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Album reviews 11/9/15
10 years ago
If you guys can get hold of Pacific Hotline's EP, do so. It's a project featuring 
colson and Raralare, and they put out four really killer songs. I got it by supporting their Indiegogo campaign, and you can get it from their Bandcamp page! Check it out! https://pacifichotline.bandcamp.com/releases
Do yourself a favor and check out Televisor's Venture EP. It's only four tracks, but they're all great electropop with some good vocalists. http://music.monstercat.com/album/venture-ep
#: I've heard of this guy but don't know too much about him. Obviously he's a crazy badass motherfucker because the opening track is the My Little Pony theme played in the style of Rush's "YYZ". I mean, that right there scores some major points. Then we get a punk rock cover of "Find a Pet" with crazy-fast vocals. It's probably the best cover I've heard of a song that's really hard to cover. Then there's a song that's not actually Andrew WK's "Ready to Die" or a parody thereof, but really brings it to mind. The connection of course is to that irreverent Cupcakes flash, which used the song as the background. No, the actual parody is of Weird Al song "Close but No Cigar". Who would even... And it's actually funny, not just a filk! I really have to give this guy points for doing all kinds of weird shit. This isn't the best sung or recorded or produced album ever, but it is definitely the craziest. Continuing on, "More Discord" is like a cross between "Pink Elephants on Parade" and Butthole Surfers. Oh yeah, and this is the guy who did the "What Would Brian Boitano Do" filk about Twilight Sparkle. I say filk because he's singing like the Hulk and I can't understand anything, but it's at least hilarious and has a great punk bridge. He wrote a one-minute song about John DeLancie being awesome. There's a "Lumberjack Song" parody that's actually pretty bad because "apple farmer" doesn't fit the cadence properly. It's still pretty funny. Oh my god, he's doing a Weird Al style polka medley of songs from the show. I am throwing all of my money at the screen right now. "Join the Herd" is one of the best songs on this, fandom-centric as it is. We end with another Monty Python parody, of the Philosopher's Song. This is not a perfect album. The vocals aren't as high a quality as the rest of the instruments, and the guy has a fairly impenetrable accent. But it works so well. I want a car so that I can blast this at high volume everywhere I go. I don't care if you like ponies or not, go get this album, it's incredible. 9/10
Balloon Party
100% No Feeble Cheering: If it's not obvious from the title, this collection is based around Knife Party's 100% No Modern Talking EP, which I listened to yesterday and was not overly impressed with. Hopefully these 45 tracks -- count them -- will be far better. From the outset, the vibe I'm getting from this is frenetic dub and bass with lots of genre crossing. It's that second part that's making it hard to enjoy individual tracks. A song will build up into something neat and then do a 180, or at least a 120, and break the flow entirely. The fourth track, "Arrivederci", is the first one that really grabs me; unsurprisingly, it's also the first with vocals. Makkon's "The Little Toy Shop" is like a really neat mashup of music box and Kannon's Klaim from DKC2. That is sadly followed by death metal. Assertive Fluttershy's "Boooring!" has great Fluttershy vocals in it; things seem to be smoothing out just a bit more from the openers. "Sleep" by Echelon is almost too much: the vocals are REALLY glitched up and the drop is full of drills, but I'm sitting and bobbing back and forth to it, so it must be doing something right. No, I take it back, this is amazing. Jackle App's "Cawtion" is one that uses the genre flipping pretty well, going into buzzy spacey kinda-trance from a more hardcore intro. It's not so much that they go together as they transition well and complement one another. Tarby's "Rejected" is the first good straight rock song. Kind of surprising, really, given what everything else has been. Well, except for the death metal, I guess. Aussie Asher's "Spinner" is more my speed when it comes to dubwork. I like "Kataklysm" by Neu Katalyst, but I can't