Candy Claws - Ceres & Calypso in the Deep Time

 "Layers of green above
 Where is the beginning?
 Sun rising just to catch
 A glimpse"

I have never heard something this lush and beautiful before ;)

The concept alone was quite intriguing before I dived into it - Two goddesses exploring the mesozoic era - and I am blown away by how masterful the execution was! I don't really know how to describe it further without circling myself; but when I'm listening to this LP, I can just feel the tall prehistoric trees surrounding me and the vibrant flora and fauna around- Literally just the album cover ngl, which in of itself is beautiful and eyecatching for me... ~_~ <--(in a trance listening to 'white seal' while making this 'blog')

The wispy vocals paired with the loud soundscape, wow it's so unique! :J And to think this album was made by a quartet? You guys (Ryan Hover, Kay Bertholf, Karen McCormick & Jen Morea) did an amazing job!

Definitely check out this concept LP if you want something genre-bending as this :) I would say though that this is quite a hard album to get into, and some of you would not get it on first listen - especially with the 2nd half (same for RMP), it's really just an album that grew on me (haha get it, plants) through the months and I love it!

Candy Claws - Two Airships / Exploder Falls

Punchy, Fun, Loud, Joy-pilled 30min long trip. I love it! 🥹

Ethan Geller - Primer

Such an interesting sound for persumably a debut album! And im sad that it not get any buzz and attention :(
To quote the artists about this LP: "Album I wrote about making a movie after a string of diabetes-induced seizures." think of that what you will :)

Don't expect anything polished, and enjoy the roughness of it all, the experimentation and hollowness is the point :P

Some very cool highlights throughout the LP like the addicting "Thieve's Cant" the Self-Title track having the greatest first minute progrssion ever 🥹, and the middle stretch of the album is very vibey :D I also love the crashout at the last track 😭

I'm not sure if Ethan will create more music since this was made in 2023, but if he does, I would love to see how his sound evolves! Because this is already such an amazing album :)

Glass Beach - Plastic Death

Glass Beach - the first glass beach album

HOLY ENERGY FLOW

Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven!

Terrifying... that's why I haven't finished it yet 😭✌️

HOME - Falling Into Place

one of HOME's lesser known works yet I still enjoyed it very well last year! Just chill vibes all the way through, though quite his most inconsistent LP as well when comparing to 'Oddysey' and 'Before the Night'

It's hard to rate albums like FIP, mainly because it relies on the fact that it's a connected experience rather than individual songs. if I were to rate each track in isolation, I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much as I did when listening to it as a whole.
That sentiment really goes for all of HOME's works.

I'll label it as * for now until I make up my mind :P

HOME - Odyssey

Debatebly HOME's best work, I never really get the hype around 'Before the Night' when it's really just one song that everyone craves -- Ooooohh summoning salt refference T_T. This album is so good all the way through 🥹

I Looove how this album flows and vibes with the premise of the journey to humans landing to the moon and back, it's really well done I love it :).
My personal favorite tracks are 'Resonance', 'Decay' and the highly underrated title track :P

Kero Kero Bonito - Bonito Generation

It's a Celebration of alot of things; Love, Globalization, Growing Up, Having Fun no matter what is comming up next, and just 'the life' in general, it's beautiful! ;)
One of the few albums that is greater than the sum of it's parts :P

Sidenote but the first verse of 'Waking Up' is one of my favorite verses I have ever heard in a song lol

Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city

ALL MY LIFE I WANT MONEY AND POWER 🗣️🔥🔥🔥

Kendrick Lamar - Section.80

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly

Holy shit this is amazing

Macroblank & Oblique Occasions - Elegaic Blasphemy

One of the most dark and cohesive things I have listened to. And also quite memorable track titles :P

These two guys really nailed the 'systemic collapse' feel throughout all the albums runtime, the "Elegaic Blasphemy" that you can clearly see all around but canno't do anything about it. Foreboding, bleak, mentally draining sounds; all while having this uncanny funky flow and groove throughout.
The japanese text below the cover art, saying
"The elegiac profanity evokes a paradoxical mixture of heartbreaking reverence and irreverence."

