Do It All (feat Diamond District, Uptown XO & yU) (3:33)
That Real (3:34)
Let It Go (4:08)
American Greed (3:21)
The Need Superficial (3:01)
Way In Way Out (2:47)
Maybes (3:44)
Another's Grind (feat Tranquill) (4:13)
Set You Free (3:37)
You Know Who You Are (feat Olivier St Soul) (3:48)
Think Of Things (2:44)
You Know Who You Are (feat Olivier St Soul - acoustic - bonus track) (3:57)
Review: This new album from cultured hip-hop mainstay Oddisee explores influence, inspiration, perception and reality. Each song was crafted outdoors, "where I could observe real-life interactions as the basis for my lyrics," he says. In hip-hop, reality often reflects the artist's personal experience, but People Hear What They See aims to expand that lens by portraying realities beyond Oddisee's own. For example, overhearing congressmen and lawyers on the Supreme Court steps inspired 'American Greed,' while watching a couple argue over the phone sparked "Maybes." By grounding each track in observed moments, "I hope listeners can visualise these worlds through the melodies and stories within each song."
Review: ODESZA's The Last Goodbye Tour Live is the group's Grammy-nominated live album. It marks the duo's first cohesive release of live versions and captures the awe-inspiring essence of their expansive concert experience. Produced and engineered by ODESZA (Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight), The Last Goodbye Tour Live was recorded during their groundbreaking 2022-2023 tour-the first amphitheater tour by an electronic act. Featuring some superbVIP edits, each song has been meticulously reworked for the live stage and really showcases ODESZA's creativity. The album includes the ODESZA Drumline, horn players, and guest vocalists Naomi Wild, Sudan Archives, Izzy Bizu, MARO, Mansionair, and Charlie Houston.
Review: Odopt's Snaker 011, the first release in five years by Snaker and the tenth in their catalogue, marks a compelling full-length debut for the duo. Known for their hypnotic and freaky sound on labels like [Emotional] Especial, Hivern Discs, and Born Free, Odopt delivers a "contemporary library sound" for Snaker Records that defies conventional dancefloor or home listening categorizations. Instead, it offers a unique cinematic soundscape for a fresh auditory experience. Highlights include 'Antimilitarist,' with its experimental broken beat that's subdued yet intriguing. 'Barfold' presents a movie-like quality with a unique groove and production. 'Spakra' features a dark, slow groove with metallic sounds, echo, and a slight EBM influence. 'Mangrove' stands out with its otherworldly, alien sounds. 'Orch Noise' rounds out the album with its atmospheric and distinct character. For those seeking something different and unique, Odopt is here for you.
Review: Les Cigales, the latest release from The Offline, draws deep inspiration from the cinematic scores of the 1960s and 70s, influenced by composers like Francois de Roubaix and David Axelrod. The EP offers a mix of lush, atmospheric sounds, blending psychedelic tones with retro soul and hip-hop elements. The music weaves a narrative inspired by the love story of Gyptis and Protis, the mythical founders of Marseille, reflecting themes of longing and breaking societal norms. Following his 2023 album La Couleur de la Mer, which was a soundtrack to an imagined film, The Offlineihelmed by composer and photographer Felix Mullericontinues his evocative storytelling. The music evokes dreamlike imagery: fog-drenched villas by the sea, shadowy sailboats, and nefarious villains. Each track brims with cinematic flair, from intense drama to tender romanticism. The Offline project was born after Muller's travels along the Atlantic coast of southern France, where he captured beach life on film, later turning his visual experiences into music. With support from the likes of BBC 6Music's Huey Morgan and Deb Grant, the project has built a loyal following and continues to charm listeners with its immersive, nostalgic soundscapes.
Review: The 11th full-length from California pop-punk royalty The Offspring comes three years on from 2021's Let The Bad Times Roll, and shall serve as their first project to feature bassist Todd Morse as an official member as well as multi-instrumentalist Jonah Nimoy and drummer Brandon Pertzborn (who has previously toured with Black Flag, Marilyn Manson and Suicidal Tendencies), while drumming duties were split with the legendary Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle). 10 tracks, spread out just over a half hour, Supercharged looks set to live up to its title following the band's road break and creative pandemic-enforced respite, with a succinct in-anthem-out mantra.
Review: 'Power Starved/Human Waste' is as scary to hear as it is to read the track title. As far as album openers go, it certainly sets the scene vividly. A dark, dystopian, murky futurism where people - or at least their ears - listen from beneath the boot of oppressive forces, inaudible vocals echoing and expanding, reverberating and dissipating into a distance we can never really hear because of how forceful foregrounded sounds are. Industrial, EBM, noise, elektro-punk. There are many ways to describe what's here but they all point to a 21st Century cloaked in darkness and anxiety. The irony, of course, is that this is a very human expressionism, despite the harsh machines that seem to dominate the soundscapes. The distorted screams and thumping bass drums of 'Safety Net' perfectly summarise the point.
Review: A lesser-known but electrifyingly slick city pop record (her fourth) by Junko Ohashi. 1979's Full House hears the Japanese singer's graceful but powerful contralto in full collaborative force, paired against the historic instrumental talents of her backing band, Minoya Central Station. Perhaps second only to Ohashi's timeless New York paean, Magical, Full House is yet another discographic dazzler that most likely contributed to the revival of the city pop genre after its retroactive but no less ironic recognition in the popular music sphere by the vaporwave subgenre, future funk. The mood throughout Full House is vital and joyful, suggesting something close to complete emotional fulfilment and idealistic glee on the singer's part - all part of the city pop's objective - its grand plan - to portray metropolitan life as an ultimate ideal.
