I remember hearing Sprain when my fellow Benis buddy @PipePanic recommended to me their debut, “As Lost Through Collision”, a couple years back. I still think it's a pretty damn solid slowcore/post-hardcore record that shows a lot of potential, despite some odd production choices. A couple years later, I hear of a new single being ... read more
Now that that’s out of the way, yay I’m back! Sorry I've been out a while. I think I needed to take a loooong break in order to try to get some of my shit together and prioritize things that felt more important to me. But I don't want this to be about me. I want to focus on writing: something I've gotten increasingly more passionate about getting back into.
So... let’s review an album, shall we?
You probably already know how ... read more
Journal Thing!:
"Flood" starts off with some continuously layering guitar loops that I initially thought dragged on a bit. But that's before it ends with these haunting walls of percussion, signifying that there might be a storm coming. But before that, we transition into the second phase. The soothing, chorus-soaked guitars ooze the aquatic theme the album artwork hints at. It feels calm... too calm... and it's very, ... read more
So, there's been a steady-ish decline for The Mars Volta ever since "Frances the Mute" came out. I thought "Amputechture" was a very good album that felt like it dragged on a bit and "The Bedlam in Goliath" was a mixed bag of grating-at-times vocal effects and some forgettable tracks, but it still had some great highlights and it was definitely one of the most out-there albums of their catalog. "Octahedron" ... read more