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Good lord I thought this was dead! Stoked to be inflicting my terrible taste in music on the forums again. PinechildSA@gmail.com USA 2 partners International is fine! I love reviews! Already on the mailing list, thanks.
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Dec 12, 2015 00:25
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 10:48 |
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Two months later than I had intended, here's disc 1 of 3 from Shnakepup, "Not Rap!" Anything 4/5 or above is probably getting saved to a playlist somewhere. 1. Win Win- Victim- Great guitar riff to start off, but it's a little repetitive. 3/5 2. Bumblebeez- Freak Your Loneliness- Getting a real 90s alt-rock vibe off of this. Slightly too overproduced for me, and the weird-rear end bridge and interspersed feedback noises are total songwreckers. 2/5 3. Torre Florim- Firestarter- The lead singer has a really smooth quality to his voice, and the orchestral bell (possibly a glockenspiel?) accompaniment is the good kind of unique. The production effect on the guitar that makes it sound like a sitar being played backwards is the only thing I hate, but I hate it quite a bit. 3/5 4. Wavves X Cloud Nothings- Come Down- I wish the instrumental portion of the chorus was less intentionally dissonant, because despite the repetition, the song's really growing on me. The riff is super catchy. 3.5/5 5. School of Seven Bells- When You Sing- I listen to these CDs twice, and this one was somehow way better the second time. Also has a catchy riff. Nothing spectacular about it, but nothing objectionable either! 4/5 6. Phantogram- Bad Dreams- Great percussion part, but the rest of the song isn't doing it for me. Sorry dude, I just don't like this kind of music very much, always reminds me of the stuff they pipe over the speakers in every clothing chain ever. 3/5 7. Baths- Ossuary- Good vocals! Simple but intriguing. Still in that electronic pop/rock/trance genre I don't like, but this one's pretty unobjectionable. 3/5 8. Young Fathers- Shame- Any song with even a fake wood percussion part gets a little more leeway from me. Really liking the vocals on this one at the start, but I wish it had a better instrumental part, it could use more backing than a synth bass. Song gets worse as it goes on, like a descent into random noise hell. 2/5 9. Coma- Lora- Another one that sounds like the last time I bought jeans. Nope, sorry. 2/5 10. Best Coast- Feeling Okay- Oh thank god it's back to 90s rock. Good rock, even! I like the guitar riff, the vocals are nice as well. Reminds me a bit of Garbage, actually. 4/5 11. Modest Mouse- Dashboard- Can't understand a word they're loving saying, but I like the horns and the guitar so whatever. 3.5/5 12. Toro Y Moi- Half Dome- Pleasantly psychedelic. 4/5 13. Courtney Barnett- Elevator Operator- Probably my favorite song on the whole CD. Great singer, catchy riff and percussion, and the story's fun as well. 5/5 14. Hockey Dad- I Need a Woman--It's like they wrote 4 really good bars and figured they were done for the night, and then only the lyricist ever came back to it. Nothing wrong with it except it's far, far too melodically repetitive. Also I swear the drummer speeds up and slows down minutely from measure to measure, which is surprisingly annoying. 3/5 15. The Go! Team- Her Last Wave- Sounds pleasant enough, too repetitive. I feel like a broken record here, but that's pretty much my only problem with the song. Interesting chord structure at least? 3/5 16. Surfer Blood- Floating Vibes- Nice chill surfer rock. Great vocal harmonies, and the riff interacts with the percussion interestingly. 4/5 17. Spoon- Let Me Be Mine- Really like the rhythm guitar here, and I've always enjoyed that syncopated percussion. Wish it didn't have that slight high-pitched ringing when the singer drops out sometimes (may actually be someone playing a water glass? similar sound.) Abrupt ending. 3.5/5 18. Future Islands- Seasons (Waiting On You) (BADBADNOTGOOD Re-interpretation)- Almost Motown-esque sound, a real slow crooner with some jazzy chords and a poppy rhythm section. Very enjoyable! 4/5. 19. The Mountain Goats- Heel Turn 2- I think I would like this song better if it was being sung by someone else, because the vocalist has this shake to his voice that I realize was probably supposed to sound authentic, but just makes me think he's either about to start crying or is incredibly nervous. Did not need to be 6 minutes long. Why does it end with like 2 minutes of an unrelated melody on piano? 3/5 Overall, this CD was pretty meh for me, mostly due to my non-interest in most of the genres represented. Sorry! I promise the next two CDs were better received. I will hopefully get to runchild's single CD next, though.
