1. Give me an album to review. A suggestion can be an EP, LP, live, remix collection, whatever. Singles/mixtapes/whatever you found in soundcloud are fine too, if they were never released in an album format. As long as it is easily accessible.
2. Suggestions will be placed in a queue, where I will update my progress on them in a google sheet.
3. Expect at least one review once a week. My listening time for each individual album is usually one week (may be longer or shorter depending on length), as I usually take some time to absorb any piece of music (as Jay-Z said, you can't listen to an album and rate it in a day). Also I am a college student and I don't want burnout lol
4. An exception to the previous note is for albums that I've already listened to. For those expect a review in like a day or two.
5. As always, this is subjective. Personal preference will affect ratings. If you want to know what I'm typically into, here is my receiptify for genres for the past month. (why does it add up to 103.23%? idk don't ask me)
6. It is up to my discretion whether or not to reject certain submissions (but I will avoid doing this as much as possible).

z0z wrote:

also oh hey you're back

DM FOR MUTUAL wrote:

My album recommendations would be anything that I rated 9/10 or higher, as well as 0 - Ichiko Aoba which would've probably been a 10 if I ever got around to eating it.

Feel free to listen to all of them or none of them

Winnyace wrote:

GNX - Kendrick Lamar. You can find it, you a big boy

reffty_gag wrote:

IT'S TIME !!

Nurture - Porter Robinson
SMILE - Porter Robinson
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers - Kendrick Lamar
DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar
Blonde - Frank Ocean
MM..FOOD - MF DOOM
The Eminem Show - Eminem

(if you can't do all of these, just pick the first three)

Aireunaeus wrote:

I wonder what progress you are rn

Serraionga wrote:

Lapizote wrote:

Magma - Magma/Kobaïa
Zeuhl*, jazz-rock, 1970
Link to request

I would like to preface this review by stating that I am not exactly well-versed in “artsy rock” (i.e. prog rock, jazz fusion, etc.) nor am I well-versed with jazz. My only experience with the former is King Crimson, Pink Floyd, and Radioactive Sago Project (check this one out if you’re interested in Filipino jazz fusion)—this is my first time listening to Magma.

Magma’s self-titled album (renamed to Kobaïa in its re-release, I will use this name to refer to the album) is a Zeuhl (described as a mix of jazz fusion, symphonic rock and neoclassical) concept album that centers around the story of a group of people that flees Earth and settles in Kobaïa, a fictional planet that becomes a topic in other Magma albums.

*Despite it being listed as a Zeuhl album by Wikipedia, Kobaïa has a noticeable lean towards the jazz side of things rather than the other aspects (which is why I personally view this as jazz fusion rather than Zeuhl), with heavy use of musical ideas and instruments (i.e. wind instruments that include sax, flute, trumpet) that remind me a lot of Coltrane and what we stereotypically view as jazz.

It starts off strong with the track Kobaïa, where it immediately plunges you into a familiar jazzy bassline and percussion track. However, it merely exists to momentarily ease you into what is yet to come. Even as early as before the 2nd minute mark, it starts to bombard you with unconventional tones and tempos. Eventually, you begin to hear shrieks emanating from what must be a poor tortured saxophone(?) and you become aware of the chaos that the band wanted to portray. If it wasn’t obvious already, this album is not particularly accessible (which I think is a common theme in the genre that it belongs to).

At the very least, I think that the concept behind this album is quite fascinating and unique. I like the idea of the Kobaïan conlang, which seems to be meant to be used in a musical manner (i.e. the human voice as an instrument) rather than to be actually read and understood. Functionally gibberish lyrics/words used to enhance the voice is an idea that I would love to hear used in more music (as of writing, the only artists that I know utilize this is susquatch and to a lesser extent, “mumble rappers” like Carti).

As mentioned already, the music presents itself as challenging as it's not exactly something that can be immediately enjoyed. There is an overarching use of dissonant-sounding elements (some of which sounded like tritones? Not really sure, unfortunately I am not musically-trained lol), and it made for an uncomfortable listening experience at some points. Sometimes I couldn’t even tell if the screaming-sounding noises at Müh was just the saxophone or if it was an actual human voice already. At the very least, it’s not something like In The Court of the Crimson King where you expect to find bangers that you can pick up without worrying about rough patches. Knowing the intended background lore to the tracks, I couldn’t help but imagine an avant-garde dance/theatre-type performance in my head as I went through the album, weird and flashy yet grim costumed performers/actors included. Regardless, however, I did get to appreciate the technical aspects of the tracks and I had some fun listening to it.

However, I think that there was an overindulgence problem in the album, as I felt that some of the musical ideas that they used went on for way too long, especially with the overall tonality. After a while, everything sounded a bit same-ish (not saying that songs at this point literally sounded the same, just that it felt like just a variation of the previous), and I eventually got bored for until Stöah. Kind of adds to it being fitting as a backing track for the aforementioned hypothetical performance, as such the "overindulgence" is not an issue when the music is used in such a context.

