like eating glass

a music blog by a troubled woman bitters on rateyourmusic

[bittersvevo]

An enamoured review of ♡ by Jane Remover

via rateyourmusic

Better than Revengeseekerz. If we got a full album of this, it'd easily be my album of the year. I really hope Jane leans more into this style in the future, because the dancey stylings in this while still being much calmer than something like Revengeseekerz stand out to me in such an incredible way.

She takes from some really unexpected spots! I remember the second I heard How To Teleport I texted one of my friends about how Jane had officially become an honorary latina. She clearly knows her shit, because I don't think someone who didn't do their research would be drawing from stuff like Elysia Crampton and other cumbiatón influences.

There are few things that I love more than being able to tell that someone is as much of a nerd about music as I am just by listening to a composition, and Jane very consistently has proven that through all of her work, but this feels like an absolutely shining example of it more than anything else.

SCORE: 4.5/5

listen on spotify

[itwashotwestayedinthewater]

you should look into your local music history

[ishowdespair-deactivated2026012]

[bittersvevo]

forgot to post this one here

[bittersvevo]

portrait of the author as a nuisance

[bittersvevo]

A Long Time Waiting Review of Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy by Mindless Self Indulgence

via rateyourmusic

God, this album is a mess. Beyond it just being a compilation of tracks, literally organized in alphabetical order with no real thought put into the structure, the mix is so horribly compressed. As influential as it was on my developing music taste, it's hard to listen to as a grown adult with more developed ears.

I'll still bump I Hate Jimmy Page or Clarissa, though. Can't deny the nostalgia factor of it all, and the obnoxious attitude happens to match my obnoxious-ish personality.

SCORE: 2.5/5

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[parasitoidism]

I like to listen to lcd soundsystem and pretend I’m 38

[squawq7]

animal guitar

[medicated-noose-deactivated2015]

Xiu Xiu + GameCube

[leviathan-supersystem]

I get how the whole “listening to music as a dick-measuring contest for who can listen to the most obscure band” thing can get grating sometimes but I don’t think people realize just how vital that phenomenon is for new up and coming bands to get a foot in the door. it’s understandable to be annoyed by hipsterism but unless you want all music to be industry plants and former child stars you’re just going to have to accept it as part of the social ecosystem.

[leviathan-supersystem]

most of your friends probably won’t go around hyping up your amateurish self-released bandcamp project, but you know who will? the most insufferable hipster jackass you’ll ever meet.

[leviathan-supersystem]

[your best friend playing your music in front of someone else]: yeah haha this is my friend’s band… i know it’s kinda weird and rough around the edges but i’m kinda into it… if you’re not tho i’ll turn it off.

[pretentious music guy you’ve never met before playing your music in front of someone else]: yeah so i found this on bandcamp and it completely blew me away, no one is making music like this today, it’s so raw and experimental and interesting, i can’t believe they only have 3 listeners on spotify, they’re brilliant, frankly if you don’t like this music you should kill yourself,

[bittersvevo]

A conflicted review of VANISHING ACT II: ULTIMATE REALITY by Clarence Clarity

via rateyourmusic

Clarence Clarity is a man with a very clear purpose, much clearer than his contemporaries trying to make music with pop appeal and a similar texturalness to him: he wants to be a popstar about it, or at least sound like one, and I'm honestly not quite sure if he succeeds or not.

His production tends to be quite good, with the rare issue being largely inaudible if one's not actively being a cunt about mastering, like I so often find myself being, and the composition is largely solid as well, playing with 2000s pop nostalgia in a way more interesting than most, as has been his modus operandi for most of his career. Neither of these are my problem, though. My big problem is Clarence himself.

He seems to have a very clear vision of how he wants his vocals to sound on a track, and what purpose he wants them to fulfill, usually going for a falsetto, and by god, I can't tell if his purpose completely disagrees with me or if he just failed what he was attempting vocally half the time. It's a good 50/50 of tracks that I find myself thinking "Oh! That's a really good instrumental! I wish these vocals were literally anyone else!"

That's not to say the album is bad, though. The production and composition breach fantastic territory a good few times, and I do find myself hoping he might do something like salute did earlier this year and get a star-studded album wherein he doesn't find himself in the recording booth.

SCORE: 3.5/5

listen on spotify

[bittersvevo]

A reflective review of Dummy by Portishead

via rateyourmusic

When I listen to music made from a place of negative emotions, or even just darkness, I usually go for something that's from feelings on the active side of things — heartbreak, rage, dissatisfaction — but I don't usually listen to music that's moody like Dummy is.

Now, the choice of words may feel a bit derogatory, but this album is hard to describe with a different word. It portrays a darkness that's consumed, passed through, left the drippings of wax on the holder, but no trace of a wick. It's gloomy and tired, its intense pain is drowned in an opiate haze with smart sampling and groovy drums. It's coping, but it's not coping well.

Dummy is a seminal work in a genre largely consisting of music that tries to evoke it, and while its sounds may not be the newest in this day and age, it still manages to stand tall as a monument in Trip Hop's genredom.

SCORE: 4/5

listen on spotify

[weepingwidar]

Konstantin Korobov (Russian, 1985) - Agnus (2022)

[bittersvevo]

you complain about the mixing and mastering on one album and motherfuckers will have you like this

[bittersvevo]

A wowed review of Beyond The Fleeting Gales by Crying

via rateyourmusic

I was talking to a friend briefly about sincerity in music last night, and that left me thinking about something: how does music tend to exhibit its sincerity most often?

The natural, obvious answer to this question is the lyrics. Albums like Somewhere City exhibit their sincerity mostly through them in ways that manage to be soul-baring and beautiful, and that's something relatively common to see attempted by others, to varying degrees of success.

It is much rarer to see an album be fully sincere in its composition, but Beyond The Fleeting Gales manages it with flying colours. It wears its influences of 80s prog and AOR, genres largely considered gaudy, on its sleeve while still very much being indie-pop-rock, a genre with a scene that tends to stray far away from that kind of gaudiness, and makes it look absolutely beautiful in every regard.

If there's one thing I do wanna point out as especially remarkable, it's the fact that the saturated mix, something I usually struggle with, sounds absolutely stellar with the soundscapes they've made. It's just as much part of the aesthetic experience, rather than the amateurish mistake it tends to be.

Might bump this up to 5 stars in a few months. Damn.

SCORE: 4.5/5

listen on spotify

[zoesupreme]

spotify is raising prices again here's the apk that gives you premium for free

[world-of-lang]

and here's the desktop version for Windows with adblock and skip-bypass BlockTheSpot

[dont-look-me-in-the-eye]

spot X for windows

spot X for linux/mac

[roastie]

[childhoodgrave]

this is gonna make me thriw up