(Deeper Dive)
Baroness
Purple — RC Week 85 — 3.5 pukes out of 5
Stone — RC f/u #20 — 3.5 pukes out of 5
October 13, 2009
I have grown to appreciate, even more so than I did when listening to Baroness for the first time six years ago, how accessible this band is. Music discovery is a journey, with lots of twists and turns, sure, but mostly one step and then another step and then another. You try to leap into the dankest, darkest sludge metal, and you're gonna get hurt. You need a steppingstone to get from the genres you know to the genres you don't. I don't think that Baroness intentionally set out to do this for anyone, but from my POV, it remains their greatest strength anyway. They immediately make that clear in the first couple songs, first with an intro song (not my favorite thing in the world but definitely serves well to delineate this band from their peers), and then "The Sweetest Curse," in which the vocals come in very strong but then mellow out, almost as if they are pulling back a bit to show that they can do it all. And for the length of this album, they really do do it all. You liking those towering guitar riffs on "A Horse Called Golgotha"? Me too. I'm feeling good about this one. I needed this (again).
GRADE: 4 pukes out of 5
(Follow-up)
DJ Arana
M.B.D.T EP — RC Week 347 — 3 pukes out of 5
November 27, 2025
The thing that was memorable—new, fresh, fascinating, however you wanna describe it—about DJ Arana's RC album was how abrasive it was. There were very few sounds, but those sounds were loud and clear and in your face. I liked it. It was way outside of my wheelhouse, but it was interesting stuff, and it was cool checking it out. DJ Arana manages to keep my interest on O último anjo by shifting the gameplan just a little bit. He's still working with very few sounds, and he's still yelling his head off. But the songs on here don't sound abrasive. They sound... haunted? There's no other word to describe it. It's like someone is playing M.B.D.T at the end of a very long, empty hallway. And it's extremely funny to hear the catchphrase (I think we figured out last time that it's "o mais brabo da tropa," or, "the wildest in the troop") repeated here but in ghostly form, all echo-y and distant and sad. DJ Arano continues to succeed under minimal circumstances. And he's pushing himself to be creative under those restrictions. He's like a chef that is limiting himself to three key ingredients. He's like the Meg White of beat bruxaria.
GRADE: 3.5 pukes out of 5
Mobile
July 22, 2026
The (translated) first comment on the first song on YouTube says: "I wanted to thank the person who took this guy to a rave and converted him." There's not really a more accurate way to put it. This is club music. The bass drum was important on M.B.D.T, but here it's even more so. The thumping beat is forward in the mix to a comical degree. Sometimes it feels like Squarepusher or something. There's a random-ass saxophone break toward the end. And yet it still feels like certifiably DJ Arana. Listening to his two newest albums has been an illuminating experience. Like, all of three DJ Arana experiences so far have sounds very much from the same artist, but he manages to find three distinct variations on that already unique sound as well. As our youngest RC alumnus (so far!), it's extra impressive. I'm still not convinced that this is "for me," but I can unequivocally say that being even a little bit familiar with this far-off corner of a niche music genre has made me a better music critic. What's this dude gonna think of next?
GRADE: 3.5 pukes out of 5
Future
Honest — RC Week 213 — 3 pukes out of 5
WE DON'T TRUST YOU — Epimemeology #20 — grade n/a
WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU — Epimemeology #20 — grade n/a
WE STILL DON'T TRUST YOU — Epimemeology #20 — grade n/a
July 10, 2026
The thing I struggle with—in general, but also very much specifically in this follow-up series for RC artists—is the idea of musicians that don't change over time. It's not a fair critique to say something like "this sounds like the last one." Even if that is subjectively true, then the intent behind such a statement changes depending on how you thought about the original stuff. If you like trap music, then this is gonna be a great album for you! If you're like me and grow quickly tired of trap music every time you try, then The Real Me is going to be exhausting. I do appreciate the intent of the artist here though, that this is supposed to be a clear, honest (whoops) portrait of Future as he really is, or at least really sees himself. There's value in an artist attempting to strip away layers and present the truth. The problem, for me, is that the "real Future" sounds just like the Future I was already bored with. But that's just me. Some genres aren't for everyone. I'm trying here! Like: okay, there were a few cuts on the back half of this thing that drew my attention. The vocals on "2018" sounded like a parody, and I thought it was funny in a bad way. HOWEVER, it certainly stood out. On the other end of the spectrum, you have "Hollywood," for my money the best song on this album, and that's because there's no trap beat, it's instead some futuristic (whoops) thing that you might hear from an electronic artist or video game OST. But is that the real Future? If not, then does it belong here? This could be a problem if this artist was important to you. Me? I'm just asking questions.
GRADE: 2.5 pukes out of 5
Surfaces
Horizons — RC Week 193 — 0.5 pukes out of 5
Good Morning — RC f/u #50 — 2 pukes out of 5
July 17, 2026
Awww shit, let the Jack Johnson-ification of Surfaces commence! My sparse interactions with this band, concentrated in two extremely brief bursts over the past four years, have forced me to admit now that I can't really remember too much about what were contained in those previous albums I forced down like poison, beyond a general tone and feel. I simply do not remember Surfaces sounding like Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George. But I could be wrong. It's not that far of a leap from whatever keyboard-inflected grade-F bro-pop they had previously and whatever this acoustic-guitar faux-singer-songwriter bro-pop is. This move is perhaps a symptom of the endemic of young broccoli-haired boys attempting to be more "sensitive" because they have found that women, being a lot smarter and cooler than them on average, aren't taking men's bullshit anymore, and have higher standards, and that ignorant misogynistic pop just ain't cuttin' it anymore, ya need to be ATTENTIVE TO THEIR NEEDS, and who better to emulate in this quest than monkey-fucker Jack Johnson?! A note to Surfaces: you can't just double-track the vocals to emulate the summer concert series singalong vibes, that's a cheat and you know it.
GRADE: 1 puke out of 5
(Random RCAA News)
- People who are way more online than I am seem to have things to say about whatever a "spirit tunnel" is. I don't care to know about it or have an opinion on it. But I saw a video of Emmy Rossum dancing so I'm obligated to report it here.
- Tame Impala covered Seal's "Kiss from a Rose."
- I kinda forgot he was a Record Club alumnus so I'm like five weeks late on this, but Lane Johnson of the Philly Specials retired from football, wanting to relax instead of play on the NFL's worst team this year. Jalen Hurts, who made a cameo appearance on that RC album, is out for the season with blood clots. Philly Specials full-time member Jason Kelce, on the other hand, remains one of the most annoying people on earth.
- For Record Club members who care about headliners at annual festivals: at Coachella next year, Tame Impala and Dua Lipa and SZA are in, BTS and Miley Cyrus are out, and Radiohead seems unlikely.
- Apparently Animal Collective used AI visuals at recent shows? Apparently the sister of a band member has been scamming fans for years? I don't have the energy to investigate Reddit claims, but there they are.
Let us know if you'd like to join RCAA and write about any of these albums! There's a lot to discover!
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