It’s Been a Summer
Listened to a fair bit of music over the summer, and whilst I still have a month or so off before I head back to Uni I’m starting work on my dissertation and so wont be jamming quite so much new music. Thus I figured I’d document my summer listening experience. As always this is more for my enjoyment than anything else, but if you guys get any recs from this then all the better. Feel free to rec stuff similar to what I enjoyed or, even better, criticize my taste and try to get me to try something new (I actually prefer this, far more interesting and only a little soul crushing). |
| 1 |  | AJJ
People Who Can Eat People are the Luckiest People
(Folk): One of the records I was delving into around revision time for exams. Exceptional folk (or anti-folk? Idk) and in my opinion AJJs best record by a long way. 4.2/5 |
| 2 |  | Vektor
Black Future
(Thrash/Death/Black Metal): When revising I’d dangle a musical carrot in front of myself that I would check in my breaks to keep me working productively. Black Future was one of these carrots, and its fantastic. Really it’s the record that encouraged me to explore metal more given my lack of prior experience in the genre. Rules. 4.6/5 |
| 3 |  | Death Grips
The Money Store
(Hip Hop/Industrial): Seeing as the Internet’s Busiest Music Nerd wouldn’t shut about this band I also decided to check it, often listened to it when I was making dinner during exam period and it was a bizarre experience. My housemates didn’t really appreciate me blasting this out but it was a tonne of fun. Also, brilliant album. 4.4/5 |
| 4 |  | Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
(Lo Fi Indie Rock): The first album I listened to after I finished exams. Became my 3rd 5. It’s such a cliché to love this, but I do, unashamedly. This was just the kind of emotional release I needed after the year I’d had blah blah blah I’m a unique snowflake and my life is so incredibly hard blah blah blah. 5/5. |
| 5 |  | The World Is a Beautiful Place...
Harmlessness
(Emo/Indie Rock): Was jamming this for months and was quite undecided on what I thought. Certainly not as good as ‘Whenever, If Ever’ and it is pretty far from their emo inspired roots but its not bad indie rock at all. 3.8/5. |
| 6 |  | Against Me!
Transgender Dysphoria Blues
(Rock): Tackles one of the most interesting and personal topics I’ve seen an album touch on in years. And it’s catchy as hell. Could probably see myself bumping this to a 4. 3.7/5. |
| 7 |  | The Mountain Goats
The Sunset Tree
(Folk): Tackles one of the most interesting and personal topics I’ve seen an album touch on in [days]. And it’s catchy as hell. [2] 4.2/5. |
| 8 |  | Run the Jewels
Run the Jewels 2
(Hip Hop): I don’t love this as much as everyone else seems to, but it’s pretty solid. 3.5/5. |
| 9 |  | Death Grips
Bottomless Pit
(Hip Hop/Experimental): Distinctly remember jamming this whilst playing Overwatch just after it was released. Gave it a deeper listen later and it grew into a favourite of mine. 4.4/5. |
| 10 |  | Motorhead
Bad Magic
(Hard Rock): Sigh. I wanted to love this given its status as Lemmy’s last project. Sadly it wasn’t for me. 2.75/5. |
| 11 |  | Darkest Hour
Undoing Ruin
(Metal things): Some exceptional songs, some filler, and overall a solid album. 3.6/5. |
| 12 |  | Bon Iver
For Emma, Forever Ago
(Folk): I wanted to get this, but never did when I first checked it. It grew though when I had a chilled evening with this and a couple of beers. 4.1/5. |
