ALBUM REVIEW: "Relatives In Descent" by Protomartyr

Protomartyr songs often don't contain a clear beginning, middle and end, and this disregard for standard form or structure made the band's fourth album Relatives In Descent daunting and impenetrable for me. Not to say I didn't enjoy it, but this isn't necessarily an entertaining album as such - you don't put these songs on a playlist, you don't put the album on at a dinner party, you don't casually listen to it. It asks to be explored and worked at over time, to be experienced rather than listened to. Lyrically this album is a whole lot to take in, and impossible to fully understand, I suspect. Not really for me, to be honest, but this blend of spiralling post-punk and poetic dirges into depressive passages certainly has my appreciation and respect. I guess the word I would give to my experience of this album is oppressive - it only runs for about 43 minutes, but that time seemed to crawl by.

Rating: C

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1 YEAR LATER: "22, A Million" by Bon Iver

Bon Iver's third studio album turns 1 in about a week (where did that year go?), so I thought it would be interesting to talk a bit about how my impressions of the album have changed - or how they haven't - over the last 12 months. When this album was released I was more excited than I think I ever have been to hear a new album. For Emma, Forever Ago is one of my all time favourites, and I love his self-titled second album too, so I had huge expectations for this album, but was also wary that expectations might ruin my experience of the music. This was particularly the case for 22, A Million , because it is unlike anything else Justin Vernon has released. There have been hints at this more processed, electronic direction previously, like the song "Woods" on the Blood Bank EP and occasional flourishes on Bon Iver , but 22, A Million is a drastic departure from the Bon Iver sound we had grown accustomed to at this point in time. Or at least, that's what I thought...

ALBUM REVIEW: "Go Farther In Lightness" by Gang Of Youths

Where do you go after penning an hour-long tale of a relationship doomed by terminal cancer and subsequent depression, substance abuse and suicide attempts? The fact that Gang of Youths frontman and songwriter David Le'aupepe had anything left to say - let alone an EP and then a double album epic - in the two years since 2015's beautifully tragic The Positions is quite frankly remarkable. For Go Farther In Lightness to be as compelling and emotionally draining as it is, then, is mind-blowing. The musical well was obviously still rich for Gang of Youths, and they have released a sprawling epic that stands up confidently next to The Positions . Symphonic interludes provide a grand backdrop for the decidedly larger sounding album that also manages to slip in some of the most intimate moments in their already sparkling catalogue. It's this feeling of comprehensiveness - that they have covered all bases - that makes Go Farther In Lightness such a rich and immersive experien...

ALBUM REVIEW: "A Man Apart" by Ben Ottewell

Ben Ottewell's third LP A Man Apart goes boldly where he has been before, and while it certainly does that pretty well it doesn't manage to either strike new ground or any real emotional response. There is a distinctly "nice" feel to this record, which is, um, nice I guess if that's what you want. But it just doesn't feel like there's any immediacy or forward motion on any of these songs, like Ottewell is content with writing songs that could be on four wheel drive ads. Again, there isn't really anything particularly bad here, it's just a singer-songwriter album that isn't trying to break new ground. His typically growly voice is also beginning to give way to a more accessible, smooth tone, which could place you on either side of this record. For me it just cements it's place firmly in the middle ground somewhere. Favourite Songs: Own It, A Man Apart and Lead Me Least Favourite Songs: Watcher, Back To The World and Bones ...

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