They heard me singing and they told me to stop

The other day I decided to take a look at my subscriptions tab on Youtube, and I ended up doing a bit of spring cleaning, mainly because I realized that for whatever reason I was subscribed to quite a number of channels. And it's not just bands or streamers, I was subscribed to a lot of random channels from people who I have no idea who they were - like at all. Some I sort of maybe recognized, but most of the rest I clicked on the channel and there's nothing there - not a single video, nor a playlist. So I swiftly unsubscribed from them. But whilst doing that I got an idea for a challenge. I've been subscribed to the KEXP channel for a long time, and while I haven't actually visited the channel in quite a while now, I'm still receiving lots of their content on my recommendations. So I decided I'd choose a few of the bands they feature there and see if they're any good.

Day 239 - Angine de Poitrine - 'Vol.1'

Now, when I was still buying records, these... people? aliens?, whatever they might be were an ubiquitous presence in the mailing lists I received weekly. And I remember looking at the cover of this album, and thinking 'What a stupid name for a band. And what is this cover? Dear Lord in heaven, please tell me this isn't how they look.' Ah well.

And I can't even describe this. I can't. Is it prog? Yeah. Is it experimental and math and psych and all the things that the internet tells me they are? Yeah. And yet - none of that describes the glorious weirdness that I was witness to. If there ever was music that looks exactly how their players look - then it's this.

And at just over 33 minutes long, it really flew by. A great start to the week, 9/10.

Day 230 - Malcriada - 'ESTÁ BIEN LLORAR </3' (Yes, with caps and emoji, very millenial)

Pretty good, but highly derivative of Crystal Castles. The best song I'd say is the acoustic one where it's just the guitars and her singing. I'll be keeping an eye on them and it gets a strong 8/10. 

Day 231 - Valgur - 'Armageddon'

Also very derivative, but not in a really good way. I didn't much enjoy this one. Again - neither good, nor bad... just meh. 5/10

Day 232 - Pink Breath Of Heaven - 'Colors Make A Sound'

For some reason I had pretty high expectations for this one. Unfortunately, as soon as I heard the singer's voice, my heart sank - I really didn't like it. And neither was I a fan of the whole instrumentation, it was very, very derivative of other things - maybe a little of Emma Ruth Rundle there. A generous 4/10.

 
Day 233 - Sadness - 'sunset blush' (Yes, lowercase and all, thank you so very much)

This was really really good - one of the week's best, and a return to form after a couple of duds.

This reminded me of early post-Darren White Anathema, as well as some Explosions In The Sky. Derivative, to be sure, but really really good. A very worthy 8.5/10

Day 234 - Night Heron - 'ESCAPISM' (And pretty fucking please, can these bands just use normal caps/lowercase?'

Imma be honest, when I saw how these folks looked like, I figured I would be in for an atrocious listen. But holy hell, was I surprised! I had to go on the interwebs to see how to best describe what they sound like, and lo and behold, the KEXP website states that they're '...a moody, nocturnal, slow-motion blend of R&B, synth-pop, and yacht-rock – or as they aptly bill it, “night-driving” music – distinguished by laidback beats, jazzy flourishes, dreamy melodies, and a light psychedelic touch.' 

This was a really great listen, and it gets a very good 8.5/10.

Day 235 - Den Der Hale - 'Larking About'

Their Discogs page state that they're a 'post-psych' band - whatever the hell that means. And what we got here was something pretty weird - though quite good. Something along the lines of Wardruna in places, I guess. But it also made me think of this label that used to be around up until a few years back, that used to put out some weird stuff like this - and next week I'll be diving into it. As for this one, it's good, but I'm not sure that I'd ever listen to it again. I guess I'll give it a 6.5/10.

Next week, it's Cold Meat Industry time.