i'm going to guess that this is probably a fake band and that the parent(s) are probably directly involved in not just the business aspect but also in creating the music. the intent was probably to try to appeal to a younger audience by getting the kids to front it, but the irony is that this really isn't a style of music you'd expect kids to listen to - it's adult contemporary pop. it's not the complexity or the quality that i'm grappling with in assigning this to the kids, it's the style; it sounds like somebody in their 40s or 50s trying to morph an appeal to a young audience out of a pre-existing musicology degree, rather than something actually written by young people.
and, it's kind of weird to have a brother-sister duo collaborating in this way, as well.
i actually think there's some potential for some more abstract writing in some of the fragments, rather than in the pop pieces, but it's not obvious that the project is going to move in that direction.
you might find it a little bit bland, but your mom might like this....
https://tennyson.bandcamp.com/album/uh-oh
Saturday, April 13, 2019
i tried to get into dream theatre quite a few times, but i'm just not a fan of heavy metal, and by that i mostly mean i just don't like the lyrical component of it. i was actually eventually able to convince the old man that i was right about the vocalist being terrible, and that the records would be more listenable, as instrumentals.
on that note, a few years ago, i was able to find a totally instrumental version of their complete discography, taken from japanese imports, and i can report that i was finally able to enjoy the records, even if i never went back to them.
there's actually a large amount of music in the intersection of prog and metal that i have this view about.
on that note, a few years ago, i was able to find a totally instrumental version of their complete discography, taken from japanese imports, and i can report that i was finally able to enjoy the records, even if i never went back to them.
there's actually a large amount of music in the intersection of prog and metal that i have this view about.
plini reminds me of something my dad would listen to, which isn't necessarily disqualifying, but sort of is in this scenario.
this isn't the first time i've bumped into plini; he's come through detroit repeatedly over the last several years, often opening for some kind of instrumental metal band that i've mused about checking out, but in the end never have. it's a space that i can delve into, but only sparingly, and that i have next to no patience for cliches in, which is what often does it in.
my dad had a tendency of buying records he didn't like on a whim, and i'd often end up with copies of them. so, he'd pick up the new bozio-levin-stevens supergroup collaboration thinking it's a lineup that can't miss and it must be the greatest thing since relayer, only to find himself bored by the technicality of it, and wonder if maybe i might like it better. he never said it directly, but i think he thought to himself that i would inherently have the ability to appreciate whatever he couldn't, and he was actually sometimes right; one example is that i ended up with a stack of keneally records that he didn't want (they were 'weird') and that i'm actually quite fond of.
this record has a muted holdsworth sound to it, especially in the tone, but it's really 98% dream theatre, or 98% dream theatre side project. that was the liquid tension experiment, when levin joined dream theatre. haven't heard that one? it was one of the cd-rs i got, and i'm sure young plini had one, too. ask him about that, i'm sure he'll tell you a bit about it.
as is always the case with these things, i find them mildly interesting, but they break down after a few listens because they're written in blocks. it's a thing that happens when you get these people together and ask them to jam, without actually writing anything, and without any intent of getting back together again. so, it's all very nice and correct and everything, even with a little tension in the textbook places, but it doesn't transcend beyond the expectation.
and, it's often a bit cheesy.
i will no doubt eventually end up at a plini show, and i'll probably enjoy it, at least passively. but, i need him to take it to the next level in every way - i need it to be more abstract, more emotional and more technical all at the same time.
don't skip it, anyways. i'm sure it's worth a beer.
https://plini.bandcamp.com/album/sunhead
this isn't the first time i've bumped into plini; he's come through detroit repeatedly over the last several years, often opening for some kind of instrumental metal band that i've mused about checking out, but in the end never have. it's a space that i can delve into, but only sparingly, and that i have next to no patience for cliches in, which is what often does it in.
my dad had a tendency of buying records he didn't like on a whim, and i'd often end up with copies of them. so, he'd pick up the new bozio-levin-stevens supergroup collaboration thinking it's a lineup that can't miss and it must be the greatest thing since relayer, only to find himself bored by the technicality of it, and wonder if maybe i might like it better. he never said it directly, but i think he thought to himself that i would inherently have the ability to appreciate whatever he couldn't, and he was actually sometimes right; one example is that i ended up with a stack of keneally records that he didn't want (they were 'weird') and that i'm actually quite fond of.
this record has a muted holdsworth sound to it, especially in the tone, but it's really 98% dream theatre, or 98% dream theatre side project. that was the liquid tension experiment, when levin joined dream theatre. haven't heard that one? it was one of the cd-rs i got, and i'm sure young plini had one, too. ask him about that, i'm sure he'll tell you a bit about it.
as is always the case with these things, i find them mildly interesting, but they break down after a few listens because they're written in blocks. it's a thing that happens when you get these people together and ask them to jam, without actually writing anything, and without any intent of getting back together again. so, it's all very nice and correct and everything, even with a little tension in the textbook places, but it doesn't transcend beyond the expectation.
and, it's often a bit cheesy.
i will no doubt eventually end up at a plini show, and i'll probably enjoy it, at least passively. but, i need him to take it to the next level in every way - i need it to be more abstract, more emotional and more technical all at the same time.
