DeSade

ethereal and bombastic. no backing band required. unfortunately, bixby is a bit of a one trick pony and his other releases pale in comparison, but he has a powerful voice and the lo-fi recording quality adds to the atmosphere.

Somehow preceding the legendary Erkin Koray, who's often credited with popularizing the combination of Turkish folk songs with Western music influences, this group of three brothers have a unique chemistry that results in a very consistent record that I'll listen to for the rest of my life. They do stay a bit closer to their Turkish roots than Koray, though.

Haram is exceptional. Their bassist really holds this album together. Presumably influenced by the great James Jamerson, but perhaps not.

Am I missing something? Sounds like any other subpar modern pop release. Seems like its trendy to give this a 0 because Fantano and Brad Taste gave it 0's.

Batshit insane songwriting, out of tune guitars, unusual song structures, weird rhythms, loose and almost lazy playing. On paper this would be a disaster but it all somehow works.