Humbug

oh man, one of the more admirable posthumous albums released lately. "circles" is crafted with significant respect for mac miller and manages to echo a soothing, melancholic atmosphere without abusing his life at all. regardless of everything - this record's lyricisms are emotionally honest, representing a beautiful companion piece alongside mac's career. jon brion's warm production is guaranteed to introduce a larger audience (alike myself) yet inner niches are still provided.

the hazy + relatable sound of an unmotivated post-electoral britain, casually drifting between fate without ambition. it's okay, i guess. duster will never top stratosphere but there's basically no other band making tunes like this.

Personally, the term 'post-punk revival' feels slightly condescending, because it only opens a pathway to simple criticism or indignance. Many outfits in this modernization still have room for unique distinction, and within every reviewer bullying baritone rockers I weep. Sure, there's many soulless imiatations, yet why make your criticism so painfully redundant? Low Life take obvious conventions of deathrock; between those anthemic vocals and dreamy reverb-drenched instrumentation yet still ... read more

Similar to Parker's debut record "Cold Missions", this follow-up shows not much sign of a reinvention, mostly because "Imperial Flood" presents itself as a collection of sounds; rather than fully fleshed-out wholes. Standard song structures are totally thrown away. Sure, there's occasional repetitive melodies that shown signs of self-awareness but I wasn't very involved or engaged with this album.