If I had to describe this record in just a sentence, it would be "generally disappointing, but with a few high points". Thirty-three years into their career, Sweden's Katatonia play it safe with their new release City Burials, a weak follow up to their solid 2016 release The Fall of Hearts, and a continuation of the new, distilled sonority of the band.
Half guilty pleasure, half awesome record, Dead End Kings is the 9th full-length effort by 90's goth doom legends Katatonia. Representing a (polarising) corner-stone on their career, Dead End Kings marks a change from heavier doom to a more polished, pleasing sound. And, although the music is sometimes pandering, I found myself enjoying it nonetheless.
Hello everyone!
 |
| Chat Pile's Who Loves the Sun, the album I am currently listening to. |
Dear readers,
 |
Foo Fighters's But Here We Are, the album I am currently listening to. |
Dawn FM scratches a specific itch: the pop current landscape is flooded with music that tries to revive the futuristic, analogue vibes of the 80s, but with nowhere nearly has much inventiveness. Dawn FM takes risks, and ends up being a polarizing album for most, but it exactly for that reason that it is great. It is inevitable to compare it to Daft Punk's music: I like both of those for the same reasons. The production is impeccable, the vibes are solid, the performance passionate.
Seminal release by Swedish band Cult Of Luna, The Mariner, is impeccable. In this effort, Cult Of Luna reinforce their catalogue of Atmospheric Sludge with a collaboration with American singer Julie Christmas. With only five songs, the later half of this record is packed with 10 minute plus compositions. In fact, every next track in this record is longer than the last. However, the music does not overstay its welcome: in some cases, ten minutes is too short of a time.
This 2018 release by German collaborative project The Ocean Collective (a.k.a. The Ocean) takes a very interesting approach to conceptual music: The record is themed around a geological era, and the songs represent the different geological periods the era contains. This, along with the collective's willingness to experiment and thread new waters makes Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic an intriguing listen.