#i listened to ambient drum and bass the whole time drawing this

[faygos]

assorted kitkats before bed

[goodbysunball]

Bring it on home

Comparatively easy listening from the set of records showcased this time around, but there's a world of grief settin' your jaw to grind. You deserve a neck massage and a cocktail; lean into these after you put your misery rectangle aside for a spell.

Astute Palate, s/t (Petty Bunco)

Emily Robb, David Nance, Daniel Provenzano, and Richie Charles got together and hammered out this LP during "48 sleepless hours" in Philadelphia. It's definitely a fairly rough documentation, but if you know the players, that's generally what you'd be gettin' into with 'em anyway. Gotta admit that I'm not a huge fan of what I've heard by David Nance - respect his hustle, though - and the same goes for the tracks he leads here; in particular, the studied classic rock caterwaul employed on "Stall Out" basically rolls my eyes for me. I am, however, fond of David Nance the Guitarist and his heroics on "Stall Out," and "A Little Proof" definitely has me more curious about his recent solo work I've skipped. These are pithy grievances, though: the album rules, as a whole, but it's just hard to stomach some of Nance's lyrics when they're side-by-side with bonafide jammers like "Bring It On Home" and "Treadin' Schuylkill." "Bring It On Home," in particular, with its Velvets-inspired chug and Robb's bleary vocals coolly beckoning you to do as the title says, heats to a boil with the blustery, fried guitar interplay. For me it wipes the floor with anything else on the album, and pretty much anything else I'll hear this year, so let's put all my petty complaints aside and declare this the Summer of Astute Palate, OK? Looks like the secret's out - the LP's sold out from the source, but can be found hiding in various distros and shops. Hunt it down, crack a tallboy, and embrace the sweltering heat of our melting planet with Astute Palate.

Maraudeur, Puissance 4 (self-released)

New and best LP yet from Leipzig's Maraudeur, self-released with some of the best packaging/artwork I've seen in a minute. My memory's usually a bit faulty, but I recall the band being a three-piece on their last, still very good LP from Bruit Direct Disques. I'm inclined to think that the group's ranks have swelled to five anyway, since the sound here is a bit more bright and full, lots of different moving parts zipping and moving around, giving the crisp recording some effervescence. Compared to older songs like "Computer Dreams," Maraudeur sounds sharper, capable of backing up any threats rather than coming across as deflated and listless. Even the slower songs on Puissance 4, such as "Slow Dress," thrive on tension, guitar strings set to snap amidst the robotic/hypnotic vocals. The band seems to have located a sweet spot between the simmering minimalism of Household and the technologically damaged vision of Chrome, and "TWYWYS" basically sounds like a collaboration between the two groups. Guitars are used as window dressing, favoring instead synths and showcasing the chops of the rhythm section. "Face/Figure" and my favorite track "C'est Caché" are the best examples of Maraudeur's rhythmic foundation, but nearly every track causes inadvertent head bobbing. While accessible and familiar on the surface, Maraudeur's dry humor, the carefully camouflaged layers of sound, and whatever is going on in "I Am Here" keep boilerplate post-punk comparisons at bay. Puissance 4 is a refreshing, addictive brew from the not-too distant future, and probably a blast to experience live.

Astrid Øster Mortensen, Gro Mig En Blomst (Förlag För Fri Musik)

New Gothenburg talent alert! Mortensen is apparently a newcomer to the scene, and her debut LP fits in nicely amongst the Förlag För Fri Musik discography. Gro Mig En Blomst features lonely and debased late-night solo explorations with guitar, piano and what sounds like an accordion, accented by electronic manipulations and the found sound that accompanies most FFFM records. It's dreary and stark, and can quickly bring the mood down when it's on. For me the most obvious reference point is Grouper's Ruins, in that both are recordings so intimate that it feels like an interruption to move while it's on. But I also get bits of Picastro's Whore Luck ("Hvor Kommer Mørket Fra?" sounds like it was plucked directly from that album), and there are similarities to Chloe Alison Escott's solo work, on the title track and "Piano i" and "Piano ii." Gro Mig En Blomst is a far cry from more traditional singer-songwriter music, dabbling in Stars of the Lid-like drone on "Brud ii" and jumping into the "Is there a record on or...?" genre on "Solen Er Et Lille Hus" and "Brud i." I can't say I go out looking for records this fragile and surface-level bleak anymore, but Mortensen's work is more often beautiful and calming than hopelessly gray. Another keeper from FFFM, sure to be one of the most sought-after records from the label, and for good reason.

Nightshift, Zöe (Trouble In Mind)

Travel back in time with me, if you will, to a time when "indie rock" was a genre label that had some meaning. After getting rid of the bad taste in my mouth and shaking off the embarrassment at who I was when I largely listened to stuff that'd broadly fall under that label, I'll allow that Nightshift is making a strong argument for some of the music released during the comparative naiveté of the late '00s/early '10s. Across Zöe, you get shades of Broadcast, Lower Dens' Twin-Hand Movement, the UV Race ("Spray Paint the Bridge"), Belle & Sebastian and A Sunny Day In Glasgow ("Power Cut" and "Romantic Mud"). The trick to Zöe is that it folds all these reference points in neatly and places it on a sturdy percussive base. I won't argue that every song here is memorable, but they're all enjoyable, and the songs that hit - "Outta Space," the title track, "Infinity Winner" - send chills down my spine every time. Guitars are plucked and scraped for leading beats, accentuating shuffling drums and giving the bass the spotlight. The vocals are dreamy and lyrics direct, and for the duration of Zöe you're relieved of the pessimistic present and allowed to rigidly dance to Nightshift's hesitant groove. They've charmed their way through my cynicism, and Zöe's been on heavy rotation despite my reluctance. Take it for a spin, and fall under Nightshift's spell.

Hugo Randulv, Radio Arktis: Samlade Ljud Från Den Norra Polcirkeln (Förlag För Fri Musik)

First solo LP from Hugo Randulv, an active presence in the Gothenburg scene with his involvement in Enhet För Fri Musik, Skiftande Enheter and Amateur Hour, among others. Though typically a guitarist, on Radio Arktis, he drops the guitar and instead fills both sides with glacial synths and dusty samples. The label's original write-up for this record called it "grand ambient," though to me it sounds and feels much more personal than something that would soundtrack the Olympics. His use of samples, most notably on "Radio Reykjavik," sounds intimately tied with some fleeting memory, the music serving to enhance or exorcise the feeling tied to it all. It reminds me most of the Fun Years' "God Was Like, No" in that both records used the tools common to ambient/drone music but applied a much more personal touch, that certain nameless attribute that keeps drawing a listener back in. Can't put my finger on it, but both records just sound like they had to be made, rather than serving as a genre exercise or one-off exploration. I don't know that Radio Arktis is going to change anyone's life, but it could, and I've been hypnotized by its wordless, sparkling gray tones for weeks. Even though the "solo musician embraces synths" thing is usually pretty tired and pointless, Hugo Randulv's contribution shows why it's an alluring proposition at all.

Sunhiilow, Beyond the Cycle (Ikuisuus)

More solo synth, this time coming from Valerie Magisson and her Moog Mother-32. Magisson's Sunhiilow project veers into new age/ambient with its bite-sized kosmische explorations. There's something about the combination of the short length of these tracks and the sense of movement present within each that allows Beyond the Cycle to transcend the lifeless drivel that's usually tagged "new age" and "synth." It seems intentional that Magisson was trying to capture the mood of each track title in its corresponding music, and she is largely successful, though its unclear if the title provided direction or was applied afterward. The somewhat jarring introduction of "Wilderness Bloom" and the stoned growth of "Circle Motion" are my top picks, but the album works best as a whole and played very loudly, the overall effect immersing the listener into heady zones traversed by the Nightcrawlers. Leave it to Ikuisuus to release an "ethereal ambient music" record that satisfies, and sounds and looks great to boot. Sunhiilow's a lot more tame than most of what Ikuisuus releases, but it's an accessible, recommended starting point to one of the best active labels. HOWDY.

[lonelypond]

A Coffeeshop Christmas Carol, Ch. 2

Love Live, Love Live Nijigasaki, NicoMaki, NozoEli, ShizuKasu, 4.4K, 2/5?

Summary: Nico learns more about Maki and we meet some undergrads.

An Evening Out

In her three years at Tudor, Nico had never been to this part of campus. An old stone barn hidden among birch and pine trees. A small clearing, with carefully landscaped chunks of rock, a small creek running in front of it, with a simple wooden bridge, and a few pieces of modern sculpture, as well as what looked like a Rodin.

Nico took an oddly angled selfie and posted it to TWIG, with the caption, “Dropping off Nico’s perfect #AChristmasCarol script in a pretty part of campus. Where's Nico?”

There was a gargoyle styled iron door knocker and a more modern bell with “do not disturb” engraved in brass over it. Nico pressed the bell. No response for more than three minutes so Nico pushed open the door. Impeccable soundproofing. Instantly, music flooded out into the world, loud dancey music, bass and organ and drum tracks crashing. At the far end of the large open room, under a stunning multipaned window, Maki Nishikino, dressed gray sweats and black shirt more suited to a gym than a music studio, ball cap flipped to the back, bounced in front of a synth, twirling a knob above the keyboard with one hand while the rest of her was popping and locking as several tracks of “Uptown Funk” merged into a merry cacophony. It was the goofiest, sexiest thing Nico had ever seen and she hated to interrupt, but…

She pitched her voice to carry, “Nico thought you didn’t bop.”

Maki collided with the keyboard, only the stone wall keeping the keyboard and connected computer upright. Maki had no help and slid to her knee, eyes wide, then narrowing into a glare, “Why are you here?”

Nico pulled A Christmas Carol out of her bag, “Bringing you a copy of the script.” Nico stepped closer, “Need a hand?”

Maki shook her head, grabbed the pages out of Nico’s hand, and scurried back to an armchair she levered herself into. Nico watched as Maki struggled to get panicked rapid breathing under control and pull off nonchalance. It was a total fail, but Nico decided to be polite and ignore it. There was a couch catty-corner to the chair and Nico dropped into it.

“So you do bop?”

“Hell.” Maki leapt out of the chair, grabbed her phone out of a stand, and quickly slid her fingers around the screen. Nico’s script hit the ground.

That seemingly urgent task completed, Maki took off her hat, rubbed her arm across her forehead, and grabbed a waterbottle off a mini fridge, ignoring Nico the whole time. Nico examined her nails. Definitely needed a trim and a manicure. Better now before auditions when she had marginal amounts of free time. After auditions there would be no time.

Maki inhaled and squared her shoulders, then turned to face Nico. “I lost a bet with a student. They got to pick the song for my next TWIG stream.”

“Were you live?”

Maki shook her head, “Have to edit together all the parts I’m playing into one video.”

Nico nodded. “So you are thorough when losing bets.”

Maki’s lips pursed as her eyes unfocused, then she slid onto the stool near the synth, rolling the water bottle between her hands, “I am thorough with music.”

“Nico looks forward to what you do with her lyrics.” Nico pointed to the script. When Maki didn’t immediately rescue it, Nico knelt down, picked it up and offered it to Maki, who refused to make eye contact. After a minute, Nico tossed it on the chair.

“There’s not enough time.”

“Nico did most of the work. The lyrics are catchy and pretty simple. And it’s a staged reading so Nico can prioritize the must have songs for you.”

Intense amethyst eyes finally met Nico’s glance, “Don’t you have a composer you’d rather work with?”

Nico took the single armchair, “Nico did research. You haven’t done much, but everyone says you’re very promising. Nico thinks that’s a good sign. Nico believes in serendipity.”

“Serendipity?”

“Happy accidents. Things that make Nico smile. Like saving you from getting taken out by a car. There’s a reason we met.”

Maki held out her hand. Nico placed the script in it. Maki rifled through the pages.

“Nico can act it out for you.”

“I can read.” Maki put the script down, “I’ll look at it later.”

“And then call Nico.”

“I text.”

“Fine. Text. Nico’s emoticon game is the envy of sixteen year olds.”

“Is that a good thing?”

Helps teaching if I at least know the lingo.”

“Makes sense.”

“My little brother is 15. And he’s a texter too.”

“Oh.”

“It’s amazing how even in this AR world, words scrolling across a screen are still such a draw.” Nico continued to examine the large music studio. A gleaming piano behind a beautifully brush painted screen, a Nerf hoop, a dartboard, a museum quality ceramic vase with gorgeous flowers, a medicine ball, a screen with a video game console, a stack of hats, and an empty pizza box. Definitely an eclectic aesthetic. Although Nico was pretty certain it was a random series of choices, not a cleverly casual but oh so expensive decorating theme.

“AR?”

“Augmented reality. Someday, Nico’s going to use that kind of tech for the ghosts or some horror thriller play. Immersive audience experience.”

“Oh, those clunky headsets.” Maki got less interested.

“Not into hi tech?”

“Not into not touching.” Maki waved a hand through the air, then air played a piano keyboard, “I like heft and weight and resistance.”

“Nico will remember.” Nico stood up, “Are you free for dinner.”

“Huh?”

“You have to eat. It doesn’t sound like you’ve gotten around Tudor much. Nico knows a few places. I could give you a tour. What’s your favorite type of restaurant.”

“Italian.”

“Nico knows a pizza place that’s a little too expensive for the average student. Very ambient.”

“Not a word.”

“It is.”

“Not the right word.”

Nico shrugged and offered Maki a hand, “It works. And Nico won’t pitch A Christmas Carol until after dessert.”

“Deal.” Maki took Nico’s hand and let the newly declared tour guide pull her up.

###

No, of course, Shizuku Osaka hadn’t been looking for Kasumi Nakusa on her way to dinner at one of her favorite restaurants. Yes, Kasumi might have posted a “going for a late run” TWIG post and yes, the route to that restaurant might follow the tree lined path Kasumi liked to run along. But since Shizuku had been looking the other way when the bright eyed, fair haired actor called out “Shizuko!” she could credibly pull off a look of surprise.

Kasumi, who could be so put together and top tier fashionable, could also pull off a very feminine sporty look, like today. A tight fitting pink hoodie with a cute bear pattern, striped leggings, sparkly kicks, and short askew hair under a rainbow cycling cap made exercise adorable.

“Hi, Kasumi. Isn’t it cold for running?”

“Kasumin keeps warm.” She glanced at her smart watch, “Almost done, time to cool down.”

“You could walk me to Genovo’s. You must be hungry. I’ll buy you a salad.”

Kasumi frowned, then shook her head, sweat flying from her hair, and laughed, “You’ll buy pizza.”

“Okay.”

Kasumi stretched briefly. “So what brings you out from the dustiest shelves of the library?”

Shizuku shrugged. “No food allowed.”

“Send me a message; Kasumin will smuggle some in.”

“Didn’t you get kicked out of the library for being loud?”

Kasumi snorted, “I reported that library aide to the Chief Bookkeeper…”

Shizuku held back a giggle at Chief Bookkeeper. Kasumi was watching her for a reaction and Shizuku wasn’t going to give her one.

“Oh hey,” Kasumi pulled Shizuku down the path, “There’s Nico! Isn’t she the cutest. Professors shouldn’t really be that cute.”

Shizuku demurred on the question of cuteness, but watching Nico walking along, listening, next to a tall redhead, dressed in much less stylish fashion, Shizuku couldn’t help but be amused by the similar contrast to her own walk companion.

“Hey, Nico!!!” Kasumi shouted, waving.

Shizuku pulled Kasumi back, hissing, “Don’t yell.”

“But it’s…”

“Maybe she’s on a date.”

“That doesn’t look like a date.” Kasumi pointed to the two people now out of shouting distance, “She probably just ran into a friend, like you.”

Shizuku bit her lip, “C’mon, I’ll buy you coffee and sandwich instead.”

“Why...pizza sounded good. And I can ask Nico about Scrooge.”

Shizuku knew that dinner with Kasumi would involve a boasting match about who would have a better Christmas pageant audition, but she didn’t want to add the director of the pageant into the chat as well. Shizuku spun on her heel, heading back to the fringe of campus, turning Kasumi’s hold on her arm against her, “Coffee. Sandwich. And no audition talk.”

“No audition talk if you sing a duet with Kasumin while we walk.”

“Why?”

“Want to practice. Nico’s play is full of duets.” Kasumi hummed and spun, “Kasumin needs someone on her level to make it a challenge.”

On her level. That was something, Shizuku thought, a recognition that they might be...compatible on some level. Shizuku let Kasumi’s hand drop. “Fine. But I pick.”

“You know Kasumin’s range, right?”

“Of course.”

“And make it from this century.”

Shizuku feigned offense, “Never.”

Kasumi shook her head in fond exasperation, but then half bowed in front of Shizuku, hand sweeping out in a grand gesture, sakura eyes sparkling, “So what does the lovely lady wish to be serenaded with?”

Shizuku let the giggles out this time. Kasumi joined in.

###

Tall, blonde, blue eyes with hesitancy hidden deep, curves Nozomi might have calculated the probable dimensions of...and she was back. Nozomi stood up from where she was leaning on the display case and moved back to the counter, a wide smile on her face.

“Cheat day?”

Blonde and beautiful shook her head sadly, “Just wanted to get out of my dance studio. The walls are starting to talk back to me. A peppermint tea, please.” Another serious scan of the menu, “‘I’ll take a cup of your chicken and wild rice soup.”A shy smile, “Dinner. No time to go shopping.”

“What’s got ya so busy, Eli?” Nozomi noted the slight blush as she spoke the other woman’s name.

“Deciding which of my students to assign choreography to.”

“Take a seat.” Nozomi pointed to the coziest corner. “I’ll bring your food over. It’s been a quiet afternoon.”

“Thanks.” Eli glanced at the numbers on the register and slid her card through, adding a generous tip.

“You’re welcome.” Nozomi whirled off to assemble a tray, hoping to have a minute to continue to talk before more customers stopped in. Nolt was on cleaning duty for the next hour so Nozomi had solo counter duty.

Eli sat and wearily set out a stack of index cards. The first one she took a pencil to had Peanut Brittle Brigade written at the top in marker.

“Here you go.” Eli glanced up, Nozomi sat across from her, the tray in between them, and took the top index card off the pile.

“Toot Toot Tootie Toot?”

Eli sighed, “It’s also known as ‘Dance Of The Reed Pipes.”

“Who are Elsa and Jax?”

“Two of my independent study students. I have to decide which students to assign which Ellington pieces to.”

“Ellington.”

“Duke Ellington.” Eli said slowly, “Nico agreed with Nishikino about using his music for the pageant. So I have to start over.’

“Interesting.”

“Frustrating…”

“No, I meant…” After a pause, Nozomi put the card back, and slid the soup in front of Eli, “I’m sure you’ll do what’s best for your students. Actually eating usually helps with thinking.”

