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Emeritus
Reviews 64
Approval 99%
Soundoffs 58
News Articles 1
Band Edits + Tags 47
Album Edits 43
Album Ratings 1244
Objectivity 75%
Last Active 01-11-23 2:53 am
Joined 03-17-12
Review Comments 1,169
| Claire's 2019 mid-year check-in
June (a lucky month for me in terms of music releases) now comes to a close. A quick run-through of some of the releases I checked out, divided into three categories. | | 1 |  | Misthyrming
Algleymi
First category: the disappointing
I'm aware of the positive reception towards this album here, but to me it felt like a very diluted version of their debut — none of the fire or intensity that made it stand out. To its credit, there are a decent amount of hooks and catchy moments, but the overall wash is more pallid than I expected from the band who made songs like "Söngur heiftar". (And, having read the somewhat controversial Bardo Methodology interview with the band, the album becomes all the more sigh-inducing — all that bluster and ultimately not much to show for it, besides a general vibe of triumph that isn't entirely well-deserved.) | | 2 |  | CHON
CHON
I suppose it wasn't all that disappointing if my expectations weren't towering in the first place, but I thought there would be more staying power to this one. Instead, it continues the trend of acceptable, even pleasant, summery songs that ultimately make little emotional impact. Not necessarily a bad thing, though, especially if you're just looking for something to listen to while you sip on iced tea on the balcony. | | 3 |  | The Twilight Sad
It Won/t Be Like This All the Time
Second category: the solid
Released January this year, The Twilight Sad continue to make poignant wintery goodness filled with a lot of good hooks (see: VTr, The Arbor) and big reverb-filled moments. Not too much to say here; they do what they've always done. | | 4 |  | Andavald
Undir Skyggðarhaldi
The initial mystical appeal of this atmospheric black metal album has worn off a bit after a week, but there's no doubt that the vocals will always impress — they're absolutely monstrous and harrowing. There's a hypnotic droning that goes on in this release, which may be boring for some, but it has its devastating moments. | | 5 |  | Glassing
Spotted Horse
Though it lacks the concise punch of their debut, Spotted Horse is, for the most part, a successful effort in experimentation, bringing in extended ambient sections to contrast with the usual fury of Glassing. I've always enjoyed how Glassing evoke the sensation of airborne journeys in their music, and this is no different in how it soars and floats through the sky. | | 6 |  | Stella Donnelly
Beware Of The Dogs
Singer-songwriter with just the right amount of flippancy and sorrow. "Mosquito" is the sweetest song out there that mentions a vibrator (not that I know of any others). | | 7 |  | Skaphe and Wormlust
Kosmískur Hryllingur
Third category: the hyped
This one seems to be sadly going under the radar, but it's rather remarkable for its ability to be a collaborative two-track dissonant black metal album (each track over 15 minutes) that merits the description of "fun, catchy and cohesive". The album, title translating into "cosmic horror", certainly brings to mind the notion of great cosmic entities playing with the universe — this is a lively affair, not quite joyful, but you get the sense that its creators had much fun with it. | | 8 |  | State Faults
Clairvoyant
And finally, the much-hyped release of the year so far that leaves people asking "has Sput hype gone too far?" for the millionth time. I myself am happy to climb on the hype train for this release, one reason being that it has the right vibes for bringing people together — it's an earnest exploration of love (and other things, but particularly love) whose light shines forth and brings some warmth into your day. I predict a growing discourse on the perceived influences/similar-sounding peers of the album, one that I'll stay away from because 1) I haven't listened to Deafheaven very much and 2) I never did like delving into influences too much because it tends to detract from the music as a unique entity (well, unless there's a glaring lack of originality). That being said, Loma Prieta anyone?
(And seeing the band live definitely doesn't hurt.) | |
verdant
06.25.19 | ok now that is just plain epic style | Slex
06.25.19 | Sick list, agree with 1, need to check 4 and 7 | kris.
06.25.19 | is loma prieta still a band? would very much like a new alb from them | clavier
06.25.19 | afaik they haven't broken up but it's been a while eh
their twitter seemed to hint at new material though | Slex
06.25.19 | I’d be surprised if we don’t see new Loma this year | kris.
06.25.19 | saw them in some dudes basement in like 2013, it was wild. good band. | ramon.
06.25.19 | hey u should change ur name to clairvoyant has anyone ever asked u that before | kris.
06.25.19 | let the old claire dieeeeeee | clavier
06.25.19 | i considered it a long time ago ramon but it seemed too cheesy/ostentatious (wow i'm the all seeing claiirrrrvoooyaaant) | Slex
06.25.19 | Never even thought of that joke woah | granitenotebook
06.25.19 | nice. do you think i would like 6? | clavier
06.25.19 | i think so, it's a very sweet but also clever album | Winesburgohio
06.25.19 | Claire if it's vibrators you're after you must check out Jenny Hvals Viscera! I won't spoil it but a stunning opening line that's uhh up my alley, as it were,
also looking forward to the results of your mid-year check-up!!! | granitenotebook
06.25.19 | thank you, i'll check it out then | verdant
06.25.19 | Viscera [2]
also claierr have You heard of BROCKHAMPETN? good boy band xD | JayEnder
06.25.19 | Stella is awesome. Love her lyricism. Also Claire, I sadly agree with you about the new Chon's staying power. Really nice songs but for some reason I just don't see myself coming back to them very often besides Peace and Pitch Dark. | Papa Universe
06.25.19 | placement as entry number 1 got me all excited.
oh well
and y'all dilettantes should really listen to Skaphe/Wormlust | robotmagician
06.26.19 | didn’t really like the misthyrming album at first either but the more I listen the more I like. it’s certainly very different from their previous album and I still like the vocals on the first album better. he said he’ll probably bring some dissonance back to the next album so it’ll be interesting to see where they go from there, he obviously still has it in him with that skaphe/wormlust album | JustJoe.
06.28.19 | 👋 |
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