Forum Member Album Reviews
 

Hey there dudes and not-dudes, this here is a thread dedicated to reviews of the work that our members do. I know certain members like Trollheart and Ki have already done this in their journals and whatnot but I think a thread where anyone in general can post it would be interesting.

And just to ensure that this thread doesn't die immediately I will be posting several reviews in here. I recently struck a deal with several other members where we'll be reviewing one of each others' albums, so this is where mine will go and probably where theirs will go too.

Is it all right if I post a link to my existing reviews of WWWP's and Plankton's albums?

Yeah man that'd be great!

Sweet I might actually start trying to write full reviews of albums from people here.

So I'll post my review for yours here shall I? I mean I know that's what you're saying and it makes perfect sense but just triple checking. I'll have it here later tonight most likely.

Yeah we'll just keep everything condensed in this thread so nobody ever has to wonder where their review will be

So...


Encapsulate -
Straight away the there's a relaxing melancholy to the opening of this. I love how the changing notes linger and throb slightly as they are held. Then we get a synthy build up which is nice. Really atmospheric mood to it, definitely feels like a strong opener. Those pulsing layers of sound as further synth elements are brought into it feel just right to me. There's enough going on for it to be engaging but it also washes over you. Enjoyable.

Beneath Me is Nothing But Brightness -
Slightly choral feel to the sound in this. Great use of space and reverb. The melody is enticing and subtle. Again, simplicity combines with texture to creating something appealing. Different synths working in unison is soothing. Then the darker, more jagged synth starts up, giving the piece a moodier tone. In fact, I think what I like about this track is that it to fill both positive a negative emotions through the sounds. I love the build of presence and intensity towards the end, and then the elements fade out again as it ends.

After Everyone Leaves -
This made me imagine of empty streets and a desolate city, likely due to the title and cover art. I'll say that so far the tracks have a cinematic elegance to them. The first three, at least, have quite a similar sound and style. No bad thing, works well in the flow at this stage. The string-like synth in this is an exciting element, with the reverb and feedback shifting in and out of the track. All the tracks so far have this stark intensity which is a sound I find very satisfying.

Outer Wave -
Guitar! This is a great track to break up from the ambient cinematic sound of the first three. Quite psychedelic, a sound which definitely resonates with me. I love the intertwining synth and guitar parts, and the phasing in the track. You use your instruments to expand and highlight parts of the melody, which is very effective. Then we get a lone guitar rolling along. Again, the space is what makes the track impressive.

Floating In the In-Between -
Love the opening here. Again, we have that ambiguity of purpose emotionally, the sounds quite easily interpreted in positive and negative ways. I like the plodding synth that comes and goes. Quite a dissonant quality almost. Not too much, but perhaps at odds with the more strictly melodic stuff of previous tracks. And then that ragged distorted guitar shifts everything further. Nice and meaty actually. Imbues it with a bit of rock-ambience if that's a thing. It isn't a thing but what I'm saying is the guitar really works. At then it trickles off as the track ends.

Separation -
I like whatever is going with the synth in this, that arpeggio, filtered thing. Fits the title I think. And the distant, chiming melody is really lovely and relaxing. As is the the underlying part that comes in. All slots together really delicately. This track sits together very tightly with it's collective elements, I think, maybe best of all the tracks so far. Quite a positive and transcending quality to the sounds.

Mornings Dissipate in Somnolence -
Starts with a lot of atmosphere, there's something quite primal about the sound as it begins. The rain perhaps adds to that. Like the contrast from the last track. Less of a melody at the forefront at first, more emphasis on the overall mood. Then that delayed, thin sounding percussion and the bright synth element come into play and change the tracks trajectory quite some way. In tune with the title I think, definitely an enticing piece here. Really hear the ideas of wakefulness and sleep at play.

The Bell Jar -
The bright synth filling both ears is a pleasant experience. A more airy track, slightly less variety than the others, but overall it's very refreshing and I think fits well in the whole scheme of the album. The synths fading out into less discernible ambient stuff is a fruitful technique.

