Reviews by deksametazon

It is difficult to objectively review this album. A big factor that plays in the enjoyment of this album is how much you can actually stomach the meme that this man carries with him and his appearance in the last... 15 years. Indeed, in the last month when he received a renewed wave of attention, he was shown in a different, much better light, but again, it's hard to erase the stain you leave on the Internet.

Anyway, objectively, the album is really not good, even by turbo folk standards. Generic turbo instrumentals, with extremely unique vocals. REAL, powerfully raw turbo-hillbilly vocals, without a hint of training and tuning, just sing your heart out, record, give money and go home. I think that listening to a couple of songs that did not become subsequent hits, it can be said objectively that they are really nothing special, and that they are even at moments so bad that they are funny.

But subjectively, the selected songs (you know which ones) really rip ass. When Lepi comes in with his "Balkanic fair" (ilitiga šatorski vokali) vocals, the only thing you can do is break open a radiator and drink all the water out of it. Strong emotions, playful atmosphere and memories of a better time. If anyone in Sarajevo gives him a stage, I'll definitely go to burst like a mother and be taken away either by the police or an ambulance. There is no third option.

Another interesting thing is that fucking Srki Boy did the production of this legendary album, and that turbo diva Ivana Selakov provides backing vocals. Interesting.
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Tesko je objektivno recenzirati ovaj album. Veliki faktor koji igra u uzivanju ovog albuma je koliko zapravo mozes da progutas meme koji ovaj covjek nosi sa sobom i svojom pojavom u posljednjih... 15 godina. Dapace, u posljednjih mjesec dana kada je dobio ponovni val paznje, pokazan je u drugom, mnogo boljem svjetlu, al opet, tesko je obrisati ljagu koju ostavis na internetu.

Kako god, objektivno album stvarno nije cemu, cak ni za turbo folk standarde. Genericni turbo instrumentali, sa izuzetno unikatnim vokalima. Al ono pravo seljackim vokalima, bez tračka treninga i ustimavanja, vec samo rokni, snimi, daj pare i haj kuci. Mislim da na par pjesama koje nisu postali naknadni hitovi se moze upravo objektivno govoriti kako stvarno nije nista specijalno, i da je cak toliko lose na trenutke da je smijesno.

Ali subjektivno, odabrane pjesme (znate koje) stvarno kidaju guzove. Ono kad Lepi uleti sa svojim šatorskim vokalom, jedino sto mozes da uradis je da razvalis radijator i da ispijes svu vodu iz njega. Jake emocije, razigrana atmosfera i sjecanje na neko ljepse vrijeme. Ako mu iko u Sarajevu dadne binu, obavezno idem da se puknem ko majka i da me iznosi ili milicija ili hitna. Nema trece.

Jos jedna stvar je zanimljiva je da je jebeni Srki Boy radio produkciju ovog mitskog albuma, i da turbo diva Ivana Selakov daje bek vokale. Zanimljivo.

Its progressive tinges, mixed with the themes of apocalypse of the human spirit people have endured due to the freewheeling years of the 60s, give this album a feeling of an upcoming dread from which you cannot run away. Only sit and wait for it to eat you away, and scatter your remains in the wind.

I can hear a lot of influences here, from prog giants like,, and with a tinge of fantasy from and even taking notes from in its deserted atmosphere and use of keyboards.

It was ultimately shelved due to recording circumstances, from what I've read, which is a damn shame. This, combined with's works, might have given the whole Christian side of folk a larger boost and much bigger following past the Christian camp.

What a crash and burn album this one is, from beginning to end.

It opens off with Mother, which sounds like a tape straight from the therapist office. And rightly so — the entire album plays like one long primal therapy session, with John laying out every fragment of himself on the studio floor. It starts off introspective, sure, but gradually unravels into a disjointed, near-schizophrenic monologue, full of noise, wails, disillusionment, and feedback-laced rejection of nearly everything he once believed in.

It all boils down to how much you can stand the concept of someone going all in the emotional aspect while doing the bare minimum in the studio. I personally love that idea and the themes it touches on, so when Lennon’s emotions line up with mine, listening to this hits like a truck.

And now for the yearly "pansy pop" album. Adrianne Lenker returns to her solo roots and follows up on her awful, but expected, effort in with an equally shameful follow-up, Bright Future.

Suffice it to say from the opening statement, that there are almost zero redeeming factors to this amalgam of songs. All of the songs are a weak attempt at emotion that only a true Western gen-z-er can like. I'm honestly surprised more listeners didn't turn it off after five minutes due to an acute lack of stimulants. Applause for Adrianne for peddling something akin to a 3rd string,, or. It truly takes talent to take something simple and give it a dull edge, but sadly, this ain't Earth, so going straight down won't magically make this album a transcendental listen. This tuneless piece of music just keeps going down and down into the deep dark void.

