Category Archives: Music/Concerts

Music/Concerts

‘folx’ – friends& review: Part IV

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By: Maple Graham

cover art depicting someone riding on a red horse, looking back at a red cross on a pile of rocks
  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “– “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “[…] 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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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.

  1. “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!

Music/Concerts

Olivia Rodrigo new album: ‘You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love’

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By: Selena C. Thao

I went through Olivia Rodrigo’s new album and tried to describe her songs and what they thought they meant. I have included parts where she has said certain things about the songs themselves.

  1.  Drop Dead

The song “Drop Dead” sounds like it’s about a girl who falls head over heels about another person in the early honeymoon phase. She expresses how she feels about the person by asking multiple questions and how she always pictured them standing together. She even mentions how she “stalked” them on the internet and made them up in her head, as if she was being delusional and again, head over heels.

  1. Stupid Song

The song “Stupid Song” sounds like she expresses her overwhelmed feelings for someone new. Perhaps she hasn’t felt like this in so long and now she’s finally unraveling into someone new. In her lyrics she says, “You should feel how I feel when somebody says your name.” Meaning she most likely wants this person to feel how she feels and reciprocate their feelings back. She even says, “And I want you more than any stupid song could ever say.” Which definitely means that her feeling for this person are so big that it’s indescribable, which is a very overwhelming feeling. It’s like saying, “I like/love you so much, that words can’t even describe my feelings for you.”

  1.  Honeybee

The song “Honeybee” is about how a girl feels so deeply for someone that you overthink the fear of losing them. In her lyrics she sings, “And I hope I never see what your face looks like going.” And even says, “I love you, baby, I promise.” The lyrics have such underlying fear and attachment. She even “cheers” and hoping, hoping that this specific person will stay with her forever.

  1.  Maggots For Brains

This song is quite different from the others. Instead of feeling an overwhelming feeling of losing, she feels overwhelmed by being far from her loved one. She mentions how she tried to write but her mind was blank. It’s a song of feeling bored when your partner isn’t around and they’re the only thing you’re thinking about. She even uses metaphors like, “I’m a zombie in my body.” And “I’m a train off of the track.” Which probably means that when her partner is away, she’s feeling like the boredom is eating her slowly; and that’s when the title steps in, ‘Maggots For Brains’ because they eat your insides.

  1.  U + Me = ❤

“U + Me = <3” is about the relationship between two best friends who treat each other as if they were in a relationship. To me it sounds like this song is a “friends with benefits” trope. There’s not much to this song other than a fun relationship between two people.

  1.  My Way

“My Way” is about confronting another female acquaintance, or ex-flame, who is crossing relationship boundaries and lingering around her partner. She mentioned how this person continuously contacts her partner and sends them love letters, love text and tries to shoot their shot. In her song, she uses words like “take a hint” and says, “You’re posting another pic, and closing a note of his,” which shows her possession over her partner. “And some girl stepped over and the girl is you, yeah. You are in my way now.” which probably means that this person has stepped over boundaries and is trying to get in the way of her relationship.

  1.  Purple

“Purple” is about the loss of individuality, codependency, and the hurtful unraveling of an all consuming relationship. Olivia uses words like “red” meaning passion and “love”, and “blue” meaning sadness and longing. She mentions how she drives or walks past his town and feels like a tourist. The familiarity and recognition only hurts her from past experiences and moments.

  1.  The Cure

This song has quite a heavy meaning. It’s about the realization that falling in love cannot cure your internal insecurities or mental health issues. Olivia, herself explains that this song is mainly targeted towards younger adults that struggle with their own personal problems but block it off with love and even lust. Most young adults think that falling in love with the ‘right’ person will magically cure all of their personal problems and self-doubt, when really that isn’t the case. There’s this saying, “You can’t love others until you love yourself.” And that’s when half of the first verse comes up, “All the pretty girls in the foreground of my mind. I thought I’d be enough, but they keep moving the line.” It seems as if she’s so insecure and overthinking the fact that these other girls are so attractive, which only brings down her confidence but increases her self-doubt. In the chorus she sings, “But my head is full of poison and my heart is full of doubt. I got toxins in my bloodstream. You tried hard to suck out. And it feels like medication and it’s good for me I’m sure but it don’t matter how your love feels anymore; it’ll never be the cure.” She realizes that the love she is receiving cannot be reciprocated due to her self-doubt and low self-esteem.

  1.  Begged

The song “Begged” is about how you could want someone so deeply, yet beg for the bare minimum. She mentions how she’s patiently waiting for this person to step up and show her the love she wants, yet they make no move. Olivia explains that fancy trips or big romantic efforts don’t really matter if you have to ask for it. It’s the art of ‘noticing’ that makes it so special and romantic. “So I’m cool and forgiving, I’ll take what you’re giving.” It looks like this person continuously makes mistakes and doesn’t even try to show her love and passion but she just takes it anyway because she genuinely likes this person.

