Hail Yourself

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Aq'ab'al by Volahn

Yet another heavy addition, sorry for the lack of genre variety. I really like studying to ambient, electronic in general, jazz, and metal. This album is pretty unique because I've never seen this combination of genre tags before: Black metal (atmospheric, melodic) and Native American folk. Why the hell would I not give this a shot?

The recording is pretty raw on Bandcamp, it clearly sounds like it was recorded in a basement or bedroom, but it is still enjoyable nonetheless. There's a pretty noticeable pattern of a long track that ends with Native American folk music followed by a moderately long track, but the pattern does kill any redundancy. The lyrics are sung in Spanish, but they have something to do with Native American lore, involving warriors, gods, and, of course, war. I do think the black metal portions are excellent and potent and the Native American folk portions are quite pretty. Definitely have never come across anything like it, so give it a shot if this peaks your interest.

I enjoyed this album a lot and I read that the vinyl edition features better recording quality where it takes away from the "recorded in a bedroom" feel, but is still raw enough where its charm doesn't wear off.
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...and for dessert!

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Smog by Dug Dug's

Mexican psych/acid rock that's all killer and no filler. Even the two one minute interludes of solely acoustic guitar instrumentals are great. This album is eight tracks and 34 minutes, with one track comprising a third of the entire record, Hagamoslo Ahora. All of it is brilliant.
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...and for dessert!

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Hybrid Noisebloom by メルツバウ [Merzbow]

Go ahead and call me pretentious, but I'm starting to like Merzbow. I listened to Pulse Demon for the first time a few months ago and loved it. I kept it at a low volume to spare my eardrums from excruciating pain, but I absolutely loved the textures and sheer insanity of its 70+ minute duration. I was craving more Merzbow, but something new, so I decided to check this record out since it was one of the higher rated ones on RYM. There is a little bit more accessibility and what kind of feels like a structure to it because it has a splash (and I do mean a splash, not much) of neo-psych on it with some of the warping sounds on this record, but it's still very much harsh noise. I enjoyed it, so I figured" why the hell not" for sharing it.
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...and for dessert!

[Luigii]

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[Luigii]

Yeah, you got that right.

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Benzaiten by Osamu Kitajima

Japanese psych folk that creates a very heavenly mood. I wouldn't call this a "trippy" record per say, but some of the compositions do feel larger than reality.
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...and for dessert!

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Mr Hands by Herbie Hancock

I already wrote a review of this record on RYM and copied that review and pasted it onto the comment section of this album's page on BEA. Here it is one last time because I can't really say anything more about this record other than I actually love the album cover:

After a few listens, I went from lukewarm about this album to loving it. It's a very interesting sounding record because it sounds slightly new age-y from the synths on the first tracks, but then it morphs into this abstract-feeling jazz funk record toward the end. Each track is sonically unique from the other, but as a whole it's cohesive. I know that has been said about a lot of albums, but this one definitely has variety amongst the track selection. I feel like Herbie Hancock can take each track from this album and craft a new album based off the sounds from that particular track and each album would sound notably different. There isn't a climactic moment on this record, but that's fine because it makes it feel all the more like an abstract dream. In reality, dreams never really have a singular climax like the movies do (well, at least mine don't). They always feel like a sequence of particular events that seem somewhat random, but the work well together in the dream. That's exactly what this album does. Idk, I think I am just fascinated with how disjointed yet cohesive the track listing is. It's all sonically pleasant as well. If what I wrote doesn't make sense, hopefully a listen will clarify things for you.
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...and for dessert!

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Ascension by John Coltrane

I know that if I listened to this record a few years ago, I would've despised it. It's not an easy listen to a person who is used to structure in music. Each instrument is seemingly going on their own tangent and the cords seem random. But thankfully I didn't bother listening to this album until now because I assumed the mindset I had to be in based upon the genre tags "Free Jazz" and "Experimental Jazz." I had to be open minded, yes, but also I had to be attentive, but not concentrating. As paradoxical as that sound, I had to be aware of what what's going on, but not concentrating intensely trying to "get" it. I just had to be in the moment.

This album is so spiritual and sublime. My mind wandered throughout its duration. I had John Coltrane and company playing each of their instruments, but phasing in and out of reality. The notes because physical as reality melted. It's such a perfectly titled record, because that is exactly what this record sounds like. Ascension. Highly recommend.
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...and for dessert!