Felicia Atkinson - Coyotes (Shelter Press, 2018)

Felicia Atkinson released a pretty highly acclaimed album last year called Hand in Hand that I didn't really care for, but I checked out her new EP Coyotes...and didn't really care for it either. Atkinson was inspired by a trip she took to New Mexico and her electronic bloops and blorps do an impressive job of recreating an imagined-desert landscape populated by the titular animal, dustswept and wind-torn, but it's like an art exhibit more than an enjoyable piece of music. Admirable but not terribly enjoyable. Pass (again).

Comments

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...

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.

A$AP Rocky - Testing (ASAP Worldwide/Polo Grounds/RCA, 2018)

I've always liked A$AP Rocky for his experimental-ish tendencies. Namely his tracks with Clams Casino, shit like "Electric Body", "Wild for the Night" with Skrillex (hey it's a good track), etc. On Testing A$AP set out to push the boundaries even further, or at least being more brazen in his attempt at making an experimental hip hop record, as opposed to a hip hop record with some experimentation. Hence the title. There's a whole whack of interesting collaborators on here - FKA Twigs, Dev Hynes, Moby via a "Porcelain" sample, Frank Ocean, Clams Casino, Dean Blunt...as well as some less-eyebrow raising names like Kid Cudi, Kodak Black, French Montana, Juicy J...so what's the verdict? Well it sounds as unsettled and restless as A$AP likely was while putting this together - it's less an album and more a collection of experiments. I can't even confidently say it's a better album than LONG.LIVE.A$AP. or AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP. But I resp...

Tips Zum Selbstmord

Search This Blog