SWAN MEAT – FLESH WORLD (MMO and Anime Music But Cool)
Man that’s a great cover. It’s like totally anime and MMO or something, but the good stuff only. So that’s one-line intro, or two-line rather, for today because combining anime and MMO music into something worthy of transcending background music is exactly what FLESH WORLD is about. SWAN MEAT I’ve known for some years now. The young lady at the helm used to write for this very site long ago before we were really really cool. But since we’re so cool and recognized by myself only as an authority on something rather, to be honest I hated the living hell out of this EP at first. I was like oh man, I know this girl, she’s written for me, and now I have to body slam this EP into oblivion with a sick low score and…probably get digitally attacked. But, as with any music I review, I gave it several listens to be fair. Again the MMO and anime references are necessary. Sometimes stuff just needs time to make sense.
FLESH WORLD has this way of creeping up on you, but I wouldn’t call it a “grower,” it’s more of a “I just didn’t get it at first-er.” SWAN MEAT is what I can best describe as a synthesis of the sound of anime and MMOs whilst removing the scrubs, trolls, and misogynist lifers who dump $10,000 a year on new armor skins. And for that it’s absolutely wonderful. Retrotunes often run the risk of sailing on gimmick, but here it’s quite a different experience. For each listen I found another layer peeling off, revealing more complex sounds than my brain first assumed with sticky, playful beats, synth, and sample combos. SWAN MEAT still has some evolving to do, likely with a connecting theme to create a concise package, but for what is quite a novel approach, difficult these days in the electronic underground, FLESH WORLD has more to say than not. And hey, if you always wanted to experience MMOs without grinding for “that one sword” for hours or watch anime without slogging through 800 episodes to get to the “good stuff,” it’s all right here, musically, in a short amount of space, so forget what I said earlier.
Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls
SWAN MEAT – FLESH MONSTER
Infinite Machine
Cover Art: Francesca Landi
4.1 / 5
