NOISE/WHORE

[noisewhore]

Fazerdaze live at Rossi Musik, 21st October 2017 Presented by Studiorama, 360 Records, and Noisewhore

Photo credit: Moses Sihombing

[noisewhore]

Noisewhore #4

This is our fourth zine thus far. Some prints will be available at friday's gig for those who are interested.

[noisewhore]

REVIEW: ELEVENTWELFTH - ELEVENTWELFTH

Six Thirty Recordings proving their worth and Eleventwelfth finally releasing this is a match made in heaven. 

Six Thirty Recordings caught my attention with the release of Terapi Urine’s second EP digitally which has a little laugh here and there, it was a proper release overall. But this release bears much more significance to the big picture. Eleventwelfth was always around, they’re great playing live and they dropped a few tracks here and there, the band was among one of the bands that resides in the emo genre here in Jakarta with just a few bands to accompany them, and the whole genre was in need of one proper genre to boost their rising popularity. 

And we finally got it in the form of this EP.

I wouldn’t say that this album lacks anything or this is the magnum opus of perfection for the emo genre, but this certainly is something important, specifically for Jakarta. 

The tracks in here are short, between 2-3 minutes with 2 of them under the 1 minute mark. It was effective to say the least. They kept it simple without reducing any of their musical prowess for each instrument. The opening track, “Farther Than I Might Have Ever Figured” heavy with riffs and accompanied with proper vocals. The second track introduces an acoustic guitar instrumental track with an abundance of clapping by the end of the track. The third track, “Violent Precaution (Silence Awaits)” is one of their best track on this EP, both their songwriting and instrumentation overlaps in a good sense. 

Right after that is another solid track from the EP, “With the Weight of It All” although admittedly not as good as the previous track, but still, very solid and a concrete proof of their consistency throughout the EP. One of the most notable aspect from the EP is the existence of 2 transition tracks under the name “Could Have Known” and “Addressing” which at times raise an eyebrow but gel in pretty nicely by the second transition track or by the second listen of the EP. The collaboration with Asteriska of Barasuara on the track “Your Head as My Favorite Bookstore” drew much attention to the band sometime ago, but it’s not really the best track from the EP, it falls short below tracks like the first track or “Later On”

Again, this EP is all around proper and very technical at times. But nevertheless, This EP is very important for the genre and we should look back at this EP in the future to see its actual importance. 

[noisewhore]

GORILLAZ ARE BACK, FUCK YOU

Fucking finally, it’s been six long years since their last release. Humanz, will be released on the 28th of April. With new art, a new story, and obviously new songs, us fans are very excited with Gorillaz long awaited comeback. They released 4 new songs yesterday, with a song featuring Vince Staples and other various artists. All new songs are great, and reminds us of Gorillaz habit of mixing various sounds and collaborating with various artists, creating a unique style for every song. But, I won’t be talking about their new stuff in this article.

This is not a review, just opinions and stuff.

 If you consider yourself an avid listener of Gorillaz you would notice that this band of fictional misfits does not have any specific genre to their sound. From their first full length album they have had a mixture of different sounds, even from one song to another there really isn’t one specific sound that you can pin point to. Yes, maybe most of the songs by Gorillaz are heavily influenced by Hip Hop, but that’s only a portion of it. There’s electronic music, punk, disco, whatever else you can name, you can find it in Gorillaz music. It’s this experimental attitude Damon Albarn has impelemnted in Gorillaz music that makes it such a unique experience to listen to. Collaborations with numerous artist that play different types of music adds more to Gorillaz sound. There really isn’t any limits to their music.

 It doesn’t have to be observed from one song to another, take Empire Ants for example. The first half of the song is only Damon, or 2D, singing over a slow beat accompanied by soft keyboards. But, as soon as the song reaches the middle part the whole vibe and overall sound evolves and changes into an upbeat electronic song with Little Dragon’s vocals. The difference of sound in this one song is amazing, and a great example on how Gorillaz experiments a lot in writing music. This is what makes them such a great band, they define their own sound by incorporating tons of other different sounds and “genres”. Gorillaz blur the lines between genres. There isn’t really any thing called “Gorillaz style” because they do whatever the fuck they want; every song they release will be a new addition to their “style”. Listening to Gorillaz is exciting because listeners get a whole bunch of different styles to enjoy. So fuck you for complaining, honestly fuck you.