really say why. I think it's just solid drum and bass. Silva Hound's "Everypony's Bangin'" is a nice ensemble glitch vocal piece of I'm really not sure what. H8 Seed's "Lung Buster" is awesome. "Prominence" by Michael A. and Whitetail is a great bouncy dance track. ArtAttack and Silva Hound come together for a great trance piece, "How Far We've Come". ISMBOF's on the penultimate track, "Friendship in Tartarus", which is of course awesome metal, with lots of bagpipes this time. There's so much music on this thing, it's hard to sum up. While it trends toward the electronic, and dubstep in particular, I think there's a lot for everyone in this. Do at least check it out. 7/10
After Party: Good gravy, the Balloon Party doesn't stop! This is a 29-track album of songs that didn't quite make the cut, released a month or two after the original. Onipony's "Desert Walker" is a great way to start, as is PhillyPu's "The Secret of Tarius". "1000 Wingpower" by Fakepony and Bassbrony is some goddamn amazing heavy metal. There's a VIP remix of "One Last Letter", which is dubstep as all get-out, but while good, I think I prefer the original. Pirhanaplant's "Pulse Leak" is an unexpected bit of sunshine in the middle of the album. NeuKatalyst's "Determination" is a nutty bit of dubstep, and has great vocals to boot. For what it's the worth, this album features the first remix of the .mov videos I've heard. "How Far We've Come" by SilvaHound, ArtAttack and Miu sounds like a cross between Enigma-era New Age and DJ Jurgen-era trance. In other words, it's a fantastic mix of 90's electronica and completely rocks the house. I am chagrinned that I like a song called "Wingboner", but it's got this weird little repeating sound that like a laughing goblin, and overall is just really nice and trancey. That's followed by "Celestial Fireworks" by Counterwise, which is maybe the best dubstep track I've heard on this. "Fluttertastic" puts a darkwave spin on Fluttershy's gala scene. Exploding Heart Technique's "Stance" is a great way to round off the album. What we've got here is another eclectic mix, this one probably a bit more eclectic than the first Balloon Party. If you checked out the first album, give this one a listen too. 7/10
Drew Eddy Jones- Before the Dawn Comes:
drewfustehfox is at it again! I don't outright remember his last album, but I want to say from the get-go, this has a more professional production quality, evoking singer-songwriters of the 70's. The opener is absolutely fantastic. These songs take their time, setting out emotion little by little rather than squeezing it out all at once. Never boring, never rushed, this is a fantastic album, and it's just one guy and a guitar. And a mandolin sometimes. Drew is a truly excellent artist. Standouts include "Sometimes, Maybe", "Girl With No Name", "Selfish Love", "Love Is a Funny Thing", and "Blue". 8.5/10
Noluv- Electronic Sounds Vol. 1: First album by an electronic brony artist I've recently discovered. The songs "Cubic Rays", "Here Comes Tom", "A Dash of Rainbows" and "Parasprites" are the ones I've heard off this and enjoyed previously. It starts with a very minimalist and ambient remix of "The Smile Song". The first three tracks paint a lazy picture of languid soundscapes, which are then cut short by track four, "The Lair" and its harsh beepy quasi-dubstep. The song "Hello Zepp remix" is another that's far harsher, but I like it a good deal more. The main problem with this album is its inconsistency, just switching from one style to the next with no transition. And while Noluv is a talented artist, I don't think the dubstep is really his forte, at least not on this album. I'd still recommend checking it out at least, since the four songs I mentioned are quite excellent. 6.5/10
The 4th Album Fan Project: I don't really know the story behind this, but it does feature daks, a brony artist I'm familiar with, which is no doubt how it got on my radar. These first few tracks actually don't remind me of Daft Punk so much as a lot of French house I've been listening to lately, Annodam and the like, but then "French house" is a tag on this album, so there you go. I'm not sure how it works as a Daft Punk tribute, but as an album, it's pretty darn good. Standouts include "Adage" by Ananth Ram, "Bliss" and "Effervescence" by daks, "Like a Child" by Electromatic and "With You" by Sir Ridley. 7/10
