*welfare jazz

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like any good art punk album, welfare jazz is so obsessed with being weird that it's become very offputting to many listeners on this website. sometimes its experiments create the most rewarding and enthralling moments of the album, and sometimes they go nowhere and fizzle out. sure, street worms was an off-kilter introduction, but welfare jazz feels like the gloves have come off and any random swerve could be coming. it's sorta weird for the sake of being weird.

the opening ... read more

*DEMIDEVIL

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although ashnikko's unique blend of pop punk/trap may have been her initial draw, demidevil is a project that unfortunately leans harder on the personality and character of its MC than quality of music. ashnikko sometimes feels like everything she seems to be: edgy, dorky and extremely liberated. other times, beyond some decent empowerment lyrics, demidevil feels like clothing store ambiance.

at least empowering lyrics tend to be ashnikko's strong suit. good or bad, this tape is ... read more

doom's 'solider' is a vast, worldbuilding piece that reminds me a bit of some of four tet's side projects. although the strings in a lot of the first half could have been redone, this ten minute vibe is surprisingly easy to get lost in.

most impressive is how well doom is able to establish and slide into the groove of this song. around two-and-a-half minutes in, a swell of synthesizers beautifully leads into some of the most easygoing and uplifting trip-hop i've heard this year. apart from a ... read more

*votive

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through nine tracks rosa anschütz has extracted a cold but beautiful world and soundscape not in spite of, but because of this record's unsettling assemblage of chamber pop and dark ambient.

with each of its songs matched with a ceramic it makes sense that rosa anschütz's album, a twinkling and often downcast collection of chamber pop ballads, feels like a series of impassioned gifts. each one seems thrown into a void, intended to be caught only by whoever needs it.

the ... read more