Vertical Scratchers
Daughter of Everything, 2014

This album moves fast. Like, whiplash fast, with an average track length of ~2 minutes and abrupt tonal shifts that keep you on your toes when you listen through. There are some stand out gems in here, though--when they slow it down, it's especially phenomenal. Lots of strumming, lo-fi guitar, lots of high-pitched vocals, lots of tone shifts and harmonies. Pretty solid album.

No FCCs.

1. (1:11) Really catchy, really short burst of lo-fi energy.
2. (1:45) Starts percussion heavy, much faster pace. Whimsical vocals start to overlap in the latter half; build up of static noise.
3. *(2:08) Feels like an extension of track 2. The chorus hits some really nice high notes (my best description of the pitch changes is something like "aaa-AA-aaaah")
4. *(3:43) Nice dreamy vocals--the inclusion of "oooh"s is actually kind of beautiful, along with some tinkling bell/music box sound bites and cymbal clashes in there. Driven by a slow, sleepy drum beat and deep bass.
5. (1:49) Foot tapping kind of catchy, whirring guitars are a really nice driving melody.
6. (2:27) Has some vocalizing at the opening that I wasn't feeling too much (it makes the overall effect feel like two songs strung together into one), but there's some really cool repetition/reverb closer to the end.
7. *(2:47) Ethereal, echoed guitar strumming starts low and builds up really nicely. Incredibly chilled out track, one of the slowest paced on the album. Pretty solid.
8. *(1:54) Moves fast and plays out like an intense, two-minute garage dance party.
9. (2:17) Feels kinda trancey, with a really cool burst of built up lo-fi guitar in the latter half of the song that was just waiting to overshadow vocals for the entire song.
10. (1:55) This one's just a bit off; it feels very patch-worked and kinda winds you up because of it. Goes from slow to fast to slow to really slow to fast again in the span of two minutes.
11. (1:37) Fast paced guitar and drums open with burst of energy that keeps going throughout.
12. (1:55) Whoa--instead of token falsettos there's a slightly reverbed deep voice that, coupled with the guitars, makes me think some Western influence went into this one.
13. *(1:43) Opens with some nice Spanish/Tango influenced lo-fi guitar. The vocals are placed forefront/even isolated sometimes and work autonomously next to the guitar.
14. *(2:24) Really slow, dreamy high vocals and acoustic-sounding guitar work. Some nice reverb and harmonies make their way into the latter half.
15. (2:13) If I could understand the lyrics, I'd want to sing along. Very catchy. Feels like a victorious run to the finish line.