Might as well

[Space-Dementia]

June 28, 2019
Splazsh by Actress
There's tons of great ideas on this album but it's way too long. A lot of these songs are over 5 minutes long and it just gets tiring, especially when the mix pushes these songs to the max in terms of density and loudness. But, again, there most songs are built on a really cool idea that unfortunately just gets repeated for 5 minutes. "Hubble" is probably the coolest idea on here, it's just too bad the track is 8 minutes long, but "Lost" is great too, "Always Human" sounds like a song that would play in Sephora (which is a good thing), "Maze" is interesting but idle enough to make it sorta pass off as an ambient track. If each song on here was 2 to 3 minutes long or if the songs progressed a little more, introducing new ideas, changing their sound halfway through, etc, then this would be a fantastic album. But the way it stands, it's an album full of cool ideas that aren't worth exploring for as long as Actress does. I think I'll still check out his next album, though, because I've heard that one's better and it's worth sitting through an hour of this stuff to get five or six really cool ideas.

Amber by Autechre
I've been meaning to listen to a full album from these guys for over a year. I remember listening to "feed1" off elseq1 last summer and thinking it was one of the coolest things I had ever heard, how it really opened the genre of electronic music up to so many things, so ever since then I've been meaning to check out more of their material and see how they got to that point. And it's clear that they started off a lot more straightforward. This is an album that sounds similar to what Aphex Twin and other ambient techno artists were doing in the 90s. I would say this album could be a bit shorter, though, because a lot of the tracks start to sort of melt into each other as you progress through the album. The opener, "Foil", is probably the best song on here, with its incredibly minimal chord progression and beat just sort of making their way through the song at their own pace. Overall, Autechre seem more into the dark and mysterious side of techno than the ethereal type of stuff that Aphex Twin and Orbital were sort of doing at the time, although Aphex definitely went in the darker direction with a lot of his stuff too. But basically what makes this album less memorable than other similar albums I've heard is the lack of hooks and catchy synth lines. I don't really know the names of many songs by the other two artists I've mentioned, but I still know they're the ones that go "bum bum bum bum bu-bum bum bum bum bu-bum bum bum bum" or "doo doo doo doo doodoodoodoo doodoodoo doodoo doo doo doodoodoodoo" but none of these songs really have anything that I can remember them by. Well, maybe that's because I've only listened to this album like three times and I've listened to SAB85-92 and Orbital 2 like ten times each, so maybe my opinion will change. All that being said, though, this is a very interesting album that shows Autechre as a leading artist in the "IDM/ambient techno" genre of the 90s, and it'll be interesting to see how they progressed their sound towards the beautiful chaos that they're making now.
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These are my favorite albums right now.

[Space-Dementia]

July 1, 2019
Bandana by Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
Compared to Pinata, this seems like an album that'll need more time to sink in. From the beats to the hooks to the flows, their first album together was instantly accessible, but on this one Madlib goes more "abstract" with the beats on a lot of the songs, with a few exceptions ("Flat Tummy Tea" and "Crime Pays" sound like they could have been on Pinata and I immediately thought "Practice" was one of his best beats that I've heard). I think also part of what makes Bandana hard to instantly click for me is that "Half Manne Half Cocaine" and "Massage Seats" are probably my least favorite songs on the project, and they're tracks 3 and 5 on a 15-track-long project where the first track is just an intro. So, while "Freestyle Shit" and "Crime Pays" are terrific songs, by the time we get through the first third of the album I'm starting to think this thing might be really hit-and-miss, but then we get a train of great Pinata-level songs, starting with "Palmolive", which might be my favorite song on the album. At first I was a little disappointed Killer Mike only got to do the hook, but it's so catchy that I'm fine with it, and Pusha T's killer verse makes up for it too. But yeah, tracks 6 to 12 are all very consistent and it's not until "Gat Damn" that the quality drops, but it's still not a bad track. "Education" is great though, with some really good verses by Mos Def and Black Thought, and it's a nice high point before the album ends with "Soul Right", which is definitely a grower and might end up being one of my favorites on the project. Freddie brings the heat too, although sometimes it seems like he's barely making some of those faster bars, especially on "Crime Pays", but it honestly barely matters. For someone who doesn't listen to lyrics much, for me rapping is all about the voice and delivery, and Freddie always sounds like he won't take anybody's shit. After three listens or so, I wouldn't say this is Pinata-level, but it already has and will definitely continue to grow on me.
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These are my favorite albums right now.

