It's been a year since The Pepperwood Ensemble have been heard from, with the last of their contributions being credited on Gonzalo Caligari's "For the Time Being", a wonderful blend between ambient, new age, and chamber music combined into one. ATP. on the other hand, released "Sauerkraut on Kosmische Hot Dogs" at the tail end of 2023, an EP which was in no way a precursor to anything forthcoming into the new year, but more of just a fun collection of beats.

If there were ... read more

I was just interested in the album cover at first, the electronic looking letters and the colors used grabbed my attention immediately. Once, I read that this was going to be a nu jazz record, I was all for it. At the end, I was simultaneously impressed and disappointed.

The jazz sections are definitely the best this album has to offer, with a lot of the horn sections and chord progressions being reminiscent of the Sun Ra and The Arkestra: triumphant, loud, sometimes intriguingly dissonant. ... read more

"...unorthodox sounds presented in a playful, experimental, and almost eerie way"
So, I just bought the 20th Anniversary Edition of this for two reasons:

1. After listening to so many versions of these songs, the remastered version on this release is as pristine and clean as it's going to get.

2. You get to hear the prototypes of "Close To The Edit" with "Close-Up" & "Close-Up (Hop)".

This EP holds a lot of sentimental value, Art of Noise has been ... read more

A little hard to imagine that this album came out roughly 5 years ago, and to this day this is still one of my all time favorites, especially from Tyler. I remember I was traveling through NYC when I first heard this album, I was still in high school at the time, and even then I noticed a shift in maturity in Tyler, the Creator's aesthetic. After about a couple of months of never listening to it again, I decided to give it another go, and man... was I impressed.

Scum Fuck...Flower Boy is a ... read more

It's interesting thinking about this record's concept, as it's meant to be played as a literal musical diary, a concept that I haven't seen anyone do to this degree. There are a lot of motifs here that either feel unfinished, or contribute to a "grander scheme" of song structure as these ideas abruptly switch between one another, and are usually followed by a turning page.

When thinking of journaling, the intent is never about coherence or even finishing a thought. Even if there is ... read more

Over 5 or so years, we've seen immense growth from ATP. not only on a musical level, but also on an artistic level. We've seen him go from an artist that made either impersonal concept albums, or projects made to be nothing more than a collection of songs, into a somewhat more meticulous, conceptual & introspective artist drawing from personal experience as a source of inspiration. The branding of his releases have also changed within this time frame, from what was originally dubbed ... read more

It's been a while since I've actually listened to this album all the way through. As Kanye's discography grew, I gravitated toward different albums, but I'm reminded of the strengths this one contains every time I throw it in rotation.

Here, is where a lot of people started to notice cracks within Kanye's personality and some may have even noticed a shift in both character and music. He broke up with his fiance, while simultaneously, processing his mother's untimely death. Looking back, it ... read more

Sherbet Head is an artist that I've been familiar with for a short while now, and it's mind-blowing seeing how much talent he has for songwriting and production at such a young age. While his previous records had a lot of traces of electronic music and plunderphonics, here, I find him expanding, spreading his wings, and taking his skills to a higher level.

"popcorn and milk" indulges in indietronica and dream pop while also including noise undertones. The atmosphere here dense, ... read more

I've been waiting for this do be on Bandcamp for quite some time now, and I'm glad to say that it's finally on here! While Gonzalo has released better and more diverse material over the years, I do return to this one quite a bit more than the others.

What you have here essentially, is a collection of abstract, experimental, hip-hop beats with samples that topple each other, kind of warring together to create harmony. Within this "Jenga stack" of samples, you'll find really ... read more

Decided to listen to this again, to see if I was kinda buggin' out on my first go rounds. My initial reactions were much more passionate on the first few listens where as now, I'm more mellowed out but my takeaways are still... kinda the same to be quite honest. Let's get into this.

This album is very consistent as far as its production and lyrical technique go, but I guess it feels... a bit too consistent. So much so, that the album as a whole feels redundant and formulaic a lot of the time. ... read more

So, Superior Viaduct just came out with a new vinyl pressing of this album, and I just bought the CD copy. I'm really stoked to place this within my physical collection because this album is very important to me. Looking back, I never would've guessed that this album would stick with me for a good 5-6 years. But, this album also came at a pivotal time in my life.

I was a freshman in high school, whose depression was rising high due to family problems, and not having the best of luck socially ... read more