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Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
Joined 01-01-70
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| MAY of i n c e s ト (neg me)
This month is May and I am getting back on the album-a-day-in-addition-to-whatever-else-I'm-jamming grind. This month is different because I am also grinding AsleepintheBack by which I mean that we fucked and I am now listening to his leftovers okay yikes stay tuned for more plottwists (there's one in the first comment lolpwn ha) | | 1 |  | Frank Turner
Love, Ire & Song
ROUND 1 (1st thru 5th): FOUNDATION
These albums are themed around formative shit and/or calling cards okay let's fucking go.
May 1st
Entry (1) is Frank Turner's Love, Ire & Song, and here is what Asleep had to say for it:
"First, I am going to rec you 2 albums that i have literally not heard in years but which are the pillars on which my sanity / twisted sense of identity (vaguely) rest and which you must therefore consume. The first comes from Frank: pretty sure this was the first album I rated when I joined the site. Foundational guiding touchstone in terms of what I have historically (and still currently ig) look for in lyric-forward folky bollocks - have grown out of it slightly but if any one album explains my general preferences and peculiarities, it is probably this."
***
I think I might have started this album before without finishing it? The opener was definitely familiar anyway - Frank Turner in general is kinda familiar in a vague, vaguely positive way. Let's see. Two spins down on this and I get the appeal and can v easily imagine having a close lyrical relationship with it at a younger age. Its self-conscious fears and semi-embrace of middle-aged disaffection (all clearly pitched at a younger audience) remind me a fair bit of good ol' WORRY., but - last thing in the world I expected to be writing here - where Rosenstock's anger, exhaustion and (above all) political engagement have palpable grit to them, Turner's voice smacks to me more of a put-upon middle class weariness than anything else (and a little refresher on the background I once knew by heart from the pages of Kerrang does a vast amount to confirm this).
That's not a de facto no-no - tbh, I v much feel that I *should* be this record's target audience, but it keeps putting me off by reaching too concertedly for universal relatability when its footing is squarely lodged in the song and dance of a certain income bracket in a South London pub, or by amplifying faintly entitled issues in a way that offsets the self-awareness Turner works so hard to maintain across the rest of the album. "Jet Lag" and "Substitute" in particular land the wrong side of self-pity for me, the former's lamentation of the strain of a lifestyle many would kill for shoots for far more pathos than I am prepare to shill on it (putting this as the closing statement on a record that contains "Long Live the Queen" is perhaps the only moment I'll chalk up as outright poor taste), while the latter's superimposition of an (outside of its own self-imposed bracket of idealism) exciting love life against a fruitful music career is in decent enough humour not to bomb, but still a little vapid. A good half of the album ("Imperfect Tense", "Better Half", "St. Christophere" esp) lands as a decently spirited performance of content that I can never quite believe demands it. There's also something a little too finely pitched to his good-bad rhymes and the (UGH) frankness of his lyricism, especially given how frequently he foregrounds the songwriting process within these songs - Frank Turner is a decent enough songsmith on his own terms not to have to rep a man-of-the-people plainspeak troubadour act, and this wears rather thin on me as such.
Don't get me wrong though, I didn't put this on as a cynic and a lot of these songs do resonate with me. The way the t/t dips in and out of apathy and ends up as a rallying cry in defiance of, above all, its own jadedness definitely hits close to the bone, as does "Reasons Not to Be an Idiot"'s straightforward do-something-with-your-life - love the bitterness with which this one pops the balloon on imposter syndrome. Both these tracks feel actively scornful in a way that strikes as maybe the most 'honest' (or at least, least affected) thing here - and on the other end of that, "To Take You Home"'s embroidery of a French fling with the thread of a courtly drama is so ridiculous that I can't help but grin. I'm not going to write about "Long Live the Queen" other than it did make me choke up more than once and that I would have thrown it under the fucking bus by now if I felt it was in the least exploitative.
Anyway tl;dr this album sounds like the work of a decent bloke still dwarfed by the world yet more than a little oblivious of how much it has afforded him - this is endearing but of limited appeal now, though God knows this would have been the meaning of life if I'd heard it aged 19.
3.3 | | 2 |  | Streetlight Manifesto
Somewhere in the Between
May 2nd
FOUNDATION
Asleep: "The album art was my avatar for almost the entirety of my sputnikmusic.com “career” and the album itself was my fave album ever ever EVER whilst in secondary school and sixth form so ermmm good luck!!!"
I think it was about 2 weeks ago that I jammed whatever the first Streetlight Manifesto album is called, immediately 2.5'd it and decided I never needed to hear a song from this band ever again, so this one is going to be interesting...
...so UPDATE on that, I am glad to have listened to this (twice!) - this band are actually kinda tight and their arrangements are well structured and their horn lines are on point and even though their distorted guitars have aged ~interestingly~ I could absolutely fuck with this as an instrumental record. With just a few changes to the arrangements and structural push/pull it could have been a fine one.
but
This vocalist is just the worst and I cannot. He kills this and it is almost all about him and I cannot stand to watch him and his tuneless Eric Cartman voice turn these would have been bangers into the Existential Angst Club's version of the Diabolo Fucking Swing Band. Call him a cab. His lyrics (did he write them?) are a chore too - extremely '00s spew-of-hackneyed-passion in a way I am typically glad to forget was ever a thing. Reminds me of Isaac Brock x Dustin Kensrue, both at their tweest ain't-this-profoundest most overbearing worst. And he uses the same phrasing 75% of the time and every single line scans to the effect of
GOOD TIMES FLEW AWAAAAY
SO I PISSED IN A WELL TIL THE DAYS TURNED GREY AND-
WHEN I LOOKED FOR MY REMOOOORSE
HAD A SHOCK WHEN I SAW THAT I'D BET IT ALL ON THE LAST HORSE
IT HAD ALREADY RUN
(IT HAD ALREADY RUUUUUN)
AND YOU WANTED TO BE SAVED?
CUZ YOU'VE GOT ONE FOOT IN THE GRAAAAVE
Real shame. Definitely got more out of this than their debut and it coincided nicely with a proper caffeine panic workspew, so let's drop a 3 and call it a day. | | 3 |  | The Tallest Man On Earth
Shallow Grave
May 3rd
FOUNDATION
Asleep: "Flashing forward to music more representative of my current taste, though even that has fallen apart as a cogent concept lately. Regardless, if gun held to noggin’, this is what I would squeal out as my fave album rn. I am told (by you) that you have a strong dislike for The Wild Hunt, which this should hopefully correct. Otherwise: roast me baby."
Alright, good things first - this opener might be the best song I've ever heard from TTMOE (and that's from all his albums except Fever Dream). Really succinct songwriting, surprisingly tuneful vocal lines from him, solid lyrical gist that teases whimsy but never gets fellational with it. Good start. I dunno if I outright *enjoy* the paint-stripper-in-bucket-of-piss production here, but I vastly appreciate in the context of the more upscale troubadour dressing that made The Wild Hunt so insufferable (and let's just forget about whatever the flying fuck was going on in the engineering department on Dark Bird). This record doesn't sound good, but it does sound right. Good. Banjo also = good on the whole. Some of his fingerpicking patterns are wonderful ear-catching stuff too ("Into the Stream" is gorgeous, if a little repetitious and melodically underdeveloped, and can probably fill his #2 slot after "I Won't Be Found").
Unfortunately the guy still sounds like a dying sheep hollering at row upon row of cunts in beanies registered on multiple allotment waiting lists across whichsoever suburbs in the hope that one of them might someday take him in out of charity if they make it to the top, and lenient though I be, this is a bit of a dealbreaker ("Pistol Dreams", "Honey...", "Bluebirds", "Blizzard", you're in the firing line here). I can't get too mad - this record definitely has a more organic charm than his other stuff and at 30 mins, it hardly overstays its welcome - but yeah, whatever the shape of modern folk to come was supposed to be, this isn't quite it.
3.0 | | 4 |  | Admiral Angry
Buster
May 4th
FOUNDATION
Asleep: "Seeing as ‘hardcore’ is apparently my highest pie chart segment (am not just a wistful bad boi I promise am also an angry sad boi grr) pls have my current BIG screm golden child. Utterly unique someone pls make more music like this."
