Chaosbay "Are You Afraid?" (2024)

  

On a somewhat predictable trajectory, yet no less exciting, Are You Afraid lands high octane metallic exuberance. Bolstered by punchy production, Chaosbay fuse catchy pop sensibilities with the edge of Djent guitar brutality. Encapsulated by subtle enriching synths and infrequent glitchy antics, this arsenal of short to-the-point three minute bangers blazes through their very best creative efforts.

These eleven cuts routinely erupt into grabbing "break downs", slamming serious momentum. Far from original yet executed with class, the double down on Eye For An Eye plays a keen favorite. Between these roars of anger, the soaring clean vocals of Jan Listing continuously ropes one into its lyrics themes through infectious cadence.

Taking on different temperaments and tempos defines each song from one another with true personality. Frequently dabbling in curious arrangements - cinematic synths, Trap adjacent percussion and dystopian electronics - simple song structures find space to experiment, elevating past the main theme. Its kept the listening experience fresh, exciting and on "the edge of your seat" so to speak.

 Without a weak point these thirty eight minutes play fun, animated, energetic. Anthems to fist pump, head bang and sing along too. Its been everything I hoped for. Having been teased by The Way To Hell, I'm happy the whole record reached that level of excellence. To my ears, these guys are among a rare few to get me excited about Metal these days.

Rating: 9/10

Fever Ray "Radical Romantics" (2023)

 

Either searching for the timeless nightly spell of Fever Ray, or listening with open ears for a new avenue, bar a few flashes of light, Radical Romantics plays like a reassembly of proven ideals. Lacking a distinctive spark, the music resemble the past, lacking a fresh feverish persuasion. On one hand I adore the blueprint, Karin Dreijer's unique, slightly quirky but madly primal voice, a transient experience among its oddity arrangements. Zany melodies, mysterious synth aesthetics and disjointed percussion converge on their frictions, birthing an atmosphere only this artist lays claim too.

That once mezmorizing soothing ethereal charm seems absent. In the lulls and quells, an atmosphere lurches distant and peculiar. An out of focus form in abstract forms. Karin's voice is often the unifying element, gluing the instrumental strangeness together with direction and expression. With its elements often on the minimal side, those moments between a human voice often feel lacking, as if awaiting her presence.

Kandy catches my ear with its tropical steel drums intersecting the peculiar nature with a beachy sunny warmth. Its the following Even It Out that excels. A tense bass synth and thumping kick drum creates the drive for warbling synths and her agitated repetitions to swell above. The breezy "woo-hoo"s a wild contrasting tension relief. So gratifying. Sadly the rest of the record lacks a spice to elevate beyond the expectant. A really enjoyable album for this fan but I felt it missed a mark so within its grasp.

Rating: 6/10

Arca "Kick III" (2021)

 

In picking out a peculiar sounding project featured on a top list, I've fumbled into territory truly beyond what makes music tick for me. On first listen I though this might be the most abominable record I've heard in some time. Having stuck with it, I've now grown somewhat matured comments to share on the radical harsh venture this project is. I have no context in which to address this wildly experimental music in relation to the three other chapters of Kick released in daily succession towards the end of 2021.

If this is Arca, AKA Alejandra Rodríguez's normal style, then she is certainly an artist with a distinct voice and vision. One of confrontation, dissonance and discomfort where an emerge of groove or melody from within the dystopian abrasion has alluded me. Two songs have grown on me. Their textural ambiguity and sonic assaults offering a novelty of sorts. The rest of the record sadly dulls with each listen as much of the disorienting tapestry tires in its rebellious circumvention of musical norms.

With harsh electronics, the worlds of Glitch and Noise converge on the back of unconventional, seemingly disjointed and random percussion. Its thudding bass kicks jolt off beat and zaps, buzzes and fuzz replace the rolls of snare and cymbals. Those two rattle without structure. Its more tuneful sounds seem hell bent on subverting melody, each song inducts a random assortment of sounds without direction. After a spin or two many aesthetics becomes very obviously vocalized. There is a plethora of manipulation and plugin work at play here that I could sadly not appreciate.

Once noticed, every kick and and assumed noise has a hint of vocal timbre. Alejandra mostly delivers her Venezuelan lyrics through this manipulation too. If every interesting or musing, its often buried in a dread of brutal dystopian madness. The opening Bruja & Incendio deliver some brash and swift native wordings that become quite enjoyable in their foreign nature. As a strength in the record, its use is minimal.

Beyond its reasonable opening, the record devolves into its own unusual nature, where I could find little beyond the occasional instrumental texture sparking curiosity. There was really nothing for me to resonate with. The critical acclaim makes me feel as if people are appraising the bizarre oddity it is, which is all fair game but I am personally looking for the ground where the oddities abridge an emotional connection with the listener which alluded me entirely. Maybe the continuous dreamy vocalizations on Intimate Flesh came close but that would be all.

