What's a Listening Log? Well, the idea is quite simple. It's a weekly segment that consolidates all the mini-reviews Dozens Of Donuts has given on RateYourMusic over the past week, split between the Past and Present. A straightforward grading scale has been put in place, ranging from A+ to F-, with C acting as the baseline average. There is no set amount of reviews per week, just however many I get around to reviewing. And don't expect week-of reviews. I wait one month - with at least three listens under my belt - before I rate and review an album. Enjoy!
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2009 | Dream Pop | Listen
A MOUTHFUL OF COTTON CANDY ON THE TEA CUPS
Some of the best, more pure Pop you'll treat your ears to. Bar none. For me, this sits comfortably above Velocity : Design : Comfort, though I'll concede that that's likely due to the general removal of Glitch Pop and IDM (excluding 'Female Lover,' which is a fine closer), two genres I'm less infatuated with than Dream Pop and Twee Pop which monopolize You Will Never Know Why. The unbreakable jubilee draws comparisons to two foreign artists; Japan's Fishmans and France's Stereolab, a style of incorruptible fulfillment I'd never expect from an American band. Sweet Trip's from San Francisco though, which explains a lot. Other points of influence also chart their way overseas to jolly ol' Britain, with Broadcast's Indietronica emerging in the torpid glitch of 'Forever' and 'Your World Is Eternally Complete,' and Heavenly's brash heatwave Twee Pop appearing on 'Darkness' and 'Pretending.' Throw The Go! Team's hysteria towards optimism on Thunder, Lightning, Strike in for good measure too.
These are some of You Will Never Know Why's best, as the LP manages hit after hit after hit. The two, one-minute sketchbook tracks 'Song About A Sea' and 'Song About A Sun,' along with follow-up 'No Words To Be Found,' present the only moderate lull in the entire 57 minutes. Though, admittedly so, memorability doesn't ramp up until 'Acting,' as even 'Air Supply' feels a tad generic and docile compared to what will soon arrive. 'Milk' is an iconic Dream Pop work of art, building upon the somnolent atmosphere with increasing euphoria that, arguably more than anything in the genre, actually feels like a dream in the clouds. 'Darkness' speeds with a flurry of quirky, 8-bit pizzazz that, apart from 'Female Lover,' finds the most distinct comparison to Velocity : Design : Comfort. I'll mention it now but it applies to the entire album; Roby Burgos and Valerie Cooper's vocals near perfection, achieving a simpatico relationship with the production that's truly unmatched. My personal favorite has to be 'Your World Is Eternally Complete' though, even if the militaristic drums and heartbeat cadence isn't indicative of You Will Never Know Why's free-flowing aesthetic. The pace is stunning, about as much so as the interwoven channels of sound. One moment it's swelling and circumferential, the next it's internal and impenetrable. A brilliant case study of sound design.
You Will Never Know Why nears the appellation of masterpiece. The ease at which unforgettable Pop is produced, all the while maintaining Sweet Trip's wistful decadence in the production is awe-inspiring. Much like Stereolab when their peak was reached on Refried Ectoplasm or Fishmans with Long Season. It's unfortunate they never followed this record up, as it seems - with the years and directions unfolding before our very eyes - Sweet Trip's under-appreciated impact has gained quite a bevy of steam. Yes they had help, yes they had contemporaries, but the effortless clash of styles is really what set them apart. Today I hear Sweet Trip in Kero Kero Bonito, Alvvays, flirting., Exploded View, Ana Frango Elétrico, and many more. This album should be remembered for infinity. And given the incomparable enjoyability, that shouldn't be difficult.
A-
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Andy Boay is one weird dude. That much is obvious after sitting down with any Tonstartssbandht album, especially those that eschew convention like An When and Dick Nights, incorporating heavy reverb and distorted vocals into unorthodox genres like Gospel and Tribal, all the while maintaining a constant flourish of neurotic Noise Rock and Pop. With that experience in tow, it's safe to say Evil Masters is his strangest to date. Appeal factor? It has none. To be honest, Evil Masters feels more like a sketchbook for a deranged mind, as overwhelming and erratic scribbles give way to pages upon pages of nothingness. These are ideas, as fragments of other songs (most prominently 'Evil Masters' and 'Big Chestined Nights') find their way into the Sound Collage Boay manifests here. Considering the release date, 2011, is also home to Tonstartssbandht's most powerful and accessible LP, Now I Have Become, it's safe to assume Evil Masters' status as demo reel fan fodder.
Here, the psychedelics are unhinged and uncontrollable, as certain songs like 'Jethro Hell' and 'Tucson' innervate with unrelenting, guitar-based Noise. The former is a cacophony of sound that plays not so friendly with the quieter tracks like 'Come For Ye' and 'Shug Thyrt,' the latter of which is a twelve-minute excursion into congested Ambient rife with fabric interruptions in the name of Sound Collage. In other words, take the near-unlistenable experiments by Animal Collective early in their career (Danse Manatee, anyone?) and expand the incomprehension even further. Even still, it's a pleasant if not alien-sounding moment of respite for Evil Masters. Surrounding it are tracks like 'Big Chestined Nights,' 'Done Deal,' and 'Fad Radio South' that uses semi-familiar tactics to Tonstartssbandht fans, in that Boay self-indulges to the point of exhaustion over how freakish he can make his vocals sound. 'Done Deal' has to include at least ten layers of strained mumbling, while 'Fad Radio South' skirts around a House of Mirrors filled with laughing clowns.
Evil Masters is a disorienting listen, but ultimately not all too pleasurable or rewarding. Especially given the knowledge of Andy Boay's capabilities elsewhere, this is a record worth missing, even for the diehard Tonstartssbandht fans. See to Boay's home recorded release of SO SO SO WE SEE / TRENCHES IN THE SUN for a much more successful take on this Experimental inconsistency.
D+
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1994 | Ethereal Wave | Listen
A MEDIEVAL LITURGY CONDUCTED FOR THE DARK ARTS
Substance, Sun Fell has not. There's a litany of setbacks plaguing Mellonta Tauta's debut release, let's not waste time describing them. The range of vocalist Leticia Solari is putrid and diminutive, relying on one tone - that of enchanted sorceress conjuring spells - to carry the entire 51-minute LP. No matter the pace or presence of instrumentation behind her, be it the uptempo Shoegaze of 'Estrella' or the sedated Slowcore of 'Ñandu,' Solari maintains a singular note. Combine that with Mellonta Tauta's inability to expand Sun Fell as it progresses and you have a second half that's as unpleasant as it is derivative, both of predecessors like Sisters of Mercy and This Mortal Coil and Sun Fell's first half itself. Apart from the deafening Neoclassical Darkwave of 'Ballenas,' which strays from the norm by testing one's patience through imprisoned isolation, the only worthwhile moment from 'Yini Mijain' onwards is 'Cats Playing.' These two, along with 'Estrella' and 'Over The Ocean,' bring a casual but boisterous form of Shoegaze to the forefront. Think Ride, Chapterhouse, or Pale Saints.
There is nothing else here worthy of one's time, as the slower tracks that lean on Ethereal Wave's all-in atmosphere mentality bore to excruciating levels. 'Quillen,' 'Elefantes,' 'Gauchos,' and 'Andaporaquianda' are the notable examples, ironically doing a better job accentuating Mellonta Tauta's quest for medieval veracity by submitting the listener to aimless and prolonged sermons from a witch whose imprisoned you than any semi-enjoyable song here. Stay away. There's a reason we're not in the dark ages anymore.
D-
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