Well this was an awaited but nevertheless drastic departure from the 2nd hand sweatercore of the last records lol. This album is relentless beatdown and um y'all knew that. Okay. It has that caustic-nihilist empty-humour tongue-in-cheek that reminds me of Gaza (who rock it) and to a lesser degree Portrayal of Guilt (who are a meme band), but the sound brings to mind a version of Ken MODE that cared purely about the sludge gutter and literally nothing else (I'm not even going to think about applying the word 'songwriting' in a non-parenthetical capacity here) or, like Primitive Man (to whom 75% of everything I'm now about to say also applies). The vocalist comes from a dry-screech school of harshes that I personally do not care for at all outside of higher tempos, but the rest of the Shit Happening is on point and supports the relentless beatdown and now there is nothing left but to talk about the relentless beatdown. Did I enjoy the relentless beatdown? Honestly, not nearly as much as I was hoping. I found this record turgid, felt that most of the tracks slowed the passage of time in a manner I didn't particularly appreciate, and kinda phased out before the halfway mark. As per the vocals, I don't particularly fw the Wall Of Brvtal Sound That Eschews Dynamics Entirely at a pace below, say, Frontierer, and um now we know that.
Honestly, I'm such a thoroughly inopportune mood for this (stress/caffeine/stack of literary crit to cut through ugh) that I'm not nearly as attached to my critiques here as on the first three records, so I'm gonna chalk this up to a case of getting meathead-filtered and plead softness on this - I'd be far more inclined to rec this to someone into sludgy heavyshit than I would 1 or 3 to a singer-songwriter fan or 2 to a techy punk snotthrill boi. But alas
3.0 | | 5 |  | Vektor
Black Future
May 5th
FOUNDATION
Asleep: "I assume you’ve not rated In the Aeroplane or For Emma for reasons other than not hearing them, but if you actually haven’t heard them (wut) then listen to one of them instead!!!. Assuming I’m correct, pls succle on the riffy metal ting that most frequently threatens to be 5’d."
Alright, so I've previously avoided this band like the plague, partially because they're trash but mainly because of their 'pillowfight' // 'dog shit' dork-frontman. Never heard a single note from them though, so the slate is technically clean - let's see. Hmm!! This is surprisingly accessible, found myself able to phase in and out of it while working (in a good way) and would defs say I enjoyed it on the whole. The songwriting is just about present, but mainly a license to string together as many riffs as possible together. Here are two backhanded compliments:
- The production is pretty tight for the ol' 21st Century Metal sound - feels clean but not overbearingly polished, *but*
- The riffs themselves are frequently pretty tight, esp in verses. Caught a bit of scale-workshop whatevering on one of the earlier tracks, but definitely no major complaints to be made there on an individual level, *but*
the backhand to both *buts* is that the mix-songwriting-everything is dominated by guitar arrangements so indulgent and protracted that they land nowhere near as Interesting as I feel they're supposed to, and the otherwise-tight prod means that they render the whole thing a little sterile. It does kick where it counts and the vox are an asset to that end, but the runtime does not work in its favour and I found that I the instrumental sections more the less carefully I listened. BUT background music thrash is a real surprise, not what I expected to get out of this month at all. Can't be too harsh. Highlights are probs Asteroid and the 007 shit on the closer.
3.4 | | 6 |  | Spiritualized
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
ROUND 2 (6th thru 10th): CONVERSATION
What was gleaned from Round 1? How can these things be addressed compounded riposted constructively? Uh!
May 6th
CONVERSATION
Asleep: "So erm that first 5 didn't go so well … i have taken it personally and you will be hearing from my lawyer; BUT i have learned from your list to me and my list to you that you like the softly noisy things (Shiina and SY) and the long-form psych-ish sad-boi things (Anathema) so, erm, let’s try this! You have their debut 3’d which is making me nervous but i shall stick with my gut, cross my nuts, and hope to live. Stepping away slightly from my bread and butter, but hopefully to your enjoyment."
Well hmm yes, Spiritualized's debut was a total snooze and convinced me to give up on this band entirely - which was a mistake, because this is a self-evidently great and I should have started here instead. This one's dreamy space fuzz ties a lot of things I love together (Stereolab, Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips, a certain amount of gaze, I guess SY too) and it's remarkably well-paced - 70 minute runtime flies right out the window, while I remember being extremely conscious of how ready I was for the debut to end. This is a vibe album and I don't want to pull it apart too much, but hmm maybe there's a little too much affected hippyish psychedelic fuckhaze here? Surprising amount of self-aware lyrical highlights to balance that out though (I Think I'm in Love esp) so we'll allow that. Does Cop Shoot Cop need 15 minutes? It doesn't exactly waste them. Hmmm okay I will stop taking the piss out of this fanbase now (bless u zak)
3.9 | | 7 |  | Regina Spektor
Soviet Kitsch
May 7th
CONVERSATION
Asleep: "I am going to drastically oversimplify things for the sake of this rec and equate your enjoyment of Shiina’s work to her being an exceptional cool quirky good vocalist and, in turn, hope that through the power of science you will therefore also like this album despite it aesthetically sharing literally no common ground (they both roll their rrrrrrrs so that’s erm something?). You also have Remember Us To Life not unreasonably rated. This LP contains the lil tiny nugget of a soul that you will have the privilege of spending one whole day with you lucky boy."
lol Shiina Ringo and Regina Spektor are not two songwriters I would ever have put in the same conversation (and nor would I now), but this actually ended up as a similar story to Spiritualized. I respect Remember Us To Life a fair bit, but most of that record does very little for me and I've never really understood with why Regina gets so much love. This is a vast improvement and makes much more sense! It's as concertedly songwriter-y as ever but (moreso than Remember...) always has a huge amount to say for itself, and with guts at that - her sardonic side does wonders: "Ghost of Corporate Future" is disturbingly moving, "Poor Little Rich Boy" is hilarious and hilariously sad, "Your Honor" is a spirited machismo skewering and phwoar boi she owns them all. "Us" was the only song I'd previously heard from this and I think I'd initially written it off as twee whateverness, but it's a perfect midway foil here - this's record's too affable to be Dark, but it's caustic enough to need a pick-up song like that. Great record, far better than I expected, kinda thing that I'm reluctant to binge but can see myself returning to at situational, meaningful moments
4.0 | | 8 |  | Causa Sui
Summer Sessions Vol. 1
May 8th
CONVERSATION
Asleep: "I am not sure where I’m getting the strong but probably wrong sense that you will love this but it works well as a contrast to 6 and 7 so am going for it. Kyuss, but happy."
Hmmmm I do dig these zany meandery stoner jams and also go in hoping I'm gonna love em, but the Kyuss/Boris/Earthless -s of the world that I actively tune into never fail to impress a sense of a) peripheral urgency and b) fucking impeccable thicc tones, neither of which I got from this. I drifted quite a lot ngl - defs had a good time over my 2 jams but wouldn't say this made much of an impression either way.
3.4 | | 9 |  | Drei Affen
Drei Affen
May 9th
CONVERSATION
Asleep: "In my quest to find an intersection SOMEWHERE between our taste in heavy-loud-screm-grr music, and in a (im hoping at the very least) comical contrast to 8, have Orchid’s secret unreleased Spanish album that I told you to check ages ago you bitch (it’s also only 20 minutes long you’re welcome). IF you would prefer some more potato-y production, switch this out for Unable to Fully Embrace This Happiness - The Morning Sun And The End Of The World (also only 17 mins long hey you might get an actual full album out of the two, whoo!)."
This is v good at what it shoots for and I can easily get why someone would pedestal it. For me, skramz is more about opening the incision than it is twisting the knife and I found the first two trax back-to-back a little overbearing to that end. "Miedo" fucks hard though and is v good at opening up space for itself to fuck incrementally harder upon ever iteration of fuck of which it has many. Yes to that one. Yes also to "Caen los sueños" - erratic bullshit is always an acceptable substitute for protracted structural arcs. These guys clearly have It and I'm gonna leave my rating as tbc for this because I feel I haven't gotten much more than a 3.5 from it so far but also this is clearly better than that so hold my beer. | | 10 |  | Frightened Rabbit
The Midnight Organ Fight
May 10th
CONVERSATION
Asleep: "You are scottish? You are scottish! Listen to this album."
