Reviews by Dan

Alright guys, here are my reviews! I just want to say thanks to everyone for participating – without you guys, I’d probably be doing Record Time from a padded room, uploading everything to my “laptop,” aka a cardboard box attached to the wall with a piece of yarn.

As for the reviews, I’d encourage everyone to keep it positive (although you always do), and don’t feel any obligation to do them if you don’t want to. I like writing about this stuff, and certainly like reading about my own, but obviously it’s a ton of stuff to go through. And you don’t have to review everything. As with all things in life, just do whatever you want to do.

Onwards!

LOBSTER SHANTY AND THE CRAB RANGOONS – DOWNTOWN: Some of you may already know how fond I am of the first track on this album. Makes me want to cry. As for the funky meat of the album – Joe and Nick have outdone themselves again. I don’t listen to a lot of funk, but they seem to have a pretty original sound going on this. I’ve already talked to Joe about how much I love the addition of real melody/chord progressions. And I’m always shocked at how much Joe’s voice improves from album to album. Love the production, especially the experimentation on track 5. Production overall is great, vocal production especially is a big step up. I believe that’s Nick’s doing. Killer bass as usual. Not a ton else to say, I guess!

LUXI – INFINITESMA EP: This is really cool stuff, way different from the last Luxi I heard, in the best possible way. Maybe this is just me, but I find Luxi’s stuff really aggressive. If not aggressive, than at least really confident compared to her earlier music. She seems to be really embracing and/or amplifying the quirks in her voice, which is great. The vocal layering reminds me a lot of Julianna Barwick who I love. I found myself enjoying the sort of half-spoken parts, which is weird for me, as I’m usually all about melody. Great artwork as usual.

R. AARON WEBSTER – SNAILS: I love this track. Like a snail, I can’t be sure of its purpose. And like Aaron’s last album, I have absolutely nothing to compare this to. It’s actually a pretty artsy piece, if you ask me. For some reason I think the actual melody you picked is brilliant…it’s sort of bright and totally neutral at the same time. Sounds like a big 5^th on the sample you used or something like that. For some reason it makes me feel like I’m in an aquarium. 

ANDREW MILLER – BHARATA: Since we live together and I heard most of this being composed, I’ve told Andrew most of what I have to say about this. But it’s obviously super professional and totally chill. For some reason I love the artwork – if I did drugs, I’d probably start up this track, curiously open up the artwork and stare at it for all 8 minutes. Good stuff.

F.E.A.R. – WHY – A great set of 3 tracks by Dennis Ohlson. I could definitely see a niche audience for this kind of stuff. I don’t have a ton to say about it, but great production as usual and I appreciate the total chaos. As I told Dennis earlier, I think his stuff is sounding a lot more original, which is good, because it’s hard to write stuff like this and not remind people of NIN. Which his older stuff did, but this doesn’t. Sweet.

DAVID LARSEN – FADED FORM: I was surprised to get this album as David is new and I hadn’t heard anything from him. But it’s great and way different than anything we’ve had before. Shades of Miles is really solid, I don’t know, smooth jazz I guess? But the other two are the real wins for me. To be totally honest, I don’t expect a lot lyrically with Record Time, but I was REALLY impressed with all the spoken words. It’s extremely tough to pull off something in that sort of romantic poetic style without sounding like an angsty teen, but I think David nailed it. Pure Emancipation is especially brutal and I can’t help but relate. And David has the perfect voice for this kind of stuff, which could have been a big pitfall. Really happy to have this album.

RANDY STARY – CHILD OF THE NIGHT: This is a nice little song with some light humor. I like the sort of random, improvised quality of the lyrics. I can also tell Randy’s been learning a bit more about recording, which is great. Keep it up!

DANIEL CLARK – SONGS RELEVANT TO MY LIFE AT THE PRESENT MOMENT: I have been waiting for Dan to do Record Time forever! I particularly like “It’s Over,” as it seems to fit his voice best. Reminds me a lot of Queens of the Stone Age. Until the Surface Fades has an interesting sort of 90s vibe, not sure why. The third track is madness. But I dig the harmonies.

DICK REYNOLDS – RECORD TIME SHIZZ: From what I understand, these are cover songs. I haven’t heard the originals, but I’d imagine they aren’t a whole lot like this. This stuff seems to come from the sort of low-fi indie world, in which I have zero experience. So I’m not totally sure what to say about it. But I appreciated the noise elements, and I think it could go even further in terms of the wall-of-sound thing. Maybe? I don’t know man, it’s weird stuff!

ERIC CRIPE – JABBERJAY: This is a cool, pretty ambitious record – about the Hunger Games, I believe. It’s really unique and although I don’t totally get the rain sound effect going through the whole album, I appreciate how Eric tried to create imagery and atmosphere with a really minimal setup. Nice RT debut!

