Conmaniac
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Reviews 72
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Soundoffs 60
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Album Edits 198

Album Ratings 1747
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Last Active 12-25-22 12:45 am
Joined 08-07-14

Review Comments 27,676

 Lists
04.30.23 (PRIZE!) MAY REC COMP: 2CON23 EDITION04.06.23 con tracks his 2023
01.05.23 2con22 ♦02.13.22 con’s debut EP (SVMMERCAMP) ♦
01.06.22 con's best o' 202111.16.21 svmmercamp! ♦
10.18.21 101 lists / '21 to-checks01.04.21 cons2020/100th
12.27.20 im sure of what im doing now thx11.26.19 con(1)23
05.03.19 Rest of Con's Music05.01.19 CON RAPS?!? ♦
03.01.19 X-Conmaniac11.26.18 con's feelin 22
11.05.18 new.old10.08.18 'eighteen update
07.27.18 Con's Band, First and Last Album07.23.18 this is the new wave.
More »

(PRIZE!) MAY REC COMP: 2CON23 EDITION

There Will Be A Prize!!!! (will expand in comments). Since this is 2con23 edition and I'm horrible at keeping up with new music, I'm gonna try my best to listen to 30(!!!) albums this month FROM 2023. So, 2023 recs only for this. The winner will get a very special prize that is a throwback to one of Toad's rec competitions. 1 rec per person, rules and suggested genres are below!
1Silverchair
Frogstomp

RULES: 2023 album (or EP) that is from the following very broad genres - Pop, Rap, Indie, Rock, Punk, Emo, Electronic, any "alternative" genre, jazz/blues are acceptable too. Please take a look thru my ratings for a better idea of what I'd like and don't make me sit through ur fav metal album of this year I don't wanna hear it sry.
2Silverchair
Frogstomp

PRIZE: the BEST REC aka 1st place will get a specially curated tester cologne/perfume that I will pick out based on what smells I think represent your music taste! This is a variation of the famous perfume rec competition by Toad (one of the only ones I actually won so I'd like to return the favor to a fellow sput friend!)
3Kelela
Raven

May 1st - Ryus
Rating: 3.57/5
Thoughts: overall, this was a really nice/chill listen, but I really REALLY preferred the house/uptempo beats compared to the slower, more melodic ballads. The ballads drag the run time on to over an hour so def some fat that couldve been trimmed IMO but i get it it's r&b gotta have the slow jamz. The bangers tho were BANGERZ esp Happy Ending/Missed Call/Closure/Bruises all have that house bounce to em that really breathes a life into the album. Her voice is really nice and soft (a ton like ABRA) but not *interesting* enough to be the forefront of a 1hr long album. Great first rec tho Ryus...vibes were nice
4Liturgy
93696

May 2nd - Asleep
Rating: 2.796969696936969/5
Thoughts: I begged and pleaded ppl not to rec me metal and to READ THE DESCRIPTION but for some reason May 2nd is the day everyone decided not to do those things (fitting album for such chaos but ill get to that later). this album, however, wasn't really "metal" as it was moreso experimental symphonic noise with occasional dbeats and female screams so honestly components of the types of metal i actually enjoy. I started listening to this a day early and i regret not starting immediately when asleep rec'd it because it has taken up at least 4hrs of my time stopping and starting this 1hr20min monstrosity. "you'll like the interludes!!" he said...oh man i don't have enough character space for this album and prob not enough brain cells left to explain why I hate it and somewhat actually enjoy PARTs of it. huge props for originality but huge huge huge negative points for not listening to me in the first place. no scent for u Ben sry I still luv u
5Kinoteki
Dawn of the Final Hour

May 3rd - Potsy
Rating: 3.88/5
Thoughts: easily my favorite so far as this is really engaging music that (almost) doesn't lose its steam throughout the 40ishhh min runtime. lots of bubbly and uptempo tracks with some house undertones gotta love it. the vocal sampling production was super cool and kinda unique but I almost wish there were more prominent vocal lines/melodies because some of these would be absolute bangers. hard to fault but also just slightly out of the range of high con replay value (interpret that however u want). overall, super fun stuff! had me head noddin, liked a few off the album after and felt relatively satisfied/5.
6Gezan with Million Wish Collective
Anochi