 Fuck you for complaining on their new art, how its not polished and its not like their old art, well that’s not the point you fuck. If you are a fan, a new full length record means a new phase, which means new story lines and overall look for the band. And especially those people who keep commenting on their new songs saying, “I don’t really like it, it’s not like their old stuff”, “it doesn’t really sound like Gorillaz style”. If you don’t like the song because of your personal preference then I completely understand but if you’re disappointed on their new stuff because it isn’t quite like their old songs, well then fuck off. Sorry the new songs aren’t Feel Good Inc. enough for you. A Gorillaz fan should be an open minded individual, open to new things especially knowing the different sounds Gorillaz have from album to album, song to song, minute to minute. Don’t ever expect any band to always release new music for it to be like their old stuff, because it doesn’t work that way. Bands, musicians change and evolve, they experiment and find new things, new sounds, especially if that band is Gorillaz.

 So, yeah this article is basically a rant. I’m sorry. I got triggered by people commenting on their new shit and I just wanted to share my opinion. Maybe I’m just pissed because not everyone is liking Gorillaz new music, when they fucking should. Anyways, go listen to their new stuff because it’s golden and if you don’t think it is well go and listen to Feel Good Inc. and Clint Eastwood until your ears bleed for all I care. Fuck you.

 #HUMANZ

[noisewhore]

REVIEW: BIN IDRIS - BIN IDRIS

Bin Idris made an album that is clearly made for people stuck in an echo chamber or something like that. 

Bin Idris, or Haikal Azizi also known as the vocals/guitars in psychedelic band Sigmun finally released a full length album after teasing about it for quite some time and a number of releases (an EP called Muqadimmah and a split with Duto Hardono) also growing more and more rapidly with a big following on his soundcloud where he uploads solo material, some of which are here on the full length album. The album consists of 11 songs and lasted for about 45 minutes, give or take. And it sure is a long 45 minutes full of contemplative songwriting and mostly lonely strings to go along with. 

The first song “Temaram” starts off with a dark instrumentation consisting of a single guitar with a lingering noise all around the song, and Haikal’s vocal was introduced after a good few seconds in an echo-y manner as he mumble “Aku berlindung dari pusat gelisah”/”Aku berlindung dari bara amarah” that goes on to a higher pitch voice. This track proves to be the longest of all and it gives us a good insight to what this album is all about, confronting one’s humane anxiety in a way that is very much like story-telling. This will be the broad base of conversation in this album. I also feel a subtle homage to the 70′s Indonesia music in this song. In the next song, “Rebahan” one out of three tracks that made it from his soundcloud to the album provides the view in which his voice is at the point where it is most approachable, bar the simple Harlan-like folk track right after this track “Jalan Bebas Hambatan” and I’m pretty sure, with this track racking up to more than 21,000 plays at the time this review is being written, it will be familiar to his longtime listeners and also very approachable for first-timers. Although the conversation in this album is based on one big topic, Bin Idris gives quite a lot of takes musically and lyrically on it, the prime example of this is “Jalan Bebas Hambatan” that tells a story about somekind of parental concerns regarding his son’s journey and how they miss him and want him to be safe above anything else. His songwriting is also quite dodgy in a way that he gives us this take that is never seen before, both in Sigmun or his other tracks in this album in which he writes quirky rhymes like “Lebih baik sabar daripada barbar” or “Jangan lupa sabuk pengaman, ada truk pasir di depan” that gives everyone a bit of a smile or even a feeling of warmth. One’s anxiety is merely a conversation about sadness, it also brings out philosophical questions that result in various ways, Bin Idris gives his almost nihilistic views on “Pusara” as he mourn “Kita terus bergerak sampai akhirnya tak mampu lagi bergerak” followed by the repetitive “O pusara” in a chant-like manner. 

