Lilia’s Music Monday

🦇🩷🦇Lilia Vanrouge reviews and recommends an album, ep, or single every Monday! 🦇💚🦇 🦇💚🦇Recommendations always welcome, of any genre! 🦇🩷🦇

[liliasmusicmonday]

Hello again! Sorry it’s been awhile, I have been very busy with my job and with school, so thank you all for being understanding! This will be shorter one as I’m writing this on my lunch break. This Wednesday I want to talk a bit about one of my favorite albums of all time and an absolute classic Prog rock album, “Red” by King Crimson!

“Red” is the 6th studio album by British progressive rock band King Crimson, released October 1, 1974! King Crimson is among the most well known and influential progressive rock bands of all time, influencing hundreds of bands, writers, and other artists. One artist influenced by them is Hirohiko Araki, author of Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure!

This album is what I would consider a “perfect album”, with not one second of it lacking in the slightest. All songs are original, including one that was on their previous album named “Starless and Bible Black”, now re-recorded and just named “Starless”. This song is easily in my top five favorite songs, it is just a moving experience. It’s a feat in its own that the song “Starless” is not only 12 minutes long but also absolutely breathtaking every second of it. And although Starless steals the show, it isn’t the only perk of this amazing experience, with songs like “One More Red Nightmare” or “Fallen Angel”. “One More Red Nightmare” is incredibly groovy and very telling of how the bands sound would expand in the coming years, sounding like it would fit perfectly on “Larks Tongue in Aspic” or “Discipline”, and “Fallen Angel” is a hauntingly beautiful song with incredible instrumentals.

Words can’t do this album justice, it deserves a listen by everyone in my opinion. All the members of King Crimson and unbelievably talented and they all shine on this making a masterpiece. It is easily a 10/10 album, and well worth the 49 minute length.

What do you think about this album? I’d love to know! Please recommend me music you’d like me to review in the future, khee hee!~ See you next Monday!

[liliasmusicmonday]

I am so sorry about having such an inconsistent schedule, there had been A LOT happening recently! I won’t be able to get any review done today, but I promise I’ll upload one by Wednesday. Thank you, and I’m sorry once more!

[liliasmusicmonday]

Sadly I don’t think I’ll be able to do a review this Monday as yesterday at work I had an accident and injured my hand, so I’ll be recovering that this week. Thank you for understanding! I’ll be back next week, and remember to be carful around knives!~

[liliasmusicmonday]

This Monday (technically Tuesday for me because I was distracted, teehee whoopsie) I’m reviewing a brand new album by a very underrated band who I have had the pleasure of seeing live many time! I highly encourage you to listen to this and see what you think!

“Worms III” is the first full length album by Salt Lake City noise rock and sludge metal band Cudney released May 10, 2025! Cudney have been playing venues in SLC for a few years now, and consistently have energetic and fun shows usually supporting other amazing bands in Utah, such as Skrude?, Lich, Infernium, and Schmear. I’ve been eagerly waiting for this since I first saw Cudney live about two years ago now!

Saying this album is fun is an understatement, it’s an absolute blast! Just like their live shows, this album is full of personality and energy with tracks like “Worms”, “Benjamin’s Bong”, and “Austin’s Relations” being impossible not to love to, and songs like “Where is Dave?” and “Joey’s Vape” that are just as good as they are hilarious. One of the biggest highlights for me of this album is the drums, they hit like a freight train and the double kicks sound like a machine gun. Their fun and unique take on sludge metal and noise rock makes them stand out from other similar bands, notably Chat Pike. At only 37 minutes I think that this is completely worth a listen, but if you’re going to listen to one song off this album I would recommend the title track, “Worms”. Easily their most popular track since it was released as a single in 2022, this re-recorded version of “Worms” takes the already incredible song and takes it to another level with the vocals and drums.

