This album starts off with “Panic Blooms”, and I feel like right off the bat this is so much more Low-Fi sounding than Black Moth Super Rainbow have come off in a while. But good lord does it ever sound really really bad. It’s got the same very slippery atmosphere for sure, fuzzed out vocals and all. But it’s been like 6 years since they’ve released a proper album, and this is what we’re getting as an intro. This is weird even for Black Moth Super Rainbow. It’s not quirky and it’s certainly not fun. “Panic Blooms” just isn’t good. I literally feel like nothing happened in the 4 minutes this one rolls on. Now, at the very least there’s some atmosphere on “Baby’s In The Void”, and some instrumentals. But the entire Black Moth Super Rainbow sound has crumbled. It used to be very heady and busy, but this is just so safe and boring. It’s also dreary which is weird. While this band has never been perfect, they were always fun. So yea, some of the wonky synths are fun and the syrupy atmosphere is cool. But I’ve yet to hear anything close to actual content. We’re slowly getting a little more atmosphere and even slower are we getting some content with “Rip On Through”. Like, this one at least has some hazy rhythms and funky licks. And deep down, under all the muck and fuzz there certainly is a song. This one isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it’s decent. But man do I ever wish it lasted longer than 2 minutes. Then we get some Low-Fi folk for a 40-second interlude on “One More Ear”. It’s pleasant and all, but this would be just so much cooler if this was an idea, not an afterthought.
Now, as a whole, this is not a good album, at all. But one element to this album I do like in certain cases is just how dreary this is, and how twisted it all comes off. “Bad Fuckin Times” is up next. And we’re certainly in some bad fuckin’ times, so this one is appropriate. But outside of this very dreary atmosphere, what am I supposed to remember about this? Is it the vocals that give up halfway through? Or the beat that's barely present? I love the atmosphere once again, but I need more. By this point, I’m absolutely dying over here to get a sort of more upbeat and colorful track. But “New Breeze” lets me down. It’s so hard at this point to distinguish between some of these tracks. Black Moth Super Rainbow are putting all of their eggs in one basket, the “atmosphere” basket that is. A lot of these songs on the surface sound really cool and a lot of them have a great aesthetic. But there is absolutely nothing happening underneath, not even close. If they cut this track list in half and actually elaborated on some ideas, that would be just wonderful. Now, call me nuts, but I really don’t feel like “Aerosol Weather” is that bad. This has a sort of ChillWave aesthetic that the band pulls off. And get this, even though once again this track is barely 2 minutes, there’s a song deep down there. And it’s actually not bad at all. So yea, this track may sound like it was mixed on a 2006 Macbook, but I would rather listen to this than half of the other garbage here. And then we have “June July 28”, another short interlude that goes nowhere but I guess sounds alright. Sure, why the fuck not, who needs content?
Thankfully the second half of the album does show a lot of big leaps in production. “Bottomless Face” has some synths that come off nicely. But why the hell is this album so dreary and depressing? Yea, it worked for a while but now it just is coming off as so boring. Black Moth Super Rainbow at one point was a nice band to escape with and tune out to. But I don’t want to tune out to this, this just sucks. All of the amateurish charm this project once had, is officially out the window. Now, while the majority of this album has little to nothing worth going back for seconds, some of these SynthWave tracks like “Permanent Hole” win me back a little. I love the layers and layers of synths, and here the vocals come off so much more sinister than anything which is a really nice change of pace. This one isn’t bad at all. And while it may not be the colorful, busy experimental music I was looking for, it’s not bad at all. Not to mention, I would swear there are some actual vocal harmonies deep down. But then we get another Low-Fi folk interlude with “To The Beat of a Creeper”, and let me tell you. By this point in the album, I have to say my tolerance for Low-Fi Folk has fallen drastically. Please, no more of this, just give me some actual content. And then we have “We Might Come Back” which starts off with this very whimsical atmosphere that does nothing for me. Honestly, though, everything else about this one actually works for me. It has a nice beat and some freakish synths. As far as a track goes that reminds me of the early days of this project, this is right up there. It’s snappy, it’s upbeat (when the hell was the last time I got to say THAT), and it’s got some really great vibes. I may not be into this whimsical atmosphere. But if it meant getting more tracks like this, I’m game.
Black Moth Super Rainbow does sort of surprise me with the last few tracks, A LITTLE BIT. We have “Harmlessly” which is surprisingly much more grandiose and has a very epic feel. And yea, it’s really not that bad at all. I actually really love how soaring and anthemic the synths are, I don’t know why we can’t get more material like this here. Like most of the best tunes here, it’s not that long. And trust me they could have easily taken a few minutes off some other ones here to let this go on longer. But I’m loving the ChillWave and SynthWave vibes on “Harmlessly” and I wouldn’t mind hearing more. But then we have “Backwash” which is the sort of track here that’s been like pulling teeth dealing with. This track is dreadful. It’s just so slow and boring, and these vocals are just bringing me down. Even the synths that pop in later don’t come off nearly as effective and are more annoying than anything. It’s 4-minutes, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t feel like 40. And let me tell you, the last thing I wanted to hear now is another downtrodden, boring Low-Fi tune. But that's what we get with “Sunset Curses”, but I would just be repeating myself at this point. The dreary atmosphere on this one just takes all the fun out of this band, the vocals don’t do anything for me, and there’s no content in sight. And like so much of this album, there are some really cool sounds on “Mr. No One”, and the aesthetic is great. Also, this is actually one of the most inviting tracks here. But at this point, what does it matter? Nothing about this album has warranted a second listen. And while this track starts off cool, it just ends up getting so washed out and bland by the end.
