Reviews by deksametazon

Mostly just a corporate attempt to stretch the appeal line under the guise of artistic eclecticism, Cowboy Carter is what you'd expect from an artist of Beyoncé's caliber: lifeless, souless, bloated and overly bombastic and plastic for a country album.

In the Temple of the Tyrant is a good album from a genre I'm not too familiar with. A bit backloaded, as my favorite songs were Those Who Fell, Summoned & Bound, and I Magus, but the overall thing was pretty enjoyable. A rec for anyone looking for modern fantasy power metal.

Actually not half bad. Biggest problem is that it doesn't need to be a double LP, one hour fest. Obviously they experimented to see what sticks, and the veil of a concept album masks that, but I kinda wish they stuck with one sound and rode it. Like maybe progressive pop/rock, or the rootsier side.

I don't get this one? Debra is great and all, but the rest feels like putting something out for the sake of putting something out. I get it's his shtick to go for more ambiance, but It could've been better if you trimmed some fat off it and keeping tracks like Debra, and Hollywood Freaks, tracks with more substance.

Mellow Gold is the album that made Beck a household name, or better yet, "Loser" is the single that made Beck a household name.

The rest is good: a mix of lo-fi haziness with a penchant for the sarcastic approach. I love the clunky and claustrophobic sound with the underlying love towards hip-hop, noise rock and folk sprinkled in.

This is a perfect alignment of an artist entering mainstream waters while still having the local appeal, and it's great to hear a successful mashup of the two.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2023: #17 One of your friend's favorite albums (42nd Album)

(This review is dedicated to a friend, you know who you are)

Whenever someone mentions Toma, I'm always associated to his album, which at the time I thought was his artistic peak, considering what I heard on the radio and TV coming from this album.

While his first album is an avant-garde folk anomaly of the Yugoslavian singer-songwriter scene, Oya Noya goes a step further and gives his style of crooning a much-needed bed of lush instrumental backing, adorned with violins and organ playing alongside the usual guitar, bass and drums, juxtaposing the avant-garde nature and the commercial goal he was keen to achieve.

In addition to that, the album is filled with a lot of very, very specific avant-folk melodies, singing and themes with can be interpreted as allegories of a lot of different things in life, but sometimes being humorous and full of that freewheeling Dalmatian spirit.

But I can't do justice in describing this album because it's oddly like nothing I've heard before, and I've heard his debut. It goes far beyond the mold most albums tend to stay in, while simultaneously being accessible to the average enjoyer of music from the Balkans.

Best songs include the self-titled Oya - Noya, which I did hear on the TV a few times, but as a much more... tame version compared to the one I was recommended. This one has a vibe to it similar to, in its chants and almost nauseating and feverish aura, Leute Moj, probably his most known song, Devizna Balada and Marčelina, but the whole album is a beast like no other. Big recommendations.

(Also, love hearing where some of the most famous beats from TBF come from. Kinda makes sense, since they're big fans of his)

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2025: #48 A self-titled album (43rd Album)

Here you can feel the rift forming between the members, with each guy focusing on a separate little niche they would explore more thoroughly on their solo works.

What we get is a very okay album, like most Beatles albums. It's fragmented, which means we get a little bit of everything, which means we get some great tunes followed by a lot of filler, but not enough to tune out. At least they knew how to pace it to keep me interested.

Also, the album is quite daring. Cry Baby Cry is a window into indie 50 years later, Helter Skelter is proto metal, and Revolution 9, despite being bad, is a good base for modern classical sound collage experimentation.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2023: #43 A critically-acclaimed album (14th album)

Putting aside the at the time, "avant-garde" production, the Brahmaputra Eastern influence, the forward-thinking instrumentation, and the discovery of...weed you're left with... not much really. It's an above-average album when you see what people put out even today, but it's not an album that stands the test of time as much as people would make you believe. When they actually try to write songs, they're amazing. When not, they're just... meh. Rating is subject to change though.

Listen to: Taxman, Eleanor Rigby, I'm Only Sleeping, She Said She Said, For No One, Dr. Robert, I Want to Tell You, Got to Get You Into My Life, and Tomorrow Never Knows for a good experience, and skip the sunshine pop.

Two LPs full of intimate songs, of which most were hits. Sit back, relax, snuggle in tight and enjoy.

Even someone like me who doesn't get the Beatles can say this is amazing.

