Horror

It seems a lot of people have been enjoying my reviews in another thread. By grindy's suggestion and Frownland's input here is my own personal one.

I'm really bad at introductions but, here's a little bit about how this will work.

I decided on my own to do a star point system rather than Trollheart's infamous color system because, it opens up being about to grade something with say a 2.5 rather than having to grade it 2 or 3. I like to have a very precise scoring.

For album review requests.


So then, as of now anyone can request a review for one album, I will put them in order from the first person to request to the last.

And for good measure I'll cap it off at 10 recs just so it doesn't get too crazy.

So, that being said as on right now review suggestions are OPEN.

I really enjoying doing this so, I hope you enjoying reading as well. I had some nice stuff to say all laid out but, somehow accidentally deleted it so, yeah. Also, I'll be starting college online in January sometime so when that comes my replies will be less frequent I hope you understand.

Currently I have these albums to review
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Batlord/ Bathory - Hammerheart
TrollHeart/ Sigh --- Imaginary Soundscape
TechnicLePanther / Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
grindy / Lucien Dubuis Trio & Marc Ribot - Ultime Cosmos
Frownland / Fifty Foot Hose - Cauldron
plainview / Ys - Joanna Newsom
Anteater / Moon Safari - A Doorway To Summer (2005)
The Identity Matrix / Albert Hammond Jr - Momentary Masters (2015)
Tristan Geoff / Self titled debut by Dead Can Dance
Ilistentoeverything / This Empty Northern Hemisphere by Gregory Alan Isakov

Finished Requests
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David Sylvian - Gone to Earth : Anteater
The Strokes - Angles : The Identity Matrix
Mark Hollis - s/t : Plainview
2 Foot Yard - Borrowed Arms : Grindy
Unbroken - Life. Love. Regret. : Batlord
Faith Hill - Cry : TrollHeart
A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Sea When Absent : YorkeDaddy
The Dead Milkmen - The King In Yellow : Black Francis
Tin Hat - The Sad Machinery Of Spring : grindy
This Heat - Deceit : Frownland
The Strokes - Is This It : The Identity Matrix
_ LP (2012) by Whatever Brains. : Tristan Geoff
Lanterns on the Lake - Gracious Tide, Take Me Home. : YorkeDaddy


Plainview made a good point of me telling all of you what I enjoy listening to. Honestly, there isn't much that I don't enjoy. Screaming parrots being one thing I don't. Anyone want a parrot? You can eat it I really don't give a ****.

Anyway, jokes aside.

Dislikes:

Heavy Rap/ stuff that has no meaning being it such as my bitches and my money and I'm more of a pimp than you I shot my mom to join a gang because, that's the cool thing to do.

Pig Squealing Metal/ I really can't stand this. I like some hardcore. I like some screamo. Stuff like that but, really I don't understand why someone would want to put themselves through the random farm noises. I'm also pretty picky about things with screaming so, don't be mad if I don't enjoy it.

Techno that doesn't have vocals/ Now, there are some I do really like, I've played some visual novels and games with fantastic OSTs without vocals. That being said if you rec me well, anything without vocals I might
be bias.

Singers I can't understand/ Ok so, if it's in another language that's fine. I like Japanese, German, Latin, etc. all kinds of languages but, if it's a static mess or something chances are I'll not even going to make it through the album.

Simple stuff/ If it's your own personally music I'll be less bias. We all grow and learn from starting somewhere but, if you throw an album at me that is supposed to be done by a professional and it's just meh, I'm gonna say it's meh.

Off Kilter/ Such as, a vocal that doesn't match up with the guitar well.

Country/ It's possible I'll like it but, I prefer folk.

Likes:

Female Vocals/ Not to be reverse sexist or gender whatever. I just really like female singers. That doesn't mean I dislike male singers it's just that there's a slight chance I might dislike a male voice compared to rarely
disliking a female voice.

Orchestra/ Anything that is masterful is something I really love. I could die in a sea of string instruments. Bonus points if it's paired with vocals. Stuff like hymns or something really vocally big. A good example for some that might have played it would be the music from Final Fantasy X. The monks. Stuff like that.

Acoustics/ Anything dressed down. Something that really puts me close to the person rather than what's happening around them.

Punk and Rock/ I grew up on rock music. I really love stuff that's around this vein.

Oldies/ Stuff like Frank Sinatra, Etta James, Janis Joplin ummm even Johnny Cash but, it's kind of rare I like country.

Pop/ I do like pop music but, I dislike a lot of the main popular pop.

Remixes/ If you know a good remix album or even a remix of a song that's really good throw it my way.

Otherwise I'm really open to things. Hope this helps!

