1. 65daysofstatic - Massive Star at the End of Its Burning Cycle: 5/10
Post-rock with a touch of "idm/glitch" electronic, which I normally detest, but this is more.. dynamic than most and it's pretty well constructed, I suppose. Still not really my thing, though.. ho hum and all that.
2. Maybeshewill - I'm in Awe, Amadeus!: 5/10
Sounds similar to the previous track, except a little more poppy/upbeat. Gives me a similar feeling, as well. Merely okay.
3. Milton Nascimento & Lô Borges - Clube da Esquina, No. 2: 10/10
A gorgeous piece of music, but I'm of course biased. Again, kudos to Kokonoe on the sequencing, as this acts perfectly as a sort of comedown after the first two tracks.
4. Pineapple Thief - Tightly Wound: 7/10
I've often heard this band being compared to Porcupine Tree and Radiohead, and yeah.. that doesn't seem far off. So they're not the most original sounding (that's only going by this song, mind), but I ended up enjoying this. Also helps that I like PT and love RH.
5. Toe - Goodbye: 7/10
Hey, now this sounds pretty nice. Really dig the jazzy drumming.
6. Hum - Ms. Lazarus: 8/10
Ooh.. reminds me of the best 90s alt-rock, which I suppose this is, considering it was released in '97, heh. Sweet stuff. Now I'm feeling nostalgic. Still need to get my hands on their albums.
7. Filthy Thieving Bastards - When the Wallflowers Wilt: 6/10
Sounds kinda like the Pogues, and I never cared too much for them. Still, not a bad song.
8. Lana Lane - Carnivale (Let It Rain): 4/10
Just when I thought it couldn't get any more cheesy, in comes a guitar solo. It even ends with a coda, heh. Also, her singing is not to my liking. However, it is listenable.. and I'll take cheese before boredom.
9. Thievery Corporation - Hare Krsha: 7/10
Hey, where's the party, and am I invited?
10. Saul Williams - Black Stacey: 8/10
Am actually familiar with this guy, who's primarily a spoken word artist/poet. He's good and so is this track. The lyrics are great and the music backs them up very well.
11. Hocus Pocus - Vocab! ft. T Love and the Procussions: 7/10
Haha, I like this. Sweet beat, too. Just wish i could remember more French.
12. Ulver - Dressed in Black: 8/10
Ah, been meaning to check out more Ulver. I've only heard their first two albums, and they seem to have come a long way since then, judging by this. Sounds pretty damn cool and dare I say.. unique.
13. Eternal Tears of Sorrow - Red dawn Rising: 4/10
*sigh*.. I was just thinking what a pleasant surprise it was hearing no metal in this thing, yet I knew it was bound to pop up sooner or later. At least this is the extremely cheesy kind so I'll give it an extra point for hilarity's sake.
14. Knorkator - Wir Werden Alle Sterben: 7/10
Bonus points for banjo (yes, I love me some banjo, don't laugh), little kid singing, and for being in German. I'm also guessing they don't take themselves very seriously.
15. Naifu - Take the Wave: 2/10
Oh wtf? Also, what song did they rip off the intro from? Maybe something by The Police? Dammit, this is going to bug me.. Just for that, an extra point off.
16. Maximum the Hormone - Akagi: 3/10
Cripes, this is annoying, but at least it's short.
17. Dir en Grey - Vinushka: 4/10
Has some nice atmospheric bits throughout (flute's a bonus). Starts going downhill near the middle, unfortunately.
18. Dropkick Murphys - The State of Massachusetts: 6/10
Again, this isn't really my thing.. Celtic folk-punk rock or whatever (I tend to prefer my Celtic music without the rock; love Planxty, for example). Still pretty enjoyable, regardless.
19. Agalloch - Sowilo Rune: 7/10
Well, this wasn't what I expected. I thought Agalloch was a metal band, and here's a pleasant mood piece. Might have to look into them.
20. Nahemah - Change: 4/10
The synths are an interesting touch and it contains a bit of variety, but overall.. not for me.
21. Evil Empire - Keep It To Yourself: 6/10
Haha.. I do commend them for combining three, maybe four, very different genres into one song.
22. Black Mountain - Tyrants: 7/10
I was expecting to enjoy this more than I did. I normally love this kinda stuff (hard psych rock), but I dunno, it's missing something.. I'm not big on the vocals. Also, it feels a little overlong, and I don't think the classic rock style guitar riffing quite works. [edit: sounds a little better after another listen, upped it a point]
23. Murder By Death - Those Who Left: 5/10
Yay, more middling post-rock (with screaming, ooh!).
24. Alabaster - The Barrel Maze: 1/10
Oh fuck! Anything but this.. I endured the whole thing for the sake of the mixtape, but never again.
25. Blue Stahli - OVERklock: 3/10
Mercifully short.
Not too bad, overall. Slightly better than the last mixtape, I think. |