  1. What’s Wrong With Me

“What’s Wrong With Me” is about how she realizes that she’s miserable because of her romantic relationship and causes them to blame one another and distress between two people. She mentions how she always has a headache and says that she’s ’in love’ but for some reason she just can’t admit it and to follow up she sings, “I think you’re what’s wrong with me.” Which most definitely means that this person doesn’t do anything that benefits her; yet she just cannot bring herself to leave them.

  1. Less

The song “Less” is about a painful, failing relationship and its sorrowful end. She mentions many times how she wished the person would’ve loved her less and didn’t let her in so easily. When she sings, “You say you can’t stand to watch me cry a minute more. So you do the noble thing and open up the door.” It sounds like this specific person was willing to listen to her and give her the love and affection she wanted but due to her low self-esteem, the person probably gave up in a bitter way. But she also mentions she would try convincing them that her overwhelming thoughts are just her “intrusive thoughts” but in the end of her song she sings “If loving me means saying ‘Babe, I think this is the end.’ Well I guess; I wish, I wish, I wish you loved me less.” As if she was praying and wishing things didn’t turn out the way they did.

  1. Expectations

“Expectations” is about self-mockery and poking at her own dating patterns after splitting from her ex. The song gives off vibes like self-awareness and comedy where she pokes fun at claiming to have high standards while frequently ending up with men who fall short. She mentions how this guy claims that he has a perfect life and that he buys things for himself, but after a few months, she realizes that he’s nothing but a fake. She says that she’s secure, but because of her past relationships being so ‘low quality’ she makes jokes off of it. Saying, “These days I’ve got expectations. So I hit the new year like a single girl out of a Vegas bar.” She also mentions that she will be adored by whoever, which just shows her cockiness and confidence.

  1. Cigarette Smoke

“Cigarette Smoke” is about the lingering heartbreak and regret after losing someone that was so special to you. It’s almost as if she feels their presence like a lingering smoke or smell from a cigarette. The bitter realization that a relationship was nothing but a performance that one person suddenly stopped playing along with. “I thought that we played the perfect couple till you didn’t want the part,” is one of the most famous lyrics from this album and from this song. Because of these lyrics people say that person treated their relationship like a play where both people acted out and shared a script until the partner abruptly checked out. She mentioned the song about how much she regrets staying so long with that person and resenting her ex for lacking bravery and taking someone else’s side— “I resent you for not being brave. I resent you for taking her side,” which probably means that during this relationship, the person had another partner or friendship that obviously meant more to them other than his actual partner. “Cigarette Smoke” represents thoughts, memories, and emotional residue that linger in the air after our relationship has ended.

Music/Concerts

‘folx’ – friends& review: Part III

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By: Maple Graham

cover art depicting someone riding on a red horse, looking back at a red cross on a pile of rocks
  1. “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me ([golem] w [dysmorphia] [attempts suicide] to [influence] @ [the vintage clothing store]) ([eLiMiNaTiNg_tHe_pArTs_oF_MySeLf_tHaT_ArEnT_CoNtRiBuTiNg_tO_SuCcEsS] [identity#02])”

This song is memorable to me due to the ukulele and another break from the hyperpop influences, becoming a maximalist indie soundscape that culminates in an ending that’s bursting at the seams—drums messily cutting out the many instruments and samples behind it. Some may interpret this as amateurish, but I love whenever artists use the song’s space to their advantage, even if it means addressing the restrictions that come with the chosen medium it’s in. It’s a 7.5/10 for me, and it’s a good transition back from the last few songs that had more cons than pros. And as a cherry on top, this song doesn’t feel cut short.

  1. “They were unwitting necromancers who had stumbled on a formula for channeling voices, apprentices who had lost their sorcerer, as mindless golems animated by folx’s vision(s).”

A repeating end of a chord from the last song. As it isn’t even original, I give it a 1/10. Could’ve been tacked on to the end of the last song.

  1. “(Thus, when folx died, they said that they felt they had lost their eyes…)”

Different people all saying “friends&,” the name of the collective that made this album. I presume this to be made of samples taken from other pieces of media, specifically the phrase “friends and family”—cutting off the “family” bit. 4/10; is unlike anything else in the album, and acts as a landmark for me when I do listen, as it’s placed a little past the one-third line.

  1. “Hallelujah ([friends& original not a cover]) ([i_hOpE_EvErYoNe_lIsTeNiNg_iS_EnJoYiNg_tHe_mEtApHoR_AnD_ThE_CoNcEpT_AlBuM_!!] [if rym mods don’t respect case sensitivity when cataloguing this album i will kms])”

This title is the single reason why I decided to write this extensive review, as I haven’t seen a review that both respects the longer titles of the album and reviews each individual track. I’m starting to understand why this is the case. Anyway, about the song: it’s made with Hatsune Miku doing the main vocals in the song. The song is chill, and once again goes closer towards a simple maximalist experience without having the added edge of a chaotic genre. It’s a pleasant song, has tons of ear candy, and is something you could show almost everyone and get a neutral reaction from them at worst. 7.5/10.

