These Nights Are Ours

  The deep dive is for readers who want to dig further into the album by reading the notes and pre-review interview that is done with each artist.  It is best read after the review. 絶望に負けた by Macroblank Notes 1 - Right off the bat you know where this is going.  Chill piano, a shaker, and bongos.  The piano just has the right amount of reverb on it, you know this is gonna be groovy as hell and chilled to the max.  It's after the first few chords that the first surprise hit me.  I was not expecting a guitar.  This may be one of the first times I’ve heard a Santana like guitar used in vaporwave. Whenever this song is on I can't help but either tap my foot or sway my body to the groove, it's that demanding of your attention.  The way that the bass interplays with everything gives this a nice fat bottom end too.   So breaking this down, there is the shaker, the bongos, but also a drumset on percussion.  The guitars are actually the lead...

    I’ve made a repeated point of how much I dislike much of vaporwave.  So much so that people are probably tired of me talking about it.  But it bears mentioning here once again to drive home a point.  For an album to come out of that genre that and not only sounds good, but ultimately makes it on to my best albums of the year list, it has to be truly exceptional.  It is this very scenario that has happened with Macroblank and his vaporwave masterpiece, 絶望に負けた . Macroblank came screaming into the vaprowave scene out of nowhere in mid 2020, and quickly releasing two albums and EP’s. These albums specialize in groovy, chilled out acoustic music with just a hint of reverb on it.  To those familiar with vaporwave this should ring a bell.  “ It’s no surprise when I say that the main influence behind my music and style is Haircuts for Men’s work.  I have always been a fan of chillout music, and this style of vaporwave represents one of the best w...

The deep dive is for readers who want to dig further into the album by reading the notes and pre-review interview that is done with each artist.  It is best read after the review. Notes Prelude in d# minor, “Faithless” - The start reminds me very much of a Bach fugue played on a pipe organ.  The note progressions, especially on the right hand remind me quite a bit of many of his organ compositions.  The progression here is quite excellent for an intro, it gives the listener an idea of what to expect but it is only carried out on one instrument.  The whole EP is very intricately composed and will eventually incorporate multiple instruments from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.  Great first 42 seconds to get the listener acclimated to everything. After the introduction the song moves into the main phase of the composition, utilizing strings and a harpsichord everything moves at a slow but very deliberate pace.  Violins are added after the first playt...

  Disoriented.  The smell of mold and decay permeate.  Where am I? Why can’t I move?  Trapped, I’m trapped somewhere.  What is going on? Why is my head locked in this stockade? Why am I in a dungeon?  What’s that sound? Footsteps? Metal dragging on the ground?  What is going on? Panic sets in as the realization of what is transpiring slowly dawns on me.  I am in his dungeon, the dungeon of Dronn .  Dronn, the Executioner .  He is coming to take my life.  How did I get here? I have so much left to do in my life. I have to get out of here! I can’t move! Please someone save me!  Oh god, oh GOD it's HIM!  No please spare me plea… the sound of flesh severed, a thud, silence. Translating music into visual imagery is something that is not easily done.  It requires not only a strong vision of what the composer wishes the listener to experience, but also selecting the correct instrumentation and strong pacing.  All of the...

  The deep dive is for readers who want to dig further into the album by reading the notes and pre-review interview that is done with each artist.  It is best read after the review. The Anon Database by The Wushimi Complex Notes Lost in Neon - Oh man the intro to this thing is something else.  The album starts out with feedback and resonant noise that transitions beautifully into a slow brooding melody.  Immediately grabs the listeners attention and gives just a hint of what is going to be coming.  The resonance in the background never fully goes away either, giving a sense of tension to the music.   The end of the introductory period is punctuated by a strong mechanical kick drum.  Subtle percussion drives the song into its main phase, the mechanical angle still going strong.  Gives the sense that we are in some sort of industrial complex.  The noise from the beginning continues to tease us in the background and at points it's the main...

    Lost in Neon , is a perfect combination of w u s o 命 and Yoshimi’ s sounds.  The minimalist melodies and dark, brooding atmospheres that Yoshimi excels at - paired with the beautiful, cinematic melodies and percussion that w u s o 命 brings to the table.  The song ebbs and flows with subtle ambient passages, soaring leads that drip with a cyberpunk edge.  I cannot think of a better example of what a song co-written by w u s o 命 and Yoshimi would sound like… except, it's not.  It’s all Yoshimi , w u s o 命  had no part in the writing of Lost in Neon . I went into The Wushimi Complex album thinking that all songs were co-written by w u s o 命 and Yoshimi .  I noticed a slight shift in focus around track 5 compared to the first four tracks, but overall the sound is focused and offers a strong cinematic, beat driven, urban infused take on dreampunk. At no point did I realize that this was actually a split between the two artists.  The fir...

    Imagine walking down a city street at night.  Neon signs saturate the landscape as rain steadily falls.  A distant figure smokes a cigarette under an awning, their features obscured.  Sirens wail in the distance as we continue our journey through the rain.  This scene and many like it are what enter my mind as I listen to F0X3R's (Fox’s) latest album Neon Rain . Coming from the Future Garage scene, Fox has a significant change in style with Neon Rain .  He described this change as “ needing something new in my style of music, so I decided to change it by taking inspiration from my favorite album, Birth of a New Day (2 8 1 4 -  新しい日の誕生) .”   What Fox has accomplished on Neon Rain is taking the essence of dreampunk and distilling it down to one of the purest and finest representations of the genre.  This is the type of release that you point someone to when they say, "What does dreampunk sound like?" The musical arrangements are simpl...