Ewy "World Is Mine" (2020)

Ewy is an artist that showed up on my Spotify Weekly a while ago and hooked me in with his melodramatic voice, British accent and sad guitar playing, it all mad me reminiscent of Crywank, The Front Bottoms or even Park national which are all bands I quite enjoy. This isn't the only aspect of that makes this small indie folk punk artist so enjoyable though.

This record is special to me because of it's big emotional impact, it felt strangely personal which is the result of this album being written in lockdown, it's presence of which has undoubtedly affected all of us and is something we can all relate to. Other topics of this album include failed relationships and his disappointment in the world in general, you know, typical folk punk stuff.

In a total of 12 songs and 30 minutes Ewy manages to capture all these topics perfectly via his sad British voice, sounding more like a rant than singing, this isn't a bad thing though, this and his acoustic guitar cause for his perfect capturing of the folk punk aesthetic Ewy is obviously aiming for. With poppy influences on these songs and fun but unique lyrics these tracks manage to stay in your head for weeks on end. Especially 'Itch' and 'Jewelry And Teeth' do this intricate mix well, they're fun songs with a way deeper meaning when you actually look at the lyrics.

Not only is Ewy a really great artist he's also a really fun and nice person to hang around with, he's often active in his Discord Server and I've often hung around with him in voice chats, he's really cool and likeable person.

9/10

 Deftones "Ohms" (2020)

Deftones is a band that I got into very reluctantly, their sound didn't strike me as appealing the first couple listens, only a few months after I originally listened to Koi No Yokan I realised how genius their sound is and became entranced by it, their recent release of Ohms was more of what I already loved by the Nu Metal band. 

This record pulled me in with sludgy guitar and beautifully emotional vocals in the form of screams, this combination creating a gravitational force, like being thrown about in a sea of sound. This push and pull mechanic between the low distorted 8 string guitar and ethereal vocals makes sure this band never tires. This feeling is most beautifully shown in "Urentia" the third song on this record, it begins with a heavy assaulting riff, preparing you for a giant breakdown. Instead this song steers hard in the other direction going for a tender whimsical sound, later the opening riff begins but it holds an entirely different power, with some pop influences on chords. Suddenly the groups' main dynamic isn't contradicting at all, the vocals and sludgy guitar twirling around and perfectly complimenting each other, an odd balance in a stormy ocean of sound.

Something this record does more than any music I've listened is reach beyond, it is no longer just sound, the emotional pull between glimmering vocals and tugging sensation of the albums heavier aspects really do make it feel like you're in a whirlpool, Ohms is a delicate equilibrium. The sound holds their power in tension, like slacklining on a thread that could snap at any second.

9/10

 Bears In Trees "I Want to Feel Chaotic" (2020)

Listening to this EP has given me some inspiration and motivation to write again so hi there! Bears In Trees is one of those bands that I didn't appreciate enough upon first encounter, yes Ramblings of a Lunatic was an incredible song but I didn't bother to look further than that until recently and when I did I wasn't disappointed by what I found, the British band has several EPs full of intricate songs with huge Dodie, Cavetown and The Front Bottoms influences, fun vocal runs being supported well by drums and guitar.

I Want to Feel Chaotic is my favourite EP from the band's discography so far. It is also their first record under the Counter Intuitive label and Bears In Trees delivered. Weighing in at 5 songs and 16 minutes of listening time it feels a bit short yet these songs all tell a story. Coming to terms with your own being, personality and the loss of close friends are all a part of theme of the record, it manages to clear up all the fog in your mind, the sound striking your bones and soul. 

Like mentioned before, the band has taken great influence from Dodie, Cavetown, The Front Bottoms and more, with clean guitar vocal runs, harmonies and fun drums their sound never feels overwhelming, creating the mind clearing experience I talked about above. It's not all whimsical though, the hooks remain fun, energetic and stick in your head urging you to dance and sing-along in your bedroom. Overall they sound like what a cold starry night looks and feels like.

My words really can't do this EP justice, plus my rustiness in writing these subjective reviews make it so I feel like there are things missing here, but oh well!

8/10

Bring Me The Horizon ''Post Human: Survival Horror'' (2020)

Having been a fan of BMTH for a few years and mainly of That's The spirit and Sempiternal hearing this EP for the first time scared me away a little. The massive blast beats, high energy sound wall and mix of Electronic, Metal and Pop influences were a little much in comparison to the other albums. Revisiting this 30 minute EP a month later changed my mind. I was on the edge of my seat listening to it, the Pop influenced hooks and Electronica around every corner combined with Mick Gordon helping on production and mixing this is I was very reminiscent of my dabble in the video game Doom Eternal.

This album length EP is BMTH's first try with their new formatting to releasing music, they were tired of the restrictions of albums and the suggestion of making EPs struck gold for the band. Post Human: Survival Horror is the first of apparently 4 EPs in the Post Human quartet. The first song Survival Horror perfectly embodies many peoples experiences with the global pandemic going around, they managed to capture pure frustration and translate it into music.

With dense synthesizers droning, heavy guitar riffs, blast beats, drums and samples galore this record keeps high energy while not forgetting about hooks and catchy melodies that stay in your head for weeks on end. They also remember to keep tuneful swaying bits in their songs, the perfect amount of time to really take in what you're listening to before the sound starts building up again and you find yourself completely immersed in it and Oli Sykes' screams. 

One certain track really stands out, the feature of BABYMETAL on Kingslayer, a song that could very well fit on the Japanese groups discography. Utilising their quirks and musical aesthetics combined with the rest of this EPs general sound makes this song the favourite of many. Furthermore Teardrops has made a name for itself in my head, it's catchy hooks and melodies won't leave my mind and they got me to listen this record more times than I can count.

All in all this album length EP is incredibly cunning, utilising many features for some unique sounds and voices while keeping it concise and cohesive, seeing this change in the band's direction is an exciting one, I'm curious as to what the other records under the Post Human banner will bring, I am hoping that they get their own identities and quirks instead of them being copies of each other with slightly different meanings, I have high hopes for the future.

9/10

Wilbur ''Your City Gave Me Asthma'' (2020)

 Listening to this album always manages to get me in the feels, it's an incredibly therapeutic one with it's Singer-songwriter genre and sad emotional tones, I discovered this record because Wilbur Soot is actually an entertainer on YouTube as well, hearing this for the first time right after I had binged some of his content struck me hard, how did someone so jolly sing something so sad.

Back when Wilbur used to live in London he quickly got disgusted by it's environment, the city quite literally gave him asthma and the scarily high mortality rates on the undergrounds made him sick, this album was him expressing his distaste for it all which is why it's so emotional, London ate away at his mental health throughout his stay, luckily he's moved away since then.

Like I mentioned before, the singer-songwriter style fits perfectly with the tone of this record, simple guitar progressions and on occasional tracks some brass instruments. His soft voice combined with very faint harmonics and supporting vocals really drive home the idea that this was all recorded in a bedroom by someone fresh out of college.

8/10