ChasingBleeps - Nano

http://radicalpresident.bandcamp.com/album/nano

Tonight I'm taking the chiptune direction, I'm checking out ChasingBleeps, rather than the emo/noise/indie rock I've been up to. I'm really excited to do this review, I'm loving the sound for this. I haven't listened to too much chiptune in a while not counting Kplecraft. So "Nano" is really calm and soft and sleepy, much like how it was described in the album description. I can't wait to review, so I guess I should start.

"Nano" starts off almost feeling like the song from a small child's music box. Or maybe a scene in an indie 8bit game where you're character's sleeping and about to start his adventure. Next thing you know, this really calm drum beat kicks in that just sort of drives that calm modus of the album further in the calm direction. Once the drums give out, there's a soft breakdown back into the music box feeling. The song stays there for a while before heading back into the drumbeat with that sort of "time to adventure" feeling into it. It's nice, it's calm, it's soft, it's sweet, and it's not too short. I actually didn't realize where "Nano" ended and "Everlasting" began, but I don't really mind such a well set transition, both songs are really snug and soft. Everlasting stays in that over-the-cradle- mobile type sound for a while, almost effectively lulling me to sleep. The drum jumps in again, similarly to "Nano", while the beat takes a different pattern. The song is quite similar fundamentally while still having a different sound instrumentally. It's got that same triangle sound, with a bit of a chippier buzz underneath and a calmer sounding beat.

"Midnight" drive takes a more layered approach, some parts sound like if two people played a xylophone at slightly different tunes. It's a nice sound, I like it enough. The drum pattern on this one jumps in a little earlier, it has a sort of dance-y sleepy sound to it. It's fun while also still managing to sort of lull me to sleep while listening to it. Ultimately it does have a bit of a dancier sound to it, but it's pretty calm after the drum patterns slows down again. I wouldn't have minded it if it had stayed sort of dance-ish, but I don't mind this either. It's pretty, it's making me sleepy, and it's generally speaking a really nice album. It kind of reminds me of Lullatone.

I suggest this album to anyone having sleep trouble, as it's hellbent on making sure you get there. This might be the sleepiest chiptune album I've listened to in quite some time, but I don't mind. It's really quite beautiful, and still has that 8bit sound that takes me back to my pokemon days. And from what I've listened to, ChasingBleeps' other albums are quite different from one another, so it's more than worth while to check them out after this one. Enjoy!

Yoshimoto - Lemmings to the Sea

http://yoshimotomusic.bandcamp.com/


So you guys well know by now that I only review free albums, but I'm going to break that for this post and this post only. Unless I change my mind later, or someone asks me to. So, as a rule for my blog, I will only review free albums I find unless a band asks me to review their album, in which case I'll do it regardless of price.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, Yoshimoto is a pretty damn good band. It's actually my ex-english teacher's band, my art teacher used to joke about how much they sounded like Sonic Youth, little did I know of the truth behind his words. I can't really think of much else to say with this, so onto the review.

"Cascarones" is a nice, calm, misleading song. Listening to it I've sort of relaxed, the guitar work and the percussion kind of make me feel light and airy. The vocals come into the song and they're soft, calm, soothing in a way. I like this song a lot, it sort of makes me feel like I'm at some party, and everything's sort of swirling around in a Garden State sort of way. It's nice, cloudy, sleepy, and then suddenly the guitar's all in your face and excited. A nice end to a nice song. "Chair" is a pretty energetic song, the instrumentation makes it seem pretty angst-y. The lyrics feel a bit airy, I like it. The lyrical style offers a nice contrast to the distortion and speed of the song. So far the album feels like a soundtrack to a Scott Pilgram vs. The World, if the movie was based more around noise rock. I mean the whole soundtrack. Not a bad thing, I dig it.

"Private Browsing" further instills my idea that this would do well in a Scott Pilgram movie. It's nice, sections of eerie distorted guitar followed directly by sort of lamenting chaos, and again into the eerie distortion. After that the entire song seems to follow that sort of sad eerie sound. I love it, it's sort of entrapping in that "I could see myself being chased by Jason Voorhees to this and being entirely too into the music to be scared. Only advancing the chase because it'd be so cool looking with that song. "Lemmings" is much calmer from the very start, while still keeping that late-night-alleyway-shenanigans sound as the others. I've decided that's the best description I can think of, and I don't know why you would call it anything else. It's one of those songs that sounds kind of like what I imagine Network would be if it were a song. A "the media is evil" type thing, I could be wrong, but that's what I'm feeling here. "Wake Up and Die" seems like it'd be something from heavy metal band, but it feels more like intense Pearl Jam with more coherent lyrics. It's got that 90's rock drive to it, I like it personally. The break down is pretty fun in how intense it is, since it leads instead into a sort of Franz Ferdinand feel before breaking again into a noise rock appeal. I really like that, I honestly was expecting it to take a different turn. Then right back into that 90's rock feel I grew to love, overall a great song and perhaps my favorite.