“Yeah.” Eli tilted her head, adjusted her ponytail and her goofy, good natured half grin was almost adorable enough to make Nozomi cancel the lurid fantasies she was going to indulge in later.

The door was pushed open and Shizuku walked through, Kasumi holding the door open as she continued a rant, “They better not be out of that really really good toasty bread Nozomi uses for her grilled cheese. I’m skipping out on pizza for you, Shizuko, but Kasumin still needs her melty melty mozzarella.”

Shizuku clucked in a soothing fashion, “I’m sure Nozomi keeps a stash just for you.”

“Of course, Kasumin is her cutest customer.”

Nozomi laughed. Eli was puzzled.

“Kasumi and Nico are going to arm wrestle for the cutest customer slot someday.” Nozomi whispered.

Eli glanced at Kasumi, “She’s tiny too. It wouldn’t be much of a fight.”

“They’re both mighty fighty.” Nozomi was amused to see Shizuku leaning into Kasumi to look at today’s specials chalked on the counter.

“And that’s cute?”

“If you ask them.”

“And if I asked you?” Eli bit the end of her pencil.

Nozomi winked before she rushed to the counter to intercept Kasumi, “I’ll tell you on cheat day, Eli-chi. Have fun.”

###

Maki, relishing their shared bruschetta appetizer with such ravenous enthusiasm that Nico had demurred after only one piece, looked around the room after cleaning the plate. Low lighting, jazz from a small combo, candles at the table. Nico was pleased with the ambiance. The live music was a bonus. She wondered if she could request ‘Satin Doll.’

“Much better than the coffeeshop.” Maki announced loudly enough to draw attention from the next table.

Nico nodded, making a mental note as Maki continued, eyes throwing amethyst sparks when they caught the candlelight, “More tomatoes, fewer candy canes.”

“Still upset about the tripping?”

“Huh?”

“When we met? You practically fell into Nico’s arms. And your score went…” Nico threw up her arms, “Couple of days ago?”

“Oh.” Maki licked her top lip. Nico wondered if a taste of tomato had lingered, “No, it’s not about that. Candy canes are a Christmas thing…” Maki ran her fingers through her hair, head turned to the side.

“And you don’t like Christmas things?”

Maki shook her head.

“Too much coal in your stocking as a young delinquent?”

That got Maki’s attention, “I was a valedictorian, not a delinquent.”

“Okay, genius. Nico heard you were a doctor.”

“Didn’t finish med school.”

“Why not?”

Maki pushed her hair back over her ear, staring behind Nico, whispering dreamily, “I confide in the piano the things that I sometimes want to say to you.”

Nico, surprised, squeaked, “To Nico?”

Maki, surprised, blushed and began to race through words, hands flailing, water glass leaning precariously until Nico rescued it. “No, no...Chopin said that, in a letter, to a friend…”

“A friend friend?” Nico guessed, smirking.

Maki grimaced, “Frederick Chopin wrote what were probably love letters to men, a boyhood friend from school, but Poland erased the...gay parts.”

“Like Poland does.” Nico rolled her eyes. Poland was not joining the rest of the EU protecting LGBTQ rights and voices. They had a long history of discrimination. Nico let anger color her voice. “Let people love. Let kids grow up and know who their heroes actually were.”

“Yes.” Maki leaned forward a little, less self conscious now that they had moved onto a less personal discussion. “You can’t just erase people’s lives and loves.”

“So many students are still so closeted, even now. They need to know people lived, people live full, fully queer lives. Nico helps whenever she can. If you’re here, come to my Friendsgiving party.”

“Friendsgiving?”

“Nico hosts a party for students and faculty who don’t go home. We eat, watch movies, play games.”

“Sounds fun.”

“It is.”

Their dinners had arrived. Nico let the conversation lull so they could eat. Maki obviously took her Italian food seriously and Nico didn’t want to lose the convivial mood. A whisper to the waiter had ‘Satin Doll’ playing. Maki looked up at that.

“Nico’s favorite. I couldn’t resist.”

Maki smiled, “Good choice.”

Nico decided to venture a question, “So was the ‘you’ a bad breakup? Over Christmas?”

Maki’s jaw set, her eyes narrowed and the sharp tightness of her mouth was mood: barbed wire barricade. She lifted another bite of Spaghetti Pomodoro to her mouth, chewing slowly, staring at her plate. “Can we talk about something else?”

So yes, the ‘you’ was a Christmas breakup. So that was part of the problem. At least A Christmas Carol wasn’t centered around Scrooge’s love of anything but money.

“Nico is planning a full slate of Victorian games, to get everyone excited about A Christmas Carol.”

“It’s not after dessert.”

“You demanded Nico change the topic so we’re skipping ahead.”

Maki’s eyes widened at Nico’s peremptory tone, but she nodded.

“I’ll read it tomorrow.”

“Start with the Scrooge-Marley duet. It’s the heart of everything.”

‘How?”

“Marley comes back to make Scrooge change his heart, so he doesn’t suffer like Marley has. And Scrooge actually listens to Marley, instead of kicking him out like everybody else.”

“So?” Maki was obviously more into pasta than Nico’s point.

“He drags his ghostly fetters off of the eternal Purgatory treadmill to tell Scrooge to get on Team Human. And sends three other spirits. That’s a lot of investment. Do you have any friends who would do that for you?” Nico thought that hit a good level of passionate persuasion.

Unimpressed, Maki tapped her fork against the plate. “My friends wouldn’t have to do that for me. People don’t scorn me on the streets. I’m not kicking orphans and widows. I’m donating to food banks and bail funds and medical research.”

“Okay, Bill Gates, you’re good. But in Dickens’ fictional universe, Jacob Marley is all Scrooge has.”

Maki knew there was somebody, a nephew, “Fred. He has Fred.”

“And he can’t stand Fred. But Marley was his friend. His sole friend. His singular person in the world. And Marley was gone. And then he’s back.”

Maki pointed an accusatory utensil. “You made it gay.”

“No. I didn’t make it gay.”

“Sounds gay.”

Nico sighed, “You have friends, right?”

Maki nodded.

“It’s not always about the gay, right?”

Maki’s expression was interesting.

“Explain that look to Nico.”

Maki shook her head, “Can’t.”

“Fine, Nico will have to meet these friends. But Scrooge and Marley...well, they didn’t talk about guys or girls….they talked about GOLD.”

Maki nodded, Nico had a point. Scrooge was definitely more into profit than pleasure. But was that deferral? Had he met Marley and then drifted from Belle?

Nico cut off Maki’s next comment. “But Nico did not make Marley coming back to save Scrooge gay. Guaranteed. No homo.”

Maki had this serious look on her face, leaning forward, chin in hand, eyes thoughtful, “I think I’d like it better if you did.”

“Urrrggghhh.” Nico ripped her napkin off the table, “Just read Nico’s play. Then this would be so much easier.”

Maki was a calm pond Nico couldn’t ripple. “But I like Dickens. The language has vigor. And I like gay.”

Nico wanted breadsticks to snap. “You’re just trolling Nico.”

Maki’s half shrug was all exasperating charm, “Did you request any other songs?”

“No.”

“Let’s go someplace else for dessert.”

Nico waved at the waiter, curious. “Okay.”

###

Nico had never walked through this part of Tudor, near the railroad tracks, lots of repurposed urban loft style architecture. Maki kept up a quick pace, obviously familiar with the sidewalks.

“Where are we going?”

Maki turned her head, “You said you wanted to meet my friends.”

“Are we taking a train?”

Maki shook her head, “Nah. I live in this neighborhood. And conveniently, Bread and Brew is right down the block.”

Nico had heard of Bread and Brew, but with her apartment on the other end of town, she never spent time in this neighborhood. It seemed grungy or steampunk, definitely not collegiate cute and quaint like the shops around Market and the Square. Nico liked collegiate cute, but as she watched Maki stride confidently ahead, Nico admitted to being intrigued.

Bread and Brew looked closed, all lights off. Nico was about to say something when Maki ducked down an alley, leaned down and knocked a quick tempo on the metal door of the cellar. It took a minute, but the door opened up and a ginger head poked up, “MAKI!” booming out.

Not much quieter was the “Who’s that?”

“Nico. Umi knows her.”

“Oh, okay. Hi, Nico, nice to meet you. Cute outfit. Come on in. We’ve got some pumpkin ale left.”

“Did you bring me to a speakeasy?” Nico whispered to Maki.

Maki grinned and headed down the stairs, Nico following, what sounded like a samba playing. The metal door slammed behind them and Nico heard a “sorry” as the ginger bounded by them and the samba suddenly had a drum rhythm as well as maracas. And then the singing started. Was that Umi Sonoda? Wow. Nico knew Umi taught violin and conducting classes, but her burnished alto was that of a vocalist with serious training.

There were a handful of tables and chairs, a couple of couches, a cuddle of loveseats, surrounding a small stage. On stage were Umi at a mic, the doorkeeper on drums, another, shorter ginger playing maracas, and a bespectacled woman with banjo, and a baby grand. A tapped keg stood on a bench with a few mugs. A fawn haired woman sat alone at the center table, dressed like she was front row at a Paris Fashion Week runway. Maki headed for that one, tapping on the wood to distract the audience from the singer, “Kotori, meet Nico; Nico, Kotori.” And then Maki hurried to the piano to join in.

“What is this place?” Nico asked.

“Oh, Umi likes to sing and Honoka…”

“Honoka?”

Kotori pointed to the drummer, “doesn’t have a liquor license yet, so we try out new batches and the musicians have jam sessions occasionally.”

It was a speakeasy.

Umi stepped back from the mic, consulting with Maki. Another samba rhythm started, and as Umi swayed, her ombre blue back swing skirt that picked up all the shades in her hair gracefully moved in time with the music.

“That’s a gorgeous dress.” Nico whispered. Umi’s usual wardrobe was exquisitely cut business suits.

A giggle. “Thanks.”

“Yours?”

“My design.”

“Do you have a boutique?”

“An atelier.”

“Why doesn’t Nico know?”

“It’s in New York. I’m back for the holidays.”

“Lucky Nico. You have to show me your latest.”

Kotori had a lovely smile, but Nico didn’t get used to it, because after a soft hum of agreement, all Kotori’s focus was back on Professor Sonoda, who was flirting with the drummer in a coy fashion that knocked Nico sideways. She noticed scrutiny and glanced toward the piano. Maki had been watching her, but glanced away as soon as Nico paid attention. The super cute maracas player kept tilting into the equally cute, seemingly shyer banjo player. This was obviously the gay speakeasy of Nico’s dreams. Well, if they played some current songs. And the bango switched to a bass. Nico thought she might have seen that woman on campus, but both gingers were new faces. Nico sat back, fascinated.

###

As Umi approached the table, Nico whistled. Umi blushed and sat next to Kotori, Nico guessed their hands were joined under the table.

“That was amazing. Nico didn’t know you had that in you.”

Umi shrugged, “Playing with friends is fun. And relaxing. The ability to experiment sharpens my skills for teaching.”

Maki was onstage, still playing samba rhythms, totally focused on the piano. All of the other musicians had drifted off, talking to friends among the small audience.

The drummer swept up with a tray of drinks, “I promised you a pumpkin ale, new friend Nico. Here you go.”

Nico took a mug. Beer wasn’t her favorite, but if that was the group’s taste, Nico was in. She wanted another invite so it was time to turn on the charm and find out more about this basement club the most conservative member of the faculty seemed to be running. Honoka pulled a chair up next to Umi, and slid her arm around in an embrace.

Nico raised her glass in salute. “This is cozy, Nico approves.”

“If you want to come back, you’ll have to give us a song.” Maki was standing behind Nico. “I’ll play.”

“Ooohh, that’s a great idea, Maki! Is Nico a professor too?” Honoka bounced in her seat.

“Nico chairs drama and performance.” Nico was proud of her job.

Honoka pulled her face into a serious mask and intoned, “To be or not to be…”

“Nico prefers musicals.”

“Oh, you’re the director Umi always talks about.” Kotori rested her head on Umi’s shoulder.

Nico turned to face Umi, “You talk about Nico?”

Umi coughed, “I have enjoyed your perspective on staging and often mention to Kotori that she should consider helping us out.”

“That would be amazing. Your dress is…” Nico chef kissed the air.

“Umi just wants Kotori to spend more time here in Tudor.” Honoka downed a mug.

Umi arched an eyebrow, “Would you complain?”

Nico felt a tap on her shoulder, Maki, impatient, a grumpy cute frown crunching her lips.

“Song.”

“Guess Nico will have to sing for her dinner.” Nico sighed with a fake dramatic flair.

“Dessert.” Maki corrected.

“Lead the way, maestra.” Nico slid her arm through Maki’s. The pianist jumped.

Maki shook Nico off and rushed to the piano.

Nico leaned over the side of the keyboard. “What do you know?”

Maki rolled her eyes, “Probably more than you. What do you know?”

Nico shrugged, letting Maki’s bravado break around her. “You like Ellington, right? Play “Tulip or Turnip.” And Nico hummed a few bars, the notes low in her throat capturing her accompanist’s entire attention.

Maki blinked, “Okay.”

And Nico owned the room. Maki barely kept up and for once, kinda wished she could look up from her keyboard, but she had offered to play for Nico and she was darn well going to do the best job her memory and ear could manage. As Nico sang “champagne or just home brew,” Honoka guffawed at something Nico did and Maki’s concentration almost broke. When the song was over and Maki finally glanced at the singer, Nico was perched on the arm of a couch, the entire room completely under her thrall.

“So” Nico stood, stretching toward the ceiling, then jumping down to the floor, “does Nico get a return ticket?”

“NICO NICO NICO” Honoka started chanting, stomping enough to shake the table, soon joined by the maracas player. Nico seemed taller...or glowier...or…

“And some love for Nico’s accompanist.” Nico clapped for Maki, skipping over to kiss her on the cheek, “Nico hasn’t had that much fun in years. Thanks!”

And then Nico spun back to the center table, sliding between Kotori and Umi to chatter at them. And before Maki could decide what to do next, Rin was there, pulling Maki back to her table, “So who’s Nico?”

“Professor. Wants me to compose for her.”

Hanayo was sipping from a mug, “Oh, the Christmas pageant. That sounds…”

Maki hadn’t realized she was growling.

“Sorry.” Hanayo squeaked.

“Maki, you have to get over it. You got over Santa…”

“Shut up, Rin.”

Rin did not shut up, “You can get over…”

Maki shoved Rin.

“C’mon, Maki. We’re your friends. You came here to spend more time with us and less time in your gloomy apartment.”

“I came here to play the piano.”

“”Cause Kayo-chin told you to.”

“Rin!” Hanayo put a hand on her wife’s arm, “Leave Maki alone. We’re having fun tonight.

Rin leaned into her wife, rubbing her cheek against Hanayo’s arm like a cat. “We are. That was awesome.” Rin sat up and pointed, “And Umi’s going do another. ‘Cause Kotori’s here. Umi’s always happy when Kotori’s here.”

Center stage again, Umi began.

Some like a night at the movies Some like a dance or a show Some are content with an evening spent Home by the radio Some like to live for the moment Some like to just reminisce But whenever I have an evening to spend Just give me one like this

“This is a lovely way to spend an evening” Sotte voce and in full agreement, Maki joined the chorus.

A/N: Well, I had been on the fence about adding in Kasumi and Shizuku and decided no, but then the Niji anime 1st season ended and I realized they were going in. So there will be another chapter, maybe two.

Also, stay safe out there for many reasons.

[theeverlastingshade]

Heaven Or Las Vegas- Cocteau Twins: 30th Anniversary

Of all the bands who couldn’t be better primed for a comeback from a cultural standpoint while being highly unlikely to ever reunite in any sort of compacity whosever, Cocteau Twins occupy a peculiar place within the musical landscape of 2020. Even if all touring wasn’t completely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cocteau Twins (the predominant trio being vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, guitarist/synth programmer Robin Guthrie, and bassist Simon Raymonde) seem unlikely to ever reunite for the kind of festival comebacks that have brought back many a legacy act due to the implosion of Fraser and Guthrie’s marriage. And yet while they were largely unheard of up until their 1990 sixth LP and masterwork, Heaven or Las Vegas, their run from their highly promising 1982 debut Garlands through HoLV has continues to prove incredibly influential with each passing year on a multitude of underground and mainstream acts alike, influencing acts as diverse as SIgur Ros, Arca and so many more. While Cocteau Twins have never released a record that’s less than good, HoLV still stands as the pinnacle of their creative output, and the defining landmark statement of the increasingly ubiquitous sub-genre widely tagged as dream pop.

Since emerging as a gothic rock band at the beginning of the 80s, Cocteau Twins have cultivated a singular stain of pop/rock informed by the contemporary gothic rock and post-punk of the last several preceding years like The Birthday Party and Siouxsie and the Banshees of and the transcendent vocal harmonies of The Beach Boys and Kate Bush. Emerging originally as a three piece for Garlands, Cocteau Twins then stripped things back to just the two piece of Fraser and Guthrie for their great sophomore LP, Head Over Heels, before landing on Raymonde to lock down the low-end on their spectacular third LP, Treasure, solidifying their lineup for all future output. By the time that Cocteau Twins were gearing up to record HoLV, the band was simultaneously on the precipice of legitimate international success and complete implosion. Raymond had just gotten married, and he lost his father in the midst of recording the record, while Fraser and Guthrie had just had a daughter named Lucy Belle, and their marriage remained teetering on the brink of dissolution due to Guthrie’s frequent mood swings and paranoia as a result of his increased drug use. They had also just signed to the revered indie label 4AD after Victorialand, and following the lukewarm reception of their great fifth LP, Blue Bell Knoll, the stakes had been heightened for them to release a record that hit. There had been obvious populist sensibilities coursing throughout the music of Cocteau Twins as early as HOH, but Treasure was the last time that they sounded completely unabashed about their undeniable populist sensibilities until HoLV.

 The records that followed the glossy, populist propulsion of Treasure scaled back the immediacy while doubling down on the overall sense of immersion. Victorialand and Blue Bell Knoll, the two records between Treasure and HoLV, are positively meek with respect to the stratospheric heights reached on the former and latter, but they’re far from underwhelming, and showcase the inimitable trio refining their approach to melody while demonstrating a heightened sense of suspending tension. On HoLV, the band draw from everything that they attempted prior onto their largest canvass yet, and as soon as opener “Cherry-Coloured Funk” kicks off in earnest you can hear the warm immediacy of Treasure rushing forth in even greater force. Victorialand is their most insular, ambient-adjacent record, defined primarily by Fraser’s voice being mixed into the greater wall of sound instead of high in front leading the arrangements. The guitar work is some of their most gorgeous to date, but it lacked the immediacy that made Treasure pop. The same is true for BBK, but that record marks a notable shift in their trajectory towards more conventionally structured songs, even though there’s a sense of restraint that keeps a lot of the songs here from truly soaring. Regardless, BBK is still a great record from start to finish, and the highlights like life-affirming “Carolyn’s Fingers” and the exhilarating title track set the stage for where they were about to go with HoLV.

