Genre: Noise Pop, Indie Rock
Release Date: May 10th, 2024
My Rating: 4/5

Review by seanmgscg

a fantastic, cathartic listening experience

I listened to this knowing nothing of the artist and mainly interested in the genre tags. From the get go, it was clear this had the potential to be an incredible album. Reaching the end, I believe it reached that potential.

There is no song here that misses the mark for me. Each track introduces a ton of wonderful, crunchy, and dreamy sounds that feel baked into a hyperpop background. Catharsis is the word I would use to describe how this album feels. So many big crescendos of sound. The most impressive part of this is that they work every time, avoiding the pitfalls of becoming forgettable and less special. Here, everything feels distinct enough and memorable enough to stay in your mind. I expected to finish the album and not remember what some of the songs sounded like, but they all feel clear as day. The electronic elements sound great too. Rarely does every song on an album feel worthy of listening to tens or hundreds of times, but in this case they all truly do.

My favorites of the bunch (though every song, every single one is great in my opinion): room for one, garden, figure me out, far apart, boy, paper planes, final feliz.

This really is a magnificent feat. I’ve always loved this kind of noise pop music, but rarely does an album actually succeed in hitting the mark with every track. twikipedia has created something that feels reminiscent of things like Feeble Little Horse or Jane Remover musically and Gezebelle Gaburgably vocally while honestly going above and beyond those marks. It’s catchy beyond belief and hits you with so many amazing moments of sound. A wonderful noise pop, indie rock album and a welcome surprise.

Maybe I’ll have more to talk about after many more listens, but for now I’m so astounded at how enjoyable this was. Great job.

ps. when windchimes began and i was entered into a modern day mbv / astrobrite song, i really did get a big smile on my face. so amazing.

Genre: Spiritual Jazz, Jazz Fusion
Release Date: May 3rd, 2024
My Rating: 4/5

Review by flowerboycaleb

May 2024 in Review: Fearless Movement by Kamasi Washington

Kamasi Washington has had this sort of dignified vibe to him since his sprawling triple album The Epic back in 2015. He could be the chillest guy on the face of the planet, but he just has the aura of a real “serious” musician. His music justifies it too. He’s on another level when it comes to modern jazz, one of the few newer artists in the genre who feels like a big deal. Fearless Movement is an apt title for the saxophonist’s fifth studio album. His incredible musicianship is still on display here, but greater emphasis is put on movement. These compositions feel so much more free-spirited. It’s not a massive multi-part experience like his previous two records, it’s just Washington making some damn good tracks. He describes the album, in a non-literal sense, as his “dance album” and that makes complete sense. There is a real groove to a lot of these tracks, everything feels so alive. This is also an incredibly collaborative effort. Guest musicians on the album include Parliament-Funkadelic bandleader George Clinton, Thundercat, and André 3000. They all play their parts very well, as does Washington, in making this an absolutely joyous listen.

This album is a great mix of old and new for Washington. If you’re looking for some killer spiritual jazz and jazz fusion, there is plenty here to satisfy. The opener “Lesanu” is one of the most intricate tracks in his catalog. It sounds so all-encompassing. “Dream State” has great flute contributions from André 3000. The way his flute and Washington’s saxophones pair alongside each other is just magical. “The Garden Path” was released as a single all the way back in 2022 and it still remains one of my favorite tracks of his. I loved it even more in the context of the album. The wildest moments on the album come when Washington mixes jazz with other genres like soul, rap, and funk. For your soul fix, Washington teams up with Patrice Quinn, DJ Battlecat, and Brandon Coleman for a cover of Zapp’s 1986 track “Computer Love.” I wasn’t aware of the Zapp track, I only know Kraftwerk’s song of the same name, but the version on this album rips. For rap, “Asha the First” features some cool verses from Taj and Ras Austin, but they’re very much outshined by Thundercat’s contributions on bass and the chorus. Thundercat’s delivery of the “Now my heart is freeeeee!” line in the chorus is just so cathartic. Funk fans will be the most pleased as this album is full of infectious grooves around every corner. It’s clear he was very inspired by funk rhythms and it comes through in a lot of these pieces. Most blatantly on “Get Lit” which features vocals from George Clinton and some rap verses from D Smoke. You can hear that Washington and crew had so much fun making these songs. It’s eclectic and a bold next step for him, but it’s all anchored by the superb musicianship on display here.

The album ends, ironically, with the song entitled “Prologue.” This was the lead single to the record, and it feels like a perfect start to this new chapter of his career and a perfect ending to the record as well. It’s a great indication of what this album is all about and what to look forward to from him in the future. Washington sounds unrestrained across this project which begets some of the brightest moments in his catalog thus far. He’s ready to explore new things with his sound and Fearless Movement is a wonderful jumping-off point.

Genre: Indie Folk
Release Date: January 26th, 2024
My Rating: 4/5

Review by sarkist173

The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain is the debut album from Tapir, an English folk outfit that’s been building up to this project’s release for quite a bit now. A lot of these songs have actually already been released, with the first two acts being released as EPs annually up until this album’s release earlier in the year. Overall, I think that Tapir has struck quite a chord with me, easily one of the most promising, as well as one of the sweetest, most comforting folk debuts I've heard in quite a bit. I can’t say that it’s perfect; it plays things very safely, and I find its concept to be a bit underexplored, but I can say that the actual music here is downright fantastic at points.

I love the way this album sounds. It’s so organic and lush, breathing in so much beauty that it’s smothering. This project provides wonderful fusions of electronic, rock, pop, chamber, and folk instrumentation, and it works so damn well. It’s not as breathtaking as something like Sufjan Stevens, but it’s still absolutely gorgeous at points. It’s a soft sound, but it’s not boring, and there’s just enough happening to make me ignore some of the more standard, forgettable, or awkward-sounding moments. Stuff like On a Grassy Knoll, Gymnopedle, Swallow, and Mountain Song are sweeping, and the arrangements are at otherworldly levels of satisfaction. Plus, there’s some really great singing complementing the absurdly inviting soundscapes that are crafted on them. They’re all very gentle and pretty, which can be said for just about every song on here. But that’s not to say that they’re all as good; there are some weaker songs in the mix. The interlude tracks aren’t very wowing, and the tracks of Untitled and My God (to a lesser extent) are pretty uninteresting and substanceless. Thankfully, the closer is the strongest song on the album, so the final act isn’t a letdown. The only letdown I had for this project was the concept. Maybe I just wasn’t as attentive to the lyrics as I should've been, but I couldn’t get any real meaningful point or story from this thing. Besides that, this project’s a pretty excellent folk album; I can’t wait to hear more from them.