"Hungry Ghost" starts off with that noise feel that's just so good. It goes into that eerie underground sound again, with the vocals having a delay and soft reverb on them that makes them just a little bit eerier. Looking back, eerie is an adjective I've used for most of these songs, so I guess it's a pretty good description of their sound, but I think I'll stick to late-night-alleyway for now, it's still pretty feeling. It's not the type of shenanigans involving entirely shady characters, but maybe a lot and one dark vigilante super-hero just taking names. That's exactly what it sounds like to me, like Daredevil just hanging out back there waiting for a scummy ne'er-do-well to walk down with a snatched purse and wrecking him.

This is the most links I've put in any review, but they're all pretty accurate to the idea I'm trying to convey. This album's great, it's kind of dark, it's really eerie, and it's really fun to listen to. Is it bedtime music? Hell no, it's not at all. It's pretty chaotic, but it's really fun too. I'd suggest this to anyone who enjoyed the review, as that kind of means that you'd enjoy the album under review. I might be wrong about that, but I'm almost positive that I'm not. Enjoy!

Mosey Jones - Swell

http://moseyjones.bandcamp.com/


Nothing's better than a little lo-fi emo rock. You've got your sad songs about leaving behind an old love, learning who your ex is with, and humanity destroying nature. It's great, it's sad, and it makes me want to go through some 90's montage just for the hell of it. Throw in some distorted chords, and you've got this album. "Swell" is a great debut album if I've ever heard one, and I have.

Onto the review, "Five Years" is the first track on the album, and honestly I can't tell if it's realizing you're about to go to college, or if it's about trying to convince your friend not to leave just yet. Either way, I'm going to go with the former because I can relate to it. Now, what I do know is that it's awesome. The track has that 90's punk feel that I've come to know and love, it's pretty great. Now, it's not exactly punk, but it has aspects of it. Granted, it's a bit slower than punk is, it has the guitar for it and the distortion, personally "slowed down sad punk" might be my favorite type of emo rock, I don't know why, I just love it. "Leaving" is a bit more instrument heavy, and is a lovely song about leaving behind a love to go for a while. From the sound of it, it's only a couple of months, but hell that can be forever. The guitar work in this song is marvelous, it's fitting. It makes the song come alive, gives it it's own feeling, and I wouldn't change it personally

"I'm A 'K'" seems to be about someone being away from a relationship for sometime, and realizing they've been replaced. At first you're angry at the person who took over for you, and at the person who's abandoned, but you don't want to say anything you'll regret. So you lie, you keep doing your thing and pretending. You want them to give you something, anything, but you don't want to lose the memory. You're not angry anymore, you're just hurt at the idea. That's what I get from this, personally. The song itself is well set up, distortion and chords just go so well with sad songs and honestly a sort of 90's Cali vocal feel. "Trustbuster" is a nice little song about nature brutally destroying those who are destroying it, and then building themselves back up on top of it. It's not so much sad as it is angry, but the vocals don't show it. They seem sad, definitely, but not angry at all. The chord progression on top of the vocals don't really give it away either, they seem just as sad. So really the song is a kind of angry-sad that I can really get behind. The swing-y 3/4 time is really kind of fun, and makes for a really nice sound. "Take Me Home" makes me want to just take a second to appreciate the percussion. The drummer really does a great job of adding a really nice sound, it's not over-powering, and it's really fun at points, especially at the beginning of this song and all throughout "Trustbuster".  I feel like "Take Me Home" is about a couple who's been going through a bit of a rough patch and just sort of having a hard time, finally getting home and having a hell of a time not being tense, and ultimately one of them end up leaving? I'm not sure, but I do know that I love this song. It's a really fun song to listen to, I've always been a fan of vocal layering, and the guitar work is just as fun as the rest of the album, distortion can be so good.

Overall, the album is fantastic. It's fun to listen to, it's just as sad as I could ever hope for an album to be, it's got that 90's crisis feel to it, it's perfect for summer listening. If you ever watched and loved any college themed movie from the 90's you'll instantly fall in love with this album, I did. So, show your love for a great band and check these guys out, they're great lyrically, they're great musically, they're great in general. Enjoy!

Our Sunday Affairs - City of Dogs

http://oursundayaffairs.bandcamp.com/album/city-of-dogs


So, just about an hour ago I found Our Sunday Affairs through Marietta's facebook page. It's another one of those emo/indie gold nuggets I always feel happy to find. They're all about those sad lyrics I've grown fond of over time. The guitar is that nice poppy type that I like to find in sad songs, I'm really loving these Little Mexico-esque bands. I love that moment when I think "well this is pretty upbeat! It's so... Oh. No, it's sad. It's really sad."

"Police Rock" is a lovely tale about a confusing, albeit interesting, dream. That's not necessarily interpretation, it's the first lyric. Granted, it turns into a grimdark tale about what I assume to be the life of someone who feels rejected from others when they try to explain the thoughts in their head. The idea of trying to explain to others around you what you dream, what you think, and being forced into a modus operandi surrounding and idea of grinding into the earth to what I assume to be death could be more than enough to "think [you're] better off without the dreams". It's a great song, I love it. I love the message, and I think a lot of people would be able to relate, or at least be able to sympathize. As I said, I really like this song. I personally prefer songs that make me think, even if it is about death.