| 13 |  | Clever Girl
No Drum And Bass in the Jazz Room
(Math Rock): a lovely little math-y summer-y gem. 3.9/5. |
| 14 |  | Vektor
Outer Isolation
(Thrash/Death Metal): I ended up getting a job for 2 weeks at a law firm about 3 weeks after exams and jammed this on the train there and on most mornings walking to work. Not as good as Black Future, but solid metal. 3.8/5. |
| 15 |  | Converge
Jane Doe
(Hardcore things): Listened to this on the train, heaviest thing I’d heard in ages. You all know this one so I don’t really need to explain why it rules. 4.4/5. |
| 16 |  | Elliott Smith
Either/Or
(Folky things): Another train listen, its good. 4/5. |
| 17 |  | Death Grips
The Powers That B
(Hop Hop / Experimental) – Another train listen, its good. [2]. This one was bonkers, even for Death Grips. 3.9/5 |
| 18 |  | Fallujah
Dreamless
(Atmospheric Death Metal): Got back home to my family. Jammed this. Initially I thought this was the greatest thing ever. It isn’t. 3/5. |
| 19 |  | David Bowie
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
(Bowie): It was my birthday pretty much as soon as I got home and I got a copy of this on vinyl. Lived up to its reputation. 4.1/5. |
| 20 |  | Ghost (SWE)
Meliora
Metal things): Didn’t know what to expect from this and appearances were deceptive. First half is near flawless, but the second half falters for me. 3.7/5. |
| 21 |  | Converge
You Fail Me (Redux)
(Hardcore things): Grew on me a tonne. Musically its on par with Jane Doe, but doesn’t hit me quite as emotionally. 4/5. |
| 22 |  | Brand New
Deja Entendu
(Pop Punk): pails in comparison to TDAG, but it aint a bad pop punk record. 3.7/5. |
| 23 |  | Aaron West and The Roaring Twenties
We Don't Have Each Other
(Indie Folk) – I love the Wonder Years, but this bores me. 2.8/5. |
| 24 |  | The Hotelier
Goodness
(Indie Rock/Emo): I’d hyped this up for way too long. Initially it was a huge disappointment but it grew on me a tonne…and then it grew off me a bit…. and then it grew back. Its the perfect follow up to Home in that it didn’t try to replicate it and went its own way, and it was largely successful. 4.3/5. |
| 25 |  | Car Seat Headrest
Teens of Denial
(Indie Rock): My current aoty. DRUGS ARE BETTER THAN FRIENDS ARE BETTER THAN DRUGS ARE BETTER THAN FRIENDS ARE BETTER THAN. 5/5. |
| 26 |  | Ghost (SWE)
Opus Eponymous
(Metal things): Good. 3.7/5. |
| 27 |  | Every Time I Die
New Junk Aesthetic
(Fun things): been jamming this all year long and finally formed an opinion on it: it rules. So damn fun. 4/5. |
| 28 |  | Converge
All We Love We Leave Behind
(Hardcore things): I’m starting to come around to Sowing’s way of thinking as this comes pretty close to Jane Doe for me. 4.2/5. |
| 29 |  | AJJ
Knife Man
(Indie Rock): A weird contrast to People, and imo not as good. Too disjointed and ridiculous in places. Still, it’s stunning in other places. 3.5/5. |
| 30 |  | Captain, We're Sinking
The Future Is Cancelled
(Pop Punk/Punk): went on a bit of a pop punk and emo binge around this time went I went to the Lake District (from those not from the UK, the Lake District is basically a large area (or district I suppose) full of large bodies of water (kind of like lakes)). This album is stunning. 4.6/5. |
| 31 |  | Snowing
Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit
(Emo/Punk): The feels. 4.7/5. |
| 32 |  | The World Is a Beautiful Place...