Now, as a whole, this is not a good album, at all. But one element to this album I do like in certain cases is just how dreary this is, and how twisted it all comes off. “Bad Fuckin Times” is up next. And we’re certainly in some bad fuckin’ times, so this one is appropriate. But outside of this very dreary atmosphere, what am I supposed to remember about this? Is it the vocals that give up halfway through? Or the beat that's barely present? I love the atmosphere once again, but I need more. By this point, I’m absolutely dying over here to get a sort of more upbeat and colorful track. But “New Breeze” lets me down. It’s so hard at this point to distinguish between some of these tracks. Black Moth Super Rainbow are putting all of their eggs in one basket, the “atmosphere” basket that is. A lot of these songs on the surface sound really cool and a lot of them have a great aesthetic. But there is absolutely nothing happening underneath, not even close. If they cut this track list in half and actually elaborated on some ideas, that would be just wonderful. Now, call me nuts, but I really don’t feel like “Aerosol Weather” is that bad. This has a sort of ChillWave aesthetic that the band pulls off. And get this, even though once again this track is barely 2 minutes, there’s a song deep down there. And it’s actually not bad at all. So yea, this track may sound like it was mixed on a 2006 Macbook, but I would rather listen to this than half of the other garbage here. And then we have “June July 28”, another short interlude that goes nowhere but I guess sounds alright. Sure, why the fuck not, who needs content?
Thankfully the second half of the album does show a lot of big leaps in production. “Bottomless Face” has some synths that come off nicely. But why the hell is this album so dreary and depressing? Yea, it worked for a while but now it just is coming off as so boring. Black Moth Super Rainbow at one point was a nice band to escape with and tune out to. But I don’t want to tune out to this, this just sucks. All of the amateurish charm this project once had, is officially out the window. Now, while the majority of this album has little to nothing worth going back for seconds, some of these SynthWave tracks like “Permanent Hole” win me back a little. I love the layers and layers of synths, and here the vocals come off so much more sinister than anything which is a really nice change of pace. This one isn’t bad at all. And while it may not be the colorful, busy experimental music I was looking for, it’s not bad at all. Not to mention, I would swear there are some actual vocal harmonies deep down. But then we get another Low-Fi folk interlude with “To The Beat of a Creeper”, and let me tell you. By this point in the album, I have to say my tolerance for Low-Fi Folk has fallen drastically. Please, no more of this, just give me some actual content. And then we have “We Might Come Back” which starts off with this very whimsical atmosphere that does nothing for me. Honestly, though, everything else about this one actually works for me. It has a nice beat and some freakish synths. As far as a track goes that reminds me of the early days of this project, this is right up there. It’s snappy, it’s upbeat (when the hell was the last time I got to say THAT), and it’s got some really great vibes. I may not be into this whimsical atmosphere. But if it meant getting more tracks like this, I’m game.
Black Moth Super Rainbow does sort of surprise me with the last few tracks, A LITTLE BIT. We have “Harmlessly” which is surprisingly much more grandiose and has a very epic feel. And yea, it’s really not that bad at all. I actually really love how soaring and anthemic the synths are, I don’t know why we can’t get more material like this here. Like most of the best tunes here, it’s not that long. And trust me they could have easily taken a few minutes off some other ones here to let this go on longer. But I’m loving the ChillWave and SynthWave vibes on “Harmlessly” and I wouldn’t mind hearing more. But then we have “Backwash” which is the sort of track here that’s been like pulling teeth dealing with. This track is dreadful. It’s just so slow and boring, and these vocals are just bringing me down. Even the synths that pop in later don’t come off nearly as effective and are more annoying than anything. It’s 4-minutes, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t feel like 40. And let me tell you, the last thing I wanted to hear now is another downtrodden, boring Low-Fi tune. But that's what we get with “Sunset Curses”, but I would just be repeating myself at this point. The dreary atmosphere on this one just takes all the fun out of this band, the vocals don’t do anything for me, and there’s no content in sight. And like so much of this album, there are some really cool sounds on “Mr. No One”, and the aesthetic is great. Also, this is actually one of the most inviting tracks here. But at this point, what does it matter? Nothing about this album has warranted a second listen. And while this track starts off cool, it just ends up getting so washed out and bland by the end.
Rating: 6.0/10
Give A Listen To: “RIp On Through”, “Harmlessly”, “Permanent Hole”, “We Might Come Back”
Genre: Experimental / Low-Fi / ChillWave / SynthWave
Overall Thoughts: Black Moth Super Rainbow return after a few years with their safest and most puzzling album to date. Throughout the years, I feel like this project was absolutely hard to dissect and very heady. But at the very least, it was a fun project. But this, whatever the hell this is isn't fun. I don't want to vibe out to any of these songs, most of them are just boring and seriously bland. There are a few interesting detours into ChillWave and SynthWave. But outside of that, sure there are some cool sounds here and there, but the bulk of this album is massively disappointing.
No comments:
Post a Comment