Rating: 2/10

Kero Kero Bonito "Time 'N' Place" (2018)

 Going forth with a bold stylistic shift, Kero Kero Bonito introduce a rather gristly over driven guitar tone into the mix! Not only do they dial back the childish quirk and charm established prior, the keys too recoil from punchy unabashed aesthetics. Time 'N' Place has the trio trying on new shoes. When sticking to their guns, they find a glossy, serine temperament stepping into classic Pop vibes with a modern edge. On the other front, hints of Grunge, Indie Pop and Shoegazing push them towards the uncanny valley as creative ideas clash with a touch of imposter syndrome lurking nearby.

Alongside the strives into guitar driven territory, the group take failing inspiration from the abrasive scenes of Glitch and Noise music. Three tracks in and Only Acting grates away with intentional CD skips leading into a ear aching assault of sharp fuzz on the listening. It seems so pointless, a barrage of disorientation that doesn't resolve to anything of interest. Fortunately these grating oddities are few and far between.

It doesn't look good among a series of misses. Opening with Outside, the Shoegazing kicks off on an odd note, not quite gelling with the sparkling synths found glittering around its chord progressions. From their most the songs land on odd footings, just not landing a charm as they low through a string of simple themes and old timely vibes. Late in the track listing, Sometimes is another stride beyond means. Aiming for a youthful, folksy pub sing along, the brash acoustic guitar strumming clashes with unrehearsed singing. The VGM 8bit synth jam that takes place alongside sours too.

Most the songs are inoffensive but oddly mediocre in the shadow of their other works. It makes for a dull, lukewarm listen that often drags. Bit of a shame considering how interesting I've found this group up to this point. In fact what comes after with Civilization II is remarkable, a major difference from whats to be heard here. Time 'N' Space feels like the new ideas they brought to the mix didn't have the chemistry.

Rating: 4/10

Koreless "Agor" (2021)

 

Now at the mercy of Spotify's algorithms, I find myself immersed in the unknown, the platform feeding me new names one after another from its playlist system. I have to be picky with where to go. On occasion, one artist will captivate my intrigue more so than the others. Because of the songs Black Rainbow and White Picket Fence, I had to go deeper into this curious musician who's take on electronic music was off the beat and track from what I am used to. Glitched out and mysterious, its popular songs morph closer to normal conventions. Getting deeper into Agor reveals a few typical fundamentals have been torn up and thrown out.

These buzzy saw wave symphonies simmer and fizzle in both texture and tone. Metamorphic and fluid, its oscillations sway and groove in ever changing directions. Somewhere in the mix, something holds center, either the variety of plucked instruments or bursts of rhythm and tempo that come and go. Even then, notes curiously slide up and down in pitch. Percussion is illusive, often forming out of burgeoning instrumentation, feeling occasionally poly-rhythmic as its shuffling glitches and choped up vocal samples make for mirages and illusions.

The result is unique, an identity unlike much I've heard before it. Yesterdays Oneohtrix Point Never has a similar experimental quality but Koreless homes in on something particular, with varying success to my taste. Again it is convention that aids aesthetic into form as many of these songs go on ciphered tangents. Melody rubs shoulders with frequency and sequence. Rhythm seems to had no steady footing and the Nordic singing sampled is rearranged in the most curious manor. The take away is similar, another curious experiment in sound design with a few moments of convention one can fall into, otherwise attention is jilted by all the quirks of its inspiration.

Rating: 6/10

Ministry "Moral Hygiene" (2021)

My first few spins of this record had me in an astonishment I wasn't sure would hold. With my listening pleasures interrupted by a sickness impairing my ability to hear, I now return to Moral Hygiene with that initial exuberance intact. It would seem that forty years as Ministry has armed these rebellious musicians with a craft and voice to boldly express their social-political dissatisfaction with a vigor that reaches back through the years. The new music pulls up shades of many avenues explored before in their back catalog. The result is magnetic, gradually pulling you into its grasp track by track.

Things start gently, brooding a dystopian atmosphere with chunks of grisly guitar melody, echoing shouts roaring over the marching baseline and shuffling percussion. If not for the distinctive use of vocal snippets it could easily be mistaken for a modern Killing Joke track, a band that massively influenced them. The gears then shift up with Sabotage Is Sex. A busy throbbing baseline drives the track forward with a maddening power and groove as Jello Biafra lends his classic voice to the growing criticisms.

The albums theme blossoms as Disinformation samples former president Trump's voice back into the mix to shine a light on the fake news problem we all face in this polarized time. Typically his words are manipulated as are that of various newscasters. Personally I love the dystopian tone and contrast it stirs in the reflection of Edward Snowden's trusting words. Unsurprisingly there is no holding back when it comes to the political sphere with Greta Thunberg and other key voices in the world being sampled in to contextualize the themes that play out in these broody songs.

