February 2017 resumé
I skipped a lot of new releases in February, because I was mainly focused on finishing up listens from 2016 and January. So about half of these records I heard in like last couple of days. As always, if you're reading any of this, write "I like your big hairy cat, mate." in the comment section. This is no best-of 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 that I've heard. 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 |
| 66 |  | Dutch Uncles
Big Balloon
ew² 5/10 |
| 65 |  | Dune Rats
The Kids Will Know It's Bullshit
ew 5/10 |
| 64 |  | Jonwayne
Rap Album Two
Kind of bittersweet album with a really nice instrumentation. But Jonwayne's rapping and songwriting just tired me. Really, really, really tired me. 6/10 |
| 63 |  | Career Suicide
Machine Response
Ridiculously punching, cutting and grinding Hardcore album that might seem a tad repetative, but is still a fun as heck ride. 7/10 |
| 62 |  | Meat Wave
The Incessant
Vocally and instrumentally striking, but not all that memorable and eventually falling apart because of its own inconsistency. 6/10 |
| 61 |  | Louise Burns
Young Mopes
A perfectly disposable, throwaway, easy-lisening Pop album that you'll hear, like and subsequently forget... 6/10
Storms, Strange Weather |
| 60 |  | Funeral Advantage
Please Help Me
Dreamy, but nevertheless dreary EP that only gets more and more tedious as it goes. 4/10 |
| 59 |  | Ryan Adams
Prisoner
Ryan Adams releases another middle-of-the-road record of semi-decent tunes, but ones that are for majority of time utterly forgettable. 5/10 |
| 58 |  | Thievery Corporation
The Temple of I & I
This is actually unexpectedly great release. It's fun, funky, exciting and well put-together. Of all the Downtempo albums I've ever heard, this might actually be the one I will come back to more than once. The songs have a nice loose and nonchalant exotic atmosphere and the flow of the tracks and the intriguing features keep it a tight, memorable and enjoyable listen. This might be it, my favourite Downtempo album, if, of course, it is actually primarily Downtempo, because compered to the other albums I've heard thus far, it doesn't seem to be entirely so. 7/10
Thief Rockers, Letter to the Editor, Strike the Root, Ghetto Matrix, The Temple of I and I, Lose To Find, Fight to Survive |
| 57 |  | Great Ytene
Locus
Welcome to the good side of Post-Punk revivalism. This album pays homage to the classics of the genre in its most visceral and natural form, with a slightly dissonant production and a dark instrumentation that is. It's a real treat for anyone, who wants more modern bands to recreate the good old sound more often. 7/10
George Street, Cruel Desires, Locus, Wanness, Appetite |
| 56 |  | Spidergawd
IV
Quite a straight forward and harmless little Hard Rock endeavour. It's fun and simple, what else is there to ask for? 6/10
Ballad of a Millionaire, Heaven Comes Tomorrow |
| 55 |  | Pygmalion
Supersymmetry
In spite of how well crafted this album is instrumentally and production-wise, it really doesn't offer a whole lot of musical variety or memorability. It's jus sort of a rehash of what we hear being released every year by thousands. 6/10 |
| 54 |  | Stormzy
Gang Signs and Prayer
From Stormzy's timid delivery to absolutely uninteresting guests and some lazy-ass beats, this might easily be one of the weakest Hip-Hop album this year. 4/10
Cold, Blinded by Your Grace Pt.2 |
| 53 |  | Clap! Clap!
