January 2016 resumé
This is no top ten list, it is just a bunch of records I've heard, that were released this month. Not the ones I've heard this month, but ones that were RELEASED this month. Therefore, as the time goes, I'll be adding more items on the list, since I listen to stuff constantly. By the way, the names occasionally written under the comments are titles of songs that I recommend. If there are none written, it's either because I didn't like enough of them or because I can't point out a highlight. And now a score guide: 10/9 - 5; 8 - 4.5; 7 - 4; 6 - 3.5/3; 5 - 2.5; 4 - 2; 3 - 1.5; 2/1 - 1 |
| 1 |  | Krallice
Hyperion
I think they just threw in everything that they already had from their previous albums. Just some leftovers mixed in together. 6/10 |
| 2 |  | Mechanimal
Delta Pi Delta
The vocals on this thing, when they're not almost whispering, thery're simply unimpressive. Not that they're bad, but just passable. And on top of that some very sterile electronic music that will make you yawn. 5/10 |
| 3 |  | David Bowie
Blackstar
I think whatever I'll say about this has already been said. It's just a great album. Bowie's swan song that presents his life as one big performance and this is the closing act. 8/10
Blackstar, Lazarus, Sue (Or In The Season Of Crime), Girl Loves Me |
| 4 |  | The Lion's Daughter
Existence Is Horror
Probably the only negative thing is that some songs just end immediately after a great build up. Outside of that, it's great. 8/10 |
| 5 |  | Anderson .Paak
Malibu
Slick-Swagger stylish and damn catchy...and it's also very possible that I'll be jamming this thing till the end of the year twice as much as I am now. 7/10 |
| 6 |  | Full of Hell
Amber Mote In The Black Vault
ghraaaaaaaaaaaaagh 7/10 |
| 7 |  | Villagers
Where Have You Been All My Life?
It's always nice to hear some well written and well performed Indie Folk. 7/10
Memoir |
| 8 |  | The Order Of Elijah
War at Heart
Another Christian-Metal, Hooray! 4/10 |
| 9 |  | Grizfolk
Waking Up the Giants
Another Americana-Pop, Hooray! 5/10 |
| 10 |  | Hinds
Leave Me Alone
Another "We're young and can do whatever we want" Rock album, Hooray! 5/10 |
| 11 |  | Daughter
Not to Disappear
Another lifeless wannabe-depressive Pop, hooray! 5/10 |
| 12 |  | Mystery Jets
Curve Of The Earth
Although it is definitely listenable, here and there appear some simplistic and uninteresting Indie cliches. And unfortunately that "here and there" thing happens quite a lot. But when it doesn't it's pretty likeable. 6/10 |
| 13 |  | Panic! At the Disco
Death of a Bachelor
It seems to me that the band just sat around for hours on each song and threw in every single idea, no matter how bad, and then just pasted it all together and slapped on a record. 4/10 |
| 14 |  | Soda
Without A Head
"Psst, mate, woujalike somthin' punky, mate?" 6/10 |
| 15 |  | Bloodiest
Bloodiest
I don't really know what to say about this one. It's good. Even great. It has amazing atmosphere, great instrumentation and well sang vocals. Give it a listen. (Just remember that a song Condition features some kind of underworked Isaac Albeniz cover or something...it really sounded like guitar version of Asturias with like a half less chords) 8/10 |
| 16 |  | Lycus
Chasms
Screw it, this is going to be MY funeral soundtrack. 8/10 |
| 17 |  | Savages
Adore Life
For every entirely good track in here, there's always one more or less expendable one. 6/10 |
| 18 |  | LSD and the Search for God
Heaven Is a Place
I do understand what they were going for with that slightly underproduced sound, I guess it was supposed to be something like a psychedelic throwback to the roots of the genre, but at times it just bended in together and sounded like a noise. Outside of that, it's pretty good. It's short and it's on Bandcamp, so check it out. 6/10 |
| 19 |  | Nadra
Allir vegir til glötunar
Look, I get that the singer's trying his best and hell, he's probably way better than most singers in the genre, but I just couldn't get rid off the feeling that his vocals sound like some drunk guy vomiting. 6/10 |
| 20 |  | Ulver
ATGCLVLSSCAP
Oh, look who's now doing Ambient Drone Post-Rock with a lot of build-up and no actual pay-off. 6/10 |
| 21 |  | Chairlift
Moth
Sometimes catchy, sometimes sweet, but almost always boring. 4/10 |
| 22 |  | Pop. 1280
Paradise
