Sunbather's Music Reviews

[Sunbather 0]

I may as well put them all in here instead of making a thousand threads haha. I'll put music reviews that I put on the site I write for officially (www.liveinlimbo.com) on here.

That being said: We have a good one today!

Arcade Fire: Reflektor

Final Rating: 9.5

“It’s just a reflektor†became a bit of an inside joke online as people awaited the misspelled album “Reflektor†by Arcade Fire; their first album since winning a grammy for Album of the Year for The Suburbs, and their first since many publications called Funeral one of the best albums of all time. “It’s just a relfektor†became funny because of people quoting the title track through social media and it seemed to stick out as an answer to any possible question (Why is this a double album? “It’s just a reflektorâ€). But as we can hear, the album is anything but a joke. The concept of reflections (or, rather, reflektions) is what makes this album go from a good release to a captivating release. As this album is disco influenced (as well, influences from African music, new wave and funk can be found here), the first reflections I can see are that of a disco ball, spreading in as many places as possible, which Reflektor does effortlessly. One light hits the ball, and it cannot be contained thereafter.
 

The rock life is just like a disco ball distributing beams of light to countless places. The first disc has The Arcade Fire taking on the night life in what seems like a club (it’s difficult to not separate the infectious “Here Comes the Night Time music video with a disc that implies it is life at times). This is Arcade Fire at their most energetic, with wailing guitars on Here Comes the Night Time, pounding drums and chants that follow bagpipes and low quality punk on Joan of Arc, and the sleazily hazy guitar tune Flashbulb Eyes. If this first disc of a rock star life encapsulated within a seamless connection of different night venues is a representation of anything, it’s that Arcade Fire can reinvent their music and still take on the world. This is partially due to the hand of producer James Murphy, the brains behind the disco revival project LCD Soundsystem, whose passion for escalating and lengthy tracks of similar ideas circulating amidst the ceiling fan can clearly be heard on this album.
 

On a similar note, disc 2 features the majority of the lengthier songs and is much more bittersweet. It starts off with a second rendition of Here Comes the Night Time that doesn’t seem happy, but instead is full of longing. This night time is no longer a night of partying, but is instead a night of loneliness and darkness. The album takes a dive into a classic Greek mythological tale of Eurydice and Orpheus, of whom are featured on the album cover beautifully. Orpheus was a musician whose love Eurydice had passed away and was trapped in the underworld. Having moved Hades with his music, Orpheus was allowed into the underworld to bring Eurydice back to life under one condition: He mustn’t look back behind him to see that Eurydice was still following him until they were both back on Earth. Just as Orpheus was on Earth he had looked back at Eurydice of whom was just at the edge of the underworld. She was dragged back into the underworld and would remain dead forever.
 

This idea, oddly enough, is represented on the entire album. The music played at night to cure the world of darkness. The concept of life and death (through We Exist and Afterlife). Most importantly it’s with the two songs Awful Sound (Oh Eurydice) (through Orpheus’s eyes) and It’s Never Over (Hey Orpheus) sung through mostly Eurydice’s perspective but is joined in by Orpheus as well, as perhaps a self reflection). Orpheus and Eurydice are “played†by husband and wife vocalists Win Butler and Régine Chassagne; A clever play on the Chassagne’s vocal deliveries on the album, thus changing what the title song Reflektor could even represent when she sings in French and tries to ensure Butler that, again, “it’s just a reflektorâ€. Was she trying to remind him that the album is just an album and that she wouldn’t disappear into the afterlife permanently? Is the album just a dizzying spiraling down into the deepest pits of despair, whether it be through a night on the town or through a journey into hell itself?

The album begins with a pre-track of ten minutes of disco indie ambience that seems to preview sounds and ideas found on the album, almost like the minutes of darkness that just had music before Lawrence of Arabia to engage the audience in a bit of a sample of what is to come (this pre-track can be heard by rewinding the first song on the album). This same kind of ambience is heard at the very end of the album after Supersymmetry; a subdued and depressing song. Suddenly this album turns into the dive into the underworld Orpheus took on. This is the travel into chaos, and the long travel out alone after misery has already hit us. This is the exciting feeling of rushing to find a loved one on disc 1, and the harrowing return on disc 2. A song like ****o is catchy and funky but is still downright depressing lyrically and vocally (and sometimes musically with the damning pianos that squash the grooving bass below, representing harsh realities). Suddenly nothing matters to us as we are stuck focusing on the second last track Afterlife; one of the most beautiful songs of the year.
 