My favorite song off this album is tied between “Benjamin’s Bong” and “Worms”. The double kick added to the second part of “Worms” tickles my brain in a way I can’t describe but absolutely adore, and I don’t think I will ever get tired of the guitar riff on “Benjamin’s Bong”. My least favorite track, other than “George’s Dilema” which is an interlude, is “3.32…” not because I dislike it but because it feels a little out of place with the rest of the album. I think this is a very comfortable 7 out of 10! I really hope you check them out!

What do you think about this album? I’d love to know! Please recommend me music you’d like me to review in the future, khee hee!~ See you next Monday!

[liliasmusicmonday]

Hello! I’m so sorry this one is late AGAIN, I’ve just begun a new job so I haven’t had much free time! Thank you everyone for being patient with me, hopefully I can have a consistent schedule once again!

“Shōso Strip” is the second full length album by Japanese art rock artist Sheena Ringo, released March 31, 2000! I can comfortably say that Sheena Ringo is my favorite musician of all time, and I am very excited to talk about her today! Sheena Ringo is the stage name for Shiina Yukimo, an incredibly talented musician and composer who has been making music her entire life since her first single at only 19! She has always taken inspiration from a verity of places and never has been scared to experimenting, and this album is a terrific example of that.

“Shōso Strip” or “Winning Strip” is the second studio album by Sheena Ringo and was released March 31, 2000! When released, this album reached number one in Japan and since has sold over two million copies, and k believe it deserves every bit of praise it has received over the years. This album is a fantastic listen with tons of amazing tracks, with incredible alt rock roots paired with amazing electronic and stringed segments that I feel only Sheena Ringo could pull off so beautifully. Especially in songs like “A Driving Rain in Darkness” where these beautiful stringed part which compliment Sheena’s wonderful voice are contrasted by groovy and, for lack of a better term, ‘thumpy’ bass that you can so clearly hear without it obstructing anything else, AND a messy and aggressive overdriven guitar to deliver a beautiful, powerful, and passionate song. I can’t speak on the lyricism of the album since I do not speak or understand Japanese, but I can’t testify to Sheena Ringo’s incredible voice and impressive range. Outside of these more experimental art songs, the AMAZING mainstream single “Instinct” is on here and is an absolute joy. To this day it’s one of her more popular singles, and I highly encourage you to watch the music video for it! Her voice is one of the more distinct I’ve ever heard, being able to hit amazing high notes and jazzy lows all while having a unique scratchiness which is most prevalent in “Crime and Punishment” and “Instinct”. This entire album feels like a major step up from her first album and an amazing view into what she would do in the future.

This is an album where the only critique I could have is that some songs are so incredible that it distracts from some of the less memorable, yet still amazing, songs. Songs that on any other album would be highlights are outshone by the amazing peaks of this album, which leads me to revisiting those “perfect” songs more than the other. Though it was fun to re-listen to “Shōso Strip” to this album for this review and My favorite songs were split between “Crime and Punishment” and “Instinct”, since I feel both are 10/10 songs. My least favorite was “I Am An Addict”, simply because although good I didn’t feel like it was the best closer for this album. Overall, I can comfortably say this album is a 9 out of 10, and I STRONGLY recommend you listen to it and other works by Sheena Ringo!

What do you think about this album? I’d love to know! Please recommend me music you’d like me to review in the future, khee hee!~ See you next Monday!

[liliasmusicmonday]

I’m sad to say there won’t be a music Monday this week. It is an especially busy week for me, so I’m skipping this week! Don’t worry, I’ll be back next week the day after Easter Sunday with a personal favorite of mine!

Sorry once again, I’ll see you all next week!

[liliasmusicmonday]

Sorry this one is so late friends, I’ve had a very eventful week! I may not have been able to do this on Monday, but today being Vil’s birthday sure makes this a happy accident. Especially with this weeks album being a personal favorite of mine that I think Vil would adore, “Tanzomat” by And One!

“Tanzomat” is the tenth studio album by German synth pop group And One, released March 4, 2011! And One formed when Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz met in a Berlin nightclub and bonded over a love of early EBM music, and decided to create music inspired by Depeche Mode. Since 1989, they have been consistently making and playing music!

