funeral homes- Lavender House (2019)

I came into this record knowing nothing about the band or anything to do with them, which only makes my main point about this album that much stronger: What the hell is this. I mean that in the nicest way possible, since it really seems like they had a lot of ideas but had no idea how to fit them in one compact 7 song 24 minute project. In a lot of ways this reminds me of Owl City's Mobile Orchestra in terms of every song being almost a completely different genre. What separates Mobile Orchestra from this, however, is that Lavender House is grounded in the rock genre, and funeral homes go from there. What really makes this project a bit of a strange experience is that this feels like a playlist. In terms of the tracklist, the pacing is all over the place and inconsistent. You can put this on shuffle and the experience wouldn't change, there is still that awkward muted grunge song right next to the slow autotuned ones sprinkled here and there next to the genuine uncut rock songs.

Track 1: Cowboy Emoji

Talk about a title that lives up to its name. This is a country song. It was a bit weird to hear, considering the pale blue and purple cover really setting the tone for me. I was skeptical at first, however, this song grew on me, its harmless and there's nothing wrong with that. The lyrics really give it the mystery and dark tone I was hoping for. It picks up right before the 2 minute mark, which gives this song the extra boost it needs and it deserves a second listen if you're into this stuff. The lead singer feels a bit out of place on this one, maybe its just the way he's singing. The lead singer sounds like he's from 2008 and that's fine, however, the mixing is off if this song really wants to work.

Track 2: C Thru U

Now this is exactly what I wanted to hear with an album like this. The song feels like a big apology told by an emo kid crying in the corner about how his girlfriend broke up with him at a mall food court, and that's okay because the instrumental carries the song in a nice way. I love the guitar riff in the middle of it, it gives the song flavor and really shifts the tone from "i'm sad" to "i'm sad so please hear me out". It's definitely an interesting cut, which kinda makes it my favourite on the record.

Track 3: Important

Bit of a shoegazey one, it feels like you're being carried away tied to the top of a big truck, i'm not sure if its the perfect length or not long enough. It definitely doesn't overstay its welcome, however, it might've left the party a bit too early for it to fully breathe and let it be the best it could be.

Track 4: DRK (feat. Superdestroyer)

Why is there a grunge song on here. It does not fit, does not do anything exciting, it doesn't even go anywhere. It's 15 seconds of content dragged out to almost 3 minutes. Superdestroyer did not have to be on this record, it might've been better if this song was cut completely, not to mention how muted literally every instrument is. They all feel like they're being played in a separate room with only one mic in the floor in the corner while the two vocalists are screaming their heads off for no reason. Speaking of which, whoever the lead vocalist is in the band, please do not do screamo, it is not a good look on you.

Track 5: Anything

a u t o t u n e d s m o o t h r o c k. This shouldn't work. This shouldn't be a good song, but it is and I have no idea how they did it. I understand that this might shut off people because they like to hear someone actually singing, however, it really seems like the band said, "Oh you didn't like that last song? Alright bet, here ya go." and I love it. It slows down, picks up in random places, you know exactly what is going to happen, but its so unpredictable at the same time. My only complaint is that it ends a little bit too soon, besides from that, it really is a nice surprise.

Track 6: Oil Pastels

Not a big fan of vocalists dragging out their voices. It almost ruins the song, however, this also doesn't go anywhere, either. The "remembeeerrrrr" I really don't like. The guitar solo at the end is just alright in my opinion. This is a pretty weak song and there really isn't that much to say about it, either.

Track 7: Hibiscus

Wow I was not expecting to like this. My initial thoughts of it is that it was just eh, however, this is really growing on me. Its slow but smooth, the vocals kinda fit, and it just feels like you're flying through space with an annoying martian that doesn't even bother you. I really love this track and its a great closer. It brings back the autotune, however, if you're not bothered by that, you should give this a listen, it really is a great cut.

This release in general is messy, it doesn't know what it wants to be and therefore it makes this a really strange listen from front to back. When it is good, it is good, when it is bad, it is really bad, however, I would go back to listen to a few highlights but I definitely don't see myself listening to this album as an album anytime soon

6/10