Sooo I have heard this at least twice before and periodically returned to three of its songs (opener, Poke and Floating in the Firth (RIP)), which I think means I enjoyed it but didn't consider the whole thing enough for further rotation? This holds up a lot better than I expected as a whole; the highs are both there and more plentiful than I remembered: Fast Blood and I Feel Better esp are real early game heaters. This album's frankly huge levels of heart don't always pan out ideally - Old Old Fashioned, Keep Yourself Warm and The Twist are more indie piecemeal and their songwriting is kinda belaboured. I don't think this band is so good at girl songs (Poke doesn't count bc that's a self-conscious sadsong (though Keep Yourself Warm is also a self-conscious sadsong and doesn't hit half as hard)). I remember slightly disliking Head Rolls Off, but that one commands much more gravity than I remember - tbh, I pleasantly surprised by how many of these songs I remember full stop, Scott Hutchison had such a knack for grounded moment of pathos (maybe this should have gone in Frank Turner's place?) - My Backwards Walk is a great one to the end. This is a great album.
3.9 | | 11 |  | runescape斯凱利
runescape.wav符文風景骨架
May 11th
CAST AGAINST TYPE
Asleep: "That’s right baby it’s dungeon synth o’clock oooOHhHhHHhh lord. I was gonna rec you my fave in the genre, Malfet - Snaking Path, but then I remembered this meme and couldn’t resist I am sorry. I also genuinely think you might love the synth-forward mushy squishy messy side to this that most in the genre lack. "
this is a meme um. so.
runescape = yes thank you very much needed that nostalgia kick, think my main got to around lvl 111 before i realised it took to maintain an active interest in the game beyond that an promptly quit
dungeon synth = buy me several drinks first you elven nonce
this whatever the fuck this is album = um i think i see the point, but also i rly don't? these murky reimaginings of classic motifs almost uniformly fail to transcend the source material or its adorable dinosaur context?? there is meant to be atmosphere ig, but all i hear are fairly lazy transpositions of nostalgia bait over maxed-out reverb settings set to a punishingly small room size. is this nerd torture? why they put the dick in the
fuck you etc
but fwiw the first 5ish seconds of this did make my day, and track 8 is v cool and should have been the basis for this whole album
2.5 | | 12 |  | Eddie Palmieri
Unfinished Masterpiece
May 12th
CAST AGAINST TYPE
Asleep: "It was rec’d to me, then I rec’d to Ryus, and now I’m rec-ing to you. The uncut hidden gem from my February Jazz list. It’s salsa, but not as you know it. Apply guacamole and baby powder vigorously."
Hmm I do not have much to say for this. Kinda suffers from how much I generally care about salsa (not much at all ngl) and hasn't quite changed my mind. I had a good time and can appreciate the scope of ideas here - v much an ambitious record but doesn't bite off more than it can chew. Kinkamaché chewed me out though, not huge on that palette ---- and the closer was v good! Would fw a whole album of that for sure. Hmmm.
3.5 | | 13 |  | N.O.D.
Niggaz of Destruction
May 13th
CAST AGAINST TYPE
Asleep: "I was about to go for something very obvious and absent from your ratings (e.g. Fleetwood Mac - Rumors holy heck) but that seemed boring sooooo have something weird and underground-y. I have absolutely no idea what you’ll think of this lol."
Pahahaha do I like this?
Scratchy fucky prod = big personality
unapologetic aggro suck my dick bullet in ur head shtick = take it or leave it
UM
Yeah I'll take it tbh, was hella nonplussed on first spin, but this is a tight album and a good bit of fun. Weird rec? Cool shit??
3.5 | | 14 |  | Electric Wizard
Dopethrone
May 14th
CAST AGAINST TYPE
Asleep: "Given your (apparent) love of all things THICC, this was a surprising omission from your ratings (tho your relationship with m/ appears turbulent, so perhaps makes sense). Also an outlier in my ratings; I don’t usually go //here//, but it’s impeccable and chonky and (now) yours."
Fwiw I've been putting this off for p much ever and do fuck heavily with the title track but
uh
this is enormous and twisted and hateful and sickening and groovy as fuck and tbqh encompasses everything I'd ever want in a metal album
wondered if i'd slap an insta5 for love and optics 2 songs in, but Weird Tales and I, The Witchfinder kinda kill the miasmabuzz for me - not sure either has the same death fuck magic that makes the rest of this so absolutely obscenely good
it is a lot end-to-end, but it's such a LOT moment-to-moment that idk if i care for more than an hour of it
but it is also clearly one of the best heavy records ever made and it's about fucking time
4.4 | | 15 |  | Carpenter Brut
Trilogy
May 15th
CAST AGAINST TYPE
Asleep: "Literally the only vaguely electronic album I fucked with until epiphany circa January 2023 rip."
Hmm been aware of this for ages and never checked it because a) I miraculously avoided having a synthwave phase wholesale (and have no particular regrets there) and b) the 10 or so Perturbator songs I heavily fuck with have been exactly what I need for this brand of 'dark' edgy-thick gamercore for people who wear Amon Amarth shirts and infuse every space they walk into with the smell of Red Bell.
First EP has a shaky start and a load of belaboured songwriting patterns that I do not love. Second one opens with a straight BANGER - Roller Mobster is easily my favourite thing here and I think my other highlights have a lot in common with it - and holds on pretty steady. Last EP has maybe the best song combo in Paradise Warfare thru Turbo Killer but the second last song and first half of the closer were kinda lackluster. Finale is dec though. Has Carpenter Brut changed my mind about synthwave? Not really at all tbh, which is no surprise given that this whole style is built on massively overindulging obvious tropes. There are a few things here holding it back across the board - the prod feels meticulously clean and the tones a little brittle to benefit from that approach. Not a patch on that Perturbator murk sound-wise. I also morally object to half the shit done with lead guitar tones here and that one vocal feature and half the corny motifs. tl;dr this is well-constructed wilfully tasteless shit and *sometimes* it fucks hard enough to own that.
EP 1 3.0
EP 2 prob 3.7
EP 3 3.5
gonna hold off rating any of these for real and download the second EP to see if I warm to this at all. Don't have my PS4 on hand these days, but this sound usually has high replay value so we'll see | | 16 |  | Cryptopsy
None So Vile
May 16th
HOSTILITY
This round is about hostility it is obnoxious who can bully who into liking what umm
Asleep: "Erm this is a very hostile album, so lets start here! It does the grrs and the arrs very well, very technically, very musically, and it’s heavy as gosh darn balls. The bass guitar is also audible, to cater to your recent sludge kick (you are welcome). Otherwise, erm, i don't think this is your wheelhouse(?) and think it is unlikely to become your wheelhouse(?) but erm it should be. Grr."
Um
Hmmm
I don't know what to make of this
I remember being terrified by it when I first joined Sput and then avoiding it when I realised I didn't care about brvtality in metal. Think I heard Phobophile at one point but it didn't shake me much either way.
It is tight as a ballcage
The vocals are kinda inspired
I can look at it from a distance and say "this is heavy" without feeling much of the visceral connection that I normally expect from heaviness (as per Dopethrone, but even Human and Close To A World Below deliver on that front)
As with a lot of dm, the *viscera* are all over the shop and the performative evil aspect is a huge pile of cringe unless you have the suspension of disbelief for it, which I don't think I quite do
But it is too impressive to eyeroll at and I guess I do still take it seriously
Don't think I'm gonna rate this - I get the craft, do not get the appeal and doubt it will have much future purchase on my being, but am glad to have had a brush with it. Definitely don't hate it, but don't care much for it either. | | 17 |  | The Front Bottoms
The Front Bottoms
May 17th
HOSTILITY
Asleep: "And now for something completely different! Turning the screws in the with goofiest, most earnestest, most mildly creepy-est of the goofy folky (shitty) albums that i know but still actually like because i am a dork but i suspect you may have some (erm) questions. Go fish."
lol yes that's a good description and those opening lyrics are a *choice* - but also fuck, that opener is heartbreakingly sad. This is a pathetic emo record to the core, and boy does it it know it. These lines and delivery are cringe as all zitty unrequited maladjusted fuck, so cringe that it is in fact cringe to cringe on them. I think this owns its vibe enough to shoot by so-bad-its-good territory and dish out a respectable amount of pathos. I should probably hate it but cannot bring myself to - like, if I imagine heckling AJJ or some similarly awful similar band, I can just hear their dude starting a tirade at me that somehow ends up even more irritating than their actual music. If I think of heckling this guy, I can only imagine him shrugging sadly and going "same". This is still a homogenous and grating and wearying listen but uh, I felt it left something of itself with me and I'll give it points for candour. Rhode Island having the worst chorus of all time and everything everything everything about The Beers knocks a marks off, but Father wins a fair amount of them back eww i am uncomfortable
3.0 | | 18 |  | Burzum
Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
May 18th
HOSTILITY
Asleep: "You have some niche Burzum albums rated (poorly lol) but not the big obvious bois. Question mark. Lets do a thing and make you screm."
