Been catching up a bit on these selections the past couple weeks... here's some quick impressions of the ones I missed until almost all the way up till the current one but I'll be off on vacation real soon so just going to get this out the way; jump back again in a couple months or so with the rest of 'em:
Julee Cruise - Floating Into The Night
So relaxing!!!
Now this one felt almost a spiritual journey, and I was skeptic because... well maybe it was. And I'm not particularly spiritual. Very soothing though. It led me to a strange kind of calm. I'm feeling like if I let myself relax then this could be it. This could be the meditation I need. The medication to kneed. The mediation to proceed and get where I need to be.
I like 'I Float Alone' in particular though with the little bits of chaos that almost break through the calm, and The Swan gets me thinking of Black Swan. Darker vibe even though it's all but a dark song.
Overall this was great. Refreshingly soft. Maybe I just haven't been exposed to the style enough yet, but I think I need something faster now that I'm through it. Get back to my regular self...
4/5
Novos Baiano - F.C.
A rad MPB record from a buncha hippies in Brazil indeed!
After stumbling upon Grouplove a few years ago I had somewhat high expectations of this, hearing the 'hippie' word, and thinking it might be something like that, but it turns out this isn't what I'd really consider hippie music at all. More like: South American music... or Mariachi-like music. IDK what to call it. More traditional music - even if they do look like hippies.
Maybe there's a hippie message here I don't catch though, since I do not speak the lingo, and admittedly it'd be cool to actually understand what these guys are singing! But the style's occasionally soothing and occasionally energetic, with that almost DnB-like unconventionalism with the beat. Ended up jiving to this way more than I thought I would. Thought it'd be like all those Indie/Country records y'all seem to like that I don't fully agree with but this, hmm... thoroughly enjoyable. The description fits. I want to move to Bahamas while I hear this. Just lounge around. Dance. Drink some pineapple juice in the shade of a swaying palm tree... some songs felt a bit hectic, but overall: I love this.
Os Pingo da Chuva's was probably my favorite. It stands out. Nice lead. The last two instrumental ones were fun to listen to too. And everything else is great. I love the beat. The guitar. The uplifting vibe overall. Exotic. Peaceful. LIvely.
4/5
Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
Have some trouble with her voice. Too sharp. Too wavery. Angsty. Maybe a lower frequency range in studio could fix that... maybe it's the style.
I like the alternative vibe otherwise but that voice just makes it hard to listen to for me. It's neither a pour-your-heart-out or a held back style... more so super nervous and way too close to the mic. :/ Could it be just way too much vibrato? IDK! the Dance Song '97 and Jenny had some longer, softer and vibrato-lesser parts, but the rest, ugh...
It's almost like she's getting it right at the end of it all though. Jenny was pretty good. Maybe other albums are better. Don't want to crank down on this too much but I just can't deal with that vocal style. Too much.
2/5
The Darkness - Permission to Land
Speaking of vibrato hmm...
But he really shifts. Moves into falsetto. Screams. Whispers. Pretty crazy mash-up of different vocal styles especially in the first few songs, and damn, what a voice! Impressively adaptable.
Don't think he's really making the most of it with some IMO often way too quick shifts, that don't help build a melody you can sing along to - especially when some songs really had the potential for it, but it was refreshingly varied. A little country influence, a little... I don't know the styles. A lot of the styles. Not one song's like any other.
Grimy music, classic rock with a twist, melodical but savage. I'm totally into '80s rock and all, but this is REALLY not the eighties I remember! It feels new. Not bad though. Heard 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love'! quite a bit a few years back but I never knew it was these guys. Good to listen to the full thing.
4/5
Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
Here's one I own! Old favorite. Some songs feel a bit simple looking back, but it's a catchy and likable production overall.
I really hoped Avril would turn into a new kind of Alanis, after they predicted that in some interview somewhere, but alas... that didn't happen. Have to keep going back to the classics instead.
You Oughta Know, Ironic, Head Over Feet... I love those songs. I'm not as a big a fan of the slower ones, like Mary Jane. Maybe just not in that kind of mood right now. Maybe because they break off from the album otherwise. They all feel a bit fragmented after the faster ones. Overall though it's a solid album. Stood the test of time pretty well, and Alanis is a way better singer than I remember from just those most mainstream hits.
4/5
Harvey Danger - Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?
White Stripes vibes right away! Love that style. Though Flagpole Sitta was so familiar... if I haven't heard that before then it feels like they really took the melody somewhere else. Donnie Darko...? And Private helicopter reminded me of a Green Day song. Sublime vibes sometimes too... feels like some of these melodies aren't really their own, but otherwise: not bad. It started great, but as it moves on it gets somewhat bland in my ears. Alright.
3/5
Chaos Chaos - Committed to the crime
I really liked the vibe with this one. It's easy to listen to. Ambient and upbeat, with smooth vocals, but not too smooth. Not typical pop-smoothness but with a little bit of the raspiness I like too.
The title feels a bit misplaced, with both the album and the band/artist - I don't feel the chaos. I just feel life. Streaming by. Feelings, but nothing too strong. Nothing conflicting. A little melancholy. A little love. It was good all the way, but not particularly intense or transcendent IMO.
Monsters was a bit disappointing. Expected something stronger with that one. Do you Feel it? though. Felt that. Good variation between tracks, but could've hat a bit more power.
3/5
Astronautalis - This Is Our Science
Interesting! I feel like I might've heard some of this before, but I don't recognize the name, or cover, or anything specific. The songs feel both powerful and chaotic. The style reminded me a little bit of Flipside at the start - who I used to listen a ton to, but as it goes on it becomes muddy and unspecific. More chaotic than meaningful in my ears.
I love the arrangement at the start, the energy, the pauses, but it all blends together and becomes a bit diffuse towards the end. "One For The Money" maybe proves that point - even if it was done in jest. It just runs out. All that's great about it. Inspiration. Energy. Creativity. Arrangement. Budget, maybe.
I appreciate the style overall, though if there's something I don't like it's the lack of clarity sometimes. He raps fast sometimes but doesn't really accentuate properly, even though he doesn't slur per se - it seems more so a part of the style, and the production quality is somewhat layered and noisy, which makes for a cool atmosphere, but not always that crisp lyrics. I feel like there's too little focus on that. They're meaningful, yet hidden away. The noise takes over. The beat's muddled with other sounds and it all goes a bit too far. IMHO.
Maybe that's not the best analysis though. I loved the first song, and that was pretty chaotic too, but somehow the ones that follow just don't build as well. I feel like the first one was the best one. Was an interesting listen, but I'm left a little disappointed. Not sure what I'm really missing.
Will definitely listen more to this guy though. Unconventional rap.
3/5
TBC. Ciao for now....
