Mediocre synthpop (5/10)
Just mediocre synthpop. Track 1 (I want you) is quite nice, with industrial feeling and interesting melody. Track 10 (Night sky) is also not so bad. But the others are weak. They are dominated by a disco beat, very unoriginal. Moreover, singers' voices are weak and uninteresting (especially male voice - female's is slightly better). [Artist's Myspace] 
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28 April 2011
Happiness Project - "Electric Games"
KraftiM - "JamatriX"
Nice ambient (8/10)
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[Myspace] |
Your works get better and better. This one, for the first time, has no weak points for me and the songs are of equal quality. Every track is very fine. It's pure ambient, but creative and full of interesting sounds, melodies and atmosphere.
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27 April 2011
Orchid - "Takk!_Soundsampler"
Excellent dreamy pop rock (9/10)
Excellent dreamy pop rock. And I don't say that because I'm the Pole myself, but because of the quality of this recording. I'm the last person to praise work of others, if it's not really worth it. So my rating doesn't mean "9, because they come from Poland and they're young" but "9, because you can put it right beside Portishead's or The Cardigans' albums". Pros: - catchy melodies (but not primitively commercial), - great dreamy atmosphere, - beautiful female voice, - not bad English accent. Cons: - production. The voice is without any sense hidden in the background. Sometimes it's even hard to hear the lyrics (especially on "Moreless"). - drums. Monotonous cymbals, which in addition are louder than the vocals ("Moreless" again), distract attention from otherwise great tunes and after a while become really tiring. Overall, the pros seriously outweigh the cons. Despite the small drawbacks, this is the finest pop rock album I heard in months. And it is infinitely better than everything that Polish branches of the majors excreted from their rotting bowels and labeled as Polish pop rock, in years. The highlights: 1 moreless - catchy, sexy melody, great piano. 2 call to the past - the best on this album. Smash hit. Beautiful melody sang beautifully. 5 mess - starts surprisingly with an old-fashioned keyboard but then contemporary guitars join with a nice melody. But it is a chorus that is really mesmerizing with a haunting vocalise. It reminds me of the great vocalise from the Polish classic movie "Pociag". Finally, anyone wanting more from Orchid may wish to visit their website. You can find several bonus tracks there - each worth checking out. And you can now buy their debut album in mp3 for 3,5 euro (!) and on CD for 12 euros. I highly recommend it, because it is as great as this demo. |
[Artist's Website / Myspace] |
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SaReGaMa - "4 Elements, the"
Instant classic (10/10)
A masterpiece of ambient/downtempo electronica mixed with world music and rock. Absolutely essential for every fan of intelligent music. You can also obtain a lossless FLAC versionof this album from the artist's website for a small donation. |
[Artist's website] |
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SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS
If you like this album and you can afford it, consider supporting the artist by making a donation. |
26 April 2011
ajk - "Uratowac resztke mnie cz. 2 (akt 3: Bog, ...)"
