I think I’m going to do a monthly suggestions video of some of my favorite records from that month. How does that sound to you guys?

Adam Blake - Alone Is Something You’ll Be Quite A Lot ALBUM REVIEW

I first came across Adam Blake when he was one half of the reviewing channel “RevUwithU” back in 2010. Eventually, Adam and I got to talking and I did some guest vocals on his debut EP National Park which came out last August. You can check that out here.

Six months later, we have Adam’s mini-album Alone Is Something You’ll Be Quite A Lot. Stylistically, Alone is a great progression from National Park. While his debut had some solid tracks, his style jumped from electronic to post-rock to synthpop all in the vicinity of five tracks. Here, Adam exhibits much more skilled guitar work, and seems to mix the genres to make a somewhat trademark sound. The guitar work is a combination of Explosions in the Sky and A Day to Remember, which comes out a lot better than it sounds. 

The highlights of this album are easily in the slower, more guitar-heavy tracks such as “Avenues”, “Subway”, and the gorgeous transition track “Sad, Lonely People On Public Transport”. In each of these songs, Adam orchestrates these riffs with reverb-heavy effects and beautiful fingerpicking.

Being a musician that works primarily in VST’s, I know how difficult it is to get a realistic drum sound out of a drum machine. Unfortunately, this album doesn’t supply that. I have a hard time falling into the loud moments when everything besides the guitar work sounds so synthetic. There is an easy fix for the next release, either by fully embracing more vintage drum machines or investing in some studio time to record real drums.

The synths also lack for me here. They neither impress me nor excite me, but just seem to get the job done. However, the impressive guitar work usually makes up for what the other instrumentation lacks, and I can appreciate that.

Alone is a big step up from his previous EP and features some beautiful guitar work, guitar tones, and craftsmanship that makes me incredibly excited for something that hopefully doubles this in length in the near future. I’m giving it a 7/10.

For readers of my blog, the album is 30% off if you use the discount code “pizza012”. In American dollars, you drop from $7.80 to $5.50 with the discount. The offer ends February 20th so get on that!

Stream Alone below:

REVIEW: Alcest - Les Voyages de l’Âme

I’ve never considered myself an Alcest fan. I don’t really know why, since I love this new fusion of black metal and post-rock that everyone’s hyping. I just don’t think I ever found the time to give one of their past two releases a listen. I’m not sure if jumping into Les Voyages de l’Âme first is the greatest idea, but I have to start somewhere.

The album starts out with an incredibly dreamy waltz that really sets the mood. The hushed vocals remind me of Rob Crow from Pinback, and some of the harmonies Neige creates are simply beautiful. It additionally serves an early hint of the elegant guitar interplay that shows itself throughout the record.

The production features overwhelming amounts of reverb that somehow never seem cheap or unnecessary. The huge sound compliments every flavor Neige decides to try. His screams are incredibly intense and overdubbed, adding to the beauty and the post-rock flavor that a below-entry-level black metal fan like myself can appreciate.

In terms of guitar work, all I can think of is a better constructed version of Metallica’s …And Justice for All. The chords created are gorgeously arpeggiated and add to the wall of sound wonderfully. Each melody compliments the chords in an impressive way.

Alcest also breaks the curse of the album length that the majority of albums similar to this one in terms of sound suffer from. It’s perfect in terms of time, and each track utilizes its length perfectly. 

Where this album lacks for me is easily in the rhythm section. Even though the vocals and guitars would be hard to match in terms of beauty, the bass and drums just seem to keep time throughout the record and consistently bore me whenever I focus on them.

I could see Les Voyages de l’Âme being a turnoff to black metal purists, post-rock fans, or even the usual bunch of music enthusiasts that enjoy acts like Agalloch or even Deafheaven. However, if you see this album as its own piece of art rather than trying to cram it into a genre that doesn’t fit, it really is an experience to listen to. I’ll definitely be coming back to this throughout the year, and it’s a pretty perfect way for metal to start in 2012.

The album’s closer track: Summer’s Glory