don't skip it, anyways. i'm sure it's worth a beer.
https://plini.bandcamp.com/album/sunhead
the first thing that i ran into may turn out to be the most interesting, and if i had had some more time to plan for it, i may have very well attended it. anomolie is a francophone artist from montreal and recently played in toronto, but skipped detroit. he'll be somewhere near here for electronic forest in the summer, and i'm hoping somebody lures him into the city for a smaller set.
the composer behind this is apparently a classically trained pianist, and it's really quite easy to hear the french tonality in the writing, be it directly from chopin or debussy or potentially even from trent reznor. this is really where the root of the sound is, rather than in jazz or fusion; it may go through some kind of filter of corea or hancock, but it begins firmly in the francophone tradition of classical piano music - that is where the ideas ultimately begin, and ultimately exist. the fade out, fin is practically a prelude, perhaps bringing to mind blonde women in sinking churches, floating away over the horizon through the montreal river. it's actually a bit of a rough patch, there, where the ottawa slams into the st. lawerence. don't fall in. that said, this is also firmly in the genre of electronic music, even if it sounds more like jan hammer than it sounds like deadmaus...
on the electronic side, i could be stretching in pulling out specific influences from the likes of plaid, rustie, slugabed and lingouf; the point is that it exists in this kind of post-dubstep x idm crosssover space that hit a bit of a high point around 2011-2013 and then sort of disappeared. remember that first hudson mohawke record where he actually messed around with the gear a little? or that rustie video with the scenes from trains, planes and automobiles? that's a good starting point to work outwards from, and splice that francophone piano into.
the writing is also rather expertly orchestrated, all of it apparently written into the keyboard and sequenced back over midi, a now old tactic that has never really taken off but that has always had such enormous potential. if i were to make a criticism of the disc, it is that it is only a tease. he's still young, though - and this is an introduction.
highly recommended.
i wish i got out to see it.
the composer behind this is apparently a classically trained pianist, and it's really quite easy to hear the french tonality in the writing, be it directly from chopin or debussy or potentially even from trent reznor. this is really where the root of the sound is, rather than in jazz or fusion; it may go through some kind of filter of corea or hancock, but it begins firmly in the francophone tradition of classical piano music - that is where the ideas ultimately begin, and ultimately exist. the fade out, fin is practically a prelude, perhaps bringing to mind blonde women in sinking churches, floating away over the horizon through the montreal river. it's actually a bit of a rough patch, there, where the ottawa slams into the st. lawerence. don't fall in. that said, this is also firmly in the genre of electronic music, even if it sounds more like jan hammer than it sounds like deadmaus...
on the electronic side, i could be stretching in pulling out specific influences from the likes of plaid, rustie, slugabed and lingouf; the point is that it exists in this kind of post-dubstep x idm crosssover space that hit a bit of a high point around 2011-2013 and then sort of disappeared. remember that first hudson mohawke record where he actually messed around with the gear a little? or that rustie video with the scenes from trains, planes and automobiles? that's a good starting point to work outwards from, and splice that francophone piano into.
the writing is also rather expertly orchestrated, all of it apparently written into the keyboard and sequenced back over midi, a now old tactic that has never really taken off but that has always had such enormous potential. if i were to make a criticism of the disc, it is that it is only a tease. he's still young, though - and this is an introduction.
highly recommended.
i wish i got out to see it.
so, i've recently decided to take the possibility of transiting back and forth from toronto to see shows a little more seriously. this is partially a result of consequence (i'm apprehensive about testing my luck crossing the border while i am awaiting the destruction of fingerprint records by the rcmp, as a consequence of what i believe was an illegal arrest on already dropped charges of "repeated communication for the purposes of renting an apartment"; see the rants archive for more on that, but note that i am retaliating, legally) and partially the result of detroit being in somewhat of a downturn when it comes to concerts, right now. touring seems to be slow all around right now, but toronto might have a better local scene. insofar as rock music is concerned, there's almost no local scene in detroit at all, and the style of techno that is dominant here is really not well aligned with my tastes. it's a hip hop & house town with an extinct jazz scene and a dying punk scene - and i'm wondering if it's time to look for a way out.
in terms of size and influence, the rock/punk scene in detroit may be more on par with ottawa than toronto, at this point. even the classical scene is moribund.
if i'm going to find like-minded musicians, i need to find a bigger, more experimental scene than this that is willing to take more chances on people being weird, and is more interested in creativity than fashion or retro. so, detroit kind of sucks.
as such, i've been sorting through show listings in toronto, recently, with the intent of planning some trips. and, i'm going to document some things that i've found in this space.
in terms of size and influence, the rock/punk scene in detroit may be more on par with ottawa than toronto, at this point. even the classical scene is moribund.
if i'm going to find like-minded musicians, i need to find a bigger, more experimental scene than this that is willing to take more chances on people being weird, and is more interested in creativity than fashion or retro. so, detroit kind of sucks.
as such, i've been sorting through show listings in toronto, recently, with the intent of planning some trips. and, i'm going to document some things that i've found in this space.
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