Overall, Kobaïa is an interesting yet somewhat harsh experience. I did not manage to enjoy or appreciate it quite fully (whether this is due to the album itself or because I lack awareness of the album’s intricacies, that is up for you to decide), and I do wish that it didn’t drag on for as long as it did. However, I do think that it succeeded in what it was intended to do.

Was it enjoyable? I think so, at least at the first half. Do I think the overarching idea and concept is cool? Yeah. Would I come back to this album? Mainly for Kobaïa (the track). Is it something I’d listen to on repeat? I think I would still prefer to listen to King Crimson over Magma. Maybe it'll grow on me more, who knows.

Do I want an interpretative theatre performance for this album? Hell yeah.

Favourite tracks: Kobaïa, Malaria, Aïna, Stöah
Least favourite: Thaud Zaia
6/10

will finish listening to Aireu's EP, and will update queue when I get access to google sheets

Aireunaeus wrote:

Lapizote wrote:

Magma - Magma/Kobaïa
Zeuhl*, jazz-rock, 1970
Link to request

I would like to preface this review by stating that I am not exactly well-versed in “artsy rock” (i.e. prog rock, jazz fusion, etc.) nor am I well-versed with jazz. My only experience with the former is King Crimson, Pink Floyd, and Radioactive Sago Project (check this one out if you’re interested in Filipino jazz fusion)—this is my first time listening to Magma.

Magma’s self-titled album (renamed to Kobaïa in its re-release, I will use this name to refer to the album) is a Zeuhl (described as a mix of jazz fusion, symphonic rock and neoclassical) concept album that centers around the story of a group of people that flees Earth and settles in Kobaïa, a fictional planet that becomes a topic in other Magma albums.

*Despite it being listed as a Zeuhl album by Wikipedia, Kobaïa has a noticeable lean towards the jazz side of things rather than the other aspects (which is why I personally view this as jazz fusion rather than Zeuhl), with heavy use of musical ideas and instruments (i.e. wind instruments that include sax, flute, trumpet) that remind me a lot of Coltrane and what we stereotypically view as jazz.

It starts off strong with the track Kobaïa, where it immediately plunges you into a familiar jazzy bassline and percussion track. However, it merely exists to momentarily ease you into what is yet to come. Even as early as before the 2nd minute mark, it starts to bombard you with unconventional tones and tempos. Eventually, you begin to hear shrieks emanating from what must be a poor tortured saxophone(?) and you become aware of the chaos that the band wanted to portray. If it wasn’t obvious already, this album is not particularly accessible (which I think is a common theme in the genre that it belongs to).

At the very least, I think that the concept behind this album is quite fascinating and unique. I like the idea of the Kobaïan conlang, which seems to be meant to be used in a musical manner (i.e. the human voice as an instrument) rather than to be actually read and understood. Functionally gibberish lyrics/words used to enhance the voice is an idea that I would love to hear used in more music (as of writing, the only artists that I know utilize this is susquatch and to a lesser extent, “mumble rappers” like Carti).

As mentioned already, the music presents itself as challenging as it's not exactly something that can be immediately enjoyed. There is an overarching use of dissonant-sounding elements (some of which sounded like tritones? Not really sure, unfortunately I am not musically-trained lol), and it made for an uncomfortable listening experience at some points. Sometimes I couldn’t even tell if the screaming-sounding noises at Müh was just the saxophone or if it was an actual human voice already. At the very least, it’s not something like In The Court of the Crimson King where you expect to find bangers that you can pick up without worrying about rough patches. Knowing the intended background lore to the tracks, I couldn’t help but imagine an avant-garde dance/theatre-type performance in my head as I went through the album, weird and flashy yet grim costumed performers/actors included. Regardless, however, I did get to appreciate the technical aspects of the tracks and I had some fun listening to it.

However, I think that there was an overindulgence problem in the album, as I felt that some of the musical ideas that they used went on for way too long, especially with the overall tonality. After a while, everything sounded a bit same-ish (not saying that songs at this point literally sounded the same, just that it felt like just a variation of the previous), and I eventually got bored for until Stöah. Kind of adds to it being fitting as a backing track for the aforementioned hypothetical performance, as such the "overindulgence" is not an issue when the music is used in such a context.

Overall, Kobaïa is an interesting yet somewhat harsh experience. I did not manage to enjoy or appreciate it quite fully (whether this is due to the album itself or because I lack awareness of the album’s intricacies, that is up for you to decide), and I do wish that it didn’t drag on for as long as it did. However, I do think that it succeeded in what it was intended to do.

Was it enjoyable? I think so, at least at the first half. Do I think the overarching idea and concept is cool? Yeah. Would I come back to this album? Mainly for Kobaïa (the track). Is it something I’d listen to on repeat? I think I would still prefer to listen to King Crimson over Magma. Maybe it'll grow on me more, who knows.

