Hora New Album: COCOON - (28.06.2013)

Madmoiselle_Silk

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Wiii, COCOON arrived today (^_^)/
So far so good (except my case was broken T_T). I really love INHUMANITY ::squee::
 

faith

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Oooh Hora posted a picture of his cat with the CD on his blog.
The other calico - fucchan.
Awwww kitty! Calicos are my favorites.
 

Decadent Child

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Madmoiselle_Silk wrote:
Wiii, COCOON arrived today (^_^)/
So far so good (except my case was broken T_T). I really love INHUMANITY ::squee::

cool!!! would you mind writting the tracklist please? and make a full review! I wanna know the details!!! ::squee::
 

Madmoiselle_Silk

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Tracklist:
COCOON
INHUMANITY
AFTER THE MADNESS
ABYSS
RETROSPECT
AGONY
CHANT
RAINFALL
AFTER THE SADNESS

I've only listened to the record once, but so far COCOON, CHANT and INHUMANITY are the songs I think stand out the most. Especially INHUMANITY, love it =) I find it a bit similar to THE SIX. COCOON reminds me a bit of WISDOMs sound. AFTER THE MADNESS and ABYSS I find a bit slow, too slow for me. RETROSPECT sounds like something he could've done for Kaya or something, I think it would've worked good with vocals. RAINFALL is 7 minutes long and I wish he would've made INHUMANITY that long instead.
The record is overall good, but not as awesome as TYRANT ::squee::
 

flowersofnight

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Madmoiselle_Silk wrote:
So far so good (except my case was broken T_T).
I swear, he must pre-break them for us XD One of these days I'm going to go through and open up all my broken Hora CDs and transplant them into new cases.
 

Madmoiselle_Silk

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flowersofnight wrote:
Madmoiselle_Silk wrote:
So far so good (except my case was broken T_T).
I swear, he must pre-break them for us XD One of these days I'm going to go through and open up all my broken Hora CDs and transplant them into new cases.
Yeah! Now 3 of my Hora cd's are broken :P I wonder if he gets some broken and is all: tough luck *ships out* ::hora::
 

Decadent Child

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Madmoiselle_Silk wrote:
Tracklist:
COCOON
INHUMANITY
AFTER THE MADNESS
ABYSS
RETROSPECT
AGONY
CHANT
RAINFALL
AFTER THE SADNESS

I've only listened to the record once, but so far COCOON, CHANT and INHUMANITY are the songs I think stand out the most. Especially INHUMANITY, love it =) I find it a bit similar to THE SIX. COCOON reminds me a bit of WISDOMs sound. AFTER THE MADNESS and ABYSS I find a bit slow, too slow for me. RETROSPECT sounds like something he could've done for Kaya or something, I think it would've worked good with vocals. RAINFALL is 7 minutes long and I wish he would've made INHUMANITY that long instead.
The record is overall good, but not as awesome as TYRANT ::squee::

Oh wow, wanna listen to it soon. However, why you listed 9 aongs if it says 10 in the main description? Rainfall counts as 2?
 

flowersofnight

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Got my copy in, and miraculously it was completely uncracked even though it was sent in such a flimsy envelope ::meev:: My thoughts:

COCOON - This sounded ridiculous and hackneyed at the start with that beat but it actually got kind of interesting. It has a sort of 2000s "The Matrix" kind of feel to it - before the Hora pianos kick in :P A touch (well, more than a touch) too repetitive, but hey, I'll chalk it up to being an intro to the album.

INHUMANITY - Starts out as a cool, aggressive kind of techno-fighty song, but it has this odd incongruous "Current" sort of chorus to it.

THIS MOMENT - A new, more prickly electric sound for Hora which I liked immediately. Energetic, dynamic, and cool. I think we've got a classic already on this disc. It's evidently on a different level from the previous 2 tracks - you never get the feeling that it's just looping on "autopilot". I could see Sonic racing vs Metal Sonic to this or something XD

AFTER THE MADNESS - Sort of a spare, "stormy" piece. 'Salright for what it is, but mostly just window-dressing or atmosphere-setting.

ABYSS - Sounds like a more evolved version of some song Hora's done before, but I can't put my finger on which. It's got a new sound to it, but the tune itself is standard Hora.

