History of the Communist Party of Great Britain 1927-1941

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  • #71
  • Posted: 03/22/2016 16:32
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Sophia Loizou - Singulacra (2016)

My 2016 chart is in desperate need of an update, and this one will be landing very near the top of the the pile. This is an album that merges a very foggy, grey, melancholy, distinctly British atmosphere with a much more mischievous bent, full of flickering, lighthearted nods to early jungle and rave music. Rolling sub-bass and fragments of breakbeats snake in and out of a dense, almost sleepy layer of reverb and static, recalling Burial if deconstructed even further, and managing to conjure that same sense of human longing that Bevan's music so often does. Whilst this is heavy, gloomy stuff, Loizou makes sure the listener never strays too far from the party, and there's significant joy to be had in waiting to see how a particularly hazy, gargling drone is going to be transformed into a brash (if always tasteful) piece of rave nostalgia, be it through sweeping, overwhelmingly gorgeous strings, or through bitcrushed pads skittering away and forming into familiar, welcome drum'n'bass patterns. Her bass-heavy, oceanic drone isn't necessarily anything new, and neither is her desire to connect with the music of UK dancefloors gone by, but the way in which she melds the two feels unique and genuinely exciting, whilst also feeling very current in its abstracting of more straightforward strands of dance music. It's hypnotic stuff, and at its very best it brings to mind the fragmented memories of half-hearing music drift through asbestos-riddled ceilings into balcony smoking areas. Recommended, obviously.
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  • #72
  • Posted: 03/26/2016 09:21
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Hella Personal Film Festival by Open Mi...Paul White

I was a huge fan of Dark Comedy, and I've generally enjoyed Paul White's production when I've heard it (largely via Danny Brown and Homeboy Sandman). Only listened to this a couple of times through so far, but it expands on Dark Comedy's mix of societal anxiety and whimsy, albeit with a somewhat more idiosyncratic, varied (and, in a weird way, soulful) beat selection. Not everything works (on first listen, anyway), and the whole thing has a subdued, almost sleepy vibe that I'm not sure about, but as a series of vignettes on a range of issues - be it the concerns of trying to build relationships in the digital age, the subtle but most certainly rife racism that people encounter every day, or society's addiction to its collective phone screen - it's largely excellent. Much like Busdriver, Mike Eagle doesn't so much offer answers as he does questions, often worded absurdly but usually hinting at something far deeper; human vulnerability. This isn't necessarily a popular theme in hip-hop, so it's good that guys like Mike Eagle are out there working that angle, especially when done as cleverly as it is here. Be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this album.
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  • #73
  • Posted: 05/02/2016 09:21
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Lemonade by Beyoncé


Views by Drake

[insert thinkpiece here]
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  • #74
  • Posted: 05/03/2016 19:10
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Jamal Moss, Mark Sanders & Orphy Robinson - 01.01.2016 (2016)

Gurgling vibraphone, propulsive, jungle-referencing drums, choppy, simmering synths and tape loops - suggestive of a coming apocalypse of sorts - and third-eye revolutionist spoken word all come together here to create one of the most interesting and vital hours of music I've heard this year. Recorded at London's amazing Cafe OTO on New Year's Day, this thing is constantly evolving, starting off pretty heady and trance-like and just edging further towards the cliff from there. It sounds a little bit like Roy Ayers had a really bad acid trip that ended with him and Sun Ra jamming at a darkside drum'n'bass rave as the sky threatened to collapse, and is therefore something you absolutely need to hear (obviously). It's the only digital release I've actually spent money on - something I'm loath to do - since fuck knows when, and I don't even remotely regret it. I think that dividesbyzero, Tap, Norman Bates, Grzywa, Muslim-Bigfoot in particular would enjoy this, but it's worth a go whoever you are.
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  • #75
  • Posted: 05/23/2016 16:09
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In defence of...