"Hate Parade" makes me personally think about the aftermath of the acid swimming pool referenced in the dream of the first song. The guitar manages to maintain that upbeat tappy sound that I so adore, meanwhile we hear about the difficulties of dealing with where you are. There's a bit of a breakdown in the middle of the song, where I feel like he's looking back onto the things he's done that might be a bit less happy with. Suddenly he starts dealing with a bit of strife, which I don't understand how he can do that with that guitar playing so happily. It's not that easy to deal with a life you're not happy with, and even if you struggle to make things back into what you want them to be, especially if you have to not be yourself to do so.

Now, I get the feeling that these interpretations might not be accurate, but it's what I feel. If you're looking for just a review of the music itself and not the lyrics, it's really good. I mean, it's pretty amazing. That guitar is fantastic. It does a really good job at making me feel like the music isn't what it is, but I don't think I could possibly come up with a better pair for the vocalist, it fits perfectly. The vocals in the first song start a bit unbalanced, and over time they become gold. In reality, that's perfect for this music stylistically. You're looking for emotion in the voice, and Our Sunday Affair has it in spades. Overall, the depth of the lyrics, combined with the incredibly well used vocals and vocal layering, mixed with that upbeat guitar and deep bass makes for a great EP. I'm downloading this as I type, and I can't think of a single reason why you wouldn't too. 

Scrittah - Bienfang

http://waxworks.bandcamp.com/album/bienfang


The Waxworks has put out quite the number of free albums. It was hard for me to choose which one to go with, so I went with "Bienfang".  Something about it really sticks out to me, and I greatly enjoy it. I highly suggest to anyone who reads these reviews to listen to this ambient, dark, occasionally snare rush-y album. Now, I grew up around a lot of Aphex Twin and all of Richard D. James' other monomers, so there's a certain place in my heart for snare rushes, and this producer plays all of the right strings on my heart chords. I probably will review a few of the other albums on the page.

Onto the review, "Sketch 1" is the song I'm referencing in particular when I say the album can be a little snare rush-y. It's not, at first. It's actually really ambient, really smooth. It's super dreamy in the best of ways. The lfo is set really well to the gate, that's something I can truly appreciate, it helps it flow really well. Suddenly the rush hits you right in the face, except it's kind of like when you're running around with your friends, having a fun time in the summer sun, and then one of you trips and everyone laughs and has a fun time anyways. It's exactly like that. Now, "Sketch 2" on the other hand is just straight ambiance. It's sleepy gold, a really slow and soft drum beat, a heavy bass that I feel is a sine bass. It's pretty repetitive, but pretty in the sense of beauty, not in how repetitive it is. I almost fell asleep about five times reviewing just this one song. Just saying, it's really good at what it does. Now, as ambient as "Sketch 2" was, "Sketch 3" is three-fold. It's super ambient. I'm pretty sure it's just a recording of an abandoned breeze-way, which might be the coolest sound thing ever. It's calm in an mp3 file. It's sleep, mixed with some warm milk, and a little bit of wind noise, set on the nightstand of the tempur-pedic company owner. It's that sleepy.

"Sketch 4" keeps the sleepy-ness, of the preceding two songs, and throws in a Legend of Zelda feel. It's great, it's reverb-y, it's bitty, and it's kind of awesome. I mean, it's really good. I love it. Potential favorite here, but I really like "Sketch 1" so it might be a tie. "Sketch 5" is rather minimal, it's really nice though. For a one minute song, it's really good in the variety sector. It manages to keep my attention by a series of well placed blips and beeps. It's a nice intermission-type song. I feel like in order to keep to my strict policy of only reviewing half of every album, I'd have to review half of "Sketch 6", but that sounds too weird. So instead, I'll just review the whole song. "Sketch 6" starts of really a really funky vibe, it sounds like something from that game Da Blob I think it was. I like it a lot, actually, it's a really good sound, and that drum beat seems to fight the sleepiness that the rest of the album cast on me. Finally, after a little glitched sax, everything's all rush-y. It's really fun, kind of like the song to best define what I imagine it to be like being the guy from Infamous.

This album is fantastic, it's a hodgepodge. I really like when an artist can make eleven songs that are all at least slightly different. It really makes for a good listen, especially since even the faster songs are just as sleep inducing as all the other songs. It's easily a gem, and I'll more than likely end up reviewing a few of the newer albums as well. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the album, I know I did!

Elmo Marconi - Puppies & Other Cute Shit

http://elmomarconi1.bandcamp.com/album/puppies-other-cute-shit


I found this album last summer, I believe, and it's been one of my go-to albums ever since. The filter over the vocals, that happy math guitar, the drums that are just loud enough to be great, without being so loud that you can't hear anything else, it's one of my favorites. This album is actually one of the first ones I found on bandcamp, and I've spent a lot of time trying to find something similar to it. I've read from their facebook that they've been working on some new stuff, and I'm really excited for it. Since I don't know when it'll be out, and I've been checking back to see if they'd released anything for a while now, I can't contain it and I need to review this album.

"Fieldtrips" is an upbeat song that if people sang it on the bus back and forth from a museum, it wouldn't make me want to hit them. In fact, I'd join in. I do it often when I go out with friends, in fact, it's catchy. That guitar is so happy, almost hyper sounding. This song always makes me feel like I'm walking around some sort of tourist trap, and I might or might not be running everywhere. Also, did I mention, there are space lasers in the song? Because there totally are. It's basically the best thing ever. "I Think They Mean Business" combines that same upbeat guitar, those happy go-lucky lyrics with a hint of that feeling when you realize that either some of your friends are getting a little tired of your antics, or you just don't have as many friends as you'd like, but there are enough. There are just enough. So you're happy again, and this time there are gang vocals, and who doesn't love that?

