Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Unrest - Imperial f.f.r.r.

Hannah!

I've never known you to be of suspect taste, so I suspect you'll like this album. Like every third indie pop album produced between 1985 and 2005, it starts with a high-pitched drone intended to alienate the normies. Joke's on them, though, because even the normiest person could dig on a track like 'Suki' which is shimmering stuttering pop greatness. In my opinion the best tracks on the album are of this vein (see also: 'Cherry Come On').

You can divide 90s indie pop into two camps in a somewhat-not-arbitrary way: guitar heroics type stuff (Dinosaur Jr. being the progenitors, Built to Spill being the great bearers of the legacy) and I-don't-give-a-fuck-about-musical-ability twee and twee-like music. Imperial f.f.r.r. samples the gamut of the latter camp, from the aforementioned jangly songs, to the proto-emo of 'Isabell', to the droney druggy but still upbeat 'June'.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Michio Kurihara - Sunset Notes



matthew --


you'll probably hate this album. not only are there melodies, but the melodies start from the first moment of the album and do not relent until it abruptly ends. it's not at all representative of the japanese vanguard and it's not much like boris and all the other bands out with whom this guy hangs. it's awesome japanese spacey rock and you don't have to admit it if you end up secretly liking it.


love