Do I want an interpretative theatre performance for this album? Hell yeah.

Favourite tracks: Kobaïa, Malaria, Aïna, Stöah
Least favourite: Thaud Zaia
6/10

will finish listening to Aireu's EP, and will update queue when I get access to google sheets

ngl that's an interesting album lol. is it a german band tho, cuz it kinda sounded like it lol

Lapizote wrote:

Aireunaeus wrote:

Lapizote wrote:

Magma - Magma/Kobaïa
Zeuhl*, jazz-rock, 1970
Link to request

I would like to preface this review by stating that I am not exactly well-versed in “artsy rock” (i.e. prog rock, jazz fusion, etc.) nor am I well-versed with jazz. My only experience with the former is King Crimson, Pink Floyd, and Radioactive Sago Project (check this one out if you’re interested in Filipino jazz fusion)—this is my first time listening to Magma.

Magma’s self-titled album (renamed to Kobaïa in its re-release, I will use this name to refer to the album) is a Zeuhl (described as a mix of jazz fusion, symphonic rock and neoclassical) concept album that centers around the story of a group of people that flees Earth and settles in Kobaïa, a fictional planet that becomes a topic in other Magma albums.

*Despite it being listed as a Zeuhl album by Wikipedia, Kobaïa has a noticeable lean towards the jazz side of things rather than the other aspects (which is why I personally view this as jazz fusion rather than Zeuhl), with heavy use of musical ideas and instruments (i.e. wind instruments that include sax, flute, trumpet) that remind me a lot of Coltrane and what we stereotypically view as jazz.

It starts off strong with the track Kobaïa, where it immediately plunges you into a familiar jazzy bassline and percussion track. However, it merely exists to momentarily ease you into what is yet to come. Even as early as before the 2nd minute mark, it starts to bombard you with unconventional tones and tempos. Eventually, you begin to hear shrieks emanating from what must be a poor tortured saxophone(?) and you become aware of the chaos that the band wanted to portray. If it wasn’t obvious already, this album is not particularly accessible (which I think is a common theme in the genre that it belongs to).

At the very least, I think that the concept behind this album is quite fascinating and unique. I like the idea of the Kobaïan conlang, which seems to be meant to be used in a musical manner (i.e. the human voice as an instrument) rather than to be actually read and understood. Functionally gibberish lyrics/words used to enhance the voice is an idea that I would love to hear used in more music (as of writing, the only artists that I know utilize this is susquatch and to a lesser extent, “mumble rappers” like Carti).

As mentioned already, the music presents itself as challenging as it's not exactly something that can be immediately enjoyed. There is an overarching use of dissonant-sounding elements (some of which sounded like tritones? Not really sure, unfortunately I am not musically-trained lol), and it made for an uncomfortable listening experience at some points. Sometimes I couldn’t even tell if the screaming-sounding noises at Müh was just the saxophone or if it was an actual human voice already. At the very least, it’s not something like In The Court of the Crimson King where you expect to find bangers that you can pick up without worrying about rough patches. Knowing the intended background lore to the tracks, I couldn’t help but imagine an avant-garde dance/theatre-type performance in my head as I went through the album, weird and flashy yet grim costumed performers/actors included. Regardless, however, I did get to appreciate the technical aspects of the tracks and I had some fun listening to it.

However, I think that there was an overindulgence problem in the album, as I felt that some of the musical ideas that they used went on for way too long, especially with the overall tonality. After a while, everything sounded a bit same-ish (not saying that songs at this point literally sounded the same, just that it felt like just a variation of the previous), and I eventually got bored for until Stöah. Kind of adds to it being fitting as a backing track for the aforementioned hypothetical performance, as such the "overindulgence" is not an issue when the music is used in such a context.

Overall, Kobaïa is an interesting yet somewhat harsh experience. I did not manage to enjoy or appreciate it quite fully (whether this is due to the album itself or because I lack awareness of the album’s intricacies, that is up for you to decide), and I do wish that it didn’t drag on for as long as it did. However, I do think that it succeeded in what it was intended to do.

Was it enjoyable? I think so, at least at the first half. Do I think the overarching idea and concept is cool? Yeah. Would I come back to this album? Mainly for Kobaïa (the track). Is it something I’d listen to on repeat? I think I would still prefer to listen to King Crimson over Magma. Maybe it'll grow on me more, who knows.

Do I want an interpretative theatre performance for this album? Hell yeah.

Favourite tracks: Kobaïa, Malaria, Aïna, Stöah
Least favourite: Thaud Zaia
6/10

will finish listening to Aireu's EP, and will update queue when I get access to google sheets

ngl that's an interesting album lol. is it a german band tho, cuz it kinda sounded like it lol

french

kobaïans (note this is a fictional language and people) love their umlauts