Batushka "Carju Niebiesnyj" (2021)

 

Operating under the drama of band name disputes, here we have Krysiuk's Batushka marching on with a string of three EPs that passed me by. Perhaps I am only following Krzysztof's Batushka? The whole thing is a confusing mess of foreign names often interchanged with unique language letters. Either way this arm of the sound Litourgiya reckoned upon us feels stylistically cornered as this iteration of the band hash out a similar resolution across six songs. Sticking to their guns, the main focus is steeped in overtones to tie in a darkness counter to eastern orthodoxy of centuries gone by.

After many spins, that's left Carju Niebiesnyj feeling like a duller incarnation, throwing the same punches over again. Its one merit is in production, a sense of expanded budget falls upon its crisper tone where instruments and voices come across clearer. Even with that, some charm may be lost as low fidelity often stirs magic in the Black Metal aesthetic. Talking on the music itself, only Pismo V stood aside as an interlude focusing on a duet of male and effeminate voices, singing with deep reverbs to evoke a sense of biblical burdens bestowed upon church goers of a time and place now lost.

Otherwise its screams, bleeding guitars and batterings of blast-beats tread a familiar line. Its competent but expectant, leaving one with little more to remark on than the particulates of their unique take established six years ago. Its enjoyable, especially in the embellished moments where choir voices and eastern overtones take rise, most keenly on its closer. In the plunges of darkness speared on by aggression and fury, not so much. Ultimately, its been another case of Metal music played safe and steady where as I am seeking something different and new.

Rating: 4/10

Rich Brian "Brightside" (2022)

 

Dropping a surprise EP out of the blue, the Indonesian rapper Rich Brian returns with four concise and impressive tracks, with no mention of a fourth coming album. Still a youthful figure at 22 years, maturity is starting to show in his lyrics but more obvious is his flow. Tightening up the bars, increases the pace of his cadence, Brian commands these cuts on his own with one feature, Warren Hue, on Getcho Mans. Its a banging off kilt number led by a dirty baseline and oriental overtone. To me, Brian shows his inspirations a little candidly with his second verse. The delivery style gives me some serious Lil Uzi Vert vibes, particularly from the opening stretch of Eternal Atake.

With that one distinction, the rest of the music stands on its own. The opening New Tooth, a fantastic union of beat production and lyrical direction. Brian moves from fiery Braggadocio raps into a more reflective stance over the two beat switches. It takes the music to an emotive conclusion with its introspective pianos. Lagoon and Sunny split that direction apart further, the first a gritty brooding number muddying in darker spaces. The latter bolsters uplifting moods with motivational words. Brightside is promising set of songs for an artist who sounds like they are in a great creative space.

Rating: 4/10

Dagoba "On The Run" (2022)

 

I'm not overly enthused about this release. Its more of a passing curiosity for a band name I was surprised to hear are still going. Its was back in the early days of the Deathcore scene that my friends and I also listened to these French metallers who were in a different lane, the "Future Fusion Metal" breed that never really took off. Melding an earlier take on Meshuggah's chunky Djent guitars, blisteringly fast mechanical drumming and an atmospheric helping of electronic synth, they caught our attention. They have since seemed to of escaped my interest... Perhaps I should revisit that record? Take another walk down memory lane! Music is always infused with memory for me.

Anyways, On The Run consists of two tracks still in that vein, modernized and toned down in intensity. The opening title track however goes for an accommodating temperament, a duet with an effeminate voice fit for more than just Metal. I couldn't find a name, but she has a style that steers the music into the classic European scene of decades past where women really started to get a foothold in the scene. The soft blare of trance synths nestled in the mix gives it quite the pop appeal. Initially it felt a little contrived but its an easy going song with a darker leaning that's grown on me.

Its following songs get meatier, shifting emphasis to big stomping grooves erupting between rough shouts and screams. The synths tend to play accents on the unfolding momentum but too get moments to shine and play up the Trance and electronic club scene vibes. Its a decent chemistry that doesn't amount to anything spectacular but does no harm either. A little astral in places, they distantly remind me of Aeons Confer. This has been a reminder of how enjoyable Metal can be, even if not much out there feels fresh or different.