  1. “The worker therefore only feels themself outside their work, and in their work feels outside themself.”

A segue that does all of the below: feels befitting in the tracklist, sounds decent, and doesn’t feel jarring on any bit of it. The ambient sounds—what seems to be a piano with a ton of reverberation added to it—feel appropriate and also make the “worker” in this song, who begins to sing a song and play a guitar after inviting an unnamed person over, feel out of place; all tying back to the song title. Masterfully done, and one of my favorite transitions in the whole album; 6/10.

  1. “folx feels at home when they are not working,”

A longer track that is light-hearted in tone, with another sample that doesn’t add much to the narrative, but still has a huge amount of work put into it. In a similar structure of “correspond with the first instinctive yearnings of that class for a general reconstruction of society.” this song is a lot all at once, and serves as a break that feels earned. 6/10, it’s a track I look forward to when playing the album cover-to-cover.

  1. “and when they are working folx does not feel at home. […]”

A piano combined with another synth and some miscellaneous samples, this song is far from short. It has a good runtime, a consistent theme, and doesn’t feel entirely far off from the last song; 6.5/10.

  1. “Its alien character emerges clearly in the fact that as soon as no physical or other compulsion exists, labor is shunned like the plague.”

Another random song that feels somewhat out-of-place, but is long enough for it to make its mark. It’s a simple overlay of an episode of the podcast “Never Ending Stories” and “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John playing on top of each other. I give it a 3/10 because it tries to fit in with the rest of the album, at least.

  1. “Carolina in My Mind ([skinwalker] w [alienation] [neglects] to [process] @ [the insurance claim centre]) ([aCtUaLlY_I_DoNt_eVeN_CaRe_aBoUt_wHaT_He_dOeS])”

A catchy song riding on its myriad string instruments throughout, along with a harmonica towards the end. It’s a bit short, and doesn’t have many notable qualities despite its relatively simple sampling and layering. It doesn’t feel overstimulating, and I personally don’t have any major problems with it, so I’ll give it a 5.5/10.

  1. “Encounters with angels are as disturbing, traumatic and overwhelming as encounters with demons.”

Radio static, colored by songs on different frequencies cutting in and out. 4/10, I enjoy the sound of this.

  1. “After all, what could be more shattering, unassimilable and incomprehensible in our hyper-stressed, constantly disappointing and overstimulated lives, than the sensation of calm joy?”

The song is like “Thus every factor, which works against a repetition of the old crises, carries within itself the germ of a far more powerful future crisis.” but if it was way shorter and didn’t have the crowd effects. It’s nothing new, but the sound design is still good. 3/10.

  1. “Return of the Grievous Angel ([devil] w [separation anxiety] [flees] to [reflect] @ [the silent retreat]) ([i_dOnT_LiKe_tAkInG_A_BrEaK_FrOm_hIm])”

In case you were getting a bit bored, this song is sure to snap you back to reality. It’s fast, unrelenting, and very different from the false sense of security you got from the preceding stretch of music turning closer and closer to more mainstream genres. I love the tubular bells in this song—I love tubular bells in almost any song—and they add a lot of personality here while also stapling the last transition to the song in a meaningful way. It’s a 7.5/10 from me due to the change of pace that catches you off-guard.

  1. “All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and folx is at last compelled to face with sober senses their real conditions of life, and their relations with their kind.”

The last song, now heard from what sounds to be inside an adjacent room. It’s muffled and slows down towards the end, while a sweeping dustpan sound plays. It’s a good segue, and I like it more than I’d thought I would. 2.5/10.

  1. “Four Strong Winds ([witch] w [marijuana addiction] [loiters] to [serve] @ [his secret apartment]) ([hEs_sIcK_AnD_He_nEeDs_hElP_WhAt_aM_I_SuPpOsEd_tO_Do])”

Pauses litter the first half of this song, which I’m a huge fan of. Pausing randomly for a few milliseconds in a song is a technique I haven’t quite mastered yet in my own work, and it always enamors me when I hear it in another song. The content is polarizing, with the first bit being just vocals and guitar, and the second half falling into the casual maximalism I talked about earlier. A 5/10 from me.

  1. “Giving them potions, attaching horns to their body for drawing up the incisor, making the drums beat, the folx proceeds with a ceremony interrupted by halts and fresh departures, flows of all sorts, flows of words and breaks […]”

The sound of a tattoo gun with someone else begging for something. I don’t quite understand it or its relevance to the album—1.5/10.