I read the name “Tanzomat” comes from a combination German words that mean dance and automatic, with one person saying it essentially means “Dance-o-matic” and I think that is a perfect descriptor of the feel and sound this entire album has. From the best to worst song, each one is constantly very fun to dance too! Whether a thumping and energetic club song like “Seven”, a dark and haunting track like “Playing Dead”, or an upbeat and optimistic song like “Dancing in the Factory”. I felt most of the highlights were the darker and sensual songs that made a sinister but romantic atmosphere, every song made me in some way want to move around. The absolute highlight of this album are the tracks where And One takes a darker approach, reminding me more of a gothic industrial style, with songs like “Angel Eyes”, “The Aim is In Your Head Now”, “Electrocution”, and more. These songs are absolutely beautiful and I can’t get enough of it. The highs of this album are absolutely divine, but I feel there also is a bit of filler that had been put in this album that simply doesn’t fit. The first four tracks all feel very strange being with the rest of the album, with a completely different feel and presence about that them, ESPECIALLY “Only in your Dreams” and “Dancing in The Factory”. Parts of this album very much feels like an album ‘meant for me’ in a sense, as I feel like it is the combination of the things I absolutely love in music. I cannot stress enough how much I adore the song “Playing Dead”, it is a 10/10 song for me and regularly has been on repeat for months now. The only thing I could say about this album that isn’t good is just that I wish they had stuck with the dark and bittersweet sound my favorite tracks had. Songs like “Only in your Dreams” and especially “Dancing in The Factory” just feel so out of place next to “Angel Eyes”.

Even though I think there is some very odd thematic clashing in “Tanzomat”, the peaks of this album are so incredible I give some leeway to the lows. My least favorite song was “Dancing in The Factory”, since not only was it a huge outliar but also sounded a lot like “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode, and o can’t tell if that is intentional or not. My favorite was, by far, “Playing Dead”, it’s such an incredible song I feel it raises the entire album by a point itself. Because of this, I think this album is a beautiful 8 out of 10, but I could very easily see why someone else might think differently.

What do you think about this album? I’d love to know! Please recommend me music you’d like me to review in the future, khee hee!~ See you next Monday!

[liliasmusicmonday]

Eid Mubarak friends! I hope those of you who practice Ramadan had a pleasant March. I have the perfect meal for you all to break your fast tonight, a shoegaze metal fruit basket, khee hee!

“World’s End Fruit Basket” is the second release by Japanese nu-metal band Ikd-sj and released October 17, 2009! Ikd-sj formed in Tokyo in 2003 and has been consistently making incredible music since, all while being independent from any label.

Despite being labeled as nu-metal, this album has such a unique sound and feel to it I feel like calling it nu-metal doesn’t give justice to all the different influences. With strong inspiration of post rock, shoegaze, groove metal, and most of all nu-metal, “World’s End Fruit Basket” stands out from any other album I’ve ever listened to. With many songs being dark, gloomy, and incredibly emotional such as “Lemon Lumpen”, to others hitting like freight trains with incredible heavy and groovy instrumentals like “Fullemetal Gunslinger” sne “Иine Inch K n ife”, and some strange yet enjoyable tracks like “Brigade I.K.D.” AND ones that are a beautiful mix of all of these, like “OddeyE”. I am a big fan of Akira Ogiishi’s vocals all throughout this album, even without understanding what he is saying he is able to convey the songs mood with his tone alone. For me though, absolutely highlight of it for me would have to be the phenomenal bass on every song, both hitting incredibly hard while providing an addicting groove. For lack of a better simile, the bass on each song feels like it could send you flying through multiple concrete walls! The brilliant bass and drums paired with the heavy guitar all tied together with Ogiishi’s fast paced singing all make this a perfect album in my opinion. Even the parts of this album I don’t like as much are integral for the dark and angry feel of this album, and I absolutely adore that.