This thing will drag you in and won't let until you play it again and again for like a dozen times. (Plus, it may be possible that I'm too big of a Industrial Post-Punk fan) 9/10
USS ISS, Chromidia, Phantom Freighter, Pyramids On Mars, The Last Undertaker |
| 23 |  | Songs For Walter
Songs For Walter
Possibly the most soulful and personal album this month. Besides the lyrics I also liked a lot the acoustics that are oftenly replaced with these Lo-Fi noisy guitars. 8/10
Tougher Than A Soldier's Boots, Dunkirk, The Joint World Record Holders |
| 24 |  | Shearwater
Jet Plane and Oxbow
I feel quite bad for Shearwater. They keep on releasing good Pop-Rock albums, but people just don't give a damn. I honestly don't really remember a single Shearwater album that was really underwhelming. I mean, they do have better ones and worse ones (like Fellow Travelers, but that's a covers album, so it's understandible that it's not going to be a killer), but for the most part, it's solid and listenable. 7/10 |
| 25 |  | The Besnard Lakes
A Coliseum Complex Museum
"Waiter, can I have five hits in the head with a sharp object, please? Thank you." 4/10 |
| 26 |  | Atlanter
Jewels Of Crime
The guitars are sometimes very good and the tunes are alright. 7/10 |
| 27 |  | De Rosa
Weem
Well, it definitely is a nice listen, but I don't see a whole lot of people enjoying it for the most part. It's something like The Wedding Present and such. Just very soft, easy and pretty. 7/10 |
| 28 |  | Aidan Knight
Each Other
Meh, it's okay. 6/10 |
| 29 |  | NZCA Lines
Infinite Summer
A lot of nice beats and catchy Dancepop melodies. Although I did expect something a tiny bit more experimental after that intro. Just felt like it builds up to something different. 7/10 |
| 30 |  | Megadeth
Dystopia
It seems to me that bands like Megadeth and such (ones that are insanely old now) should just pack it up and stop making music. Enjoy being legends of the genre while you still can, before you destroy it with another album like this. It's obvious that you're already tired and out of breath. If you just leave the biz, we won't judge you. Don't do THIS to yourselves, guys. 3/10 |
| 31 |  | Suede
Night Thoughts
Ah, so nice to have you back, guys. We missed you. 7/10 |
| 32 |  | The Anchoress
Confessions of a Romance Novelist
What an atrocious mess. Though it does have its moments and I think it was made in a good spirit, but basically everything on here is just bland mediocre and lifeless. The music is as plain as it can get, you won't remember the tune, even if you'll put it on repeat several times, the vocals that at times sound like some Southern-States white trash talk, and if not that then they have absolutely no range, when thesy clearly should with that kind of music that is pushed to us. Maybe only the lyrics are occasionally passable, surprisingly enough, their melodrama goes well with the album title. This record is just poison. 3/10 |
| 33 |  | Steven Wilson
4 1/2
This thing just jumps all over the place. At times it is Prog-Rock, then some kind of overproduced Garage Rock, then Indie Rock, then Pop-Rock, and then back to Prog-Rock. Not to mention, those interludes that sound as if they were supposed to be in a Symphonic Metal opera. Plus, Wilson's vocals just do nothing for me. But it does have its moments. Some instrumentation is pretty solid. Some lyrics are alright. But for the most part, it is quite a bore. 5/10 |
| 34 |  | Ty Segall
Emotional Mugger
It seems to me like Ty Segall just said "Screw it, we don't need a studio to make an album, let's go to my garage like in the old days." 7/10 |
| 35 |  | Dream Theater
The Astonishing
Jeez, when will those overblown Power-Metal operas end? Hopefully soon... 3/10 |
| 36 |  | Avantasia
Ghostlights
...or not. Hey, did I already say I'm sorry? 7/10 |
| 37 |  | Spektr
The Art To Disappear
A musical equivalent of a slaughterhouse. 8/10 |
| 38 |  | Florist (NY)
The Birds Outside Sang
The lyrics are sweet, the music is nice and comforting and it's even well produced, but the vocals just do nothing for me. And sometimes a spoken word kicks in! At moments like these it's hard to sit through. 4/10 |
| 39 |  | Money
Suicide Songs
I really hoped that I'll get very suicidal after this. What was I thinking about? The album itself was really good though. 7/10
I'm Not Here, You Look Like A Sad Painting On Both Sides Of The Sky, Hopeless World, I'll Be The Night, All My Life |
| 40 |  | Turin Brakes
