#distorted symphonic harmony

[sugaryapplepie]

Rogue Thought: If y'all want ship names I will make those and make a list of them! :3

@puppy-the-mask will be used as an example for this:

Cas x Xingshen: Siren's Jewel Cas x Xingshen x Macaque: Dethereal Descendance Cas(sander) x Chandrelle: Sapphic Serenade Cas(sander) x Chandrelle x Jack: Distorted Symphonic Harmony

[patricksilvrrozartistry]

Current Music Obsessions: June 16 - 30, 2018

Got another long list, but who really cares? As long as there's good music, everything is fine. So let's see them honorable mentions.

The Irrepressibles - Submission Rozencrantz - Her Walk Gets Slower Unicorn Death - Eaten by Trolls Elvellon - Fallen into a Dream Interitus Dei - Eclectic Heart Iiris - Wild Unknown Thing Black Arcade - Was Is Will Be Inner Core - Crucified Inner Core - Into Eternity Clandestine - Fearless The Autist - A King's End feat. Rehn Stillnight Tying Tiffany - Lost Way Trillium - Fighting Fate M83 - Midnight City Beyond the Black - Heart of the Hurricane Symfobia - From the Ashes Raving Season - Suspanded in a Spiral Evanescence - Hi-Lo feat. Lindsey Stirling KMFDM - Free Your Hate Conception - Roll the Fire Sagi Kariv - Last Kiss feat. Hayla Assulin Elina Laivera & Jovan Ducret - Haunted

And for the real obsessions we have...

1) Tristania - Evenfall

Randomly came across this video and instantly fell in love. I'm still not too familiar with their work from the 90's, but I'm loving everything I'm hearing from that point in time. This track is just absolutely gorgeous. I will say one thing though. Vibeke's dancing. Gurl.

2) Ruelle - Carry You feat. Fleurie

This song randomly popped up in my recommended videos and decided to check it out since I know a few songs from each of these ladies. This is such a pretty duet. So soft and easy to listen to. And the video is absolutely breathtaking. I really need to check out more from them.

3) Desiderium - Falling

Randomly found this song when going through a depressive moment and was craving gothic doom metal. I really want to check out more from them, because this is some wonderful stuff. From what I found, they only had one EP, which is a bummer, but at least there's some other stuff from me to find. This song is full of so much emotion and is riddled with melancholy, and their front woman conveys it so well.

4) Distorted Harmony - We are Free

These proggy guys are going to be releasing a new album soon, and this song makes me excited. It has a bit of an atmospheric vibe to it at times, but then switches to being a bit heavy. And don't get me started on the dubsteppy bits in the bridge. So. Fucking. Good.

5) Phosphenes - Boy in the Hood

Randomly found these guys one day. I really like how ambient and soft this is. It's so peaceful to listen to and the video further conveys that with how beautiful it is. Definitely am gonna check out more from them.

6) Purple Nail - Whenever

I've been wanting to listen to more of their work from Lady Crow's era with the band and came across this gorgeous track. It's so haunting and absolutely everything. If you're a fan of gothic metal, definitely give these guys a listen. They now have a new singer (the one who followed Lady Crow left the band shortly after the release of their new album) and I'm super excited to hear what she brings.

7) Elvellon - Until Dawn

The title track of their debut album and it's a gorgeous one. It's strong, beautiful, has powerful lyrics, is heavy at times and truly shows off everything that makes this band the amazing thing it is. I can't get enough of this band. They really blew this album out of the water and I can't wait to get my copy!

8) The Autist - Anima feat. Polina Psycheya (All I Could Bleed) and Alina Lesnik (Once)

They did that! Hands down my favorite song they've released so far. Such a powerful, dramatic and epic song. Everything about this song is perfect. The whole Anima EP is wonderful, but this song is a definite stand out and is a nonstop powerhouse from start to finish.

Bloodlust feat. Dragica Maletic (Demist) and Polina Psycheya

I love Dragica's voice so much and I need to listen to more from Demist and check out her cover channel on YouTube. This song has a bit of a doomy vibe to it, and her voice really fits well with it. It really adds a haunting dimension to the song, and Polina's growls push that vibe even further. Although Anima is my favorite off the EP, this song definitely stands out the most.

9) Svrcina - Who Are You?

Found this after listening to Carry You by Ruelle and Fleurie. I love cinematic pop tracks like this and I'm such a huge sucker for pitch-shift harmonies. It's such a great song to just chill to and has such a cool vibe.

10) Amaranthe - Maximize

Rekindled my love for this one day when I got in an Amaranthe mood. It's such a fun song and the chorus is ridiculously catchy. I find myself just randomly bursting out into song singing the chorus. Definitely my favorite off Maximalism. And I can't wait to hear their upcoming album with their new singer.

11) Adimiron - Zero Sum Game

Found these guys through their record label. The best way I can describe their sound is progressive death metal with a djent vibe to it. Definitely a cool track and the singer has a cool gritty voice when he does his cleans.

12) Piqaia - Artifact

Found these guys through Spaceuntravel and I'm really digging them. They're almost like a blend of Tesseract and Voyager. Atmospheric like Tesseract, but still has a technical feel to it like Voyager. I'm definitely am gonna check out more from these guys. The singer has such a gorgeous voice and goes so well with the vibe of the music.

13) Trillium - Nocturna

Tectonic is a really great album, but it's nowhere near as symphonic as Alloy and definitely leans more on the power metal side. With that being said, this song has the most symphonic vibes to it, given that Amanda sings operatically at times in this track. It's such a beautiful track and the last bit in the chorus is so gorgeous.

Eternal Spring

This song stood out the most on Tectonic. It's just Amanda's voice and some beautiful orchestrations. It's full of so much emotion and so much power. This is the song and vibe I was waiting for with this album, and the fact they left it for the very end of it to drop it makes this album even better. The perfect way to close the album.

14) Qveen Herby - Livin the Dream

EP 3 was really great and a bit more on the R&B side of things. It had some amazing tracks (Sade in the 90's being my favorite), but this song stood out a lot to me. It has this humbling feeling to the lyrics as Amy looks back on her life prior to how her life is now. Even though things were a bit rough, she still remembers it being some of the best times of her life. It has such a great message behind it and the instrumentals reflect it so well.

15) Raving Season - Silent Lake

I finally got around to listening to Amnio after knowing about these guys for a few years. They're a female fronted symphonic gothic doom metal band. They're the only doom band I've encountered with a female screamer and female clean/opera singer duo. Usually it's a male screamer/growler with a female singer, but not these guys, and it works so well. This song here is beautiful. It's so haunting and gets absolutely gorgeous around the 4 minute mark and through to the exit. So good.

16) Juno Reactor - Let's Turn On

A friend on Facebook shared this video and I decided to check it out because the thumbnail looked pretty. Holy tits is this video gorgeous. It's so pretty thanks to all the lights on the suits and the tools they hold. The song is so weird, but in the coolest way possible. Electronic music will always have a very special place in my heart. Definitely am gonna check out more from these guys.

17) Diary of Dreams - The Wedding

This song randomly popped into my head one morning and wound up rekindling my love for it. It's been YEARS since I last listened to it. It takes me back to the days when I listened to it on the regular when I was younger. Definitely a great darkwave track. The synths are probably my favorite part of the song, ESPECIALLY the ones in the third verse. I need to look into these guys again.

That's it for June! AND Current Music Obsessions will be returning to my YouTube channel in 2 weeks! It will be seasonal and I'll be talking about my MAIN obsessions from each month, so stay tuned for its return.

[neverlostmycrown]

Revolver Fan Poll: Evanescence Singer Amy Lee's Top 5 Vocal Performances

text ELI ENIS - March 9, 2022 - x "Bring Me to Life" didn't even make the cut. It goes without saying that Amy Lee is one of the most iconic singers in all of heavy music. The Evanescence frontwoman entered the game at a time when nu-metal's raunchier, heavier and overwhelmingly masculine first wave was turning over into a new generation of artists who were pushing the genre into new sonic and emotional registers. Lee's uniquely robust singing — fuck that, belting — voice immediately set her apart in a crowd of screamers and rappers, allowing her to undulate between tender ballads and titanic nu-metal bangers in a way no other vocalist of her ilk had the ability to. After all these years, Lee's voice has matured and expanded along with the musical direction of her band, so we wanted to take the time and ask our readers — among which there are many Evanescence diehards — to pick the top five vocal performances in her entire catalog. Interestingly, her most popular song didn't even make the cut, which goes to show how many outstanding vocal moments her fans had to choose from. See the top five vote-getters ranked accordingly below. 5. "My Immortal" While Fallen's other major single, "Bring Me to Life," is an explosive rocker, "My Immortal" showcases Lee's somber side. The piano-laden power ballad spends the majority of its runtime providing sparse, moody atmosphere for her heartfelt croon to bask in, and when the drums and distortion finally kick in, her voice erupts accordingly. 4. "Going Under" Another Fallen standout, "Going Under" is a smorgasbord of everything Lee's voice does best. Beginning with brooding mutters over jagged guitar chugs, she eventually pops off during its soaring hook, providing her own ethereal background harmonies that provide a tuneful echo to her full-throated belt of the lead melody. Simply put: It slaps. 3. "Lost in Paradise" The third single from Evanescence's self-titled 2011 album, "Lost in Paradise" is a symphonic rock ballad that sees Lee channeling the sound and style of Björk's "Jóga," giving it an ornate, orchestral feel compared to the sparseness of a track like "My Immortal." Her voice on here exercises restraint during the verses and first hook, but she really lets it rip during that final refrain — and to great effect. 2. "The End of the Dream" "The End of the Dream," an underrated highlight from Evanescence, is all about accepting that life can be painful but appreciating the fact that we're here to feel, warts and all. It's a powerful sentiment, and Lee lets it burst through the seams of her performance on here, holding out the final word from each line during the hook in an extraordinary display of breath control. 1. "Lithium" It's hard to argue that "Lithium" isn't the one. This moody, mid-tempo ballad from the band's 2006 LP, The Open Door, features hazy clouds of distorted guitar and funereal pianos that fill in the gaps between Lee's soulful belt, which reaches peak levels of voluminous power during its pained chorus. More than just a killer singing performance, it's a prime example of Lee skillfully using her voice as an instrument that perfectly complements everything else going on around her.

[shemakesmusic-uk]

Rising symphonic metal stars Ad Infinitum kick off the final lap with a captivating new single ‘Animals,’ plus its new music video, to accompany the release of their new album, Chapter II – Legacy, out now. ‘Animals’ leaves a lasting impression right from the very first second with its remarkable, powerful opening. The song nourishes itself on an orchestral foundation of epic strings and poignant piano, steadily accompanied by thundering drums and passionate guitar riffs. In harmony with frontwoman Melissa Bonny’s multi-faceted voice, which ranges from lovely, goosebump-inducing highs to vibrant growls, ‘Animals’ becomes a brilliant symphony of energetic and melodic soundscapes with an added metalcore-like touch without losing Ad Finitum’s signature roots. The band on the new single: “’Animals’ is a powerful cinematic track that will transport you from Heaven to Hell and back. Would you exchange your humanity for immortality?” [via Outburn]

Royal Distortion are a rocking quartet from Venice Beach, California dealing in ‘80s influenced pop-rock with grungy nods to Blondie, U2, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The band’s debut single ‘Hole In My Life,’ taken from their forthcoming project Mysteries, was recorded, mixed and produced by Kyle Hoffmann (Bush, Grey Daze, Lacuna Coil) at NRG Studios is out now via Grunge Pop Records. On the video for ‘Hole In My Life,’ frontwoman Isis Queen (Barb Wire Dolls) states:“We really wanted to start a Blondie cover band at one point, but we were writing so much of our own material. So we just jumped into creating our own sound that was inspired by lots of bands as we all have different tastes in music. Some heavier and some softer. I think a bit of Blondie snuck into our sound, too.So here we are. Just ourselves making our own version of what we love to do. And this video was filmed at one of our sold out shows at Whisky A Go-Go by George Reed of Esoteric Films. Ps: Royal Distortion is a band! Enjoy!” [via New Noise]

BAND-MAID officially released the single ‘Sense’ in all its glory. Much of this tune is similar to the Log Horizon anime theme, ‘Different’, as the guitar riffs by Kanami are fast and heavy. Yet, there are more layers here in the vocals with Saiki delivering lyrics in rapid-fire until holding the last few notes with a crescendo. Visually they serve homage to Platinum End as feathers float around the stage, bursts of light flicker like star beams. And guitarist Miku is seen contemplating the meaning of a crystal gem. What secrets does it hold? Even at one point, Saiki poses in front of a background with angelic wings. ‘Sense’ is the opening theme song for Platinum End. The much-anticipated anime from the two creators of the popular series Death Note: writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata. [via JRockNews]

South Coast, UK-based Pop-Metal outfit, Lightwave have released a music vidoe for their new single ‘Revive’. Watch below.

