Listening 1

[This is the first of maybe a series of posts where I note what I've been listening to lately, and try to articulate what I liked (or at least what stood out to me) about it. Not sure if it'll be worthwhile but I'll give it a shot...]

vektroid - ocean color road

-extremely evocative, both on the level of sound design (lush magical water/wave sounds, aquatic tropical pads and leads) and the level of composition/pacing (some songs reminiscent of extended periods of oceanic travel, others of stopping at some mysterious island; each song is distinct and memorable in its own right)
-similar "segahaze" sound to Neo Cali and Starcalc but more fully realized: feels like a journey rather than a collection of songs that are just based on the same aesthetic template
-I know a sort of ironic detachment is often attributed to kindred spirits like Lopatin, Ferraro, Internet Club, etc. especially when they make music that seems to reference escapism--but damn if this doesn't sound like a pretty sincere attempt at making something that feels really escapist: a world you could (and would want to) stay in. not saying that's all there is to it--but that's probably why I like it so much more than anything I've heard by any of those artists

future - future

-I don't exactly know what drew me to this rather than any other mainstream trap albums, but I think it has to do with how it exemplifies the 2010s trap sound while offering some subtle freshness production-wise: it mostly eschews with the usual "epic" choir pads and spooky descending motifs in favor of brighter, more lush ambient and melodic sounds; at the same time, it exemplifies the interesting rhythmic feel of recent trap with its complex, contorting hi hat and kick patterns and use of interchanged kicks with varying degrees of loudness/punchiness. 
-future has a similar loose, singsong approach to a lot of other popular rappers--but he does it best imo. a lot of older rappers (even post-80s) sound stiff / lacking in groove sense by comparison

kanye - tlop

-turns out this actually his best album
-I'm assuming some of the critics who (comparatively speaking) panned it offered reasoning along the lines of platitudes like "it's sprawling and unfocused" and "it doesn't have distinct, unified aesthetic that could 'change the game' like his previous albums".
-personally I think such criticisms miss what makes this album so interesting: critics always love a neatly classifiable "new sound" album--but here he does something better: taking the most successful and distinctive elements of previous works to an extreme
-1. his earlier soul/gospel style and later more abrasive style are put in a blender: choir samples, rnb-style vocals, etc. are featured heavily but processed--clipped, distorted, delayed--in weird ways (almost reminding me of "gesange der junglinge" at times tbh)
-2. more generally though, it takes his approach of building songs around unusual sounds and unexpected changes to an extreme while still being basically a pop album. maybe my favorite example of how unorthodox his approach is right now is in "Wolves": right as the carthartic chorus/hook comes in (e.g. at 1:24), a bunch of other sounds also enter the mix, one of which doesn't even seem to be playing at the same speed as the rest of the song. very chaotic and 'wtf' in a fun way.
-also, I guess I've ignored the thing that always seems most important to critics when reviewing kanye west albums: psychoanalyzing the man himself. I don't have much to say there (c.f. megan garvey's review of ye), other than that lyrically there are, as usual, a lot of "groaners" and a few funny lines here and there. as for his broader public persona, it just amazes me that so many liberal music commentators / enthusiasts seemed to think for awhile that an impossibly rich, egotistical celebrity was genuinely "on their side" and would always be a responsible voice for the causes they (we) think are important.

a guy called gerald - "escape"

-basically exemplifies gerald's inimitable early approach: counterintuitive rhythms that are somehow angular yet smoothly flowing, and composition that holds interest by "drifting" in odd ways--favoring intuitive variation of initial elements over the introduction of completely new ideas. plus the "we've got so much power now" sample has a really cool industrial sound included, and i love how the delay used turns it and other samples into 'clouds' of sound rather than rigid grid patterns. overall very badass-sounding. fuck that guy who uploads old house tracks like this on youtube but always uses footage of a """sexy""" second life(?) avatar dancing it to accompany it though.

alright, its 4:00 AM, time to stop writing...