A Thousand Skies
Nope. 4/10 |
| 52 |  | Goatmoon
Stella Polaris
The corniest Black Metal you'll ever hear, but one that has its own cooky charm. 6/10
Kansojen Hävittäjä, Warrior, Conqueror, Overlord |
| 51 |  | Swimmer's Lungs
No Expectations
No expectations, no results either. 5/10 |
| 50 |  | White Death
White Death
Fantastic instrumental and atmospheric work on this Black Metal exravaganza, but the vocals are sometimes a bit too annoying. 7/10
Born from the Unholy Fire, Warpath, White Death's Power |
| 49 |  | Black Nail
A Meeting of Bliss and Trauma
Just as earpiercing and punishing as before, but this time also several levels more eerie. 6/10 |
| 48 |  | Jlin
Dark Lotus
A teaser to Jlin's new full length album is quite intriguing, alas not particularly aiming to be liked for anything beyond its musical concept, which is exactly what happens. 6/10 |
| 47 |  | Disperse
Foreword
Ehm...wha..what the fuck? Okay, for real now, I gotta give credit where the credit's due, they are indeed good with instruments sometimes, but the flavourless songwriting, messy mixing and absolutely off-putting vocals make this experience absolutely unbearable. 4/10 |
| 46 |  | Moon Duo
Occult Architecture Vol. 1
There is a lot of interesting ideas in, from the potentially working Lo-Fi production to the somewhat eerie Electronics. However, ths album is just so tiringly plain and has barely anything engaging to offer, not to mention, the songwriting is almost non-existant. 5/10 |
| 45 |  | Grails
Chalice Hymnal
I don't know, you guys. I just didn't feel it. It just sounds so lazy and boring to me. One would think that a genre of Psychedelic Stoner-y Post-Rock could only spawn out exciting music, but the contrary is the truth. This album is absolutely uneventful and dreary from start to finish with absolutely nothing remotely entertaining happening throughout the whole record. 5/10 |
| 44 |  | Echo Tail
The Ancestry
Okay, here we go. This is a much more confident and adequate step in the right direction. It's much heavier and instrumentally interesting than what I've heard before (granted, I've only heard two other albums). The lyrics are still questionable, but we're getting somewhere already. 7/10
Devil in the Desert, Building a Myth, Like Wildfire |
| 43 |  | Blackfield
Blackfield V
I don't know, I'm kind of lost. On one hand, it is indeed a decent Pop-Rock album, but on the other, everything on here is just so unremarkable and forgettable. I can hear that it is really well made, but I can't get into any of it. 6/10
October, The Jackal, Undercover Heart |
| 42 |  | The Pigeon Detectives
Broken Glances
Well, not all of it is terrible. There is some decent instrumentation...occasionally...and some melodies here and there. But this album just sounds so lazy and sleepy, as if the band had no interest in doing any of this. 5/10 |
| 41 |  | The Feelies
In Between
Honestly, this is the sleepiest and most tedious Feelies have ever been. 5/10 |
| 40 |  | Tim Bowness
Lost in the Ghost Light
I finally begin to keep my promise to listen to more Downtempo in 2017. So far I've heard like five albums and none of them have been in any way outstanding. Did Tim Bowness change the situation? Well, it certainly is better than anything before, but I still have a hard time getting into it. For one, Tim's vocals are just bleak and unremarkable. And though I appreciate the music and songwriting's tenderness and sweetness, when you get 8 tracks that all sound similarly sleepy (Kill the Pain That's Killing You being a notable exception) and failing to go beyond drabness, despite the brightness of its spirit, you quickly find yourself dissinterested. Still, I appreciate the songwriting and the musical performance. 6/10
Moonshot Manchild |
| 39 |  | Ghost Iris
Blind World
This album has enough potential to bea t least melodic enough to be enjoyable, but it is not, so it just ends up being completely flat and uninteresting. 4/10 |
| 38 |  | Sun Kil Moon
Common As Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood
I understand that it may have been intentional, but the vocals and the subpar music is simply unbearable on this album. 4/10 |
| 37 |  | Surfer Blood
Snowdonia
Well written tunes, but with rather lazy execution. But every once in a while, a decent instrumentation slips through and the nonchalant attitude of the record becomes quite pleasing. 6/10
Six Flags in F or G, partially Snowdonia |
