ANCO DIVE #46 (BONUS): ANIMAL CRACK BOX

CAN SOMEBODY PAY ME A CALM 300 BUCKS TO BUY THIS ALBUM? PLEASE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND🥲

Out of all of Animal Collective's batshit insane days, this one's honestly the most chill. It's still wild as hell ofc, but it's "Danse Manatee" with less bleeps n' bloops or whatever, kinda, sorta. Only downside is that it's long as SHIT, but it's more of a live compilation so it's all gucci.

Also, this GOTTA ... read more

THE BEST COLLAB I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED‼️‼️‼️‼️

My art mentor was hyping the hell out of the singles that were released a couple of months ago, and I remember liking them quite a bit. But I'm ngl I got MAD excited after picking up the fact that absolutely BEAUTIFUL voice was coming from AURORA, who's a recent favorite of mine. AND 1/2 OF THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS IS THE MAIN PRODUCER?????????? I knew I was gonna love this immediately when it came out.

For the album itself, ... read more

ANCO DIVE #45 (BONUS): TANGERINE REEF

I was praying the rating wasn't true ;(

I didn't include this in the mainline series because it's technically a visual album and not exactly a traditional studio album. So instead of just hearing it, I wanted to see the FULL ARTISTIC VISION with the pairing of the video. I AM NOT A HAPPY CAMPER.

I'm not against the idea of AnCo making an ambient, I enjoy it when they stray from a certain sound, as it keeps the band entertaining. Not ... read more

FINALLY CATCHING UP WITH RECS SORRY FOR THE WAIT (shoutout to @Nephis for the rec!!)

IM NOT CRYING YOU ARE

Ask 2023 VGhost his opinion on this, he would've said "hell nah" and placed a calm 65 on this thing. Now that I'm on my 5th listen, I can safely say this is SO FRIGGIN GOOD (ofc).

It's like each time I hear this album, I find something brand new to love about it. If I listen to this a 6th I can probably imagine this being even higher because this is where 10+ ... read more

I know this sounds a little whiny or whatever, but I couldn't listen to this album.

I'm sorry to those who wanted me to give this a listen, but I feel like my lack of motivation for post-lobotomy Kanye extends further than just his INSANE yap sessions and behavior n' whatnot. It's just as an artist, he doesn't really captivate me the same anymore.

Obviously it's borderline impossible to replicate the quality of his original run and I can recognize that. But ... read more

Dawg I'm not even that big of a BTS hater, but this is like really not good at all....like it's bad 😭

I honestly think the contributions from other artists are pretty neat considering what they were working with, and the singing is kinda uninteresting, but tolerable.

ON THE OTHER HAND. ALL, and I mean ALL of the rapping brings this from kinda plain to PUTRID. I miss when BTS were atleast a little interesting, Jesus...

I must clarify for the safety of my life, I'm NOT a BTS ... read more

ANCO DIVE #44 (BONUS): HOLLINNDAGAIN

IGHT THAT'S IT. PUT THESE SO CALLED "ANIMALS" BACK IN A DAMN ZOO.

Out of all AnCo's experimental tribal drug music of this genuinely insane era, this is the best-sounding project they achieved with this style. Though an album like "Danse Manatee" is far from my favorite record by them, I still often defend it for being such a strong figure in experimental music as a whole, despite its flaws. NOT ONLY does ... read more

ANCO DIVE #43 (BONUS): SUNG TONGS (LIVE AT THE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL)

"AHHH, uh uh, AAAAH, uh uh." -Animal Collective

I could not have asked for a better rendition of all these songs, INCLUDING the tracks added that were previously unreleased. Lemme tell you what, if you're on a long car ride, this is one of the best live albums ever when you're in the backseat. Straightforward and sweet. On par with the original FOR SURE.

(P.S. Don't tell the other fans I'm an ... read more

SCREW A BRAT SUMMER, THIS YEAR WE GOTTA U SPRING. Makes me wanna go 21 in a school zone 😈

Corniness aside, not only do I consider this to be one of the best hyperpop albums of the decade, but, forgive me if I'm reaching here, one of the most well-made hyperpop albums of all time. It's very rare for a pop album to get me LEGIT JUMPIN as this one has. On that note, probably the first time in a while that I listened to an album front to back FOUR CONSECUTIVE TIMES before reviewing. ... read more

ANCO DIVE #42 (BONUS): BALLET SLIPPERS

A huge chunk of the Animal Collective community lowkey dog on this live album (which is pretty rare for live releases), so I was kinda excited to see what the huge divide was about. I don't think I can convey all of my thoughts without this review being as long as the Bible, so instead, I'll do a WatchMojo breakdown typa thang.

