Blocktreat - Foxglove

http://jellyfishrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/foxglove

I'm gonna go ahead and just do another review tonight, maybe even a third, because I've sort of given up all hope of maintaining a schedule with these things, considering no one but myself is really holding me to a deadline.

"Cornice" starts off with about a minute of solid noise, and I kind of like that. Something about white noise has always been kinda nice to me, but that could be just me. The banjo takes a step in, and I'm loving it. I get a sort of Grizzly Bear feel. The beat sort of zooms into the track, and the glitch segment of the song starts up. The use of samples from backyard jams sessions is described in the album review, but it gives a really nice effect. Like chillwave meets bluegrass, and realizes they're totally cool with each other. The vocal snippets are really nice in this, I've always loved when a band makes vocals an instrument more than a lyric.

I'm going to review "Jello Sea" because I can,  and because I like it a lot. It starts off with a slow and easy going, lofi sample, of a guitar and a piano I believe. A sample similar to the one used in the song before it steps in to make a bit of a beat. The samples in the back start to form a more lucid rhythm, and a percussive beat becomes a bit more intricate as the snare, kick, and a short hi-hat jump in. The song now has a more beach-y feel to it, a lazy "beer in the sun" sort of beat, while the original samples now sound more like a lounge addition that anything at this point, and all in all I really like this song. It's calm, it's a little cluttered but not too badly. Everything folds into the song in such a way as to give it more than one feeling. A sort of relaxed, sunburned, surfing, lounge-y type feeling.

I've been a listener of Jellyfish Records for some time, and I've never been unhappy with anything they've put out. This keeps that legacy rollin', and I like that about it. This is a good album, and I'd suggest it to anyone looking to relax, or anyone needing to nap. Enjoy!

LLLL - Mirror

http://lllltokyo.bandcamp.com/

Heya, sorry for the delay on this one, I meant to have it up yesterday but my schedule got really full really quickly. So without further ado, I'm going to go ahead and review this wonderful, wonderful, ep.

Oh, "Oddness" is fantastic. Everything on this ep is fantastic. Their earlier work is fantastic. I don't know exactly what it is about this jpop/chillwave/DFRNT-esque group, but it is just wonderful. All of the songs have this deep writhing bass that is just... Fun. Dark, really dark, and full of reverb, but it just draws me in so well, this song in particular. I have no idea what the vocals are saying, but it's so soft and airy that I don't really care. It's like a lullaby met an action movie, and said "screw it, we can do this." I'm so very, very, glad that they did, to. "I Wish You" steps up to the plate with some big shoes to fill, and starts off very video-game-intro-y with a new wave twist. Those vocals slither their way back in, with a vox that is both unsettling and entrapping. The drop after she says "I wish you..." is phenomenal. Simplistic, that low bass stays in the picture, but the stabbed keyboard/synth is golden. Back into the verse with the same feeling, heads into the chorus again with a sound I didn't notice before, a sort of submarine noise. The song takes another turn, into a really soft synth playing in the background, but sort of taking the stage. Then there's the isolated "I wish you..." again, and I'm just hooked. Great song. Everything sort of fades out into a sweet lo-fi, and relaxes but cleans up back into where it was.

Lastly, we have "Lost Place". My only real downside to this ep is that it's an ep, I would love to about five or six more of these, but I can understand the difficulty in that. "Lost Place" starts off really calmly, and keeps that up for about twenty seconds. The song breaks open as that deep bass, delay, and reverb on the track kicks the door down and says "enjoy this song" and who am I to disobey? I think I'd have to say my two favorite things about this album are the vocalist and that deep but square bass. It's just lovely. The song does that thing where it relaxes and then becomes super awesome again. I think I personally prefer "I Wish You" to this, but it's still a fantastic song, it's a lot less crowded than the other songs are, and that's kind of nice. However, that tends to be what gives the songs on this ep their flair; there's a lot going on, but you can feel every bit of it.

I'm absolutely in love with this ep, and I'm super duper excited for whatever the next ep (hopefully album (fingers crossed)) is, so I can get that too. I can't personally think of anybody who would not like this ep, so I've been showing it to everyone I know, and will continue to do so. I hope you do too, enjoy!

Would anyone like to review my album?

Hey guys, I don't talk too much about it on here, but I've actually got my own album out at http://revamped.bandcamp.com/ called Sergeant Snuggle Otter and I was going to just print it onto some blank cds, and hand them out at a mall or something. I was wondering if anyone would like to make a review of it, really only needs to be a sentence, for me to describe it to anyone who actually decides to take it? If you decide to, just email it to me at xophert@gmail.com I'll look through them and decide which one I think I'll use. Thanks in advance to anyone who decides to do this for me! Bye!
 