On HoLV, Cocteau Twins shift their gears from the ambient-leaning direction of Victorialand and BBK back to the ethereal pop of Treasure, but with a much tighter focus. On HoLV, songs barely dip past the 3 and a half minute mark, and not a second is wasted on anything other the absolute barest arrangements necessary to convey each song’s emotional heft. As is the case with pretty much every Cocteau Twins record, it’s Elizabeth Fraser who really steals the show throughout the course of HoLV. Her wildly acrobatic vocal runs shift from ecstatic, to wistful, to seductive, to empathetic on a dime, and while always a remarkably expressive vocalist she had never gone for broke with her vocal runs quite the way she does on HoLV. The instrumentation consists of lush, kaleidoscopic guitar/synth arrangements richer, and more melodic than anything that Guthrie had previously recorded. While Raymonde has always been a bit of the band’s secret weapon, there’s no mistaking this sublime basslines as the major grounding force that keeps everything tight throughout the course of the record. Raymonde’s bass lines are immediate yet forceful, providing a sharp sense of momentum even at the music’s most cathartic.

 Cocteau Twins aren’t a band that are generally regarded first and foremost because of their lyrics, but on HoLV Fraser pens the band’s most heartfelt, and urgent writing of her career, focused primarily around the birth of her daughter. While some of the songs are more literal in their depictions of her newfound love (“Laughing on our bed/Pretending us newly wed/Especially when/Our angel unleashed that head” from “Wolf in the Breast” comes to mind), some of the songs like “Fifty-Fifty Clown” present more cryptic allusions to the exact nature of her feelings “And is this safe flowing, love, soul, and light/Motions in all motion, emotions all”. Throughout the chorus of the title track, one of the most spellbinding moments of the band’s career, Fraser delivers what seems to scan as the album’s thesis “Singing on the most famous street/I want to love, I’ve all the wrong glory/Am I just in Heaven or Las Vegas?”, proclaiming her desire for love above all else, and questioning whether the band’s success has brought them closer to bliss or oblivion. The vocal melody is her the strongest on any Cocteau Twins song, and her examination of success rings universal for anyone with the self-awareness to question why and how they got where they are, and where the path that they’re can lead if they get too caught up in the thralls of success. And the closer “Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fire” has lyrics that seem sung in tribute to Ramonde’s father “And day from night take all/Bad thoughts and soothe/All he was/Knows you” effectively ending the record with the cycle of life and death.

In spite of the immense cohesion that holds it together in its intended sequencing, HoLV almost plays like a greatest hits record thanks to the filler free, 10 tight compositions that make up its runtime. Although each of their first five records are great in their own right, most have a few songs that overstay their welcome. Each song holds its own within the greater whole, with strong dynamics, hooks, melodies, infectious rhythms, and guitar/synth arrangements that are taut and immediate, but never dull or simplistic. The songs are bursting with color, but there’s never a sense of indulgence on display, and none of the songs waste anytime not building towards something or delivering some kind of release, all the more impressive given the brevity of each song. Highlights like the one-two punch of intro “Cherry-Coloured Funk” and “Pitch the Baby” are downright disarming in their succinct, yet dense arrangements coupled the wide-screen scale of the production which had never before sounded so rich and clear on any of their prior records. The title track and “Fotzepolitic” are the two strongest songs that the band have ever released, and propel HoLV to heights greater than it being just a spectacular pop record. The title track is propelled by funky basslines, a minimal electronic drum beat, radiant synths, and an squealing electric guitar lead that congeal into a sublime carnival that Fraser gets terrific mileage out of by belting out with more urgency than she ever had before, or has since. And on “Fotzepolitic” the band gradually build up a jangly, galloping guitar lead over a strutting bassline and those ever present gleaming synths. Fraser’s delivery is at her most playful, built throughout the last bridge she teases a palpable sense of flight and then her voice drops out of the mix as Guthrie delivers a solo that spirals into stratospheric, euphoric release. It's the grand culmination of everything that the band had done up to that point, and still exudes a legitimate sense of catharsis that very few other songs I’ve listened to have achieved,

Despite the fact that Cocteau Twins were almost completely unknown outside of the UK until the release of HoLV you can hear the angelic undertones of their singular strain of pop in a myriad of underground and mainstream music throughout the 90s up to the present. Any musician playing music that vaguely falls into the broader realm of dream pop likely owes Cocteau Twins an immense debt, as well as chamber pop luminaries like Julia Holter and Grouper, and shoegaze and post-rock legends like Slowdive and Sigur Ros. In addition to informing the aforementioned outre acts, the gloomy, sensual sensibilities of Cocteau Twins also went on to inform a great deal of down-tempo pop music. They’ve been namechecked by Radiohead, sampled by both Arca and The Weeknd, and you can hear their gothic stylings informing pop stars as diverse as Lorde and Billie Eilish. As poptism has completely shifted the critical music discourse towards accessibility above all else, HoLV occupies a peculiar position as a classic record. The stunning melodicism, sublime chemistry, rich instrumentation, and expansive production rendered HoLV an immediately recognized classic upon arrival, but not only has it gotten better with age, but it’s seemed to have become a notably more influential sounding record on far more than just indie music throughout the last decade. And yet for all of the attempts at reverb-addled bliss, no other musician has released a dream pop record before or since the release of HoLV that come close to matching its singular beauty.

 Although Cocteau Twins only remained active to release two good but not great records following HoLV before disbanding, the mark they left on music on the whole is indisputable. Their rich discography set a new standard for melodically rich, adventurous pop music unbeholden to the commercial realities of the music industry in a way that ever diluted their idiosyncratic sound. Although Elizabeth Fraser has played live since their split, most recently with Massive Attack while touring the 20th anniversary of their opus, Mezzanine, the possibility of a legitimate Cocteau Twins reunion has always seemed live a stretch. The creative and romantic partnership that disintegrated between Fraser and Guthrie, coupled with the lingering memories of the immense tension that bore the bulk, if not entirety of their output may always prove a barrier to great to justify reconciliation. But even in the likelihood of that sealed finality, the records that the Cocteau Twins made during their golden years of 1983-1990 sound crisper, and more refined with each passing year. With each successive act trying their hand at dreamy sounding, reverb smeared pop music propelled by thick, groovy basslines and lush choral harmonies, the potency of the music that the Cocteau Twins made during those years becomes that much more pronounced. It’s been 27 years since their last LP, and yet the sound that they helped to cultivate and then crystalize on HoLV continues to grow in relevance with each passing year.

Essentials: “Fotzepolitic”, “Heaven or Las Vegas”, “Wolfe in the Breast

[interesting-blog-name]

LOOSE REVIEWS (It Looks Sad., Pablo’s Paintings, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Steve Lacy)

Just a bunch of very quick, very throwaway reviews that I put together while I’m writing the Björk discography post (I’m currently at Vespertine, so this shit is gonna take a while). Mostly slightly underground bands, all very short projects and one of them don’t even have a project, but you should check them out. Anyway.

It Looks Sad. – Songs For Quarantine

Not much to say about this. It is a 9-minute EP, obviously not meant to be taken as a serious, ambitious release, but it’s from a band I wanted to check out: It Looks Sad.. They’re categorized as emo, but their style reminds the listener a lot more of shoegaze and dream pop, at least from what I’ve heard by them (right now, this and Drool, which fits cozily in my Summer playlist).

If you want some moody music for the quarantine (if it’s still going on by the time I post this) and you don’t care if the songs sound like they were recorded in an underwater cave, then go ahead and listen to this I guess. It’s average as fuck but whatever, that’s the point.

 WORST TO BEST: Eyes, Love, Waves, Bug

 bedroom music/10

“*insert shoegaze mumbling here*”

 It Looks Sad. - Kaiju

2015 EP. Two tracks, one sucks and the other is tolerable. Like I really don’t know what the fuck the singer was trying to do with Creature, he’s hollering all over the place, and the delivery would be more at home in maybe some poorly-recorded punk song, but the instrumental is nothing like that, as it’s pretty much indie-rock 101; not to mention the lyrics, which are the blandest broken-hearted songwriting I’ve heard yet, probably. I now understand how truly emo they were.

For Nagoya, I can at least say the hook is pretty cool, but that’s it really. I guess I’m grateful they changed their style.

 2.45/10

“Best friend this is terrible. You know it’s inevitable. I hope you come back, I hope he comes back.”

 Pablo’s Paintings

Just wanted to give a shoutout to the underground Leeds, Yorkshire band Pablo’s Paintings. I had listened to Lizard a long while ago, and loved it, so I decided to check out the rest of their stuff today (May 25th), and it’s very solid. The track You’ve Got A Long Way To Go draws heavily from a psychedelic influence, while Paint’s Gone Dry and So Long (All Your Friends) sound like something The Beatles would maybe write.

I guess you could call them formulaic, but their mixing and distinct sound are all pretty good for a band that hasn’t gotten a song with over 2000 streams on Spotify. Their songs can be a little to bubblegum-ish, such as So Long (All Your Friends) which doesn’t really stand out as many others, but for the most part, they deliver. Can I Draw You Something? has a slight edge to it, in comparison, but still sporting cute lyrics about just drawing for someone, and Ghost In The Machine has a great progression to it, and a very cool cover art to accompany it. It’s clear the band has a taste for visual arts, from the lyrics to the band’s name.

In short, they do have a long way to go, and I hope they release an album soon, considering all but two of their Spotify singles were from last year; I’d be the first to listen to it.

 WORST TO BEST: So Long (All Your Friends), Paint’s Gone Dry, You’ve Got A Long Way To Go, Can I Draw You Something?, Lizard, Ghost In The Machine

 good band check them out/10

“I draw these lines and take them for a walk. I find that I say things better when I don’t need to talk”

 Vancouver Sleep Clinic – Winter

Contrary to the name, the band Vancouver Sleep Clinic is from Australia. Led by ambient singer (a term I didn’t know existed until today) Tim Bettinson, from my understanding, the band have partly built their audience by reeling people into the music by putting having the songs feature in TV shows and movies and whatnot, since there’s a hefty list of times their songs have appeared in this type of media on their Wikipedia page. I decided to listen to Winter because I discovered Stakes from the fact that the $uicideboy$ sampled it on the song Sold My Soul To Satan Waiting In Line At The Mall, and liked it a lot. The EP as a whole, however, not nearly as much.

To start off with the main problem I have with Winter, the tracks are all the same. Seriously, I cannot distinguish one from the other; all the songs are soaked in reverb and mainly center around simple acoustic guitar chords and generic pianos, mixed with Tim’s head voice and sometimes the dumb decision to include a synthesized drumming track, like in Vapour, where the fast-paced hi-hats sound so out of place and clip so badly in your ears, it sounds like your earphones are having a mini seizure, but not in a cool way. Meanwhile in Flaws, there’s this unnecessary, wack finger-snapping that makes it sound like I’m listening to some techno song with around 3000 views on YouTube (I do like his backing vocals in the track though).

At its best, tracks like the opener, Collapse, offer an actually powerful passage, in that song’s case, the hook breakdown, where the 808 drum patterns are actually very welcome, and the synths under it are very beautiful and harmonize really well. The final track, Rebirth, also attempts a grand breakdown of sorts, but falls flat because the song is so unnecessarily stretched out and weirdly segmented, and it’s so unexpected: the song is a slow piano/guitar ballad as usual, and then, around 3 minutes in, after the song fades out almost entirely and tricks you into thinking it ended, the drum kicks start rising and all of a sudden there’s... something? I don’t even know what instruments are playing apart from the  superimposed drums and what I think is an electric guitar, because it sounds like god knows what, an overheating computer mixed with some shrieking sound, which I assume is the guitar, way off in the background. And then Tim sings a last verse and the song suddenly ceases to exist. Same thing happens with the shortest track here, (Aftermath), consisting of 4 lines, your average piano and strings, and of course, the reverb. It builds up an epic instrumental, and after the brief singing section, just ends. No further instrumental work, just woosh. It’s gone.

I will give credit to Tim’s verses. Even though they’re always delivered with the same intonation, his lyrics are alright, and at least in Stakes, he employs some backing vocals that really make the track, and the hook is magnificent. They tend to blend into one another, with constant themes being metaphors for words he should have or regrets saying, the cold (obviously, given the EP title), sometimes drowning/large bodies of water, and of course, all tracks are about melancholy and heartbreak. But in some parts of the EP, his verses really do feel like some alright poetry, such as the awkward last verse in Rebirth (“I’m starting again, tearing my flesh, stripped to the bone, the all that I’ve grown. Leaving behind, breathe like a child. It’s taken the winter to find who I am”) or the already mentioned beautiful hook in Stakes. In most of the songs, however, I find his themes to be too repetitive and, I wouldn’t say uninspired, but run-of-the-mill.

So overall, the EP doesn’t amount to much. All the tracks attempt to go this emotional route, but they’re very repetitive, and that numbs them and robs them of their emotion a lot. Listen to it if you want to relax, or maybe even sleep to it if you want to take their name literally.

 WORST TO BEST: Vapour, Flaws, (Aftermath), Rebirth, Collapse, Stakes

 4/10

“I sunk in oceans blue, now they’re all frozen over. I should have took your hand, we should have crossed the border.”

 Steve Lacy – Steve Lacy’s Demo

Member of The Internet, singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, drummer and producer Steve Lacy is an artist I’ve wanted to check out for a while. I have at some point in my life heard his song Looks, off this demo, but thankfully I forgot how it went so I can check it out again. It’s gonna be a quick listen and review, but I’m curious (and while looking him up I found out he won a Grammy with Kendrick’s DAMN., for producing, backing vocals and songwriting, so that’s cool, congrats Steve).

Right away, I’ll just mention this project is very lo-fi. As in, the drums and his voice are poorly mixed. I’ll give it a little bit of a pass because this man played all the instruments in here and I appreciate the fuck out of that, but anyway. You can tell right at the first track that singing isn’t Steve’s forte, at least in this album, at this time. The hook in that song is just bad, the good part are the instruments, the guitar riffs and the very dynamic bassline, plus the fun little bongos. However, just like all songs here except Dark Red, this is waaaaaaaay too short. It has two short hooks, the verse, and that’s it. The songwriting, I feel, is one of Steve’s more substantial talents; this song I just mentioned is mainly about how a relationship can’t progress because the two involved don’t like much about each other apart from their looks, and Ryd is all about taking a girl to your backseat, but even though these themes are very simplistic, Steve fleshes them out into something more interesting and melodically rich. In Ryd, his smooth vocals surf over the sunny riffs, but what takes away from it are the weirdly mixed drums, as they sound like they’re playing way louder than they should be. The track is groovy though.

The most focused song here, Dark Red, tells the story of a man who’s worried his girl might leave him soon. The instrumentals are nothing special, very basic, and same with the vocals, even though they’re more rooted and solid in this song. The next song, Thangs, emphasizes its bass way more than other songs, but once again, Steve’s voice is not pleasing to listen to, specifically his high-pitched backing vocals, they’re awful. The lyrics are the most basic here, and this song just goes by without leaving any impact after ending pretty abruptly.

Haterlovin is weird. The vocals are way too low, but I like how they differentiate themselves by not going the melodic route, instead Steve chooses to rap them, and his flow in the verse is impressive, but at the same time the hook is way too repetitive for the song to work, and even though it’s nice he switched up and focused the track on the drums, it still leaves it pretty bare.

To close it up, Some brings some promise, with a pretty funky bassline and hook, but then ends out of nowhere and starts a hidden track, Snaily, which I admit has nice falsetto vocals from Steve, but I don’t know why I couldn’t be a separate track. Overall, the album isn’t great, but I appreciate how organic and talented Steve is. Throughout the songs, his creativity is pretty noticeable, so I can’t hate his efforts, but unfortunately his ideas don’t find the right light to shine here.

 WORST TO BEST: Thangs, Haterlovin, Looks, Some, Dark Red, Ryd

 4.5/10

“Next thing I know she was feeling on me, and I was in the M double-O D when she said park my car down the backstreet”

[loganeaves733-blog]

(PDF) The Character Of Music Genres

Throughout the United States people are obsessed with all forms of music, however have you ever ever questioned which musical genres are most popular during which areas. Americana; the music in regards to the working class. The hopes and goals of the free American individuals. Driving rock that you could hear in bars and stadiums alike. Jazz, rock or classical are terms regularly used to distinguish between different genres" of music. However they is also described as completely different styles". In that sense, style" would denote the more basic and genre" the more specific characteristics of the music concerned. Be that as it might, it's useful to regard genre" as an outline of the social function of music.

As an instance you are in a shop that's enjoying music and you want to know the identify of the tune or who's singing it. Simply hold down the House button on your iOS machine. Inform Siri Shazam this" and bretedments777471.wikidot.com Siri will give you the track title and artist. Warning: you would possibly lose a whole hour to this… Each Noise at As soon as is a one-web page map of playable audio samples for more than 1500 musical genres, from deep tech house to Finnish metallic to easy jazz to geek people to klezmer to deep opera.

In 2017, more DJs took advantage of the one detail that makes their artwork kind truly unique: they'll play anything. Nina Kraviz, regardless of the absurd controversy it as soon as brought on her, continued colouring exterior the strains, be it with a hundred and fifty BPM techno or straight up drum & bass, on the principle stage at EXIT Competition or in room one at Unsound's Lodge Forum. Avalon Emerson, armed with wildly eclectic music on impeccably organized USB sticks, drifted seamlessly from straight four-4 into hip-hop and R&B. On the final morning of Sustain-Launch, PLO Man appeared intent on encompassing as a lot as possible of all the panorama of digital music in one set, with separate chapters devoted to jungle, garage, deep home, dub techno and ambient. Rock and pop bands use the identical quantity of instrumentation on stage, which is normally two guitars, one set of drums, and one bass guitar. One other similarity is the variety of musicians on stage which includes: vocals, guitar players, bass player, drum participant, and again vocals. The last similarity is the way both type bands perform. Both styles carry out with a robust stage presence, being very energetic on stage. Some examples of bands which might be pop bands and are confused as rock bands are: ‘N Sync, Backstreet Boys, and Justin Bieber. Music in America is at the moment in an interesting place. The internet has made it easier than ever for artists to release their music for the world to hear, but on the same time it might probably feel like a smaller group of artists is capturing the highest of the charts. Still, with regards to touring exhibits and local scenes rock and nation musicians are serving to to carry followers together all throughout the country. While the charts is likely to be dominated by music that's streamed over telephones and computer systems the local concert venues are filled with people searching for that traditional combination of drums, a guitar, and a singer that can make them really feel something. Solo: This can be used anytime, ideally after a round or two of refrain and verse, to add just a little jam feel. Used loads in jazz and can really create cool sections in music. When you find yourself thinking of live performance Solo components are always unbelievable, even if it's not in your released monitor. we fell in love with this music, and it's not one thing you typically grow out of, so long as the music evolves with you. and as long as there is a demand, there will likely be like minded folks supplying.