  1. “the members of the village come to talk, the sick subject talks, the ghost is invoked, folx explains, everything recommences, drums, chants, trances.”

A song made up of rough cuts of a guitar, vocals, and a synth that sounds somewhat like a voice. It sounds pleasant, and I personally use it as a halfway point in the album to mark how far I’ve come on a listen through it. 3.5/10; it’s memorable.

  1. “At the top of the tower, there is no liberation from work. There is just more work — the only difference is that you might now enjoy it (life is too exciting for sleep).”

I remember this song not for its content, but for the content that follows. This track isn’t very special—I’d give it a 3.5/10, being a mashup of “Timber” by Ke$ha and “Ghosts” by Japan. It opens with another radio bit, which is always welcome to my ears.

  1. “For these CEOs, work is closer to an addiction than something they are forced to do.”

Easily the best transition on the album to me. It sounds like a slot machine’s reels clicking into place, but it’s just a bit of the last song repeating intermittently. I’m a very biased person when it comes to sound design I like, and I’d give this a 9/10 if I didn’t care at all about how that rating would be perceived. But after all, I’m rating based on sound, not how much dopamine it gives me upon listening to it. 4/10.

  1. “There are now two classes[…] those addicted to work, and those forced to work.”

Continuation of the last transition. Why did this have to be its own separate track? 2/10.

  1. “Goodnight Irene ([sandman] w [sociopathy] [misrepresents] to [leverage] @ [the asset management department]) ([i_cAn_bE_JuSt_lIkE_HiM])”

Delving back into the maximalist track pockets of the album, this is exquisitely put together, and I’m a huge fan of how fast this one goes. None of the ideas or bits are dwelled on much at all, which is a stark contrast to other songs which usually focus on at least one other gimmick or bit for the majority of the runtime. The “Hold My Liquor” by Kanye West sample adds a ton, as does the “Paper Planes” by M.I.A. sample in the latter half of the song. 7.5/10, very well done.

Music/Concerts

‘folx’ – friends& review: Part II

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By: Maple Graham

cover art depicting someone riding on a red horse, looking back at a red cross on a pile of rocks
  1. “all so that they can then demand the cash for this service of love.”

Pleasant, harmonious harp solo. That’s it. It sounds good, and is a wonderful transition, but I come back with the question I keep asking: why couldn’t this be added on to the song it transitions into? 5/10, it sounds really good on its own, but it perplexes me how this was decided to be put into its own entry.

  1. “Big Rock Candy Mountain ([unicorn] w [amnesia] [misspends ubi] to [self-care] @ [the mid-century suburb]) ([hOuSeWiFe_fAnTaSy] [daydream#01])”

Standing out from the crowd, this is another good song in the album, and acts as a good landmark due to its distribution of volume being much different from most of the other tracks here. Yet, despite its originality, I don’t like it all that much, and it feels too tonally distant from its surrounding tracks. I’d give this a 6/10 solely because I can enjoy it during a full album listen.

  1. “There is no horizon.”

“I don’t see a lotta money here.” 2/10, acts as the first to a string to segues that go nowhere.

  1. “The bald hillzones facing the spectator only form a line that merges with the void hanging over them.”

Lyrics taken from another piece of media, combined with other noise. 2/10, works as a transition well enough.

  1. “Anyone can see that this man and this woman are no longer alive.”

Same premise as the last two transitions. 3/10, no further comment.

  1. “There is no pessimism here either.”

Some sound effect tinkering followed by “where am I?” 1.5/10; this entire stretch of segues feels redundant and unproductive.

  1. “What had to happen happened.”

A little bit of a longer transition, which is a welcome change of pace from whatever the last 4 songs were. Starts off with a ‘My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic’ quote, and goes off on some random plunderphonics stuff combined with guitar for the rest of the song’s small runtime. 4/10, it’s listenable.

  1. “They did not kill each other.”

A cool transition that fades to silence. The best way I can describe it is as an acoustic guitar—the same as the one in the last track—morphing into a low, pure tone. 2/10.

  1. “[…] every person speculates on creating a new need in another, so as to drive folx to fresh sacrifice,”

Nonsensical sample in isolation. 1.5/10, at least it makes me smile during this stretch of random samples.

  1. “to place them in a new dependence and to seduce them into a new mode of enjoyment and therefore economic ruin.”

Last transition, including a military-esque chant from the movie ‘Full Metal Jacket’. While meaningless on its own, this flows very well into the next song on the album. I give it a 2.5/10, weighed down by the 6 interlude tracks played before this. This entire ouroboros of transitions is easily the worst part on the album, and describing each one here is mind-numbingly tedious and unfulfilling.

  1. “Solidarity Forever ([zombie] w [obsessive-compulsive disorder] [conspires] to [bond] @ [the military fortification]) ([i_nEeD_My_bOsS_AnD_He_nEeDs_mE])”

A light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s a shame the massive buildup for this song feels wasted. As I’ve pointed out before, numerous songs here tend to blend into one another, and this is no different. The actual song blends together a choir, trumpets, and chants that were sampled. I give this a 5/10, it’s disappointingly average for its placement.