The idea of deconstructing punk and constructing a mockup is quite an appealing one, but an idea of wishful thinking. Beat Happening did exactly that, but wanting to substitute the raw energy with a humorous approach sprinkled with love motifs and sloppy minimalist playing with a deadpan delivery only me after five beers could pull off gives me a lot of reasons to laugh, with all of them ending in a cry for help as this short album comes to an end.

Bewitched and Indian Summer are cool though.

Mnogo sam bio iznenadjen s ovim albumom kad sam ga prvi put cuo. Za referencu, najdublje sto sam se zavukao u diskografiju TBF-a je bila Veseljko, Nostalgicna, Grad Spava i Uvik Kontra. U sustini, veselije i blago humoristicnne numere.

Tako da Ping-Pong, TBF-ov debi album, me jako iznenadio sa svojim mraciniji i hladnijim tonom. Liricki flow je jako dobar, i iako TBF cini 6+ clanova, i pjesme znaju zbog toga biti na duzoj strani, album se ne cini dugim, pogotovu ako izostaivmo zadnja dva instrumentala. ST Stanje Uma im je jedna od boljih pjesama, a instrumental je jedan od jacih na balkanu. Steta sto je nemoguce pronaci izolovanu verziju.

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I was really surprised when I first heard this album. Up until then, my dive into TBF’s catalog was tracks like Veseljko, Nostalgična, Grad Spava, and Uvik Kontra. Songs that carry a lighter, more humorous tone.

That’s why Ping-Pong, their debut, felt so surprising. It’s darker, colder, and more serious in tone, yet the lyrical flow is sharp throughout. Even with six-plus members contributing, which often stretches songs longer, the album never drags, even if you take into account the final two instrumentals. ST Stanje Uma stands out as one of their strongest cuts, with an instrumental that ranks among the finest in the Balkan scene. It’s a shame there’s no isolated version available.

This album awakens my fury. Not because of the music, but due to how we treat the world around us and how powerless I am to change it. That's how the entire album sounds: powerless and anemic, with just enough strength to spread the message.

Don't Go Near the Water sets the tone immediately with a switch from their sunshine roots onto more serious themes. The harmonies sound exhausted, the instrumentation is lethargic, and the sombre solo vocals, especially on tracks like Til I Die, carry a sense of quiet resignation.

The harmonies sound tired, the instrumentation is lethargic, and alongside the sombre solo vocal deliveries, it turns whatever you thought about the Beach Boys upside down.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2026: #42 An unofficial release (bootleg). (35th Album)

For the record, I listened to SonicLoveNoize's version (or imagination) of what Smile would've sounded if it was released in 1967.

I don't know what's the deal with this album. It's decent, sure, but not nearly the unequaled masterpiece everyone is making it out to be. That's probably due to the fact that this is, sadly, an unfinished project that has holes in it that makes for an uneven experience. There is some great moments, Surf's Up and Good Vibrations being two of them. The rest? An understandable question mark.

While I can't laude this album for being the absolute eye-opening experience that some claim it to be, I can say that this is an above enjoyable collection of songs.

The vocal harmonies mixed with cutsie psychedelic instrumentals that predate the Summer of Love phenomenon makes for a good listen, but a full album of saccharine pop songs that make a honey pot look like a jug of water is something that's been done in a much better manner.

Yes, this album is not the end-all-be-all of music many people would claim it is. It has a lot of meandering and wandering moments, and not in a good way, mixed with some theater kids grandiosity that hinder the talent. But still, it's enjoyable when the doctor prescribes an urgent dose of sugar in my veins.

So, in my recent review of The Beatles' White Album, I called it fragmented, but Madcap Laughs is fragmented times a hundred. Just look at the Wikipedia page for it: five producers, three sessions, a year and a half of on-and-off recording, PLUS Syd's progressively fragmenting mind. That's more than the Beatles could ever dream of being fragmented.

Anyway, where does that leave the music? Despite being on the verge of ego death, Syd Barrett was still madly talented at creating music. The songs sound fractured and weary, but still very beautiful. The basis of most songs is that '60s sunshine, psychedelic twang, but with a twist of being hollow and as late to the party as it can be. Here I Go is a great song that highlights what I mean. It has that "love" theme, but sadder, like those simple Nick Drake songs he made.