Hotly-tipped metal quartet HAWXX have shared a colourful and sinister video for their explosive new single ‘Death of Silence’. The new track will feature on their newly announced EP You’re Only As Loud As You Shout Right Now, set for release in early 2022. Originally inspired by the Me Too movement, ‘Death of Silence’ is a song of solidarity and empowerment. Accompanied by volatile guitars, thunderous drums and a truly passionate vocal performance, the song is an impactful and inspiring call to action for anyone being silenced to be as loud as is humanly possible. The video, which was entirely funded by the band’s fanbase after a successful fundraising campaign, takes the core message of the song and transforms it into an ethereal metaphor, seeing the band unleash their rage as they free one another from entanglement to unite as one and step out into life together. Speaking about the video, the band commented, “We absolutely love this video – it was important to us to have a narrative within the video of overcoming obstacles by finding, helping and supporting each other. This message of unity was made even more poignant by the way this video was funded (completely by our fans – coming together as a community and helping us spread this message) and the way it was made – with a majority female identifying crew who related and were passionate about the concept.” The video’s director Noomi Yates added, “The track ‘Death of Silence’ strikes a chord with me on a personal level because sadly, like most women, I’ve had my share of #metoo moments. So, to work on a video about the end of shame is empowering for me and is exactly what rock music was made for; smashing through the walls that need to be torn down. Unsurprisingly, the message behind the project attracted an almost exclusively female team. Of the 24 people who worked on the video, 20 were female, including our amazing Director of Photography, Sarah Smither. Normally film crews (just like rock bands) are pretty male-dominated, so this experience was a rare and treasured one for all involved. “I’m especially proud of how the video turned out, not only because I think we pulled off a visual feast that does justice to the epic song, but because through collaborating with Hawxx and directing this video, I’ve been a part of the very thing that I needed as a teenager; I’ve been part of making women in rock visible. In turn, I hope all the teenage girls who see this video will feel like it’s possible for them to be rock stars too.” [via Metal Planet Music]

[kronickpop]

Top 10 K-Pop Songs of 2019 (Pt.2)

Link to (Pt.1)

5. TXT - Our Summer

Very light and airy during the verses but hectic during the chorus. A kind of calm funk style. The vocals are sort of distorted, like they have a lot of texture, and a lot of the singing is in this high pitch that actually sounds great. Their voices blend together into this almost unrecognizable electronic harmony.

These guys had a great rookie year, ‘Crown’ was an awesome debut title track and ‘Cat and Dog’ was also really nice. Really looking forward to their future albums if all their B-Sides will have this level of quality

4. ONF - Ice & Fire

Such a fun catchy song, the way it fades back and forth between intense symphonic choirs and subtle soft verses is uncanny. Hyojin’s voice is so well suited for the chorus, the sort of lazy but beautiful way he pronounces ‘ice and fire’ is so good. This group has some great vocalists, definitely one of the most interesting boy groups in terms of vocal diversity. All the reverb and echo create this layered lush sound.

A lot of shimmery chimes and horns mixed with a heavy drum backbone make this simultaneously intense and soothing. Been coming back to this track all year and it never gets old.

3. IZ*ONE - Violeta

Some insane synth perfection. IZ’ONE has been given incredibly high-quality songs from the start. Both their mini-albums are full of great B-Sides, their producers are just incredible.

This instrumental is crazy, the melody during the chorus is so unique and abrasive. Between Violeta and La Vie en Rose, they have crafted this graceful yet extremely hype sound, with lush beautiful string sections but also high-energy fun verses that feel like they should clash but don’t. Like a weird kind of elegant-techno-pop.

2. GFRIEND - Sunrise

GFRIEND probably had the strongest year of any girl group. ‘Time For Us’ is full of great songs and ‘Fever Season’ is really solid too. ‘Sunrise’ came out really early in the year, and set the bar pretty high for everyone else.

Not sure if I’ve ever heard such a symphonic pop song that has such a classical feel to it. The piano and strings, especially during the chorus are so emotional and bittersweet and it all feels very theatrical. It walks a line between pop and ballad that I didn’t think was possible.

The vocals here are on another level. Yuju is so steady and her voice carries large parts of the song. Eunha also has this incredible vocal run at 3:28. that makes for such a memorable ending.

1. TREI - Gravity

One of the best debut title tracks from a kpop group ever. The fact that this group kind of flew way under the radar is incredibly disappointing, but you can’t really blame people when they weren’t promoted seemingly at all in the second half of the year.

Gravity is a beautiful song, Juntae is immediately one of the best idol vocalists in this generation and having only three guys in the group makes his voice extremely prominent in almost every song. Changhyun is an absolute beast rapper, he’s got a great flow and always uses his voice to its full potential. He’s also an incredible producer having written and composed multiple songs from their debut EP as well as some of EXID’s previous songs as well.

There aren’t many idol groups doing stuff like ‘Gravity’ it has more of an indie sound than a pop sound, and the chorus feels more like a ballad than an electro extravaganza. I don’t know how they manage to combine the softer vocals with upbeat rap verses and have it all feel consistent but they do. Really hope these guys can make a comeback soon.

[vapormaison]

2019 Best Vinyl Pressing 1/4: 魂のための歌 by 憂鬱

Preface: Throughout the month of December, Vapor Maison will be nominating  “BEST OF” albums of 2019. Slots will remain open for this month’s releases. Categories include Best Vaporwave Release, Best Future Funk Release, Best Re-Release (V & FF), and Best City Pop Re-Release, among others. This is one nominee for best Vinyl Press.

Author’s Note: For the writer’s ease of writing and readers ease of reading, I’ll be using the transliteration of 憂鬱:Yūutsu, and the translation of “Soul’s Song” in lieu of “魂のための歌”. I’ll maintain the Japanese track listings for easy reference. Apologies to Purity, a maiden as tedious as she is cruel.

Are the merits of a vaporwave album on vinyl even worth reviewing?

 Obviously, you’re reading a vaporwave vinyl review — creating a sort of circuit — so in the strictest sense of the word, yes, — but naturally, a follow up question must be asked by any smart music consumer. If so much of vaporwave, and by extension future funk, is centered around digital manipulation of either computer programs (vocaloid, electronic loops, midis, drum kits, etc), and pre-existing digital rips of j-pop (by definition most of future funk) — what’s the point of a vinyl press? Pressing mp3s onto vinyl is pointless — as no amount of “warmth” from a vinyl-based Hi-Fi system will ever make up for a low-quality source. What’s more, the indie releases of these tracks can make it hard to justify an expensive vinyl mastering session. In my most unfortunate purchases, I’ve had MP3s outperform certain 45s.

But sometimes, you can get just the right format, just the right mix and master, and it just makes your hifi set sing. You, as a Vaporwave/Future Funk/Chillwave/etc. enthusiast, can certainly approach the sonic repro quality of lore — that Platonic form of an “audiophile’s album”. How can I prove this? Look no further than Soul’s Song by Yuutsu. Point blank, full stop. This is the one of the rare vapor records for a true audiophile. In this next section, I’ll be giving my thoughts on the album’s tracklist. In Part 2, you can join me for a trip into Hi-Fi World for a discussion of Vapor-Vinyl’s legitimacy.

PART 1: THE MUSIC

小さい鳥 opens the album with a moody, synthetic mandolin-like twang and elegiac Vocaloid vacillations extended in a sort of melancholic embrace that brings you — willing or otherwise, into the arms of this project. The arrangement of the loops are of particular note here, with the layering of additional sonic flutters that culminate in an anti-climactic crescendo that leaves you as sad and disappointed as the album no doubt wants you to feel.

それは愛を返さありません ends up being the most “atmospheric” of all the tracks, a listening experience I’d describe as a fitting background track for a KEY visual novel — eerie, haunting monosyllabic Vocaloid chants of comprising the long, long hooks. While running at 5:24, it definitely feels longer — perhaps created by a symphonic discord between vocals and music at intermittent portions of the piece. I’d characterize this piece as the most experimental of the album, deftly playing with my expectations more than any of the others.

闇 is incredible — and without a doubt the highlight of the tape. Because it departs from the simple string looping and gives us something more — something resembling a tragic and contemplative harmony, however discordant, and one that builds into lyrically what I consider to be a genuine contemplation of spirituality and the other world — a natural place, topically, for an album titled “Soul’s Song”. A sort of hollow computerized synth also left me considering — was this song about the soul of the Vocaloid program itself?

The digitized horns, eerie synths, and what I could best classify as the crackling of amplifiers introduce the thirty-eight second interlude of 変更 and serve as the riser to the climactic shift of the EP beginning in おやすみ. This four-minute piece deftly blends electric and analog strings and brings the vocaloid program to its emotional and sonic heights, really making the high-end pop in a for a surprisingly refreshing experience.

We conclude the album with a hybrid piece ネコチャン which captures the electric energy of おやすみ, the distorted samples of 変更 and adds a fleeting feeling of warmth with that familiar sound of tennis shoes on a waxed gym floor, evoking nostalgia that never was of doldrum days in a Japanese high school. The album fades out, with our familiar vocaloid’s calling out of Neko-chan, melting away like memories.

PART 2: THE VINYL LISTENING EXPERIENCE

When re-starting this review blog in earnest over the past month or so, I made a point to get my best gear serviced. I couldn’t claim to be fulfilling my broadened duties without having a fully-serviced, properly functioning kit. One of the more essential and dreaded refurbishments was getting my KEFs over to the local stereo shop wizard for a re-foam. I’d be without my workhorses for a week: an audiophile Alexander without his binaural Bucephalus. In the meanwhile, my backup speakers — a pair of Cambridge Audio SX-50 bookshelf speakers that I use as computer monitors, stepped up to the plate as pinch hitter.

I provide this anecdote for a reason: the very afternoon I dropped my KEF’s off at the shop is also the afternoon I received my copy of Soul’s Song by Yūutsu.

Admittedly, I can’t say I was particularly hyped for this release, or very eager tor receive it in the post. The previous evening I had been sleeplessly experimenting on a DJ set of city pop for the journal’s launch party at my alma mater. I was decidedly on an upbeat, caffeine-fueled kick of positive thoughts and big dick energy. Success had triggered the dopamine receptors, and the idea of sitting down for a serious listening session of an album that many BandCamp users had dubbed as “peak sadwave” seemed like an unnecessary vibe check.

But— being a self-appointed music blogger— a craft which I imagine has real pretensions about it somewhere, I buckled —a serious listening session was attempted.

And I was utterly blown away.

***

A final word on gear. The Cambridge SX-50s — and Cambridge Audio in general— do have a bit of a cult-following among guitar enthusiasts in various audiophile spheres. I also am familiar with a listening bar in Nagoya (where I studied abroad for a semester) that uses top-shelf Cambridge Hi-Fi gear solely for Vocaloid listening sessions!

Suffice to say, I was not actively thinking about either of those two facts when I first let the needle drop, but when the twangy synthetic guitar loop and the eerie vocalic chants of それは愛を返さありません began, a sudden wave of melancholy set in and brought my mind back to a lonely winter spent in that basement bar after breaking up with my girlfriend. And to the Cambridges. At that time, I became intimately familiar with how an upbeat, poppy — sometimes even jazzy track— accompanied with Vocaloid vocals could really make those speakers sing. And it was happening right now, as I was cuddled by the warmth pouring from those drivers in spite of the cold sadness of the arrangement. That dichotomy was on full display as “Ya-aa-mi” invocations of 闇 reached its penultimate hook.

