Flush It Friday: Metal-less Maneuvers
Some thoughts on a few non-metal albums from the past few months
When I’m not risking life and limb in the maw of big business, one of my favorite past times is using FiF as an excuse to write about albums that don’t fit the theming of the blog. I thought it might be fun to quickly run through a few non-metal records from the past few months that I had thoughts on.
Drake – Iceman
Although I enjoyed the gratuitous beat-down that was the Drake–Kendrick Lamar beef, my strong distaste for Drake as an artist dates back to Scorpion, at least. Despite the multitudes of other reasons to hold misgivings against the Toronto rapper, I find his taste for excessive stream-trolling to be the most frustrating from a musical standpoint. His efforts in popularizing the overly long stream-bloat, later implemented by similarly untalented hacks like Morgan Wallen and Chris Brown, amount to little more than chart-placement zerg-rushing—quality be damned. Clearly viewing his fan-base as bottom-feeding dolts, the newest incarnation of this bullshit manifested as three albums of garbage dropped at the same time, with many arguing that this was a ploy from the rapper to get out of his deal with Warner Bros. Records. Regardless of why, we got three albums of beige sludge, with Iceman seeming to be the only one with any amount of staying power whatsoever. There is usually a song or two from his LPs that is, bare-minimum, fun or catchy (“Nokia,” “First Person Shooter,” “God’s Plan”), but Iceman is devoid of anything but insecure whining, cope about how he totally didn’t get his clock cleaned by a certain vertically-challenged boogieman, and some of his worst pun bars since Certified Lover Boy. Regardless of quality, I do find this record to be pretty inspiring; if Drake can keep going after an entire Super Bowl crowd emphatically called him a pedophile, than you can keep going through your struggles. The feel- good bad story of the decade. 1.5/5
Best song: “National Treasures,” if only because it’s fucking hilarious.
Modest Mouse – An Eraser and a Maze
After their seminal pop-breakthrough Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Modest Mouse seemed to either lose their footing as a band or failed to keep caring where their toes landed. Despite not being very familiar with the material on records like Strangers to Ourselves and The Golden Casket, it doesn’t take an indie rock scholar to tell you that these LPs were self-indulgent forays into neo-psychedelia and pop rock with shaky results. So then it’s refreshing to hear how emotionally evocative and gratifying An Eraser and A Maze can be. There are a few spottier moments where Isaac Brock and co. get lost in electronic elements and what can not-so-generously be called “millennialisms” (certain claps and whistles that remind the listener a bit too much of OneRepublic and Mumford and Sons), but the record shines in its most tender and heartbroken moments like “Dogbed in Heaven/Give It a Skeleton,” “Remember Yourself,” and especially “Third Side of the Moon.” There’s a level of clarity and solemn contemplation brought on by these highlights, most certainly inspired by the loss of Jeremiah Green and Sam Jayne. What the group is left with, then, is a portrait of Isaac Brock attempting to piece together his life in these later years and make sense of a world that seems to make less sense by the minute. It’s thematically dour, but with glimpses of warmth and catharsis, resulting in a record that feels like a true follow-up to Good News. With a newfound focus and more music on the way, hopefully the next full-length from the group will continue to excel in emotional depth (and won’t be as distractingly compressed as this one is). 3.5/5
Best song: “Third Side of the Moon”
JPEGMAFIA – Experimental Rap
I don’t feel great about dogging on JPEGMAFIA, mostly due to annoyance with how some talk about his past work and still having genuine love and respect for albums like All My Heroes Are Cornballs and SCARING THE HOES with Danny Brown. That said, the step down in quality of I Lay Down My Life for You combined with what feels like real-time flanderization of Peggy as a public figure left me feeling far less excited to defend his artistic output. Putting away the one-sided feuds and irony of palling around with Kanye West mid-Burzum arc, a record like Experimental Rap is just self-indulgent and obnoxious enough to make me wonder what happened to the deeply innovative and creative artist from just three-to-five years ago? This record doesn’t have the memorability of previous works and, despite the title, feels like a bit of arrested development, with some of the only new flavors added into the established I Lay Down My Life for You recipe being mildly grating sounds implemented from electronic genres like Brostep and Riddim. The record isn’t without its moments, but it feels like music too caught up in the meta-persona JPEG has fashioned for himself in this album cycle. Sure, he nailed the obnoxious pro wrestler heel persona, but there’s a reason I stopped watching the WWE at 15. Either way, I have at least some confidence that Peggy can rebound from this record and maybe, hopefully, write songs about something other than haters on Twitter. 2/5
Best song: “Burning Hammer”
Thomas Bangalter – Mirage – Ballet for 16 Dancers
The post-Daft Punk career of one Thomas Bangalter (the one with the eye visor and mouth hole) has been occupied primarily with ballet compositions, surprisingly enough. This most French of pastimes has resulted in the composition of one Mythologies, performed on wax by the Orchestre national Bordeaux Aquitaine, and a few records of his own performance. While I have to assume that I am missing some important context by not seeing the dances that Mirage – Ballet for 16 Dancers was meant to accompany, this LP can certainly be enjoyed in a vacuum as a particularly minimalist take on progressive electronic (a la Tangerine Dream, Mort Garson, George Garside, etc.). Listeners more accustomed to the French House stylings of Daft Punk may find the music here a tad too sparse and restrained, but there’s something deeply haunting about the tracks that unfold here, sounding relaxing in the background but unnerving when focusing in. If you have patience for minimalism in terms of compositions, there’s much to be appreciated here from one of the most seasoned and celebrated electronic musicians of the modern era. Clearly I do not have the Ballet-Mindset, as I have no clue how one would dance to this shit. 4/5
Best song: “Mirage: Part IV”
If only I had more time to get into stellar releases from Boards of Canada, Olivia Rodrigo, Vince Staples, Paul McCartney, Bladee, and Edward Skeletrix. Alas, we have a week to summarize!
Your favorite (not-so)Gonzo journalist gives the lowdown on Maryland Deathfest 2026! Some of my favorite work I’ve done for the blog:
Death and Festing in Maryland: A Very Ghoul-y MDFtrospective (Part I)
Death and Festing in Maryland: A Very Ghoul-y MDFtrospective (Part II)
This week’s Toilet Radio covers the promising acts we’ve had fall through the cracks over the years:
I remember a time when dissonance wouldn’t cost you over two crisp dollar bills. Clearly Brock does too:
Circling round the bowl we go; mini reviews for Trip Villain, Toilet Rats, Drown in Malice, The Smashing Pumpkins, and HEALTH. Thanks to Hans, Eenzy, and Falxy:
365 premiered a cover of the iconic Twin Peaks theme from one Mario Infates…:
…and the only ring less suited for marriage than a Ring Pop:
I gave a perfect score to the newest EP from the kings of Slam Death. (Sick of me yet?):
And who could forget our beloved TTT and TMP?
With all that out of the way, OPEN THE FUCKING PIT (read: comment section), I WANNA SEE EVERYONE’S GBUs!!!!!!!
