The old five-point scale has been retired in favor of just rating stuff 1-10, which allows me a much more nuanced final rating. Still don't take it that seriously. Most of these come from my own collection, so the grades skew rather high. Your results may vary if you send me stuff to review.
Each album is given three Essential tracks, my personal favorites, regardless of how weird and inconsequential they are. The Quintessential pick is the one I think best represents the album as a whole, so you can try one song instead of a whole album of songs. Non-Essential picks range from merely disappointing to outright unlistenable.
Dreamy sweet pop.
Oh yeah--this one brings back memories. I had a friend in middle school grill c.layne about the lyrical parallels between this one and his then-new Maps of Us, and I don't think he ever got a straight answer. I don't think it matters; Antonymic is hazy on purpose. It's lavish with reverb, warm and dreamy in the sun's glow, the lyrics slightly indistinct, the sound MP3-ravaged (that one might not have been on purpose). It's a comfort even when the mood is downcast, and when your opener talks about black ash skies and nooses and you end your record with "The End of Me", it might just be a little sadder than it seems on the surface.
Antonymic is powered largely by wandering clean lead guitars and anchored by its spindly drum loops and CR-78s, c.layne's sleepy coo and self harmonies gently wafting over the top. It can bounce ("You Are the Reason"), it can linger ("A House of Sticks"), it can even turn heavy impressionistic ("Devil on Your Shoulder"), but it's never all that huge or washed out--I've never heard anything quite like it. Regardless, it's all bullseye because never once do the dreamy sonics take precedence over the songwriting. Pretty, sad, nostalgic, mournful, but undeniably catchy, it's a big old favorite of mine, and I'm not surprised it's the only of c.layne's early period to stay "in print", if you will.
(This one's had a few tracklist revisions over its lifespan. The most recent running order excises "Eidetic" entirely and moves the former track four "Yours Truly/Guilt" into its place. It makes for a much slower end to the record, and I liked the way "Eidetic" built off "Thinking of You"'s strummy frustrations to give the record, and the relationship depicted on it, a powerful and surprisingly clear-headed climax. I mean, everyone thinks the version they heard first is the right one, right? "Eidetic" is still included in the Bandcamp edition as a bonus track, alongside three other songs that were also originally on the album. I guess it's your call whether to reinstate it, but it's honorary Essential status to me. I do hear c.layne's working on a new version though, which...)
| Essential: | Quintessential: | Non-Essential: | Rating: |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Lake Down the Road", "A House of Sticks", "Yours Truly/Guilt" | "You Are the Reason" | "Talk Slow" |  |
| Download from c.layne's Bandcamp | |||
INDEX | CHANGELOG | CONTACT
ART | MODDING | MUSIC | WRITING
GAME REVIEWS | MUSIC REVIEWS
This site powered by AutoSite technology.