Music: DEMOlition - Demos That Didn't Make KABOOM! by I Fight Dragons

The Review Starts Here

Anyone getting an awkward feeling from this start, where the formatting is not like the other reviews here? Well, that's intentional. I felt a bit awkward when I first saw this album cover, and then I realized it's just the cover for KABOOM, but with DEMOlition placed over KABOOM!

Anyway, I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. I've listened to it before, and yet I never really paid any attention to the songs after the first time around. I recently re-read Neuromancer, by William Gibson (one of the greatest books I've read, for sure), and now I feel that in some way, track 3, Circles, was partly inspired by that book. Don't ask me why, I don't know how to explain this feeling.

Continuing upon the awkward feeling, I'll cut it off here.

Just kidding, not going to do that. Overall, I enjoyed this whole album. Now I'm cutting it off for the sake of awkwardness.

Music: Jet Set Radio Future OST

Review Begins Here

Who here remembers Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future? I sure do! I haven't played either in years, but I still remember the soundtrack to Future, which always sounds epic when it plays in the background as you venture through Tokyo-To, fighting the Rokkaku Corporation, and listening to DJ Professor K's commentary. Except for Birthday Cake, that track is indescribably annoying regardless of whether it plays in the background of the game, or from a CD player. I think it's the high-pitched voice, high frequencies tend to make my head hurt. Good thing that track isn't in the version of the album I linked the image to.

My feelings on this album are quite mixed. I enjoy the soundtrack while playing the game (except for Birthday Cake), but it doesn't sound as awesome when it's playing outside of the game (in my case, from a YouTube playlist). Concept of Love, Fly Like a Butterfly, Statement of Intent, Count Latchula, Sneakman, and Me Likey the Poom Poom are the exceptions to this discovery, for some reason or another.  

I didn't hate the experience of listening to this, but it wasn't my favorite either. Then again, I did listen to the entire soundtrack, which was on a YouTube playlist. Only part of the soundtrack is on the album I linked to, sadly. 

Music: Jupiter-18

Hey, Jupiter-18, you asked me if I could review your stuff, and I said "Yes." so here it is!
For those of you who don't know, Jupiter-18 is one of my closest friends, and he writes his own music. He's one of the best people I know, for sure.

The Actual Review

Where to start? Well, I've known this guy for quite some time, and he's always been a musician who clearly enjoys what he does. Some of his works, I enjoy, and there are others that I don't enjoy. Either way, I don't hate any of his songs; after all, I know very well that he puts a lot of work into each and every individual track he writes, some even taking half a year or more to make. 

Overall, I like his work (the fact that I've listened to some of his works-in-progress have a lot to do with that), even the tracks that I don't particularly enjoy. He recently told me that he's planning to come out of hiatus, and make more songs! For everyone who follows him on SoundCloud, as well as those who know him, this is definitely great news.

I know this review wasn't very detailed, I just don't know how to explain my opinion in words that exist (which says a lot, since I know a lot of words and have a way with them). All I can say is that you have to listen to his stuff to truly understand what I'm saying here. 

 

 

Music: KABOOM! by I Fight Dragons (EDITED)

Firstly: no, I Fight Dragons is not the same thing as Imagine Dragons. I Fight Dragons does chiptunes (NES guitar, can you get more awesome than that?), Imagine Dragons does not. I'll say it right here: I Fight Dragons is one of the best bands I know of.

The Actual Review

Like me, those of you who remember when the original 3DS was the newest thing from Nintendo will probably remember when the music video for Save World, Get Girl by I Fight Dragons showed up on Nintendo Video. I know I remember, and I remember getting my friend into this band soon after. Still not regretting that. 

I have to say, this is definitely one of the best albums I have ever listened to, and I have not found anything like it as of yet. The cover art grabs your attention, and then you completely forget that it doesn't actually have anything to do with the actual songs themselves as you become focused on the lyrics and instruments. 

I can honestly say that I don't have a favorite track on here. At first, I thought I wouldn't enjoy track 4, My Way, but I did. Then, I listened to the other tracks I didn't think I'd enjoy (With You, Disaster Hearts, and Suburban Doxology), and while I didn't like them, I didn't hate them either. The lyrics were well-written, but I felt that the songs were played far too calmly for my tastes. Still, I have no regrets when it comes to listening to this entire album. 

EDIT: I actually like Disaster Hearts, even though it made me cry a lot. When I say "a lot" I mean a lot. Also, Suburban Doxology was AWESOME!

Music: Freewind by OneWordOnly

Yet again, I find myself on OneWordOnly's SoundCloud page, and now I have just finished listening to the first album released: Freewind (the review starts up here today). As per usual, I do not own the image, this time I had to use the Inspect tool in Chrome to go to the source. Click on the image to go to the album.

(This is still the review)

I couldn't discern what genre this album falls into, so let's just say it's several. The first track, Liftoff, was too repetitive on the vocals for my tastes, but I'm sure there are people out there who enjoy that type of thing.

