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Last Active 12-23-19 9:27 pm
Joined 09-16-14
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| March 2017 resumé
I warn you right away, one of these items may outrage you a bit (or not, the hell do I know anyway?), but I tried to be honest and that's how we got what we got (I'm referring to the depression-filled cryfest of an album I will not name right now). 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 | | 63 |  | Me And That Man
Songs of Love and Death
Bluegrass and country is hard to swallow... even if from the frontman of Behemoth. 6/10 | | 62 |  | KU
Ganja
An album that works primarily on subversion of expectations. It can throw you into cataclysmic state of shock from sudden rapid change of style, to euphoria over a 9 minutes long monster-track, to just a generally pleasant state of being with other simple tracks, where you keep on expecting either that change or another acid trip. It's just kind of weird, but in a good way. 7/10
A Happening, Olympic Complex | | 61 |  | Formation
Look at the Powerful People
Not entirely sure what to think of this album. On one hand, it is indeed all the same old story about quasi-Alternative album that sounds like any other generic Poppy chart-topping crap that never actually did top any chart. On the other hand, it is actually fun and sometimes catchy. So let's just leave it in the middle: 6/10
Drugs, Powerful People, A Friend | | 60 |  | Kodak Black
Painting Pictures
Kodak is yet again absolutely uninteresting, no matter how much he tries to sound soulful and hurt. Making the music a slightly more mellow pop-rap was also a terrible decision, because now it just sounds ever worse. There is just nothing to it at all. 4/10 | | 59 |  | Vestfalia's Peace
Loneliness
Beautifully harrowing and tangibly sorrowful, but albsolutely engulfing and chilling. This is the good kind of New Wave revivalism. 7/10
Loneliness, Behind the Court, Before the Storm, The Peasant, The Apple Boughs | | 58 |  | Venenum
Trance of Death
There is a special place in hell with this music. And that is the primary reason I want to go there. This is absolutely hellish, nigtmareish and nuts. The instrumentation and production strike and shred and engulf you from all sides. It's a masterfully put together record. 8/10
Merging Nebular Drapes, Nature of the Ground, Trance of Deat Part I, Trance of Death Part III | | 57 |  | Pile
A Hairshirt of Purpose
Pile's latest is both underwhelming in a lot of ways, but does also present a horde of interesting ideas, interesting enough to keep you hooked (more or less). What rubs me about this record, however, is just how forgettable the songwriting and how utterly boring can the calmer, slower moments be. 6/10 | | 56 |  | Ryuichi Sakamoto
Async
There is a beautifully freeing energy in this. I feel like floating in a dream-like world or in the most positive and nerves-calming French surrealist painting or in an Earth-like consitions simulating machine on some kind of space station in the distant future. It's an absolute treat. 8/10
andata, solari, walker, stakra, ubi, async, Life Life, ff | | 55 |  | Sneaks
It's a Myth
One of the most excruciatingly boring and dismally bleak albums I've heard not just this year, but in my whole life. Breathy whispering queefs layered upon beats from a child's synthesiser? And you can't even call those queefs "nonchalant" as some artsy fucks like to describe themselves, cause they're just uncaring. 2/10 | | 54 |  | Junius
Eternal Rituals For The Accretion of Light
Monstrous and overwhelming. It's also quite overproduced... or underproduced, I'M not sure which one, but it sounds really messy, when it gets all epic and such. That's all that really brings the score down for me. 7/10
Beyond the Pale Society, A Mass for Metaphysicians, The Queen's Constellation, Black Sarcophagus | | 53 |  | Mothership
High Strangeness
Instrumentally wild and with a dizzying songwriting. Sure, the band wear their influences on their sleeves, but that does not take away from the overall fun atmosphere. 6/10
Ride the Sun, Crown of Lies | | 52 |  | Dirtwire
Showdown
Man, there are so many ideas thrown in, but they all just fail to make even a remotely interesting album. 5/10 | | 51 |  | Wire
Silver/Lead
Good god, the production on here is atrocious. 5/10 | | 50 |  | Goldfrapp
Silver Eye
This album has some seriously odd, but all the more intriguing production. The robotic and slick futuristic atmosphere mixed with some infectiously catchy melodies really gets stuck in your head. It might just not necessarily hold up entirely all throughout the length of the record, but it is still enjoyable enough. 7/10
Systemagic, Beast That Never Was, Everything Is Never Enough, Moon In Your Mouth, Ocean | | 49 |  | Heart Attack Man
The Manson Family
A pleasant, albeit simplistic and one-time only kind of Emo album. It doesn't pretend to be a larger-than-life experience, but it also tries hard enough to sound convincingly entertaining. 7/10 | | 48 |  | Gnod
Just Say No to the Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist...
