Album Discussion: 'a sound escape' (by Libraquaricorn)

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modecca
Posts: 807
Joined: 07 Jul 2016

20 Nov 2017

🔗💥

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modecca
Posts: 807
Joined: 07 Jul 2016

20 Nov 2017

Here is a scathing review of the first part of this album, that is as beautiful as the album it is criticizing, if that makes any sense:

Knuckle Dust
My first impressions:

- The ethereal beauty of a forbidden planet resplendent under the midday sun (beginning part of album) is perturbed by the artist's own neurotic insertion of glitches / rolls here and there (song #2), like the artist is denying himself this vision. Doubt the Mancusos and glitch batch of the world would notice, they'd even find cuteness in degenerate modernity.

Still, a distinctive feeling of paradise regained, or rather, paradise within sight, permeates the album (like all good chillout, tropical house, etc.). Or maybe the entire album was based around aquarium gazing? I can't pretend to know. There is too much ambiguity, underpinned by the random samples of Edwardian England, accordions, charismatic preaching, l'm sure l heard an anal retentive Kakapo doing calculus* in there somewhere?

{* Which by the way sums up the artist(s) in this album}

The vocal samples are a bullet through the album's brain, an album which, like JFK, had the potential to touch my heart. Had the artist permitted it. Sadly, he was more intent on machine gunning his own statue, building up a thing of beauty then destroying it, repudiating it, with overly long, cliched samples (the neurotic English housewife, the possessed Pentecostal preacher).

Song #4 has great potential, despite almost being nipped in the bud by yet another crap vocal lecture. Unfortunately it doesn't shape out well. Off-key Bontempi piano. Random flute. Random vocal lecture. Off-beat beat. Sucks teeth. Pfffff.

Song #5 - more off-beat beats. Tidy up your bassdrum lane, man! Please, agony, end, soon. 26:45 - no, primitive aboriginal choirs won't - can't - rescue you now, nor should you lean on them, l mean, there's no context. But l guess "posh white boys going native" is another base that needs covered in this album? Congrats.

Song #6: The chiptune bitcrushed crap-crap at 30:41 gives all the warning l need about this song. Overwrought soulless cliches, senseless autodestruction of what could be works of beauty, if they'd only just let it flow, instead of being so damn anal and self-hating. Sorry if l've overlooked the sublime synth programming. It just doesn't matter when the music gets stifled by those same creators - very little gets imparted to the listener.

At this point l doubt you'd be interested in what l think of Song #7, because you'll hate me for my criticisms. Or you'll agree with me and you can't cope with it anymore. Or because l myself have given up writing about this circle jerk of an album (to be fair, it's the rule to music these days, not the exception).
🔗💥

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CaliforniaBurrito
Posts: 574
Joined: 11 Nov 2015
Location: San Diego, CA
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20 Nov 2017

Very interesting review and I like the progression in your presentation skills. Nice to hear the callers are still alive too. I originally thought the criticism was a bit unfair considering this project was produced by the artists and for the artists before your alleged influence but everything comes together pretty well-rounded in the end. The bit about "elevator music for a mushroom trip" can be taken as a compliment. I have a feeling that anybody who produces a triple album isn't really on a mission to impress people with impactful excitement. It seems this album is indeed more of a testament of being down a rabbit hole rather than being representative of having one foot ahead of the other so to speak. Well done.

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