By no means grandiose, Midtown 120 Blues excels for the simple fact that it takes a part of Thaemlitz and expresses it consistently throughout all aspects of its construction.
A meditation on the "meaning" of house, a critique of the recent deep house revival, an exploration of one man's personal relationship with the sound—Midtown 120 Blues is all of these things, not to mention being some of the best deep house you'll hear in a very long time.
There is love here, however guarded. At its best, Midtown 120 Blues simultaneously acts as a corrective to house's ahistorical narrative and reminds us just how potent and beautiful New York deep house can be.
To casual listeners, Midtown 120 Blues may even come across as a celebration of all of the distinguishing hallmarks of the genre -- a notion that seems reasonable enough given the exquisitely crafted music on the disc.
The comma of a warm, undulating chord wash, the semi-colon of a synthesized energy pulse; there are no full stops or harsh question marks imposed by the Balearic bounty of Midtown 120 Blues.
[Genre: Deep House]
While it did take me a while to find this due to it not being on any streaming platforms, I'd say this album was really worth getting to. I didn't expect to get a history lesson along with my house music!
Midtown 120 Blues is definitely the essential deep house album, the album that reminds you of the origins of the genre and explores the roots of the genre. It's never really bombarded with sounds but everything is very spaced out, and the tracks have a lot of time to ... read more
I really liked the concept and vibe of this, very chill and ethereal, i also liked the spoken word moments and samples, they really made the whole thing stand out for me
(Have an amazing pride month fellas!! Hope it brings us all the acceptance and respect we deserve <3 and most importantly that they dont take our rights away)
"The House Nation likes to pretend clubs are an oasis from suffering, but suffering is in here with us."
-Terre Thaemlitz aka DJ Sprinkles
Earlier in this account, I made a review about the comedy special/album "Rape Victims are Horny Too" (and I think it's one of my best reviews I've done, even if it's sort of a non-review, check it out.) While I don't think it is that funny, I had to explain that why it wasn't meant for me. Reading a review from a writer on Paste.com (and ... read more
On his YouTube video Christmas Songs Tier List (2023), the music critic Anthony Fantano jokingly makes a brief comment about the song "HOHO" by Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, a fever dream remix of her much better and more serious song "HAHA". In kind of a cheeky way, Anothony Fantano gives this song a 10/10 due to "it having a very quiet anguish pain, just like a holiday song should".
Although mainly a joke, I do find merit in this comment and on the ... read more
For how elusive this album is, finally listening to it for the first time was an enjoyable experience. They know exactly when to add and subtract from a track, keeping you locked within the groove. Hypnotic and soothing, I replied to this with the album link, give it a shot.
#1 | / | Resident Advisor |
#17 | / | FACT Magazine |