Decent lyrics + primitive music (4/10)
The artist is quite a talented lyricist. So it's a pity he wraps his poetry in such ugly music. Maybe some musical ideas are interesting, but execution is very weak. The tracks nos. 2 & 3 are listenable electropop tunes, but no. 1 is just a terrible production failure, to the point of the singer being out-of-tune at places. On the track no. 4 the "happy" arrangement is equally clumsy. The album has been released on Jamendo and is available for downloading in mp3 or ogg format. |
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The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Drive 2010" [SP]
Catchy trance tune (7/10)
A catchy trance tune. Not a groundbreaking masterpiece, but clearly an enjoyable simple dance piece. [Artist's website]
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The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "I Want Now" [SP]
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Not catchy enough (5/10)
Pop should be catchy. Period. It is of course highly individual matter and for some people this piece could be great, but for me the melody is not catchy. The technical side is OK, as always with this artist, the style is his usual 80s electropop. If you like the genre, you may check it out. [Artist's website]
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The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Sometimes" [SP]
Simple dance track (5/10)
It's a simple dance track, but the melody is quite catchy. It's not my favourite genre, but I guess it could be a hit for fans of simple electronic pop with heavy disco influences. The least successful element of this song is singing. The singer sings in tune, but I'd like to hear much more passion in his voice - so it could correspond well with the energetic chorus. [Artist's website]
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NULLL Collective, the - "Silent Night" [SP]
Totally brilliant (10/10)
This is a doom metal cover of a Christmas carol. ... Yes. Your eyes are not deceiving you. You read correctly: "doom metal", "cover", "Christmas carol". Highly distorted low-tuned guitars, extremely slow tempo, growling and dark atmosphere. And a sweet melody of the famous "Silent Night" carol. A blasphemy? For some right-wing morons probably it is. And that's what makes it so brilliant. I love intelligent provocations and who thought before of such mix of the genres? And as if it wasn't enough, in the middle of the song there is a purely electronic part, equally crazy, out-of-place and brilliant. I just can't wait to play this carol during the next Christmas Eve dinner. :-> And I want a full length Christmas album, guys! You can also download this album for free in a lossless FLAC version from archive.org (OGG version is also available there). |
[Artist's website] |
This piece is accompanied by a video, which can be downloaded at archive.org.
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25 April 2011
Uncertainty Principle - "Bathe In The Black Sun" [SP]
Nice doom atmosphere, but too repetitive (7/10)
This is a drone-based instrumental doom metal song. I like this genre and I quite enjoyed this work. But I can see its shortcomings. The tune is too repetitive - lack of vocals doesn't help here. Instrumental pieces require a little different style of writing, as to compensate for the lack of a vocal line. Usually, one of the instruments is brought to the front, playing a distinct melody, the purpose of which is to substitute the singer. Here we have only a long wall of drones, which may soon become boring for a listener who is not a dedicated fan of the genre. Not much is changing or happening throughout the (very long) track. Finally, production sucks a little bit. The sound is not selective, what adds to the tiring effect of this work. You can also download this album for free in a lossless FLAC version from archive.org (OGG version is also available there). |
[Artist's website] |
This piece is accompanied by a video, which can be downloaded at archive.org.
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21 April 2011
Monsieur Connard - "Du ciel tombent des cierges"
Great experimental electronica (10/10)
Truly great recording. Broken beats and distorted sounds on a noisy ambient background. So much is happening in these tracks that they could easily fall into chaos. But the artist never loses grip and is in full control of his vision and the resulting creation. Well done! Thanks for sharing this outstanding work for free. The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format. [Artist's Website / Myspace] |
  ![[Creative Commons License]](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nd/2.5/pl/80x15.png "[Creative Commons License]") |
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SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS
If you like this album and you can afford it, consider supporting the artist by making a donation. |
DJ Hydrator - "Atomic Structure" [SP]
Distracting annoying speeches (4/10)
This piece could be quite good if not for the annoying speeches, which distract you from listening to the music. I know it is popular in techno/electronica music but I hate it. A terrible fad. The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format. |
[Artist's Myspace] |
Celibatfighters - "Envol, l'"
Mediocre achievement (5/10)