Eminem!? Eminem is amazing. I like to recommend looking into his music. My favourite genres are Various, Grunge, and Rock. Eminem has meaningful music. I am okay with you not liking him, but categorizing him with the others talked about? No. Just. No. Before John Lennon and http://www.audio-transcoder.com Paul McCartney's songwriting partnership turned the dominant drive of ‘60s fashionable music, there was Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, who were a hit-making duo in rock & roll's earliest days. Elvis made their song Hound Dog"—recorded quite a few times by numerous artists as early as 1953—famous in 1956, and when Presley's new film 'Jailhouse Rock' got here out the next year, they had a monitor ready just for him.

Music based upon a rhythm style, which is characterized by regular chops on the backbeat, performed by a rhythm guitarist. Reggae is an African-Caribbean style of music developed on the island of Jamaica and carefully linked to the faith of Rastafarianism (though not universally popular amongst its members). Some school students discover that one of the best music to study by is so-called put up-rock music. It's a numerous genre that includes many bands that focus totally on enjoying instrumental music with none vocals. Nevertheless, some bands do embrace restricted vocals with hard-to-discern lyrics. In consequence, their songs typically present perfect background music for learning since they do not draw quite a lot of consideration to themselves.The effect of various musical styles on serum cortisol levels, blood stress, and heart fee is presently unknown. Yes, we have mentioned this earlier than- however ya'll do not listen so we are going to say it again. What you are calling EDM falls below the umbrella term of electronic dance music - but it surely's not EDM. The rationale why, is that there is no EDM subgenre. Wait, you imply EDM isn't a subgenre of EDM? STUNNING. music a sort of contemporary electronic music that developed in the Nineteen Eighties, changing disco as the most well-liked form of dance music. It combines deep bass sounds with components that are sung or performed on a synthesizer.3. Tone and Intonation. Jazz musicians will be obsessive about their sound and their tone quality, however overall I'd say it's less a precedence than it's within the classical world. Sometimes jazz musicians additionally go for bigger fairly than higher on this regard, for the above-stated causes. this is nowhere close to a whole listing of musical genres… what about witch hop or s3rl… or comfortable hardcore… or future base. was just wanting to level that out… there is approach to much music for anyone but a big group of lots of to listing and research.

[cbrrap]

23.08.22 - DREADEDWINTER UNFILTERED

Up and coming music producer and artist, DREADEDWINTER, speaks to CBRRAP’s about his inspirations, origin story and more. 

This Canberra-based producer has seen a meteoric rise on Spotify, going from only 54 monthly listeners in July, to over 32,000 monthly listeners in just one month. His unique sound draws from an eclectic mix of hip-hop, indie, drum and bass and metal and more, an incredibly sonically erudite artist. Here he is, unfiltered:

1. Introduce yourself.

So my name is ‘DREADEDWINTER’ and I make music.

2. When did you formally start marking music?

I started playing around with music when I was around 14-15 with me downloading a copy of FL Studio, was usually stuck to making and uploading shitty rap and sometimes multi genre beats that weren’t the best of tracks with a flawed structure in each and every track, I then took a break for a couple of years to perfect everything and get some school stuff done and now I’m back into it, starting anew a year ago.

3. I see a lot of nature on your page, do you tap into nature as a creative force for your music, or do you just like the natural aesthetic?

The aesthetics of nature is something I hold dear and appreciate to the fullest extent, however it’s not the sole reason as to why I use a lot of nature. I also use nature to tap into a more life-like and sombre feeling in the more ambient and multi genre tracks.

4. Do you have any inspirations?

I have many inspirations spanning many different musical genres, however, I’m also inspired by other things like nature, art, sometimes video games and what have you.

5. You seem to like a lot of obscure genres, even referencing Dariacore in one of your skits. Would you describe your music as obscure or just the inspirations that you draw upon to be obscure?

I would say that some of the inspirations that I’ve drawn upon, whilst listening to a diverse catalogue of music, have been what could be called obscure or niche.

6. What are you currently listening to right now?

The Microphones, Ovlov, Leroy / Jane Remover, Eric DOA, Summrs, reptilian club boyz, Yabujin, also my guy Lil Timmy Turner and so much more.

7. What is the ethos behind your music? What are you trying to do/accomplish with your sound?

The main underlying force behind my music is derived from a need to improve, a need to improve the way in which music is going by pushing boundaries and trying out new ideas. This also goes into what I’m trying to accomplish in terms of my sound. What I’m trying to do is to basically try and motivate people to include a more diverse catalogue in their music as a result of listening to my music, which derives from diverse inspirations.

8. What is your musical origin story? What pushed you to get started?

Music to me is kind of a therapeutic thing to me, I do music whenever I feel blue or whenever I feel like it, I just make it for the love of it. I’m not motivated by the materialism or the gaudy luxury cars of today, I’m solely motivated by a love of music. As I got older, I wanted to be serious about showing the world my work so I got around doing that last year with ‘SKULLKID’ which went absolutely bonkers for a fresh new artist and is something I’m still proud of today!

9. You seem to have a lot of fans in the tiktok e-community!

I know, there’s a whole lot of them and they’re streaming the shit out of my Spotify as we speak! I don’t really have anything else to say, they’re cool.

10. Where does the name “DREADEDWINTER” come from?

‘DREADEDWINTER’ comes from a phenomenon that happens to me but not as much anymore. I always feel the most blue in winter and always winter, so I grew to love/hate winter, but the appreciation of the season would get overclouded by my hate of it due to me feeling so down for months on end. Despite the despair that I would occasionally go through in winter, I’ve grown to learn valuable lessons from those dark times, and oftentimes I would be grateful towards these dark times for giving me the time to learn something valuable. The name also represents a constant growth, a constant maturing process if you will, it is essentially me moving on from the bad days towards the good with the knowledge I’ve learnt from the bad.

11. You started building your online presence during a time when everyone was indoors. Do you think being at home helped cultivate your creativity?

Absolutely. It essentially gave me time to get my shit together and go for it. Being indoors helped me go back to the computer and I played around with the VSTs and Plug-ins again, giving me that feeling I had when I was a kid, this then motivated me to make music again. It surprisingly got my creativity back into me and I’ll be grateful of the fact for a really long time.

12. You have 3 wishes. What do you want?

My first wish is for a new sort of scene in Canberra and nation/world wide that emphasises the idea of not being afraid, not being afraid to experiment and not being afraid of constraints, both internal and external.

My second wish would be to work with more people.

My third and final wish would be to expand both my online and my IRL presence.

13. Where are you from?

Canberra, Australia.

14. Message to the fans?

I know this is going to sound cliche and pretentious, but here it goes.

Don’t give up, no matter what please don’t give up. When you give up you miss out on a lot of opportunities, some that you may never conceive of if you give up all the sudden. Keep going, don’t ever stop. If you want to talk about music stuff like collabs, art and what not or you just want to talk to me for the sake of talking to me, feel free to message me. Keep going fucking nuts with the streams, new music coming soon <3

TRIVIA;

What’s your favourite colour?

Black.

2. Favourite childhood memories?

Playing at the park, playing with music and animal toys, and so on. 

3. Favourite animal?

Don’t really have a favourite animal but cats are cool.

That concludes our interview with one of Canberra’s finest, DREADEDWINTER. Support him on the following platforms, (linked below) and stay tuned for more of his music, and upcoming shows! 

linktr.ee/DREADEDWINTER

Special thanks for the interview @DREADED_WINTER! Review coming soon!

[doomedandstoned]

HEAVYDEATH Hails The ‘Sarcophagus In The Sky’

~By Billy Goate~

This weekend, Doomed & Stoned is bringing you the world premiere of 'Sarcophagus In The Sky' (2017), the third album by Stockholm's HEAVYDEATH (or Tung Död as they're known in Sweden -- derived from the Old Norse, Þungr Dauði). Formed in 2013 and featuring Nicklas Rudolfsson on guitar and vocals (Runemagick, The Funeral Orchestra, Domedag, Necrocurse), Johan Bäckma on bass (Necrocurse, Rapid Terrör), and Daniel Moilanen on drums (Runemagick, Katatonia), HEAVYDEATH have been quite the busy doomers, dreaming up nearly a dozen demos, four EPs, and two albums (including the much hailed 'Eternal Sleepwalker' on Svart Records).

The album opens in characteristically stormy fashion with an ominous, rumbling – the sound of anticipation that I've come to identify with HEAVYDEATH. “The stone has a purpose,” a grave voice utters prophetically. “A new journey begins, soon after dark.” And with that, we are immersed in the dark, strange reality of the Sarcophagus In The Sky. As with all of HEAVYDEATH’s work, the riffs are intuitive, the rhythms well-placed, the low-end growling like hungry beast on the prowl, the atmosphere charged with electric mist. Heavy as all hell.

Something untoward is about to happen. A sky-bound monolith has appeared suddenly and without warning. Who or what is it? For the answers, you must dive headlong into each of these ten tracks. The new album is releases on November 17th and can be pre-ordered on LP, CD, Cassette, and digital formats.

Give ear…

Sarcophagus In The Sky by HEAVYDEATH

An Interview with HEAVYDEATH

By Billy Goate

We’re excited to hear about your third full-length record, coming November 17th! Tell us all about the new album.

Nicklas: We are very pleased with the outcome. As usual, we do everything ourselves, DIY low-budget, and record all songs in our rehearsal tomb in a few days. But I think all of us are so pleased that we can say it's our best album so far (which surely every band says...). This applies to songs, arrangements and sound.

As I said, most of the recording was made in our rehearsal room, for a few days during this summer 2017. I made some vocal overdubs in the car and in the forest. Johan (bass) made all the mix and mastering in the rehearsal room too.

I also like that we not only used photographs and photomontages in the cover art and in the layout this time; we also have woven in some drawings and illustrations, which fit well. Many thanks to Catta “Eldhexan” who has drawn some illustrations for us. We once again chose to cooperate with the labels Aftermath Music (LP/CD) and Flowing Downwards (cassette) for the physical editions.

The song material is composed between 2013 and 2017. So there are some "old" songs like “Hunter,” “Darkness of No Return,” and “Dawn Without Sun” that have been featured on previous demos, but most of the songs are new. There are six main songs on the album (“The Stone Speaks At Winter,” “Hunter,” “Path To The Altitude,” “Sarcophagus In The Sky,” “Autumn Of Life,” “Dawn Without Sun”) and then there are some additional songs depending on which edition (LP, CD, cassette, or different digital versions).

Photo by Stefan “Rotting Vomitor” Rodin

Nicklas, can you tell us a little bit more about each of the songs that make up this album?

The Stone Speaks At Winter

“The whole song is basically based on one rhythm pattern in different places. It is about the existence of ancient wisdom carved in stones that those who want see can learn from.”

Hunter

“A rather varied song that breaks into different passages. A kind of awakening in clarity and a break with slavery in a so-called civilization.”

Path To The Altitude

A journey in passages with “ambient” chords, hammering rhythmic riffs and bass melodies. In a way the escape from the "normal" reality, a view from above altitudes where the tentacles can’t control you.

Sarcophagus In The Sky

A heavy rhythmic song with pumping chord melodies, ending in a “speed-paced” crescendo. There were old warnings about what should come, warnings that have been tried to hide, death from the sky.

Autumn Of Life

A mixture of doomy riffs and parts with floating melodies that mixes into each other. An autumn of life, a passage in death, storms and darkness.”

Dawn Without Sun

Also based on heavy rhythms and then terminated in the chords of the fall. After storms of death, darkness awaits for a long, long time.

Darkness Of No Return

One of the first songs written to the band in 2013, slightly heavier than the previous demo version. The title speaks for itself and fits well after a dawn without sun.

The Entity

This song was written during the recording session of the album, atmospheric pieces mixed with some “old school.” She exists in another “dimension” (and maybe also here?). She gives you a choice to stay or return.

During the recording session we also recorded two demo songs (Tidal Clarity and Shadow Of The Equinox) without Daniel on drums (I play drums) to test the sound. Both songs would fit into the album's "concept" but there was already enough material and “Tidal Clarity” might be too similar to “The Stone Speaks At Winter,” at least we were reasoning so at the time. Afterwards we decided to release the demo versions as bonus material. Available as bonus songs on the album (Bandcamp only) as well as the single “The Stone Speaks At Winter” (Bandcamp only).

Daniel working on arrangements during the album recording.

Several of your music videos, including the recent one for “Sarcophagus in the Sky” have you taking us into the forest at dusk. Do the woods hold a special meaning to you?

Nicklas: It's not a “music video" in that way, so to speak; more a simple visualization of the song. I filmed a walk in one take from our house through the forest up to a higher mountain, called "Örnekulle Knalte".

Personally, I like being in the forest as much as I can. Relaxation, inspiration and recreation. I live in the countryside with large forest right next to the house. Many in today's society certainly do not know how important the forest is.

Daniel and Nicklas relaxing after the first day of recording.

The album cover looks like a Noah’s Ark nestled in the trees, yet it appears to be a vessel of death. I’m intrigued – what is the Sarcophagus in the Sky?

Nicklas: The title and cover can certainly be interpreted in several ways. It's perfectly ok for the listener to do his / her own interpretations. The sarcophagus or coffin is more a visual picture of death. As I mentioned earlier, it may be that the death from/in the sky is forgotten in the present day. It also applies to death from/in the oceans. The large stone or we can call it the megalith can be a symbol or guidance. Or a monument of death...

Lyrics to “The Stone Speaks At Winter”

You are quite the prolific band: three albums, four EPs, and 10 demos full of great ideas. Has making music always come this easy to you or did you sell your soul to Satan when you were with Runemagick? Seriously, though, how do you do it? We’re impressed!

In recent years, I have had a long period of dense waves with inspiration. Cannot directly explain why, but it comes and goes. In the past I have had years of minimal lust and inspiration for music. But now it's like a high season in creativity for my part. I write music in my head when I drive car, walk or if I get a short moment with a guitar. I never practice getting better on guitar or any other instrument. My focus is on creativity and composing. Make trips in soundscapes with riffs.

It often happens that I or we take a lunch break and record simple demos. You can record some songs in 30-60 minutes. It's important to be effective when you have a lot of other things to do with your little life.

Johan bass recording.

We’d love to know more about the tools of your trade. Can you show us around your studio show us your wares? What pedals and effects do you find most useful to you in the music you’re composing and performing these days?

The royal tour of gear and sound.

You do all your recording, mixing, and mastering in-house. How long have you been doing that?

Nicklas: I've recorded that way with many bands and projects over the years since the 80's. In the beginning there was the 4 channel portable tape studio, which I actually still use sometimes. Then there have been periods in bands with larger budgets when the labels rented real studios. Periodically I have also worked a bit in a studio (Los Angered Recording, which later became Sonic Train Studios). But most of the recordings I've been involved in have we done entirely or partly on our own, often with so-called low budget equipment.

This also applies to HEAVYDEATH. We have recorded all the albums in different rehearsal places with our own equipment. The previous album we chose to get mastered by Andy at Sonic Train Studios. But otherwise we have done everything ourselves.

Recording drums with Daniel Moilanen.

As an engineer, what’s the secret to making HeavyDeath sounds like HeavyDeath on record?

Johan: We have no secret, plan or template. But you hope it will be better for each recording. You always learn something. On the last album, we feel like we got a good and heavy sound where our instruments fit together in the soundscape/mix.

Finally, would you play something for us acoustically from Sarcophagus in the Sky?

Mungiga and a very difficult question to Pelle Hellbutcher.

Thank you so much for visiting with the readers of Doomed & Stoned.

Thank you! Big thanks to those who support the band! And watch out for the Sarcophagus In The Sky!

Follow The Band

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[fieldsofplay]

Top Albums of 2019

Top Albums of 2019.

25.  William Tyler – Goes West

For those of you reading along, I want to thank you for sticking with this blog for basically an entire decade at this point. Jeez, where does the time* go? To that end, I’m gonna put out a decade list sometime next week, so to keep my sanity somewhat in check, this years tops list is going to be a little more abbreviated than usual. A few less records, a few less words, but still the same self indulgence you’ve come to know and expect.  To that end, William Tyler.  Tied for my favorite cover art with IGOR.  This is beautiful finger-picked cosmic acoustic guitar music with some nice flourishes added by Brad Cook and the usual suspects.  Perfect for fall days.  I accidentally heckled him at a concert about the Andy Griffith show, but I was only trying to say he shouldn’t be ashamed about liking that program.  The shame still haunts me, much like this music. *A fictional social construct

24.  Floating Points – Crush

Now I’m not going to sit here and pretend to know much about electronic music.  I don’t know the deep history, I don’t know the technical lingo, but like pornography, I know it when I hear it.  Much has been made about the impact opening for the XX and being limited to minimal gear while doing so had on Sam Shephard, and I’ll admit the differences from Elaenia is palpable.  Where that album felt minimal, Crush is maximal, bursting with colors and ideas, not unlike the beautiful painting that adorns its cover.  I never quite knew what the phrase Intelligent Dance Music was supposed to mean, but to me, that’s precisely what this is. You could dance to “LesAlpx” if you wanted, or you could just throw it on headphones and drift away to its unceasing pulse. Find you a man who can do both.

23.  Nerija – Blume

Let me be the first to tell you that jazz is back! Centering largely in London, there is thrilling music being made by the likes of Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming, and this year, by Nerija. Breathing new life into a long moribund form (at least until Kendrick Lamar started featuring jazz musicians on his albums), Blume literally does just that, unfurling jazz from a long dormancy.  While I’m not normally a fan of the guitar in jazz, here it keeps the whole thing moving forward, as the horns swirl around in a supportive role and the percussion cooks.  “Riverfest” is the best exemplar, as the guitar chimes with joy while the cymbal-crashes enliven the vibe.

22.  Florist – Emily Alone

A tale as old time (song as old as rhyme): member of ambient-electronic band puts out solo acoustic album, about the sadness of moving to LA and finding oneself.  No one is reinventing the wheel here, but I can’t help but feel little touches of Florist’s electronic full-band output in Emily Sprague’s solo record—the way the words repeat, subtly, but building meaning with each little phrasal repetition. Plus, the ocean is a recurring image, and dear lord do I miss the sea. If you want to listen a sad girl sing sad songs accompanied by acoustic guitar, you aren’t going to do better than Emily Alone this year.