In may respects, these Cambridges were and still are petty. I had previous experience with them butchering a poor quality vinyl of the Luxury Elite/Saint Pepsi Late Night Delight EP two years ago. My KEF’s usually take it upon themselves to run cover for a bad release. Cambridge-chan couldn’t be bothered. On a bad day, with a bad play, they’ll seem like the most clinical JBL studio monitor — but here they were, absolutely singing. This album was making them slap — metaphorically. And that’s when I realized what a magical press this was.

Five days later, the KEFs were securely hooked up to my amp again. The first vinyl to be put through the paces was, of course, Soul’s Song. Again I was impressed. The exquisite layering of this album can’t be expressed enough — and while the SX-50s brought out the synthetic string and vocals to the fore, my 104s filled in the rest of the sonic picture. I felt as if I was being re-acquainted with a piece of sculpture upon viewing it from a different angle, or witnessing a church’s mosaic in person after seeing a small reproduction in a well-printed textbook. This is a pressing far and above the previous standards I’ve set for vaporwave.

***

As any Vapor Vinyl review would be incomplete without a brief take on the overallＡｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ of the release, so I’ll just start by saying that I really enjoy the three-tone front end. The lavender, beige and white undeniably make this a very “Aloe” release, who tend to make things easy on my very nearsighted eyes by never making the cover too busy. This is perhaps with the notable exception of VR 97’s recent cassette release — not a trend, I hope!

I do have to admit I’m getting a bit tired of pink vinyls, though — and Soul’s Song unfortunately now joins a very crowded pack. I suppose if you were being pedantic, you could compare the “pinkness” of the album vis a vis the 2nd pressing of Macros 82-99’s Sailorwave (fuller, more saturated), or even the “bubblegum” first pressing of Vektroid’s Floral Shoppe (just naming two iconic releases) — but I think this release would have been fine (and moved units) as, say, a picture disc — making use of the powerful, emotive cover art to its fullest extent. In short, it takes something unique and then commodifies it to the point of exhaustion. While I suppose this criticism could be leveled at all of the genres I cover— I think generally speaking Vaporwave and Future Funk (to a lesser extent) treads this line of “capitalist critique” and “modified consumption” rather adeptly.

The main thrust in the previous paragraph, I should qualify, is not a specific criticism of Aloe City Records, however — I think they’ve done a fine job generally. If I could make a list of three releases that justify a special edition vinyl — this is certainly one.

For audiophile vaporwave/chill-wave fans, I’d encourage you to snap it up while you can.  You can even buy it ethically — it’s still in stock on Aloe City’s band-camp page. It’s in my mind — without doubt — one of the best presses of the year.

[tariandlenasmusicblog-blog]

My Mistake: An essay about IGOR, Flower of the Bride, and closure

The funny thing about getting older is that you don’t fully appreciate how removed you are from a version of yourself until you look in the mirror. Sometimes that mirror is literal, and you get to explore all the grooves, bumps, and sharp angles that reflect a body in flux. Other times, that mirror is figurative, and you get caught in a staring match with a phantom self with the emotional heft of a lifetime of joys and regrets. I’m struck by a similar feeling when sitting and listening to Father of the Bride and IGOR back to back. The gap between the two albums feels like the gap between the self I once was and the self that I am becoming; between yearning and something approaching peace.

Let’s start with IGOR, Tyler The Creator’s new album. The stark pink and monochrome artwork is fitting for an album that marries tenderness with an abrasive whiplash. Starting with “IGOR’S THEME”, Tyler’s strategy is to set the tone with thick distorted synth chords, sweet, high-pitched vocals and a tight breakbeat to before breaking into soft piano chords to mirror that contrast. The only lyrics on the track are “riding round town/make ‘em feel this one”, which feels appropriate. The feeling he’s communicating is clear: the heartrending tension of a tortured type of romance. The story on the album seems to be one of unrequited or rejected love, which forces the protagonist (the eponymous Igor) into finding a form of resolution, however unsatisfying it might be.

The production on the album is gorgeous: the drums are crisp; the synths are overwhelming one minute and delicate the next. The album is stacked with guest vocalists from Playboi Carti to Solange to Charlie Wilson to Kanye West, but they are all subsumed into Tyler’s larger symphonic vision which, to my surprise, does not feature his signature gravelly rasp very often. Instead, we hear his voice pitched up on “EARFQUAKE” and “RUNNING OUT OF TIME”, singing (sometimes atonally) with great vulnerability and strain. Even on more conventional rap tracks like “A BOY IS A GUN*” he peels back the layers of distortion and anger that used to mask his longing, opting instead to beg “don’t shoot me down.” He’s scared and vulnerable. He still lashes out on “NEW MAGIC WAND” and “WHAT’S GOOD”, but even there his anger sounds justified and earned where it once felt gratuitous and underdeveloped.

The album closes with three of the most tender, direct songs that he’s ever written. “GONE, GONE/THANK YOU” starts with a cherubic voice almost rejoicing that “my love’s gone” before that elation descends musically (and lyrically) into a depressed resignation. That musical descent may be the most beautiful moment of Tyler’s career, and unwinds the tension built throughout the first nine tracks on the album. Jerrod Carmichael, his occasional interlocutor on the album, steps in briefly to proclaim: “I hate wasted potential/That shit crushes your spirit,” before the track concludes with a sarcastic thanks for poisoning the protagonist from ever wanting to love again.

After a brief, almost meditative repetition of the mantra “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE”, the album concludes with its showpiece: a classic anthem of longing in 6/8 time called “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” Tyler evokes about 50 years of soul music in his own way, pleading for any kind of meaningful connection with the person he just cannot quit. It is revelatory in its catharsis and flips an entire career arc of obsessive rebellion on its head by being as conventional and relatable as possible. No, Tyler cannot sing, and this track exposes that fact more than any that come before. Somehow, that adds to the charm. He sounds like you or I in the same position, bleating atonally along to a kind of invented karaoke for one.

Despite this relatability, however, IGOR does not hit me in the way that I expected. It feels very much like an album built for a past version of me: a confused, deeply emotional guy who did not really know how to love but tried hard anyway. It’s the best, most mature album Tyler has ever made. It might be the best album of the year. But when I listen, I am not drawn in. Instead, I feel a glassy distance akin to reading heartbroken letters a past me once wrote to another. (Yeah, I did that in preparation for this essay. Yeah, it was weird.)

I feel precisely the opposite when I listen to Father Of The Bride by Vampire Weekend. Billed as an album of questioning and commitment in the shadow of parenthood, the double-album hits me like a sucker punch to the face. It is as harmonically rich as IGOR, but the sugar rush is delivered in a more conventional, familiar package of jam-band acoustic guitars, skyscraping choruses and baroque codas. The band sounds more like The Band than ever before, largely abandoning their Afropop fakery for a melange that sounds earnest and reflective of a newfound confidence in Ezra Koenig’s songwriting.

That confidence is carried over to the lyrics. Gone are the precious reflections on Ivy League life, and in their place is a sense of wonder about the beauty of life, and the fear of its impending collapse. “Big Blue” is about being overawed by the vastness of the world, and about how confusing that vastness can be, while “Unbearably White” is a tender reflection on emotional distance and how it can wreck relationships. Koenig and co. aren’t afraid of swinging for the fences with cinematic string arrangements on “Rich Man” or lighter-waving ballads like “Jerusalem, New York, Berlin”.

Not all of it works. Two of the three collaborations with Danielle Haim, “Married in a Gold Rush” and “We Belong Together” are sickly-sweet, sounding more like outtakes from the Cheaper By The Dozen 2 soundtrack than comfortable in 2019. The autotune and djembe at the beginning of “Spring Snow”, meanwhile, sounds like Vampire Weekend-by-numbers.

But when it does work, it’s the best music that the band has ever produced. “Harmony Hall” is a near-perfect pop song with a piano that sounds like it was cribbed from a 1989 WHAM! song and the catchiest chorus I’ve heard in years. “Bambina” switches from razor-sharp indie-pop to a hymn a step removed from Pachelbel’s Canon, yet the change of pace between the two feels like a reflection on the devotional absurdity detailed in the lyrics. The stretch of songs from “My Mistake” to “Flower Moon” is superlative: elegant, whimsical, silly, and depressing all at once.

It’s precisely those songs that knock me off my feet, and those songs that expose the distance between where I was and where I am headed. The contortions and wrangling of the past have been replaced with a gentler form of acceptance about the absurdity of life. The biggest questions about who I am and where I’m headed are at least grounded in a sense of perspective. I know I am not alone in sometimes feeling alone. I know that our collective existence is precarious, and I still choose to live as if the important conversations in my life can be resolved by burying my head in the sand. I’m flawed, but I’m alive, and I’m trying. When I look back at that spectral mirror image that IGOR represents then, I feel peace. Life now feels more like “My Mistake”: it’s gentler, more reflective, and underpinned with the subtle echoes of the regrets that I will never displace. Those are the regrets that made me. I don’t have the answers to how to live and love well. I probably never will. But the Earth will keep spinning in its own, blocky, clip-art kind of way. Perhaps that’s the point.

[twistedsinews]

The Long Road Home

Saints Row; Faith/Johnny, Shaundi, Pierce; PG-13 (AO3 Flavor)

She woke up handcuffed to a hospital bed.

Both hands, she found, as she tried in vain to rub the sleep from her eyes.  The sterile, cream colored room came into slow focus.

She remembered the distant jingle of shell casings hitting the ground.

She remembered...

...fuck.

Johnny flat on his back. A boot on his chest.  That look on his face.

Nothing.

“Oh, God.”

The handcuffs clinked against the hospital bed railings as she struggled to sit up.  A wave of nausea washed over her, and she nearly doubled over forward.  The bright blue blur of a uniformed police officer moved in the periphery of her vision, drawing her attention.

“Please tell me I didn’t fall into another coma.”

The woman glared at her.

She licked her lip, and gave one of the handcuffs a halfhearted tug.

“Yo, think you could lend me a hand over here?  I got an itch.”

Her guard’s cold expression suggested that the answer was, “No.”

So much for civility across enemy lines.

She gave the handcuff another, more thoughtful tug.

~*~

She flashed her badge.

“Hey.”

The nurse at the desk barely looked up from the chart he was studying.  She glanced across the scattered assortment of paperwork, but at a glance it failed offer any immediate answers.

“I need to see the prisoner’s personal effects.”

“You’re going to need a signed release form.”

He moved to walk around her, on his way to his rounds.  Grabbing a handful of his scrubs, she spun him right back around and shoved him into the near wall.

“A’ight.  Let’s try this again.”  She angled the service pistol under his chin.  “Where’s my shit?”

His eyes widened.

“Right this way.”

“Thank you.”

~*~

A chill wind bit into her skin as she stood on the steps of the staff entrance to the hospital, buttoning up her shirt.  The afternoon sun was far too bright for how distantly cold it was.

She crossed the alley to jump the wall and slipped across the hospital’s green, into the street, making her way down the sidewalk en route to anywhere but here.  Her hand slid into her pocket for her earrings, which she pinned in place, one after the next.  She dragged her pendant free by its chain, and strung it over the back of her neck to securely clasp it.

Lastly, she pulled her gloves from where she’d tucked them into her belt, pausing her stride as she tugged them on and strapped them down.

Feeling more like herself again, she breathed deep and let the air rush from her lungs in a puff of frost.

Falling to lean against a near wall, she dug her cell phone out of her pocket and pressed the power button. The screen lit up, then distorted to black.  She pressed the power button again, and nothing happened.  She smacked it, to no avail.

The battery was dead.

~*~

A police blockade down Adept Way had forced her to double back before she could reach her own turf.

Once she got back to the hideout, they were going to have to do something about that.  Troy’s crew had evidently been feeling cocky lately, and if they were willing to push it this far then it was time for them to remember who owned this city.

She jimmied the lock on the newspaper machine.  By the date, she’d been out for two days, and anything could have happened.  There was plenty in the headlines about gang violence, but the scuffle that had sent her to the hospital didn’t seem to be even a footnote.

Crushing the paper into a crumpled ball, she tossed it aside.  With a little extra effort, she pocketed the quarters from the coin compartment.