This is not a bad recording. These guys are generally skilled, they know how to play their instruments, singing is acceptable, although sometimes their performance lacks confidence. The same could be said about production. Most of the time it is OK, sometimes it could be better. My main problem is with melodies, which don't appeal to me. The two exceptions are no. 6 "Ne reviens pas" and no. 09 "Fin de la vague" - these are quite catchy. I can't speak French, so I can't say anything about lyrics. Maybe they are exceptionally good, what usually rises the rating, even if the music isn't particularly attractive. Having access only to the musical side of this work, I cannot judge it higher. Sorry, guys. [Artist's Myspace] |
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20 April 2011
The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Like Angel" [SP]
This artist can do better (3/10)
This is a less successful song of the artist. The melody is unattractive, synths are of usual 80s quality. But the worst element is singing - very forced, lacking power. This artist definitely can do better. The album has been released on Jamendo and is available for downloading in mp3 or ogg format. |
[Artist's website] |
The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Bal des mannequins" [SP]
Nice melody spoiled by an unnecessary disco beat (6/10)
It could be a very nice instrumental piece. Unfortunately, a catchy melody played on accordion is spoiled by adding an unnecessary and ugly disco beat. It really doesn't fit there with the "chanson" melody. Yuck! [Artist's website]
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The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki)
Creating and composing music, dealing with since 1991. Then I began my adventure with music. At the beginning it was difficult, mainly due to the availability of electronic instruments, synthesizers and other equipment to enable normal functioning as in music, and recording their ideas. Many of my compositions exist only in analog form - on cassette tapes. After a very long break due to various circumstances in 2010 decided to return to my passion which is writing and recording songs. I'm using for this HP computer and software Steinberg Sequel 2 - midi keyboard, acoustic guitar, a microphone - it is at this moment my basic tools of music. At the moment I'm at the stage of creating their own mini-studio. Will soon publish new material on the site Jamendo. Works published under the Creative Commons (Some Rights Reserved).
If you are interested in working on music projects are invited - send an email to: motyw71@gmail.com.
[Artist's website]
The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Bonus track - Analog live" [SP]
Simple electronic disco; catchy tunes (5/10)
Simple electronic disco in the style of 80's. The quality of synthetic sounds is terrible, even for disco. However, the pieces are catchy; the first one has really infectious melody - Modern Talking would be jealous. It's not something I'd listen with pleasure, but if you're a fan of the genre, you can safely add 2 points to my rating. [Artist's website]
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19 April 2011
ajk - "Uratowac resztke mnie cz. 2 (akt 4: A zostanie tylko milosc, Eksplozja)"
Unattractive electronic pop (3/10)
Unattractive electronic pop. The Polish lyrics are not bad, but melodies are boring, and what worse - do not fit the vocal lines. It sounds like two different tracks combined into one song. The album has been released on Jamendo and is available for downloading in mp3 or ogg format. |
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18 April 2011
Robal - "Podwodny rower"
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Try harder, guys (4/10)
Well... Much work lies ahead for the vocalist if they want to make their music enjoyable. The lyrics are silly, his interpretation is sloppy; on "Garby" on the verge of self-parody. "Pykam fajke" is slightly better. The rest of the band is also better, although tunes are repetitive and boring. It's not a total disaster, but they have still much to learn. The album has been released on Jamendo and is available for downloading in mp3 or ogg format. [Artist's Myspace] |
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ajk - "Uratowac resztke mnie cz. 2"
Decent acoustic rock (6/10)
It is quite decent acoustic rock. First of all, we have here good lyrics sang in tune and with confidence. Maybe the voice of the artist could be stronger, maybe the melodies could be catchier, but it is not a bad recording. Check it out if you are a fan of the genre. All the songs are in Polish, and since lyrics are quite important in such kind of music, this work probably will not be interesting for people not speaking po polsku. ;-)
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Jazzpospolita - "Live Studio Recording"
Brilliant nu jazz (8/10)
This is a brilliant nu jazz minialbum. If you're a fan of unorthodox modern jazz - download it now! You won't be disappointed - I guarantee. If you like this minialbum, you may be interested in their debut album "Almost Splendid". Check it out - it is equally brilliant. Unfortunately, it has been released only on CD - it is not available online at all (at least not officially...). |
[Artist's Myspace] |
15 April 2011
Samplastik - "Duchowe karate"
Hip hop masterpiece (10/10)
