Weekly Album: Week of 01/22 - 01/28 - Switched-On Bach II

This week I listened to Switched-On Bach II by Wendy Carlos'. I decided to treat myself this week by listening to something I felt that I was guaranteed to enjoy, and boy was I right. Bach's music by itself is already quite enjoyable to listen to, but I'm not crazy about orchestral music. So I've always been drawn to listening to his music in ways that aren't orchestral, such as guitar performances of his music (shoutout to Cyrus Pireh for his fantastic arrangement of "Sheep May Safely Graze" entitled "Sheep Graze") or in this case, played through a Moog synth! Now for a little historical context, Wendy Carlos is one of the people that put electronic music on the map with her first Switched-On Bach album. I chose to listen to the sequel because it has my favorite Bach piece on it, "Sheep May Safely Graze". Oh what beautiful tones Wendy Carlos is album to pull from this beast of synthesizer! And pairing some of the most beautiful synthesized tones with some of the prettiest sounding music is a match made in heaven. It's even better with this amazing stereo mix which very nicely emulates the feeling of actually hearing it from an orchestra with how wide it sounds. While I obviously think "Sheep May Safely Graze" is the best track on the album many of the tracks stand out on their own as well, such as BWV 783 or the Affettuoso from the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. Truly a masterpiece in the large catalog of electronic music, if only it was on streaming. 10/10

Weekly Album: Week of 01/15 - 01/21 - How to Leave Town

This week I listened to How to Leave Town by Car Seat Headrest. Now I am not unfamiliar with CSH, I once tried listening to their album Teens of Denial and found it not good. To be fair to that album, however, I was likely blinded a little bit by the hype as so many of my music friends were huge CSH fans. So coming to this album I tried to come at it from a more neutral point so I can properly give this band a chance. This album was far too long for a bunch of songs where nothing happens. Especially the first half. If I ever have to sit through Will Toledo singing "But then came the shabba de bop bop be shibby day oh yeah" ever again I think I would need to physical restrained so I don't destroy whatever device I am listening to "The End of Dramamine" on. I will say the album picks up a little bit around the halfway point, I even found myself enjoying "You're in Love With Me"! But the pick up is just a small, insignificant hump in this hour long album. Another thing that drove me crazy were the vocals. Besides my dislike of Will Toledo's voice to begin with why does he have to blast it through so many effects to where it sounds almost grating to listen to. The production on a lot of the album is just all over the place, switching from the worst sounding electronic drum samples to live drums that sometimes sound half decent. Too much to think about with this album. 4/10 

Weekly Album: Week of 01/08 - 01/14 - Animals

This week I listened to Animals by TTNG. This is apparently a very strongly revered math rock album, and I just don't really get it. It's like they learned the wrong lessons from American Football. The guitar work, while very impressive, I feel doesn't really serve to create interesting melodies or countermelodies with the rest of the instruments/vocals. The vocals were another issue I had. Not a huge fan of this guy's voice, very British Guy™ kind of voice. Almost all the songs sound the same too! All the same like mid-tempo with similar sounding riffs. 5.5/10 

Weekly Album: Week of 01/01 - 01/07 - Flying Beagle

This week I listened to Flying Beagle by Himiko Kikuchi. I thought it was a good jazz fusion album. I'm not crazy about most jazz fusion, but I felt that this album had enough unique qualities to keep me interested. For starters, since Himiko Kikuchi is a pianist/keyboardist, there was a heavier focus on the keys than similar jazz fusion I've listened. It's especially cool when she plays a lead line on a synth, like on the opening track, "Look Your Back!" There was also a lot more horns than I was used to in jazz fusion. From what I've heard most jazz fusion in Japan tends to be a bit more rooted in rock instrumental so there is a heavier focus on guitar, so this was a nice change of pace in comparison to other Japanese jazz fusion albums I've listened to. Good album. 7/10