#this took me three hours to write btw y’all better savour it

[bumblecrisp]

Today i listened to Fear of Music - Talking Heads (properly this time), Σ - REOL, and Trouble in Shangri-La - Stevie Nicks on @sachermorte’s recommendation! :D

“I Zimbra” is groovy. There’s no other word for it; this song grooves. The lyrics are nonsensical, the percussion is catchy, the quirks of the guitar draw you in. A little bit “Thela Hun Ginjeet” - King Crimson. My mother says she doesn’t hear it, but I swear “Cities” reminds me of “Our House” - Madness. There’s a similar sort of upbeat energy disguising a sense of urgency, not to mention the obvious overlap in subject matter. Regardless, I’m very fond of this song. Something about the lyrics is almost childish; it sounds like what turning 18 feels like. It’s very endearing. “Life During Wartime” has a similar effect, except, of course, it’s rather darker. That said it’s always the peanut butter lyric that jumps out at me. People should sing about peanut butter more often.

As was foreshadowed in “Memories Can’t Wait”, the record’s B-side is… strange. “Air” is strange. “Animals” is very strange. “Electric Guitar” is downright bizarre. It reminds me a little of “Elephant Talk” - King Crimson or “Joe the Lion” - David Bowie. (Sorry about the constant comparisons, but I find they’re useful.) The jagged rhythm and experimental guitar are off-putting, but deliberately so. If “I Zimbra” is the thesis for the A-side, “Drugs” is the perfect conclusion to the B-side. The atmosphere is dark and disturbing, calling to mind the dripping coldness of a damp cave deep underground, where every movement sends uncomfortably echoing reverberations over the stones and the sound of your own breathing fills your ears. It’s very unpleasant. I like it.

Fear of Music is a self-contradictory album. It’s certainly not so approachable as Remain in Light, but I rather like that about it. 3.5/5

Σ is one of a few products of れをる [reol]’s brief union with ギガ [giga] and お菊 [okiku]. (I’m extremely tempted to say more here but this is not actually a vocaloid album so it doesn’t matter and I will restrain myself.) For the purposes of this review ‘れをる’ refers to the vocalist and ‘REOL’ refers to the group as a collective. Previously, I only knew れをる from her writing credits in ギガP songs; this is my first time hearing her voice. It’s sharp, very diagonal, and dramatic with a little bit of rasp, sort of like nightcore HyunA, and I imagine it would be a similarly acquired taste for someone not acquainted with the style.

“VIP KID” is a strong opener: a bold, in-your-face banger with thrumming bass and stabby synthesizer. “宵々古今” [yoiyoi okon / Every Night, Every Age] reminds me of takamatt and かごめP [kagomeP]’s “トキヲ・ファンカ” [TOKIO FUNKA], which was released earlier the same year. Both songs are heavily influenced by the enka genre, incorporating the layered and heavily textured percussion, twanging string trills, and warbling kobushi vocals of traditional Japanese music into hypermodern electronica.

“コノヨ Loading…” [konoyo Loading / This Time Loading] is some golden bitpop work; ギガ would never be my first thought for the genre, which I always associate primarily with sasakure.UK, but he executes it well and れをる’s vocals lend the track a sort of bratty robotgirl charm. “404 Not Found” is a bit of a tonal departure from the rest of the record, but one I really like. It’s a melancholic ballad with a heavy brostep drop in the chorus. I’ve never been big into dubstep, but it really works here!

This album is extremely solid. Honestly, my only gripe with Σ is that it is extremely high-energy. To be fair, I am extremely low-energy, so this probably isn’t as much of a problem for other people, but by the time I finished listening to it, I was exhausted. Σ is fast-paced and presents something fresh with every song, maintaining thematic consistency despite considerable genre-hopping. 4/5

“Trouble in Shangri-La” is a masterpiece. I’m in love with this song. Earbuds don’t do it justice. In order to properly experience this - because believe me, it is an experience - you have to play it over a car speaker or something similar so the sound surrounds you, envelops you, thrums through you. It is really really good.

Three cheers for enunciation - I can actually evaluate lyrics this time around! “Sorcerer” was particularly lovely in that regard. Actually, Roland, it’s funny that you recommended Trouble in Shangri-La, given much of the album appears to be written about you. “Timeless in your finery”, no?

Aside from those, “Bombay Sapphires” was my other favourite. I’m not usually a bongo gal, but those were some good bongos. The instrumental itself conveys the imagery alluded to in the lyrics - the quiet song of the water, the ever-shifting waves, prismatic and pure. Actually, as I listen to it again, I quite like “Candlebright” too. It’s just the right balance of rock belladonna and desert rose, coy and coiling and extremely Stevie Nicks.

Unfortunately, I have spent the past six and a half months listening to country music of the lowest calibre (and I truly mean that, I have no problem with country but this is just Bad) against my will because I was too chicken to say no when my coworker asked if I liked it and now it's far too late to say anything. Consequently I’m afraid I’m having what I will freely admit is a kneejerk negative reaction to the clear country influences in this album. That being said, I can recognize that objectively they are good songs, and even if they weren’t the sheer magnificence of “Trouble in Shangri-La” alone would boost this album significantly. Trouble in Shangri-La is not quite a perfect record, but when it shines it dazzles. 4/5