I've been thinking about doing the rounds on Filosofem for a few months now, so I guess this is penance for not getting there. Well, huh, I'm not screaming but I definitely don't hate this. Vocals are fairly engaging and the gnarliness of the rhythm guitar tone gives it some leeway given how basic the songwriting and melodies are. There's probably an atmosphere if goatfucker forest whimsy is your pot of tea. Closer is an amateurish waste of melodies and ig the precedent for most of his career to come. I fuck with quite a surprising amount of black metal tbh, but usually for high octane camp or video game-appropriate fantasy panoramas, and this ain't really hitting the spot on either count. Acceptable revolutionary bedroom record ig, don't care for it hugely either way.
3.1 | | 19 |  | Ghost Mice
All We Got Is Each Other
May 18th
HOSTILITY
Asleep: "The definition of what i think we intended this category/round to be. There is a 25% chance that you immediately 5 this in a fit of tears and sadness. There is also a 75% chance that you hate this and hate me. I am rooting for the former; this is an essential statement on grief and a fitting send off before I pack my bags and head off on holiday to SCOTLAND that’s right jonathan my vacation is in your basement apologies for the short notice pls have my customary liquorice whip prepared in excessive quantities tnx. "
um yes i hate this and it makes me want to die and i feel that's half the point. worst vocals i've heard in my life, and while the thematics and (maybe) artfully (definitely) artless lyrics support this, the songwriting is not convincing me to make concessions there
2.0 | | 20 |  | Bad Religion
No Control
May 20th
ASLEEP'S HOLIDAY
Sloth rec
Please see first comment, but basically REC ME ALBUMS I haven't heard by artists I have something else rated by
I spent half my entire life in the assumption that Bad Religion were a good band I would probably love if I checked them, but um the more I've heard the less sure I am that younger me knew shit about anything at all. This is a solid punk album with decent band performances, decent lyrics, decent songwriting and definitely homogenous pacing. This is fine. It has hooks and they do not stick. This is less fine. I'm not specifically in love with this Classic Straightforward PunkSound and find this album somehow less than the sum of its parts hmm.
3.0 | | 21 |  | Joni Mitchell
Hejira
May 21st
ASLEEP'S HOLIDAY
Ryus rec
Fuck I don't want to write about this one at all - the sum of its parts is magic, love the bass, love the storytelling, actually found most of Joni's inflections easier to handle than my first time around Blue. As a music-album that supports her songwriting, there's something not quite clicking for me - for all the obvious talent of her accompanists, something about these arrangements feels strangely hollow to me and (excepting the occasional melodic flourish on the bass end) I honestly doubt my overall impression would suffer if the entire album had been acoustic solo pieces. Which is not ideal - definitely not feeling the melodic strength of Blue either, but willing to chalk this up as subtlety and give it time to change my mind (has had the best part of 3 spins so far, but we'll see...)
3.5 | | 22 |  | The Beach Boys
Smiley Smile
May 22nd
ASLEEP'S HOLIDAY
Ars rec
Scatterbrained gratuitously contorted studio bollocks with the occasional irksome/innocuous sunshine hook thrown in for good measure. Would honestly rather listen to Feels or Sung Tongs over this, which is probably the worst reaction possible. Groundbreaking stuff.
2.5 | | 23 |  | Junko Yagami
Full Moon
May 23rd
ASLEEP'S HOLIDAY
GmemberKills rec
Holy hot DAMN the first half of this put a grin on my face - as far as straightforward city pop goes, this is pure comfort eating. Love it. Love the disco, love the cheese, love the wholesomeness. Outside of ig the t/t, second side doesn't exactly drop the ball, but neither does it dish out the same levels of fantastic. Really glad I heard this though, excellent rec.
3.8 | | 24 |  | Bark Psychosis
Independency
May 24th
ASLEEP'S HOLIDAY
Icebloom rec
This is HMMM damn well I did not expect immediacy! Only goodness! And it is both unimmediate and mostly good (dunno if y'all know but Bark Psychosis are a fucking great band!) so yes nice, glad I gave it a few spins. These guys' trademark subtle air-through-cloud-of-dust atmosphere is all over it, but the individual highlights ain't quite there (with the major exception of Manman) for me so far, and the tracklist lacks the development and cohesion of Hex (shock horror; it's a comp). This is not a downer - these songs are solid and well worth anyone's time. Only regret I have here is Scum, which just ain't it i am sorry i am sorry - the Bark gang hadn't quite cracked the expanse/ambience/engaging songwriting factor there as they would Pendulum Man and it therefore sucks that that song is 20 minutes long. HUH. Otherwise nice good, am not gonna leave 5ish years before hearing Dustsucker the journey continues
3.9 | | 25 |  | Xiu Xiu
Knife Play
May 25th
ASLEEP'S HOLIDAY
porc rec
what the hell this was far tighter than i expected - something bizarrely coherent about the disorientation and P A I N here that miraculously produced hyperfocused songwriting impetus well beyond most nu-Xiu. i was awed. i experienced emotions at every turn. i never want to hear this again. i can't wait to come back to it.
highlights: Hives Hives, Suha, Homonculus, Over Over
lowlights: Poe Poe and tbh Luber wasn't quite it on first spin but has grown on me
4.2 | | 26 |  | The Knife
Live at Terminal 5
May 26th
ASLEEP'S HOLIDAY
The Knife ! "Shaking the Habitual the live show" or whatever YES okay let's see if this was worth waiting so long for. Hilarious that this 80 minute set featuring songs from other records is shorter than the actual album lol. Unsurprisingly, this was fantastic. I dig the choreo (shoutout to One Hit, which has finally clicked for me courtesy of that groupdance) and I get that the sense in this performance reintroducing a Knife as a collective, blurring the lines between who plays what in a series of song-to-song multiinstrumental switches (which I loved), blurring the lines between who plays music (with vox/instrument) and who participates in it (with moving bodies), who-is-who (distinct choreo per performer vs increasing groupdance, v cemented by the time we get to Full of Fire), whose wavelengths float which way (shoutout to gay Pass This On lol, liked this), and finally what is who is human: we are dancer. Excellent, great lighting great staging
- but !
The live instrumentals are the start (esp that whatever the fuck that was bass instrument on Raging Lung jfc) were so fucking cool that I never quite lost my sense of will-they-bring-that-back-on? The e-soprano sax (or whatever) made for a welcome semi-mainstay and I LOVED each and every moment of group vocals (Pass This On esp - absolutely nailed the second half of that). This unfortunately meant that I wasn't as 100% on board with the overall trajectory as I'd have liked - still v much a fan, but I don't think it quite one-ups the studio experience for me (think it'll sit as an extension rather than a Final Form if that figures).
Final gripes are that Without You My Life Would Be Boring didn't translate quite as well live as the other tracks (that chorus vocal is a rough one to nail ig) and Stay Out Here felt like a setpiece that didn't fully transcend the in-the-room experience - powerful performances for sure, but I ain't getting that sweaty immersion from the comfort of my bed. I am nitpicking because this slapped butts left right and centre and everyone should experience it NO EXCUSES
4.3 | | 27 |  | Pile
A Hairshirt of Purpose
May 27th
ASLEEP'S HOLIDAY
fogza rec
Hmm I previously associated Pile with succinct rock bile that kicks rocks for miles and scratches every pissy itch you ever realised you needed scratched. This is - not that! This is patient and pensive and often hard to read and often underwhelming but rarely unintriguing - it's spidery and has cold feet and I guess I'm pretty impressed that the Pile I knew made a record like this? What to do with it though? "Slippery" and "Milkshake", to name but two, are very well done, but I'm not sure I'm feeling the long-term appeal, but can see how this would be a grower.
3.4 | | 28 |  | Yellow Swans
Going Places
May 28th
ASLEEP'S HOLIDAY
Kompys rec
Oh yes, absolutely template good stuff. Sound of NOISE is all there, scope and scale of DRONE are all there, but these songs feel a whole lot like songs! Smart, clearly conceived pieces each - love how "Limited Space" and the t/t in particular are shaped and developed, perhaps Opt Out was the only one that outstayed its welcome just a little, but overall this is just a really fucking solid album that I'll probably bump up in future. Baseline 4 for now.
4.0 | | 29 |  | David Kauffman and Eric Caboor
Songs From Suicide Bridge
May 29th
FINALE
Asleep: "We started this list with overly emotional folk albums (and one ska thing that I’m going to pretend didn’t happen) that I am irrationally sentimentality irrevocably attached to in unhealthy and embarrassing ways and motherfucker this is how we are ending this list too I am sorry.
