Hey everyone,
Sorry for the slightly later than normal release of my reviews this week. I had some difficulties getting all my affairs in order to put everything together when I wanted to, but I manged to get everything done. I do have an announcement; I will be releasing a digital magazine (call it a digizine if you will) containing my reviews for the month of July sometime in the next few days. I am in the process of finalizing the contents, and it will hopefully be ready by the Monday following this review. It might be a bit scarce of content at the moment, but I hope to flesh out the digizine over the next few issues. I hope everyone enjoys it and thank you for reading my reviews!
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echoes by ｓ ｉ ｒ ｏ ｓ ស៊ីរ៉ែន
The newest addition to the ｓ ｉ ｒ ｏ ｓ ស៊ីរ៉ែន, echoes is a very dark, post-vaporwave centered album. Released on July 24th, 2020, this album consists of 10 tracks, the longest of which is around 7 minutes long and the shortest being around 1 minute long. The tracks of this album occupy the space in between the vaporgoth, hypnagogic drift, and post-vaporwave subgenres, echoes provides a dark soundscape for the listener to get lost within. The dark and ominous vibes of these tracks perfectly capture the contemporary feeling of our times and the dark, lost feeling we may all be feeling amid protests against the state or solitude from an every looming pandemic. Some tracks, such as fragments2, tend more towards ambient than they do vaporwave, yet still capture the ever present sense of uneasiness and dread. Something can even be said about the presentation of the album, which is ordered in a way to tell a message about the songs themselves. The songs disjointed1 and disjoineted2 are in fact disjointed form one another by the separation of fragments2, fragments1, and fragments3 (which appear in this precise order). The non-linearity of the fragments songs send a message of disarrangement, which is not too long afterwards followed by the titular songs echoes1, echoes2, and echoes3. All of these songs are encapsulated between the two songs bookend1 and bookend2, marking the start and the end of the sonic journey. Altogether this is a very thought provoking listen, providing a large assortment of ideas sonically, emotionally, and heterarchically for the listener to muse as the album progresses.
Sex Technology by A R I S T U R T L E
View: https://firstclasscollective.bandcamp.com/album/sex-technology
The newest album out of First Class Collective by A R I S T U R T L E, Sex Technology is a 10 track album consisting of mostly 2 to 4 minute tracks. Closer to synthwave and other techno subgenres, this album is full of bumping and rhythmic tracks. Many songs come off as the love child of synthwave and VHS POP, creating an entrancing medley of retro synths, modern electro drums, and the occasional stretched, vintage sounding sample. Much off this album reminds me of early Com Truise, with many songs feeling like they could be found off the Galactic Melt album. It is difficult to say if this album is truely vaporwave, or if it is more synthwave. While it captures many retro vibes through its finely tuned synth sounds as one would exprect out of a melodic vaporwave song, that is not something that is unique to vaporwave and can be attributed to both vaporwave and synthwave. If I had to call this album by any genre, it would be VaporGroove, for it has much of the synth production expected from synthwave while maintaining many of the production and sampling techniques of vaporwave and mixing in downtempo beats and baselines. What is certain is that each track has a fundamentally solid groove and style that can be appreciated by any fan of more classic vaporwave, or even more uptempo break-off genres like future funk. This is very much a vibes album, and while I personally would like to see a more philosophical or even political stance coming out of my vaporwave, I can deeply appreciate each track.