21.  Kevin Morby – Oh My God

Possibly the best Kevin Morby record?  No one else would say that, but I will.  If so, why is it so far down the list? Well, when you consistently put out amazing records year-after-year it becomes difficult for any individual album to make an imprint on the “culture.” I think “Seven Devils” is possibly his finest tune.

20.  Sacred Paws – Run Around the Sun

My friend David turned me on to this band right before I was about to embark on a road trip up north in the middle of the summer, and let me tell you, that was the perfect time to first experience Run Around the Sun.  Noodly guitars burst out of every seam on this record, as bubblegum lyrics tie the whole shebang together.  If you ever wondered what the Shangri-las would sound like if Johnny Marr played lead guitar, I give you Sacred Paws.

19.  Jamila Woods – Legacy! Legacy!  

On Legacy! Legacy! Woods takes the R&B of the excellent Heavn and applies a jazzier sheen, to excellent results.  One need look no further than the track titles (“Frida,” “Miles,” “Basquiat,” “Baldwin,” “Sun Ra” etc.) to see that Woods is consciously engaging with the titans of history, and here, while she doesn’t exactly reach the heights of those innovators, she certainly begins to carve out a legacy of her own as one of the best voices in a currently thriving R&B scene.

18.  Mt. Eerie & Julie Doiron – Lost Wisdom, Pt. 2

On Lost Wisdom, Pt. 2 Phil Elverum (of The Microphones) and Julie Doiron (of Eric’s Trip) recapture the magic they bottled on the first Lost Wisdom back in 2008.  It is hard to imagine sparer music than this, but the duo make so much of a pair of voices and few plucked guitar or banjo lines.  As with all of his music of late (for obvious reasons), loss hangs all over Elverum’s output, but here, the loss is more mood and less of a literal presence (with the exception of the blistering “Widows”).  Few songs I can think of capture a single, specifically odd phenomenon quite like “When I Walk Out of the Museum.”

17.  DIIV – Deceiver

As capital-G guitar music recedes further into irrelevance, it’s good to still have a band like DIIV kicking around, who make shoegaze like it’s still 1991.  And it’s a good thing they are still making their beautiful walls of feedback, as heroine has repeatedly knocked this band off the rails of what appeared to be a very promising career.  This is ominous, portentous music, that swirls with white noise and black despair.  Shoegaze is premised on making beauty out of the squall of overdriven electric guitars, and DIIV make beauty of the squall of 21st century opiate addiction.

16.  Earl Sweatshirt – Feet of Clay

Earl continues the excellent experimentation of Some Rap Songs in the (slightly) more structured Feet of Clay.  Whereas Some Rap Songs felt like fragments, the tracks on Feet of Clay (almost) feel like “songs” proper.  Earl continues to quickly sweep the ground out from underneath you, whether it’s in the form of oddly woozy backing tracks that can’t really be called “beats” or the sub 2-minute run times, but he seems to pack slightly more structure into those abbreviated entrants, even if there are a lot less of them than there were on Some Rap Songs.  Right now no one is pushing the boundaries of hip-hop like Earl, and each new release, even if the total run time is under 15 minutes, is a thrilling event.

15.  Better Oblivion Community Center – S/T

Yes, last year I had Boygenius as my number one record, but if I’m being frank, and I am, this is the better collaborative album put out by Phoebe Bridgers.  At first blush a record between the up-and-coming Bridgers and the largely has-been Conor Oberst seems like a desperate grab at continued relevance by the latter, but having seen them live, I must admit the pairing makes perfect sense.  The energy between the two is infectious, and while they share a common fascination with emo, they really draw the best out of each other.  Bridgers plays the Emmylou Harris role from I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning to perfection, and Oberst plays the Kenny Rodgers in “Islands in the Stream.”  For a period I could not turn on Radio K without hearing a song from this album, which is strange because, as a college radio station, every hour is usually completely different.

14.  Chromatics – Closer to Grey

In a certain way, Chromatics are victims of their own tendency towards self-mythologizing.  Their last two official albums were absolutely perfect slices of Italo-Disco, equal parts late night ennui and seething dancefloor longing.  There was way more guitar on those albums than most anyone would appreciate on first glance, and yet Ruth Radelet’s smoky vocals were unquestionably the star.  In the interim Johnny Jewel (the mastermind behind the band and basically everything on Italians Do it Better) famously destroyed all the copies of the long teased Dear Tommy after a near death experience, provided essential music to Twin Peaks: The Return (which included multiple Chromatics performances at the dear Road House), and then suddenly dropped Closer to Grey out of the sky, with neither warning nor fanfare.  This record is everything you would want a Chromatics record to be, but perhaps that is part of the reason it didn’t really make a major impression. It felt a little Chromatics-by-the-numbers, right down to the cover of “The Sound of Silence” to open it up.  I absolutely love this album, and if it weren’t for the incredible quality of albums put out this year, it would certainly be a top-10 or top-5 in any other year (hell, in the terrible-for-music 2018 it would have been number one by a mile).  Perhaps the biggest frustration is just how fucking good “Light as a Feather” is.  It hints at a version of Chromatics influenced by Portishead, and now that’s all I want more of.

13.  Thom Yorke – ANIMA

Doubt it if you will, you sneering youngsters, but Thom Yorke and his more well-known band are currently making some of the best music of their careers.  Just as A Moon Shaped Pool was a much needed return to form after the completely forgettable King of Limbs, with ANIMA Yorke gets back to what made The Eraser so compelling all the way back in 2006.  While a fondness for Aphex Twin is no longer at all exceptional in rock music in 2019, it was in 2006, and with ANIMA, Yorke gets back to the creepy, clicky, paranoid distrust of modern consumer culture that is solidly his wheelhouse.  Bonus points for using Netflix and a pairing with PTA to make America care about a long form music video again in 2019.

12.  Black Marble – Bigger than Life

I would call black Marble my favorite new band of the year, but the thing is, they aren’t new, just new to me.  Bigger than Life is their third record, and first for Sacred Bones (whose distinctive album art is what first caught my eye).  Because their music is comprised solely of arpeggiated synths, melodic bass, and clinking drum machines, overlaid with melancholicly narrow vocals, it is easy to accuse Black Marble of being a little same-y.  However, if you, like me, worship at the temple of New Order, than this is the band for you.  I have lived with their three extant albums the last couple months (the second, It’s Immaterial, being my favorite), and in reality, this is really the only music I want to listen to.

11.  Big Thief – U.F.O.F. / Two Hands

If you’re reading this than you likely already know how much I love Big Thief, and you might be a little surprised that one, if not both, of the records they put out this year is not sitting atop this list based on how much I’ve professed my love for this band over the course of 2019.  So here’s the thing, the highs on both of these albums--“U.F.O.F.” “Not”--are better than anything else anyone has done this year, but to my ear both records suffer from a flew blah-ish passages that prevent either album, on its own, from achieving top status.  However, if you borrow a few tracks here (Cattails, Contact) and a few tracks there (Shoulders, Two Hands) and made one album out of the highlights of both sessions, you would unquestionably have the album of the year.  That Big Thief gave us two records brimming with amazing folk rock ideas is a blessing.

10.  Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow

Hey, do you remember Sharon Van Etten put out an amazing record in 2019? I bet you don’t.  The culture moves so fast these days that albums from January might as well have been released five years ago, and it seems to me like this record slipped off a few peoples’ radars as the year progressed, which is a shame, considering how damn good it is (her best imho).  There are few runs on an album I’ve enjoyed more this year than “Jupiter 4’s” electro-throb into “Seventeen’s” Springsteen chug into “Malibu’s” comedown.  Bonus points for being my dear friend Hadley’s downstairs neighbor for all those years.  Ah Brooklyn, how I miss thee.

9.  Black Midi – Schlagenheim

Yes, that most reliable of music-critic tropes: the hot young band from London.  Black Midi made waves with a legendary youtube video of their live show, and having seen it in person, let me tell you, even that now infamous video doesn’t do them justice.  Much like its gobldy-gook made up title, Schlagenheim is an amalgamation of strands of music that don’t really fit together but somehow they pull off with aplomb.  At times they play with the hardcore fury of Minor Threat, while at others the proggy interconnectivity of Rush at their most arena-rockish, all with a weird dash of David Byrne wiry energy holding it all together.  If they come to your town, go see them, just don’t stand in the front unless you want to be swept into the maelstrom.

8.  Helado Negro – This is How You Smile

Did you love Little Joy (the Strokes sideproject) but wish it was occasionally electronic and periodically in Spanish? If so, I give you Helado Negro. This is the prettiest record of the year; it never goes above a certain emotional register / decibel range, but it inhabits the spectrum in which it lives like a ghost in its occasional electronic flourishes.  This is a record for someone with a long drive with something to think about. “Seen my Aura” is simultaneously funky and restrained, acoustic and electronic, and emblematic of the joys of This is How You Smile.

7.  Sturgill Simpson – Sound & Fury

Each of Sturgill Simpson’s last three records have been fundamentally different from one another, and each has been excellent, which is almost impossible to accomplish.  Metamodern Sounds in Country Music introduced many, like myself, to a new voice in an often overlooked medium, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth dusted off the horns from Elvis’s stax-era and romped around, and now with Sound & Fury Sturgill looks to the outlaw tradition (and ZZ freakin Top) he’s so-often been associated with, but rarely resembled, to crank out an incredible record that is far more “rock” than it is “country.” Throw on a heaping of 80’s-era Springsteen synths and you have the recipe for a record that makes me very, very happy.  The two halves of “Make Art not Friends” have little business coexisting within a single track (the first half sounds like Tangerine Dream, the second half Arcade Fire) and yet it is precisely in this tenuous cohabitation that Sturgill has produced his best record to date.

6.  Vampire Weekend – Father of the Bride

Vampire Weekend started out their career being accused of stealing from Graceland and ended up becoming Paul Simon.  Funny how that works out sometimes.  Modern Vampires of the City has become, next to Sound of Silver, the definitive record about life in New York during my era (2005-2016).  On the follow up, the band, newly shorn of Rostam Batmanglij (whose solo record is also phenomenal, even though he’s maybe one of the worst performers I’ve ever seen), decamped to California, and Father of the Bride revels in both the California sun and a well earned sense of accomplishment.  “Hold You Now” is my favorite song of the year, it is simply stunning.

5.  Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest

There is a bit of theme developing here at the top of the list: established artists putting out arguably their best work deep into storied careers, and no one on this list is deeper into a more storied oeuvre than Bill Callahan.  Between Smog and under his own name, Callahan has been releasing consistently great albums since 1992, and to me, Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest is his finest work to date.  Having found domestic bliss, so the press materials state, Callahan is content to sit back and let that world-weary baritone spin out all the comforts of a well-worn chair near a fire in a hearth.  This is the type of record that gives you hope that happiness isn’t the exclusive provenance of the young.

4.  Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains

If I were to really sit and write out all of my thoughts about David Berman this blurb would probably be 10 pages long, at least, so rather than spill a bunch of digital ink lamenting the loss of a true inspiration, I’ll just try and stick to the album itself, which is almost impossible now in the wake of his suicide shortly after its release.  Even on first blush this was a difficult hang, clearly the product of someone who lost their wife to a series of poor decisions / mental difficulties, and who hadn’t come to terms with it.  Understandably so.  Berman remains endlessly quotable, right up to the very end, and “we’re just drinking margaritas at the mall” remains emblematic of his ability to compress the tedium of middle american misery into a single haunting, yet, hilarious, image.  While “Nights that Won’t Happen” lives on as his suicide note directly to the fans (“The dead know what they’re doing when they leave this world behind” ; “all the suffering gets done by the ones we leave behind”), and it is hauntingly beautiful, it still makes me cry every time I hear it. As does most of this record. So the song I’ll carry on with me, and can still actually listen to, is “Snow is Falling in Manhattan.” Just a beautiful song from a beautiful man.  

3.  Tyler, the Creator – IGOR

I really don’t have the words (well, clearly I have some) to express just how impressed I am by the arc of Tyler’s career.  The one-time shock-rap flash in the critical pan quickly turned into forgettable homophobe who perfectly fit a description of Eminem’s fan base I once heard: kids who call their mom a bitch to their face.  The first startling change came with Flower Boy, which came right on the heels of his step out of the closet.  Flower Boy is a really great record, but it still largely sounded like Tyler, just a more mature version who stopped saying cringe worthy shit.  IGOR is something entirely different.  I honestly don’t even know what to call it. It’s not a rap record, and there are honestly entire tracks on it where I’m not sure what it is he does on them, but my god, this thing is incredible.  It’s basically a Parliament album for the end of the world, and if the earth is going to burn down around us, we might as well dance our way out, which is precisely the party Tyler has orchestrated here.  I cannot wait to see what he does next.

2.  Angel Olsen – All Mirrors

All Mirrors isn’t just clearly Angel Olsen’s best album by a clear margin, it is the best pop album made by anyone in sometime.  Just like black clothes make anyone a little slimmer, orchestration can make any pop song sound symphonic, but most pop acts don’t have the power of Angel Olson’s voice to match the bombast of the string section and percussion.  It feels like the term Beatlesesque has started to fade from the critical lexicon, but this music is truly akin to the orchestral richness of “I am the Walrus” or “A Day in the Life.”  People celebrate Lana del Ray for her torch songs (and I really liked Norman Fucking Rockwell, even if it didn’t quite make this list in a stacked year) but no one carries a torch like Angel Olsen.  I was initially reticent to catch her live show this tour, it was on a weeknight, it was cold, I had to go downtown, I’d seen her a couple times already, yadda yadda yadda, but I knew deep down I really wanted to see if she could recreate the power of these songs on stage (the inverse of how that equation usually goes).  Reader: she did.

1.  (Sandy) Alex G – House of Sugar

House of Sugar may not be quite as experimental as IGOR, or as pop-perfect as All Mirrors, but it takes those two impulses and melds them together into what is my favorite album of the year, even if strictly speaking it may not be the “best” as measured against the other entrants in this top 3.  “Hope” was actually a “hit” song on the local college radio station, and understandably so; it sounds like Elliott Smith and tells a comprehensible story about a friend who died from an overdose.  But “Hope” is jut one facet of House of Sugar, which is a veritable hall of musical mirrors.  “Walk Away” is hypnotic in its repetitions, “In My Arms” is a legit straightforward acoustic love song, “Sugar” sounds like The Knife (no joke), “Sugarhouse” could have been on The River, and while I already said “Hold You Now” is my favorite song of the year, “Gretel” has something to say about that.  I saw a show right when this album came out, and as the band left the stage for the final time the soundguy cued up “Gretel” not, I’m guessing, because the band requested it, but because it rules and he just wanted to share it with everyone as they receded into night.

[mandelsmusic]

Playlist & Analysis

I have created a playlist consisting of ten songs for a journey to Mars.  There is a link at the bottom to listen to this playlist but this is my in-depth analysis of each of the ten. 

My first song on the playlist Space Oddity by David Bowie. This song not only fits the theme of our cosmic journey but also takes listeners on an individual journey of their own. Space Oddity an influential song which has been used in the media landscape of today and past decades, causing a timeless renown reputation. The production on this song features fascinating panning effects, which make the listening experience “out of this world”. 

Following Space Oddity, I have chosen My Way by Frank Sinatra. This song is notably bold in its lyrics and speaks to me in a very meaningful way. In this song, Sinatra takes a retrospective look at his life, recognizing his regrets and losses, not everything he did was right, but through it all, he did it his way, and he was proud of that. This is a true song to the legacy Frank Sinatra left on the music industry because following his death no one could quite do it “his way”. Recently, my good friend’s mother passed away after fighting a courageous battle against cancer. The thing that stuck with me after her untimely death was that as she passed, her last wish was to hear My Way. For the length of time that I knew her, she had always had cancer, but lived such a bold and exciting life that you forgot she even had it. Through it all, I truly believe she lived this song to Sinatra’s intentions. In the face of great sickness, she lived her life her way, and that is something I will always remember.

Next in the queue is Tiny Dancer by Elton John, a classic anthem that I believe will never grow old.  Growing up in Los Angeles, this song always spoke to me. I thought it was the vague mention of “LA Lady”, or the fact that my mom always played it in her car, I couldn’t figure out why I loved this song so much. Earlier this year, Elton John released a music video 45 years after the release of Tiny Dancer. The music video depicted individuals living very different LA lifestyles, but all singing along to Tiny Dancer as they crossed paths. The music video captured the beauty of both LA culture and the song itself, and most importantly it captured what the song meant to me. No matter who you are, where you are, or what you are doing, this song has the power to unify a set of complete strangers because everyone knows the lyrics. While it isn’t Rocket Man, I believe my fellow astronauts and I could benefit from blasting this one together.

Next up is If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out by Cat Stevens. When I was younger, my father used to drive me to my soccer games, and we listened to an eclectic set of tunes, ranging from Garth Brooks to Weird Al Yankovic. If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out stuck to me as a track I particularly enjoyed my Father’s unique playlist. But the significance and beauty of this song is the lyrics.  I always found that my Father emphasized these lyrics in his parenting, allowing me to “sing out” and do whatever I put my mind to.  Both he and my Mom have always been there to support and encourage me throughout every step of my life. I need this song as a reminder that I have the loving support of my parents wherever I travel.

Taking a break from the classics, my next song choice is from my favorite rock and roll artist, Jack White. Jack White is behind so many influential songs and bands and to choose just one song to represent his repertoire is a challenging task. I have chosen one of my favorites, You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket from The White Stripes early album, Elephant. Jack White has always fascinated me as an artist because of his distinct branding. For each band he is in, as well as his solo career, there is a different color scheme and a new persona presented which allows the listener to understand Jack in a different aspect each time. The White Stripes had a color scheme of red, white, and black and played bold inspirational ballads. Jack White’s current solo career has a color scheme of blue and black, representing the change in his style of music to somber rock songs centering around the challenges of love. It is very important for music to be both seen and heard. White’s attention to design and branding adds a vibrant concept to his artistry and shows his anthology of sound through brands he has crafted over the years.  I love and respect Jack White as an artist greatly and cannot live without at least one of his songs. 

Another musician who I draw inspiration from is John Bonham, the drummer for Led Zepplin; he was truly was the backbone of the band and created a unique sound from jazz but applied it to a rock aspect, thus changing the possibilities for rock as it had not been seen before.  The band captured this interesting drum beat by using the Glyn Johns recording method which had not been seen before but after, was widely used by most bands because they loved the amazing quality and simplicity of the technique, consisting of 4 microphones.  But the band was able to work so well because Bonham was able to get in sync with the guitar player; typically, the drummer gets in sync with the bass player to get the best rhythmic feel but Bonham got in sync with the guitar player and if you listen to Fool in the Rain, you can see the tightness between the guitar and drums as they change constantly through the phrases.  Within Fool in the Rain, the drumbeat is absolutely insane!  Bonham plays a steady polyrhythmic 4/4 beat, meaning that he is playing two beats simultaneously; the first beat is executed through the triplet high hats which are accented by opening and closing them and adding ghost notes on snare in between; yet Bonham adds a twist by doing a swung half-time shuffle with his bass and snare drum which is difficult on its own.  Although the beat is challenging on its own, he adds more difficulty by play with the piano and guitar which are a 12/8 time signature which adds a syncopated triplet feel to the song that anyone can groove to.  To me, Bonham is what made Zepplin great and in totality, it was his drumming within this song that truly allows an audience to groove to.