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Feb 19, 2016 05:29
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Shnakepup posted:Interesting information! Good to know about those two songs, always interesting to hear why people picked what they picked. Take your time with the review, not like I don't have 3 CDs of backlog either. Speaking of, here's a review of runchild's ALGECIRAS! 1. Susanne Sundfør- Delirious: I understand why you would choose a song that sounds like the THX noise for a full minute as your opening, but oh god no. The rest of the song is good enough (I really do like the vocal harmonies, well produced on a technical level, and a good soundscape in general), but Christ, that opening. Ending is also a little incongruous. 2.5/5 (3.5/5 without opening, may try to edit this) 2. Young the Giant- Teachers: Catchy riff! Quite a contrast from the previous song but that's not a terrible thing. Good high energy, and the quiet bridge helps balance it out. I remember not liking the post-production cut-out effect on the end of the bridge the first time through but it's much less annoying now for some reason? 4/5 3. Niia- Mad World: I would like this a lot more if I didn't loving love the Tears for Fears version. The way she pronounces some words (especially the Rs) is odd. Not finding much to recommend it over the original tbh, but not bad. 3/5 4. Jose Gonzalez- Killing for Love: Ooh, guitar with a syncopated rhythm. Good vocals too, but it could either use another verse and a half of lyrics or about a minute less of repeats. 3.5/5 5. Foals- What Went Down: Don't know what's bothering me about this one. Maybe not enough interesting chord progression, and what there is is all on the back end? Sound quality is pretty loud and crunchy as well. Pleasant enough but not a favorite. 3/5 6. Martina Topley Bird, Mark Lanegan, & Warpaint- Crystallised: Cool xylophone, slinky vocals. Not a lot else coming to mind. 3.5/5 7. Oh Wonder- Technicolour Beat: Not a fan of the backing track but the vocals are pretty great. Great melodic hook. Just a nice, slow, chill-out song. I can pretty much picture this being used in some art film over scenes of the protagonist and his girlfriend doing relationship stuff. 3.5/5 8. Walk the Moon- Down in the Dumps: Flashback to the best parts of the late 80's with this synth track, good lord. Good vocals, nice boppy feel to it. Makes me smile. 4/5 9. Wye Oak- The Tower: Cool staggering synth beat. Another chill-out track, but more boring than the previous one, and I'm not sure if I approve how they're using that cello. 3/5 10. Gypsy Cafe- Propizio Chitarra: Can't ever remember what this genre is called but I love it. Just someone showing off how loving great they are at guitar, with their friends on drums and accordion helping out. Feels like a jam session where everybody's having a lot of fun. 4.5/5 11. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour- Fantasy Friend Forever: Reminds me of Apples in Stereo, has the same kind of retro, high-energy vibe. Vocalist is a little annoying though, as is the the four-note riff on whatever instrument that is that comes in right before the last chorus. 3/5. 12. Heems- Soup Boys: The word 'drone' no longer has any meaning. Rest of the song is pretty great actually, I like that nerdy try-hard rap. Edit: Oh, he's in Das Racist, that explains a lot. 3.5/5 13. Chris Reimo- Space rear end in a top hat: This is my favorite thing holy poo poo. space asshooooooole. 5/5 14. Elton Britt- Uranium Fever: oh poo poo retro-future ragtime, my one weakness. Is this a genre somewhere, is there more of this kind of thing I can find and throw money at? 5/5 15. Caro Emerald- Night Like This: oh poo poo modern tango music, my other one weakness. Also the singer is REALLY good, my god. 5/5 16. Ataraxia- Deja Vu: Son of a bitch, that's the intro music from The Adventure Zone! I started listening to that podcast after listen #1 of this CD, and I was like, "I've definitely heard this song before, what the gently caress was it?" Question answered! Anyway, good song, reminds me of the better class of videogame music, which God knows I've listened to enough of. 4/5 17. Zach Johnson- In Mexico: The repetition and complete incoherence is somehow endearing, which was probably the intent, so good job. Good accordion use as well. 4/5 18. Nickel Creek- Destination: Mmm, traditional-style country without all that modern bullshit is so loving good. Listen to that harmony! And the guitar work! 5/5 19. M83 (ft Susanne Sundfør)- Oblivion: A bit jarring when compared to the last track, but I do like the bookend effect with using the same vocalist, and I like her quite a bit more this time. And I do like the piano reduction this time, since it's just distilling the rest of the song down to a quiet end. 3.5/5 Overall, it was a pretty good mix, and nearly everything from Space rear end in a top hat on was a total winner! Good job!
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Feb 20, 2016 22:13
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