I don't like hip hop. It doesn't mean I am unable to appreciate and enjoy good hip hop works. What I mean is that this genre is generally so devoid of creativeness and populated by morons without even a trace of talent that good hip hop works are almost as hard to find as the brain of G.W. Bush. I hate boring R&B beats repeated in the majority of hip hop songs like they were produced on the same assembly line in a Chinese rap factory of Crappy Music, Inc. I hate stupid self focused lyrics ("Yo niggas! This is MC Moron rapping to all my hommies. Let me tell ya all them bitches are mine."). I hate uncreative ripping off the music of others only to drown it in a meaningless mumbling of some retard. That is why I usually avoid hip hop, because the probability it will be listenable is extremely low. That's why it's almost a miracle I didn't just move along seeing this is a hip hop album. It must have been the sixth sense or something that stopped me and forced me to try it out. Because this is the rare hip hop gem. With great intelligent meaningful lyrics. With great flow. With powerful rhyming skills: "Niósł czerwony grzebień w tylnej kieszeni I lekko się uśmiechał wychodząc z sutereny Potem przeczesał włosy chyba setny raz z kolei Wyjął Carmeny, miał plamę na flaneli." This is an excerpt from "Czerwony grzebień", a really atmospheric song about a serial killer - one of the best on this album. But that's still not all. What else? Original beats - no repetitive R&B shit here. The record is full of catchy creative tunes, utilizing a variety of real instruments (or really convincing samples) and clever electronic sounds. So... Yo niggas! Listen to me! Let me tell ya this. Samplastik is the mastah of a hip hop bliss. No, no, take it easy - that's not Samplastik. That's just my take on a shitty hip hop. Quite successful I think. ;-> Back to the subject. Despite the above rave and the highest possible rating, you shouldn't get the impression that I think this is a perfect work. It could be better. Not every song is equally good (the worst being no. 15 "Niczego więcej", another take on a similar theme to that of "Czerwony grzebień", but much less successful), but still, you have 17 tracks here, and the average quality is definitely sky-high for the regular hip hop. Not every track is also original (for example no. 07 "Więcej nie chcę" strongly resembles Eminem's work - too strongly in my opinion). So why five stars? Because it rises so high from the pool of usual hip hop shit, that it deserves to be acclaimed. Like Samplastik well put it himself: Widziałem was na spotkaniu w Empiku / I saw you waiting for fans in the record store Jak siedzieliście sami przy stoliku / You sat alone by the table I tylko jeden dziennikarz się spytał / And only one journalist asked you Jak można gówno tłoczyć na płytach. / How come they publish shit on CDs So it's not 10/10 on my scale, but rather 10/10 on a hip hop scale. This record is definitely 100% shit-free. The final disclaimer: all the lyrics on this album are in Polish, so this work may not be interesting for people that can't speak our strange language. |
[Artist's website] |
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13 April 2011
zero-project - "Fairytale 2: The orchestral expansion"
Well executed but way too pompous (7/10)
Well, it is not a bad recording. It is well orchestrated and quite good from the technical side - the artist uses quality samples or other electronic equipment to successfully imitate orchestral sounds. It is still obvious that these are not real instruments, but your ears would not bleed like with so many similar works. Of course, these songs would be much more enjoyable, if played by an orchestra, but thanks to the artist's skills, the sound is tolerable. So what's wrong here? The melodies. Yes, yes, I know, they are so beautiful, powerful, full of emotions, drama etc. that... it's really too much. They are totally overblown, just like their pretentious Latin titles - desperately trying to be something more than simple pop neoclassical music. Everybody likes sweet taste, right? But what about a typical wedding cake? They are so sweet and heavy that you have enough after just one bite. This album is a big, colorful, beautiful, dense wedding cake, covered with pink icing. Try to eat all five tiers. Despite the above complaints, I still quite enjoyed this work, but my taste for music is highly eclectic. So if you're a dedicated fan of "real" classical music - beware. |
[Artist's website] |
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Ogg Vorbis - "Tube H Yeah"
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Interesting fusion electronica (6/10)
Interesting fusion electronica. However, there is too much of rap and distracting sampled speeches for me on "3 Les messagers" & "6 Tube H yeah". And "4 For nightclubers" is just a primitive dance/house tune - it differs negatively from the rest. I can recommend only the following tracks: 1 Pornosax 2 La charogne 5 Killer il est 
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12 April 2011
KraftiM - "etSitara"
Almost flawless ethno-ambient (9/10)
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[Myspace] |
Great ethno-ambient. Would be perfect if not for the track no. 3 "Hamagito", which is an older work of KraftiM - based on annoying speeches and not a particularly good tune.