On “Dalam Wangi” is where Bin Idris peaked on this album, accompanied by a lonely guitar riff at the start that sets up the mood followed by a dark take on the vocal, in a chant-like manner but with more flaunt that it gives an eery impression. The songwriting on this track is also what this album embodies, a provoking stimulation that triggers the dark corner filled with small problems in the corner of our minds. You really can’t tell what he’s on to in this album as he gives a more melancholic take on “Di Atas Perahu” with a lonely at the start and a smooth elevating vocals following it throughout the song. Next up is the most popular song on his soundcloud, “Calm Water” which embodies Bin idris well, it has a strange eerie mood, it’s like he’s talking in a small room with his voice bouncing around everywhere. The instrumentation is also quite simple and easy to hear at any possible time for everyone. The third and last song that made the cut to the album is “Laylat Al-Qadr” an instrumental track that has this layered instruments and noises all around but gives us a strong impression rather than just a blip on this album. This is one of the two instrumental tracks on this album with the second one only a track apart from this one. Bin Indris gives another take of confrontation with his anxiety for the last time on “How Naive” this is where it all comes down, a face first confrontation in which one has to face the truth that he’s been avoiding all this time as he calmly screeches “I thought we’re gonna be courageous, instead we’re scared” with the most melancholic instrumentation there is on this album. And it closes up on”Inside A Room” which introduces itself with literally someone inside a room, making noises that everyone would made in their own room and followed by whistle and a guitar that will be the centre of the entire track. That wraps up the story telling session by Bin Idris on this album. 

You may not see anything against this album in this article, because there is nothing majorly wrong about it. Sorry for dragging you this far, this is hands down one of the best releases in 2016 and that is also why i have the time and energy to dissect almost every song in this full length album. Here’s “Calm Water” to end this piece. 

[noisewhore]

INTERVIEW: WILS

We caught up with WILS at La Fete Noir’s gig at Xabi Space and we talked about some stuff, some important things. For the purpose of the purity of this interview, the script will be in Indonesian. Not that we’re proud of it, we’re not Vice.

Selamat Malam,

Wils: Malam

 Gue mau interview Wils dong boleh gak

Wils: Boleh

 Gimana awalnya? Kenapa Wils? Kenapa ini (Rafi) main, ini (Abi) main, ini (Imam) main padahal Imam bandnya udah banyak?

Rafi: Gue ngomong jujur boleh gak?

Abi & Imam: boleh boleh

Rafi: Gue awalnya deket sama Imam gara-gara acara (Swinggger Party) abis itu kita ngobrol terus dia cerita dia main di Rhym sama Kaveman bareng Alfath Ojal.Terus gara-gara Ojal sibuk gak balik-balik ke Jakarta, gue lagi nonton Matajiwa di Bintaro Xchange…

Imam: Ohiya (kaget)

Rafi: Gue inget men, gue inget. Pas waktu itu gue lagi dating sama cewe gue terus imam sama Abi juga nonton, gue mau nonton Matajiwa sama Sudjiwo Tejo. Terus merek dateng dan tiba-tiba lagi ngobrol si Imam ada pikiran sendiri untuk bikin garage rock gara-gara KPR. Pas Imam ngomong gitu si Abi udah balik, Imam bilang dia pengen punya band dia bisa asik, headbang, segala macem. Kebetulan waktu itu gue punya band, udah gak jalan lagi sih (ada-ada lah band gue dulu) Gue bilang sama Imam garage rock bosen mending bikin Indie rock aja yuk. Gue pribadi pengennya kaya Cloud Nothing sama Japandroids. Abis ini kita misah dan selang berapa minggu tiba-tiba Imam nge Line gue nanya jadi gak project kita

Imam: (ngatain)

Rafi: Beneran sumpah gue inget. Terus gue bilang iya sabi-sabi. Gue Tanya ber berapa nih, bertiga aja sabi kali ya. Siapa gitar siapa bass nih tapi karena gue payah banget main bass jadi gue aja deh main gitar, lo bass mam. Imam bilang dia di Rhym udah Bass, gue bilang ah engga engga gapapa, setidaknya lo bisa bass kan sekalian lo aja yang vokalis. Imam bilang engga-engga lo aja yang vokalis. Pokoknya kita rebutan dan akhirnya Imam jadi vokalis

Imam: Haha

Rafi: Terus kita mikirin nih drummernya siapa terus Imam pernah manggung sama Abi

Imam: Iya jadi di komplek gue ada acara 17-an diajakin pak RT manggung terus sama abi hahaha berdua doang

Abi: iya main lagu banya banget anjing Ramones apalagi ya haha

Rafi: Akhirnya Imam bikin group terus pas ketemu pertama kali awkward banget hahaha dan suatu hari gue punya riff dan yaudah dari sana aja kita bikin lagu dan seterusnya haha

 Oh jadi dari riff itu berawal WIls? Itu riff lagu apa akhirnya?