The next song chosen has a lot of sentimental value as a musician; Nights & Weekends by Cold War Kids was the first song that I ever recorded. It was the song that motivated me to expand my skills and learn about production. I began by listening to every individual instrument track and was amazed by the production quality, with the smooth transition from electronic type drums to an ambient acoustic sound that comes in strong for the chorus.  I was truly inspired by the album as a whole because it was a different direction that Cold War Kids portrayed; originally being a band that produced songs focusing on the problems of and containing an instrumentation of a rock band, Cold War Kids tried a different approach, adding electronic samples on top of the live drums into the piano and guitar heavy tracks.  I was motivated to make my rendition of this song because I loved the vibe of the entirety of the album but this song in specific stuck out because of the catchy chorus and interesting transition from electronic to acoustic drums.  I also really love the organ and feel that it should be used as a staple for their sound.  My initial recording was very poor in quality being that it was my first recording ever and I was using a single microphone for everything, yet I recently redid it to show how I have evolved as an artist and I find that there is still room for improvement, though it is decent. 

Transitioning from this, I Sumatran Tiger by Portugal. the man which is also known as the endangered song.  Interestingly enough, there were no digital copies of this song but instead 400 copies of the hard copy record were produced and eventually the record, made out of polycarbonate material, would stop playing and become extinct.  The message clear, if we do not do anything, then the species will go extinct.  Portugal. the man created this song with the intent of the song becoming extinct unless reproduced.  But this exclusivity tactic is very fascinating and has been practiced by many artists such as Jay Z and Beyoncé, ultimately it doesn’t work because eventually it will go to other streaming services but this concept of extinction unless shared within the community is like no other.  Not only is this a genius tactic to promote the preventing from extinction but it is also an amazing song.  Sadly, it will be overlooked by their one hit wonder Feel it Still but the endangered song will forever hold a place in my heart being that it is a masterful medley of instrumentation, high pitched male vocals, and a message like no other. 

Directly after this, I have chosen Alright by Talk.  Talk is a band I was honored to become apart of during my time at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU this past summer. I chose to put this song on my playlist as a reminder that you can accomplish great things if you work hard. As a band, we wanted to create a song that encapsulated all of our diverse musical talents. I am very proud of our band’s hard work on this track. My primary role was as a drummer, but we all worked hard on co-producing, branding, and managing to create a cohesive end product, that sounds pretty good.  But taking leadership for this band, we produced a book that is like no other, which gives the consumer a visual representation to enjoy as they listen to the song. 

To close out the playlist, I have selected Do You Realize?? by The Flaming Lips. I honestly love everything about this song form the beautiful instrumentation to the incredibly powerful and realistic lyrics. The Flaming Lips adds tasteful elements to transform the track to a galactic melody by using robot generated noise, crazy synth sounds, and random church bells.  Wayne Coin, the lead singer of the Flaming Lips, inspires me as an artist through his authenticity and creativity. This is one song I cannot live without.

Check out the playlist on youtube!

Rock On, 

Justin Mandel

Follow me on Instagram @mandelsmusic

[onestowatch]

YUNGBLUD’s ‘the underrated youth’ Is Larger Than an EP. It’s a Movement

England continues to produce hitmakers, plain and simple. Despite the political complications of the times, there is no slowing down the musical renaissance of the nation. With the release of the underrated youth, YUNGBLUD has cemented himself as one of the emerging artists set to take over the UK and beyond before we knot it. 

After wrapping up a sold-out North American tour, YUNGBLUD has already made his mark in the music landscape at large, but with the release of the underrated youth, he makes it clear he has what it takes to be an absolute star. The six-track EP comes in at roughly eighteen minutes, with no two tracks that would be categorized as even the same genre. Many artists find themselves trapped in a cycle of creating the same song in different variations, but for YUNGBLUD, it seems as though he has no problem taking on a completely new artistic license with each track. 

As he rapidly rises to stardom, YUNGBLUD has found his music as more than that. It is a platform. He is creating a conversation–rather, a movement, to overcome. YUNGBLUD spoke on the underlying inspiration behind his new EP, sharing,

“This EP is about all the people I’ve met and the stories I’ve heard in the past couple of years. My fans are constantly telling me about the incredible things they’ve gone through, like coming out to their parents or transitioning to another gender. With every day, every gig, every DM, it’s become less and less about me and more about this whole collective of people coming together to fight for what we believe in.”

On the track “parents,” YUNGBLUD entirely comes face to face with the notion of unapologetically owning one’s sexuality and realizing that sometimes, “Parents aren’t always right.” Musically, the track has dramatic vocal climaxes as well as clashing drums that create a beautiful chaotic anthem of pride.

Along with the talents of YUNGBLUD, his EP draws in some help from Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons' fame. It is with his assistance that the track, “original me,” helps the underrated youth find its true climax. The track is a rollercoaster of sound, ranging from a few gentle vocals over ambient synths to a rumbling mix of trap drums, screaming vocal layers, and thudding bass. 

Along with the impressive production and vocal performance by both Reynolds and YUNGBLUD, the track brings forth an important message. On an EP centered on acceptance and growth, the track follows the narrative of entering the pitfalls of doubt and hopelessness. While admitting, “Somedays I wish I was anyone else,” the track finds its solace in the phrase, “I’m the original loser.” We find a YUNGBLUD who comes to terms with the sentiment that regardless of who or what anyone is, what is important is the very thing that makes them unique. Even if you think you’re a loser, you’re the original loser. 

The EP draws to a close with the acoustic ballad “waiting for the weekend,” juxtaposing the thrilling, chaotic nature of the rest of the tracks. Along with the tone, the song’s theme is that of unrequited love and wonder, opposed to the rest of the EP’s message of identity and acceptance. It is here where YUNGBLUD reminds the listener that he is a vocalist as well as a martyr for change. YUNGBLUD sends the listener off on a lullaby-like ballad that melancholically closes the final chapter of the underrated youth.

From “braindead!” to “waiting for the weekend,” YUNGBLUD has given the world a beautiful and daring range of sonics that is representative of where music is headed. With no restrictions, YUNGBLUD is unapologetically himself throughout every moment of the underrated youth. YUNGBLUD is much bigger than music and the underrated youth is a movement much grander than just another EP drop.

Listen to the underrated youth below:

For more from YUNGBLUD, revisit the time he swung by our rooftop to perform, in spite of having a broken leg. 

[blrposts]

‘AWAY’

16th March

I was starting to get some ideas of sounds I could record to use in the piece. Some came to mind: Harmonics on violin (maybe like a harmonic glissando type effect). I tried to create this effect, but I'm not an experienced player so I'll think about this later..

I also want to record chime-like sounds from outside (wind chimes) that have different timbres/frequencies/pitches. Also I'm definitely going to record something on piano/keyboard and use a rhythm/loop from GarageBand.

I have been looking through all the loops in GarageBand to choose one that I could work with. Here is a list of some I liked and need to choose 1 or 2 from here:

80s synth fx riser

abstract atmosphere

black tie chimes

Brooklyn nights guitar

Brooklyn nines synth

Casual percussion beat

Caution beat

Ceramic bowls topper

Classic anthem music

Construction kit layers – not for the rhythm

Contrails acoustic guitar

Dark shadows guzheng

Darkside beat

Data translator topper – good..

Deep arpeggio bass- good

Deep diver layers

Elastic echo bass

Ghostly sub bass

Latin percussion beat

Lava flow bass

Reach deep beat

Tribal core beat

I’m finding it difficult to choose one or two rhythms/beats.

I’ve started to put together a draft in GarageBand with some loops. I’m just experimenting and have put a bunch of loops I liked the sound of together. I haven’t composed a piece like this before (using rhythms or loops). It is usually just instrumental music so I'm not really used to fitting a melody/melodies with a rhythm. This is definitely not what I'm going to use as the piece. I have used the ‘Brooklyn nights guitar’ loop as the main melody. Here is what I have at the moment. It’s just to get an idea/inspo:

It’s too messy and too much is happening. I like the main guitar and am quite attached to it, but feel I should compose my own melody instead that is simpler to reflect ‘Cataplexy’ and use of simple layers. I’ve used too many loops. Although the rhythms put together here are catchy, I’ve learnt that polyrhythms or cross-rhythms are much better when using fewer rhythmic elements so they can be heard more clearly. 

I’m trying to come up with an ‘Artistic Vision’ for this work. I’m finding it difficult to come up with a concise view...

I’ve come up with a vision and I am going to stick with the idea of creating an ambient and atmospheric piece, mainly with resonating colours. I think atmospheric/ambient music usually doesn’t have a rhythmic element and is commonly just textural and slow, but for this piece I want the music to be calm as well as rhythmic. There isn’t a story behind the piece. I like the idea of each listener creating their own unique images or stories in their mind when they listen. I want there to be emphasis on the listening of different textures, timbres and interesting sounds throughout, although still trying to have simple layers. 

17th March

I’m a bit stuck. I’ve transferred some ideas to Cubase elements to start the real piece.

I’ve decided to take out the guitar melody and record piano/keyboard. I think I'll have a section that’s coarse/harsh and maybe record harmonics badly played to make this sound.

I feel I should maybe graph my ideas and draw out what the piece will look like on paper.

18th March

Recorded piano - new melody. In Cubase, I've manipulated some of the piano.

I’ve created a kind of ‘thunder’ effect with a single drum beat. It is way too loud at the moment.

Everything is still a bit messy at the moment. I’m writing down what I've used to keep track and make sure I don’t over use GarageBand loops:

Reach Deep beat (loop): one of the main background rhythms (2nd rhythm)

Casual Percussion Beat (Loop): Not sure what I'm doing with this yet

Caution Beat (tiny section- one beat): Main beat

Sample track of my piano: Recorded some piano, put through a sampler to create a ‘tinkly’ effect. Put full reverb on it at the moment.

Small bits of Piano: Taken tiny bits of the main melody and added reverb and distortion (bitcrusher)

Small bits of Piano 2: Bits of main melody with reverb, bitcrusher, monodelay. I’ve realised I have added an extra delay insert to this track. Need to fix this.

Piano (main melody) - there are several tracks with different effects.

One of them has these effects: Limiter, rotary, tuner, tube compressor, pitch correct, vintage compressor, VST dynamics. (there are a lot because I was just experimenting to see what could create the most interesting sound for the piano. I don’t really like it at the moment)

Black tie chimes (loop): I took a bit of the loop (a few seconds) and added reverb, bit crusher, UV22HR mastering tool, Tone Booster.

Brooklyn Nights Guitar: Only 1-2 seconds of the guitar (just a strum). I’ve added reverb, the octaver and an extra reverb track that I should check again...

Halion Sonic SE virtual instrument track (Water Pearl): At the moment, this is not going with the rest of the elements of the piece. I think I need to re-record this track again.

New piano version track: I took part of the piano I recorded and created an electronic sound effect using the Tranceformer modulation tool, reverb and Tone Booster filter.

Latin Percussion Beat (loop): At the moment, this track is very out of place and it is a bit messy. I kind of like the effect.

Dark Shadows Guzheng (loop): I've used about 4-5 seconds of this loop and manipulated it with the Phaser modulation tool and reverb. It creates an ambient, ‘spacey’ feeling.

19th March

In class:

Plan the sounds you will use in the piece like the graphing idea above.

‘Layer Cake Orchestration’ :

-      front middle background

-      need top end interest  + lower end interest

-      make sure no clashes of sounds in the middle – move into another layer

-      need to hear everything clearly

31st March

I’m working on making two different beats. One set of main beats in section B has a panning effect. It sounds as though the sound is travelling from the right to left microphone and then there is the appearance of the original main beats again in return of section A. I’m still using the loop from GarageBand.

In section B (at beginning of the section): I also tried to make the second rhythm changed from the original.

I need to work on hearing all elements of the piece in clarity

I’m also extending the bass - currently the long drone is what I use to reflect the bass in the cataplexy structure.

I really like how Cataplexy reflects the main melody in the bass line. I need to add a bass that reflects the main melody in my piece so there is more emphasis on it. I have done this. I recorded it using one of the Halion Sonic bass instruments in Cubase Elements. I also recorded harmonies for the piano part in the B section.

In section B I've added 3 different piano lines with different tone colours... very echoey with reverb added but all based on the main melody idea.

I'm aiming to create an ‘ethereal’ section B. I also still have to add another changed bass line to this section, different from section A.

6 April

Listened again to figure out if all the layers could be heard so I made a graph. It’s very rough and incomplete at the moment. :

I think the main beats overtake everything else with the rhythm. The 2nd rhythm in section A (loop taken from GarageBand - Latin beats) creates new cross rhythms but I can’t really hear the actual loop I've added.

B section, the 3 piano melodies are not in sync.

Tinkly piano sample: I duplicated the track to make a higher sound with this tinkly piano sample textural sound.

Reflect the bendy bass: My version of the bendy bass is the low note drone and pitch bend.

Fixing section B: too much reverb/delay on high piano melody. Still have 3 piano lines.

May add very low piano instead of bass in the last section.

I’m adding more harmonies to the last section - the repeat of A. I’m also putting several versions of the piano melody in this repeat of A.

NOTE: Realised the whole piece needs to be longer!! I'm extending the B section because it is too short.

I am recording a sample track to make the intro more interesting because I play the main melody twice and the first time it’s sounding a bit lonely.

For B section: Recording high note using Gt harm sound from keyboard. B section consists of recordings of keyboard sounds to create an ambient, atmospheric feeling. Previously my aim was to have a coarse sounding B  section. Now my final vision is to create an ambient and atmospheric B section. The ‘warm pad’ low note and ‘tubular bells’ have been recorded and ‘tremolo strings’ high note has been added. A low note ‘ocarina’ sound has been recorded as well as ‘GM Bow glass’ reflecting the main melody. ‘GM Goblins’ recorded to go into the repeat of A section.

Although an atmospheric B section, it still has the main melody in parts.

All these sounds above have been recorded from the keyboard and act as my textures in the piece. I’m not sure if I'll use all of them though. Need to see what works.

I need to make the return of A longer.

16 April

On the keyboard I recorded the melody using a ‘bow glass’ sound. It’s just sitting in the music and not doing anything so I have only used snippets of the recording to add to the ambience of the B section adding reverb, delay, distortion and the octaver insert.

In the repeat of section A, I follow the structure of Cataplexy, but not exactly the same. I repeat the main melody twice then where it says ‘main melody all versions’ I have still used the main melody and have tried to make the texture less dense instead of having all melody versions playing at once.

Still need to make return of A section longer.

Change in idea: Instead of making ‘all versions of melody play’ in return of A, I’m adding new harmonies or other timbres of the melody. I sing over the main melody in my head and play what I think harmonises with the melody. This part is simpler than other textures in the piece. I’m adding all the different versions of harmonies of the main melody. There isn’t the main melody in the last part of return of section A, just different harmonies and snippets of it.

17 April

I have drawn another rough sketch of the layers in the piece and how much they can be heard. I was trying to work out if there’s enough clarity. It’s an unfinished sketch because I was unsure if there were too many textures and sounds going on and not sure if the piano overtakes everything else... I’m having a bit of a problem in balancing out the sounds so there isn’t a muddy effect. In some parts though I want there to be many textures because I want there to be an overlay of colours but maybe this has led to less clarity. This is the sketch:

At the moment, I don’t like the main beats in section B. I am having trouble getting the right sound from these beats. I want them to sound more Deep/hollow and contrast from section A beats which are more higher/ have more attack.

last bit of the repeat of section A: there are only harmonies of the main melody. There are 3 versions. I want to add one more. This part is lighter than other parts of the piece. It is a suggestion I got: maybe add something to make the music towards the end lighter in feeling, still using the bassline.

I thought maybe I should change one harmony to a different sound/tone colour- I've experimented with using piano with the fourth harmony and also with a keyboard glockenspiel sound. I didn’t like the sound because it was too tinny so I have the tone booster filter to create a more bell-like, bit more heavier sound.

I feel like I still need to develop/extend section B to create more contrast between the sections. At the moment it is a bit too short. Maybe I'll add the melody as a background element instead of foreground. This is just an idea, but not sure if I'll go ahead with it because the melody is already there twice (in section B) and I want more focus on the lower drones and textural sounds in this section.

I am thinking to extend the closing phase of the piece. Maybe with more textures fading out like the structure of Cataplexy.

Instead I have decided to repeat the main melody by itself without any bass or beats. only with the tiny snippet of the glockenspiel/bell sound and a higher piano snippet. There is also a single low piano note that I have tried to make sound like a guitar, using the flanger effect in Cubase Elements.

Towards the closing of he piece, I still use the main beats but they are very low so they act as the farmost background element. I am having a bit of trouble with distortion. When I play the piece from the laptop, it is fine and the ‘mixconsole’ doesn’t reach the maximum peak where it might go yellow, but when I play it from speakers, there is distortion with the bass and beats. Can’t figure out if it’s the speakers or the piece. When I turn it down low, I can’t hear it on the laptop.

I have written down some of the final textures and sounds used in the piece in each section and how I created a few of them. This is not the full list of layers because I'm still working on the piece. This just helps me see what exactly I have done and what is acting as the foreground, middle and background elements and what is acting as the textures.

Introduction:

Piano: recorded. Main melody. dual filter added.

Sample track: dragged in piano and created an ‘alternate’ loop and manipulated the sound- acts as textural element. Octaver and reverb added.

VST instrument track: Halion Sonic ‘Water Pearl’ recorded into Cubase using midi. Octaver added.

Another sample track: dragged in main melody of piano, manipulated the sound, put on alternate loop mode - textual element. 'fluttery-like/tinkly’ sound. Reverb added.

Little snippets of the main melody: added reverb so parts of the melody would ring out. Bitcrusher added too. Other tracks have these small snippets of the main melody and have other added effects: Monodelay, bit crusher and reverb. These snippets are throughout the piece.

Black Tie chimes: part of a loop taken from GarageBand. Added reverb, distortion (bitcrusher), tone booster.

Echoey beat sound (sounds like wind): very tiny single drum beat taken from a loop in GarageBand. Added reverb, distortion, octaver and tone booster.  

Reach Deep Beat: Loop taken from GarageBand. Acts as the second rhythmic element. Just adjusted the equaliser.