But he was also very aware of how alone he was, and he showed us that through a myriad of metaphors on "Golden Hair" and the direct "Long Gone" "Feel" and "Late Night". They have that sombre energy that I'm very fond of.

But the album is not without its flaws, however. They're minute, but "If It's in You" annoys me, and those interlude-ish talks in the studio could be cut. I'm sure I could find outtakes that remove these, though.

It's good, but I'm still on the fence about it. If this album found me a while back, I'm sure I'd like it more, and even put it in my library (which is still a possibility), but as it stands now, I'll say that it's good, but it's still missing something to bring it over the hump.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2024: #4. A Cambodian album from the 1980s. (23rd album)

What is there to say about this album. It's the only 80s Cambodian album anyone has been able to find, so that automatically makes it a staple to everyone's list.

From what I've gathered, this album is made by an assembled group of musicians from a camp in Cambodia, and the contents are of the propaganda character. I can't say a lot about the lyrics, because I lack the understanding of their language, but what I can say, is that the melodies are as forgetful as they come. I guess it has a lot of historical and psychological value, but that's not why I'm here, though.

Imagine waiting 12 years to drop a follow-up of an album that had some good tracks and FUCKING 212, while simultaneously having an almost yearly controversy, only to release a MEDITATION ALBUM. And it's not even good!

As punk as it gets. Or as brainwashed and mentally ill. Take your pick.

Also, the cover slays.

Oh, where did it go wrong? Most of the songs don't have an awful lot of staying power, unless your style is old history musing with the occasional love song here and there (that goes far from being intimate and sometimes becoming downright James Brown sexual). Just listen to Look Out Cleveland and King Harvest (which, I'll admit, is somewhat relatable, as most of my family worked in the fields back in the day). The instrumental is amazing rockabilly-esque Americana and organ-led boogie, but it's weighed down by the lyrics of some American history I'm too European to understand. And that's how most of the album is. The band is still at the top of its game, but the themes tackled on most tracks here are just something I can't listen to daily.

The album is a multifaced cube of character. Simply put, I haven't heard such a good album in a while that effortlessly plays with different directions and genres. Manuel's soulful vocals add an incredible dimension to the songs, making them evergreen, while the harmonization of Robertson, Rick, and Helm achieves the ultimate goal of creating infectious pop numbers, which shows the level of synergy these guys had, even if they didn't quite got on when the mics were turned off. Instrumentally, each member contributes in their own way: Garth Hudson might be the best organ player I've heard, which makes the bulk of my enjoyment of this album, while Levon's simple drumming style contrasts with the experimentation of the other members (who add a little bit of everything, from funk, garage rock licks, RnB and gospel), playing the role of a monolith around which the others revolve and creating the foundation for the songs.

Of course, lyrically, there are moments that touch upon some urban myths and American legends, but to a much lesser extent than what will be present on the next album. Mostly, the album resides in this intimate sphere, providing a brief glimpse into the atmosphere in which this album was created.

Summarizing what is found here could be precisely reduced to one word: intimacy. With this unique album, The Band shows us a side of music that wasn't particularly prevalent then, especially not in the mainstream, with its themes of heartache, resilience, and the human experience. I'm extremely pleased that this album has been recognized as a significant musical success, as one of America's most important musical achievements, and as an album that stands strong even today.

Najbolji Hitovi: Live Edicija. Ljudi koji su vec upoznati sa onim sto Balasevic nudi na pozornici, ovaj album nece nista vise oci otvoriti nego sto vec jesu. Ali za pocetnike i one koje nisu upoznati sa ovim oblikom Balasevica, ovaj album nudi svega po malo: emocionalne balade i saljive komentare medju pjesmama (ono po cemu su njegovi nastupi bili poznati).

Malo je duzi nego sto bi volio, i upravo to cjepkanje razlicith koncerata mi nikad nije odgovaralo, ali opet, dobre numbere i dobre izvedbe se nude, tako da se ne mogu buniti.
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Greatest Hits: Live Edition. The album. For those already familiar with what Balašević brings to the stage, this album won’t reveal anything new. But for beginners and those who haven’t experienced this side of Balašević, it offers a bit of everything: emotional ballads and witty remarks between songs (the very thing his performances were known for).

It runs a little longer than I’d prefer, and the stitching together of different concerts has never really worked for me. Still, the strong songs and solid performances are there, so I can’t complain.