ugh. is that throbbing beat meant to represent the cheese congealing and exploding out of the screen? rocquefort incoming! cheddar at five o'clock - take cover!
i'm done now, but what a horrendous disappointment....
daniel tatro
The fact that she's consistent with it makes me think it's intentional. Yeah, her earlier work was more complex and melodic, but the name of this album is "Unflesh". Without flesh, so I think she's implying that she purposely "stripped" her sound to convey something more raw and psychological. I think she was challenging herself, and I respect her for that.
deathtokoalas
i don't think there's any question it's intentional.....
the way i'm interpreting it is that when she first started everybody was comparing her to fever ray. it wasn't that accurate a comparison, but it was everywhere. so, sensing an opportunity to capitalize on the misperception, she shifted her sound to try and tap into the audience she was being marketed to.
and, it seems to have worked on some level. but it's more than a little bit disappointing to hear somebody that is obviously quite talented stoop to that kind of level.
it's reflective of a set of broader trends, though. in the end, i suspect she'll snap out of this one way or another. in the meantime, i need to be hypercritical.
Gazelle Twin
"i'm going to let negative reaction of these videos stand as a reflection of the general inability of the masses to comprehend abstract art. go ahead and dislike it...you idiots....." https://www.youtube.com/user/deathtokoalas/about
deathtokoalas
i would agree that everybody should check my site out :)
it's not the right reaction to get defensive. i'm criticizing with the intent that you push yourself a little harder. your first disc had many layers to untangle - it was very carefully, intricately put together. your second disc displays no such subtlety. so, you'll have to forgive me for expecting a little more out of you than you provided on your most recent effort, and trying to get that across in hopes that you'll take the criticism to heart.
a critic has a social responsibility to push artists to their potential. i take this seriously. to a real critic, a review is not just a marketing tool - it's an evaluation, and feedback. ideally, there should be dialogue, so i like the fact that you're responding.
now, if you're trying to justify the nature of your recent release by turning my words around on me, i have to reject that from where i'm standing - and i know that you might not know where i'm standing, but that kind of argument is actually the nature of the criticism, rather than a way around it.
sgearry
I think every artist is especially vulnerable with their second album which is always going to face the criticism of either 'more of the same' or 'something different'. I say good on Gazelle for challenging herself to the latter as opposed to restraining herself to a certain methodology, and producing some very interesting results! I agree, the first album is beautiful but this is something completely different which I feel in turn deserves a completely different (and maybe a little more merciful!) angle of critique to that of the first album. I feel that this musical shift is more a product of the artistic concept of the album (a challenging exploration of the human body as I understand), than anything to do with marketing strategies, and I think it's a visionary achievement. Also, I really like koalas :) Why would you advocate their extinction?
deathtokoalas
koalas must be abolished due to their perversely insolent cuteness.
i don't really think this discussion has an end point, as we're starting from opposite premises.
daniel tatro
I simply dont think it's fair to assume that she changed her style bcause of whom she is being compared to. She could have easily spit out another "The Entire City", but instead took differentpath and did anequally good job. You cant trash an album just because it wasnt what you wanted to hear
deathtokoalas
well, she didn't previously sound very much like fever ray. then everybody compared her to fever ray. then she releases a record that is indistinguishable from a fever ray record (and is boring for all the same reasons that fever ray is boring). it's a deduction, but it's a fairly obvious one.
i'll generally criticize an artist for stagnancy more often and more acutely than i will criticize an artist for releasing a failed experiment. but, this isn't a failed experiment. it's just a hollowing out, a watering down, a pandering to the audience...
sgearry
By this premise, I imagine there are a lot of animals out there having the same existential crisis. Do you feel the same about cats for example, or just koala bears in particular? I'm genuinely intrigued by this rationale.
deathtokoalas
cats are a different kind of evil, always plotting to eat you as soon as they get the chance. that's a minor concern. the koalas are really the tip of something much deeper, something that threatens our very existence.
xTheOxx
I like that GT quoted you, then said nothing more. Everything you wrote afterward fell in one of two categories: assumptions about what she meant, and comments that invalidate your own feelings about people criticizing your work.
You feel like your criticism is constructive, or that she somehow doesn't understand what real criticism is for, yet people who criticize your work are, according to you, "idiots" who merely prove that the masses don't deserve your greatness. I've listened to a few of your tracks. My criticism to you is this: find a way to make your take on abstraction a little bit appealing. Better musicians have done it, but from what I hear, you don't. At all.
deathtokoalas
my comments are reflective of the like system, and what i've pulled out of the metrics. it seems to be common for people to listen to thirty seconds of a twenty-five minute piece and then click "dislike". this is all very clear in the context it exists in, and i would invite people to go to my page and read my comments rather than rely on this idiot's misunderstanding of them.
now, you're further suggesting that i sell out. no thanks.
art is challenging, not appealing. it reflects the viewpoints of the artist, who must be entirely disinterested in the public's reaction. nor is it malleable to public opinion.
once you start bringing in these characteristics and acting in this way, you are no longer producing art and are no longer an artist. you are now a clown producing a commodity.
