Dated New Aesthetic

I'm seeing a lot of hating on this latest installment to the discography of Windows 96. Calling a lot of derogatory terms such as boring and amateur. I recently went through the discog of this guy and while I have been disappointed by an album or two I never found anything they have offered to be considered bad as of yet.

I have actually heard a couple of songs from this album cause of Spotify playing it on my "Discover New Songs" TikTok-esque deal which is a fantastic place to find new music within my established taste and a chance to explore genres the app thinks that I might like. It's pretty much how over half of the liked music playlist that numbers almost to 4 grand tracks got there. Idk if it's a premium exclusive but if you haven't checked it out yet I HIGHLY encourage you to check it out it's always pumping out new stuff every time you check it out!

Now that I got the sponsor of this review out of the way, let's see if the hate is warranted, or I am going to have an unpopular opinion once again...

Nome Da Musica:
This is one of the songs I have already heard and I liked it then and I like it now that I have heard the whole thing properly. It's nothing outstanding, but it got some lush production with some tropical chill wave vibes with some assorted sound bites to keep the listen interesting. I may be an absolute sucker for this genre of music but even without my bias, this is good y'all IDK what to say.

Nocturne Button Presses:
Another engaging listen full of interesting melodies and elements that don't hinder each other all working together to achieve that fuckin VIBE! Idk what I am missing, am I just that ignorant of LPs that are just in another stratosphere of quality that this seems lazy in comparison? It's a simple track yes but it does plenty to satisfy me a man that has been listening to music pretty consistently since like 2005. I know good music when I hear it and to be fair now that I got my critic hat on properly this is decent and again pretty simple but nothing about it raises any kind of alarms on my eardrums it's just some nice chill wave music to vibe to. And I am vibing which is what the music wanted from me as a listener in the first place. I see no problems with this. It's a nonessential track but it holds its own quite well thank you very much!

Takeaguess:
Ok NOW I got something to say. Didn't I hear this song before? It sounds awfully similar to another Windows 96 song from another album that I am too lazy to search for. It ain't exact, BUT it did ring that alarm and I will say if I am correct in saying that this is indeed suspiciously similar to an unnamed track from the past THEN I will raise an eyebrow. Cause referencing past tracks is one thing almost ripping it off is another can of worn that I don't like the taste of. Irregardless, it's an ok track nothing all that interesting about it. It keeps the momentum going but does nothing in particular that makes it stand out individually.

Unknown Creature Sighting:
Another vibetastic track that easily pulls you into its atmosphere and lets you embrace its wonder. Nothing against this track is damn solid, but I am noticing that this album needs something to spice it up a bit. All of the tracks offered thus far are sounding pretty similar to each other and I am growing too accustomed to the patterns. Hopefully something truly unique and interesting to keep the engagement fresh happens soon or my enjoyment will genuinely start to degrade. I still like this track it's very nice! 👍

Lightsleeper:
Here's the other track that I have heard already and yeah I still really enjoy this as well with its full context revealed. This like the opener has the rich production and the sound bites. This specific format is still new and fresh to me for the chill wave genre even though it is basically the backbone and the stereotype of it. Well if it ain't broken I guess. It's an engaging listen, what can I say. While there's still no really unique that I was asking-( the iconic hyperpop beats comes up literally as I was typing this) HOLY SHIT THERE IT IS! THAT'S WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR! SOMETHING NEW FOR ME FROM THIS ALBUM TO CHEW ON! Sorry for yelling I just got a bit excited. But still damn that was a nice surprise! The chill wave elements mixed with the hyperpop is SO GOOD! Honestly this is the best track yet, it's genuinely great! Highly recommend you check this one in particular out!

