Album Review: Rasplyn - "Scenes Through the Magic Eye"

Today's review is going to be of some music a little left of center. No grindcore, no brutal slamming guttural death metal, no smash-everything-around-you hardcore rap. Today we're going to look at something droning, psychedelic, and transporting. Today, we're reviewing Rasplyn.

Rasplyn is the solo experimental music project of Carolyn O'Neill, who is quite the busy bee these days. Between featuring on other releases like John 3:16's 2012 release Visions of the Hereafter - Visions of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, co-founding the Logan Square New Music Ensemble, directing short films, and managing Resolution Digital Studios, Carolyn still manages to put out a great debut album under the Rasplyn moniker.

Now, don't let that album cover fool you. I judged the book by it's cover on this one and went in to the album thinking it would be some cheesy new age music with some ham fisted middle eastern influences. Little did I know, Scenes Through the Magic Eye would contain some of this year's most interesting sounds.

The album is mostly classical or orchestral pieces composed by Carolyn herself, each accompanied by here reverb-laden, stereo-panning vocals flowing in and out of the tracks. The album does have a middle eastern flair to it, but it is definitely more subdued than I thought it would be. These influences are precisely that, influences. Rasplyn isn't defined by middle eastern tones and melodies, but uses them to her advantage. The tracks more often than not have some droning strings in the background with everything else floating overtop, creating a sort of shoegaze effect. The closest pieces of music I have to compare Magic Eye to would be John 3:16's Visions and to a lesser extent, some of Sunn O)))'s experiments with classical instruments. If Visions transports me to an isolated pond at night, Magic Eye brings me to a temple at the break of twilight. Something ancient and well before any of our times, but still preserved. While it's been overgrown with vines and foliage, it still stands, monolithic in the distance. As the album continues I explore the temple, finding remnants and fragments of the peoples and cultures that have visited it before me. Some morbid, some less so, but all of them engrossing nonetheless.

Rasplyn's debut album is something that definitely surprised me in a good way. To me, her music should really be a part of a soundtrack to a movie or video game, with its massive production and transporting qualities. 

Scenes Through the Magic Eye comes out on Mythical Records on November 30th. You can check out Rasplyn on Bandcamp, Facebook, and on her personal page.

That's all for now, folks! Jeremy, I'll see you in court.

-DG

Album Review: Corner Organs: Off - "Song & Wine"

Many of you know that I dig my dreamy shoegaze/ psychedelic music as much as I dig all the screaming and blast beating and noise of all that crazy metal shit I listen to. As some of you also may have noticed from the recent increase of independent or small-label bands being reviewed here, I'm also a big fan of the DIY scene. If there's any non-metal type of music that really fits in perfectly with the DIY attitude, it's neo-psychedelia.

Corner Organs: Off, herein called just Corner Organs, is a DIY psychedelic project founded by The Wides' guitarist Adam LeDrew back in 2005. Apparently there's like, a bajillion other members according to their Facebook page, but I'm assuming they're all artists who have contributed various sounds on all three of Corner Organ's releases which have been mainly driven by LeDrew's creative prowess.

Predominantly, Corner Organs is a rock band. Guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, and vocals are really the only instruments used on Song & Wine, and with the guitars ranging between a beautiful chorus laden, reverb-y rhythm tones to nice, saturated, overdriven lead tones. There are guitar leads that take on the obvious role of soloing over the rest of the track, but there are also many leads that are hidden beneath the many layers of music. Most of the psychedelic sounds don't come from unconventional equipment or instruments, but rather, a mastery of guitar effects and processing. Things can get trippy and completely engulfing to the point where you realize you've just been sitting down and staring at your computer screen for half an hour just listening to this album when you should have been reviewing it.

The opening track "All There Is" is a hazy, slow track, with what sounds like an ever so slightly out of tune guitar playing simple finger picked riffs and chords while vocals float off in the distance beneath a layer of distortion and organs. Things pick up right after with the bluesy and upbeat "Mini-Wall", which features some    Southern-fried slide guitar riffs and train beats which would make Jack White proud. Seriously though, "Mini-Wall" sounds like it could be an unreleased track from De Stijl. Another bluesy White-esque song is "Blood in the Road". I just can't get enough of that main riff. Again, things change up to the more melancholic "The Crown" with reversed something and sombre piano in the intro. From there, things go more straightforward with a rock track, then to a jangle-y instrumental track and another softer track called "Lonelytrip". And the album isn't even over after that.

All these changes are what really entertain me across Song & Wine's almost 40 minute run time. LeDrew and company keep things varied; they make each song distinct with its own character and personality. From happy to sad, to introspective, this is one of those albums that works perfectly for listening to while just hanging with a friend or loved one. You don't have to say anything to each other. You can just lay there and let everything wash over you. Try it sometime, and you'll thank me.

What really ties everything together and makes this the great bluesy-psychedelic album that it is, is the production. All of Song & Wine was recorded by LeDrew on a 4-track tape recorder. Yeah. Talk about DIY. But the tape adds so much character to all of the recordings. From the occasional crackle and pop to that faint buzzing noise, right up to when you hear LeDrew turn off the actual tapedeck at the end of "Lonelytrip". All this in addition to the overall warm tones the tape brings makes for an absolutely immersing experience from start to finish.