There was another police blockade up ahead.

~*~

“C’mon, man, don’t do this to me – pick up your damn phone.”

He was okay.

He had to be okay.

He’d been taking care of himself for ten years longer than she’d even been in the game, she didn’t even know why she was worrying.  All because the last she’d seen of him, he’d been on his back with a shotgun leveled at his chest...

She waited another two agonizing minutes, then fed another quarter into the slot and redialed the number.

Busy signal.

She slammed the phone back onto its cradle hook.

Mind racing, she dialed a different number.

“Hey, who wants me?”

“Shaundi, hey.  You heard from Gat?”

“What... he’s not with you?”

A patrol car rolled by. The cop driving it was sizing her up. She stared back; it was a little late to look inconspicuous.

“Hey look, I’m kind of in the middle of something, can I call you ba-...”

By the time the sirens came on, she was already running.

~*~

The cop was staring because she was staring... and he was reaching for his wallet, not his holster. She relaxed as he followed through the motions of paying the cashier.

Marginally.

She grabbed her food, and left.

The cop’s buddy, seated in the booth nearest the door, watched her go.

~*~

She wasted the remainder of the day at the club across the street.

Getting past the police barricades that had been set up on the bridges was going to take some doing. Part of it was waiting for cover of night, part of it was waiting for the train.

She was late for the latter, but so was the train.

Climbing up the rain shelter, she caught a free ride above the notice of the police skulking in the train cars and patrolling the highway.

~*~

There was a single forgotten bullet casing behind the door.

Spent casings littered the ground.  She reloaded the revolver and dropped the now-empty quickloader after them in favor of snapping the chamber shut – she could recover it later.

The evidence of their standoff with the police had been swept under the city’s rug.  Or maybe it had simply been washed away with the summer rain.

Her shoulder burned, blood staining her white shirt.  One of the beat cops had gotten a lucky shot, for all that he hadn’t survived to revel in the achievement.

She sat down on the steps, folding her hands between her knees.

In the midst of the mayhem, they got separated by the sheer chaotic chance.   She’d ducked into the sanctuary of the Church; Gat had found himself cover amidst the mishmash pileup of squad cars and SWAT vans that clogged the street.

A passing car stilled the crickets.  Once it had gone, they resumed their symphonic harmony.

A swarm of law enforcement separated them.

One of the cars in the pileup exploded, changing the field of debris.

Johnny was facedown on the pavement.

“Gat!”

He stirred, bloody and battered, dragging himself away from the mess. He turned his head her way; she didn’t know how he even heard her.  Her ears were ringing so badly she couldn’t hear herself.

A SWAT cop circled the wreckage, staring down at him.  She lunged out of cover, and Johnny’s expression changed.  She couldn’t hear him.

There was a sharp pain at the crook in her knee and her knee buckled, sending her to the ground.  Two cops flanked her.  She could see their shadows on the ground, melting into one.

The SWAT cop kicked Gat over onto his back, planting a boot on his chest as he leveled his shotgun.

She rubbed her eyes.

Gat’s eyes were on her.

Another sharp pain jolted through her skull.  Everything went dark.

Crying about it wasn’t going to get her anywhere.

~*~

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon...”

No answer.

She reached, hesitantly, to pull the hook down.

Blowing her hair out of her eyes, she toyed with the quarters in her hand.

It’d been worth a shot, right?  So long as she kept trying....

Feeding the phone one of the remaining quarters, she dialed another number out of memory.  The line connected almost immediately.  No one answered, but she could hear voices in the background.

“Hello?”

“...Boss?”

“Were you expecting the General?”

“Fuck!”  Pierce stammered, “ Where’ve you...?  Where are you?”

“On my way back to the hideout.  Meet me there.”

“Wait, wait!  Don’t han-!”

She dropped the phone in its cradle and started off.

The train rattled overhead.

~*~

The familiar pavement of the red light district underfoot was like coming home.  Hell, these days it was coming home.

“Hey, baby, looking for a little something?  Or maybe someone, hmm, to keep you warm?”

Assholes and all.

“Yeah.”

She left the guy gasping for breath, grasping his balls on the pavement.

“Not you, though.”

It was good to be home.

~*~

The radio played a melancholy, static-y oldies love song.

She turned it off.

Purgatory was empty.

She hadn’t seen any Saints on the street, either.  Given the number of cops on the prowl, she hadn’t thought much of it.  But the dead silent club hammered home a dread feeling of uneasiness.

She waited as long as her threadbare patience allowed, grabbing a change of clothes and spare weapon from the locker upstairs.  When Pierce still hadn’t showed up – and neither had anyone else – she wandered back up the stairs through the mission basement, topside.

Her fingers delved into a pocket for her pack of cigarettes as she pushed the door open...

...and froze.

The chill drizzle ran in shimmering rivulets down her skin, a cold shock of ice down her spine, and she raised her hands slowly.

The alley was full of cops, for all that she could barely discern them.  A semi-circle of squad cars stretched from one end of the wall to the other, flanked by several SWAT vans.  All ill-defined shadow.

The floodlights were blinding.  

“You’re under arrest.”

The voice was authority personified.  She couldn’t see, beyond the glare, who had spoken.

“Yo, don’t you gotta read me my rights?”

The voice scoffed.

“You don’t have any.”

Several shadows detached from the light, moving assuredly towards her.  She chewed her lip, biding her time until the first one reached her.

The first two cops went down hard.

Three replaced them. Two more behind them.

One caught her arm at an bad angle, forcing her into to the wall before kicking her feet out from under her. Her head hit the pavement, leaving her dazed, and she was fleetingly aware of blood soaking into the shoulder of her shirt.  Three cops struggled to pin her down as her efforts renewed, rain-slick and desperate, and a fourth readied her handcuffs.  

A gunfight broke out.

Chaos right behind it.

Brightly lit shadows clashed on the wall overhead.  It pushed closer, obscuring the blinding radiance.  The men who were still trying to subdue her realized their valiant, stubborn stupidity moments too late.

A shotgun blast ripped through the two that were standing, throwing them back into the dumpster.  One shoved to his feet, only to be knocked aside, right back to the ground.  Of the last two, one wasted the precious final seconds of his life in drawing his weapon and the other made a fraught, wasted run for the light.

A hand gripped her arm, hauling her painfully to her feet to shove her through the open door.

She dashed the rain out of her eyes, blinking her hazy vision clear.  The calloused thumb that traced its way across her cheek was hauntingly familiar; she caught his hand, and her breath caught in her throat.

Gat’s unabashed smirk deepened into a wicked grin at her expression.

Twisting his hand in her hold, he pulled her towards the stairs.

“They got it covered,” he told her, “Let’s go.”

She held her ground.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“Yeah, we can talk about it later.”  He gave her a sweeping appraisal, gaze lingering on her bloodstained shoulder before flicking back to her face.  “You look like shit.”

He gave her arm another tug, and she relented, following him down into the basement.

At the bottom of the stairs, she slipped in front of him to slide her arms under his.  He tolerated the embrace for a mere handful of seconds, sliding his hand down her back and giving her a pat, before nudging her through the door and leading the way down into Old Stilwater.

~*~

“Someone seemed to think because they got their hands on you they could start makin’ demands.  Started hitting us hard.  I got everybody to ground best I could.”

She listened to Johnny’s side of the story solemnly while he cleaned the abrasions between her knuckles. They were hidden away in a safe house, the city and its world distant and in plain view through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The rag hit the coffee table, and Gat leaned back into his corner of the couch.  Her resolve wavered, then she sidled up against him, and he draped an arm over her shoulders.  “Doubt they’ll have the balls to hit the club again anytime soon.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”  Everything from the past few days weighed down on top of her; she felt numb.  “Is it me, or have they been really out to get us recently?”

“Know what I think?” Gat asked.  “I think some stupid fucker out to make a name for himself is gotten a little confused ‘bout the way it all works around here.  We oughta send these assholes a wake-up call that ain’t so easy to forget.”

“Yeah,” she agreed.  “Later.”

Johnny didn’t argue, for which she was grateful; she was too tired to wage a war.  For the time being, she devoted her attention to his hand, feeling out the lines and scars on the inside of his fingers, before pressing his thumb to her mouth.

Johnny was safe.

She was safe in his arms, second to nowhere.

Exhaustion caught up with her, and, head on his shoulder, her mind drifted off into peaceful slumber.

[rainydawgradioblog]

RDR Music Rotation Adds (11/15/20)

FULL-LENGTH

Akhlys - Melinoë (black metal)

A collection of 5 grim, nightmarish, monolithic epics built on buzzsaw guitars, cavernous downtuned riffs and guttural growled vocals.  Mild symphonic tinges are added on top, along with dark sound collages of demonic whispers and odd sounds, inspired by frontman Naas’ experiences with sleep paralysis.

Ana Roxanne - Because of A Flower (ambient)

Wordless vocal sounds and droning synths spiral slowly around, washing over one other in waves until spoken word passages and samples breach the surface. Soft, rounded keyboards and drum machines dance and ping along melodiously, but without demanding attention.

Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin - FlySiifu’s (abstract hip-hop)

FlySiifu’s is both a fictional record store and an ode to crate digging, built up of looped samples repurposed by a wide cast of producers (including Madlib!) Melting keyboards, subdued drums, and buttery basslines mash together into woozy soups of sound. The two MCs trade off dynamically, Anakin delivering punchy, intense flows while Siifu keeps it comparatively mellow and loose.

Jesu - Terminus (shoegaze, slowcore, post-metal)

Justin Broadrick continues to move away from the abrasiveness of his early work with what may be his lightest album yet. Wide, languid guitar chords and occasional droning synthesizers float in an ocean of delay and loop hypnotically over simple & very very slow drums.

Hachiku - I’ll Probably Be Asleep (indie, art pop)

Anika Ostendorf deftly weaves minimal drum machines, ambient synths, twangy guitars, and just a hint of noise, and ties it together with an exceptional knack for melody. Without losing focus, the album covers a nice variety of sounds and moods over only 8 tracks.

SINGLE/EP

Bree Runway - 2000and4eva (pop rap, electropop)

The rising London-based artist raps and sings about interpersonal drama, sex, and combating misogynoir over a thunderous but glossy-clean smorgasbord of sound, mixing bouncy synths, harmonized distorted guitar leads, and crisp drum machines. Missy Elliott, Rico Nasty and others hop on the mic too!

Chai - Plastic Love (city pop)

The lovable Japanese pop-rock quartet covers a city pop classic. Lush vocal harmonies soar over shimmery synths, funky staccato guitar strums, and just enough 808 cowbells. Breaks into a hazy bridge with soft guitar chords warbling under a muted vocal lead.

