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album highlight: the manner in which i scream goodbye--april's love affair

with only 4 songs, its almost a surprise that this remains one of my favorite albums since i found it. 

i found this album because i knew the title track (the manner in which i scream goodbye), and was drawn to the vocal style immediately. heres the thing--this kind of music is never perfect. but that's what gives it charm and draw. 

give it a listen, or dont. but know you'll be missing out if you dont. 

spotify link!!

nobodys impressed-good with dogs

rating: 10/10

gen. take: 

this album came out on my birthday this year so +1 point. happy birthday to me. 

the lyricism in good with dogs's first album is characteristically overthought and written--not atypical for a band of their type, but almost a necessary facet of writing anything midwest emo-adjacent. 

full of well composed guitar hooks and a melancholic vocalist, there isnt anything to dislike. sometimes amidst a theme of loneliness and social ineptitude, you can find hope. 

as it comes with most bands' debut albums 

favorite song: closure? i hardly know her!

 spotify link

i'm green- mali velasquez

 

rating: 7/10

gen. take: 

reminds me of big thief mixed with phoebe bridgers: not totally my scene, but the more mellow songs are really good (Bobby, Tore, Clovers). the main drawing factor to this album is definitely the guitar--velasquez has a well stylized acoustic style that is reminiscent of the other artists i mentioned. 

fav song: bobby

spotify link

bigger than life--black marble

RATING: 9/10 

gen. take:

    my first thought when listening to this album was: there is NO way this was written within the past few decades?? it has something incredibly New Order-esque about it that i wholeheartedly enjoy, and i firmly believe it is a shame that no songs from this album were included in Blade Runner. 

    an instrumental aspect i was drawn to are the synth grooves (duh!), and how Chris Stewart blends them, increasingly catchy and looped, over distorted vocals. additionally, i'm a total sucker for 80's style drum beats, especially in this kind of more instrumental-heavy music.

    the only negative takeaway i could find was that a lot of the songs sounded incredibly similar to each other; but that is kind of just part of this style, so its not too severe. 

    overall, this album is completely perfect for a dramatic city-panning montage of nighttime metropolis. completely cool but effortless. the only thing we're missing are neon lights. 

    generally speaking, a perfect start for a review blog. 

fav track:  grey eyeliner

    this song stood out, mostly because of its hook; but also because i liked the vocals a lot. most of the other songs have more reverby vocals, but i liked the clearer lyrics in this one. 

spotify link to album