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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Shindigs

Ch ill a nd

Review by Gary Hill

In some ways this occupies a lot of the same territory as the music of Gary Wilson. It has a lot of the same charms. There is also a lot of 1980s electronic pop music here. The whole thing has a very lo-fi texture. While this is a mostly successful set, the problem is that there isn't enough variety. The musical style, tempo, vocal delivery and more seems to similar from one song to the one that follows it. That means that songs that work pretty well individually tend to be less effective on this album. Still, people tend to listen to music one song at a time a lot these days. For those fans, that won't be an issue at all. Overall, this is a good set that isn't without its flaws and issues. If you plan to listen from start to finish, it's probably better as music to have on if you are doing other stuff than to pay close attention to it.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2018  Volume 6. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review
Intro To
War sounds start this and trippy, echoey, progressive rock leaning sounds rise upward from there. There is a weird electronic sound to this, and it feels distorted in a tasteful way.
Sd Kj

Built on a lot of 80s electro-pop textures, there is a moody, dreamy texture to this thing. I dig the echoey elements about it.

Julian
While we're set in much the same musical territory here, this has more of a rocking groove to it. It drops to a jazzy little movement at the end.
Don't Mind
A slow moving electro-pop cut, this is intriguing and entertaining, but not a big change. That said, there is a bit of a funky edge to the cut.
Healthy Snaks
I dig the jazzy kind of vibe on this tune. Beyond that it's not a big change from what has come before. I like the instrumental section near the end quite a bit.
Wake Space, Pt. 2
I like the energy and more powered up vibe on this quite a bit. It has some great trippy elements and cool melodies.
Fair Weathered Days
If you have this set on as background music, you'll probably find this good. If you are listening intently, though, by this point the formula is really starting to wear thin. This isn't bad, but the tempo, sound and volume level are too much like everything else here. It just doesn't manage to stand on its own at all. That's kind of a shame because taken on its own merits it is one of the better pieces here.
Aloveplices
There is a bit of a bouncy soulful vibe to this cut that manages to redeem things quite well. Don't get me wrong, this is no paradigm shift. It's still samey, but there is enough difference and charm to this cut to make it work better.
Flower Plants
IF there is a song to skip here, this is the one. It feels awkward and a bit jarring in some ways. It's just not at the same level as the rest.
When We Can
There is some decided weirdness here. This is another cut that suffers from the monolithic nature of the album. It holds up better than some of the rest, though.
 
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