The Industrial Metal madness plays out over the next few tracks in its various shades. With each spin I'm grabbed intensely as its lyrics and snippets give me much food for thought and reflection. Then things reach a sublime height of madness with the two closing songs. Death Toll marches a carnival baseline groove through Kenneth Copeland's absurd declarations of interventions by God in the annihilation of Covid-19. Contrasted against the rising death toll... Its just a work of art in my mind.

It rolls into TV Song #6 seamlessly to frighten you out of its hypnotic persuasion. Toying with gristly Grindcore blast beats, ridiculous adrenaline fueled instrumentation and noise manipulation, the whole affair ends with a deliberate lack of resolve. Its as if there are no answers to the topics anguished over. The world is in strange place and the solutions are yet to be found. Its chilling but musically thrilling. I'm amazed Ministry came back so strong. At a time when I am thinking of trying to get out of my groove and find new artists, turning this one down would of been an unknown tragedy!

Rating: 8/10

Sarah Longfield "Dusk" (2020)

With its moments of subtle disorientation and off kilt percussive transitioning, Dusk was initially hard to love at first. The pitched down, lightly synthesized vocal styling too played as a distraction from the beautifully calming fragrance of colors drifting by as electronic and guitar instruments dance in this blissful limbo. Its five songs make a brief experience but a cohesive one with vision and inspiration melding into warm, melty fifteen minutes of lightly ambiguous but loftily interwoven music.

Sarah uses her voice with refreshing creativity, it dawns on me now how reminiscent of Grimes this may be. Utilizing reverberations, delays and echos, she sounds caught between dimensions, the words often blurring out of focus as glitches and reverbs take over. Some airy background synths catch you off guard when realizing they her chords at work. The range of temperaments has her dancing from back to foreground at times, its a treat and suits the melding of instruments woven between.

The percussion has a crucial roll, its spacious and subdued presence of fast attack claps snaps and snares play loosely defined rhythms that explore the gaps. It takes moments to lapse and sway but comes back around to its subtle glitched persona, imploring soft grooves in the process. The guitar work and electronic melodies play off this foundation with a similar elasticity, often wading in with bursts of beautiful color and tapestries of jilted, intricate melodies, oozing organically with oddities rolled in.

It is so many things, and together it has a breezy uplift that feels oddly ambiguous but that is what is so wonderful about her music. Its brimming with experimentation and creativity, the production really shows whats possible when utilizing the tools available. The opening song Cycles has a gorgeous lead guitar solo, would of been nice to hear more of that shred! Dusk is wonderful, Its just a shame the record is so short and brief, I would like to visit this odd and curious place for much longer.

Rating: 6/10

IGORRR "Spirituality And Distortion" (2020)

Its been a wild discovery that has teetered on the border of novelty at times. The cluster bomb of cultural, historic and extreme genres colliding in the melting pot that is IGORRR has put French musician Gautier Serre on the ones to watch list. A few years back I caught a live show on the Savage Sinusoid tour and their expansion into a live band showed a promise I believe has carried over onto this newest record.

Beautifully crisp and blisteringly punchy, the percussion holds like a precision drill pounding away with menace as rapid bursts of drums hold everything locked in place with a dynamic magnetism. Inching further away from the break beats and sampling of past, the tone and compositions have a far stronger framework for all the wacky, Baroque and Black Metal inspired musical madness that takes places within these choppy, dizzying assaults of rhythmic battering. Its not a constant haze however, the temperaments change and flow with the music with great understanding.

As a whole Spirituality And Distortion tones down the manic in favor of good song writing. Many of the structures and paths it wanders feel meaningful and satisfying. The balance of polar extremes have cohesion. With more purpose in mind, they work together to flow with the drastic shifts, from calm and serine to slabs of meaty crushing guitar and brutal break beats. It all has direction forging far more gratifying music.

In brief moments where its extremes are not obvious, one might mistake this for a more conventional Metal band. Its a good thing, this eclectic identity has found balance that prevails with authority. The recurring voices of Laurent and Laure let the screams and cultural singing take on an identity where once random sampling showed its stitched nature. Now things are far more inspired. Corpsegrinder of Cannibal Corpse also lends his thunderous death growls on Parpaing for a pleasant tale of rot an ruin in the house of corpses. Its not a bad song but probably my least favorite as they try to hash together conventional Death Metal with this far more flavorful sound.

Favorite Tracks: Downgrade Desert, Very Noise, Hollow Tree, Lost In Introspection, Overweight Posey, Polyphonic Rust

Rating: 8/10

Fever Ray "Plunge Remix" (2019)

My disapproval and contempt for this record mainly stems from my own impulsive purchase of what often lands a loss in the hit or miss equation of the contentious remix album. On the whims of pure excitement, the promise of a new Fever Ray record had my handing over my cash without thought, not even a quick stream to see what this Remix of 2017's exceptional Plunge album would be like. As you might guess, I am not impressed. The bar is set low as these ninety six minutes seem to have little in the way of a quality threshold. A whole host of names, none of which I know, jump on board to tear apart the instrumentals, with Fever's voice held together to form mere semblances of the original material. She is the highlight, her singing holds up to some of the monstrosities on here. It feels like a dumping ground for half baked beats and b-sides that have been lumped together, making little of interest to find new avenues through old roads. Its a wasted opertunity.

