Teabags Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Water Torture - PillboxObviously I like it. I fucking love powerviolence. Though there are alot of very shit pv bands out there, Water Torture certainly aren't one. This album isn't as fast or "punchy" as some of their previous releases (this is their first album, but they have about 14 7"s to date, and have only been around since 2011 I believe) like the Shellfire! 7", but its still dirty as owt. The bass tone has taken alot more precedent on this album and I don't think it's suffered for it. I'm going to track down and buy the LP, because I like records but I'm also hoping there'll be a lyrics sheet cos I can't really make out any words, which i don't mind, cos that's what lyric sheets are for. Population Control is an absolute ripper of a song. They recently played Glasgow and I am completely kicking myself for missing them.One thing I don't like is the noise interludes. I like noise, but I find myself skipping over them to just hear more drumbassblastsmash. Creature of Repition is good though, as it's quite a nice ambient break in the madness.Also, they're from Buffalo. So they score extra points on that. LET'S GO BUFF-A-LO.This Will Destroy You - Another LanguageWhen this started I liked it alot. The first couple tracks created a nice ambient soundscape and I did some work while listening to it. But as the album went on, I didn't really feel it changed alot. So I like the tracks individually, but don't think I'd listen to the album as a whole, unless it was purely for in the background while doing something else. So in that sense it serves its purpose. Would listen to it again, but can't see myself buying the album.Shabazz Palaces - Lese MajestyI like hip-hop. Not alot of it, mainly cos I don't actively go looking for new hip-hop to listen. I just get recommendations that I hear from time to time and the ones I like I take note of. This was not one of those. I think it's mainly the production that I don't like. The reverb throughout the album drowns out the vocals, and when I listen to hip-hop I'm mainly listening for the rhymes/flows, and even the ones I could hear fine I didn't rate much. I reckon the backing tracks could actually make an album by themselves, without any vocals, and I'd like it more. I listened to it twice, and didn't really feel any better about it. Will listen a couple more times, but unless there's a *click* during one of those, I'll probably forget about it.I enjoyed this experience though. It also made me signup for Spotify. Edited January 21, 2015 by Teabags Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Broonbreed Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Due to slacking off commitments, I'm afraid I'll have to bow out of the Jury. Durey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Gordon Durie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Water Torture - PillboxI tend to not listen to this kind of thing at home or on my iPod, as it doesn't have the same impact as seeing it live. Saying that, I enjoyed the slower sludgy parts and I thought that the noise interludes were really well done. To be perfectly honest, I doubt I'll listen to it again as I can take or leave blast beats and that, but saying that if these Water Torture chaps were playing in Aberdeen, I'd go see them. 2.5 / 5 This Will Destroy You - Another LanguageMost of this is route one snooze fest post rock, following a quiet, loud, LOUD, LOUDER theme which I think is painfully dull. However, I thought that the songs which were more spacey and ambient much more enjoyable. The drums on some of the tracks sound fucking weird too. This could be an album that grows on you and I gave it 3 spins, so these fellows could win me over. 2/5 Shabazz Palaces - Lese MajestyEating cake! I don't listen to the rapping, but I've heard the rapping. This doesn't sound like Will Smith, which is pretty left field for the rapping. I really like the instrumentation, with all that reverb and delay. Eating cake! It's a fucking long record too, 18 tracks felt pretty mammoth, but I wasn't inclined to turn it off. Eating cake! 3/5 So, the rapping gets my vote this week and I know fuck all about the rapping. More reviews please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girl anachronism Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) Water Torture- Pillbox I seem to have become a lot more receptive to this sort of stuff in the last couple of years. I can take or leave fast blasts and that sort of thing- I don't find the whole pace thing too impressive and it can feel like a bit of an endurance at times. That said, I thought the low-end riffs and vocals were totally ferocious and I imagine it'd be outstandingly visceral live. Felt all the noise interludes worked well and added a really unsettling quality to the record as a whole. Would love to see it live. 3/5 This Will Destroy You- Another Language When this initially started, I really liked it. Really ethereal sounding and some of the synths in the first track in particular sounded very Eno-esque. Then they ruined it for me by hammering on the volume. The drum sound was not my thing at all. In the end, I found this quite a frustrating listen as I tended to find the parts of songs I was really enjoying were (quite prematurely) in a lot of songs, truncated and sacrificed for volume. Some great shimmering sounds, but it's the post-rock predictability that I don't like and much preferred the songs that built layers round repetition and did something a little more spacey and interesting, which felt a bit few and far between on this. Fared better on repeat listens, but not by much. 2/5 Shabazz Palaces- Lese Majesty Thought some of the arrangements on the early tracks in particular were great- really sci-fi soundtrack-esque and interesting. I'm more used to hip-hop where the track's propelled along by the vocals, so it seemed a little odd initially with the vocals being so processed. With that in mind, I felt the beats could have maybe done with being a little less pedestrian, though still found it an enjoyable listen for the most part. I really liked the humour in some of the tracks and enjoyed some of the more directly-approached stuff a little later on when I could hear the vocals a bit better. Overall, I think it suffered for being a bit on the long side and I definitely felt my interest waning during the latter tracks, though it did flow incredibly well. 3.5/5 Was great to check out some music I don't think I'd have come across otherwise. Of the 3, I'd be most likely to listen to Shabazz Palaces again, but would probably enjoy Water Torture live. Edited January 25, 2015 by girl anachronism Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Did you guys really think "Lese Majesty" was a bit on the long side? Its runtime is only 44 minutes. Probably says a thing or two about the album's pacing that peoples' interest started to wane towards the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girl anachronism Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I think it felt long to me as it definitely felt like it was in "parts", if that makes sense. There was (for me anyway) a definite shift in style between the tracks at the start and the end. For me, it felt like similarly