However, the rest is GREAT and I encourage you to check it out - of course only if you're a fan of creative atmospheric electronic music.
However, the rest is GREAT and I encourage you to check it out - of course only if you're a fan of creative atmospheric electronic music.
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10 April 2011
Pan:core - "Pour Carine" [EP]
Beautiful (10/10)
Brilliant electronica. Very simple melodies, without experimenting. But beauty of these tunes is just breathtaking. I have only one complaint - it's too short. You can also download this album for free directly from the artist at his website in .mp3 file format. A lossless FLAC version has been removed. If you want it, ask in a comment. [mirror @ archive.org] [Artist's website]
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09 April 2011
The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Electro Method" [EP]
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Not bad, but too ordinary... (5/10)
Maybe some fans of space music or the sound of 80s will find this mini-album appealing, but for me the tunes are too ordinary. Not much here to keep my attention focused. [Artist's website]
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The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Analog Live"
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Simple, disco-based synthpop - not my cup of tea (4/10)
Primitive synthpop or - more precisely, electropop, as synthpop is usually based on rock music, use some guitars and rock expression, even if it is executed with electronic means. This album is definitely based on disco, dance, pop - the artist is very far from rock stylistics. And that's what I mean by "primitive": using the most simple, obvious and commercial-driven forms of artistic expression. Even in synthpop music there are works, which are highly original and thought provoking (Depeche Mode, for example). But not this time, ladies and gentlemen. Compared with this album, even Erasure or Pet Shop Boys write experimental music. Still, this is not a total flop. Many people love such "easy" music. That's why I described above what I mean by primitive - this isn't in any way primitive when it comes to production or performance. The artist knows how to write pop melodies, he has an acceptable voice with a nice timbre. And the issue of a chosen stylistics is just a matter of taste. If only such recordings populated charts in Poland, I'd be a happy man. Unfortunately, much worse acts gain a huge popularity. I would definitely prefer to hear this guy on radio instead of the highly successful Polish crap-pop band Feel. So, if you like such simple, "easy-listening" disco-based pop, check it out. By the way, here is a remastered and extended version of this album and some of the added tracks are much better. |
[Artist's website] |
08 April 2011
Technox PL - "Yobbo"
Very good drum & bass (8/10)
Very good drum & bass. Recommended for every fan of quality techno / electronica. The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format. [Artist's Myspace] |
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terenNowy.live - "Ambientnosc"
Impressive ambient (10/10)
Project terenNowy it's an opened collective of creators that spontaneously develop motto: Creation through recreation, or the other way round. Multi-plot and differentiation of artistic statements become an basis for free multiplication of the idea of organics, meaning: each in self direction, but fun is for all. Co-influences and inspirations evolve into unexpected scenography-sound sets, creating the genuine sections such as terennowy.live, terennowy.kids, terennowy.movie and terennowy.art. There is no place for trials, or scenarios - each meeting generates own climate naturally adopted both to space and public, because these two elements are as vital to the project, as the collective itself. We say: interaction is an initiation of the creation. Or the other way round. |
It is not a secret that ambient is not my favourite genre. Ambient works are often totally boring, because of the false apparent easiness of this genre. Some people think it is enough to break a constant drone with single notes once in two minutes to produce an ambient masterpiece. And in fact, it's quite the opposite. It is very easy to make a bad ambient recording. But it requires plenty of talent to make a good - not boring - ambient work.
