This was a unique listening experience for me. Electronic ambient dub sums it up well. I found the repetitive hypnotic rhythms quite effective in losing myself in the music, but at the same time there were some really interesting sounds and effects, and at times subtle variations when I was fully paying attention. I seemed to slip between the two throughout the album, which flowed well from one track to the next, with each being slightly different but maintaining the same atmosphere the whole time. The fifth quarter(?) was my favourite, by which time I had become accustomed to the sound, and this tracks mixture of both new and old sound had me both engaged and zoned out.
Inner Song by Kelly Lee Owens
I've already heard Arpeggi around the time of release and I was planning on listening to the whole thing, but you know, so many albums, so little time.
So, Inner Song. On RYM it's labelled Art Pop / Tech House, but I don't think it's as simple as that. First it's diverse and draws from many styles rhythmically including techno, tech house, a little techstep maybe... Melodically it's not so hard to see influences from tech/deep house, especially pop fueled tracks like Compuphonics, Gui Boratto or the output of Exploited for example. The sound is raw and metallic, sometimes it's even violent and dark which clashes with the overall upbeat tone.
I can't say I love Owens' singing style, but the vocal production is great and original so it makes up for it.
As a whole the album works quite well. It's nicely crafted, cohesive, and masterfully produced. On the downsides, tracks 7 & 9 didn't hit me as much as the others (Cale's performance was kinda cringe) and personally, I'd have preferred if some tracks were longer, but that's just me.
My highlight would be Jeanette, probably the most Tech House track and one that manages to catch the energy of the album while still standing strong on its own. Oh and the bandcamp pre-command track 'My Own' is pretty good too, don't know why it wasn't included everywhere.
I always knew I would get around to listening to this album at some time. A really solid symphonic prog album, consistent from beginning to end, with some nice guitar tones and riffs, good interplay with the keyboards, some welcome occasional flute, and of course a quality rhythm section. A tiny bit hippy at times which I dug, and not too show-offy. Vocals are probably the weak point in terms of personal taste, not that they are bad, but that's a very minor complaint as there is not a lot of them anyway. As is often the case with prog and their song structures there were parts I really liked, and other parts not so much, within most songs. This means the album probably lacks that really special standout factor for me. Balancing all this out it still an enjoyable listen I would have no problem coming back to (I kept the deluxe version playing to hear some more) and probably the best prog album of 1974 that I've heard so far.
Your tastes appear very different to mine Guz (I've only heard 15 of your top 100 albums and only 1 in common), so looking for something great that is not quite to your taste or mine but in the middle somewhere that you might not have already heard I thought of a few options. I'm going to go with Slow Focus by Fuck Buttons.
I'm sorry to say that this was not a great listen for me. I don't feel like this went enough interesting places to justify the long and meandering tracks. I needed some more like the last 2 minutes of Stygian 3 interspersed throughout the rest of the album to keep me interested. Funeral Doom is always a concept that I enjoy, but I don't fully enjoy listening to.
I wanted to like this, as it's a political hip-hop album where I align with the politics. Unfortunately, I find the execution lacking. In particular, the hooks on this album are bad. The production sounds cheap and uninspired, and the rapping is fine, but neither emcee tears up the mic. There are a couple pretty good songs, and the best parts are elevated by pointed political messages. My favorite track is the closer featuring the legendary Gurrumul (R.I.P.). Ultimately though, most of this record is just mediocre. 2.5/5.
I can dig the chill instrumentals of this one more than the previous library album. And the French always make great electronic music. Nice suggestions, Baystate, and if you're on a library music kick, then I'd suggest going through some of the KPM catalogue for even more obscurities.
A jazz fusion album from members of Tortoise that managed to be both interesting and dull at the same time. I don't have much to say as it didn't do much for me.
Thanks Chief, this was just what I needed today. Soothing, gorgeous new age / ambient. The version on streaming has about 15 more minutes of music than the original, so that's what I'm rating here. And wow, that website is a trip, but I guess not surprising considering that this album is "through Iasos" instead of by him. According to his Wikipedia, there was a scientific study done that concluded this music was the closest to what people hear in a near-death experience, but color me skeptical. Anyway, I certainly wouldn't mind hearing this in an afterlife. Great stuff. 4/5.
It's a real shame you didn't like Stygian, Chief. I thought it was one of the best funeral doom albums in recent memory. Then again I'm a pretty big fan of the genre and can tolerate atmospheric and monotonous ultraslow riffs 😁
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Slum Of Legs by Slum Of Legs
This is an interesting one. It's some kind of noisy post-punk (maybe even power pop at parts?) and I was immediately sold on the record as soon as those gorgeous violins started in the first song. I'm a sucker for chaotic violins/violas no matter the genre (GYBE, all Warren Ellis work, John Cale, Henry Flynt...) The opener is the best thing here, absolutely fantastic song, but the rest is almost as good. The biggest problem is that I don't have any space on the 2020 chart left 🤣 It'll land somewhere after I do some acrobatics with the chart. Excellent pick Pash, 8/10
Good energy and riffage, but it got very samey by the second half. My best compliment I could give is that it sounds like a band that I would've heard on a Tony Hawk soundtrack 15 years ago, which is actually high praise from me, because I love the Tony Hawk games. Not many punk albums to enjoy in recent years, so it does succeed on that front as well.
Ledzep, the album's a little overlong, but boy do I like it.
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