INCOMING TRANSMISSION
Greetings readers!
I’m back again with yet another review for you all, and boy do I have a good one for you guys this time around. The renowned artist Makeup And Vanity Set (or MAVS for short) is back with their 14th album, ‘Wavehymnal‘.
The label which this is released on, Data Airlines, has been putting out great heavy hitters in the past year. Two of which are Trey Frey’s appropriately titled ‘Trais Frais’ and Dubmood’s ‘Force De Frappe’. Let’s see if MAVS adds to this amazing streak, shall we?
Immediately upon downloading this album, I was stunned by the album artwork. While that isn’t a deciding factor in the actual content of the release, it definitely added a lot in terms of presentation and feel of the album itself. Also it looks good and it’s my aesthetic. DON’T JUDGE ME.
Starting off with the first track titled ‘Stalker’, MAVS really hits home with his iconic style of meshing 80’s synthwave with chiptune in a way no other artist can pull off as well. The intro sets up this banger with an exceptionally catchy melody that I cannot for the life of me get out of my head (probably the one of the only “downsides” to this album). Usage of the iconic 808 drum kit from Roland is immediately recognizable and really adds to the 80’s retro feel, along with synths that scream cyberpunk. The interesting thing about this album is its integration of synthwave and house styles, which makes it even more fun to rock out to.
An even greater plus to this track in particular is its breathtaking collaboration remix by Dubmood and Trey Frey. Trey clearly shows his latest venture into production in Ableton, but still manages to push boundaries like he has done so many times in LSDj. Dubmood also shines with his signature sound thrown into the mix, breathing even more life into this already well constructed track.
Next up to bat is track 2, entitled ‘Death Laser’, whose melody sounds like something you’d normally expect from a trap track, but here is combined with MAVS’ signature style of blaring synths and beats. It can sound a bit jarring or off to some listeners, and I’ll admit that it did take some getting used to, but you learn to appreciate this kind of banger even with its odd melody.
Now the title track is a very interesting piece, as the intro plays with octave changes that aren’t seen in the other tracks. What keeps it from sounding like a jumble of notes is the bassline, which really showcases MAVS’ ability to create interesting and grooving beats. It later includes breathtaking vocal sounding synths that help to create best chorus in the entire album (that I still have stuck in my head).
‘Ono Sendai’ is an extremely bass heavy track, starting off with a low pass filter slowly relenting to driving wobbles and drum kits. While not as catchy as some of the previous songs, it certainly is one of the best on the EP. Blaring synths, like in all of the songs on this release, continue to shine and impress. Easily one of my favorites.
The final track (before the remixes), ‘Who Does’ takes an entirely different direction from the rest of the album, as it’s leaning more towards the side of ambient than a danceable banger. Its synths are more graceful and have lots of reverb attached to them, with cluster-chord synths pitched down to offer as a low bassline below a light-yet-slightly-overdriven lead. An interesting switch-up that adds a bit more depth to the end of this release.
‘Who Does’ also gets a remix by the long established and talented Covox, who spaces the sounds out even more than the original. It is the epitome of ambient, and it’s one of the best in my opinion. It sounds almost like Disasterpeace’s recent work for ‘Hyper Light Drifter,’ which is home to compositions with instrumentation like this, with its swelling basses and synths.
Although all of these amazing tracks, ‘Wavehymnal’ falls a bit in quality due to its length. It’s not that there are too few tracks, but that those tracks get extremely repetitive over time, to the point where I sometimes found myself skipping to the next track 3 minutes in after a few continuous run-throughs of the album. This certainly isn’t a problem specific to this album, as many artists throughout the years have fallen victim to this, but it makes the listener lose interest. That is unless you like working and listening to music without paying any mind to what’s playing.
That aside, ‘Wavehymnal’ is a must own for any synthwave, chiptune, or FM synthesis fan. It’s technical abilities push each soundchip to its maximum, and proves to be invested in making the listener totally involved in rocking out. It has rightfully earned a permanent place in my hard drive.
‘Wavehymnal’ by MAVS gets an easy 7/10
Nanode OUT!
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MAVS: http://makeupandvanityset.com/
Data Airlines: http://www.dataairlines.net/