There's a slight chance that they're trying to push some sort of message, but you can never be sure, right? 6/10
Bodies For Money | | 47 |  | Braveyoung
Misery and Pride
An obscure atmospheric piano-led piece that seems at first to be a dreary, empty and boring experience, but turns out to be quite intriguing in its spacy approach and subtle dramatic tension. 7/10
Blue Beyond the Hill, Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go | | 46 |  | Aimee Mann
Mental Illness
Quiet, tender and pleasant to listen to, but not really leaving much of a memorable aftertaste. It's just sort of run-of-the-mill decent. 6/10
Stuck in the Past, Lies of Summer, Good for Me | | 45 |  | Author and Punisher
Pressure Mine
First of all, I admire Tristan Shone's work. He is an interesting precedent, he creates his own instruments and makes music with it. And that is such a unique and cool thing that I must mention it. Now, as far as the music itself goes, it is really mediocre. From the awkward vocals and lyrics to th incredibly bland songwriting. It's sad, considering what went into making it. But this EP is just absolutely bland. 5/10 | | 44 |  | British Sea Power
Let the Dancers Inherit the Party
Well, it ain't bad, it's just a little redundant, 'playing-it-all-the-same', easy-listening Indie Rock-sih Pop music. It's fine is what I'm saying. 6/10 | | 43 |  | Tokio Hotel
Dream Machine
It shall be noted that I admire their attempts at reinventing themselves and distancing as far as they can from their angsty transvestite rants fuelled Pop extravaganza from back in the day. However, the fact that they are trying to progress does not mean that they succeeded at it. It is certainly much more listenable than what we've heard before, but it is just still another form of a boring and lazy Pop. 4/10 | | 42 |  | Dark Model
Saga
Never have I ever loved an Electronica album as much as this, I think. Dark Model is an epic and powerful reminder of just how amazing can the end result be, when you fuse Power Electronics with Classical music. Listening to this will make everything around you feel like it's a part of some heroic journey trough one's fantasy. Parts of it even sound like Hans Zimmerr collaborating with Two Steps From Hell. 7/10
Avalon, Rage and Redemption, Inferno Suite, Storm Goddess, Dawn of Resurrection | | 41 |  | Diamanda Galas
All the Way
It's like listening to a parody of arthouse film soundtracks. Hilarious...until you realise it's actually not supposed to be. Bur for the fairness sake, Diamanda's voice is incredible, even though it pierces my ears to point of bleeding. 5/10 | | 40 |  | sir Was
Digging a Tunnel
Now, this is an electronic piece I can get behind. It has the appropriate amount of artsiness, good production and some decent enough vocals. It's fairly inoffensive and it is memorable when it needs to be. It's a decent record. 7/10
A Minor Life, Digging a Tunnel, Revoke, Falcon, Heaven Is Here, Sunsets Sunrises | | 39 |  | A Will Away
Here Again
Taking the most basic Emo tropes and making them boring. 5/10
Crochet, Better Reluctant | | 38 |  | Azelisassath
Total Desecration of Existence
It's a fairly decent Black Metal with nothing revolutionary to offer, but still enjoyable enough for you to keep listening and finish the album easily in one sitting. 7/10 | | 37 |  | Yaeji
Yaeji
Oh boy, this is exactly why I dislike Downtempo and other similar electronica genres. It's just so unexciting, generic beats in mix with some obnoxious vocal effects 'n such. There's just absolutely nothing on this EP that peaked my interest, at all. It is perfectly dull, repetative and redundant. 3/10 | | 36 |  | Freddie Gibbs
You Only Live 2wice
An emotional record and surprisingly enough also one that combines the sombre and the triumphant. Freddie Gibbs is back and he had to express it in the most out-there and open way possible. 7/10
20 Karat Jesus, Alexys, Crushed Glass, Amnesia, Homesick | | 35 |  | Pure Violence
White Death
At first, this seems like a decent enough record, but as each track drags on and on, it becomes quite obnoxious. 6/10 | | 34 |  | Ordoxe
Towards Eternity