May 4th - Sloth
Rating: 4.03/5
Thoughts: whew, this was a wild one to experience to say the least. these peeps def throw a lot at u in a very succinct amount of time (44 min!) so the genre fusion and dissonant mess are appreciated (mostly). def could compare this to a lot of bands, namely WU LYF, glass beach, and stomach book, but they really do vary up the genres between the songs. some punk/emo as seen in 'we all fall' and some anthemic noise pop/punk/rock(?) as seen in 'we can't take it anymore' and 'intersection' (all highlights btw), but the album doesss get a bit too spacey and uhh experimental(?) in the middle of the project. it does end incredibly well with the last two tracks (was not expecting the waltzy shift to the finale!), so again really solid listen. need a bit more time to get a finalized rating but this right up in my wheelhouse so props to this rec
7Endless, Nameless
Living Without

May 5th - Johnny
Rating: 3.36/5
Thoughts: first track had me kinda blown away with all the crazy components going on in this band's style: mathy emo punk with lots of dissonance and metal chugalug leanings and of course lead female vocals/screams (think dad thighs but slightly better cleans). first one and a half tracks are really solid riff-heavy emo adjacent tracks...but this album is def a mess. not too convinced by the metal breakdowns and sudden style/vocal shifts (male vox that come in are uhh...) but theres some redeeming qualities about the back half (Living Without might be the only front-to-back song that is amazing). so yeah, there's like parts of songs or 3/4ths of songs I really enjoy but I found it pretty difficult to latch onto any full track effort. so as a full product, this is a bit toooo messy and noisy but def extra points for originality.
8The Veils
...And Out of the Void Came Love

May 6th - Jas
Rating: 3.03/5
Thoughts: hmmm not gonna lie, this one was a bit of a snoozer. First three songs were very gorgeous sounding but def dragged a bit. Bullfighter and Epoch are bangers and I wish they stuck with that bluesy folk rock a la jack white type beat. this kinda reminds me of Arctic Monkeys newer stuff…very movie soundtrack sounding stuff without any real movie backing it up; lots of beautiful production and ballads but kinda devoid of real excitement. His voice is def great and is like a cross between Cohen and nick cave and some classic country singers (very baritone sometimes). I dig the sound of this a bit, very inoffensive stuff and easy to latch onto but for me as a whole it was kinda boring and dull and monotonous but still """good""" I guess.
9Godcaster
Godcaster

May 7th - Ars
Rating: 3.54/5
Thoughts: had no idea what to expect with this one but was pleasantly surprised with their mixture of punk/noise/indie rock throughout the relatively short runtime (there are two songs over 10 min however...). parts of this almost feel like Radiohead(?) and Palm(??) but not sure there is a perfect comparison for these peeps. of the two LONG songs, Draw Breath Cry Out is easily my favorite, esp the beginning and ending riff (almost like some cowboy noise rock) because the energy is really awesome and makes the song length worth. First two songs are my favorite, however, with the album losing a bit of its charm and spark as it teeters along. Didactic Flashing Antidote was my least favorite (other 10+ min song) and I think the repetitive nature mixed with the length doesn't help, but i still vibe with parts (reminds me of Rattlesnake by King Gizzard). some noisy psych stuff that I can't help but dig but also replayability I can't help but shelf some of this.
10The Go! Team
Get Up Sequences Part Two

May 8th - Sint
Rating: 3.19/5
Thoughts: what in the gosh darn twee is this?? with the album art/vibe I got from this band before jamming this album I for sure thought I was gonna hear some new age funk music (totally for it), but instead, that was just a teeny part of the sound The Go! Team likes to employ. this sounds like children's music mixed with psych rock and underground twee, all jumbled into funky production from the 70s. and although that sounds fun (and IS fun!) it's not, like, exactly what I wanna listen to. it's hard not to smile while listening to this album and I really can't fault it too much, so I'll just say that if it weren't for this rec comp, I never would've finished the entirety of this album. I feel bad for rating it this low, so may have to re-jam on a REALLY summery day, but a high [3] seems only slightly unfair...but some of these melodies got on my nerves and idk why
11SKECH185
He Left Nothing for the Swim Back

