Weekly Roundup - Unreviewed Releases: June 16-30, 2023

 

Calliope Music Weekly Roundup

Unreviewed Releases

June 16-30, 2023

Rated Albums

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation

7/10

Best Tracks: Motor Spirit -- Witchcraft -- Dragon -- Flamethrower

    Prolific Australian Psychedelic Rock band, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard return for their second attempt at Metal, since 2019's Infest The Rats' Nest. This time, the band goes full throttle into prophetic Prog and crashing Thrash Metal. Ripping electric guitar riffs snatch one's attention as thundering drums, fizzing bass and bellowing vocals become gargantuan gales of mythical doom. The lyrics follow an apocalyptic Earth, where burnt fossil fuels and harrowing storms destroy all life. Old English phrases, fiery imagery and growling vocals describe the humans' last ditch effort to save the planet; a coven of witches who attempt to summon a great beast to quell the destructive storm. During the summoning ritual, a black cat interrupts and causes the witches to target their spell on a lizard, who then grows to become an enormous dragon set on killing everything in sight. King Gizzard tells this simple story well, as billowing instrumentals build into striking masses comparative to the monsters they speak of. Dynamical progressions call upon blazing guitar to give a sense of frenzy and an appealing pandemonium, unstoppable in the waves of volcanic kicks and cymbals. While the band's 25th studio album does suffer from some subpar Metal vocalizations and cliché upholstery, it isn't enough to prevent PetroDragonic Apocalypse from being a vigorous display of modern Metal, wrapped in an ever burning whirlwind of infernal obliteration.

Geese - 3D Country

6.5/10

Best Tracks: 2122 -- 3D Country -- I See Myself -- Gravity Blues -- Domoto

New Jersey Indie Rockers, Geese bedazzle upbeat Art Punk with a desperate flamboyancy of vibrant Southern twist. Sanguine collections of popping drums, sizzling strings, melodramatic piano and the bright bustling of electric guitar embody cheerful bass grooves of hyper Punk essence. Lead vocalist, Cameron Winter propounds an extensive dynamism, matching feisty clusters of sound with quickly shifting falsetto and vibrato. Winter utilizes his exaggerated vocals to belt about dead lovers, meaningless sin and post-apocalyptic fun, all with a colorful use of Southern imagery and religious iconography. Where 3D Country is bombastic and exciting in its vigorous splurge of cowboy eclecticism, it often becomes crowded with such hectic production. Winter's ever-bending voice is impressive in its range, but coupled with teeming instrumentals results in a busyness that takes away from each sound's individual intrigue. That being said, Geese still manage to generate an exhilarating gaiety, alongside an oddly optimistic perspective on loss and tarnation. Even with often confused and unfocused progressions, 3D Country presents a distinctive sonic pallet; a nuclear expression of Southern Punk.

Home Is Where - the whaler

6.5/10

Best Tracks: lily pad pupils -- whaling for sport -- everyday feels like 9/11 -- chris farley -- nursing home riot

Florida Emo band, Home Is Where soaks up the fuzzy bashings of a Groundhog Effect apocalypse in their sophomore studio album. Bright electric guitar leads Post-Hardcore progressions of brawny kicks, shimmering cymbals and screaming vocals. Anxious bursts of melodies tell about a repeated catastrophe, as the world relives 9/11 over and over again. This, along with brisk distortion and whirling verses expand a theme of "atrocious mundanity," where society becomes numb to disaster and heartbreak. Midwest Emo imagery and the symbol of a suicidal whale portray the paralysis of emotion that continuous calamity brings. While this is a potent message, some unenhanced movements and dry Punk progressions reflect this numbness as hackneyed writing instead. Still, the whaler is a genuine Post-Hardcore effort, with an intriguing concept that comes off as a despairing, but not all too unrealistic compulsion for catastrophe.   

Monika Roscher Bigband - Witchy Activities and the Maple Death

7/10

Best Tracks: 8 Prinzessinnen -- Firebird -- Creatures of Dawn -- Queen of Spades -- A Taste of the Apocalypse -- The Leading Expert of Loneliness -- Direct Connection

German musician and composer, Monika Roscher initiates an emphatic array of Palatial Bigband and Wiccan Avant-Prog in her group's third studio album. Earth shaking drums tremble as sumptuous horns, whistling woodwind, purring guitar and scintillating keys craft stories of naïve paganism and feminine power. Puissant progressions exude a mighty density, full of chirping trumpet, electronic dribbles and theatric bass. Roscher adjoins Pop vocalizations to conjure an elastic mixture of Progressive Pop movements and blown-out Jazz descriptors. This results in an odd, but effective blowtorch of spiritual machinations, doused in the spice of wicked horns and guitar. While several movements are hurt by a lack of subtlety and more focused Jazz influences, Roscher no doubt fashions a titanic sound deserving of one's full attention. The immensity of each track is complemented by tight group play and fierce relocations of noise, making the Maple Death a thrilling witching hour for Roscher and the band. 

Lil Uzi Vert - Pink Tape

3.5/10

Best Tracks: Flooded The Face -- x2 -- Nakamura -- Days Come and Go -- Rehab -- Zoom (Bonus Track)

Philadelphia Trap sensation, Lil Uzi Vert ignites pink flames of luxury and exuberance in their Metal and Rage inspired fifth studio album. Jumpy bass loops, sci-fi synth jabs and stadium atmospheres set up buoyant Trap and Pop Rap instrumentals. Uzi also takes a stab at Alternative Metal, covering System of a Down's Chop Suey, as well as featuring the likes of Metalcore's Bring Me the Horizon and the Japanese Arena Metal group, BABYMETAL. While shiny Trap production conducts head-bobbing flashes of bouncing energy, the overall delivery of Pop and Metal tracks fall flat in the face of a lengthy runtime. Moments of production brilliance, such as the glimmering, yet dark synth on 'Flooded The Face,' give hope to otherwise empty sentiments. These momentary glimpses are seen conceptually on the tracks, 'Days Come and Go' and 'Rehab,' where Uzi reflects on time's passing and his fight against drug addiction. Nevertheless, these pieces of emotional depth are fleeting, as the main focus of the project is of opulence and materialistic pleasures. Whilst Uzi does manage to create coruscating melodies discussing basic symbolism, a lack of innovation and maneuvering progressions propel the project into a speedy mediocrity. Often times, Lil Uzi Vert avoids creating new and inspiring developments in favor of unornamented interpolations of popular music, such as the recreation of Eiffel 65's 'Blue' on the track, 'Endless Fashion.' Similar droughts of individuality are heard on the Metal based tracks during the mid-section of the album, where the guest features take over the songs completely, failing to usher in any new kind of balance between Rock and Rap. Add in a plethora of dull Rap verses and an oversaturated runtime and Pink Tape quickly understates its bold production, becoming a dance-worthy, but ironically colorless Pop Rap affair.