Rafi: lagu apasih yang kita bikin pertama

Imam&Abi: Tired to be punk

Rafi: Setelah indie rock ternyata kita gak begitu ketara di Indie rock dan akhirnya gue dengerin post-hardcore Abi juga main drumnya caur (Caur dalam konotasi positif, caurnya buas gitu maksudnya –Rafi) terus Imam bilang gapapa jadi yaudah.

 Terus nama Wils?

Rafi: Naah, tadinya kita mau namanya Indonesian Soccer

Imam: hahahaha engga

Rafi: Gue serius waktu itu, terinspirasi dari American Football aja hahaha. Terus gue curhat pas ngumpul sama anak-anak swingggger gue curhat gimana kalo nama band gue Indonesian Soccer, Alfath ketawa. Alvin bilang gue kayanya gak akan nonton lo kalo nama lo itu.

Alvin: Gue gak pernah ngomong gitu anjing jahat banget

Rafi: Terus suatu hari Alfath lagi ngelantur ngomong sliw sliw sliw terus dia bilang gimana kalo nama band lo Wils aja? Sliw dibalik. Gue langsung ngasih tau Abi dan Imam. Terus pas Swinggger baru deh kita manggung.. Kita terima kasih ke Alfath sih buat itu.

 Sekarang gue mau ngomongin acara ini, dan rilisan ini. (Diselangi patungan Anggur Merah) gue mau ngomongin proses pembuatan Demo nih gimana?Kenapa gratis?Gimana filosofinya?

Imam: pokoknya lagu yang pertama kta biki itu Tired to be Punk kalo kata Rafi ini tentang seseorang bandel banget, mabok terus dan dia kaya gitu gara-gara orangtuanya gak merhatiin terus lama-lama dia sadar

Rafi: Bener sih, maksud gue disini proses pendewasaan dimana masing-masing dari kita pasti pernah ngelewatin fase ini dan entah gimana dan kenapa kita bisa jadi sadar, karena apapaun itu. Gue ngeliat temen-temen gue yang dulunya bandel dan curhat ke gue dia capek bandel.

Imam: Lagu kedua tuh apasih? Homecoming ya?

Rafi: Iya, eh bukan sih, sebenernya awalnya Bicycle Kick, itu lagu belum selesai, Imam keluar sebentar ngerokok pas di dalem gue sama Abi tiba-tiba dapet Riff terus dari situ baru lahir Homecoming sebelum Bicycle Kick jadi.

 Tapi kenapa Homecoming?

Imam: Kalo gue sih emang ceritanya tentang tetep soal anak SMA masuk lingkungan baru terus lama-lama jadi terbiasa dan jadi rumah kedua dia.

 Kalo Bicycle Kick gimana?

Abi: Gue terinspirasi dari game sih, Mortal Kombat. Pengennya mirip-mirip Cekipe nya KPR.

Rafi: Awalnya mau round house kick

Imam: film kan ya

Rafi: Iya tendangannya Chuck Norris. Terus lama-lama gue pikir kerenan Liu Kang. Jadi yaudah jurus Liu Kang aja Bicycle Kick

Imam: Filosofinya apa ya?

Rafi: Gak ada, instrumen doang

Imam: Masa sih kayanya menggambarkan sesuatu deh. Buat gue satu demo ini menggambarkan ya kehidupan anak sekolah SMA lah dimana homecoming itu pertama kali lo masuk SMA, Tired to be Punk itu dimana lo capek dan bosen, dan Bicycle Kick itu dimana lo lagi seneng-senengnya dan jatoh disitu. Setelah itu lo bangkit di Beginner’s Fall.

Rafi: Kalo Beginner’s Fall personal banget sih bagi gue. Tapi kalo secara keseluruhan EP Demo ini mengenai masa kecil kita. Dimana kita pas kecil punya segala mimpi (Imam jadi Kamen Raider, Rafi jadi T-Rex, Abi jadi power ranger) dan semakin kita dewasa kita makin sibuk untuk mati dalam arti kita mikir kerja apa dan lain lain.

 Imam: Lo gak mau nanya lagu baru

Yaudah, ngomong aja ini gue rekam.

 Imam: Kita tadi mainin dua lagu baru, yang gak ada di EP yang judulnya “Nine” dan “Four Year Waste” dimana Nine tuh soal anak kecil umur 9 tahun dan segala kesenangan dia dari dikejar anjing kompel sampe main game dan lain-lain

Rafi: Nah kalo Four Year Wasted tuh ..