The tapping in "Larry Rogers" is fantastic, and the lyrics are that right mix of happy and sad that I'm sure by now you've realized I'm quite the fan of. At one point, the lead and bass guitar seem to take a trip to the autumn north, you can almost see those orange and red leaves. But then it takes you back to that feeling of before, where you kind of feel like maybe you're alone, and maybe you're most charismatic when you're a little not sober. Or maybe it's just you that thinks that. That's what I pulled from the song, anyways. "Cute Shit" is a one minute eleven second intermission of space lasers and calm guitar noises. There's so much space laser. It's great, I feel like I'm star trekkin'. I just can't get over that space laser, it's one of the best intermission's I've heard.

Well, that's half, and so it seems my work is done. I hope you guys love the album as much as I do, because I really do. I'm so excited for their next thing to come out, I'm so prepared it's not even funny. I'll keep this blog posted for as soon as the next album's out, so that if anyone keeps up with this they'll be able to have that gold nugget sitting right at their feet. Enjoy!

Lions - MTNZ [EP]

http://wearelions.bandcamp.com/album/mtnz-ep


Lions is a band that has improved considerably since their demo in August 2010. A bit of it is simply higher quality production, telling us how good they are in their own right. The vocals have improved, in the sense that they're more... I can't find the word for it, but they just fit the music perfectly now. They're more emotive, a bit sadder, and a bit angrier. It's great. Also, if you haven't noticed by now, I really like math guitar, and I'm pretty into emo rock. This is a really nice combination of beautiful math guitar and that sad voice we all secretly (some not so secretly) like to hear. I've actually listened to this album a lot, recently. Since downloading the album I've listened to it round-about nine or ten times, realistically. That doesn't happen much, I usually reserve that sort of listening for Symphony of Science, or anything by Washed Out.

"Nashville, TN" is a great song. This is both opinion, and fact. It's just true. The guitar is great, and the overall sound is reminiscent of an sad/angry This Town Needs Guns, but just a little heavier. Lions does a really good job of creating audible emotion, a quality that I truly enjoy finding. "Phantom Limb" is still really math-y, but the drums after a time become a bit more dance-y, a trait that is both hard to come by, and magical. The song is a crowd puller, it makes me want to jump into the room and dance around like a good friend just gave me a mixtape from the 90's and we just want to destroy pillows. It's great. Turning to "White Keys" we are given a song set on defining that mood of teenagers, best described in the line "if I were older I'd matter". It's great, it's honest, it's well worded, and Lions does a great job of saying "this is what I feel right now, now you feel it too. Come on, do it" and you will. Because you've been there. Don't even try to lie to me.

I have a strict policy of only reviewing half of the album, I like to leave you guys half, it makes me feel nice thinking maybe it gets you guys to check out the album. Today, though, instead of reviewing the fourth track, I skip instead to "King in the Casket" because it's my favorite song on the album, and I'm allowed to. I make the rules here. This song pulls back that feeling of running around, having fun, and thinking "she's cute, maybe I should share my juice pack with her". Everything was great, everything was uncomplicated, if we wanted to be happy we would just play a game. The saddest part of the song, the one where you realize that you too are either going to be soon fully grown or already there, is accompanied by dance drums. Did I mention I love dance drums? I'm pretty sure I did.

As a summary, I love the album. It's great, a lovely combination of sad songs fueled by teenage angst and a fear of growing up, while realizing you already have, and math music that is more often paired with lyrics of spending time with a loved one, or seeing the sights, maybe visiting another country. Way to go, Lions, you've really touched me with your sounds, and also managed to be great musicians in general. The lyrics are lovely, the sounds are sparkly, and the voice is wonderful. Keep it up, guys, keep it up. I'm excited for more music from Lions, and I'll keep my eye out for anything they release.

Marietta/ /Modern Baseball - Couples Therapy

http://whereismarietta.bandcamp.com/album/couples-therapy
http://modernbaseballpa.bandcamp.com/album/couples-therapy


So today is a day of firsts within this blog. For the first "first", this is an actual review. The albums preceding this one were "reviewed" on the first listen of the album, with maybe a couple songs played more than once for reassurance. The second "first", this is the first split to be reviewed here.

"Couples Therapy" starts off with a Superbad reference, a wonderful approach to a rather fun/sad split. Now, it's a bit hard to describe the music on this split in just a few words since it's a split, but I think playfully sad is the best I could come up with. The lyrics show a certain disdain, but the music behind them and the way the lyrics are dished out give more of an upbeat math-y tone for Marietta, while Modern Baseball has lyrics focusing either on an interesting youth or a love once had. It'll be easier to explain in the song analysis, so I guess I better start that.

