Psy-Fi

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Noisy drumming & percussion along with distorted vocals and some techno type sounds.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
Didn't care for it.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Slightly more interesting.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
Didn't mind the vocalist but didn't like the distorted lo-fi sound the vocals had.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
It was OK but nothing special.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
Better but not by a lot until the last track which I thought was the best by far.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
Unintelligible.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Some parts were OK and some didn't do anything for me.

9. What did you think of the production?
I thought the lo-fi sound of the vocals ruined the album for the most part.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
Had heard of the artist but didn't know anything about him musically prior to hearing this album.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
No.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
Listened twice. My opinion didn't change one way or the other after the second listen.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
The last track "second life" stood out for me. If more of the album had sounded like that, I probably would've been much more into it and rated it much higher.

14. And the one you liked least?
Nothing stood out as being particularly awful.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
N/A

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
I might check out some more, out of curiosity, but if it sounds similar to this I won't be coming back to this artist.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Didn't have any idea what it might sound like prior, so I didn't know how I was going to react to it.

18. Did the album end well?
Yes. The last track was by far my favorite on the album.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Get rid of the distorted, lo-fi sounding vocals and tone down the overall noisy sound of the production.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
It sounded cohesive for the most part. The last track sounded a bit out of place compared to the rest.

4/10

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She's a Brick House

innerspaceboy

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?

All right. Some of this then. Why is everyone obsessed with forcibly sh*tty production value?

2. What did you think of the opening track?

Not particularly intriguing, but there's some potential so I'll leave it on.

3. What did you think of the next track?

"Primitives" was really more of the same, but "Ex-Ravers" was far more interesting than the previous tracks. It featured a bit more of a freeform structure and had some interesting noise elements. (I'm a tremendous fan of early electroacoustic works.)

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?

Vocals are generally the least interesting thing for me, and I avoid music with vocals more often than not. Still, at least tracks like, "The Sacto Smile" ventured beyond traditional lyricism and used the voice more as a noise instrument than as an element to communicate a narrative.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?

The percussion was certainly intriguing, but for my taste, it's a shame the entire album was produced the way it was.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?

Still a few interesting things happening with the soundscapes. "Green Bricks" revealed the use of some vintage sampling hardware which is still a bit of fun. It makes me miss early plunderphonics and reminds me that I need to explore Negativland/Oswald/others in greater context.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?

There was little in the way of cohesive lyrics, which suits me splendidly.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?

He's certainly a relentless and highly-skilled percussionist. And there are enough other oddities swarming around it to make it an interesting listen.

9. What did you think of the production?

I've already said it - I rarely enjoy lo-fi recordings. I liked Sebadoh, Dandy Warhols, early Beck albums, and other standard-fare staples of indie music which were mostly produced with sub-par equipment, but the neo-lo-fi scene just seems contrived and inauthentic.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?

Never heard of the bloke. But I haven't heard much of anything produced after 1996 so all of these recordings are new to me.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?

Not generally. It isn't German and it wasn't produced between 1969 and 1973.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?

About 25 minutes in I found myself enjoying it more and more. "Burner in the Video" had a good groove going and I wouldn't mind giving it another listen.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?

The latter half of the record was more my style, and I will say that it carries well as an album rather than the tracks as individual singles.

14. And the one you liked least?

I won't single out a "worst" track. The album works well cohesively, and each selection adds its own element to the whole.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?

N/A

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?

I would consider giving a subsequent release a spin. There was definitely enough going on to keep my interest throughout the record.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?

I was surprised. At the outset, I thought, "oh christ, here comes more heavily-clipped lo-fi shoebox music." But the music really kept my attention as the album played on.

18. Did the album end well?

Definitely. There is always a great expectation of an album closer, and "Second Life" was a strong finish. I confess that it ended too quickly - I was hoping for another 10 minutes of it.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?

My perspective with regard to production quality is very limited. I wonder whether or not better production value would help or hurt this album.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?

Like I said - it functioned well as an album, far greater than the sum of its individual tracks.

Another satisfying and eye-opening album. Thanks!

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Trollheart

I've found that with drummers who drum (as opposed to the likes of Collins, for instance, who's almost known more as a singer) I tend to find it hard to buy into their musical vision, if you like. I could probably take a drummer working solo but with others in his/her band, but when it's all based around percussion, and in this case, abrasive and intrusive percussion, it's not for me. Probably just me, but as you know, I have already admitted I couldn't tell a good drummer from a bad one, so to have one front and centre is not something I enjoy.

To be fair, given the other abrasive music I've heard - Fantomas, Naked City, Zorn, Beefheart, Merzbow - this was less harsh than usual and I could definitely hear musical ideas, but you know what I'm like with music that jumps around and doesn't really settle down. Not a fan.

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Trollheart

All right guys, get up off your lazy arses! Last day and we have yet to hear from:

Exo
Batty
Frown
Goofle
Anteater
DJ
Elphenor
Qwertyy
bob
Electrophonic
and
Pansygayboy

Make the effort, lads. A few lines or fill in the matrix, but get something posted before we move on to our fourth album, which is in fact Frownland's choice.

Thanks

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Ol’ Qwerty Bastard

what? i need to review the album i recced? why?

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OccultHawk

the review from the person who made the rec is the most interesting review to me

Maybe you think this record sucks. Let us know. Also, how did you come to decide to choose this record?