  1. “Capital is an abstract parasite, an insatiable vampire and zombie-maker; but the living flesh it converts into dead labo[u]r is ours, and the zombies it makes are us.”

A simple transition that works the same way as the earlier segues: short, sweet, and interesting enough to keep you engaged, but not enough to take away from the other songs. Primarily consists of some sort of growling, followed by an electric guitar melody that is continued on in the next song. 3/10, it does what it needs to.

  1. “I Walk the Line ([oracle] w [hypochondria] [obstructs justice] to [comply] @ [the forensic laboratory]) ([fOlLoWiNg_mY_BoSsEs_iNsTrUcTiOnS_PrEcIsElY_BeCaUsE])”

I’m a sucker for the sampling in this one, which notably has Johnny Cash singing an excerpt of his “I Walk The Line” threaded into the rest of the composition. It’s pretty casual otherwise, leaning further away from the hyperpop influences that drive the album and towards a guitar-centered song, complete with a solo at the end. It’s a 6/10. This song does incorporate a good bit of generative artificial intelligence, which I do not condone using, but I do appreciate how it was utilized here.

  1. “Thus every factor, which works against a repetition of the old crises, carries within itself the germ of a far more powerful future crisis.”

A truly magnificent segue, incorporating what sounds to be a crowd arguing following the toll of a bell. There’s also faint My Little Pony sampling again, which shows up in the next song, and the crowd noises carry over as well. It has great sound design, so with all this in mind, I’m giving it a 4/10.

  1. “Angel from Montgomery ([devil] w [discouraged borderline personality disorder] [extorts] to [negotiate] @ [the sympathy strike]) ([iM_NoT_ArGuInG_WiTh_mY_BoSs_iM_StArTiNg_aN_OpEn_dIaLoGuE])”

This song is a bit of a gray area in my head, as I simultaneously think it sounds decent, but this is a classic example of too many cooks in the kitchen for every part aside from the end. The ending of this song is its only saving grace, where all is stripped away aside from the bassline and vocals, making a wonderful, harmonious soundscape. 6/10.

  1. “The double bind, […] “[…] the simultaneous transmission of two kinds of messages, one of which contradicts the other, […]””

A single triad vocalized. There is frankly no reason why this should have been separated from “Angel from Montgomery ([devil] w [discouraged borderline personality disorder] [extorts] to [negotiate] @ [the sympathy strike]) ([iM_NoT_ArGuInG_WiTh_mY_BoSs_iM_StArTiNg_aN_OpEn_dIaLoGuE]).” 1/10, no further comment.

  1. “The contradictory instructions serve to destabilise the folx, keeping them in a state of permanent neurotic anxiety.”

Foreshadowing for “The death model appears when the body without organs repels the organs and lays them aside[…] no mouth,,” which is placed almost 50 songs after. Characterized by little crinkling sounds that I can’t put into words, combined with small pings and crackles. Also interweaves the aforementioned dominant sample in the above song. 2.5/10.

  1. “The Sound(s) of Silence ([manticore] w [social anxiety] [stalks] to [supervise] @ [the processing plant]) ([lEtTiNg_gO_Of_fRiEnDs_wHo_cAnT_AcCePt_tHaT_Im_hApPy_dAtInG_My_bOsS])”

This song starts with a piano solo that persists throughout, and vocals that are complimented by random samples. Maximalism is sacrificed here for novelty, and it really works well because this track feels so much bigger than it is, giving it a 6/10. Upon re-listening, I was shocked to learn that it’s only 2 minutes.

  1. “[…] in all spheres of social life the lion’s share falls to the middleman. […]”

3 seconds of utter silence. 0.5/10.

  1. “in religion, God is pushed into the background by the “Mediator,” and the latter again is shoved back by the priests, the inevitable middlemen between the good shepherd and his sheep.”

Static that brings you back from the silence of before. 0.5/10; these transitions are annoying when trying to review every song here. The transitions work fine in the album, but as I’m going back to relisten to every individual song, they seem like such a poor design choice. For a production time of a little less than a decade, I’m surprised more wasn’t done for these minute segues. To the compiler and hosts of this album, titles can be as long as you want, you know.

Music/Concerts

‘folx’ – friends& review: Part I

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By: Maple Graham

The following review is split into 6 parts, with this being the first. As always, a listen through the album is recommended before reading my review of it. If you want a succinct answer as to whether or not this album is worth a listen, I would say it’s worth its time despite its hit-or-miss qualities present throughout.