Chroma by Methysmerna
View: https://methysmerna.bandcamp.com/album/chroma
Chroma is the latest album by the Greek artist Methysmerma, released on July 28th, 2020. This album is another daunting album, consisting of 4 tracks, only 2 of which are under 10 minutes long. The album is very much an expression within the experimental and ambient side of vaporwave, featuring long and drawn out tracks in which little changes over a long period of time. The first track, A Mark of Aeon, very much gives the sonic impression of a wasteland, hollowed out by ever present winds, with a darkness over-looming as though progressing through the twilight hours of the evening. The following track, Chroma, sonically starts off in the place that A Mark of Aeon leaves off, giving you a slow progression of dark winds and hollow landscapes to muse over. As the song progresses it gently introduces more instruments, giving it a more ominous tone, then metallic tone, and finally a windy but hollow tone. Industrial Sector C, the next track, is a decidedly darker and noisier track, starting off with a dark staticy rumble like a deep tornado far off in the horizon. This ever present rumble forms the base of the track, which has hums and buzzes pop in and out as it progresses, giving the feel as though you are moving through a large, lights-off factory. The album ends on R1000L, a slowly pulsing track that sounds like the slow and cyclical loading of some cybernetic or industrial machine. This album very much feels closer to an ambient album than a vaporwave one due to the length of the tracks and their general progression. That being said, there is something to look at within the dark, hollow soundscapes presented to the listener, and through reflection one can see the wastelands and drudgery present within capitalism and consumerism that these songs can be seen to represent, as well as the hollowness of all actions that uphold and enable these systems. Altogether, I would not recommend this album to anyone unless they were specifically into ambient music, were looking for background music for any assortment of reasons, or wanted music to contemplate as they spent time listening to it for this is an album that is specific in its nature and who it caters to due to its droning nature.
Marblesoft. by L a z u l i _ y e l l o w & BOSEBY
View: https://forestkids.bandcamp.com/album/marblesoft
The part 2 follow up album to Memorysoft., Marblesoft. is a 7 track album consisting of mostly 2 to 3 minute songs. Released on July 30th, 2020, this album is the contrast to Memorysoft, creating soundscapes for the empty front rooms of reality. Through deep and echoing reverb, the tracks create a sense of emptiness you may find in a mall that is shuttering for the night or otherwise abandoned. The sounds and textures present on the tracks create a definitive mallsoft vibe, while still presenting some distinctive slushwave and ambient features. The tracks off this album beg us to picture us within the empty spaces it sonically paints, asking us to reflect back upon the spaces is harkens back to. It asks us to reflect back on malls, the private and commercial gathering spots that have been left to rot as digital commerce has taken over commercial capitalism. Does this music make us nostalgic for malls themselves, each a monument to physcial consumerism, or are we simply nostalgic for places where the public may gather without needing to spend money lest you be perceived as a loiterer. What is to be said about music that reminds us of the places where we spent countless youthful hours that have only been left to rot once they had outlived their usefulness? In a sense, this album not only creates the soundtrack to the abandon storefronts from our memories, but also leaves us with pangs of uneasiness over how capitalism will treat us once we are no longer deemed useful. As the album ends with the track "Echoes of the Shoppers Still Haunt the Storefronts", we are left to contemplate not only the anxious and ominous tones of the song, but our own precarious existence as a part of consumer capital. This is, once again, a strong and thought provoking album by the dynamic duo of L a z u l i _ y e l l o w & BOSEBY.
Álbum: The Dead Supermarket Experience. by D.LEÓN K
[youtube]
]View: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwH-T-oUdpLBpexdtg11UqFQwmWIYpDua[/youtube]
The Dead Supermarket Experience is a 4 track album by D.LEÓN K released on April 20th, 2020. The work released by this artist (on their youtube at least), this album is very much a psychedelic and experimentation take upon the vaporwave genre. The opening track "The Dead Supermarket Experience — (ライオンK —92)" features an eclectic mix of ambient pads, reversed vocal samples, and staticy, gritty bell synths. In the following track, "FamilyMart Dead Fruits Zone — (ライオンK —92)", takes a turn towards mallsoft while maintaining the ever present psychedelic feeling. The third track, "Toyota Carina wave in the market — (ライオンK —92)", cuts much of the previous psychedelic feel for a more classic vapor feel, utilizing crisp loops to create dense and repetitive soundscapes. Much like being stuck within a hallucinatory loop, the track has you feel as though you progressed forward, only to loop you back to where you began. While at times tedious at times, it exposes the tedium of our own actions through its seemingly endless loops. The album closes out with "The Parking Elevator - (ライオンK —92)", a much more ambient track than its predecessors. It is a very calming end to the 4 track experience, feeling much like the coming down one gets from a high. This album very much reminds me of a trip on LSD, so I will refer to it sonically as LSD-Ambient. While listening to it you can not only feel the pressure of its soundscapes, but also the warping of reality that one would experience while under the influence of acid. Overall this is a very mesmerizing experience that I would like to come back to in the future and revisit, and I would recommend it deeply to anyone who is a fan of psychedelic music.