GIRLBEARD – GIRLBEARD: Holy production value! I guess I haven’t been keeping up with Mike’s music lately, cause his stuff sounds completely pro all of a sudden. I know Mike wasn’t a fan of the vocals, but I wish they were louder anyways. After hearing this, I REALLY want to hear “Pistols and Stamens” redone with this production. Mike, let’s make it happen. I absolutely love the lyrics. Especially “Bridges.” And especially the line “Catch me if you can, I am the Bridge Man.” It’s complete nonsense in the best possible way. I get that he’s a bridge man, but now he’s…elusive? Fantastic. I could go on about half the lyrics on this album. Fun to read. Also big props for hitting basically 30 minutes! 

CLASSICAL – SEFIRAH EP: Another cool, chill, pretty unique album. I enjoyed listening to this while doing some paperwork today. You know how everyone has their “summer jams”? This one is more of a “spring jam.” It’s got just enough to perk you up a bit, but no more, because it’s freaking Tuesday afternoon and nobody wants that. I was pretty intrigued by some of the samples, like the watery kick drum in “Unknown Knowledge.” Cool man.

KRIS ECKMAN – BURL’S GREAT NONO: Daaaaaaamn, this is a HUGE step up in production. I loved the lyric idea (wish I would have been on FB at the right time!). Nice death vocals. This has just a slight southern/Pantera vibe, and the title makes me think of Burl Ives, so this album is full of weird images for me. I can also hear a big improvement in the guitar playing, if I’m not mistaken. And is that some real trumpet on track 4? Great EP, huge steps forward man!

ERIC PUTNAM – LISTEN: Eric and I discussed this a bit already, but this is another “big step” album – production is really cool, great melodies, some great singing and harmonies. Eric needs to write some damn songs outside of RT, and he knows it. I like this stuff because it’s new and different.  Nice work Ricky P.

LOGAN BRADLEY – HAMBURGERS AND HOTDOGS: When Logan said he was having trouble with his album, I was secretly a little happy, as I’m always insanely jealous of his recordings. Of course he turned it around and pulled off another RT classic. This album is hilarious and extremely well done. Unbelievable song titles (my current favorite is Pizza Blast, although I have no idea why). 21 tracks is crazy. Might just be me but I think Logan’s vocals have been getting way better – somehow they just make more sense to me now. And I think this is a very colorful album, which is what I miss a lot when I try listening to other music like it. Makes me look forward to the legit metal stuff I know Logan’s working on now.

MARTA – TUSCON: Great debut from a RT noob! Such a pleasant album. I think I like the title track best. Honestly I think the production suits the music, and wouldn’t really benefit from anything fancier. I like the lyrics (which seem to be the focus) – when you write lyrics this direct and specific, you have a certain power that says “don’t cross me or I’ll sing about you.” Which is especially potent if you get famous. So hopefully you’ll keep writing songs and do just that.

KEVIN LEE TODD – MAGNUS OCIEL MARCELLO: Oh my GOD I love this album. This is the kind of album I wish I could make for RT – a ridiculously ambitious, unbelievably weird concept album that probably only happened because Kevin didn’t have the time to talk himself out of it. Incredible artwork. I have no idea where the story comes from, but it’s brilliant an interesting and the writing is absolutely top-notch. I’m having a hard time finishing this review cause I just keep bouncing around from track to track trying to figure out how this thing came to be. I don’t know what I like better, the story or the songs. I hate to completely gush over this so much, but it’s a truly inspiring album and strikes me as really, really special. It’s like a weird, melancholy puppet show. I can’t really go into much detail about any one part, as I’m going to need a while to process it. My favorite album of RT8, maybe of any RT. Kevin wins. 

PAUL MARQUISSEE – FAVORITE PLACE: Loved to see Paul messing around with some pop music. Nice simple lyrics, chords, melody, everything – which I’m sure was a struggle for Paul! Kylene's voice is a little different than the kind you usually hear in stuff like this, which made it an interesting listen. Also it's a little more reverby and full than similar productions. So it's cool to see Paul's take on that whole subgenre of "bouncy ukulele pop." Nice.

T CLAX/BRAD ADAMS: I’m gonna review Brad’s 3 tracks at once, because I know they were 3 different projects but recorded somewhat together. First off, I have no words for Mr. Brew. I believe it’s a song about Perkins, which might be a world first.  I’m Not the King might be our first nu-metal track, and What The Heck Johnny is our first Christian Rap track. So Brad gets major points for covering our bases. It definitely sounds like a step up in all aspects of production. T Clax’s rapping is solid for sure. I enjoyed Brad’s (I think it’s Brad’s) growling. Just loved the variety, and it sounds like you guys had a lot of fun with this stuff. Nice.

PIGEON – GOOD TIMES, HOT CHICKS, LIMP DICKS: I don’t have the RTVII stuff with me, but I’m pretty sure this is a bigger production from Dominic/Pigeon. Sounds great. I really like the voice, I almost wish there were a little less reverb and stuff so I could hear it better, but I realize that’s a big part of the sound. Melodies are great, and it’s a very pleasurable listen. Great album title.

STRANGE BATTERY - PIECE OF WOOD: Piece of Wood? More like Piece of Shit.