Spinning Voices - Dichotomy

http://spinningvoices.bandcamp.com/album/dichotomy

Ah yes, nothing's better than a little 8-bit in the early afternoon. After searching diligently around Bandcamp (10 or 20 minutes), I found this little piece of upbeat, fun, gameboy gold. With such lovely titles as "Three Politicians In Search of Burgers" and "Irregula", I look forward to reviewing Dichotomy by Spinning Voices, and I think you should enjoy listening to it.

Starting at the top with the previously mentioned "Three Politicians In Search of Burgers", this song is just pure "hey mom, I'm going to go chill out in the tree-house for about an hour and totally destroy some pixel-peeps" goodness. It's really bouncy, uptempo, bright, and just all around fun. It's hard for me to choose what part of the song I like best, I think it'd  have to be the splashy noise that is the percussion, and the transformer noise that is probably the best part of using LSDJ. "Lakebirds" comes next, and I'm absolutely in love. To be honest I have no idea in particular what exactly it is that makes me like this song so much, but it's definitely one of my favorites. There's a certain brightness to the song that makes me feel like I'm going on a road trip, occasionally stopping along  the line to just adventure. This track is somewhere between excited and relaxed, like light rain that you can still go out an play in without worrying too much about getting mud in the house, or something to that extent.

"It's That Brat" is just absolutely one of the most fun songs I've listened to in some time. Between pokemon samples and a really lo-fi glitch pattern, it's just really bright and bouncy, playful almost. It also has a bit of gloomy rain-y day feel to it, but it manages to bring about another sense of fun. "AA!ABBA!AA!" follows suit, and brings with it a more energetic track. This chipper bitty "gotta go fast" feel would probably go best with a Super Mario Sunshine gameplay. "Irregula" steps in, making use of that transformer percussion, and wavy triangle bit pieces. It's really repetitive, really ambient, it had a bit of a dubstep feel to it, and it pulled it off really well. I definitely liked that track.

If you like 8-bit you'll more than likely love this album, it has a lot of energy to it and a really well balanced sound. I found it really easy to just have the album play while I played most games, so there's a plus. In general, I really like the album, and I hope you guys will too! Enjoy!

Faux Pas - Lostworks

 http://fauxpas.bandcamp.com/album/lostworks

I was originally going to review "Remixes" but I decided to give this album a good listen through just for measure, and in all honesty I could not stand by and not review this. That's not to say that "Remixes" isn't good, but man I really like "Lostworks". It's just so good, and drone-y, while still being pretty fun to listen to and dark. This definitely goes on my list of must have albums, next to Boards of Canada's "Geogaddi".

"Organan" starts of really drone-y, and slow. It's relaxed, but also dark in such a way that it could be played in the background of some Doctor Who fan-made video and be fitting. It later kicks this disco vibe into effect and becomes bouncy, a new breed of fun-dark. This song is actually what made me want to review this album in lieu of "Remixes". Something about the playful disco rhythm that occasionally bounces in and out of the song really just grabs me and keeps me in the song. It's an absolutely lovely track, and it makes me excited to see where he takes his next albums. "Maximus" starts off being a sort of hodgepodge of things I'd like to hear in songs more often, a quiet main instrument, sparkly side instruments, a nicely side-chained deep bass. It's a fun song, while still being dark. So far this is my favorite thing about this album so far; every song is rather dark, and drone-y, and beautiful, but fun and bouncy. The sparkly notes towards the end make me think of new wave, while the drums make me think of Fischer Spooner. The trumpet thrown in later makes me think of Pretty Lights meets Afternoons in Stereo. There isn't a single thing I'm not absolutely in love with in this track, the vocal interludes are wonderfully integrated, and I love the glitched drum beat that jumps in for a while every now and then.

"I Will Follow (Gilmore Grillz)" reminds me a lot of Royksopp, especially "Melody AM". Any song that reminds me of that within the first few bars is a great one in my books. The glitch-y sparkly notes playing around in the background like kids in a new park are great, and the vocal sampling is fun, and a nice job of turning vocals into an integral instrument without making them make any sense. Faux Pas has this really nice way of adding a disco beat to things and making them my favorite song. It also manages to maintain that Royksopp feel throughout the whole song, until the very end when it chops and screws a song I can't say I've heard before.  Definitely a nice track, it's really relaxed while it keeps that disco feel. "Motor Finance Wizard" starts off really funky, and I love it. It's got a nice swing to it, and it's really fun to listen to. This is a really nice interlude, it's fun, funky, and weird. I don't think I could listen to it longer than the two minutes it was allotted, though. It works really well for where it is in the song though.