For the majority of songs, melody or song structure seems to be of little importance. Much of these remixes play like experimental exercises in rhythmic noise, abstractions of Dance and Club music. Electronic percussion patters around aimlessly maligning the samples and vocals snippets of the source material with uninspiring results. The energy is dull and with its reasonable songs squished into the first few numbers, its a long and painful ride. I can empathize that this isn't my preferred style of music, these sub par tracks may offer some intrigue to fans but Id be hard pressed to believe anyone would enjoy such stinking lows as Rip Me's "rework" of Idk About You. Its stark baselines, minimal whirl Trance synths and desolate deployment of harsh kicks is an absolute calamity of anti ideals assaulting the listener.

There is unfortunately a couple of equally bad songs that test my tolerance. I hope this serves me as a remind that Remix albums can be foul. This might be one of the worst in recent memory, perhaps it could rival Meow The Jewels. The take away is that this is a novel record, maybe not even for the die hard fans. I'd like a refund but the music economy doesn't work that way. I'm joking... or am I?

Rating: 2/10

Bring Me The Horizon "Amo" (2019)

Ive been highly anticipating Bring Me The Horizon's return since their monumental That's The Spirit, a modern day Hybrid Theory. Its unsurprising to hear the band further move into the Pop realm, the continual direction shift is fruitful and exciting. Inviting larger synth elements of EDM and Electropop in to subtly tune out their distortion guitars in places, they manage to retain an intensity and heaviness associated with the band. Its the songwriting that triumphs once again as infectious catchy hooks take hold center stage in much of the music. Oli is a huge component to its achievement, taking his voice to many harmonious places with many infectious lyrics. Amo is a logical move forward but perhaps not quite at the same grade.

BMTH certainly have a finger on the pulse of current music and an uncanny ability to evolve their sound and infuse these fresh Electronic and Pop ideas. The transition is utterly seamless and its broadened pallet of sounds gives a depth to the experience as key songs stick out with a defining character. Title track Amo and Mother Tounge pulls in 90s Dance pianos and punchy strings for a Pop epics that spans the decades. Mantra, Wonderful Life and Sugar Honey Ice & Tea, bring in sonic seven string guitar groves in the choruses offset by lighter overdrives between. Interlude pieces Fresh Bruises and Ouch dive into some flavored Glitch Hop passageways and only Nihilist Blues sounds behind the curb with a synth sound reminiscent of 009 Sound System.

Its mostly dense and detailed music, cramming many instruments and complimenting electronic tones into the available space, scaling its richness with the ebb and flow of the music which graces between its fluffy, light pop and crunching grooves, both between songs and within them too. Its A dynamic record with a depth of variety and detail for the ears but with many listens the edge is taken off its less focused and atmospheric leaning compositions that slow the stream. Amo is ultimately a great transition for the group, a strong strive forward but moving from one peak to another they loose a little in the quantity of killer tunes. That's The Spirit was a riot from start to end and Amo drifts of on differen't avenues, intensities and styles that breaks up its magic for periods. The variety is great but not each approach is triumphed.

Favorite Tracks: Mantra, Sugar Honey Ice & Tea

Rating: 6/10

Arks "Twins / Interface" (2018)

I was searching for the new Tesseract album but happily stumbled onto a record label based in the UK, distributing Drum N Bass music and just the sort I like! There is little to known of Arks but this two track release delves into the atmospheric side of the genre, dabbling with ambiguous spacial, glitched and industrial noises between the hard mechanical jive of the fast tempo beats. It comes together with an astral vibe fit for the mysterious night sky and all the wonder the stars may evoke, however it leans into the cold and heartless reality of the vast voids between sytems.

 Both songs are structured similarly. A hard backbone of tight crunching drum loops pop and snap on repetition as they set a cruising pace for an assortment of sampling to flavor the scene. Between the two a stiff baseline rumbles and both songs go through phases of build up, then dropping out the drums in the mid section to bring it back with the same set of accompanying samples. It ultimately feels rather linear and one dimensional with a lack of flair or oomph on its return to the main structure.

Its atmosphere building samples are devoid of melody. Shimmering noises flicker in and out of existence in a web of intricate sounds with an industrial edge, the likes of glass smashing and mechanical clicks and clanks, sparks and zaps paint the picture of foreign technologies. The main sounds are warping, morphing synths that rattle like a voice and on occasions sound similar to Dubstep wobbles. Its a decent pallet and approach for the vision it encompasses but with just two songs the repetition is a little nauseous. Great music, would prefer to enjoy it in a longer session of tracks.