But look, there's at least something positive to say here. This album is a clear example of a piece of music that should be made, but kept under 10 feet of dirt, covered by a slab of concrete. Just for good measure.

Also, what's with the weird focus on the bottom right of the cover? What does that even represent?

I can talk all day about this album, but truthfully, I just want to forget about it.

I thought the whole comparisons were blown out of proportion, but honestly... he does sound like him, both instrumentally and vocally. At the beginning, MJ Lenderman employs moments of 90s slacker-style indie rock to his sound, which feels like the missing piece in the puzzle of Jason's late career struggles. Still, as the album progresses, he dips more and more into the slowcore territory Jason was most known for.

But it's not all "MJ Lenderman =". MJ Lenderman goes the extra mile and gives the entire album a fuller feel, with traces of jazz, and post-rock, all while still being faithful to the craft of alt-country. It's a bit longer than I would like, but the songs don't feel forced and are rich in rural, rustic, and slow country.

After listening to it, it's uncanny how much this sounds like Jason, with a bit of. It's like a lost album that came from a time capsule from the early 2000s.

Honestly, the more I listen to it, the more I find bumps and cracks that slowly lowers my level of enjoyment.

Firstly, as a whole, the project is a net positive. It has a varied approach from alt country, slacker rock, to indie and even a breed of softer rock with a country shade. The color of MJ is still there, and his lethargic delivery is one of the key reasons I enjoyed his s/t album.

Now for the other side of the coin. Bark at the Moon is a dud. I know he probably meant for it to be a track that you anticipate for the entire duration of the album, but once it does arrive, you're treated with a 2-minute proper song structure followed by 8 minutes of drone that sours your entire listening experience. Going off of that, his songwriting is at moments iffy, but its passable and, hell, even enjoyable for the most part.

In an optimistic part of my mind, I did expect more, but realistically, too much Wednesday bleeds onto this one. To a lesser extent than on Boat Songs, for sure, but still more than I would like. The thing is good, but I wish he would return to his 2019 form.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2023: #49 An album under 30 minutes (10th album)

It's 1967! Summer of Love! Go crazy! Make a psychedelic pop album! Whoa fuzzy! Sunshine, drugs, and rainbows! Freedom!

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Absolutely nothing here strikes me, and most of the things they did on this album can be found on The Zombies, Beach Boys, and Beatles albums. I guess it doesn't try to be that profound either, it's just a psychedelic album made by young folks for young folks who are now old folks.

Oh, Lazy Day is a nice 2 and a half minute song. There's that.

Whoever doesn't like this album needs to get their ears checked. I was skeptical when I first heard LZ IV thinking they're overrated shams, but then i heard their first album which piqued my interests, and then this left me shocked at how great these guys are.

To be honest, if they kept it a single album with the A and B sides, it would be one of the greatest albums of all time, but some filler gets in the way. Night Flight and Boogie with Stu being the biggest culprits. Still, the highlights outshine any dirt you find on this. Kashmir is the obvious highlight, but also Down by the Seaside is beautiful, Black Country Woman is a cool blues tune and In The Light feels like an ode to happiness. Pure swagger!

While I don't like the album, and never really did I'm afraid, I do appreciate its worth and meaning in the development of rock. Led Zeppelin IV as a whole is a point that every young up-and-coming musical aficionado must traverse over in life, and "Stairway to Heaven" is a perfect introductory song to the ruckus world of hard rock. But it's not only "Stairway to Heaven" that's good on here: "Black Dog" is a staple of good old 70s rock, "Rock and Roll" is as good as any, well, rock n' roll song from the 50s, and the closer is one of my favorite heavy songs of all time.

But the rest is limited by a simple notion of singing about fantasy and folklore ideas backed by hard rock playing. Good hard rocking, mind you, but good instrumental work can only get you so far, to be honest.

When Led Zeppelin didn't have anyone, or anything, breathing down their necks waiting for the next big thing to blow off the speaker guards, they were just four musicians playing some really, really, tough and gritty blues rock.

Despite it being derivative, it still packs a punch. The heavy "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", and the psychedelic blues of "You Shook Me" and "Dazed and Confused" are still some of the murkiest songs ever written. The B side starts on the meeker side, but picks up with "Communication Breakdown" and the jammy "I Can't Quit You Baby", which is blues, but more packed in, if you catch my drift.

Another one for the musical pantheon. In my humble opinion, they would never to the pure rawness of this album, despite getting close sometimes. And that's why it stands near the top of all the LZ albums for me.

A very beautiful voice, exactly as advertised. First LP is just her and a guitar, while the second one is expanded to a band, and a sound that comes with that.

