Icebloom: What is your favourite 4.5?

Icebloom 01.30.25	Discuss!
Demon of the Fall 01.30.25	Third is so phenomenal it broke my otherwise currently unbeaten 'no multiple 5s for the same artist' rule. It's the only one I have refused to cull I'm incredibly, incredibly bad at promoting 4.5s, so I have a solid selection where my reasoning is flimsy, at best. Joanna Newsom's "Ys" is maybe the one in first place now and my only logical explanations for not 5ing yet is a) I enjoyed Have One On Me an almost identical amount thus couldn't decide between them and b) I discovered her music in December 2024 and 1 year feels like a minimum 'commitment' before being so hasty I have recently overcome both of those obstacles and yet here I am, still no 5 On this subject I have an ongoing list on RYM of potential promotions - the intention was to help organise my thoughts on this, but in reality it's 'helping' me procrastinate for longer
JohnnyoftheWell 01.30.25	Gonna do a revision of my 5s when I'm back home next month, but probably Part the Second or Elysian Fields
YoYoMancuso 01.30.25	Madvillainy - as great as the instrumentals are, the tracks without DOOM are a bit too prevalent and inconsistent
Icebloom 01.30.25	Lol Demon, that sounds unnecessarily complicated but also funny I have three National albums 5'ed which feels a bit lame but I love those albums, so who cares
GreyShadow 01.30.25	probs The Amulet - Circa Survive. just doesn't feel right at a 5 yet, yano? tracks like Stay and The Hex are good/work well in sequence but aren't as exceptional as the rest so that's something
Flashmobba 01.30.25	I’ll say Deftones - Deftones (self-titled); to me it’s a great synopsis of the band, showcasing all the best moments of their musical DNA (shoegaze, metal, some trip-hop and mournful chamber pop in Anniversary…). I guess it feels a little haphazard and not as seamless as their other works, and I do wish Lovers, the amazing b-side was included. But it’s pretty close to a 5, and may as well be on a good day. Phenomenal songs with a dreamy, dark atmosphere.
Demon of the Fall 01.30.25	Yeah I’m a needless complicated kinda guy Ice. I also expect my 5s to pass the one-of-a-kind uniqueness test, at least within my own thoughts / feelings, not ‘music history’ or such nonsense
Christbait 01.30.25	Oof, great thinking prompt. Looking back at my personal 4.5s, It's either Lonesome Crowded West or In Keeping Secrets 3. Both are near 5s but I deduct points just for a couple of very subjective opinions about dips in quality throughout both albums. Even with that it sounds like a weak excuse but...eh.
Icebloom 01.30.25	@Demon as long as you do you it's fine! And yeah taking into account stuff like legacy is dumb
ashcrash9 01.30.25	Brand New's The Devil and God, which for years did sit at a 5 for me and is still virtually everything I want out of an album in its vein in a musical sense - huge dynamic contrast, immaculate production, taps some raw nerves and boasts diversity in song structure while retaining a cohesive, melodic accessibility. the whole thing remains a huge inspiration in my own songwriting to this day. haven't revisited it much since it came out that jesse was a sex pest - too many of the lyrics directly stem from the purported shame of those actions, sullying any emotional meaning I'd made with the words stripped of context - but I can't deny the writing has a pull and the record sounds incredible
Wildcardbitchesss 01.30.25	Just eyeballing my list I did kinda wanna go the brand new route but someone already mentioned em… Slow Forever by Cobalt. I think that record is fucking incredible but it’s just way too long. I don’t need 80+ mins of this, record should’ve been split into 2 imo. Again tho, every song is amazing it just gets tiring after an hour
DoofDoof 01.30.25	Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen It’s more agreeable than the sprawling double album Jordan which I have 5’d…for me it maybe just runs out of steam a tiny bit before it finishes. I could 5 it down the line, especially if their other albums grow on me and give it a bit of a push by association.
Hawks 01.30.25	Demilich - Nespithe Been back and forth with this one as a 5 for so long. Not QUITE there for me since I condensed my 5s down but you can't deny the cosmic burps and riffs ov the twilight zone. Was ahead of it's time for sure. This is such a great list idea my guy. Good work!!
onionbubs 01.30.25	charli xcx - pop 2 because it so obviously is not a 5 lmao but it changed how my brain worked more than the rest of my 4.5s prob
Wildcardbitchesss 01.30.25	“ This is such a great list idea my guy. Good work!” yeah agreed, thought this was gonna be kinda lame us trying to figure out which 4.5 sput avg album is best but I like this idea a lot more
zakalwe 01.30.25	Impossible to pick to be honest. Lot of cherished ones.
Icebloom 01.30.25	Thanks both! Good to see I have not disappointed you lol Also interesting writeup @ashcrash
el_newg 01.30.25	Lateralus prob, used to have it at a 5 but it’s just too cliche.
DType 01.30.25	Darkest Hour - Hidden Hands of A Sadist Nation They highs are so so high, but there are like 1 or maybe 2 tracks i don't like as much as the rest, but overall still an all timer for me, an album i'll forever cherish
Christbait 01.30.25	My 4.5s really do come down to a track or two being a slight blemish on an otherwise killer album. Honestly though I could say the same about some that I've 5'd but those are usually just so strong that it's easier to handwave those sorts of critiques.
gabba 01.30.25	This is a tough one, I think I’d go for Blonde Redhead’s “23”, because that’s the one that’ll never be a 5 in my book despite its great qualities. And the reason is that after the initial run of 5 perfect songs it becomes just a tiny bit flatter, although the closer is stunning.
Drifter 01.30.25	hmm i cant pick a favorite necessarily but big pokey's hardest pit in the litter is probably the one im closest to 5ing (i lowkey thought i already did). so that probably means something
AnimalForce1 01.30.25	God, a lot of my 4.5s could qualify for this list. I think the one I will pick is 2112, a damn near flawless album... except for the fact that I just don't really vibe with Tears. Every other song is absolute peak, and I consider it one of the absolute must-listen prog rock albums of all time, but that one song just doesn't do it for me
Demon of the Fall 01.30.25	gabba, did you just say that? 🫣 … but yea I thought the same honestly but now it is a 5 believe in yourself, it can be overcome!
mkmusic1995 01.30.25	Probably Violator - Depeche Mode Should probably be a 5, it's literally toeing the line as close as possible.