Slow Crone - Enough (2022)

If you told me this was an obscure EP made by a psychedelic rock supergroup in the sixties or an industrial goth rock supergroup in the nineties, I don't think I'd even question it. If you told me it's the debut EP of a solo artist in the 2020's, I might be sceptical at first. But that's what it is.

BANDCAMP

01. Wide Enough

02. Wanted

03. Hey Man

04. What's It

It's hard to describe what this sounds like. I could make a whole bunch of comparisons to a wide range of artists, like "this is what might happen if you locked Patti Smith, Dax Riggs and the ghosts of Kurt Cobain and Lou Reed in a studio and told them they won't get out until they make a great record together", but it'd feel kinda cheap to say that. Besides, if you were to lock Patti Smith, Dax Riggs and the ghosts of Kurt Cobain and Lou Reed in a studio together, I don't imagine they'd accomplish much since two of the artists in the equation would only be there in spirit (ba dum tss?). Or maybe they'd come up with a masterpiece, but it's not really relevant to this EP. I just wanted to think of an interesting comparison, then say the comparison doesn't make sense, and that's what I thought of, OK?

Actually, maybe it's pretty easy to describe what this sounds like: psychedelic churnings from an endless ocean. It's timeless in that it doesn't sound exactly like anything else, but at the same time it sounds like a perfectly logical consummation of all the wild ass rock made since the sixties ([wild ass] rock, not wild [ass rock]; this isn't ass rock). Other artists may be doing similar things, but usually it comes across as a conscious effort to emulate a fusion of timeless classics; this, on the other hand, has a very organic feeling throughout.

The first track sounds like what the soundtrack to the film Moxie should've been like, if only that film hadn't pandered to mainstream zoomer sensibilities. It's a very groovy and oddly catchy song bursting with primal "fuck you" energy, a perfect opening to wake your ears up to what they're about to ingest.

The second and third tracks are more of the same, as in consistent quality but nothing you wouldn't expect. They stand on their own, but in the big picture they honestly kinda blend in and it's possible to just zone out while listening.

The last track, though, is where things get kicked up a notch. Everything gets out of control. It's like being woken up by having boiling water thrown at your face, and then having to take part in a fist fight to the death while your face is melting. Yet, as awful as that sounds, the song kicks ass... as if that wasn't obvious from that hypothetical event being described in the context of this type of music. But still, that song does reach levels of ear abuse that might border on uncomfortable... which is undeniably great, considering it's the last track and guarantees that this EP is unforgettable.

Enjoyability: 9/10
Relistenability: 8/10
Memorability: 7/10
Coherence: 8/10
Flow: 8/10
Originality: 6/10
Epicness: 6/10
Nutshell: Enough said! Get it? Because the EP is called Enough. Sorry, I had to...

Sukekiyo - INFINITUM (2019)

The statement "Sukekiyo is the band you listen to until the next Dir en grey album is released" may have held some water in the past, but this album puts it to the ultimate test, and to its grave. If ADORATIO wasn't enough, this album shows to even the most cynical sceptics that Sukekiyo isn't just Dir en grey 2.0.

OFFICIAL SITE

01. 偶像モラトリアム
02. 猥雑
03. 沙羅螺
04. kisses
05. dorothy
06. アナタヨリウエ
07. 君は剥き出し
08. 本能お断り
09. こうも違うモノなのか、要するに
10. 濡羽色
11. ただ、まだ、私。
12. 憂染
13. 漂白フレーバー

On first listen, I kept thinking throughout the opening track that this was going to be one weird album. Since I tend to like weird albums, naturally I was excited; in particular, I was hoping for a lot of variety... and there is a lot of variety, but the album is also a fairly coherent "whole". While that's a good thing, the side effect is that there are only a few truly standout tracks (猥雑, 沙羅螺, 濡羽色 and ただ、まだ、私。) while the majority of the album isn't that memorable.

...although, speaking of memorable songs, dorothy really takes the cake. It's not a good song by any means (unless the point of comparison is Friday by Rebecca Black, but nothing should be compared to that), but when an album that up until then has been some interesting fairly avant-garde stuff is suddenly interrupted by a "TOP 10 RADIO HITS OF 2010!!!"-type track, you know you're going to be scarred for life. It's not actually a bad song, either, considered on its own; it's actually a pretty fun song, but on this album it just feels too out of place... but who am I to complain about that? In fact, they probably wanted people to be weirded the fuck out by that track, in which case they pulled off a WTF better than any band I've ever heard do in a long time!

The weirdest song, 猥雑, is really weird. I fucking love it! Kyo makes a lot of weird ass moans in it, and one of the things I love most in the world is Kyo's weird ass moans. The riffs are also great and catchy (and the tones are heavy), and the glitchy stuff is really cool since it's not overdone.

However, in my opinion, the best song on the album by far is 沙羅螺. Not only is it the most memorable, I love that it has vaguely Middle Eastern and Indian-sounding stuff and an interesting noisy middle part, and the chorus is absolutely great and the catchiest on the album. The guitar solo is also epic. It's also cool that it has what sounds like church organ in the outro.

Oh, and I have to mention this because it makes me grin every time: in ただ、まだ、私。 the first "綺麗な嘘" sounds like "綺麗な糞". I wonder if Kyo intentionally pronounced it in such a way for some reason? And don't try to tell me I'm imagining it, because there definitely is something like /k/ that first time! Right?! I can't be the only one who hears it...? I swear, the only way I could be convinced that it's not intentional would be if Kyo himself said so... 😂

Although 漂白フレーバー doesn't feel like a closer to me (at least compared to the preceding 憂染), it is a very interesting song that draws in attention and has cool "chaotic" stuff, especially the lo-fi piano. It also has a similar effect on the vocals as the opener, so maybe it is fitting as it kind of wraps things up... hmm.

Overall, this album is great. Individual songs may not be very memorable and don't always go together very well (as in the order of the songs is far from ideal imho), but as an album it is very memorable.

Enjoyability: 9/10
Relistenability: 8/10
Memorability: 9/10
Coherence: 7/10
Flow: 6/10
Originality: 9/10
Epicness: 6/10
Nutshell: Beautiful shit, no lie.