'Pariah' is also such a memorable and amazing track, wow.
Thank you phaxyi for the recommendation <3

Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk

Holy shit. Love really is everywhere... 🥹

Midwest Collective - New Twilight Music Vol. 1

Oh yeah btw 'Gavriel' is Windows96 alt project, to which he spearheaded this collab album. No wonder this sounds great :P

It's nothing grand of course, it's a sort of teaching album where vaporwave artists come to learn and experiment with synthwave styles.
I'm glad that gavriel is passing his expertise to others, it's a great way to grow the MWC community :D

Midwest Collective - New Twilight Music Vol. 2

Parannoul - To See The Next Part of the Dream

 "Every day is the same
 Every day is boring as fuck"
   - Parannoul

Awestruck.
Never seen such a correct shade of blue to describe this masterpeice lol, Parannoul really is the modern shoezage prodigy 🥹 Super upset that CD's are sold out right now :( Definitely gonna get one as soon as I can! 'White Ceiling' is definitely a top 5 track oat.

This album has brought me immense comfort these past years,
I love you dear (the album not parannoul 😭✌️). I don't know what I would be without you.

Pastel Beach - Far From Home

This dude actually knows ball, just consistently good, wow 🥹

Quadeca - I Didn't Mean To Haunt You

 Sorry for dying
 I just wanna hold you, without haunting

amazingly tragic (┬┬﹏┬┬)

QUADECA - Vanisher, Horizon Scraper

As a cohesive project? Not really there, but wow there are some great songs here! :P

Racing Mount Pleasant - Racing Mount Pleasant

Literally both 'You' parts contributed to my objectum experience "I'll breath for you, you don't have to move"... wow I feel so recognized 🥹

Funny how RMP is my firsthand experience to chamber jazz and not BC,NR lol. although there are major problems with consistency here and there - especially in the latter half, this is a very solid ""debut"" album! (They were also known as 'kingfisher') Some tracks are just amazing like the aformentioned You parts and the self-titled, like holy hell that energy flow at 08 is immaculate :D

Sacri - Evergreen

Not a particularly memorable album, but when you start to go through it you realize just how unique the track topics are 😭 /pos while most tracks being about teenage anxiety and struggle, there are songs about Mr. Beast and Rowley from 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' 🤩

it doesn't follow a concept or story really, but I'd say this is well put together! :P One of Sacri's more lenient LP's and quite a monumental one for their music career (and their most popular one!), I'm really proud they made it :)

Sacri - The Tiles The Pillars

I dunno, I feel like sacri's trying too hard on making something punchy, but cohesively falls flat by making almost every track use the same formula, which make me prefer Evergreen more than this.

Sacri - Boot Up 2

One of sacri's consistenly great works! :) Would Recommened to check out!

Sam Cooper - Glided Age

A very personal album for me, it inspired a story universe that made me what I am today ;) although not quite an amazing project, it's a very sweet addition for me, and I thank Sam Cooper for it! :D

This is also probably what being an addict sounds like or tired of life, it's quite sad, there's this soft melancholy vibe all over the album that really hits hard }:J

Say Sue Me 세이수미 - The Last Thing Left

I swear if you remove 9 & 10 this would be in the 90s T_T After I listen to 'The Last Thing Left' that's it I move on to another album.
No shade to those songs of course -they're good by itself- I just don't get how they work with the whole LP.

Complaining aside, this is a very solid dream pop/shoegaze album with some great tracks! 'To Dream' is definitely my favorite here :D This album kind of helped me get out of a quite dark time of my life, and I'm thankful for that :) So cheery without being pretentious, so happy without being forced; Just earnest love pouring out of this album! <3

Sweet Trip - Velocity : Design : Comfort.

Sweet Trip - You Will Never Know Why (2021 Remaster)

 "System of regret,
  Merely dearly departed juveniles"

Thanks for pocke for getting me into this album <3

I love this remaster more than the original, 'Female Lover' always felt off for being the last track, now I am much more pleased with the addition of the last 3 tracks! Especially 'Things to Ponder While Falling' which got me into the album :P

I really love this to bits :P I'm not even that fond of 'Misfortunes are Cruel' it just sounds funny and sweet (trip) 😭

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

This is such a dance groove all throughout, it's amazing! 😭
If you're not familliar with the premise of this LP, it is made up of thousands of niche samples that come together to make this album. Nothing here is original, yet the Avalanches made something so cohesive and awesome with all of it! Helping defining the 'plunderphonics' genre in the process.
This is why it's so cool to me! :D
It might not sound too appealing in the later parts -especially in the second half after II- but when it shines, it really does with tracks like 'Close to You', 11 or 'Radio'. The title track being a top 10 of mine :3 And even then, overtime It grew on me especially with tracks like 'Live At Dominoes' and 'ETOH'.