Imam: Hahaha iya jadi gini Four Year Wasted adalah masa SMA lo yang empat taun. Bukan tiga. Cerita tentang temen komplek gue yang dari SMP sampe SMA kita bareng dan gue sama dia pas SMA gak naik kelas gara-gara alasan yang gak adil.

Rafi: Bi, ngomong dong

 Kalo covernya gimana?

Rafi: Itu cewe gue yang foto pas kita di Bandung. Cewe gue lagi foto-foto dan kita emang pengennya foto aja bukan gambar artwork gitu.

 Terus gimana sekarang setelah ini?

Rafi: Iya jadi ini kan demo kita baru jadi dan indie rock banget nih

Imam: Iya ini kita masih permulaan dan mungkin di EP kita selanjutnya kita pengen diliat berprogress

Rafi: Kita kan awalnya pengen indie rock tapi tengah-tengah kita punya influence ke post hardcore. Nah kita pikir untuk bikin indie rock dengan influence post hardcore selanjutnya. Jadi kita mau rilis EP yang berbau post hardcore biar nanti kita full album akan bawa post hardcore

 Kapan tuh kira-kira?

Imam: sebenernya progress kita masih lama banget sih

Abi&Rafi: Karena Imam punya tiga band

Imam: Jangan gitu dong. Sebenernya itu empat lagu demo udah direkam lama banget dan baru dirilis singlenya September kemaren dan sekarang EP Demo jadi kita gak bisa ngasih kepastian kapan EP selanjutnya.

 Sisa dari interview ini, Wils balik interview mengenai noishor. Kurang relevan.

[noisewhore]

REVIEW TIME: WILS - EP DEMO

they are Wils, they are all over the place. 

Wils are a 3-piece band hailing from Bintaro or somewhere around it, and also hailing from the collective that consists of a bunch of random dudes, Swinggger Collective. They played their debut at Swinggger Party and went on to play at several gigs over the course of 2016. And they surprised us with an EP today which proves to be their prowess and emotional call for help. 

For starters, this is an emotional EP, the instrumentation, the rough vocals and riffs are all inter-connected with whatever emotional stuff these guys went through to produce these four songs in the demo. The first track, homecoming is a clear homage to the emotional riffs of their reference bands and this gives us a taste of the lo-fi mixing brought to you by Alfuzz/Alfath/whatever he goes by these days from Kaveman that suits the demo pretty well, though at times the mixing for this EP feels out of place or rather the combination of each instruments plus the vocals bear a little inconsistency here and there. All in all the song “Homecoming” serves as an adequate introduction both the EP and Wils in general. The only thing I have against this song is that it feels a bit dragged out and it ends pretty abruptly, it’s like they were not sure when to stop this song so they continued a bit and felt that it was way too much and end it as fast and as smooth as they could. The second song, “Tired to be Punk” is a more mature song with more composure and fast-paced riffs, and the best introduction the vocals they could possibly do as the rough vocals seeps through very suddenly and smoothly. And here it’s clear that they are writing songs to just vent and bitch about everything, and I think that is pretty good for any band to have such an honest songwriting ability that does not come off as fully pretentious or awkward. As the sound of Imam is lurking throughout the song, it can draw comparison to Ringo Deathstarr’s 2011 album “Colour Trip” with some rough edges all around it somehow, the mixture of the instrumentation and vocals I guess. 

The third song on the EP, “Bicycle Kick” is a more smooth instrumental track compared to “Homecoming” with much more balance with a great buildup with to riffs that changes smoothly to the other half of the song. I prefer this take that they took rather what they did at “Homecoming” without reducing its substance to the EP. The last song on the EP, “Beginner’s Fall” is one big emotional spill and probably their best song in this EP. The instrumentation goes hand in hand with the rough vocals, the latter part of the song also works splendidly with the first half of the song with a smooth transition. This song could not be better for Wils in this EP and serves as the proper closure to the EP. Wils shows a lot of raw emotional spill in this EP and that is all for this EP. These guys should be looking good for the year ahead.

[noisewhore]

EXCLUSIVE STREAM : SADFORDS LADS CLUB - LATE FAREWELL

“Sadfords Lads Club merupakan salah satu band yang menarik perhatian saya di tahun 2014 dengan dengan “Hazy Weather” dan merupakan salah satu dari sekian band yang mendasari saya untuk memulai noisewhore.com tapi entah bagaimana saya tidak pernah mengulas atau membahas mereka disini, namun Hazy Weather tetap menjadi salah satu favorit saya, dan dengan berakhirnya Sadfords Lads Club dan rilisnya rilisan terakhir ini, akhirnya saya bisa membahas dan memberikan apresiasi terbaik saya kepada mereka. 