Recorded in the 80s, released as a 500 vinyl run, swiftly forgotten about by everyone and then rereleased to some degree of acclaim and “oopsie we fucked up not to recognise this sooner” press releases in 2015ish: this is a ///good/// album. Sandwich’s write-up does this the justice that it needs, so go read that instead of this and then maybe listen to this album also thanks."
THIS IS THE END IT IS ENDING AS IT BEGAN AM I READY have i grown enough to appreciate this well...
This is a rly solid record! Jammed it for the first time in the sun on a terrace with a beer and I think a book (otherwise my laptop and the 3ish blurbs immediately before this one) and it really hit the spot even if the many many tasteful non-strangulating melancholic overtones here probably demanded something a little less Chill Dude. I then got sunburnt bc I am a fucking pasty shrimp, so I jammed it again in the library today and it made me feel some things. Cool.
I don't feel this an album that one immediately gets close to, and if anyone has immediately gotten close to it then I will remove their faces. I've mainly successfully vibed as mood music so far and I have the feeling that's it maybe more subtle and/or profound that I'm currently appreciating - and if not, then it's probably trying to be those things in which case there will be words! But I can't see my opinion not going up here this is good and ghostly
3.7 | | 30 |  | Adrianne Lenker
songs
May 30th
FINALE
Asleep: "Subtle spindly free form poems that ought to worm their way through to the heart of even the most hardened of bois. Nothing in songs even comes close to Seiko Oomori in terms of brutal emotive bombast or Shiina Ringo in terms of many other things, but the songcraft and ‘less is more’ approach here (and her voice holy shit) is just top tier and brilliant and lovely and (imo) amounts to an essential tome in the modern folk canon. "
I don't know if the songcraft is 'less is more' at all tbh. This scanned to me as a very it-is-what-it-is album - and what-it-is is wonderfully clearly presented thoughtfulness and candour and spiralling yet oh so fully realised trains of thought that come off as v striking on even a cursive listen yet leave a whole load of depth and figurative goodness to dig into, all with a ton of gorgeous arps, lovely subtle dissonance and quavering confident fragility. This *is* an essential tome in the modern folk canon shit damn! Fuck Big Thief! Said something in this thread for this to the same effect, but I previously thought that Adrianne Lenker was a hit-or-miss but occasionally truly brilliant songwriter, and now I'm starting to think that that band's overbearing Brooklyn wanker-indie schtick just obstructs her vision. These songs certainly never needed to be band songs! Will have to crash test that theory on some of her other solo stuff, but this is a lovely revelation meanwhile.
4.1 | | 31 |  | Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
May 31st
FINALE
Asleep: "Forget the memes/hype/anti-hype etc etc etc and just listen to this cool lil album already you silly boi. From everything I’ve learned about your taste in this 20ish day social-experiment-turned-mutual-torture-chamber, you s h o u l d very mostly enjoy this, if you can put aside the I suspect likely potential preconceptions you may have when it comes to an album THIS high-profile on the internet music discourse place. It has goofy but endearing elements, elegant straightforward songwriting with a few occasional clever bits, and some fuzz amongst the enigmatic indie folk cheese which are all good things. Hw, this is one of the albums I can no longer view with any objectivity or sensible-ness as I jammed it relentlessly throughout university and at or around most other significant life milestones since, so apologies if my assessment is incorrect and this sounds like ass to your ears. Rec-ing this as a send-off to the list may also solidify my growing (i sense) basic bitch status re 5s but fuck it I hope you enjoy."
babe you maxed out the character limit by yourself there shit damn okay hold my bear it is soft
fuck i had half a blurb done for this and then closed the tab. fuck.
well, to start with, i had never heard a lick of this before. my preconceptions were slightly positive (elephant six is a name i have largely good associations with) but largely negative, courtesy of the hivemind going and probably growing for each of a) this is HIPSTER shit! b) the man CANT SING!! c) the songwriting is BASIC these songs are SIMPLE
i flag that up because i was pleasantly surprised at how all that (apart from obviously a) lol) is total bullshit. not sure how much i love Jeff Magnum's voice over *some* of the noisier moments, but he carries this record just fine. the simplicity of these songs works just fine because the majority have v pronounced centres of energy and/or thoughtfulness to rest on, and there is a somewhat elusive atmosphere of wonder slowly choking on wilted innocence at work here - at points i found myself remembering my first experience with The Glow Pt.2. healthy signs ig. *some* of the hook-oriented songwriting is excellent (Holland, 1945; Ghost), but I think on the whole that this has far more flavour as a cryptic record and the majority of the first half lacks for me a little in that regard - Two-Headed Boy and the t/t tread an uneasy middle ground between folk-antihero anthems and lyrical zingers and I think they find themselves outgunned by all tracks more firmly in either camp. the pensive fare here is fantastic. Oh Comely is one of the most engaging lyrical pieces I've heard in forever and absolutely warrants its length - i felt like the names of songs/albums/bands i've heard but didn't know the origin of were jumping out at me every other line, but gosh what a powerful track. Opener is the other end of the spectrum - right in with the kind of bittersweet gut-punch conor oberst has spent his whole career pining after. good stuff.
is this a classic? I thought the most meaningful thing I'd get from my courtesy listen would be a clear answer to that question, but tbh it's good enough on its own terms and mine that I don't care for that discourse at all at this moment. I've found more to appreciate here with every listen (4 down so far) and while I don't know how much long-term traction it will have for me, this does have something. great stuff. does it feel like a fitting end to this month? well, stylistically, yes fucking duh lol - i can feel why you rec'd this and it definitely feels like a satisfying endgame for ye army of albums with bluntly-strummed acoustics and less-than-melodious-voices overhead. but more importantly, it does not scan as a perfunctory album-swap-experiment and i feel tbh that i've got a lot out of both this and Songs in the past 3 days so so so so Thank You sleepy boi - lots of good things here that i'd never have checked or made a point of returning to otherwise, and i hope we are all the richer for it. now get your fuckin car fixed!
3.9 | | 32 |  | Anathema
Judgement
Average for Asleep's recs only (counting 3 different Carpenter Brut ratings, and no Cryptopsy rating)
Mean: 3.404
Median: 3.5
Mode: 3.5
Range: 2.4
Minimum: 2.0
Maximum: 4.4 | |
JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | okay yes HOT but mainly:
・please REC ME 9 albums from artists I have dipped my toes into but not properly explored
・ctrl+f ur fav artists on my ratings page yes you can do it
・don't be That Guy who's all "OH so you claim to appreciate coheed and cambria but haven't listened to their fan-exclusive bside remix home demo ep 27" i have your mother on speed dial in THIS DAY AND AGE that's right
・excited!!! | ArsMoriendi
05.01.23 | i was gonna pick of Montreal, but I see you haven't even heard Hissing Fauna?????
wtf can I pick Satanic Panic in the Attic by of Montreal anyway? | Ryus
05.01.23 | animal collective - here comes the indian | PotsyTater
05.01.23 | The knife - live at terminal 5
You’re so incredibly welcome | PotsyTater
05.01.23 | I’m crying just thinking about it | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | is that this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbdXdsDKoLo and are you the coheed fan in this scenario oh boi
"animal collective - here comes the indian"
hex okay
"wtf can I pick Satanic Panic in the Attic by of Montreal anyway?"
i can actively recall precisely one of montreal song so i'm gonna say no lol that does not qualify as a substantive foothold | SlothcoreSam
05.01.23 | Ok, here's a short one.
Bad Religion - No Control | pizzamachine
05.01.23 | pos’d | ArsMoriendi
05.01.23 | Fine. Path of least resistance time
You've heard Long Haired Locusts, I guess finally check Godcaster's s/t | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | umm okay but you know i was going to do that anyway + have already heard the majority of it? | Ryus
05.01.23 | ok wait i actually want to win this thing
i change my album to hejira unless you have heard it and your ratings deceive me | PotsyTater
05.01.23 | Yeah it’s the recorded version of that, if youve already watched the entire live video then I can rec you silent shout live album which is equally as good and if you’ve listened to / watched that as well then you can listen to shaken up versions | PotsyTater
05.01.23 | God the shaken up version of pass this on makes me feel way too many emotions it’s actually overwhelming, and can’t listen to this in public ever I get too snotty | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | i have not watched! i meant is the 'recorded version' just the exact same minus the video lol | ArsMoriendi
05.01.23 | Johnny godammit, I'll pick something else hold on
WAIT YOUVE ONLY HEARD PET SOUNDS?
