amatory_mx

An excuse to write about a new album I've listened to every week

[amatory-mx]

Relentlessly self loathing and reeking of cigarette smoke, The Yuppies are winning has a lot of character right off the bat. The grainy distorted guitar and the grinding vocals from Harrison Gordon make this album feel like an old and busted car barely dragging on.

The intro and title track starts as an anthem for the burned out gifted kid, feeling like life's joys ended before they even began. The song picks up energy throughout and blasts into the second track, "BLEACH" which continues drowning in self hatred, anime, and video games, trying to find a way out of the cycle.

That energy is uninterrupted throughout the first half, spiraling into bad habits and facing the consequences , until the first acoustic track with "I am happy". That one felt personal. The half sarcastic tone of lies I've told myself and truths I've convinced myself were lies stuck with me.

On a brighter note, "The Next Great American Spirit Strikes Back!" gets right back on track with more smoking, bad habits, and self loathing, isolating yourself away from anyone that can help you. This is followed up by "Excedrin", which evokes the feeling of wasted love and the haunting dread of seeing that person again, with the most beautiful guitar riff on the album.

"Kirby Down B" brings back the nostalgia with the anime and video game references, missing the simplicity of childhood and hiding away in it. The relentless energy interrupted by the 8 bit tune in the chorus makes it feel like a break from the world for a moment. The album ends with the second acoustic track "Ginger Ale" which goes back to the feeling of futility of trying to be better when life drags you back down every time, and settling for leaving a mark in someone's life who can appreciate it.

I really appreciate this album. it's easily one of my favourite recent emo-punk albums and immediately made me want to check out the rest of their catalogue. Their live performances look out of this world and the few singles I've listened to so far, show they can do much more. There's not a single song that i didn't like so far and i hope they keep it up.

[amatory-mx]

The trippy lil guy on the album cover drew me to this instantly. I'd never heard of the band until i saw a guitar with this cover in Copenhagen and i had no idea what to expect, but the first track made it clear it was gonna be a good trip.

The album takes a tour through differently trippy sounds and dance tracks that made the fact i was stuck sick in my room that much worse. Slip Inside This House being the highlight of the album for me, with a beautiful echoing sitar (i think) playing through the song. The tone does switch in the later half, with Damaged and I'm Comin' Down sounding more like something out of The Jesus and The Mary Chain, still mesmerising with a darker tone to them.

Overall great album, i wanna leave my room and do acid again⭐️

[amatory-mx]

Up until a year ago, i only knew Ween as the Ocean Man band. Learning more about the duo and their history and personalities got me excited to discover their music, and this album felt like a great start.

It's hard to talk about an album that is eratic as a single piece. The opener "Fiesta", is exactly the kind of song i expected on an album called "La Cucaracha"; a high energy celebratory instrumental that will leave you confused at times. From there, the first half of the album is a wild collection of songs i wouldn't expect to be on a single album, but manage not to feel out of place. "Friends" is incredibly fun with its synths and precussions hooking me immediately, "With My Own Bare Hands" and its crass and absurd lyrics had me holding my laughter while i was on a plane, and "Object" became a new obsession of mine.

With that out of the way, the middle part is the first time in a while i felt the need to skip on an album on the first listen. I tried multiple times to make something out of it, but Spirit Walker sounds like something out of the worst hippie tiktok with an ear grating autotune and Shamemaker's solo sounds like an elephant with its head stuck in a beehive.

It's only until the last two songs that the album picks back up with 2 of my favourite songs on the album. Woman And Man is the longest song by far at over 10 minutes, and makes every single minute count with a beautiful journey about creation and life, and Your Party is a great closer with its mesmerising guitar and saxophone solos.

It would be easy to recommend this album if it wasn't for the middle part being at best forgettable and at worst downright insulting to the ear, but the rest is too good to miss out on.