#return to zero

Giovanni - Joni Jones

Boris "the butcher" Blavasky - The Man Who Knew Too Little

Peter Magneri - Monk

Kent - Big Guy

Stephano - The Tempest

Frank Burton - Abduction

Everly Campbell - The Forger

Robert Royal - Return to Zero

+) Honorable Mention

Harding Hooten and Ricardo Morales in their tennis ball phase

whoa, now there's actually easily accessible high-quality album art online!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(4 out of 5 stars)

I really enjoyed this album, every time this man releases a new album I'm shocked, he has so many out and they're better every time. I think the principle that this was all recorded on cassettes is crazy and just shows how much care was put into the album. I'm glad to see he has fun with making music album after album. It also makes me feel a bit shit about my state of making music because I am practically the same age as him yet I haven't released 7 full-length albums.

Opinion time! (as always, not opinion order, just album order)

"Pills 4 The Pills" is a brilliant 2nd track. It is hype and sets the mood for this album to be goofy while still coping with the terrible topics this album deals with. To write a silly goofy song about Big Pharma that just makes me want to dance is crazy. It's not a super deep song. The drums are nice, and the main guitar riff is super catchy. This album has some of the best drums of any album he's put out yet and it adds a nice layer. The chorus is super catchy and I love 2 parts to the bridge. The drum break is nice and really sets a bar for his music going forward. The final chorus is so much fun with the random noises and all of the things going on.

"Making Movies" is definitely the goofiest and the freakiest song on the album. I love the drums going into and in the chorus. This sort of song definitely was not what I was expecting but it is such a great song. I love the little piano glissando in the choruses, it adds just that little bit of theatre and I love it. This song got stuck in my head the most this week.

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CW: Suicide for the next song, skip if you have to <3

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"Sammy" is a completely different mood from the last two songs dealing with the suicide of a roommate/friend of the speaker. It's a classic happy-sounding song through the intro but very quickly shows its hand with just the first line with very blunt lyrics. This song is probably my favorite singing on this album. This song has a lot going on with the guitar, synths, and drums all going on and it adds a layer that you can ignore the lyrics and just vibe adding a layer of irony which I just personally love in music. I love the piano being included in the outro, it feels like the character has coped with the death better than earlier in the song but still isn't healed all the way. There is also great lyricism here that goes for the rest of the album, which is full of metaphor.

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Honorable mentions!! 🥳🥳🥳

"Where'd You Get Those Bruises" [CW: Domestic Abuse/Child Abuse] What a gorgeous, gorgeous song about domestic abuse wow. The guitar is beautiful and the singing is too. The lyricism feels so innocent and augh, what a sad, beautiful song.

1 thing on my mind: Fugitive Six.

Not the book, the group, if that's what they're called. I love them so fcking much, like what the he-

Their dynamics are so cool, and yes there is some room for improvement like Duanphen getting more scenes/lines or Caleb getting actual character development but otherwise it's perfect.

Found family! What's not to love?

One thing is that Five finally got some of his redeeming qualities highlighted and I'm thankful he had people who mean something to him- his relationship with the Loric cannot be salvaged, not even after he tried. He called them his only friends, he got genuinely worried about Einar and Isabella in the mission and he said he "actually likes" Ran, which is really the best compliment anyone got to him.

I totally ship him with Einar: 2 psychotic murderers trying to do good and see the best in each other despite what everyone else says. I feel if asked about it, Five would go all defensive, like "Me? Einar? NO. See it's this thing called mutual exchange. I make sure he's not assassinated and he deals with my emotions for me. So what if I rushed to save him a couple dozen times, IT'S MY JOB." Einar also could've manipulated him from the start, and everyone thinks so, but he fully trust Five and wants Five to trust him and see him normally- not as a monster or villain or anything such.

Then there is Ran- I feel that she was better with Fugitive Six than at the Academy, she finally got to use her powers in a good way. Caleb is sort of her confidant, someone from her last life she still counts on. Her, Isabella and Dawn are besties, you cannot change my mind. She had an actual purpose and no one forcing her into anything.

Einar is very layered and interesting, honestly. He's a drama king, and a dress up guy- I probably should take liking to killers but oh well. I think he does have good intentions and a sort of moral code, he just wants Garde to be free and safe, and even though there were probably better ways to achieve it, his monologue on having no choice but to fight really got to me. I relate to it. Screw everything else. Also, for the love of God, please stop shocking him every ten seconds and just let him be.

Caleb and Isabella are not really my favorite, but they are good characters and decently deep ones at that. I think they can be a good pair, but I read it platonically sometimes and both work very well.

Duanphen is badass, and her legacy could've been much more useful. I like the fact she just goes around fighting with a broken leg like it ain't bothering her and when she got those stitches from Lucas, she was like "Oh well, I'm alive". Her and Five have a bicker-siblings sort of dynamic and I'm never letting go of this thought.

Also, Nine and Five fighting is as good as I remember.

"How 'bout we get started now, tubby?"

"I'm gonna jam that toy arm up your-"

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"What do you want, Five?"

"Just wanted to say, I'm looking forward to saving your stupid academy because you're too much of a loser to do it yourself. Later, bitch."