The uptempo math guitar with the fun-beat drum in "Yeah Yeah, Utah" might make the listener believe that this might be a happy song, little do they know (unless they listen to the lyrics...) that it really isn't. It's pretty sad. I might be wrong in my interpretation, but I feel like it's about a car crash on a highway, and the following funeral. But it sounds so happy! I might just have to chalk it up as the saddest song I've ever had fun listening to, I mean genuine fun. It kind of made me want to dance, honestly.  "Green Call Her Sims" starts off sounding sort of like something "Look Mexico" might make, happy and upbeat again, and then it's followed immediately by another set of amazingly depressing lyrics. Now, I'm going to be honest, the vocals might be hard for some to get into. But in all reality, they're so able to give off the emotion of the lyrics it's insane. They're more than fitting, and possibly my favorite thing about the band next to that lovely math/post-rock guitar.

Onto Modern Baseball's part of the split, "Hope" starts off with an acoustic ballad sound, and transforms into a heavier sound, perfectly embracing the obvious over-tone of a once sided argument. It's wonderfully trapping, and just beautifully natural. It's sad, it's angry, it so readily pulls the listener into the song.  "It's Cold Out Here" seems to be more about teenage years, primarily in the love direction. It's not necessarily sad, so much as it playfully despondent. The lyrics give a sort of feeling of simply not caring, and of how strange life is. The final part of the song gives an idea of the feeling of telling someone how you feel and how awful non-reciprocated love feels, and how distancing it can feel. Quite possibly my favorite song on the split. I love it.

I would suggest this album to anybody who's ever lived before, and I assume you're one of those people. So check it out, and while you're at it check out their other EP's, they're really something special.

Shag - Beats About People

http://shag.bandcamp.com/


This album is like if you took all of the best parts of funk, threw them into a dutch oven with some glitchy funk vocals, and made a beat cobbler. It's like a chillfest in my ear. That is, a chillfest that isn't afraid to mix and mingle with smooth, solid, drum beats. What's that you say? You're looking for something more chill than the first track? Well that's absurd, where could you possibly find- wait... What's that? Track two is downtempo? As suave as all get out? Well that's just... golden. Good on you, Shag.

Right, the track reviews. Here we go, "What's Bad About Feeling Good?" is a magnificent blend of funk and all things hip hop. That is, the solid drum loop and a fantastic sample. It's just great. Imagine you just walked into any cop scene from the 70's, and here you are. You're set. But don't move on just yet, this albums is just choc full of surprises. "Distance" seems to move itself away from the funk vibe in return for a soft, relaxing, RnB approach, mixed with a downtempo drum beat that still grabs the attention. This song, in a nutshell, makes one sleepy without actually making them sleep. It's just... Calm, while remaining functional. Had a hard day at work? Just play this while you head home, keep calm, and move along.

Quick, jump back to that 70's cop flick from before! Now imagine, the hero's just got the crook in jail, they hop into their El Camino and drive into the beach sunset. That's "Meadowlands", and I don't think I could have hit the nail any more directly on the head. That drum beat is so sweet, that sample is so smooth, it's great. I think this is my personal favorite track off the album. Now, let's think for a second that maybe the original Alice in Wonderland was set in the 70's. Alice is running around in this, and she just wants to find that rabbit to sit back and relax with him for a second, suddenly "Busta's Apathy" is playing in the background and not a thing feels out of place. But all of a sudden you're back in the cop cinematic, and you realize that it must be before they save the day! There are your two hero's, dressed in disguise just before they get taken down for trying to infiltrate the headquarters! What's that song in the background? Oh, it's just "Primitive".

In all honesty, all I want to do is just set this entire album to a cop movie. I think it would just go together so well. The album itself is so good, so funky, so suave, so rhythmic, so well balanced, that I can't understand why anybody wouldn't listen to it. It's... It's amazing, there's no better word to describe it. I truly believe that anyone who listens to the rest of the album will be blown out of the water, and there are just as many songs that I haven't described as those I have that are just as great. I leave it to you to listen to it.

naderi - EP#1

http://naderi.bandcamp.com/album/ep-1


So, here in Texas we've been getting some rain lately and it's been threatening to do it again today. There could not possibly be a better ep for this weather than "EP#1" by naderi. The entire ep is sleepy rainy day goodness. If you took rain, mixed it with sweetly soft vocals, with a cup of tea, and set it on a wooden porch in the beginning of winter next to a deciduous forest, you would have this ep. It's just... absolutely lovely.

Now onto the actual review, the first track "Stormy Weather feat. Line Goettsche Dyrholm" is just... It grabs you. It pulls you in, and relaxes you. Line's soft, calm, lyrics are just wonderful. If ever there were a better song for stormy weather, I haven't heard it. Naderi furthers the set tone with a soft undertone with the slightest sparkle, and a relaxed beat, and overall the intended mood is very well set. "Reminiscence" starts with another relaxed drum beat, with a slight noise that makes the listener even feel like they might actually be surrounded by rain, a rather naturally soothing sound. Underneath it all is a relaxed wave of sound that hits you like water on a beach.

There may only be four tracks on the ep, which is normal, but I really would rather that you- the listener- be able to judge the it for yourself. All I can say is that it's obvious how much work went into making such a good ep, and I'm excited for more.

