Sean Sharp's Diary

I see the vision and the vision is nice. The music is ever-changing and constantly evolving into some new creation or beast. Albums like this seem to generally have wide praise when done right but to me I struggle to get behind them in the same way. I can appreciate the way the music waves between instruments and given the theme of the album, it's rather impressive how well this is done. Still though, I can't come to terms with the fact that many of the songs here aren't that interesting to playback and some parts are downright hard to listen to. The flip side is also true, there are many many moments where I wish certain sounds or melodies could be used as an anchor point but instead are never to be seen again. This once again matches being out at sea very well but for my own personal interest in this project, I can't be bothered to listen to some of these 4-6 minute songs just for a specific 20 second part. I can understand the idea from an artist's perspective too. It's not about creating something that people will replay with their friends in the car or bump at a party. It's about expressing an idea in music in such a way that it perfectly encapsules the core idea. Which, to me, is to "idea" focused. To the point where the idea starts to eat itself. So overall, interesting for a listen, but I doubt I would ever listen to this thing unless I got it on vinyl because that album cover is dope as fuck. The vocals and lyrics in this are a bit timid. I don't mean that he writes fearfully, like "oh jeez, will they like this". But more that they aren't a forefront object. The instruments are the big brain of the operation here, and they're flexing. Quadeca's songwriting isn't bad whatsoever and the parts where he does bring his voice more to center stage, like on "THE GREAT BAKUNAWA" and "FORGONE", he sounds great even with these crazy backings. It's a shame that they are back-to-back on this album, as it would break up the album nicely if they were separated a bit more. The instrumentals are the obvious glory. What he has accomplished to do with everything perfectly melding into the next sound is phenomenal, and this is what artists dream about being able to do sonically when transitioning from one part of a song to another. I would dare say that this album is over 50% musical transitions. It feels like there is almost always something changing. Even the sounds that I don't think are that pleasing to the ear are still transitioned well. They fit the soundscape and even the most aggressive noises are brought in with grace. "NATURAL CAUSES" is a slight highlight given it's slightly more memorable brief vocal melody. As a whole though, doesn't drift far from the norm. The real stand out track is "FORGONE". Talk about a beautiful moment. This song alone practically brings this whole hour of waves together. Even at 7 minutes, it's hard to get tired of it. At most, he could have cut off the last minute or two of the song. It reminds me heavily of a modernized version of Simon & Garfunkel or something from that era in that genre.