It doesn't look like anyone's going anywhere anytime soon, so I've been finding myself more inclined than ever to contribute to this. I made a post on Instagram telling people to send me an album they thought I hadn't heard. I'd listen to it, write a short review, and send them an album to do the same. I don't know how you guys are, but it's really easy to get stuck listening to the same records or bands. Hopefully you guys recommend some things that don't suck.
Mike Bellis: Friend, guitarist, and winter hat wearer Mike Bellis sent me three albums. I initially told him to pick just one, but let's be honest - what the fuck else am I doing, right? So here were his three picks and what I thought.
I was told to listen to these albums in order. The first track starts with feedback and some dude reading a list of things to do before you listen to the album. He told me things like to have a pregnancy scare, to always have a poorly thought out plan, have roommates regardless of your age, and so on. Some of these things were cool and some were goofy. I did my best to abide and continued listening.
The second I heard the first proper song I wanted to turn it off. Then the singer came in and now I knew exactly where Mike gets his vocal inspiration from. It made the music make more sense to me. Each song made me like the album more and more. The music has an almost childish, very loose type feel. It's not all great though. Songs like "Sara Hayden" sound like what 16 year olds would make an hour after hearing The Cure for the first time. "Eric Hall" was definitely my favorite and the most unlike anything on the record. It sounded like something off an Unwound album. Jerky rhythms and melodic leads, without it being too try hard.
I'd also like to note that one of their album covers is a heavy nod to The Talking Heads album "More Songs About Buildings and Food" which is super fucking cool.
3/5
Next up are Milk Music. Pretty terrible name. The album starts off fucking incredible with a doomy, noisy track called "He is Coming." The next song was really, really hard not to skip. It starts with an overly cheesy drum machine beat and then in comes in one of the worst singers ever. At least it's distracting me from these poorly played power chords. The song sounds like they took the entire mix and ran it through a blown out practice amp. Is this what it's like when I show people my music? Jesus.
All of these songs sound like they're a totally different band. Luckily nothing else sounds like track two, but unfortunately nothing sounds like the opening track either. "Serious Listener" was really cool. It sounded like a demo to a fuzzy, ebow driven song. I usually love records that bounce around stylistically, but there really isn't that much finesse with it from these guys to be honest. The rest of the album was pretty neutral and harmless.
2/5
I listened to this album two times all the way through before I typed anything out. I fucking love this record so much. It's so hypnotic and well crafted. The musicianship is beyond anything I was expecting. Maybe this is why Mike told me to listen to this in the order he did. That last album was such trash that maybe this record is just mediocre. There are so many subtle perfections to the presentation of both the parts and the production. Parts that loop, but bend slightly to keep it performance based, drum tones that change without it sounding like a mix tape, and vocals that are vital but not the focal point. I'm definitely going to be listening to this one again and again. Can't wait to hear their other records too!
5/5
Here's what I recommended to Mike to listen to.
- Novak