I can hear it. It is there. The talent and dedication (especially on tracks like The Auspicious One). Had it better vocals and definitely better production, I might have loved it. But it doesn't, so I don't. 5/10 | | 33 |  | Sorority Noise
You're Not As ____ As You Think
Well, it sort of tries to be innovative and as emotional as most other Emo records, but song after song it just falls short of expectations. The first two tracks are really good, but after that the album simply turns into a sleepy and somewhat lazy and whiny mess. 6/10
No Halo, A Portrait Of | | 32 |  | Violet Cold
Anomie
An enigmatic, engrossing and emotional record. And the fact that it is a one-man band from Azerbaijan makes it so much better. How many one-man bands do you know that can pull off this level of musical mastery and production? 8/10
Anomie, She Spoke of Her Devastation, No Escape From Dreamland | | 31 |  | Idles
Brutalism
An album, whose title bears the name or whose cover bears a depiction of my favourite architectural style (together with Socialist Modernism...yeah, I'm weird that way) can do no wrong. But all that aside, this album has some truly gutpunching moments and it just makes you feel like they're giving it the very best there is in them and even though they may not be perfect, they're having the time of their lives. 8/10
Mother, Date Night, 1049 Gotho, Divide and Conquer, Sthendhal Syndrome, Exeter | | 30 |  | King Green
Hesiod: Maintaining Sentinel Evolution
Ehm, okay, what? I guess there is a concept somewhere... Seriously, either I am crazy or this is a musical equivalent of a drug-addict speaking language that sounds like gibberish to you, having a stroke, while on stage trying to perform music on a dozen instruments... What am I supposed to feel? Out of respect to AnimalsAsSummit, I will not rate it, I'll just leave this comment here. | | 29 |  | Disma
The Graveless Remains
Frontman's Nazi ideology aside, this EP is an okay Pure-Death Metal for Death Metal traditionalists. DOn't expect anything outstanding, it feels like just some leftovers from Towards the Megalith, honestly. 6/10 | | 28 |  | Pallbearer
Heartless
Pallbearer pulled off a hell of an atmospheric and engrossing experience that might sometimes get a teensy bit overly long to bear, but ultimately pays off and provides you with great Doom Metal, which is saying something, because I find a lot of Sludge these days to be overly muddy and unpleasant production-wise (Like that 2016 EP they released...yep). 7/10
I Saw the End, Cruel Road, Heartless | | 27 |  | The Jesus and Mary Chain
Damage and Joy
Yep, it's a new Jesus and Mary Chain album...don't have too high expectations though...seriously. Last time they released an all-throughout compelling material was in the 80s. 6/10 | | 26 |  | Senses Fail
In Your Absence
M - Mediocre. 4/10 | | 25 |  | The Bearer
Fiction
Decent enough Hardcore Death Metal with some actually impressive songwriting and heavy production that is not just a muddy and messy toned-down guitarwork with deep production to make it sound as dirty and gritty as possible. No, this one's actually got some of 'em melodies and progressions, folks. 7/10 | | 24 |  | Planning for Burial
Below the House
Melodically (and I guess sonically too, in a way) the album has something to it, I can definitely see the musical concept within and had it a better execution, it might have been a blast of an album. But overall, the album suffers from its awkward production that leaves the music sounding flat and dull to a point where it really just gets on your nerves after a while. 4/10 | | 23 |  | Remo Drive
Greatest Hits
Hip, rapid and pleasant to listen to, despite its overall roughness. Remo Drive delivered a great Emo-Punk album that not only is entertaining, it is also nearly clearly establishing the band's own brand of Emo. Let's hope that they'll soon up the ante and give us even more. 7/10
Summertime, Yer Killin' Me | | 22 |  | Creeper
Eternity, In Your Arms
An incredibly addictive album that at times may be cheesy and sometimes full of wishy-washy hissy fits (looking at you 'Misery' and 'Crickets'). But outside of those few moments this album is, even with all of its cheesiness and clumsy harmlessness, an unbelievably catchy and compelling record worth your while (besides, the song Suzanne I will jam the living shit out of this year for sure). 7/10