Reflektor is a journey that lasts an hour and a half but will certainly not feel long. It is a good book that opens up so many worlds and coasts through so many emotions. In Afterlife, Butler begs to know “where does it go?†before asking where Eurydice, or Chassagne, went. Where does Reflektor go from here? It ends in oblivion in Supersymmetry. The painful truth is here: Reflektor doesn’t end happily. Yet it sifts back into the ambience amongst the stars in the night sky, the same way it traveled down to Earth. The story will happen again and again and again. You’ll want it to, too. I sure as hell did. I wanted to hear David Bowie’s warnings in the title track from the eyes of a rock legend who experienced stardom, a downfall in the eighties, and a recent come back with open arms. I wanted to run through the stores and amongst the street performers that busied the city at night again. I wanted to experience a mortal being crushed and living vicariously through death until he ascended out of his depression into the cluttered sky above. I wanted to do it all over again.

This album travels through many themes that we can easily identify with. It exhibits feelings of having an identity amongst the crowds of the world. It shows the loss of a loved one, whether it be lonely at night wondering where your friends are (I wouldn’t be surprised if James Murphy was an influence here) or if you yourself were the reason why the love of your life is now gone forever from your own insecurities. With disco, it keeps us alive. With world music, it becomes universal. With Arcade Fire’s signature heartfelt baroque pop style, it takes a grip inside of us and never lets go. Reflektor speaks of rock stars, Greek myths, Joan of Arc’s impact on the world, and more, but it mostly speaks about death. Death is inevitable. Will we reincarnate after we die like the album does? Who knows. For now, we should party and live while we are alive, and Reflektor allows us to revisit the happier first disc at any time, as well as the second disc if we ever want to stare reality in the face. In the end, this album mirrors all of us at its very core amongst all of its eccentricities. In the end, it really was “just a reflektorâ€.

[Xgongiviguess 396]

Ain't reading that

 

here's a cute cat though that expresses how this fanbase is thirsty for the ARTPOP leak

 

:witchderp:

[Golden Gangsta 49]

I may as well put them all in here instead of making a thousand threads

well, there's one thing I agree with...

 

[Sunbather 0]

Ain't reading that

 

here's a cute cat though that expresses how this fanbase is thirsty for the ARTPOP leak

 

:witchderp:

There will be walls of text for ARTPOP too when it's out ;)

 

well, there's one thing I agree with...

 

Why do you have to have so much beef with me ahahaha

An agreement is good for now!

[Sexxx 5,473]

can't wait to see you give ARTPOP 15/10 tbh 

[Morphine Prince 96,069]

I need to listen to this. 

[Sunbather 0]

can't wait to see you give ARTPOP 15/10 tbh 

Ahaha sadly I never go outside of the 10/10 scale ;)

That being said, the chances of ARTPOP getting a good review are slim. A very good review? More likely. A glowing outstanding review? Very possible. ;)

I need to listen to this. 

Absolutely! It's a breathtaking experience.

[EthanPamyu 2]

Post your ARTPOP one too please! :)

[Sunbather 0]

Post your ARTPOP one too please! :)

When ARTPOP is out I will.

Since the stream is legal, it'll be out when it streams for sure.

[Joumana 463]

Thank you for reviewing this album I love Arcade Fire so much you have no idea lol and i thought abt the controversy between the two discs I also loved how justareflektor.com gives an idea of the immagery of the album! I also really liked how you used a ray of light hitting a disco ball which represents the possibilities of how rock music can differ in so many ways!

 

Loved this review!! Great album!!

 

Looking forward for more of your reviews :)

[Sunbather 0]

Thank you for reviewing this album I love Arcade Fire so much you have no idea lol and i thought abt the controversy between the two discs I also loved how justareflektor.com gives an idea of the immagery of the album! I also really liked how you used a ray of light hitting a disco ball which represents the possibilities of how rock music can differ in so many ways!

 

Loved this review!! Great album!!

 

Looking forward for more of your reviews :)

Thank you very much! =D

[Guest]

Nice read :)

[Sunbather 0]

Thanks everyone!

Okay here's the next album. I promise I don't give all albums a 9/10 or above. I've just reviewed two of the best albums of the year in a row.