Horror

David Sylvian - Gone to Earth

Taking the Veil

- We open with a simple instrumental. Kind of reminds me of tv show openers. Something from the 80's maybe. Now come the vocals. Very smooth and quiet. Some nice electric guitar. It's fitting. It works. I like the part of the song the most where it would maybe be the climax. The lyrics are provided for me. I'm wondering who this girl is. Is she someone who wants to be a bride? Thus, the constant mention of the veil. It strips down at the end in a good way. It's almost like beatnic poetry the way there isn't much of a vocal.
4.5 stars

Laughter and Forgetting

- Very ballad-like so far. Just some simple piano and vocals. Something I've
always been a fan of. I really love simple stripped down songs. Acoustics. It
does almost seem like an acoustic. His vocals are much more powerful this way
for certain. Oh, yes is that, sax? I know it has to be sax or trumpet and it
pairs so well with the piano. I wish this one was longer.
5 stars.

Before The Bullfight

- Something a little more, sexy feeling for sure. I can see a femme fatale
entering a room in nothing but, a red robe a glass of red wine in hand. She
is playing you though, she's a harlot after all. Just like this song she's
beautiful and mysterious. Soft but, dark. This is a rare time where I like
the music better than the vocals. They aren't bad but, I really like the
simple music. The part with the guitar picking and the sax is my favorite.
4 stars.

Gone to Earth

- The vocals aren't pairing well with the guitar for me. His vocals are nice
there's no question about that but, I really wish this was done with piano
instead. I feel it would be a lot more powerful. It's really interesting
that this is the title track. Maybe it's meant to connect the next one?
3 stars.

Wave

- Very somber. It seems like a very somber love song. Much like other tracks
on the record it has a nice band to pair it with. I like how it almost echos.
This guy, I think perhaps he is really heart broken. If not he has a very
melancholy attitude and way of singing. Not that I mind that at all. I like
how he really lets the music do it's own thing at times. It adds so much.
The almost broken record ending of this one really works for the idea.
4 stars.

Riverman

- Nice almost tribal type of drums and bass. So far, a little different. I do
like the harmony. The lyrics are my favorite so far. It's very much like the
rest of the album. That sort of daydream music. Something that is light and
misty. And of course some fantastic sax paired. I really wouldn't be mad if
every track had sax in it. It's such a masterful instrument.
4.5 stars.

Silver Moon

- This one seems more like a love song. The simple I'm not sure what it is,
one of those wooden things you hit to make a sound? and the piano work well
together. Yes, more sax. I think a good way to put this album is Sax/Sex.
It's basically that. I can only think it got a lot of people laid. Oddly I
feel like this would be a more successful title track.
4 stars.

The Healing Place

- Not sure what this vocal is but, it must have been something political for
the time this was released. That's my humble guess. Very haunting opening.
Simple, lingering. It's nice but, there isn't much to say about it so far.
3 stars.

Answered Prayers

- Dreamy opening. Are those, soft female vocals? I'm not sure. Sometimes you
can hear vocals from instruments but, that makes it all the more interesting.
I for one, hear a siren calling. It's just really like a mystical lullaby.
Simple but, good.
3.5 stars

Where The Railroad Meets The Sea

- Love the title. Honestly it made me thing of the Miyazaki movie Spirited
Away. Though, the track itself isn't anything similar. It's more adult. It's
a simple track, nice, floating. I have nothing bad to say about it.
3.5 stars

The Wooden Cross

- Violin? No, synth? Not at all what I expected from the title. I expected
that this track would have vocals for some reason. So far it doesn't. Another
worthy musical piece.
3 stars

Home

- Let me comment and say that I am a very that usually thrives on vocals. I'm
sure there are other people that think this record is a complete masterpiece
it's for sure wonder. I like Home more than I like the last couple tracks.
Could be because, I enjoy piano more than other things though.
4 stars

Upon This Earth

- There's more speaking here. This has been a strange journey. I like this
one a lot. It's again like the poetry in earlier tracks. Very performance
art type of stuff. Perfect to close out this whole things. Maybe if I sat
and thought about it, I could find much more meaning to these tracks. I can
see possible hidden messages and metaphors.
4.5 stars

All in all it was a great listen. Not really something I would usually listen
to other than the sax and piano. I like how it was a more dream pop take on
classical things. A very nice album. I'd listen to it again but, maybe not
so intently. I feel it's something that's emotional rather than something
that needs to be studied.


Over all I give the album a solid 4 stars it may not be MY favorite type of music but, it sure deserves merit.

(I can't fix the first paragraph please bare with the organization)

Plainview

Thanks for doing this. Although I've already submitted an album, can we get an idea of your taste so we know what and what not to rec. Also, maybe an overall score for the album would be good?

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Horror

Yeah an over all score is a great idea. Fixed.

Hmmm I'll add that to the opening statement so everyone can see it. I'm pretty
open to a lot of things honestly.