colson and Raralare, and they put out four really killer songs. I got it by supporting their Indiegogo campaign, and you can get it from their Bandcamp page! Check it out! https://pacifichotline.bandcamp.com/releasesDo yourself a favor and check out Televisor's Venture EP. It's only four tracks, but they're all great electropop with some good vocalists. http://music.monstercat.com/album/venture-ep
#: I've heard of this guy but don't know too much about him. Obviously he's a crazy badass motherfucker because the opening track is the My Little Pony theme played in the style of Rush's "YYZ". I mean, that right there scores some major points. Then we get a punk rock cover of "Find a Pet" with crazy-fast vocals. It's probably the best cover I've heard of a song that's really hard to cover. Then there's a song that's not actually Andrew WK's "Ready to Die" or a parody thereof, but really brings it to mind. The connection of course is to that irreverent Cupcakes flash, which used the song as the background. No, the actual parody is of Weird Al song "Close but No Cigar". Who would even... And it's actually funny, not just a filk! I really have to give this guy points for doing all kinds of weird shit. This isn't the best sung or recorded or produced album ever, but it is definitely the craziest. Continuing on, "More Discord" is like a cross between "Pink Elephants on Parade" and Butthole Surfers. Oh yeah, and this is the guy who did the "What Would Brian Boitano Do" filk about Twilight Sparkle. I say filk because he's singing like the Hulk and I can't understand anything, but it's at least hilarious and has a great punk bridge. He wrote a one-minute song about John DeLancie being awesome. There's a "Lumberjack Song" parody that's actually pretty bad because "apple farmer" doesn't fit the cadence properly. It's still pretty funny. Oh my god, he's doing a Weird Al style polka medley of songs from the show. I am throwing all of my money at the screen right now. "Join the Herd" is one of the best songs on this, fandom-centric as it is. We end with another Monty Python parody, of the Philosopher's Song. This is not a perfect album. The vocals aren't as high a quality as the rest of the instruments, and the guy has a fairly impenetrable accent. But it works so well. I want a car so that I can blast this at high volume everywhere I go. I don't care if you like ponies or not, go get this album, it's incredible. 9/10
Balloon Party
100% No Feeble Cheering: If it's not obvious from the title, this collection is based around Knife Party's 100% No Modern Talking EP, which I listened to yesterday and was not overly impressed with. Hopefully these 45 tracks -- count them -- will be far better. From the outset, the vibe I'm getting from this is frenetic dub and bass with lots of genre crossing. It's that second part that's making it hard to enjoy individual tracks. A song will build up into something neat and then do a 180, or at least a 120, and break the flow entirely. The fourth track, "Arrivederci", is the first one that really grabs me; unsurprisingly, it's also the first with vocals. Makkon's "The Little Toy Shop" is like a really neat mashup of music box and Kannon's Klaim from DKC2. That is sadly followed by death metal. Assertive Fluttershy's "Boooring!" has great Fluttershy vocals in it; things seem to be smoothing out just a bit more from the openers. "Sleep" by Echelon is almost too much: the vocals are REALLY glitched up and the drop is full of drills, but I'm sitting and bobbing back and forth to it, so it must be doing something right. No, I take it back, this is amazing. Jackle App's "Cawtion" is one that uses the genre flipping pretty well, going into buzzy spacey kinda-trance from a more hardcore intro. It's not so much that they go together as they transition well and complement one another. Tarby's "Rejected" is the first good straight rock song. Kind of surprising, really, given what everything else has been. Well, except for the death metal, I guess. Aussie Asher's "Spinner" is more my speed when it comes to dubwork. I like "Kataklysm" by Neu Katalyst, but I can't really say why. I think it's just solid drum and bass. Silva Hound's "Everypony's Bangin'" is a nice ensemble glitch vocal piece of I'm really not sure what. H8 Seed's "Lung Buster" is awesome. "Prominence" by Michael A. and Whitetail is a great bouncy dance track. ArtAttack and Silva Hound come together for a great trance piece, "How Far We've Come". ISMBOF's on the penultimate track, "Friendship in Tartarus", which is of course awesome metal, with lots of bagpipes this time. There's so much music on this thing, it's hard to sum up. While it trends toward the electronic, and dubstep in particular, I think there's a lot for everyone in this. Do at least check it out. 7/10