Lost Property
Nah, I still like the Outbursts more. 6/10 |
| 41 |  | Tindersticks
The Waiting Room
I usually tend to dislike things that make me fall asleep, but this is the nicest way to do so. 7/10 |
| 42 |  | Bleib Modern
Vale Of Tears
Pretty decent Post-Punk that is if not all that much memorable, at least engaging. 6/10 |
| 43 |  | Moro (ARG)
San Benito
This is some mesmerising and really psychopathic IDM that I surprisingly ejoyed a lot. I am usually not good with this kind of Electronica, but this EP just gripped me with its addictive beats and noisy production. 7/10 |
| 44 |  | Olof Melander
The Path
As I said (or wrote) above, I am not all that good with Electronica, so by the time that this record comes to its end I was just tired. Dreaded out and tired. But I do appreciate some of the tracks and for the most part I can see folks enjoying it, but probably not in its entirety. 6/10 |
| 45 |  | Blithe Field
Face Always Towards the Sun
The most beautiful conceptual electronic blank space. 7/10 |
| 46 |  | Coldair
The Provider
This is some genuinely good stuff. Atmospheric and with a whole lot of nice beats and tunes...and the vocals are okay, and the lyrics too. 7/10 |
| 47 |  | Get Well Soon
Love
Possibly the most magnetic and entertaining Folk-Rock album this month (and so far this year aswell). 8/10
It's a Tender Maze, It's a Catalogue, It's Love, Marienbad |
| 48 |  | Sea Tongue
Vol. I
A whimsical trip into obscurity that sounds like a remastered version of a 16bit video game soundtrack. 6/10 |
| 49 |  | Wall
Wall
Let's hope that this bland, dull and obnoxious EP was just an honest mistake, because I do see them becoming something like a female version of Praquet Courts and such, but it need a lot of improvements (jeez, they couldn't even come up with semi-decent endings for the songs). 5/10 |
| 50 |  | Bloc Party
Hymns
That's the curse of a successful debut album. Everybody will expect the same greatness from you, but that is almost impossible, seeing that Bloc Party's debut was Silent Alarm. Easily one of the greatest Danceunk albums ever. And I honestly don't think that Bloc Party have ever released a really underwhelming album. They were always solid and steady. But they were not Silent Alarm, therefore they can't possibly be praised. I fell the same way about this. 6/10 |
| 51 |  | Nico Motte
Life Goes On If You Are Lucky
Meh...5/10 |
| 52 |  | Alaskalana
Costra/Cumbre
Though definitely more cohesive that its follow-up, Costra/Cumbre still has a lot of unexplored potential. The production could have been louder (especially on the drums). And it might be better if the album was themed around that weird riff from the second track. Just maybe a little reimagined each time it pops up. 6/10 |
| 53 |  | Nyck Caution
22
Nyck's teaser EP to his much more compelling Mixtape. Or the other way around, if you thought his Mixtape was too boring. 6/10 |
| 54 |  | Lifeless (RUS)
Lines
Very atmospheric and yet very superficious as well. Though I liked it for the most part, I can't say that I appreciate the stale drum pasting on the background at the very least. Besides from that, it is quite good listen. 6/10 |
| 55 |  | Litchi
Edukalì
This album has a couple of interesting moments, but absence of any distinct ideas, and possibly worst production I've heard this year. 3/10 |
| 56 |  | Grieved
Grieved
Still looking for a brutal Metal record that does not slow down even for a second? 8/10
Fogbound, Drain, Shattered |
| 57 |  | Basement
Promise Everything
Ever wanted that Emo-Pop-Punk from the 90s and early 00s to come back? Me neither. 5/10 |
| 58 |  | Saul Williams
MartyrLoserKing
Possibly and probably the best Hip-Hop album this year (sorry, Aesop). The most powerful lyricism and delivery with fantastic music and production. 8/10
Groundwork, Ashes, Think Like They Book Say, The Noise Came From Here, Homes/Drones/Poems/Drums |
| 59 |  | Lost Salt Blood Purges
Only the Youngest Grave
Maybe it's just me, but this is easily the most boring thing I've heard this year. 3/10 |
| 60 |  | Abbath
Abbath
Hail the cliché! 6/10 |
| 61 |  | Tortoise
The Catastrophist
Eeeeeh, I¨'m not feeling it right now, I'm sorry. 5/10 |
| 62 |  | Eefje de Visser
Nachtlicht
A lot of heavenly dreaminess and hreghereghjehehje. 7/10
Mee, Wakker, Staan |
| 63 |  | Lemaitre
1749
