Album Rating: 4.0

I’m a sucker for some lo-fi production so it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of this :D

If anything, despite the lo-fi production, I thought this was very thoughtfully produced. I really see it as one of the draws to this record rather than a drawback.

Album Rating: 4.0

yup, this is really damn good



dialogue in music can be hit or miss but it works really well here. the sparse, pretty piano melodies don't hurt either

Great review. Wasn't super into the album but it's good. A little samey throughout imo. Gonna give it another listen later, maybe it's a grower.

nothing samey about this album. every song has different elements compared to the previous

I retract my previous statement. This is lovely. Still some songs don't sit well with me, but I enjoyed it much more the second time around. "Spiders" and "Vines" are so stellar. The former in particular is a wild ride. That extremely creepy distorted bit towards the end is damn good. Almost Silent Hill-esque.

Yeah, the fact that almost half of this record isn't really composed of standard songs but rather spoken word collages could be seen as a weakness, but if you give into the experience (which is pretty damn easy to do for me) it comes together pretty stunningly.

Album Rating: 3.0

@Gyro - it only gets better. My first listen was incredible and felt spiritual, I slapped a 4.7 on this bad boy and figured there was finally a 2018 album to ensnare my attention the way that so many albums seemed to last summer. Second listen felt like a dive though, I noticed some of the little imperfections and directions I wish a song would have gone. But then every subsequent experience as made me realize how wrong I am, and that this is basically perfect for what it is. I still get what you mean, there's just something here that doesn't quite click with me the right way or register, but it's that intangible feeling that's keeping this from a 5, nothing musically or anything. It could and may become a 5. Feels like discovering Bon Iver before they were popular; like hearing his rough cabin drafts before he finalized shit. I love it.

I find comparisons to early Bon Iver incredibly kind considering the high standing both Ethan and I hold him in - it just almost worries me because his debut is definitely my favourite album of his and we do NOT want to peak here :')

Album Rating: 3.0

It's probably not the best comparison it's just the only one I can think of lol. You guys definitely have your own thing going on, a really unique vibe with the spoken passages.

I'm actually more worried about the Talk Talk comparison on the last page. I feel it's an unwritten rule that you shouldn't compare bands to Talk Talk - they're the holy grail of spiritual rock music, no one can live up to that!
If we define a "5/5" as an artist making the best album they can within their means, then I believe this qualifies. I'll wait until the end of the year to see how I feel about that. Probably going to retire this for a few weeks to avoid burn out, I feel compelled to listen daily.

Album Rating: 4.0

There’s definitely a James Blake influence here too - but get this - I much prefer this album to any J Blake album

Album Rating: 4.0

Hope this gets enough votes to get into the 2018 chart soon...then I see it picking up 100 ratings by the end of the year

@DoofusWainwright (I feel like just calling you doofus would be rude lmao) there definitely is! James's self-titled is one of my 5/5s. And god I hope so. The spike in attention the night this review came out was lovely.

Blake's self-titled was my favorite album for two years, no wonder the vocal layering here was an instant connection for me. I hope you've heard Arthur Russell's World of Echo Timothy, wish someone rec'd that to me while I was deep in my Blake phase.

Album Rating: 3.0

This is under BNM now (you have to click to see more, since more recent albums default on the front page)

Album Rating: 4.0

‘twas clearly my 4 that tipped the scales





























You’re welcome

Album Rating: 3.0

It was. :-) it takes 3 or more staff ratings averaging something like a 3.8 or more. I forget the exact criteria.

James Blake is a big inspiration for me as well. although i prefer the colour in anything to s/t but imo all of his albums are amazing.

Album Rating: 3.0

I'm looking forward to giving this a go once I've finished digging through the massive slew of releases today.