Devin Townsend "The Puzzle" (2021)

 

Having heard the story of The Puzzle unfold through The Devin Townsend Podcast, this album is an expected disappointment. That's not to say the music here isn't to be enjoyed but It seems the activity at play hasn't produced anything special other than a meandering ambient detour. It groans and croaks with oddities between its often smoothed out exterior. It felt like this would be the case. Hit by last years lock-down woes, Devin set out to collaborate with his colleagues online, given the situation.

Stumbling into his own musical puzzle, Dev found himself intrigued by the task of assembling together all the pieces his fellow musicians sent him. As suspected, the curiosity of such an interesting and difficult task mostly remains with him alone. For this listener, the outlines of each piece are blurry and its final composition seems more like wedged pieces lining up to be stretched and twisted into shape than a picture.

The Ambient framework is a crutch that has an array of bold musical ideas punching through its pale tranquility. From whirls of machinery electronics, to guttural shouts and spoken word. Pan flute adventures, whispering vocals and choirs in unison. Dramatic pianos, animated drum fills and frenetic Saxophone leads. These wild variety of contributions never quite escape themselves, however which such a deep web of sounds, its hard to know where his contemporaries parts start and end.

With that though comes a fair helping of obvious offerings that get wedged in, feeling indifferent and out of step with the vibe and pace, mostly because it meanders and uses foggy washes of sound to transition and move in any direction. It all just feels a little meaningless and where Dev leans on his traditional stylings, they too emerge from the haze rather than setting structure and form which would off aided this greatly. As said, this was a expected disappointment. A difficult task for any musician. I didn't expect much other than a couple of curious listens and that is all I got.

Rating: 4/10

New Gaia "New Gaia" (2016)

If you're familiar with the genre then this records album art, rooted in nostalgic gaming aesthetics, would let you know its a Vapourwave release, the worlds first international music genre built on the anonymity of online culture. "New Gaia" made its way onto a 2016 top list and peaked my interest. For what Vaporwave has revealed itself to offer, Id say this is a pretty fair representation of its strongest points. The self titled record is a typically aesthetic journey through chopped and churned sampling, reassembled in a duality between the future and nostalgia.

It opens up with a striking sample reminiscent of the pianos in Moby's "Porcelain", although I could never pin point the exact moment its lifted. There are a few other recognizable snippets throughout but its not the focal point. Moby's pianos, paired with the sounds of birds chirping and an endless depth of looping reverb, sets the tone a soothing journey through an oddly crowded aesthetic where instruments collide and peak much to the enjoyment of the listener. Its often awkward drum tones and burried sweeping phases are subtle nuances reinforcing the dreamy, sometime ethereal soundscapes. The record doesn't have many remarkable moments but keeps a consistent tone through its short songs totaling just under twenty minutes. Its construct is fascinating, with many manipulations and technical arrangements to imagine what technique is behind the oddities of sound. Between the more obvious constructs emerge many fluid and crafty transitions which aid a seemingly static sound into an organic evolution where a sampled lead instrument often diverts our focus as the setting around it shifts and transforms.

Its mood and atmosphere, slightly alien, strangely homely, captures the senescence of this musical format far better than others Ive heard since "Macintosh Plus". The short and abrupt nature of the songs left me with a personal feeling that more could come of these soundscapes, thought they are involving and each one creates a prominent sense of something unworldly to imagine into. I think for this sound to really strike a nerve it needs its expansive ideas more track time to evolve, however whats being created is fascinating and most welcome to my ears.

Favorite Tracks: Strange New Feel, No Looking Back

Rating: 5/10

Sorath "Devil Daggers OST" (2016)

Devil Daggers is a hellish, brutal and difficult game that hails back to the glory days of fps and Doom clones, where the themes were menacingly dark and demonic beasts assaulted the player, putting them under an intense physiologic challenge. The game was too much for me to handle, in terms of staying alive. The free soundtrack that came with it caught my attention. There is nothing quite like the sinister soundscapes these dark ambient tracks can conjure up and so the four tracks that barely make thirteen minutes have been playing over and over. I could find next to know information about who made the music, Sorath is simply the name of the developers studio attached to the MP3 files that came with the game.

"I" starts with the sound of a dead orchestra, dense layers of deep synths and organs unite with a tonal presence that commands attention as in the distance shimmering voices and bells can be heard. Its bright, luminous yet shrouded in mystery as no comfort can be drawn from its presences. "II" Plunges us into the darkness with whispering noises lurking in the shadows. A prominent voice calls out like a cry from the abyss, a warning to an intruder. With disjointed, alien synths a few notes feel devoid of musical meaning but speak like words of the danger approaching. The pitch shifting and distortion of this instrument is fascinatingly detailed and dense in its short bursts of life between the darkness.

