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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2016 | Hypnagogic Pop | Listen
OUTSIDER SOUL PLAYING OUT THE COUPE DEVILLE DOWN THE BLOCK
A self-effacing debut from an artsy collective on the fringe of New York City's always-burgeoning music scene. Standing On The Corner's debut project pays homage - in some respect I'm not quite sure - to 9/11 given the release date and depiction of the twin towers on its cover. Unless I've missed something, there's not many parallels to be made. Instead, Standing On The Corner conjures uneasy and cultural appreciation through Hypnagogic Pop atmosphere, something not typically entwined with the New York scene.
Much of the LP is nothing more than ideas though, more often than not half-baked ones as seen on interludes 'Trouble' and 'Dedicated To Nunu.' Their semi-fleshed out state proves particularly errant with completed works that show extensive promise, like 'Vomits,' 'Played Us Cheap,' and especially 'Girl.' The latter, without a doubt, Standing On The Corner's preeminent piece, as melodious, sensual Soul becomes swallowed in the claustrophobia of the city.
C-
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2005 | Modern Classical | Listen
A RAZED WAR ZONE AND A THOUSAND-YARD STARE
I come to Palmless Prayer from the perspective of World's End Girlfriend, merely knowing the existence of MONO but never actually having spent time with them. Regrettably, this is clearly the latter's LP, as World's End Girlfriend acclimates to the obsessively reliance on emblematic Post-Rock patterns. There is no Electronic facet offsetting the predictable. On Palmless Prayer, the GY!BE convention is stretched bare and stark, with minimal rises (both excellent, mind you, on '3' and '5') to compensate for the heartrending Modern Classical that spreads itself across the 74 minutes.
Three violinists shed weepy prose that best associate with mortality and our finite lifespans. They're successful, it's just something that's been done countless times. Also, one can be dissatisfied with the Americanized take on Post-Rock here, as this most certainly doesn't adorn itself with quintessential Japanese flavor, despite both artists arising from Japan.
D+
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2016 | Indietronica | Listen
ADHD MILLENNIALS MATERIALIZING FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS
A marginal improvement over ZABA, although I'm not entirely sold. How To Be A Human Being improves not so much in the production or catchiness - both already well-founded on Glass Animals' debut - but rather the content which is assertive in tackling modern society through the eyes of a stress-free millennial. That has its ups and downs, with 'Agnes' acting as a strong representation of addiction while 'Poplar St.' has a questionable relationship with pedophilia. Even the humorous songs are give or take, as 'Season 2 Episode 3's' quirky language works effectively over the Bitpop while 'Pork Soda's' oddball chorus is too over the top for its own good.
This is all to say that here, on How To Be A Human Being, Glass Animals make statements that engage. Whether positively or negatively is beside the point. Take all that away though and you're still left with a fun LP that, even at its worst moments ('Cane Shuga,' 'Poplar St') will have you scratching your head whilst titillated. Nothing beats 'Life Itself' though with its booming Jungle Pop hook..
C+
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2011 | Avant-Garde Jazz | Listen
WHEN THE COTTON FIELDS SPEAK OF THE BLOOD THEY'VE CONCEALED
Music is art. And art is meant to evoke a response. Most music fails in this regard. Matana Roberts' epic Coin Coin Chapter One does not. For many, even in the black community, slavery is such a distant event that attempting to elicit the anguish and despair typically ends in failure. It's just too raw for anyone not named Matana Roberts who, after making it through the unsettling 'Rise' and plunging headfirst into the unknown and unannounced 'Pov Piti,' shrieks with the pained cries of every American slave. It is difficult to digest, and one could easily argue excruciating to bear. It's a vocal performance so impressive, so real, so genuine, that you'd never want to hear it again.
Although you will, with refrain, come the ten-minute apogee 'I Am.' Point being, Coin Coin Chapter One doesn't sugarcoat the most abominable act in American history. There's uncomfortable spoken word depictions of intensely personal familial diseases ('Pov Piti'), unceasing rape ('Kersaia'), and explicit human trading ('Libation For Mr. Brown: Bid Em In...'). All this, surrounded by grotesque and strained Avant-Garde Jazz, one that occasionally transports itself to the lavish confines of the white masters (the Big Band, New Orleans break of 'Kersaia'). Thankfully, the LP ends on two positive notes, as 'I Am' twists into an escape and eventual success for our lead protagonist as the sonically-lighthearted 'How Much Would You Cost?' acts as a dedication to all those who came before.
Oh, and this whole thing was performed live in one take. An unbelievable artistic achievement.
B+
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2016 | Art Pop | Listen
ADOLESCENT INNOCENCE AND UNYIELDING SOCIAL PHOBIAS
That's now two Kevin Abstract solo projects - American Boyfriend and Arizona Baby - that surpass, if ever so slightly, Brockhampton's Saturation trilogy. Oh, and to cap off my perplexing stance on these rankings, iridescence is my favorite LP from the collective. Take from that what you will.
