These Nights Are Ours

    Prelude by R A N G E S   If you told me a few weeks ago that I would be excited about a post rock release in 2021 I would have said you were crazy.  My appreciation for the genre is still there but my interest waned around 2005.  I will sometime still revisit the albums that got me into the genre, however I have not sought out anything further. I was linked to Prelude a few days ago by a friend.  He insisted that I would like them even though I was lukewarm on the genre at the time and in many respects still am.  I gave the album a listen out of curiosity and not much more.  After my first listen I walked away not knowing if I liked it or not… so I had to listen again.   Over the course of many years this is the best reaction I can possibly have to an album.  It means the album is challenging, yet accessible enough for me to want to dig deeper.  Oftentimes this is the reaction I’ve had to albums that work their way into my top...

Urfe by an axis of perdition It begins and ends with Pylon.  Pylon stands in the doorway… beckoning me in. So embarks the narration of a man named Urfe as he travels to an island that is not exactly of this world, yet not entirely of the next either.  A world between worlds, containing both the natural and supernatural.  A land shrouded in mystery, however it is quickly revealed to be the stuff of nightmares. Axis of Perdition is known for playing black metal heavily influenced by the Silent Hill games.  They have managed to tap into the very essence of what makes those games the pinnacle of horror and have morphed and mutilated it into their own grotesque musical interpretation.   Urfe sees the band deviating significantly from their previous albums.  Instead of guitars and vocals creating a hellish landscape throughout its songs, Axis of Perdition has created what is in effect an ambient and spoken word album. The primary focus of Urfe is the narrat...

Tokyo, Osaka, Kofu by No Death Notes Usagi - This is by far the shortest song on the album, but it acts like a good introduction for what is to come.  The atmosphere is light and active. Like a brooding excitement that is about to break free.  A whole new world is about to open up to us and now we are beginning to realize what it all means.   The way that the synths are made here are really warm and organic despite being obviously artificial in nature.  It is a very nice contrast… how something obviously man made/synthetic can still have that beautiful quality that we hear in acoustic instruments.  The drums are active, especially the high hat.  I like that, it adds to the excitement of the track.  Overall this is an excellent start off to the album and always gets me interested in listening to the whole thing all the way through.  It's the start of a journey and gets me excited to go on it… even after 30-40 listens of the album.   Otooto -...

  “I was shown so much kindness in Japan from my friends, the audiences, venues, the family I stayed with, strangers, and so on. I felt helpless due to the fact that it would be impossible to fully repay them for that. This album was written with two goals in mind: to thank and pay a tribute to those previously mentioned, and create something of a sound diary that would document my trip.” - No Death June 2021 The expression of joy can be difficult to communicate.  How do you even define it?  Is it expressing jubilation?  How do you translate the happiness felt when a life goal is achieved? The simple pleasures that bring a smile to your face?  The quiet contemplation of reliving the best moments of our lives?  Is it even possible to chronicle?   One possible answer is the arts.  Be it the written word, theater, or music,each approach provides a unique and expressive way to communicate wonderment and happiness.  Music in particular is capabl...

  Bersarin Quartett by Bersarin Quartett   Bersarian Quartett’s self-titled debut is a clinic in melancholy music.  It channels hopelessness, futility, and fatalism in a way that few albums have before its release and few have matched since.  The album refuses to give the listener a moment’s peace, a fleeting glimpse of happiness or any mortem of joy.   That’s not to say that the album is simply soul-crushing, the album has life and with it direction.  However, what the album does with that life is bring with it an acceptance that things will never be better than the miserable existence that is laid before the listener.   Through the first notes of the opening track Oktober the listener is greeted with slow and drawn out strings that accompany the dark ambient backing.  The music paints strong imagery - painting views of faceless workers trudging endlessly through the rain.  All color has been washed away from their countenance and the envi...

  Cloud Highway by Tonebox   Duality - the existence of two entities that are fated to be joined together for all eternity.  Light and dark, life and death, silence and sound - without one the other would not exist.  This paradox is ever present in nature and civilization, and it is truly a fascinating phenomenon to ponder.   Duality also exists within music.  Be it two contrasting styles or tendencies that compliment each other while still remaining completely different in their execution.  It is this very paradox that exists within Tonebox’s album Cloud Highway.   There are two sides to Cloud highwavy: the first offers a very satisfying, yet entirely typical rendition of synthwave.  The second however is where this album differentiates itself from many of its contemporaries.  Tonebox has added darksynth into the core of their sound with excellent results. The bass on this album is immense, powerful and used in exactly the right amoun...