Okay, my official choice is Smiley Smile. Get ready for lo-fi weird shit by a 60s pop band | GmemberKills
05.01.23 | Junko Yagami - Full Moon | PotsyTater
05.01.23 | @johnny I should have said “audio version” sorry, yes, and if you would prefer to watch the video that would be even better because it is literally the greatest live performance of all time ever of all time. Ever. | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | okay dope i shall WATCH
"Junko Yagami - Full Moon"
aww yay!
"my official choice is Smiley Smile"
aaawoah | Conmaniac
05.01.23 | Foxing - The Albatross :D | PotsyTater
05.01.23 | “ i shall WATCH”
This brings joy
One day peep the silent shout one too, the updated live versions of their older tracks are always so insane. Make me like charity oh there is ridiculous and the version of heartbeats sounds like it’s being played at the roadhouse in twin peaks | Sinternet
05.01.23 | you probably have heard it as everyone in the uk has but you don't have the killers - sam's town rated, so hit up that nostalgia trip | porcupinetheater
05.01.23 | Xiu Xiu - Knife Play
Bout time | Sniff
05.01.23 | Jam Gospel | PotsyTater
05.01.23 | I got inspired and just watched terminal 5 for the 12th time, the Stay Out Here performance is the heaviest thing that’s ever happened. | Manatea
05.01.23 | You haven’t dipped your toes i don’t think, but:
Dad Hats - Spill
I don’t even know if you’ll like this album but i’m spinning it a lot again lately. | fogza
05.01.23 | Did you hear pile - hairshirt of purpose? I'm figuring you probably just didn't rate it | AsleepInTheBack
05.01.23 | i am sorry | Dewinged
05.01.23 | what have you done to this once fine young man Asleep? | Icebloom
05.01.23 | Can't say I fully understand what's going on here, but If we're going by calling cards I rec my avatar: Dead Can Dance - Anastasis.
You should also check Bark Psychosis - Independency (or Codename) but I guess that'll be another time | Kompys2000
05.01.23 | You've activated my trap card Yellow Swans Going Places chop chop | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | Okay dope that's a FULL HOUSE
transparency disclosure, sacrifices had to be made and:
・been on a Dead For Dance catchup lately anyway so am passing on Anastasis for now
・Manatea did not read the description carefully
・of the legitimate recs made, the one I feel least bad about not having heard is Foxing, so sry con that gets the pass | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | i love dead for dance | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | shut it gavin | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | belphegor - lucifer incestus
except not really that band was never any good | Egarran
05.01.23 | My takeaway here is that you are Asleep's father. | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | helmet - strap it on | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | > but basically REC ME ALBUMS I haven't heard by artists I have something else rated by
there u go i did it | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | also orbital - in sides | Bedex
05.01.23 | you write so many words | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | thats how u get staff | Bedex
05.01.23 | omg park | anat
05.01.23 | nvm i was too late as i often am | DadKungFu
05.01.23 | Ok fun well hmm feedbacker or gunfighter ballads a lil too obvious so
Husker Du - Zen Arcade | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | Did you just almost rec me Feedbacker and actually me Zen Arcade what is happening here
(oh lol I might not have rated Zen Arcade hm)
but still | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | coward | DadKungFu
05.01.23 | Well fuck ok
Gun Club - Fire of Love
Well fuck ok maybe I'm not onboard with the thread theme pardon my r-slurred ass | ffs
05.01.23 | brainbombs - urge to kill | Manatea
05.01.23 | Fuck i knew i didn’t get something. Sry bout that johnny | AsleepInTheBack
05.01.23 | "My takeaway here is that you are Asleep's father."
Daddy fucked me (up) real good let me tell you | Egarran
05.01.23 | I'm all ears! | AsleepInTheBack
05.01.23 | hi ears, I'm ben
im guessing a low key 2.5 for 1 hmmm place your bets folks | Colton
05.01.23 | 1 will reduce you to a babbling mess, kneeling in the corner of your bathroom, crying, shitting and hyperventilating | AsleepInTheBack
05.01.23 | in a good way !!11! | Colton
05.01.23 | 3 embodies the spirit of folk music like no other album ever has or will again and for that reason you will hate it but you'll briefly sport a 1/3 chub when you hear his voice clipping on the title track. you will never tell anyone about it | Colton
05.01.23 | listen to Born To Run | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | update (future updates will *not* be this long, but 1 lends itself to writing more than most records)
"3 embodies the spirit of folk music like no other album ever has or will again"
what goes through your head when you write things like this do not answer that question | AsleepInTheBack
05.01.23 | loooove the write up thank you for giving it a genuine look it means a lot as i actually did first hear it when i was errmmm 16(?) and it has that kind of disgustingly irreversible imprint on me. i am in agreement with basically every criticism you throw at it, i just so happen to also have the benefit of rose-tinted spectacles. | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | when tf did you vultures descend upon cold storage anyway | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | video game moment
and thanks for the rec lol, 3.3 isn't exactly a high rating, but i did feel i had a more meaningful time with 1 than most records | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | keep your moments to yourself! | JohnnyoftheWell
05.01.23 | keep your playstation to yourself !! | parksungjoon
05.01.23 | my youtube recommendations have a lot of dnb-adjacent playstation fetishism uploaded in the last year or so which is pretty weird | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.23 | okay belated second pass at TTMOE update next one yh | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Honestly can’t believe you made yourself listen to 1 through 5 | AsleepInTheBack
05.04.23 | well now hang on that’s just mean | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Oh shit oh uh hey asleepintheback | Mort.
05.04.23 | buster bangs, big donk drumming | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.23 | it banged me asleep i am so sorry this probably reads crueller than is intended
my brain is indented | Mort.
05.04.23 | honestly i fucking hated it first time i heard it. thought it was boring, one-note repetitive knuckle headed shit. had it 2d or 2.5d for a long time.
in time, i no longer found it boring and started to find its one-note repetition endearing and sorta meditative
kill yourself and android are tippity top | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | I don’t remember what admiral angry album I heard (pretty sure it was that one) but it was a complete joke | Mort.
05.04.23 | your old account seems to have it 3d | AsleepInTheBack
05.04.23 | ye if you’re just viewing it through the lens of “this that heavy beatdown shit” then I think it reduces the album into something that it’s not. has a weirdly depressive air and ye kinda meditative shit going on that excels way beyond what most in the genre have achieved imho. if you’re not in the mood for LOUD SHRILL SCREM things though I totally get that take.
and fwiw I originally have the wild hunt and shallow grave 2.5s, but I promise they are growers (promise).
this list has gone simultaneously better and worse than I’d hoped my childhood is in tatters and I am going go to and lie down | porcupinetheater
05.04.23 | Heavyboi AsleepInTheBack filtering the plebs
Hurts my heart seeing Frank Turner get higher Johnnyrates than Shallow Grave and Buster | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.23 | buster is tbc, but 1 is far better at being fairweather pub folk than 3 is at being a sturm und drang profundity pang and i have zero apologies there | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | @mort 3 is literally the worst rating | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Also that’s my new account
| Colton
05.04.23 | I'm glad you can at least appreciate his guitar ability | Mort.
05.04.23 | im very confused about whether we can rec you on this list or whats going on johnny | Mort.
05.04.23 | oh wait i see the first comment now sorry | Mort.
05.04.23 | fear before - the always open mouth (or if you technically think youve checked that, then art damage)
down i go - youre lucky god that i cannot reach you
the dismemberment plan - change
q and not u - different damage
coalesce - functioning on impatience
june of 44 - tropics and meridians
mclusky - the difference between me and you
pig destroyer - prowler in the yard
pinback - summer in abaddon | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.23 | oh fuck i am so tempted to kick the Beach Boys off for Prowler (which i have heard bits of) this is cruel | Mort.
05.04.23 | i am confused as you seem to still have many slots left so dont need to kick out beach boys but i dont know whats going on in your crazy crazy world | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Why tf would you want to kick literally anything off of anything for a pig destroyer album | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Johnny ur gonna burn yourself out listening to so much ass I’m worried about u | Mort.
05.04.23 | hes an ass man | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | UuuUuUuuUuuUuGh | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.23 | pig destroyer rip | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Literally the only thing pig destroyer has ever had going for them is that they got a John baizley art before he went full cringe | Kompys2000
05.04.23 | I'm ngl Baizely kinda has moved in a direction I'm not wild about over the last 10 years art wise, his linework used to have more CHONK to it | Mort.