One thing I have learned throughout music rating is that you shouldn't succumb to peer pressure of sorts. If you think a track is bad while everyone thinks is great, rate it bad, maybe even change it as time progresses with reasoning. This is exacly what happened to me with 'frontier psychiatrist' as the latter half of the song - I don't find appealing, this is a dance album of sorts (?), and this part leans heavily on gimmicks with the record scratches or production rather than substance of value like 'Dinner's Only'. A problem quite consistent in the second half I said beforehand.

There is also so much highlights in this album;
'Close to You' works beautifully into the album and also as a standalone track.
'Electricity''s sonic crunch of the 'rat damn' sample was quite the shocker lol.
'Radio's kind of 'bird' sample being used throughout the album, iconic.

Also a bit of a heads-up, the released version of SILY actually has some cut parts because copyright finally caught up to it 🥀, if you want to hear the full artistic version (which I highly recommend!) Check it out with this link: SILY Full

That's all I have to say I guess, check it out :P

The Microphones - the Glow pt. 2

Haven't really finished through the whole LP, in fact, I am quite scared of continuing it because it might not live up to the absolutely crazy first half lol. 'the Moon' was literally an inspiration to the hardest creative output I have ever made (ToAGtUA)😭. So yeah.
I'll get to it... eventually.

Tyler, The Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST

Hype moments and aura, the album. Have been introduced to this since 2023 and have been a fan ever since :) Still haven't completed it lol

Underscores - U

Various Artists - The Fire This Time

 "Thus with violence shall that great city of Babylon be thrown down.
 Therefore shall her plagues come, one day.
 Death, and mourning, and famine;
 And the light of a candle, shall shine no more at all in thee."
- Revelation 18: 21, 8 and 23

I can't even properly word what I can say at first, just staring at my screen for 30 minutes to no avial. I personally have never dablled with IDM, with this being my first exposure to it... quite the introduction.

If you think you're gonna have a fun time with this, this is an audio documentary about the happenings of one of the most overlooked conflicts in the modern era, The Gulf War; The before, during, and after.

Warnings for disturbing sonic imagery and noises, screaming, general dread and despair all throughout; other than that, I highly recommend to check this out as it is such an amzingly produced project. It has been left untouched since it's release in 2002 and has slowly gained attention for - in my view - being one of the most powerful anti-war statements in the history of music.

Props to all of the audio helpers and the director Grant Wakefield, who has dedicated his life for shining light on this terrible, terrible war. U-U

To quote one of the people in AOTY who rated this: "Please, in the next conflict, listen to the fire this time."

Windows96 - 19999

I don't know what to think of it lol 😭 I get what they mean when an album has 'simple production'. It's quite a hit (like the 9 to 11 stretch) or miss (Both dream place tracks), but I would say this is quite good :P Just not that memorable of a listen except for a few tracks. 'Thangs' really just grew on me overtime especially when omba used it in ToSPRL :^)

Windows96 - How To See Through Walls

There is no one else that does it like Windows96, and this is one of the reasons why. ;)
It doesn't do anything that grandiose, but damn, it's such a well executed project by him; Especially the quartet of 07-10, wow. Definitely one of Win96's most cohesive and vibey project made!

Every track has something to unique give that contribute to the album's cohesion, and I think that's amazing!

One of the best modern vaporwave albums of all time, go check it out I really do! :) <3

Windows96 - Empty Hiding World

Absolute Windows96 classic, and also a quite underappreciated one :(. I love how sort of vibey yet terrifying it is for most of its duration. "The Fool" being like the sort of 'escape' final track from this eerie world. I love it! :J

This is a very consistent album, and one of win96's projects to experiment with transitions! I love Continuing -> Crystalline, Fase -> Reason Why. Very intersting to listen to as a whole which helps with the cohesion even more :)

Isin't it amazing that every track doesn't miss, like holy hell 🥹
Short, sweet album that I come back to alot. I can just imagine the weird bird humanoid beings lol. Definitely check it out! :D