#mnq026

Recently I’ve covered a myriad of instrumental albums, whether they were post-metal, ambient, or synthwave records, but now we’re at the final one for the time being – S U R V I V E’s new LP, RR7349. I reviewed their last album, mnq026, and I was somewhat harsh on the album. At least to a point, anyway, because I liked the album, I just didn’t think it was a great one. I really liked its sound, but the album was a bit too slow-moving at times, making for a rather tedious and lengthy listen (despite it being only 45 minutes as a whole). The album was more on the ambient side of things, and I couldn’t really get into it as much as I wanted to. I was more excited for the synthwave act’s newest album, and their debut album for Relapse Records, RR7349, because I heard a couple songs from the album, which had a very energetic, upbeat, and engaging feel to them. They were still very much ambient, but they had a pulse to them, too. For those of you that don’t know, or didn’t read my review on mnq026, S U R V I V E is a synthwave act that takes 80s-inspired synth tones for make a very dark, ominous, and ambient atmosphere. Like many people, I came across them through the show Stranger Things, which premiered earlier this year on Netflix. I really like the music on the show, and the band that makes the band are a couple members from S U R V I V E, so I had to check out their music. They introduced me to a whole new style of music, and even though I wasn’t too crazy about mnq026, I was very excited for RR7349, which I’ve already mentioned. It’s been about two weeks since the album’s release, and I’ve been listening to it a lot lately, so what do I think about the album? Well, it’s a step up from mnq026, that’s for sure, but that album wasn’t bad. It was a little boring, sure, but it was a cool-sounding album. This album, on the other hand, is more energetic, upbeat, and more interesting. There’s more variety in this album, right off the bat, so while there are some still ambient tracks throughout the album, most of the album is more engaging to listen to.

Instrumental music is not something I listen to very often, I’ll be honest about that. I’ve always been more of a lyrics person, and some people are. I mean, I like music itself, too, obviously, but I don’t know, I like having a hook, or a catchy melody in my head, versus just instrumental stuff. I don’t mind instrumental music, especially when bands have instrumental songs in their albums, but I don’t really listen to totally instrumental music. I say that, because talking about this kind of music is still a somewhat new experience for me. I’ve only maybe reviewed a handful of instrumental albums in the last four or five years, but it’s always exciting to listen to something new. I love being challenged when it comes to my music taste, at least every now and again, because what fun is listening to the same stuff over and over again? I could never just listen to the same things over ad over, despite how much I may love certain bands, albums, and songs. I just always have an itch for new music, especially things that I’m not accustomed to. Instrumental music, regardless of what kind, is very much something that I’m not accustomed to, but that’s what I’ll be talking about today, specifically the band S U R V I V E (pronounced Survive, by the way). I found out about this band the same way a lot of people did – thanks to the Netflix hit show Stranger Things earlier this summer. They do the theme song for the show, as well the music itself, and because I really like the 80s synthwave sound that the soundtrack of the show has, I thought I’d dive into this band. The band just released their newest LP, and Relapse Records debut, RR7349, but when I came across them, the album was only up for pre-order. I didn’t get a chance to check that out yet, minus a couple songs off it, so I picked up copy of their last album, technically speaking, which is 2012’s mnq026. I only had a small idea of what to expect from this LP, but I was excited to listen to it, nonetheless. I actually listened to this album last month, but I waited to review it until RR7349 came out, just so I could compare both albums.