- Argia Adhidhanendra, Noisewhore.com 

Late Farewell by Sadford Lads Club

[noisewhore]

GASCOIGNE - STOLEN WAR EMBLEM

Gasoigne is a new band with familiar faces all around. The band was formed some time after Alvi and the boys of Mutombo revealed themselves and disbanded it right after playing at our gig some months ago. Zaka mentioned about this project prior to the release of this song. He described it as something hailing heavily from Pavement and other bands at that era. And it’s safe to say that they nailed it. They played their debut in Thursday Noise a week ago, there was a good buzz all around. There is a somewhat awkward dilemma in the regeneration of this kind of genre in the midst of the growing trend of other genres and of course, AGGI has also left us. Although Gascoigne can’t be called as one, they certainly can create the buzz and the spark needed for this genre. 

[noisewhore]

Circarama - Trap (Live at Noisewhore Live Vol.002)

It’s a little late, but we have a soundcloud now. Curating our remnants of live recordings of past gigs and future releases, maybe? 

But this is Circarama performing “Trap” earlier this year. This song is my personal favourite of the entire set as they performed last but gave it their all on a sunday midnight. 

[noisewhore]

REVIEW TIME: SATURDAY NIGHT KARAOKE -  行かない!

wihi

Our favourite all juicy and okay all around band, Saturday Night Karaoke is back, releasing a 3″ CD with Geekmonger Records earlier this month. The release, bearing only two tracks, as it is a single release, is exactly what you would expect from this band. I don’t know man, this band almost delivers by every release, improving its musical prowess and dry jokes. SNK is really a one-off kinda band around here and this release proves it just right. There is nothing to complain about as they brought forward 2 spot on tracks, the first one “行かない!” lasts less than a minute but oozing with their own way of doing music. The second one, “Never Learn” is another song that captures love from afar, a topic that SNK has brought forward on their previous songs before but it always works as they delivers this with catchy riffs and fast-paced vocals like they always do. It is a wonder that SNK is very productive nowadays, fresh from releasing their split with AGGI, “Gawking Geek Music” months ago and their full length album “SLURP!” both under Rizkan Records. I hope, I really do hope that they can continue dropping music in the future. Here, take a listen, for free, and then pay for it.

行かない! by Saturday Night Karaoke

[noisewhore]

KAVEH KANES - POACHER

Last night, Kaveh Kanes released their newest music video via Kolibri Rekords, it is a long awaited project as Seattle-based Annisa Amalia directed this music video and chatters about this music video was heard months ago when I met Annisa to create a gig for HimeHime and it does delivers. It serves the song right and I really like the message and the image brought forward by this video. 

[noisewhore]

REVIEW TIME: PEONIES - LANDSCAPE

About damn time

I stumbled upon Peonies last year, wandering around soundcloud and shit. I fell in love in how they were kinda upbeat and twee but not carrying any amount of cringy stuff. I was expecting more of the same shit when Peonies dropped the news. I always prefer their live sets than their songs on souncloud because they can bring some songs to life with some raunchy elements that you can’t find on soundcloud. Including, but not limited to dressing up with proper costumes and all in Noisewhore Live Vol. 002 (hehe) 

Well I hereby claim that I’m wrong. Songs that are already on soundcloud have a different take on this album. This album only lasts about 38 minutes or so, but it contains a wide array of sounds and texture that it’s like a beautiful omnibus that contains every influence of Peonies, you name it. The twee doesn’t vanish completely in this album though, surely not. The first song “Intro (I Got You)” is a simple repetitive song that is already up on soundcloud, with a different take of course. The song seems more convoluted, wilder than before in this album cut. This also stands as one of the most solid track of all. Next up, “Wednesday” contains a considerable amount of twee to make sure that I can have a good dance in my head, or some sort, or probably just a little feet and head movements, idk. It was another song with a similar approach with the previous one. 