Review: Taeko Ohnuki, known for her cult records from the late 70s and 80s, has seen her reputation soar over the years. Among her standout works is Grey Skies, which, despite its initial commercial challenges, has become a beloved classic. This remastered edition revitalizes the album with its rich blend of classic rock, jazz, pop, and AOR. Featuring a diverse array of instruments-synths, trombones, clarinet, wood blocks, harpsichord, electric organs, and more-Grey Skies delivers a lush and dynamic listening experience, showcasing Ohnuki's intricate and innovative sound.
Review: Swiss imprint WRWTFWW continues to do deep dives into the forgotten corners of electronic music history, returning with shining sonic pearls of genuine historic significance. Here they deliver a first ever vinyl pressing of early Japanese electronic music producer (and bona fide experimental hero) Yashio Ojima's 1983 album Club, a set that was originally only released on an exceptionally limited cassette. Given its vintage, the album has held up incredibly well, in part because its unique, unearthly blend of minimalist electro, music concrete-inspired loop experiments, off-kilter ambient soundscapes and picturesque, post new-age soundscapes remains as far-sighted and unusual in 2024 as it did 41 years ago.
Review: This French artist, who has captivated audiences with her collaborations alongside Mura Masa, Pomme and Flavien Berger, returns with a deeply personal album that explores the complexities of self-discovery and the search for meaning in a world obsessed with self-improvement. The album's title track, 'choke enough', is a poignant reflection on the need for connection and the pursuit of intense emotions. Oklou's warm, beautiful productions, a signature of her sound, conjure a liminal space where the boundaries between introspection and euphoria blur with delicate synthesiser arpeggios and found sound samples. 'family and friends', the album's first single, delves into the search for answers and the desire to escape from intangible memories. Oklou's lyrics, delivered with a vulnerable yet defiant honesty, capture the anxieties and uncertainties of a generation navigating a world where virtual and physical identities are inextricably intertwined. After gaining international acclaim with her collaborations and her critically acclaimed mixtape 'galore', Oklou's debut album marks a turning point in her artistic evolution, a bold yet introspective work that challenges listeners to confront their own anxieties and desires.
Review: Oklou is a French musician and is known to her parents as Marylou Mayniel. She dropped her debut album back in February and on it collaborates with artists such as Bladee and underscores, while some expert studio contributions from producers like the revered A.G. Cook, plus Danny L Harle and Casey MQ. Choke Enough blends Y2K influences with medieval melodies to reflect Oklou's evolution from her 2020 mixtape, Galore. This new long player offers up a deep dive into her meticulous approach to electronic, modern, 'hyper' pop while incorporating classical rigour. Standout tracks like the title track and 'Endless' are great reflections of her unique artistic vision while balancing formal complexity with subdued emotional impact.
Review: After two years, Steve Okonski returns under his surnamed solo alias Okonski, providing a sequel to the debut record Magnolia (2023), with another rapt jazz album for splayed-fingered piano. Long known as a contributor to the hip-hop and soul group Durand Jones & The Indications, Okonski's solo works are only somewhat grazed by soul music by comparison; they prefer to bask in pleromae of muted sound, recalling the evangelic solo spirituals of Julius Eastman, except for the fact that they are set against boughing bass movements and room-reverb beats, whose rhythms are sporadically upset by the drummer. Described as "a little more nature-based" compared to Magnolia's streets-of-NY feel, this one has an unpredictable naturalism about it.
Review: Steve Okonski, known since 2022 under the shortening Okonski, is a scholar of the hard and soft knocks of American soul, having served so far as the in-house pianist for the brilliant hip-hop and soul quintet Durand Jones & The Indications. Three years on from his dazzling debut solo record Magnolia, this entrancing follow-up hears Okonski team up again with his fellow Durand Jones collaborators Aaron Frazer and Michael Isvara. This is a properly twilled, blissful, piano-led jazz opus, best defined in the auctorial fells of 'October', the seasonal builds of 'Summer Storm' and/or the yearning love objects 'Dahlia' and 'Penny'.
Review: OKRAA's La Gran Corriente represents a significant creative turning point for Colombian-born Juan Carlos Torres Alonso. Released via A Strangely Isolated Place, the album follows a transformative experience Juan had in Bogota in May 2023. It was there that he encountered what he describes as "an infinite current behind or inside of everything," a revelation that completely changed his approach to music. Scrapping earlier demos, Juan embraced a more fluid and organic style, abandoning fixed grids and BPMs, and tapping into the spontaneous energy that characterised his other production alias, Laudrup. The result is a hypnotic journey through time and space, as the album's non-linear structures give way to unexpected yet cohesive sonic moments. 'La Gran Corriente' features "happy accidents" throughout, subtle production quirks that contribute to its distinct sound. Central to the project is a poem written by Juan, weaving reflections on time and reality into the fabric of the music. Lines like "the land of oblivion is not real" and "time is an illusion" form the backbone of the album's philosophical undercurrent. The album's release is paired with artwork by Peter Skwiot Smith, with the 2xLP available on limited edition coloured vinyl, fully mastered by Taylor Deupree.
Review: Osamu Okuno's first album Osamu Okuno, which was independently produced by Himico Record in 1972 in a limited edition of 100 copies, is now available on LP for the first time in 52 years, cut from 6mm open tapes owned by Mr. Okuno himself. Capturing the impact of alternative rock in Kyoto in the early 70s, Osamu Okuno was quickly hailed as a modern classic in the veins of psychedelic folk and rock music, though it nonetheless did not lead to any further career developments for Okuno until much later in 1980. Infused throughout with tape hiss and bare recordings, this is an honest and reflective album, received best in the form of a single listen-through; the highlight for us has to be the penultimate ballad 'B?3????', whose arresting four chords and quivering playing and delivery, are gripping.
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