| 36 |  | All Them Witches
Sleeping Through The War
Corny and underproduced, but ultimately quite fun. 6/10 |
| 35 |  | Novella
Change of State
Sleepy and lazily sounding Shoegaze, but one that has some decent instrumentation underneath all that blandness. How unfortunate. 5/10 |
| 34 |  | Ghost Key
If I Don't Make It
Alhough it is definitely listenable and in a lot of ways truly powerful, I can't help but think that each song is following the exact same formula, which causes it to sound almost exactly the same after a while. 7/10 |
| 33 |  | Xiu Xiu
Forget
I don't think I'll get to encounter an album as profoundly obscure, yet so tenderly beautiful as this one this year. Xiu Xiu encapsulated all the creativity and musical mastery that made them so relevant in the first place and they push it even further with some of their most non-descript and mind bugging songwriting to date. 8/10
Queen of the Losers, Wondering, Hay Choco Bananas, At last At Last, Faith Torn Apart |
| 32 |  | Nidingr
The High Heat Licks Against Heaven
I don't know, you guys, it definitely hits hard and has a gutload of potential, but I just could not get into it at all. Maybe it's the sameyness of the songwriting and the vocals, I don't know. 6/10 |
| 31 |  | Fura
Mutandis
Certainly intriguing instrumentally and with a ton of atmospheric beauty, but somehow the mechanical and almost Djent-ish vibe distract from enjoyment. Still, overall it is a decent enough record. 7/10 |
| 30 |  | Hawks
No Cash Value
Though definitely providing an interesting listen, Hawks ultimately don't always use this brand of Lo-Fi somewhat abrasive Post-Punk fully to their advantage. It mostly just sounds decent enough without anything unusual beyond that. 6/10
Dust Up, Silk/Slime |
| 29 |  | Julie's Haircut
Invocation and Ritual Dance of My Demon Twin
Though from an instrumental and sonic perspective the album is impeccable, it is barely engaging. There are so many instrumental layers and musical influences that this album should have been creativity galore. Unfortunately, its smooth and nonchalant nature (most of the time) is surely charming, but is also the album's gravestone, because the band fails to turn it into anything particularly interesting. Thus the only thing this album really has going for it is its instrumental and experimental side, the rest more or less falls apart. 6/10 |
| 28 |  | esazlesa
Společnost psů
On Společnost psů you'll find a gutload of atmospheric Post-Metal inspired instrumental moments and some raw throat cutting vocals. I may not be as crazy about some of the vocalless moments as I'd want, I wish they were a bit more adventurous and raging, but it doesn't really hurt the album. 7/10 |
| 27 |  | Hanni El Khatib
Savage Times: The Complete Collection
Besides the already released tracks, which received a ton of praise from me, Savage Times: The Complete Collection features also other 4 tracks. Those are however much less adventurous than a whole chunk of this record, but still sonically intriguing. As a whole, Savage Times might be Hanni El Khatib's most eclectic and musically diverse effort yet and I am incredibly glad I've heard it. 8/10 |
| 26 |  | Porcelain Raft
Microclimate
Well, this was highly unexpected. I thought it will be just another one of those gutless Pop albums with generic vocals and sterilised sound, but Microclimate is actually an album of beautiful melodies, tender songwriting, smart lyrics, intriguingly prduced vocals (digestably high-pitched and echoic) with overwhelming and instantly memorable music. I've got no complaints, folks. 8/10
The Earth Broke Us, Big Sur, Kookaburra, The Greatest View, Accelerating Curve |
| 25 |  | Radical Face
SunnMoonnEclippse
It may take some time to get into, but the subtle beauty of it eventually finds its way to your appreciation. 7/10 |
| 24 |  | Future
HNDRXX
My quest to figure out why is Future a thing continues....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand this one's an unbearable borefest as well. What a surprise. 3/10
P.S.: I have a feeling I will just start ignoring his music altogether. |
| 23 |  | Tim Darcy
Saturday Night
Tim Darcy of Ought released a collection of tracks, some of which are intriguing, energetic and fun, but most of which are completely boring and uninspired. 5/10
Tall Glass of Water, Still Waking Up, Saint Germain |
| 22 |  | Dominic
Goodnight, Doggies.