‘folx’ was made by the collective friends& over the course of 8 years, 8 months, and 1 day. It’s described as “an attempt to reinvent pop music,” and it does so in very unique ways. This album, for a lack of better descriptors, is utterly chaotic. The song titles are insanely long and read like a Google Doc if you let 200 people all edit it at the same time—which did happen with a lesser group of people in the album’s unofficial description. Regardless, this avant-garde album is worth a listen if you like any sort of pop music, and it’s chock full of references from a wide range of media franchises and pop culture.

A good chunk of its massive tracklist of 112 songs are made up of snippets of sounds and transitions. These will be noted when they appear—and make this album that much harder to review in depth. This album also uses a smidge of artificial intelligence for certain samples, which has come across as controversial to some. I see the usage to be unneeded, but complimenting nonetheless.

  1. “[…] in its blind unrestrainable passion, its were-wolf hunger for surplus-labour, capital oversteps not only the moral, but even the merely physical maximum bounds of the working-day.”

The album kicks off with a 5 second ambient track—containing a single acoustic guitar chord, and a tape being inserted into a recorder and wound up. Decent for a starting track, though I do think the album as a whole would be more cohesive if the ambient tracks were all combined, rather than split to form the multiple story arcs the album offers in its titles. 3/10—it’s better than nothing, I suppose.

  1. “It usurps the time for growth, development, and healthy maintenance of the body.”

This song, despite being short like the first one, contains an actual melody and lyrics taken from “Can The Circle Be Unbroken” by The Carter Family before a quick explosion into the next song. I would consider this the actual beginning of the album, as it introduces the idea of mixing different media together to create an entirely separate piece of creative work. While still a segue, it’s much more meaningful than its predecessor, which is why I give it a 5/10.

  1. “At Seventeen ([werewolf] w [impulsive borderline personality disorder] [cracks logic] to [produce] @ [the instrument store]) ([mUsIc_wIlL_Be_mY_PrOfEsSiOn])”

The first longer song of the album, which is the first taste of how genius this album is. All of these songs follow a separate progression in their song titles, which end in a snippet of their own story characterized by alternating capital letters and underscores as spaces. For the content in the song itself, it’s a beautiful and dizzying amalgamation of so many samples that overwhelms your senses instantly. Upon my first listen, which was in a dimly lit room with no other things to keep me occupied, this was so fun to listen to intently, trying to hear each individual element within the song. It’s a chaotic mess that’s hard to attach a named feeling to, so I’ll leave it at that, and a 7/10 rating.

  1. “This instant is insomniac, amnesiac; it locks us into a reactive time, which is always full ([…]). There is no continuous time in which shadows can grow, only a time that is simultaneously seamless ([…]) and discontinuous”

Another segue track, just featuring the end of the last song slowing down with audio clip of a radio switching on to play the next song. It’s clean, and it doesn’t feel jarring at all, but there’s not enough content in it for me to rate it any higher than a 2.5/10.

  1. “Mr. Tambourine Man ([muse] w [insomnia] [bootlegs] to [dream] @ [the housing complex]) ([nOt_lIvInG_WiTh_mY_DaD_AnYmOrE])”

The second longer song, which is just as sprawling as the last, however shorter. The second bit with all the echoing vocals of “Bob Dylan” and other miscellaneous samples is easily my favorite part of the song, and I wish it was longer. I’d give this song a 7/10: it’s better than “At Seventeen ([werewolf] w [impulsive borderline personality disorder] [cracks logic] to [produce] @ [the instrument store]) ([mUsIc_wIlL_Be_mY_PrOfEsSiOn]),” but shorter than I’d like.

  1. “The machine accommodates itself to the weakness of the human being in order to make the weak human being into a machine.”

Easily the worst segue by far, being a hard cut on both ends. It’s got its own guitar bit as an excerpt of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” by The Soggy Bottom Boys, but that’s it. It could’ve easily been scrapped from the album, and it brings no other purpose besides advancing the arc that’s tied to this song title. 2/10.

  1. “Man of Constant Sorrow ([android] w [autism] [phishes] to [network] @ [the city upon a hill]) ([bOyFrIeNd_qUeSt_bEgInS])”

One of my favorite songs from the whole album. The accordion combined with the guitar, vocals, and samples is phenomenal. The only complaint I have with the song is, once again, the length. I’m aware most of the songs here are short-lived—how else do you fit 112 songs in an hour and a half?—but the progression just feels amazing, and I wish it had more room to breathe. My favorite part of this song is the pitched samples and violin creating a backdrop for the rest of the song to rest on; this song uses the pitched samples more than any other songs on this album. A solid 8/10, very catchy and gets stuck in my head frequently despite its complexity.

  1. “Deprived of memory and the capacity to dream, the androids can be wounded but not traumatised. Yet there are signs that precisely this capacity to experience trauma is developing […]”

A simple segue taking a sample from the last song and slowing it down to create the rhythm for the next song combined with something sounding like wind chimes. It’s a 4/10: rudimentary and gets the job done.

