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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2018 | Ambient Pop | Listen
GLIDING THROUGH QUAINT CLOUD CITIES
Featuring quite the contrarian title, given how soporific the inside content is, There's A Riot Going On finds Yo La Tengo gathering themselves after the trite and mundane Stuff Like That There. This here is proof that lethargic, picnic nap, geniality wasn't an errant decision for the band typically accustomed to swank Indie Rock. Ambient intertwines with melodic hymns, casting listeners off into a dreamlike state, bearing closest resemblance to Summer Sun. Tracks like 'Dream Dream Away,' 'Shortwave,' and 'Forever' are lost entirely to the reverie, drifting in an endless ether of fluffy clouds and gentle wafts of wind. If There's A Riot Going On causes you to cop some z's, don't reprehend Yo La Tengo, for their goal had been achieved.
Enough outliers pepper the 15-track duration, with the one-two punch of 'You Are Here' and 'Here You Are' fusing Yo La Tengo's past ambition (see Fade's intro and outro; 'Ohm' and Before We Run') with their current admiration of modesty, and the occasional spark of memory lane Indie Rock ('Shades Of Blue,' 'For You Too') servicing fans of yore. Even tender diversions in 'Polynesia #1' and 'Esportes Casual' spice up the daydream, as the former recalls Lida Husik's psychedelic leanings as the latter skews ever so slightly to Picopop a la Katamari Damacy. This merger between fantasy and tangibility is handled delicately, though some of the more vacated cuts ('Ashes,' 'Above The Sound,' 'Out Of The Pool') struggle to entice and/or abide by the theming.
C+
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1992 | Psychedelic Rock | Listen
RAVING MANIA MURMURING FROM THE BOTTOM OF A WELL
As we saw with Maria Dimension, The Legendary Pink Dots finally form substance. Though the cover of Shadow Weaver indicates otherwise, these guys are no longer enamored with the kitsch of bargain bin halloween decor. Maturation has occurred over the past few albums, and though Shadow Weaver struggles in regards to its enjoyability, the plodding pace and tortured aesthetic accentuate LPD's fascination with macabre spectacles, instead of detracting from it. There's no better example of this than 'City Of Needles,' with its martial factotum and Industrial depravity. Incisive drills pierce the dull fabric, as Edward Ka-Spel's lyrics provide visceral imagery of gore and repugnance. 'Leper Colony' is another intriguing number, due to Ka-Spel's grim content, reciting a sort of riddle about sexual surrender. The topics of Shadow Weaver are its likely calling card, as certain endeavors like 'Twilight Hour' and 'Laughing Guest' linger in the languor of LPD's mire for too long, causing the production to become enervated and overbearing.
C
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2005 | Psychedelic Pop | Listen
SEIZING THE ENERGY OF AN EXPLODING STAR
I swear, no artist is able to turn rubbish into a jewel-encrusted rock better than of Montreal. Song after song, album after album, predictability gives way to a monumental chorus, bridge, or coda sung from the rafters. Numerous times on The Sunlandic Twins I found myself groveling at Psychedelic Pop patterns emerging during verses where Kevin Barnes gallivants his usual, campy idiosyncrasies, only to overlook such denunciations once "let's pretend we don't exist / let's pretend we're in Antarctica" or "may we never go, go mental may we always stay, stay gentle" hit with the stupor of stampeding flamingos. There is not a single mediocre hook on the album's impenetrable run from 'Requiem For O.M.M. 2' to 'The Party's Crashing Us,' and though the allure and concentration runs thin towards album's end ('October Is Eternal' into 'Repudiated Immortals' being a particularly wimpy close by of Montreal standards), the hooks remain memorable and convivial throughout. And really, isn't that what we seek from of Montreal?
B-
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