[upalldown]

Perfume Genius - Set My Heart On Fire Immediately

Fifth album from Seattle-based indie pop solo artist Mike Hadreas produced by Blake Mills

11/13

On Perfume Genius' previous albums, Mike Hadreas revealed so much of himself that it's difficult to imagine he'd have more to uncover. With Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, however, he goes beyond baring his soul to exploring the power and tenderness of the body. Before making this record, Hadreas collaborated with choreographer Kate Wallich and her dance company the YC, not just writing the music for her piece The Sun Still Burns Here but performing in it as well. This collaborative, body-oriented way of making art had a profound impact on his fifth album. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately is more theatrical and more direct than much of Perfume Genius' earlier work, and revels in the physicality of his music in inspired ways. The album's textures are almost tangible, particularly on "Describe"'s thick distortion and flowing slide guitars, and with the standout "On the Floor," he delivers the kind of irresistibly bouncy, joyous longing that's impossible not to dance to. Set My Heart on Fire Immediately reunites Hadreas with producer Blake Mills, whose work on 2017's breathtaking No Shape earned a Grammy nomination. Once again, the pair covers lots of musical ground, subverting rugged Americana and sweeping, nostalgic melodies that have decades of emotional resonance behind them. "Whole Life" begins the album with a tremulous sigh and the sheltering drones that defined records like Put Your Back N 2 It before building into lush, almost syrupy symphonic pop majesty and twangy guitars. On the standouts "Without You" and "Nothing at All," Hadreas borrows some of Bruce Springsteen's manly chug and surrounds it with fluttering synths and sparkling pianos, echoing the vulnerability and growing strength within both songs (when he sings "I got what you need, son" on the latter track, it feels like he's talking to himself as much as a lover). More proof that a more physical and immediate Perfume Genius isn't one-dimensional comes with "Jason," a dreamily sensual reverie that recalls Air or Blonde Redhead with its rounded, flowing bass and delicate harpsichord, and "Moonbend," where flute, acoustic guitar and ever-so-slightly eerie harmonies come together as gracefully as a ballet. Frequently, Hadreas buries his voice in the mix on the album -- a daring choice for such an empathetic singer and lyricist, but one that conveys how engulfing his emotions are. On the mesmerizing "Leave," strings overtake Hadreas' wordless murmuring in a wave of passion that lives up to Set My Heart on Fire Immediately's name. The demanding, commanding nature of that title makes itself felt on songs as different as "Your Body Changes Everything"'s dark swagger or the breathy pleas of "Just a Touch." All the nuances of desire that Hadreas explores on Set My Heart on Fire Immediately enhance the individuality of each song, as well as his own individuality -- and as he honors every part of his music and himself, he gives listeners another rich, densely packed album to savor.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/set-my-heart-on-fire-immediately-mw0003362590

[patricksilvrrozartistry]

Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2018

It's time to present you guys with my top 10 favorite albums of 2018. There were a lot of amazing albums this year, but these 10 stole my heart. If you want to see my top 5 favorite EP's of the year, you can check out that post here. And just like on that post, we're going to see the honorable mentions first before we dive into the top 10. Let me explain my ranking system before we dive into this first though. If a release is followed by **, that means that I really enjoyed the album, but it wasn't enough to make it to the top 10. Now if a release is followed by ***, that means it had the potential of being on the top 10 and was an amazing release. One last thing before we get into this: I am a metalhead, so majority of the albums are metal albums (which I have the genres listed next to each release so you'll get to see that first hand). Ok, time to get on with it and look at the MANY honorable mentions.

Hell City - Flesh and Bones** (hard rock) Dimmu Borgir - Eonian** (symphonic black metal) Kamelot - The Shadow Theory** (symphonic power metal) Visions of Atlantis - The Deep and the Dark** (symphonic power metal) The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir** (sludge/stoner metal) CupcakKe - Ephorize** (rap/hip hop) Purest of Pain - Solipsis** (death metal) Fairy Bones - 0% Fun** (punk/alternative rock) Orphaned Land - Unsung Prophets and Dead Messiahs** (oriental symphonic metal) Elephants in Paradise - Wake Up** (hard rock) Anna von Hausswolff - Dead Magic** (dark ambient) Chaostar - The Undivided Light** (classical/dark ambient) Profane Burial - The Rosewater Park Legend** (symphonic black metal) Shadowrise - Shadowrise** (symphonic metal) Miss FD - Transcendence** (industrial) Collibus - Trusting the Illusion** (djent/progressive metal) Alexandra Martin - Fragments and Reflections** (classical) Caliban - Elements** (djent/metalcore) Whyzdom - As Time Turns to Dust** (symphonic metal) Lyria - Immersion** (symphonic metal) Graveshadow - Ambition's Price** (symphonic metal) Temperance - Of Jupiter and Moons** (symphonic power metal) Light Among Shadows - Under the Waves** (gothic metal) Emphasis - Soul Transfer** (progressive symphonic metal) Neophobia - Monstermind** (symphonic metal) Caligatum - Epidemus** (symphonic gothic metal) Apparition - The Awakening** (symphonic metal) Caedeous - Domini Tenebrarum** (symphonic black metal) Amorphis - Queen of Time** (melodic metal) Little Dead Bertha - Age of Silence** (blackened symphonic death metal) Midnattsol - The Aftermath** (symphonic metal) 11th Dimension - Paramnesia** (progressive metal) Witch Moutain - Witch Mountain** (doom metal) Inner Core - Soultalker** (symphonic metal) Lovelorn Dolls - Darker Ages** (gothic rock/metal) A Sound of Thunder - It Was Metal** (heavy metal) Sinistro - Sangue Cassia** (post metal) Meden Agan - Catharsis** (symphonic metal) Phosphenes - Find Us Where We're Hiding** (ambient/post rock) 69 Chambers - Machine** (progressive metal) Aeternitas - Tales of the Grotesque** (symphonic gothic metal) Florence + the Machine - High as Hope** (indie pop) Distorted Harmony - A Way Out** (progressive metal) Exlibris - Inertia** (power metal) Sacrificed - Enraged** (hard rock) Frozen Crown - The Fallen King** (symphonic power metal) Manes - Slow Motion Death Sequence** (dark alternative metal) Ängie - Suicidal Since 1995** (trap hop) Cinnamun Beloved - Stain** (gothic metal) Opera Queen - Phantasmagoric Symphony** (symphonic metal) Beyond the Black - Heart of the Hurricane** (symphonic power metal) Black Mirrors - Look into the Black Mirror** (psychedelic rock/rock n roll) Ethernity - The Human Race Extinction** (progressive metal) Cher - Dancing Queen** (pop) Zahna - Red for War** (alternative metal) Sick N' Beautiful - Element of Sex** (heavy metal) Mother Feather - Constellation Baby** (punk) Sylvaine - Atoms Aligned, Coming Undone** (shoegaze/post metal) Promethee - Convalescence** (progressive metal/metalcore) Dark Sarah - The Golden Moth** (symphonic power metal) Haken - Vector** (progressive metal) And Then She Came - Kaosystematiq** (alternative metal) Shadygrove - In the Heart of Scarlet Wood** (folk) My Merry Machine - Ignition** (gothic rock) I:Scintilla - Swayed** (industrial) Northward - Northward** (hard rock) In the Woods... - Cease the Day** (progressive doom metal) Décembre Noir - Autumn Kings** (doom death metal)

MaYaN - Dhyana*** (symphonic death metal) Amaranthe - Helix*** (modern metal) Rivers of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name*** (progressive death metal) Ionnalee - Everyone Afraid to be Forgotten*** (synth-pop) Sanguine Glacialis - Hadopelagic*** (progressive gothic death metal) Realm of Glass - Reveries From the Haunted*** (progressive metal) Eleine - Until the End*** (symphonic gothic metal) TesseracT - Sonder*** (djent/atmospheric progressive metal) Kobra and the Lotus - Prevail II*** (heavy metal) Follow the Cipher - Follow the Cipher*** (power metal) Pryapsime - Epic Loon*** (avant-garde metal) Crownless - Confines of Silence*** (symphonic power metal) Trillium - Tectonic*** (symphonic power metal) Purple Nail - Red Sky*** (gothic metal) Dol Ammad - Cosmic Gods: Episode II - Astroatlas*** (progressive symphonic metal) Elyose - Reconnxion*** (symphonic modern metal) Dimilight - Kingdom of Horrors*** (symphonic extreme gothic metal) Piqaia - Artifact*** (djent/atmospheric progressive metal) Sirenia - Arcane Astral Aeons*** (symphonic gothic metal) Poppy - Am I a Girl?*** (experimental pop) Meg Myers - Take Me to the Disco*** (alternative) Solborn - Dark Lights of Delirium*** (symphonic metal) Enemy Inside - Phoenix*** (hard rock/metal) The Anix - Shadow_Movement*** (synth-rock) Circus of Fools - Rex*** (gothic metal) Marcela Bovio - Through Your Eyes*** (chamber prog) Circles - The Last One*** (djent/progressive metal) Voices From the Fuselage - Odyssey: The Founder of Dreams*** (djent/ambient/progressive metal) Aeonian Sorrow - Into the Eternity a Moment We Are*** (atmospheric gothic doom metal)

Now for my absolute favorite releases of the year!

10. Phantom Elite - Wasteland (symphonic metal)

If you enjoyed Marina La Torraca in Exit Eden, then you'll be able to get a different feel for her voice on this album. This is her main project outside of Exit Eden and their sound is so cool. The mixing could've been a bit better, but that doesn't bother me too much. In fact it gives it some extra character. I'm really excited to hear what these guys come up with next. This album really took me by surprise to just how good it turned out to be and how dramatic it got at times.

Favorite songs: 1. Revelation 2. Wasteland 3. Siren's Call

9. My Indigo - My Indigo (indie pop)

When I found out that Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation) was going to be releasing a solo album, I was really curious about what kind of sound she'd go for. I couldn't have imagined a better sound for her. Not a single dud on this album. It's so lovely and a breath of fresh air for her. You get a really great feel for her vocal range and there's some pretty cool vocal lines on here. Definitely a beautiful and touching album from start to finish.

Favorite songs: 1. Starcrossed Lovers 2. Out of the Darkness 3. Lesson Learned

8. Marmozets - Knowing What You Know Now (alternative rock)

I don't remember ever subscribing to their YouTube channel, but I'm so glad I did, because I found one of my top 10 favorite albums of the year because of it. Their sound is so in your face and on the verge of being alternative metal, but it's toned down enough to not be at that level. It definitely works for them. The music is so fun and absolutely wonderful to just jam out to. One of the most random discoveries I've made that I absolutely adore.

Favorite songs: 1. Play 2. Major System Error 3. Habits

7. Dream Ocean - Lost Love Symphony (symphonic metal)

I learned about these guys through a Facebook friend at the beginning of the year and wound up really enjoying them. This album is pure symphonic metal. It's got drama, power, energy, strong riffs, amazing orchestrations, and a mezzo-soprano with a gorgeous voice. I find it kind of funny that Mark Jansen is featured on a track called Never Enough knowing full well that Epica have a song of the same name. I'm definitely am gonna be keeping my eye on these guys.

Favorite songs: 1. Somewhere Untouched 2. The Last Dance 3. Divine Light

6. The Hardkiss - Залізна ластівка (progressive pop/rock)

These guys are evolving so much. This album is definitely a lot more on the rock side, but it still has a bit of that pop element. I'm waiting for them to take the plunge and release a full blown metal album. I think this album is a good first step in that direction. The production gives this album a bit of a sci-fi feel to it that I really like. It's so different compared to their previous releases and really stands out. I also really like how majority of the songs are in Ukrainian. It's always been the other way around for them, so it's a nice change.

Favorite songs: 1. Complicity 2. 00:00 3. Koxaнці

5. Silent Stream of Godless Elegy - Smutnice (folk doom metal)

I really started taking a liking to these guys in the later part of last year after falling madly in love with their song Mokoš, so I knew I had to check out the new album when it dropped. This album turned out to be a lot more pretty than what I was expecting it to be. It's so beautiful and powerful. Every song has its own dynamic to it and not one song sounds similar to the other. And I just adore the folk instruments they use. It really adds to the beauty of the album.

Favorite songs: 1. Malověrná 2. Synečku 3. Za nevěstou

4. Witchcraft - Cinema (progressive gothic metal)

It was so hard to rank this one at number 4, because it's neck and neck with my number 3 pick. This album turned out to be so much better than I had anticipated it being. It's beautiful, raw, and very unique. I love the samplings to other iconic songs on a few tracks (Requiem for a Dream and the themes for Silent Hill and The X Files are the ones I easily picked out). Their sound has evolved so much over the years and I feel as if this is the best of their releases. It shows off everything that is absolutely amazing about this band.

Favorite songs: 1. Реквием 2. Silent Hill 3. На разных планетах

3. Oceans of Slumber - The Banished Heart (progressive doom metal)

Winter was a wonderful album, but holy shit did they outdo themselves with this album. It's a lot darker, a whole lot darker. Cammie's voice also sounds a lot better on this album. I don't know what it is, but seems as if her voice is a lot stronger and has more emotion attached to it on these songs. There also just seems to be a lot more emotion in these songs in general. It's such a stunning album from start to finish. If you wanted Winter to be more doomy and intense, The Banished Heart definitely lives up to that want.

