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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2011 | Noise Pop | Listen
SLEEP-DEPRIVED JAM SESSIONS IN A LACED BASEMENT
In spite of the negative response towards Tonstartssbandht's careless schmutz, their music has always fascinated me. An When, a jovial achievement in Experimental Pop filtered through layers of delirium. Sorcerer, a motivational breaking point set on experiencing the unknown. Based on the cover and title, one would assume Now I Am Become to be nothing more than meme material during an era (the early 2010's) where embracing such a concept wasn't so fashionable. But nay, the only similarity within the music itself is Tonstartssbandht's playful nonchalance and contentment with flippancy. It's a silly and purposely frivolous album that parades the concept of nonsensical non-sequiturs, like 'Monorail' and 'Orange Miss You,' concealing most of the lyrics through routine Noise tactics best seen in Shoegaze and Lo-Fi Indie.
What one soon learns is that what Tonstartssbandht lacks in eloquent verbiage they more than make up for through sheer Pop sensibility. The booming, Garage-boosted riffs on the sensational three-track run to begin Now I Am Become ('Rodas 1916,' 'Shot To La Parc,' 'Somersette') feature infinite replay value due to their clandestine beauty and flighty, unintelligible charm. They're all one second away from being the exact same length, I just learned too. But I digress. These three Noise Pop marvels prod and prance like the best, light-hearted Rock-oriented 90's summer jams, an aesthetic Tonstartssbandht has always aimed to evoke. One could look towards another dominating 90's genre, Grunge, to finalize the equation through the unintended, but pronounced, Noise element. And while that would be apropos, to truly gauge the muddy, "live performance" stylizing one should seek out Les Rallizes dénudés's revolutionary Noise Rock trudge '77 Live. On tracks like 'Somersette' and 'Eifdn Aod Sulie,' the blazoned, Trance-like flurry of discordance music seen on '夜、夜の暗殺者' and '夜より深く' can be heard quite clearly. Here though, Tonstartssbandht incorporates psychedelic tendencies through booming, distorted multi-layering. The result, especially on 'Somersette' with its majestic growth into Stadium Rock, is brilliant.
Even though it still trails An When and Sorcerer in my eyes, if I had to pick one album that properly contextualizes the free-flowing, live spirit of Tonstartssbandht it would be Now I Am Become. The poor mixing qualities heighten their aesthetic to enormous decree, as tracks like 'Shot To La Parc' and the first half of 'Monorail' represent some of the coolest, punchiest Noise Pop of the modern era. Once you fall grasp to the slick, sand-laced surfer air, Now I Am Become's irresistibility - much like Tonstartssbandht influencers The Beach Boys - becomes obvious.
B
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Translated to English as The Mutants, Os Mutantes upheld that reject, abnormal philosophy during a late 60's era where Brazil was under dictatorial rule, so much so that counter-culture artists like Os Mutantes were being arrested and exiled for merely repudiating the governing body. In a way that seems almost sardonically merry, like Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention, Os Mutantes used the incubating Tropicália to protest autocracy through peace. Similar, of course, to the predominant, psychedelic-tinged hippie movement in the United States at the time, as Os Mutantes' music borrows a great deal from The Beatles, The Zombies, Silver Apples, and even Sly & The Family Stone. Of course, Brazilian acts like Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, and Gilberto Gil can be applied as well. All these curious left field artists combine to form Os Mutantes, a groovy, peace-wielding Psychedelic Rock party with drugs, whimsy, and revolution on the mind.
As many note, the LP begins with two ravenous hits that instantly transport listeners to the warm, São Paulo sands Os Mutantes aims to safeguard. 'Panis et circenses,' with its vibrant, ever-shifting form presents such an intoxicating journey through sound. There's even an extended sample at the end and jarring beat switch in the middle, two things unheard of at the time. Here, and elsewhere, Rita Lee draws similarities to Nico during the Velvet Underground-era with her unnatural singing tenor that's distinguishable even amongst the pomp and circumstance. 'O Relógio' and 'Le premier bonheur du jour' bring her style to the forefront, and while their pacing strays from Os Mutantes' norm, their present a needed duality as we heard on Velvet Underground & Nico.
While comparisons are abound, Os Mutantes' idiosyncrasies are clear and evident. The album is a romp of counterculture progress and impetus, straying from the lackadaisical stereotype affixed to hippies at the time. Songs like 'A Minha Menina' and 'Bat Macumba' move with such rich flair and urgent pacifism, like a Samba record meant to incite the masses. I presume, because the language barrier is strong here, though I do know the lyrics suggest a sort of sarcastic mockery of Brazilian politics at that time. Though there are songs, like 'Baby' and the aforementioned 'Le premier bonheur du jour,' that wallow tranquilly in the sun's rays, much of Os Mutantes ignites a dynamic, enterprising inanity that's hard to avoid and easy to revel in. Silver Apples' use of programmed Psychedelia comes out best on 'Senhor F' and 'Ave Gengis Khan' and makes for quite the contrasting accent to Brazil's form, Tropicália flavor. You can hear it almost on a constant basis; Os Mutantes apotheosized Brazil's rich tapestry of music, and correlative its culture, just as much as it opposed the path it was treading down.
B-
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2017 | Industrial Techno | Listen
AWAKENING JUNGLE SPECTERS WITH NATURE'S RHYTHMS
Relative to its usage, Jungle music's aesthetic is sorely underutilized. There are a litany of genres, including anything Psychedelic-based, that could benefit from the disposition of undomesticated terrain rife with quarantined wildlife teeming with exotic mystification. On Vida eterna, Ninos du Brasil don't hold back this amalgamation, charting a course with production software in hand to the untamed jungles of Brazil, introducing them - like conquistadors would modern marvels - to music crafted by Electronic means. The result is an original, though modestly tame Industrial Techno record that transforms organic objects into the sacrificial lamb.
On the Electronic side of things, numerous songs here - like 'No Meio da Noite' and 'Vagalumes Piralampos' - can be likened to Andy Stott's variation on Dub Techno. Nocturnal, portentous, and densely rhythmical. The vibe is one that destabilizes your sense of wellbeing, as if there's unseen forces lingering just out of view with peering eyes. All that's to say, the atmosphere of Vida eterna (Eternal Life in English) is tough to beat, and reason enough to invest in what Ninos du Brasil bring to the table. Unfortunately, there's a distinct lack of sonic variation as the duo commit themselves entirely to merging the distinctly disparate Industrial and Jungle. This causes certain tracks, like 'O Som de Ossos' and 'Em Que o Rio do Mar Se Torna,' to fade into the recesses without elaborating upon the surroundings.
In fact, much of the differentiation on Vida eterna comes from the vocals, of which there's numerous, distinct usages. On opener 'O Vento Chama Seu Nome' and 'Algo ou Alguém Entre as Árvores,' Ninos du Brasil badger the listener like a cult leader would his followers, hollering indiscernible jargon to provoke those who've wrongly entered his domain. On 'Condenado por un Idioma Desconhecido' and 'A Magia do Rei, Pt. 2,' the two songs that come closest to amplifying the Batucada sub-genre with rousing effect, intelligible vocals are used as chants to partake in, creating an arena for nighttime festivities. Lastly, 'Vagalumes Piralampos' stands distinct as Arto Lindsay joins the procession for a downtempo eulogy of sorts, drawing similarities to Nicolas Jaar's work - especially with Darkside - in the process.
C+
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