Black Rain, Poison Pens, Suzanne | | 21 |  | Hauschka
What If
I am not usually one to enjoy such music, but for whatever reason this album was kind of calminga and allthroughout pleasant to listen to. Its obscure songwriting and atmosphere of relax among distress really stuck with me. Now, I will say that it has its boring and unengaging moments, but they don't ruin the experience all that much. 7/10
Constant Growth Fails, I Need Exile, Nature Fights Back, Familiar Things Disappear, when Trees Only Exist In Books gets all dark and grandiose | | 20 |  | Drake
More Life
Boy oh boy, how low can you go? 3/10 | | 19 |  | Grandaddy
Last Place
What an album that isn't particularly anything. Typical and rarely engaging Pop disguised as Indie Rock...interesting. That is not to say that it doesn't work, some songs are gratifying after a while, but not all of them. 6/10
Evermore, The Boat is in the Barn | | 18 |  | Frances
Things I've Never Said
Yeesh, talking about trivial white-girl-with-a-piano shtick... 5/10 | | 17 |  | Hater (SWE)
You Tried
I can see this melancholic and moody atmosphere working with the presented instrumentation. My problem with this album though is the severe lack of any excitement. It is as if somebody took a decent musical concept and drained all the juice out of it. Well, at least You Tried, you know, I ain't a Hater. 5/10 | | 16 |  | Spoon
Hot Thoughts
Spoon are back at it again with a hot album of thoughtful tracks (that was cheap, sorry). Nearly every song could be instantly regarded as a classic, I'm not joking. The songwriting, the lyricism and the smooth soothing vibes are utmost pleasing and show everyone what a truly good Indie Rock sounds like. My only issue might be certain specific songs that don't exactly excite as much as the others do (and one even manages to feel out of place within the record). But outside of that, this is yet another truly masterfully crafted album by Spoon, who have at this point, in my opinion, already stabilised their mark as one of the most important bands of the genre. 8/10
Hot Thoughts, Do I Have to Talk You Into It, First Caress, Can I Sit Next To You, I Ain't The One, Tear It Down, Shotgun | | 15 |  | The Shins
Heartworms
The Shins released their most jolly and relaxed effort yet. Paradoxically it is also their most unadventurous and forgettable one. And even though ultimately, I can't pinpoint particular likeable style or theme that would run throughout the album creating consistency, nearly every track has its redeeming moment. 6/10
Fantasy Island, Dead Alive, The Fear | | 14 |  | Nova Collective
The Further Side
Speaking of somewhat bearable Prog, here's one...actually not really, but there is a bearable Prog within there somewhere. Though I can definitely hear that fellas from Nova Collective are doing their best, this over-the-top mind-bugging Djent-ish instrumental ejaculation doesn't sway me into liking the genre at all. I can appreciate certain moments that didn't make me feel nauseated, but that's about it. Oh no, there's one other positive, the album has a friggin awesome cover art. 5/10 | | 13 |  | Stolas
Stolas
You know, with its instrumentation, it was close to becoming a Prog Rock album released in last couple of years that I didn't actively dislike. BUT, because there is always some 'but' in Prog these days, this album has some of the most unbearable and mediocre vocals I've heard in a long time. Yeesh. 5/10 | | 12 |  | Minus the Bear
VOIDS
As if I was actually going to like this... As typical and uninspired an Indie Rock as it can get. 5/10 | | 11 |  | Robot Bachelor
The Third House Boat Album
Guess who forgot that it's 2017 and got stylistically stuck in early 2000s? Do people still give two shits about this badly sung, repetative, awkwardly angry and one-dimensional Pop-Punk? 5/10
P.S.: Poor Hep Kat tried to hype the album up as much as he could. | | 10 |  | Mount Eerie
A Crow Looked At Me