Rating: 2/10

Rachel Chinouriri "Fourº In Winter" (2021)

With calming, softly sung wordings and crafty subdued instrumentals, singer Rachel Chinouriri steers R&B to the shadows with gentle Ethereal vibes to forge a unique sound. These eight tracks fit snugly together as they ebb and flow through the cloudy ambiguity of dreamy sound manipulation and tight traditional arrangements driven by sharp percussive grooves. Throughout it all she remains present as both the focal point and as an embellishment of textural layering, the music being interwoven with vocal manipulations. It gives the music a warm and curious tone where shadows, darkness and limbo, the usual arsenal of words in my vocabulary for description. They just doesn't feel quite fitting for the direction she drifts towards.

At twenty three minutes its an indulgence that never falters, crooning through these timeless spaces where melodies have devolved into brief surges of ambiguous sound. Its an amorphous experience. Give Me A Reason kicks us off straight into its curious mood as the slow tempo and pallet of odd sounds work there easy wonder. The ending however sours, a collaboration injecting a plain talking male voice with a verse structure to switch the vibe up, a contrast that didn't offer much in my opinion.

All between is a wonderful ride. Instrumentally its vaguely reminiscent of Jan Amit, possibly some Post-Rock artists where sparse acoustic guitars and airy synths take over. Vocally its Billie Eilish but more so because of her soft and breathy, intimate performances. In borders ASMR on occasions, which more often that not, doesn't rub me the right way. In this instance it works so well with the dreamy atmosphere, most of the time... In one or two moments she goes a bit far with it. Otherwise I really enjoyed this gem, very unique, occupying an interesting space between genres.

Rating: 6/10

Dance With The Dead "Driven To Madness" (2022)

 

With several years passed since my plunge into Dance With The Dead's albums, this lively return, polished of with an aesthetic upgrade, has re-invigorated my interest in the band. Bolstering their metallic adjacent temperament with brimming distortion guitars and equally aggressive synths, the duo pivot musically to something akin to a breed of Synth-Metal where the horror inspired Retrowave aesthetic meets modern Metal song structures and metallic themes in somewhat of a perfection union.

This charge of ten songs is kicked of by a symphonic horror treat as John Carpenter lends his classic theme melody style to the opening March Of The Dead. The record then shifts into gear, stomping down with chunky aggressive grooves, interwoven by stylish, creepy movie inspired synth melodies. At times it embodies an Industrial Metal temperament, reminiscent of Rammstein in places. This aided greatly by its gorgeous instrumental textures that make the music a pleasure on two fronts.

With crystal clear instruments churning away in this superb production, one will pick out favorites among the grooves and melodies but one thing feels strikingly absent, vocals! Somewhere early on there was a soft choral choir voicing used but other than that its a wordless affair that I felt really needed a persona up front to guide its verse chorus structures. As someone who isn't all to captivated by lyrics it was peculiar to feel its absence. With compositions being recycled and only the occasional guitar solo to give it a voice, I could really see a commanding presence at the front elevating the songs. Other than that, this was a much better execution of everything they had striven for in the past, at least to my semi critical ears!

Rating: 6/10

God "Possession" (1992)

With a wealth of music just a few clicks away, my reading tangents of band connections, genre exploration and general curiosity is no longer manifesting an obscure list of music I'll never actually get around too. My recent unearthing of Techno Animal's Re-Entry led me to find out what its other half, Kevin Martin, was up to with God! What a band name, I wonder how it had not been scooped up early, perhaps held by some iconic artists. Its competition in the shadow of the church and religion is no cause for a lack of prevalence here, the music rather obscure and unwelcoming.

Labeled as Avant-Guard Industrial Rock and Metal, I thought there is a fair chance of finding some appeal. Sadly these length tangents of manically droning exhaust whats decent and smother it an onslaught of tonal assault that forever meanders on its repetitive structure less form. From its shortest four minutes into the lengthy stints topping out at seventeen minutes, every song hinges on a baseline and drum pattern backbone. It works away, iterating itself at the same tempo incessantly! Then a fog of samples, random noises, distant voices and a zany Jazz Saxophone slowly wash in. Each song finds its flavor, a distinction but they all grind on endlessly.