Suggestions for next week

If you have any suggestions for next tuesday, I'll listen to them and see what I can do. Just post your suggestion in the comments box below. Thank you!

hrmnzr - Arts and Crafts

http://hrmnzr.bandcamp.com/album/arts-and-crafts


Hrmnzr for the most part has been releasing rather high quality music, "Arts And Crafts" is definitely a testament to his ability as a musician. Honestly, after seeing the second latest album on his bandcamp I was a bit reluctant based entirely on the offensive title and song names. Just as well, the songs on that album don't seem to have received the same amount of attention as his other albums. But that's just it, the rest of his albums are fantastic, and I'm more than positive that as soon as I finish here I'm going to download all of them. Hrmnzr is really a quite talented musician, and I look forward to hearing more work down the line.

The "Intro" seems to follow a more ambient mindset, subtly filling up the void as it fades in to the song. "Funky (Feat. Astro Kid)" is a great example of modern IDM. It's glitchy, it's fun, there are tons of rushes, and it just instilled a feeling of a song that had a large amount of time set on it. I loved it. "Belle Que Tiens Ma Vie" takes another left turn, leaving both IDM and ambient in the dust as it travels the more traditional route of a chorale. It's soft, it's relaxing, it kind of feels like I'm in a church, and in all reality is just pretty to listen to, I genuinely enjoyed just hearing it.

So it seems that hrmnzr is all about changing genres, as he goes into "Headache" which is a sort of hodgepodge of math, IDM, drum and bass (I am just all over that rush loop), and is layered as all get out. I just... I love it. That's two songs so far that I just love. "Distant Lights" takes us back to a more ambient style, it's rather repetitive, but in the best of ways. It's so droning while not being so much so that you fall asleep, it just keeps your little attention span calmed down. Also, there are few things I enjoy more than triangle waves with porta. mono turned off, giving that little pitch swell feel. For my last song specific review of this album, I give you "Melancholy". I can start by saying that this might be the best name for this song possible. Being of the few songs without a rushed drum loop it's sad enough, but put on top of that that the melody has that delay on top of it with the occasional discordant tone, while the bass line is haunting and dramatic, and you definitely have a melancholy song.

I have to say this album is fantastic. The change in genres assures that you'll never get bored listening to it, and with almost all of his other albums being just absolutely fantastic I don't know why you wouldn't get those as well. Per usual, I'll leave the rest of the album to your judgement.

The New Division - Shadows

http://thenewdivision.bandcamp.com/album/shadows


A majority of chillwave sounds mostly like slowed down 80's pop with a lot of reverb, not that that's a problem. The New Division, however, takes from new wave in their 2011 release, "Shadows". Combining synthpop with, as their tags on bandcamp suggest, New Order-esque sound, TND has managed to take chillwave and throw it in a different direction than I personally have heard before. With parts of the vocals having glitchy effects while the rest remains haunting, the rhythm and melodies maintaining a certain pop-y flair,and there still being the dark guitar and bass line, "Shadows" proves to be one of the best chillwave albums of 2011.

The beginning of "Opium" almost makes me feel like I'm about to accidentally watch some sort of big game, but then subtly it transforms into what I feel will be the usual sound I've come to love from chillwave. Then the vocals jump in with that high-pitch string synth, and I begin wondering if I'm actually listening to Depeche Mode. This song, to put it simply, just "comes in handy for a bad day". "Shallow Play" maintains the well placed sound of sounding dark, with haunting vocals that are just as dark, and a slight pop-sparkle sound on top, while this time having a Gold Panda-esque vocal glitch on top. More or less, this song fits any mood, while it best fits staring at your ceiling waiting for something good to happen. The third track, "Sense" reminds me of the Australian pop artist Cut Copy, that might just be me though. Regardless, the song is great. It's catchy, it's fun, it's still as dark as the rest of the album while still having that bit of pop that the rest does. I love it, this might actually be my personal favorite on the album. Something about the chorus just really draws me in, while the entire song is just playful enough to be dancey. Just when I thought the song was over, it picks up again, even more haunting than before, while being even more danceable than before too.

I feel it would be best if left the rest of this amazing, dancey, dark, poppy, album to you guys. It's really quite fantastic, I can't imagine why anyone from the 80's, or chillwave connoisseurs, or those in love with pop, wouldn't adore this. 

Bahwee - Flavors 2

http://huhwhatwhere.bandcamp.com/album/flavors-2-2


Artist Bahwee released "Flavors 2" through Huh What and Were record label in late may. Since then the HWW label has released "Equilibrium" by Evil Needle. Though Equilibrium is fantastic, and more recent, the album is not free and so doesn't fit the criteria. However, I can still do "Flavors 2". Moving on, Bahwee manages to combine all of the greatest parts of simple rhythms, catchy melodies, and hip hop drum beats and feels. The entire album takes the listener to their own dream world where they, in a trance, are able to relax and slow their roll. In a day and age of "bustle bustle bustle!" there are few things we need more than just that.

"Flavors 2" is that just right combination of chillwave, glitch, and hip hop instrumentalism. I'm going to start with "Don't Have Time", the track combines a well selected vocal snippet with a danceable rhythm. If Washed Out and Gold Panda were to have a love child, it would be this song. "Apartment 44" takes a quick turn in a different direction, maintaining the relaxed mood but instead fueling it will more of a head-bobbing sound, taking a bit more influence from the hip hop instrumental sector. "In The Benz" offers more head-bobbing beats, soothing the listener into a trance like state with it's minimal bass line and catchy guitar overlay. "Spitting Game" takes a very chill and simple rhythm and throws in a hip hop drum beat underneath, eventually a subtle undertone of a higher pitch guitar is thrown into the loop, calming the mind.