Formlessness
(Emo): Interesting to see where these guys came from. 3.8/5. |
| 33 |  | Enemies
We've Been Talking
(Math Rock): Boring. 2.6/5. |
| 34 |  | Billy Talent
Afraid of Heights
(Rock): Doesn’t replicate the energy of their earliest works, but its still pretty fun. 3.2/5. |
| 35 |  | Suis La Lune
Heir
(Emo): A solid emo record. 3.6/5. |
| 36 |  | Cap'n Jazz
Shmap'n Shmazz
(Emo): Initially hated this apart from the opener. Thankfully it grew on me. 3.6/5. |
| 37 |  | David Bowie
Blackstar
(Bowie): I feel like such a musical numpty for not falling head over heels for this. I think the fact that I only recently got into Bowie lessened the emotional impact of Bowie’s swan song. As a work of art this is stunning, and its pretty unique in what it strove for, but I just don’t enjoy some of the songs here. Please don’t hate me. 3.7/5. |
| 38 |  | Dream the Electric Sleep
Beneath The Dark Wide Sky
(Boring Stadium Rock)– Snore. 2.5/5. |
| 39 |  | Suffocation
Pierced from Within
(Metal): Can’t really fault this for achieving what it sets out to do fairly flawlessly, but I’m rarely in the mood for this. I’m predicting this will be a grower though. 3.7/5. |
| 40 |  | Enemies
Embark Embrace
(Math Rock): Ash convinced me to give this another go after not really digging these guys debut, and cheers man as this was a pretty solid collection of summer-y jams. 3.5/5. |
| 41 |  | Botanist
VI: Flora
(Black Metal): like nothing I’d ever heard before. Pretty neat black metal. 3.6/5. |
| 42 |  | Departures
Death Touches Us, From The Moment We Begin To Love
(Post-Hardcore(?)): Not my thing at all. The vox don’t fit the music imo and it’s a boring experience despite the fact that the vocals, if taken on their own, are brilliant and the lyrics are great. 2.7/5. |
| 43 |  | Explosions in the Sky
The Wilderness
(Post-Rock): It’s alright. Nice to see these guys changing it up a bit but it’s really just a re-skin of their older work with different instruments in the mix. 3.25/5. |
| 44 |  | Thank You Scientist
Stranger Heads Prevail
(Prog Rock/Jazz Fusion): initially this blew my mind, but on further listens the flaws in the project (the needless length of some songs and the voxs) become clear. Still a fantastic record. 3.8/5. |
| 45 |  | PUP
The Dream Is Over
(Pop Punk/Punk): Listened to this on the plane to Spain. A surprisingly amazing album, lyrically and instrumentally. Best Pop Punk of 2016. 4.6/5. |
| 46 |  | Skillet
Unleashed
(Dribble): why the hell did I listen to this? 1.25/5. |
| 47 |  | JANK
Versace Summer
(Emo): Surprisingly good carefree emo. 3.9/5. |
| 48 |  | JANK
Awkward Pop Songs
(Emo): Less good carefree emo. 3.4/5. |
| 49 |  | Death Grips
No Love Deep Web
(Hip Hop/Experimental): my least favourite DG project from those I’ve checked. Maybe it’ll grow on me, but it lacks the depth of their other stuff imo. 3.1/5. |
| 50 |  | Direct Hit!
Brainless God
(Pop Punk): Really amazing concept, especially for Pop Punk. Will likely bump. 3.75/5. |
| 51 |  | The Smith Street Band
No One Gets Lost Anymore
(Folky Rock): some of the best lyrics I’ve heard all summer and a new favourite band. 4.6/5. |
| 52 |  | Racing Glaciers
Caught in the Strange
(Indie Rock): A neat little Indie Rock gem. Gets dem feels flowing. 4.1/5. |
| 53 |  | Radiohead
The Bends
(Alt Rock): I’d put off checking Radiohead for years due to the sheer reputation of these days kind of scaring me off (as odd as that sounds). It’s their project I can most easily jam on repeat all day long and it’s got some of their best songs on it imo. 4.5/5. |
| 54 |  | Say Anything
I Don't Think It Is
(so lo fi that the term lo fi no longer seems apt): why the hell did I listen to this? [2]. 1.9/5 |
| 55 |  | Meshuggah
obZen
(chug chug chug): Took about a year of cursory listens for me to finally sink into this and adore it. The guitar tone is killer. 3.9/5. |
| 56 |  | Coroner
Mental Vortex
(Thrash): I feel like a bit of a Metal scrub for not absolutely loving this, but idk, hopefully it’ll grow. It certainly thrashes hard. 3.7/5. |
| 57 |  | The Tallest Man on Earth
The Wild Hunt
(Folk): I initially despised the vox on this, but this grew from a low 3 to a low 4.5 in about a week. It’s just a beautiful record. Check it. 4.3/5. |
| 58 |  | The Microphones
The Glow Pt. 2
(Folk/Experimental): My soundoff on this says everything I have to say, but this is the best thing I think I found in my summer exploration. 5/5. |
| 59 |  | Mineral
EndSerenading
(Actual Emo): after Art informed me of my lack of knowledge of emo’s roots I checked this. Good decision. 4/5. |
| 60 |  | Radiohead
OK Computer
(Alt Rock): yeah, it’s ok I guess. 4.5/5. |
| 61 |  | Russian Circles
Guidance
(Post-Rock/Post-Metal): A Russian Circles record… 3.4/5. |
| 62 |  | Deftones
Gore
(toilet water): why the hell did I listen to this? [3] 2.3/5. |
| 63 |  | Matthew Lennox
Do It For The Love
(some dude with a guitar): Got a soft spot for this guy having met him about 4 times busking over the last few years. This is probably the worst project he’s put out, but its still worth a spin. 3.25/5. |
| 64 |  | Direct Hit!