The Sax performance is rather impressive with some vibrancy and illumination often steered into a maniac frenzy of squirrely notes bordering on mental illness. Its other instrumentation, sometimes pianos, other percussive sounds and shrill sounds, often feel intentionally out of step with the core musical loop. Its result just doesn't spark a magic for me. A couple of songs may have a strong drum groove or meaty distortion guitar lick going for it but when that crops up, its repeated to death.

Don't get me wrong, I had a fair bit of fun with this. The first listen was the strongest with walls of maddening sound a treat to pick apart. The texture and intensity is wild on first glance but once a songs played twice its all to apparent how lacking the depth the project is. The songs have no direction other than to drone and all its ebbs and flows of accompanying madness just seem random and without much intent. Reversing those trends could of yielded but sadly the whole record is a bore.

Rating: 3/10

Pop Will Eat Itself "Cure For Sanity" (1990)

 

 Despite the disappointment of a "Grebbo Rock" record with Box Frenzy, I will continue my exploration of English genre mashers Pop Will Eat Itself. Spotify has alleviated the friction of research and investment into albums. Now any curiosity is just a few clicks away! With that I've also felt less of a need to go deep on records, the result feeling wonderful. The burden of expensive MP3s has been lifted and my ears are free to explore. Does that factor into why I enjoyed this hour of early 90s vibes so much? Probably, its nice to not have a thought gnawing at the back of ones mind about frequently sinking money into your listening choices when they turn sour.

Cure for Sanity opens up with fantastic sampled dialog of the shape of music in the fabric of society and outdated notions of how this should be controlled. Its sets a high bar for topicality that I never felt returned in the next nineteen tracks. Admittedly the cheesy 80s rap flows in British accents made for a lack of investment in the lyrics. Its following Dance Of The Mad Bastards feels like a send off to the Rock Rap crossover that made This Is The Day so magical, reusing distortion guitars and other samples that gave it identity. These snippets run alongside new sounds and a percussive drum loop fit for the coming Electronic scene of England in the early 90s.

From here the record strolls through a fair bit of mediocrity, leaving its metallic tone in the dust and stitching together newer moods and tones of the times in a heavy wash of sampling that will have you clambering to remember from what artists you first heard that sample or sound before. Again it includes many cultural snippets too, like the famous commentary and crowd sounds from England's 1966 world cup victory.

Going back to the remark on the yet to blossom Electronic scene, the better songs here seem to bolster House and Dance pianos that would be a staple style before long. Its other cutting edge is in percussion, many drum loops a precursor to Big Beat and the likes can be heard and all at the start of the decade. It would be so fascinating to see a deep dive on the samples and their place in the timeline. It seems so apt for whats about to arrive and undoubtedly wouldn't be possible without legal freedom for sampling at the time that what be drastically changed in years to come. Cure for Sanity is a fair bit of fun with a lot of mediocrity as many songs feel like a collection of sampling ideas. Luckily there is a couple of solid songs in here too.

Rating: 5/10

Kero Kero Bonito "Civilisation I" (2021)

 

 

 I've been diving into a few Kero Kero Bonito records and loving whats to be discovered! Initially, I didn't vibe as strongly with this other half to Civilisation II until I had the further context of their back catalog. As a quirkier, bold and colorful trio of songs, it seemed offbeat from the marvels of its successor. Released two years earlier, these three songs perhaps signify maturity over the period, however being new to the London based outfit, my passing thoughts are of little value currently.

 

The opening track Battle Lines bursts to life with a barrage of punchy instruments, a disorienting layering of cheesy 80s synth sounds reworked to produce a carefree, wonderus mood. Its zany synths jive unabashedly, jolting into life with sequences of notes that play like guitar solos, often seeming out of key initially and swiftly find their orientation with the music. Ironically its was the most jarring track but now the one I love most. The wildly animated nature of its busy instrumentals is remarkable!

When The Fire Comes drifts into a calmer, soothing temperament, letting Sarah Perry take a little more light with her keen singing voice. The steady percussion gives rise to layerings of gorgeous, vibrant keys. So easy to enjoy! The River follows up extending that warm, easy tone with its breezy synths making a mockery of its jittering percussion and sporadic bursts of odd synthesized noise effects. Its somehow dreamy, yet that drum pattern is so shaken and agitated! The chemistries these three conjure are simply wonderful. They are now the subject of my next musical journey!