Rating: 4/10

Anaal Nathrakh "A New Kind Of Horror" (2018)

I first heard of this band through the ripples of the UK Metal scene as a contender for the Scandinavian Black Metal outfits who blossomed the genre, while us islanders had little to offer. Ive never paid close attention since their early records but felt an itch to see what they are up to. They have evolved, as has the times and with some truly extreme ideas. Its a Black Metal record at its core, dressed up in disgust and depravity as the Birmingham duo push their musical vision downwards with harsh menacing aesthetics to raise the stakes in this conjuring of decadent, violent filth.

Its a tried and true Black Metal record with flavors of the American scene but it grabs attention for the vile extremities that first confront the listener in a cacophony of blast beats and grinding guitars accompanied sinister string sections and other various assaults of dissonance. As it builds its presence I can't help but notice how distinct the vocal style is. It plays this way throughout the record, roaring screams, blunt and raw yet somehow decipherable. They constantly peak the volume for effect and quite often spiral out of control into literal primal screams of anger and hatred. It can grow a little tiresome given the unrelenting viscous force the music exhausts.

As the record gains momentum the aesthetic experiments play like torture. Maniacal sounds and shrill possessed singing akin to Mercyful Fate soar with ferocity. When we arrive at Forward! the sounds of Glitch, Dubstep and Djent collide in an obnoxious pummeling of groove aligned to the firing of machine gun fire and shotgun blasts. Its a riot and from that point everything feels a fraction behind this peak of insanity. The record then brings in some symphony and melody to soften the blow as some drilling tremolo picking leads, power chord arrangements and chugging Djent grooves take spotlight as the aesthetic overdrive becomes far more expectant.

A New Kind Of Horror is a real race of the cliff. Vile and malicious it pushes hard at the hardened listeners with its overwhelming flood of evil noise out to punish everyone in its way. It lacks moments of respite and without truly captivating melodies or riffs it circles its own waters, each song failing to reach some sort of peak or rise to wedge in the mind but that is preference and overall I think its a fair effort. Reminds me of Cavalera Conspiracy in ways as there are ideas here that also push things forward in an obvious way. Its a dense record, lots on offer, great if it clicks with you.

Rating: 6/10

Apex Twin "Collapse" (2018)

I'm not here to comment on the history or legacy of English musician James D Richard aka Apex Twin. There is one, however his music has always been just out of my reach. Ive never been sucked in but throughout my time I have heard nothing but praise for him. Catching wind of this new release I fancied a try given its an EP. This trend of thirty minute records is quite appeasing to me. Its the sweet duration where music never seems to outstay its welcome. That is true in the case of this album, each listen feels like another leaf upturned with much to discover in this meld of relaxing, pleasant ambient countered by dizzying jumbles of electronic percussion.

Its not all magic though. Much of these six tracks felt like an effort, enduring the drum sequencing in hopes of finding its charm. James assaults the rhythm with fast choppy waves of sampled sounds that stack, collide and trip over one another as they fall neatly into position. Its crisp and clear, clean and punchy yet the off-kilter timing and swift, rapid rolls leave me a little disoriented as flurries of glitched out sounds constantly bombard the listener. Feeling the groove and rhythm is difficult. There are glimpses of aesthetic delight and occasional strides of movement but a lot of it just isn't on a wavelength I'm able to connect with.

Behind it an arsenal of strange and wonderful inhuman sounds forges calm and yet unusual atmospheres fit for indulgence but constantly hurried along by the abrasive presence of tireless sampled percussion. The Occasional emergence of childish melodies ground the emotions from the continual roll synthetic and odd sounds. In other moments thees same oddities form cohesion to resemble something more traditional but at all times the music resists being anything but.

Tracks MT1 and Abundance gives the musical side far more credence to form a memory of the music as much of the drum sequencing feels like a continuous attempt to dismantle itself and all sound encompassing but on these tracks they give a little more room to breathe. Ultimately its a strange experience with two elements mostly opposed to one another in my mind. It does find bursts of charm and passing intrigue. My curiosity will have me continuing to expose myself to Collapse in the hopes that something unheard may click for me in the future.

Favorite Tracks: MT1 T29R2, Abundance10edit

Rating: 6/10

Zeal And Ardor "Zeal And Ardor" (2014)

Until some recent research, I had been completely oblivious to the existence of this demo album released two years before Devil Is Fine. That record rocked my world when I first heard it but now with the mighty Stranger Fruit unleashed both It and this demo show their flaws boldly. Rigid edges and the forcing together of contrasted sounds sound stiff and tacky in the wake of Gagneux's evolution as an artist. And so I found myself at odds with this record, much of the blueprint for Devil Is Fine is firmly in place and even more ideas occupy the space. Essentially its an even rougher, primitive, sketched out concept, which makes total sense considering its a demo.

Its a mixed bag of fruits with an extraordinary set of influences on style and aestheic that can't ever seem to settle in one place. Its Black Metal streak ties down some consistency as songs erupt with dark rumblings of blast beats and screams with an essence of familiarity. Beyond it Manuel adds a little of anything from a muted rap on The Lesser Key to all manor of electronic styles with a fondness for glitched, odd timed beats and harsh synths on the Intermezzo interludes. The third installment bares little resemblance as the music drifts into dreary and bleak sound of Ethereal Gothic Rock.