May 9th - deez
Rating: 3.59/5
Thoughts: at first, the vocals really caught me off guard (think supervillain MF Doom) and ofc this has a lot of billy woods type east coast influence to it. production is really spectacular and def original, so props to the producer fs. there's a couple songs in the middle that are really perf (Jay Street esp) and Up to Speed is prob my fav off this album, really emotional and intense...overall though this is a bit too wordy? the flow switches are def well done no doubt but sometimes his cadence is hard to vibe to if that makes sense. like technically impressive but not always the most fun to listen to. obv this is not an album made for the listener; it's got lots of REAL hard hitting lyrics and I respect that, but as far as hip hop i prefer some other styles (and voices tbh it gets a bit too theatric). overall solid record tho very impressive 1st (?) release
12Tim Hecker
No Highs

May 10th - z00sh
Rating: n/a
Thoughts: ambient needs a very specific mood and unfortunately, May 10th was not a con ambient day...I will respectfully return to this under the proper conditions for a completely fair listen.
13Yo La Tengo
This Stupid World

May 11th - DocSport
Rating: 3.68/5
Thoughts: i hate giving out this many 3.5s but such is the pattern with today's new music. really didn't think this would stick at first, felt it was lacking a lot of energy in the middle and the Apology song is def my least favorite of the 9 (short n sweet length tho!). on 2nd listen though it started clicking; the noisy and dreamy elements mixed together with careful and slow vocals really makes this a nice consistent listen. the energy on the first few tracks really helps its staying power...and the longer songs to close out the album really punctuate what is working on here, even with the extended song structures. really cool listen, might have to bump this up after further listens but the energy drop rly drags it down, unfortunately.
14Total Downer
Caretaker

May 12th - Zac
Rating: 3.14/5
Thoughts: welp if you rec'd me this 6+ years ago I prob would've given it a solid 4 (and then would've rarely listened to it over the coming years). this sounds a ton like Gnarwolves and Joyce Manor and any other punk/emo adjacent band you could name off the top of ur head. I did enjoy some of these tracks, but it just felt like rehashing 2012/2014 emo trends without adding anything new rly. songs are short, lyrics are cringe and full of unfunny references to pop culture for no reason rly. but like, this gets extra CON points for staying within my comfort zone of angsty punk fun. so prob a 2.5 but u get the .6ish bump. will relisten tho...this has some nostalgia feels to it.
15Suga Free and Kokane
SugaKane

May 13th - Drifter
Rating: 3.56/5
Thoughts: this album really confused me in many ways, but rating this def proved to be the most difficult aspect. on one hand, the instrumentals are some blissful west coast snoop doggy dog type beats filled with funky and soulful melodies and even some decent(?) hooks riddled throughout this project. First two tracks had me vibing hard fs...but on the other hand the lyrics are a lilllll too graphic for my tastes....not violent graphic just uhh yknow lots of blatantly sexual stuff that kinda puts a bad taste in my mouth. Suga Free def carries this album and shows off impressive rapping skills, esp near the end of the album which does admittedly end p strong. I like when he's going HARD and spittin real shit...but sometimes he talk-raps and it kinda gets corny sounding IMO. he switches it up tho and does try out some hooks of his own...that sometimes are poorly crooned. so yeah...this def VIBES and has amazing production but kinda falls flat. will rejam
16Canaan Sharon
Hypernova