Penultimate -
The first few pangs have quite a classical, chamber-piece quality to them, contrasting with that droning feedback guitar. That's quite a novel blend instrumentally, and this track has a potency to it. The soft echoes of distant synths intermingling with the more abrasive, noisy guitar. After a while they actually sit comfortably together, flowing in and out, which I think is testament to the overall quality. Really rate this one actually. The guitar seems to be fizzling out almost. And the ending beats are an interesting way to close the track.

Does It End Like I Want It To? -
This short burst of ambience returns to the cinematic stuff of the early tracks. Really effective in transporting you somewhere. I like the swirling, glissando synth sounds that come in near the end. Crystalline and very sweet. A powerful ending. And an abrupt end.

Verdict:

My overall verdict is that this album is fantastic. Really moving and emotionally engaging. I'm going to assume that the concept has something to do with suicide/the afterlife. I think a lot of that came through in the way you craft ambient stuff that really allows the listener to interpret the sounds for themselves. I think that's actually a really difficult thing to achieve, and I thought the whole thing was very compelling and had a really strong flow, whilst creating an identity that was distinct for each track.

Great stuff with the combined synth and guitar textures, really interested to know how you achieved that, and how you managed to incorporate melodic stuff so convincingly and effortlessly.

I don't listen to a huge amount of ambient stuff, but I can honestly say I found this album to be thoroughly enjoyable, though I can't speak from intimate experience with the genre.

Regardless, I felt a strong emotional journey taking place as I listened, and I'd assume that is the primary aim when creating ambient pieces like this, so mission accomplished!

Wow I really can't thank you enough for that wonderful analysis and review. It was honestly kind of emotional for me to read...I pour so much into these albums with the hope that it touches somebody and to hear that somebody just plain got it makes me so, so happy.

I won't be able to get your review up tonight but it will 100% certainly be up this weekend. Thank you again dude, that was really, really awesome for me to read.

No problemo. I'll definitely check out your other stuff. Also, don't feel you have to be quite so sparklingly positive with mine. I'd prefer an honest review over anything else. But yeah, I really enjoyed your album to the point that I ended listening to it three times over the space of the day. Really cathartic whilst I've been going through a lot so yeah.

Do you want me to link mine too (they're bloody huge though!)?
The album reviews are quite large too... :D

You know that's weird. I can't write for toffee as you all know (those of you who have been unfortunate enough to suffer the so-called music I wrote) but I did write a song and called it "When everyone has gone home", very like the title on that song on your album. Yours is no doubt a thousand zillion percent better of course, but still, it's interesting...

Do it man! If every review of a members' work is in this thread that would be awesome. Maybe at some point I could compile an index as well.

Well in both cases it's a great song name, so even though you might not have been graced with songwriting talent you certainly have a way with words and conveying a thought or meaning

I did a pretty impressive review of 4 of Mondo's albums (I like them at least). I'll post them here once I have access to my PC.

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Besvær Salat / Fuzz / The Source of All Monsters / Disgust: The Soundtrack
Member: Mondo Bungle

I want to start off by saying that even though i've only listened to these 4 albums and the one I've mentioned in my previous post, this guy has got some serious talent. I'm not saying that because i'm his friend, I would still say the same thing if I were someone random who didn't know him at this forum and I ended up stumbling upon these albums. Seriously, this is some seriously awesome stuff. I started off by listening to Fuzz because honestly...the album art was intriguing, and man was I not disappointed. Coming in at only 3 tracks, you can tell right off the bat and by the song lengths that Mondo isn't going to short us out of anything. The album starts off with a 26 minute track titled "Overboard" and it just gets right into things and continues to be powerful throughout the 26 minutes. Mondo has once again discovered how to keep someone interested in the music without it dragging on too much. When I was listening to this album this morning, I was waiting for my bus, and I suddenly felt the world stop around me and all I could feel was the music. It's definitely a rare occasion for the to happen to me where all I can see, feel, and hear is the music in my ears. When you continue throughout the album, you get another fantastic track titled Begin The Ritual coming in at 21 minutes. Again, i'm speaking from personal experience, don't let the length of the song scare you, Mondo has definitely found a way to make a 21 minute drone filled song sound interesting and fantastic and never once do I get bored. I was very happy with how I ended up liking Fuzz. It's not my favorite of his, but it's definitely up there with being an album that I will listen to for a long time.

