Diplo - California (Mad Decent, 2018)

Weird EP from Diplo whose production credits need no intro here. Despite the title this isn't a collection of bangers, rather the mood here is a little...wistful? Morose, even? The production has plenty of bombast - witness in particular "Suicidal" featuring Desiigner (as repetitive and maddeningly catchy as anything the latter comes out with) and "Look Back" featuring D.R.A.M. which is damn near melodramatic in its hugely over-the-top production. "Worry No More" with Lil Yachty and Santigold is also very catchy and radio ready. "Wish" with Lil Xan is completely forgettable and mostly a snooze, "Get It Right (Remix)" feat. MØ and GoldLink is also cinematic but not terribly good either. My favorite is "Wish" with Trippie Redd's raw-throated, shouty vocals (almost bordering on annoying but not quite). Catchy and anthemtic. The mood of this EP is scattered and a couple good tracks in its 18 minutes' length makes it feel pretty dashed off. Oh well.

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Nachtmystium/Leviathan - In the Valley of Death, Where Black Metal is King: An Homage to the Roots (Ascension Monuments Media, 2018)

What the fuck is that title. Okay I get the first part is a Judas Iscariot tribute, but did we really need "an homage to the roots" in there? Hey wouldn't it be funny if these were actually covers of the band The Roots? Anyway. This album was supposed to come out 10 years ago, but it was blocked by the bands' respective labels. Now I guess they've figured out a way, or Blake Judd needs money for drugs so he's figured out a way, to put this out. The Bandcamp version has 8 tracks, 5 from Nachtmystium and 3 from Leviathan, but I've seen a 10-track tracklisting elsewhere. On the version I have, we have Nachtmystium covering Judas Iscariot, Ildjarn (twice), Von and Burzum. Leviathan tackles Ildjarn (twice) and Von once. I seem to be missing Leviathan's Judas Iscariot cover ("Where the Winter Beats Incessant") and one of Nachtmystium's Von covers ("Von"). Weird. Wonder if there were some licensing issues or something. All four Ildjar...

Isserley - Cutest Girls Suicide Cult (Tigersquawk, 2018)

Again - no real recollection of how this one ended up in my wishlist. I keep tabs on some witchhouse stuff and I guess I heard of Isserley somewhere...then again maybe it's the rad album title and kool art that pulled me in. Isserley is the "self proclaimed saddest girl in Australia" and these are kind of witchy beats, although more distorted and noise-y than is typical...of which I approve...but overall the album (it's more like an EP) didn't do much for me. Apparently a lot of these trax are culled from previous Isserley projects and given makeovers. Good to know! But not my bag.

Corrupted - Felicific Algorithim (Cold Spring, 2018)

For whatever it means, this is the beginning of Corrupted's "Hollow" series. Maybe the clue is in the music? Unlike Corrupted's traditional ultra-slowed down, Spanish-sung, Japanese doom metal this is instrumental harsh noise. Still filthy and angry and depressive but sans vox and also more or less sans metal. Both untitled sides are meant to be played at either speed. The result? Meh. I miss Corrupted's brand of doom, this relatively anonymous harsh noise is fine and all but if I'm listening to Corrupted...well I know what I want. Skippable.

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