I especially enjoyed track 2, Artemis; it begins like something you'd hear on an SNES game, and while it keeps that feel, several seconds into the track, you also get the feel of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack. Don't ask me why, but I actually enjoyed that. If you listen to this album and enjoyed it, take a look at another SoundCloud page: Jupiter-18, he writes that kind of stuff all the time.

The final two tracks, Whitewash and I Wish, sound like what you'd hear at a nightclub after everyone's gotten drunk. Not that I'd know what that's like, I've never been to a nightclub. They're way too loud for me, and my extreme noise sensitivity doesn't help with that. I did enjoy the tracks though, they weren't too distracting, and so I was able to listen to them while working on some homework.

Overall, my feelings are mixed on this album. I enjoyed it at times, but at other times, it just seemed to be a bit rushed. Guess I'm ending the review here.

Music: After Hours EP

I don't always listen to electronic music, but when I do, it's usually recommended by a friend.

I got the image straight from the owner, who is known as OneWordOnly on SoundCloud. She happens to be one of my best friends as well. Click on the image to go to her page.

The Actual Review

There's a big difference between Ambient Electronic and EDM: I usually don't like EDM. However, this album is Ambient Electronic, and I actually like it quite a lot. It's perfect for listening to while studying, as it's entertaining, but not very distracting. Okay, that's a lie. I got distracted while listening to Alpine.

I'm not entirely sure how to describe this album clearly, but I'll do my best. Like I said earlier, it's good study music. The whole album overall is actually quite relaxing, so I could probably go to sleep while listening to this with no problems.  

The only complaint I have is that sometimes, the songs can be a little too repetitive. Other than that, I enjoyed the album as a whole. Keep working at it!

Music: VA-11 HALL-A - Second Round

This time, I'm starting with the actual review.
Wait a minute...
Okay, new rule, the actual review is below the image.

This time, I pulled the image from Garorad's Bandcamp page, specifically the one for VA-11 HALL-A - Second Round. Click on the image to go to it, and remember kids, don't torrent music! If you do, it can go on your permanent record (no, I am not kidding about that).

For those of you who are wondering, no I don't own the game. I've only watched NicoB's livestreams of the game on Twitch, which he posted on his YouTube channel.Click the underlined, colored words to go to it. Just like my previous review, I was not paid to put any links or to tell you to go to someone's YouTube page.

The Actual Review

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable experience. I happen to enjoy 80's synth-pop and chiptunes, which happen to be the two main categories which fit the whole of the VA-11 HALL-A soundtrack. 

The mood is quite varying on a track-by-track basis, from the ethereal, mysterious-yet-enticing percussion and piano of A Neon Glow Lights the Way, to the upbeat, hopeful guitar and horn of Every Day is Night, there seems to be no shortage of unique arrangements here. 

Admittedly, I did find a few of the tracks either too calm or too repetitive, but that can safely be attributed to personal tastes. As I stated earlier, this was an enjoyable experience overall, and I'd definitely buy this album if I had the $7 necessary to do so. 

Is it just me, or do the first few minutes of track 6 (Drive Me Wild) sound like the opening of Jump by Van Halen?

Music: Red vs. Blue Season 10 Soundtrack

This being my first post on this blog, and the first post of substance I have made on any of my blogs, I may as well start off by saying that this page will be used to review things, as the name implies.

Recently, I've been re-watching all of Red vs. Blue (look it up on YouTube if you don't know what it is), and I began to take notice of the background music, so I looked up "Red vs. Blue soundtrack", and clicked on the playlist for the Season 10 soundtrack. Now, I want to buy it.

By the way, you can click on the image below to go to the Rooster Teeth Store page where you can buy it. No, I wasn't paid to put it there, I just thought I might as well encourage everyone to acquire the album legitimately, so there. The image was pulled from the RT Store page, so it's owned by the people at Rooster Teeth.

The Actual Review

Okay, I discovered that not all rap is bad, it's just mostly the stuff played on the radio (I can't stop listening to Terminate and The More). Yes, that means you won't be seeing reviews for albums by Eminem on here. 

On another note, most of the tracks were written very well, which as a musician (piano and guitar), I can appreciate. I've never thought to combine vocals and electric guitar in the way they did near the end of Mental Meta Metal (one of my favorite instrumentals of all time). The lyrics were also some of the best I've ever heard, especially in Fragments, but they only make sense to those who watch Red vs. Blue. If you haven't yet, look it up on YouTube, it's available there for free. 

Sadly, the tracks in this album were Jeff Williams' final contribution to the show. No, he isn't dead, he's just not contributing to RvB anymore. The only issues I have with the album lie within two songs: Forever and Pray. Forever was far too calm for my tastes, and Pray seemed to be a bit rushed. I'm not entirely sure how to explain that feeling in words that exist, so I suppose this is the end of the review.