In my last review of Oneohtrix Point Never, I wrote that Oneohtrix Point Never is "the kind of artist who is more admired than really loved. His music is caustic, frenetic, and irritatingly intellectual." Harsh!
That review was for R Plus Seven, which was released in 2013. In more recent years, Oneohtrix's music has evolved in a different direction. He has replaced the sharp angles and jagged lines of his earlier work with psychedelic loops and spirals. His music is softer now, and in places almost poppy. Somehow, incredibly, his music and Tame Impala's are getting closer to each other. I never would have predicted that a decade ago.
But while Tame Impala has clear vocals and crisp beats, Oneohtrix can't resist making things messy. Listening to this album end-to-end feels like scanning channels on a radio: static, distorted voices, sudden transitions. Oneohtrix makes heavy use of transition tracks on this album, which I rarely liked; but they at least contributed to the messy, free-flowing atmosphere.
The top half of this album is extraordinary. I felt like I was listening to the best of an artist like Panda Bear. The vocals spiral on top of each other in odd patterns, "Long Road Home" is a catchy single, and even less ordered tracks like "The Whether Channel" have moments of genius. The second half of the album is mostly clusters of psychedelic noise. It didn't make much of an impression on me. Some of the songs feel like fragments to me, or the beginnings of an idea, rather than fully developed tracks.
Still, overall, easily worth a listen! You can always stop the album before the second half.
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