Wasted Mind
(Pop Punk): A bit of a disappointment, but listenable. 3.1/5. |
| 65 |  | Sufjan Stevens
Carrie and Lowell
(Folk): Where the hell has this album been all my life? 4.5/5. |
| 66 |  | Tigers Jaw
Tigers Jaw
(Emo/Pop): Good easy listening emo pop with character. 3.5/5. |
| 67 |  | Horse Lords
Interventions
(Indescribable): Weirdest thing I’ve heard all year. 4.3/5. |
| 68 |  | Wardruna
Runaljod - Yggdrasil
(Folk): not heard something like this before. A bit long winded but beautiful Nordic Folk. 3.75/5. |
| 69 |  | Bon Iver
Bon Iver, Bon Iver
(Bon Iver): I don’t really get it, but Holocene is a good song. 3.1/5. |
| 70 |  | Moonsorrow
Jumalten Aika
(Folk-Metal): Well this is pretty cool. A genre I’m looking forward to exploring more. 3.9/5. |
| 71 |  | Polyenso
Pure In The Plastic
(Pop): Man, I really couldn’t make my mind up on this one. Ranges from a 2.5 to a 4 depending on my mood. 3.6/5 (at the moment). |
| 72 |  | Gorguts
Pleiades' Dust
(Death Metal): Looking forward to checking Gorgut’s discog, but this didn’t really do too much for me. Still impressive though. 3.4/5. |
| 73 |  | Infected Mushroom
Converting Vegetarians
(Psychedelic): Trippy. 3.6/5. |
| 74 |  | Foxing
The Albatross
(Emo): Emotional. 4.1/5. |
| 75 |  | Radiohead
Kid A
(Things): Neat. 4.6/5. |
| 76 |  | Gay For Johnny Depp
What Doesn't Kill You, Eventually Kills You
(Punk): Hilarious. 3.9/5. |
| 77 |  | Tigers on Trains
Grandfather
(Folk): Beautiful. 4.4/5. |
| 78 |  | Iron Maiden
Powerslave
(Heavy Metal): Riffs. 4.5/5. |
| 79 |  | Black Flag
Nervous Breakdown
(Punk): Idk man, not really for me. 3/5. |
| 80 |  | AJJ
The Bible 2
(Indie Rock): Not as bad as people seem to be suggesting. Got some tunes on it. And stop complaining about the fact they changed their name. Chill. 3.2/5. |
| 81 |  | The Smith Street Band
Sunshine and Technology
(Indie Folky Rock): Not as good as their debut, but still wonderful. 4.1/5. |
| 82 |  | Brian Eno
Here Come the Warm Jets
(Wut?): This album is a bit bonkers, but it’s so damn good. 3.8/5. |
| 83 |  | Nisan Farber
If You're Ever Feeling Lost...
(Pop Punk): A neat little basement pop punk project by a fellow user. Check it. 3.6/5. |
| 84 |  | Agalloch
The Mantle
(Folk/Black Metal): Wonderful Musical Escapism. 4.25/5. |
| 85 |  | A Day to Remember
Bad Vibrations
(Pop masquerading as not-Pop): why the hell did I listen to this? [4]. 2.5/5. |
| 86 |  | Culture Abuse
Peach
(Rock): This rocks far harder than an album titled Peach should have any right to rock. 3.5/5 |
| 87 |  | We Lost the Sea
Departure Songs
(Post-Rock): some of the best post-rock I’ve heard in ages. 4/5. |
| 88 |  | Between the Buried and Me
Colors
(things): So damn fun. 4.1/5. |
| 89 |  | Algernon Cadwallader
Fun
(Emo): This was fun too. 3.5/5. |
| 90 |  | Marietta
Summer Death
(Emo): Figured this one would be a good choice to close up the summer. Solid emo with fantastic lyrics. 3.7/5. |
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