The Daily Spin, August 13
Occams Laser | Nine Circles
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
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.
Album: Nine Circles (2016)
Artist: Occams Laser
Link:
Hello from my new office in the wonderful state of Minnesota! The last few reviews you’ve read were pre written prior to my move - I still gave the music its due time, fear not, but the last thing I wanted to do after driving for 8-10 hours in a day was sit down and devote an hour to critically perceive an album. We’re back in business, though.
Nine Circles, to me, is pretty rote synthwave. There is literally nothing that makes this an outstanding choice. HOME sets himself apart with echoing synths sailing unrepentant into every corner of the universe, Lorn distills violence into a brutally poignant arrangement in a way that gives the music life, Com Truise and Skylar Spence pioneered the vaporwave subset of 80s-tinged modern electronica, pushing the envelope with synths that feel so old despite their young age. Through all of these, there exists a common thread, and it’s this base standard that fits exactly what Occams Laser are with this album.
Though it’s a genre I generally enjoy, I’m left feeling pretty consistently like there’s a great deal of wasted room here - thirty-five minutes, and not one of these songs flickered through my mind any more than the rest of them.
Rating: 7.4/10
Best Tracks: Anger
Worst Tracks: Lust