05.04.23 | oh wow hes selling the original darkest hour painting for 6,500 off his website | Kompys2000
05.04.23 | Pig destroyer is the only metal band | Mort.
05.04.23 | theyre one of the best metal bands imo
i get that pots hates metal these days but damn i dont understand hating piggy d | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | @komp yes his art AND music has suffered
@mort bruh pig destroyer didn’t even have a bassist on any of their relevant material, not that you’d be able to hear him if you did but yeah L | Kompys2000
05.04.23 | The fact that they haven't been able to make anything relevant since getting a bassist maybe possibly speaks volumes as to what kind of appeal they initially had lmao
Also I am legit a little worried for the next Baroness album I can accept softening with age but jfc hire a new mixing engineer | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.23 | colton will save baroness | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Yeah baroness have truly taken the largest fathomable dookie on their own legacy it wouldn’t even be funny if the word dookie was not used | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Does Kylesa still make music? That band was so fuckin tite for their first couple albums and also are blessed with early great baizley art | Kompys2000
05.04.23 | Idk I feel like I heard they broke up but I could be misremembering, kylesa is prob one of my bigger blind spots in that like 00s relapsecore scene | porcupinetheater
05.04.23 | Kylesa been on the indef hiatus thing so who actually knows
But iirc they weren't getting along all that well, and Laura Pleasants' has another project The Discussion, plus her husband died a few years back and I think I remember her saying something along the lines of it reframing perspective
so not holding my breath for new Kylesa | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Their last couple haven’t been great anyway
How is The Doscussion? | porcupinetheater
05.04.23 | Haven’t heard any of their stuff | Mort.
05.04.23 | pots what was the last metal album you heard? | Avagantamos
05.04.23 | I noticed you rated an album by Goreshit.
Goretrance 9 gives me big smiles. you can check it out for the list. you might smile too | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Uh that band that won or near won last months album of the month but not the album that won or near won but an older album | JohnnyoftheWell
05.04.23 | invent anime - killworld | PotsyTater
05.04.23 | Something like that ya | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.23 | just realised that i forgot to disclose that i have made it to the end of neither 1) sad aeroplane or 2) sad bon iver debut does this have any bearing on what i should jam today | AsleepInTheBack
05.05.23 | Oh god lol if you would prefer to listen to a thrash album which I recd cause you have rust in peace highly rated then jam vektor but if you want to listen to one of my 5s then jam neutral milk hotel tho i’m slightly scared of you hating everything I like and the NmH means a lot to me I don’t know how much sadness I can take wahh pls therefore factor this in to your decision making process kind regards Ben | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.23 | okay lol i cba to update the list entry it is thrash day ! | PotsyTater
05.05.23 | Ew | Colton
05.05.23 | are you not accepting the Born To Run rec | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.23 | oh lol I would have done but am out of space for that section
might do a longer version of that theme another time though, there's a load of good directions it could go | PotsyTater
05.05.23 | You should do one where you 5-grind users who actually have good ratings | PotsyTater
05.05.23 | Actually I don’t even know if these area sleeps 5s or what is going on here ngl | JohnnyoftheWell
05.05.23 | let me explain actually hold on sry too busy listening to thrash metal | PotsyTater
05.05.23 | That’s fine I wouldn’t want to interrupt your moment of masochism | AsleepInTheBack
05.05.23 | we are rec-ing each other albums for the month, in slots of 5 with different themes, with the first being basically 5 albums to give the other a sense of the things we generally enjoy in music. my side of the list (i.e. jonathan's recs to ME) is here:-https://www.sputnikmusic.com/list.php?memberid=1064844
We are taking break from 20th to 28th as i will be on holiday in a shack on scotland with no internet, and jonathan is using that time to listen to recs of other users (apparently taking recs for albums from bands he has heard at least one another album by, i think?) | PotsyTater
05.05.23 | That was very illuminating and succinct, I’ll make sure to look to you for explanations for everything Johnny does from now on | JohnnyoftheWell
05.06.23 | update i am catching up asleep interpret me professional | AsleepInTheBack
05.06.23 | Did not expect 5 of all the recs recd to be the best received I am therefore handing in my resignation as JohnnyoftheWell’s interpreter apologies pots we had a good run | JohnnyoftheWell
05.08.23 | okay we are up to date let's get up to date again today | unclereich
05.08.23 | I remember user aids had 1 as his avatar for a while so I never bothered listening to it | AsleepInTheBack
05.08.23 | oh thank fucking christ i have rec'd an x2 albums that you enjoy phew
i struggle with regina's broader discog re connect-ability, but Soviet thingy is just so characterful i smile and laugh and cry | PotsyTater
05.08.23 | Jon have you heard swing slow by swing slow it’s weeb approved cocktail nation lounge | PotsyTater
05.08.23 | Jon | PotsyTater
05.08.23 | Listen to capybara immediately | PotsyTater
05.08.23 | Jon I know ur here this is where you live | PotsyTater
05.08.23 | It’s an emergency | JohnnyoftheWell
05.08.23 | oh fuck what is happening
i am wiped and fraught and drinking ginger beer and listening to energetic guitar music to take the edge off and probably gonna shred for a bit to make up for the miles and miles of exercise i haven't done today is this gonna hit the spot rn or is it a later job | PotsyTater
05.08.23 | Oh this’ll take the edge off alright | PotsyTater
05.08.23 | https://open.spotify.com/track/0FGSuw0Mj8Zca4wwoQljAV?si=qjF3GBbMTtG06NUlt51utQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A5WefP9I6dq2QQftNs5TFdp | Jasdevi087
05.08.23 | got a cyclotron 2.5 so it must be phenomenal | PotsyTater
05.09.23 | Exactly | PotsyTater
05.09.23 | It actually got a cyclotron 2.0 so even better | PotsyTater
05.09.23 | Ehem | Colton
05.09.23 | midnight organ fight means midnight fuckin i think | PotsyTater
05.09.23 | I see you posting in the yuele thread fucker | JohnnyoftheWell
05.09.23 | i am hungry and about to go out for dinner but it is happening brb kikuo thread then i shave and run out the door | budgie
05.09.23 | what the fuck is this | PotsyTater
05.09.23 | Ok but now you also have to listen to Doopee Time | AsleepInTheBack
05.09.23 | Oi pots wait your turn Johnny listen to bowling for soup thanks | AsleepInTheBack
05.09.23 | Pop drunk snot bread | PotsyTater
05.09.23 | Bitch this whole month is ur turn I’ll wrastle you | TheSonomaDude
05.09.23 | alabama user spotted | PotsyTater
05.09.23 | Do not associate me with your third world shithole country | PotsyTater
05.09.23 | I’m talkin bout snow wrastlin’ | AsleepInTheBack
05.10.23 | Jonathan you owe me 3 opinions I will snow wrastle you | PotsyTater
05.10.23 | Looks like we’ve got ourselves a good ol fashioned three way snow wrastle | PotsyTater
05.10.23 | Any more traffic and we’ve got a bonafide arctic orgy on our hands | JohnnyoftheWell
05.10.23 | ARCTIC ORGY!!!!
i've been meaning to check Doopee Time for almost 4 yrs now whoops fuck, will get on that soon
Am p familiar with that Frightened Rabbit album but will give it a respin in the asap woa time isn't on my side | PotsyTater
05.10.23 | Capybara now | Ryus
05.10.23 | user rec section looking spicy | JohnnyoftheWell
05.11.23 | boi is caught up fuck | PotsyTater
05.11.23 | Capybara capybara capybara it’s ONE song | JohnnyoftheWell
05.11.23 | is there a link itt oh fuck there is | JohnnyoftheWell
05.11.23 | >Decidedly ironic take on Lounge that emerged in the early 1990s.
>The scene would also have an influence on the decidedly less ironic Chamber Pop style in the 1990s, plus the similar Japanese Shibuya-kei movement which, among other things, also had a fascination with lounge music.
oh haha this makes a lot of sense. excellent shit | JohnnyoftheWell
05.11.23 | yeah this kinda fucks, should v much have been part of my fauxlounge tour de shit in 2021 | PotsyTater
05.11.23 | Its sooooooo good hahahaha | PotsyTater
05.11.23 | I’m tryna go through all the cocktail lounge essentials now. You’ll like the whole Swing Slow album.
