July 2023 Album Showcase
Absurd Matter by Shapednoise - Zach
Strolling through my DSLs, which recently you can effectively think of as my drip-pipes for Zelooperz, I found a new feature of his on Absurd Matter. If anyone frequents the Boiler Room, they might have bore witness to a gray-black warehouse room cutesied with wall-flowers who’s slant curiosities intersected at one particular techno producer. The occasional courageous hero would step forward in an attempt to dance, in reverence to the exorbitant polyrhythms and big, blurry soundscapes coming from the mind of the man in front them, but not even the most experienced cowboy could ride the beat of this Brahma Bull, and the dancer would resort to a humble head knock, and then nothing at all. That techno producer is named Shapednoise, and these tragic dancers-turned-onlookers symbolize my experience with Absurd Matter. This project is an intense wash of ambient, techno, and hip hop, and by God, does it scratch the itch.
This is what Flume wishes his intersection with hip hop was (and I like that mixtape too): Metallic hi hat stutters, bass-breaking 808s, and a sultry but understated snare make up the skeletons for most of these tracks. Then layers of obscene, spooky noises are summoned to confound those rhythms. Ever accidentally change the channel on an old tv to the black and white fuzz with the volume turned up too loudly? This project is that on PCP with some bandpass filters. And we call it music. Well, at least I do. Anybody getting into the distorted hip hop aesthetic (a la Death Grips, Billy Woods, JPEGMafia, etc.) will want to give Abstract Matter a chance. It even features the aforementioned Zelooperz, as well as Moor Mother and Armand Hammer, who are the only people I could have predicted to be able to flow on Shapednoise’s beats.
For Lovers by Lamp - Quinn
I don’t think many albums exemplify the time of year we find ourselves in like For Lovers by Lamp does. I also have absolutely no idea what any of the lyrics actually mean, as for albums in foreign languages i don’t usually like to look up lyric translations, choosing instead to attribute my own feelings to the songs. So I could just be completely wrong about the subject matter of this album. But as summer is breaking into a sprint towards the finish line, I find this album is there for me in ways other albums have failed to be. This album is like the last day of vacation, a melancholic reflection on all you’ve done, but sprinkled about are bits of hope for the future. The first two songs personify this perfectly, with the first one being an emptier, melancholic almost folk song- and the second being a upbeat pop song with a more hopeful feeling to it. It’s like the realization that summer is over, and being a little upset about it, but then realizing that fall is around the corner- and as the autumn leaves fall around you, the energetic feeling of summer is replaced with a quiet peace, where you can reflect on all that brought you here.
Obviously, you can’t really talk about this album without talking about relationships, which seem to be the driving force for this album’s creation, as it is aptly named For Lovers. Relationships are confusing and all over the place, and this album captures the essence of that quite well. One song will be an encouraging ballad which fills your soul to the brim with an indescribable joy (see Out on a Sunny Sunday), and the next you’ll be staring at the ceiling listening to a saxophone bring all your less than ideal feelings to the forefront of your mind like a snake tamer with those magic flutes (you cannot tell me those flutes are not magic (see Behind the Moon Shadow)). Relationships are tough. I’m no good at them. But luckily albums like this exist, which help remind me that there is always more to look forward to. Tomorrow is always just a day away. Spend the last days of your summer freedom listening to For Lovers by Lamp! You won’t regret it!
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