Its hard to keep up with, many of the fruits of this experimentation are far apart from one another both musically and in the run time but on Bounty we find a flare of inspiration that anchors home as the Chain Gang sound. It makes for a cheeky song lined with group claps over a mischievous melody as Manuel sings in a husky voice, telling caution to the slaves who should keep quite in the presence of the governors wife. Its a rare moment of cohesion in a truly curious demo that continually experiments and thus dispels any flow or atmosphere despite having plenty good ideas, they just don't match one another.

Favorite Tracks: Bounty

Rating: 5/10

Death Grips "Year Of The Snitch" (2018)

One of my most anticipated records this year has now arrived and with it comes that familiar Death Grips experience again. Initially alien, esoteric and bizarre, the music plays like a morbid curiosity, an avant-garde experiment into the estranged and then after some time it suddenly clicks into place, you feel as if you have known these songs forever. After the banging, fan pleasing Bottomless Pit the Sacramento trio return to their more adventurous side with an another unusual musical construct that echos some of their Exmilitary roots former glory.

Year Of The Snitch is primarily an aesthetic experience with its rich and vivid tapestries of synths, samples and unusual sounds that approach from all manor of odd angles as you would expect. The performance drumming of Zach Hill livens up the musics texture as the songs interchange between some tightly sequenced kits and his frenetic drumming, making itself know with fast shuffling grooves and fills in and among the chaos of sound one has to unpackage. Mostly the programmed drums hold down tempos and help along the experience with synthetic, quirky kits as opposed to pumping out grooves and energy like the previous record.

MC Ride is fantastic across this project, his lyrics are typically cryptic, quotable and require some thought as per usual but on this release specifically there is a strong mix of freedom, creativity and energy. All of his vocals feel free from any burden, Ride has and endless stream of ideas for delivery and flow that holds nothing back. The use of reverb, voice modulation, sampling, pitch manipulation and scratching enriches the already individual experience as a tapestry of voices emerge in bursts throughout the record around his main vocal line.

The trio demonstrate their growing chemistry as all the ideas on this record come together so cohesively, Rides vocal performance seems to melt into the detailed, layered instrumentals. As per usual wide range of sounds come together in a mania of variety and oddities and once again they find their own dimension, this may be in part to the striking return of rock guitars that throw back to the debut Exmilitary mixtape. There is also a noticeable sampling and snippets of vocals and sounds from their older songs thrown in the mix, giving it a stronger link.

All in all, Year Of The Snitch masters the side of Death Grips I have not been keen on so far. Ive loved the band when they strike with a touch of groove and those banging percussive beats but projects like Jenny Death that steer away from this backbone have yet to dazzle. In this instance I think the group found a balance that really works and loaded it with a depth of texture that really takes up your attention when focusing on the details in sound. The atmosphere they create and what all that madness adds up to is a wonderfully odd and unusual, a cluster of emotions drifting through the cosmic void.

Favorite Tracks: Death Grips Is Online, Black Paint, The Fear, Disapointed

Rating: 8/10

JPEGMAFIA "Veteran" (2018)

Mentioned in vein with Death Grips and free to download on bandcamp, it seemed foolish to pass up on this praised Experimental Hip Hop artist. Stylized as JPEGMAFIA, pseudonym of Baltimore rapper Barrington Hendricks has put together an oddball, esoteric project that's very much a niche of its own. I can't think of anything quite like it other than some abrasive parallels to Death Grips and given JPEG's first release was in 2015 its probably fair to say they have been a big influence, however its no imitation game, this project explores some interesting, unique to my ears, avenues of sound design.

The record plays like a mine field of aesthetic experiments, drifting and wandering through all manor of sporadic, schizophrenic sounds with bursts of rapid glitching, frequency manipulation and distortions that can be almost disorienting at times. With headphones plugged in the record livens up into a new dimension as many of these samples have ASMR sound waves that may cause strange sensations deepening on your reaction to this internet phenomenon built on condenser mics.

Much of the instrumentals feel disconnected, unfocused and free flowing. Which is like the record itself, everything breezes from one instance to the next. The drum beats seem to emerge and disappear on a whim between the stark bold samples that dominate the records texture. They sound sparse and spacious yet the quiet and meek sounds are mixed to bleed into the spaces and create a strange atmosphere where all sorts of noises, scratches, knocks, strikes, crashes etc represent a minimalism that becomes larger than itself... Its tough to put into words.

On the lyrical front things feel equally disconnected with unstructured, songs having bursts of bars all over the place as well as many instrumental passages. Its casual and mostly plugged into our internet dominated culture, referencing many cultural quirks and modern political state, referencing "libtards" the "alt-right" and fake news. Not much of it stood out to me beyond picking up on a few reoccurring themes.

