Okay. I mean... yeah.

It took me a bit to kinda appreciate what was going on, and it may take me a couple more listens to understand it to an extent, but I THINK I enjoyed it. Stice's voice can get a little obnoxious at times but I really liked the chaotic production here. I could define it as "if 100 gecs and 'Bottomless Pit' by Death Grips were the two girls in '2 Girls 1 Cup' except there are 500 cups, they light the shit on fire and then snort 12000 pounds of cocaine and take acid at ... read more

"You Can Never Have a Long Enough Head Start" (LOVE that name), boasts a lot of angsty, emo, lo-fi but ultimately lavish and personal energy that I really like. While the mixing is a bit questionable and there are a few tracks that just don't work, I really like the sheer amount of sonic and musical ideas placed on here. The lyrical themes of finding one's self and growing up in the modern times are also introspective and heart-warming.

Fav Tracks: She; The Art of Moving On; Julius ... read more

While the Arp series is a bit questionable and the melodies aren't the most interesting, "Mystic Familiar" makes up for it with some fantastic, psychedelic production and matured writing. Definitely might grow on me depending on if I have enough room to listen to it.

Fav Tracks: Sat By a Tree, Become a Mountain, Arp III: Far From Shore, Fell Into the Ocean, Bumble Bee Crown King

Least Fav Track: Arp I: Wide Eyed

Score:
8.2
Great

"Visions" is a sonically arresting and alluring record with lots of creative production ideas and unique, alien vocals giving you cold hugs throughout. There are a couple of ideas that aren't entirely fleshed-out, but the rest of the tracklist is rock solid.

Fav Tracks: Oblivion, Circumambient, Genesis, Colour of Moonlight (Antiochus), Eight, Be A Body, Symphonia IX (My Wait Is U), Infinite Love Without Fulfillment

Least Fav Track: Skin

Score:
8.9
Exceptional

"Be Up a Hello" delivers on both the energetic IDM and the slower, more meticulous realms of the electronic spectrum Squarepusher is known for. There are a few highlights like "Terminal Slam" and "Detroit People Mover" that test both these sounds, but I wish the record supplied newer ideas into the genre.

Fav Tracks: Terminal Slam, Nervelevers, Detroit People Mover, Speedcrank, Hitsonu

Least Fav Track: 80 Ondula

Score:
7.5
Very Good

There were maybe a few tracks that were fine, otherwise "Funeral" is overlong, undercooked, cheesily-written drivel with a lot of samey songs, an average guestlist and a whole slew of uninteresting trap instrumentals.

Fav Tracks: I Do It, Piano Trap, Mahogany

Least Fav Tracks: Get Outta My Head, Clap For Em, Line Em Up, Trust Nobody

Score:
3.3
Bad

"Darkbloom" has a couple of outstanding tracks ("Vanessa" and "Transparency") on this split EP and Grimes' side mixes in pop and experimental electronic soundscapes pretty favorably. Unfortunately, this collab suffers from some odd production choices and d'Eon's side drags on compared to his more well-known friend.

Fav Tracks: Vanessa, Transparency, Thousand Mile Trench

Least Fav Tracks: Hedra, Telepathy

Score:
5.5
Okay

"Halfaxa" is a fine improvement on "Geidi Primes". Grimes' voice is better and the mixing is improved. I really like the dark and dreamy atmosphere of this record, with a lot of reverb coming from her vocals, the melodies and the ethereal instrumentation. It does suffer from "long idea syndrome", with some of these going nowhere throughout their five-minute runtime. Despite that, there are a few career highlights on here.

Fav Tracks: Dream Fortress, Sagrad ... read more

"Geidi Primes" has plenty of interesting ideas and it's sonically decent, but Grimes vocals leave something to be desired and the mixing could've used some fine-tuning.

Fav Tracks: Avi; Gambang; Zoal, Face Dancer; Sardaukar Levenbrech

Least Fav Tracks: Shadout Mapes

Score:
6.5
Decent

On Kesha's "High Road", we start off with "Tonight". It's a horribly-inconsistent song with a cliche-as-shit refrain in the beginning, but then we go to the core of the song. Now I use the term "mumble rap" very rarely but Kesha is literally mumbling and stumbling on her own words here. Maybe it's the mix making it that way? I don't know why there wasn't a decision to retake that and the song is just a bland, messy club banger. Unfortunately, that's kinda how I ... read more

While the second half kind of trails off a bit in quality, "Have We Met" is still a brilliantly-written and passionately-performed record with a cool synthpop direction to accompany Dan Bejar's engaging storytelling. Here's hoping that I'll enjoy his other works.