[Space-Dementia]

July 10, 2019
Uchū Nippon Setagaya by Fishmans
I don't wanna shit on Air, but this just seems like the album they wanted to make with Moon Safari, except Fishmans put it out a year before Air did. This is some of the best downtempo/ambient pop I've heard yet. The songs are long and repetitive, but we're used to that after Long Season, so although half the songs are over 8 minutes long, this one seems a lot more to the point than their previous album. We get these soft keyboard lines that are repeated over and over with a relaxed drumbeat and bass line underneath and the singer's beautiful androgynous vocals overtop, and that's really all we need. With this album, Fishmans created an entire world, similarly to how they did on Long Season, but this one is like the rainbow after the storm. While Long Season does end on an optimistic note, with the whole orchestra of instruments coming in to give the piece a complete finish, there still seems to be a bit of nervousness at the end of it. But Uchu Nippon Setagaya is like you're floating in mid-air and there's nothing that can bother you. It's a crime that Fishmans weren't known in the West until just a few years ago, but I'm so glad they finally pushed through, because the two albums of theirs that I've heard are exceptional. I'll be checking out Kuuchuu Camp next, and then that legendary final concert.
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These are my favorite albums right now.

[Space-Dementia]

July 11, 2019
Die Mensch Maschine and Computerwelt by Kraftwerk
I feel like the general consensus is that Trans-Europa Express is peak Kraftwerk and the quality declines slightly for the next album and a little more for the one after that. But I'd have to rank the "big three" Kraftwerk albums in exactly the opposite order. To me, Trans-Europa is the coldest of the three. "Europe Endless" is an astoundingly beautiful opener that shows a glimpse of warmth, but then we get "The Hall of Mirrors" and "Showroom Dummies", which are both catchy but very weird and put me in some cold and scary fantasyland, and then we get that title song which extends into two more tracks and, although the beat is great and it's a cool representation of a train, it starts to get old pretty quickly. So we end on a high note by returning back to the ideas laid out in the first track. Basically, I like the album and I understand its influence, I just find it a little too abrasive. Then Die Mensch Maschine still retains the robotic and repetitive nature of the previous album, but it's so much more poppy. While "The Robots" is a little cheesy, it's so catchy too and that little bam ba-ba bam synth line is so great. After that, it's basically a bunch of terrific synthpop tracks, from "Speeeyyyssss Leeeeehhhbb" to the kinda creepy but really catchy "The Model" to the absolutely beautiful "Neon Lights". It definitely seems to be less of a ballsy experiment than its predecessor, but, in my opinion, this is simply the better album. They took the ideas that they gave the world on Trans-Europa and took them to the next level. And if Die Mensch Maschine is a step closer to perfection, then Computerwelt might just be perfection. Or at least it's as good as they got. The title track sets the scene. Right from first synths we can hear that this is instantly warmer than pretty much anything they've done before. And the next song, "Pocket Calculator" is the greatest cheesy 80s synthpop track I've ever heard. The way he says "I'm the operator with my pocket calculator" so matter-of-factly is hilarious, which makes it even crazier when the next track, "Numbers", starts, because it's essentially this weird, scary drug trip full of robots counting in different languages. That scariness also makes for such a relief when the title sequence comes back because it's like you just get embraced by familiar sounds. This all leads up to "Computer Love", which is the best song on the album and, therefore, one of the best songs Kraftwerk ever made. "Home Computer" is interesting too, and "It's More Fun to Compute" isn't a bad finish to the album. It's probably the darkest song on the album, but it still sounds warm, so it feels like it belongs. It also reminds me a lot of 90s techno, which really puts these guys ahead of their time. For one band to influence hip hop, synthpop, and techno so much is just incredible. Even if you don't like the music, you have to give them credit for setting the sound for the future of music. Anyway, I'll have to check out Radio-Activity and keep coming back to their other four big albums, but as of right now, disregarding Radio-Activity, I see their career as a slow but steady climb up in quality.
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These are my favorite albums right now.

[Space-Dementia]

July 12, 2019
Lust for Life by Iggy Pop
Do yourself a favor: next time it's a beautiful sunny day out, go outside, put your headphones on, turn the volume up, play the first song off this album, and pretend you're Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the "You Make My Dreams" scene from 500 Days of Summer.

This one's a lot more safe and less interesting than The Idiot and less energetic than the Stooges records, but there are some great rock songs on here.
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These are my favorite albums right now.

[craola]

[Space-Dementia]

July 18, 2019
空中キャンプ [Kūchū Camp] by Fishmans
It's interesting listening to this knowing how far away from this they would move only five months later. Sure, you hear a lot of this sort of style in their next two albums, but this is so much more straightforward and rock-inspired than what would follow, and I think Long Season and Uchuu Nipon Setagaya are their saving grace. Not that this is a bad album, because it's good, but if they had ended their career with Kuuchuu Camp, I'm not sure they ever would have had the resurgence that they've had in recent years. This is a good album with interesting ideas, but... well, Uchuu Nippon Setagaya was repetitive, but in a droney way that kinda swept you away like an ocean of molasses, whereas this one just starts to get a little annoying at a certain point because of how much of it is the same. I mean, it works great for the first two songs, but "Slow Days", while pleasant and pretty enjoyable, just sounds so derivative with its basic repeated guitar riff, and with "Sunny Blue" I was already checking how much time was left 2 minutes into the song, and I was worried to find out I still had 4 minutes left to go, which I hoped would introduce some new ideas. They didn't. Repetition is tricky. I think the key is either making small changes as you go so that there's at least something to focus on, or just creating such a dense atmosphere that there's nothing to do but take it in. And, fortunately, with the next track, "ナイトクルージング [Night Cruising]", they do both to perfection. It's 20 seconds longer than "Sunny Blue", but it feels about three minutes shorter. That lazy guitar line that just keeps repeating is hypnotic right from the first time you hear it, and it ends up just being such a peaceful and melancholy atmosphere which, at the end of the day, is everything you want from Fishmans. "すばらしくて Nice Choice" is almost forgettable, but it "picks up" at the end (as much as you can when you're just repeating the same thing over and over), especially with that gorgeous organ melody that comes in for the outro. And while at first I was waiting for "新しい人" to pick up, by the time that reverb-drenched guitar lick comes in 2-and-a-half minutes into the song, it had already grown on me. I think this is a good album, it's just not one that you want to return to as much as Uchuu Nippon Setagaya or nearly as much as Long Season. But anyway, now that I'm through with their "big three" studio albums, I'll be checking out the live album soon enough.
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These are my favorite albums right now.