May 14th - bubs
Rating: 3.39/5
Thoughts: project made by a friendo of bubs! kinda had low expectations going into this (it's only 3 songs and 7min long), but was fairly impressed with the project as a whole. Opener sets a nice relaxing tone and shows off some clean production skills despite it starting off as a very stereotypical lo-fi type beat, but it's only about a minute and lacks any direction as a result. contrasting this with the funky/organic-sounding jam(?) tracks that end the project makes for a cool listen though. love the sax and groovy basslines that flow through this thing, never sounding too busy but definitely full of life and happy-go-lucky vibes. since its an instrumental EP, slight negative points as I'm not a huge no-singer fan unless it's doing something really cool/original which this doesn't rly do. vibes though and tell ur friend this rocks bubs!
17jonatan leandoer96
Sugar World

May 15th - AlexK
Rating: 3.71/5
Thoughts: wooo boy now THIS is such a cool concept. Yung Lean on some pop rock 70s/80s The Cars and Bon Jovi sounding riffs n instrumentals with his classic out of tune n monotone vocals. however, despite the vocal flaws the melodies are reallllly catchy and fun and it's kinda hilarious hearing him do his best rock star impression while staying true to his style. I really loved half of the songs (first two tracks are incredible and so blatantly ripping off rock tropes and Rivers/If I'm born... have some really heartfelt melodies while still keeping the lighthearted n fun vibes). this put a smile on my face and was the genre fusion I never knew I needed from him. wayyyy better than his last LP so I'm super satisfied but PLEASE ERASE 'SWEDISH ELVIS STORM' FROM THE ALBUM IT IS HORRIBLE AND WAY TOO OUT OF TUNE AND def results in some slight negative points but a REALLY close 4 CONtender!
18Maruja
Knocknarea

May 16th - someone
Rating: 3.94/5
Thoughts: first 30 seconds of this album made me think it was gonna be some post-post-rock-punk type shii but when that saxophone hits....I realized I was only half right. they def employ a post-rock format and mostly put the post-punk vocals to the side while the sax acts as the lead singer throughout all 4 of the tracks. the swells and patience this EP has is incredible and although they are somewhat of a one-trick-pony (saxophone + crescendoes = good music), they def don't overstay their welcome (only 22 min!). The songs look long at first, but as you listen you tend to get lost within the busy yet reserved instrumentation and the sparse use of vocals def elevates this in a way I didn't think fewer vocals could (as I mentioned for bubs' rec I def prefer vox>no vox). Can't decide a fav between all four of these. love the slight slint influences on the final track tho. saxy saxophones RULE.
19Otay:onii
夢​之​駭​客 Dream Hacker

May 17th - porc
Rating: 3.49/5
Thoughts: now this is what I call Experimental Music! the genre fusions on here are wild and a lot of the time sonically confusing. the first track I think showcases the worst aspects of this...the noisy ending drags on way too long and the song never finds a consistent pocket to groove with. however, they really do mix it up...adding in lots of electronic breakbeats and indie cult rock chants (see W.C.). I do enjoy Light Burst and Overlap as well...the latter being somewhat indebted to both Radiohead's Exit Music and any intense thriller soundtrack (def a good thing tho). lead vocalist def has that Cranberries almost opera vibe voice but utilizes it pretty well. I found tho that I disliked two songs more than I liked the rest of them (Two Rocks a Bird being way too abstract and jarring), but what I took away from this album is def eye opening and dizzying...might have to rejam to see if I like it better than Godcaster tbh...but sitting pretty at a 3.5!
20Skee Mask
ISS009

May 18th - norma
21Life In Vacuum
Lost

May 19th - pitchfork
22Boldy James and Real Bad Man
Adu

May 20th - 90m80s
23Parannoul
After The Magic

May 21st - kompy
24Alfa Mist
Variables

May 22nd - rabid
25One Step Closer
Songs for the Willow

May 23rd - snake.
26Susanne Sundfor
Blomí

May 24th - reefa
27Balance and Composure
Too Quick to Forgive

May 25th - ian b.
28Water From Your Eyes
Everyone’s Crushed

May 26th - sona
29The Brokedowns
Maximum Khaki

May 27th - steak
30Poplar Creek
Left Behind

May 28th - atari
31MSPAINT
Post-American

May 29th - calm
32Midwife and Vyva Melinkolya
Orbweaving

May 30th - feather
33Leith Ross
To Learn

May 31st - Koris
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