RETROSPECT - Standard intro leads into something restrained yet bold. This seems to be another one of the songs Hora was paying full attention to. It's a fine line between creating an atmosphere and just looping, and this song comes down on the right side of the line. Not bad.

AGONY - We're back to some more sophisticated beat and instrumentation which is very welcome. The backbeat is fantastically cool but the organs are lame, so I can unfortunately only give this song half marks.

CHANT - Didn't like it. The beat was too loud and annoying, and the melody wasn't anything special. Next!

RAINFALL - The hard-hitting style isn't bad, but this is another Hora song I think I've heard a few dozen times already. I'd have probably liked it considerably better if it was the first time.

AFTER THE SADNESS - Standard Hora-type closing piece, it was fine. Don't have much to say about it.

The Verdict: I say the only real straight-up winner on here was THIS MOMENT, with RETROSPECT coming in for a bronze medal. INHUMANITY and AGONY could have been great, but Hora made some odd choices on them that detracted from the overall effect. I think Mademoiselle_Silk's got it right: not as good overall as TYRANT.

Repeating my eternal call for Hora to get an editor XD I think what's holding him back is that he's got no one giving him feedback before he releases albums.
 

Moizer

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edit: got my CD! Here's my stream of consciousness as I listen!

cocoon// it starts off very dark and hard hitting and i couldn't really tell it was hora until the (predictable) synth comes in. and then.... melancholy piano layers on top of that. he should really just add vocals instead of this kind of stuff. turns out a lot more mellow and flowy than i'd anticipated from the way it started. on a side note- who are the RIPs for in the booklet? dead cats? i feel this album is about dead cats.

INHUMANITY// stars out with insturments and synths borrowed from about every song he's ever made and sped up about 60%. piano and a chanting chorus kick in which is super cool, and then the song's chorus (i'm guess that's what it is anyways) is very upbeat and sounds a lot like Rise to Heaven from his SS days. Neat track. I can see it growing on me. It's not at all as depressing as it lets on.

THIS MOMENT// hora likes twangy bass this album. starts off with a very technical sounds that reminds me of like Kraftwerk's WE ARE THE ROBOTS which is awesome. Synth kicks in which throw off any (cool) vibe the song started with and giving it an entirely different one. Synth for the chorus kicks in which is pretty unexciting. It's cool I guess. I seek more fulfilling moments.

AFTER THE MADNESS// it was pretty i guess

ABYSS// starts off making me feel depressed and like i am in space, in space and depressed. is there any hope for me??? no because piano kicks in giving me a warm yet hopeless feeling. it's a nice calm song with a playful synth in the chorus accompanying the piano. seriously though...

RETROSPECT// piano and noises that make me feel like there's water flowing all around me. for the first time this album when the synth kicks in, it's actually making the song better. this, after the madness, and abyss all share a very similar vibe. this album so far has been very... calm. i like this track though, it could fit right in to the FFX soundtrack or something :)

AGONY// all kinds of chains and gears turning around me in this track. dark. why he didn't choose to make this song super-freaking-awesome-cool-as-hell is beyond me

CHANT// love the intro. doesn't sound at all like horaSAN until some familiar synths around the chorus. it's very cool though. this song is very solid and entertaining to me even given it's unusual length.

RAINFALL// it's upbeat. why does he use synth in such a way all the time. it totally reminds me of rainfall during the summer time, however.

AFTER THE SADNESS// another statement piece like much of hora's recent work that has nothing to do with anyone but himself and his personal expression as a human (space god)


---

I realized long ago that he produces these albums for himself and his work is personal to him, I doubt his style will ever change. In fact, if you listen to some of the stuff he creates outside his solo career, it doesn't follow his usual pattern at all. He really just does what he wants.

I didn't enjoy this album as much as I wanted, but at the same time his music is still super cool and there's nothing else like it. FOREVER HORA
 

Wandering_Fox

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Well, I listened to it last night and I thought it was ok, no worse and no better than the latest Hora releases. I think I'm at a point where I just get the CDs because I want to have a complete collection. I can't really tell most of the tracks apart anyway ^^; (I actually just put all Hora's tracks in one playlist and put it on random.) It's great studying music, but it's hard to just sit back and listen to it like I do with other music.
 

faith

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Okay I'm kind of listening to it in its here and there...but my impressions of the first 4.