[Space-Dementia]

July 22, 2019
On the Corner by Miles Davis
It's super repetitive, but I think, maybe because this one is more straightforward, that I like this album more than Bitches Brew. The drummer and bassist find a rhythm that works and just rock it for as long as they want, almost krautrock-style, while assorted horns and keyboards communicate with each other in short bursts, each coming in to shout a quick idea and receding just as quickly. Something about this album makes it perfect for walking through a city on a sweltering hot day. It's weirdly psychedelic too; it kinda seems to live in its own world, which is definitely true for his other albums that I've listened to, but this one is just so weird. I really like the cover art, because it more or less shows you what you're about to hear. I really don't know what it is about this music, but it sorta makes me think of a couple of guys who drop acid together in New York City on the hottest day of the summer and just walk around getting into antics all day. Definitely a unique experience, and a really underrated album, even if it is essentially two very similar ideas played around with for like half an hour each.
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These are my favorite albums right now.

[Space-Dementia]

July 26, 2019
Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt
It doesn't really make sense to call this progressive rock. Even art rock seems like a stretch. Rock Bottom seems like an album that, like Long Season and Laughing Stock and The Ooz and Low, lives entirely in its own world. There is nothing that I've heard that sounds anything like this, and that excites me so much.

The fact that Rock Bottom even exists is a testament to Robert Wyatt's strength and creativity. For a drummer to become paralysed from the waist down after falling out of a window drunk, it could have sent him into intense depression and retirement from music. But he bounced back, calling the accident a lifesaving event, since it caused him to change his lifestyle and recover from alcoholism. This album seems to me like a musical expression of everything going through an already eccentric man's mind at the moment, from the accident to his romantic relationship, in a way that would only make sense to him, from the often nonsensical lyrics to the music itself.

It's hard to follow along with what Wyatt's trying to say, especially when he's saying things like "nit nit folly bololly," but the music somehow even further encrypts what it is that's on his mind. Everything about it, from the instrumentation to the composition to the production, is completely bizarre. The melodies he’s singing sound so abrasive at first, especially because the production puts his voice front and center for the most part so it becomes the main focus of the music, and because of his heavy cockney accent and the weird quasi-falsetto thing he’s got going on a lot of the time, but they’re so distinct that they end up getting stuck in your head so that after four or five listens through this thing you’re singing or humming along with him for the most part. But then he pulls out a section like the little piano solo thing halfway through “Sea Song” that's so abstract and dissonant that it sounds like it's on the verge of collapsing at any moment, and he follows that up with that gorgeous outro with his voice acting entirely as an instrument and kind of humanizes the song that up to that point almost sounded like if an alien had been observing humans for like a month and decided to make an album. It’s nice to hear something that makes you think “Damn, human beings created this.”

I could talk about this album for ages if I could find the words to describe it and how it makes me feel but a) I can’t and b) it would be pointless because Rock Bottom is just something that you need to experience over and over and over again, always getting closer to but never fully understanding this man’s brilliant mind.
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These are my favorite albums right now.

[Space-Dementia]

July 29, 2019
Third by Portishead
For Portishead to put out this album 11 years after their second album of R&B-infused trip hop is unreal. Some songs on here sound like slightly weirder versions of the vibe they had going on with their first two albums, especially "Hunter", but others are something else entirely. "Silence" and "We Carry On" border on krautrock and "Machine Gun" almost sounds industrial. Every song on here has a weird apocalyptic sound to it, whether it's the first signs of the end of the world, the actual unraveling itself, a stroll through this newly ruined world, or a weird subtle show of optimism amidst all the chaos. It's so weird to listen to a song like "It Could Be Sweet" off their first album and then pretty much any song off this album. At times the only sign of consistency is her voice. But what's most important is that Third is a huge success. Dummy was terrific, but this might just be their best album. It's hard to decide, but this is definitely a bolder and braver album than their first two, and it also happens to sound amazing.
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These are my favorite albums right now.