There are moments where the interest is fruitful and others where the experiment becomes heavy and tiring. Jpeg straddles the territory between the catchy and obscure and more often than not the beats don't quite catch the instrumental and bang. It often sounds like that's the intent and Baby I'm Bleeding is a keen example where its blunt vocal sample pushes a micro repetition too far before the snare and bass kick groove. It mostly comes down to preference, I like many aspects of this project objectively but its not often that in clicked in the way you really feel the music.

Rating: 5/10

Fever Ray "Plunge" (2017)

I dreamed but never thought it would be so, eight years on Swedish musician Karin Dreijer releases a follow up to her critically acclaimed self titled Fever Ray. In the three years since my discovery of her debut It has grown to be one of my all time favorite records, the sort you have to always consider when making top tens and playlists. Her sophomore Plunge comes entirely out of the blue, a rouge email in my inbox I thought to good to be true but alas it is so. With only a video single released a week prior, this surprise release is more than just a pleasant one.

First impressions were wild, all I could focus on was all that was different. Plunge felt dissonant, avant-garde and ambiguously adventurous with its entrancing electronics. Working with more ambitious, experimental sounds the textural journey continually weaves webs of intricate noise arrangements flailing from Glitch to Electonica, with hints of Industrial in its noisy, less melody driven passageways. The atmosphere shifts and varies from one track to the next, conjuring obscure, spacial vibes that can delve into gentle unease and unearthly sounds with the measure for calm, soothing relaxation. On its other hand these songs can become animalistic, dark and paranoid in their abrasive persuasions.

All of this often revolves around a sturdy backbone of stripped back club and House beats. Hard thuds detached from the conventional pop of a snare and tempo setting hi-hat let the dense instrumental arrangement absorb the attention a club groove would often dominate. A hand full of songs, maybe four to five of the songs feel straight of the back of the last album, utilizing the same bell and siren-like synths but deploying slow and steady kick and snare grooves in contrast to the more polarizing, experimental tracks. "Red Trails" being one of these songs you could slip onto Fever Ray has to get a shout for Sara Parkman's stunningly, morose, harrowing violin solo that seeps itself into the atmosphere like a parasite, eating the song from the inside out, carving its menace through an otherwise chilled, if not dark track. Stellar moment on the record.

The production being of this modern era is unsurprisingly crisp, no thanks to the state of technology but balancing all that heard is done with a touch of class. The record can feel almost clustered in moments with all the rattling of intricate sounds swirling around, from start to end its all managed and put together in a lean and easy setting. Karin's singing is infectious, her unique, estranged voice is unleashed with the wit to spin her expressions into elevating hooks, radiating the music and lodging themselves into your consciousness. Lyrical themes are entwined in sexuality, charged by identity and eroticism, the sometimes coarse but often poetic lyrics rub up against some obviously political statements, see "This Country" to hear unflattering commentary that's hard to ignore.

Ultimately, Plunge is a superb record, little to fault and plenty to rave about, Its an endearing listen. My main point of questioning would be in its two halves, distinctly alike to its predecessor on half the tracks taking a big leap forward in experimentation on its other half we essentially get the best on two worlds. To repeat yourself or be inconsistent on a record can sometimes be a hindrance but neither of these possible considerations seem to matter in the case of Plunge, which will probably go head to head with Sikth for my favorite release this year!

Rating: 8/10

IGORRR "Savage Sinusoid" (2017)

Kicking off with a horrid and vile, throaty scream, Igorrr's manic shouts plunge us into a pummeling groove of crunchy extreme metal distortion riffage accommodated by a textural ravishing of glitched out breakbeat manipulations that grow in intensity and complexity. Its obnoxious, absurd and with the second song, a Baroque harpsichord melody sets the tone for the excepted collision of worlds as a manly sung operatic voice groans with passion, steadily twisting into deviated screams of horror. Its a firm opening for an album that delivers the best I could of hoped for.

Its been five years since "Hallelujah" and the wait seems worthwhile as all that felt hazardous, novelty and experimental has been banished from sight. Perhaps its my accustom to his style or a genuine maturity but this release plays like a full album, a solid listening experience that delivers plenty of satisfying songs lavished in all sorts of bizarre oddities. This time around they feel as if with purpose and direction, rather than a slew of experiments trying to out-weird one another. That was the problem with previous records but this ones had me in the grip of its jaws continually returning for more of its notably more metal oriented pandemonium.

As to be expected gnarly breaks and blasts form a tireless spine perpetually stretched, squeezed, twisted and turned patterns manipulated through pitch, pace and repetition. Its distortion is the ecstasy that fails to work alone. "Robert" for example a breakbeat solo of sorts that only finds its groove in its final moments as more sounds flesh out its feel after a stretch of dizzying manipulations. The best of the percussion comes from the dense tracks where extreme guitar tones grind away alongside equally abrasive synths and noisy buzz saws.