I mean, there's an okay album somewhere inside, I guess. This thing is so bland and forgettable that the only actually interesting part is the intro opener, because at least that had a sweet melody set to appropriately acoustic instrumentation. 5/10
Basilisk |
| 21 |  | Kingdom
Tears In The Club
Nice try, but What Is Love is still Baby Don't Hurt Me. You will not be able to change it with your one-dimensional, but intriguing Electronica. 6/10 |
| 20 |  | Vagabon
Infinite Worlds
Average Lo-Fi Rock with okay lyrics and mediocre at best vocals. Meh. 5/10 |
| 19 |  | Supernova 1006
Unique World
An okay Industrial Post-Punk, but it's just missing something to it that would make it distinct or memorable. 6/10
Through Me |
| 18 |  | Communions
Blue
Remember that Priests album from January? This is it, but not Lo-Fi and much more versatile and ultimately better. 7/10
Come On I'm Waiting, Midnight Child, Got To Be Free, Eternity, Alarm Clocks |
| 17 |  | Los Campesinos!
Sick Scenes
Decent Emo with far from decent vocals and sometimes a bit laughable songwriting. 6/10
I Broke Up In Amarante, 5 Flucloxacillin |
| 16 |  | Oddisee
The Iceberg
Oddisee did it again, folks! The Iceberg contains a gutload of great lyrics, decent delivery (that reminded me a little of Aesp Rock's style for some reason) and near perfect instrumentation. Each track strikes with its soulful nature and truly gorgeous music. Oddisee might have created his best album yet. 8/10
Digging Deep, Built By Pictures, You Grew Up, NNGE, Want To Be, Rights and Wrongs |
| 15 |  | PVT
New Spirit
How do you feel about a generic Electropop? Yeah exactly... 5/10 |
| 14 |  | The Menzingers
After the Party
A good album can brighten up your day a litle. A good punk album can make your whole day. A good punk album that speaks to your soul can make your week. 8/10
Tellin' Lies, Lookers, Midwestern States, Charlie's Army, Boy Blue, Your Wild Years, After The Party, Livin' Ain't Easy |
| 13 |  | Unearthly Trance
Stalking The Ghost
A decent enough Sludge-Doom that might get a bit boring at times, but ultimately knows how to excite and hold momentum, I just wish that more songs contained those fantastic cleaner vocals, it's not necessary, but it would be nice. 7/10
Scythe, The Great Cauldron |
| 12 |  | King Woman
Created In The Image Of Suffering
Look, I did my best to enjoy this record, but outside of the heavy production and occasionally nice melodies, this album doesn't really have that much to offer. The musical part is okay at best and the vocals are mostly completely expendable. Thankfully, it is short enough not to become boring. (at least the cover art is nice) 6/10 |
| 11 |  | Elbow
Little Fictions
On Little Fictions, Elbow deliver another mix of their typical instrumentally magnetic and lyrically beautiful Folk-Rock. However, I found a lot of the tracks on this record to be mediocre at best. Weirdly enough, Elbow combine ambitious and gorgeous tracks with some more experimental ones and it doesn't work. Sure, it is something they've frequently been doing in the past, but on here, the slower and a more subtle moments seem rather nauseating than a welcome change of pace. 6/10
Magnificent, K2, Little Fictions |
| 10 |  | Quelle Chris
Being You Is Great...