Cocoon - terrible! Over-looping clashing sounds and the song never evolves. It's just the same jumble throughout. The melody is unimaginative.

Inhumanity - it reminds me of SS too, which is ok. Again the melody just doesn't quite get there though. I really feel like vocals would have been nice here.

This Moment - nice little 80s groove going on in this song, and I actually think the synth adds to that. Only thing I can say is it probably should have been a minute shorter.

After the Madness - I rather like it.

Abyss - something I'd expect to hear on the water levels of Donkey Kong. It's pretty and probably my favorite so far. Especially with the little boops. I feel like a lot of the time his songs are the same CBAGA CBAGA or CDEF CDEF CDEF repetition. It's nice when he does something that skips a note or two in the scale.
 

desqui

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Wandering_Fox wrote:
I think I'm at a point where I just get the CDs because I want to have a complete collection. I can't really tell most of the tracks apart anyway ^^; (I actually just put all Hora's tracks in one playlist and put it on random.)
I'm around here too.

There are only two albums (after the World... oops, maybe just one then?) that I've listened to intently and repeatedly, but I couldn't tell you the names of any of the songs..or the album xD I just know they're part of that set I like most. The rest is good for "I'm listening to HORA!" Nothing has been autrocious, but nothing has stood out for me in a while. I anticipate the package like a little kid, I open it, grin & stare it down (search for cracks!), and then the giddiness wanes as rip it lol I get more excitement pretending I'm getting legit personal emails from GOD SYNTHESIS and seeing the handwritten signatures on the EMS postage sticker than a majority of the songs I hear :lol: It's not that I don't care, maybe just let down too many times?

flowersofnight wrote:
Repeating my eternal call for Hora to get an editor XD I think what's holding him back is that he's got no one giving him feedback before he releases albums.

Who's feedback does he listen to? I am curious
 

Wandering_Fox

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Who's feedback does he listen to? I am curious
I'd be surprised if he has been listening to any feedback at this point. I don't know if people send him their opinions or criticism (or if he reads them if they do) but I seriously doubt it. All he knows is what he learns from CD sales and if he sells CDs and it pays for the cost of production and then some, I bet that's enough for him.

I have no problem with him making music for himself, but I agree with FlowersofNight that if he had an editor or collaborator his music could be so much better. He's very talented and has a lot of great ideas, but they are very unfocused and his songs are so repetitive and use so many of the same motifs over and over again that it feels like we're not really getting anything new. I like it, but it just never makes that leap from "good" to "great" like it used to back in the earlier CDs.
 

flowersofnight

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Wandering_Fox wrote:
All he knows is what he learns from CD sales and if he sells CDs and it pays for the cost of production and then some, I bet that's enough for him.
And let's face it, we all buy it whether it's any good or not ::meev::
But judging by his blogs, I think it's more than just a big "wtvr" on his part. He's always like "DEARBLOG. Blasting out some new music so powerful that fire shot out of my fingers and my keyboard melted. Best album ever" XD I think he really thinks he's creating masterpieces.
 

Madmoiselle_Silk

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flowersofnight wrote:
Wandering_Fox wrote:
All he knows is what he learns from CD sales and if he sells CDs and it pays for the cost of production and then some, I bet that's enough for him.
And let's face it, we all buy it whether it's any good or not ::meev::
I acctually enjoy Hora's music, many songs are kind of, like you all said, feels like you already heard it, but he also makes many good ones. If so many of you don't like his music anymore, why buy it? XD
 

flowersofnight

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I don't think anyone buying it actively dislikes the music. But I think it's fair to say that at this point when you buy his CDs you know up-front you're really only going to get 2 or 3 tracks of "A" material.
 

~Z e n c h o u~

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^ like every capsule album for the past 6 years

Anywho, would anyone mind uploading a hi-res or at least bigger than 300x300 cut of the album art? My library is suffering from fragmented and ugly Hora album covers.
 

DarkestRafflesia

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"Chant" gets me super pumped. I usually dislike music without a strong melody, but this shit is awesome. I also like "Abyss" a lot. I find it very calming. I LOVE the instrument (and the notes it plays) that kicks in at 1:45.
 
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