Drake - VIEWS

I totally understand everybody's reservations about this album, and it's difficult to disagree with the assertion that large portions of the album are, at best, underwhelming and, at worst, utterly forgettable. That said, I don't consider these to be crippling flaws when it comes to the overall listenability of the record. Sonically, VIEWS is pristine, a utopian, crystalline vision of the widescreen, monochrome, glacial synth sound that 40 has been slowly perfecting over the past few years, ever since he first set out the blueprint (across a whole album, at least) on Take Care. These beats often feel maudlin and melancholy, but they're also muscular, beats that might not necessarily be the most melodically gripping but ones whose gravitas is always apparent, beats that are capable of defining the entire mood of whatever space they inhabit. They might recall Aaliyah's intangible, ghostly R'n'B ('Redemption'), Jay-Z's triumphant, soulful, King of the World late-'90s majesty ('Weston Road Flows'), or even something as relatively obscure, at least on an international scale, as New Orleans bounce or UK funky ('Child's PLAY' and 'One Dance', respectively), but they each come with a distinct sheen and a heft that means that - taken as a whole - they can feel like a comforting morass of pumped up mood music, albeit splattered with necessary moments of colourful inspiration, songs that punctuate the gloom and give the album its standout moments.

While this may be a hard sell for some, I'm a sucker for albums I can put on in the background and let slowly unfurl, without obnoxious changes in vibe or tempo, and VIEWS is one such record. Whilst some of its songs may lack the immediacy (or, more bluntly, the quality) of their counterparts from Nothing Was the Same, there is also a welcome lack of the jarring moments that made that LP such a lopsided, frustrating listen. In an instant access world, it probably isn't artistically sensible to fill an album with so many songs that fail to grab the listener, but it's difficult to deny that the record, when taken as a whole, cultivates and sustains a vibe that means it can glide by unobtrusively in the background, and I think there's something to be said for that particular attribute. Does it make for the most satisfying album? No, in all honesty - but it does make for an album whose presence isn't really ever unwelcome, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Another (very valid) criticism I've been seeing is that this album features some of Drake's worst rapping (or, rather bizarrely, his least rapping, as if people are desperate to hear more cringeworthy punchlines and cookie-cutter tales about faceless women he despises), but I'm not sure that's too much of an issue for me. I generally FIND(and always have found) Drake's on-mic character - if indeed it is even a character - to be downright odious; he's bitter, petty, and self-absorbed in all the worst ways possible, and his constant denigrating of women who refuse to put up with his obvious and multiple flaws is tiring and astonishingly lacking in self-awareness. Then again, I don't think anybody would argue that Drake's main strengths have ever been as a lyricist, and so to attempt to critique his work based on that particular rubric seems pretty reductive to me. He has an effortlessly melodic flow, and is exceptionally capable when it comes to blending into a beat, becoming part of a sound sculpture as opposed to trying to be heard over the top of everything else (which is why I could never get into IYRTITL, no matter how hard I tried). On this album, perhaps due to the fact that so much of it is taken up with his singing, he achieves that with more aplomb than ever before, becoming essentially just another instrument in a much wider orchestra. In fact - and this relates to my previous point about the record gliding by unobtrusively - it's only when I find myself paying attention too closely to the lyrics here that I actually realise how stupid and inane a lot of them are, even largely lacking the (admittedly corny) quotables of Drake albums past. I don't need to know what Drake is saying in order to enjoy an album - his sing-song flow, and his chameleonic ability to adapt to these beats, is what makes him a fantastic rapper at the end of the day.

Overall, I don't love this album. It's impossible to love any album with so much music that simply refuses to stick in my brain or resonate in any lasting emotional way. But it is an album I thoroughly enjoy, and one that I find endlessly listenable, and I think that's a very valuable quality in its own right. So yeah, I get why a lot of people are shitting on this record, and I don't even disagree with many of their criticisms, but given the right mood and the right setting there aren't too many other albums released this year, if any, that I'd rather listen to. It almost certainly won't end up in my hip-hop top ten of the year, but I can definitely see myself returning to it time and time again, as I already have been, especially when I'm under the influence and surrounded by friends and want to listen to something that everybody can enjoy without it taking attention away from the conversation. And, for those purposes, at least to me, VIEWS is the perfect album.