Quelle Chris released easily the trippiest album not only in his career, but in last couple of years definitely. This record is incredibly dizzying and dreamy, but the good kind of dreamy, not the Future kind. My only issue is that this sleepy style sometimes does get tedious. 7/10
Buddies, BS Vibes, The Prestige, Birthdaze, Learn to Love Hate, It's Great To Be, Pendulum Swing |
| 9 |  | The Orwells
Terrible Human Beings
Admittedly, this sound sat well with me at first, but as the listens went by I became weary of the samey sound. Certain songs are striking and memorable, but only if taken outside of the album's full context. Because the album itself doesn't really offer much of anything in terms of variety. It's more or less the same okay song over and over again, no matter how much you like this Garage-y revivalism style. 6/10
They Put A Body In The Bayou, Fry, Black Francis, Ring Pop |
| 8 |  | Big Sean
I Decided.
Big Sean remains stylistically somewhere between Drake, Future and everybody who shone on the mainstream scene in the last couple of years. On this album he only proves (to me nonetheless) that he ain't that keen on changing his style and coming to his own. Despite that, the album is still somewhat interesting with its ups and downs. The laid-back nonchalant atmosphere is the album's strongest, but also lowest point. Sometimes it creates just the right mood, but ometimes it can also bore you out of your mind. 6/10
Bounce Back, Halfway Off The Balcony |
| 7 |  | Sampha
Process
Though this is certainly an admirable work, I guess my only issue were Sampha's breathy falsetto vocals. They are decent enough, but after hearing them for this long they grew obnoxious, unfortunately. Outside of that, the album holds up pretty well. The music is intriguing and the production is solid, the lyrics are sometimes unintelligible due to said vocal style, but all-in-all still decent enough as well. It is a fairly enjoyable record that has its strong and impressive moments, but also some lowpoints. 7/10
Blood On Me, Reverse Faults, Timmy's Prayer |
| 6 |  | Jesca Hoop
Memories Are Now
An utmost sweet and gently played Folk album with lush production, nice lyrics and above all, beautiful vocals. Jesca Hoop delivered a record that might not cause a lot of buzz (and not that it's particularly trying to), but it sure will brighten up a day to anyone fortunate enough to hear it. 7/10
Memories Are Now, The Lost Sky, Animal Kingdom Chaotic, Cut Connection, The Coming |
| 5 |  | Dirty Projectors
Dirty Projectors
Well, I don't know. It seems to me that this album is simply a collection of songs following an interesting musical concept, but each being executed completely obnoxiously and forgettably. I strongly disliked the vocals, I found the songwriting boring (even though its slightly odd and disharminical nature intrigued me at first) and some of the lyrics were a definition of cringeworthy. It's sad that it's so bad. A wholly unengaging album of bland and forgettalbe sleazy R'n'B-esqueness. 5/10 |
| 4 |  | Pictures
Promise
Man, if I had a dollar for every generic repetative Indie Rock album that is being released lately... 5/10 |
| 3 |  | Primo
It Could Happen to You
An EP that opens as atribute to Joy Division does a fairly decent job of not remaining a copycat for its entirety. The music is swift and slightly dreamy, but still with that strong feeling of melancholia that is characteristic for the genre. All-in-all, I enjoyed the Lo-Fi and Shoegaze influences and the vocals that sounded like something off of a Screamo album. If the band learns how to put all those influences together more smoothly next time and if the vocals get improved, we might have a wholly unique Post Punk band. 7/10 |
| 2 |  | Teen Daze
Themes For Dying Earth
Teen Daze released another typical and uneventful album that just doesn't grip at any level. 5/10
Cherry Blossoms |
| 1 |  | King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard
Flying Microtonal Banana
This is easily band's most dreamy record yet. They definitely slowed down a lot. With almost every track being up to seven minutes long one would expect at least some sort of progression, but King Gizzard deliver their usual instrumentally rapid, yet continuous magnetising repetition. It doesn't engage as much as a lot of their previous stuff. With that said, there is a ton of truly moving and striking moments (and even some a bit saddening), but nearly all of them are to be found in the shorter tracks. It just doesn't hold up as much as I'd wish it did. 7/10
Open Water, Sleep Drifter, Billabong Valley, Anoxia, Doom City |
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