That Doopee time album is so up your ally too. At first it comes across like the ultimate meme album but I’d urge you to read about it a little bit because background info is pretty spectacular. It’s a concept album that employs voice actors and such to great effect. Subsequent listens the meme-ness unveils to reveal masterpiece-ness | AsleepInTheBack
05.11.23 | i am still holding your beer
lil sad with that causa sui rate but I PROMISE she's a grower not a shower. not so much about that thicc tones and more about the carefree breezy psych summer thing that if youre less into id totally understand but it's certainly my preferred flavour of that sphere of music am i basic probably | JohnnyoftheWell
05.11.23 | cocktail nation vs runescape memenostalgia is not the headlock i expected to find my heart in today | PotsyTater
05.12.23 | Lul | Colton
05.13.23 | i should listen to Frightened Rabbit again sometime. never got into any of their other albums. I do remember really liking “A Good Reason To Grow Old” from Scott’s solo album though (so tragic in context) | AsleepInTheBack
05.14.23 | 12 is the only actively incorrect take here. Bad Jonathan. | Tunaboy45
05.14.23 | 1 absolutely blew my mind when I was 16, alongside Million Dead's A Song to Ruin | Flugmorph
05.14.23 | incesto | Egarran
05.14.23 | Fun for the whole family. | JohnnyoftheWell
05.14.23 | a small child outside my window screamed "NOO" at an unflatteringly low pitch for a small child as I was scrolling down and I chose to believe it was Egarran
12 isn't technically a take i can go back to sleep now | JohnnyoftheWell
05.15.23 | i will never sleep again | Ryus
05.15.23 | thinkin about johnny listening to a hip hop album feels wrong somehow | Egarran
05.15.23 | Couldn't have been me, I always scream "YEA" in flattering silky pitch. | JohnnyoftheWell
05.15.23 | grr I KNEW you were trouble | JohnnyoftheWell
05.16.23 | i am update | AsleepInTheBack
05.16.23 | 15 is an absolute background music slapper get your game on son but yes valid critiques and yes it does indeed shit on the rulebook of good taste re guitar tone
i however overlook everything in favour of big slapper status | SteakByrnes
05.16.23 | may of what | JohnnyoftheWell
05.18.23 | may you HURRY UP WITH MY DAMN CROISSANT rollerupdate | Mort.
05.18.23 | holy shit hurry up already | Mort.
05.18.23 | finish this list make time go quick | JohnnyoftheWell
05.18.23 | stop commenting on my list the bs wifi in this cafe chose to show your post rather than update my update i wonder WHY | AsleepInTheBack
05.18.23 | A 3 is far better than I ever imagined lol nice | GmemberKills
05.20.23 | heyy it's almost time for Junko. interested in seeing how you think it stacks up to communication | JohnnyoftheWell
05.25.23 | caught up on blurbs / behind on jams fuck okay | ArsMoriendi
05.25.23 | Scatterbrained with occasional hooks is a good thing
Do you even Butthole Surfers | PotsyTater
05.25.23 | When are you gonna rank ajcollins soundoffs | JohnnyoftheWell
05.25.23 | Considered doing that a while ago but there were too many to process, so anat and I did this instead https://www.sputnikmusic.com/blog/2022/08/28/an-interview-with-ajcollins15/ | JohnnyoftheWell
05.25.23 | (((will do when home don't have my laptop atm/tonight/tomorrow morn ah))) | PotsyTater
05.26.23 | Wow so based | JohnnyoftheWell
05.28.23 | finishing stretch almost in sight fuck | PotsyTater
05.28.23 | You are two days late to my rec and I’m unhappy about it | PotsyTater
05.28.23 | AND you didn’t add me on discord | JohnnyoftheWell
05.28.23 | Your rec has been somewhat postponed because, while Asleep has taken a holiday, I have tbh had the fucking temerity to take an attempted holiday and dogsit for my folks, which is nice, but also the constant exercise and neverending hayfever and lack of woks and cooking oils that aren't fucking olive oil have produced a vibe that imma call Very Apt For Pile Very Not Good For The Knife i am playing my folks' Dire Straits and Joni discs because they are the other thing that fits the vibe i will hit that live when i am FREE
"AND you didn’t add me on discord"
check ur invites ! | PotsyTater
05.28.23 | Yeah dogs ruin lives agreed | PotsyTater
05.28.23 | I did check maybe the g has to be capital idk | JohnnyoftheWell
05.28.23 | jfc i hate this zoomertech bullshit fuck them and their case oversensitivity (it did have to be capital) | PotsyTater
05.28.23 | Wow that’s so cringe bro this app makes me feel geriatric | Egarran
05.29.23 | Dewey say the line | JohnnyoftheWell
05.30.23 | the line | Egarran
05.30.23 | the future is now, old man
I guess that is an ancient meme now. Quite thought-provoking. | JohnnyoftheWell
05.31.23 | THE END IS NIGH | PotsyTater
05.31.23 | Taking a point off of your rec for every day that you fucking skipped mine | JohnnyoftheWell
05.31.23 | i skipped it for NOBLE REASONS, but hmm yes tomorrow will be the day | PotsyTater
05.31.23 | Smfh | AsleepInTheBack
06.01.23 | yay i have finally succeeded in finding folk we both like i can transcend into the next realm now with some degree of peace of mind | Icebloom
06.01.23 | Oh hey you listened to and liked Bark! Agreed on Scum tbh, it doesn't really work. The three song combo of Manman - Blood Rush - Tooled Up is just too good though
Might make a Bark list actually, great band | PotsyTater
06.02.23 | Buddy | PotsyTater
06.03.23 | Fucking bruh | JohnnyoftheWell
06.03.23 | the hotel has been MILKED
this means
it is time. brb getting chocolate | PotsyTater
06.03.23 | Finally jfcvccccchxndh | MiloRuggles
06.03.23 | glad to see oh comely's lyrics getting their dues, but your two headed boi take needs refining. t/t boring ye.
engaging reads fren | AsleepInTheBack
06.03.23 | Yay wholesome ending hugs etc | JohnnyoftheWell
06.04.23 | fuck a duck it is OVER
two headed bois everywhere rejoice | PotsyTater
06.04.23 | First of all ur first paragraph is on point, it’s also important to note how often karin and Olaf were backgrounded
Can empathize with some of your minor gripes, on first watch I wanted some of the instruments to come back too but I’m a believer in less is more and when something is so good that you want more you should not oversaturate because that is what compels you to revisit. I don’t know why a live performance would ever be considered a final form of an album so that’s a weird critique but it’s definitely one of the best extensions and reimaginings of an album in a live setting ever recorded.
Also that stay out here take is just straight up dreadful, that’s literally the most powerful performance in the whole set | PotsyTater
06.04.23 | and although I agree that without you my life would be boring is weaker than the rest I disagree that the chorus vocals were done poorly. It’s weaker because without you my life would be boring is one of the weakest songs on the album to begin with. | PotsyTater
06.04.23 | “ shoutout to One Hit, which has finally clicked for me courtesy of that groupdance”
Facts. I always hated that song before this | JohnnyoftheWell
06.04.23 | "to note how often karin and Olaf were backgrounded"
fr - loved the way the cast were introduced and the way different members took the lead through the first song esp. the "wait- who?? where karin" factor threw me and caught me in just the right way
"would ever be considered a final form of an album"
this isn't a critique in the sense of something i'd hold against it, but there was a point early on where i wondered if it'd end up equally definitive, so treat that as me talking myself down from that take ig. point is that it gets close enough to consider the thought maybe
"that’s literally the most powerful performance in the whole set"
not disputing this, just didn't feel that my connection with the performance transcended the screen in the same manner as the others, but that might just bc i was eating chocolate and not dancing | PotsyTater
06.04.23 | I do think it is equally definitive and an essential companion personally but definitely not a replacement by any means
“ not disputing this, just didn't feel that my connection with the performance transcended the screen in the same manner as the others, but that might just bc i was eating chocolate and not dancing”
I guess, I definitely get mad feels from it personally. Other emotional highlights for me are the entire long ass instrumental section of raging lung, especially the weird electro flute solo, pass this on of course, and also somehow the body monologue/bird | PotsyTater
06.04.23 | Talking about songs that translated the worst (high ass bar but I’ll make myself do this) it’s without you my life would be boring and we share our mothers health | JohnnyoftheWell
06.04.23 | the body monologue was so good! rly strong performance as well, loved that bit
loved Mothers Health when it came in, but agree that they seemed to lose sight of what to do with it outside of the first verse. Ready To Lose was ig somewhat forgettable, but it worked to have a short lacuna before that huge three-song finale |
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