Favorite songs: 1. The Banished Heart 2. No Color, No Light feat. Tom Englund (Evergrey) 3. At Dawn

2. Elvellon - Until Dawn (symphonic metal)

It shouldn't come as any surprise that this album is high up on my list. This was my favorite album of the year for the longest. It's such an amazing symphonic metal album that was definitely worth the wait (in terms of it being released, not in the shipping issues that I ran into with receiving it). These guys are definitely ones to look out for in the symphonic metal scene. Nele's voice just stands out so much compared to the many ladies in the scene. The stories told in each song are absolutely wonderful and the production is everything.

Favorite songs: 1. King of Thieves 2. Fallen into a Dream 3. Shore to Aeon

1. Once - After Earth (symphonic metal)

This is the album that took Until Dawn's place of being my favorite release of the year. I honestly wasn't expecting to love this album as much as I do. This album is so powerful, dramatic, beautiful. It even has a whimsical vibe to it that I absolutely adore. The writing, production, and execution are everything with this album. You get a beautiful feel for Alina's voice on this album and just how talented she is. The orchestrations are turned up a bit high on this album, but it doesn't take away from the experience, but instead compliments it so well. This album is just perfection and I can't wait to see what these guys have in store for us.

Favorite songs: 1. The Sins of Saints 2. Awake 3. The Hour of Eden's Fall

Like I mentioned earlier, there were a lot of amazing releases this year. I can't wait to see what next year has in store for us. I just know it's gonna be a wild one. I hope you all will enjoy these releases as much as I did if you haven't heard them before. What were some of your favorite releases of the year and which ones are you looking forward to next year? I'm always down to check out new music.

[dylana431]

Final Stages of the Project W/C 18/05/2020

This week marked the final stages of the project. A final 1-1 with a supervisor, finishing the composition, mixing and mastering the music, and getting the art framed all happened this week.

1-1 With Will Scott-Cree (20/05/2020)

The supervisor recommended some final suggestions to make to the composition during this week’s supervision. It was suggested that transitions between different parts of the music could be smoother, ambient sounds from the intro could be used in the middle, and the instrumentation playing the melody could be changed (like in an orchestra).

- During the first breakdown, the strings were brought in sooner to make the transition from the introduction to the island smoother.  

- The sound design (water synth and deep dark vocals) was brought into the middle section of the music to continue the ambience.

- A mysterious piano was added to play the melodic notes at parts instead of the organ.

- The second bassline with the step FX was automated while the melody is still playing to merge the outro.

- Some of the ambient sounds and distorted guitar were brought in sooner to help merge sections further.

When thinking about the ending of the music the composer wanted the outro to be the same as the intro- as if one was rowing a boat in the mist, unsure of where they are going, feeling mysterious. This is also how Rachmaninoff wanted the music to end (Huscher, n.d.). Contrary to Rachmaninoff however, this project ends with the sound design and the spirited vocals. The composer wanted the vocals to be the very last sound heard as it signifies spirits on the island.

Mixdown:

The project mixdown was finished this week. One of the hardest challenges was getting the levels right. This was because of the strings and the automation drawn in them. Orchestral music has a very wide dynamic range, with the quiet parts often hard to hear and the loud parts hard to control (Senior, 2008). The easiest way around this problem was to draw automation on the string stack, bringing the quieter sections up and the louder sections down.

- The various dynamic changes in the strings.

To help with the mixdown further the sonarworks plugin was used. This flattens the frequency response of headphones, allowing for a more accurate mixdown (Sonarworks, n.d.). When it was turned on it made EQ and volume changes easier.

- Safe headroom was left on to avoid potential clipping.

Master Finished (22/05/2020)

The composer was lucky enough to have a friend (Sarah Worthington) who is a mastering engineer. After sending her a WAV the track was mastered and sent back within several hours. She added corrective EQ, excitement in the highs, and some light compression. After listening to the master the composer sent her some money to thank her, it sounded a lot better than the non-mastered version.

- Differences in the waveform can be seen in the mastered audio.

Art Framed (23/05/2020)

Now the music has been completed the composer has been thinking about how to present the project. Today the composer got the artwork framed for £20 in a black frame. The black frame suits the style of art as it is a dark piece. The composer spoke to his uncle (who is an artist) on some exhibition tips. In the composer’s house is a white wall in the extension. The extension and white wall are both good qualities to have when presenting artwork because of the lighting. This ensures the quality of the image can be captured by the camera (PWG, 2017).

- The finished artwork in a black frame and the speaker the music will play from.

Coordinating Plans With Jacob Rix (24/05/2020)

After speaking with Jacob on the phone he has decided he doesn’t want to live-stream his work onto Facebook. He has been experiencing technical difficulties and is unable to get his work to a standard he is happy to promote. He is instead going to present his work to family members and film it. Isle of the Dead has still been promoted and will be live-streamed onto Facebook. A decision has been made to merge the videos so the exhibition still features an array of work. Isle of the Dead will start and Jacob’s project ‘ An Audio-Visual Experience Exploring Multiple Musical Genres and Art Forms’ will come second. In promoting Isle of the Dead a digital poster has been created that will be shared on Facebook, another poster has also been created that merges both the projects ideas.

- A promotional digital poster was created in Inkscape and shared onto Facebook.

Research and Analysis

Mixing Down Classical Music

In deciding upon the best approach to mix the project down it was decided to treat the project as a classical piece of music. This is due to the various strings used, the synthesisers playing rich harmonies, and the automation in both the instruments and synthesisers. When mixing down classical music there is less focus on manipulating audio into a new sound. Instead, you are trying to make it sound as it would if it was heard live (Galindo, 2019). With this classical approach in mind, two key things were identified.��Firstly, the wide frequency and dynamic range need to be heard. At the same time, the mixdown mustn’t revolve around the sonics as the vocals need to come through (Computer Music, 2016).

Mastering Classical Music 

When sending a reference track to Sarah for mastering, the two main sonic outcomes identified in the mixdown stage were the key influence. Subsequently, the reference track chosen was Carl Orff- Carmina Burna (1935). This track was chosen because the vocals are at the centre of the mix and the track has a wide dynamic range (Gill, 2012). Similar to Isle of the Dead, the track sounds very dark, which was something for Sarah to think about when mastering.

References: 

[Beatriz]. (17th April, 2013). Carl Orff - O Fortuna ~ Carmina Burana [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXFSK0ogeg4

Classic FM, A. (2018) The Story Of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. [Online] Available from: https://www.classicfm.com/composers/orff/guides/story-behind-orffs-carmina-burana/ [accessed 18 May 2020].

Computer Music. (2016) How to Make Your Final Mixdowns Sound Loud and Clear. [Online] Available from: https://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/how-to-make-your-final-mixdowns-sound-loud-and-clear-633251 [accessed 20 May 2020].

Galindo, J. (2019) Classical Music: a Walkthrough of Recording, Mixing, and Mastering an Album. [Online] Available from: https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/classical-music-a-walkthrough-of-recording-mixing-and-mastering-an-album.html [accessed 20 May 2020].

Gill, A. (2012) Album: Kristjan Järvi, Carl Orff: Carmina Burana (Sony Classical). [Online] Available from: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/album-kristjan-j-rvi-carl-orff-carmina-burana-sony-classical-8113682.html [accessed 17 May 2020].

Huscher, P. (Date unknown) The Isle of the Dead, Symphonic Poem for Large Orchestra on the Painting by A. Böcklin, Op. 29. [Online] Available from: https://cso.org/uploadedFiles/1_Tickets_and_Events/Program_Notes/032510_ProgramNotes_Rachmaninov_IsleoftheDead.pdf [accessed 15 May 2020].

PWG. (2017) 3 Important Tips for Properly Lighting Your Artwork. [Online] Available from: https://www.parkwestgallery.com/3-tips-for-lighting-art/ [accessed 15 May 2020].

Senior, M. (2008) How should I compress a classical recording?. [Online] Available from: https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-how-should-i-compress-classical-recording [accessed 19 May 2020].

Sonarworks. (Date unknown) Reference 4 Headphone Edition. [Online] Available from: https://store.sonarworks.com/products/reference-4-headphone-edition [accessed 09 May 2020].

[plungermusic]

Okay, we know iTunes has to put ‘something’ …

… but we’re not too sure ‘Country & Folk’ covers it.

The latest release from Canadian duo Harrow Fair (Miranda Mulholland and Andrew Penner) must have been a nightmare to label… right from the title track which opens Sins We Made things get complicated: the feel-good arms-in-the-air festival folk rocker, with its wordless quasi-Apache war chant, features powerful rock chick vocals from Miranda and gritty bullet mic distortion from Andrew, driven by stadium drums and a flash-pot-and-wind-machine production style. Miranda’s fiddle, lurking throughout, does break loose with an acerbic burst before the track peaks in a Big Production Number multi-vox symphonic finish.

The lay-it-on-with-a-trowel production and build-to-a-grandstanding-finale are features of the whole album: the dark resonator folk of Seat At The Table (like Games People Play on reds) has an eerie backwoods feel, with Miranda’s impassioned vox over Andrew’s low rumble and just fiddle and tambourine… to begin with; somewhat thuddy drums burst in for a touch of revivalist stomp, joined by chiming piano chords (and possibly bowed saw?!), a lovely expressive fiddle break and a stirring near-a capella harmony passage precede a wordless hymn-like coda builds to another lush, multi-layered voice choir climax.

The wall-of-vox turns up again in the closing bars of three very different songs: spiky guitar and pizzicato fiddle add an African kora-ish bounce to Loved You Enough early on, before it blossoms into a powerpop duet with orchestral production; the vox and handclap-and-tambo-backing of the Hellzapoppin’ 40s romp I Saw It In The Mail closes with more multi-track vocal shenanigans; and there’s another Spectoresque big production close to I Just Wanna’s 50s-revival bobby-soxer with its twangsome tremolo-laden guitar.

You can probably tell that ‘Country & Folk’ isn’t really telling the full story already, and genre boundaries are tested even more in Rules Of Engagement, a tub-thumping-drum-led glam boogie that reeks of T. Rex, and in Shadow, which mines a very New Romantic/Martin Fry torch song seam with a dramatic fiddle hook and an almost operatic closing duet over a multi-tracked string ensemble (and increasingly Adam Ant drums).

There are some tracks that fit the C&F tag, just about: the sweet harmonies and breezy acoustic guitar of Dark Gets Close are shot through with shimmering heat haze reverb guitar accents and topped with a lyrical Appalachian fiddle solo (although the monster thud-whack drums are perhaps an unnecessary addition), while the instrumental Shiloh conjures a Caledonian soundscape with rich expressive unaccompanied fiddle gradually joined by rattling military snare and chiming guitar chords, then breaking into a canter for a closing reel with (you guessed it) a lush-if-distant wordless choir.

Sins We Made ends with Rich Looks Cheap To Me: appropriately a stripped-back folksy slice of Americana with rather Cat Stevensesque tremulous vox and guitar from Andrew and a matching low breathy delivery from Miranda, combining in homespun harmonies with a simple fiddle counterpoint for its message of ‘less is more’ (which is perhaps a little ironic given the embarrassment of production riches that precedes it).

For a Country / Folk / Americana / Whatever duo, Sins We Made’s combination of styles and kitchen-sink approach is surprising (so much so, Plunger are still trying to find their eyebrows) but it’s intriguing and definitely worth a listen. It’s a shame their show at London’s smallest darkest venue the slaughtered lamb was postponed, it would have been interesting to hear these songs in the raw…

Sins We Made is out on Roaring Girl Records on 17th April, available on the usual platforms and from https://www.harrowfair.ca/store

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 259: Robert ÆOLUS Myers

In 2017, Hawaiian archivists Aloha Got Soul released A Retrospective, introducing me and many others to ambient starmaster and spiritual healer Robert ÆOLUS Myers. Existing within the broader new age tradition though also standing apart from it, ÆOLUS’ music is borne of deep communion with nature and the exploratory possibilities of electronic synthesis, with fluttering arpeggiations, dreamwave sequences, and ethnological rhythms supporting cloudform symphonies and mystical flute improvisations. And though those descriptors could apply to any number of indistinct massage parlor soundtracks, ÆOLUS has always maintained that he makes “new age music to wake up to,” with an intense focus on helping the listener realize their inner sense of truth. Going beyond this, his music exudes a sense of magical adventure, and the sonic universes that unfold across A Retrospective work as well for soundtracking fantasy kingdom explorations, starscape space journeys, twilight jungle dances, underwater forest treks, and psychedelic vision quests as they do for therapeutic purposes. So even though new age is a fair description for the work of ÆOLUS, I sense a closer sonic kinship with the Hearts of Space sound centered around artists such Michael Stearns, Kevin Braheny, and Steve Roach as well as Klaus Schulze’s Innovative Communication, especially Software’s work with flautist Toni Schneider.