Moving on, we have an album by the name of Besvær Salat. This album comes packed with 4 tracks, with all the songs either at the 3 minute mark and the 6 minute mark. Instead of going with the lengthy approach, Mondo instead went with the short and sweet approach, and it works. While we already know from listening to Fuzz that he can fit a lot of interesting sounds into a long track, this album also showcases the fact that if you give him just a few minutes, he can still manage to blow you away with something amazing. Out of the 4 albums that I listened to, I found that this album in particular was my favorite. I think it was a mixture of the short tracks mixed with the ambient / synth sounds that really sold me on it. He does have a tag on this album that's considered "coldwave". I'm not entirely sure what that means, but if he's referring to temperature, I can definitely feel a sense of coldness throughout this album. Not necessarily a bad thing, it's just interesting to take into consideration how an album can make you feel, temperature wise. Every track on this album is great to amazing. All of them seem to be a little different, but all manage to use a synthesizer to it's greatest ability. A remarkable 4 track album that is definitely up there with being one of my favorite albums of the year.

The Source of All Monsters is up next, and I honestly have no idea how to describe this album. At first I found a lot of similarities to the first album I heard of his, titled "We Are Animals, We Eat Meat EP" where he used distortion and noise to it's advantage. Although I really did enjoy that album, this album was much....much better. He uses a variety of sounds and experiments with a lot of different things on this album, but the thing is, it works. It really does work. Some might find it annoying and untalented, but I can hear that it does take some serious brain power to come up with things like this. I don't really know where i'd place this album in terms of ranking the albums, but I don't really want to rank the albums because I already have my favorite, and the rest are still great if not amazing. But, if you're heavily into that drone / ambient type of thing, I'd strongly recommend listening to this album as it does the genre justice. Of course, that's coming from someone who still isn't too familiar with the genre, but I stand by the fact that Mondo has got some serious talent when it comes to this genre. Certainly a great album, and I will be listening to it some more in the near future.

Last but certainly not least, we have Disgust: The Soundtrack. This album, is seriously so beautifully made, that it made me question whether or not I should put Besvær Salat as my favorite, but a few things made that happen. Instead, I made a compromise and I said to myself that if not for Besvær Salat, this one would be my favorite. I don't really know what it is, but i'm just a big fan of that more ambient-ish sound that he seems to have a beautiful grasp on. It's got a lot of my favorite qualities. It's very post-rock-ish, it's quiet, and it's got certain things to it that take a few listens to hear. It comes in at 7 tracks, but none of the tracks are boring or lame. All of them are great, and I certainly don't know which one I'd say is the best, as they all have their own unique qualities which allows the album to shine in the way that it does. If I were to choose a track that stood out, I would definitely go with But If I Go First. It's a very cool and unique track that takes certain sounds that you wouldn't think would work, and Mondo manages to make them work in the best way you could possibly imagine. Again, this and Besvær Salat are definitely competing for my number one favorite album from this guy, but Besvær Salat still takes the trophy on that.

In conclusion, this has been one of the coolest rides of dove into when it comes to discovering a new genre that I had absolutely no knowledge of. Honestly, I had no idea where to start with this type of stuff, but listening to these albums from someone that I know definitely had a positive impact on what I think of the genre as a whole. Mondo has definitely got some unique and special talents up his sleeve, and I still stand by the fact that even if I didn't know him, i'd still think these albums were nothing short of amazing. A lot of these albums are in my list of "favorite albums of the year" and will most likely remain there for years to come. I will also say that I am following / looking forward to more music that this guy releases, as I've grown sort of attached to the albums I've heard already. I'll definitely be giving the rest of the albums that I haven't heard yet a listen and will do a review just as I did here. I hope this comes off as positive as I tried to make it, but if it didn't, well I tried. To wrap things up, give these albums a listen, and let Mondo know how great of a musician he is. He's got some remarkable talent, and it's definitely not going to waste.

Here's one I did of WWWP's band's demo awhile ago....

... and here's Krill, from Plankton. (IMO, this is the best review I've ever written--the album deserved it!)

Yorkie, do you want us just to link or post the whole thing? Like I said, most of mine would need two or three posts per album....

Thanks again for that outstanding review. New album is in the works, but won't be available until next year. Professional mastering and all the fixings included this time around.