Tiny snippet of main beats: Taken and acts as textural element. Added metaliser, rotary, tone booster, reverb. Also adjusted the EQ. The sound no longer sounds like a drum beat. Sounds a bit like it’s underwater.

Section A:

Main beats: Casual Percussion beat loop taken from GarageBand. Adjusted the EQ.

Brooklyn Nights guitar: tiny snippet taken from guitar melody in GarageBand. I liked it so I added it and manipulated the sound: reverb, octaver, tone booster.

Halion Sonic ‘Fretless Bass’ instrument track: acts as the bass line and reflects the main melody. Added a bit of reverb because I didn’t like the short, stabby sound it had when I recorded it into Cubase using midi.

Drone: Single sharp note of synthesised strings sound from my keyboard. Recorded into DAW using midi.

Main melody track 1: piano with dual filter.

Main melody track 2: same melody in piano but added quite a few effects to change the sound. I didn’t want all the melodies to be just piano. Limiter, rotary, tuner, tube compressor, pitch correct, vintage corrector, VST dynamics. I was experimenting and kept adding things until I liked the sound. The sound produced after these effects was more hollow than the original piano. Without this manipulated melody the piano by itself is a bit dull.  

Black tie chimes: As above.

Shorter version of main melody: all effects of the main melody track 2 (above) A small snippet of this shorter version has phaser and reverb creating a strange ‘alien-like’ sound.

Latin percussion: loop from garageband. Played around with the DJ-EQ to get the sound I wanted. There is a continuous ‘hi-hat’ in this loop which was more prominent before and I found it annoying so I tried to lower it a bit.

Single piano note added to an audio track: added trancformer effect, reverb and tone booster. Created a metallic sound.

Duplicate of a sample track with tinkly sounds: I added the sound again but now at a higher pitch.

Section B:

New drum track: same loop from GarageBand of main beats, but adjusted the EQ a lot to get the right contrasting sound, added tone booster and auto pan. Now instead of the beats being unified, they are more switched between the right and left speakers.

Bendy Bass: Used the same ‘synthesised strings’ sound from keyboard and used the pitch bender on the keyboard to create the bendy bass. There is distortion (Ampsimulator) and tone booster added. The sound is more pulsing than before.

Main melody: Now it is more delayed (monodelay). There is added distortion (bitcrusher) and reverb.

Main melody (lower piano): added under the delayed melody. Added tone booster.

Main melody (higher piano): added tone booster

Gt Harm: sound from keyboard. Recorded a single high note that rings.

Bowed glass: sound recorded from keyboard. Snippets from the main melody with added amp simulator, monodelay, reverb, brick wall compressor, octaver. Also added another track for bowed glass without any effects, just playing the first two notes from the main melody.

Tremolo high strings: recorded from keyboard. No effects added. Single high note played.

Tubular bells: recorded from keyboard. Added reverb. Single low note played.

Goblins: sound recorded from keyboard. The swelling ‘bird-like’ sound before return of section A.

Dark Shadows Guzheng: Small loop taken from GarageBand. It swells before the repeat of A. Added phaser and reverb.

Caution Beat: Took a single beat from a loop in garagband and created an effect that sounds a bit like thunder or a crack. Added full reverb and phaser.

Return of section of A: Still like section A at beginning but more developed and more textural.

Low piano melody: reverb

Shorter version of main melody: One track with nothing added and one track made to sound like bells with added reverb, bitcrusher and tone booster.   

Main melody: dual filter added

Main beats: there is one track that has the loop with no effects and one with the tone booster and adjusted EQ.

Snippet from main melody: Made to sound like an electric guitar. Added phaser and reverb.

Harmony 1: reverb, tonebooster, dual filter, vibrato effect.

Harmony 2: reverb

Harmony part of the repeat of section A (reflects ‘melody all versions’ in the structure of cataplexy.) (numbering of harmony depending on where they were in the DAW):

Bass

sample track for fluttery sound/tinkly sound.

Harmony 1 piano: nothing.

Harmony 2 piano: tonebooster

Harmony 3 piano: limiter, rotary, tuner, compression, pitch correct, VSTdynamics. - more hollow sound.

Harmony 4 piano: DJ-EQ. towards end it is duplicated and has reverb and a panning effect.

Recorded glock from keyboard sounds: reflects what the piano harmony 4 is doing. Added reverb and tone booster. Towards the end it is duplicated and has reverb and a panning effect.

Main melody repeated as original: dual filter

Guitar like sound: low piano note added with flanger and reverb.

Closing:

Sample track of tinkly sound

Halion sonic water pearl sound

One of the harmonies taken and acts as the closing melody that reflects the main melody: added reverb, bitcrusher, monodelay.

Low recorded piano sound of ‘synthesised strings’

Part of the ‘bowed glass’ sound from the keyboard recorded using midi and manipulated: amp simulator,  monodelay, reverb, compression and the octaver which brings out more pitches within that one snippet.

low piano (acts as a small bass part): reflects the notes in the closing melody. Added reverb.

18th April

While checking over the piece, I’m making sure that I have several high to low spectrums in the music. In all sections there is something that gives the high element and something else that provides the low element so hopefully there is contrast. I never consider if any music I create has high and low contrasting elements so this is good practise for me.

I still need to fix the main beats in the music towards the closing phase.  

I need to write out all the layers used in each section and write what is providing the foreground and background. Just making sure I have kept the Cataplexy structure in mind. Writing it out also helps me see how the elements of the piece highlight my ‘Artistic Vision.’ I think they have made the piece reflective/ contemplative but also steady (with the rhythm). 

Introduction:

Background and Textures: sample of piano, water pearl instrument, Black Tie Chimes loop, snippets of delayed piano, beat (sounds like wind), rhythm 2 (loop- Reach Deep Beat).

Foreground: piano main melody.

Section A:

Foreground: Main melody (different versions), smaller version of main melody.

Background: Main Beats, Bass, Rhythm 2, Rhythm 3- Latin percussion  (acts as auxiliary percussion), Drone.

Textures: Black Tie Chimes, Different tracks that have tiny snippets of piano each with contrasting effects, snippet of guitar, Single Beat (thunder), piano sample (tinkly sound).

Section B

Foreground (at beginning of section B and the bridge before return of A): Piano - snippet (delayed) and melody (high), melody (lower).

Textures: Water pearl instrument, single beat (extra reverb), piano sample (tinkly), single notes on: bowed glass x2 (the second note is low and soft and acts as a background element as well as textural. It adds a kind of soft, airy sound to the music), tremolo high strings, tubular bells, Gt harm, dark shadows guzheng, goblins.

This Dark shadows Guzheng element is part of the bridge before the return of section A but the end of the snippet leads into this section. The note at the end of the snippet reflects what is to come in the melody. (reflects one of the notes in the main melody) This was actually accidental and unintentional so I'm happy with the effect. 

Background: Main beats (changed), rhythm 2, bendy bass (drone), snippet of piano. 

Section A (return):

Foreground and background: Piano main melody and different versions of it. (piano main, high, low, middle)

Background: main beats, bass, rhythm 2, rhythm 3, drone.

Textures: single beat (with reverb), piano samples, snippets of piano with effects, black tie chimes, guitar snippet. 

Towards end of A:

Foreground: harmonies of main melody (piano).

Textures: snippets of piano with effects. 

Background: main beats, bass, glock.

Before closing: (still part of A)

Foreground: main melody piano

Background: piano and glock playing same thing, snippet of piano made to sound like low guitar note. 

Closing:

Foreground: piano delayed. 

Textures: Bowed glass, water pearl, sample of piano (tinkly).

Background: Drone, low piano (two chords)

Still fixing the main beats. They are overtaking the foreground in return of section A. Also, I want to carry them into the end of section A to reflect the structure of Cataplexy, but it’s not working with the melody for some reason so I think I will leave them at quite a low volume. They can still be heard and can add a rhythmic element before the closing part of the piece.

I have bounced down the file, but getting problems with clicks in the editing. At the very beginning of the piece, I have re-edited the elements there and there is no click. When I bounce down the file, there is a click again. Not sure what that means... I am going to transfer the WAV. file to another Cubase file and edit the beginning click there. Also, there is another click in section B that I didn’t hear in the DAW but is there in the bounced down file. I keep editing it, but it can still be a heard in the WAV. file. I’m fixing it by turning down the volume on that snippet.

I’ve fixed the pop sound at the beginning of the piece by shifting all the tracks in the DAW away from the ‘first bar.’

[mi4011annabodgal]

Task: make an animation for a given music using only 30 seconds from it 

Music: Hidden Orchestra - Flight

Sound Animation - Reflective piece 

When we were given the music pieces to chose from I did make the first mistake of choosing the one I liked the most and not the one I had ideas for, making my own work just one level more difficult. ‘Cause I'm a genius. 

Actually I had two favorites and was contemplating the idea of choosing Poppy Ackroyd’s Birdwoman for a very long time but eventually decided next to Flight by Hidden Orchestra, for numerous reasons. 

Both song’s captivating element was the beginning, starting with slow humming setting up a mysterious vibe then slowly unfold into a ambient atmosphere, and mostly goes on the same tempo till the end. I really liked this as I find it tricky to make something enjoyable and intriguing to watch for something that is almost steady. One of the reasons I choose Flight was because it has a bit more dynamic, and reveals the atmosphere faster than Birdwoman which was something to be taken into consideration as I only have 30 seconds to work with. 

So after deciding it, I did research on the musician and the origin of the music.

“Hidden Orchestra is an imagined orchestra created by composer/producer Joe Acheson

Currently based in Brighton (UK)

The releases feature a wide variety of guest musicians from different musical backgrounds, recorded separately, and combined by Joe in his studio to create an 'imaginary orchestra' that doesn't really exist.

Dark orchestral textures, with field recordings, bass, and layers of drums and percussion.”

My first thought was that it’s like a cat, that sands in the open door half body in other half out. It exists and not at the same time, as if it can’t decide. And I love that. It gave me an idea about something constantly changing, something what is just in a reach yet untouchable. Or something that you touch but not at the same time. Like sand or water.

I also loved the fact that it’s not just one person’s work, but the combination of many artists using various styles and having different backgrounds. Inspired by that I wanted to make various storylines that are going to cross each other at some point. But then I made the second mistake.

I listened the music in it’s whole 7:50 minutes length for like 5 times then I blinked and I had a story for a good 7:50 minutes animation. Hups. Also I stubbornly sticked to it for some days, because I’m a genius, resulting in loosing precious time from the production part. Accepting that something is wrong and searching for a new solution in relatively fast way is again something I need to work on. Not in the accepting part but finding a new solution fast. I had known since the long idea was born that it won't make it, I was sticking to it because I had no other idea for it, so I desperately tried clear the story form the dispensable parts and only holding onto the key bits. But somehow I could not figure out what was really wrong with it, nor to what to change on it by myself, so I reached out for inspiration. On Pinterest of course. 

I searched for short animations, any kind, and dug myself into the question why were they so successful. The answer is relatively simple. The animation resonates well with the music. It may does not contain a world saving life changing message, because that’s not the point here, the goal is to lift the music into pole position, it’s not just an additional element for the movements, in this case it is itself the engine of the animation. These short pieces rely on the entertainment and fun principles rater than on the educational part. I’m not saying that 30 seconds can’t contain both elements but first, it takes incredible amount of creativity to shove them into 30 seconds, and second, it does not always have to be educational. Sometimes it’s enough if it’s just fun, fun to watch and fun to make, without stressing over of giving it a deeper meaning. Meaning will come later, somewhere in the finish, unnoticed. Totally and completely out of accident.

So after making terms with it I rethought my idea, but kept some motives from the original. I loved how the music had a base drop but works on so many different higher notes at the same time, this evoked the idea of following a cracking through a floor that at first glance seems formless but then builds up to be a face then tiny moving scenes are brought to life by small  cracks inside the face, after that, as they are always in constant movement, they dissolve into ocean waves. I aspire to make it to a one line drawing and hopefully only using black and white colours. 

In conclusion, don’t stress out things, and don’t stress out on the fact that you are stressing out. The idea will came, you just need to force yourself into thinking as many times as you can, and realizing that only the first half an hour of it is what’s painful. Or two. But you will eventually get the work done, if you work for it. 

[theetherrealm-blog]

ASTROWORLD ALBUM REVIEW

By: Ace Royal

    Travis Scott dropped his long anticipated project Astro World yesterday after almost a year off of Huncho Jack and two years off of Birds In The Trap. As much as I was anxiously awaiting the release just like everyone else, I have to say the project was a flop and a major disappointment to me. Before you go lighting the pitchforks just hear me out and I’ll break down exactly why.

    The production on stargazing was enjoyable but the vocals at times were harsh and hard to listen to, there’s a lot of cracks and pops reminiscent of low quality recordings and I don’t know if that’s intentional or not, but takes away from an album as hyped as this in my eyes especially when it’s mixed by a great like Mike Dean. I expect exceptional quality. The beat switch up towards the end is dope, but the production is underwhelming again for a project of this caliber, sad being a Sonny digital beat. The vocal cadence really leaves more to be decided, kind of an elementary rhyme pattern.

    Carousel has that Toronto sound courtesy of hit boy, and Frank Ocean was a pleasant surprise. It lacks a sense of direction though, it feels like a big rambling thought

    The beginning of sicko mode is dope because of the feeling of grandiose it gives you. It’s a edgy suspenseful sound that leaves you feeling like man taking its first steps on the moon. Drake comes in to increase the level of grandiose and the track sounds like it’s gonna be the first track that gets me hype on the album, and then they pull a move from the sopranos and cut to basically an entirely different record right at the start of drakes verse. Missed opportunity. This next iteration of sicko mode bores the shit out of me, especially after being jerked around by that Drake verse. It transitions into the third part and I know it’s the Tay Keith Memphis bounce before the tag even drops. Is this a Travis or a drake track? Drake is dope, but I’m here for Travis. And I’m not here for Travis rapping over tay Keith beats, this track is missing some Cardo Got Wings.

    RIP screw transitions in and immediately I’m fucking with the vibe on this one. This has that airy spacey feel I like from Travis but then Swae Lee comes in with his high pitched vocals and give a bit of an angelic vibe before the darker Scott vocals and the contrast is really enjoyable. Mike dean shows off with the mix a lot on this track and I’m all for it. Lots of vocal panning effects etc

    Stop Trying To Be GodI couldn’t find anything in the official credits but were those Cudi Adlib’s? Hmm. I’m on the fence with this one, the production is interesting, they tried to add a lot of elements but at some points it made the vocals sound off pitch to me, I just don’t think saxophone compliments Travis’ voice really well. Was very harsh to listen to in headphones.

    No bystanders was the track I’ve been waiting for. This is the sort of production that Travis should stick with, go figures being produced by frequent Scott collaborator Wondagurl who helped produce 90210, Antidote, The Ends etc. Juice Wrld was a dope surprise feature on this record. His vocals compliment Travis’ voice and the lyrical expression on the verses left me satisfied.

    I can’t tell you guys how bad I wanted to skip Skeletons. I had to listen for the sake of the review. I’ll just say I’m not here for it. Replace Travis’ voice with Ye’s. It was a Ye record featuring The Weeknd.

    The Weeknd’s voice introduces Wake Up beautifully. I’m enjoying the guitar sample laced with trap drums that has become a bit of a trend over the past year, and the new approach to it, more smooth and subtle with the Houston grit mixed with the XO romance is very pleasant. The Weeknd should of kept this for himself. The outro on this track was marvelous.

    5% tint. No blend, just hits you, rough transition. I’m gonna get some hate from the Stan’s on this. The only dope thing about this track is the homage it pays to Mike Jones and Still Tippin. That’s all I have to say.

    NC17 starts off with a Wiz Khalifa-esque cadence, as in one that sounds oddly familiar to real rich.... I will say the 21 savage feature was the one that really caught me off guard. Mixing on this record is terrible though so much that you can tell it was put together last minute. 21s vocals were mixed on the record after the fact.

    Astrothunder. Love this record. Big fan of John Meyer and his guitar playing all over this, backed by the production of Thundercat and Travis himself with the help of a frank dukes sample the record comes to life and I enjoy the many elements involved.

    Yosemite. Bruh, they just took a throw away off of drip season and threw it on here. I’m all for artists collaborating but when you add them to YOUR album I feel like you should be using their sound to COMPLIMENT yours, I don’t think you should take their sound and add yourself to it and then use it as a placeholder on your own album. That’s just wack to me and completely took away the last bit of cohesiveness the project had to me. Oh yeah Nav said hi too.

    Can’t Say. This shit fire! Of course though. It’s produced by Wondagurl. There’s a trend I’m seeing on this album where when Travis sticks to people that know him artistically he makes exceptionally great music. Who woulda thought. And bruh can we talk about Don Toliver? Those vocals were crazy! I live for this Travis sound. Great track.

    Who What This is basically a prequel to Butterfly effect. Production from Cardo Got Wings. This track rides, the bass hits and Travis is in all of his airy ambient greatness. Quavo graces the track and keeps it moving, performance wasn’t terrible but I definitely thought the track was a little too long and the novelty wore off.

    Butterfly Effect needs no explanation. This is prime Travis Scott.

    Sevn Thomas kills the production on HOUSTONFORNICATION. But again this is the theme with this album. Travis shines on production that compliments his artistic style and Travis and Sevn are no strangers. Sevn produced popular Travis record “Green and Purple”. Full of dark synths, deep bass, and astroworld-esque vocals.

    Coffee bean. I hate to hate on this track because Travis is trying to be deep and all. I respect the message. But come on, what a boring way to end an album.

    Alright so I’ve given my thoughts on the individual records themselves, let me give you my thoughts on the project as a whole.

Yes.

If this was a mid tier artist who dropped this record it would be phenomenal by all means.

But it’s not a mid tier artist.

It’s Travis Scott, one of the biggest artists making music right now, dating one of the most influential people in the world. This was his chance to drop something legendary to solidify himself and instead I feel clickbaited. The project should have been called Travis and Friends because I never really felt like the focus was on Scott for the majority of the album. It doesn’t feel cohesive, things were force-blended together. There is no concept as the title and cover art would make you believe, as Travis would make you believe. It was a collective of songs that have been recorded over the past year, packaged nicely and released as an overhyped album that Scott knew his eager fans would stream because they have been so thirsty for new music. Because of this absence of music and over eagerness to listen he banked on the fans not being too critical and he was right seeing as the masses are praising this mediocre at best project up and down. Travis really shined on Birds In The Trap but Huncho Jack and now this were not up to par.

It was a disappointment, and Scott needs to go back to the drawing board.

