This is weekly JAK, where I have to sit through hours of mediocre newly-released music and pick the 10 tracks that suck the least (or the most). Week 44 was a good week for music -- we've got genre-fluid stuff, some noisy rock, extreme metal, and a token rap song.
mr. sandman - Milk & Cookies
Mr. Sandman has been a solo home-recording artist for over 35 years. He's from Manistee (Michigan) and he makes weird-ass music. "Milk & Cookies" is one of his less-bizarre tracks off of his newly-released album "Modern Sleep". It has great rhythm, wacky vocals, and a catchy relatable hook composed with a clever key modulation. The audio mixing is also very exciting, with sound effects and percussion constantly going off left and right. Definitely check out his other stuff, too, it's crazy.
Kaso Baso - 4 am in Marina Del Rey
Who is Kaso Baso? A guy from Fort Worth (Texas). Google his name and you will find nothing. "4 am in Marina Del Rey" sounds awful -- especially the way the vocals were recorded and performed -- it's annoying. However! There are some unusually interesting progressive ideas about that song. If you have tough ears, you will withstand it and enjoy it for what it is.
Léna Bartels - Skinny
Léna Bartels is a songwriter currently based in Queens (New York). Her song "Skinny" reminds me of Jenn Champion's band called "S" (good luck googling that). A sad girl with a guitar can be sweet to listen to, sometimes.
Crush Fund - Seeing Stars
Crush Fund is a "fake punk girl band" from, once again, Queens (New York). Not sure which part is fake... is the punk fake, or are the girls fake? How can we even know if a "girl" is "fake" nowadays? Anyway, "Seeing Stars" is a short and sweet, fun and playful, noisy song.
BUGHUNT - Thick Liquid
BUGHUNT is a band from Melbourne (Australia). "Thick Liquid" has energetic loud guitars and vocals that immediately won me over. The way the singer delivers his lines! He sounds insane and inadequate -- like a curious adult toddler. He sure does deserve the thick liquid, and now he's causing other people to become addicted to it.
WORKS - Punishment
WORKS is a noisy rock band formerly known as GIRL ARM! They are from Montreal (Quebec). They bend strings in amazing ways and "Punishment" is a good song to demonstrate that. I also enjoy how the guitar parts are panned hard-left and right, creating a surreal listening experience. The riffs remind me a lot of Deerhoof. The vocals are a bit lazy, though.
TUNIKAH - APERTA GRAVIS CAERIMONIA
TUNIKAH is a digital one-man black metal band from Spain. "Aperta Gravis Caerimonia" is a powerful dark journey through demonic woods. The vocals sound like nothing I've heard before - the singer barks like a possessed body of multiple evil spirits. Bonus points for using the cowbell later in the song! An excellent old-school black metal track. Rasputin - Satana!
District105 - Everybody Lies
District105 is a group founded in Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) in 2017. "Everybody Lies" begins like a dark trap track, but there's kind of an edge to it and you wonder what will happen next. And indeed something happens! Suddenly the track turns into a bone-crushing deathcore banger. The drums and guitars have an excellent tight tone; the vocals are distinct in that they sound both brutal and distressed.
The Nick House Party - Demon Tag
The Nick House Party is the one-man genre-free musical project of Nick House. He is a reclusive computer expert with a master's degree in philosophy, and he's based in Fayetteville (Arkansas). Nick has listed his influences on his page: The Cure, Depeche Mode, ACTORS, Nine Inch Nails, Wolfsheim, Pet Shop Boys (barf). "Demon Tag" is a potent demon-exorcising electro-pop ballad with hues of new-wave, eurodisco, and metal. The lyrics are excellently written and the vocal melody is super catchy. Come on, step into the light!
NoEmotion and the Godz - AKAI MAGI
“NoEmotion and the Godz” is a rap group from Miami (Florida) created by NoEmotion GoldMask and all his closest friends, fans, and artists. Their instrumentals feature old-school breakbeats and a very exquisite choice of sampled music that's usually more suited for horrorcore rap. NoEmotion's flow is monotonous, but the punchlines he drops can catch you off-guard and make you laugh hard. Check out his latest album "BEATING OFF AFTER WORK" and enjoy. "AKAI MAGI" is the song we chose to cover here, because it has the best voice-to-music balance in the mix. The vocal track in their other songs is too loud to the point of causing ear fatigue. Hopefully they release new versions where they have fixed this issue, because the instrumentals are worth bumping.
And there you have it, 10 more tracks to occupy your lazy brain and drain it of powerful resources that could have been employed in an otherwise useful way!
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