Yeah, seriously Pet Sounds. I had forgotten how rad your review was. I can't remember if I ever shared it with my band mates or not, but I'm going to now.

Hey Plainview, sorry for the delay. I'm ready to listen and will be brutally honest. I liked the format you used for the review of my album so I'll go with the same format here.

Plainview's The Deaf Aids - Soft Heat
https://soundcloud.com/the-deaf-aids/sets/soft-heat

1. Soft Heat
Very interesting psychedelic, crunchy guitar opens up the title track. The sound keeps getting developed and layered with more guitars and there's an almost funky sound to it. The production is really nice for the opening part but I might've lowered the gain on the lead guitar a little bit, but what I really like is the transition around the 1 minute part into a softer sound. I really like the subtle transitions that keep the track moving along in interesting new directions. The ambient synths at the end are lovely. Overall a solid opener.

2. Urge To Merge
Love the start of this. All the percussion is really really nice and creates a sweet vibe to this track. The lead guitar that comes in to add melody is really cool. There's not quite as much going on in this track as the first one, and this one favors slower buildups and gradual additions of new layers, honestly this is just a great song. Will probably end up being one of my favorites but we'll have to wait and see since it's still early on.

3. Dark Hearts
Starts off with a deep, droney bass that I like. Goes along with the title very well. Nice atmospheric guitar, but I'm not a particular fan of whatever the instrument is that comes in after the guitar, but the dissonant chords are interesting. The synth solo is cool and well played but not mixed well and a little too high-pitched, it hurt my ears honestly.

4. Lucid Dreamer
Really sick riff to start off, and some nice shredding but some more high pitched twinkling that I didn't enjoy much. Some arpeggios come in that kind of remind me of a song from Super Mario World lol, I'll look for that on Youtube later. This track is kind of all over the place so far, all of a sudden there's some ravey dance synths before it reverts back to the original sound. Kind of hard to evaluate a track like this, it sounds like a molding of a bunch of interesting ideas with little cohesion but the individual parts themselves are generally cool on their own. I love the transition to strings which is starting to go along with the track's title a little better. I would've preferred developing the nice ambiance you had going there rather than throwing in the heavy dance beat, it just seems out of place in the scheme of the album so far. Awesome ending, overall a bizarre track that I quite liked in the end.

5. Like Liquid
Damn very cool abrasive synths there and the accompanying synth really does sound "like liquid". I'm noticing a distinct pattern of 4/4 whole note loops of four measures which are very tried-and-true and generic, I'd recommend exploring different time signatures and combinations to create more variety in the rhythms. Not a bad track at all though.

6. Talisman
Love the opening to this. No idea what these sounds are but they are very cool, almost kind of sounds like someone banging on a tin can or something. Pretty nice transition over to the heavy distorted guitars. Definitely a good track right here.

7. Restless
Damn are you playing that bass? That's a sick line right there and the organ-like synth is a nice touch. I love the melody of the main riff, this song develops very nicely throughout the first half and the brief transition in the middle is great. Love this track, it's up there with "Urge To Merge" for me so far.

8. Midnight Complex
The title had my hopes up for a slower song and it sounds like that's what I'm gonna get. Nice aquatic sounds and reverb in the beginning. The atmosphere to this is very nice. As with most of this album your transitions are generally on-point and generally come at the right time to keep things interesting. Really like the synth around 2:30, especially the way it kind of rises and falls sometimes. The ending is great. Just overall a job well done with this track.

9. Puzzle the Will
Nice chill beat and guitar here. Seriously love when the guitar comes back in with a slightly different sounding melody in the middle. Not a whole lot else to say about this track, some very solid work here. One of the highlights.

10. Phasing Out
Trippy stuff to start this one off. Not a fan of those high pitched beeps but I've already voiced my dislike of stuff like that so it's a personal thing. This is one of the more experimental tracks on this album that's for sure. I like the guitar that comes in, but the phasey synth in the background that serves as the central meat of the track goes on for a bit too long and kind of loses its effectiveness. Kind of hard to figure out what's going on at the end to be honest, some very trippy psychedelica going on there. I dig most of this but some of particular layers are miss rather than hit for me.

