Oneohtrix Point Never - Age Of

Oneohtrix Point Never

Age Of

2018

Spotify

Hey, wanna get weird? Then maybe the new record from Oneohtrix Point Never is just what you are looking for. The Experimental artist is back with his follow up to 2015's Garden of Delete and continues his quest to find music to freak you the fuck out. "Babylon begins like some kind of Bon Iver track slammed through a computer screen. Gentle tones are punctuated with distorted noise occasionally allowing a vocal to creep through here and there. This album believe it or not is far more melodic than what we are used to from Oneohtrix Point Never, but don't let that fool you into thinking this is some kind of pop record it still has plenty to be off putting to the general public. Even when He reaches some kind of flow where you can find yourself boping along, it shatters with skittering beats and distant noise. I never thought I would write this in one of my album reviews but the Harpsichord actually has a big influence on this record, making multiple really distinct appearances. Oneohtrix Point Never  made it a point to make this a record that could be re-created live, which is an incredibly audacious idea after listening to it. It feels like a deep dive into everything, exploring the world and all it has to offer around while creating this music that is all at once beautiful and horrifying. Yet this still remains probably Oneohtrix Point Never's most approachable record yet, making something that can be played on the stage has also opened him up for more people to get into. 

The songs are all distinct but have a way of creating this one voice so that you never quite know where you are or what is going on throughout the album. "Black Snow" features this breathing at the beginning which sets up this sense of utter dread of what may be just down the corner, but it is replaced by those Bon Iver style vocals again. He manages to combine really high art with more contemporary sounds to create this work that can be accessible to anyone if they are willing to go on the dive with him. The one thing with this album is at 42 minutes it is a lot of this kind of music to be thrown at you. By the time the record is over your senses are almost melted out from the intensity of it all. That's if you are listening close and trying to gleam something from these songs, casually listening to Age Of is almost an impossibility. It is an album to be reckoned with and pondered while you are listening rather than letting it sort of fade in the background of some event. In the end it's an experimental album that takes some doing to get into, but if you give this record a chance you might just find some beauty lying there within. 

7.8 out of 10