Reviews by kuvien

Largely unoriginal bog-standard Midwest crescendocore that doesn't even try to hide its reliance on GY!BE. If it veered more toward GY!BE and less toward Explosions in the Sky, I'd like it more.

This album is a warm hug for those who miss the 90s, for those who feel a certain way and are happy that there are bands out there who can play happy/sad chords and connect to their listeners who need to know that there are people out there who feel the way they do.

Truly one of the worst albums I've ever heard. Who the fuck thinks it's a good idea to make music like this?

The non-parody version of Weird Al.

You know how when summer changes into autumn and the temperature one day suddenly drops? It’s such a startling occurrence, every year, heralding darkness and the quiet of a world soon to be blanketed in snow. But not quite. After that initial temperature drop, the days actually grow warm again for a short time, summer’s last gasp before finally giving way. That’s what this music sounds like.

Whoa. Does anyone else hear the tanks invading the peace of the sylvan home, the helicopters hovering over the mountain retreat? The juxtaposition of the mechanical with the natural is unsettling. It happens for just a moment, but it’s enough to make me sit up. Anyway, in this grave new world, everyone rolls over. The band is leaping from folk into prog rock here.

If you like lemon pie, you’ll probably like this album, too.

Like a girl singing whimsically at the heart of a great machine. It's only a promise of life at first, but her EKG laugh kickstarts the heartbeat and gets the machinery turning. A little Japanese traditional folk soothes the machine back to sleep.

Have you ever been so bored you wanted to throw yourself out an open window? Well, that's not how I feel about this sometimes gentle sometimes experimental little gem of obscurity. I feel like this is a very self-aware album, like Stoughton was like “ok here’s some pleasant little melodious folk tunes (though the lyrics are a bit weirder than people might expect) to listen to so that I can do what I really want, which is the more experimental stuff peppered in.”

Craft without soul, ears without heart. Comus for conservatives.

Her taste is way better than his!

I feel like this album is playing a tug-of-war between the ideas of distance and closeness, exploring the dichotomy to see if it’s possible to have both simultaneously in a relationship.

Every time I listen to this bro-sis duo, I get the sense of relaxed, sunlit days. Everything is chill, and everything is about a special kind of love...

if you love me with all of your heart
if you love me, I'll make you a star
in my universe
you'll never have to go to work
you'll spend every day shining your light my way

A cute little folk pop album with all the familiar coziness you'd expect from this talented sibling duo.

This is the music of old familiar forever-new love that is so assured it is beyond question or concern. The love forged through a lifetime—these siblings nail it. Get up early just to watch him dress for work, and in the evening, take a bicycle ride for two down Main Street! There's nothing to "get" here. Just enjoy the mood.

Folk pop simply doesn't get better than "Bella". This bro-sis duo is dynamite, but without the explosive element that word connotes.

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If only the whole album had the acoustic, poetic mystery of the first track. A whole album of that would've been a home run for me, but I'm not really into formulaic soft rock. It's quite a lovely listen, but there's nothing in it to draw me back for repeated listens.

I understand that people have strong opinions about autotune, but I think we should all take a step back for a moment and consider the arguments both for and against the use of this controversial pitch-correction technology.

It is commonly understood that both sides of the argument hang their theses on four main tenets. Let's first look at the negatives. Critics of autotune maintain that the use (or perhaps merely the overuse) of autotune diminishes the authenticity of the music, specifically the vocals, erasing the human imperfections in the voice that so often endear us to our favorite songs. Autotune sucks all the emotion out, leaving us a clinical rendering of the music. Secondly, the technology has a tendency to eliminate individuality in vocals, removing any distinctiveness from the voice so that the songs all end up sounding the same. Furthermore, reliance on autotune makes singers lazy. They don't have to work at improving and perfecting their craft if they can just take the vocal track and run it through some tech to get the sounds they want. Finally, autotune is, in the end, a studio technology, so what happens when an artist sings live? What the fans end up hearing at a concert might not sound anything like the music they've come to love. This can cause confusion, disappointment, and blind rage, if left unchecked.

On the other side of the aisle are the purveyors and users of autotune, and they are as vehement in defense of the tech as their opponents are critical of it. Supporters of autotune argue that pitch correction is necessary for some artists who struggle with perfect pitch. They might be great singers with excellent vocal interpretations; they just need a little help with their pitch. Secondly, autotune is nothing more than a tool, something the artist can use--like any other tool at his command--as little or as much as he wants. It's up to the artist how best to employ this tech to further his musical expression. Furthermore, it is abundantly clear that the music business is, indeed, a business, where time is money and where deadlines must be strictly adhered to. Autotune can efficiently weed out any pitch problems, saving both time and money in the studio. Finally, autotune levels the playing field. In this day and age where everyone gets a gold star just for trying, it's important that no-talent assclown "musicians" get an equal seat at the table. Everyone is happy. Except for the haters. Nothing ever pleases them. Sheesh.

Taking both sides of the argument into account, let's now turn our attention to one glorious (egregious?) example of autotune, and how it thrust the tech into the spotlight for all to marvel (cringe?) at. I am, of course, referring to Cher's turn-of-the-century classic dance anthem,. This song is the lead single from the legendary diva's 22nd album, which might explain why autotune was used. Cher's choice to use autotune so deliberately and boldly set the standard for the tech's stylistic use even to the modern day. As if Cher wasn't already iconic enough, this track cemented her status, netting her a Grammy for "Best Dance Recording". That robotic, triumphant chorus, supported by blatant and shameless autotune, will make even the most jaded hater throw his arms up in the air--half a measure before he knows what's about to hit--and let loose with "Do you believe in life after love?" Infected by the beat and the EDM goodness, the listener forgets that he just wasted an entire afternoon listening to Stockhausen. Wrapping himself up in the massive commercial success of this song, the listener basks in the reflected glory of Cher, and when he sees how well-liked "Believe" is in Germany, he finds it in his swelling heart the grace to forgive that country for spawning such a pretentious shitstain as Stockhausen.

In conclusion, when you find yourself turning this 5-hour-and-43-minute album off early, I invite you to queue up the timeless "Believe" by Cher and take comfort in the fact that Stockhausen has returned to Sirius and cannot hurt us anymore.

The harp has a power that often goes unheeded. The field recording on the first track sets the scene of the album starting at the sea shore, but then the album progresses slowly inland, deeper into mystery. The harp is golden liquid one moment and hoary icicles the next, and the flute is so beautiful and otherworldly that I wouldn't mind it being the last thing I ever hear.