It’s hard to choose a favorite song off this album as I genuinely think there are multiple songs here that are flawless. I want to choose “Fullmetal Gunslinger” for how unbelievably grooving it is and how fun it is to dance along with, but I also want to choose “Lemon Lumpen” for how beautiful and melodic all nine minutes are. I decided my favorite song off this album is “OddeyE”, since I think it is the perfect mixture of everything great about this album. My least favorite song is the opening track, since it’s a mood setting ambiance. With all this, I think this album is a 10 out of 10!

What do you think about this album? I’d love to know! Please recommend me music you’d like me to review in the future, khee hee!~ See you next Monday!

[liliasmusicmonday]

“Teens of Denial” is the tenth album, and first studio recorded album, by the American indie rock band Car Seat Headrest released May 20, 2016! Car Seat Headrest is a band that started as a solo project by Will Toledo in Leesburg Virginia, but since has grown into a four piece with an impressive discography.

I really enjoyed listening to “Teens of Denial”, and I think it’s biggest drawing point is it’s lyricism. Song like “Vincent”, “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales”, “1937 State Park”, and “Cosmic Hero” have amazing and poetic lyrics that talk about things like feeling unloved, clinical depression, and failing relationships. I think Will Toledo did an incredible job articulating his feelings and problems in his writing, and I found many of the songs very relatable or at the very least sympathetic. I think the lyricism of the album is it’s best aspect, but the rest is still great. With simple yet fun guitar riffs and drum patterns it makes an album that is very easy for a lot of different people to get interested in but every now and then aspects of trumpets or unique singing styles will keep it interesting and engaging. Throughout “Teens of Denial” I felt strongly reminded of some of the Strokes work as well as a personal favorite indie band of mine, Wolf Parade (which hopefully I will get to talk about at some point, khee hee~). “Teens of Denial” feels like a culmination of common indie rock motifs and cliches but still stays interesting and personal to the musicians, and I really admire that!

My favorite song off this project has to be “Cosmic Hero”, with STELLAR instrumentals but also amazing lyrics that reminded me of how it feels to have self-destructive and self-sabotaging urges and how hopelessly frustrating that can be. My least favorite was “Connect the Dots (Saga of Frank Sanatra)”. It wasn’t a bad song by any means, just not as thrilling as the other songs. This album obviously had a lot of dedication put into it and I had a great time hearing it, with a few songs going into my own playlists, so I feel good giving this album an 8 out of 10!

What do you think about this album? I’d love to know! Please recommend me music you’d like me to review in the future, khee hee!~ See you next Monday!

[liliasmusicmonday]

Sorry this one was a little late, friends! Gloomurai has shown me a wonderful game named “Balatro”, Silver can’t get me to stop playing, khee hee!~ Anyhoo, happy Saint Patrick’s day to those who celebrate! This week we have an album by an Irish band.~

“No Need to Argue” is the second album by Irish indie band the Cranberries on October 3rd, 1994! The Cranberries formed in Limerick, Ireland in 1989 and soon had the now legendary Dolores O’Riordan become their vocalist. The band became famous for their song “Zombie”, which I’ll talk more about later, and is most known for O’Riordan’s beautiful and unique vocals.

Even though I’m more partial to more “energetic” music, this album was a nice treat for me! I’ve never heard anyone who has a voice that can sing like Dolores O’Riordan’s with her very reminiscent of traditional Irish singing called “sean-nós”, and I feel that with much of the songs on “No Need to Argue”. The entire album has this very unique sound to it which perfectly captures its inspiration which was life in Ireland at the time. When written and recorded, Ireland was in the tail end of the “The Troubles,” a conflict in Northern Ireland that had been happening for decades on end. The album is very gloomy and a little depressing, with many lyrics about death and fear surrounding Ireland’s state at the time. I think the quieter guitar with O’Riordan’s singing is hauntingly beautiful. I don’t have a single complaint about the album, other that it wasn’t really my style. It was beautiful, tragic, and at times absolutely phenomenal music… but personally I feel there are only a couple VERY good songs in between ones I feel very “in the middle of the road” about. But even if I didn’t enjoy the bulk of the album, the highs and recognition of artistry come together to make me respect this album greatly. Though it wasn’t my speed, I appreciate this album and the people behind it greatly, and Dolores O’Riordan is definitely a beloved vocalist of mine.