It fits what I wanted from it: something for the background when I have a headache or just don't feel like devoting time for music. And what's even better is that you can choose what kind of atmosphere you want: intimacy or an evening excursion to the seaside restaurants.

This is the epithome of a fun album throughout. Sadly, front-loaded with great tracks like the anthemic Girls Just Want to Have Fun and When You Were Mine (which has Prince's hands all over), but losing track by the end. Not bad, but definitely not amazing. Still, if this somehow found itself in my collection, I'd probably keep it and spin it sometimes when I just want to let my feminine side free.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2023: #28 A non-American gospel album (20th album)

I like to think of this album as the devil trying to hinder the common man's attempt to praise da lord by farting into the microphone, eventually farting his soul out and perishing into thin air while the people are unfazed and soldier on. Truly one of the forgotten tales of the bible.

But yo, could you imagine actual noise rock musicians using THIS kind of distortion in their music? Automatic 10/10.

99.9% of you who stumbled upon this album were probably as confused as I was when I realized that this was composed by the same person who composed hits like "Scatman" or "Scatman's World" (That 0.1% are either lying or is his close family). A pretty good avant-garde jazz album. Larkin found the perfect track to open the album, which is "The Misfit", a six-minute cocaine-induced brain melter filled with screams, mindless scat singing, and dare I say, edgy punkish lyrics, that evoke the images of fast, dark New York streets filled with all kinds of faces ready to do deeds you only see on TV. The rest of the album is pretty standard for an avant-garde foray. It's not bad, but how do you top a composition like "The Misfit"? Simply, you don't. Larkin's voice color is good and fits very nicely with the saxophone, keyboard, and backing bass, especially in the Sinatra-esque "Last Night I Dreamed". "Coltrane" is a wonderful composition that mixes the spiritual vibe created and perfected by John Coltrane with John's signature scat-singing and occasional humming. The instrumental compositions are good, mostly fast-paced benders, but are far from awe-inducing. I love that they are highlighting the talents of the rest of the group that worked on this album, though.

All in all, come for "The Misfit" and stay for the whole album.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2023: #35 An album featuring the kantele (2nd album)

Honestly, if you were to ask me to pinpoint where the kantele is being played on here, I would pretty much fail miserably.

Other than that constatation, the album exudes Scandinavia. Love how the jazz influences are sprinkled between the cracks of nordic folk music. Plus hearing Norwegian/Finnish harmonizing really adds to the beauty and mystery of Scandinavian folklore.

Standouts include Jacob's Dream, The Wolfman, Køyri, and the closing track, Pillar to Heaven.

Mark Lanegan's Whiskey For A Ghost hits like an slow dropping anvil on your chest for 50 minutes. It doesn't change up what it's doing, but just keeps dredging on. Sorta like how Lanegan lived his life: never fully giving up, and giving his best despite the circumstances.

I love the religious imagery. It gives me outback America vibes, which is how I imagine outskirts of Oregon look like. But at the end, Mark Lanegan is an artist that you can't quite enjoy, but feel. That's why this album is good, but not particularly one to constantly return to.

One thing to add is that he has chops, and I'm even more open to exploring his discography, even if it's more of the same emotional swamp Whiskey For A Ghost is.

Laka's debut album is one of the most unique albums to come out of post-war Bosnia. So unique, that most of the local consumers of culture characterized Laka as a fool who spoils Sarajevo's art scene, and the situation is no different even today.

This album is characterized by a mixture of electro, glam, and pop punk, all rolled into one humorous mixture. But through the bars, you can even notice that Laka is not just a sack for ridicule. The arrangements are very attractive, and the humorous lyrics hide a touch of introspection behind them. Basically, a very fun album, but apart from the hits, there are few things here that have staying power today.

I'm convinced that if this album had been recorded in Serbo-Croatian that it would be hailed in the same vein as bands like Haustor, Azra, EKV, etc.

The mix of new wave sensibilities, punk vocals, and funky basslines. It has everything: funk songs, ballad songs, punk songs. One of those perfect albums that exist, even if I can't comprehend what they're saying 95% of the time, it still rocks.

It's as the Beatles got back, wanted to make an album that's going to be hip with the kids, realized it wasn't going to work, and just split. Not nearly as deserving of the praise it's being given. There She Goes gives it a little bump in quality, but it quickly dips back down to huge mediocrity. Maybe even being downright disappointing, and bad. On the bright side, there isn't a follow up album, which is good.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2025: #32 An album with a bird featured prominently in its cover art (33rd Album)

The combination is a success. Hardcore punk's speed alongside the aggression of black metal dilutes it just enough so that the harshness of black metal becomes less of a nuisance for the average listener.

Still, I find it hard to pick up again. Not because of the black metal, but because of the language barrier. For some reason, it annoys me more than usual. The rest is very good.