This may 2019, I have listened to Lavairs debut album, Luridity. An album that I appreciate and liked some of the variety and its ambition, but sadly the varied inputs of subgenres in the mix don't come out as cohesive or good, instead feeling a bit inconsistent, rough, and underwhelmed because of it.
But I still have hopes for him, since he has big potential as a producer with his glitchy, chaotic, and at times oddly danceable production chops.
And once I have heard this album today, oh boy, he soared and did this incredibly well. Not just because of the finer touches in the production, but also on just how consistent it is.
Starting off with the 1st track, Peace Lake (Isolation), an ambient focused track that later starts to be skewed and leaning on brickwalling a bit, something that really reminds me of a Prurient track.
Then comes the 2nd and 3rd tracks, which are more drum and bass focused this time around and plunging us real deep into the cacophony of an atmosphere.
Then, in the 4th track, MK-1 raps incredibly well on the production just before Lavair turns it up with more accessible, but still hard hitting wonky beats (heck, it would actually be intriguing if Lavair would do more production features in the Hip Hop scene, especially just how the other rapped track is even better, more on that just a little bit.)
Then the cacophony gets a bit softer in the 6th track, This Flooded Town, with the vibrating synths, warbled beats and patterns, making it a bit... Peaceful in a sense.
Until (Eruption) turn things around with its wobbly, rather off putting atmosphere that is carried over on the next set of tracks.
And comes Made of You, which is one of the lesser cuts of the album, with the first half being underwhelming, with the rather watery-esque tone, as well as the vocal sample being a bit flat and rather repetitive in the whole track. it still manages to be quite decent with the noisier synth and the heavy bass at the midpoint to the end.
But things starts to get better with Ogneo/Cocytus, where MK-1 once again raps around Lavairs noisy, wonky production, and it all comes together incredibly well.
Then comes The Mopstick, with its Aphex Twins-esque style of production, the ratting, rapid drums, the warbling sounds, the softer synth interlude before it gets back on being incredibly noisy, rapid, and explosive of a track.
And we end with New Air (Suffocation), ending things with its chaotic, warbling sounds, creating a hellish atmosphere but it simmers down, and things get peaceful once again, ending with the angelic synths, and dying it down, concluding the hellish landscape into a peaceful lake.
Overall, this album is leaps and bounds over Luridity, with its production being more consistent, hard hitting, dark, and effective on creating such a chaotic atmosphere. The genre fusion at some of the tracks (especially MK-1s feature tracks.) is handled more effectively, and it just sounds incredibly great. And even despite one rather underwhelming track, it still sounds really nice and listenable. I am loving this album, and I hope Lavair will do more great albums in the future, kudos!
Best Tracks: Ogneo/Cocytus, The Mopstick, New Air (Suffocation), Peace Lake (Isolation), Science, (Eruption)
Worst Track: Made of You