A song that has a very different approach of the early tracks in this album is “Whispering (All The Colours)” which has a fuzzy feeling and a heavy synth or idk what that is, but it has an 8 bit-ish sound, who knows. The vocals are also quite fascinating with both Jodi and Cinta Marezi join forces for the vocals in this song. The only song that (unfortunately) kinda being worse off with this kind of approach by Peonies is probably “Truth” which kinda dilutes the whole song with a different approach to the vocals. The album takes a somewhat murkier instrumentation and textures of sounds in the song “Run Away” which took a while to get used to but it’s really really good. This somewhat darker approach can also be seen in the song “Wishlost” which gives a very clear view of the vocals prowess of Peonies in this album. Another turn in the album can be seen in “Zoo” with a strong presence of surf rock and stuff. The vocals, bearing a more firm approach is spot on in this song. This just justifies the fact that Peonies is kinda everywhere in this album, and it’s the best thing about this album. Some snob probably will say that it’s not, fuck off. “Landscape” closes of the album pretty well, it has a similar surf rock presence here and there and it also has the previous murky approach, well it has everything that Peonies are trying to do in this album. Peonies is good yes?  

Here take a look at their recent music video. 

[noisewhore]

REVIEW TIME: THE SILENT LOVE - WHISPER

Sometimes you need to drown into something for a quick ease at 3 am, and The Silent Love is something you’d go for and drown into.

Jakarta’s dream-pop band The Silent Love released Whisper in early 2016, January’s baby was born under France based Beko records. Whisper is the gloomyish kind of album, containing songs with desperation-like lyrics. The first time you drown yourself into this album, you’d get yourself spinned around in a wheel of gloomy instrumental in a song called Whisper. After a whisper you’d stop by to a song called Slowly, a brief pit stop after Whisper, “Look at the sun in your sky…”  and there you have yourself speaking to the sky yet contemplating with some sunnylike dream-pop vibe. Then there goes Tremble, a song which depicts regret. As you listen to Tremble, it resembles to you dwelling in your past uneasy love life. My Shining Star, a song which comes after Tremble, is a wake from a sleep in despair, ‘I see stars’ within the slow-paced sweet melody. Then Unloved, a song which depicts solemn desperation, backed with strums and reverbs, yet also the highlight. Finally, There’s In The Morning that starts another phase with it’s upbeat tune. Some kind of a happy-ish jingle indeed. Followed by Eternal Feeling, an anthem for a hopeless one's wish with its ‘I’ll never get you by my side..’ kind of lyrics. After a short road of hopelessness, Starlight and Pelangi are a turn-back from the hopeless road. And finally Whisper ends with Yuna, a sweet closure to this melancholic album.

Nevertheless, The Silent Love has assembled a mellow, yet recognisable dream-pop album. In which the lyrics and how the harmony goes. This album is a perfect capture of being trapped in a melancholia. Tis a sweet one to drown into after a lurk and sulk. I’d favour for another kind like Whisper.

[noisewhore]

REVIEW TIME : GAWKING GEEK MUSIC - AGGI & SATURDAY NIGHT KARAOKE

There are a few splits this year. Man, but this one really is the best of them all.

Aggi, a pop-punk outfit, teaming up with the all haha and rocking Saturday Night Karaoke. Shit, I don’t even need to introduce these two anymore what am I doing. Released under Rizkan Records, the release bears the tone and the feeling to encapsulates these two bands perfectly. Aggi is kinda on and off even after this was released earlier this year. SNK played a couple of gigs here and there (wait what? OH yes, including Noisewhore Live Vol. 001 for SNK and Noisewhore Live Vol. 002 for AGGI. Hehe) These two bands are the kind of bands that you’ll see on twitter on a daily basis joking around. Just for the sake of joking around. They’re not promoting any shit or other motives, it’s pure joke. And it’s brilliant. Their music also bears a laid back approach with a strong appeal to their crowd. More like a cult following, I guess. Not really, I mean, you can’t really put these two bands in boxes and shit. They exist, they constantly put up some good music, and they joke around.  Well as Aggi put it, “Maybe it’s cliche, but...fuck you, we’re twee”

The first half of the split starts up with Aggi’s opening track “Punk Boy meets Punk Girl So What” for those of you that are new to Aggi’s music, then this song is a good start for you my child. The two original songs by Aggi in this split (Bar the song “Spill My Blood” covered by SNK) have a strong and shy theme for love and pain, deep in the guitar riffs and all that. The tone gets slower and darker in the second song, “Heather” is about the loss of a friend with only a guitar accompanying this song, without distortions or anything else. A naked song if you like to put it that way. The end of Aggi’s part in this split is a perfect cover of SNK’s “Indie Rock 101″ as they adopted the song to their approach of music, a murkier version of the song, I guess.

