to be”

This is the line that makes me think it’s Void talking. 

I saw a clip from a meet and greet session at one of their concerts on this tour. Mitchel explains a little bit about the concept of Aura and Void. Is Aura actually good? Is Void actually bad?