The second cause of my somewhat ambivalent feelings for ambient is that these days the majority of ambient recordings are made on a computer, using only electronic sounds. There is nothing wrong with it generally, only that it becomes slightly boring after hearing a hundredth album with similar recycled sounds. One just starts to long for some decent guitar or real drums.
So it feels great to come across such album as this one. Such works convince me that with enough talent, you can make a masterpiece in every musical genre.
This is truly an outstanding recording. It contains improvised ambient music played on real instruments by a live band of very skilled musicians. The songs are full of mysterious strange sounds; very diverse, but never chaotic. All this improvised mess is in fact well thought-out and form a cohesive whole, despite including such different elements as synthetic sounds, reverbed human whispers and folk instruments. So much is happening throughout each track that you are never bored. So if you like ambient and/or experimental music, you cannot miss this one!
The album has been released by MegaTotal.pl, a social financing website similar to Sellaband. You can listen to the full album here or buy a CD for mere 5 euros. Unfortunately, they don't have English version of their website, but there is a Google Translate interface on the bottom of the page. I don't know if it is enough to really use this site without any knowledge of Polish, but I can assure you this album is worth trying. You can always drop me a line in case of any troubles and I will be glad to help you.
[Artist's Website / Myspace]
The second cause of my somewhat ambivalent feelings for ambient is that these days the majority of ambient recordings are made on a computer, using only electronic sounds. There is nothing wrong with it generally, only that it becomes slightly boring after hearing a hundredth album with similar recycled sounds. One just starts to long for some decent guitar or real drums.
So it feels great to come across such album as this one. Such works convince me that with enough talent, you can make a masterpiece in every musical genre.
This is truly an outstanding recording. It contains improvised ambient music played on real instruments by a live band of very skilled musicians. The songs are full of mysterious strange sounds; very diverse, but never chaotic. All this improvised mess is in fact well thought-out and form a cohesive whole, despite including such different elements as synthetic sounds, reverbed human whispers and folk instruments. So much is happening throughout each track that you are never bored. So if you like ambient and/or experimental music, you cannot miss this one!
The album has been released by MegaTotal.pl, a social financing website similar to Sellaband. You can listen to the full album here or buy a CD for mere 5 euros. Unfortunately, they don't have English version of their website, but there is a Google Translate interface on the bottom of the page. I don't know if it is enough to really use this site without any knowledge of Polish, but I can assure you this album is worth trying. You can always drop me a line in case of any troubles and I will be glad to help you.
[Artist's Website / Myspace]
Ogg Vorbis - "No. 2"
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Not bad but too chaotic (7/10)
Quite good actually. Better than the first album. But too chaotic. Let's take, for example, no. 3 Space Aviator - what have we here? Jazz improvisations, strange electronic sounds, samples of an aeroplane, rap, funk, flamenco guitar, vocalise, atonal piano solo, slogan-chanting and many more - and all of this in under 6 minutes. It's almost like listening to a recycle bin of an audio editing program. I felt pity for all those samples that couldn't make it... Poor bastards. Maybe if they were shorter, you could fit another 50 or so? Please excuse my sarcasm - I like genre-mixing, but it's not enough to throw 100 samples into editor and press "save" button... Maybe you've done hard conceptual work here, but if so - you've missed it. The result is chaos. But quite nice chaos. :-)
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07 April 2011
Behedos - "Arghh!"
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Listen on mute (0/10)
Absolutely terrible rock demo. It's not worth even the time required to write a review, so I will try to be brief. I suppose the band tried to take a parodical approach to several genres of rock music. But they failed, because of their absolute lack of skill. They are so totally inept, it hurts. They cannot sing, they cannot play, they cannot write music or lyrics, they cannot record. Change the hobby guys. Or at least don't record your sessions. Or - if you really have to record them - don't publish the results. Have mercy for humanity. The album has been released on Jamendo and is available for downloading in mp3 or ogg format. |
![[Creative Commons License]](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-sa/2.5/pl/80x15.png "[Creative Commons License]")
[Artist's website] |
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