By: Maple Graham
- “The death model appears when the body without organs repels the organs and lays them aside[…] no mouth,”
A parody of a Jeff Magnum interview—swapping out certain nouns and places with things relating to ‘folx’—with guitar and samples overlayed in the background, getting increasingly chaotic as it continues as the guitar gives way to what I can only describe as noise—a cascade of delayed instruments and other audio clips crescendoing to a wall of noise at the end. It’s a decent transition, of which I prefer the latter half a lot more. 4/10.
- “no tongue, no teeth—to the point of self-mutilation, to the point of suicide.”
Direct continuation of the previous entry. Could have been easily tacked on to the ending bit of it, so it gets a 1/10.
- “[…] the belief in progress and the faith that one could describe new times in new terms wanes,”
Sound of a tape recorder spinning to a pause, followed by reversed talking. 1.5/10, I wish this was touched more upon, as none of the tracks here—segues or otherwise—focus on reversed speech. The best example I can think of that closely resembles what I have in mind is “The Mind Electric” by Miracle Musical.
- “to be replaced by “the imitation of dead styles, speech through all the masks and voices stored up in the imaginary museums of a new global culture”.”
Starting with an entirely vocal performance of the word “no” repeated again and again, and samples such as horse neighs and banjos are interlaced. The song ends with a culmination of sounds all being played over each other, similar to “The death model appears when the body without organs repels the organs and lays them aside[…] no mouth,.” It gets a 3.5/10 due to the beginning carrying most of the replay value.
- “Playing in the Band ([doppelganger] w [repetitive strain injury] [impersonates] to [entertain] @ [the tribute artist music festival]) ([sInGlE_LiFe_fAnTaSy] [daydream#02])”
Right off the bat, this song feels like the longest thing in the entire album, and it’s split into two parts. The first leans into harmonics and actual instruments, while the second is more upbeat and rhythmic with chopped up bits from the first part. I really enjoy this track; 8/10.
- “So far as living instruments of labour are concerned, for instance horses, their reproduction is timed by nature itself. Their average lifetime as instruments of labour is determined by laws of nature.”
Harp sound effect very similar to “all so that they can then demand the cash for this service of love.”; 2/10—could have been something different.
- “As soon as this term has expired they must be replaced by new ones. A horse cannot be replaced piecemeal; it must be replaced by another horse.”
From the last song, the listener is dropped directly into another recording of a tangible place: a room with a radio playing, and a glass being dropped and shattering on the floor. It works well as a transition, so I’ll give it a 3/10 since it works well with the rest of the album in mind.
- “Both Sides Now ([grim reaper] w [self-destructive borderline personality disorder] [manslaughters] to [pivot] @ [the third space]) ([hEs_bReAkInG_Up_wItH_Me_fOr_gOoD_AnD_Im_wOrRiEd_tHe_mEtApHoR_Is_gRoWiNg_iNcOhErEnT])”
A sample being distorted and stretched out acting as a background to vocals that seem to come out of nowhere. A pairing of a violin and electric guitar serves as the adhesive for all these contrasting parts plus more samples. This song leans extremely heavily into the maximalist space a portion of the album has initialized, and it’s far from a bad addition. 7.5/10: it ends a bit abruptly, but the next track makes up for it.
- “(And you think, well, it’s not the sort of thing that you’d forget, killing yourself and your children, is it? But of course, it’s not the sort of thing that you could possibly remember.”
Primarily made up of vocals harmonizing with the previous song, and guitar to act as a nice backdrop. 5/10; I really like this as a segue despite its fleeting nature.
- “It is an exemplary case of that which must be repressed, the traumatic Real.)”
Another decent transition which combines a My Little Pony sample with a snippet of ‘Both Sides Now.’ It does its job as well as setting up the next entry; 4/10.
- “The Circle Game ([brony] w [chronic pain] [defrauds] to [live] @ [the social services hub]) ([hEs_gOnNa_mAkE_Me_bEg] [identity#04])”
Split into 2 parts as well, this track dives into a maximalist opening, before mellowing out in the following part. Vocals permeate the entire song, instead of being isolated in only select parts. I really like the bell samples and pitched choirs here—7.5/10.
