Family Average: 4/7

It is with great love that we introduce the one they call Zac Apollo. Also his album is called Loveset. I was really pouring over some kind of love themed introduction but it sort of petered out as you can see. Anyway I am exhausted now so lets just get down to the reviews now huh?

Listen along on Their Bandcamp and read on to find out:

Everything about this album paints Zac Apollo as a very chillllll guy. Will he ever raise his voice? Never. Especially not on this album. It’s an eight track set of smooth jams that keep such a level tone, I was actually left wanting more variation and impact. His crooning vocals sort of warble and flow over the mellow beats at such a languid pace, I felt suspended in a place where time did not exist. The downside is that I found myself getting bored. I am totally biased towards more organic, instrumental singer-songwriter stuff, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I understand it’s the style of music, but this felt too produced and tech-y for my liking. Regardless, every once in a while you need songs that make you slow down, shut up, and turn off, and Loveset does just that.

4/7

Smooth is the word that kept coming to mind listening to this pack of jams. A velvety smooth curtain the record needle is running over and sending out supersonic smooth vibrations to my ear holes. It was a nice little break from all the abrasive punk music I had been listening today. I felt a similar vibe that came out of the Mac Miller album. This kind of slow motion, dreamy underwater state. A major thing that set them apart though was the amount of distortion tacked on to the vocals. I am a fan of weird distortion -- that's just the kind of guy I am -- but only in places where it’s needed. In this album, it was keeping me from connecting with the vocals on the tracks it was used. I much more preferred hearing the full extent of the vocals. Luckily, there are less tracks with the distortion than there are without. I also felt like some of the tracks dragged on a tiny bit. Any-who, if you have a hankering for some slow jams, let this album karate chop you into a lucid dream. You will not be disappointed.

4/7

A little confused by the autotune but it’s still groovy.

I like the claps in “Cookout Jam.”

Kinda different in that it is lo-fi R&B?

“Loveset” is nice and simple, but maybe simple in the fact that the vocals aren't so strong. I do like the guitar though.

Wow, the music at the end. I need more of that, so lovely.

This album is sweet, it's simple, but makes me feel good.

“Girls Make the World Go”

Why this beat, and guitar? Ooh and the voice, no please. This one was a bit weird for me. A no, I’d say.

Not perfect but I like what they're doing.

Frank Ocean influenced, I guess I can see with that autotune. The difference, however, being that Frank Ocean alone has an angelic voice.

“Discover Each Other,” I like this.

Yet, I liked all his weird bits at the ends of the songs, but this one felt unnecessary. He’s just playing the things backwards. It didn’t really come together.

4/7

The first song off the bat brought me back to TLC, although a bit over produced. This theory goes for some of the other tracks as well. So many aspects are good - the music, the composition, and then they mess too much with the vocals and the production. The muddling of the vocals was very distracting. Perhaps that is a sound they are going for, but I think there is a lot of substance here.  I would rather hear more arrangements like "Loveset," beautifully arranged, produced, and presented.

4/7

I am pretty sure a lot of things are working here. I also think that it the LP objectively feels nice. But what does this do for me? I have to say, I got sick of that snare preset that plagued more than half of your tracks. Maybe if i had to listen to just one of them I would have better things to say, but after it banged into my head for what felt like eternity I found myself wanting to die. I think I am just having a hard time reviewing something like this; it’s not for me nor do I know who it should be for. It sounds like someone trying to sound “jazzy.”

2/7