Black Francis

^ i highly suggest you give all things must pass a try Ori, im done listening to the whole album and i can honestly say it's a great one.

Before i end this review, i encourage ppl to listen to this album and pick they're own favorite songs.
Mine are based simply on my preference and there's alot of songs on the album i didn't talk about

To finish i wanna cover I dig love because this track although not as strong as other tracks takes a more bare minimalistic approach i find the album needed



I like this track, it's simple.
this album has alot of over laying instrumentation that can be a little much at times.

And lastly and super off related, the song Art of dying have vocals that i find sound ALOT like Kevin barnes vocals.

Im gonna take a wild guess and say that songs like this one probably inspired them because the double vocals used in this song right away reminded me of his vocal style.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

From George im gonna move on to a group i recently discovered by sheer curiosity in foreign music,

Kas Product



the duo consists of Spatsz on rhythm and Mona Soyoc on guitar, vocals and piano. Spatsz worked at a psychiatric hospital previously while Mona worked with a jazz band

I was looking for french new wave bands and i got a hold of YT playlist on that genre and among all the groups on the playlist Kas product to me stood out as the best.

i wanna make clear first, Kas product is labeled as Coldwave/minimal wave so they're not exactly New wave

Im gonna be reviewing 3 albums from them

Try out (Debut album 1982)



By pass (2nd album 1983)



Black & Noir (4th album 1990)

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

Lets start with their debut album, Try out

• Track listing:
  
  1."One of the Kind" *
  2. "Man of Time" *
  3. "No Shame" *
  4. "Countdown" *
  5. "Never Come Back" *
  6. "Underground Movie" *
  7. "So Young But So Cold" *
  8. "Digging in a Hole" *
  9. "Sober" *
  10. "Breakloose" *
  11. "Pussy X" *

The first song i ever heard from this album was Never comeback which was on the YT playlist i found.
luckily the song has a video, a great cheesy 80's video i might add where Mona soyoc looks like a hot messed up girl



My first reaction to this vid was "This girl got balls" right away i loved her wacky vocals and chanting.
She keeps repeating "Never comeback, Never comeback" in a cheesy dramatic way but she's so into it i couldn't help to like it.

I also liked the musical transition to the chorus, that's when i kinda knew i was gonna like this band's sense of rhythm.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

From that song i went ahead and got the album.

the 1st track One of a kind is pretty good. the 2nd track however Man of time was really the track that cemented my interest for them.



again she uses chanting but this time it goes "Time's against you" and every time the synths rise.

The message of the song also spoke to me cause she talks about maturing but also about being past your prime cause well.. Time's against you.

Next track No shame has like a weird lounge act vibe, its pretty good but it doesn't do much for me.

The next one Countdown sounds like new wave and its pretty energetic but i didn't dig it

Underground movies is not really song, it's like snippets from old movies.

So young and so cold is one of their most popular songs but i dont hear anything special in it.

Digging a hole i find annoying

Breakloose Is average, the chorus is pretty damn good though, it has a girder vibe to it i really dig.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

The next track Sober is one of my favorite songs from them.
it has a soulful yet cynical vibe to it that i really like



This song reminds me of an alcoholic/Junkie getting clean to not be judged anymore but he's not thrilled about it

And the last song Pussy X reminds me how crazy cat owners are



The instrumentation sounds like a detective noir movie yet the sound of the synths themselves make it very 80's and the argument between the cat and the owner is pretty funny. Mona's pussy is crazy.

In conclusion:

This album is pretty good for a debut HOWEVER it lacks consistency.
It runs pretty well as a whole but not every song shines with something special but the ones that do make the album worth it.

instrumentally, Spaz's melodies are haunting and embrace insanity
He's a very minimalistic guy but he lays a foundation that always echo Mona's vocals.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

By pass (2nd album)

• Track listing
  1 Loony-Bin
  2 Seldom, Often
  3 Smooth Down
  4 Mingled & Tangled
  5 Tina Town
  6 T.M.T.
  7 Devil Fellow
  8 W. Infatuation
  9 Taking Shape
  10 Tape
  Bonus Tracks
  11 Sweet & Sour
  12 Scaper

This album for some reason took me awhile to get into. i would say it's the weakest album out of the 3 i'll be reviewing from them however the album has a couple of songs that redeem it starting with the 1st track Looney bin



This song reminds me of the song 'This is the day' by The the
it has a similar uplifting feeling (This is the day is way better though)
it's a good song to kick off the album sadly the 2nd track Seldom often is not that good.

The 3rd track Smooth down is pretty good.
it sounds like a song inspired by a water fall, maybe it's just me but to me the song has like a flora & fauna vibe to it

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Jonts

Hey I haven't had time to read your whole journal yet but for now I had just enough time to listen to your soundcloud on first page - very nice indeed, you're very talented. Like your tones, very clean recording too even when things got dirty I'd be quite interested to hear about your recording setup (if you haven't detailed it in here somewhere already).

Black Francis

Thnx but i didn't set up the recording, my friend Joseph did. (he also played the bass)
Idk the name but he used simple music program to record it, i think he bought an adapter or something cause i would plug the guitar in the computer and from there he added effects and edited the whole thing.

idk his setup in details, idk sh*t about computers.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

Track 5 & 6 are pretty good but nothing special, T.M.T is energetic and Tina town its one of their bigger hits but the song is too simple for my taste.

Lets skip to track 8 W. infatuation



I think this is my fav track from the album.
i luv the synths at the beginning, to me they sounds like a warped drive through experience. you know, the drive through movie theaters where you would go in with your car? this song to me is like of a warped version of that.

Tape is a good track too but its a little crazy and honestly the rest of the tracks from the album are sh*t with the exception of the 2nd Bonus track Scaper



This song examplifies how all over the place this album is, Sure it has a few good tracks but at best it feels like a transitional album, like they were stumbling into something but they're not quite there yet.

Oddly their 1st album Try out does a better job defining itself.

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A

Black Francis

Alright let's wrap up this Kas product review with their final album

Black & Noir (1990)

• Track listing:
  
  1 Mind
  2 Black & Noir
  3 Seven
  4 Take Me Tonight
  5 In Need
  6 Malena
  7 Crash
  8 Mezzo
  9 Electric
  10 Party
  11 Doctor Insane

This and their first album Try out are my favorite albums from Kas product.
By this album you can tell they learned how to define their own signature sound. The first track is alright but the 2nd song Black & Noir is the first song of the album that really grabbed my attention



i don't really know why i like this song but i find it very soothing.
It has like a distorted whistle keeping the tempo of the song and the whole song sounds like snippets from a creepy french conversation

The next track Seven is also good.
It's full of hopeless life lessons for cynical ppl like me

__________________
"Hey Kids you got to meet the MIGHTY PIXIES!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbRbCtIgW3A