- “folx returns to a cave dwelling, which is now, however, contaminated with the pestilential breath of civilisation, and which they continue to occupy only precariously,”
A My Little Pony sample being played out from the last song, ending with a car crash sound. 2/10; at least it’s separated from the last track because of its tonal shift.
- “it being for them an alien habitation which can be withdrawn from them any day – a place from which, if they do not pay, they can be thrown out any day. For this mortuary folx has to pay.”
The sound of a car’s engine revving with its flashers on—reminds me of a car stuck in a snowbank trying to get out. This is accompanied by an earlier track from ‘folx’ being played on the radio within the car. 3/10.
- “Take Me Home, Country Roads ([minotaur] w [schizophrenia] [surrenders] to [recover] @ [the family farm]) ([lIvInG_WiTh_mY_DaD_AgAiN])”
The beginning of this song is ear candy to me, made up of shrill synthesizers and other automated sounds that I can only describe as making the soundscape feel alive. This track cuts out frequently, adding to the novelty of it all and gaining bonus points from me. As I’ve said before, I appreciate artists who aren’t afraid to possibly mangle their work into something unlikable: for when they do get it right, it sounds much better. The other two-thirds of the track are made up of the classic guitar and vocals that most of the songs on this album have, along with the addition of a violin during the ending. The ending also utilizes the synthesizers from before, which is a creative decision I applaud. It gets a solid 8/10 from me.
- “Fragments of tunes providing minimal orientation in a labyrinth of abstract sound. Have you heard this before? You can never be sure.”
What it says on the tin. Samples crafted into a beat reminiscent of the last entry. Nothing more to say here; 3.5/10.
- “This Land is Your Land ([hobgoblin] w [stockholm syndrome] [loiters] to [serve] @ [his estate]) ([uNcOnDiTiOnAlLy_sUbMiTtInG_To_hIm_cOmPlEtElY])”
Something I can only assume to be a demo track of sorts: just guitar and someone singing in a room that certainly has no soundproofing or dampening. 5/10; I wonder why this was added as it was, and labeled as a finished song. It still sounds nice—it reminds me of other indie musicians I listen to occasionally.
- “[…] no eunuch flatters their despot more basely or uses more despicable means to stimulate their dulled capacity for pleasure in order to sneak a favour for themself than does the industrial eunuch – the music producer”
A whole bunch of “friends&” combined with Discord notification sounds, similar to “(Thus, when folx died, they said that they felt they had lost their eyes…).” 2/10: works well as a segue, but unoriginal when taking the entire album into account.
- “– in order to sneak for themself a few pieces of silver, in order to charm the golden birds, out of the pockets of their dearly beloved folx.”
A bit of the next song, played on a piano. The sound quality mirrors “This Land is Your Land ([hobgoblin] w [stockholm syndrome] [loiters] to [serve] @ [his estate]) ([uNcOnDiTiOnAlLy_sUbMiTtInG_To_hIm_cOmPlEtElY])” and people can also be heard audibly talking in the background. It feels oddly cozy, and it’s a 4.5/10 transition for me.
- “Blowin’ in the Wind ([friends& original not a cover]) ([iT’S_A_CoNcEpT_AlBuM_OkAy_!!_I’M_DoInG_My_bEsT_!!])”
Hatsune Miku comes back again to shine as a vocalist here, and it feels natural. The rest of the song is constructed with analog instruments, with patches of synths shining through. The duality of it all is really beautiful, and it serves to be quite memorable. 7/10; if the album ended here, I wouldn’t think much of it. It has a sort of nostalgic feel to it, which is hard to put into words. I’d just recommend listening to the track yourself to get an idea of what it sounds like.
- “The one who is possessed is also dispossessed – of their own identity and voice.”
A clock ticking with piano being played in the background. Noise is barely audible over the piano, which sounds sort of like an empty train station or some other infrequented public place; 3/10.
