Reviews by kuvien

The problem with music like this is online losers like it, and since they have the loudest voices, people think shit like this is good.

Inaccessible, cold, lonely, cryptic. These are the words that come to my mind when listening to this strange, avant exploration of music that clearly has no genre agenda (there are familiar structural moments the ear can latch onto, however). No expectations, but also no demands. When you're feeling the need to wander, (re)visit this one.

"S.P.Q.R." is so fucking good. Never thought I'd hear a post-punk song about ancient Rome. It's like a marching song for disillusioned legionnaires. The glorious dead marching to their cenotaphs. Also never thought I'd hear a post-punk band sing the preamble to the American Declaration of Independence. Especially considering this band is British. Like, there's no commentary. They just sing it while some drunk bard plays the clarinet. Brill!

Lush, warm female vocals open this pastoral album, creating an environment where delicate flutes can play. This is Thibault’s only solo album, made ten years after leaving Magma. He was their bassist for less than a year and is part composer of the band’s debut album. The soft pastoral feel of this album gives way to frantic vocals and a nervous energy encapsulated by heavy, deliberate drumming. And there’s an almost jungle-like sonic wallpaper behind it all. With music like this, I may not be able to dream all the time, but I can for half an hour.

A brilliant debut with fun, catchy songs the whole family can sing along to, this album is an excellent blueprint upon which the band will build with their next three perfect albums. If you think TMBG is all fun and games, though, you’re sadly mistaken. They have deep, sarcastic, and sometimes dark lyrics. They deserve a close listen.

After the bitter divorce from Ana Ng, he's off to Cowtown! Looks like he's gotten over things, turning over a new leaf and all that. I mean, as long as you've got your good friend the cow, who needs a psycho bitch? Turns out, it's all bluster. The divorce has fucked him up more than he would admit--so he goes on prescription drugs to keep his hands from shaking, to keep him in a good mood, to "disintegrate his ever-troubled mind". On the uptick, he gets a good idea: a total change of image. A purple toupee! Yeah, that'll do the trick. That'll turn things around, that'll show the way. As far as I can tell, this is where the narrative (that I just made up) ends. I guess the purple toupee worked out for him? Or he blew his brains out, which is why the narrative ends.

The album continues with a collection of songs of unassailable, acerbic wit. "Kiss Me, Son of God" might just be the best album closer of all time.

An excellent collection of fun, "nerdy" tracks. I know TMBG hates being called nerd rock, but sorry, guys. Yours are the songs we sang in cross country and in Science Club in high school. TMBG simply doesn't get better than "Turn Around". Pure genius!

Yet another crappy user-submitted album from the greatest mistake of my life: getting involved in the 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die challenge.

The beauty of this is in its sacred minimalism, and what is left out thunders in silence around the basics of Christian truth: the Creed, the Magnificat, and the Beatitudes.

When you're on the highway looking for the indie landfill exit, don't worry: this album's cover art is on the sign.

I could've sworn there for a second that the trombone on track 8 (the highlight of this album) was a human voice raggedly, hoarsely weeping. That's how good the instrumentation is. I'm a sucker for quirky, playful clarinet phrasing, too, and this has some magical interludes sprinkled throughout. Don't let the 21-track length of this album put you off; about half of them are 30 seconds or less. Mellow from beginning to end. Texier's fantastic bass playing can get a bit heavy, but it's just the interlude, a little pick-me-up from the overall mellowness.

Upright bass, oud, and chanting vocals. Quite an amalgamation of influences from North African, Indian, and of course Celtic musical forms. I’m going to go back and give his debut album, Amir, a listen based on the strength of this one. This is basically spiritual folk.

The lonely drone, the distant flute, and the harmonious non-lyrical vocals give me a sense of space, like a desert or a mountainside, and then the music takes a drastic turn, growing suddenly very close in its experimental playfulness, before expanding again, but this time having picked up the accoutrements for the rest of the journey.

I'm just sitting with Tetê in her birdcage, blessed that I'm privileged enough to hear her sing and nervous that she will realize that the door is open and she can fly away whenever she wants to.

Perfection. This is the exploration of endless halls of the dead hung with tapestries depicting the history of the world.

This album is a victorious warrior striding across a field of broken and dying enemies, and with the glow of the distant burning village on his face, he wonders if the war was worth the triumph. Meditative, depressive. Longing for something lost. Very Tenhi, but with an overall comforting atmosphere.

Everything Tenhi does is gold. Their other albums have gotten the recognition they deserve. This one needs it, too. The piano work and acoustic guitar are great here, but perhaps the lack of love for this album is because the songs have more standard musical phrasing than the band's atypical, ethereal classic tunes.

You can cut the atmosphere on this one with a broad sword. All that is night and winter and magical is contained herein. This is my go-to album at night if they day has me wired and I need to calmly slide into a quiet evening. My favorite memory of this album is spinning this on vinyl at night while a storm raged outside.

A lot of the themes explored / tinkered with during the Folk Aesthetic recordings find expression here on Tenhi's debut release. Beautiful, mysterious, a little frightening but also attractive at times.

Though this isn't as engaging as their best albums, Tenhi has made an amazing dark folk album here. I especially dig the female vocals alongside the lead's deep vocals. This adds an ethereal quality to otherwise earthy music. Some parts feel like a dark folk piano concerto.