Music Street Journal - Music News & Reviews

The Irrational Library Everything At All Times and All Things At Once Review by Gary Hill This is very unusual and unique. The vocals are all spoken, but more like rants than raps. The music has hints of jazz, but also plenty of punk rock built into it. I nearly included this under progressive rock, because it is clearly art rock. However, it seemed a bit raw and brutal for that category to work. It's probably closest to an artsy form of hardcore punk. The lyrics are thought provoking. They are also likely to knock people out of their comfort zone. It's been said that great art should make people uncomfortable. So, by that definition this is great art. It should be noted that beyond that discomfort factor, the bulk of this gets a parental advisory for language. You've likely never heard anything quite like this. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) in Music Street Journal: 2020 Volume 1. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2020.

Track by Track Review

To Know that You Know Nothing Some weird atmosphere opens this. The cut blasts into a bizarre kind of jazz jam from there. The vocals come over the top bringing something between hip hop and beat poetry as it does. This has a lot of energy and is fun.

Social Media Circle Jerk There is a real Red Hot Chili Peppers vibe to this cool groove. This is hard rocking and funky.

Just Do It There is a killer hard rocking groove at the heart of this thing. I'm reminded a bit of Suicidal Tendencies on this thing. There is a real punk edge to this thing, but with a healthy helping of both funk and grunge in the mix.

There Still Ain’t No Travel Ban on the Dance Floor The vocals on this make me think of The Doors quite a bit. The tune has a great rocking groove. I love the killer old school hard rock jam at the end of this thing.

Palestinian Pulled Pork The cut opens with just a voice. Drums come in after the introduction. The vocals come back in over the top of that, creating a real beat poetry vibe.. The cut is so weird with its juxtaposed lyrical couplets, but it's also oddly compelling.

Wormhole Outside the Zeeman There is a cool jazz element at play here. Yet it has some cool stripped back punky edge at the same time.

The Words That We Will Say on the 5th of May The rhythm section brings this into being. The vocals come over the top. For some reason it makes me think of Lords of the New Church just a bit. The saxophone that wails over the top later is so cool. There is a good balance between more powered up and sedate sections. This powerhouse is one of the highlights of the set, really.

Students of the American Educational System Jazz and punk merge on this killer number. It's another standout. They don't really change the format on this, but it just gels so well.

I Am Not Going to Tell You This is a very stripped down cut with just the voice and bass for the first two-and-a-half minutes. The cut gets into a melodic rock jam from there that takes it instrumentally to the end.

Jager The lyrics to this one are in German. The cut has a great jazz punk groove to it. It is slow moving and so classy.

The Skies Are Still Blue Like an Illusion While there is no big change here, the jazz influences on this tune really shine. The instrumental section is on fire. It works into some weird space at the end, too.

Roy Moore’s Wife Said it Best This cut might get some flak from people for the lyrics. It's fast paced and crazed musically. The point it's trying to make is valid, but the question arises, is there a good reason to use racist and homophobic language to make a point of inclusion? I am literally asking that question because I don't have an answer. I'm sure people who fall on one side of the equation will hate this, while those who are on the other end of it will get it the way it's intended.

Everything at All Times and All Things at Once The music here has a real rock and roll meets punk groove.

Return to the The Irrational Library Artist Page

Artists Directory

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
© 2024 Music Street Journal Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com