11. Canned Light
Pretty cool groove for the first part of this. Digging the guitar playing for sure. The slowly unraveling phasers are an element that might be overused throughout the entire album, there might only be like one or two tracks that I don't remember hearing it utilized. The transition in the middle of this is wonderfully executed. Overall just a solid track but it didn't blow me away or anything.

12. A Different Alloy
Let's see how you finish things up. I like how this wailing synth weaves in and out seamlessly. Definitely some serious experimentation going on in this track and I like it a lot. Very nice textures at work when these multiple layers are working together. Extremely cool track and an interesting choice to make it the closer of the album.

Verdict:
Definitely a good album, no doubt about that. The production is generally great, the physical instruments are all piloted masterfully and some of the tracks seriously stand out. Going through some of them again and I'm convinced "Urge To Merge" is the top track of the album, that's just a really fantastic piece you made there so bravo for the whole thing but especially that track. There really wasn't a track I disliked and the variety was very fun, it's awesome when an album keeps me on my toes and I have no clue what could be coming next.

Ki reviewed my three worst albums up there... and all the reviews were positive. How whack is that.
I'm not that good.

I can't even listen to Disgust myself, I think that one sucks so hard. For some reason everyone else who hears it thinks it's so great, I dunno about you guys. But you know, I'm the artist and I declare that it is bad so I'm right, obv.

If you wanted to listen to and review an album of mine, make it this https://troublesalad.bandcamp.com/al...ooks-like-snow

Imo there's just a few worth shaking a stick at, and that's one of them

Well my pick for me is obviously "For Now" which is the main page on my bandcamp so head there and imagine you'll really like it.

I thought the album you rec'd me initially was like an hour and a half long :P The one about snow sounds plenty enticing to me though! I'll get around to it on Monday probably.

That would be this one: https://troublesalad.bandcamp.com/al...-sleep-machine

I sampled some of yours and thought it was okay. I busted my computer and use library computers now so I don't have much time to listen to a full album and review it.

Cheers for the review! Glad you enjoyed it over all. Interesting that you mentioned time signatures. I basically went through I phase where I couldn't make anything in 4/4 without thinking it wasn't interesting enough, so I challenged myself to create a full album in 4/4 this time around.

What is really good is that the different people who have given feedback have all pointed out different tracks as their favourite.

I definitely over did it with phasery synths in hindsight I think. They're generally just an easy way to fill space. Gotta get out of that habit.

Glad you like the 'Restless' bass line, just came up with a really bouncy/fast one which I thought could carry a track.

Thanks again.

Awesome! Lemme know when it's released.

Thanks. :)

I guess you missed my question so again...

^i say just post em, TH

Yeah just post em, or if you're really worried you can link to them too. Either way's fine

It'd be cool if this thread was stickied so we don't have to go searching for it if someone wants to submit a review.

Well this thread died quickly. Anyone that wants to swap reviews with me just let me know, I figured there'd be more interest than this tbh

Or hell, I know Plainview has more albums so we could trade again if you want? I'd pick "Deconstruct" personally if anyone were to review a second Daydream Society album.

I posted some. I like the idea. No surprise that a thread about music on this forum isn't popular. I'd like to see this thread get more attention however.

I'll have a go at it.

Here's 3 of mine to pick from:

Albums - Planktons Odyssey

The "Dad's Blues" section is just a few random blues tunes I made for my Dad. He likes the blues.

The best way for me to review an album is to comment in real-time, and that's exactly how I went about this one. So, with out further ado, here's my review of:


Any Given Day - At first i thought my speakers were frying, then some relief comes in with the ambient synth. A bit of some layering going on, and then it finally calms down to a peaceful drone. Back with the overdriven synth. I felt it was an unanswered question.

Abstruce - Nice opening with the off key synth hits. This has more of a feeling like it may go somewhere. Cool groove on that.

Overture - Good intro syncopation, and I'm now wondering if this will continue through the entire piece, which it does not. Some trippy hammond-like chords, and then it drops out.

Loner - Tubular bells to start this one off, with a monotized beat track leading the way through some overdriven, and not overdriven synths. The title, and feel do suggest an image of one walking around a city by themsleves. Then the triangle style soundfont comes in and it breaks it up a bit.

Periphrasis - Fun with delay. Some dissonant chords used in a way that conjures up some pretty frightening images.

