Com Truise - Galactic Melt

3:45 PM Kraze422 No comments

Let me say first that I hate the term "chillwave". For about a year or so now everyone in the music blog community has been arguing over whether or not this is a genre. Some say it is, but it's just a trend that will/is fading fast. Others think it is and absolutely love it, calling themselves "chillwavers". Then there are people more like me who don't see the point in arguing over genre tags instead of just listening to the music and deciding whether or not you like it based on, yaknow, what it sounds like. The only reason I go into genres on here is for other people's benefit and because to properly review it I need to give an idea of what something sounds like. For those that don't know chillwave, if it is a genre, is basically electronic music with heavy heavy use of effects, synthesizers, looping, etc. People draw similarities to synth pop and new wave from the 80's, just more modern sounding.
Anyways, now to talk about the actual album. Com Truise, despite having a name that I assume is specifically designed to annoy those with OCD and dyslexia, is a new persona of a man named Seth Haley, who apparently has many personas. I've never heard his music before and this is my first go, so I'm not going to try and go into much detail. The music here is something that makes me think of the 80's version of Tron. That's basically the mood here. I wouldn't really call it upbeat but it's not negative either. I think it's safe to say that this guy really really likes his synthesizers. This album is from what I can tell, 100% electronic. Anything that isn't electronic is probably sampled and then put through so many effects that it no longer sounds organic in the least. Which isn't always a problem, a lot of electronic subgenres that I like do things like that. However here everything just feels kind of... smudged. The album cover is kind of appropriate in showing how it feels. It seems like what this guy might do is make basic outlines of his song, then just wipe his hand through it and smudge it. Which sounds like it could be really appealing, but to me it isn't. There are a lot of moments I like here but then things will just go all out and blur together so much that it just kind of gives me a headache. There are times where there's just too much synth going on all at once and it just buries any sort of appeal in it for me. I love electronic music, and I love synth, but I've found that it's rare for that "wall of sound" effect to work well with it. The production here most the time turns pretty much all of the many layers all the way up, and you can feel the beat shaking but other than that all you can think is "OH MY GOD SYYYYYYYNTH". You get drowned in it, instead of being able to swim in it. It's kind of how I feel about some heavier noise rock bands, but in an electronic context. Which I realize some people really like that feeling. If you do, then disregard what I've said. But it's just not for me.
I'm a big lover of a lot of things that influence this album. I love my 80's synthpop, IDM, etc. But I think what this album is missing is a genuine feeling. It feels too random to me. Like he had the base figures of really good electronic songs, but then just added so much to it it lost all it's feeling. Kind of like when you over edit a piece of writing or a speech or something. But this might appeal to you if you really like loud, in your face, wall of sound type music and also like yourself some synth. However I haven't seen that line blur too much. There are appealing electronics here, and some moments where I feel like what I'm asking for is being achieved, but they are brief and not too dominant here. If you like electronic a lot and my complaints don't seem like they would bother you all that much, go ahead and give the link I provided at the bottom a try. If it appeals to you, then you'll like this album.

2/5

Favorites: Air Cal, Broken Date
Listen (samples of all songs): http://ghostly.com/releases/galactic-melt

Posted in: 2011,chillwave,Com Truise,electronic,Galactic Melt,Ghostly International