Absolute s c a n d a l (Johnny's digs)
bait. List is RANKED digs thank you for your money |
| 1 |  | Judy and Mary
THE POWER SOURCE
J-rock/pop
Really excellent stuff, would probably view this as a classic if it weren't for a couple of mid-section slip ups and that unfortunate closer. Very tight songwriting and performances all round, so full of life and colour and energy.
4.2/5 |
| 2 |  | Shiina Ringo
Muzai Moratorium
J-rock/pop
Shiina Ringo's wide-eyed "here I am!" debut. Fun stuff, loud stuff, almost entirely quality stuff.
4.2/5 |
| 3 |  | Matryoshka
Zatracenie
Electronic/post-rock
A few lulls, but otherwise absolutely captivating arrangements and progressions here. Hard grower.
4.2/5 |
| 4 |  | Blonde Redhead
Fake Can Be Just As Good
Noise rock
Nearing the end of my Blonde Redhead discog crawl with one of the most badass and succinct albums in their canon. Awesome stuff.
4.2/5 |
| 5 |  | 3776
Saijiki
Experimental pop
Acting AOTY. So excessive in (mostly) the right ways, an absolutely epic work.
4.1/5 |
| 6 |  | Tetora
Kyoushitsu no Ikkaku Yori
Power pop
Absolutely in love with their singer's voice. Huge rockin' choruses and hooks for days.
4/5 |
| 7 |  | BUCK-TICK
Cosmos
Post punk/cyberpunk
The most recent stop on my Buck-Tick journey. This isn't my favourite from them, but easily meets their standard and has a dirtier, intense edge that expected. Good stuff.
4/5 |
| 8 |  | Indigo Jam Unit
Pirates
Jazz
Badass basslines and beautiful keys. Need to get more into these guys, shoutout to Trifolium for rec'ing
4/5 |
| 9 |  | toe
The Book About My Idle Plot on a Vague Anxiety
Post rock/math rock
Really distinctive vibe, fantastic musicianship and a few unforgettable melodies. Hard grower.
3.9/5 |
| 10 |  | Limited Express (has gone?)
Feeds You!
Noise rock
Funky, frenzied noisey funtimes. Their most recent album (All Ages) also v worthwhile, looking forward to their new outing later this year.
Honestly 3.7/5, but these guys give me a great kick so they get bumped up |
| 11 |  | Seventeen Again
少数の脅威
Punk
Awesome 2015 punk album, need to jam this more.
3.9/5 |
| 12 |  | For Tracy Hyde
New Young City
Dream pop/shoegaze
Band with unlikely name name a huge dream pop album after one of the best Supercar songs? Results are consistent and sometimes great.
3.7/5 |
| 13 |  | Ayano Kaneko
Sansan
Cosy pop/psych
Unexpected gem. Her 2018 album was pretty neat but this is smoother, cosier, more palatable and generally more enjoyable in a way I didn't see coming - all without making any significant alterations to her sound! Those whimsical psych vibes are still there and sounding better than ever...
3.7 |
| 14 |  | Macaroom
room-103
Electronic/glitch pop
This group is so wonderful and even though their debut doesn't hold a candle to the two albums that follow it, it's still a worthy album. That opener is pricelessly great...
3.6/5 |
| 15 |  | Chelsea Wolfe
Birth of Violence
Folk/gothic
Still forming an opinion on this - some of it is stellar, some is hugely forgettable. Also jamming Apokalypsis, which falls into the same box (with better results).
3.5/5 |
| 16 |  | Lana Del Rey
Born to Die
Sadgirlcore
Finally checked this beyond the singles after NFR bored the shit out of me and was pleasantly surprised. Can see this wearing thin in time (not that it isn't pretty dated already) but enjoying this while it still kicks.
3.4/5 |
| 17 |  | Loona
[X X]
K-pop
This album is so, so well behaved it hurts but some nice pop vibes all the same.
3.1/5 |
| 18 |  | Ferri
∞
Electronic
Inconsistent and sometimes amateurish, but the highlights are excellent. Subliminal Affirmation is a glitchy bruiser for the ages. 3/5 |
| 19 |  | Mutyumu
Il y a
Pretentious avant garde post rock metal classical blah
This record is so overblown and silly, but the good bits go hard. Vibes like Unexpect with less metal, more keys. 3/5 |
| 20 |  | Kayo Dot
Blasphemy
Experimental retrocore
This ain't bad but let's not pretend Ocean Cumulonimbus isn't a lame rehash of Crown in the Muck or that An Eye for A Lie isn't easily the worst thing to come out under the Kayo Dot brand.
3/5 aoty |
| 21 |  | Tool
Fear Inoculum
Honourable mentioncore
Someone please sponsor Adam Jones to take some fucking guitar lessons and fix him up with a decent sound engineer while you're at it.
2/5 |
| 22 |  | Spangle call Lilli line
PURPLE
Indie/dream pop
Forgot this one somehow - really great chillout album, steady grower.
4/5 |
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