The Flashcards: Sunnata - Outlands (2018)

70/100

Higher, higher, higher ...

One of the things I say most often is that I no longer care about lyrics, meaning that crucial part of a song only gets caught and comes alive during specific moments. A prime example is "Lucid Dream" from Sunnata's third album. The lyrics above managed to creep in while I was nursing a headache, smoking a cigarette, and trying to figure out what to type regarding the prominent Indian cultural vibes—heavy with Hindu spirituality—without any heavy distortion in their whole discography. It feels like I'm being told to float away, higher, higher, until I'm completely flew away

. Then, "Scars" answers my cynicism with a decent dose of guitar distortion from the 04:57 mark until the end. Well, the other tracks revert to their usual formula, nothing truly heavy; even "The Ascender" only delivers a moderate amount, evenly spread throughout the song.

The instrumental bits, "Intro" and "Falling (Interlude)", are forgivable since they are relatively short, but "Ayahuasca"—the closer and bonus track—leaves the most boring impression instead of the longest track, "Hollow Kingdom". Maybe it’s because it’s quite light, in a psychedelic/stoner rock kind of way, and listening to it at night makes it feel that way. Perfect if I wrap it up by going to sleep, right?

What’s the conclusion? Since it’s not entirely my taste and my observation of their other albums isn't that deep, Outlands seems to rank below Chasing Shadows and Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth. Third place for now. There's still Zorya, which could easily shake up the ranking.

Tracklist:

1. Intro

2. Lucid Dream

3. Scars

4. Outlands

5. The Ascender

6. Gordian Knot

7. Falling (Interlude)

8. Hollow Kingdom

9. Ayahuasca [bonus track]

Comments

Breakcore: Subheroine - End. (2025)

77 / 100 End. is Subheroine ’s most immersive and emotionally textured work yet ... Is being a week late enough to make a new release feel cold and stale? Maybe it’s the effect of our fast-paced modern world and the FOMO trend. Who knows. Whatever. Alright then, let’s welcome a new breakcore/drum & bass album (though it runs under 30 minutes) from Subheroine : End. ! End. by SUBHEROINE Released just on November 7 via Japan’s veteran breakcore label, Lost Frog Productions , End . delivers a noticeably more atmospheric vibe this time. So, tagging it as atmospheric drum & bass makes perfect sense, while the “depressive” tag seems to apply only to the cover art. But is that really the case? As always, there are surprises when reviewing music—those unexpected moments that make certain tracks sound more intriguing than expected. The most prominent depressive elements appear in the sampled voice of an anime girl sounding shocked or weakened in...

Electronica/IDM: 4T Thieves - Humanoid (2018)

70 / 100 Humanoid is a compact and tastefully crafted slice of IDM-leaning electronica that blends futuristic elements without overwhelming the listener. I opened my December with an electronica release by 4T Thieves , an EP titled Humanoid , which came out back in February 2018. A brief profile and the project’s track record can be found on RYM or Last.fm , and it’s clear that this act has been active since the 90s, although only arriving on Bandcamp around 2018. Humanoid by 4T Thieves As the name suggests, Humanoid presents a modern environment tinged with a futuristic sci-fi atmosphere, supported by drum work leaning toward IDM and prominent synth/bass that paints the image of a future city gate on “ Elemental .” This is followed by “ Codex ,” which is given a special dose of classic IDM-style glitch effects , and the rest continues into “ The Looking Glass ,” which gives off a nighttime-shadow feel through its slightly dark synth melodies. “Band...

Listening Notes: Playlist Clearance Vol. 1

If a store has a term called clearance sale, then I have a new agenda called playlist clearance . This agenda is meant to clean up releases sitting on my playlist shelves—sometimes for months—without any written listening notes. This matters a lot to me personally, since I prefer listening to music offline rather than streaming, even though platforms like Spotify also offer offline features. I’m already too used to downloading music, even if it means I’ll probably never really get into mainstream artists, which automatically reduces public attention. Hahaha… As for that issue, I do have my own alternative—but for now, I don’t yet have a map to avoid being overwhelmed and confused when diving into streaming platforms just to consume popular releases. Alright, back to cleaning up the playlist. What’s in here this time? Let’s take a look! Abraham – Débris de mondes perdus (2022) 73% Sometimes music can feel like a stab—or a cause of headache—like this fourth album from Sw...

Search This Blog