paced and sounding tracks were grouped together, which maybe contributed to it feeling longer than it is on paper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirsten Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Water Torture - PillboxAs with a few others on here, this is probably something I previously would have shied away from, but I have found myself more appreciative of this sort of stuff in the last few years. I think about five years ago, I probably would have dismissed it as "just noise", but having seen considerably more bands like this live, I find I enjoy it in that capacity. I think it was Teabags who said that he didn't like the interludes, but I appreciated those. Maybe that's because I'm a PV rookie and found it broke up the blast beats and provided a bit of breathing space for me to process the whole thing in my tiny brain.Would listen again, but probably not at home. Outside. At night. On headphones. Fleeing from a crime scene. This Will Destroy You - Another LanguageI just couldn't get into this. I sometimes need to be in the right mood for post-rock so I gave it a couple of listens at different times over the week but it wasn't working for me. I figured it would make decent background music as I read, and it does, but it is pretty forgettable on the whole. I kept waiting for it to go somewhere and it didn't, which is a shame as I think it had potential to build to something interesting. Also their name needs to be more accurate. I was promised destruction, goddammit. Shabaaz Palaces - Lese MajestyThis was nice. I've enjoyed their previous work, so maybe went into it already feeling positive on the back of that. I didn't think it was too long, but just right in terms of them being able to experiment with a number of different sounds within one record. The thing I like about these guys is that they don't take themselves too seriously, as is evident in #CAKE, I guess. I'm not very good at being analytical about the hippity-hop, but I liked this. On first listen, I was surprised to find that I was enjoying Water Torture most, but as the week went on, Shabaaz Palaces clinched it. Well played, lads. ATB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 So, did everyone like this? Any suggestions for a theme? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 This was ace. It made me listen to two albums I wouldn't have otherwise touched, and it was enlightening to read a variety of different opinions on the same three records. Very engaging thread -- long may it continue. I'm pretty shitty at coming-up with themes though. Soz m8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colb Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 So, did everyone like this? Any suggestions for a theme?Revisit some older records, say 10+ years?Theme by country?Concept albums? Someone pick a band and take three albums from their discography? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I think themes would work if the albums could be old or new. A theme in addition to choosing an album which was released in the last 6 months could be quite restrictive. All 3 of these albums being so wildly different is what made it so rewarding, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 It would be a new theme, not in addition to the 6 month criteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teabags Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Any suggestions for a theme?Free/pay-what-you-want downloads only?Instrumental?Thats about as much as I can think of right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
girl anachronism Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) "Other bands/side projects" maybe?Also, this was great. Really looking forward to more discoveries! Edited January 25, 2015 by girl anachronism Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Tea Bags suggested Water Torture, Colb siggested This Will Destroy You and Murr suggested Shabazz Palaces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyEB Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 How about the first record that made you love music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirsten Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Soundtracks would be cool but it probably doesn't really fit in with discovering new bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 How about the first record that made you love music?How about "album from your parent's record collection that you love"? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) Water Torture - Pillbox I wasn't sure that I would care for this since I've never listened to the genre and I'm not really into 'extreme' music. I was surprised to find that not only did I like the album, but there was more to the songs and the composition than my pre-conceived notions had expected. Although some of the instrumental noise tracks jarred a bit, the fast and punchy tracks were pretty good. I probably wouldn't seek out more albums like this but I would listen to this again.*** This Will Destroy You - Another LanguageOn first listen I absolutely adored this, it literally stopped me in my tracks and I just stood in my kitchen listening to it. I really enjoyed thecontrast between the complex and layered ambient tracks and the way it drops into these deep, fuzzy interesting riffs. It did get a touch predictable in places and it lost its sparkle a bit on repeat listens but I've still discovered an album that I really enjoyed.**** Shabazz Palaces - Lese MajestyThis was not for me at all. By the end of track two I was bored and it became an endurance test to get to the end. The songs didn't go anywhere and it didn't invoke any sort of emotional reaction from me at all. Wouldn't listen again.** I rate these in this order:1 - This Will Destroy You2 - Water Torture3 - Shabazz Palaces Edited January 25, 2015 by Loopy Racist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 I think if there's going to be a theme it should be fairly open like this was. I'd be happy if it was just left the same for a few rounds at least. That way people are sharing what they think is the best new music out there. I was a bit behind on listening to one of the albums, I'll post my thoughts on the three of them later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 How about "album from your parent's record collection that you love"? This is a fantastic idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teabags Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 How about "album from your parent's record collection that you love"?While I like this one, would there be that many people that will discover new music through it? I'm mainly thinking of stuff my parents listen and imagine most people will have heard all I can think of. Obviously I could be totally wrong, and my parents are just boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted January 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 I could just keep the 6 month theme for now, then pick another 3 folk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 I dig that idea. I think it increases the chances of us all hearing stuff that is new to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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