To better understand ÆOLUS’ sonic world, it helps to trace his artistic path, which began with playing clarinet as a teenager in Ohio and bassoon during his studies at San Diego State. Like many California-based surf rats of the time, Myers was lured to the sparkling waves and paradise beaches of Hawaii, where he also played drums and completed a degree in ethnomusicology. Following this, he abandoned the world of percussion to join the Honolulu Symphony as a bassoonist, a setting which proved important to a developing experimental, new age, and space music scene in Hawaii driven by Jai Ma Music and Global Pacific Records. Indeed, the Honolulu Symphony also provided work for violinist Steve Kindler and his brother Bob, a cellist and audio engineer who would go on to produce and collaborate on many of Jai Ma’s and Global Pacific’s early records, including ÆOLUS’ Aeolian Melodies and Rays. And for while, it must have seemed like Hawaii was on the verge of establishing a fertile creative community, one that also included avant-garde sound artist Nelson Hiu and guitarist Paul Greaver. But it was not to be, for when Global Pacific uprooted and moved to California, many of the musicians followed, and once Hiu departed for Hong Kong in 1985, ÆOLUS was left on the islands to chart his own artistic path through the cosmos. 

The years since that dizzying period of collaborative creativity have seen Myers furthering his studies of devotional music and indigenous cultures while also continuing to release albums and perform live through a variety of contexts, including dance pieces and theater performances. And his talents in sonic healing have never stopped developing and now find broader expression through the practice of depth psychotherapy in the “alchemical tradition of Jung.” Which brings us to Talisman, a new and lovingly curated retrospective and re-interpretation project released by Origin Peoples. In keeping with the label’s tendency towards the left-hand path, this 2xLP set is unlike most archival compilations and augments its collection of previously released tracks from The Magician and High Priestess with an unreleased dreamscape, a breathtaking live performances from New York City in 1987, and most striking of all, contemporary interpretations of ÆOLUS’ music by K. Leimer, Pharaohs, Dreems, and Lieven Martens Moana. Thus Talisman both compliments A Retrospective and shows the ways in which Myers’ art has reverberated out through time, providing seeds for everything from fractal foam kosmische to jazz folk balearica to mutating deep house to fourth-world sonic collage.

Robert ÆOLUS Myers - Talisman (Origin Peoples, 2019) “Oracle,” coming from 1993’s High Priestess, sees universal bass currents pulsating with ominous intent while being swirled around by cosmic breaths. Kalimbas and bell-chimes decay across spacious expanses before blooming into mermaid choirs and a fourth world rhythm ritual fades into being, built around rimshot cascades, tom tom ceremonials, white noise shakers, and ethnological hand drums transformed into exo-planetary fluids. Overheard, alien pan-pipes slide in ways that defy logic and feedback vapors arc across the sky...all while synthesized orchestrations glow with ethereal shadow energy. “High Priestess” follows with wisps of spectral feedback swimming through the void as string synthesizers fade in, with Schulze-ian viol reveries flowing above swelling cellos and contrabass drones. As threads of cosmic melancholia wrap around the body, a simple and obscured drum rhythm emerges, generated by tribal tom tom pulsations and danced over by synthesized idiophones and exotic music box lullabies. Atmospheres of psychotropic minimalism and exotica are repurposes for space age exploration, with flashes of cold blue light moving within the miasma of galactic sound. At some point the mood changes drastically and the air grows humid and tropical as propulsive hand drums pan across the mix. Afro idiophonics are joined by pinging Berlin school arpeggiations and knocking percussive tones while electro-claps crack through reverb caverns and all throughout the mix, bending woodwinds weave rainforest incantations and majestic string hazes obscure the dances of mysterious jungle fauna. 

As far as I can tell, Talisman is the first place “Dreamscape from the Night Kitchen” has appeared and the piece starts with crystalline strands of new age liquid floating within a haze of angel synthesis. Arpeggiations dance through exotic lullaby patterns and hand drums are heard through soft liquid layers while ominous currents of bass energy swell in and out of the mix. Hypnagogic hallucinations and moonlight forest rituals are evoked by ÆOLU’S flute performance as longform breaths of melodic mysticism evolve into sprightly elven dances. Colorful prism formations refract unseen light sources throughout the background, generating chiming decays that flutter through reverb oceans. And there’s a distinct sense of sitting within some spiritual sci-fi cavern where liquids made of glass drop into glowing pools of ether. As the track progresses, it sometimes floats in a relaxing state of hypnosis, while at other times, things move with a mysterious sense of purpose as subsonic pulsations hint at a dark ambient ceremony. Then in “Sunset,” taken from 1989’s The Magician, wisps of white light swim through cricket chirps while a zheng weaves dreamy rainbow incantations encompassing bending plucks and harp-like waterfalls. Spectral vapors move across the stereo field and sometimes blend seamlessly into the continuous insect orchestrations while up above, flutey synths lock into a sequential fantasy bounce. The vibe is transportive, otherworldly, and aligns with the recent work of Meitei in the sense that futuristic atmospheres are transformed into ancient sonic environments. 

Another track exclusive to Talisman is “Embrace,” presented as live version from 1987 in New York City that perfectly exemplifies what a powerful performer ÆOLUS was. Aqueous synth waves splash across the spectrum while a universal hum of drone modulation flows through the stereo field. Bleary piano chords decay over the watery ambiance and their freeform fantasias, atonal note clusters, and gentle jazz adventures drift eternally throughout the track. Heavenly atmosphere flow in, though distorted and threatening to spill over into white light feedback and bass textures grow increasingly present and unsettled…their fast motion vibrato wobbles disturbing the hallucinatory float. Feedback melodies scream across the sky as everything momentarily swells together while elsewhere, mermaid pan-pipes dance through future ocean kingdoms and childlike sea-spirits join the new age sound bath with wordless choral ecstasies that float upwards on unseen sea currents. Eventually, intimately blown flutes journey across the mix with overlapping dream enchantments and fragile melodies that hover in place before dispersing like a mirage. And for the rest of the track’s length, ÆOLUS executes a breathtaking trade off between mystical woodwind magic and shrieking blasts of feedback euphoria…all proceeding through an underwater paradise of pianos, choral arias, and subsuming synth fogs. 

The first reinterpretation of ÆOLUS’ work comes from K. Leimer, who presents his “Temporary & Indefinite” edit of “Environment.” Sequential synth bubbles float through space foam fuzz and Cluster-leaning lullabies are smothered in a fourth world heatwave haze. Controlled clicks, static pops, and unidentifiable scrapes float through that air while industrial hums, factory drones, and machine breaths set the stage for blissed out tapestries of smeared brass and vocals…these wisps of symphonic magic emerging from nothingness and growing into shimmering baths of sonic transcendence, with melodic movements paying tribute to the sunrise. Everything is blurry and indistinct…as if seen through a polychrome fog...while bell tones decay and trace behind them harmonious trails of light. Scraping strings are beamed in from a faraway galaxy and layered cellos sweep the heart to lands of fantasy romance before pulling away into silence, leaving the body afloat in a void of burning ambiance and vibrating metal. Spare shaker rattles hit and percussive detritus floats while orchestral swells grow increasingly distorted, eventually giving over completely to bowed string tonalities. Deep in the ether, tamburas are manipulated into droning insect psychedelia and FM crystals melt into liquid lightforms before everything morphs into a methodical fade out of Indian drone mysticism…like Pandit Pran Nath playing from within a black hole.

It’s mostly been silence from the Pharaohs camp since the release of 2017’s In Oeland, but they make a welcome return here with their “Sadhana Environment (Mana Mix)”. Crashing cymbals introduce sun-soaked folk guitar energetics while tropical bass synths wiggle through water waves and acidic bubbles blow in a warm breeze. Electric guitars loop hypnotically high in the sky before giving way to solar synthesis and layers of hand percussion dance through sea-spray…all while sampled waves crash to shore. Synthetic tones of plucked crystal weave equatorial dream melodies, jazzy acoustic guitar solos move in counterpoint to the jaunty riffs, and heatwave swells cycle all around as feedback tracers drop globs of rainbow glass. At some point, otherworldly vocalisms enter…that characteristic and wholly unique way that Pharaohs uses the human voice…mystical, tribal, joyous…with wordless scats and LSD babbles floating within a cloud of balearic exotica. Electric guitar mantras slide towards the sky over prog fusion basslines and kick drums and crashing static cymbals enter at some point, giving the groove a more defined shape. It’s a swaying jam through aquamarine tide pools, wherein smoldering six-string blues solos are repurposed into island paradise magic while vibrant cymbal splashes and pulsating drum fills join together for a narcotizing ocean jazz groove out.

Dreems’ “Natürliche Liebe” remix of “Sadhana Environment” sees a four-four beat underlying glowing glass windchimes and robotic house basslines, all thick tubular tones jacking upwards. Strange sonic vapors and bodies of incandescent gas flow alongside jungle frog squelches, hand drums bounce off of neon palm fronds, marbles made of electricity oscillate out of control, and glowing hypo-sequences join together with skittering noise textures to generate a double-time pulse while a feverish theme plays out on drunken pad modulations. New age mermaid choirs are transmuted into deep house hypnosis as martial snare rolls portend some dark club explosion, but Dreems subverts this expectation by cutting away all rhythms, instead leaving the body to float amongst silvery chime strands, aqueous bass euphorias, galactic lasers, and deep space spirit communications. Eventually, we flash into a minimal expanse of drug dance magic, wherein kick drums and flubby basslines are accented by rolling hand percussion, pinging echo fx, and fractal smears. Claps and snares give the militant stomp a swinging sense of groove while post-modernist dub panoramas rattle around the mix…a sort of Chain Reaction-style weirdness abstracted even further into extra-terrestrial sorcery. Heatwave pads introduce another rhythmic drop, wherein cave liquids, disjointed snaps, universal bass pulsations, and industrial chants waver through dream mutations. And as a crazed starlight sequence fades in from nothingness, the kicks resume their march beneath post-house cymbal fire and mutant acid stabs.

The final version of “Sadhana Environment” comes in the form of Lieven Martens Moana’s “Oahu Suite,” which proceeds like a hallucinatory collage tied together by birdsong and insect chatter. Contrabass drones fade in from the center of existence and generate waves of La Monte Young-style minimalism, which fade into arcs of bowed metal and space sirens evoking the piercing communications of 2001’s monolith. Scraping textures and feedback noises swim through bodies of water while radiophonic explorations devolve into burning waves of laser light. Sickly waverings and mosquito buzzes flow through tremolo transformations as bulbous bass clouds waver into the void. Shadow visions of hand percussion develop into rainforest drum rituals and Shepard-Risset glissando fx scream across the sky, with everything fading out as soon as it begin. Back in the world of primitive electro-experimentation, caterwauling static blends into dark liquids lapping against an alien shore and vibratory metal abstractions are smothered in ringing reverb as they swell into a towering noise assault, which then gives way to a dreamwaltz through deep sea forests. Machine spirits laugh and sing, pianos are mimicked by ring modulators, and “High Priestess” is evoked through a cloud of smoke while elsewhere, timpani drums, horror string cascades, and marimba exotics are destroyed by blasts of searing noise. Towards the end, we return to the bowed string fantasias…the deep and methodical double bass energies now joined by melodious cellos weaving glorious dawn incantations. And as it all comes to a close, waves crash to shore and birds sing in the sky. 

(images from my personal copy)

[kronickpop]

Top 10 K-Pop Songs of 2018 (Pt.1)

Very surprising year, some of my most anticipated groups had disappointing releases while unexpected groups got a lot better and made a real impact.

Wanted to highlight just a few of my favorite, could have easily done a top 50 or so if I was ranking every great song that came out.

This list is mainly about idol groups and soloists. Will likely make a separate list focused on Hip-hop / RnB releases.

