The Flashcards: Wounds of Recollection - You were a Garden of Empyrean Light (2019)

75/100

Genre: Post-black metal/rock

The first and final album from Wounds of Recollection for me to review that I sampled and actually ended up buying—partly due to the "name your price" factor, though I don't consider it the top of the top. In fact, after a few spins, there are only three tracks I can truly call okay. First is "Growing Always Older," which utilizes a post-rock style alongside a speech audio sample, and the title really hits home; then there's the simpler hidden track, "Next to Each Other". The post-black metal side of things? None of it really resonated with me, except for "Irrevocably," though I still can't quite explain why. Another thing to add is that the vibe, atmosphere, and overall execution of this album feel very similar to—or perhaps served as a direct reference for—their subsequent release, Nowhere Else Feels More Like Home (2020).

So, it's obviously a safe bet to recommend this band to fans of Sadness and Alcest. That's something I often repeat.

Tracklist:

1. Fog Over Appalachia

2. Violence in the River

3. Hemingway

4. Growing Always Older

5. Irrevocably

6. Next to Each Other (Hidden 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