Rating: 4/10

Ghost "Call Me Little Sunshine" (2022)

As one of my most cherished band of recent years, even a two track single garners my attention! After all, Ghost did release a duo of non-album gems with Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic. Sadly, this pair do not live up to the hype and also feature on the upcoming Impera full length. My initial, unchanged, reaction to the title track was a soft disappointment. With Meloria and Prequelle the band took significant strides of excitement as their sound matured. This song feels like it didn't make the cut on the last outing. Reciting the same 80s inspired vibes, its easy tempo and molded melodic temperament delivers its average chorus and verse on stride to a guitar solo, a lull and then return. For them, its an all to common structure lacking a spark.

The following Hunter's Moon feels a more lively in comparison with instrumental shake ups unleashing broody guitar grooves and twisted church chorals. Its still the same overall structure but the chorus hook arrives more vibrant as the lead guitar rolls out a grabbing lick. Don't get me wrong, I adore this band and the niche they occupy but this sounds like a group on autopilot, simplifying their sound into very digestible music that lacks the flash and surprise that has made them unmissable over the last ten years. Its not got my hopes up for Impera. I am hoping these are the weaker cuts.

Rating: 2/10

The Weeknd "Dawn FM" (2022)

Having made waves with his retro inspired After Hours, The Weekend returns two years on with Dawn FM. Leaning deeper into the nostalgia of 80s Pop music and aesthetics of Synthwave, this sixteen track dive sustains more of an album experience that its predecessor. Equally, without a spearhead song like Blinding Lights, it endures with consistency of mood. One can simply dip in at any point and relax with easy vibes, breezy cruising instrumentals and wonderful falsetto singing. So often do those high notes become the peak in this narrow range of creative avenues explored.

Thematically structured around the concept of an ethereal radio station, a handful of its spaced apart interludes play like broadcast ads. Decoded, its theme of suspension in limbo signals a direction out for the listener. Its a wonderful tie in, melding the overall mood with a bigger picture. The album doesn't peer into the unease or eeriness of the situation but essentially forges a link with its retroactive stylistic inspirations, as if the lyrical narratives explored reflect on memories gone by.

The lyrics themselves often linger on relationships, love and heartbreak with a common "looking back" perspective. Luckily his voice is charming, a soft and strong flow that can gracefully sweep between notes, lingering on them with emotion and passion in the vibrations. That's where the feeling is felt for me. Lyrically the concepts are often simple, straightforward and in the latter half of the track listing tend to feel rather shallow in terms of depth. The words recycled are unimaginative lines and sentences from love songs Ive heard done to death by many an artist before him.

Dawn FM shines consistently on its instrumental front. Its glossy, lush, spacy synths bring a sweet indulgence fit for its upbeat tempos and lazy slow riding grooves too. The easy going nature of Pop music is treated to an inspired aesthetic. The balance takes the better aspects of Synthwave tones without hounding them into the ground as many artist in this Retrowave movement do. On occasion The Weeknd and his production team lean hard into the buzz saws, psychedelic synth and punchy drums but its always timely and apt. Rarely do they loose focus on the underlying structure.

That brings me to the next strength of this record, song writing. Without anything to ambitious taking place, the stellar aesthetics and crooning moods seem to zap away the repetition and cycle of the verse chorus loop. Its there with the occasional shake up and interludes creating a series of soft "events" on the journey. Although not involved in song writing, Quincy Jones turns up for an interlude to see in Out Of Time. Its a seriously classic Michael Jackson alike song. It highlights a similarity in his vocal style with the King Of Pop and the instrumental pops like a PYT or Rock With You.

And that's what underpins many of the albums best songs, the brilliance of instrument variety ushering in soft plucks of guitar melody between gushes of vibrant synth and timely rock grooves. Its the subtle characterizations of Funk, Soul, R&B and Pop in the performance, beneath its oozy synth aesthetic, that make the magic. Its a true hail to the likes of Quincy. Sadly that is mostly speaking to the first half of the record as past the feature with Tyler The Creator, the gears shift pace quite notably as that song slows the pacing, cutting out the drums and transitioning us into a gentler intensity.