“Atomich Leg Drop” opens up the other half of the split. Even though it sounds like SNK is bringing a more upbeat and jolly element to the EP, this song is also about a shy love, now covered in a more upbeat vocal by Prabu and a more catchy riffs. “But then you’ll still probably think that I’m such a creep” laments the tone of a pop-punk anthem in the whole split. “T.S.B” is a bit different from previous tracks, with the same tone, of course. It captures the rebellious part of the pop-punk genre and it’s also the catchiest song in this whole split full of catchy lyrics and riffs. We have the winner here. The split closes of with SNK’s cover of Aggi’s “Spill My Blood” and it properly sends off one of the best split so far. What SNK did is the same thing that Aggi did in their cover, they didn;t just do a cover, they went out of their ways to have it their ways. Damn this is good.

[noisewhore]

REVIEW TIME: RAMAYANA SOUL - SABDAMANTRANA LP RELEASE PARTY

 "Terdengar nada dawai batu gajah..." as Ivon Destian's voice echoed through the chamber, Ramayana Soul got into the realms of spirituality with their intimate music.

Ramayana Soul held a release party of their LP version of Sabdamantrana on the 14th of May, approximately 2 weeks ago at Gudang Sarinah. The concert was opened by Karon N' Roll and The Lampu, coming all the way from Bali. 

I didn't get the chance to see Karon N' Roll, but luckily came on time to seek The Lampu playing on stage—I somehow would refer The Lampu to The Garden, they had similar noise, and they were pretty enjoyable to be watched indeed. When Ramayana Soul started to perform, everything became at ease as they started off by blasting Aluminium Foil as an intro, enchanting the whole crowd with their solid intimacy. Ivon's voice howled thoroughly backed up with instrumental sounds which had an influence of South Asian music; sitar-playing—and a punch of psychedelia. I would likely refer this band as psychedelic. On several occasions I can say they could be pretty experimental, there were songs where it had sessions of Angga screaming. Especially on Dimensi Dejavu, where the screaming becomes a part of the reff. Nonetheless, the screaming was one of the fragments which made things more intimate. During Mawar Batu, where the sounds were acrobatic—sitar and tabla dominating with a sense of psychedelia. 

The whole set was spiritual, engaging us into the spiritual underworld, accompanied by both Angga and Ivon's mystic voice and moves, yet the band's instrumental would just make you stand there and things around you would simmer in your ears. It was mystical and intimate, yes.

[noisewhore]

REVIEW TIME: FUZZY, I - NEONATO

All raunchy and all. These dudes from my hometown aren’t joking with a proper first release. 

Leeds Records, along with Holytunes teamed up to make a little release on Records Store Day. Before the release of Neonat, I’ve listened to “Animal Gaze” and “Naivety” and these two tracks may not represent Fuzzy, I as a whole, but Neonato sure did. With 5 songs that lasted for 2-3 minutes-ish, The opening track on this one, “Neonato” is an all-fuzz and bouncing around, I feel that this song represent Fuzzy, I and this release of course more than Naivety or Animal Gaze. They’re more explosive, screaming their lungs out frantically, yearning for someone to gouge their eyes I suppose. “Illogical Symphony” is a more organized fuzz than “Neonato” with killer riffs all around it. What I like about these two opening songs is that they’re not relying solely on the fuzz and the riffs, well they do have some good riffs here and there, but the layering of the sound, the instrumentation, and the vocals all being set up pretty nicely. 

“Animal Gaze” and “Naivety” are the next two songs in this release. Well these two songs,  “Animal Gaze” especially, can be dubbed as the climax of this album, not only that they’re familiar because they’re available on soundcloud, these two songs succeed in making Fuzzy, I break through. Earning them several gigs around Jakarta and Bandung, including Thursday Noise and Records Store Day Jakarta. “Troglodyte” is the last song in Neonato. The most explosive intro I can imagine in this release, followed with a great song overall. A proper enough song to finish off I suppose. Leeds Records once posted that Fuzzy, I is pretty much alike with Drive Like Jehu and Metz, although I feel a more broad reference to Fuzzy, I, I must say that the Metz comparison is pretty spot on. Overall a proper raunchy, loud, bold, and screaming for something we all don’t know for sure.