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 | Alternative Dance | Listen
INJECTING A DOSE OF VITAMIN D STRAIGHT TO THE VEIN
Why'd I wait almost two years before visiting Handsomeboy Technique's sophomore release Terrestrial Tone Cluster, knowing full well how much I admired Adelie Land? Elated music that exists for no other release than to lighten spirits has always been my favorite, what with The Avalanches, The Go! Team, Mint Royale, Cornelius, and constant others glissading their way into my catalogue. And what do you know, Handsomeboy Technique borrows heavily from each, a consummate patron of their peace-wielding ways. Here, Plunderphonics takes a slight backseat as an array of vocalists join in on the fun. The result is no less intoxicating, with a myriad of styles all coming together for one common goal; to provide happiness.
Fans of Adelie Land - often described as the one hypothetical Since I Left You successor - will be pleased in hearing songs like 'Beside The Fountain' and 'A Flick Of The Trick' that bounce irrationally like the most excitable Alternative Dance track. In reality, the entirety of Terrestrial Tone Cluster presents Dance music through the guise of a budding child with an uninhibited imagination. Therefore, the comparisons to The Go! Team are apparent, especially in the unrelenting pursuit for satisfaction. Nowhere is that seen better than 'Magnificent Mass,' with its hopscotch beat complete with back-and-forth marching band chants and, admittedly, clumsy rapping from Ninja High School that only heightens the humbling charm. Think Nujabes' 'Luv(sic)' quintet with Shing02. Clunky but all the more relatable.
The same could be said elsewhere, but in reference to the singing of guest vocalists Tanya Melotte and Elias Akesson on 'When The Sun Shines' and 'Reach For Tomorrow' respectively. The former bears similarities to Sweet Trip's ripened euphoria on You Will Never Know Why (released later in 2009), while the latter feels like some cheesy Pop Soul / Country Pop hybrid that somehow works. All of this can be attributed to Handsomeboy Technique's prideful production qualities, enriched purely by passion, and the approachable singing that begs of you to sing along. These just so happen to be my favorite moments, in spite of the fact that Plunderphonics takes a distinct backseat.
Overall, Terrestrial Tone Cluster is a fantastic party album that easily competes, and in some cases, surpasses Adelie Land. It's a shame Handsomeboy Technique hasn't received more attention, though a cult following I can see coming in the cards. Versatility, Terrestrial Tone Cluster has in abundance, something that couldn't really be said for his debut. Some efforts, like the album's only weak cut 'Say It Loud,' pounce a little too heavily on the sampling (think Girl Talk), while others embrace hypnotism with sheer confidence and Trance-like repetition ('Limpid Solitude' into the nine-minute delight 'Guiding Lights'). It's a whirlwind of color, flamboyancy, and spirit. A marvelous, sun-scorched follow-up to an album that held elusively-high standards.
B+
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John Talabot's only album under his own name, and conspicuously his most renowned. Why, with the resources and craftsmanship at hand, he never followed up ƒIN I'll never know. Especially as the likes of Jon Hopkins, Caribou, and Nicolas Jaar (under A.A.L.) gained widespread adoration and acclaim for profiting off such nocturnal atmospherics. What's most interesting is that, apart from Caribou's Swim whose felt grace and hypnotic sensuality can be felt all across ƒIN, all albums and artists I'd liken comparisons to came afterwards. He's no Burial, but in terms of inculcating a lasting imprint early in the 2010's, John Talabot's enigmatic stature - to the point of frustration - is a curious one. Drop ƒIN in 2020 and no one bats an eyelash. The simplicity in approach and the density in sound are what allow it to be future-proof.
This album goes far beyond its textbook descriptor Balearic Beat, for that assumes instrumental repetition teetering on the verge of Trance. Some songs, like 'Last Land' and 'H.O.R.S.E.,' apply with their anthemic form of hypnotism, so I'm not saying the genre is wrong by any means, it just doesn't suffice especially when it comes to the vocal tracks. 'Destiny' and 'Journeys' are unlike anything in Balearic Beat, for there's an underlying Pop structure present, with constant fluctuations and engaging melodies. It borders on Dance-Pop, falling more in line with Groove Armada and Mint Royale, the latter zeroing in on Panda Bear circa Person Pitch. Think Downtempo with a tad more texture. The only track on ƒIN to fully merge each style is the splendid closer 'So Will Be Now...,' which builds with the implacable vigor of a workforce fully in-tune with the motions of the others. Tech House comes into play here, bearing resemblance to Clark (especially 2017's Death Peak), but the vocals Pional provides offsets expectation with Dream Pop-esque hymns. It finds a similar balance to Talabot's debut track 'Sunshine,' my personal favorite of his.
ƒIN isn't without its duds though. A few of the samples are clunky and off-putting, which, considering Talabot's tendency to drive them into the ground, worsens what could've been an adequate track into something more unappealing. 'Missing You' is the notable outlier, clueless in terms of matching ƒIN's atmosphere and riddled with the irritating squeal of "baby, baby." 'H.O.R.S.E.' and, to some extent, 'El Oeste' are found guilty of this as well, but not to the degree of 'Missing You.' Thankfully there are more highs than lows on ƒIN, with a shoutout to 'When The Past Was Present' which Caribou took right out of Talabot's playbook for Our Love.
