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REFUSING TO LET GO: A Review of Avril Lavigne's "Let Go" in 15 Parts (​5/15)

6/7/2021

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We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop-punk monarch Avril Lavinge. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it.

The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts. After a long hiatus, today marks the fifth installment: 
"I'm With You." If you missed our introductory statement, check it out here! - Ed.

"I'M WITH YOU"
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Written by: Ancient Hand 

Balladry is an art form long explored, revered, and judged by humans. The act of composing a ballad is a long-documented and discussed one, with many people seeing William Shakespeare as a popularizer, pushing balladry to the forefront of human entertainment. While he certainly did write entertaining ballads that have withstood the test of time, his reputation has stretched beyond the intent of his work. While there are moments of genius relating to the communicability found in his catalog--most notably Romeo and Juliet--this can give us an interesting insight into responses to the plague during his time. His works were created to simply be entertainment, and this should be kept in mind when we run the risk of pushing an artist that only seeks to entertain us into a spotlight deemed for legends.

You may be asking yourself, “Uh… did this guy just say don’t elevate people too high, but he’s calling Avril Lavigne’s Let Go one of the single most important pieces of art ever created?” And to that, I would say: yes! You are exactly right! Because while we run the risk of idolizing people that are undeserving of being placed on a pedestal so high we can’t see the top, Let Go is being examined, in the context of this long-winded review, as a piece of art to be studied and applied to the world around us, not as a person we should be praising and considering the savior of art and integrity.


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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: Oct. 9th, 2020 Feat. Coastlands, Yatra, Legendarium, Slow Draw, & Dangerous Times for the Dead

10/3/2020

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On (most) Fridays, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s crumbling gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be--and have been--listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so! 

On the docket for today, Oct. 9th, 2020:
 Coastlands, Yatra, Legendarium, Slow Draw & 
Dangerous Times for the Dead

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Coastlands - Death
(
Translation Loss Records) 

​
The common concern with instrumental music is that an album will inevitably run out of things to say, and thus become... boring. That certainly isn't the case with the latest from Coastlands, an impressive post-metal/post-hardcore outfit from Portland OR. Death is a welcoming yet harrowing ride--similar, in ways, to Insect Ark's album from early this year, albeit a little more varied in the atmosphere department. In that sense, the constant shifting approach of Russian Circles might be a more apt comparison.. This is music designed to envelope the audience and carry them away on the emotive and sonic current, and it does so with apparent ease. If you're looking for an immersive album, this week's offering doesn't get better than Death.

​Find it on bandcamp here!


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Yatra - All Is Lost
(Grimoire Records)

Yatra is, dear readers, as Yatra 
does. For those of you not in the know, Yatra does good doom at a rate that is becoming a tad alarming--indeed, this is their second full-length of the year. This crew is characterized by an utterly sasquatchian tone and a penchant for throat-mangling vocal delivery, and All Is Lost is another feather in their increasingly flamboyant cap. That said, I do take minor issue with the monotony--by the back half, I found myself wishing for a little additional intrigue to shake things up. The established formula works well, but sometimes formulas become traps, and I'm excited to see Yatra branch outward and upward with their next release (which should be out in a couple months, assuming they keep up at the same impressive rate.)

​Find it on bandcamp here!



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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: May 15th, 2020

5/15/2020

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​Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so!

On the docket for today, May 15th, 2020:
 In The Company of Serpents, Devangelic, OKKULTOKRATI, and Vide/Witchbones

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In The Company of Serpents - Lux  
(Self Released)

Now this. This is doom metal how I like it: an exercise in extremes. menacing yet delicate, dynamically light-footed yet seismically plodding, and utterly willing to throw genre convention out the window. From neo-folk acoustics to sludgy Neurosisian heft, In The Company of Serpents demonstrate a keen ability to shift expectations and apply nuance to a genre that all-too-oft relies entirely on the power of the riff. There's a gentle balance struck here between the lighter ambiance and the shadow-cast atmosphere that few bands are able to apply. Simply put, this is an engrossing album, likely to appeal to anyone who enjoys doom across the spectrum from thick sludge to esoteric psych.  Hence, I do gladly declare that Lux is the greatest album this week has to offer. 

​Find it on bandcamp here!