Its in this second half that the music tends to veer away from the variety and qualities heard on its opening stretch. The lyrics get watered down, pacing lulls on dreamy tempos and the Synthwave aesthetic grow into the main focus. We are not talking about every song but to my ears Dawn FM feels very front-loaded. Its opening tracks are truly remarkable and a peak of this era of music. Short and sweet would of been a better approach here, in aims of a classic. As a longer, drawn out, experience it does do a great job of suspending one in its spell. Either way, an impressive record!

Favorite Tracks: Sacrifice, Out of Time

Rating: 7/10

Benny The Butcher "Pyrex Picasso" (2021)

 

As a new name on the rise, appearing alongside the likes of old greats like Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes & Jadakiss, Benny has made a remarkable impression on me. With a firm voice fit for classic story telling, both his style and beat production has a gushing nostalgia for the 90s and 00s era. Pyrex Picasso is concise seven track stint, nineteen minutes of straight class. The title track plays like a cut from 2001, dead serious pianos, a softly sorrow Spanish guitar lick and timely horns, vibes I'll always welcome more of. The following '73 gets dingy with ambiguous samples, gritty drums and low-fi strings. The RZA would be proud! Flood The Block has the Immortal Technique mark, not just instrumentally but how Benns flows with a through line and sharpness that feels like he doesn't have to bend his thoughts to a rhyme scheme.

I could rattle off on similarities to other artists. This really is a case of seeing shadows tho. Where Benny shines on his own is purely through the power of his rhymes and narratives he unfolds. I wouldn't say his style is original or ground breaking, but very well refined as every verse makes a catch, throwing its line and hook. The themes are atypical, street life, prison and drugs. The topics of hard life are aired and also his resolve to make it as a rapper. I imagine he won't appeal as much to the newer generation but this EP embodies the best of Hip Hop from decades gone by. An impressive introduction that will have me seeking out more from this talent!

Rating: 7/10

Poppy "Eat" (2021)

 

Along with Flux, last year also received this brief five track EP with little stylistic affiliation to the latter. As a soundtrack for NXT wrestling, one listen will affirm why. This is possibly Poppy's "heaviest" songs to date, with her upfront deploying some utterly fowl throaty screams that have me concerned for both her vocal chords and the recording equipment. Its rough and raw, much like the instrumentals led by gristly noisy guitar distortions that have a messy tone. We do hear her light and harmonious voice in brief bursts, often in competition with an eruption of wild visceral screams.

The record feels structured to gain more respite and musicality with each passing song beyond Say Cheese, which leans heavily into Metalcore guitar riffs with stomping breakdowns, crunchy riffs and a really odd warbling bass tone. Breeders ropes in a zany synth tone to crank open the song to another dimension of feeling, very much similar to that classic Tubeaway Army song. Each song has its identity, emergent musical ideas executed through a smothering Industrial tinged aesthetic.

Its a riot of creativity, feeling fresh and fun with a lot of energy being thrust forth. Although it leans into my preferred avenue of Metal, these songs feel creative and dynamic, putting up a sound not too many other bands offer in a rather stale scene. She has really scooped up some great musicians with Greatti and Wilcox helping write these feisty songs. I've spun them over and over and they are probably among my favorite songs of hers now. I'd certainly like to hear more on this wavelength.

Rating: 6/10

Techno Animal "Re-Entry" (1995)

Today marks the beginning of a new era! I will no longer own my records... Finally I've got with the times and made the migration to Spotify. In doing so I haphazardly stumbled onto this record I couldn't find anywhere after listening to Ghosts back at the beginning of this blog. Techno Animal is an experimental side project manned by Justin Broadrick of Godflesh and Kevin Martin of God, two musicians deep in the early Industrial Metal scene but exploring a very different breed of sinister music here.

Re-Entry isn't as dark as I remember Ghosts being. It does however lean heavily into unease, tension and dread as its droning soundscapes venture on psychedelic depravity. Its a mental trip of looping sound design, organically unfolding with incremental changes that can transform a song over mostly lengthy outings. Its two CD format boasts halves of six tracks each, often clocking in well over the ten minute mark. The result is oddly meditative and soothing in an adventurous way. Dreamy music for setting atmosphere and tone to let the mind focus on other demands.