If there's anything I'd have to criticize Song & Wine with, it's be the production. "What? David, you silly fuck! You said you loved the warm analogue/ home record-y tape feel of the album. Now you're saying you don't like it? Get your shit together, man!" Well, let me explain myself. I do love the warm analogue/ home record-y tape feel of the album. I don't like how some of the tracks with loud, twangy guitar come out of my speakers with so much treble that it blows my ears off. Luckily, that only happens on "Lifeworth". I'd also like to hear some vocals where I can pick out the words. Dreamy/ distorted/ distant vocals are great, don't get me wrong, it's just that I'd like to see some variation next time around. Those are about the only complaints I have for Song & Wine.

Bomb-Ass Tracks: Mini-Wall, Good as Gone, Lonelytrip, Booze Angel

On a Playlist With: My Bloody Valentine, Alcest, John 3:16

Overall Score

4.0

Song & Wine is a beautiful album. It's timid and shy when it wants to be, and can rock out when it needs to. Corner Organs: Off is a DIY band that has the attitude down pat, using their home-brew style to craft some awesome psychedelic rock. As far as LeDrew is concerned, I enjoy his work here much more than with The Wides, but I feel like if he didn't get all his punk rocking out with them, he wouldn't be able to make such an awesome solo/ collab project.

Corner Organs: Off is on Facebook and Bandcamp. You might possibly catch them jamming out around Halifax, Nova Scotia, sometime. Who knows?

That's all for now, folks!

-DG

Album Review: Baroness - "Yellow & Green"

For anyone who doesn't know who Baroness is (If you don't, please get your shit together here and here. Let this wash over you afterwards as you pick your jaw up off the floor.), they're a sludge metal band turned rock band rising from one of the capitols of sludge, Georgia, USA. Like most bands, they've evolved over time, but instead of taking little steps over the course of an entire career, Baroness didn't fuck around with trying to expand and push their sound with every album.

Their first full length release Red Album was pure Southern sludge metal, blasting your ears off with John Baizley's caveman vocals and raw, in-your-face production. Their next album, Blue Record went for a more progressive metal oriented sound, cleaning up some of the sludge and bringing in boatloads of melody and harmonization. Now we have their newest release, the double album titled Yellow & Green.

Above: Proof that doing lots and lots of drugs is a good thing, kids.

Yellow & Green sees Baroness pulling further away from the sludge sound and delving into psychedelic rock and prog rock territory. I remember reading a while ago that Yellow & Green would turn off a lot of fans with it's change in their sound. It did too, with a bunch of comments online saying how much they "went soft" or "sold out" or whatever. Yeah, maybe they did go softer, but going softer is what they wanted to do, and they actually probably gained a lot more fans than they lost with making their music more accessible. Enough with the rambling, though. Let's get on with the review.

Yellow & Green still has elements of Baroness' style of sludge metal in it. Those oh so delicious, gain laden harmonized guitar leads are sprinkled throughout the album, and Baizley's signature voice can be heard booming out of our speakers, too. The one thing he's changed up though, is he's no longer bellowing and yelling so much as actually singing now. His voice is still powerful, but its a lot less harsh to listen to. The instrumentation is still thick and warm, with the guitars sounding smooth and beefy while the bass thumps away in the background. The drumming is as superb as ever on Yellow & Green. There's really not much to say about the overall sound of this album other than that it's "softer" and "thick and warm". Mr. Cannibal Spork, an album reviewer on YouTube gave probably the perfect description of the Yellow half, saying the album felt like a warm blanket on a cold day.

Green on the other hand, seems to take that warm blanket on a cold day and replace it with a cool breeze on a warm beach. Much more laid back than it's rocking sibling, Green seems to go for a more jangly and twangy sound. While some parts are heavier than others, the whole ride seems to be like floating in the ocean down the shoreline.

This is literally all that ran through my mind when I saw this picture.

There's not really anything I can objectively dismiss about Yellow & Green. The songwriting is tight, the musicianship is great, and the final product is in itself a complete package. They couldn't have released Yellow without Green or vice versa. Both had to come together simultaneously for this project to reach it's full potential. However, subjectively, I can find something I dislike in these albums. I was so heavily invested in Red and Blue (seriously, they're two of my favorite albums ever) that my mind was programmed to think that Baroness = sludge. Since I didn't hear the singles off of Yellow & Green until pretty much right before I heard the whole album, the big change in sound took me by surprise. Don't get me wrong, I really like this new direction Baroness have taken, I just miss the old sludgy stuff.

Bomb-Ass Tracks - Yellow

Take My Bones Away: The big, burly first single off of the album chugs forward with massive guitars, bass and drums and stays in your head for days with its ridiculously catchy vocals.

Little Things: This playful little tune (it's that God damn twisty guitar riff) is perfect to close your eyes and just melt away with. Once it hits the 4:26 mark though, it'll wake you the fuck up with some of Baizley's kickass riffs.

Eula: Just listen to this song and stare into an open flame. You won't regret it.

Bomb-Ass Tracks - Green

Board Up the House: Kicking off Green with this song (after the mandatory intro track "Green Theme"), This song definitely sounds like it could get some radio airplay on a rock station. When I hear this, memories of summer and care-free days come to mind.

Psalms Alive: Another summery song here. Is "stoner ska" a genre? Well, if it isn't, Baroness just invented it.

Stretchmarker: Muthafuckin' guitar-based instrumental songs. They get me every time.

On a Playlist With: Well... this is awkward. Just listen to Red Album, Blue Record, and Yellow & Green. In that order. Or in reverse order. Or just listen to Yellow & Green over and over again. Whatever.

Overall Score


4.0

Baroness win at music. Again. Pretty much, unless you're butthurt about Baroness changing their sound, Yellow & Green has lots to offer to any music fan. Listen to Yellow & Green yourself here, and let us know what you think!

That's all for now, folks.