The Baroque, Renaissance counterpart, or whatever you wish to call it, has its heart in operatic vocals and soft, luscious compositions on classical instruments, sampled or original the voices always seem to find their way to darkness. The musics roll in the record is much of its own as Igorrr finds a far better cohesion between the contrasting styles, often transitioning between the two sounds rather that forcing them together. As a result the album flows from chaos to beauty with the occasional collisions arising in between that are far better than anything I remember previously. Aesthetically and idealistically not much has changed but it is the composition and song writing that triumph here for a concise record that fills its forty minutes to the brim with some of his best material to date!

Favorite Tracks: Viande, Probléme D'émotion, Spagetti Forever, Apopathodiaphulatophobia, Au Revoir

Rating: 8/10

DJ Shadow "The Mountain Has Fallen" (2017)

With a new album on the horizon DJ Shadow drops a short, four track EP to get us warmed up for whats ahead. It sparked my interested thanks to its guest features, the legendary Nas of Queensbridge and new blood Danny Brown who both drop strong verses on their respected tracks, the chemistry between Shadow and his featured rappers is an interesting aspect for a reasonable set of Hip Hop instrumentals, with only the closer "Corridors" providing some genuine impressions of notoriety.

"Systematic", possibly a play on Illmatic, has Nas breaking down the self serving nature of the dominant power structure that governs our western society, then using it metaphorically for self affirming rhymes. Shadow deploys a relatively comfortable beat for the 90s era rapper with Boombap beats and a plucked guitar groove that gets expansive in the chorus with a range of colliding laser like samples and upfront vinyl scratching. Its got energy and charisma, its own sound but nothing special. "Horror Show" steps out of the comfort zone to accommodate Brown's persona with off-kilt beats that dizzy with seemingly two overlapping grooves playing off one another. Action effects stack up in the spaces between while evil super villain synths clime the notes to ascension. The tone is slightly manic but I can't help but feel the drum sampling would of benefited from something slicker and modern.

"Good News" feels like an experiment left unfinished, a spasm of drum kicks and snares messing around with time signatures seem to lack any groove. The glitched manipulation of samples may be reminiscent of IGORRR but it has no pzazz. "Corridors" is the albums best as a progressive song that builds up its atmospheric synths to meet a hard thudding bass kick decorated in reversed samples and lavished with layers of noisy sampling that increases in intensity to break into a calm moment that brings us back with a crescendo string section that doesn't really climax the song and then the needle skips, stutters and were out. Interesting listen but very little here to return to.

Rating: 3/10

Vince Staples "Big Fish Theory" (2017)

It was only a while back that I was introduced to the young Compton rapper. Summertime '06 won me over so another album springing up so quickly Is a pleasant surprise. Big Fish takes of where Summertime left, working with the same producer Vince retains the distinct production style behind his rhymes, sub baselines crunch under tight shuffling hi hats and steady, cautious snare kick grooves. Where Summertime had a smoother tone with fragrant samples and a more "traditional" Hip Hop vibe, Big Fish takes a turn to new territory with strong influences from House and Electronic music that has much of the instrumentation used performed by an array of synthesized sounds.

 The album kicks off with "Crabs In The Bucket", if you removed Vince's voice from the track it would unrecognizable as a Hip Hop track, Its sweeping wind synths lead us into a smooth Dance groove with Kilo Kish laying down soft, echoing vocals over a climatic jiving baseline groove reminiscent of G-Funk. This tone follows through the record, many tracks would fall into another category if it wasn't for Vince's rhymes and that's the albums brilliance, Its abridged styles and created something of its own, a unique fusion that seems just right for this artist. The records tone has a rather cold and spacious quality, many of these crunking baselines and tight shuffling beats intersect with abstract electronic noises without an upfront melody. In response the baseline rhythms become a focal point of direction and Vince's often flat, leveled delivery reinforces the chilling tone. It works especially well when his lyrics go into darker regions.

With a handful of banging baselines and catchy hooks the album sets off fires in one instances and puts them out with its quirkier tracks that don't quite vibe the same. Not to say they are bad tracks but there is a note able difference despite a rather consistent tone. I like Big Fish Theory for its unique crossover between style two genres and much is to be merited for that success but it doesn't mean all the songs are automatically destined for greatness. With new territory comes new challenges and through the thirty six minutes I felt as if there was an imbalance between the quirky, rhythmically arranged synths and an opportunity for more dance laden melody and atmosphere, however that's just a matter of taste and unfortunately what started out as a really interesting album started to fade somewhat by the tenth listen or so as the overall picture of the record came into view. The songs just don't quite hold up and an overall direction is lacking, most notable on Alyssa that comes in with a long vocal snippet that has seemingly nothing to do with the rest of the record. The great ideas are scattered in here but they don't find their way to cohesion.

Favorite Tracks: Crabs In The Bucket, Love Can Be, 745, Bagbak, Rain Come Down

Rating: 6/10