Okay listen, I really don't know what to say about this. I understand the stylistic direction on this album, the lyrics are beautiful too, though obviously very on the nose, and the overall atmosphere is thick as heck. However, Phil Elverum doesn't try in the slightest to make this album at all interesting musically or vocally, hell, te lyrics don't even rhyme a lot of the time. I understand that that was the intention, but I truly grew sick of this album after a while. I'm trying to be honest here, folks. Phil's lackluster vocals and the samey and boring songwriting makes this album so god damn unbearable. Normally I'd slap the well-deserved 4/10 and move on. BUT given the fact that this album was supposed to be what it is as a means to cope with the death of Phil's wife, I really don't know what to do. Honesty is honesty, so be it just a notch higher. 5/10 (sorry) | | 9 |  | Alaskalana
Pathos And The Rising Sun
Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into? Why am I coming back to this, when the artist herself and I both explicitly said last year that anything new in this project ain't going to change my mind on it. It's still basically the same, but I do admire the decision to leave the brainmelting technical shrieks behind and go into a bit more smooth, yet equally as uneven and distorted direction. This album has a much better production and some moments were intriguing (like the occasional sax appearance on the background or whatever that was). But this album in particular is a bore to behold. None of the tracks are anything close to memorable and nothing that happens on the album is that particularly interesting. I do believe that this slicker (almost cosmic) direction has some kind of potential, but I just don't see it here, sorry. 5/10 | | 8 |  | Jay Som
Everybody Works
Though undoubtedly an improvement upon her previous effort, this album is also lacking any distinctivity for me. It just seems like a typical Lo-Fi Pop that brings absolutely nothing new to the table, but also doesn't quite flow freely within the genre's boundaries. 6/10 | | 7 |  | Blanck Mass
World Eater
Before I say anything else, I just want to state that Rhesus Negative might be the greatest Electronic track I've heard in years. With that said, the rest of the album underwhelmed me. Although, admittedly this might be the most solid Blanck Mass has ever been with nearly each song managing to balance sombre moodiness with explosive and crushing rewards that follow. But a lot of the times I felt the album dragged out moments it didn't need to, which ultimately hurt the album. Some songs also failed to excite on any level throughout most of their runtime. 6/10
Rhesus Negative (!!!!!), Please, The Rat | | 6 |  | Ibibio Sound Machine
Uyai
I don't know, you guys. I really want to like this album, the instrumentation, songwriting and the vocals are so beautifully weird, but I just felt disconnecetd all the time. You might have a bigger appreciation fr the record than me. 6/10 | | 5 |  | Mastodon
Emperor of Sand
Mastodon are finally back with an all-throughout enjoyable record. The songwriting on here is much more memorable and the instruments are rough, tough and bring all the satisfaction of a harsh Sludge Metal, but are still able to keep the melodies as pretty and moving as they are. On the other hand, the roughness and the tendency to go as over the top as they can (within the acceptabe boundaries, of course) may cause some songs to become simply hard to listen to, which ultimately drags the album down a bit for me. Still, it is a worthwhile listen and a much needed return to form. Let's hope that future holds a lot more jewels for Mastodon. 7/10
Sultan's Curse, Roots Remain, Ancient Kingdom, Clandestiny, Andromeda | | 4 |  | Temples
Volcano
Temples got a bit more synthetic and decided to lean more towards the Pop than Psychedelic. Every song goes for a sweet melody and more or less grandiose production. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work and the songs sometimes simply feel like they need a bit more improvement. Either the songwriting doesn't excite as much as one would want or the execution keeps you from enjoying it fully (like the verses mostly serve as mediocre and uninteresting pathways between choruses). One issue I had with the album throughout its runtime was the rpoduction on drums, which sounded somewhat distorted and of demo quality. All-in-all, I can see people enjoying this album, after all, it doesn't really try to challenge its listeners and delivers solid and harmless material. 6/10
