I don’t know why I decided to write this today instead of at the end of June—I got caught up with making "muzik #WhenImWithYouItFeelsLike @llia" instead, which isn’t even that good regardless, despite the amount of fuckery and effort I put into making it (Pitchmap can only do so much for your sanity). Plus; the 4th of July, but that’s not important.
Now, this will be a monthly instalment where I rate new music that I listened to in the last month, as I keep getting IP banned from RYM for refusing to turn off my VPN. And also because I should actually use this blog. e2l2 does not condone rating music for recreational purposes, and neither should you.
Lucy Bedroque - Unmusique (rage, digicore)
A — Being considered Lucy’s "debut album", whatever that may mean, Unmusique is one of the few albums I’ve listened to where it was actual love at first sight—you can just immediately call a gem, even if there are a few drop-off points.
Unmusique starts by immediately overstimulating you, then moves on to—according to last.fm users—the "greatest song ever made", "peak", or an "eargasm [sic]". And they are correct to think that. Ultraviolet (with prettifun) is a fucking song where I can’t tell the difference between who’s rapping because they both sound the same, mostly. 2010 Justin Bieber lives up to its name too well for me to editorialize about, and Smackdown, Fenty Face, and Ouija are all aggressive to a quite oppressive degree—to the point where if I listen enough, Lucy might crack my fucking skull open.
Made In Italy, Cara Mia, and Ignorant are all disgustingly beautiful songs that you can do a gay little dance in your room to—Tout Naturel just exists, and I Am Impossible is the "sybau national anthem", according to one of my associates (ffuckin’ Aspen). I personally don’t like One Of Us Is Lying, despite having it loved on last.fm. The title track, Unmusique, is one I’m rather unenthusiastic about. Cat’s Eye would make me cry if I was employed or 14 years old—I say this positively. And finally, Yes, You May goes in the same category as 2010 Justin Bieber.
I forgot to write this in pre-publishing, so I'll put it here. jackzebra on Finish Him got done so dirty with the mixing. His rapping on it is a bit wack, regardless.
Good album. Go listen to it. Do not trust any of my opinions, ever.
Oklou - Choke Enough (art pop, ambient)
B+ — Once again, another debut album from an artist, Choke Enough is the type of album where I’d rather just listen to the tracks individually instead of listening to the album on repeat through its entire length. I will now proceed to dog on this album by putting each of its tracks in a list and whining about them all instead of writing paragraphs.
Endless (co-produced with Danny L. Harle)
Milquetoast, about what you’d expect and want for the first track on an album.
Thank You for Recording
Ear-grating. Immediately breaks my rule of "the second track must be able to get viably released as a single". This is the exact opposite—a runaway out-take. A.G. Cook was a writer on this, too!
Family and Friends
Cinematic-esque, I’d feign. Definitely 2 storeys up from the previous track in terms of goodness.
Obvious
Club music played by the local bard, or a song that’ll make you "feel like a cobra being forced to dance by a snake charmer"—both unusually accurate and correct descriptions that were put on the last.fm page for this song. I had 21 scrobbles on this, behind the next’s 20.
Ict
Another one of those songs you can do a gay little dance to. The title is rumoured to be an acronym for "Ice Cream Truck"—which I doubt, but would like to be true.
Choke Enough (co-produced with Lucien Krampf)
The title track. It’s alright, I guess. The second part is pretty catchy. Not much to say.
"(;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ‘)" (that’s the actual name of this track)
The only track on this album that’s been solo-produced by Oklou—a brief intermission. Not much to say, also.
Take Me by the Hand (with Bladee, co-produced with Danny L. Harle)
Another one of those tracks, Oklou sings some catchy stuff and Bladee sounds like he’s been put through Ableton Live’s Warp time-stretching in most parts. Because he likely has been.
Plague Dogs
Cinematic; I keep having this song stuck in my head, but it’s pretty average.
Forces
Intermission, not worth mentioning. I’m only putting this here to line the track numbers up.
Harvest Sky (with and co-produced by Underscores, co-produced with Nick Léon)
I am currently listening to this, and I’m resisting the urge to break out in dance. I do not live alone. Thank you, Underscores and Oklou.
Want to Wanna Come Back (co-produced with Danny L. Harle)
Amen break used. Pretty alright. Not much to say.
Blade Bird
The ending track. Average. I do not care for this.
I think I get what Anthony Fantano means now by him saying that this is "not immersive" (somewhat) and "just wallpaper" after bothering to listen to the album in full. It’s... just okay. I can’t articulate my feelings well for this.
Proem - Until Here For Years (IDM)
A+ — If you know me or my system personally—in which case, no, you don’t, nobody does—you may be aware that I am an absolute sucker for IDM (or as I would like to call it currently, "braindance", but the album cover dictates else). This is the culmination of all that. Beautiful organized chaos, incarnate. I do not like wasting my fingers on this genre most-of-the-time as the tracks speak for themselves, so I won’t, but if you’re into this type of stuff, please listen. This earns the e2l2 and 2311 joint seal of approval.
Gabby Start - Boys (hyperpop)
A — This is not an album. This is a song to be a diva to. This is fffucking pop reduced to its purest form. I would actually be saying the last if it hadn’t been repeated for almost every damn pop song ever from the past century. But it’s true!
Underscores - Music (hyperpop, brostep)
A+ — If you’re a music fan and don’t like this goddamn song, fuck you, go to hell. I will rip your damn flesh off. This is the fucking platonic ideal of music. THIS IS EVERYTHING TO ME, AND YOU WILL NOT REST IN PEACE, EVER.
Honourable Mentions
Thys - Le Thys (house)
★★ — ya it’s pretty good no complaints. opening and 4th track are the best ones. thank you thys of noisia. insert heart emoji here. carrots r pretty good.
Gridlock - Formless (IDM)
★★ — This is just the reference implementation of IDM. Pretty alright. I keep listening to Return a lot.
Bappy, Wondermothh - Stitched Fragments (rap)
N — thog don’t care /shrug