Reviews by kuvien

Until this album, I don't think I've ever heard a jazz recording where the lead artist is a vibraphonist. Cool. This one features not only vibraphone but double bass and drums, so it's got an overall stripped-down feel to it, despite how full they make the tracks sound in spots. And Ewa Wanat's understated, sultry vocals slip into your dreams, leaving you wanting more. The tribal atmospheric build-up of "Bazar w Aszchabadzie" is a stark departure from the bright vibraphonic tones that dominate this album. Overall, I feel like this album is too short and unfinished, like in the best sense of those words. Leaving me wanting more.

Mild space jazz to be enjoyed while having a quiet conversation about nothing.

There's really nothing sorrowful about this album. It's actually quite fun, light, and charming, with just the lightest touches of Slavic folk thrown in... and an unexpected run of sudden scat singing. This is very ECM, though: not very challenging but supremely pleasant. They make a lot out of a single piano and a few horns, blowing through your listening day like an invigorating spring breeze, perhaps upsetting a few papers on your desk and drawing a reluctant chuckle and shrug from you.

The shit I listen to for monthly themes...

I had no idea there were so many gods of thunder. I guess it makes sense, though. Thunder is a powerful thing, makes chihuahuas tremble in terror.

Rare is the time when I listen to an album and think, “wow this dude is a bard”. Such is the case here. He plays all the instruments, foreign to his heritage, and he plays them so well. The shakuhachi, the Irish tin whistle, the bolombatto, the suling, and the ney—Japan, Ireland, west Africa, Bali, and Egypt all represented. I’m confident Micus can, as a bard, heal wounds if you just rest and listen to his flutes and his one-man twenty-man chorus.

You can really hear on this album the fruits of Micus' studies of traditional instruments and musical techniques from around the world. It's got a lot of zen in it without the wankiness that usually comes with a Westerner delving into forms outside his native culture. This is an impressive display of multi-instrumental talent, and the swing between ethereal and ardent singing is spot-on.

I hate Everlum (or however the fuck you spell his name). He's an affront to all folk. The meaningless drums were bad enough, and then he opened his stupid bitch mouth.

*snaps fingers*

"Fetch me my crossbow!"

Oh, that all RYM had but one face so I could punch it!

When little people have big problems with the world. This is probably the most melodic thing on this whole list.

Good for meditation, I guess. Too damn long, though, for what it is.

This album was my first brush with the Vanguarda paulista genre, and I must say I enjoy it immensely. I'm a big jazz-rock fan, so this kind of album ticks all the boxes. And passionate, eccentric female vocals? Yes, please!

Wispy vocals accompanied by the light pulse of an upright bass open this debut album. The first half is cozy sweetness, perfect for a rainy day when you're trapped inside and want to be trapped inside. Marçal's unaffected vocals express such confident talent, transitioning from spoken word interludes to singing with such skill that you don't even notice the change until after she's effected it. Delicate, folky mischief on the strings, hinted at in the first half of the album and revisited in the latter half. The brass is sometimes blown with such delicacy that they almost sound like woodwinds, making only the slightest touches to the sonic canvas. The second half of the album is much jazzier, with more exploratory moments, too, hinting at what's to come on future releases.

This has a wider appeal than all their other albums, probably because of the eclectic style of the tracks, with touches of Candomblé music, a kind of music used in Afro-Brazilian religious rituals. There’s also samba-jazz and afrobeat worked into the album, giving the music a funky, groovy feeling to counterbalance the harsher moments of the album.

You're stranded in the middle of the desert, turn your canteen over above your mouth, but no water pours out. You remember the fat, flowing rivers of your youth, and you know you'll never see one again, for you'll soon be dead. And rightly so.

I’m not sure what I can say about this album. It’s one of those classics that pretty much everyone has heard—and if you haven’t, do yourself a favor today. This album has all the aggressive melodic energy I want out of metal, and I adore the more delicate parts, like “Fade to Black”, one of the most beautifully dark songs I’ve ever heard.

Metal fueled by alcohol and youth, an explosive combination that really doesn’t ever stop until it passes out. Dead. Unpolished and unapologetic.

Two people are standing in different dimensions trying to open vortexes to each other. Two very discrete, intermittent things are happening here. The Axis powers struggling to be reborn?

[https://imgur.com/8pPf3xI,I want to die.]

[https://imgur.com/8pPf3xI,I want to die.]

Fuck my life.