Glimpse - Opens with a wind sound that remarkably keeps the beat, then fades. Interesting.

Alliterating - More delay fun. This is pretty cool. Kind of ends before it goes any where.

Not All There - Chimey goodness. This feels like a dream sequence with some revelations, then it just drops off.

Shortness Of Breath - A bit churchy, but nice. I feel like I'm on acid and Don Pardo is gonna pop out any second here. The Leslie effect on the hammond is nice though.

Pararhyme - Like sunlight through the trees on a light breezy day. Some really good synth work on this one. Possibly my favorite piece of the whole work. This is really calming. Love it.

Or Any Given Night - Deep synth intro. Some mesmerizing synth work on this, then into some dissonance, that I think will answer itself and conclude at some point. At least that's what my mind wants to happen. The overlaps give in to some sort of beacon that fades off in the distance, giving this some nice closure.

Final thoughts:
As far as drone music, I don't delve into that style very much, and it was a bit of a stretch to convince myself to do so (I had listened to a couple songs from this incarnation of YorkDaddy's musical stylings), and I have to say I was a bit put off at the beginning, and was getting a bit anxious for something to happen in the middle of it, then at Pararhyme, I felt like I understood what York was trying to do here. Pull the listener through the mud, only to clean them off at the end and give them a treat to take with them on the ride home. York is a fine musician, and I hope he finds a groove in this niche of the musical spectrum.

Oh damn thanks for the review Plank, I didn't even know that was coming! :P I wish I had seen in time to tell you to review For Now instead but this is still a-okay with me!

I'll get around to reviewing one of your albums in a similar style asap

Sounds good.

I'm more than happy to do more swapping and reviewing, I've just been a little busy lately but I'll give some more stuff a listen soon.

I've been guilty of delaying uploading my reviews, but I will try to do so today or tomorrow.

Also, I see this thread has been stickied, which can only be good.

Posting to let Plank know his review will be up tomorrow

I remember checking out Plankton's Krill once, so this time I'm picking Whale.


1. Cetacea - Some really nice atmosphere here with the deep synth and slowly building guitar. Love the delay on the guitar here. Pretty short track but it really sets the tone for the rest of the album, just a great opener all around.

2. Jonah - Slow build up of guitar distortion, always an effective way to start a track. I dig the hard-rocking simplicity of the power chord riff that jumps in. The hammer on/pull off lick is awesome, I've always loved doing and hearing stuff like that. I think everyone knows you're an extremely skilled guitar player but I'm still blown away by these solos at times, just some seriously nasty stuff. This one rocked hard but might've gone on a little too long, but honestly this is just me trying to come up with a criticism no matter how small.

3. Eye of the Storm - I'm expecting some hard rocking with a title like that, and oh whaddya know the opening of this kicks ASS. I love the heavy metal sound that this track brings to the table which veers off a little from the past two tracks.

4. Wiggles - Way different vibe than the last track, I really dig the "wiggles" of the synths or however the hell you're making that sound. Yeah I mean this was obviously intended to be a stranger sounding track and it works on every level.

5. You're Not To Blame - Wow, can't say I expected vocals to be popping up, is this you or someone that was working with you? This one's solid but not quite as good as the previous tracks imo. That solo tho, probably best on the whole album so far

6. Sunshine Express - I'm expecting some nice, soft guitar playing on this one. Oh nice, really like how this opens. Fits the title very well. Cool little track here, nothing incredible but a lot of fun.

7. Gleaning the Tuesday Sun - Kind of another nice rocker that I admittedly zoned out to a bit. Kind of another "like, but not blown away"

8. Skitch - As I get deeper into the album I'm having a hard time differentiating some of the tracks tbh. I'm sure upon multiple listens that would change but I can only go off of my initial listen. The most memorable ones are when you veer off the path like with Wiggles or Sunshine Express. Still a really nice track though, it's pretty clear that you have instrumental hard rock down to a science.

9. Not Quite The End - Love the atmospheric guitar intro. Love everything about this track actually, perhaps my favorite on the album.

10. Hollow City Limits - Very nice closer. Not much else to say.

Final Verdict - Well man, all I have for you is that your guitar playing, production, and songwriting are top notch and by any definition this is a high quality album. It's not my favorite genre but I was definitely entertained from front to back.