Fav Tracks: It Just Doesn't Happen, Crimson Tide, The Raven, Kinda Dark, foolssong, The Man in Black's Blues

Least Fav Track: Cue Synthesizer

Score:
8.4
Great

"Gloss Drop" is yet another win for Battles. Even with the shortened lineupm the fun experimentation is still all there and, combined with some damn solid vocal guests, makes this yet another infectiously-written treat that's even more immediate than its predecessor.

Fav Tracks: Ice Cream, Futura, Wall Street, Inchworm, Rolls Bayce, My Machines, Africastle, Sundome

Least Fav Track: Toddler

Score:
9.1
Outstanding

I was beyond excited to listen to "Mirrored" when I heard "Atlas" and it pretty much met my expectations and then some! This record is experimental rock played to the most fun and music theory-laden extremes. I was always ecstatic to see what happened next in the record, whether it be the brief detours or the colossal tracks that remain some of the best math rock bangers in recent memory. Overall, "Mirrored" is a catchy and captivating record that I'll definitely ... read more

"Fantasy Empire" has moments of repetition, but it's still a very chaotic and aggressive offering from the Brians. What's new about this project, however, is the switch to an actual studio. The audio just sounds noticeably cleaner and, while I miss the lo-fi messiness of their other outings, the mix is so well done that it's easy to forgive.

Fav Tracks: The Metal East, Dream Genie, Runaway Train, Horsepower, Over The River And Through The Woods

Least Fav Track: King Of My ... read more

There are a few tracks on Lightning Bolt's "Oblivion Hunter" EP that capture that noisy brilliance that has carried over from album to album... to a fault. There's also the rest of the tracklist, which suffers from a lack of new ideas and a hefty amount of repetition.

King Kandy: 9
Baron Wasteland: 8.5
Oblivion Balloon: 6.5
Fly Fucker Fly: 7
The Soft Spoken Spectre: 5.5
Salamander: 7
World Wobbly Wide: 5

-7.5

Score:
5.9
Okay

One of the many reasons I do artist binges is to look forward to listening to their "magnum opuses". With Boards of Canada, I was desperately trying to get my IDM fix with someone other than Aphex Twin. "Music Has the Right to Children" is an electronic masterpiece according to many people and, after taking my time with it, I agree. This album is around an hour long yet it feels shorter due to how fluid and fun these tracks are. These tracks (even the shorter ones) have some ... read more

Alright. Back from my lil break. I'm gonna be reviewing the albums I rated soon. But for now, here's Boards of Canada.

I've heard cool things about this band, so I was eager to get my hands (and ears) on them. While this EP doesn't blow anything out of the water, "Twoism" is still a solid set of IDM tunes with some interesting textures.

Sixtyniner: 10
Oirectine: 8
Iced Cooly: 6
Basefree: 9.5
Twoism: 9.5
Seeya Later: 9
Melissa Juice: 6.5
Smokes Quantity: 8.5
1986 Summer Fire: ... read more

"The Neon Skyline" is a beautiful and intriguing little album. Most of the songs are top-notch and the Andy's storytelling, combined with that accented voice, is really great, even funny at times.

Fav Tracks: The Moon, Things I Do, Neon Skyline, Try Again, Dust Kids, Fire Truck

Least Fav Track: Clove Cigarette

Score:
8.8
Exceptional

While it can get a little drab in spots and it feels like it goes on for longer than it should, "Thin Mind" is still a fairly enjoyable indie rock album with some solid production and writing throughout.

Fav Tracks: The Static Age, Out of Control, As Kind as You Can, Forest Green, Wandering Son

Least Fav Track: Fall Into the Future

Score:
7.3
Good

Coming from Kanye's G.O.O.D. Music label, 070 Shake releases a solid, if messy, collection of beautifully-produced tracks with some great vocals. There are some songs I genuinely loved from this record, with great vocals melodies too. Shake seems to be lacking in the lyrical department, though.

Fav Tracks: The Pines, Guilty Conscience, Under the Moon, Daydreamin, Morrow, Terminal B, Flight319

Least Fav Track: Microdosing

Score:
7.8
Very Good