Edit: Likes and Dislikes added. Alright time to get to the second album rec.

Plainview

That's good to know. You said you enjoy ballads and stripped down acoustic stuff so you should hopefully enjoy that Mark Hollis album.

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Horror

The Strokes - Angles

Fun album cover, I think I've listened to The Strokes before. Not that I
could remember what the album was. Anyway here we go!

Machu Picchu

Reverb in the vocals? I like this so far but, is it odd to say it seems like
a song that could have been made in the 80's? I really feel like I'm in a
club with a bunch of people wearing shoulder pads. The chorus is really nice.
This have an alternative rock feel. Vocal layers done right. His vocals got
a little more raspy it's always nice when the vocals change up near the end
or the climax of the song.
4.5 stars

Under Cover of Darkness

Oddly this reminds me of Muse. Like if Muse did a song that had some swing in
it. It's a dance song for sure. Something you could just jump around your
bedroom and sing in a brush to. I really like it. I love it actually. I might
have to get this album. It's pretty fantastic so far. It's hard to say much
more because, it's not transporting me anywhere but, that's okay it's more
of an in the moment type of thing that you just feel out in my own opinion.
Nice little guitar solo.
5 stars

Two Kinds of Happiness

I want this track to be more upbeat like the other two, there we go. The
chorus picked it up. The more bar slide type of guitar is nice. I have this
feeling that the band was really allowed to do some creative things they
wanted to with this album. Which always adds spice. It doesn't feel over
edited. This band's guitarist is great. He really knows how to do the
eletric rock well.
4 stars

You're so Right.

Is it weird to say this makes me think of like Spy vs Spy or something in the
opening? A little more strange. This track for sure is different than the
others so far. And he whipsers in an almost creepy way. The whole song has
a sort of vibe that's unsettling. It's really strange since the rest of the
record has really, been different so far.
3.5 stars

Taken For a Fool

It's not really going anywhere but, of course I figured it would by the
chorus. I like the chorus and the part after more than the rest of the song.
The second verse is better, more powerful. It's like how something slowly
builds up more and more. I wish the second chorus would have exploded more.
It's just kinda going along. I like the ending though.
3 stars

Games

Instantly the weird synth draws me in on this one. So I kind of understand
that the record started big and calmed down as it has gone on. I like this
one though, even if it's very one tone. I can't stop thinking that this is
an album for a club scene. That's not a bad thing it's just not super
emotional. Actually, no it is emotional just not in a visual sense. I feel it
more in my body. This song specifically.
4 stars

Call me Back

Like the simple guitar in the start of this track. It's hard for me to
define all the sources of the songs in this album. Keyboard? I dislike this
part here where it's I'm not sure. Is he talking? Singing fast? I think it
might have been the chorus. The simple track is better without it.
3 stars

Gratisfaction

Much better, I feel like dancing again. Love the chorus. This is a song to
not only dance along to but, sing as well. If I had more money, I'd got out
for a drink tonight. I makes me want to see some live music at a bar.
5 stars

Metabolism

The beat is nice. It's a good track, The vocals are nice here. A little more
emotional than the rest. It's hard for me to review the track though, I'm
trying to think what I should say about it but, really it's just a good rock
track. I wish some of the other songs were more emotional like this one.
4.5 stars

Life Is Simple in the Moonlight

One of my favorite songs Lua by Bright Eyes has a lyric that's the same as
this title but, it's a very different song. It's an alright track. I think
I prefer the more upbeat tracks from this band.
3 stars

Over all this album was pretty good. I liked some tracks more than others.
It was kind of hard to review because, like I said before I think it's more
of an album that makes me want to move or, dance. Not so much create images
in my mind to go along with the lyrics.

I'll give it 3.5 stars all together. I'd give it 4 but, I dislike how it
really seems like two different albums. Though I could listen to tracks like
Machu Picchu all day.

The Identity Matrix

Glad to see you enjoyed the album overall. I am pretty much in the exact same boat as you are with my opinion on the album. Under Cover of Darkness and Gratification are fantastic tracks that always get played in the domain. (my weird name for my best of mix)

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What is infinite yet always equal to one?

Enter the Domain - The Identity Matrix Domain

"I'm not a prophet or a stone aged man, just a mortal with potential of a superman. I'm living on." - David Bowie

The Batlord

Are recs open yet?!

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Horror

What the flying **** is this? This looks like my own personal hell.

They're both really well done tracks. Thanks for the rec, and I really enjoyed both of those tracks myself. If they had an album that was completely like that it might even get a 5 star rating.

That review is about to be posted. I did enjoy it for the most part.

grindy

A quick guide to enjoying one's review thread:

Step 1: Ignore Batlord's recs.

The End

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A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.