"III" sets in the waves of fear and terror as wretched noises observe from the black culminating to a section of heart racing paranoia as pounding industrial strikes pound rhythmically alongside shrill screams and a growing arsenal of hellish sounds as the walls close in to a narrow escape that provides some respite despite a sense of dread not over. "IV" has a sense of conclusion as a melody creeps into lead synth. The shadowy noises are in retreat and its as if a bright light is shining deep into the abyss, revealing its corruption through the oddities of electronic distortion. It ends with the darkness still breathing, awaiting its next move.

Sorath has created a very memorable set of short dark ambient pieces that are both cinematic and nontheatrical in nature. There is a plethora of textures and intrigue to the sounds at play, they don't conclude and so the music hangs in a dreading sense of ambiguity. A lack of melody or convention leaves each listen feeling fresh new, and not so memorable as the record does not stale with each returning listen. Each time the harrowing adventure starts over again.

Rating: 7/10

OverClocked ReMix "Doom II Delta-Q-Delta" (2008)

 Here's a record I almost passed over but curiosity got the better of me. "OverClocked ReMix" is an online community of musicians who re-imagine the soundtracks of computer games in their own vision. Despite hearing nothing but praise it didn't appeal to me much, but how foolish could I of been? I picked out the Doom soundtracks since its my favorite game and just after a couple of listens I was sucked in! The vibe and atmosphere was very fitting of the game, and the instrumentals had a level of craft and care similar to the C&C soundtracks composed by Frank Klepacki.

As a community driven record there are many musicians at work here, sometimes collaborating but mostly working on their own, each with a level song to rework. Despite a range of aesthetics and approaches, the record has a strong flow as the themes and mood shift through track to track. Even going from chirpy electronic led tunes to pounding on metallic guitars the record flows well with one exception, "31 Seconds" sounds out of place, its indie guitars, bright pianos leads, light drum kit and voice samples had me thinking I was listening to "Public Service Broadcasting". I thought id messed up my records playlist!

The atmosphere is ripe and the songs stroll through with an ambient quality that has subtle leads, chords and arrangements working around one another a typically soundtrack fashion, letting your attention focus to whatever is at hand while these songs steadily build and grow with a few distinctive melodies and moments cropping up in between. The whole soundtrack is a mash up of styles that has many dynamic components working together. You can hear elements of Metal, Noise, DnB and Big Beat around the predominantly Electronic and Industrial tracks.

The chemistry between these styles is executed with a vision and on "Icon Of Sinewave" we hear samples of our hero and the demons that create a dark and gruesome scene of the game before crashing into the main theme which amplifies the grueling intensity before breaking to an uplifting fast tempo beat that reminded me of being "in the zone" playing Doom. The samples could of featured more but it may have been overkill to do so. This is a fantastic soundtrack that produced a couple of real gems I will be returning to fore times to come.

Favorite Tracks: Westside Archvile, Crushing Headache, Silent Healer, Icon Of Sinewave, Ablaze

Rating: 7/10

The Diabetic Sandwich "MunchieZ" (2015)

This short three track record is a collaborative effort between four producers from across the globe, uniting under the moniker "The Diabetic Sandwich" to create Hip Hop instrumentals with a broad range of influences from Trap to Jazz Hop and a general Alternative vibe. The group is yet to define itself beyond its stark graphical output of cut n paste photoshop, neon colors and colossal hamburgers. The debut release a short one leaving much to be desired.

"Merlot" feels like the records only fully developed track at just under four minutes. Jazzy pianos, wordless vocal leads and subtle guitars collide with airy, alien synths, Trap hi hats and deep kicks in an unusual chemistry of oddity that displays a charm. The production is a little forceful, pushing the airy synths into the compound samples it feels a little clustered but the ears do adjust. The song moves through a structure fit for verse and chorus and could really be elevated by the presence of a rapper.

"Meatsticks" has a calmer, less ambitious tone. At two minutes it has an interlude vibe as a sturdy beat sample guides a gentle strings and a graceful piano to a quiet conclusion. The production is subtle, the samples work well together and apart from some obvious clarity difference, it all works.

"Cheese Whizzz" is the records most unusal number, throwing layers of lush sound subtleties into the beat with laser firing and explosion sound effects. The drum beat is a little dry and crispy, and there isn't much of a lead sample, just lush airy noises drifting around the beat that doesn't progress anywhere in particular. At 99 seconds it feels like an unfinished beat.

Rating: 2/10