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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Please let this band blow up. The undiscovered status Karrots I currently holds doesn't bode well, but maybe with shining reviews such as this, the gem that currently sits hiding amidst the rough can surface and glisten in all its glory. This is one of 2020's best albums, a reinvigoration of Chamber Folk and Neo-Psychedelia through a picturesque, autumnal breeze. It's striking that Karrots, a band that to my knowledge has no released material outside of this, can assert themselves with such sanguine maturity in a pastiche Folk landscape that shuns those without years of experience and ardency. They're Fleet Foxes had Crack-Up been a metamorphosis and not an evolution, incorporating contemporary sound design techniques like audacious drums ('Peace'), curious sample selections ('Hello Sky & Hello Flying'), and irregular structuring patterns ('Books') to boost a genre meant to ingratiate itself with the desires of Mother Earth. The feeling of Kishi Bashi's fairy-tale Chamber Pop can be felt in the tactility as well.
Don't fret, thanks to the gorgeous vocals of Russell Cowic, harmonizing exterior, and sprightly acoustics, Karrots I never disowns the organic Folk backbone it's indebted to. Standout tracks like 'Chalk,' 'Books,' and 'Since Brooklyn' merely elevate the grounded serenity in order to get a bird's eye view of paradise. The Psychedelic Pop elements, especially in regards to how Cowic's presence coils itself with the mirth, recalls Panda Bear's solo discography. If samples weren't a secondary accessory here, Person Pitch wouldn't be an outrageous comparison. The opening sample of 'Hello Sky & Hello Flying' welcomes listeners with such whimsical captivation, a la Lemon Jelly, before diving into an idealized vision of bliss, a la Deerhunter circa Halcyon Digest. And to think it's the fifth best song here. The consistent quality is really something to behold, as song after song - of which there's only eight, clocking in at a brisk, delightful 26 minutes - perhaps a new world of reverie, singular yet sensible within Karrots' vision.
There is not enough praise I can bestow upon Karrots I. The only criticism, a minor one, deals with the slashed framework of tracks like 'Fuchsia Doll,' 'Hello Sky & Hello Flying,' and 'Butano,' which beg to be elongated and exposed upon the scintillating hue of the sun. Basically, I want more. 'Books' and, especially, 'Since Brooklyn' provide that while simultaneously proving that Karrots are more than capable of tracing ideas beyond the three-minute threshold imposed elsewhere. Granted, the mesmeric impact of 'Peace's' clangorous barrage, 'Chalk's' irresistible twang, and 'Butano's' chimerical vocals wouldn't be so sought after if the lengths were doubled. Needless to say, I adore this record. Add this to the list of must-hear material, a faultless jewel washed up on shore, attended to by no one.
A
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2020 | Deep House | Listen
ALONE ON THE DANCEFLOOR, GHOSTS FILLING THE VOID
Though the album's cover doesn't match the tone Fennec presents, the title - Free Us Of This Feeling - most certainly does. Entrenched Deep House with the ultimate goal of self-release. It isn't a novel concept in the Electronic dance scene, but it's one that matters and will forever remain relevant. Tracks here like 'Frontier Identity' and 'Elysian Dust' achieve this through melodic harmonization, as soft vocal samples and plush synthesizers cascade off rhythmic percussion. Think Against All Logic's 2012 - 2017. Euphoric Trance feels like an apt comparison, as moments pass with the mind being both titillated and put at ease. However, those drums - which string together each and every song, apart from 'You'll Be Ok,' with pronounced kinship - prove Fennec's fatal flaw; His inability, or consternation, towards the unknown. Clearly, those drums are a comfort zone, the tempo a linchpin that holds Fennec's grooves together.
This sterile backbone is a shame, because at times the surface sways vivaciously enough that Fennec's powers as producer aren't drawn into question. See: 'Boy-U' and 'Dreemin,' my two favorites. Why? One listen should draw that conclusion; Uplifting Soul samples unified under the pretense of exhilaration. Think The Avalanches, Caribou, Handsomeboy Technique, or, more recently and overtly, Chance デラソウル's All Together Now! and Besides. Here, Fennec does this with sterling jocularity, bouncing off the walls so effervescently that one forgets all about the placid percussion guiding the gala. However, when matters are more subdued, as seen on 'Xxxtttccccc' and 'Together,' that aberrance becomes more pronounced. Regardless, another solid Deep House album with variety on the surface that should dissuade most from inspection.
B-
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While I've never been one to fetishize the Sad Boys aesthetic, outside of some truly magical moments like 'Kyoto' and 'Hoover,' I'd be lying if I said I wasn't moderately anticipating Starz. Three years since the surprisingly adept and transformative Stranger, with an assortment of decent singles since - the best of which, 'Blue Plastic,' doesn't appear here - pinned Starz as a make or break album for Yung Lean. Either he careens towards an upward ascension, acclimating his treasured aesthetic to levels of talent one would finally classify as worthy, or he proves himself a latchkey kid lucked into stardom thanks to the meme age. Regrettably, it's the latter. There is no progression since Stranger, an album that incorporated Alternative R&B to Sweden's icy winter with hits like 'Skimask,' 'Agony,' and 'Yellowman,' devolving Lean's sound to a reductive state where invariability is seen as a feature and not a crux.