  1. “Catch the Wind ([fairy] w [bipolar mania] [indecently exposes] to [impress] @ [the coworking space]) ([cAsUaLlY_DaTiNg_iN_SeArCh_oF_SoMeThInG_SeRiOuS])”

This song in the grand scheme of things isn’t very notable, in my opinion. It’s far away enough from the beginning to start to turn into noise, and this is my issue with most of the songs on the album. The album itself is innovative, but bedazzling effects and myriad samples only go so far on most of these songs. While masterfully put together, I give it a 6/10 due to its placement and overall sound.

  1. “Such fantastic pictures of future society, painted at a time when the proletariat is still in a very undeveloped state and has but a fantastic conception of its own position,”

A transition that has more to be desired. It merely chops up the end of the last song and overlays a metallic ringing on it, while adding in the vocals to the next song. 3/10, could be better.

  1. “correspond with the first instinctive yearnings of that class for a general reconstruction of society.”

I don’t know how to classify this one, since it’s decently long for a segue in this album. It’s alright; I don’t understand why it wasn’t lumped together with the previous entry though. While longer, this transition adds virtually nothing to the actual experience, due to its hard cuts on both ends and lack of cohesiveness—aside from the Sonic the Hedgehog samples—which earns it a 3.5/10.

  1. “Amazing Grace ([genie] w [alcohol addiction] [abets] to [collaborate] @ [the campaign fundraiser]) ([fAlLiNg_mAdLy_iN_LoVe_wItH_My_nEw_bOsS])”

Similar to (“Catch the Wind ([fairy] w [bipolar mania] [indecently exposes] to [impress] @ [the coworking space]) ([cAsUaLlY_DaTiNg_iN_SeArCh_oF_SoMeThInG_SeRiOuS]),” this song doesn’t have any parts that make it stand out from the rest of the album. As a standalone song, it works well, but it gets lost in the noise of the rest of ‘folx’. The second part sounds better than the first, but it ends much too quickly for it to have any lasting impact on the listening experience. This song really has potential, but it wasn’t acted upon to the fullest extent, which is why I rate it a 5/10.

  1. “In time-honored fairy tale fashion, however, the acts of wish fulfillment quickly become traumatic and catastrophic.”

Hard cuts on both ends, and giving no context to the rest of the album—that being what sounds like a jousting match in progress for most of it. Thankfully short and takes up little time; a waste of space on the album. I’d give it a generous 2/10. At least the audio matches the name, I suppose.

  1. “Jolene ([gargoyle] w [panic disorder] [assaults] to [de-escalate] @ [the third space]) ([iT_WaS_My_fAuLt_mY_BoSs_rEaCtEd_tHaT_WaY_AcTuAlLy])”

While a biased take, this song shines through the rest of the other mediocre entries. It’s far from pleasant, and gives you no breaks as it slides its focus from one sample to the other. It also feels very fleshed out, and has plenty of runtime to make you revel in what it brings. It’s a good 6.5/10, and would be an amazing introduction to the album if it was any earlier.

  1. “Do I obey economic laws if I extract money by offering my body for sale, by surrendering it to another’s lust?”

Audio of a drink being poured and a person out of breath drinking it. May have some relevance to the title, but I’m unsure where it falls in the overlapping title stories. Only a noticeable cut at the end, which is better than a meaningless transition like some of the others. 2/10.

  1. “We Shall Overcome ([fury] w [dysmorphia] [tortures] to [improve] @ [the 24-hour fitness centre]) ([tRyInG_To_bE_MoRe_lIkE_My_bOsS] [identity#01])”

The first “identity” track, which would serve as an amazing intermission if there weren’t transitions between every song. It only contains an acoustic guitar and vocals, with background noise barely audible behind it. It’s a good 7/10—short, sweet, and oozing of unadulterated human expression.

  1. “Examine the hideous machineries that produce the world-as-appearance. What did they see there? Only what all depressives, all mystics, always see[…]”

This song is structured similarly to “correspond with the first instinctive yearnings of that class for a general reconstruction of society.,” but is better in the sense that it addresses all the issues I had with the former. There’s no transition track before it that adds nothing—instead baked directly into the song. The melodic part is also catchier, taking the same motif of “Wake Me Up” by Avicii and throwing a spin on it. I especially enjoy the banjo inclusion towards the end, which adds yet another dimension to an already amazing soundscape. It gets a 7/10 from me, and would’ve scored higher had it had more runtime.

  1. “the obscene undead twitching of the Will as it seeks to maintain the illusion that this object, the one it is fixated upon NOW, this one, will satisfy it in a way that all other objects thus far have failed to.”

Another longer transition which, surprisingly, does a good job of doing what it was made to do. A simple solo of what sounds to be some sort of synth or electric organ, accompanied by Vocaloid-like vocals. It acts as a good break between two very upbeat songs; I give it a 4.5/10.