Not a Puzzle or a Riddle:
Ok I am starting to think y'all just don't know how to have fun, cause this song makes me move and groove like you wouldn't know! I can't recall Windows going to the dance track route so this is new at least to me in my perpetual ignorance of a whole lotta shit. It's a fun track and it definitely stands out amongst the ones before it. Nothing about my listening so far do I consider it to be boring nor amateur. I think y'all's standards are just a bit too high or you just dismissed this record entirely during your listen, or your just jumping on the hate bandwagon, or you are your own person with your own taste and when listening to this kind of music you get nothing out of it and you have heard PLENTY of music like it and you are not impressed in the slightest so you dismissively say some shit and move onto music better suited for your taste. IDK, I can't read minds I probably am wrong on any of these guesses. Let's just put up a truce and agree to disagree cause there's nothing each of us can do to convince the other that their worldview is misguided or whatever I am just yapping bullshit at this point let's just move on.

How He Found the World Strange and the World found him strange likewise:

Geez what is this Andre3000( That might not be the name but this is what I remember. It's that one rapper guy that made the flute ambient album that sent this site into a frenzy with ridiculously long track titles. That guy!) ass title?

Anyways one of the major appeals of chillwave is the nostalgia it invokes in the listener of simpler days when every day was an adventure and everything seemed possible. With this track's Mario 64 resemblance I am just getting struck at all angles. It's practically cheating and cheap but damn does this shit hit me in the special place. ( NOT THAT ONE YOU PERV!) This is the good shit and it will never get old! Highly recommend!

Feal Brids:
Yes while this album does have a tropical and festive theme there's SO MUCH variety that I just can't get myself to say that it's boring in the slightest. This is easily Windows 96's better albums and I'll have my overall thoughts after I finish listening but yeah I just can't agree with the hate at all. This is another simple track that may easily be placed to the wayside as forgettable but it has it's place within the tracklist and while I agree that it's not the best that this album has to offer, it still has it's value. So keep flying you Feal Brids keep flying! 🪽

Konami Beta Female:
I was going to say some stuff about the overall album again but I am trying to keep that shit at the end but I want to get it out in case I forget about the thought that rang up during my listening to this song. Fuck it I'll just repeat myself at the end then. They say that you should do that during the conclusion of an essay. I could be wrong though I was never the best at essays. I pass the class though! Anyways the thought is that this album offers the most engaging elements since my favorite of Windows 96 Discog so far the acclaimed album "Enchanted Instrumentals and Whispers" what an album that was and if you haven't checked it out and you enjoyed this one, I encourage you to check it out it's honestly really great! And so is this album tbh! Again this particular track doesn't do anything particularly special other than remind me of that fantastic album I mentioned but I still really enjoyed it and that's all that really matters at the end of the day!

I Should Probably Start Looking:
Whoa we got some darker ambience and tone! Then it's juxtaposed by the dance beat! Yeah this is an absolutely FASCINATING track and it just keeps on getting better! It's almost unhinged in how it constantly changes and evolved and I LOVE IT! It may be my favorite track so far! Fantastic stuff Windows 96!!!

Moment of Reflection:
We finish off the album with a genuinely chill piano ballad esque instrumentation that really just ties a nice bow on the whole experience. I absolutely love when the last track is in this format since it's just so satisfying and so is this conclusion to this surprisingly very enjoyable album full of surprises and quality music!

So that was the latest installment from Windows 96! And yeah if you could not tell I really enjoyed it! It really is some of Windows 96's best work and I couldn't be more than happy to have another album on the level of Enchanted Instrumentals and Whispers! I was hoping Windows would dive into this magical hole once more cause the shine has definitely not lost it's luster! I highly recommend you check this album out, it's some of the most fun I have had listening to a chillwave album and I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I have!

Oh and bonus points for the Bangs and Twin buns!

Favorites:
- Nome Da Musica
- Unknown Creature Sighting
- Lightsleeper
- Not a Puzzle or a Riddle
- How He Found the World Strange and the World found him strange likewise
- Konami Beta Female
- I Should Probably Start Looking
- Moment of Reflection