Some other random scribblings:


The Hotelier - Goodness

It's not a genre I typically have a lot of time for, but there's something about The Hotelier's effortlessly anthemic emo - with its mature, world-weary lyrics, bright, clean production, and undeniable pop sensibilities - that I find extremely appealing. Their music feels earnest and vital, as though totally unencumbered by cliche or cloying self-awareness, recalling the heart-on-sleeves rock of The Replacements or The Hold Steady as much as any of their more obvious generic forebears. It's smart without feeling superior, ambitious without feeling self-important, nostalgic without feeling like an exercise in retrofetishism. Goodness fits alongside Mitski's Puberty 2 as an intelligent, emotionally transparent indie rock record in 2016 that doesn't need to rely on quirky, artsy flourishes to provide its thrills (not that there's anything inherently wrong with that), and the payoff is massive; this is their best yet.



Whitney - Light Upon the Lake

Despite containing absolutely nothing that remotely resembles even the most subtle or tenuous of original ideas, there's something extremely comforting about this record. Nods to The Band, Neil Young, and that sort of chunky, warm, soulful, educated working class, long drives on sunny days, effortless and ever-so-slightly drunken country-tinged rock music that seemingly every bearded male in America used to specialise in just prior to punk, music that could soundtrack the cliched freewheeling early scenes of a fake rock band biopic, before all the drugs take over and the whole thing takes a decidedly darker turn. Been listening to this quite a lot in the last couple of days, especially in social situations, because it's very much a summer record, and because it seemingly pleases everybody, probably due to that wonderful familiarity that appears to put people immediately at ease. I'm not usually a fan of these sorts of earnest retro romps, but there's something completely loveable about this. Highly recommended.



The Dwarfs of East Agouza - Bes

Been vibing to this over the past week. It's a supergroup of sorts, with the most well-known member here being bassist Alan Bishop of mischievous, globe-hopping psych-rockers Sun City Girls, and this album certainly recalls some of that band's best moments (and even harks back to their best album, Torch of the Mystics, in its similar artwork). Basically this album is made up of scratchy, hypnotic, enjoyably ramshackle jams that take various motifs from North African music but instill them with a Kosmische pulse. The album manages to feel very free and yet very disciplined at the same time, concentrating on upbeat, accessible rhythms, but underscoring them with muscular basslines that anchor everything. The real joy here is in the guitar-playing, which is agile and occasionally fraught, calling to mind early Wire if they were tripping on acid. This is breezy, fun music that sounds perfect on a sunny day (until, y'know, it turns into a slightly nightmarish acid jam for the last half an hour).



James Blake - The Colour in Anything

I dunno about the new James Blake. There are moments that are really beautiful, and some more idiosyncratic moments that help to break the monotony, but his impressionistic, mantra-esque songwriting gets really tiring for me. It might also have to do with the fact that I associate his voice with a particular sort of middle class English dude I just can't relate to. But I definitely prefer his earlier, vocal-less stuff (or, more accurately, the stuff where the vocals were culled entirely from samples) - the CMYK EP and 'Air and Lack Thereof', releases that are far more colourful than his recent greyscale output. Since he started using his voice and a piano more prominently, he's definitely an artist I find works best in small doses (I love 'The Wilhelm Scream', but find that most of the tracks on the entire s/t album are far too indistinguishable from one another), and so a 76-minute album was always going to be difficult for me. Don't get me wrong, I like the record quite a bit, and it definitely makes for a cool, meditative listen, but - perhaps due to that aforementioned sparse, shallow lyrical style - it isn't really growing on me with each new listen; in fact, it's having the opposite effect, whereby the first listen was really interesting but there's nothing new or exciting that seems to be emerging from further immersing myself in it. It sounds like a more self-absorbed, less interesting mid-era Massive Attack album, which isn't a bad thing, but certainly doesn't make for album of the year material for me. That said, it's cool that he seems to be getting props for the album from around the world - I've watched his career with interest since he broke out into that post-dubstep scene and, whilst I'm not overly enamoured with the musical choices he's made since, I am happy that he seems to be achieving some significant success (which, let's be honest, simply wouldn't have happened if he'd continued making music in the vein of CMYK).



Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

I'm no Radiohead stan (I loved OK Computer when I was 13, but it's largely lost its lustre over the years; I think Kid A is really cool but still vastly overrated; I found their last album to be a total chore; all that said, I have lots and lots of love for Amnesiac, The Bends, and particularly In Rainbows), but A Moon Shaped Pool is my favourite album of the year. It's dense, perfect for twilight listening, and utterly heartbreaking. Love the synthesis of their now-trademark subtle, gloomy electronics, spidery guitar work, and Greenwood's newly honed vibrant orchestral arrangements, not to mention the welcome addition of a distinct British folk rock vibe on a few of the tracks. Yorke's lyrics still feature his trademark paranoia and anxiety, but this time they feel more direct and personal than ever, often referring very specifically to tragically doomed romance. It might be their most laidback album musically, but it's still a heavy album, full of sonic nooks and crannies to hibernate in - it might even be their most accessible album, at least in terms of traditionally pretty melodies, since OK Computer, but cleverly eschews that album's sometimes cringeworthy youthful angst in favour of something far more mature and nuanced. In a year that has already been responsible for a healthy smattering of records I love (not least those from Beyoncé, Jameszoo, Kim Myhr/Jenny Hval/Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Jamal Moss/Mark Sanders/Orphy Robinson, Skepta, Sophia Loizou, and a couple from Boosie), this record still stands out as something truly special. Highly recommended, especially late at night through a good pair of headphones.



Westside Gunn - FLYGOD

No less of a stylist than Future or Young Thug, this is nonetheless excellent East Coast hardcore hip-hop, albeit with a decidedly retro feel. While Gunn may not have the writerly chops of Roc Marciano, the technical precision of Ka, or the multicoloured universe-sculpting bravado of Action Bronson, he still has an endlessly listenable voice and manages to fill his rhymes with a vibrant mixture of violent threats, clued-up fashion references, and street knowledge slogans. The beats here fit nicely into that NY lineage of RZA-influenced claustrophobic soul, and if nothing else it's refreshing to hear an album that's so deliberately and distinctively regional in a landscape that feels less so every day.



Gallant - Ology

I've seen no mention of this on the board, but I think it would appeal to lots of people here. He fits pretty neatly into that post-Frank Ocean collection of introspective, subtly forward-thinking R'n'B singers. Don't get me wrong, it's still essentially a pop album, but these songs are decorated with some really cool, unusual moments, ranging from a creaking, reverbed-up sax, to guitars that could have been robbed from The Church or The Cure in the mid-'80s, to drum'n'bass breakbeats that seemingly come from nowhere. It's these production embellishments, as well as some rather vivid, idiosyncratic lyrical imagery, that prevent the album from turning into a relatively bland mess of vague balladry, but Gallant does probably flirt with Sam Smith territory a little too closely at times. It doesn't have the same focus or likeable modesty of dvsn's album, the sunny demeanour or topical variety of Anderson .Paak's, or the all-encompassing mood of KING's, and he probably hasn't distanced himself from Frank Ocean quite enough to carve out his own lane completely just yet (I've put it on in the car a couple of times recently, and my girlfriend has twice mistaken it for new Ocean music), but Ology is a very decent R'n'B record, if a little overwrought.



Jameszoo - Fool

The latest artist to join Flying Lotus' crusade to drag jazz-fusion into the 21st century, Dutch producer Jameszoo is the mischievous tagalong of the gang. Eschewing the maximalism of Kamasi Washington's The Epic, the curved-edge beauty of Thundercat's recent offerings, and the self-seriousness of Flying Lotus' latest futile attempt to win a Grammy, Jameszoo makes crude, skeletal, playful jazz that recalls Robert Wyatt in all of its twee, whimsical glory. Tinny percussive tics randomly punctuate moments of silence, mobile phone synths attempt to play catchy, Herbie Hancock-aping riffs, and songs jut off at abrupt angles with such regularity that the only predictable thing about them is that they're liable to fold in on themselves at any moment. Despite (or perhaps because of) its lighthearted, naive nature, there's something really satisfying going on here, like listening to somebody try to recreate the Weather Report based only on a stoner's vague description and armed with nothing but the most basic of tools. Brilliant stuff.



Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Kim Myhr & Jenny Hval - In the End His Voice Will Be the Sound of Paper

So my current favourite artist from Norway (or possibly the world) finally lands on my current favourite label from Norway (or possibly the world), and the album still manages to surpass my expectations. In fairness, this album belongs not to Jenny Hval so much as it does to Kim Myhr, whose quietly direct 12-string acoustic guitar playing and slyly dynamic compositions are the real star here, with Hval's hypnotic falsetto and series of vivid non-sequiturs becoming simply another ingredient in a much bigger stew. Entirely acoustic, this record captures the sleepily sinister vibe of her previous collaboration with Susanna, Meshes of Voice, but features a far more varied sonic palette, with a plethora of stringed instruments working together in a controlled chaos to craft something akin to violent fairy tale soundtracks, evoking threatening woodland creatures jumping out at you from all angles as you try attempt to navigate a labyrinthine forest blanketed in a deep purple sky. This is the folk music of a faraway land where the willow trees whisper warnings and nothing is quite as it seems.



Beyoncé - Lemonade

It's not a perfect analogy by any means - one is a curator of talent, bringing together teams of writers and musicians to help achieve exactly what she wants to do, whereas the other was famously single-minded and self-sufficient when it came to his music - but the last two (arguably three) Beyoncé albums suggest that she might be the best artist since Prince when it comes to balancing her artistic vision with commercial ambitions, especially within the LP format. Here, she is turning her hand to a number of genres, without ever allowing those whims to subtract from the cohesion of the album, and always staying rooted in contemporary R'n'B, recalling Purple Rain or Sign 'O' the Times. I'm not saying her last two albums are as good as those, but nobody working in the pop sphere is putting out music of such quality at this moment. This is probably my album of the year so far.



Mitski - Puberty 2

This is the album I wanted the last Torres album to be. If Greta Gerwig had co-writing duties.



Capleton - Masterpiece

Capleton is probably second only to Sizzla in terms of great artists who broke out of that post-Garnett Silk reggae scene that effortlessly mixed modern dancehall with more traditional roots and lovers rock, and he remains one of the genre's most distinctive voices. This isn't anything that hasn't been done plenty of times before, including by the man himself, but he sounds full of energy and the riddims are largely killer, a thick, vibrant selection that recalls the colourful landscape of Sizzla's mid-career highlight Waterhouse Redemption. The themes here are standard fare, but this is high quality throughout and quite possibly the best dancehall album I've heard since that aforementioned Sizzla record.
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Norman Bates



Gender: Male
Age: 51
Location: Paris, France
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  • #76
  • Posted: 05/23/2016 18:03
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Thanks for the tip on Capleton, will listen. Agree on both James Blake and Radiohead (very far AOTY for me, still a nice surprise). Not as enthusiastic as you are about Beyoncé, I only find half the tracks good - but these are very good.
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  • #77
  • Posted: 05/23/2016 19:41
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Norman Bates wrote:
Thanks for the tip on Capleton, will listen. Agree on both James Blake and Radiohead (very far AOTY for me, still a nice surprise). Not as enthusiastic as you are about Beyoncé, I only find half the tracks good - but these are very good.


Turns out the Capleton is a compilation of remastered tracks that mostly seem to date from about 12-15 years ago, primarily as standalone 7" singles. Would explain the quality at least - that was probably when Capleton was at his strongest. Regardless, it's excellent.

Anyway...


DJ Quik & Problem - Rosecrans

It's strange that such a lovely release would constitute a disappointment, but such is the quality and consistency of DJ Quik's output over the past 25 years. This mini-album is a love letter to Compton, the first half of which is filled with luscious g-funk, the second half of which bizarrely abandons its established sonic identity in favour of something altogether less fun. It doesn't help that most of the album's rhymes are handled by rappers with far less personality than Quik - there isn't anything wrong with Problem per se, and Quik has repeatedly proven over the course of his career that he favours rappers who can stay in the pocket, but nothing here leaps out as particularly memorable in terms of rhymes, even if the entire thing is competent and sunny. The ten minute 'A New Nite / Rosecrans Groove' is the undoubted album highlight, with its ever-evolving, mischievous, bleep-propelled funk beat and catchy, Nate Dogg-indebted hook, but nothing else quite matches up, and 'Take It Off One Time' in particular is so pedestrian that Big Sean would be hesitant to use it as a B-side. Anyway, as a cross-generational experiment this is a mostly interesting and enjoyable West Coast curio that will no doubt soundtrack plenty of summer drives with the windows down, but it feels far too front-heavy and ultimately kinda flimsy.
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  • #78
  • Posted: 05/25/2016 18:58
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Gonna eventually edit this to include thoughts about all three discs, but gonna take it one at a time for now:


Day of the Dead by Various Artists

Disc One:

The first disc actually starts surprisingly strong, considering it's The (none-more-overrated) War On Drugs kicking off proceedings. It's amazing how their ambient heartland rock shtick is made all the more palatable by having an actual song to play (in this case, the wonderful 'Touch of Grey'), as opposed to some dullard advertising exec's idea of what a song might sound like. It's actually a minor outlier on a disc that is pretty coherent, full of warm, chunky production (likely due to a shared backing band for many of the tracks), and largely sticking to mid-tempo country rockers from the Dead's catalogue. My only real complaint would be that many of these takes are actually too reverent, with Jim James and Kurt Vile in particular trying their best to sound like Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, respectively. There's nothing inherently wrong with sticking close to the source material, though, and the vast majority of stuff here is thoroughly enjoyable. The only complete duds come courtesy of Mumford & Sons, who strip 'Friend of the Devil' of all of its power, and Lucius, who completely misjudge the tone of 'Uncle John's Band' and end up creating some horrible post-Haim pop hybrid that sounds like it has a very good shot at being on the next FIFA video game soundtrack. Will Oldham and Lee Ranaldo disappoint slightly by not really doing enough with their songs, though said disappointment probably comes about because I actually have fairly high expectations of them in the first place, whilst I could live without Courtney Barnett's dry take on 'New Speedway Boogie', Anohni's regrettably subdued attempt at 'Black Peter', and at least the last third of some weird guitar piece where the dude from The National basically apes Garcia's tone and licks for seven minutes without it really ever going anywhere. Pretty much everything else ranges from very good to absolutely fantastic, with some highlights including Moses Sumney's take on Weir's 'Cassidy', some lovely vocal harmonies between Ed Droste and Binki Shapiro on 'Loser' (a longtime personal favourite), a wonderfully ornate 'Terrapin Station' suite that lasts for sixteen glorious minutes and even has time to take in a gorgeous, repetitive percussive section that could pass for a poppier Steve Reich, a predictably brooding 'Peggy-O' courtesy of The National, a gospel-tinged, shuffling, skeletal version of 'Attics of My Life' from Angel Olsen, and the pièce de résistance, Perfume Genius (ably assisted by Sharon van Etten) taking on 'To Lay Me Down' and winning, singing it with a real sense of clarity, gliding over some haunting pedal steel, and recalling The Band at their best in the process. Overall, the first disc is definitely a success, even if it might be nice to hear a bit more of the performers' personalities, though one can't be too mad at them for wanting to uphold the originals. It's certainly far better than I expected, and this was the disc which, on paper, had the least interesting lineup. I'm looking forward to the next two installments.
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  • #79
  • Posted: 05/25/2016 19:38
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pretty much echoing my thoughts on this one, particularly re: Terrapin Station's unprecedented excellence and Friend of the Devil's predictable mediocrity. I think you'll really dig Vijay Iyer's jazz take on King Solomon's Marbles on the third disc, as well as Bonnie Prince Billy's work on the second (though that should come as no surprise). And Tim Hecker's joint is at the very least interesting. Overall I enjoyed the thing despite some people seeming to totally miss the point of what they're attempting, but yeah there are more than a few highs to counteract that

quite interested to see what you'll think of the second half which probably has the artists taking the most liberty with their own personal interpretations
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  • #80
  • Posted: 05/31/2016 15:57
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Ghold - PYR

Ghold were responsible for what was probably my favourite metal album of 2015, the sludgy, angular, claustrophobia-inducing, Melvins-indebted Of Ruin, and they're back again already, with more of the same, only better. They've added a guitarist, making this their first as a trio, and everything here feels like an improvement - simultaneously more experimental and more focused, and twice as heavy. Occasionally the jilted riffery, of which there is plenty, will give way to screaming feedback, but it always feels purposeful, adding to the record's polyfilla texture, whilst these four songs (which range from 5 to 21+ minutes long) display a much greater variation of tempo than was present on that aforementioned predecessor. If you're looking for some bleak - and oblique - doom metal that is happy to play with the genre's form without ever straying into portentous prog territory, you really need to check out PYR.
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