"Hard To Win" turns more into an RnB style, keeping the chill underlay, with soft vocals thrown into the mix. It keeps the hip hip drum style, allowing for a mix that is all at once aesthetically mind blowing without becoming sensory overload. The simplicity of "LotusFlowerBomb" is mind numbingly gorgeous. The beat is very minimal, and yet grabs the ear's attention, while the synth overlay offers a certain type of repetition that drowns out all other noise and nearly lulls the listener. This is a trait that also leads into "Apartment 89" where there is again that certain type of repetition that just brings the listener into their own sort of dream world. That paired with the vocal snippets allows for an ethereal listen.

The soft bell synth of "Jets Landing" seems to prepare the listener for another marvelously simplistic beat, and is followed by "Fly Another Plane", wherein the rhythm and melodies themselves are simplistic but is paired instead by a more worked drum loop than the songs preceding it, a pleasant surprise. The rest of the album I leave for you to listen to, and fall in love with yourself.

Slime Girls - Vacation Wasteland EP

http://slimegirls.bandcamp.com/album/vacation-wasteland-ep


As the album started I was beginning to worry that the chiptune I had been promised wasn't going to be such a major part of the album. I shouldn't make such rash judgments in the first few seconds. The Two Door Cinema Club sounding guitar introduction to the album gleefully takes on the chiptune sound and intermingles. The entire album sounds as though the artist, after deep extensive thought on where to write the songs, decided to use the beach of some far off planet. As they wrote each song Gundams were flying overhead, using their thrusters to create some waves to crash on the beach. This song is perfect for road trips, for just laying in bed, or even for deciding you want to trash your room in some sort of cheesy 90's montage.

Now for the in depth review: As I said, "Intro" seems to go the way of The Depreciation Guild, but instead of having chip sounds played on top of Post-rock guitars, it takes a pop laden direction. After all of the pieces came together, it was suddenly a medley of pop guitars, battle sequence music, and all things good. Next is a smooth transition into "Vacation Wasteland", a breath of fresh bit-reggae into the lungs of the sun bathing adventurer. This song is more or less exactly what would happen if you took a pina colada and reduced the resolution on it, and took it with you to the S.S. Anne.

"Summer Is Gone", the third song on the album, is a pitch swelling approach to recognizing that the pixelated sun is setting on the roof of your house one last time before you have actual things to do again. Not necessarily a sad song, though not necessarily a happy one, this song seems to have only one message; "summer is over, that sucks, but there are many months ahead of us yet." Ended with an abrupt halt, it is followed by the punk rock/alternative rock channeling "Splash Nebula". The song is filled to the brim with strong guitar chords, and pleasantly soft and counter balancing triangle sounds.

More or less, all I have to say is that if Pokemon ever decided to take a slight punk direction, maybe a bit of bit-reggae, I wouldn't mind this being it. I wouldn't mind one bit. If I had to pick a personal favorite thing about this album, it would be the punk guitar inserts. To be fair, that's the same thing that drew me straight to The Depreciation Guild, and honestly I wish there were a little bit more guitar, but that's just me. I'll leave it up to you guys to listen to the rest of the album.

Mixtape - Beat Stew Vol. 4

http://proximalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/beat-stew-vol-4


First I'd like to apologize for the day late posting, I just had a really long day. That's all there really is to say on the matter. I intend on making up for it with longer reviews of potential better quality.

Second, I'd like to give a brief summary for those who don't wish to read the review of the first 9 songs. To start, this may be one of the most soundly constructed mixtapes I've ever listened to. Ever song flowed evenly into the one after it, and each song managed to be at the very least slightly different from the one preceding it keeping the album from going stale. It only makes sense that the songs from the same artist will sound very alike, which is kind of a shock after hearing the tunes from artist to artist being so different, it makes up even for that (which isn't even a flaw) by simply having amazing artist combinations. More or less, consider this a fruit salad. There are a lot of different fruits, and sure you might be insane and not like grapes by themselves, or strawberries by themselves, but you don't have to worry about that. Every fruit is paired with a damn near perfect match, if not a completely immaculate one. You might not like it regardless of that fact, but I'd put money down to say this is the best mixtape I've heard in some time now.

Moving on to the juicy bits, we look at Beat Stew Vol. 4. The first song starts the reader in the direction of the album name, expecting the album to be comprised primarily of hip-hop beats. Suddenly we transition into "Ssoon", a nice ambient track that takes me personally in the direction of racing games. Not the alt-rock heavy Burnout, but the laid back and relaxed sounds you get from things like Forza Motorsport. This might not mean a lot to some readers, but nostalgia is a big thing for me. Also, quick note, the transitions of this album were so well done that I often times had to check to make sure this wasn't the same song. "We Run the Streets" feels like RnB met Rap and decided to throw a party, leaving RnB to take care of the chorus and beat while the stage front is maintained by the flow.

