The Daily Spin, April 2
bo en | Pale Machine
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023. We’ve made it through the first quarter!
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
If you want to suggest an album, good news! You can do so right here!
Album: Pale Machine (2013)
Artist: bo en
Link:
This album, to me, feels like some sort of cross between Porter Robinson and Passion Pit - which, speaking of, would really like to see that somehow.
It’s the vaguely 8-bit sound and allusions to Japan throughout the album that give me the strongest ties to Robinson, though I’d be remiss to not mention the way that the actual vibe of the album, leaning far more to the acoustic than the electronic, including some brilliant falsetto work, reminds me of Passion Pit.
This is a combination that I think, at first glance, doesn’t work in the slightest in my head, but I’m pleased to report that it’s a little better than that on paper. I think it has its misses - there are times where the plucky electronica completely fails to mesh with the rest of the album, but by and large, this is enjoyable.
Rating: 7.2/10
Best Tracks: Every Day
Worst Tracks: Be Okay