WEEN: THE FRIENDS EP

SCORE: 79/100

Eurodance/electropop Ween.

Just that mere set of genre descriptors shows… what you can expect from this EP as a whole. ‘Friends’ may be bad in theory — but the opening track makes itself enjoyable that it weaves its way into guilty pleasure territory.

It works better in practice than I personally expected it to; it may not be as good artistically as their other works, but the fact they managed to experiment this deeply and make it work as well as it could — well, it almost makes this EP a certain kind of impressive. An impressiveness so deeply rooted in cookiness — something only Ween could pull off to this extent and magnitude.

Dean described this EP as "The ultimate party record, filled with good beats and good times. Perfect for your barbecue or doing bong hits or whatever it is that you guys do.", and he’s right to an extent. It might not be something that would be well-received at a party — but if the patrons were drunk enough? This might just pack the right amount of punch.

The sheer oddity of Ween and their charisma shows through in this project in a way that is somewhat unexpected — it doesn’t feel like anything they would ever make, and yet it is something they made; and it works better in sound than it may seem on just paper. It isn’t their best work and it may be a little bit “out there” (which, all of their music is highly “out there”), but it’s a better time than I ever could’ve expected it to be.

It feels like a musical version of movies that are described as “so good it’s bad”, with this EP blending some fun songs with some… unfavourable moments (‘King Billy’ starts off fun, but the novelty wears off. Fast.). The EP is just as weird as you would expect from Ween — if not a little bit weirder to some extent; but if you’re looking for an EP that goes from electropop to… salsa music? This might be for you.

‘The Friends EP’ might seem like a horrible idea, but it still manages to be fun. The production on the entire EP is actually very good for what it is — everything suits the genre well, and although no one particularly *wanted* electropop Ween; it isn’t as bad as one might expect it to be.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: FRESH

Image
SCORE: 87/100 Sly and the Family Stone are a band with undoubtable and undeniable charm, with Sly Stone being one of the most unique frontmen to ever grace the music industry with his quirky vocal performances and pacing alongside the delightful instrumentation led by the rest of the band, 'Fresh' indeed still sounds fresh decades after its initial release. The album is delightfully funky and wonderfully fun, with the tracks coming together to make a consistent and enjoyable project that is well worth its 39 minute runtime, 'Fresh' is an absolute gem in the funk genre that is far too overlooked when compared to other similar albums. 'Fresh' works best as a all-in-one-go album, with the tracks feeling more like they work on the album than they would outside of the general context of the album. There are some obvious highs and lows throughout the album - but it stays consistent enough to be enjoyable throughout its runtime. Each vocalist does their part very well ...
Read more

DEFTONES: GORE

Image
DEFTONES: GORE SCORE: 89/100 A shorter and less favored album for many, Deftones' 2016 albums hits the right spots and returns to the form found throughout their 2006 opus 'Saturday Night Wrist'.  For many, 'Gore' manages to be the weakest effort in the deeply complex and delightful discography of the band. It is a less praised album overall - which I was immediately confused by upon playing the first track. The album has the same complexity as their other projects - having a more modern sound and using different soundscapes to make the album unique from their other projects while still keeping the cohesion of their albums up to par.  It's a striking comeback that engulfs their discography with more heavy & scenic tracks, with each song having a different sound than the last and the album coming together quite well. There are some weaker moments on this album and it feels less polished than their previous works, but it is an incredibly solid and great projec...
Read more

DEFTONES.

Image
  DEFTONES: DEFTONES SCORE: 96/100 (January 6, 2025) One of their heaviest and most experimental albums, Deftones' self-titled album stays true to its title. It feels like a combination of every aspect and style present within their previous three projects while still experimenting and going in new directions, and it's a much heavier and intense project when compared to the soft edginess of 'White Pony'. It has the vocal prowess of 'White Pony', with more melodic vocals mixed in with the raspy, heavy screams, while the album has the instrumental edge of 'Around the Fur' and a more polished 'Adrenaline'. It's a deeply layered album full of texture and various elements stacked together - and it doesn't let up. It's incredibly impressive that 'White Pony' was followed up with an album as good as this one, and it seems like the band was on a never-ending streak starting with the iconic 'Around the Fur'. 'Deftones' ...
Read more