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 45 is a mixed bag of fine cuisine and dog shit -- but it's all in the name of originality, which we are trying to promote here at FAK YER Reviews.
F. Scott - Sweet Serenity
Who the fuck is F. Scott? He's from Guelph (Ontario) and he likes to blend folk, indie, and hip-hop influences to paint a picture of house parties, rugged outdoors, awkward experiences, and friends. Definitely a talented guy who deserves lots of credit, which becomes obvious once you hear "Sweet Serenity". It's a progressive song that seamlessly changes tempo and travels through genres, while somehow still remaining in one piece, despite the chaos on the surface. The track is also very well-produced and sounds really nice.
CONNIE - MERCURY
Originally from Rockford (Illinois), CONNIE claims to have been influenced by bands such as Daft Punk, SOPHIE, Pharell, Metro Boomin, and Skrillex. To us, "Mercury" sounds more like stuff from the UK scene during the 90's. It's a cool energetic track that lacks much melodic value. But it's different than what most artists put out nowadays, hence we publish it here.
Scene Queen - Pink Hotel
Born in Ohio, Hannah Collins (a.k.a. Scene Queen) is an American singer and songwriter known for coining the style "Bimbocore" -- a subgenre of metalcore with feminist themes. "Pink Hotel" is trashy and fabulous. Hannah is loud, annoying and obnoxious, which is brutal in its own bimbocore way. Usually you hear this type of music from Japanese girl bands that tend to juxtapose cuteness with brutal death metal. In Scene Queen's case, cuteness is thrown out the window, which is great! Musically, "Pink Hotel" doesn't get far enough, but we are giving them props for trying. The "gays with ADHD listen to me" part is a good attempt!
Slowly Slowly - Turn It Around
Coming from Melbourne (Australia), Slowly Slowly just released their new album "Daisy Chain". It's a solid emo-pop-rock record full of catchy numbers. We chose "Turn It Around" as a favorite, because of how danceable and funky it is. You can't go wrong with such fabulous vocal performance and catchy chord progressions! The singer's got a very impressive presence and an excellent technique. We are surprised Slowly Slowly aren't already world famous. It's only a matter of time.
PULSE - Pieces Of Me
Pulse is a quintet from Birmingham (England). They describe their style as "nu-metalcore". Their track "Pieces Of Me" does contain some pretty tight nu-metal riffs, and there is a nice melodic metalcore part -- so that checks out! What caught my ear, though, was the wild intro that combines bending djent strings with some fast-paced dubstep synths. Later on, there's a brutal slam beatdown. Thus, Pulse are not as simple as they appear on the surface. They combine metal genres into something a bit more original.
Drown The Rat - Writing On The Wall
Hailing from San Jose (California), Drown The Rat describe their sound as "stoner punk" and they provide a list of similar bands that we are embarrassed to publish here. Just listen to "Writing On The Wall" -- it is a great combination of stoner riffs, fast-paced crust punk sections, and raspy vocals. We are also picking up some grunge vibes. Nothing too original, though, sorry.
Skuff - maybe
Speaking of grunge, here's a band from Germany that maybe sounds like Nirvana? Their track "Maybe" successfully ticks off the list of requirements for a prosperous band in the 90's. Again, nothing original, but they are good at what they do, and there was nothing else on TV... so we had to give them a spot on our platform. Sorry, it's been a tough week.
Vickis Dream - Morbid
Four creative minds from Atlanta (Georgia) develop their own signature blend of punk, goth, and metal tones. They call themselves "Vickis Dream" based on this concept: "Vicki falls asleep. She suddenly finds herself in a series of lucid dreams in a post-apocalyptic world of our beloved earth overtaken by evil demons destined to destroy mankind. Our songs are Vicki's dreams". Their track "Morbid" covers the goth spectrum and sounds like dark wave, but you should definitely check out their other songs from the album, as each has its own unique sound. What's most interesting about "Morbid" is the transition between verse and chorus. The verses are in B Minor, whereas the chorus switches to F Minor. The bass guitar, though, makes the change to F Minor earlier, at every final verse measure. It sounds dissonant and disturbing, but still aesthetically pleasing, in context of the chorus.
Izzy Camina - Alprazalam
It's Izzy Camina from NYC! You don't have to know more about her, or at least that's what she seems to believe. "Alprazalam" is such an atmospheric track, it feels like I'm floating when I listen to it. There's just the right amount of reverb, high-frequencies, and deep bass, to achieve this sonic state of nirvana (not the band, you idiot). This song is a perfect example of the via negativa principle, where you start with more stuff and you keep removing until you reach aesthetic goodness (or until there's nothing left). Less is more!
Haavi - Tad Badham
Coming from Dubai (UAE), Haavi is an artist who experiments with classical Indian music combined with psychedelic sounds to create a trance dance experience. One can definitely experience this in "Tad Badham", which combines slow relaxed traditional instruments with hyper fast bassline and sci-fi robotic impressions. Feels like combining shrooms with speed. Perfect for late night shifts.
And that's it! 10 more tracks that the AI algorithm failed to deliver to you. We are still human and we make mistakes.
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