Rapid Fire Reviews: Bon Iver, Slaughter Beach, Dog, & Outlet
Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
This year has been absolutely insane with music releases. We have seen legendary releases from all across the board in 2016 and even more specifically in September. I thought it would be perfect to review three records that sonically are nothing alike, simply to show the amount of variety floating around in the world. Especially right now.
Bon Iver – 22, A Million
I have to throw it out there. 22, A Million is more of a more of art than it is a record. I have explained this to numerous people over the past week, but honestly this is Bon Iver’s finest work. This is mainly due to the unique ways that the band stylize their instrumentals. Across this record there are varying song structures and each one encompasses too many motifs to actualize what is the main piece. That being said, everything comes to a focus once Justin Vernon starts singing. I have not heard someone else with that specific vocal delivery be able to crash through incredibly animated instrumentals ever. Bon Iver have created as close to a masterpiece as possible for the band, especially when put in context of their precious records. “33 ‘God'” is one of the most dynamic songs I have heard this year. Yet, when there are percussion instruments, synths, pianos, banjos and Vernon’s approach all floating together, I am still floating to a familiar and calm place. I cannot understand exactly where that place is, but the song has the ability to shift my breathing into one that realizes my situation, analyzes my mood and alleviates what is troubling me. It’s soothing, and one will find that across all of 22, A Million, there are so many layers to uncover that the allure of a masterpiece goes much deeper. This is fantastically beautiful, a no longer missing piece of a puzzle you never knew you were missing.
Score: 9.5/10
Slaughter Beach, Dog – Welcome
Hey, look it is Modern Baseball! No, wait. It is one half of the vocalist duties of Modern Baseball. All that aside, Welcome is an aware record that has a bit more of a cognizant stay for me than the other project from Jake Ewald. “Monsters” tells the story of a normal 22 year old trying to outline a better life; which is almost reassuring that Ewalds has the identity crisis that we all face, still even with the acclaimed reproach that is whatever is happening in Modern Baseball’s world. Slaughter Beach, Dog focuses on reexamining everything and finding a place for it — even the self-sabotage that forces us to flounder as if controlled by someone not us. Welcome is charming, a bit lo-fi and sometimes a bit ominous. “Politics Of Grooming” has such a melancholy bite in it, dressed up as a reflective burner but possessing much, much more. As an album, the wonky flow is a bit of a welcoming, because it’s reminiscent of the scatter brained individuals we are, only to render our memory a bit more useless as we grow older. Shit, that’s a scary thought.
Score: 7/10
Outlet – Memento Mori
This is a record for any fans of heavier music. Memento Mori is grim, just like the title lends itself to be. Outlet fasten a hefty EP with plenty of vivacious grooves that are not scared to be gritty or sludgy. “Mortal Coil” is a perfect example of the sonic capacity of this record, a mix of the pissed off nature of hardcore with a doom element that is encompassed by the dark tones, the chugged rhythms and the torturous howls taking front seat as the vocals. There is a lot of just this however, at times using builds to find the exact mood for a song to ride, like the lengthy pound of “Sky Burial.” Memento Mori is fun, not overly complex and overall a need to listen for fans of heavier music, released via Glory kid Records.
Score: 6.5/10