weekly mlog ♪ #10

some new some old some in between. lmk if you like anything or have any recommendations. I'm pretty ssslllooowwww on the uptake with new releases I usually get to them years later. this recap features 2 new favorites!

sleigh bells - bunky becky birthday boy (2025)
genre: power pop, noise pop
FFO: deerhoof, the go! team
rating: 8/10

admittedly I have not been keeping up with this band after I was disappointed by 2013's Bitter Rivals. at the same time the two preceding albums were growers for me. I really started to dig the rocking guitars and captain of the cheerleading team vocals only in very recent years. since that time sleigh bells' first two albums have become all-time favorites of the indie-whatever genre and of modern music in general. this new album harbors some of that classic sleigh bells sound with added clown core and even some post-industrial sounds, and once again I didn't like that at first but this album became a huge grower for me. tracks I would recommend: bunky pop, wanna start a band, can i scream, blasted shadow

fad gadget - fireside favorites (1980)
genre: post-punk, minimal synth, synth pop
FFO: nervous gender, DEVO
rating: 8.5/10

this feels like your standard post punk album, with a tinge of minimal synth wave and a hint of punk sentiment. everything is well-calibrated to work harmoniously here: driving percussion and not very adventurous guitars, but the meandering synths are where this band really shines, as well as the strong vocals. they are the force that propels each song beyond just a cookie-cutter post punk outfit, and they do it well. square peg, round hole. songs I would recommend: state of the nation, pedestrian, coitus interruptus

the ex - history is what's happening (1982)
genre: post-punk
FFO: swell maps, wipers
rating: 8.5/10

this album is a collection of short, palatable little ditties with a punk twist. they spread anti-establishment rhetoric while producing hummable melodies, harmonized chords, and marching band level percussion. as seen in the video I linked, when a bunch of old dudes are doing this sort of thing I stand up and cheer. not a huge fan of modern post punk in all its forms but that will be explored in a future recap. this album is highly enjoyable in its short format which may leave you wanting for more, but don't worry they have other similar releases from the 80s such as Disturbing Domestic Peace. songs I would recommend: life live, moving pictures, sports

crash course in science - near marineland (1981)
genre: electroclash, synth punk, minimal wave, experimental
FFO: units, the girls, chris & cosey
rating: 9.5/10

this release spans the genres it resides in well, boasting experimental synths and quaint sentiments that focus on personhood. the subject matter is more inconsequential than a lot of what was happening in the political scene at the time, in bright-eyed contrast to other acts such as those mentioned above. the feeling may be less in your face, but that doesn't mean they don't play into political happening such as the space race with their far-out synths that sound pretty cosmic. includes male and female vocals which you may know by now is a personal favorite. true enough this album could go toe to toe with any 2020's french electroclash duo and take them down easily, their sound just feels a lot more authentic and less derivative. songs I would recommend: someone reads, second glance, it costs to be austere, wishbone, sputnik in orbit

bonus review!!!!111!!1ONEONE >.<

skrillex - F*CK U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3 (2025)
genre: hybrid trap, brostep, future bass
FFO: it's skrillex idk
rating: 8/10

lolz sorry about image sizing idk how to do that, I usually just find medium images because that's the most plentiful... newayzzzz

the first track grabbed me by the throat and whispered in my ear, "dubstep is cool now". and the remainder of the album held me gently at night. upon first listen I really had fun listening to all the ad libs and dj breaks and shit, but not a lot of the tracks stand out to me after a handful of listens. this album reads like the corniest dj set with all the quips from that booming voice you often hear in musics of the electronic variety. once again after a handful of listens I found that dated as it has been being used since the 2010's. it's funny, but doesn't venture much farther than that. there are some interesting future bass beats here as well as some post-industrial elements, which I found the most interesting out of anything this album offers, as well as other beats that I don't have the words to articulate. I'm not huge on the electronic genres, sorry to readers. but, as an avid soundcloud peruser for about the past decade, I can say this album was a retro mindfuck. songs I would recommend: skrillex is dead, momentum, mirchi test. I can also say that skrillex achieved what he set out to do, differentiating himself from the riff raff of the early to mid 2010's, but that could have been accomplished within 15 tracks. some of this was just filler. that being said I would have liked to be at the album party. I liked this a lot.

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