Katie Dey, Flood Network

Bizarre and beautiful, Katie Dey does some crazy voice manipulation effects that really work. Most tracks are instrumental, if only in the sense that when there are vox it’s usually distorted beyond comprehension. There is a lot of synthy orchestration and random sound effects.
“Soundscapes” / “sound collages” both work here. Joy Void calls it “‘nightmare pop’...at times weirdly off-putting, at others beautiful and ethereal…immersive sonic environments.” Sometimes you wonder if she’s croaking or screaming under the distortion. Overall a really good piece of experimental music. If you need more time, you can typically let the next song start, the crossfade on the album is extremely seamless. (Especially true of tracks 15 and 16, you can basically play these together as a six-minute song)

RIYL: Sufjan Stevens’ Age of Adz, Blithe Field, Julia Brown, RL Kelly, video game music

FCC: 3
Recommended Instrumentals: 11, 14
Recommended w/ Lyrics: 1, 9, 13, 15

1.*All [01:30]: A good, pleasant(?) song with a steady beat and messing around with sonic dissonance and resolution.

2. (F1) [00:26]: Instrumental. Dark.

3. [FCC sounds like “Fuck”] Fleas [02:03]: I am pretty sure this FCC flag is a misheard lyric where “If I get” sounds like fuck. Steer clear though, since it happens several times.

4. (F2) [00:48]: Instrumental. Sounds like a lot of bugs.

5. Frailty [02:32]: Prime for video game music lovers.

6. (F3) [00:39]: Instrumental. Again, sounds like bugs.

7. Fake Health [02:01]: Beginning is a little rough but gets more sonically pleasing after the first forty seconds or so and turns into a nice track.

8. (F4) [01:16]: So Age of Adz-y!!!

9.******Fear O The Light [02:55]: This song is so great. It’s still a little weird but hands down the most accessible track of the album and has a great sense of dramatic shift. If you’re going in without a background listen, this is the one to play.

10. (F5) [01:48]: Instrumental. Sounds like she tossed all her equipment into a pool at the end and a swarm of bees attacked. I mean that in a good way???

11. ***So You Pick Yourself Up [02:21]: Instrumental. Really beautiful. Super recommended if you like Blithe Field, In Love with a Ghost, etc (similar weird instrumentals)

12. (F6) [01:13]: Instrumental.

13. **Only to Trip and Fall Down Again [02:39]: Fun and bouncy with some mumbly vox.

14. *(F7) [01:19]: Instrumental. Recommended if you listened to the Undertale soundtrack more than once. Some nice chimes, orchestration, and emotional arc.

15. **Debt [03:08]: A steady bass line that goes almost nowhere but provides a good backbone to the melody/vox. Recommend: Let 15 and 16 both play, it’s a seamless transition (as long as the CD player doesn't stop it :( watch out!)

16. (F8) [03:10]: Instrumental. This one is a fave, but there is about a minute from 2:00ish on that nothing new is really happening. You can fade out at the beginning, but if you’re going to listen to that 1-minute of relative boringness then you should hold out to the very end when it resolves.

17. It’s Simpler to Make Home on the Ground [02:14]: Instrumental.

bonus material...
Here’s all of the comparisons I thought of while listening and writing:
Sufjan Stevens during Age of Adz era but if he inhaled helium and was heavily sedated on cold medicine
The music of Julia Brown, RL Kelly, and Infinity Crush except put through a blender and turned into a mosaic
Half of the instrumental tracks could be described as involving bugs.