After Party: Good gravy, the Balloon Party doesn't stop! This is a 29-track album of songs that didn't quite make the cut, released a month or two after the original. Onipony's "Desert Walker" is a great way to start, as is PhillyPu's "The Secret of Tarius". "1000 Wingpower" by Fakepony and Bassbrony is some goddamn amazing heavy metal. There's a VIP remix of "One Last Letter", which is dubstep as all get-out, but while good, I think I prefer the original. Pirhanaplant's "Pulse Leak" is an unexpected bit of sunshine in the middle of the album. NeuKatalyst's "Determination" is a nutty bit of dubstep, and has great vocals to boot. For what it's the worth, this album features the first remix of the .mov videos I've heard. "How Far We've Come" by SilvaHound, ArtAttack and Miu sounds like a cross between Enigma-era New Age and DJ Jurgen-era trance. In other words, it's a fantastic mix of 90's electronica and completely rocks the house. I am chagrinned that I like a song called "Wingboner", but it's got this weird little repeating sound that like a laughing goblin, and overall is just really nice and trancey. That's followed by "Celestial Fireworks" by Counterwise, which is maybe the best dubstep track I've heard on this. "Fluttertastic" puts a darkwave spin on Fluttershy's gala scene. Exploding Heart Technique's "Stance" is a great way to round off the album. What we've got here is another eclectic mix, this one probably a bit more eclectic than the first Balloon Party. If you checked out the first album, give this one a listen too. 7/10
Drew Eddy Jones- Before the Dawn Comes:
drewfustehfox is at it again! I don't outright remember his last album, but I want to say from the get-go, this has a more professional production quality, evoking singer-songwriters of the 70's. The opener is absolutely fantastic. These songs take their time, setting out emotion little by little rather than squeezing it out all at once. Never boring, never rushed, this is a fantastic album, and it's just one guy and a guitar. And a mandolin sometimes. Drew is a truly excellent artist. Standouts include "Sometimes, Maybe", "Girl With No Name", "Selfish Love", "Love Is a Funny Thing", and "Blue". 8.5/10Noluv- Electronic Sounds Vol. 1: First album by an electronic brony artist I've recently discovered. The songs "Cubic Rays", "Here Comes Tom", "A Dash of Rainbows" and "Parasprites" are the ones I've heard off this and enjoyed previously. It starts with a very minimalist and ambient remix of "The Smile Song". The first three tracks paint a lazy picture of languid soundscapes, which are then cut short by track four, "The Lair" and its harsh beepy quasi-dubstep. The song "Hello Zepp remix" is another that's far harsher, but I like it a good deal more. The main problem with this album is its inconsistency, just switching from one style to the next with no transition. And while Noluv is a talented artist, I don't think the dubstep is really his forte, at least not on this album. I'd still recommend checking it out at least, since the four songs I mentioned are quite excellent. 6.5/10
The 4th Album Fan Project: I don't really know the story behind this, but it does feature daks, a brony artist I'm familiar with, which is no doubt how it got on my radar. These first few tracks actually don't remind me of Daft Punk so much as a lot of French house I've been listening to lately, Annodam and the like, but then "French house" is a tag on this album, so there you go. I'm not sure how it works as a Daft Punk tribute, but as an album, it's pretty darn good. Standouts include "Adage" by Ananth Ram, "Bliss" and "Effervescence" by daks, "Like a Child" by Electromatic and "With You" by Sir Ridley. 7/10
