Introduction
Five Songs, 1/9/2021
Five Songs

Five Songs, 1/9/2021

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Ghost Bath, "Golden Number"

There's a continuum in music that relies heavily tremelo picking going from black metal at one end to shoegaze at the other end. The placement of any band on this spectrum kind of comes down to the vocals, the use of dissonance, the melodies (if any), and the production. And bands can move around on the spectrum (Alcest, for instance). Ghost Bath isn't pure black metal, so they've moved along that spectrum some. "Blackgaze" is sometimes used for these sorts of bands, and I can't decide if that's a good name or not.

Can, "Halleluhwah"

Got some long songs today! Krautrock in full effect here, with Can heading wherever they want and making it all work. What really makes Can succeed is how good the rhythm section is. Liebezeit and Czukay were both rock solid and interesting, and allowed the rest of the band to experiment to their hearts' desire.

Leprous, "The Price"

I think I've said it before, but I'm not a huge prog metal guy in general. It's not that I don't mind a little pretension every now and again. But it's more that a lot of it can collapse into wankery, and if I'm going to listen to something that isn't really songs, there are other genres I prefer for that sort of thing. There are exceptions, though, and Leprous is one of them. Just corny as hell, but kind of endearing for it.

Coldplay, "Don't Panic"

I know that liking Coldplay is one of the most basic of moves, but I'll defend the first two albums. Yeah, it's far too earnest and shamelessly manipulative, but they're good at it, and I like both albums quite a bit. The rest of it can go hang, though.

Tuxedo, "2nd Time Around"

It will surprise you not at all that this is, indeed, from the second Tuxedo album. Which is excellent fun!

Joshua Buergel
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