 

M.I.A.-Matangi

Rating: 9.6/10

 

Yeezus came out this summer and Kanye West's blaring hip hop beats of abnormal sounds were unmatched. Nothing else sounded as blaring and as bombastic as West did this year when it came to hip hop, or even mainstream music in general. That was the case until M.I.A. came back with some of her best material yet on the rush that is Matangi. Kanye West named his album from a portmanteau of his nickname (Yeezy) and the name Jesus, resembling the Christian human decedent of God. M.I.A. named her album after not just herself (her birth name is Mathangi), but after the Hindu goddess Matangi. It's safe to say that musical "Gods" are amongst us, and it is apparent that they aren't happy. It may be difficult to not compare these two musicians, who are two of the best in their respective genres, with these two albums, but in the end, Matangi has sneaked in at the end of the year to bare its teeth and let Kanye West know that there was an enemy hidden amongst the bushes all along.
 

Matangi is a large improvement of M.I.A.'s last album // / Y / and is her best work since her acclaimed album Kala. As per usual with any M.I.A. album, Matangi is a very driven album with elements of world music and electronic experimentation. Kala felt more of a celebration of life, where its many different sounds sounded like a call and answer from various corners of the world. Matangi is much more urgent. The clever use of Indian instruments and vocal stylings to mimic hip hop sirens isn't for novelty purposes but to cause alarm. This is an album of rebellion. It isn't as full of hatred as much as it is full of ambition and passion. This is the soundtrack to fight against the world with. With lyrics about Kony, WikiLeaks, the state of countries like Iran and the title track that calls many countries of the world to unite, Matangi is the first time M.I.A. has used her collective of world music to represent the world uniting to fight, not just uniting to love.
 

The bass is very deep as the resonating echoes from each bass hit coasts under the upper layers of instruments. The music hits you from afar as much as it hits you from mere centimeters from your face. With M.I.A.'s voice being spliced and pasted together like a ransom letter, her voice becomes a bit of a unique instrument itself. In Only 1 U, her voice repeats the song title and is sampled over again and again furiously. In a similar way, her voice works as a percussive instrument during Bring the Noize, causing an animalistic vibe throughout the song (especially with how angry she is lyrically here). Much like her voice is messed around with at any time, the music works the same way like experiments in a lab going wrong (but here, they are successes). The bass in one song may drastically change at the flick of a switch. In Double Bubble Trouble, one of the most inventive songs of the year, reggae is fused with trap music, combining two feel good genres (one through relaxation, the other through excitement) that tug the song between one another thus causing constant shifts whenever the song feels like it.
 

On that note, M.I.A. doesn't just experiment with music of different genres and nationalities as per usual. Here, she tries to travel time by combining eras as well. Come Walk with Me, another particular album highlight, M.I.A. channels Ronnie Spector vocally as she imagines what kind of music Phil Spector would make if he was into modern electronic music. The rhythms follow standard 60's pop girl procedures at M.I.A.'s command (her use of being her own back up singers is clever here) until the song instantly explodes into futuristic tribal music, mimicking the blazing speeds of technology. With the paired tracks Exodus and Sexodus (which feature a sample of The Weeknd), M.I.A. jumps back to the 90's when musicians like Massive Attack ring through the emotions of these tracks. Exodus is the powerful first twin that stands still in the middle of the album against the world. Sexodus is the song that is standing alone as it is being whisked away from the world, having either been captured and defeated or having won after everyone else gave up and lost. Either way, these two songs are insanely clever. Exodus carries on the vibe of the album. Sexodus echoes the album as it once was once the album reaches its cooling down latter songs.
 

Matangi is M.I.A.'s most cohesive album yet. It keeps its jolting pace of fighting songs throughout most of the album until it hits Lights (which is a song that takes some getting used to until you understand its purpose as M.I.A. sings about keeping her distance to shine much like this song does). The album comes down as the rioting hits the darkest part of the night. M.I.A.'s talk about politics is never overbearing, and her unity of typical hip hop lyrics with world music is still as striking as ever. The album is titled after her birth name, bringing her down to Earth, whilst being named after the Hindu goddess of music. As Yeezus fights against racism and capitalism, Matangi unites the world and fights against being trodden over. Matangi and Yeezus will unquestionably fight as the two most unconventional mainstream albums of the year, but in the end they are a great pairing of albums and are splendid competition. Suddenly, the prize for the album that pushes modern hip hop and pop music the furthest this year doesn't seem so obvious.

[inuborg 4,134]

Slaytangi

 

I do agree its her most cohesive and CONSISTENT album yet. 

[ALX 170]

I disagree about Reflektor, it was very hit or miss. A lot of mythological references combined together make for slightly rehashed themes. I'm afraid Neon Bible is still their best album imo

 

Also, Matangi was supposed to be very positive...so listening to the album makes it very obvious she gave into the label who wanted more politically charged material. She said the record was finished and just kept getting delayed but I actually think she went back in and scrapped a large part of the album she had before