These compositions are near density, every instrument seemingly tuned for that slow meandering shift that occurs over its lengthy duration. Subdued percussive drums keep pace as Elctro-Industrial synth tones layer in a little zap and bleep tone texture, seemingly at odds with the music but melding in. Its best experiments seem to come on Flight Of The Hermaphrodite and Demodex Invasion. The first using Middle Eastern sounds and instruments to visualize a drug trip in Arabian deserts. The later morphs its drum loop through dizzying distant tonalities that wash in and out of focus.

Though in its worse, the remarkable chemistry of these tracks feels underdeveloped and neglected. Most of these songs are lumped in the second half, Catatonia and Red Sea are examples of experiments that didn't quite come together and lack direction. The twenty minute Cape Canaveral feels even weaker as a dull Black Ambient drone piece. The closing Resuscitator too is a lone drone of eeriness and without that lavish layering of odd noise and drums, it becomes unremarkable in comparison.

Its really just a handful of songs that shine here. Even then some feel stunted by a lack of progression. Moments to break the mold and give these songs a sense of arrival or event would really elevate it. There is however fascinating chemistry and visceral trips to be explored. With less filler and more focus this could of been something great but for the context of times, this experimental Avant-Guard release is quite unique and remarkable. How they got signed to Virgin Records, even more so!

Rating: 5/10

Cranes "Loved" (1994)

 

With a warm uplift in mood felt on Forever, Cranes return two years on continuing that trajectory. It arrives along with a musical shift in tone that firmly positions them within the 90s Dream Pop sound. Taking on a Shoegazing guitar aesthetic and shedding the shades of Industrial and darkness that followed them before, one can hear their established song writing style taking on new ideas but mostly leaning on thick acoustic chord strumming and hazy lead guitars that paint dreamy waves of bendy reverberating noise over top. Its charming in these particular strides.

Opening with Shining Road once can hear a percussive distinction that crops up a few times over. Its one of these musical ideas where the direction just feels different. With an injection of lively drums, fit for the times, Cranes offer something that doesn't exactly build on the sound they have forged. Where they get it right is with the dreary guitar haze that washes over a handful of tracks. The song Beautiful Friend is an underwhelming cross of the two. The following Bewildered however gets it spot on.

Lilies and Loved are two tracks leaning into their darker past with crowded noise and gristly stiff guitar licks to stir a little menace and unease among an otherwise warm record. Cranes's music does however still linger in that strange place I can only describe as limbo, with Shaw continuing her roll as the voice of innocence adjacent to danger. Its the Shoegazing guitar that embellished this record with a rewarding new direction. I hope to hear more of that lushness on the next outing.

Rating: 6/10

Knocked Loose "A Tear In The Fabric Of Life" (2021)

 

My excitement and appetite for the cutting edge of brutality in the world of Extreme Metal as diminished severely with time. Most bands I encounter seem to be locked in the Post-Deathcore and Djent overlay which tends to recycle the same ideas found at their origins. Alongside a Metalcore backbone, some of that bore is to be found here too with with a shimmering of Mathcore in places also. The reason I mention this is because Knocked Loose have spun that formula into a short and pacey affair of pummeling intensity. On this EP, six tracks blaze through the many tropes and un-original ideas common to the genre on the heels of an adrenaline shot of excitement. Their song structures continually race ahead, leaping from one moment of bludgeoning to the next, leaving you with little time to recover from each metallic blow. Its a fun experience as the chops come quick and fast, rarely looping back and often jumping into sludgy palm muted break downs with barely a moments notice.

The production is stellar, a show of strength, an aesthetic treat of modem engineering that has its instruments frothing with a rage shared by front-man Bryan Garris. Initially I found his shrill, high pitched bark a bit rash but I warmed up to it as his energy fell inline with the unrelenting march of aggression the band set out on with these songs. Not only do the instruments bring intensity, the moments of texture embellished in its discordant riffs take up the pauses for breath with expansive moments of tense atmosphere as on occasion the music blossoms into something more than the meat grinder it initially seems to be. With quite a few spins in the past weeks, A Tear In The Fabric Of Life is a short experience that's delivered much gusto as its rapid approach brings continual waves of excitement that last the initial explosive impression created.

Rating: 6/10