I was ready for hating on this album and pronounce it yet another lifeless adult contemporary pop shite. But the reality is different. This is indeed a catchy and well put together EP with more than just some glitzy beats to show off with. 7/10
Stepping Stone, Not Too Late |
| 64 |  | Witchcraft
Nucleus
A tortured demonic record with heartbreaking music. The riffs are crafted so perfectly and thair heavy sound sets up the whole fantasque and surreal atmosphere. An although the record is over an hour long (!), most of the tracks on here absolutely justify the lenght. 8/10
Malstroem, The Outcast, Nucleus, To Trascend Bitterness |
| 65 |  | The Mute Gods
Do Nothing till You Hear from Me
A collection of generic and harmless Prog-Rock ballads. 5/10 |
| 66 |  | No Fun
Photocopier Waltz
JESUSFUCKINGBITCHWHATTHEFUCKISTHIS???!!! DO NO, YOU HEAR ME, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE LISTEN TO THIS THIS!. Or at least not in headphones on high volume. Your ears will thank me later. Heatedleadanalplug/10 |
| 67 |  | Swan Valley Heights
Swan Valley Heights
Is it just me or did this bore to death anyone else? 5/10 |
| 68 |  | Cursed Earth
Enslaved By The Insignificant
An album full of brutal, amazingly played and well produced short metal tracks, of which unfortunately only a very few stick to mind. Besides, I don't really care for the vocals much, to be honest. And despite all the things I listed above, at the end of the day each song does come off pretty samey. 6/10
Degenerate, Nostrum, Vae Mortis |
| 69 |  | PeeWee Longway
Mr. Blue Benjamin
I'm not really getting the 4.1 rating here at Sputnikmusic (at the time I listened to it). This album just couldn't raise any enthusiasm in me, unfortunately. I tried, I really did. The beats are alright, the flow is mostly good and the lines are...well, as far as the Hip-Hop lyricism nowadays goes, it's okay too. It just doesn't come together very well for me. 6/10 |
| 70 |  | DUST (Brooklyn-NY)
Agony Planet
Who of you read Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles (or Stanislaw Lem's Star Diaries) and thought that if it was way more twisted and disturbing, it could have been better? Well, that's exactly what you get on here. This is some sort of alien habits encyclopedia nad it's definitely not the prettiest one. 7/10 |
| 71 |  | Big Dust
Big Dust
Pretty solid Electrorock record that may not challenge you in any way, but at least it will entertain while it lasts. 6/10 |
| 72 |  | Brutus (NL)
Murwgebeukt
Brutally brutal brutality. Brutus will brutalise you and then brute you to a point of a brutal brutality. But seriously now, this album is fantasticly performed, but it all comes together into something incredibly annoying, though I know some people like it this way. Besides, I hated the drum production, I sounded autotuned a little. 5/10
P.S.: I know it probably doesn't deserve 5 |
| 73 |  | Forndom
Daura Dura
This album is beautifully magnetic and Folkloristic masterpiece, and also anything but metal. 6/10 |
| 74 |  | Nick Dittmeier & The Sawdusters
Midwest Heart/Southern Blues
Some swift retro Country that you might think is fantastic if you are already a huge Country fan. If not, all those similarly preformed rapid tunes might bore you a little. 6/10 |
| 75 |  | Gravitsapa
Radio Free Vulgata
For as hilariously oddball the instrumentation is, the occasional vocals are a bit wasteful. They could have just gone with the music alone and left the vocals out. And the songs are almost all disappointingly short. 6/10
Ghola Tleilaxu, Our Home Antarctica, Under The Poltva |
| 76 |  | Nonsun
Black Snow Desert
The same as every single other Drone Metal album (apparently), this thing is unbelievably long. So long that your ass will grow into the chair you're sitting on before you could finish the album. But for the fairness sake, this is probably one of the better Drone albums out there, or at least one of the better played ones, definitely. It's just sooooo long! (but then again, what did I expect from a Drone album) 6/10 |
| 77 |  | Gang
Animalia / Breath Before Death
A heavy two-track with some bloodpumping hooks and a lot of potential in the future, but with slightly offputting vocals. 7/10 |
| 78 |  | Witchhelm
Jötunn
This thing is hardly any good. At best, it sounds like an amateurish band with very little previous experience putting out their demo that is surprisingly better than your average demos. 5/10 |
| 79 |  | Porches.
