Page 21 of 41

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 8:54 pm
by speedchuck
I listened to the first four songs of MT&HK, and my impressions so far:

The music itself didn't leave that strong an impression on me, particularly the first song. Ambient-ish music isn't really my thing, even when bands I like do it. The other songs were neither catchy enough to stick with me, nor snappy or complex enough to catch my attention.

I also didn't really like the vocalist's voice.

A part of this is probably my "meh" reaction to electronic/whatever this genre is music. Dawn of Man was pretty good, though. Made me feel nostalgic for some reason. Probably due to some video game.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 12:45 am
by sprityo
In my personal experience this is most definitely an album you have to listen to more than once, Michael Guy Bowman has weird kinds voice that sounds weird maybe even bad but at the same time intriguing.

Dawn of man is the highlight of the album I will agree with Chain of Prospit and No Release being pretty good too. The first and final songs of the album are instrumental if im not wrong, and I have always been a fan of instrumental works more so than lyrical. I in fact listened to the whole album again just today during my drive back home. The album itself is different as well as its different than the other multitude of songs considered akin to it in the discography which in turn is related to the source material. You could say it's technically a soundtrack album. Overall though I have to give it a 3.5/5 since I do enjoy all the rhythms and techno sounds but the lyrics are a little silly, given how familiar you are with the source material.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 12:17 pm
by G-Man
My first time through I was kind of night-and-day. I much preferred the instrumentals to any of the tracks where the guy sings. Today I listened again but it was noisy in the office, which enabled me to take in the lyricist as an instrument instead of hearing the words. I liked it more. I'm probably not going to be a good judge of what good synthpop sounds like and what bad synthpop sounds like, so I'm curious to see what some of the RYM folk have to say on this one.

A pleasant experience all in all and I got a kick out of all the 2001: A Space Odyssey references in "Dawn of Man."

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:15 pm
by sprityo
@Gman so you'd agree that, for whatever odd reason, listening for a second time was more enjoyable?

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 8:14 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
I've just started the album myself. "Dawn of Man" is very Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 10:22 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
The Flaming Lips sound persisted through the full album for the most part. That's not a bad or a good thing, just a thing. I thought it was generally enjoyable, and that the first half in particular was quite good. I do think the momentum stalled some over the latter half. I gave it 3 stars. I did consider a 3.5 given the strong start, so it's a positive product for sure.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 6:50 am
by G-Man
I think the only Flaming Lips song I know is "Bad Days" from the Batman Forever soundtrack, which I still own on cassette. That one doesn't sound anything like this album.
sprityo wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:15 pm @Gman so you'd agree that, for whatever odd reason, listening for a second time was more enjoyable?
I didn't fall in love with it but yes, it was more enjoyable. I think the first time through I reacted too harshly to the difference in sound/style between the opening instrumental and the second track.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 2:53 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
Example:
Spoiler: show

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 6:01 pm
by Ricochet
So much reading from the notes, but oh well, whatever.
Spoiler: show

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:59 am
by G-Man
"Dawn of Man" is still the standout track with vocals but here's the funny thing- the beat on that song (duh-duh DUNNN, duh-duh DUNNN) reminds me of the incidental music that plays during episodes of MacGyver (the original series, not the inferior remake version that's on now) when Mac is scrambling around and assembling things to help out of a jam. I'm not sure if that hurts or helps this song yet.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:12 pm
by Ricochet
Submission:

Image

Phoenix / Mugur de fluier / 46min / Prog folk, Nauruan folk rock / Electrecord / YouTube(no idea about other sources, someone can check)

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 7:30 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
This is all we have for submissions right now, and with only three it'd be pointless to bother with a poll:

Submitting:

A Person - Moor Mother - Fetish Bones / 2016 / Noise/hip hop / 13 tracks / 30:16 / YouTube, Bandcamp, and Spotify

Epignosis - Tears for Fears - Songs From the Big Chair / 1985 / New wave / 8 tracks / 40:27 / YouTube and Spotify

JaggedJimmyJay - Mariee Sioux - Faces in the Rocks / 2007 / Contemporary folk / 8 tracks / 49:40 / YouTube, Bandcamp, and Spotify

Ricochet - Phoenix - Mugur de fluier / 1974 / Progressive folk / 14 tracks / 45:56 / YouTube and Spotify

thellama73 - Comus - First Utterance / 1971 / Psychedelic folk / 7 tracks / 42:08 / YouTube

triceratopzeuhl - Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt / 1969 / Country/folk / 10 tracks / 34:33 / YouTube and Spotify

I'll give it another day.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 8:36 pm
by G-Man
Epi should be due for nominating something. Bug him for an album.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 8:44 pm
by Epignosis
I'd offer an album gladly. I just haven't commented on anything in a while and would feel rude suggesting something.

