i want to highlight some albums from the past few weeks I have listened to and enjoyed. these releases will be both new and old; i just want to speak my thoughts and praises on these albums. looking forward to doing future installments of this when i get the chances!
The Beggar - Swans (2023)
new Swans! and it may be Gira's last effort. this is a big step-up from their last effort. this album is a lot more focused, bringing a slow, folk sound. we're bringing back the 30min+ songs back! The Beggar Lover (Three) is a cool and long nod to the trilogy; i love it! tracks like The Beggar and Paradise is Mine are great tracks too. it's an overall great record to leave on, if this is Gira's last effort with Swans. who knows!
The Glow Pt. 2 - The Microphones (2001)
ugh, this may be a big one for me if i'm not careful. an album that's always been on my radar for it's cult following. The Glow Pt. 2 is beautiful, raw, and fragile. the lo-fi production can turn these soft, quiet songs into deep, emotional, and visceral experiences of music. The Moon is my favorite track on here; a track full of energy and rawness that encapsulates the listener in a driving organ, energetic drums, and beautiful saxophone licks. I Felt Your Shape is a track i've been sharing with someone close, hehe! i can see this record only growing closer with me as i give it more time.
For the First Time - Black Country, New Road (2021)
i put on this album too much. it's too good. i love the anxiety this album emits. the chamber influences on this post-punk/hardcore sound is unmatched. tracks like Science Fair and Sunglasses make me FERAL. everything about this record is so addictive. i'm working on a full length review, so i'm limiting myself for this short review. i just can't get enough of this album!
There's no black or white, no change in light
No night, no golden sun
The sound of cars, the smell of bars, the awful feeling of electric heat
Under fluorescent lights, there's sacrifice, there's hard feelings, there's pointless waste
- “I Want Wind to Blow”, The Glow, Pt 2 (2001), The Microphones
recently, i've been getting loads of album reactions on my yt homepage, all for the glow pt. 2 strangely.. the other day i finally took the bait, purely out of curiosity and discovered such an intriguing man—
something about his overly exaggerated reactions, the way he refuses to view the album through any lens other than as a breakup album, his analysis of the tracks always being literal and somehow always containing the name of the song within it, the fucking "his ex-girlfriend is now a polar bear and he's trying to kill her with a sword" quote— i can't tell if it's entirely performative or if this man is experiencing the album more genuinely than anyone else
channel name is "smags", clips are taken from there
The Microphones :: The Glow, Pt. 2
I could not get through September without a battle
I faced death, I went in with my arms swinging
But I heard my own breath
I had to face that I'm still living
I'm still flesh
I hold on to awful feelings
sorry, we cant listen to an assortment of 2-5 minute songs in the car like usual, we have to listen to this 44 minute long autobiographical song ive been listening to almost exclusively for the past week