10. Samuel - Winter Night

Such a warm, pleasant song. It has a lot of interesting little flourishes throughout, like the snapping fingers, horns, or twinkly chimes that only show up for a second or two but add a lot of depth. The organ that starts the song off has an immediate calming effect and just creates this tranquil jazzy vibe.

Samuel’s entire skill set is elite. He’s already one of the best dancers in the game, as evidenced by him winning ‘Dance War’. I think this song also shows how underrated his voice is, homie can sing but most of his title tracks aren’t particularly difficult vocally, so it’s not always obvious.

9. Produce 48 - I Am

An absurdly catchy song, this particular group’s vocal chemistry was probably the best from the show. ‘Rumor’ got most of the attention, but this song is a trip, all the twinkly xylophone melodies and quick drum rolls give it this hectic bubbly style that sounds very polished.

Everyone fits this type of slowed down singing, especially Yunjin and Juri. Kaeun’s rapping is also pretty unique, her hyper enunciated choppy flow is dope. Would have been nice if all five had made it into the final group.

8. NCT U - Baby Don’t Stop

These fools are just too powerful.

You can tell this song is gonna be something special immediately. The first notes of that distorted synth followed by Ten’s opening lines make for such a sick intro. The chorus is like a hypnotizing mantra. There’s also a lot of whispering and subtle background vocals throughout that just kind of fill in any empty sounding sections, so the whole song feels less basic and more vibrant.

Love the whole last minute or so from 2:19 on when the beat drops for the last time and everything reaches this sustained upbeat crescendo culminating in the funniest/best outro ever.

7. Fromis_9 - To Heart

This is honestly fire. When the orchestra kicks in with the first chorus, it’s just like “holy shit”. The drums and violins especially give it this sweet melodic vibe and it literally sounds like it’s recorded with a 50-person full band. The group has mad harmony and all their voices just blend together into this loud symphonic choir.

Fromis_9 had a surprisingly great first year. They clearly established that they’re a really talented group and their company seems to care enough to give them well produced music.

6. LABOUM - Between Us

Probably Laboum’s best title track. Soyeon and Yujeong are one of the best vocal duos in K-pop. They guide the whole song allowing the other members to drop in and out of shorter parts that actually fit them. Haein and Solbin’s singing style really match this song’s tempo and ZN doesn’t have many lines but the ones she does have fit perfectly.

The various synths, bass guitar riffs, drum kicks, and other retro sounds make this feel extremely glossy and glittery. Crazy good.

Link to (Pt.2)

[ricardosousalemos]

Fleetwood Mac: Tango in the Night: Deluxe Edition

It started with “Sara.” The first two Fleetwood Mac albums to feature Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks—the self-titled album and Rumours—featured production typical of the pop-rock generated in Los Angeles in the ’70s. They were professional and pristine, exhibiting an instrumental and emotional warmth that was, in terms of the actual recording technique and the cerebral atmosphere of the people making the records, a product of isolation. On their next record, Tusk, Buckingham shifted the balance of Fleetwood Mac’s studio pop. He deliberately produced his songs so that they sounded trebly and makeshift—as if they were translated from brain to tape as quickly as possible—and produced Nicks’ and Christine McVie’s songs with a lush and carefully-sculpted dimensionality. “Sara,” a song Nicks wrote to a daughter she never had, is so gently shaped that every instrumental and vocal materializes in the song like vapor in the atmosphere. At the Blockbuster Music Awards in 2001, Nicks said that when she writes songs, she tries to “make little worlds” for the listener. Whether intentional or not, this sensibility invaded Buckingham’s production of the song; “Sara,” as it appears on Tusk, is its own world, a complete environment, a beach house built out of sighs.

The follow-up to Tusk, 1982’s Mirage, was a kind reflexive scaling back; both Warner Bros. and Buckingham wanted to regenerate the success and the coherent atmosphere of Rumours. It didn’t take. The band members had already drifted too far from each other: Nicks sang country-western and synth-pop songs; Buckingham quoted Pachelbel’s Canon; McVie’s formal romanticism began to take on a crystalline quality; the production flowed in the direction of their individual fascinations. After a brief tour, the band went on hiatus. Nicks released two successful solo albums; McVie and Buckingham put out one each. In 1985, Buckingham had begun work on an additional solo album, when Mick Fleetwood suggested Buckingham fold his new songs into the more monolithic, more lucrative idea of a Fleetwood Mac record.

The resulting album, Tango in the Night, is exactly that: a monolithic, lucrative idea of a Fleetwood Mac record. It was recorded over eighteen months between 1986 and 1987, mostly at Buckingham’s home studio in L.A. Buckingham devoted himself to the record, laboring intensely over its songs, its sounds, and the integrity of its design. Recording technology had advanced substantially since the early ’80s, and Buckingham found the methods by which he could determine the shape and temperature of a Fleetwood Mac song had expanded.

“Most of the vocal parts were recorded track by track,” he told the New York Times in 1987. “The voices used in the textured vocal choirs were mostly mine. I used a Fairlight machine that samples real sounds and blends them orchestrally.” Buckingham fed guitars and ukuleles and vocals into synthesizers and then triggered the individual notes until they began to pulse in symphonic patterns. Out of these newly available materials, he could practically build an entire band, which was useful at the time. Mick Fleetwood was almost entirely consumed by his cocaine habit, and the band had been experiencing an internal drift for years. “Constructing such elaborate layering is a lot like painting a canvas and is best done in solitude,” Buckingham added.

The album’s artwork, “Homage a Henri Rousseau” by Brett-Livingstone Strong, is so lush and romantic that it walks a fine line between formal elegance and kitsch, blending the terrestrial with the celestial. It’s an accurate illustration of Tango in the Night’s sound design, of the glitterings and humid shimmers that Buckingham placed in the songs. He made each track on Tango just as he produced “Sara”: less an arrangement of bass, guitar, drums, and vocals than a complete world, a living panorama. There’s a phenomenal wholeness to the recordings on Tango that seems like a superficial compensation for how deeply fragmented the band was at the time.

After Nicks resurfaced from her cocaine addiction at the Betty Ford Clinic, she visited Buckingham’s studio for several weeks. Three of her recordings figure into the finished Tango, only two of which were written by her. Her voice, invariably hoarse after years of cocaine abuse, often warps or fails the already incomplete material. She howls her way through “Seven Wonders,” a song written mostly by Sandy Stewart. (Nicks receives credit because she misheard “All the way down you held the line” as “All the way down to Emmiline”; for Nicks—and I don’t disagree—sometimes accident and authorship are indistinguishable.) For all of its bluster, the song is not only enhanced by the incidents of its arrangement but is the incidents of its arrangement; try to imagine the song without its synth hook and hear the rest of it evaporate. On “When I See You Again,” Nicks’ voice almost crumbles and shatters into atoms. “Stevie was the worst she’s ever been,” Buckingham told Uncut in 2013. “I didn’t recognize her...I had to pull performances out of words and lines and make parts that sounded like her that weren’t her.” Fittingly, each verse and chorus that Nicks sings sounds generated by a different uncanny assemblage of Stevie, among them one who sings in a kind of mutilated whisper. After the bridge, Nicks completely disappears. Buckingham finishes the song.

Buckingham’s songs on Tango are less knotted than they were on Tusk and Mirage, newly permissive of space. The first single, Buckingham’s “Big Love,” is a song that inadvertently simulates the essential failure of the album. It is devoted to a totally abstracted and imaginary form of love, while Tango in the Night is devoted to a totally abstracted and imaginary form of Fleetwood Mac (neither of which could be assembled in reality). The song’s arrangement feels austere and detached, a byproduct of the narrator’s alienation, but it’s also decorated with overlapping, pointillist guitar phrases. Even the empty spaces on Tango feel like deliberately-wrought emptinesses—for instance, the airy synths that hover over the verses of McVie’s “Everywhere,” or Buckingham’s title track, which through its sense of space imparts the feeling of rowing through fog and mystery.

Still, it’s McVie whose work is most realized by Buckingham’s impressionism. Her “Everywhere” is the best song on the record. Like “Big Love” it too is about encountering an idea too big to contain within oneself (love, again). But where “Big Love” apprehends it with icy suspicion, “Everywhere” responds with warmth, empathy, and buoyancy, describing a kind of devotion so deeply felt that it produces weightlessness in a person. Its incandescent texture is felt in almost any music that could be reasonably described as balearic. Elsewhere, “Isn’t It Midnight,” McVie’s co-write with Buckingham and her then-husband Eddy Quintela, seems an inversion of the values of “Everywhere,” a severe ’80s guitar rock song that gets consumed by a greater, more unnerving force by its chorus, as if it’s succumbing to a conspiratorial dread. “Do you remember the face of a pretty girl?” McVie sings, and Buckingham echoes her in an unfeeling monotone (“the face of a pretty girl”) while behind him synths chime in a moving constellation, UFOs pulsing in the dark.

This is the essence of Tango in the Night: something falling apart but held together by an unearthly glow. More of a mirage than Mirage, it is an immaculate study in denial (its most enduring hit revolves around McVie asking someone to tell her “sweet little lies”). It’s a form of dreaming where you could touch the petals of a flower and feel something softer than the idea of softness. In this way, Tango seems to emerge less from Buckingham’s pure will and imagination than from a question that haunts art in general: How can one make the unreal real, and the real unreal?

The remaster of Tango in the Night isn’t as topographically startling as last year’s Mirage, where new details seemed to rise out of the mix as if in a relief sculpture; it sounded good on CD in 1987. The reissue does sound warmer and brighter, and the instruments feel less digitally combined, which lifts background elements to the surface, like the seasick drift of the bass notes in “Caroline” and the coordinated staccato harmonies in the title track. The reissue also includes two discs of b-sides, demos, and extended remixes, several of which were previously unreleased. “Special Kind of Love” is described as a demo but sounds like a completely developed Buckingham song, gentle and simple, with every edge expressively filigreed; it could’ve been a potential second sequel to “You and I.” “Seven Wonders” appears in an earlier, more relaxed arrangement, with Lindsey’s guitar warmly swanning between the notes that would eventually be reconstructed in perfect digital isolation by a synthesizer.

The demos also reveal the ways in which the songs could fold into and out of each other. On the “Tango in the Night” demo you can hear Buckingham, at the edge of every chorus, begin to invent the trembling choral part that opens “Caroline.” Nicks’ eventual solo track “Juliet” is present in two of its primordial forms—as the instrumental “Book of Miracles” (credited to both Buckingham and Nicks) and as a five-minute “run-through.” The run-through is especially curious, reducing “Book of Miracles” to a formulaic blues-rock over which Nicks’ voice produces a just-barely musical static, full of wobbles and distortions and exclamations. After the take she says, ecstatically, “I thought that was wonderful! I didn’t play! I did not play because I am so smart!”

Nicks exhibits a strange, dissonant giddiness in this moment that isn’t present in any of the band member’s memories of the recording process. At the time, in his interview with the Times, Buckingham imaginatively described Tango in the Night as a restorative process. “This album is as much about healing our relationships as Rumours was about dissension and pain within the group,” he said. “The songs look back over a period of time that in retrospect seems almost dreamlike.” Twenty-six years later, Buckingham summarized the experience to Uncut in more severe terms: “When I was done with the record, I said, ‘Oh my God. That was the worst recording experience of my life.”

The jealousy and resentment he felt toward Nicks for the success she experienced in her solo career, and the prevailing feeling that his architectural work on the band’s records went unnoticed and unappreciated, had built to a flashpoint. Later in 1987, the band met up in anticipation of the promotional tour for Tango, for which they had already secured dates and signed contracts. At the meeting, Buckingham announced he was quitting the band. “I flew off of the couch and across the room to seriously attack him,” Nicks told Classic Rock in 2013. “...I’m not real scary but I grabbed him which almost got me killed.” They spilled out of McVie’s house and into the street. Buckingham ran after Nicks and threw her up against a car. She “screamed horrible obscenities” at him, and he walked away, from the moment and the band. What’s left, after these harsh fragments of reality are swept away, is Tango in the Night: a remarkably complete album, a lavish garden growing out of negative space. Just a dream.