B-
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As I lavish in 2020's best album thus far (Fetch The Bolt Cutters), I feel it's only right - after adoring The Idler Wheel just as much - to revisit the rest of Fiona Apple's discography. Really, it's quite quizzical I've waited this long, considering the decades-enduring transformation into sophisticated and ferociously-creative songwriter is part of Apple's allure. As has been pointed out many times before, Tidal reveals a teen already well beyond her years, in terms of her vocal prowess, piano playing, and dactylic views on romance. She sounds less like an insubordinate teenager fed up with the rigidity of adulthood (except 'Criminal'), and more like a contemporary bookworm who's quite content joining their ranks. Due to this, Tidal fits snugly into the year of its release, 1996, with the past view of Contemporary Pop - and the tenderly romantics that followed suit - giving way to a near-future of Trip-Hop, where the production finally caught up to the melodrama.
Apple's knack for intricacy is already on full display, despite the obvious evolution that'll come with time. Tracks like 'Sleep To Dream' and 'Shadowboxer' effortlessly prance around melodies most wouldn't dare concoct, with hooks that seemingly intend to not be sung along to, for their length and curvature spit in the face of Pop formality. These are Tidal's best moments, and apart from the strong, tangled closer of 'Carrion,' they all exist in the first half. Even the downtempo 'Sullen Girl,' which feels more apt for the sluggish second half, tantalizes with exacerbated passion both in Apple's vocals and the production. This isn't to say the run between 'Slow Like Honey' and 'Pale September' is bad, more so not as exclamatory or defiant when set upon the early decade's slew of Singer/Songwriter ballads. Apple's vocals can carry a track (best seen on 'Never Is A Promise'), though the solemnity grows weary come 'Child Is Gone.' Throughout Tidal, but most noticeably during this run, there's a slight but palpable presence of Trip-Hop ('First Taste,' 'Pale September'). If only she incorporated drums in a more muddy, Noir-lit style, we'd be discussing Tidal amongst the likes of Portishead, Morcheeba, or Tricky. Not to mention, 'Slow Like Honey' has a distinct Patty Waters Sings vibe, which set the foundation for Trip-Hop in a strange, unfounded way almost thirty years back.
Overall, if not for 'Carrion,' Tidal would be an album of two distinct halves. The one destined for radio, with 'Criminal' - even amongst those - sticking out like a sore thumb, and the one destined for purists looking to learn more about Fiona Apple's interior. Tidal offers both, and does so well, even if preference lies on the former.
C+
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1984 | Dunedin Sound | Listen
PROFESSING ONE'S LOVE OUT THE BEDROOM WINDOW
I struggle to see how the influence of Dunedin Sound isn't more widely known. It has got to be the most influential genre no one has heard of, likely due to its homely isolation, named after its origin city of a mere 80,000 citizens (in 1980, when the genre was born) on the island country of New Zealand. It set the course for the much more popular Jangle Pop in the mid and late 1980's, thanks in large part to the United Kingdom's prevailing sphere of recognition in music. Then came the imperious Indie Rock and Pop movement - that continues to this day - which can all be traced back to Dunedin Sound. This allows records, even those with diminutive quality like Sneaky Feelings' Send You, to sound ripe and contemporary for it skirted the dysphoria of Post-Punk and the euphoria of New Wave, resulting in a calm, simple sound that still resonates today.
Unfortunately, while highly influential, ambition wasn't Dunedin Sound's strong suit. For fuck's sake, its greatest project is a five-track EP called Boodle Boodle Boodle. Not exactly the most prophetic and tantalizing of exteriors. Send You evokes that same content apathy, with a cheeky cover bred for New Romantic, and songs - like 'Strangers Again,' 'Someone Else's Eyes,' and 'Everything I Want' - that ogled at the maudlin chivalry of the then-burgeoning genre. But the music is less SynthPop-oriented and more human, ingratiated in the soil of a brisk New Zealand summer with flower dress-clad girls in promiscuous sunglasses. Sneaky Feelings are at their best when they avoid said distraction, focusing on the enchantment prevalent in Dunedin Sound's aesthetic, as seen on the opening two tracks 'Waiting For Touchdown' and 'Throwing Stones.' They're the only two tracks I'd consider above-average, with the placid Doo-Wop Soul of 'Strangers Again' and the dreary superfluity of 'P.I.T. Song' pulling up the rear.
D
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1999 | Indie Pop | Listen
A LIGHT BREEZE WINNOWING THROUGH BLADES OF GRASS
By all accounts, this was The Essex Green's first project under the Elephant 6 collective. A humble, five-track EP that perfectly personifies not only their sound, rich with liberating 60's psychedelia, but that of Elephant 6 as a whole. There's quaint Pop diddies that would make Kevin Barnes of of Montreal squeal, like 'Chester' and 'New Orleans,' set against ambitious, genre-spanning cuts like 'Fabulous Day' and 'Bald,' that rally around the testament of Psychedelic music as an expander. Preference, of course, lies on the latter, though no song on The Essex Green is irredeemable.
Some just satisfy more than others. Like 'Fabulous Day,' which is the unheralded standout, moving through seemingly-endless passages and reminding me of Four Seasons' phenomenal 'American Crucifixion.' 'Bald' scales just as high, incorporating some edgier Psychedelic Rock sounds with grace and vitality. As for the smaller tracks, female vocalist Sasha Bell joins in on the fun for 'Chester,' a Twee Pop romp calling upon that genre's early innovators like Talulah Gosh and Dolly Mixture. Then there's 'New Orleans' which, despite its cheeky brazenness that feeds on the inherent virtues of Pop, may come off as a tad appropriated. Only because The Essex Green's origin is set in Vermont and New York, a far cry from the deluged swamp sound they evoke on 'New Orleans.' But that's one minor quip on an otherwise delightful EP that matches the quality of their soon-to-be debut; Everything Is Green.
B
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