The most apparent aspect of Starz, besides the odd yet totally authentic Ariel Pink feature, is the songs' boxed durations. 'Boylife In EU,' 'Acid At 7/11,' and 'Starz' are the only three songs - out of a whopping 16 - to not fall within the two-minute threshold. Rather than express himself through representative means, Lean corners his niche even further, causing a litany of tracks to blend into the confines of his aesthetic by engaging in systematic patterns seen all across Starz. 'Outta My Head,' 'Dance In The Dark,' 'Low,' 'Sunset Sunrise,' the list of analogous tracks is long and exhausting. Nothing, apart from 'My Agenda' with its vicious, head full of steam breach and 'Put Me In A Spell' with its remorseful, swelling Ambient Pop, deviates from Lean's style of nocturnal melancholy and ethereal introspection. There's really nothing more to say about Starz. It borders on defining the one-trick pony. Any standouts, which all fall within the superior first half, struggle to evade mediocrity. Like 'My Agenda,' 'Boylife In EU,' 'Violence,' and 'Starz.' When your highs are mere frailties of your past, one can expect a disappointing record. I can name five, maybe six songs off Stranger that are better than anything here. Not exactly the recipe for an upgrade.
D
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2020 | Hypnagogic Pop | Listen
BEING DRAGGED FROM ONE CLIQUE TO THE NEXT
In sort order, Zack Schwartz has amassed quite the eclectic career. Glocca Morra's Midwest Emo. Spirit Of The Beehive's noisy Indie Rock. Appropriately so, his first solo project - I Am Gambling With My Life, under Draag me - combines these disparate styles while adding a plethora more. The guise can be reduced to Hypnagogic Pop, with muffled bedroom synthesizers and distant, warped vocals playing a great role in the construction of I Am Gambling's aesthetic. The result is, by nature, quite messy. Both in construction and quality, Draag me's debut darts from one flickering idea to the next with no restraint or delicacy. Think Lil Ugly Mane's Third Side Of Tape reduced to a paltry array whose extremes are too few and far between.
Even then, the extremes really only come out in the Industrial Metal of 'Burned My Tapes' and 'You're Giving It Away,' two of the LP's best efforts if only for their contrarian existence. My experience in Metal is nonexistent, so comparisons to the former are difficult to ascertain, but 'You're Giving It Away' comes equip with a Punkier edge that draws parallels to Liars' early career. Mix that with the misty, soporific musings of HOMESHAKE - with aimless Alternative R&B like 'All Bad Score Emulations' and 'Lie' - and amateur Trap misdirections in 'There Is A Party Where I'm Going' and 'Running Instead,' and it's clear to see why I Am Gambling never finds its home.
C-
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First off, Connecticut represent! Second off, if this were Them Airs' debut I would say they have potential. However, in the modern age, three years and four albums is quite the gravity to stand for something this clunky, discordant, and all-around gesticulative. At this stage, Union Suit XL is still defined by immature trivialities. Which, normally, would be fine if not for the fact that Them Airs' strongest competition sonically is black midi and Black Country, New Road, two young, prodigious Art Punk and Experimental Rock groups who've already released sterling works. Tonally, in regards to the angsty Spoken Word singing, boorish lyrics, and jarring production qualities, Them Airs actually draws comparisons to The Garden, especially their 2020 LP Kiss My Super Bowl Ring, as seen on tracks like 'Food Pyramid' and 'Corpse At UMass Dartmouth.' Other contemporary comparisons can be heard in Girl Band ('Arther,' 'Gravy Train Excitement'), Women ('Reciprocate,' 'Slag Heap'), and believe it or not, Parquet Courts ('Reception Desk,' 'Wade / Cull') through a quirky, non-linear understanding of Pop byway of Dance-Punk. As for older influences, the usual: This Heat, Pere Ubu, Pavement, etc.
Union Suit XL is a raucous album that sometimes lands the punches it's so frenziedly throwing. 'Reception Desk' is an awesome, uniform opener and the LP's best all-around track. The finale of 'Reciprocate' and 'Slag Heap' save their durations from being meaningless slogs. And the abrasive uncommon time signatures, a staple in Math Rock, constantly titillate the ear, though their presence never amounts to much. Go listen to Horse Lords' The Common Task if you want more of that. For now, Them Airs is nothing more than an artsy, DIY hipster band playing out of their parent's garage. Though as we've grown all-too familiar with, that self-exile from normality has the tendency to spew greatness.
C
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