Few modern albums correlate the confusion, angst, and discord of high school better than American Boyfriend. It's a romantic comedy, or tragedy, mixed with a true coming-of-age tale. All that over (mostly) upbeat Art Pop created by an artist who hasn't yet honed in on a singular identity. Seriously, American Boyfriend can be described as Kitchen Sink: The Album, as these 16 tracks - down to the jarringly beautiful interludes - aren't ashamed of their ADHD status. Many of these pieces don't really fit, although they're stringed together by Kevin Abstract's fantastic vocals that split the difference between gruff and fragile.
A lackluster finale (with 'Echo' and 'I Do') can't harm some of the gorgeous set pieces found earlier in 'Yellow,' 'Papercut,' and 'Miserable America.' Pretty close to necessary listening for adolescents.
B-
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If there's a proper way to convey speechlessness in text, please insert it here. There is nothing. And I repeat, nothing, like Patty Waters' Sings. It can not be understated the level of artistic, emotional, and just straight-up human genius on display here. Sings is art in its purest state, as the brief 27-minute LP acts as a faultless conduit to Waters' emotional wellbeing. In 1966, this type of avant-garde art wasn't a thing in music, which only goes to further evidence that 'Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair' is a legitimate psychological breakdown put to tape.
It is real, it is raw, and it is unnerving. I can't discredit Sings altogether on the basis of mental neurosis though, as Waters' indisputable ploy to deceive the listener with a nondescript title, cover, and seven blasé - and decidedly boring - Vocal Jazz pieces is nothing short of artistic excellence. Problem being, I never want to listen to it again. Sings' side A for its starkly minimal and indescribable pieces on the brink of collapse. Side B because that collapse is all too candid and uncomfortable.
C
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2009 | Indie Rock | Listen
THE FARMER'S PRIZED ANIMALS LEARN TO PLAY THE BLUES
Before returning for 2015's abysmal Strangers To Ourselves, Modest Mouse bid adieu to their 2000's era with No One's First, And You're Next. There isn't much to say about the eight-track EP, as its contents don't stray far from the formula Modest Mouse crafted with Good News For People Who Love Bad News. It has standard Alternative Rock edifices, which are composed arthritically to create a gruff and muddy exterior ('Satellite Skin,' 'Guilty Cocker Spaniels,' 'The Whale Song'), while also sporting kitschy performances akin to past feculent works like 'Dance Hall,' 'This Devil's Workday,' and 'Education' in 'Perpetual Motion Machine' and 'King Rat.'
As per usual, these don't really work and feel gaudy for no particular reason. The track that splits those two up, 'History Sticks To Your Feet,' is excellent and textbook grounded Modest Mouse however. For devout fans of the band's second iteration, this is a fun - almost necessary - addition.
C
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1987 | Minimal Wave | Listen
THE MANIACAL DIARY OF A TORTURED ARTIST
Algebra Suicide has two distinct halves, each armed for ornery opinion pieces. First, Lydia Tomkiw. The spoken word psychic denouncing 80's, middle class culture through a mellow, monotone delivery. Comparisons to Laurie Anderson, Anne Clark, and even Lydia Lunch on the chintzy 'No War Bride' and 'Let's Transact' are evident. Then there's Don Hedecker handling the production, abiding to the bare minimum for Minimal Wave percussion while lacerating the amateur keyboard with a stunning guitar that seamlessly blends Post-Punk, Surf Rock, and Shoegaze. The combination of elements - used repeatedly across the entirety of The Secret Like Crazy - could either frustrate or amaze. Sometimes simultaneously.
This compilation is a fascinating listen, even if it's spearheaded by the peerless opener 'Little Dead Bodies.' It is the perfect summation of Algebra Suicide's style, as Tomkiw entrances with charismatic pessimism as Hedecker envelopes the entire piece in a sort of Velvet Underground whirr. Other quality tracks emerge in 'Gist,' 'Tuesday Tastes Good,' 'Tonight,' and 'Amusing One's Self,' all of which grow from their minimal origins to claustrophobic dance parties.
It's difficult to appreciate on a music-as-entertainment level, on account of Tomkiw's pretentious spewing and the cheap, repetitive keyboard utilization, but glorious moments emerge when hidden melodies unearth themselves in the crunchy fabric of the guitar. Each of the previous songs feature it, but so does 'Tractor Pull,' 'Please Respect Our Decadence,' and 'Heat Wave.' Plus, 'Sinister' sounds awfully Slint-like, so there's that too.
C+
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Quality on par with Paris 1919, though I'd say the highs are higher as the lows are lower. There's no two ways about it; 'Fear Is A Man's Best Friend' is easily the best song here, and a critical addition to the VU+ canon. The building anxiety in John Cale's voice, along with the frantic piano playing, makes for such an excellent building premise.
In fact, much of Fear feels like an admirable retooling of Velvet Underground ideas. 'Buffalo Ballet,' with its shimmering harmonies, acts as a successor to 'Sunday Morning' while 'Gun' unites the disjointed pandemonium of 'European Son' into something more concrete and electric. It also bears similarities to David Bowie's Glam Rock days, something also seen on Fear's worst effort 'Momamma Scuba.' Hell, I even hear some Bowie on the uproarious 'The Man Who Couldn't Afford To Orgy.'
B-
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Hi Brian. I stumbled across your review of Patty Waters masterpiece of mindfuckery on RYM. Just wanted to say I enjoyed it and I've enjoyed poking around on your blog. Keep writing!! Bert
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