[jazzworldquest-blog]

USA; Michael Moss Accidental Orchestra HELIX CD Release Show Friday, May 18th 7-10 PM Westbeth Community Room

CD Release Party for Michael Moss / Accidental Orchestra: HELIX Friday, May 18, 2018 7-10 PM Westbeth Community Room 155 Bank Street entrance (between West St. and Washington St.) New York, NY 10014 Tickets: $10 donation New CD

Michael Moss the Accidental Orchestra HELIX (4th Stream Records ERG 10013) Street Date: March 24, 2018 Jason Kao Hwang, Rosi Hertlein, Fung Chern Hwei (violins), Stephanie Griffin (viola), Lenny Mims and Carol Buck (cellos), Steve Swell (trombone), Vincent Chancey (French horn), Waldron Mahdi Ricks (trumpet), Richard Keene (oboe), Elliott Levin (flute, tenor saxophone), Ras Moshe Burnett (soprano and tenor saxophones), Michael Lytle (bass clarinet), and myself, Michael Moss (Bb clarinet), Steve Cohn (piano), Billy Stein (guitar), Rick Iannacone (ambient guitar), Larry Roland (string bass), Warren Smith (percussion, vibraphones), Badal Roy (tabla), Chuck Fertal (drums), and Michael Wimberly (djembe, African bells and percussion). Listen On Bandcamp  

Free Jazz Composer Michael Moss Debuts Two Major Compositions On His New Release HELIX. Multi-instrumentalist/composer Michael Moss, a veteran of New York’s free jazz scene, has assembled a brand-new band, the Accidental Orchestra, featuring 22 of the most exciting improvisers on the jazz scene today. His new CD HELIX is the premiere recording of a pair of his latest extended compositions. HELIX kicks off with “The Old One,” which gets its title from Einstein’s name for God. Moss describes this five-piece suite as “an initiation into sacred ground.” He views it as part of a musical tradition stretching from the earliest ritual over the dead to Bach’s Mass in B Minor, through Native American rites of passage into the spirit world, the Jewish mourner’s Kaddish, and Buddhist funeral rituals. Moss wrote "See Sharp or Be Flat/C# or Bb" while recovering from a fracture suffered in tripping over a curb. The composer brings a quirky sense of humor to the situation, right down to deciding to name his ensemble the Accidental Orchestra in memory of the incident. Moss aimed to let the band swing on this contrapuntal theme and variations mixing jazz, rhythm and blues, and the joy of dance. “Throughout I refer to Norwegian Wood (The Beatles), I Feel Good (James Brown), and Bags Groove (the Modern Jazz Quartet), but do not resort to familiar big band tropes,” Moss explains. “This is a type of string orchestra, but with lots of jazz musicians pushing the boundaries.” The Chicago-born, Madison, Wisconsin-educated Michael Moss has been an active member of the New York jazz scene for 50 years, earning recognition for his skill and imagination as a multi-reed player, and for the freshness and intensity of his writing. The self-described “farthest-out cat” was a mainstay of Manhattan’s famed loft jazz scene, playing with Sam Rivers, Dave Liebman, Paul Bley, Annette Peacock, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Richie Beirach and scores of others. He’s equally at home from a duo setting to an orchestra of 50-plus players. As a composer, Moss assigns time signatures to segments of his pieces, but the final form of any given composition depends entirely on the interaction of the musicians.  A sense of space marks much of his work.  Though, like most avant artists he shifts tempos frequently and sometimes drops the meter altogether, he and the group under his direction tend to listen more and play in the openings.  Though his music clearly arises from the jazz tradition, Moss draws heavily from disparate folk idioms.  American blues and Latin rhythmic influences are obvious in his work, but Israeli folk melodies (out of his own Jewish origins) or Tibetan chants (appropriated on a trip to India) are equally likely to emerge in his performances.  Listeners can’t help but be captivated by what they hear, as they accompany Moss and the Accidental Orchestra on this life-long journey. "Playing free, but still playing together--it's a question of moving forward by moving backwards and sideways at the same time," Moss says obliquely, and yet the music seems to do just this, and makes sense. Robert LaBrasca, Press Connection and Rolling Stone writer (1986). "Moss' music is conceptually complex and musically brilliant, reaching across ages, cultures and continents for rhythms, phrases, melodies, and harmonics to produce a sound which is fascinating yet unsettling because it is foreign but so familiar." Fred Waitzkin liner notes Michael Moss/Four Rivers Cross Current (1978). What The Press Is Saying About HELIX  "This is a stunning achievement – one that demands our attention." Grady Harp, Amazon, April 2, 2018   "This fantastic album gets a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED from me, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.99." "The 20:37 “C# or Bb” is not only my choice from this album, it’s also my personal favorite improvised set (yet) in 2018!  All the players in the orchestra challenge the boundaries on this one, & I’ve no doubt that those of you who thrive on music that stimulates creativity (in many different directions at once) will be playing this one over & over & OVER again!" "The orchestra Michael assembled for this stunning trip is amazing in and of itself…over fifteen minutes of far-out fun for all." "If it’s etherspace you’re craving for in your listening adventures, you’ll find “Mind Of God” the perfect blend of cool and cacophonous." Rotcod Zzaj,Dick Metcalf, editor, Contemporary Fusion ReviewsFebruary 27, 2018   Michael Moss Uses Experimental Jazz To Bring Helix To Life "While there are swing elements and other traditional jazz elements, but the form here is completely experimental. This is jazz of big ideas. And probably not for beginning jazz fans. Still, there is an energy and perceptiveness that keeps audiences listening, and that might be the most important thing of all." "From folk melodies to Renaissance orchestras, to Latin, blues and more, Moss has a nearly encyclopedic array of musical influences. According to Moss, he wants to stretch America’s musical heritage into the future while acknowledging its past innovators such as Louis Armstrong and Scott Joplin. With “Helix” it sounds as though he is doing exactly that." "The album succeeds as an experimental album based on a theme – – listeners with traditional expectations of jazz will be surprised or disappointed. But putting traditional restraints on free-flowing experimental jazz is to miss the point of the form." Dodie Miller-Gould, lemonwire, February 15, 2018   "If Avant Garde, free-form jazz is your preference, you will enjoy listening to the outer limits of Dr. Michael Moss’s artistic creativity. Michael Moss is a 50-year veteran of the New York “free” jazz scene. He’s a multi-instrumentalist and a composer, Chicago-born. At times, this music reminds me of the Chicago Art Ensemble, except that this production features a twenty-two piece orchestra. The Moss production is all over the place, spewing energy and combining instruments and notes in a unique and often dissonant manner."  "I was particularly drawn to the final “SEE SHARP OR BE FLAT” composition that features a provocative violin solo with complimentary string ensemble support. This composition gives more opportunity for individual players to step forward and solo. I found the guitar solo to be outstanding with Warren Smith’s percussion bright and tasty beneath it."  "If you have a taste for a project that’s out-of-the-ordinary, the Accidental Orchestra will soothe your palate." Dee Dee McNeil,February 28, 2018 "It is a work to be heard without prejudices, reminiscent of certain episodes of the music of Anthony Braxton."  "There is everything from the more traditional jazz, with a swing of the rhythm section, to more material and abstract moments like in the long Inception, with instruments like the djembe or the tabla that give a sense of world, or the oboe of Richard Keene, with his nasal sound that stands out on the whole set." "Between moments more free and others more tied to the mainstream Moss demonstrates its music culture and the ability to consistently put together moments inspired by different historical periods." "A great record of this big band." Vittorio Lo Conte, Music Zoom, April, 2018   "The music and albums of this native of Chicago are always distinguished by their originality, and often the use of elements of various ethnic musical cultures."  "In general - an excellent album for advanced fans of jazz music and, probably, quite a complex work for neophytes." Leonid Auskern, Nestor Media, March, 2018   "Sun Ra-ish Swing" "The Accidental Orchestra is comprised of a “Who’s Who” of the New York Improvised Music Scene." "A dissonant, yet strangely colorful and delightful series of chords emerge with a startling intensity." “See Sharp or Be Flat”begins with a shout of joy. It’s a jazz expression of an acceptance of all the good and bad things life throws at us."  “Bridge”swings, walks, and flows like a rich liquid, as if it is urging you to follow its path."  "Moss cultivates an intricate musical garden, then allows it to run wild, knowing quite well the trajectories each living thing will take."  "A master of multiple reed instruments, and compositions . . . Moss knows how to handle himself. His musical inspirations are not limited by genre, culture, or historical period.  To transcend the constant danger of self indulgence and perform music that serves to communicate real ideas and real experiences in service of higher ideals is the sign of a master. Michael Moss and the Accidental Orchestra have accomplished this." Dawoud Kringle,DooBeeDooBeeDoo NY, March, 2018  

"MICHAEL MOSS/Helix:  The loft jazz mainstay puts together an Accidental Orchestra, in which the gang is all here, and sets out for places only hinted at in “Metal Machine Music’.  Using Einstein’s name for God as the jumping off point, I’ll bet this how things sound in heaven when Metatron dawdles over a second cup of coffee."

Chris Spector, Editor and Publisher, Midwest Record 

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[themusicenthusiast]

Album Review: ‘Asking Alexandria’ by Asking Alexandria

More than just a band, Asking Alexandria has been a perpetually evolving collective, something that has arguably made them one of the biggest powerhouse acts of the modern music era. Few bands can say they’ve embraced change as strongly as they have, the members of Asking Alexandria keeping everything fluid as they matured and progressed, expanding upon their core sound with each album they released. And in the process, they asserted more dominance and became a more powerful – and chart-topping - figure. Of course, such success usually comes with its fair share of hardships; and everyone, even those just somewhat familiar with the group, know of Danny Worsnop’s departure from and subsequent (and somewhat surprising) reconciliation with Asking Alexandria. As jarring as it was for fans and even the musicians themselves, perhaps that split was the best thing that could have happened to Asking Alexandria. Perhaps those paths needed to diverge for a time in order for Ben Bruce, James Cassells, Cameron Liddell and Sam Bettley and Worsnop to all experience a different journey, one where they could pursue what they needed to in that moment before reconvening with a new-found respect and appreciation for what they had together. Their fifth studio album (released via Sumerian Records) – aptly self-titled – that was released in the final weeks of 2017 would seem to suggest as much. Asking Alexandria’s most encompassing work to date, it covers a staggering amount of ground, at times honoring where they came from, while also capturing its full potential and using it to usher in a bold new era, revitalizing things for years to come.

One of the greatest attributes that some of the songs possess is how introspective they are, something demonstrated right off the bat with the lead song, “Alone in a Room”. It begins Asking Alexandria in such epic fashion; the opening line, “I've been away a little while…” being so much more when taken out of context, such as a slick way for Worsnop to address his absence. That’s just scratching the surface of the full magnitude of “Alone in a Room”, though. The track details a person losing themselves, devising different coping mechanisms as a means to just get by and the dependencies that follow. It’s about confronting those demons along with one’s own faults and shortcomings, doing one of the hardest things possible: having a personal reckoning. “…All I needed was the last thing I wanted: to be alone in a room. Alone in a room,” ends each chorus, the reservations and even fear ever present as Worsnop snarls and sings. A full throttle alt-rock song, it’s a far cry from the bands point of origin, but is no less exhilarating. In its own right it’s even a heavy, aggressive song; Cassells hammering out some robust beats when it moves away from the melodic moments. An incredible introduction to this latest chapter in the saga that is Asking Alexandria, that lead track gets the album off to a sensational start. Initially released as the second single from the record, “Where Did it Go?” stands as one of, if not the strongest offering from this fifth album. A cutting-edge song, it sounds fresh and completely new, further demonstrating the versatility that Bruce, Worsnop, Cassells, Liddell and Bettley are capable of. The ebb and flow of it is brilliant, literally going from one extreme to another as the track utilizes some electronic/programming elements, splicing it with the sheer force that hard rock and metal provide. It’s daring and dangerous; the guitars, bass and drums culminating in a thrash-y sound on the choruses, echoing back to their earlier days. It would be remiss to not mention the singing style as well, Worsnop keeping it quite rhythmic, particularly on the verses. It’s nowhere near being a full-blown rap, though it is akin to that. Offbeat as that may sound on paper for Asking Alexandria, it sounds splendid and just hammers home one of the points that the track makes. Rockstar bravado and swagger seeps forth from the song that is an overview of the bands’ career, calling out the copycats and impersonators that have attempted to follow in their footsteps, Asking Alexandria just reaffirming they’re the same groundbreaking outfit they’ve always been. Two of the most surprising numbers on the album come in quick succession, “Under Denver” again breaking a mold. Somewhat ambient at times, the hopeful song that comes across as being about rebuilding and making a better society almost feels like a lullaby. At least that’s the case on the verses, before it gets kicked into high gear, the track still boasting some explosive moments that give it a serious bite. “Vultures”, however, does not. At least not in the traditional sense. The rare acoustic song from the band who is known for everything but, it stands as a phenomenal and gorgeous number that is, arguably, their most impressive piece of work to date. Some subtle percussion ultimately being worked in to give the song more body, it primarily just relies on the acoustic guitars and is guided by an absolutely breathtaking vocal performance from Worsnop. “Vultures” acts as a vessel for him to demonstrate just what he is capable of in terms of the heights he can push his voice to as well as the overwhelming emotion he can pack into his delivery. That’s the most stunning quality about that number. As it delves into the dark side of the music industry, the forces in charge demanding more and more from the people whose careers they are shaping and how empty that can leave a person, you can tell Worsnop is completely and personally invested in it. Packing every fiber of his being into his performance, he makes it honest and raw, fitting with the depiction of someone who has grown so used to doing what is expected of them that they’ve lost sight of who they are as an individual. Channeling anger, sorrow, despair and frustration, “Vultures” stands a definitive point of Asking Alexandria. Coming straight out of left field is “Eve”. Out of the dozen songs that comprise this latest record it is the one with the most prominent ties to their metalcore days. Worsnop may have moved beyond screaming, though it is nice to hear him venture back to it, the guttural way he bellows out the verses having a venomous touch to it; the instruments creating something that’s wildly chaotic in the best possible way. Even then it zigs and zags, throwing some curveballs at the listener as it evolves into a heavy but melodic number, further showcasing how well-rounded Asking Alexandria is aspiring to be. While continuing to forge new ground, they’re not beyond revisiting where they’ve been, and in instances such as this, by combining the various aspects, it yields something else that is totally new. As Asking Alexandria reaches its conclusion, it comes full circle in the most poetic way possible. In a sense it ends where it began, all alone in a room, though “Room 138” finds Worsnop depicting one of the worst days of his life. Still, in a sense it is about confronting the worst aspects of oneself; a period of substance abuse bringing him to the precipice of death before, fortunately and miraculously, getting a second chance. Musically, it’s done in a fashion similar to that of “Eve”, extreme and pulse pounding at times, it hammers home the emotions being depicted, while the chorus, "So, these are the walls that have to hold this moment. I never expected to be here again..." is catchy as can be. Hard rock tinged with metal influences, it also draws on some mainstream sensibilities in regards to the overall appeal, again resulting in something different, while bringing the record to a dynamic finish. In the end, Asking Alexandria finds Asking Alexandria completely redefining what they are. Really, the enthralling listening experience seems to serve as a reintroduction, because this release does act as a new beginning for the now ten-year old project. Bruce, Bettley, Liddell, Cassells and Worsnop all got the time apart that they needed, and as relatively brief as it may have been it allowed them to all grow exponentially and realize what the best course of action would be when moving forward. In a way it was the same as it had always been for them, though this time the reinvention has been much more dramatic, adding significantly to their wheelhouse. It doesn’t even stop there, though. With these dozen songs Asking Alexandria has created something genre bending and on some levels even groundbreaking. Rock, alternative and hard rock. Metal, metalcore and post-hardcore. It’s all represented in one form or another. Let’s not forget the melodic and even acoustic tendencies, nor the electronic contributions, all of which further flesh out this amazing batch of songs. The fact that so many of those styles often exist within the same song is what makes it so fascinating. In theory, the combinations and transitions between such vast spots on the musical spectrum shouldn’t even work, yet they’ve made it all feel so fluid; the record as a whole having a remarkably cohesive vibe. Brimming with energy and filled with some of the most emotional and passionate songs they’ve written to date, Asking Alexandria is a riveting listen from start to finish. It’s one of those rare records you want to listen to all the way through. And when it’s over, you’ll probably give it another spin… or two. Their most creative and invigorating record to date, Asking Alexandria proves these guys continue to be ahead of the curve, implementing ideas that few would have the guts to. It has led to a new gold standard for the band. That’s how, in due time, this album will come to be viewed; their future as a band seeming brighter now than it has ever been. Purchase Asking Alexandria on: iTunes | Google Play | Amazon MP3 Visit Asking Alexandria’s websites: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Dallas Show Info: Friday, February 16th at Gas Monkey Live in Dallas, Texas. All ages. Doors open at 5:30. Music begins at 6:30. Crown The Empire will open, with Black Veil Brides and Asking Alexandria co-headlining. $32.50+ Current Shows: 2018 February 7--The NorVa--Norfolk, VA 8--Terminal 5--New York, NY 9--Rams Head Live--Baltimore, MD 10-- Electric Factory--Philadelphia, PA 12--Tabernacle--Atlanta, GA 13--Marathon Music Works--Nashville, TN 14--Egyptian Room at Old National Centre--Indianapolis, IN 16--Gas Monkey Live--Dallas, TX 17--House Of Blues--Houston, TX 19--El Rey Theater--Albuquerque, NM 20--The Marquee--Tempe, AZ 22--Knitting Factory Concert House--Boise, ID 23--Roseland Theater--Portland, OR 24--Showbox SoDo--Seattle, WA 25--Vogue Theatre--Vancouver, Canada 27--Knitting Factory Concert House--Spokane, WA March 1--The Warfield Theatre--San Francisco, CA 2--House of Blues--Las Vegas, NV April 28--Welcome To Rockville--Jacksonville, FL May 5--Charlotte Motor Speedway--Concord, NC 12--Northern Invasion--Somerset, WI 18--Mapfre Stadium--Columbus, OH June 1--Rock am Ring--Nürburg, Germany 1--Rock Im Park--Nürnberg, Germany 4--TivoliVredenburg--Utrecht, Netherlands 6--Circolo Magnolia--Milano, Italy 7--Greenfield Festival--Interlaken, Switzerland 8--Donington Park--Derby, United Kingdom 12--Melkweg--Amsterdam, Netherlands 14--Pannonia Fields--Nickelsdorf, Austria 14--With Full Force--Gräfenhainichen, Germany 17--Forum Karlin--Prague, Czech Republic 18--Budapest Park--Budapest, Hungary 19--Event Center--Hohenems, Austria 21--Graspop Metal Meeting--Dessel, Belgium 22--Hellfest--Clisson, France 26--Markthalle--Hamburg (Altstadt), Germany 28--Provinssi Festival--Seinäjoki, Finland 30--Vainstream Rockfest--Münster, Germany