Sorry for the slightly later than normal release of my reviews this week. I had some difficulties getting all my affairs in order to put everything together when I wanted to, but I manged to get everything done. I do have an announcement; I will be releasing a digital magazine (call it a digizine if you will) containing my reviews for the month of July sometime in the next few days. I am in the process of finalizing the contents, and it will hopefully be ready by the Monday following this review. It might be a bit scarce of content at the moment, but I hope to flesh out the digizine over the next few issues. I hope everyone enjoys it and thank you for reading my reviews!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
echoes by ｓ ｉ ｒ ｏ ｓ ស៊ីរ៉ែន
The newest addition to the ｓ ｉ ｒ ｏ ｓ ស៊ីរ៉ែន, echoes is a very dark, post-vaporwave centered album. Released on July 24th, 2020, this album consists of 10 tracks, the longest of which is around 7 minutes long and the shortest being around 1 minute long. The tracks of this album occupy the space in between the vaporgoth, hypnagogic drift, and post-vaporwave subgenres, echoes provides a dark soundscape for the listener to get lost within. The dark and ominous vibes of these tracks perfectly capture the contemporary feeling of our times and the dark, lost feeling we may all be feeling amid protests against the state or solitude from an every looming pandemic. Some tracks, such as fragments2, tend more towards ambient than they do vaporwave, yet still capture the ever present sense of uneasiness and dread. Something can even be said about the presentation of the album, which is ordered in a way to tell a message about the songs themselves. The songs disjointed1 and disjoineted2 are in fact disjointed form one another by the separation of fragments2, fragments1, and fragments3 (which appear in this precise order). The non-linearity of the fragments songs send a message of disarrangement, which is not too long afterwards followed by the titular songs echoes1, echoes2, and echoes3. All of these songs are encapsulated between the two songs bookend1 and bookend2, marking the start and the end of the sonic journey. Altogether this is a very thought provoking listen, providing a large assortment of ideas sonically, emotionally, and heterarchically for the listener to muse as the album progresses.
Sex Technology by A R I S T U R T L E
View: https://firstclasscollective.bandcamp.com/album/sex-technology
The newest album out of First Class Collective by A R I S T U R T L E, Sex Technology is a 10 track album consisting of mostly 2 to 4 minute tracks. Closer to synthwave and other techno subgenres, this album is full of bumping and rhythmic tracks. Many songs come off as the love child of synthwave and VHS POP, creating an entrancing medley of retro synths, modern electro drums, and the occasional stretched, vintage sounding sample. Much off this album reminds me of early Com Truise, with many songs feeling like they could be found off the Galactic Melt album. It is difficult to say if this album is truely vaporwave, or if it is more synthwave. While it captures many retro vibes through its finely tuned synth sounds as one would exprect out of a melodic vaporwave song, that is not something that is unique to vaporwave and can be attributed to both vaporwave and synthwave. If I had to call this album by any genre, it would be VaporGroove, for it has much of the synth production expected from synthwave while maintaining many of the production and sampling techniques of vaporwave and mixing in downtempo beats and baselines. What is certain is that each track has a fundamentally solid groove and style that can be appreciated by any fan of more classic vaporwave, or even more uptempo break-off genres like future funk. This is very much a vibes album, and while I personally would like to see a more philosophical or even political stance coming out of my vaporwave, I can deeply appreciate each track.