The after party of "We Run the Streets" is left to the acid/funk/bitty/ambient powers that be in "Puddles". The preceding track left me believing, almost hoping, that I would be confronted with more. Little did I know that I was instead going to be left to "Puddle" into my own tier of sleepiness. But rest not for long, oh ye of little faith! For you must prepare for bitty Samiyam-esque beats in "Rectify". Much like Snubluck (who's album I recently reviewed) it is filled with sparkly bit breaks, but instead of a steady rap on top of it there lie chopped vocals and horns.

But lo and behold! The sole purpose of the horns was to lead into the rap heavy "Don't Even Exist" which is, while short, powerful. I'm going to take a moment to reiterate how good the transitions are, they're near god-like. "Like Torpedoes" the one vocal in the song is as chopped as a blender set to puree. Suddenly the bitty storms turn to "Poolside", a laid back tune that is just perfect for sitting by the pool, the sun bouncing off your chest, with the only thing wetter than the pool being the drink next to you.

What's that you say? You miss 80's elements in songs? Well ask and you shall receive! "Transitions" takes the 80's sexy vibe and uses it to fuel the cool, deep-voiced, rhymes of the same nature. Granted, when you actually listen to the lyrics it's a little bit more coarse than it sounds; however if you don't listen to them it may very well be the sexiest song ever, ever. In my opinion, the lyrics are actually... Funny, more than anything. I dunno, that's my opinion. Feel free to develop your own. "Clapsters" takes the vibe of "Transitions" and transfers it to something that could be played during the scene in Fight Club where Brad Pitt is driving the car off the road to get Edward Norton to lighten up. I can't honestly think of a better way to describe the song. It's kind of like if Matthew Dear used less vocals and more deep square sounds.

Basically from there it follows an understandable pattern. While I didn't use any of the musician's names, if you look at the link you'll see them and this will make sense: Anything with Say Uhns will have a deep seeded rap sound with the exception of the outro with Lawrence Grey, Note's raps will be sexy sounding with amusing lyrics, Wake's songs will have a sort of modernized disco sound, Benedeck will have a chillwave vibe, and the rest I leave for a very pleasant surprise.

5 & A Dime - #Bassmob II: Return To Never Never land

http://soundcloud.com/fiveandadime/sets


I'm going to be honest here, when I had 5 & A Dime described to me as mash-up/dubstep, I was a bit reluctant. However, as the non-believer I would be shunned. 5 & A Dime's mash-up, in a nutshell, is just fun to listen to. Here I was, thinking that I was going to get a face of the same over used wobble wobble of dubstep. Instead I was greeted at the front door by Robin Williams and a club beat. Then I was suddenly embraced Temper Trap, and even pop songs were there. At first I was quick to avoid their insipid conversation, but it had such a sweet underlying gesture to take care of me with pitch swells while that club beat took my coat for me. And then what's that you say? Captain planet? Suddenly it seems that all of my best friends are here. Oh dubstep you say? Well maybe I shouldn't talk to them... Oh wait, you mean to tell me that it's not the same? That there's a pioneer in the field? All I can say is bravo, 5 & A Dime, bravo.

LyteSho! - Chainsaw EP

http://lytesho.bandcamp.com/album/chainsaw-ep


If you've never listened LyteSho! now is as good a time as any. "Chainsaw EP" is filled with some of the sickest beats I've ever heard. I do not use that term lightly. Sounding like a combination of FlyLo and _lip, LyteSho! knows his stuff. Most of the songs start with a snippet of a rap, teasing the listener into thinking they'll be hit with a nice flow while the beat rolls out, and instead are rewarded with minimalistic grace. If you're the type who doesn't want to fall asleep unless listening to music, this is your guy.

Giraffage - Comfort

http://giraffage.bandcamp.com/album/comfort

Giraffage sends you glitchy messages in his sparkly snippet laden album "Comfort". Every few seconds of sidechained synthy goodness, you can expect a short tweet of something that can only be described as a rainbow wrapped in glitter. With calm vocal samples, smooth guitar, and sweet synth bird calls, "Comfort" is certainly an album for the relaxation lover.

Snubluck & Tayke One - The Flying Tayke Machine

http://snubluck.bandcamp.com/album/the-flying-tayke-machine

Snubluck's glitchy undertones mixed with his sparkly acid sounding glitch overbearing noises sit under Takye One's angst-y rhymes. This is angst in structure, the distribution of the lyrics is something you'd find in the back of the freezer next to that gelato you meant to eat three weeks ago. That is to say, it's hauntingly chill with slight deep vocoder on top of it from time to time. I assume this is an object in everyone's freezer, but it is certainly something Takye One utilizes often as inspiration for his rhymes, as not a single verse can be listened to without thinking "he's so calm, and relaxed, and- oh... Oh my... He's angry at things."

Koi - Maelstrom

http://collectivelanguage.bandcamp.com/album/maelstrom

Koi's free album Maelstrom is chillwave-y reverb and 80's vibe meets bitty pitch swells and drops. Every song on the album feels like you've just been dropped on the beach feet first, ice cream and sunblock in either hand. Out in the distance you see tanned beach babes and bro's riding sweet sine waves and hot triangle tubes. The perfect album for anyone unsure of whether they want to dream about fun in the sun, or go to the beach and frolic.