@@@ Oneohtrix Point Never: Long Road Home (Warp, 2020) This gent has mad arranging skills. He killed it in the Safdie brothers flick about a dude and his brother, extremely effective and disturning electronic music. This has a singer, which is a negative for me and it seems like a move to get famous, f’real. Or to break through more, as it embraces computer pop while glitching the fuck here and there. His mixes are like ginger ale, popping and multilayered. While I get the sonic candy I don’t find myself super moved. I find myself impressed but not emotionally accessed. Since I’m a big fan of this musician I’m going to check out a few other tracks. On I Don’t Love Me Anymore he remains in the pop space with a pleasantly crowded mix. I like it better than the tune clipped below but he’s definitely taken a different approach on this record and I think I prefer the dark business. I’d like to hear less singing — I’m not sure taking full vocal lines and putthing them into a vocal synthesizer or other plugs is particularly fresh.
@@@ Ane Brun: After the Great Storm (Universal, 2020) This is from this week’s Line of Best Fit and it’s on a major label and from the cover and the picture below I think we’re set for some meaningful Kate Bush style sensitive ambient rock. There’s a rotating synth sound that is very organic and hooky that spins in the tune. It is a focal point for the track. I like the arrangement and a bunch of the sounds. I don’t hate her vocalizing but I’m not moved by it personally. It’s ‘gina as Trump would say! I have nothing against over femininity but I’m more of a PJ Harvey female rage kinda fella. I feel like I should be curled up with a good book and some flavored coffee while this is spinning. It fills up with sounds as it moves on, most notably with some string arrangements that I both like and don’t like. They’re well done but the mood they convey plays into this idea of female sophistication. That synth/guitar arpeggio-spinning thing is hype!
@@@ DragonForce: Highway to Oblivion (Metal Blade, 2019) From a record entitled Extreme Power Metal. It’s not extreme metal, it’s not power metal, it’s extreme power metal!!!! Deal with it and horns up ya shittaz. Let’s be clear from the beginning, this is not a highway to hell, it’s a highway to oblivion. Big difference. Oh my, this clicks on and it’s just a glorious example of cheese metal, this is some Disney shit from the sonics to the lyrics to the feels. Momma stand back so you don’t get cheese splattered on your shoes or your face. Glorious, glorious, glorious, this is so extremely cheesy you just go with it and enjoy the cartoon Disney aspect. Maybe on your headphones but I wouldn’t rock this is a group, it might be a bit embarrassing. Synth sounds, little bits of metal shreds thrown off as sparks, crazy ass drumming all delivered with a smile. This is Extreme Cheese Metal they got one of the words wrong! It’s almost 7 minutes long and I rocked just over 3, that’s pretty good.
@@@ Andrew Cushin: Where’s My Family Gone (UMG, 2020) I don’t know if this is the track where the Oasis duder shows up but this young UK gent is on this week’s Line of Best Fit email and he’s doing a sensitive alienated Brit rock thing. A little crooning with the mix dominated by vocal melodies and the drums. There is some guitar work and keyboard happening but it’s tucked back a bit. He wants to know where it went wrong, where you changed your song, what went wrong, I want to know where’s my family gone? Then a guitar solo, duh, and a peak in the energy. Without some more specifics regarding his family and what went wrong I can’t really comment on his situation. It’s dramatical, that’s dramatic with an -al on the end but it has a vagueness that say a classic Brit rock alienated youth in Quadrophenia wouldn’t be rocking.
YTD recordings listened to: 844
Good music, not list worthy: 460
Not good music: 359
Best: 4
Honorable Mentions: 5
Possibles: Retox, Defeater, Jonwayne, Okkyung Lee, Slidhr, The Chewers, Susie Iberra/Roberto Rodriguez, The Coral, T.O.M.B., Lozen, Erase Errata, Mastery, Hartley C. White, Weed, Cold Water, Luther Dickinson, Graeme Barrett, Fast Asleep, Goldlink, Cavanaugh, Satoko Fuji, Moken, Juan Atkins, Lantern, Twin Peaks, Djelimady Tounkara, Denny Zeitlin, MILF, Unfun, De La Soul, Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes, Noname, Klara Lewis, Krullur, The Lowest Form, Hard Proof, Yotoco, Jungle Fire, Sandoz, Oddisee, RAM, Fiver, Succumb Succumb, Gloom, Priests, Propaganda, This is the Kit, Roberto Gonzalez, Integrity, Tuba Skinny, The Expanders, Criolo, Billy Strings, Flowers of Sulphur, Portal, Lawaii, Etran De L’Air, Ruby Karinto, Elysia Crampton, Parquet Courts, Moskus, Kendl Winter, Tkay Maidza, Barro, Daniel Khan, Tallawit Timbouctou, Sumac, Tropical Fuck Storm, Harriet Tubman, Ammar 808, Anais Maviel, Chaka Khan, Pom Poko, Fried Egg, Tarek Atoui, Saicobab, General Purv, Shipping News, Big Thief, Mariachi El Bronx, Pour Me a Grog, Sudan Archives, Lakou Mizik, Moodymann, Pharmakon, Alefa Madagascar, Janjao, Luge, Wiki, Mick Jenkins, Jeremiah Jae, Fera, Gambian Griot Kora Duets, Drama, Beatrice Dillon, Mass Worship, mmmonika, Les Deuxluxes, Tony Allen, Fra Fra, Nihiloxica, Hailu Mergia, Pokey LaFarge, Nico Gomez, Nohe and Sus Santos, Tiny Bit of Giant’s Blood, Pole, Naeem, Mekons, Santrofi, DJ Nigga Fox, Flor do Toloache, Alexander Hawkins/Tomeka Reid, Shy One, Protomartyr, Nnamdi, Ekiti Sound, Awa Fall, 25,000 Kittens, Anjimile, Superfonicos, Yves Jarvis, Jonsi
Deep In the Music 