Album Rating: 3.5

not hangry enough to not sound like the Undertakerfreak with all his big words clearly. Clearly I'm not "sagacious" enough to get his point.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

An interesting thing about the use of the word pretentious - my understanding of the definition is effectively 'an attempt to enact something that is beyond your actual capabilities', which I saw a fair number of critics use in response to this album. It appears that the more colloquial use is something more like self-centered or narcissistic, which doesn't seem fully accurate. I don't think this album is pretentious because it seems to accomplish what it set out to do, and isn't trying to outperform itself - it has a very basic progression structure that is effective and throws in a number of musical styles in order to keep that formula fresh, and for me that works. Something like Rings of Saturn's latest release is probably more in line with the use of the word pretentious, i.e. attempting something that is actually beyond your own skillset. I see the word thrown around a lot unfortunately in a context that doesn't quite make sense



Btw this was not shade at anyone here, moreso a personal observation

Album Rating: 1.0

Johnny may be sagacious and loquacious, but you risk appearing mendacious if you call him ostentatious

right lol so having an emotional connection is a hugely important part of how i process most music, and the range of sounds and voice it's opened up to me makes me deeply suspicious of takes from anyone who only praises things for "emotional" value if it comes as allcaps CATHARSIS. the bermuda triangle you failed to parse implies that your emotional compass is off-wack and i don't care for the way you apply it to music. in Very Direct Language this is because you overstate emotional overtones to the point that you cannot differentiate between things I'd consider profound or trite and seem either uninvested in or outright oblivious to aspects of performance that i consider crucial to determining how much emotional investment a piece really warrants.
there's nothing wrong with that and, like, power to you if you get that connection out of your music consumption? but since neither i nor anyone else is here to discuss the one-to-one correlation between artistic choices and the magnitude of your cathartic reaction, which seems to be the only lens you are interested in applying to music, this kinda puts a pretty firm ceiling on the Discourse
"unbearably insufferable and pretentious"
pro-tip - if you're gonna pull that card on verbosity, don't do it with a mix of "big" words and tautology. side-splitting hypocrisy crime tight there

i am eating pizza rn and will retype this with proper orientation towards whatever deathbat's age of maturity is the moment my nerves have settled

Album Rating: 3.5

i'll just be straight up and say my internal "litmus test" per se, I think is prob the more emotional moments off of BMTH's "There Is a Hell", as that was really where this whole domino effect began for me. an album like this, at points, moved me almost as much as a lot of stuff off there did, as well as stuff like the first three My Chem albums. the vocals are not my usual bag (with a more traditional "emo" style to vocals i'd likely have this 5'd by now) but I somehow managed to get over it.

"there's nothing wrong with that and, like, power to you if you get that connection out of your music consumption? but since neither i nor anyone else is here to discuss the one-to-one correlation between artistic choices and the magnitude of your cathartic reaction, which seems to be the only lens you are interested in applying to music, this kinda puts a pretty firm ceiling on the Discourse"

which makes me wonder why you're spending this much time and this much effort in trying to convince me i'm wrong.

"pro-tip - if you're gonna pull that card on verbosity, don't do it with a mix of "big" words and tautology. side-splitting hypocrisy crime tight there"

dear lord what i meant was the reliance on big words make you sound like this one asshole I used to know who'd always look to the thesaurus and find whatever big word to make him sound smart. it makes you sound like the type of person i'd avoid at a party because it's annoying as all hell. "tautology"? What dictionary did you use to put THAT one in?

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Currently I think that Aqua Regia is the takeaway track, that bass synth toward the beginning is nasty and the vocal performance is very accessible. Again the piano is a highlight. Though a fair number of elements in this record are somewhat poppy, which is not my usual go-to, they're very well executed

might want to let it go now that circles are being run

Album Rating: 2.0

syco i feel for u, you’re like the only one who wants to discuss this album

highly commendable tbh

Album Rating: 3.5

ya i want to let this go too doc i feel like i've said all i can say unless johnny 3 tears over there has another word wall

yes lol bless you syco
re. pretentious, it's a weird one and i think suggests a not-always-overlapping set of things to different people. I think the best definition is where performativity crosses the line into outright postulation, but even then i don't think it's always a bad thing. being able to playfully or provocatively postulate shit can be meaningful in its own way, and i like a load of music that has used that to whatever effect (sleepytime gorilla museum, ulver, umpteen j-idol projects). however, when it crosses over into your beyond-capabilities definition (which I'd broaden into beyond-scope-of-art) i feel it massively exacerbates any failure to live up to the standards an artist projects that they're trying to attain - and then we get Tool, Kanye, pick your choice of Steven Wilson era etc.. if this was a Normal Band, idk if I'd single out their music as specifically pretentious, but their whole branding/anonymity/fake cult schtick v much warrants the tag in a critical light given how banal most of their music + lyrics are for me

Album Rating: 3.5

"if this was a Normal Band, idk if I'd single out their music as specifically pretentious, but their whole branding/anonymity/fake cult schtick v much warrants the tag in a critical light given how banal most of their music + lyrics are for me"

personally i just see that as Just Marketing Shit which, look, i'd do the same thing if i wanted to make music a full-time gig because just being another band doesn't sell in this age, you have to make a brand to make yourself unique and stand out in this age of Late Stage Crapitalism.

because marketing as a whole isn't by definition one of the most pretentious sectors in the game

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

I was just jamming along and hoping to get us all back on track with some thoughts. Johnny I'll somewhat agree with your distaste for the branding - I don't have any interest in that and to some extent, no matter how much I like this album, I think it would actually kind of discourage me from seeing them live if I'm honest. I don't abhor it and good on them for giving it a go, but it isn't for me, I'm mostly trying to ignore it. I'm not entirely sure I agree with that being an appropriate use of the word pretentious however, as I think they've just found a silly thing that they like and it works for them, no harm no foul. I agree - it's an odd word with a lot of connotations, you have some good points. Kayne is maybe the textbook definition of pretentious to me.

Album Rating: 3.5

It's goofy and gimmicky but I don't mind it when i think about it as essentially what they're doing to try to stand out. there's a million "normal bands with normal band members" so goofy gimmicks can be a way to make your marketing look different and get your name out there.

this is where zak is cued to pop in and (probably rightfully tbh) assert that things were better in the 90s when all a band needed to do to stand out was have their bassist fuck a chicken

Album Rating: 3.5

i mean all primus had to do to stand out was have one of the best bassists in the game in les claypool :^)

Album Rating: 4.5

'yourself unique and stand out in this age of Late Stage Crapitalism'



As if entertainment acts haven't been doing this since forever, you speak nonsense here.

Album Rating: 3.5

They have, but it's especially necessary in the age of the internet. Just showing 4 random dudes isn't enough anymore.