Ichika "she waits patiently" (2018)

I found ichika through a friend of mine, one who has been mentioned on this blog once before, they're the same person that introduced me to Feed Me Jack and again, she didn't disappoint with the recommendation of this Japanese Math Rock artist. This EP, because it's and EP, not a full album, is likely one of my favourite works of ichika, the gentle and clean guitar tones are used well, they help accentuate the intricate guitar work.

ichika also goes by another name, 'Nito' both of these Spotify artists are actually the same person and it shows in the feel of the music, it's spacious yet the gentle guitar tapping is tight, this goes for both accounts, Nito has more electrical and synthetic use but the resemblance is there. Why ichika felt the need to have 2 accounts I'm not sure.

The 5 song EP is something you can have on repeat for a whole day, it's relaxing and for lack of a better word, magical, angelic is another word I'd use. I have a hard time describing this record, it's intricate yet feels simple, something that is no doubt caused by the fact that all these songs were played on a clean electric guitar and polished up with some great mixing, production and a skilled player.

There are no lyrics in this EP and I don't feel like we're missing them, this record is one you'd have on in the background while you're busying yourself with other matters, it's there, it has a presence and makes itself known, but it's not demanding, it doesn't require your attention for you to be able to understand it's vibe.

8/10

 Challenger Deep ''Challenger Deep'' (2019)

Showing up in my Spotify Weekly not too long ago this band pulled me in with their allure of strong basslines and powerful instrumentals. I'm glad I've got to know Feed Me Jack and Polyphia before listening to this, getting to know Math Rock better, this band uses a slightly more aggressive and sloppier sound than what I've gotten to love from Feed Me Jack, and in comparison to Polyphia they don't quite have as genius riffs. Another comparison I'll make is to Intervals and Plini, both instrumental bands I've discovered quite recently, Intervals a bit more energetic than Plini but still not on the level of Challenger Deep.

This 4 man boy band's biggest asset on this debut album is their powerful basslines, often taking the front stage for a while with rhythmic riffs, droning onwards, though the main attention is still on the electric guitar, this band's main skill lies on merging technicality and earworm worthy melodies into beautiful songs. With their catchy hooks, electric energy, and graceful technicality these song jump out at you catching you by storm. 

The intro track 'The Bloop (It Begins)' sets atmosphere, a good reference to the geographical name Challenger Deep, the deepest natural point know to date, it gives us a mystical welcome before we get dragged into the frenzied finger tapping guitar work and aggressive machine gun like drumming of 'Welcome to the Show', that's not all they know to do though, punctuated stops and punchy basslines grab you by ear once you start to decipher the sound a little.

For 30 minutes of completely immersing, amazing sound and skilful guitar licks this record has surprisingly little listens, a real shame. In 8 songs the band has outdone itself, selling their point of beautifully merged punctuated technicality and their catchy hooks for their debut album to us like real masters.

8/10

 Feed Me Jack ''Chumpfrey'' (2012)

This was one of the first records and bands I've been introduced to by a good online friend of mine (you know who you are :D), originally the Math Rock or Prog Rock feel and poppy influences on the album were a bit overwhelming, but since my first listen more than half a year ago I've really grown on this genre and more specifically this set of songs. One of my few complaints on this album, the songs don't connect or flow with each other too well, the sound is there and individually I love all of these songs, the record just lacks cohesiveness, there are tons of fun quirks to find and discover on this record though. Speaking of quirks, after doing a tiny bit of research before writing this I've found this debut album was actually released in 2012 and not 2015 like Spotify tells us.

Wonderful, jazzy, groovy, Indie band is what you might think listening to this record, but that description is informative at best and very underwhelming to anyone who has listened to it before. With smooth basslines and twinkly percussive work laying a good and supportive background to push the infectious clean electric guitar forward this band knows what they're doing with their dynamic. With melodic picking, tapping and rhythmic phrases the guitar takes the front spot, bass and drums aren't the only thing supporting it though, we can't forget about the 3 man harmonics and singing, with slightly mismatched voices it sounds hard to believe that they could produce something so magical, yet they know how to perfectly play off of each other, creating some incredibly catchy hooks.

Undermining the genius song writing isn't something we should do either, these lyrics play off of the jazz like feel really well, but apart from lyrics they create some impressive and immersive textures of pin point rhythmic changes for you to lose yourself in. This record isn't all mystifying, complex musical work though, we get given a good amount of slower paced, less note filled spacious time too, often accompanied by soft waves of synths and more simple percussions and guitar picking. The main thing making all these songs special is their unique quirks, Rosies gets given a funky start with some keyboard notes, Until Then manages to catch one of the catchiest riffs, Jelly The Queen receives more funkiness in it's starting notes and outro. I would love to explain all of these but I simply don't have the time

10/10