If this isn't an issue, I will suggest something and promise it isn't a double album like last time.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 8:46 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
It's not an issue at all.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 8:49 pm
by Epignosis
If that's the case, then I am going to roll with Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears.

Image

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 8:53 pm
by Epignosis
I see I'm not as terribly behind as I thought I was.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 11:45 pm
by A Person
I haven't posted here in ages, so my grand reentrance will be suggesting an album, I hope I get a chance to listen to some of the backlog soon.
Image
noise/hip-hop, image is a link to the album on bandcamp

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 12:45 am
by JaggedJimmyJay
Gotcha both, thank you.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:56 am
by Ricochet
Mind you, Llama must have also mentioned a new album, back when he had to skip a turn.

Re: SAW [Week 15 - "All Hail West Texas"]

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:57 am
by JaggedJimmyJay
Good call, Rico.
thellama73 wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2017 1:49 pm If it's not too late for submissions, I'd like to submit the 1970 acid folk masterpiece First Utterance by Comus, because every time I listen to it I literally cannot believe how good it is.
Full album on youtube:

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:19 am
by Golden
I already had a submission on the last poll, and also I haven't kept up basically since I moved house, although I keep really feeling I need to get back in the swing. It's just a function of time. But I still intend to keep up eventually.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 3:40 am
by JaggedJimmyJay
The poll is up. It's only 4 this time, both to get us back on track and also because 5/6 would have been silly.

Y'all listen to sprityo's album!

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:21 pm
by G-Man
Once again, I voted for the shortest ones. I get more listens in that way.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:47 pm
by Ricochet
G-Man wrote: Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:21 pm Once again, I voted for the shortest ones. I get more listens in that way.
Lol, the additional 3 or 2 minutes on Mugur de fluier compared to the 40-minute dead or under ones, feel like nothing. :p

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:52 pm
by Ricochet
Ok, I know I'm supposed to be a tech guy and such (:ninja:), but I just locked myself out of voting by trying to view the current tally.

Wat do

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 2:02 pm
by Epignosis
Ricochet wrote: Sat Aug 12, 2017 1:52 pm Ok, I know I'm supposed to be a tech guy and such (:ninja:), but I just locked myself out of voting by trying to view the current tally.

Wat do
Refresh the page and see if you can vote now, Rico.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 2:10 pm
by Ricochet
I could and I did now, thanks. Refreshing (and even cleaning the cache) didn't work when I asked.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 2:15 pm
by nutella
Finally starting the hamsteak album. Interesting enough sound so far (on the second track and definitely getting the Flaming Lips comparison on the synth). Also voted on the next poll, looking forward to those :slick:

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 2:52 pm
by nutella
Finished. Meh, there were some really fun parts of this album, but it wasn't outstanding or anything. I didn't care for the voice, but I liked a lot of the beats and synths and catchy parts. Track 3 was my favorite. Overall I think I'll give this a 2.

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 3:06 pm
by Epignosis
3J, I hope you don't mind- I changed the poll to allow changeable votes since Rico wanted to peek before voting. :p

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 3:14 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
That's fine, I meant to do that myself. :nicenod:

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 6:25 am
by Ricochet

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 6:36 am
by Ricochet
Embarking on another three-cycle wait with my submission, I see... :suspish:

Re: SAW [Week 21 - "Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido"]

Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 11:40 am
by JaggedJimmyJay
Since it's a four-way tie we go in order of submission. Comus is first. I can't properly introduce it currently, but it's underway now.

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 12:26 pm
by Ricochet
Week 22: Comus - First Utterance
Image
Submitted by [mention]thellama73[/mention]
Available on YouTube

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 1:23 pm
by sprityo
Before I start this I want to throw this into the queue for the next poll: Classics by Ratatat 2006

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 5:02 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
I'm listening to Comus now. It's been pretty cool. The third track "Drip Drip" was excellent -- prog done right. The strings caught my ear immediately.

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2017 12:47 pm
by G-Man
Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido

Like some of the other albums that fall around it score-wise, Michael Guy Bowman's offering strikes me as a niche product. Musically, I found it to be quite good. Lyrically, it was neither here nor there. Vocally, I was pretty meh on it. Thus is the subjectivity of music appreciation.