Chroma by Methysmerna
View: https://methysmerna.bandcamp.com/album/chroma
Chroma is the latest album by the Greek artist Methysmerma, released on July 28th, 2020. This album is another daunting album, consisting of 4 tracks, only 2 of which are under 10 minutes long. The album is very much an expression within the experimental and ambient side of vaporwave, featuring long and drawn out tracks in which little changes over a long period of time. The first track, A Mark of Aeon, very much gives the sonic impression of a wasteland, hollowed out by ever present winds, with a darkness over-looming as though progressing through the twilight hours of the evening. The following track, Chroma, sonically starts off in the place that A Mark of Aeon leaves off, giving you a slow progression of dark winds and hollow landscapes to muse over. As the song progresses it gently introduces more instruments, giving it a more ominous tone, then metallic tone, and finally a windy but hollow tone. Industrial Sector C, the next track, is a decidedly darker and noisier track, starting off with a dark staticy rumble like a deep tornado far off in the horizon. This ever present rumble forms the base of the track, which has hums and buzzes pop in and out as it progresses, giving the feel as though you are moving through a large, lights-off factory. The album ends on R1000L, a slowly pulsing track that sounds like the slow and cyclical loading of some cybernetic or industrial machine. This album very much feels closer to an ambient album than a vaporwave one due to the length of the tracks and their general progression. That being said, there is something to look at within the dark, hollow soundscapes presented to the listener, and through reflection one can see the wastelands and drudgery present within capitalism and consumerism that these songs can be seen to represent, as well as the hollowness of all actions that uphold and enable these systems. Altogether, I would not recommend this album to anyone unless they were specifically into ambient music, were looking for background music for any assortment of reasons, or wanted music to contemplate as they spent time listening to it for this is an album that is specific in its nature and who it caters to due to its droning nature.
Marblesoft. by L a z u l i _ y e l l o w & BOSEBY
View: https://forestkids.bandcamp.com/album/marblesoft
The part 2 follow up album to Memorysoft., Marblesoft. is a 7 track album consisting of mostly 2 to 3 minute songs. Released on July 30th, 2020, this album is the contrast to Memorysoft, creating soundscapes for the empty front rooms of reality. Through deep and echoing reverb, the tracks create a sense of emptiness you may find in a mall that is shuttering for the night or otherwise abandoned. The sounds and textures present on the tracks create a definitive mallsoft vibe, while still presenting some distinctive slushwave and ambient features. The tracks off this album beg us to picture us within the empty spaces it sonically paints, asking us to reflect back upon the spaces is harkens back to. It asks us to reflect back on malls, the private and commercial gathering spots that have been left to rot as digital commerce has taken over commercial capitalism. Does this music make us nostalgic for malls themselves, each a monument to physcial consumerism, or are we simply nostalgic for places where the public may gather without needing to spend money lest you be perceived as a loiterer. What is to be said about music that reminds us of the places where we spent countless youthful hours that have only been left to rot once they had outlived their usefulness? In a sense, this album not only creates the soundtrack to the abandon storefronts from our memories, but also leaves us with pangs of uneasiness over how capitalism will treat us once we are no longer deemed useful. As the album ends with the track "Echoes of the Shoppers Still Haunt the Storefronts", we are left to contemplate not only the anxious and ominous tones of the song, but our own precarious existence as a part of consumer capital. This is, once again, a strong and thought provoking album by the dynamic duo of L a z u l i _ y e l l o w & BOSEBY.
Álbum: The Dead Supermarket Experience. by D.LEÓN K
[youtube]
]View: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwH-T-oUdpLBpexdtg11UqFQwmWIYpDua[/youtube]
The Dead Supermarket Experience is a 4 track album by D.LEÓN K released on April 20th, 2020. The work released by this artist (on their youtube at least), this album is very much a psychedelic and experimentation take upon the vaporwave genre. The opening track "The Dead Supermarket Experience — (ライオンK —92)" features an eclectic mix of ambient pads, reversed vocal samples, and staticy, gritty bell synths. In the following track, "FamilyMart Dead Fruits Zone — (ライオンK —92)", takes a turn towards mallsoft while maintaining the ever present psychedelic feeling. The third track, "Toyota Carina wave in the market — (ライオンK —92)", cuts much of the previous psychedelic feel for a more classic vapor feel, utilizing crisp loops to create dense and repetitive soundscapes. Much like being stuck within a hallucinatory loop, the track has you feel as though you progressed forward, only to loop you back to where you began. While at times tedious at times, it exposes the tedium of our own actions through its seemingly endless loops. The album closes out with "The Parking Elevator - (ライオンK —92)", a much more ambient track than its predecessors. It is a very calming end to the 4 track experience, feeling much like the coming down one gets from a high. This album very much reminds me of a trip on LSD, so I will refer to it sonically as LSD-Ambient. While listening to it you can not only feel the pressure of its soundscapes, but also the warping of reality that one would experience while under the influence of acid. Overall this is a very mesmerizing experience that I would like to come back to in the future and revisit, and I would recommend it deeply to anyone who is a fan of psychedelic music.