Certainty, In My Pocket, Celebration, Strange or Be Forgotten | | 3 |  | The Magnetic Fields
50 Song Memoir
Have you ever encountered an album that you found to be the closest to musical perfection? I have and it very well may be 50 Song Memoir by The Magnetic Fields. Everything, from the concept, songwriting, lyrics and instrumentation is near perfect and ingeniusly crafted together. Each song is filled with emotions and attitude the man behind the song, Stephin Merritt, had at the time he talks about in these songs. And the musical and production component also perfectly carries the atmosphere and the life-situation he was a tthe time he describes in these songs. When he decided to start a band, nobody from the collective couldn't afford any proper instruments or recording, so the song also sounds very much amateurish (The Blizzard of 78). In the 80s he got a synthesiser, so each track is filled with a lot of synthesiser sounds (like How to Play a Synthesiser). When he describes theories of ethical science, the music is dreamy and almost cosmic (How I Failed Ethics).... | | 2 | | The Magnetic Fields
50 Song Memoir
The musicianship-lyrical relationship goes so perfectly hand-to-hand that the it allows the listener to imagine the world Stephin was probably living in at the time. Some songs are quirky (London By Jetpack), some angry (Life Ain't All Bad), some are moving (Foxx and I), some heartwarming (Me and Fred and Dave and Ted) and some may even make you cry (A Cat Called Dionysus). Undoubtedly, the weirdness and silly nature of some tracks may scare some people off (Happy Beeping); and I do believe that around the section in around late 80s and early 90s is a bit lackluster, but only compared to the others; besides I also believe that the closer, Somebody's Fetish, does not really work as a closer, but that is because this memoir is ongoing and does not need a grandiose finale. But this album is still simply a rollercoaster of emotions and I am glad I've heard it. 9/10 | | 1 | | The Magnetic Fields
50 Song Memoir
P.S.: Is it just that the version I listened to had some defect or is Me and Fred and Dave and Ted on the album really absolutely different song than the single?
Wonder Where I'm From, A Cat Called Dionysus, Judy Garland, No, My Moma Ain't, Hustle 76, Life Ain't All Bad, Foxx and I, Danceteria, Why I Am Not a Teenager, Me and Fred and Dave and Ted, Weird Diseases, A Serious Mistake, Lovers' Lies, Fathers in the Clouds, Ghosts of the Marathon Dancers, Have You Seen It In The Snow?, Be True To Your Bar, Cold-Blooded Man, Till You Come Back To Me, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Stupid Tears, You Can Never Go Back to New York, Big Enough For Both of Us, I Wish I Had Pictures | |
ScuroFantasma
03.31.17 | Great list man, cool descriptions | Dewinged
04.01.17 | Good list Uni. I still gotta check some of these. I couldn't get into the new Temples and damn, I tried. | Satellite
04.01.17 | don't call us--we'll call you. | Papa Universe
04.01.17 | What? | Satellite
04.01.17 | https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/don't_call_us,_we'll_call_you | Papa Universe
04.01.17 | Oh. | Satellite
04.01.17 | you need a definition for resumé too or we good? | Papa Universe
04.01.17 | Nah, we're cool, let's keep it as it is... | Sniff
04.01.17 | "Well, at least You Tried, you know, I ain't a Hater"
Dude... | Toad
04.03.17 | nice, props
gotta jam 50 song soon | JamieTwort
04.03.17 | I might have seen where you were coming from with 24 had I read this after my first or second listen but after repeated listens definitely not. It's very well executed. | Papa Universe
04.03.17 | Alright then, well I ain't plannin' on listening to it again anytime soon, anyways... | AnimalsAsSummit
04.06.17 | sweet list! i appreciate the inclusion | Kompys2000
04.11.17 | I like your big hairy cat, mate | Papa Universe
04.11.17 | Okay, one person...that's already something I guess. | RedRightHand
04.15.17 | Just a really shit list, Ferreals. |
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