The first, "Forever," track sets a really good, moody, ethereal tone. It feels like it's setting the album up to be far more serious than it turned out to be. Despite my enjoyment of the MacGyver-esque beat and the 2001: A Space Odyssey references, track 2, "Dawn of Man," was a bit of a letdown for me. It's a competent enough song, but it didn't carry the momentum of "Forever" like I thought it might. Track 3, "Beta Version," got me back into the groove. There's quite a bit going on with all the elements and I liked it.

The rest of the album was pretty hit or miss for me but you have to appreciate the consistency of sound Bowman accomplished. His voice does nothing for me and at times verged on irking me. I guess the nerdy sound of his voice matched the nerdy-niche sound of his music well enough not to pull me out of it. Some of the tracks have a very 80s throwback vibe to them. I liked those. Other songs just kind of meandered, to my ears anyway.

I almost feel like a jerk to say this but my three favorite tracks were the instrumentals. "Forever" is a strong piece, as is "Beta Version." The closing track, "The Deeper You Go," reminded me of some old-school Moby instrumentals, which are always enjoyable. Instrumental synth-pop/electronic music is probably a fierce battlefield for listeners, but I feel Bowman is more suited to that avenue than music with lyrics.

Overall, the album was light, easy to digest, and pleasant for the most part. My musical biases favor energy, flair, and showmanship, which don't seem to be Bowman's concern. And that's okay. For me, it's caught somewhere between memorable and forgettable but I'm not sure where exactly it falls.

G-Man Scale: 3.19 out of 5
Rico Scale: 3 out of 5

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2017 2:27 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
3.5 for Comus for now.

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2017 9:08 pm
by G-Man
The Comus album is definitely different. I hear the folk and the prog but I also hear something at times that I want to call psychedelic. Does that make sense?

Also, the length and number of tracks on the YouTube video is different from the information listed in the OP for this album. Is there an extra song on this video a la a special edition?

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:29 am
by Ricochet
G-Man wrote: Tue Aug 15, 2017 9:08 pm The Comus album is definitely different. I hear the folk and the prog but I also hear something at times that I want to call psychedelic. Does that make sense?

Also, the length and number of tracks on the YouTube video is different from the information listed in the OP for this album. Is there an extra song on this video a la a special edition?
I'd stamp it overall as weird (or wyrd) prog folk, but all those tags are fair.

Haven't checked the YT link, I have a 7-song album in my collection.

Kinda curious what constitutes "prog done right" to Jay in regards to Drip Drip, because to me it's rather "prog thrown in acid".

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 4:27 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
To be honest I am not 100% certain that was the song, because it's difficult to tell them apart in a combined YouTube video and different versions of the release have different track lengths. It could have been the very end of the second track instead. I'll listen again tonight and see if I can figure it out.

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 5:21 pm
by Quin
I'm gonna try and get back into this when I get home tonight :beer:

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 5:47 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
Quin wrote: Thu Aug 17, 2017 5:21 pm I'm gonna try and get back into this when I get home tonight :beer:
Good call, Johnny Quinn. :srsnod:

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 12:37 am
by A Person
Comus is an old favorite, so I don't really wanna get into rating it, but I will say it was the standard by which I measured all other acid folk. Very few bands compared, despite my long searches through the internet (well, mostly Lizzy's searches to be fair). I am always so much more appreciative of folk rock/prog that has more folk than rock. I will give a shout out though to Lindsay Cooper and her participation in the band, who was the bassoonist on the many albums featured in MP's avy.

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:07 am
by nutella
By now y'all probably know how I feel about fuckin' dank string bits. 5/5.

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:36 pm
by Tangrowth
Hey folks! Sorry for my absence, looking forward to checking out Bowman and re-listening to Comus this weekend. :D

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:44 pm
by Ricochet
It seems I reviewed this album back in the day, on PA. Ten years ago, in fact, almost to the day. I have no recollection of ever doing this. :suspish:

I'll go for a fresh, modern day review of it as well, uninfluenced by what I scribbled in the past, but here's the PA write-up, I suppose. Be forewarned, though, that it's written in 17-year old Rico English, which used to give the (false) impression that I was on opioids - then again, from a quick glance, this seems to have been a much milder case that the majority of mine.

[mention]Epignosis[/mention], shall I transfer your two stars for it onto the chart or did you change your impression in recent decade? :p

Re: SAW [Week 22 - "First Utterance"]

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 6:46 pm
by JaggedJimmyJay
I listened to it again today and couldn't even find the moment that most appealed to me before. I am doing other things at the same time though. Anyway it was still good tunage.

#expertanalysis