You can download the album here: https://defaultbrowser.bandcamp.com/album/surfing-after-dark
Rating: 75/100
After stumbling upon this release after searching the depths of the cyberverse I felt a very profound feeling of contempt. The title is referring to late night channel surfing. Something that we have all done in attempt to find something meaningful or slightly entertaining, most of the time we fail. This album reminds me somewhat of Telenights by g h o s t i n g with it's musical sampling of various TV theme songs from commercials and crappy sit-coms.
There is nothing deep or intricate about this release. It is what is, and is very enjoyable all the same. I recommend this album for those who want to capture that late night absurdity that one can find in a crappy Holiday Inn at 2 in the morning. At times it is jarringly hilarious and others very slow and incredibly dark. Overall, it makes for a great listen.
-Wolfenstein OS X
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Friday, December 5, 2014
Best Wishes... by blue hydrangea // Album Review
You can download the album here: https://bluehydrangea.bandcamp.com/album/best-wishes
Rating: 90/100
It's late on a friday night and I've got nothing to do except stare out the tiny window in my shitty apartment and glare out into the cold winter moonlight. I puff on an e-cigarette and search the Cyberverse for new, obscure sounds to fill my head and potentially uplift my digital depersonalization. I come up on Best Wishes... by blue hydrangea, an unknown artist to the Vaporwave scene, although I am very glad to have found him and I would recommend checking out some of his other releases on his bandcamp website (https://bluehydrangea.bandcamp.com/music).
The album artwork was what first attracted me. A single snapshot of a naked woman lying on top of a man who is mostly unseen except for his hairy legs. She stares back into the camera with a sly smirk and an inebriated facial expression that resonated into my soul. I felt compelled to listen to this strange, mysterious encounter and was greatly satisfied.
What you will find in this album is a bizarre retelling of a past experience. There is a sense of obsession or infatuation that is prominent in this release. The girl on the cover is essentially every teenaged boy's wet dream. It's hard to say what story is within this album, but from I've gathered, it seems almost like a bizarre, guilt-ridden sex fantasy. I found myself entering the depths of something very personal and heart-breaking. We have all had that one person who we've fantasized or glamorized so much to the point where we don't even see them as a real person anymore. They are almost like a god. Too perfect to touch. We want nothing but to be with them, and would give anything for them to feel a fraction of what we felt. But sadly, they rarely do.
In tracks like "the loser" you hear dissonant rhythms and melodies that harmonize every once in a while into a lonely, broken refrain. It slowly discombobulates throughout the album and leaves you on a cliff hanger towards the end with "aftermath", as it finishes off with a build-up similar to an EDM song, then immediately cuts off, making you feel empty and dissatisfied.
Overall, I highly recommend this release. There is so much mystery and ambiguity in this album that it completely enveloped me into a narrative that I think a lot of people can find something in it to relate to. Check it out.
-Wolfenstein OS X
Rating: 90/100
It's late on a friday night and I've got nothing to do except stare out the tiny window in my shitty apartment and glare out into the cold winter moonlight. I puff on an e-cigarette and search the Cyberverse for new, obscure sounds to fill my head and potentially uplift my digital depersonalization. I come up on Best Wishes... by blue hydrangea, an unknown artist to the Vaporwave scene, although I am very glad to have found him and I would recommend checking out some of his other releases on his bandcamp website (https://bluehydrangea.bandcamp.com/music).
The album artwork was what first attracted me. A single snapshot of a naked woman lying on top of a man who is mostly unseen except for his hairy legs. She stares back into the camera with a sly smirk and an inebriated facial expression that resonated into my soul. I felt compelled to listen to this strange, mysterious encounter and was greatly satisfied.
What you will find in this album is a bizarre retelling of a past experience. There is a sense of obsession or infatuation that is prominent in this release. The girl on the cover is essentially every teenaged boy's wet dream. It's hard to say what story is within this album, but from I've gathered, it seems almost like a bizarre, guilt-ridden sex fantasy. I found myself entering the depths of something very personal and heart-breaking. We have all had that one person who we've fantasized or glamorized so much to the point where we don't even see them as a real person anymore. They are almost like a god. Too perfect to touch. We want nothing but to be with them, and would give anything for them to feel a fraction of what we felt. But sadly, they rarely do.
In tracks like "the loser" you hear dissonant rhythms and melodies that harmonize every once in a while into a lonely, broken refrain. It slowly discombobulates throughout the album and leaves you on a cliff hanger towards the end with "aftermath", as it finishes off with a build-up similar to an EDM song, then immediately cuts off, making you feel empty and dissatisfied.
Overall, I highly recommend this release. There is so much mystery and ambiguity in this album that it completely enveloped me into a narrative that I think a lot of people can find something in it to relate to. Check it out.
-Wolfenstein OS X
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Thoughts on Ocean Grunge // some albums I have listened to
A couple of people have mentioned a sub-genre of Vaporwave to check out named "Ocean Grunge". My first listens to some albums on Bandcamp have been for the most part pleasant. Most of the stuff I have listened to sounds a lot like chopped and screwed MBV or Sonic Youth, which is sometimes very unsettling but also pretty awesome at the same time.
The first album I checked out was the release from Business Casual, entitled Storm Memories by Sea of Dogs which can be found here: https://businesscasual87.bandcamp.com/album/storm-memories. I didn't listen to the whole album but what I found was a pleasant array of choppy, repetitive droning noise that I have never really heard before. You can definitely hear the influence from Vaporwave and especially from it's aesthetic through Seapunk.
I then proceeded to listen to Sludge Dredd by DJ Rozwell which can be found here: https://djrozwell.bandcamp.com/album/sludge-dredd. It was somewhat similar to Storm Memories, but was much more heavily influenced off beat techniques rather than the Riff-like quality that was prominent with the Business Casual release. I have to say I do enjoy a lot of what I am hearing, and has the potential to become something very innovative in the future despite it being extremely unheard of right now.
Ocean Grunge is a lot darker than Vaporwave. It is actually somewhat similar to Dubstep in some ways with it's blaring, scratchy tone that is prominent in most releases. Overall, I enjoy Ocean Grunge. I hope to someday review some more albums in greater detail as the stuff I listened to are very interesting pieces of music.
-Wolfenstein OS X
The first album I checked out was the release from Business Casual, entitled Storm Memories by Sea of Dogs which can be found here: https://businesscasual87.bandcamp.com/album/storm-memories. I didn't listen to the whole album but what I found was a pleasant array of choppy, repetitive droning noise that I have never really heard before. You can definitely hear the influence from Vaporwave and especially from it's aesthetic through Seapunk.
I then proceeded to listen to Sludge Dredd by DJ Rozwell which can be found here: https://djrozwell.bandcamp.com/album/sludge-dredd. It was somewhat similar to Storm Memories, but was much more heavily influenced off beat techniques rather than the Riff-like quality that was prominent with the Business Casual release. I have to say I do enjoy a lot of what I am hearing, and has the potential to become something very innovative in the future despite it being extremely unheard of right now.
Ocean Grunge is a lot darker than Vaporwave. It is actually somewhat similar to Dubstep in some ways with it's blaring, scratchy tone that is prominent in most releases. Overall, I enjoy Ocean Grunge. I hope to someday review some more albums in greater detail as the stuff I listened to are very interesting pieces of music.
-Wolfenstein OS X
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