By: Maple Graham
- “folx make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.”
Transition into another, consisting of a simple tune and other sound effects scattered around. I’d give it a 2/10 just due to its shortness.
- “The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living.”
“Bob Dylan” being sung—courtesy of Frost Children—followed by an organ chord; 1/10.
- “Desolation Row ([spectre] w [autism] [trespasses] to [safeguard] @ [the housing complex]) ([iN_ChArGe_!!_LiKe_a_bOsS_!!] [property ownership is the only remaining job] [LANDLORD ANTHEM])”
A well-designed and balanced entry, and one I really enjoy. It’s hard to pinpoint its exact genre, as it starts with guitar, vocals, and other samples and builds on itself until the end. This track also has a harmonica solo at the end, which sounds really nice. In all, it’s a song that unmistakably comes from this album, and I believe it to capture the essence and process put into every song here. 7/10—very well done, but not done quite as tastefully as I’d want it to be.
- “– “to give the listener the pay-off, the sanic money-shot, as soon and as obviously as possible.” […] there’s a tyrannical desperation about this [album]. It doesn’t seduce; it tyrannises.”
The segue into the next song, which is just a Green Hill Zone remix with added lyrics and an insane amount of auditory additives. This bit is quite lackluster in comparison, but it works, so I’m rating it a safe 3.5/10.
- “Blues Run the Game ([sonic] w [dysmorphia] [violates copyright] to [restart] @ [the city upon a hillzone]) ([wAiT_Am_i_oLd_nOw_??] [identity#03])”
As stated above, this song is basically a giant, complex Green Hill Zone remix—I’ve never heard any remix so unequivocally filled with as much content as possible that wasn’t just made for fun. It’s clear every sample was laid with intent, and it shows very clearly; it earns a 7/10.
- “This is no longer the cruelty of life, the terror of one life brought to bear against another life, but a post-mortem despotism, the despot become anus and vampire[…]”
A door closing, and audible breathing. This only connects to the next song; 1/10.
- “Capital is dead labour, that vampire-like, only lives by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks.”
The exact same thing as above, combined with footstep sounds. 1/10.
- “Streets of London ([vampire] w [hyper-empathy] [coerces] to [mentor] @ [the community development]) ([gIvInG_My_iNtErN_EvErYtHiNg_sHe_wIlL_NeEd_tO_SuCcEeD])”
Whenever I think of ‘folx’ as an entire album, this is the first song I think of. Consisting of the now-standard guitar and vocals with other samples, this song leans much heavier into the samples and distorts them to create the song’s own unique backdrop. This song is very similar to “Man of Constant Sorrow ([android] w [autism] [phishes] to [network] @ [the city upon a hill]) ([bOyFrIeNd_qUeSt_bEgInS]),” and I think that’s why I like this song so much as well. It perfectly fits within the album’s sound, and it’s extremely catchy. 8/10; if you only listen to one song off this album, I recommend it be this one.
- “Vampires do not appear in mirrors. In the case of grey vampires — […] — this means both that they cannot recognise themselves as vampires and that their existence is entirely dependent upon the attention of the Other.”
Short intermission of water flowing and the a cappella of “Nobody but the Baby”. Works decently well as its own transition and sets up the next track nicely; 4/10.
- “If I Needed You ([siren] w [petulant borderline personality disorder] [blackmails] to [motivate] @ [the benefit concert]) ([mY_InTeRn_nEeDs_mE_AnD_I_NeEd_hEr])”
I imagine this song to feel tangibly unpolished, like holding a piece of pumice or a nail file. There’s so many sharper samples here, which sound smaller and take up less headroom, and then whoever produced this part added a staggering amount of them. Aside from this, it doesn’t have any special arrangements, so I’ll leave it here with a 7.5/10.
- “[…] a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production and of exchange, is like the sorcerer”
Guitar combined with lyrics taken from ‘How Long Is Forever.’ Pleasant; a 5/10 transition.
- “who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom folx has called up by their spells.”
Starting with piano, guitar, and bird calls. The vocals here are from My Little Pony again, and stay as such when the song plunges into a massive soundscape, arpeggiating synthesizers and other pieces bedazzling the listener. The song ends with a rough fade out, simplifying the last bit into something more digestible, and then breaking it further until nothing remains. 6/10, I really like the ending here, along with the rest of the song.
- “Leaving on a Jetplane ([fate] w [complex post-traumatic stress disorder] [corrupts] to [uphold] @ [the trauma centre]) ([f***_KiDs_tHeSe_dAyS_ArE_UnGrAtEfUl])”
I can’t identify the main instrument in this song: it sounds like an accordion but without manually putting air through it. The song starts with a slightly awkward solo, and when layers are added, the beginning instrument is revealed to be a harmony to the main melody. 8/10; the progression here is impeccable, and it also feels longer than some of the other tracks here in a good way.
- “The re-staging of the death is less an admission of ethical responsibility than an attempt to own it, to make sense of it. Such is the logic of trauma.”
This transition sounds like one of those unrealistic stabbing sounds you hear in action movies, now in isolation. 1/10, at least it bleeds into the next entry.
- “The Last Thing on My Mind ([ouroboros] w [secondary post-traumatic stress disorder] [perjures] to [reorient] @ [the experimental psychiatric clinic]) ([mAn_i_ReGrEt_wHaT_I_DiD_To_tHaT_KiD] [her accusations are true but im not goin”
Violin, vocals, and a guitar act as the main trifecta here in this track, along with a glockenspiel on the side. I mainly remember this song for the lyric “I could’ve loved you better” repeated over and over throughout the song. It’s a 6.5/10, and one I don’t have much to say from a uniqueness standpoint.
- “Self-contempt is a serpent that ever gnaws at folx’s breast, sucking the life-blood from folx’s own heart and mixing it with the poison of misanthropy and despair.”
The first half is an electric guitar combined with a sample from ‘Inside Llewyn Davis,’ while the second is the same guitar combined with synths, and another My Little Pony sample edited to replace all names with “folx,” the name of this album. It works well as a transition; I’m glad this one wasn’t cut up into a billion parts like some of the early transitions in this album. 6/10: memorable.
- “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right ([hydra] w [narcissistic personality disorder] [betrays] to [satisfy] @ [the restorative justice zone]) ([gOnNa_mAkE_It_wOrK_WiTh_hEr_!!])”
The best song on the album thus far. I give it an 8.5/10 due to its length, complexity, and overall vibe—it has so many layers and feels impenetrable at parts because so much is all happening at once. Upon first listen, this song gave me a headache as I was trying to get the most out of my first listening experience. Maximalism at it’s finest.
- “Semio-capitalism is more like confronting the mythical hydra[…] cut off one head and three more grow in its place, […]”
Sound of a coin getting put into an arcade machine. 1/10.
- “The good old days of exploitation, […] meant the annihilation of subjectivity, your reduction to an impersonal machine-part; […] Now, there is no time away from work, and work is not opposed to subjectivity.”
The aforementioned sound continued. 0.5/10, just put it into the same entry as “Semio-capitalism is more like confronting the mythical hydra[…] cut off one head and three more grow in its place, […]”, please.
- “Moonshadow ([horseman of the apocalypse] w [gambling addiction] [misappropriates] to [restructure] @ [the private equity firm]) ([aCtUaLlY_GoNnA_MaKe_iT_WoRk_wItH_HiM_!!])”
A catchy end to this part of the album review, being a well-crafted song full of bits and pieces you’d only hear from a maximalist creator. It’s chock full of so many samples and bits that I can’t summarize succinctly. 7.5/10, definitely worth a listen!