Finally, "Skwiver Line" starts off sounding like it could be a beat from Discovery. It is, yet again, really bouncy. This time, however, it doesn't really retain the dark feel that some of the songs earlier on the album had. This song feels like a combination of Pretty Lights, Discovery, Royksopp, and 8-bit at some parts where it's really sparkly and bitty. I am absolutely in love with the drum beat in this song, and the guitar sample after the two minute mark. This song has a really nice funk sound that jumps in on occasion, and has a little sonic battle with another really funky instrument. I love it. This song is definitely my favorite, I only wish it were longer so I could hear more from it.

That's the first half of this album, and it's just wonderful. I think anyone who thinks that what I described would be something they would listen to, should definitely also check out Faux Pas' other albums. They're all really quite something. The remix album is fantastic, I just have a soft spot in my heart where I am absolutely in love with dark sine waves and funk elements. Enjoy!

Lowbrow The Hypnotic. - open ep

http://lowbrowthehypnotic.bandcamp.com/album/open-ep

Hey everybody, I've decided (mostly by way of lack of sleep) that I'm going to review an ep! Hooray! I had a really difficult time deciding what album from Lowbrow The Hypnotic. to go with, considering they're all absolutely fantastic, but ultimately decided on "open ep" because a) it's newest and b) I don't think I can make myself not review the last song on it. In all honesty, there isn't a single beat that Lowbrow has made that isn't sheer gold, and I'm really excited to "hit [him] up" to tell inform him of this review for many reasons. Primarily, I'm just looking forward to telling him how in love with his works I am. I guess I should probably do this review thing.

Oh man, let's start with "mercy", a really nice, saxophone heavy, one minute intro that really could stand to be better only through making it longer. It's a really beautiful piece, and despite it's length there is a lot to say on it. Few things make me fall more in love with a song than a really lo-fi filter being placed on it, and then suddenly being removed to reveal some just... lovely layering. The saxophone, the beat, the reverb, the violins in the back, and whatever that wet reverse sound is in the middle make for a truly beautiful track. Our one minute wonder is followed up by it's twenty second longer relative "on the rocks". What saxophone was to "mercy" trumpet is to "on the rocks" with a really nicely sampled and looped track on top of a really calm beat. It's gorgeous, and so far this ep has done nothing but make my head nod and my jaw slack. All I can think of when I listen to "on the rocks" is this old song I had from Dean Martin, it was some live recording of "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometimes" wherein he stops halfway through the song, slurring slightly and telling a joke that seems to escape me at the moment, and then begins the song again. That's where the song takes me, at least. I like it.

"circles" takes the stage, sitting at a full two and a half minutes, makes for a really nice beat. It's repetitive in the best of ways, which I think we can all agree make the best beats sometimes. In this case, that is just a true fact. I'm not sure what the sample is from, but I really like it. I feel a sort of J. Dilla vibe from this. I'm not saying it's exactly the same, it just makes me think of some Tribe Called Quest songs... I can't think of which in particular, but it's just what comes to mind. Now, usually I'd review "superior smoking" but I really want to review "MANORMACHINE" considering it was my "b)" point. So, on to "MANORMACHINE", the song is very distant from the other tracks on the ep, it takes a more chillwave approach that I honestly was not expecting. From the vocal sample and the incredibly deep sidechain on the kick, it gives it a very glow-fi vibe. I'm just absolutely in love with it, and I wouldn't mind his next ep taking on this glow-y, pop-ish, vibe while still being a nice track to rhyme over. It's fantastic, with the combinations of mosquito buzzes and bright glowing samples and the house/disco beat towards the end, I can see Lowbrow making a really nice name for himself, and maybe even doing his own split eps of his own work in different styles. I dunno, but I know I can dream.

I'm at a loss for words when it comes to choosing a favorite on the ep, between the lovely samples and beats on the first five songs, and the really nice and glowy direction of MANORMACHINE and "thedark" it's really tough. They're all fantastic and I honestly don't think anyone can listen to a Lowbrow album or ep without thinking to themselves "is there some way that I can pay for this? Because it's nice. It's really really nice. It's almost insane how awesome this is." I doubt that's just me. Enjoy!

Hiatus, what are you doing? Hiatus no... Hiatus shtahp!

Hey guys, I haven't updated here in a couple of weeks, sorry about that. I've been sort of freaking out about school lately and I hope that's understandable. Also, while I'm here, I should be able to update pretty often. Just as well, I want to thank all of you readers, whether just one time glancers or full-time readers, for getting me to 1000 views. It may not seem like a lot, but I never in my life expected that sort of thing to happen to me. You all are just great, and thank you again!


Jack Touchet