In The Flowers - Whose crazy idea was it to remove ALL OF THE IMPACT the drop had??? You know, THE GREATEST DROP IN ... read more

ANCO DIVE #41 (BONUS): FEELSLIVE 04/05

I am so scared right now 😨

The nocturnal, intimate tone of these performances is neat, but it could've been used more effectively here. I prefer the studio version a WHOLE lot more. I do think the new additions to the tracklist are okay as well, BUT NEVER CUT DOWN "DID YOU SEE THE WORDS" EVER AGAIN. I like it, though, it's not bad at all.

(P.S. Avey starting to piss me off, he's jumpscaring me too much with his screams)

ANCO DIVE #40 (BONUS): LIVE AT 9:30

More like Live at a Fucking Jungle, Avey just be JABBERING.

I legit could not have asked for a better Animal Collective live album after the dive. I actually prefer the Centipede Hz tracks more than their studio versions. Like I'm not gonna lie, a 15-minute version of "Pulleys" sounds like pure torture, but I enjoyed this zonkers iteration. I can't say the same for ALL of them on here. I prefer the punchier production in the studio ... read more

Shoutout to @FERINA for recommending me his new release!!

I love the fun vibes that come with the house direction FERINA goes for here, and I especially think it sounds the best on the song "Smokestack", the playful sampling really makes it a last to listen to! The rest was pretty decent, but lemme tell you "Smokestack" is SO fire. Excited for more releases!!!!

(P.S. EP good)

Lily Allen is my favorite artist that I wish I knew less about.

One of, if not the most defining feature of her style is her EXTREMELY British-riddled sarcasm. Her unique songwriting adds so much wit and sharpness to the personality she presents. The producers went absolutely crazy with the beats on here, which really emphasizes the blast of a musical style Lily has.

Unfortunately, though this doesn't affect the score itself, it's a "separate the art from the artist" type ... read more

Lets be fr none of us heard this lol

Shoutout to @Lady6ov6Fire again for the metal rec!!!

TS IS DISGUSTING IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE.

This is the first time in quite a while that I've considered an album an immediate favorite.

The pure AGGRESSION and RAWNESS of this record is all so filthy and grunge-y, the unsettling, disturbing nature of the stories being told, the riffs, oh my God, the RIFFS. I don't care if this is a basic thing to say, this is legit one of the best times I've had listening to any rock album ... read more

Shoutout to @Lady6ov6Fire for the rec to help me into metal!!

This is another metal album that COMPLETELY SPLIT my expectations in HALF. I never thought I'd find myself enjoying the deep voice growls, and dark lyrics of the death/black metal genre. Yet the INSANE instrumental chemistry combines with the singing, is legit some of the most badass stuff that has grazed my ears. Especially the bass playing and distortion effects. The cherry on TOP.

There are honestly some tracks I ... read more

James Blake has always been such a great friggin visionary in the R&B and electronic scenes, but I am WOWED that he made a project on par with his early 2010's work.

That Future Garage-y, UK Bass sound has always been something I'm a huge sucker for, and I think it's a very flexible type of genre to experiment with when done right. There is NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY, who can play around with this sound in the modern-day like James Blake. I'm currently resisting the urge ... read more

This doesn't make me as stupidly happy as their first LP "Lost Horizons", but this is SO slept on.

Something I find very fascinating about Lemon Jelly is that it was essentially a side project for Fred Deakin (1/2 of the group), his UK graphic design company Airside (1998-2012) being his primary focus. All of the fun art direction gives their whole discography a HUGE boost. A shame they never made a visual album or something.

ANYWAY, on the album itself. My same issue with ... read more

ANCO DIVE #39 (BONUS): LIVE @ OTHER MUSIC IN NEW YORK (8/16/04)

Btw, all the mainline release dives' results are in on a list, so be sure to check that out!!

Shoutout to @ruberosie for letting me know a recording like this even existed!! I wasn't expecting "Lablakely Dress," you know, an absolutely insane, NOISY song off of DANSE MANATEE, to sound so beautiful. As a matter of fact, a majority of the tracks in this performance are so soothing, in some cases more than their ... read more