My favorite song was “Daffodil Lament”, although the all time classic “Zombie” was a very close second. My least favorite song was “Disappointment”, simply because I found it a little too uneventful for me. It’s very tough to rate “No Need to Argue” because although I feel that most of the album is uneventful, the songs which stand out are so impactful, so I ended up on 7 out of 10!

What do you think about this album? I’d love to know! Please recommend me music you’d like me to review in the future, khee hee!~ See you next Monday!

[liliasmusicmonday]

“Home” is the second album by nu-metal band Sevendust, released August 24 (Riddle’s birthday, how fun!), 1999! Sevendust formed in Atlanta, Georgia and has heavy inspiration from groove metal, and fantastic and passionate vocals from Lejon Witherspoon. They are, in my opinion, one of the best bands from the nu-metal subgenre with incredible instrumentals, vocals, guest artists, and lyricism that I feel only Sevendust has.

I’ll be the first to say how much nu-metal can be a hit or miss for me. Many times when I listen to albums by nu-metal bands I find myself getting a bit bored, but this album is beyond a doubt not one of those albums. Lajon Witherspoon’s vocals are absolutely stellar and a major highlight of this album for me. Some of his clean vocals, like in Waffle, remind me a lot of Corey Glover’s vocals on Living Colour’s album Vivid. On the topic of vocals, two songs on this album has vocal features that both are phenomenal. The song “Licking Créme” has guest vocalsist Deborah Dyer, known by her stage name “Skin”, and she does BEAUTIFUL vocals that compliment Lejon’s vocals and really make the song stand out. The other feature is from Chino Moreno of Deftones on the last track “Bender” where his softer and almost desperate vocals are a great contrast to Lejon’s enthusiastic yells. “Bender” also has guitar from Everesence’s Troy McLawhorn.~ I personally feel this album is a great example of all the fun and unique things that came from nu-metal, like groovy and heavy guitar parts and fun vocals!

My favorite song off “Home” is Denial, the main single off the album. “Bender” and “Waffle” are very close seconds, but the guitar riff on Home is just so good. My least favorite track is “Grasshopper” since it is an 8 second interlude, with my least favorite SONG being “Insecure”. This album is a very comfortable 6 out of 10, and one of my favorite nu-metal albums of all time.~

What do you think about this album? I’d love to know! Please recommend me music you like for me to review and talk about in the future, khee hee.~

[liliasmusicmonday]

Oho, my first video game OST recommendation, how fun!~

God Eater is a sci-fi action roleplaying game that many compare to the Monster Hunter franchise that came out on the PlayStation Portable on February 4, 2010 though it wasn’t available in North America and Europe until March 2011! Before getting into its amazing soundtrack, I’ll talk about the setting of the game a little. This paragraph isn’t necessarily required for talking about the music, but it’s fun to know anyways, khee hee!~

God Eater takes place in 2071 where remnants of humanity fight against mysterious monsters known as the Aragami. These monsters came about from the creation of “Oracle Cells” - which are semi-sentient cells that essentially invincible - by the Fenrir company in the 2050’s that began an uncontrollable consumption of all life on Earth. Aragamis are hundreds of thousands of these oracle cells grouped together to make massive monsters! To defend against these god-like monsters, Fenrir created weapons which were infused with oracle cells named “God Arcs” and made a force to fight the Aragami. This force, known as “God Eaters”, fight to end the Aragami threat trying to consume the last of humanity.

Bandai Namco has tons of incredible game franchises with equally stellar soundtracks - like Dark Souls and Elden Ring, Ace Combat, Tekken, and Armored Core - so it’s not a surprise how incredible the soundtrack for God Eater is, but I feel compared to other games it is incredibly underrated. This soundtrack has so many genres that all work; from wonderful and inspiring songs like “Cut the Storm”, to upbeat ones that sound right out of Dragon Ball Z, to beautiful orchestras blended with electronica, to jazz like in “Adults Only”, to heartbreaking soft tracks sung by Donna Burke, to even flamenco!

