Single Take: This Song Is Awful/Awesome And You Are Stupid for Liking/Not Liking It (Omni, Ryley Walker, Nest Egg, Dose, Anderson.Paak, Bonny Doon)

by josh keller · Published May 31, 2018 · Updated May 31, 2018

Single Take is a Reviler feature where multiple people give a passing glance at some new music and causally rank it somewhere between 1 (Justin Beiber) and 10 (really amazing). Fun, right? Check out the latest installment below and feel free to tell us who stupid and out of touch we are based on our opinions. Arguing on the internet: the greatest of American traditions.

I

Omni “Confessional”
Jon 6/10
A pretty solid post-punk tune – nothing really sticks out about it particularly but I feel like I like the voice and the dynamic sounds good. Doesn’t feel particularly like a single.

Adam 8/10
Great bouncing post-punk with killer basslines. Always been impressed with what I’ve heard from this band.

Josh 7/10
Especially after seeing their infectious live show, I’m pretty firmly sold on Omni’s brand of angular, funky post-punk. This doesn’t match the stratospheric heights of the first half of their debut, but that may be an unrealistic goal. Still a really great track and hoping they’ll swing back through town again soon.

II

Ryley Walker “Spoil With the Rest”

Jon 5/10
I really loved Primrose Green but kind of lost track of Walker since then. Sounds like he’s singing now, I just don’t know how in love with his voice I am. Nothing really grabs me about this tune and it feels a little beige’d out. Walker has always finely skated that line between psychedelic and easy-listening a bit but to me this inches its way just a bit too far in the latter direction.

Adam 9/10
Getting some real late 90s Sonic Youth vibes at the beginning and pieces throughout that shift quite smoothly into something a bit more roots based. Excited to check the rest of this album out.

Josh 6/10
Busier than I remember his previous music, the noisy start fades in a ragged folk song that has a decided haze to it. One of those songs that I liked listening to, but not sure how often I’ll return to it.

III

Nest Egg “DMTIV”
Jon 6/10
I love getting lost in a good motorik beat as much as the next guy but this feels a bit by the numbers. I feel like this genre could use a little boundary-pushing but that is not happening here – it’s more re-treading some already well-worn paths (although paths I do enjoy).

Adam 6/10
Alway dig these sort of trancey kraut grooves but they don’t always end up going anywhere. Cool but never really distinguishes itself much from other things like this.

Josh 8/10
This is my wheelhouse. Kinda like A Place to Bury Strangers if they were more krautrock and less shoegaze. A hypnotic, guitar driven song that charges forward for eight minutes and I kind of wish it went on longer.

IV

Bonny Doon “A Lotta Things”
Jon 7/10
Uh oh, he’s rating the indie singer-songwriter guy higher than the krautrock song. Cred destroyed! In all honesty though this one is a pretty simple formula but it’s slacker/stoner folk done well with decent lyricism and good dual guitar interplay. I like it.

Adam 7/10
Enjoyable and hazy but ultimately not the most memorable thing I’ve heard from the band. I like it though.

Josh 8/10
Not my favorite song from the album, but Bonny Doon’s new LP has been a surprise favorite of mine for 2018. Like Bill Callahan trying to sound like Pavement with Woods as the backing band, it has proven to be a record that has grown on me with every listen.

V

Anderson.Paak “Bubblin”
Jon 8/10
Great bangin’ tune. Also, I could use a cash machine like that one in my life.

Adam 7/10
This seems a little different from what I last remember of Anderson .Paak but it’s good. Extra point for the great video.

Josh 9/10
Gone is the sun-kissed neo-soul and in its place is some bombastic, Kendrick-esqe big picture hip hop. I guess I hope his new album still has some of the music that made his debut so entrancing, but this song is pretty outstanding as well.