Pool
Imagine drinking a cold, oversugared tea. 5/10 |
| 80 |  | Villainy
Villainy II: Dim
This album has a lot of potential and heaviness to it. Unfortunately, sometimes it overstays its welcome a little on the longer tracks. 6/10
A Familiar Wind, Nebulous Chasm, Valley, Herschapen |
| 81 |  | Coutoux
Reign of Terror
A highly infectious thing, but beware, there's a very narrow line between infectious and sickening. 6/10 |
| 82 |  | Fire!
She Sleeps, She Sleeps
Who knew that you could find comfort in distortion. 7/10 |
| 83 |  | Half Japanese
Perfect
It started off decently, but with every other track it just went lower and lower an lower nad lowr nda lrewwo nd lorelwo nale lddoewwewr...5/10 |
| 84 |  | Arms (FL)
Blackout
And then they ask why so few people like Math Rock these days. 4/10 |
| 85 |  | Promise and the Monster
Feed The Fire
"Alright, let's see. We need more female-falsetto-lead Folk music with assorted instrumentation. This year, there is already Marissa Nadler, Julia Holter, Julianna Barwick, Sylvaine, Eefje de Visser and a bunch of others. Yep, there needs to be more!" 6/10 |
| 86 |  | Baaba Maal
The Traveller
I always feel bad trying to look critically at this sort of music, because I obviously understand jackshit about it. But this album, despite all of its fantastic instrumentatal approach and exotic vibe, did not grab me almost at all. 6/10 |
| 87 |  | Ketzer
Starless
What the hell's up with those vocals on this already half-assed album? 5/10 |
| 88 |  | Exumer
The Raging Tides
Thrash Metal powerhouse! Though I does follow a handful of genre clichés (infectious shifting guitar solo, cringeworthy lyrics, clean but harsh vocals), but you just can't deny the fact that it sound fantastic. 7/10 |
| 89 |  | Desert Colossus
Desert colossus
A heavy handed Stoner Rock that will hardly challenge you. 6/10 |
| 90 |  | Astolfo Sulla Luna
Ψ²
I have no idea what the lyrics are, but I sincerely hope that they are simple desriptions of various mathematical equations. 6/10 |
| 91 |  | Brimstone Coven
Black Magic
I can totally see this working perfectly, but at this point it just doesn't. The music sounds roughly stagnant and the really memorably voiced vocals are a bit drowned on the background. 6/10
Black Unicorn, As We Fall |
| 92 |  | Borknagar
Winter Thrice
I do see the hype behind this album, but neither of the vocal forms presented on here sat well with me. The screeching was a little underwhelming and the clean singing didn't go along with the music a lot of the times. 6/10 |
| 93 |  | Rome Hero Foxes
For When You're Falling Backwards
Another typical tingle tangel Proggy Indie burnout. 5/10 |
| 94 |  | Nevermen
Nevermen
A collaboration that was a dream to happen and an album that was a nightmare to tear you apart. 6/10 |
| 95 |  | Garrett Klahn
Garrett Klahn
Each song starts off pretty mediocre and without much promising progression, but it all mostly eventually manages to find its way to something more or less decent. 6/10 |
| 96 |  | Eliot Sumner
Information
Eliot Sumner manages to put together such an album, where every song get a fair portion of brilliancy. Every length is justified and every melody is progressed. But probably the strongest part of the album is the mere catchyness of the songs. They really stick to your mind for a long time. And maybe that's just my inner catchy-pop-tune lover speaking, but I don't care. My only issue is that the second part of the album gets a little liter, but that's not a big problem. 8/10
P.S.: In a way it sounds a bit like that Brodka album.
Information, After Dark, Halfway To Hell, I Followed You Home, Say Anything You Want, Species |
| 97 |  | POP ETC
Souvenir
Look at that sweet, cool album art. Yeah, it's way more interesting than the album itself. 4/10 |
| 98 |  | Coasts
Coasts (LP)
"Kids, this is the story of how I stopped respecting Synthpop..." 3/10 |
| 99 |  | Black Tusk
Pillars of Ash
Kvelertak+Baroness+any other Sludge Metal band you could think of that John Baizley laid his hands on. 7/10
Blood On Your Knees, Born of Strife |
| 100 |  | Santigold
99¢
Santigold manages tries to convince her listeners that she's all cool and smooth, but in reality this album doesn't so anything else than throwing irritating and forgettable Pop/Hip-Hop tunes at us, ones that only parasite on Santigold's past success. 5/10 |
| 101 |  | Roam
Backbone
So painfully typical 90s Pop-Punk that will barely interest anyone. We didn't ask for it. 5/10 |
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