  1. “A Horse with No Name ([headless horseman] w [bipolar depression] [racketeers] to [advance] @ [the property law firm]) ([tAkInG_ThInGs_wItH_My_bOsS_To_tHe_nExT_LeVeL])”

This song blows my mind because it perfectly demonstrates how to make a song sound massive: loud, definitive sounds that aren’t muddled by a bunch of additional elements. The high-pitched ringing definitely adds something to the composition and feeling of the song, very similar to “tranq” by greenhouse. Deserving of a 7.5/10; this is extremely memorable despite it not riding off of a pre-existing melody that I know of.

  1. “folx puts themself at the service of the other’s most depraved fancies, plays the pimp between them and their need, excites in them morbid appetites, lies in wait for each of their weaknesses –”

A transition to another transition afterwards. It cuts off at the end—which makes sense, considering it’s just a tail end of the last electric guitar chord in “A Horse with No Name ([headless horseman] w [bipolar depression] [racketeers] to [advance] @ [the property law firm]) ([tAkInG_ThInGs_wItH_My_bOsS_To_tHe_nExT_LeVeL])” being stretched out. Decent, but could just be added to the end of the last song. 2/10, meaningless and was most likely split for the sole reason to add another song title.

Music/Concerts

BEJALVIN discography review

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By: Maple Graham

BEJALVIN is a cybergrind, hardcore electronic duo—made up of Craig and Gunkman—characterized by their unapologetically harsh and abrasive music. They hail from Minneapolis, and while widely unknown among most people, they still have energy that I’ve not experienced from any other music. Since hearing them on their North American Devastation tour, I’ve come to appreciate their unique style, and I’ve since listened to their entire main discography: ‘BEJALVIN’ (the self-referential album), ‘BEJIBLE,’ ‘BEJUBSTEP 3’, and the most recent ‘PLANETARY DEVESTATION’. I’ll be giving my opinion on these main 4 albums only.

With ‘BEJALVIN’ being their first work, it’s no surprise that I find it to be the most lackluster of their main releases—however it’s promising, and you see a glimpse of their future style within the album. It’s uniform throughout: no interludes or prolonged breaks for one to catch their breath. My favorite song from this album is “CRUNCH,” as it’s by far the most sonically violent. But make no mistake—this album is consistent with itself, and “CRUNCH” doesn’t deviate from the main listening experience.

‘BEJIBLE’ is quite a few steps up from their debut album, split directly down the middle and dividing it into two “sides” similar to a vinyl. This is directly stated within “WORST SONG EVER” when Gunkman states “I guess this side of the record’s over now / If you got this […] on vinyl, flip that […] over / If you don’t got this […] on vinyl that makes a lot more sense ’cause we never pressed this […],” during the fade-out of the song. The first side is noticeably more lulling, with a 5 minute opening track—”SYS612 (Bejalvin’s Lament)”—sounding nothing like their usual selves, and then hitting the listener with a wall of noise a third of the way through “BORN MONEY SWAG DIE.” The second side is less polarizing; I find the first side of the album to outshine the second half, but only because of the initial fakeout. The work as a whole is extremely cohesive, with most songs segueing into one another. This trend only continues in their future works.

‘BEJUBSTEP 3’ is the most cohesive of all the albums: it can play front to back with no pauses, and could’ve been released as a giant 19 minute song without any issue. This album features a staggering amount of features and guest artists—only one song out of the 7 track album is made entirely by BEJALVIN. This album also comes with a “full album visual experience” on their YouTube channel, which fits the music perfectly, yet I would not recommend it to anyone who’s sensitive to rapidly flashing lights. This most likely pushed them a bit further into the limelight, and exposed them to fans of the other people they collaborated with.

‘PLANETARY DEVASTATION’ is the most recent release of the duo, and their longest. Clocking in at 33 minutes, it’s intense and is practically an extension of ‘BEJIBLE.’ Fast-paced, loud, and oddly coherent—their effort is clearly shown here through the constant meshing of genres and quick mood changes. Not a single song directly shares a theme, aside from the interlude “SMOKING KILLS” and the following “SPACE ALIEN GANGSTALKERS,” in which the duo compare substance abuse with getting abducted by aliens. Other themes of the songs within the album include shoplifting within “SHOPLIFTING,” dissing Yung Gravy and demanding a grand total of 100 dollars from him within “YUNG GRAVY,” and scrolling on social media within their song “X.” It’s dark comedy combined with noise—something I’ve come to enjoy from them.

In all, BEJALVIN is not for everyone, but they admittedly have refreshing views when it comes to music and self-expression. Additionally, during their live shows, they’re both extremely energetic, even when the crowd is really small, and they make music with a clear passion. I think that anyone who enjoys experimental music should listen to them at least once!