One of the best aspects of this soundtrack is how well it conveys that overbearing and massive presence that the Aragamai are meant to have over the characters and player. The blend often used between acoustic orchestral instruments and electronic aspects like in “The Gods’ Feast: Gluttony” also are INCREDIBLE at conveying how the Aragami are mechanical and man made yet godlike creatures! These bits of the soundtrack also feel well broken up by the calming, heartbreaking, or light songs separate from the action like “A Person’s Warmth” and “Peaceful Moment”. The use of DOZENS of different instruments also make the album so interesting to listen to.

God Eater’s soundtrack is enjoyable through and through, with almost none of the songs feeling dull, out of place, or unappealing - Even if I didn’t much enjoy “Enemies of Mankind” it very much felt in tune with the setting of the game - My only complaint would be how tiring it can be for me to sit through a two hour album front to back, khee hee!

Between all the incredible songs, the vocal version of “Gods and Men” was easily my favorite, Donna Burke’s singing paired with the otherworldly instrumental genuinely brought me to tears! Happy one, of course.~ Though I must say, “Fragile Plea -Reminiscence-” and “A Merciless Stage” were close behind. The only song I didn’t really enjoy was Enemies of Mankind, though I enjoyed the electronic instrumental the robotic voice singing out of time was a bit too much, even for me.~ All together, I feel this soundtrack is a 9 out of 10!

Sorry about this one being a bit long friends, thank you for reading this far! What do you think about this soundtrack? I’d love to know! Please recommend music you’d like me review and talk about in the future, khee hee.~

[liliasmusicmonday]

Mirror Might Steal Your Charm is the third album released by the twins behind The Garden, released on March 30, 2018! The Garden are known for their unique take on the experimental rock genre, and I think this album is a great showcase of how this duo creates music that refuses to be predictable.

I’ll be the first to say how much I adore both spontaneity and an incredibly noticeable bass, so it is no surprise how much I adore these two and their bizarre little songs. The use of strange stock sound effects goes surprisingly well with Wyatt’s vocal and bass, and Fletchers drums. From sounds that remind me of games from the 2000’s like in the track ‘:(‘ to the to ones that almost remind me of dungeon synth, the samples and sounds used to fill in each track beyond the bass, drums, and vocals are much fun to listen too.~ The bass easily is my favorite aspect of this album, and by extension The Gardens other work, but I suppose that isn’t a suprise, khee hee.~

The album is very enjoyable, but the only critique is how I found there to be times where I felt that songs sounded a little too similar to each other for me, but I feel the creativity and unique songs that fill the other half of the album easily make up for this. Especially the tracks ‘:(‘ and ‘Banana Peel’, both of which absolutely tickled my fancy, fuhu.~

My favorite track off this album definitely Call The Dogs Out, though No Destination is a close second. My least favorite song was Good News. Overall I felt this was a very solid 7 out of 10!

What do you think about this album? I’d love to know! Recommend me albums you’d like me review in the future, khee hee.~

[liliasmusicmonday]

Allegiance is the debut album of the metalcore/deathcore band “As Blood Runs Black” which released June 6th 2006! They often use fast paced and intricate guitar instrumentals against the the screaming, which takes inspiration from grindcore at some parts.

Though some criticize the album for have a lack of diversity between songs, I found that compared to many other metalcore albums this is one of my favorites, fuhu!~ Chris Blair’s vocal range is nothing short of impressive, and his use of both higher banshee screams and lower goregrind inspired vocals is an absolute treat in my opinion. The guitar is another highlight, being very fast and intricate at many parts and also brutal and heavy at others, and I just adore both the tone and riff throughout. Besides, I’m always partial to any album green or pink.~

My favorite song of this album has to be Hester Prynne, with my least favorite being Intro simply because it’s so short.~ I believe this album is easily worth a 7 out of 10!

What do you think of this album? I’d love to know, khee hee.~ Be sure to recommend music you’d like for me to talk about in the future!