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Devangelic - Ersetu
​(Willowtip Records)

Ersetu is the first album of its ilk to appear on Fresh Meat Friday--namely, an album that I don't understand, nor particularly enjoy. That said, there is something intriguing dwelling in these repetitive riffs, and I aim to spend the day figuring out what that quality is, hence the inclusion here. On the plus side: Devangelic has their brand of filthy rhythmic riffs delivered in rapid-fire succession down to a science. The downside? Those same incessant riffs are the entire meat of this album. There's no deviation, no dynamism in the songwriting--which ultimately leads to an utter lack of perception of one's place in the album. Track distinctions lose meaning. As such, Ersetu feels more like submersion into a brutal bath, an exercise in hypnosis by incessant march of sixteenths.

Find it on bandcamp here!


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REFUSING TO LET GO: A Review of Avril Lavigne's "Let Go" in 15 Parts (1/15)

5/6/2020

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We do a lot of ridiculous stuff here at the Sleeping Village--that, I can not deny. However, this mammothian effort on the part of Ancient Hand serves as a response to said frivolity. Nothing--and I mean nothing--is more serious than dissecting, in painstaking detail, the seminal debut of early 2000's pop monarch Avril Lavinge. I won't attempt to justify this miniseries, as the author does a significantly better job than I ever could. Thus, I'll leave you with this: Refusing to Let Go is significantly more than a considerable effort. This is much grander than a mere celebration. This, dear readers, is a magnum opus. Also, for the haters: Avril is metal as fuck. There. I said it.

The miniseries before ye is divided into a glorious fifteen parts, beginning with today's introductory statement. Tune in on a weekly basis to dive into the latest installment! - Ed.

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Written by: Ancient Hand

Music is one of the most widely recognized, cherished, and commodified art forms this world has ever seen. Nowadays, music is present in nearly every aspect of our lives: scores for films, in shopping plazas, on public transit, in our homes, and even in our ears through wireless earbuds. The incredible popularity of this art form has been rising steadily over the years as music itself has undergone many evolutions with different branchings of genres and levels of experimentation. Music is even an identifier of cultures across the globe.


What about albums that transcend culture and seem to be the epitome of music to an entire generation? This happens on occasion; an artist will seem to take over the world and garner the attention and acclaim of not only many different people--but many different types of people. While some artists don’t necessarily have the acclaim of everyone, and sometimes they are simply the poster child for the vocal majority, some artists are able to exist in the culture of a time rather than a culture of a group of people. One such artist is Avril Lavigne. Anyone over the age of 20 knows who she is and heard her anthemic choruses blasting out of 2001 Honda Civics nearly two decades ago. The particular album in question is her critically acclaimed 2002 album, Let Go. 


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FRESH MEAT FRIDAY: April 3rd, 2020

4/3/2020

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Every Friday, a wagon arrives at the Sleeping Village’s gates, stuffed to the brim with our sustenance for the following week. Today is the day we must offload all this new music, and so, in the process, we thought it would be worthwhile to share some of our choice picks from this veritable mass of fresh meat. This is what we’ll be listening to today here at the Village HQ. We hope you join us in doing so!
On the docket for today, April 3rd, 2020:
SKAM, Weed Demon, AARA, and Lucifer Star Machine 

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SKAM - The Sound of Disease (Redefining Darkness Records)

“Anger” isn’t an unfamiliar term to us connoisseurs of the loud and heavy, nor to the bands who dwell in genres defined by explosive emotion. On Sounds of a Disease, Sweden’s own SKAM have found a way to hone anger into a purely belligerent form of explosive catharsis. Utilizing a potent blend of grindy death with d-beat punk ‘tude, this is a soundtrack to exorcise personal demons. Like unto chaos incarnate, the ridiculously swift-footed riffage skitters over powerful blasts and unhinged animalistic diatribes. When people talk about music as therapy, I don’t anticipate this being the first album on their mind--but for me, this short-n-visceral journey has been a lifesaver in recent days.

​$1 on Bandcamp, to boot!

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Weed Demon - Crater Maker (Electric Valley Records)

When it came to naming their sophomoric album, these guys genuinely couldn’t get more accurate than “crater maker.” How so? Part of what allows Weed Demon to stand apart from the horde is a distinct emphasis on sheer heft. The most essential aspect of Weed Demon’s sound is the sheer crushing heaviness on display. Everything is massive, impactful, and oppressive by design. This latest effort, notably, aggressively toes that line between stoner-drenched doom and sludge, but also brings in some bluesy acoustics to even things out. Despite these occasional moments of levity, Crater Maker is dark, warm, fuzzy as hell--an embrace from slow-moving subterranean magma. If you love big riffs: definitely worth yer while. 

Get it on Bandcamp here!


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